Change Your Image
philip.levy
Reviews
Enemy at the Gates (2001)
I had trouble buying it
This movie had a strange combination of realism and artificiality. The set designers did their job very well. Even a quick scribbled note would be in Cyrillics and subtitles would explain what it said. Yet, the lead characters all looked like they were in rosy good health (except for the occasional carefully placed scratch) and spoke clear English. The exception was Ed Harris; he spoke clear English, but I found him more credible in his role. Beyond that, the movie seemed determined to telegraph where it was going. If something bad were going to happen to a character, there would be a scene 20 minutes earlier in which the character would be warned: "What you're doing is dangerous!" I enjoyed the movie as a depiction of the Battle of Stalingrad, but I was never able to immerse myself in the story and believe.
Gosford Park (2001)
This movie is working on multiple levels
For roughly the first two thirds of this movie, I found it slow. The acting was good, but the contrast between the upstairs aristocracy and the servants below seemed a bit obvious and the plot didn't seem to be going anywhere interesting. Then it began to dawn on me that there was much more going on. I'll just touch on one interesting point (SPOILERS BELOW). The Emily Watson character, in the bath, says, "Why is it all about them?" She's referring to the aristocracy and how the servants get their vicarious enjoyment through them. Yet the whole point is that it was NOT all about them. The employers are often begging their servants to hear the gossip. The employers are the ones who must sit respectfully while music is playing; the servants get to dance. And, ultimately, one of the aristocrats is murdered because of the affairs of the servants. It's a particularly nice touch that the Kristen Scott Thomas character is only dimly aware that such affairs are going on and dismisses them as irrelevant, even after they have just turned her life upside down. The movie came together in a way I found very satisfying. As others have said, it is NOT about the murder mystery. I wouldn't recommend this to everyone, but I'm anxious to watch it again.
Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993)
Unusual and effective depiction of an artist
I saw this on DVD and enjoyed it thoroughly. The means of portraying a person - through short and disconnected vignettes - was surprisingly natural. When you think about it, this is often how we learn about people: a collection of stories, incidents, things their friends say about them, memories from childhood. Not only that, but it nicely parallels some of the music, such as the short pieces in Bach's Well-Tempered Klavier. Each has a different mood, but together they paint a complete picture. This movie is a lot of fun for anyone who is fond of classical music and willing to experiment a little bit with film.