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(151) Forbidden Things + links
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(152) Gone and Back + links
- "There's a whole lot of guys who never came home. Good guys. Here's to those guys."
- Holy fucking Christ. What is that, Ray?
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On audience's misogyny, Amy Dunne, the Cool Girl myth and the brilliance of Gillian Flynn
(SPOILERS!)There are so many strange claims about the story of Gone Girl - that it's misogynistic, that the third act made no sense, that Amy is just a 'psycho bitch', that Nick was 'a good guy'. It's hard to write about these people as if they were people who could exist - the story, which people seem to forget so often while they are whining about the third act is a satire. But Flynn wrote these characters in a brilliant way - their actions are unpredictable and heightened to fit the pulpy tone of the story but at the same time given what we know about the characters, their lives, past experiences and personalities - they all make sense.
Misogyny?
The claim that the story is misogynistic and Nick is a 'good guy' is probably the most ridiculous one about Gone Girl. Nick Dunne is one of the most pitiful male characters I read about. He marries a woman, he takes her away from her happy life, he takes her money, he starts to be unhappy, he thinks 'I can't divorce her, she has the money', he cheats on her. He has severe anger issues - at various points in the novel Nick thinks 'I wanted to smack her' about different women. It's a matter of time before he snaps. Yes, Amy does awful things but Nick deserved some punishment. And he is weak and spineless. Amy was strong. And she was a survivor. These are fiercely admirable qualities. There was nothing to admire about Nick. I refuse to praise him just because 'oh well but comparing to Amy he was good and you should like him because he didn't do anything terrible'. No! He was a cheating asshole who treated his wife like a crap. Just because Amy might as well be Satan (if Flynn told us she was, I'd buy it) doesn't make Nick 'a good guy'.
Granted, in the movie Nick's affair is not given a lot of time. But in the book we are privy to his thoughts - we know of the texts and voicemails he left Andie and we know from Amy's viewpoint that she smelled the other women's "twat" on his fingers for over a year. And the reasons Nick waits to ask for divorce? Her money. He asks for divorce, he loses the bar. Oh yes, what a stand up guy Nick is.
The aura around the film is misogynistic and that is because our society is misogynistic. Brushing Amy off as psycho bitch and saying Nick was a great guy for me is absolutely despicable. What's worse is that I see women doing that. When The Dark Knight was out do you remember any posts saying 'oh gee poor Batman that he has a psycho dick like The Joker in his life?". No. People just praised Ledger's performance. But here we have a woman punishing a man and people feel the need to call her a cunt and a psycho.
(I assume I'm about to be called a cunt and a psycho just because I admired things in Amy (I was called those things before when talking about Amy). Let me just remind everyone of comment moderation. You call me that and three people will know - me, you and your mother who read it over your shoulder during her weekly visit to change your sheets in the basement, where you live.)
That is perhaps the scariest thing about the film - that it causes people to say 'Amy was a cunt' instead of 'Amy was a complex and brilliantly written character played by Pike'.
I think a large part of this horrible thing, the cancer that is in our society in the form of this hatred for women is that men do fear strong women. Men fear responsibility too. Not all men, obviously, but who do you think cheats more? Men or Women? I deal with a lot of divorce cases and let me tell you 1 out of 4 is women cheating. Other 3 are men cheating and beating women up. And Gone Girl for women is essentially a revenge fantasy. For men it's a cautionary tale - be careful who you are marrying. And what I particularly love - Don't wrong your partner. Don't ignore your wife. Don't cheat on your wife. These are the messages we desperately need in the world where people think violence towards women and cheating on wives is 'something that happens and what can you do?'. Nick "ONLY" cheated'. "Only"?!
Men think that if they cheat it's no big deal because 'everybody cheats'. They think if they grab your ass or unhook your bra on the dance floor they won't get the punishment. They can't fathom the idea of a woman doling out the punishment. These creeps, men who treat women as if they were lesser, as if they were their property, should see this movie. And they should become very afraid that maybe the woman they hit, the woman they cheat on, the woman they disrespect has a bit of Amy in her.
