Every year at Christmas time, Arclight Theatres ( https://www.arclightcinemas.com/ ) in Hollywood and Los Angeles plays the film LOVE ACTUALLY (Richard Curtis, Universal, 2003). The film is set during the Christmas season and I believe it to be a contemporary Christmas classic like IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (Frank Capra, RKO, 1946). The film is everything the Christmas season is about; love, family, sharing good times with good friends and family, giving, caring for others and again, love. I go every year to see it, and I will watch it anytime it is broadcast. Rather than write my usual write up about the film, I intend to list my ten favorite moments from the film in no particular order. There are obviously some I will miss (feel free to add any in comments) and no this will not be a list of the ten best appearances by Keira Knightley (though her beautiful face graces spot number one!
1) Mark (Andrew Lincoln) confesses his love to Juliet (Knightley) through giant flash cards.
This scene gets me on so many levels. I wish I had thought of doing this for some girl in my past. Particularly it gets me because who hasn't had a love that they either can't mention, won't admit or that person belongs to someone else. It's cute, thoughtful and inventive. And Juliet's reaction, giving Mark one Christmas kiss and his subsequent realization that he needs to move on, this is just exquisite to me.
2) Colin (Kris Marshall) and his appearance in a regular American bar.
This scene is just pure comedy throughout, well written and well acted. It really is every guy's fantasy and really, would Colin's plan to conquer the girls of America really ever come to fruition? I love that the girls ask him to say everything with his British accent as this is something I would do. And his reaction to finding out there is a fourth girl is just priceless.
3) Sam (Thomas Sangster) holds up his finger saying Joanna (Olivia Olson) is the 1.
This kid steals the film for me. He has that angelic face and he plays such a great part. When he tells Daniel (Liam Neeson) that Joanna is the one and he holds his finger up, priceless. His love is forever and there can never be another. It's ironic too because his love for Joanna parallels Daniel's love of his mother who has passed away, proving love isn't forever. Great writing for this entire story line.
4) David (Hugh Grant) asking his assistant if Natalie (Martine McCutcheon) is chubby.
Grant's delivery of this line is perfect. A subtle blend of skepticism and his trying vainly to cover up his obvious feelings for Natalie. I always tell others that "you can't help who you love" and poor David is a perfect example of this. He's better off NOT fighting it!
5) The cashier (Rowan Atkinson) wrapping a package to perfection for an exasperated and anxious Harry (Alan Rickman).
Rowan Atkinson plays a cashier who takes his job quite seriously. Every detail of gift wrapping is done with care and precision and his lines are delivered like fine wine. "it is but the work of a moment" has me on the floor and when he places the cinnamon stick in the bag Harry's anguish is outrageously funny. Many of us have done sly things and we all can identify with Harry wanting to just get things quickly and quietly finished.
6) Jamie (Colin Firth) and his language problems with Aurelia (Lucia Moniz).
There are two instances here which are hysterically funny. First when Jamie is introduced to Aurelia. He attempts, quite poorly, to speak to her in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. It's not often you can make a fool of yourself in four languages. And he does the ever so guy thing of mentioning the only athlete he knows from Portugal, Eusebio. When in doubt, as a guy, always go for something you know. Even funnier though is his first time driving her home. He babbles on and on, the words just spewing out with no rhyme nor reason. Luckily she can't understand and this conversation is only half as awkward for her than him, and us. But still so funny!
7) Jamie asking for Aurelia's hand in marriage.
The subtitles make this scene funnier as they add to Jamie's ongoing language problems. But his sincerity and his following from the town make this such a romantic proposal
8) Billy Mack's (Bill Nighy) drug PSA on the Ant and Dec show.
Bill Nighy shines throughout the film in the role of aging rocker Billy Mack and it his pithy and sarcastic attempts at promoting himself and his record which do it. Almost spoofing those that take themselves too seriously, Nighy's Mack knows exactly his place in the grand scheme of things as well as knowing it all amounts to a lot of fluff when all is said and done. His delivery of this line though is great. "Kids, don't buy drugs. Become a pop star and they give them to you for free"! Classic stuff!
