Reviews

Midnight in Paris: A Review

With his latest work, Woody Allen takes us back in time to the most decadent and romantic era in French history with his playful vignette Midnight in Paris. This heavily saturated film begins with simple scenes of typical french life in the magnificent city of Pairs set to the whimsical musical stylings of Sidney Bechet giving it the highly stylized and romantic feel of a typical Woody Allen film.

Gil (Owen Wilson), an Allen-esque average joe who is permanently stuck in a rut, hopes of fulfilling his boyhood dreams of becoming a real bona-fide writer as apposed to staying one of the soulless masses known as the Hollywood film scene. He travels to Paris with his uber materialistic fiance (Rachel Mcadams) and her two bratty parents  (Kurt Fuller and Mimi Kennedy) who are conducting a business trip. While there, Gil, who is currently authoring a novel about a man who owns a memorabilia shop has his wishes granted in the most bizarre of ways when he suddenly finds himself amongst the ranks of history's greatest artistic lot after being driven (quite literally) back in time to Paris in the 1920's. As the movie continues on, Gil grows not only more popular amongst the famous crowd, but he grows increasingly disconnected to his real life in the present day.

A common theme throughout the film is the feeling of nostalgia and the inability to let go. Gill's entire motivation through the film is caused in great part due to his constant longing to be swept back in time to his favorite ear the Paris of the 1920's. The story-line nor the setting is in itself new. Generation after generation of writers and artists have longed for a time simpler than their own. However, in a film about such nostalgia and longing it creates a perfect atmosphere to display these hopes and dreams.


Shot by the talented Darius Khonji, Paris itself becomes a major character within the film. The city is romanticized and fawned over for most of the production but as Gil immerses himself deeper and deeper into his fantastical world, the Paris of his present begins to lose its luster. The colors aren't as vibrant or deep, most of the modern day Paris during this time appears washed out and very bright as apposed to the sets inundated with sultriness and color in the after hours Paris of Gil's dreams. Suddenly he finds himself not even wanting to go home to his real flesh and blood girlfriend. It is only after Gil is exposed to his own caprice through the actions of Adriana that he even begins to take a look around the city he's been exclaiming about all this time. 


All in all this film proved to be an astounding hit not only among Allen's die hard fans but also among cinema's snootiest elite. Allen combined his classic neurosis to a stylish and whimsical comedy perfecting his craft and encapsulating the world's love for Paris. 

Review # 1- Detachment

            Settling in to the cushy red seats of the Star Theater in Cannes, France I wasn’t fully prepared for what was about to happen. The room went dark, the screen lit up and I, along with 12 of my fellow moviegoers were bombarded with images of chalkboard drawings. What began as very child-like and innocent quickly turned to dark and morbid images of stick figures beating up on each other, red puddles and sharp jagged lines. As I would later find out, these images would not only act as totems throughout the story but also as a mirror to the story itself. What starts off as hopeful with the potential to be uplifting, Detachment, directed by Tony Kaye of American History X fame, quickly turns into a dark tale of confusion, self-destruction and abuse. Overall it’s a beautiful portrayal of coping with hell on earth, be it in your own mind or standing out in front of you everyday in the form of single chair at the back of the class.

            Adrien Brody plays a young but weathered professional substitute teacher Henry Barthes, who is called in when a school needs someone to stay for an extended period of time. Only being in his late 20’s early 30’s Brody’s character struggles with demons that compel him to push anything and anyone away.  Although not the type of personality one would say is effective for a teacher, his lack of emotional connections allows him the ability to connect with the most troubled students in the school. Filled with numerous teachers reaching their limit, the high school is on the verge of imploding. Funding is being cut, students are out of control, and parents perpetuate the disrespect by blaming everything on the teachers. If this wasn’t enough to make you want to blow your brains out Henry then befriends a young prostitute and takes her into his home where she slowly but surely develops a school girl crush on her knight in shining armor in an all too typical plot point.

            While the film attempts to display the plight of the inner city schoolteacher, it spends most of its time sensationalizing and dramatizing the rowdiness and behavioral problems of the inner city student. Giving blowjobs on buses? Spitting in teachers faces? Breaking out in full on Shiv fights in the middle of the playground? Where did this guy go to school L.A.? This alone would have ended all enjoyment of the movie for me, since I tend to find violence for the sake of violence annoying as all get out, but Brody and the entire cast manages to pull the screenplay out of the cliché mud and performs their roles with silent dignity. Even Lucy Liu has a solid moment as Dr. Parker the school’s guidance counselor who on the verge of a mental breakdown rips a new one into one of the students who comes in complaining about not liking school and her dreams of becoming a model.

