Another Woman
(1988)
Directed by Woody
Allen
* * *
As Another Woman opens, middle-aged Marion Post (Gena Rowlands), a
philosophy professor, narrates what it’s like to be in her fifties: she lives a
modest and seemingly fulfilling life at her age. On leave of absence, she has
just rented a small apartment downtown to write a book. One day, her work is
interrupted by an intense conversation next door as a woman laments about her
life feeling empty and pointless (she is in therapy). Marion is unable to resist
eavesdropping on the anonymous woman’s predicament; not out of disrespect, but
rather because she can’t help but somehow relate. It is at this point that
Marion realizes that her life may not be as satisfying as it seems, coming to
terms with all of the sacrifices and burned social bridges it took to get where
she’s at in life, which is supposed to be satisfying.
First order of business: has
Gena Rowlands ever unleashed a performance that didn’t blow us away, even in the slightest? Granted, while her
performance in Another Woman is
nowhere near the scale of that in, say, A
Woman Under the Influence, but that isn’t saying much. Her performance here
is effectively subtle: though content and humble on the outside, a deeper look
into her face reveals an existence of deep dissatisfaction. This could be said
about the movie as a whole. The film is very reserved and contained, to the
point that one may not realize how much it sneaks up on you.
Though my thoughts on Woody
Allen as a filmmaker are very indifferent, I must admit that I’ve always found
the idea of him as a dramatic filmmaker has always compelled me greatly. As
usual, the ideas in the film are very fascinating and the overall product here
are well done, but I just can’t help but feel the film feels disappointingly
quaint, not going as far as it could. Additionally, I was a little irritated at
the use of a narration (a technique I’m very
particular about) – the more effective route would be to let the actors
gestures and nuances in context with the drama speak for itself, but instead
the film cops out by feeling the need to tell us. That said, though not a great
film, Another Woman is still a solid
film – at the very least, it’s worth it for Gena Rowlands alone.
Children of Men
(2006)
Directed by Alfonso
Cuaron
* * * ½
Britain, 2027. It is a less
than pleasant future; anarchic chaos reigns across the earth, with the
exception of the United Kingdom, which is now a total police state that deports
immigrants by the hundreds daily. To make matters worse, there is an alarming
rate of infertility, leaving the human race with an uncertain future – when the
film opens, international news reports that the world’s youngest person has
died at 18. Theo (Clive Owen), a former activist now working as an autonomous
bureaucrat, has just heard this news while on his way to work one morning.
Soon, however, Theo is confronted by his ex-wife (Julianne Moore) who offers
him a mission of sorts: to assist in safely escorting a refugee named Kee (Clare-Hope
Ashitey) through the country. Theo agrees, and as the journey begins, he
realizes why this is such an important task: by blind luck or through some sort
of miracle, Kee is pregnant.
Has Children of Men always been as popular as its been the past 2-3
years? While I remember hearing the title once in a while throughout the years,
it wasn’t until recently that I began hearing about what a masterpiece this
film is. Well, I finally got around to it, and while I’m not sure I’m
completely in sympathy with the surrounding hype, this film was quite
extraordinary. Within the first five minutes, the film perfectly establishes
the world our protagonist lives in, which is extremely important for dystopian
fiction like this. The performances across the board are all terrific – I especially
loved Michael Caine as a pothead and ex-political cartoonist. On a technical
level, this film is absolutely amazing, especially visually – Children of Men carries on with a tense
documentary style. Granted, done plenty of times before, but the film is quite
reserved in its editing, resulting in many impressive long-takes (this shines
brightest in the film’s climactic sequence in the ruins).
But I cannot talk about Children of Men without bringing up one
scene specifically – the “miracle cease-fire” scene. Hands down, this is one of
the greatest movie scenes I’ve ever witnessed. My spine shivered, the hair on
the back of my neck stood up, tears were shed…I couldn’t believe how powerful
this was. All that said, this movie didn’t quite blow me away as much as I
hoped it would – it’s commentary on immigration was a bit heavy-handed for my
taste, I feel like the world wasn’t as fleshed out as it could have been, and
it was over much too quickly (with almost 10 minutes of end credits to top it
off). However, I’m more than willing to give this one a reevaluation in the
future. We’ll see if it earns a 4 then.
Cloud Atlas (2012)
Directed by Tom Tykwer, Andy and Lana Wachowski
* * * ½
Cloud Atlas spans six eras, six regions, six stories. 1849; an
ailing American lawyer (Jim Sturgess) ensures the welfare of an enslaved black
man during a sea voyage through the Chatham Islands. 1936; a closeted
homosexual (Ben Wishaw) with a keen vision for music works as an amanuensis for
an aging and difficult composer. 1973; a journalist (Halle Berry) is on the
trail of uncovering the sinister inner workings of a controversial nuclear
reactor. 2012; a well-humored publisher finds himself in trouble with gangsters
whom he owes money. 2144; an artificial person (Doona Bae) is on the run from
the human race that enslaved her. Finally, 2311; in a post-apocalyptic Hawaii, a
local tribesman (Tom Hanks) assists an outsider on a dangerous voyage. Though
seemingly unrelated, each of these stories are woven together by some sort of
past relic or act of another.
