127 Hours

Clever image, eh? For indeed the sands of Blue John Canyon seemed to mark the evaporating time in the hourglass of one Aron Ralston's life.

What makes a good film? This one defies some of the traditional elements. For example, we all already know what happens, how it ends, and there is essentially only one character in one immovable scene. But put the raw ingredients in the hands of one brilliant director, Mr. Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), and "life as art" takes shape.

Ralston's true-life horror of getting his arm wedged between a boulder and canyon wall in the deep crevasse of the magnificent, but desolate Blue John Canyon in Utah, became international news when he eventually had to sever his own arm to save his life. But you know all that, so I will not bore you with the facts.

Let's talk film-making.

Boyle couldn't choose his setting; he just got lucky. But his direction vividly captures the spectacular work of Mother Nature in her wind-smoothed stone, sand, water, making the setting truly another major character.

His choice to have James Franco play A.R. was a wise one. Is there any type of role Franco can't play - his versatility is really shining lately. As he had to work the range from affable, charming, grab-at-life young man, to one facing an early death due to carelessness on a couple of points, I believed him in every frame of this film. He carried this one-man show with incredible focus.

Boyle resisted the cliched approach of constantly flitting between Ralston's experience and family and friends at home wondering, worrying. After all, this is HIS story, based on his best-seller, Between a Rock and a Hard Place. No distractions here. Like him, we are trapped for the duration.

It also avoided Hollywood-esque sentimentality, religious overtones, and morality milking.

Some very effective original scoring here, along with sound engineering that truly added to the art (such as that high-pitched metallic ping as he cuts nerve).

Put in the hands of a thinking director, even this very simple story draws to greater themes, as the movie speaks to us about relationships and man's need for others. Ralston is clearly a loner, but not the stereotypical bitter, anti-social kind. He seems kind, generous, loving. He seems to like people; just doesn't need them, really. We understand his need to get away from this crazy-paced rat race. Yet however independent and skilled and resourceful he was, he almost met his demise by isolating himself from the basic prerequisite of letting others into his life enough to let them know where and when he would be. His flashbacks through those five days of horror ALL rested within his relationships - family, friends, lover. And what propelled him to commit his final life-saving act of barbarity was a vision of a son-to-be. Wow.

What brought me to tears was his dramatic reach to three hikers, then two others, then rescuers. It's that communion of humanity.

John Donne said, "No man is an island, entire of itself." We need each other. Not just in times of distress, but to weave the fabric of a lifetime.

Mr. Ralston is now married and has...a son.

When Ralston's book came out, my younger son read it and it had an enormous impact on him. He even met Aron and had his copy signed. I showed the 2-hour NBC special on Ralston's experience many times to my senior classes under the excuse of their cause-and-effect essay assignment. I knew his story of courage and fortitude would inspire. The young men in class, in particular, were always very moved.

127 Hours is one of this year's Oscar nominees (for Best Picture,) as is Franco. Boyle is not. Huh? But of the 10 picture nominees, which ones will stay with me for a long, long time? 127 Hours is one that will.

The Professional

Natalie Portman is the talk of the town. With her daring, dazzling performance in Black Swan, she will win, in this reviewer's mind, the prestigious Best Actress Oscar.

She was already a great actress way back when. She had her big debut with Jean Reno in The Professional. In that work, she played a kid of around eleven or twelve who lives in the same building as a strange Frenchman (Reno). She has seen the weird loner come and go, as she has viewed the street life flow by.

One day, her parents, drug dealers and down-and-outers, meet a sad fate at the hands of a crooked, violent cop, played creepily by Gary Oldman. The little waif witnesses the slaughter of her family yet manages to escape by seeking asylum in the Frenchman's flat.

Little Natalie is perfect as the desperate orphan who finds protection with the Frenchman, who just happens to make his living by being an expert, detached, low intelligence hit man. Ms Portman is cute, charming, cuddly and clever, as the pre-teen with a big heart and lots of sadness in her eyes. The actress who would so brilliantly later embrace Nina's darkness in Black Swan exhibits a range of emotions that astound the viewer. She brings joy to the heartless Reno, creating one of the most endearing friendships on the big screen.

It's astonishing how convincing the young Natalie is in this role that requires subtlety, depth, and sophistication. So, if you want to see a great action film and find out why Ms Portman is truly Oscar-worthy, go back in time to this masterpiece.