However, if Fincher was the only one responsible for this movie, I'm not sure if I would fight misogyny claims. There is a number of changes:
1. Nick saves the cat in the beginning of the movie, establishing him as the good guy; the fact that it is Amy's cat and she makes a point of leaving food for him and saying goodbye before she disappears is nowhere in the movie,
2. Tommy - in the book after Amy drops the charges his life is normal, here we get the story of how he can't find a job and can't date anyone because rape charges are in his records,
3. Desi coming off as sympathetic rather than creepy, not showing Amy being afraid of him and being trapped again.
All these changes make Amy look even more evil than in the book, but Flynn wrote these changes. She is fascinated by dark characters and I think she really wanted to show Amy as the biggest villain there. Thankfully there are small things that really show you she is not some cold sociopath, period but so much more - for example shots of her in tears during the diary writing montage and little hops of joy she does.
When people claim Amy is a 'psycho bitch' and that's all they have to say about her it's the very peak of ignorance. The best part of Flynn's book is how richly complex the character of Amy is. She is the product of her personality traits and experiences and most of all - the result of ridiculous expectations and pressures women have to put up with in the world. She has always been a selfish narcissist - not giving her mother a moment of peace, because she selfishly wanted to be the center of attention even when she was a little girl (Amy was the only alive daughter the Elliotts had, 7 girls before her were either still born or miscarriages, she grew up believing she was special, that she was a miracle). But it's the expectations - you have to be gorgeous, elegant, kind, married and have children - that drove Amy further than selfishness. It drove her to very interesting kind of insanity - controlled insanity. It drove her to become the Old Testament God of her own universe.
I'm not sure how much of this people got from the movie - was the Cool Girl rant enough? The fact that the most important thing for Amy and Nick is to be liked is what brings them together in the end. And Amy has pathological need to be around others and being admired - in the book she engages Greta, in the movie it's the other way around. Why does Amy hang out with her and Jeff? Because how can she feel superior when she is alone?
"Until Nick, I’d never really felt like a person, because I was always a product. Amazing Amy has to be brilliant, creative, kind, thoughtful, witty, and happy. We just want you to be happy. Rand and Marybeth said that all the time, but they never explained how. So many lessons and opportunities and advantages, and they never taught me how to be happy. I remember always being baffled by other children. I would be at a birthday party and watch the other kids giggling and making faces, and I would try to do that, too, but I wouldn’t understand why. I would sit there with the tight elastic thread of the birthday hat parting the pudge of my underchin, with the grainy frosting of the cake bluing my teeth, and I would try to figure out why it was fun"Given her perceptiveness and brilliance she knew how to be the center of attention - with Desi she lied about her father abusing her (something I found to be very despicable of her) making Desi think he is a big hero and he is rescuing her. With her old boyfriend once he started to stray she accused him of rape to punish him. Amy had to be the most important and she would punish any slight.
And Amy started getting older. She figured with how society views women she needs to get married, be the person people say 'she is a perfect wife' about. She also needed to compete with Amazing Amy.
"But fact is, it’s been years since I even really liked someone. So how likely is it I’ll meet someone I love, much less someone I love enough to marry? I’m tired of not knowing who I’ll be with, or if I’ll be with anyone."
Given how uninteresting I found Nick I was a bit surprised Amy would stay with him. But here's the thing - since she doesn't understand love, it doesn't matter. Love would have prevented Amy from wanting to break Nick and rebuild him as perfect husband. She doesn't know what love is.
In the beginning everything was fine but when the marriage started to collapse and more dangerously - Amy became bored - her master plan was beginning to be inevitable.That Nick slipped was understandable, given his weak personality. I think in some way Amy must have found this to be a blessing. Here's the opportunity to make everything interesting again.
I admired Amy's refusal to just let him wrong her. So many people say 'well it happens 'about adultery. NO. It shouldn't happen. When you take vows, it shouldn't happen. I think marriage is too common. That's why people slip. Had marriage really been about two people who love each other and want to spend eternity with each other adultery would happen less often. But people marry due to social pressures and here it goes. The vow of fidelity has no meaning. But not to Amy - while it's not perhaps the fidelity she was protecting but it was her dignity she stood by. No. I won't let him do this to me. No, he'll pay. I cheered, How can you not cheer? While the means she chose were over the top - again, it's a satire - the fact she wouldn't brush it off and would stand up for herself and not let him get away with this was very admirable.
