No Politics
Not today. It's not even February of an election year and the rhetoric is sky high.
On to movies. I'll be counting down my top 5 over the next few days.
Today is #5. Review was written on January 3rd.
Brokeback Mountain:
Heavy weekend...started with Munich and ended with Brokeback Mountain.
I found the film constantly beautiful and engaging. Ang Lee is extraordinarily skilled. This is very delicate material, and he gets excellent performances out of every single person in front of the camera. Special kudos to Ledger, of course, but each character had a moment (or more) to really control a scene.
Regarding Lureen:
I think she certainly knew Jack was gay. And I believe she is having trouble coping with his death. She looks hard and angry on the phone, but every few moments, her breath catches as she fights back real tears. It was a subtle sound cue, but I heard it a few times. Great performance by Anne in that scene.
I think what is important about the movie is that it *isn't* important. It's not presented as them against the world, or making aomw critical culture "stand". It's simply about the connection between them and the reality that such a connection carries significant baggage. As a straight male, I was never uncomfortable with scenes of physical love (or emotional vulnerability). I think the film is remarkably accessible for mainstream audiences. Almost all of my favorite films this year are about loss and emotional connections. Weird.
Ang Lee made a great film.
Written today: December and January have yielded 3 of my top 5. BBM was tough to place. It's probably a better film than my #2 and #3 choices, but they are deeply sentimental to me. I am willing to guarantee Best Picture and a Best Director for Ang Lee. No chance anything else gets close. The film itself is deserving, AND it's riding a zeitgeist. Impossible to beat.
On to movies. I'll be counting down my top 5 over the next few days.
Today is #5. Review was written on January 3rd.
Brokeback Mountain:
Heavy weekend...started with Munich and ended with Brokeback Mountain.
I found the film constantly beautiful and engaging. Ang Lee is extraordinarily skilled. This is very delicate material, and he gets excellent performances out of every single person in front of the camera. Special kudos to Ledger, of course, but each character had a moment (or more) to really control a scene.
Regarding Lureen:
I think she certainly knew Jack was gay. And I believe she is having trouble coping with his death. She looks hard and angry on the phone, but every few moments, her breath catches as she fights back real tears. It was a subtle sound cue, but I heard it a few times. Great performance by Anne in that scene.
I think what is important about the movie is that it *isn't* important. It's not presented as them against the world, or making aomw critical culture "stand". It's simply about the connection between them and the reality that such a connection carries significant baggage. As a straight male, I was never uncomfortable with scenes of physical love (or emotional vulnerability). I think the film is remarkably accessible for mainstream audiences. Almost all of my favorite films this year are about loss and emotional connections. Weird.
Ang Lee made a great film.
Written today: December and January have yielded 3 of my top 5. BBM was tough to place. It's probably a better film than my #2 and #3 choices, but they are deeply sentimental to me. I am willing to guarantee Best Picture and a Best Director for Ang Lee. No chance anything else gets close. The film itself is deserving, AND it's riding a zeitgeist. Impossible to beat.
posted by Chuck | 3:36 PM
1 Comments:
I've seen BBM three times and I have a fourth viewing planned for this afternoon. I have never been as emotionally touched by a film as I have been by BBM. It haunts me every day.
The "phone call" scene with Lureen and Ennis has been picked apart instant by instant on a BBM forum that I've been frequenting. The general consensus is 1) that Anne Hathaway is brilliant in the scene and 2) that when Ennis says "We herded sheep one summer on Brokeback," her suspicions about Jack were confirmed. It's that moment, when her nose flares, her lips tighten, and she makes that tiny little sound, you know there is a screaming chaos of thoughts and emotions going on behind that peroxided mask, but, as the story says, "the little voice was as cold as snow."
I could talk about the film all damn day but I'll stop now.
Post a Comment
<< Home