There is a far more serious film just beneath the surface of Rachel Getting Married. It involves sexual abuse, anorexia, maternal neglect, and paternal and sibling denial. It is clear that we are expected to feel hopeful that Anne Hathaway's character Kym will recover sufficiently to escape to paradise(Hawaii). However, looking at the hints and subtext provided by Lumet and Demme it seems clear that Kym will struggle to transcend her family role as patsy. A role about which she is naturally ambivalent. Kym is a good girl and wants to please both her rehab councilors, her 12 step peers, and of course her criminally dysfunctional family. There are three scenes that suggest this other film. About 60 minutes in there is a scene at the hair dresser's with an unnamed ward mate from Loeb House who reveals Kym's response to the human mirror exercise. I think we are to understand that this is a coded rendition of the truth. Tellingly, Rachel storms off, calling the story a lie. Indeed, Kym denies any truth of the charges of sexual abuse to her father. Then there is the scene where Kym confronts her mother, confirms the substance of the story, and accuses her mother of neglect and insist she take some responsibility for the death of her younger brother. Her mother refuses, the scene concludes with physical abuse, that may or may not be a mirror of sexual abuse. Kym flees, and to make amends to her mother, attempts suicide. It is not a serious attempt. It is an act of contrition, not despair. Finally, there is the remarkable bathtub scene, where Rachel, full of forgiveness and approbation, infantilizes Kym by bathing her. Kym for her part makes another gesture of amends by shaving her arm pit. For me, the substance of this film lies here. The whole of the wedding and even the title seem acts of misdirection. It is not clear that Lumet and Demme are wholly aware of this subtext. If they are than the film fails for aesthetic reasons. If they are not than it is a failure of imagination.
Reviews
25 Reviews
Pleasantville
(1998)
Why April 1958?
29 April 2005
As much as I admire this movie (which is really a time-travel story; more A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, than Huckleberry Finn), I'm puzzled by the choice of April, 1958.
A little research suggest 1954 was the watershed year for all the Pleasantvilles in the U.S.
Googling can help us return to April, 1958.
The covers of Life Magazine for April 1958 featured the following personalities on the covers: April 7, Sugar Ray Robinson's victory over Carmen Basilio; April 14, Broadway legend Gwen Verdon; April 21, the John F. Kennedy family; April 28, Willie Mays and the Giants move to San Francisco. All in color by the way.
Elvis is drafted March 24, 1958.
1958 is the year of the Ford Edsel. (Actually introduced in the fall of 1957, I believe).
The Donna Reed Show begins, but not until September.
And now for 1954: RCA begins broadcasting in color and markets the color television more or less as we know it today. (A CBS attempt at TV color had failed two years earlier.) Brown v. Board of Education (Topeka, Kansas) established desegregation in public schools as the law of the land. (Kansas, the home state of Dorothy and Toto, from that other movie filmed in black and while and color; I mean the Wizard of Oz.) Father Knows Best begins.
Another interesting confluence of dates: Gary Ross was born in 1956, the year that most unlike Pleasantville novel Peyton Place was published.
So I repeat, why April 1958? I had hoped that the director might comment on the date during his DVD commentary, but when the calendar appears he says nothing at all.
I was born in 1943. I was a high school sophomore in 1958. I learned to drive on my father's '56 Buick. I would really like to know why April 1958.
A little research suggest 1954 was the watershed year for all the Pleasantvilles in the U.S.
Googling can help us return to April, 1958.
The covers of Life Magazine for April 1958 featured the following personalities on the covers: April 7, Sugar Ray Robinson's victory over Carmen Basilio; April 14, Broadway legend Gwen Verdon; April 21, the John F. Kennedy family; April 28, Willie Mays and the Giants move to San Francisco. All in color by the way.
Elvis is drafted March 24, 1958.
1958 is the year of the Ford Edsel. (Actually introduced in the fall of 1957, I believe).