"I'm married to a man who will always choose what’s easy, and when he gets bored with this dumb twat he'll just find another girl who is pretending to be the cool girl, and he'll never learn his lesson."
Nick and Amy
Nick desperately wanted to be liked, wanted to be seen as a good guy, good husband. Amy wanted to be seen as perfect. The hate for the story's ending makes absolutely no sense to me. There is even monologue form Amy correctly stating how with her Nick is a better man than others. In the movie there is a quick moment of Nick mentioning how he is better when Amy is motivating him. With Amy Nick tries to be seen as perfect. So when she hands him the opportunity to be the perfect husband and father, he stays. Because she is also right in another thing - while their life is toxic he would never find any other woman as interesting as Amy. He would get bored.
The idea of two people staying with each other to play a game and caring about the perception so much reality no longer matters is frightening. What's most disturbing for me as a woman is the idea that the woman takes the man and reassembles him, manipulates him, frightens him into submission. It's all poison. How can you respect a man who is this weak? How can stay in this toxic relationship? How can you settle for just an average guy and spend your life changing him into someone you consider perfect?
The Cool Girl
It's interesting or shall I say very disturbing when people make Amy responsible for everything - 'she pretended to be someone she wasn't when she married Nick' - hundreds of men are yelling. Newsflash - we all pretend. But with the pressures on women we are the ones who actually have to pretend. You would think this world is modern, but it's really not, it's still the fucking 50's out there. We are supposed to find a man and marry and obviously we have to have children. Because if we don't get married and don't want to have kids something is wrong with us. Unwed childless man? No big deal. Unwed childless woman? Well, what's wrong with her?
We are supposed to be skinny, gorgeous, have perfect hair. We are never supposed to raise our voices, demand things, be aggressive or passionately voice our opinions. If we do those things, well, we are just fucking crazy! It's still Salem out there. Instead of fire and stones we simply get viciousness directed at complex female characters, judgment passed on us by dimwitted morons for liking those characters and things like 'calm down' or 'why aren't you married YET?' said to us.
"Instead, women across the nation colluded in our degradation! Pretty soon Cool Girl became the standard girl. Men believed she existed – she wasn’t just a dream girl one in a million. Every girl was supposed to this girl, and if you weren’t, then there was something wrong with you."But women are not blameless. I suppose we have our version of a cool guy, don't we? It's the prince charming myth or someone our mothers tell us is a person we should marry (because we have to, have to marry) - it would be the best if he was a doctor or a lawyer but he can be other things as long as he is wealthy. As if we ourselves couldn't be doctors or lawyers who are wealthy. The idea of pretending, members of the audience use so quickly to make Amy into some evil creature because she pretended to be someone she isn't is going on both sides. Is it because people are so afraid of admit they are not perfect? Are we all supposed to be just robots, Prince Charming and Cool Girl horde? Well that sounds incredibly boring. We have different experiences, lives, desires. And the fact there is only one golden standard for both of the sexes, the standard we are supposed to meet is what leads to pain, lies and tragedies.
I hated him for not knowing it had to end, for truly believing he had married this creature, this figment of the imagination of a million masturbatory men, semenfingered and self-satisfied. He truly seemed astonished when I asked him to listen to me. He couldn’t believe I didn’t love wax-stripping my pussy raw and blowing him on request. That I did mind when he didn’t show up for drinks with my friends. That ludicrous diary entry? I don’t need pathetic dancing-monkey scenarios to repeat to my friends, I am content with letting him be himself. That was pure, dumb Cool Girl bullshit.What a cunt. Again, I don’t get it: If you let a man cancel plans or decline to do things for you, you lose. You don’t get what you want. It’s pretty clear. Sure, he may be happy, he may say you’re the coolest girl ever, but he’s saying it because he got his way. He’s calling you a Cool Girl to fool you! That’s what men do: They try to make it sound like you are the cool girl so you will bow to their wishes. Like a car salesman saying, How much do you want to pay for this beauty? when you didn’t agree to buy it yet. That awful phrase men use: ‘I mean, I know you wouldn’t mind if I …’ Yes, I do mind. Just say it. Don’t lose, you dumb little twat. So it had to stop. Committing to Nick, feeling safe with Nick, being happy with Nick, made me realize that there was a Real Amy in there, and she was so much better, more interesting and complicated and challenging, than Cool Amy. Nick wanted Cool Amy anyway. Can you imagine, finally showing your true self to your spouse, your soul mate, and having him not like you?In the end Amy triumphs because what she wants is to be loved by everyone - it's ironic because when she sheds her Cool Girl persona she is no one - she simply floats in the pool, her skin is sun burnt, her cheeks puffy, a shell that doesn't even want to talk to anyone. She is not happy, isn't she? It's just a phase, a phase of waiting for new challenge. Interesting thing about Amy is as cold as she is, she can experience happiness and joy - whenever she wins, whenever things go her way Amy is happy. But during the beginning of the second part of the book and novel Amy, while being herself, is floating through life. Her eager mind needs something new. And then Nick gives her new mission again - get back to him.