            The film is a mixture of steady cam work, which mirrors quite well with the swelling confusion and disorientation of Henry’s life. As he pushes away from a life filled with relationships he doesn’t seem to want or understand, we find the camera taking zooming in closer and closer, choosing tight angled shots placing the pressure on the characters like a lid on a boiling pot. The film is filled with embellishments from the director like tawdry flashbacks from Henry’s childhood and his pill-popping mother. All of these styles attempt to establish Detachment as gritty artsy film that wishes to join the ranks of “serious cinema” and in my opinion it doesn’t get much more serious then the future of our country’s washed-up, broken education system.     

           Brody’s character is made out to be the savior of the film, with everything he touches turning to gold within the first hour. His protagonist status is questioned however the longer we see him interact with his fellow cast mates. In many situations he chooses to take the cowardly way out as people and places begin to draw ever closer to his stoic exterior. In a time where every film has a leading male who runs head first towards danger, it was nice to see a one who portrayed a more realistic character. One who can get overwhelmed when the going gets tough, one who has flaws and isn’t an open book. I enjoyed watching Brody tackle the depth within his character instead of residing to the typical classic Hollywood conventions and make him as one-dimensional as the day in Cannes, France is long.

Review #2 – No

Since I’ve been at the festival I’ve found myself pondering the inner goings on of the film industry more and more. How are movies made? Who is actually crazy enough to invest money in something like this? And, who in their right mind thought a movie about a political uprising in 1980’s Chile would ever be interesting or lucrative?! Because whoever it was deserves a medal.

            No from director Pablo Larrain, is the story of Rene Saavedra, an advertising exec who is offered the position of head advertising advisor for the political campaign to overthrow the Chilean dictatorship in the 1980’s. After years of propositions the Chilean dictator has finally agreed to a plebiscite and have actual voters decide whether they want to reelect him as head of their country. As exciting and impressive a campaign like this may seem to someone living in the U.S., a proposition like this in 80’s Chile is taken with a great amount of caution. In a stage of political upheaval and turmoil, Chile has been under a shroud of fear created and continued by it’s less that transparent current government under the dictatorial rule of Pinochet. People disappear, are exiled, or sentenced to death over simple acts against the government. Even Rene’s political activist wife is constantly under arrest for her protesting against government acts. As we watch the team’s campaign become more focused and successful we also watch them fall deeper and deeper into peril. Death threats are sent to them, their children begin to become targets and even Rene’s boss threatens to fire him for what he is doing. While the subplots about Rene’s home life and the slow separation of his family are slightly underwhelming, the narrative surrounding the campaign itself added enough to attract and keep your attention throughout the entire film.

            Having the unbelievably fortunate opportunity to use the actual original footage from the campaign the director, Larrain, took a daring turn using the period appropriate U-matic cameras from the 1980’s. While some may have found this jarring and overly artsy, the seamless transition from film to campaign footage creates and illusion that prevents filmgoers from ever being pulled out of the story. However, in today’s cinematic world where the higher the definition the better, No may come across to a more commercial audience as out of focus and flat.

            The ever so smooth Gael Garcia Bernal, who only worked on one film in the last year, gives an outstanding performance as the reluctant hero of the story Rene. His quiet charm and sensibility make him perfect for the role, which required him to mesh the personalities of the two real life ad execs from the original story. The ensemble cast of little known Latin American actors all provide for a realistic and at many times moving re-telling of this little known story. Using a more relaxed, conversational style of acting, I really felt like I was looking in on secret meetings held by the opposition party, giving the film a very voyeuristic appeal as if to invite us in to the underground world of political activism. However as I said before, very little character development occurred rather they spent most of the film painstakingly recreating in great detail the opposing “Yes” party’s campaign. Furthermore, very little of the actual scare tactics used to intimidate the team were shown and the personal internal conflict of Rene deciding between helping his country, or protecting his family was hardly touched upon. Overall however, these were hardly noticed until it came time to inspect the film under a greater microscope.

