The Tree of Life feels like the culmination, and continuation of the themes and ideas that Terrence Malick has grappled with throughout his career. It is an intensely personal and fiercely uncommercial meditation on life, love and death, filtered through Malick's superlative grasp of imagery. A film to be experienced and weighed upon and that offers no clear answers or narrative structure on which to hang your attentions.
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Roughly speaking the film follows the memories of the childhood of Sean Penn's Jack, the eldest of three brothers who, as an adult, is still coming to grips with his place in the world and the meaning of his existence. Much of this is implied through, the film is largely dialogue free, its almost wilful disregard for standard filmic convention will be enough to infuriate many, and with some justification. It is nearly an hour in before any two characters exchange real dialogue, even then it is hushed and brief. Malick seems not to care for observing the nature of conversation, instead he attempt to capture moments of truth and beauty in everyday life, his piecing together of Jack's childhood begins with an astonishing extended sequence in which he depicts the beginning of the universe, an operatic and staggeringly beautiful series of vignettes that bring us through the entirety of history to Jack's birth. This entire piece is almost worth seeing the entire movie for, the scope and artistry with which it is constructed is remarkable and never has Malick's control of picture and sound been so clear. Afterwards though he uses the momentum to propel us through Jack's childhood and adolescence, told as almost a slideshow of memories from the small, to the large, but all elements of the man he later becomes. Captivating and confounding in equal measure those hoping for a plot to emerge from the film will find themselves disappointed, the film is less interested in actions than it is behaviour.
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Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain play the parents, each, as a voice over early on informs us, representing the two choices one has when living their life, to live by selfless grace, or to embrace nature, where strength and willingness are most highly valued. This dichotomy cuts to the heart of the film with Pitt's contradictory disciplinarian being both a figure of love and affection and fear for his children. In contrast Chastain is a warm and yet passive figure in their lives, she has an elegance and a beauty that Malick loves to film and who infects much of the film with its spiritual leanings. Whilst not strictly adhering to any specific teachings there is no denying the spiritual nature of Malick's ideas as they are presented. He seems to view love as the only way to live, and yet be equally puzzled by its existence in an otherwise cold and undeniably vast universe, and the final sequences of the film hint at a closure that I found extremely moving and hopeful. As a Christian it is easy to imbue my interpretations of the film with my own beliefs, but ultimately that's what great art does and the ambiguous nature of much of the film leaves it open to, and welcoming of, such thinking.
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The film is quite possibly one of the quietest I have ever experience in a cinema, often even the diegetic sounds of nature are toned right down, almost as if Malick himself is listening in for something, anything else to venture into the scene. Equally the characters' voice-overs, a tradition of his films, frequently take the form of prayers, or ethereal enquiries, as the characters wrestle with the big, unanswerable questions. Yet the real trick to the film is that it doesn't get so bogged down in such metaphysical meanderings so as to become unwatchably pretentious. It asks the big questions, and deals with heady themes, but not at the expense of the humanity on show. The way Jack's childhood is revealed feels honest and natural. Newcomer Hunter McCracken is superb in the role, as are the other brothers, with Malick's roving camera capturing hundreds of tiny little moments that feel real and heartfelt, moulding these into an intimate picture of childhood and existence. The careful editing, to a rhythm and mood rather than for any sense of real continuity, helps further the film's reading as that of a visual poem helping it ring true at a fundamental human level. The joys, the pain, the anger of youth are all distilled into singular moments there, that build up a picture of life that everyone should be able to recognise and identify with.
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As should have become clear by now this is definitely not a film for everyone. It is slow and thoughtful, many will find it boring, and justifiably so. Towards the end I felt the film drag at times, extending itself a touch too far, with some repetition of ideas that could easily have been trimmed. Equally the slight nature of many of the characters may leave some cold, for the truth and beauty Malick finds in childhood he also fails, at times, to really dig beyond the surface, especially with Jessica Chastain's character, leaving her more of a symbol than meaningful character. Still despite these flaws, and the impenetrable nature of the film's construction there is no denying it is a major accomplishment. It is challenging and provocative, sincere and over serious but also touches on deep themes and issues in a way that will long stick with me. There is no other director out there like Terrence Malick and this feels like the film that is most truly him, intensely personal but universal in its themes. If you can get past it's idiosyncrasies and missteps and embrace it as art, then inside, when it works, lie deep pools of truth and beauty. It feels like food for the soul.