At one point of the book Amy comments how she doesn't really have personality and her entire life she was adapting different personas. That's not really true. Her entire life Amy wanted to be admired and be the center of attention. So when she gets back she finds the perfect way to achieve that - American heroine, a survivor, perfect wife.With a husband that's too scared to be anything other than the perfect partner to her.
I think Flynn's goal with the story to begin with was to write about a very weird modern image of love. I did not get that from the book - the ending there being different, Nick showing defiance by saying he feels sorry for Amy because she needs to get up every day and being herself and Amy thinking he really shouldn't have said that. In the film Nick stays and his defiance pretty much goes away the second he realizes he is gonna be a father. And these two? These narcissists who love admiration? Maybe they are soul mates? Pike and Affleck's chemistry certainly sold it as twisted love story more than the book did.
Another reason why the claim this movie is misogynistic is insane is that Amy, in the end, not only has everything she wants but also she is finally FREE. She is herself with Nick who finally sees her for who she is. She may be one thing for the cameras but in the end Amy gets what she always wanted - she is the one who has control. In the movie Desi comments how she had him on her leash. Well now Nick is on one - not just the baby but also the realization that his wife will do terrible things if he ever tries to run.
There are some other claims that are being shouted - how the film shows a woman lying about abuse, using pregnancy to trap a man and making false rape allegations and how WRONG it is to show this. My questions is - are you fucking kidding? When a man is shown to kill hundreds in the movie is the movie accused of promoting that? As a person with a working brain I feel offended that people claim a Hollywood movie somehow lessens the seriousness of those things Amy lied about or claims that it's offensive to feature something like this in the story. Are people under impression that women don't ever lie about things like that? It's horrible, but it happens. Ultimately the problem people have here is that the film shows the ugly truth - women lie, women manipulate, men are shit husbands, men cheat, monsters sometimes win. Is all that is expected from movies nowadays tiptoeing around controversial subjects and shoving the same cliches down the audience's throat? I'm afraid it is, seeing the number of ridiculous accusations this movie met.
Gillian Flynn who over the last few months became a heroine of mine and such amazing, brave voice we so desperately need, said this:
“Isn’t it time to acknowledge the ugly side? I’ve grown quite weary of the spunky heroines, brave rape victims, soul-searching fashionistas that stock so many books. I particularly mourn the lack of female villains — good, potent female villains. Not ill-tempered women who scheme about landing good men and better shoes (as if we had nothing more interesting to war over), not chilly WASP mothers (emotionally distant isn’t necessarily evil), not soapy vixens (merely bitchy doesn’t qualify either). I’m talking violent, wicked women. Scary women. Don’t tell me you don’t know some. The point is, women have spent so many years girl-powering ourselves — to the point of almost parodic encouragement — we’ve left no room to acknowledge our dark side. Dark sides are important. They should be nurtured like nasty black orchids.”
I'm beyond thrilled that Gone Girl is such a success and so many women are recognizing the importance of Amy and trying to make others realize what got her to be the person she is. Sasha Stone of Awards Daily wrote an amazing article talking about Amy and awful social pressures towards women. I saw words sympathetic thrown around too. And I'm so happy that other books of Flynn's are getting adapted. Both Dark Places and Sharp Objects have strong, complex female characters and they are even less about love than Gone Girl is. Libby and Camille are not in search for it. They are not lamenting over the fact they don't have it.