9) David's attempt to locate Natalie's house in the dodgy end.
Going door to door as the PM, a new service to gauge approval? Brilliant. And as he sings the Christmas carol to the children two things occur. First his valet has an amazing voice, even to David. And the children, doing their best Oliver impression. "please sir, please".
10) Sam's face as Joanna points to others in the crowd.
I said it before and I'll say it now, this kid steals so much of the movie. His gestures, his facial expression are all priceless. He has a great relationship on screen with Neeson and his jealous anger as Joanna sings to the crowd is stellar.
I could go on forever about little moments in this film that just capture my heart. Suffice it to say it is easily on of my top ten favorite films ever and it is eminently watchable!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
THE ARTIST (Michael Hazanivicius, La Petite Reine, 2011)
I am often asked what it is I look for when watching a film. My immediate response is always that story comes first and this includes writing and dialogue. Next comes acting, the overall job of direction and technical aspects that have stood out during my viewing of the film. After this, if a film can be self reflexive towards the film industry, if it makes social commentary or if it has historical context; any of these things raises a films standing. Finally if it pays homage to classic film that will make the film a home run. Every now and again I get to see such a film, and THE ARTIST (Michael Hazanivicius, La Petite Reine, 2011) is everything I just described and more.
Let's start with the narrative which brilliantly weaves three traditional stories into the film. The first of course is your classic love story. The film mainly deals with the romance of George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) and Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo). Theirs is an obvious love from the start yet obstacles are set in their way from the beginning. As in all films from the classic era love overcomes all and in the end out two lovers are united. Subsequently the narrative also has the story of a man who due to his pride and vanity has a dramatic fall in life, almost to his demise. George Valentin's tale is the classic one of a man at the top of the world losing it all, only to realize what really matters and win it all back. Finally the narrative is set in that transitional world of Hollywood between the silent era and the advent of 'talkies'. The writing for this film is very good, weaving these story lines together. The lack of dialogue actually makes the writing even better, as it allows the story to be told by it's actors.
The films actors all do a great job, conveying a range of emotion and feeling without the crutch of dialogue. Dujardin is great as George, capturing the essence of a silent era star. At times he evokes images of Douglas Fairbanks, Gene Kelly and even Fred Astaire. And if you can pull people in reminding them of those three greats you are accomplishing something. Bejo is quite literally a revelation. I had never seen or heard about this great actress before seeing this film. Another in the long list of great foreign actresses who never seem to get any acknowledgement from Hollywood.
The job that Michael Hazanivicius does will not be overlooked by Hollywood. He pulls together a fantastic film with great performances by every actor as well as great production design and art direction, an amazing score and sound design, some beautiful shot composition and cinematography and some of those classic memorable movie moments. He captures the transition of the silent era perfectly. His stars have that essence, his film feels like a silent era film.
The production design, along with the art direction really are driving forces in making this film work. Without extensive work in the areas of costumes, props, vehicles and set design the film wouldn't have worked quite as well. An aside, after viewing the film the person next to me in the theatre and I were talking. It just happens that her companion was a supplier of many of the films props. Just one of those great things about living in Hollywood!
The score to the film was another aspect that was technically masterful. A very nice combination of new compositions and old my only moments of pause were that there were a few moments which seemed to be poor transitions. The cinematography was excellent, particularly since the film is entirely shot in black and white.
And this brings me to the first of several amazing moments. Without spoiling too much in the film, the shot composition is so well done. The juxtaposition of old actor and fresh ingenue in various scenes is done well. And the shot where George drowns his sorrows and then his image in the mirror was breathtaking. What a remarkable shot. The opening sequence being set in the theatre with an actual orchestra playing was a touch of magic. And the final scene was one of the greats, truly memorable. I had chills watching it and the welling up of emotion was powerful to say the least.