With Gone Baby Gone Ben Affleck silenced many of those who had scoffed at the notion of him making the transition from actor to director. It was one of my favourite films from 2007 and really impressed me. With The Town Affleck shows that his first directorial effort was no fluke. Set in Charlestown neighbourhood of Boston, an area that has the dubious honour of being home to more armed robbers and criminals than any other, the film follows a group of four friends trapped in this cycle as they plan their last couple of heists. Affleck himself plays Doug MacRay, the smartest of the bunch and one who feels an obligation and a sense of loyalty to the lifestyle, whilst also secretly wanting to get away and escape. Jeremy Renner continues his strong run of recent performances here as James, Doug's best friend and potential loose cannon, a guy who lives for the thrill but who's recklessness endangers the group. On the opposite side of the law Jon Hamm is clearly enjoying himself playing a vindictive FBI agent brought in to deal with the recent spate of robberies. By working to make Hamm's character unlikeable the film clearly wants you to root for the criminals and Affleck has an affection for Boston and its people that is evident here, as it has been throughout his career.
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The relationship between the group is authentic and measured, these are characters that you can sympathise with to a degree and understand. The tribal nature of the town and it's reputation is prevalent throughout, the underlying ache for change and helplessness of being trapped in circumstance feels like an echo from Affleck's filmography, specifically Good Will Hunting. What separates The Town is that it manages to mix in a series of exciting and well realised action scenes alongside the drama. Affleck shows a natural aptitude for these and there are some tense and exciting shootouts throughout the film, largely assisted by the realistic tone that grounds the whole thing in something approaching reality, lending a sense of danger and risk often not found in such sequences.
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A large chunk of the film centres around the relationship that develops between Doug and Claire (Rebecca Hall), a bank clerk who is taken hostage by the group at the start of the film (briefly), however as she is unaware of Doug's true nature she becomes his secret, a link to a world outside of violence and crime. Rebecca Hall has been someone that has caught my eye in recent years as a really interesting and talented actress, and she delivers another great performance here, though I felt she was let down somewhat by the script. Her character isn't given a lot to do except be a symbol, a representation of a better life and she is never truly given a character to embrace. She plays sweet very well, but a more rounded arc would have helped her side of the story resonate more than it ultimately did. Elsewhere Blake Lively steps outside of her Gossip Girl clean-cut nature to play Doug's ex, Krista, a girl dragged down into drugs and with a young daughter. She is fine, but I was constantly reminded throughout of someone playing a role, as opposed to, say, Amy Adams in The Fighter who managed to convince as a character, but this again could be attributed to the scripts somewhat stereotypical portrayal of her character.
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The film as a whole, whilst enjoyable and very well put together failed to engage me as completely as I wanted it to. Whether it was the disconnect between cheering on armed robbers, more than happy to gun down policemen, or the script's occasional lack of subtly I'm not sure, but compared to Gone Baby Gone the film has slipped from my memory a lot faster. That said it is still a very good film full of great performances and insight into an area and a culture I had little to no knowledge of, and further proof that Affleck as a director is someone with a real voice and something to say.
Tom Hooper's modest monarchist drama surprised many by becoming a worldwide hit last year, scooping most of the major Oscars and upsetting a lot of the supposed big name films. On the surface this may have seemed unlikely, but watching the film it is clear to see why it has such mass appeal, it manages to tell a familiar story in a new way and thanks to the great performances, transcend the stuffy reverence that can often coat such dramas.
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The film tells the story of George VI, before and after he becomes King during the 1930's, a task for which he feels inadequate thanks to a speech impediment that has affected him since he was a small child. Using the introduction of Radio and the mass media the film neatly plays into the populations increased desire for contact from their leaders, and the importance of appearance in such roles. Having unsuccessfully rid himself of his condition George comes across a rather unorthodox speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) and the film charts the relationship these two, very different, characters form. Loosely based on true events what the film does well is strip away a lot of the political and social aspects of the story to focus on the characters. Colin Firth won an Oscar for his performance as George VI and it is easy to see why, he plays slightly repressed and downtrodden very well and he effectively explores George's condition not just as a series of tics and mannerisms, but as a condition that has defined his entire character from a very early age. He is defensive and untrustworthy, the psychological element of the story is not lost and that was something that surprised me. Every bit his equal though is Geoffrey Rush, who arguable has the harder role, acting as the counterpoint to Firths solemn and restrained performance. His Lionel is full of his own quirks, strict but fun and warm and though he takes a backseat to Firth for much of the film he provides it with the real heart.
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The performances really drive the film forward and the moments with Firth and Rush apart are noticeably worse off for it. Despite the general lightness of tone there is still a certain dryness that creeps in to the film's slower moments that failed to keep my attention. The close focus that works so well at times also feels a little restrictive, the film feeling play-like in its dialogue and interior heavy focus and a bit more scope and urgency might have helped drive the plot along. It is a shame that the film didn't engage me as much as I had hoped, as technically it is clearly impressively constructed. Director Tom Hooper uses a variety of techniques to highlight George's condition, his use of odd angles and close-ups foster an atmosphere of claustrophobia, ably enhanced by Firth's performance. For the score Alexandre Desplat provides another in a series of strong recent compositions here, enhancing the light tone and yet remaining reverential, mixing in classical pieces from Beethovan and Mozart effectively.
