Category: Movie Reviews

Angel Face (1952) & Midnight Cowboy (1969)

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Angel Face (1952)

Ambulence driver/paramedic Frank Jessup (Robert Mitchum) underestimates 19 y.o. heiress-to-be Diane Tremayne (Jean Simmons) in one of famed director Otto Preminger’s lesser-known (noir) films.  The couple meet under odd circumstances- an accident (or maybe not) occurs at the SoCal mansion where she lives w/ her novelist father and his wife, potentially fatal to the stepmother.  Frank is intrigued by Diane’s beauty and moody/mysterious ways.  She  takes it a BIT more seriously…

Later that night, Diane drives into town and approaches him for a date.  Though Frank has a steady gf (a nurse) he decides to take Diane out for dinner and dancing.  It’s all harmless fun, or so he thinks…

This film has twists and turns- it kept me guessing.  It’s a psychological drama, for the most part.  Frank, who’s older and more experienced w/ life, thinks he can handle Diane.  But he doesn’t realize the complex/troubled mind she has, or what this petite lady is capable of.  Diane offers him a cushy job as the family chauffeur w/ an apt.

Jean Simmons REALLY shines in her role of the (unexpected) femme fatale, going toe-to-toe w/ Mitchum.  She creates a complicated, troubled, yet VERY watcheable character in Diane.  Mitchum, on the other hand, is sometimes TOO calm/collected.  (I wanted to see more anger/emotion from Frank.)  But his screen presence, charisma, and confidence almost make up for it.

 

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

I never saw this film until last week, though it’s quite famous/controversial.  The two leads (Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman) do a FINE job, no doubt about it!  However, this film is difficult to emotionally connect to at times.  The shooting style is unusual, esp. for its time.  There are flashbacks that provide glimpses into a character’s troubled past, BUT don’t tell the complete story.  There is a weird, disjointed, lengthy scene at a party towards the end.

Joe Buck (Voight) is a handsome 28 y.o. dishwasher from small-town Texas who comes to NYC looking to work as a “hustler.”   He dreams of charming and seducing older ladies and making big money.  But he’s totally clueless.  He happens to meet Ratso Rizzo (Hoffman), a talkative/street-smart trickster w/ a bad leg.

An unlikely, yet mutually beneficial, friendship develops between the two opposites.  In Joe, Ratso sees the strong, able-bodied guy he’d like to be.  Ratso helps Joe navigate through the cruel city, and shares what little he has w/ the wide-eyed innocent.

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

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This exciting, well-paced, and character-driven film is ALMOST  as good as the 1957 original (which stars Glenn Ford and Van Heflin), maybe better in some regards!  In terms of the action sequences, this new version is superior.  Also, the Southwestern landscape is more eye-catching in color.  This is basically a tale of good vs. evil, but w/ a few unexpected twists and turns.  It’s based on a short story by Elmore Leonard .

Wounded Civil War vet, Dan Evans (Christian Bale), is desperate for money.  His confidence is very low, he’s close to defaulting on a bank loan, and his younger son is ill.  One morning, he and his sons witness the aftermath of a Union-Pacific stagecoach robbery (near Bisbee, AZ) while out w/ their herd of cattle.

Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) stays behind for a few hours b/c a sad-eyed, yet elegant, barmaid (played by Vinessa Shaw) catches his eye; his boys ride further south to Mexico.  Dan takes a risk, enters the local saloon, and pulls his rifle on the infamous robber.  Ben doesn’t look TOO concerned when Dan and a few men, including a grizzled Pinkerton detective named McElroy (veteran actor Peter Fonda), take him into their custody.  His gang will come back for him, he knows.

On the way, they all stop at the Evans’ humble ranch and have dinner.  In one amusing scene, Dan cuts Ben’s steak for him.  Dan’s older son, William (Logan Lerman from Jack & Bobby), is particularly intrigued by the outlaw who seems a stark contrast to his father: dapper, self-assured, and charming.

While the men are out for a spell, Ben chats w/ Dan’s lovely/genteel wife Alice (Gretchen Mol), unsettling her w/ his keen observations.  Dan (though he speaks little) knows that Ben is playing head games, trying to work on each man’s insecurities.

Why is Dan offering to escort Ben to the train in Contention?  It’s not ONLY b/c of a reward (promised by the railroad)- it’s the principle of the matter.  Along the way, the two men argue, fight, share secrets, and rely on each other to survive.  A kind of mutual respect develops between them.  Will Ben turn out to be “not all bad,” as William thinks?