There are simply more important things happening in their lives that finding and pleasing a man and being what society wants them to be.
artwork by me and inspired by - Amazing Amy by Kirk Van Wormer, Chicken Television by inz-feelgood, James Porto - Ada and Zeus, Untitled by Gustė Andrulytė, Ernst Haeckel, “Nepenthaceae”, from Kunstformen der Natu, Aitch - Beautiful Us, Caro’s Design - Artificial and the promo material for Gone Girl.
artwork by me and inspired by - Amazing Amy by Kirk Van Wormer, Chicken Television by inz-feelgood, James Porto - Ada and Zeus, Untitled by Gustė Andrulytė, Ernst Haeckel, “Nepenthaceae”, from Kunstformen der Natu, Aitch - Beautiful Us, Caro’s Design - Artificial and the promo material for Gone Girl.
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(153) Sometimes, being a bitch is all a woman has to hang onto + links
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Gone Girl
(SPOILERS!)On the day of their fifth wedding anniversary Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) comes home to find opened front door, shattered glass table and his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) missing. Once Nick notifies the police the investigation and media circus begins and people quickly come to conclusion that Nick had something to do with Amy's disappearance. What happened to Amy Dunne?
When I read that David Fincher is working on the new movie along with the quick snippet about the book story I figured I need to read it. I devoured Gone Girl in 3 days and immediately read Flynn's other two novels. Flynn is a brilliant writer who creates amazing characters - everyone is so memorable, complex, interesting, worthy of their own story. But the most complex of them all is Amy.
The story of Gone Girl develops slowly, patiently - as we see the progress in investigation we also travel back via Amy's diaries - each sequence beginning with the change of track and the shot of Amy writing her diary, one of the many ingenious little touches Fincher used here. Her diaries show how she met Nick, how they fell in love - kind of - and how the marriage slowly began to collapse.
The answer to the key mystery - where is Amy, who took her, is she alive? arrives around one hour mark. It's fast for the film to reveal its main plot twist so early but here it is necessary - Amy is the main attraction and once we get to know the real her, the actual fun begins. Without the actress who could embody Amy this whole movie would collapse entirely - had Reese Witherspoon played that part we would be looking at Razzie nomination worthy work. The vanity of that woman! How could she read the book and actually think she could play Amy?Thankfully the studio told her to fuck off and Fincher chose gorgeous and talented Rosamund Pike. I have not seen anyone embody a literary character so profoundly since Christian Bale in American Psycho. Except Pike does something even more impressive here - the way she looks changes. And it's not the simple lose/gain weight thing either. She can look angelic in one frame and in another? She is Devil incarnate.
At first the audience is led to believe that Amy is a pretty, well educated girl who meets a boy and that's all there is to her. Well, other than years of psychological damage that were done to her by her parents - the authors of Amazing Amy books, which were about the perfect girl, based on Amy but improving her in many ways in print. The actual Amy sometimes disappointed her parents - by things as trivial as giving up on playing tennis - and they would write Amazing Amy to excel in those things their actual daughter didn't master.This is only addressed in the few lines Amy shares with Nick during the book launch party. But throughout the movie Fincher slyly brings Amazing Amy back - the website dedicated to Amy has "Amazing" in its name, her mother mentions the literary character over and over again. While it's not the kind of thing that would make the non book readers think 'I bet this messed her up!' it's there and once you discover the real Amy, it's easy to understand why she became the person she is today.
In what may be Fincher's most spellbinding scene the frame up montage/cool girl monologue from the novel is shown. It begins with the breathtaking image of Amy, wind in her hair, snapping the pens and throwing them out of the window. We see Amy faking her diary, spilling her own blood, buying incriminating stuff, doing things to make it look like Nick killed her. The levels of Amy's brilliance, and the whole cool girl tirade ring, combined with Reznor's and Ross' excellent music playing in the background, as truly triumphant. It was my favorite moment in the book and it was so much fun seeing it become the movie's best moment.Amy becomes the girl on the run, hiding, assuming new identity, letting herself go. It's shocking how different Pike looked in those scenes - it looks like all the weight she gained went to her face. The transition is especially powerful when the movie goes into the third act - when we see her in a nightie, new hair cut, slim body in Desi's house. It's s powerful metamorphosis, both in the way she looks and the way she acts.