             I’d like to consider myself a well-informed person, someone who keeps up with world and its inhabitants. However, in reality I know very little and more often than not I find myself not really caring about things that don’t affect me which is why I was not looking forward to No jamming its agenda down my throat. To the contrary, No told a story of great significance and volume with a stylish lightness. The screenplay was well written and very smart, disguising the peril of many situations with witty banter and clever homage’s to the ever so wonderful 80’s style of dressing and advertising. In an era where political films and documentaries dominate the market it is nice to find one that doesn’t make me feel bad after leaving it. No utilizes the very simple concept of defeating danger, defeating evil through happiness and that is clearly seen throughout.

Cast and Credits

Gael Garcia Bernal, Alfredo Castro, Luis Gnecco, Antonia Zegers, Marcial Tagle, Nestor Cantillana, Jaime Vadell, Pascal Montero

Director: Pablo Larrain

Review #3 - Holy Motors            

            13 years since Pola X, the ludicrously absurd film that was panned throughout the festival circuit, the French “auteur” Leos Carax is back again. Only this time he does not want you to understand anything! Holy Motors is a hodge podge of various projects not fully realized by the director all thrown together and naively dubbed a “commentary on the current state of affairs in cinema.” Sure it is Carax, whatever you say buddy! This film was more the convoluted ramblings of a man who is still desperately clinging to relevancy in a cinematic world full of people who are actually capable of telling a decent story that doesn’t involve Eva Mendes having her armpits licked.

            I probably should have known what this film was going to attempt to do after the very first scene. In true pompous artiste form Carax opens the film with a shot of him lying asleep on a bed in an empty hotel room. As the sounds of waves crash around him and the screen sways we begin to assume that the action is taking place on an ocean liner, hopefully the Titanic so this can get over with quickly.  However, assuming as much certainly made an ass out of you and me since Carax proceeds to walk around the room showing us the windows that reveal the outside world and the close proximity his room is to the local airport. Weirdness ensues and we soon find ourselves being watched by a group of people in a darkened theater similar to ours only there’s a naked baby and a dog. So, you’re not on a boat? Alright Carax I’ll give it a chance, but only because I’m sitting in orchestra seating in the Lumiere Theater and I’m pretty sure lead actor Denis Levant would bite my fingers off if I moved.

            However, Levant is not all bad. As Monsieur Oscar, Levant spends the majority of the film being driven around by his mysteriously submissive assistant Celine. In the time it takes to watch the almost 2 hours of Motors, we see Levant transform himself through his handy dandy limo dressing room into 11 outrageously different characters. Levant’s stunning performances range from an over-the-top troll leprechaun fashion designer, to a disappointed father riddled with the subtle nuances of a man losing control. Coincidentally enough, the leprechaun guy is a reprisal role from Carax’s previous film Tokyo! Whoever honestly thought that character needed to show his face on the surface again needs to rethink their sanity. Still, I would gladly pay the price of admission to see Levant execute each character with the gusto and confidence that every actor works towards. His work is undoubtedly the best accomplishment of the whole night, if not the entire festival, it’s just a shame that the rest of the film was a trite piece of garbage.    

            All mockery aside, this film landed number one on my list of things to never put myself through again simply because it felt pointless. While the Cannes film festival is often associated with films that are not only provocative but also outlandish and at times overly artsy I still felt that this film was wildly out of place amongst the green palms and electric blue sea of the French Rivera. Rather than create a film that offers something new to the medium, Carax instead submits what is essentially a cinematographically beautiful hissy fit. Why make a good film when you can make a bad film about the people who do make good films? The bitter taste left on my tongue after watching this film was no accident. Its no mystery that Carax has not had the most illustrious career and reputation within the movie world and this film acts as a big middle finger to the entire community. The icing on this resentful cake? The cigarette he smoked at the end of the premiere amongst thunderous applause from the Cannes audience. We get it, you’re a bad boy join the club we’re having jackets made next month.

            Motors is one of those instances where the director really should have listened to that little voice in his ear. Just because you have an idea does not mean that it is going to be worth the months of pre-production, casting, funding, location scouting, contract writing, shooting, editing, and publicizing. I understand that Carax has been out of the game for quite some time but he should really pick up a hobby to keep him preoccupied rather than writing scripts. This film was very reminiscent of a Film Production graduate student attempting to make his “masterpiece.” It had all the inconsistencies and over compensations of a novice to the field, not what one would expect from a veteran so apparently worthy of our acclaim. The moments when Holy Motors actually struck something within me were the moments when Carax stepped away from the bombastic style and veered towards a more subtle approach, peeling back the layers of filmmaking and exposing the art of story telling through the unusual and spectacularly vivid medium of film. What Holy Motors lacked most of all was a consistency. It had moments of sheer genius and moments when I laughed out loud at the sheer ludicracy of it all. Hey, at least that green guy got some action out of it.