Here is one hell of a
juggling-act of the film. On top of the uber-expansive timeline, each story
also has its own unique tone, whether it be drama, mystery, adventure,
thriller, or even comedy. Additionally, these stories don’t simply go from one
to the next; each story is unfolded from one fragment to the next, interspersed
with parts of another story. And guess what; Cloud Atlas pulls it off flawlessly. This has a reputation of being
a confounding film, but I disagree: it knows which pieces belong where, not to
mention it is perfectly paced (it did not
feel like 3 hours). With excellent production design (costumes and make-up,
especially) and stellar performances across the board, Cloud Atlas really surprised me in just how well it achieved its
dangerously ambitious goal.
Cloud Atlas is also quite thought provoking, its theme being that
we all play a significant part in the development of time and place, no matter
how small or passive it may be. Though this is achieved for the most part, it
still feels somewhat cheapened from time to time when it gets a little too
contrived, especially in the climactic moments of the chapters – for such a
one-of-a-kind movie, certain moments feel like something I’ve seen plenty of
before. On a side note, the score is glaringly generic. Other than that,
though, I will never forget this one. It’s a film that begs for a secondary
watch, and I look forward to my next viewing.
Secret Honor (1984)
Directed by Robert Altman
* * * *
Less a biopic than an
interpretation of the inner-workings of one of America’s most controversial
presidents (the film is, by its own admittance, a work of fiction), Philip
Baker Hall takes on the role of Richard Nixon. He walks into his private study,
equipped with a tape recorder, a microphone, a revolver, and the weight of
disgrace to make sense of. He turns the recorder on (after a hilarious struggle
to get the damn thing working) and begins talking, and we do nothing but watch
and listen as Nixon monologues for ninety minutes, sputtering with almost manic
shifts in tone – one minute, he is good humored; next minute, he is in an abyss
of madness. Secret Honor is based on a play by Donald Freed and Arnold M. Stone,
and this is undoubtedly a play in film form – we never leave the confines of
Nixon’s study, and the only character in the film is Nixon. This idea may put
some off, but this is cinematic simplicity at its finest and most effective. The
power of Secret Honor weighs heavily
on the shoulders of Philip Baker Hall, and he absolutely nails it. It is a
performance of simultaneous rage and sympathy, just like the film itself.
The tagline for the film reads
“Anyone can be the president” – this is the key to Secret Honor’s transcendent power. Though the film is about Nixon
during the fallout of his presidency, it is still a very relevant film. Nixon
nervously paces throughout his study, under the pressure of the portraits of
greater Americans that stare him down. He rambles on like a madman, so much so
that one might forget that this man was once in charge of our country – and,
indeed, he was. Whose fault is it? His own? The voters? This is the kind of
film that is sure to generate great debate amongst its viewers. I must admit,
that following every detail of the monologue is a little difficult (I’m also
still taking everything in), but I was never lost or bored. This is an
extraordinary film, and one of the most overlooked gems of the 1980s.
Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Directed by David O. Russell
* * * ½
Recently released from
treatment in a mental facility, Pat (Bradley Cooper) returns to the real world.
Moving back in with his indifferent mother (Jackie Weaver) and
obsessive-compulsive father (Robert De Niro), a superstitiously religious
Philadelphia Eagles fan, Pat is ready to hit the ground running, his sights set
on getting his old teaching job back and, most importantly, win back the love
of his ex-wife, Nikki (Brea Bee). Unfortunately, this is virtually impossible,
as Nikki has a restraining order against him. Maybe a bit delusional, but this
doesn’t get Pat down as he sticks to his plan. But then he meets Tiffany
(Jennifer Lawrence), a high-strung woman who also deals with mental illness.
Though Pat has no intentions of starting a new romance with her, the two share
a strange yet charming friendship.
There’s a bittersweet and
indescribable bond that those with any kind of mental illness share, and Silver Linings Playbook is one of the
most accurate depictions of this bond I’ve seen yet, which is best manifested
in a scene where Tiffany and Pat share their experiences with various
psychiatric medications (this made me tear up in just how accurate this is).
All of the material in this movie makes for great dark comedy, the kind where
you don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Most of the time, it works wonders.
Like the characters in the film, it has a kinetic energy to it and you never, ever know where a scene is going to go –
I couldn’t help but feel that the late great Cassavetes would be proud.
I’ve never been sure how I
feel about Bradley Cooper as an actor. In turn, I don’t know if this was a good
role for him. That said, he still gets the job done – in fact, everybody does.
Still, Silver Linings Playbook still
has a few things that are quite irksome for me. I’ve always been quite
particular about the use of music in film – you’d be surprised how many volumes
a scene can speak for itself without a score or soundtrack, but those volumes
are somewhat silenced by the soundtrack here. Additionally, I wasn’t too big on
how the film ended. We all know that the two are going to fall in love, but
considering just how crazy their relationship is, it ends on a pretty
conventional note that feels rather lazy. Still, I can’t deny that I was quite
taken by this film in spite if its shortcomings.
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