Are stars made or born? You'll have your answer after watching The Professional.

The Last Mistress

Let's talk French literature! Back in the late 1700's, there was a writer by the name of Choderlos de Laclos. He wrote a masterpiece, an epistolary novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, that captured the imagination of the public. In the book, a wicked couple, experienced in and bored by love, seeks excitement by undermining naive young people, who are susceptible to their wiles.

The reader may recall Cruel Intentions, in which Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Philippe reprised the roles described above. In Cruel Intentions Two, normally sweet Amy Adams plays the evil manipulator. For some strange reason, viewers love the story of the seasoned roues (that should have an accent aigu on it) who prey on the initiates in love.

The 2007 French film, La Vieille Maitresse, works the same material again. This time, however, we are actually back in the early 1800's, where in France, as in England, class issues were dominant in everyone's mind. The story involves a rather debauched, calloused young man of the upper crust who seeks the hand of a very pure Aristocratic maiden in marriage. The question is: Will he be able to give up his prostitute-lover of some ten years?

Now add to the mix the beautiful Asia Argento who, with a strong Spanish accent, speaks French, and portrays an exquisitely shaded character, the "vieille maitresse." Think of Bizet's Carmen to picture this femme fatale, this angel/devil who is both mysterious and toxic in her control over the young man.

The film is a little jewel. If you don't mind subtitles and wish to travel in time to a bygone era in a foreign land, where honor and social status counted for everything, view this French flick.

Bon voyage!

Yes Man

I hesitate to make this post following the one on Black Swan. We shall move from the sublime to the pedestrian. Yet there is sometimes fun and value in our lesser quality flicks!

The YES MAN came out in 2008. I got to watch it for the first time on DVD last night. Oh, what a delight!

Jim Carrey is not for everyone. He is an over-the-top comic, who, at times, sparkles in his roles. I appreciated his wild acting in The Mask. I laughed a lot in Ace Ventura. I got to know a more serious Mr. Carrey in The Truman Show. BUT: I found his work in The Yes Man to be his best.

No spoiler from this reviewer, as usual, but let me say that Jim Carrey plays a depressed, negative guy in the opening scenes of the movie....until he discovers a "Say Yes"seminar. Now the negative guy turns positive! He says "yes" to everything and everyone, and suddenly his life moves in a new direction: better job, friends, and yes, a girlfriend too!

Zooey Deschanel, the kind of young lady most parents want to adopt, is charming as Carrey's love motif. She's a bit zany, confused, and most of all, sweet and caring. Just watch her zoom on her motorbike!

Okay, this film is not genius material. But it has a solid message for us all beneath the comic veil: We should try to say yes to new ideas, new experiences, new people in our lives. YES leads us to growth and adventure.

Enjoy!

Black Swan

I have a habit of playing Miss Know-It-All when a new, overly-hyped movie comes out. I can tell just what it's going to be about - its themes, metaphors and character issues. I couldn't wait to see this film. I'll bet it's about the exacting pressure wrought by the ballet world. I'll bet it will deal with the diva's succumbing to such demands manifested by an eating disorder. I'll bet it will show a dancer's obsession for perfection leading to her self-destruction, then redemption and recovery. Well, that was half right. While I kept hearing how "dark" this film is, I had no idea it would be about horror. And insanity. Whew. This movie blew my mind.

There are so many layers here; I am struggling to fit it all in a blog post. While certain polarities in it are obvious (art/life, good/evil, parent/child, youth/inexperience, virgin/seductress...), my view of it is that it is first and foremost a story of mental derangement. THAT, I didn't see coming.

I like the unexpected. Examples: Pretty early into the film, I figured out that our protagonist suffered from some hallucination, yet I was never quite sure how much, as I went along. Kept me on edge. The male choreographer character demanded less technical perfection from our ballerina, and more visceral response to the Odile character in Swan Lake. Cool. It was obvious early on that the storyline was echoing that of the Swan Lake narrative. James Wolcott (Vanity Fair) makes unique observations that, more than a black vs. white juxtaposition, Aronofsky uses virginal pink (Nina's bedroom) set against demon red.