The film as a whole, being truly self reflexive, showing a slice of the history of Hollywood makes it great. The homages to SINGING IN THE RAIN (best was George laughing at the girls voice as he watched a talkie, just like Lina Lamont) were endless. George Valentin was a great amalgam of Gene Kelly as Don Lockwood, Douglas Fairbanks in anything, Fred Astaire in SWING TIME. The true depictions of great silent era stars, those tragic figures that couldn't quite deal with the transition their industry undertook. Even Clifton (James Cromwell) is basically playing Max (Erich Von Stroheim) from SUNSET BOULEVARD.
For one of the only times in my life I clapped upon completion of this masterpiece. In a true testament to it's hold on me, I immediately wanted to see it again. I will see it again, very soon and I know that with each viewing I will find new pieces of magic that this film offers. In a world that is hype driven I can freely say that I believe this film to be the best released this year.
Let's start with the narrative which brilliantly weaves three traditional stories into the film. The first of course is your classic love story. The film mainly deals with the romance of George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) and Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo). Theirs is an obvious love from the start yet obstacles are set in their way from the beginning. As in all films from the classic era love overcomes all and in the end out two lovers are united. Subsequently the narrative also has the story of a man who due to his pride and vanity has a dramatic fall in life, almost to his demise. George Valentin's tale is the classic one of a man at the top of the world losing it all, only to realize what really matters and win it all back. Finally the narrative is set in that transitional world of Hollywood between the silent era and the advent of 'talkies'. The writing for this film is very good, weaving these story lines together. The lack of dialogue actually makes the writing even better, as it allows the story to be told by it's actors.
The films actors all do a great job, conveying a range of emotion and feeling without the crutch of dialogue. Dujardin is great as George, capturing the essence of a silent era star. At times he evokes images of Douglas Fairbanks, Gene Kelly and even Fred Astaire. And if you can pull people in reminding them of those three greats you are accomplishing something. Bejo is quite literally a revelation. I had never seen or heard about this great actress before seeing this film. Another in the long list of great foreign actresses who never seem to get any acknowledgement from Hollywood.
The job that Michael Hazanivicius does will not be overlooked by Hollywood. He pulls together a fantastic film with great performances by every actor as well as great production design and art direction, an amazing score and sound design, some beautiful shot composition and cinematography and some of those classic memorable movie moments. He captures the transition of the silent era perfectly. His stars have that essence, his film feels like a silent era film.
The production design, along with the art direction really are driving forces in making this film work. Without extensive work in the areas of costumes, props, vehicles and set design the film wouldn't have worked quite as well. An aside, after viewing the film the person next to me in the theatre and I were talking. It just happens that her companion was a supplier of many of the films props. Just one of those great things about living in Hollywood!
The score to the film was another aspect that was technically masterful. A very nice combination of new compositions and old my only moments of pause were that there were a few moments which seemed to be poor transitions. The cinematography was excellent, particularly since the film is entirely shot in black and white.
And this brings me to the first of several amazing moments. Without spoiling too much in the film, the shot composition is so well done. The juxtaposition of old actor and fresh ingenue in various scenes is done well. And the shot where George drowns his sorrows and then his image in the mirror was breathtaking. What a remarkable shot. The opening sequence being set in the theatre with an actual orchestra playing was a touch of magic. And the final scene was one of the greats, truly memorable. I had chills watching it and the welling up of emotion was powerful to say the least.
The film as a whole, being truly self reflexive, showing a slice of the history of Hollywood makes it great. The homages to SINGING IN THE RAIN (best was George laughing at the girls voice as he watched a talkie, just like Lina Lamont) were endless. George Valentin was a great amalgam of Gene Kelly as Don Lockwood, Douglas Fairbanks in anything, Fred Astaire in SWING TIME. The true depictions of great silent era stars, those tragic figures that couldn't quite deal with the transition their industry undertook. Even Clifton (James Cromwell) is basically playing Max (Erich Von Stroheim) from SUNSET BOULEVARD.
For one of the only times in my life I clapped upon completion of this masterpiece. In a true testament to it's hold on me, I immediately wanted to see it again. I will see it again, very soon and I know that with each viewing I will find new pieces of magic that this film offers. In a world that is hype driven I can freely say that I believe this film to be the best released this year.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
SHAME (Steve McQueen, Fox Searchlight, 2011)
One of the really great things that's happening in the world of film presently is the ability to make films independently with great ease and at lower cost. With technology expanding endlessly filmmakers can put stories to film that previously would never have been made. SHAME (Steve McQueen, 2011, Fox Searchlight) is just such a film. Whether a film like this should have been made, or needs to be made, remains to be seen.