Two Reviews: Blue & Intimacy

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Blue (1993)

This is the 1st film in dir. Kieslowski’s Three Colors trilogy.  The blue represents depression, sadness, and freedom here.   Julie (Juliette Binoche) is a young French wife who loses her husband (a famous composer) and 5 y.o. daughter in a terrible car crash at the opening of the film.  She decides to leave her large country estate, taking nothing except a gorgeous blue mobile ornament, and move to Paris to live a solitary life.  She’s determined that she won’t work, seek out company, or reconnect w/ the family friend who may have deep feelings for her.  But life has a way of just happening, even as Julie is in deep mourning.

In her apt, Julie is deeply perturbed by a mouse and her babies in one of the closets.  Even a mouse can have babies, while she has lost everything!  Then a young single woman from downstairs barges in on Julie.  She looks like she can use some comfort, and Julie is around (w/ a non-judgmental attitude).  Eventually, Julie starts to finish the song that her hubby left behind.

This is a non-narrative, artisitic film, so it won’t appeal to some viewers.  It’s slow and contemplative.  The music is simply beautiful.  There are many close-ups of Binoche’s (I think perfect) face as she goes through a myriad of emotions.  Binoche is simply great (and I wouldn’t expect anything less).  You can’t see her acting; everything just rises from within.  Vive La Binoche!

Intimacy (2001)

NOTE: There are 2 versions of this film, one of which is R-rated, and was shown in indie theaters upon release.  The version on Netflix is the original Unrated film(equivalent to MPAA’s NC-17 rating). 

This is another film that’s not for everyone, BUT it certainly is unusual and out-of-the-box.  (NOTE: There is an R-rated version and an Unrated version.)  Raw emotions are depicted, as two strangers connect to and disconnect from each other in London.  It was directed by Frenchman Chereau and stars British character actors from the theater.  The film is based on a short story by famed British-Pakistani writer, Hanif Kureishi.  This is the kind of stuff Hollywood is afraid to show!

Jay (Mark Rylance) is a failed musician who manages a trendy bar and lives in a dump of a rowhouse in a working-class area.  In his past life, he was married and father to two adorable young sons.  For a personal life, he has a (junkie) best friend and Claire (Kerry Fox).  But Claire is NOT his gf or a “friend w/ benefits”- she’s a stranger who comes by once a week for hooking up.

Jay and Claire barely speak, but one day, Jay follows Claire out into the streets, curious about her “real” life.  That’s when the story gets GOOD, and even a BIT suspenseful!

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Jay is shocked to discover that Claire has a full life; she’s an amateur actress, drama teacher, wife, and mother to a preteen son.  He even talks w/ her husband, Andy (Timothy Spall), a talkative/humble cabbie who doesn’t know much about the theater, but supports his wife (in the background).

You can see the shock/pain/jealousy on Rylance’s face as his character wonders why Claire gets to have a life while he’s in a fog of depression, missing his ex and (especially) sons.  When Jay confronts her about it, Claire feels VERY violated.  She lashes out at him- he wasn’t supposed to enter her life like THAT!

But Jay CHOSE to leave his family, and now he can’t handle it.  The new bartender working below Jay, a cute young Frenchman, wonders if Jay can even feel love.  Ouch!

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The streets are gritty and unwelcoming.  There are people everywhere, but the main characters are drifting, lost in their own world of disappointments, compromises, etc.  Jay and Claire are BOTH artistic souls, BUT they have failed (or not made much of a mark) in that regard.  Andy seems like a decent guy; Claire is a mystery- I found her to be TOO abrasive.  I’m pretty sure that was intentional.  Jay is the more sympathetic individual (though very flawed); more is seen from his view.  In one quiet scene, he watches for Claire from his window; Rylance’s face becomes that of a hopeful little boy.  His performance is fearless; I don’t think I’ve seen a lead man portrayed in this manner EVER in Hollywood!

Our Mutual Friend (BBC, 1998)

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I saw this miniseries (based on Dickens’ final novel) a while ago, and was VERY impressed by it!  There is glam, grit, unconventional romances, and many quirky characters.  There are several plots intertwined.

The stand-in for the viewer (or perhaps the author) is level-headed gentleman, Mortimer Lightwood (Dominic Mafham, pictured right).  Though the entire cast is strong, the standout actor is Paul McGann (pictured left w/ mustache).  This is b/c his interpretation of aimless gent Eugene Wrayburn, who falls deeply (and unexpectedly), in love is SO natural.  The voice, snobbery, and swagger show that he has BECOME the character.  Eugene and Mortimer are both barristers and best pals, though Eugene is not interested in furthering his career.  He’s dissatisfied w/ life- searching for some purpose.

