Tag: Actors

Movie Review: “Room at the Top” (1959)

Emma2 Comments
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The English factory town is dreary, but Joe Lampton has landed a job with a future.  To have something to do at night, he joins a theatrical group. His boss’s daughter, Susan, is playing ingenue roles on stage (and in real life). She is attracted to Joe, and Joe thinks about how much faster he will get ahead if he is the boss’s son-in-law.  This plan is complicated by his strong desire to be with an older woman who also belongs to the theatrical group.  Alice is French and unhappily married to a wealthy and powerful older man.  Joe believes he can get away with seeing both Susan and Alice.

–IMDB synopsis

Hey readers,

It’s ALMOST Valentine’s Day- good or ill, depending on how your personal life is going!  Don’t look for good clean romance in this controversial (for its time) Brit film!  The anti-hero (Hey, some women LOVE bad boys!) is played by an intense, enigmatic, and engaging actor- Laurence Harvey (who I’ve seen in The Manchurian Candidate). 

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I learned that Laurence Harvey was born in Lithuania; this explains the sharp features.  He grew up in South Africa, and eventually came to the English stage.

Harvey was born to play Joe Lampton, if not in kin, then in kind. Lampton was a working-class bloke who dreams of escaping his social strata for something better. It was a perfect match of actor and role, as the icy Harvey persona made Joe’s ruthless ambition to climb the greasy pole of success fittingly chilling.

 -Excerpt from IMDB  bio

25 y.o. Joe (Harvey) has recently gotten a job as an accountant in a factory in a small industrial town.  He shares a small flat (as the Brits call an apt) w/ a co-worker, and is friendly with the guys around the office.  The audience slowly learns that there are MANY layers to Joe, though he seems quiet and guarded at first. 

From the moment he glimpses his boss’ bubbly young daughter, Susan, he can’t keep her out of his head.  He eyes her hungrily- a prize to be won.  Though she has a steady man in her life, the inexperienced Susan is quickly drawn to Joe.  “I’ve never met a man like you,” she says with wonder in her eyes.  While Susan ponders what Joe is REALLY like, another woman catches his eye.  

Alice (Simone Signoret- an Oscar winner for this role) is a blonde, buxom, older woman w/ a sad look in her eyes.  When Joe snaps angrily at another man for mocking his working-class roots, Alice goes to console him.  From her expressions, you can see that she relates to him.  Soon they are a VERY hot item!  (This movie contains dialogue and romantic scenes QUITE different from other ’50s films.)

Though Susan wants to see Joe, her family and friends treat him like an interloper to their moneyed circle.  Joe replies politely to these snobs, but his anger is bubbling underneath.  George, another man who likes Susan, mentions his own war record.  We learn that even during wartime, not all men were treated equal! 

Joe lets the rage out when he’s with Alice, but it doesn’t scare her.  Alice stands up to him, saying that he is a “coward.”  Joe is insecure about his background.  He holds double standards, too.

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Joe shares some tender and happy moments with Alice, giving his calculating side a rest.  You may wonder if he really DOES love her!  Signoret does a terrific job of portraying a passionate, vulnerable, yet also strong woman.  Her character really pops off the screen; she kept it “real” (as the kids would say).  Harvey has a strong physical presence and a sense of danger about him- fitting for this role.  He makes Joe a very compelling young man!  Both actors handled some great/snappy dialogue and played emotional scenes very well. 

Check this film out if you want something different, multi-faceted, and intelligent.  Room at the Top is about ambition, lust, love, morality (different for men than for women), and above all- social class. Accent is sometimes tied to class; Joe switches to his Northern accent (Sean Bean has one!) when he’s angry or talking with family.  But at other times, that accent is much lighter.   The posh set don’t have such an accent, or they hide it!  (Joe is NOT the only one in the town w/ a contradictory nature.) 

Morality is underlying everything, too.  Joes’ roommate/friend warns him that flaunting an affair in this little town is dangerous.  People start to talk- Alice does NOT escape unscathed.  Susan’s patience and virtue are also tested by Joe, but she thinks they can live happily ever after.  Go see for yourself what happens!