Cast and Credits

Cast: Denis Lavant, Edith Scob, Eva Mendes, Kylie Minogue
Production companies: Piere Grise Production/Theo Films/Arte France Cinema/Pandora Film/WDR-Arte
Writer/director: Leos Carax
Producer: Didier Abot
Director of photography: Caroline Champetier
Production designer: Florian Sanson
Costume designer: Anais Romand
Editor: Nelly Quettier

Review #4 – Cosmopolis  

           

            Have you ever heard the saying “he is such a good actor he could read the phone book out loud and still make it captivating”? Well in this case I would have literally rather heard Robert Pattinson sitting in front of me for two hours reading the phone book than watch him attempt to bring life to David Cronenberg’s adaptation of Don DeLillo’s heavily panned novel Cosmopolis. This lifeless tale of a young billionaire hedge fund manager who suddenly finds himself with the urge to travel across town in an odyssey-style quest for a haircut is one that reeks of pretention and self indulged arrogance. 

            Eric Packer, played by Pattinson, spends the majority of the film cooped up in his tricked out limo flanked by his bodyguard Torval (Kevin Durand). As he slowly traverses New York City amidst a visit from the U.S. President and apparently a riot full of rat-toting terrorists he encounters several colleagues, lovers, his wife, a guy with a pie, and an assassin. It’s a wonder this book didn’t sell more copies.

            While Cronenberg attempts to create a futuristic world of unrelenting stylishness, he ends up with an over the top jumble of static shots and verbose soliloquies from basically every character. No one is spared in this story. While technically speaking the film is shot very well with a several interesting angles and deep focus shots portraying the length of the limo as almost coffin-esqe, but after nearly 46 years -yes I did the math- in the film industry I would certainly hope that the man knows how to set up a shot by now. Despite all of his best efforts what ultimately comes across on the screen is a series of frames filled with superficially beautiful people and pretty much nothing else.

            While it may be easy for us to blame Pattinson, Binoche or even the guy dressed as a rat who falls over all the time, most if not all of the blame should fall on Cronenberg himself for this wet blanket of an adaptation. While Delillo’s novel may have translated well to text, and I’m using the word “well” very liberally here, the run on philosophical ranting of each character about the state of affairs in today’s industrial world simply do not and did not translate to screen. We get it authors, the world has become a hellhole of commercialized people who would rather throw their elderly grandma off a cliff than give up their iPads, but stop writing books about it and stop telling filmmakers that they can have the rights to make your movie into a film! The lines are overly wordy and far too obtuse for any commercial audience to ever understand and even the people crowded around the cast at the Lumiere the opening night had little to say about their understanding of its basic premise. The book itself is a cool-toned story that offered little in the way of character building or connection with the reader and the same can be said for the film.

            To be completely honest, I found Pattinson to be a delight throughout the film, and no, that is not because I am Robsessed. As Eric Parker a stylized and aloof character Pattinson managed to pull off the dead-in-the-eyes walking-dead look that the character seemed to call for. Parker’s only goal throughout the film is to get what he wants when he wants it, be that a haircut or sexual arousal. He has no passion for anything it would appear and instead despises and seeks to escape from just about everything. His demeanor is shallow and callous in most scenes, which made the character for me. While others may pan him for his lack of emotion and realism while portraying the character, I personally felt that the subject matter and the dialogue called for a more cool delivery, which Pattinson managed to achieve quite well. This is more than I can say for many of the other minor characters including but not limited to his wife played by Sarah Gadon who parades around town staring blankly off into he distance and looking pensive. She’s quite the brat.

            The film does have its golden moments despite what it may appear. Paul Giamati as the man who has set out to kill Parker is brilliant in his representation of a man who is the complete antithesis of what the film has provided us with thus far. He emotes! Thank God someone in this cast has a pulse! His riveting and disgruntled performance was undeniably refreshing after having sat through almost 2 hours of monotone voices and sulking personalities.

            For what it is, Cosmopolis does an excellent job at adapting an already boring and colorless novel, but Cronenberg certainly will not be getting another 2 hours of my life ever again, even if there’s a fire! 

Crew:

Director: David Cronenberg

Screenplay: David Cronenberg

Cinematography: Peter Suschitzky

Cast:

Robert Pattinson, Sarah Gadon, Paul Giamatti