September 27, 2002
Last Night
Last Night is a movie about the end of the world.
It is not a thriller like, say, Armageddon, but rather an investigation in how
various people react, as their lives intersect during the crazy last few
hours. Wisely leaving off any attempt at explaining why the world is
ending at precisely midnight, Last Night instead gives us the
solemn last six hours of their lives. A film of real dexterity from
Canadian writer/director/actor Don
McKellar, who also plays the lead role.
Another interesting twist this movie give the end of the world theme is that the world has known about this mysterious impending disaster for several months now. What this does is to allow the film to miss the havoc the news originally creates (and is alluded to in several places), and instead concentrate on the final 6 hours, beginning with Patrick Wheeler's "Christmas" dinner at his parent's house. Like Moms everywhere, his Mom has special fond memories of Christmas, and drags out pictures, old films and even old toys to give away one last time. Patrick, however, is buried in his own melancholia, having lost his much beloved wife recently to cancer, so he doesn't really mind losing everything else to the end of the world. He just wants to get away and meet the end by himself.
But there are several other characters whose orbits intersect each other in fanciful ways. There is Patrick's old high school chum, who is determined to have sex in as many different ways before the end, creating a shrine to his efforts. These conquests include their old high school French teacher, played, somehow fittingly, by Geneviève Bujold, from which a very funny scene ensues when Patrick shows up and they both casually slip into the student / teacher role.
Disturbing Patrick's attempt at solitude is Sandra Oh's Sandra, who is just trying to get home so her and her recent husband can fulfill a suicide pact. Patrick tries to help her but they spend the last hours together, due to the chaos on the streets. Sandra wants to get to know Patrick more deeply, to give her final hours more meaning, so she insists that he "hurry up and and tell me something to make me love you."
Also in the movie are Sandra Polley, from The Sweet Hereafter, who plays his sister just out to celebrate the end of the world party in downtown Toronto, and Duncan (who may or may not be the husband that Sandra is trying to get home to), a gas company beaurocrat who spends the last day methodically calling all his customers assuring them of continuing service (played by director David Cronenberg of all people!).
Last Night was a very likable and believable movie, although I think perhaps the chaos would be more excessive if this should ever happen. I also wondered if it happened at midnight all over the world, in a sort of rolling catastrophe, or if it just happened to work out that way in the Toronto time zone! But the characters were amazingly well rounded, for there being so many and yet so little time to see the all, and in such extenuating circumstances. The movie was funny and touching, and the ending was done just right. Unfortunately, the DVD was both bare of extras and in pan and scan rather than wide screen. But still, give this movie a shot and I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Last Night
Don McKellar, Sandra Oh
Party like there's no tomorrow... because there isn't.
September 25, 2002
Limbo
Yet another tour de force by one of my favorite directors, John
Sayles, Limbo brings us the story of three people thrown
together in a nearly impossible situation in the wilds of Alaska, and
shows us how this trio fights to stay alive. Yet this 1999 movie is
more than just a survival flick, as Sayles spends a lot of time
introducing the main characters, and giving us real insight into what
makes each of them tick. A typically solid effort from Sayles,
rewarding the careful viewer with wonderful insights into the human
character.
David Strathairn plays Joe Gastineau, a handyman at a lodge in Alaska with a tragedy in his past that changed his life forever. He crosses paths with Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio's Donna De Angelo, a singer following her dream into the Northern Exposure, when she quits her band and strikes back out on her own, her teenage daughter in tow yet again. They gradually become interested in each other, with the added discovery that De Angelo's daughter, played by virtual newcomer Vanessa Martinez, also has a crush on Gastineau. All three are gradually explained to the viewer, with each giving masterful perfomances. Then Gastineau's slippery half brother Bobby (Casey Siemaszko) shows up, asking Joe to accompany him on a quick boat ride north.
Joe invites Donna and daughter Noelle along for the ride, and we are treated to a nice sailing scene. However, misadventure befalls them, and Joe, Donna, and Noelle are stranded on a remote island with some drug lord's thugs gunning for them. They race into the hills and manage to escape into the interior of the island, even though it leaves them with few options. They come upon an old fur trader's house and settle in, both hoping and dreading rescue. While there, Noelle uncovers a diary and reads to the others about the tough life of a fur raising family, drawing parallels with her relationship with her mother. The film ends as they are being rescued, but we are left to draw our own conclusions as to whether it is the good guys or the bad guys who rescue them!