Movie Review: “Sweet Bird of Youth” (1961) starring Paul Newman & Geraldine Page

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Hey readers!

Are we all ready for MORE Paul Newman?  He’s not a straight-shooting hero in this picture- he’s immoral, ambitious, and even… desperate.  He still looks SUPER-HOT!

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I saw this film last week on TCM; it’s based on a Tennessee Williams play, but not as well-known as say A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on aHot Tin Roof, or The Glass Menagerie.  This film is a MUST-SEE for anyone who likes snappy dialogue, complex characters, and SMART classic stuff!

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Chance Wade (Paul Newman) drives into his little hometown (a tropical Southern locale near the sea) with drunken/depressed actress Alexandra Del Lago (Broadway star Geraldine Page).  At a large/fancy hotel, he checks her in as “Princess.”  He has to carry her up to the room; the staff starts to gossip about them (of course).  Then Chance sets off to locate his boyhood love, Heavenly Finley (a very blonde and thin Shirley Knight; you may’ve seen her in As Good As It Gets).

But getting together w/ Heavenly is NOT easy; her father Boss Finley (a wealthy/powerful politician) keeps tabs on her every move.  Her older brother Tom (Rip Torn- back then he didn’t have red hair) is a violent thug in a suit.  Heavenly’s maiden aunt is the only sympathetic one in the bunch.  Even the servants on the Finley estate warn Chance to stay away.

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We learn (via flashbacks) that Chance was very friendly with the Finleys growing up.  He and Waverly fell in love, and planned to marry.  But her father had other ideas… 

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Chance: I had my picture on the cover of Life magazine! Woo-ha!  And at the same time I was… employing my other talent…

Why is Chance with Princess if he STILL can’t forget Heavenly?  What does he want from her?

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Chance: I like you. You are a nice monster.

I pondered on these questions as I watched:

Why do we find it odd when men use their handsome faces/great bodies to get ahead? 

Why can’t women be in charge of their own bodies?  

How does aging affect women, particularly beautiful ones? 

How/why is a daughter’s behavior tied to family honor?  

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Chance: This is pretty high-class pot. Where’d you get it?
Alexandra: You beautiful, stupid young man. That is not pot.  It’s hashish, Moroccan, and the finest.

Yes, they’re talking about drugs.  This movie deals w/ difficult ADULT matters; it’s NOT a feel-good film. But you definitely MUST check it out!

Best to all, EMMA. 

Movie Review: “Beyond the Sea”

Emma2 Comments

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Yes, Kevin Spacey (who plays Bobby Darin) sings ALL the songs in this movie.  (He’s a VERY good singer!)  He also wears several hairpieces (just as Darin did) and had his nose made bigger and broader (via clever makeup).  Spacey also directed, co-wrote, and produced this picture; he spent 5 years on the entire process.  Bobby Darin (real name: Walden Robert Cassuto) was one of Spacey’s fave singers growing up. 

Darin was a sickly boy from a working-class Bronx family who had a love for music and performing.  (There is an adorable child actor who plays the young Bobby!)  His mother Polly (Brenda Blethyn), a former performer herself, knew that he would someday be “bigger than Sinatra.”    It’s an unusual biography- not the typical format.

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Above is a pic of Mary (tall and gorgeous Brit/Italian Greta Scacchi) with her daughter, Sandra Dee (young/up-and-coming Brit Kate Bosworth).  Sandy was an actress, and teen idol, who Bobby fell for while shooting a film in Italy.  They had a long, though sometimes dramatic, marriage. 

Darin’s brother-in-law (the great Brit character actor Bob Hoskins) and older sister also journey with the young man from “rags to riches.”  John Goodman plays the music producer who motivates and manages Darin’s career.

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Here are the REAL Bobby and Sandy; they worked to overcome their “teen dream” public personas and be taken as serious performers. 

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There are several song and dance numbers in Beyond the Sea, reminding you of ’40s musicals.   These will put a smile on your face!  Spacey, always an interesting actor to watch (Seven, A Time to Kill, American Beauty, etc.), seems to relate very well to his character.  Like Darin, he loves performing live and connecting with an audience.  Also, Spacey enjoys acting, and always looks like he’s thinking about his character. 