The Donna Reed Show begins, but not until September.
And now for 1954: RCA begins broadcasting in color and markets the color television more or less as we know it today. (A CBS attempt at TV color had failed two years earlier.) Brown v. Board of Education (Topeka, Kansas) established desegregation in public schools as the law of the land. (Kansas, the home state of Dorothy and Toto, from that other movie filmed in black and while and color; I mean the Wizard of Oz.) Father Knows Best begins.
Another interesting confluence of dates: Gary Ross was born in 1956, the year that most unlike Pleasantville novel Peyton Place was published.
So I repeat, why April 1958? I had hoped that the director might comment on the date during his DVD commentary, but when the calendar appears he says nothing at all.
I was born in 1943. I was a high school sophomore in 1958. I learned to drive on my father's '56 Buick. I would really like to know why April 1958.
Nicholas Nickleby
(2002)
Conventional adaptation
30 July 2003
Conventional, predictable, occasionally dull adaptation of yet another of Dickens' pot boilers. Not nearly inventive enough to compensate for the what is, after a hundred and fifty years, the thread bare, hyper-Christian, Dickensian theme: . . . and a little child shall lead them.
(Old Testament, but apt, I think.)
(Old Testament, but apt, I think.)
Frida
(2002)
Feels like a patch work of bitter compromises
12 June 2003
Clearly, many talented people lavished much effort on this production. Sadly, it never really engaged my emotions, and when it ended, I shrugged and felt vaguely disappointed. Frida feels like a patch work of bitter compromises, polished to a high gloss. It would have required a transcendent performance by Salma Hayek to lift it above the merely conventional, but she never really brings Frida Kahlo back to life, which, ironically, seems to have been Frida's wish.
The Isle
(2000)
Wonderful surprise!
3 June 2003
I like The Isle, but given its lurid reputation, I didn't expect such a happy surprise. This Korean film inhabits a theatrical world not unlike Beckett's. Characters occupy fishing floats on an neglected back-water, with only a token interest in fishing. It is such a rich cinematic metaphor that you can't believe the director will be able to sustain it. He does, imperfectly, but better than any recent writer-director I can think of.
It is essentially a two character film, male and female; one is mute, one is not; both indulge in self mutilation; one is wracked by remorse, one is remorseless.
This duality is not only, or simply, about male and female, but about the unification of North and South Korea (what else could the twice filleted, twice caught fish mean?). The film is not about the politics of unification, but about the visceral longing for completion, forgiveness, healing, and the conflict and remorse these feelings spawn.
This is ambitious stuff, and Ki-Duk Kim gives this small Beckett-like film a truly Shakespearian grandeur.
It is essentially a two character film, male and female; one is mute, one is not; both indulge in self mutilation; one is wracked by remorse, one is remorseless.
This duality is not only, or simply, about male and female, but about the unification of North and South Korea (what else could the twice filleted, twice caught fish mean?). The film is not about the politics of unification, but about the visceral longing for completion, forgiveness, healing, and the conflict and remorse these feelings spawn.
This is ambitious stuff, and Ki-Duk Kim gives this small Beckett-like film a truly Shakespearian grandeur.
Adaptation.
(2002)
Kaufmans admit that they are bad screen writers
21 May 2003
In Adaptation the Kaufmans admit that they are bad screen writers. Apparently, no one believes them, but Adaptation demonstrates persuasively the truth of their confession. Unfortunately Nicolas Cage lacks the imagination necessary to communicate the depth of their insufficiency, his determined physical performances suggest just how confused he must have felt. I am, however, sufficiently convinced the Emperors have no clothes.
A Tale of Springtime
(1990)
Clever, witty, tasteful, bloodless
9 April 2003
Clever, witty, tasteful, bloodless. Although sex seems to be on everyone's mind in this post-modern tale, only Beethoven, Schubert, and Schumann provide any passion in a film that reminds me more of Satie's witty piano doodles.