As usual, Sayles draws out some great performances. I was particularily struck by Ms. Martinez' portrayal of teenage angst, something I'm not normally keen on watching. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, don't need to watch it again! But she is perfectly believable and the script gives her lots to do. The relationship between Gastineau and De Angelo is also a treat to watch unfold, as Sayles doesn't rush right in but instead gives us and the characters time to get to know each other. A pretty solid movie about relationships, with no easy answers - like real life relationships even! The ending is purposefully left "in limbo", because Sayles wants to emphasize the strengthening relationships by having the three of them commit to the rescue together, rather than worrying about tying up all the loose ends.
As I wrote earlier, Sayles is one of my favorite director's, but oddly enough I wouldn't say any of his movies are my favorites. They are all solid efforts, with an interesting voice, but never seem to take that leap from solid to spectacular. Limbo stays a little too detached, like you're watching a movie rather than getting involved with the people.
The DVD is just great! The pictures are beautiful and the songs in this music-filled movie are well chosen, from folk songs to a stirring guiter instrumental played during the sailing scene. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio does a particularily good job with one of my favorite Richard Thompson songs, Dimming of the Day. She sings the songs herself, as the intelligent commentary track by Sayles tells us. It also tells us that the Springsteen song that plays over the credits, is specially written for this movie and is the only song he performs entirely in falsetto.
So I'd say this is a definite must-watch, even if it isn't a must own. The commentary track is one of the few I've listened to, and Sayles gives us real insight into how to make a movie. He talks about how hard the sound is to get right on a movie, especially in a noisy car. And how difficult the lighting can be. And even the tide fighting against you, as in one scene where they have to keep moving a rock back as the tide goes out during each take! I'm constantly amazed how actors can keep their focus and intensity, take after take, and this commentary track really shows us this.
Limbo (Special Edition)
Kris Kristofferson, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Vanessa Martinez, David Straithairn, Casey Siemaszko
A small fishing community becomes a hauntingly stark reality for a woman and a local man who try to reinvent themselves in America's last frontier.
Boogie Nights
One of the "hottest" directors around today is
Paul Thomas Anderson, and he first made his mark
with Boogie Nights, a story of the porn industry at
the dawn of the video age in the late 1970s. It really isn't about
adult films as it is about the way it uses and abuses the people
involved at all ends of the system. It is about the rise (ooh, it is
hard to avoid double entendres with a movie like this:-) to stardom, and
preciptious fall of Dirk Diggler, adult film star. It is a story
loosely based on the life of legendary porn actor John Holmes, who died of AIDS
after battling a drug addiction.
Eddie Adams, played by Mark Wahlberg, is an aimless teenager looking to make his mark on the world. Like he says, we all have a talent, and his is sex. He meets Jack Horner, adult film producer played by Burt Reynolds with appropriate parts sincerity and sliminess (although he tried to disown his part in the movie), who promises to make him a star. Eddie changes his name to Dirk Diggler and shoots to the top of the industry. But he gets too full of himself, drugs and bad friends, and eventually falls on hard times. By the end of the film, he is back in the industry trying to make a comeback.
All in all, I was disappointed in the movie. It seemed to mine familiar territory, reminding me a little of Traffic, in that it sets up all these straw people to play with without giving them any soul. None of the characters seemed very real, more like dolls for the movie to put into strange situation, whether it be discretely filmed sex scenes, to doing drugs, to heart break, like when one of the porn actresses tried to get custody of her son from her divorced husband, and gets shot down by the judge (played by former adult film star Verionica Hart!). Or when another acting couple get turned down by the bank when they try to finance their store. It's all just a little too trite.
The DVD is a nice production. They do a great job of recreating the 70s, from hair and fashion to dances and disco, which makes it a hoot. There's plenty of 70s dance hits, like Fly Robin Fly and You Sexy Thing, as well as 70s pop hits like Afternoon Delight (of course!) and 99 Luftballoons. It's probably a pretty interesting soundtrack CD! At least it would be better than this movie.
Buy Boogie Nights (2-Disc Special Edition) from DVDPlanet
William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, Heather Graham, Burt Reynolds, Nina Hartley, Mark Wahlberg, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly, Thomas Jane, John Doe, Philip Baker Hall, Alfred Molina, Ricky Jay, Luis Guzman
Hardcore porn auteur Jack Horner is the patriarch of a production company riding the success of star/earth mother Amber Waves and young stud Dirk Diggler.
