andrewors

I have a nagging feeling that the raves come from people in their 20's and/or younger. I maybe wrong but the debate erupting from this movie reeks of youth. Something similar happened with Terrence Malnick's The Tree Of Life. People either loved it or hated it. From my own personal POV the only different between The Tree Of Life and Mother! is that The Tree Of Life was a masterpiece without any visual cope outs and, perhaps, the only commercial concession were in big star names but even then Brad Pitt gives one of the best performances of his career. Mother ! Is not a masterpiece, not to me anyway. I couldn't connect. Was it a comedy of the absurd? When I saw all the people dancing and partying in the house I had a flash back to Blake Edwards's "The Party"Jennifer Lawrence is a truly gifted actress and beautiful to boot and, quite clearly, she put herself in Darren Aronfski's hands, She, the mother, calls out "Baby"? Hoping to find her husband - She is a Saint Joan half burned already. That truly puzzled me. Can you please give us time to connect with her? A few minutes. If you remember Mia Farrow's Rosemary - She was, emotionally, so far away from what she's about to confront. Polanski takes the audience through her journey and we're with her, every step of the way. What makes it so terrifying is the veil of normalcy that surrounds the proceedings. In Mother, the surreal takes over the atmosphere and destroys it. We can keep a distance without really participating. The same can be said of Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer - They are a welcome, semi-camp addition at the perfect time and then, they disappear. The glory of Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer in Rosemary's Baby is that their intrusion is taken all the way through to extraordinary results. And Javier Bardem/John Cassavetes? If you're interested watch Rosemary's Baby again like I did last night, 24 hours after seeing Mother!and then you tell me. In my modest opinion one is a flawless masterpiece the other is just okay.

I've seen "A Single Man" twice already at different screenings and I believe I will see it again and again. Yes, for me is one of those films. Thank you Tom Ford and thank you Colin Firth. I love Colin and my favorite performance of his dates back to 1989 "Apartment Zero". George Falconer, Colin's character in "A Single Man" seems to me the flip side of Adrian Leduc, Colin's character in "Apartment Zero". George has had a real life and grieves the death of his companion. Adrian Leduc never had a companion and his grief is based on his total inability to connect with people. George believes that human connection is at the center of everything and puts that thought into practice. Adrian worships James Dean, George doesn't think that much of James Dean, he actually says it. Adrian wears white shirts made of cheap material and he launders them himself. George wears impeccably cut white shirts that he has professionally laundered. They seem tiny details but they become overwhelming when you know both characters. George even hurts himself and wears a band aid just like Adrian during the last 15 minutes of "Apartment Zero" I love Colin Firth because he's an actor that can give you so much doing, seemingly, so little. It compel us to participate and include our own thoughts and feelings. The love of George for his lover is as pungent and real as anything I've ever seen on the screen. It is a cinematic triumph and as I'm writing about it I feel a sort of urge to see it again, just as it happened to me when I saw "Apartment Zero" for the first time. I felt then that Colin deserved an Oscar nomination for Adrian, he will get it for George. This is the first comment I ever wrote and it comes out of a profound need to share this emotion. When movies can do that, film lovers all over the world have real reason to celebrate and I'm celebrating.