Lizzie Hexam (gorgeous Keeley Hawes) is a shy beauty who works w/ her father on the Thames River.  They search the water for dead bodies- YIKES!  She saves up to send her younger brother Charley to a decent school, realizing that the slum is no place for a bright boy like him.  Hawes can convey LOT w/o speaking, as this role demands.

While Eugene starts out carefree, quiet and serious John Harmon (Stephen Mackintosh) has a definite plan when he comes to London from the West Indies.  His dead father left him a fortune; he also had plans for his personal life- an (arranged) marriage.  John says his last name is Rokesmith, takes a job as a humble secretary to Mr. Boffin, who made his fortune from dust heaps.  (Yup, that’s historically true!)  John finds a room to rent from the humble Wilfer family.

Though Bella Wilfer (petite/fiesty Anna Friel) was born poor, she yearns for more.  She doesn’t like the idea of the arranged marriage to a stranger, BUT likes the idea of being rich.  Like Eugene, Bella (a “Daddy’s girl” w/ a sense of entitlement) changes her character over the course of the story.  Friel fits her role VERY well, showing different shades of a young woman in (and out of) high society.

Fans of tall/handsome David Morrissey (recently seen on South Riding) may be surprised to see him cast as a VERY jealous/repressed baddie here.  He plays Bradley Headstone, a teacher at a boys’ boarding school who develops a dangerous obsession.

Two Brief Reviews: Island in the Sun (1957) & The Ghost Writer (2010)

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Island in the Sun (1957)

Though this film’s take on interracial romances and politics is dated to modern folks, Island in the Sun was a groundbreaking piece in its day.  It wasn’t shown in the Southern movie houses, of course.  The film (which was a special project of Zanuck’s) is beautiful to look at; it was filmed in Barbados and has an attractive/talented cast (including James Mason, Joan Fonatine, Harry Belafonte, Dorothy Dandridge, Joan Collins, Stephen Boyd).  However, I sense that a LOT of material was left out (or perhaps edited out) to please the censors.  

 

Mason is a wealthy French planter who wants to run for governor of the British-ruled island; his opponent is Belafonte’s labor organizer (who’s popular w/ the people).  Mason’s family has been on the island for 3 generations, owns a LOT of land, and hires many to work it.  Also, Mason has a jealous streak in him, fearing that his cool/elegant wife may be cheating. 

At a party at the governor’s house, the sophisticated Fontaine is intrigued by the idealistic/well-spoken young Belafonte, who she knew as a humble waiter in her girlhood.  Dandridge, a smoking-hot local who works at a pharmacy (drug store), comes as his date.  (They are old pals, not a couple.)  She catches the eye of a new official on the island, played by John Justin.  Unfortunately, Justin fails to create chemistry w/ Dandridge- a BIG waste!   

Another newbie, played by Ben Hur‘s Stephen Boyd, begins a romance w/ Collins, who plays Mason’s flirty/bored little sis.  She wants to travel, see England, and meet people (as company is limited on the island).  Boyd and Collins are capable in their roles, BUT most of their romantic scenes are TOO timid- another waste!   

There is more going on than what I’ve mentioned, so you MAY want to check it out for yourself.  (It’s a piece of important American film history.)

 

The Ghost Writer (2010)

I HIGHLY recommend this film; it’s like modern-day Hitchcock, directed by Polanski.  After the mysterious death (perhaps suicide) of another writer, a second ghost writer (played by Ewan McGregor) is suddenly chosen to help write the memoirs of a former British PM, Steven Lang (Pierce Brosnan).  At the urging of his agent, publisher and company lawyer, he reluctantly travels from London to Nantucket (off-season).  He reaches the Lang’s current home, an ultra-modern/super secure compound, after a LONG journey.  

First, he meets Amelia Bly (Kim Cattrall, playing a Brit), Lang’s gorgeous assistant.  She says that the manuscript (which is locked up) can’t leave the compound, much to his suprise. Ruth (Olivia Williams), the brilliant wife of the PM, comes in while he’s reading the draft copy.  He admits to her that the book needs work, but it’s not all bad.  Steven, who prefers to run and play tennis, is anxious about something and distant from his wife.          

This film creates a certain (forboding) mood that is reminiscent of old Hollywood suspense films.  There are NOT many characters or many things going on at once, BUT it’s VERY engaging!  Williams is just a rare gem- a beautiful actress w/ a LOT of  guts, strength, and screen presence.  Brosnan does a FINE job, and McGregor is perfect as the somewhat skeptical/nervous/Everyman character.  It was fun to see Tom Wilkinson playing a snobby American academic.  Eli Wallach makes a brief cameo appearance- at the age of 94!  The main issues in this film are VERY current and controversial, too.