September 13, 2002
Gosford Park
Gosford Park is Robert Altman's paen to the days of high society
in 1930s England. More of a character study in the "Upstairs,
Downstairs" family, including the butlers, upper crust,
manservants and rich folk than really having anything to do with the
brutal murder that happens. The patriarch of the family is one mean
old man and virtually everyone involved has a reason to knock him off,
but Altman isn't really interested in that story arc, and concentrates
on the people and their lives.
As is typical of an Altman movie, Gosford Park has quite the ensemble cast. English acting icons from Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith and Derek Jacobi to Kristin Scott Thomas, Helen Mirren and Stephen Fry, and, new to me, the stunningly beautiful Kelly Macdonald. While it can be hard to keep track of all the characters and follow their accented and mixed up conversation (one hint I've read is to turn on the English subtitles!), if you just go with the flow you'll figure out who is who in no time.
The story, such as it is, centers around a weekend at the McCordles, who own an estate and host a shooting party. They all meet here, with the rich folk going upstairs and the servants going downstairs. The film does a great job of showing the controlled chaos downstairs, and gives you an idea of just how elaborate the rituals are. None of the rich come off as particularily nice, but I guess that is to be expected in a movie like this. Sir William McCordle (Gambon) is bumped off late in the party of the second night and bumbling and obsequious Inspector Thompson (played by Fry) shows up with his competent second to investigate. As the murder isn't really what the show is about, it is left unsolved by the police, although we see who has done it and why by the end.
All the performances are stellar, and, again typical of an Altman movie, it is hard to pick out any as better than the others. Macdonald was an eye opener, both in acting and looks, while I thought Fry did a poor job with the Inspector, injecting a little Clouseau into his acting. It was pretty funny how no one let him properly introduce himself, always cutting of his "And my name is...." before he ever got to his name!
The DVD itself is overflowing with extras, although I didn't get a chance to listen to much of the Altman commentary. Gosford Park was a good character study, a bad murder mystery, and a fun ride all around. I'm looking forward to adding it to my collection so I can peruse the extras!
Buy Gosford Park at Barnes & Noble.com
Buy Gosford Park (Special Edition) at DVDPlanet.com
Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren, Emily Watson, Ryan Phillippe, Bob Balaban
A fun murder mystery, filled with fascinating suspects, long-held secrets, intriguing surprises and comical twists to keep you guessing right to the end!
September 02, 2002
For Whom The Bell Tolls
For Whom The Bell Tolls is a blockbuster movie from
1943, based up the Ernest Hemingway novel of the same name, written
just a couple of years prior to the movie. It tells the story of
idealistic Robert Jordan (played with steely commitment by Ingrid Bergman), gets involved in an internal
power struggle and tries to blow the bridge. It was quite a publicized
production, with lots of ink written about Cooper purchasing it for
the film rights and all the turmoil on the set.
One reason I rented this movie was because I'd just finished reading the book (well, to be honest, I listened to it on tape). I found the book absolutely compelling, such that I would stay in the car after pulling into the driveway so I could listen to some more! It is a brilliant work and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in conflict and love. So I looked forward to watching this very long movie (nearly 3 hours!) with a combination of trepidation and excitement, typical clashing feelings when one watches a movie of a favorite book, similiar to how I felt when watching The Cider House Rules.
All in all, I'd give the movie an A for effort, but a C for execution. It is remarkably faithful to the book, capturing all the major scenes in a believable way. However, despite what the DVD says was Ernest Hemingway's personal preference, I don't believe that Gary Cooper was the right man to play Robert Jordan. To begin with, he was far too old. Jordan is in his mid-20s in the book, while Cooper was 42. And Cooper played Jordan with an older, more jaded feel to him, rather than the fired up idealist portrayed in the book, who gets wrapped up in something he just never expected. Picture someone like Johnny Depp playing him with an intense fervor and you'll get an idea of who I thought of while listening to the book, and you'll also see how it clashes with a 42 year old Cooper. By the way, did you know that Cooper and Hemingway, who became fast friends during the filming, died within a couple of months of each other in 1961?
The movie has an intermission, and the first half takes some time getting rolling. It just didn't have the verve of the book in the beginning. However, after intermission, it picked up quite a bit and I really got involved. The scenes of the final battle, with the bridge blowing up and the bullets flying, are quite gripping and do an excellent job of conveying the tension involved. I also wondered how they would handle the ending and they did it perfectly, again mimicing the book to the end (I won't spoil either for those of you who haven't yet run out and picked up your copy of the book!), although Cooper's stoic style couldn't really convey the young Jordan's passionate speech.
