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Lyonsy
Reviews
Whale Rider (2002)
Simple story, beautifully told.
So what's so wrong with simplicity? Some of the comments about this being a politically correct film are so off the mark. It is a very simple, predictable story, (the director seems to allow us to see what is inevitable). It is how she gets us there is what makes this film great. Exquisite performances all round. The little girl is a character that all boys and girls of 10-14 should see and be inspired by. Her school speech is a lesson in great acting , not solely because it is profoundly moving but because every thing that has happened to us on the journey to this point in the film is contained on her face. Why cannot the great writers and directors in the US leave Hollywood and get back to the basics and make films like this. Cast real actors, hopefully unknown and get on with the job. So called American "Independant" film making is at an all time low. Watching the 3 parter "A Decade Under the Influence" shows what great film was created in the late 1960's to the late 1970's.
Y tu mamá también (2001)
Loved this film
I am amused and not altogether surprised at some of the comments on the sexual content in this film. A lot of Plymouth Rock sermonising from a culture that serves up vile images of sex and violence on a daily basis that have little or nothing to do with the storyline of the movies they appear in Yes it is somewhat explicit but it is beautiful and not gratuitous. This is yet another coming of age story and that aside I thoroughy enjoyed it. The performances were outstanding and the ensemble work between the three a joy to watch. It is SO refreshing to see a film made outside of the Hollywood trash pile that is so full of character and characters that are interesting and moving. Even with the somewhat sad ending one is left with a feeling that the old cliche "Life is for Living" is as true a statment as one is ever likely to encounter.
In the Bedroom (2001)
Wonderful first effort by Field
I saw this film at the DGA yesterday and loved it. Yes it has it's flaws but it is certainly better than the majority of films out there at the moment. It amused me to no end to hear the comments of Hollywood "types" as they exited. Everyone is a director, casting director, editor, musician etc. Why cannot people just allow themselves to sit back and experience this directors take on the material. To me his style, slow as molasses, suited the place and subject matter. All actors were superb (even Tomei, who I love to hate). Wilkinson was simply awesome. Every gesture contained an ocean of genuine feeling. Spacek also was wonderful, especially in one scene where she facially reacts to her husbands very angry onslaught. It is very predictable in part but overall a very moving piece of work.
Greenfingers (2000)
Gooey greenfingers...
So what's it with the English film industry's obsession with the triumph over adversity thing? First we had the burly northerner's baring all, then the Welsh lads making a mountain higher, then Billy Elliott dancing against the odds....and now the prison lads gardening against the odds. A decison has been made to feed this gooey gunk to the yanks and listen to the cash register ring...we love this crap and cannot get enough of it!
Spring Forward (1999)
Why have we not seen this film in general release?
Just when you thought that all the US film industry can serve up is rubbish, along comes this small gem of a film. The reason it is not in general release is possibly because it is too "talky". God forbid that the characters might actually talk to one another and we might even get a glimpse of their inner lives ! This film is beautifully written and acted, at times it comes dangerously close to being maudlin but never crosses the line. Ned Beatty...well...is the great Ned Beatty..enough said. Liev Schreiber continues to prove what a fine actor he is and the small but beautifully crafted scene with Peri Gilpin is one of the film's highlights. A film like this restores your faith in the ability of film to really afffect you in a meaningful way.
You Can Count on Me (2000)
A not so simple, simple tale.
Loved, loved, loved this film. What a joy to sit back, relax, and enjoy an exquisite character driven quiet drama and that avoids every obvious cliche in film writing. Lonergan always keeps us off balance just enough to keep the story and inner lives of the characters interesting. It also goes to show that casting is all important. Not a single error here. Laura Linney perfect, Ruffalo a fine new actor on the horizon and Rory Culkin very affecting in an unusually complex child role. Lonergan writes so well and effortlessly he allows us to imagine the past that Linney and Ruffalo shared as children without having to "go there" literally in the script. As a Bach fanatic, his divine music seemed a perfect companion to these people and their journey.
Pollock (2000)
Not the usual biodrama blaaaah!
I watched this film at home this weekend and found myself both transfixed and angry. It manages to convey the life of an artist that everyone loves to dismiss paticularily in todays conservative times. Harris avoids every ploy that is usually used in biographical stories and instead delivers a beautiful film that attempts to show what this man Pollock wanted to give us as his art. The cast is uniformly superb and I really loved Amy Madigan as Peggy Guggenheim, a role that could so easily have been given the obvious treatment since she has been written "about" so much.
What angers me (and this also applies to Requiem For A Dream and You Can Count On Me) is that these three films show what can be made here in the US outside the usual Hollywood fare. These films are perceived as marginal and "art" films, whatever that term means. They are actually quite mainstream in lots of ways, yet the whole Hollywood machinery and the way in which movies get promoted relegates them to a marginal status in terms of box office draw etc.
We need more "small" films that require real actors who make us sit up and take notice.