Below are the songs (available on iTunes) I especially liked from the movie soundtrack:

As Long As I’m Singing

Beyond the Sea

Dream Lover

That’s All

Movie Review: Masterpiece Theater’s “Wuthering Heights”

EmmaLeave a comment

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This young lady (Emily Bronte) wrote one of the most scandalous books of her time!  (Some consider it a pretty outrageous book in our time, too.)  She was the daughter of a clergyman, rarely left home, never married, and died at age 30.

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Here is a portrait of Emily painted by her older brother, Bramwell.  Many literary experts think that Bramwell was the inspiration for the charater of Heathcliff.  Bramwell was much more a person of the world than his sisters (Charlotte, Emily and Anne); he was said to have a hot temper, drink heavily, and gamble.

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Emily’s Heathcliff, unlike Charlotte’s Mr. Rochester (Jane Eyre), is not merely a brooding romantic hero who can be turned around by a good woman.  Healthcliff is an anti-hero- more like a force of nature than a man.  When Cathy lies ill and pregnant in this latest ITV adaptation, she begs Nelly (the ever-loyal housekeeper) to throw open the windows.  She wants to feel the wind upon her- feel close to Heathcliff.

This adaptation is not very close to the book, but it has several strong points.  The music suits the mood of the story very well.  The use of unknown actors works well, as we have no preconceived notions of what we’ll see.  As characters changed over time, and the actors’ portrayals became more believable.

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Heathcliff, in deed, stands unredeemed.  -Charlotte Bronte

Tom Hardy, though not conventionally handsome, makes an excellent Heathcliff.  This Healthcliff is “very changeable” (like Mr. Rochester), but filled to the brim w/ rage.  Hardy is somehow able to make the audience feel some empathy with him at crucial times in the story.  I especially enjoyed these scenes: Heathcliff coming to tea after Cathy and Edgar Linton’s marriage, confronting her on the moors after she’s been w/ Edgar, and holding/comforting the nearly-dead Cathy at the crag.

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Tom Hardy does a lot of acting with his eyes and facial expressions, as Healthcliff is a mysterious man.  But he’s also able to say the dialogue with conviction.  The low/deep voice he uses makes you lean forward and pay attention.  He created good chemistry with Cathy (Charlotte Riley), but I felt he was a much stronger actor.  He’s older and has had much more experience.  (While I watched him, I thought of Gene Hackman, another actor who is very masculine, intense, and able to stay in the moment.)

Burn Gorman, an actor you may’ve seen in Bleak House, did a terrific job as the depressed, unstable, and alcoholic Hindley.  The young lady who played little Catherine (Cathy’s daughter) did very well also; she was full of her mother’s curiosity and energy.  Edgar was handsome, likeable, but weak (as in the book).

There were many things different from Bronte’s book, most notably Healthcliff shooting himself.  Also, no one mentions that Healthcilff might be Mr. Earnshaw’s son by a Liverpool whore.  There is no way to be certain that he and Cathy “hooked up” at the crag (as plainly shown/said in Part I).  Could it have happened?  As my mom said- yes, but people didn’t state these things explicitly then.   Heathcliff doesn’t physically abuse wife Isabella, though he says hurtful things and neglects her.

What didn’t work was the scene where Cathy confesses to Nelly her feelings for both Edgar and Heathcliff.  The actress didn’t put too much emphasis on these important lines.  Before he rode off, Healthcliff was supposed to hear part of her speech (Edgar wants to marry her, it would degrade her to marry a “servant”, and so on.)  But in this film, Healthcliff goes off while she starts talking about Edgar.  Too bad- missed opportunity for the director!

Ultimately, Heathcliff and Cathy’s love was obsessive and destructive.  Cathy was torn between Heathcliff (passion/uncertainty) and Edgar (wealth/respectability).  Because of his tortured past, Heathcliff was “more full of hate than love,” as Cathy says.  He wanted revenge so badly that he nearly destroyed the younger generation.  When he came back a rich gentleman, Healthcliff was unable to rid himself of his emotional baggage.  He was his own worst enemy!