Alias Betty
(2001)
Preposterous
1 April 2003
It starts out preposterous but interesting, but quickly becomes only preposterous. The death of a child, then the theft of another are used as bald plot devices. Neither of these events are allowed to resonate sufficiently. (In fact, the film finds all four year old boys interchangeable.) Consequently, it has almost no emotional weight. I gave this film a five. I usually only give a five, or lower, to films I can't finish, but here I wish to discourage any who might be tempted.
Under the Skin
(1997)
Morton is astonishing, the movie less so
26 March 2003
Morton's performance is astonishing, the rest of the team simply cannot keep up or match her intensity. It really only works as a showcase. You will not forget this performance. As for the film itself, the best that can be said is that it has good intentions, and we know where that leads.
The Man from Elysian Fields
(2001)
Silly Movie
24 March 2003
Silly movie. I noticed that Andy Garcia was one of the producers, so he has no one to blame but himself for this ridiculous mess. He should apologize to the cast for any damage this may do their careers. Should have gone straight to video. (PS: Mick, think twice about retiring from the road for films.)
Auto Focus
(2002)
Wow! Was this disappointing.
20 March 2003
Paul Schrader doesn't seem to know what to make of this material, and either do the actors. Everyone works real hard, but Schrader apparently couldn't provide the insight necessary. It feels as if the entire cast, despairing of a transforming word, have agreed to soldier on, resigned to failure. I felt more sympathy for the actual cast than I did for Bob Crane.
The Weight of Water
(2000)
Much better than I expected
6 March 2003
Although I have not read the novel from which this film is adapted, it seems an unusually successful adaptation. It feels like a novel. Even if it was flawless (Sean Penn as a Pulitzer winning poet!), it is perhaps too circumspect for wide appeal. Excellent performances generally, and where else will you see Penn and Hurley spout poems at one another?
Aberdeen
(2000)
it's Breaking the Waves all over again
13 November 2002
As I was watching this film, I was berating myself for my carelessness. I was sure Aberdeen was another movie by the director of that film I hated: Breaking the Waves. Stellan Skarsgard, sordid Scotland, etc., these two films have much in common. Hans Petter Moland clearly admires Lars von Trier's earlier film.
Aberdeen is an ambitious film but Moland is too inexperienced to provide the imaginative counterpoint the story requires. Occasionally, scenes seem clumsily attenuated, or awkwardly deflated, I kept waiting for the film to find its rhythm. It never does.
The performances are good, but Lena Headey can't do for Aberdeen what Emily Watson did for Breaking the Waves, that is, make it worth watching.
Aberdeen is an ambitious film but Moland is too inexperienced to provide the imaginative counterpoint the story requires. Occasionally, scenes seem clumsily attenuated, or awkwardly deflated, I kept waiting for the film to find its rhythm. It never does.
The performances are good, but Lena Headey can't do for Aberdeen what Emily Watson did for Breaking the Waves, that is, make it worth watching.
Panic Room
(2002)
contemptible
7 November 2002
I find few films contemptible. Most films are beneath contempt. After one hundred years of film making, it is clear that film is, as Cocteau discovered, a poor storytelling device. It is a trivial failing for most Hollywood film makers. The way good lyrics get in the way of the music, a good story or screenplay gets in the way of movie making. Films are visceral. That is why films like the Panic Room get made.
Unlike George Parker of Orange County California, I don't suggest you turn off your brain and enjoy the ride. David Fincher (Fight Club) and David Koepp (Spider Man) are Hollywood successes. Jody Foster is a legend. It is mainstream Hollywood that is responsible for this film, that is disturbing and ultimately, deserving of contempt.
