This is the film that made Vera famous!
* I make an exception for "Joshua," because I am so sick of movies about creepy & evil little boys... The Omen, The Omen: II, Damian: Omen III....enough already!
I am kicking myself for not seeing this film the year it was released (I caught it last night on Cinemax). It would definitely have made my Top Ten. It is an evocative, moody period piece that takes its place alongside other notable 'modern' Westerns that revitalized the genre: from Unforgiven to Deadwood. My one sentence synopsis would be "Deadwood, starring Brad Pitt!"
I don't mean that as a slight, either. Brad Pitt is amazing as the iconic Jesse James--another tormented anti-hero who has reached a level of notoriety where he mistrusts everyone. (If it reminds you of Keith Carradine's excellent turn as Wild Bill Hickock in Deadwood, it should: the movie captures the same zeitgeist perfectly). Also like that HBO series, the film's supporting cast is without flaw -- a who's who of indie character actors: starting with memorable Deadwood alum Garret Dillahunt; Sam Rockwell (Choke); Paul Schneider (Lars & the Real Girl); a sadly-wasted Mary Louise Parker as Mrs. Jesse James; and Sam Shepard in a cameo as older brother Frank.
It is a shame Casey Affleck turned in his performance of a lifetime the same year as Javier Bardem's Anton Chigura in No Country: he inhabits the character even more than he did in his other breakthrough performance in last year's Gone Baby Gone. And kudos to the director, an obscure New Zealander who brought Eric Bana to these shores in Chopper. I wish I had been on board this movie from the start.
For every Big Lebowski there has to be a Barton Fink.
That is the immutable rule of the Coen Brothers comic universe: you stomach the bad (Fink) in anticipation of the classic (Lebowski). For one Raising Arizona, Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, you have to sit through the dreck of The Ladykillers and Burn Without Reading. In spite of its A-list cast (George Clooney and Frances McDormand are comic masters--Tilda Swinton cannot do much with a one-note role), Burn is just that: another mean-spirited look at a collection of losers who are not so much funny as pathetic. That doesn't stop the Coens from holding them up to ridicule and then pulling the rug out from under the audience for sympathizing with them.
For a supposed comedy, I didn't laugh out loud once until the very end of the movie, where character-actor par excellence J.K. Simmons delivers some hilarious lines at CIA headquarters. That and the authentic DC locales (where I used to jog in George Clooney's footsteps! ... or his in mine, more accurately) are the only redeemable features.
But this post is about Brad Pitt, so I have to comment on his performance. I took alot of heat in some quarters for saying this about a long-forgotten Matt Dillon role, but I think it applies even more to Mr. Pitt: He is too smart an actor to play dumb. He is!! He doesn't give a bad performance so much as an unconvincing one (like he's trying too hard). I can only hope he proves my point with an award-worthy performance in the much-anticipated Benjamin Button.
Honestly, doesn't he strike a more iconic, larger than life, movie star pose in the picture at the left than the one on the right? (I'm just saying .... )
It is hard to describe the premise of this movie without making you think of a dozen other movies: main character returns home for a big family get together, and all hell breaks loose as past resentments and buried dysfunctions come to the surface. It's usually a holiday (Thanksgiving--Home for the Holidays; Christmas--The Family Stone, just to name two), but a wedding works just as well: remember "Margot at the Wedding"? Of course you don't--NO ONE saw it!! (despite my glowing review).
RGM is a better movie than Margot, because it has a heart. Nicole Kidman gave a brave, uncompromising performance as a selfish, uncaring sister in the latter, but Anne Hathaway is even better...as a selfish, uncaring, but damaged sister Kym to Rachel. It is her Best Performance since "Becoming Jane." Seriously! She is totally believable as an addict recently released from rehab. In a revealing scene at the rehearsal dinner, everyone toasts the bride and groom--except Kim, whose toast is all about herself. Who hasn't had that happen at a family gathering? (foreignfilmguy is naming no names.)
