[Note: This series includes scattered thoughts on various movie-related topics. I was looking for a word that started with the letter "g" that means collection or assortment, but lest you think I'm some elitist wordsmith, know that I'd never heard of "gallimaufry" and I don't even know how to say it, but it was the only other option the thesaurus provided aside from "goulash" (too foody) and "garbage" (no).]
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Marwencol (A)
There's a fine line between a hobby and an obsession. Take my love of movies, for example - is this blog a healthy, creative side project, or an unhealthy manifestation of a subconscious desire to escape reality through film? Or what about Mark Hogancamp, who, after being beaten within an inch of his life several years ago and his long-term memory, regained his personality and his imagination through a fantastical world he created with plastic figurines? I can live without movies (maybe?), but Hogancamp can't live without these dolls. They are not a hobby, and they are not even an obsession. They are like air and water, necessary for his daily life.
Marwencol (A) There's a fine line between a hobby and an obsession. Take my love of movies, for example - is this blog a healthy, creative side project, or an unhealthy manifestation of a subconscious desire to escape reality through film? Or what about Mark Hogancamp, who, after being beaten within an inch of his life several years ago and his long-term memory, regained his personality and his imagination through a fantastical world he created with plastic figurines? I can live without movies (maybe?), but Hogancamp can't live without these dolls. They are not a hobby, and they are not even an obsession. They are like air and water, necessary for his daily life.
Hogancamp's alternate reality, named Marwencol, is so detailed and lifelike that it appears to exists as a living, breathing place, filled with characters and backstories enough to fill a series of books. If I had the patience and artistic talent to create places like it, I might end up lost with the dolls as well. This is not to say that Hogancamp doesn't have a handle on reality, just that considering where he's coming from it makes perfect sense that Marwencol is his security blanket from the judgments of the world (he was beaten at a bar after admitting to a habit of cross-dressing). It's the place he can go to get away, and be his own person in his own mind, and in that sense Marwencol is an almost uncomfortably personal entry into his thoughts and emotions.
I'm sure it wasn't easy for Mark Hogancamp to agree to "expose" himself through this film, but his world, Marwencol, should be appreciated not only for what it means to him, but to everyone who seeks a place that offers that kind of solace.
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Black Swan (B) As Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan reached its climactic finale, I'd made peace with my opinion of the movie: it was a lesser Fight Club, without the humor and witty cultural references. Maybe that says something about my gender or my disinterest in ballet, but in my head it was just a reaction to the familiarity of the story. I realize the plots aren't in any way similar, but, despite not having seen a trailer or learned anything about the story, I felt I'd been led to believe Black Swan was going to be some kind of transcendent thriller that would twist my mind and leave me breathless. Instead, I had a headache from the avian sound effects and predictable fright scenes, and I grew impatient to see something I hadn't seen before.
In the weeks afterward I considered the praise for Black Swan's ambiguity (i.e., was the ending real?) and acting, but as it recedes in my mind I don't have any great desire to see it again. I'm optimistic there are any number of similar films about passion and drive that aren't as cold, dark, and disturbing, like, for instance, Aronofosky's The Wrestler, which is a light and cheery family film in comparison.
In the weeks afterward I considered the praise for Black Swan's ambiguity (i.e., was the ending real?) and acting, but as it recedes in my mind I don't have any great desire to see it again. I'm optimistic there are any number of similar films about passion and drive that aren't as cold, dark, and disturbing, like, for instance, Aronofosky's The Wrestler, which is a light and cheery family film in comparison.
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True Grit (A-)
True Grit (A-) At least for me, movies in 2010 were severely lacking memorable characters. I mean the kind of characters that you can recognize with one line of dialogue, or dress up for Halloween as, or spoof on "Saturday Night Live". Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn is one of those characters, and although I haven't seen the original True Grit, I think I'd rather watch Bridges in the character if only because he's a lot more fun to imitate than John Wayne.
Sure, the Coen Brothers left their mark on True Grit, but I'd be lying if I didn't expect more from them. Not more in terms of quality, per se, but more in terms of Coen-ness. More scenes like the bartering scene with Mattie Ross or the courtroom scene, more bizarre characters popping in and out of nowhere, and a little more dry humor. But their intention was a straightforward adaptation, and in that they likely succeeded (I haven't read the novel). Just doesn't seem like they had much reason for taking this on if they weren't going to do something unique with it.
Sure, the Coen Brothers left their mark on True Grit, but I'd be lying if I didn't expect more from them. Not more in terms of quality, per se, but more in terms of Coen-ness. More scenes like the bartering scene with Mattie Ross or the courtroom scene, more bizarre characters popping in and out of nowhere, and a little more dry humor. But their intention was a straightforward adaptation, and in that they likely succeeded (I haven't read the novel). Just doesn't seem like they had much reason for taking this on if they weren't going to do something unique with it.
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Exit Through the Gift Shop (A-) I finally caught up to this raved-about documentary, and despite hearing much about its authenticity, the mysteries didn't appear where and when I expected. I've known of Banksy for several years, but I knew little about the rise of street art or the increasing number of public exhibitions by street artists. Essentially, I didn't realize their work had been accepted as legitimate in the eyes of collectors and auction houses. So, it didn't take much to convince me that Thierry Guetta could be a real person. As improbable as everything was, nothing really seemed outside of the realm of possibility (similar to My Kid Could Paint That), and there were fewer aspects of this film that made me think it wasn't real.
Conversely, everything about I'm Still Here seemed fake from the beginning (I saw it before it was officially announced as a hoax), so I could laugh along with Phoenix and Affleck as they punked everyone. Does its greater believability make Exit Through the Gift Shop a better documentary? Is it even a documentary, or an actual artistic statement by Banksy? Does it even matter? This is what I'm left wondering, but regardless of what I believe or discover about the truth, I now understand why this film has received so much attention. It's like one of Banksy's great works, subverting our expectations and telling us something we don't want to admit to ourselves about art, hype, and money.
