I spent the week racing from film to film to be a commentator-in-good-standing come Academy Awards night on Sunday, an event that is going ahead now that the writers strike has finally been settled. (Well done, Writers Guild!) I decided to see the five films nominated for Best Picture, and for that I suffered prodigiously. I saw one really good film (“There Will be Blood”), one amusing if flawed film (“Juno”) and three films that made me feel grumpy to have spent time and money on them. Here are my thumbnails:
There Will be Blood: This was the most interesting film of the five. For once I agreed with the critics: Daniel Day-Lewis acted his ass off to great effect. But I was unprepared for how altogether powerful the film is. Although it’s not my usual kind of movie, it’s more complex and gripping than I anticipated. Day-Lewis plays Daniel Plainview, a prospector turned oil baron. The opening scenes as he searches for his first wells are mesmerizing. There’s an engaging dynamic around adoption and disability. His ascendancy as an oil man is followed by a deeply nasty alcoholic decline, in this dark but fascinating film.
Juno: This witty and moving screenplay about a precocious, pregnant 16-year-old was, unusually, written by a young woman, Diablo Cody. I got absolutely moist-eyed at the snappy relationship between Juno and her dad (J. K. Simmons) and the sweetness between Juno and her boyfriend. However, it is unfortunate that all it takes is one mawkish comment from an anti-abortion picketer to make Juno (Ellen Page) reject her original – albeit not-so-thoughtful – decision to abort. (As so many feminists have already commented, one grows weary of movies, indie and otherwise – “Waitress” comes to mind – that show women changing their decision to have an abortion and then living ecstatically-ever-after.) Juno’s life is, of course, an utter fairy tale – nothing like the real-life nightmares pregnant teens generally face. There’s one false note when Juno’s step-mother (played by the otherwise wonderful Allison Janney) goes off on an ultrasound technician who, while being an asshole, doesn’t merit the overkill.
Michael Clayton: I just didn’t get any of it, because I was unable to grasp the motivations underlying the characters’ behavior. Why, I kept wondering as the action unfolded, why? It seemed like a vanity piece for George Clooney and his boys, but I must admit that I didn’t “get” his “O Brother, Where Art Thou” or even his “Good Night, and Good Luck” either. He never has a robust point of view – just a kind of watercolor wash that promises content he doesn’t seem to deliver. This time I was anticipating, because of the sterling reviews, that this film would say something Clooney wants to say, but damned if I could figure out what it was. I do get bored by wink-wink sub-text.
No Country for Old Men: I am astounded at all the play this one is getting – and it is slated to win Best Picture. It seems to be about men who have an inordinate capacity for bleeding, supposedly in their competition over a suitcase of cash. They get shot in the morning, remove the bullet from their own flesh in the afternoon, and go out seeking more gun-fights in the evening. The cash becomes less central than this bloody competition between the two hunters to wound each other. I know many critics see this film as a metaphor of our times, but I just felt it was repetitious – more horror film than social intrigue. And now to the question other reviewers are shy to ask: Did you see the main character’s unruffled, bouffant hairdo (Javier Bardem)?
Atonement: Keira Knightley continues to be typecast in her perennial role as an extremely thin heroine wearing transparent, gauzy clothes while breathing heavily and pining. This time she’s Cecilia and she’s pining for the son of the housekeeper (played by the under-used Brenda Blethyn) who, despite having received a tip-top education thanks to Cecilia’s father, is unjustly accused by the jealous younger sister Briony, played by three different actresses as time passed. Said son (James McAvoy) is arrested and then the next thing we know he’s on the beach at Dunkirk. In the end, the only character with a dynamic emotional arc is Briony. “Atonement” has the patina of the great British films of classic literature, but this film is all mansion façade and no foundation or furniture.
Finally, why the hell isn’t “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” on this list?
I personally hated "No Country". It was a well-constructed film and it boasted some strong performances but nothing that deserved this overkill. I found it a racist depiction of Mexicans, a sexist view of women. His wife was a needy idiot, the mother a bigoted idiot and the sheriff's wife a pillow for the sheriff to lay his angst upon. It was just an old fashioned western without an ounce of reflection or growth from the 50's or 60's.
Posted by: Mia | 15 March 2008 at 17:59
I finally saw No Country for Old Men at the weekend. The intense and intriguing performances from the three leading men kept my interest and attention. The writing was wonderfully quirky. The Coens excell at capturing local flavor and injecting the bizarre to illustrate a point. When Josh Brolin's character gets to Mexico, bleeding and tired, he's serenaded by a Mariachi band. The lyrics of the song (in Spanish of course)? "You tried to fly without wings, You tried to touch the sky..." I had to laugh. And at a scene of several bodies decaying in the dessert after a shootout over drugs, the two deputies have this exchange: "Well this is a mess, ain't it?" "Well, if it isn't, it'll do until a mess gets here." I loved that!
But - and here's the crux - I was having all these thoughts and reactions *while I was watching the movie*. There was no suspension of disbelief. It was a well made, cleverly written, superbly acted movie, that simply failed to reach out and draw me into its reality.
I share Mia's assessment, but I happen to like old fashioned westerns - Unforgiven comes to mind as a fine more modern example. But this one was ultimately disappointing.
Posted by: Gema Gray | 14 April 2008 at 20:17