The movie is filled with a multi-cultural stew of relatives, friends, entertainers and wedding traditions. That is refreshing -- up to a point. The movie never explains why this inter-racial marriage of a white, suburban Connecticut bride to an African-American groom had a Hindi wedding ceremony. And don't get me started on the reception! They hired enough entertainers for 5 receptions! Jamaican singers, jazz, samba dancers, even Robyn Hitchcock shows up, for Pete's sake! (I thought that dude was dead.) The family is all upset when the estranged mother (played by a radiant Debra Winger) decides to skip out. I'm thinking "I'm with you, Deb!"
A note on casting: Bill Irwin--Great as the Dad who is the emotional, nurturing core of the family (another refreshing surprise); Rosemarie Dewitt--Great as Rachel (and the spitting image of a young Debra Winger!); in fact, the only bland character at this shindig proves to be the Groom. Sydney is a real Dud.
But the positives far outweigh my negatives. Jonathan Demme has fashioned one of the Ten Best Movies of the Year. Go see it.
Anne Hathaway did NOT wear this to Rachel's wedding (thank goodness!)
The summer comedy blockbuster of the year!
Ben Stiller nails it, in his scathing send-up of all of our worst fears about Hollywood's egotism, excess, greed, and crassness. To wit: Actors are pompous asses, and so is everyone else in Hollywood! No, that's not a revelation, but never has it been driven home so relentlessly. Outrageous and offensive it is -- but it has to be! Not since Austin Powers (I) has a comedy been this silly, daring, ridiculous and laugh-out-loud funny throughout.
For better or worse, Stiller has developed his craft at the feet of the Farrelly Brothers, which becomes obvious in the movie's most controversial segment (repeated references to the leading man's role in a movie as a mentally-challenged man, in a blatant attempt to earn an Oscar). But the at-times uncomfortable laughs are at the expense of an industry that will exploit anyone, not at the expense of the so-called 'retarded.'
Yes, Tom Cruise is great in a supporting role --I've known that since "magnolia." It is Robert Downey, Jr. who steals the show, however, proving to be equally adept at comedy as he is at drama (witness last year's "Zodiac.")
In her defense, who wouldn't jump at the chance to spend a weekend in the Spanish countryside with Javier Bardem? (I mean it beats 'Rodanthe'-- I don't even know where that is!!) As for the third woman in this love quadrangle, Woody Allen makes us wait a good hour before Penelope Cruz even makes an appearance! It is effective in one sense: after all the anticipation, she blazes a hole in the screen when she arrives and shakes up their world.
[SIDEBAR: I can't think of another foreign actress who is so markedly better in her native tongue than she is in English. If you need proof (and have Netflix), rent Abre los ojos, Vanilla Sky, Volver, and Woman on Top -- and watch them back-to-back-to-back. I dare you!!]
The movie unfolds as an adult exploration of love, passion, fear, and perpetual dissatisfaction with life... all the uncomfortable issues you expect in a Woody Allen film. I must say, getting him out of Manhattan has really rejuvenated his filmmaking.
On the other hand (there is always another hand) the film's drawbacks are apparent: Penelope Cruz is so good, you wish the movie were about her! Her scenes with Bardem show such untapped potential: that is the core relationship in the movie -- I wish it had been explored more. (How often do you get the 'King & Queen of Spanish Cinema' in the same movie, after all!) Second, the narration is rather bland. I don't know if its the fault of the script or the narrator, but if you are going to use that device, why not use it to its full advantage by providing some insight? Third, the climactic scene is somewhat of a dud, even though the movie ends on a satisfactory, wistful note that remains consistent with the overall tone of the film. And the too-few scenes of Barcelona's landmarks look strangely washed out.
Back to the first hand, the Spanish guitar-heavy soundtrack is awesome!! It really puts you in the place. (The opening theme alone is worth the price of admission). Book my flight now! (as soon as the dollar rebounds).