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Overall it is easy to see why The King's Speech garnered the attention it did, it is unashamedly crowd pleasing and I appreciated its restrained conclusion, eschewing Hollywood style bombast. However the film remains somewhat thin, aside from the great performances it fails to really grasp and engage as it might. It is far from the best film of last year, but if you temper expectations, there is still a lot to enjoy here.
Continuing my recent run of Brian De Palma films comes his twisted homage to Hitchcock, a film that manges to include all of his directorial quirks whilst embracing the story's inherent sleaziness. Craig Wasson plays Jake Scully, an unsuccessful actor who finds himself in need of a place to stay after finding his girlfriend in bed with another man. He is befriended by Gregg Henry, another actor on the circuit who offers Jake his penthouse apartment (that he himself is just borrowing) while he is out of town. From here Jake starts to spy on a beautiful woman who lives in an apartment down the road. However things quickly turn very strange as Jake starts to become obsessed with the woman. Adding to the complications comes the appearance of a strange, scarred man, who seems to be stalking the woman as well.
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From here the film continues down a tunnel of bizzare events where the lines between what is real and not are often blurred. This is largely down to De Palma's heightened sense of reality, he riddles Jake with claustrophobia and fantasy sequences, and the films' over the top approach to the action is a perfect fit for it's voyeuristic and sleazy nature. It is also clear as the film goes on that De Palma has a good sense of humour about the whole thing, a strange music video style sequence late on (to Relax of all things) seems oddly fitting and the film's climax (which was apparently the inspiration for the title of Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs) is suitably wacky. Still the Hitchcock influences are unmistakable, it works as a sort of mix of Rear Window and Vertigo but never feels like a straight up rip-off. In fact the film is highly watchable and enjoyable, it has a particularly unique tone that fully evokes the ear in which is was made that I really appreciated and all the actors involved seem to be on the same page, playing things very straight throughout.
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I don't have much else to say really, Body Double works as both a standard thriller and homage to Hitchcock whilst remaining its own beast. It is crude, and often tasteless, enjoying pushing at normal sensibilities and playing off of your expectations. It feels like a director letting loose and enjoying himself, and as long as you don't look for too much more you should enjoy sharing in its giddy excess.
Both Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling have garnered reputations over the last few years for being two of the most talented and fearless young actors in the business. Blue Valentine tells the story of a doomed romance, and is a wonderful showcase for their respective talents, but it is not an easy watch. Painfully honest and emotional the film doesn't shy away from the pain and the suffering that is caused at the end of a relationship. Thankfully director (and co-writer) Derek Cianfrance has a deft touch and a feel for mood that wisely holds the film back from simply becoming an exercise in voyeuristic suffering.
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Williams and Gosling play Dean and Cindy, a couple with a young daughter and a chequered history. Dean is a likeable slacker, laid back and easy going his lack of ambition a badge of honour. Cindy is more highly strung, ambitious and slightly cold she is the harder of the two to engage with, especially early on in the film, but as Cianfrance peels back the layers we see the complexity in both characters. Dean's passiveness is holding Cindy back, and the resentment she feels is at least understood, if not justified. The pair make compelling, human characters that resonate long after the film has finished. Much has been made of the performances in the film, and rightly so. Both Gosling and Williams are remarkable, creating complex, nuanced people out of mere looks, the transition from the intercut scenes of the couple's initial meeting and early relationship is effectively counterbalanced against the modern day scenes, and it is because of the performances that this works so well. Neither is afraid of looking bad, or being likeable and it is a refreshing, if sobering look at relationships. That being said the film is not all doom and gloom, it has some beautiful moments and is interested in a lot more than watching these characters suffer.
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The film has a claustrophobic, saturated look that fits perfectly. The cinematography veers between warm and cold, based on the scene, but never strays far from realistic tones. Great as the performances are they are not flashy and the same goes for the supporting cast, who largely exist to populate the world. The soundtrack, provided by the group Grizzly Bear is equally impressive, not overpowering it underscores the emotion effectively.
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As an adult drama, and a moving and carefully constructed view at modern relationships Blue Valentine is a success. It successfully navigates many of the potential pitfalls of the genre, refraining from melodrama or overdoing the emotion. It shows, rather than tells and isn't afraid to put the blame at the feet of either of its characters. Real life can be hopeful and beautiful, but messy and painful too and I think the film captures the transition from one to the other with grace and understanding.