So what kind of film is SHAME? It is an involving look into the world of a compulsive, in this case a sexual compulsive named Brandon (Michael Fassbender). The film magnificently shows the depths of depravity that Brandon will undertake to quell his demons. The film paints a brilliant picture of the lengths a compulsive will go to as well as how that compulsion will come before everything in the compulsive's life. That person's job, friends, family, safety and health become secondary concerns in such a person's life.
Yet, the film falls short for me due to a lack of a fully formed narrative. Too many questions remained for me after watching the film. I wanted to know why we were taken on this journey, where was it leading the audience? It was unclear whether Brandon had made a complete journey. I feel like the narrative does a nice job of showing that Brandon has had revelations and suffered, but at the films end where does he stand? Most of the supporting characters are dropped throughout the narrative and every character lacks a fully formed characterization. The two main characters are Brandon and Sissy (Carey Mulligan) yet neither ever has any motivations for their actions explained. We never learn why they take the actions they do or why they have such problems with each other and themselves.
Carey Mulligan does give a really nice performance as Sissy. At times her performance is brave and always very womanly. In fact she has an ethereal quality, much like the great actress she is often compared to, Audrey Hepburn.
The film belongs to Fassbender though. He gives a gripping and moving performance, one that is deeply felt. He welcomes us into Brandon's soul and bares it so we can see Brandon's hurt and anguish. And for lack of better terminology, he bares all in this film. Much ado has been made about his full frontal exposure and it is there, pretty much the first ten minutes of the film.
The director Steve McQueen (coolest named guy in film) does a really nice job. He likes to make use of some extensively long takes several times through the film. He does have an annoying propensity to use a two shot of his characters from behind the characters. At least twice this technique was used and I really wasn't sure why.
Ultimately this film felt like an exercise in seeing how far it's audience could be pushed and shocked. The film has great performances and good technical work, but in the end the question of why rings to loudly.
So what kind of film is SHAME? It is an involving look into the world of a compulsive, in this case a sexual compulsive named Brandon (Michael Fassbender). The film magnificently shows the depths of depravity that Brandon will undertake to quell his demons. The film paints a brilliant picture of the lengths a compulsive will go to as well as how that compulsion will come before everything in the compulsive's life. That person's job, friends, family, safety and health become secondary concerns in such a person's life.
Yet, the film falls short for me due to a lack of a fully formed narrative. Too many questions remained for me after watching the film. I wanted to know why we were taken on this journey, where was it leading the audience? It was unclear whether Brandon had made a complete journey. I feel like the narrative does a nice job of showing that Brandon has had revelations and suffered, but at the films end where does he stand? Most of the supporting characters are dropped throughout the narrative and every character lacks a fully formed characterization. The two main characters are Brandon and Sissy (Carey Mulligan) yet neither ever has any motivations for their actions explained. We never learn why they take the actions they do or why they have such problems with each other and themselves.
Carey Mulligan does give a really nice performance as Sissy. At times her performance is brave and always very womanly. In fact she has an ethereal quality, much like the great actress she is often compared to, Audrey Hepburn.
The film belongs to Fassbender though. He gives a gripping and moving performance, one that is deeply felt. He welcomes us into Brandon's soul and bares it so we can see Brandon's hurt and anguish. And for lack of better terminology, he bares all in this film. Much ado has been made about his full frontal exposure and it is there, pretty much the first ten minutes of the film.
The director Steve McQueen (coolest named guy in film) does a really nice job. He likes to make use of some extensively long takes several times through the film. He does have an annoying propensity to use a two shot of his characters from behind the characters. At least twice this technique was used and I really wasn't sure why.
Ultimately this film felt like an exercise in seeing how far it's audience could be pushed and shocked. The film has great performances and good technical work, but in the end the question of why rings to loudly.
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