Natalie Portman has come of age. As Nina Sayers, her primary acting tool here was her breathing. I was in awe of how that was used for varying purposes; found myself almost mirroring some of it. When she is finally able to tap in to her "dark" side and channel it on stage, her dancing (especially in contrast to earlier meek rehearsals) took MY breath away.

Barbara Hershey was chilling as the asphyxiating stage mother/has-been dancer.

Director, Darren Aronofsky uses close, rapid, mobile camera work that made this viewer feel like I was moving on-stage with Portman, or rushing with her down a street. Another viewer told me she felt like the camera conveyed the dark shadow of paranoia that accompanied Sayers everywhere. What's most sad in this tale, is that Nina's dark side was with her all that time; she need not "nurture" it. And so, with us all...?

There is a fine line between ambition and obsession, even between good and evil.

I'm going to surmise that some may hate this movie because it's gross, disturbing and not fun. I had a moment of that conclusion. But then I decided to dismiss that and simply look at the film away from my predictions and expectations. I suppose the ending was a little hokey, but ballet is high drama. Even Sayers demise is metaphorical, no?

Black Swan was fascinating, gripping, entertaining, and it resisted the temptation of indicting an industry. Nina Sayers was mentally ill. Period.

By now, readers, you know my litmus test: am I still thinking about this film days later? I am still thinking about Black Swan. And, I want to see it again. I'll know when to shut my eyes.

True Grit

The Coen brothers have insisted this year's Western is NOT, I repeat NOT a re-do of the 1969 version that finally led to John Wayne's first Oscar (always seen more as a sympathy vote, as Dustin Hoffman was also a contender for Midnight Cowboy. uh-huh!). It is simply their interpretation of the novel by Charles Portis. Be that as it may, anyone who has seen the first True Grit will inevitably compare the two. This reviewer is no different.

I really loved the first one. Always loved westerns as a kid, was dating my long-time boyfriend at the time who had "turned cowboy," and this was just a well-done film.

Now come the Coen brothers who, in my view, border on genius wrapped in a demented coat. I liked this version very much, also. Outstanding photography, faithful to the story, set design authentic enough to make me feel as if I could smell and taste and touch the Northwest in the 1800s.

But of course what makes (or breaks) this story lies in its three principle players: Rooster Cogburn, Maddie Ross, and Texas Ranger Le Boef. Here played superbly by Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, and Matt Damon. Bridges is having a bang-up career lately. For him to be starring in this AND Tron at the same time (where he looks 50 years younger) is quite an accomplishment. He IS Rooster Cogburn. I sense such affection by him for this role. Dang - he was good here! I do find him less likable than Wayne's work. Newcomer Steinfeld, who beat out thousands of peers, displays an innate maturity and skill beyond her years that is so aligned with Maddie Ross. These two young ladies take no prisoners. Literally. Matt Damon seems comfortable in not upstaging either this newbie or the veteran Bridges. He downplays his role, as opposed to Glen Campbell's portrayal. (As a minor character, Josh Brolin's Tom Chaney is amusing in his surprising whining and stupidity. Brolin, I am convinced, can play ANYTHING!)

All three deftly manage the characteristic syntax and wording of the dialogue, unique to this film. I've read that the novel's dialogue with its lack of contractions and weighty vocabulary oddly placed in the mouths of unrefined outlaws mirror those times, when most speech patterns echoed the King James Bible.

This version has more humor in it than its predecessor. I did feel less affection between these three than in the first film. I cried at the end of the first one, with Maddie on a snowy hill with Cogburn's grave. I didn't cry at this one, but I was moved.

The first film had a lovely, sentimental musical theme running through it which I can still hum on command. That says something. This one had sometimes overt-sometimes subtle strains of an old church hymn threading through it. Set more of a tone of justice and redemption. *Trivial note: one great attraction for me to see this new film lay with the trailer's deep bass sounds creating a musical image. I did not notice any of this same manly riff in the actual film at all. I had been looking forward to it.

The most memorable scene from the 1969 version was set in an aspen clearing, as one-eyed Cogburn takes on 4 outlaws, reins in his teeth. I am sooo glad to see a faithful nod to this in this film. It wasn't copying; it was homage.

All three of these characters either are embued with, or must learn, true grit. It was an essential requirement for those times in order to survive. Hell, even today.

Good movie - then and now.