The premise of the Panic Room, stated in the first 20 minutes, is casually racist. We are presented with a vulnerable, white, rich, Jewish, first wife menaced by a large black man in work clothes, a man in corn rows, and a third named Raoul in a ski mask bought for the occasion. Fincher uses breast display to wring every bit of frisson from the possibility that Jody Foster will be raped (it's happened before). That the three men are not intent on rape is unimportant, what is important is that we become viscerally concerned for petite Jody Foster's safety. Jody Foster not Meg Altman.
Let me summarize: the hook is that sexually vulnerable, rich, white and maternal Jody Foster (again, not her character Meg Altman) is about to be raped by a large black man and two other ethnically challenged men. Believe it.
Aside from the casual racism and sexism (consider the portrayal of male characters), there is a good deal of social Darwinism, but I don't have the stomach or time to discuss it. It would make me too angry to do anything else today.
Unlike George Parker of Orange County California, I don't suggest you turn off your brain and enjoy the ride. David Fincher (Fight Club) and David Koepp (Spider Man) are Hollywood successes. Jody Foster is a legend. It is mainstream Hollywood that is responsible for this film, that is disturbing and ultimately, deserving of contempt.
The premise of the Panic Room, stated in the first 20 minutes, is casually racist. We are presented with a vulnerable, white, rich, Jewish, first wife menaced by a large black man in work clothes, a man in corn rows, and a third named Raoul in a ski mask bought for the occasion. Fincher uses breast display to wring every bit of frisson from the possibility that Jody Foster will be raped (it's happened before). That the three men are not intent on rape is unimportant, what is important is that we become viscerally concerned for petite Jody Foster's safety. Jody Foster not Meg Altman.
Let me summarize: the hook is that sexually vulnerable, rich, white and maternal Jody Foster (again, not her character Meg Altman) is about to be raped by a large black man and two other ethnically challenged men. Believe it.
Aside from the casual racism and sexism (consider the portrayal of male characters), there is a good deal of social Darwinism, but I don't have the stomach or time to discuss it. It would make me too angry to do anything else today.
The Sweetest Thing
(2002)
unrated dvd version: as funny as being poked in the eye by a penis
1 November 2002
Really don't know what to make of this movie, the direction is undisciplined and the resulting performances are hyper but flat, Selma Blair particularly seems our of her depth and Parker Posey must have been edited down. It wants/needs to be charming and hip, but seems angry and sour. Despite the claims of one spurned lover that the Diaz character (Christina, but what's in a name) is not gay, all indications are that Applegate and Diaz are a gay couple in deep denial. Possibly the original script concerned gay characters and it was transposed for heteros. Certainly it would have been a funnier film if it had been played gay.
The Red Violin
(1998)
over rated
18 October 2002
Brought to you by the same team responsible for Thirty-two Short Films About Glenn Gould, Red Violin is four too-long films about an apparently fictional violin. On the one hand Glenn Gould was an eccentric celebrity pianist of genius, while the violin is perfect and well, red. What were they thinking?
Temptress Moon
(1996)
Dreadful muddle
24 September 2002
This film reassembles the director and stars of Farewell My Concubine. Unfortunately, Kaige Chen over estimates his abilities as a screen writer. Farewell was base on a novel by Lillian Lee; Kaige Chen, Kei Shu, and Anyi Wang provide little of the historical sweep of the earlier film for Temptress. BTW, the Temptress of the title is not played by Li Gong, but Leslie Cheung, which should give some idea of how wrong-headed this production is.
The Return of Martin Guerre
(1982)
Bertrande de Rols anticipates Mae West
22 September 2002
I can't find an attribution, but I think it was Mae West that said: . . . a hard man is good to find . . . Certainly that is the attitude of Nathalie Baye's Bertrande de Rols. The story begins in 1542, not the middle ages as stated, but the age of the Reformation, the Council of Trent and the turbulent religious wars. Though the original Martin Guerre (there is meaning in this name, St. Martin of Tours was actually Hungarian, I believe) is a veteran of the Battle of St. Quentin little of the days current events intrudes on Martin and Bertande's village, and contributes little to this romantic triangle. After two hours the two Martin Guerres cancel each other and what is left is Nathalie Baye's wonderful performance as Bertrande de Rols and her concurrence with Mae West.