Speaking of documentaries Dan, I did (as you noticed) finally see INSIDE JOB, and found it utterly brilliant. I never found that to be true of EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP, which was cold, distant and a chore to sit through. In the area of abstract art/graffiti, we had the magnificent documentary JEAN-MICHELE BASQUIAT: A RADIANT CHILD this year, which was far more intimate and emotionally resonant than the wearisome GIFT SHOP.
ReplyDeleteI see exactly where you are coming from with BLACK SWAN, a film I saw twice in the past weeks, but in both instances failed to appreciate the metaphorical underpinnings many have raved about. It was often breathtaking to look it, and Portman was extraordinary, but I saw this as a glorified and mean-spirited slasher film, with a final quarter that defied logic. I do love Aronofsky otherwise, and regard THE FOUNTAIN as a contemporary masterpiece.
Darn, I missed MARWENCOL, but will keep my eyes open for it in some form. I've stated my case on TRUE GRIT. I like dit quite a bit, but it still falls short of a ten-best list. In some ways I actually liked the 1969 Hathaway more, but the Coens, Roger Deakins and young Matte Seinfeld were up to the task with this often beautiful re-make.
Well Dan, I just tracked down a screening here of MARWENCOL at the Jacob Burns Film Center, that I will be attending on January 12th. It will force to hold up my ten-best list from January 10 to Jan 17, but better be sure than early. Ha!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.burnsfilmcenter.org/films/buy-tickets?date=1294808400
Nice tip about Basquiat, Sam, I have that sitting here and need to get to it (along with several others) before I compile my 2010 documentary list. Certainly I can't call Gift Shop anything close to emotionally resonant, but it had me engaged throughout, which may be saying something considering there was no real story trajectory. For what it's worth, that Guetta character was definitely a tiring screen presence.
ReplyDeleteI know you came down on Black Swan and you're a better man than me for giving it two chances. It's not that I wouldn't watch it again, but, like you, I might rather see Aronofsky's other films, or the aforementioned Fight Club, which I can't tire of no matter how much of an edge its lost in a decade.
And you distill my thoughts on True Grit well - its technical components (Deakins, Burwell, ensemble cast, etc.) were across the board excellent, even award-worthy, but the Coens have set the bar so high by now that you come to somehow expect more.
Marwencol - I'm anxious for your thoughts! In a lesser documentary year it would have made more of a splash, but up against the bigs boys this year it isn't getting much attention. Even in the Spirit Awards it's unlikely to win out over Exit Through the Gift Shop or Restrepo.
Dan you are the man! Amid all the wild raves, I also gave Black Swan a B and totally agree on all points with you. It's a nice spectacle but ultimately, much like what is being preached to its protagonist, Black Swan is technically masterful yet oddly lacking emotionally. It's indeed a very cold movie that left me for the most part completely unmoved.
ReplyDeleteAh, Castor, nice inside-out on the analogy of the story. I didn't even consider that. Both the film as Portman's character (proficient but bland, as you say) or the film as her hallucinations (lots of flash and fright, but nothing actually there). I guess I can see why Aronofsky and the cast were drawn toward the story, but I wonder if the emotional depth and/or narrative dissonance on the page actually translated to the screen as much as they'd hoped.
ReplyDeleteFor me, in the end, the quality parts didn't add up to a quality whole.
"I realize the plots aren't in any way similar, but, despite not having seen a trailer or learned anything about the story, I felt I'd been led to believe Black Swan was going to be some kind of transcendent thriller that would twist my mind and leave me breathless."
ReplyDeleteBlack Swan may not be transcendental thriller but it is a very good one. It keeps you guessing. At least it kept me guessing but it seemed like familiar turf for you.
"Instead, I had a headache from the avian sound effects and predictable fright scenes, and I grew impatient to see something I hadn't seen before."
I thought fright scenes were better than in most horror. What made them good, like in The Exorcist, was the frame work in which they were held.
"I'm optimistic there are any number of similar films about passion and drive that aren't as cold, dark, and disturbing, like, for instance, Aronofosky's The Wrestler, which is a light and cheery family film in comparison."
I liked the fact that Black Swan was cold, dark, and disturbing, It reminded me a little of Requiem for a Dream. Damn. I should have put that in my review: http://film-book.com/black-swan-2010-film-review-darren-aronofsky-natalie-portman-mila-kunis/ Oh well...
"More scenes like the bartering scene with Mattie Ross or the courtroom scene, more bizarre characters popping in and out of nowhere, and a little more dry humor."
The bartering scene, the scene where she wakes up in bed with The Ranger at its foot, and the courtroom scene are my favorite in the film along with the ending. Far better than the ending in The Duke's film which was far too happy and horse-jumping over-the-top.
"But their intention was a straightforward adaptation, and in that they likely succeeded (I haven't read the novel). Just doesn't seem like they had much reason for taking this on if they weren't going to do something unique with it."
Since there are so many similar lines to the original adaptation, I'm guessing those lines are directly from the book.
@Sam Juliano "I saw this as a glorified and mean-spirited slasher film, with a final quarter that defied logic."
I did not see it as a mean-spirited slasher at all. How was it mean-spirited? Only one person got slashed, the slasher. Are slashers supposed to be good-spirited?
Nina's logic is twisted which is why you think the ending defied conventional logic. You have to see the situations and ending through her eyes.
I hope you read the graphic novel/comic Darren wrote for The Fountain which contained his full script, not the condensed one he was forced to use to get the film made.