Ingrid Bergman did a very nice job with Maria, even though she wasn't the first choice. I guess a well known singer was originally cast, but she couldn't handle the outdoors stuff. Best Supporting Actress winner Katina Paxinou was simply superb in the role of Pilar, the wife of the worn out former band leader Pablo, who takes on the leadership role. Pablo is also played with the right amount of smarmy charm and snake-like intelligence by Akim Tamiroff. You'll notice none of these names look very Spanish, and in fact no Spaniards were in any of the major roles!
A word about the DVD - at least the one I got via rental - is also in order. The picture was absolutely horrible - the worst I've seen. It is crying out for a Criterion type remake, as it fades in and out, gets blurry, and completely loses the picture sometimes. And this for a multi-Academy Award nominated film, although only Paxinou won. It was almost unwatchable in some scenes. And it also is only pan-and-scan, which is too bad for a movie well known for its panoramic shots (of the Sierra Nevada!). There are several scenes where one person is talking on one side of the frame to an invisible person on the other - yech. It also starts with a very long musical introduction, all to a blank screen, as if the music was playing before the curtain goes up in the theater. It had me wondering if perhaps my equipment was messed up!
Buy For Whom The Bell Tolls at DVDPlanet.com
Akim Tamiroff, Katina Paxinou, Ingrid Bergman, Arturo de Cordova, Joseph Calleia, Gary Cooper
An American demolition expert lends his unique abilities to the anti-fascist freedom fighters of Spain. Assisting him is a band of selfless warriors.
The Draughtsman's Contract
The Draughtman's Contract is an intriguing,
beguiling, confusing, and intricate drama of manners, set in the
English countryside of the 17th century. Directed and written by the
controversial Peter Greenaway, it is an early indicator of his brand of movie -
sexy, brutal, dialog heavy and very watchable! A woman hires a
draughtsman to draw her
mansion while her husband is away, as a present. The draughtsman gets
involved in a sticky web of deceipt spun by the woman and her
daughter, and in the end, gets his just desserts.
The movie opens at a dinner party, where all the main characters are introduced. Mr. Neville, played by Anthony Higgins, is a draughtsman (draftsman - a sketcher, usually of architecture or machinery) of some renown and Mrs. Herbert (Janet Suzman) wishes to get him to draw 12 pictures of thier country mansion while her husband is away on business. She can't afford him, so they work out a contract with extras built in; namely, she will trade sexual favours to Mr. Neville in return for the pictures. The party is shown in small conversational snippets, with the characters all dolled up in a typical 17th century scene.
Then they get to the mansion, where Mr. Neville proves to be an exacting taskmaster, both with his drawings and with his favors. Mrs. Herbert tries to back out, but cannot. Mrs. Talman, played by Picnic at Hanging Rock's ethereal beauty Anne-Louise Lambert, is Mrs. Herbert's daughter, who is married to a German dandy played by Hugh Fraser, who believes the English to be beneath him. Mr. Neville begins to notice some things of Mr. Herbert's that are in the scenes he is asked to draw (shirt in the laundry scene, a ladder leads to Mr. Herbert's room, boots in the meadow scene) and it is pointed out by Mrs. Talman that Mr. Herbert has gone missing and the information in the drawings might point to Mr. Neville as an accomplice. So she blackmails him into sexual favors!
Mr. Herbert's body is dredged up from the one pond that Mr. Neville was never allowed to draw, and it slowly dawns on Mr. Neville that he was never in charge, and rather was more probably being set up for a fall. When he returns a few days later after finishing the pictures, it is laid out before him how he had been used. He still doesn't see how deep he's gotten himself in, and he soon pays the ultimate price.
And yes, it is all that confusing! I watched this movie twice, although I probably let too much time go between viewings, and it still wasn't all that clear. The dialog is very dense and each word is crafted with the utmost care. Even when I didn't understand what was going on, it still was a pleasure to hear the repartee. And to add to the confusion was a strange painted naked man, who appeared at various times, like a garden imp who keeps getting into trouble. He even witnesses the dramatic final ending of Mr. Neville.
I wish there had been a director's commentary on this one, but the DVD itself was pretty barren. A filmography of the 3 main actors and Peter Greenaway was about it. The picture was good and the sound excellent, as was the score. Like I said, the dialog was great to listen to, even if it didn't always add up! I highly recommend a rental, but be sure to watch it twice.
Buy The Draughtsman's Contract at DVDPlanet
Anthony Higgins, Janet Suzman, Anne Louise Lambert
A stylistic tour-de-force about murder, adultery and blackmail.