The Lacemaker
(1977)
Its oblique sexual politics appear dated
16 September 2002
The Lacemaker, 1977, its oblique sexual politics appear dated twenty-five years later. Pascal Laine (author) and Claude Goretta would have us believe that the young male student's callowness leads to heartbreaking tragedy for Huppert's character. Twenty-five years later that assertion seems callow itself, and shallow political nonsense. Healthy young women are not so helpless. I understand the movie as a love story (intimate nudity is substituted for sex, and any love they may have shared we must take on faith) concerning two pathologically depressed people. They are drawn together by their mutual recognition and the hope that the other can alleviate their individual suffering. Of course, they discover that their depression prevents any real intimacy.
Amélie
(2001)
Amelie, child of eccentric parents, finds post-modern love with a weirdo.
13 August 2002
While Amelie is a pleasure to look at, I soon tired of it's parlor tricks and longed for something meatier than nouvelle cuisine. It's as light as a souffle, think Disney's Snow White (whom Audrey Tautou intentionally resembles) meets Truffaut at his least consequential. Disappointing. (Interesting aside: Amelie is rated as 14th on the IMDb list of top 250 films; while Traffaut's Jules et Jim, the film Amelie watches everyone else watch, has been rated by only 1880 and is apparently not on the list. Go figure.)
Amélie
(2001)
Amelie, child of eccentric parents, finds post-modern love with a weirdo.
13 August 2002
While Amelie is a pleasure to look at, I soon tired of it's parlor tricks and longed for something meatier than nouvelle cuisine. It's as light as a souffle, think Disney's Snow White (which Audrey Tautou resembles) meets Truffaut at his least consequential. Disappointing. (Interesting aside: Amelie is rated as 14th on the IMDb list of top 250 films; while Traffaut's Jules et Jim, the film Amelie watches everyone else watch, has been rated by only 1880 and is apparently not on the list. Go figure.)
Happiness
(1998)
GUSH
12 June 2002
Gush, wonderfully disobedient; Gush, seditiously comic; Gush, seriously satiric; Gush, Cynthia Stevenson gives the best comedic performance since MM in Some Like It Hot; Gush, I haven't seen so much talent in one movie since the Great Escape. Gush, . . . and the perfectly idiotic title song . ..
Tape
(2001)
Fails to be about date rape
10 June 2002
Tape is a movie adapted from a stage play (three characters, one set; sounds like off-broadway to me). Unfortunately, while it seeks to be gritty, it is only grimy; like something second-rate from Theodore Dreiser. The film wants to be about date rape, but can't seem to get beyond smug sexual politics. By the end, the film has imploded and becomes (unintentionally) a validation of a class snobbery.
You Can Count on Me
(2000)
Well intentioned failure
2 April 2002
I give it a six for sincerity. It doesn't really work. This film is based on a play, always a tricky transition. Theatre people tend to underestimate the level of verisimilitude required for a film to be truly affective. Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo are not convincing as siblings. They couldn't reasonably have the same parents. Yes, I know siblings don't always look alike, in real life; but this is not real life, and Lonergan should not have depended on the such a generous suspension of disbelief. Film is not the intellectual medium theatre is, at its most affective, it is ingenuous, and visceral.
(BTW, Linney reveals on the DVD that she doesn't have a brother.)
(BTW, Linney reveals on the DVD that she doesn't have a brother.)
Unforgiven
(1992)
LAUGHABLE
25 March 2002
Initially, I was encouraged by its blackly comic promise (Eastwood as pig farmer, near sighted gun-slinger), but The Unforgiven is eventually overwhelmed by Eastwood's unadorned narcissism (nakedly revealed by the epilogue). Not since Good Will Hunting (which sounds like a western), have I encountered such shameless self-promotion.
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