This is an amazing film. It is allegorical, and like all good allegories is steeped in symbolism. The most important symbol is the fact the movie is filmed on the backdrop of the French Revolution. The allegory is about mob mentality- low culture, devouring high culture. Taken in that light the movie makes perfect sense, and it highlights the very satisfying conclusion of the film. The acting by Mirren and Gambon is brilliant. The movie is visually spectacular- if shocking in spots. As we are living in an age where pop culture and sound bits are taking the place complex history and high culture, this film is a pertinent and timely statement about that process.
Reviews
6 Reviews
The Bonfire of the Vanities
(1990)
The worst casting decisions ever made
26 November 2005
This was a great book and the possibilities for a truly great film were definitely there. But the casting decisions completely wrecked the movie. Hanks is a great actor to be sure, but lacks the smarmy, morally ambivalent characteristics needed for the lead role. Jeff Daniels would have been my choice.
Putting Melanie Griffiths in, for eye candy reasons, is understandable, but again, she did not portray the depth or ambivalence, so need to pull this off.
This movie is a great example of how every decision, even those early on in the movie production can make or break a file.
Putting Melanie Griffiths in, for eye candy reasons, is understandable, but again, she did not portray the depth or ambivalence, so need to pull this off.
This movie is a great example of how every decision, even those early on in the movie production can make or break a file.
Garden State
(2004)
Deep Inspiring Coming of Age Movie
13 July 2005
Many "coming of age" movies follow trite formulaic plots. Immature male or female is portrayed as misunderstood or depressed in a frequently obnoxious environment with uncaring or uncomprehending parents. Through a series of events the young person meets disillusionment, loses his or her innocence and gains maturity. This plot is true of everything from Risky Business to Porky's.
All the more remarkable then that a young actor/director should have the maturity, perspective and creative vision to put out a remarkable film, entertaining for people who are long past "coming of age" ( like 45 year olds for instance) and are slipping towards the other age- old.
This film has Natalie Portman in a truly wonderful performance as an eccentric and alive young woman who pulls the main character "Large" out of the catatonic stupor he has been in. In the process she comes to terms with her own feelings of inadequacy and strangeness.
The supporting cast is great and the setting of the Garden State "New Jersey" shows the state as it really is, not like the caricature of the state in the opening credits of the Sopranos.
A film worth seeing again.
All the more remarkable then that a young actor/director should have the maturity, perspective and creative vision to put out a remarkable film, entertaining for people who are long past "coming of age" ( like 45 year olds for instance) and are slipping towards the other age- old.
This film has Natalie Portman in a truly wonderful performance as an eccentric and alive young woman who pulls the main character "Large" out of the catatonic stupor he has been in. In the process she comes to terms with her own feelings of inadequacy and strangeness.
The supporting cast is great and the setting of the Garden State "New Jersey" shows the state as it really is, not like the caricature of the state in the opening credits of the Sopranos.
A film worth seeing again.
Waterland
(1992)
A masterful work
20 June 2005
This film is a complex intricate look at sexuality, history, Freud, and superstition all based in the living metaphor of England's fen land, or marshes. It is no coincidence Swift chose to set this incredible story about navigating the labyrinths of jealousy and history- personal and local, using a landscape riddled with secret channels and muddy hidden waters.
The acting is superb, and like Ian McEwan's Atonement, looks unflinchingly at the depths of personal tragedy, and history, and their long lasting effects on us as humans, all in the context of historical events.
The Fenland is an area deeply steeped in history, going back before the Romans.The film touches literally the taboo of early sexual longing ( male and female)and leaves us to look at the costs of opening Pandora's's box.
Swift is a gifted and beautiful writer and I have read this book several times. The film is a credit to the book, which is an unusual statement for films. The film complements the book much in the same way the film of Unbearable Lightness of Being complemented that book.
This is a masterful work.
The acting is superb, and like Ian McEwan's Atonement, looks unflinchingly at the depths of personal tragedy, and history, and their long lasting effects on us as humans, all in the context of historical events.
The Fenland is an area deeply steeped in history, going back before the Romans.The film touches literally the taboo of early sexual longing ( male and female)and leaves us to look at the costs of opening Pandora's's box.
Swift is a gifted and beautiful writer and I have read this book several times. The film is a credit to the book, which is an unusual statement for films. The film complements the book much in the same way the film of Unbearable Lightness of Being complemented that book.
This is a masterful work.
Harold and Maude
(1971)
A Deserving Classic
26 April 2005
This film defies description, other than to say, like Truly Madly Deeply ( which you must see), it is a celebration of love, life and death. All three are funny and poignant and this film points up the beauty of all three.
Ruth Gordon was an extraordinary person, not to mention actress, and this film is a film about her, as much as it is by her. It is also the finest performance ( and certainly the best known) performance by Bud Cort.
I have watched this film with people who have not "gotten it". It has some of the same off beat angles as American Beauty. The film is timeless, and although made during the Viet Nam war, carries a lot of message and impact.
Ruth Gordon was an extraordinary person, not to mention actress, and this film is a film about her, as much as it is by her. It is also the finest performance ( and certainly the best known) performance by Bud Cort.
I have watched this film with people who have not "gotten it". It has some of the same off beat angles as American Beauty. The film is timeless, and although made during the Viet Nam war, carries a lot of message and impact.
Truly Madly Deeply
(1990)
Unusual and moving movie
22 April 2005
This one of the most memorable and touching movies about love and loss that I have ever seen. It does fall a little into the trite towards the end with some of the side plots, but the essential message is there from beginning to end. There are people who you love who leave deep and indelible pieces in you, but the essence of living is painful and individual.
The characters are well drawn and the performances by Rickman and Stevenson are nothing short of inspired. Rickman in particular has an ambivalent character- he has the attraction of a unique and fleeting genius, juxtaposed with the temperamental flightiness of a hot house flower. Stevenson's dealings with this paradox of a person and her relationship, forms the driving force behind her quest for meaning.
There are moments of humor and extreme poignancy in this movie. The use of Bach and the poetry of Pablo Neruda is both organic and brilliant.
The trite parts are largely collateral. The movie rather than being "PC" is idiosyncratic with unusual characters.
The characters are well drawn and the performances by Rickman and Stevenson are nothing short of inspired. Rickman in particular has an ambivalent character- he has the attraction of a unique and fleeting genius, juxtaposed with the temperamental flightiness of a hot house flower. Stevenson's dealings with this paradox of a person and her relationship, forms the driving force behind her quest for meaning.
There are moments of humor and extreme poignancy in this movie. The use of Bach and the poetry of Pablo Neruda is both organic and brilliant.
The trite parts are largely collateral. The movie rather than being "PC" is idiosyncratic with unusual characters.
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