I think had Hitchcock seen this movie he would have proposed to Pike on the spot - while she is excellent throughout she is downright horrifying and fascinating in the film's third act, which is by the way, uniquely - the film's strongest part. Pike looks gorgeous, that's one thing, but another is her calculated ruthlessness. The added scenes - of her manipulating events for the surveillance footage and the sequence of her killing Desi (something we just hear about in the book) in what must be the most realistically and sick looking murder scene in quite some time - the way she turns him over and almost sucks the life force out of him in pool of crimson, this petite woman, this delicate blonde annihilating this man, bathing in his blood - paint Amy as the scariest and most memorable villain in quite some time.It's also fascinating because one of the many unique things this movie does is not being afraid to show that Amy is not always victorious - she gets robbed by ordinary trailer trash, but when she has the opportunity to plan and deceive while she is not vulnerable and she never let's her guard down - there is no one who can defeat her.
The third act is also where Pike's strongest scene lies - the hospital scene is a masterclass of acting with Amy almost laughing poor Rhonda in the face. At that point of the movie Amy is finally free and fulfilling a life long mission to be the Amazing Amy herself - perfect story, perfect husband, perfect life.The freaking miracle on Missouri. The movie has way more of satire on media than the book did and those shots of Amy being all Princess Di are really quite scary. The film expands on book ideas - now it's not just "that perfect housewife" - in reality a monster - but "American heroine" being one. Amy commits cold blooded murder and she is a heroine because almost nobody knows - she signs autographs for little girls and nobody knows the truth.
I saw a lot of complaints how there is something off about Amy from the start - alerting the audience - because of Pike's line delivery. I don't agree at all - she even looks angelic in certain scenes, like the scene where she tells Nick how her parents need money. And Pike needs a single word to break your heart - the way she says a baby would be 'an inspiration' is so sweet, innocent and powerful. Then she becomes a woman scorned but it's impossible not to feel for her when sees Nick with Andie. And then she becomes...well, if there was a plot twist Flynn used and told us this is the Devil, because the Devil was bored and wanted to play at being a suburban housewife? I'd buy it. I always thought the Devil, if real, was a woman. Men are not that cunning.I may be wrong, but I believe this is Pike's first lead role. For years she played good roles in independent movies not many saw, or acclaimed movies where other people got accolades even though she was consistently excellent. She also played a suppporting pretty blonde character a bunch of times in big budget films with male superstars. As Amy Pike finally got her chance to shine.
It's very clear that Pike put a lot of effort to understand Amy and to honor Flynn's book. She read the books Flynn recommended - from American Psycho to Flynn's own Sharp Objects - to get into right mindset for the movie. She trained kickboxing to look athletic in the film's final act. She gained and lost weight. And she even consulted experts to come up with new handwriting style, one that would suit Amy's personality.Pike's work here is nothing short of amazing - Amy is a complex, misunderstood and often hated character. But it's also a very rare character where a gorgeous protagonist girl is one at the same with vicious evil antagonist. It's so rare to see this and I commend everyone involved for following Flynn's vision and not making the movie more audience friendly.
When I read the book I hated Nick Dunne. Not just because he was weak - I hate weak characters, but because he was boring. Say what you want about Amy - she is not boring. Nick had some good observations in the book but we also read a lot about the way he treated Amy - by his own admission he ignored her and he didn't try to connect with her - and we read a lot about his affair that lasted a year.I was incredibly surprised that thanks to some tweaks in the movie - Nick's affair is given very little screen time, simple things like showing him care for the cat, the general weariness of the character - and Ben Affleck's portrayal I actually found Nick sympathetic. Affleck is really excellent even in simple things - the way he shouts 'Amy!' once he notices she is gone reveals a certain degree of being worried, the way he is actually amused when saying 'Amy brings the best of me' shows he is in on exactly how fucked up their relationship is.
Affleck is good both when he shows his character's temper - 'because she told me to!' - and in lighter moments like when Ellen Abbot insinuated twincest between him and Margo. It's definitely Affleck's best work, granted a lot of it comes from the fact he is well cast here, but he showed a lot of talent in the movie, and Nick Dunne is not an easy character to play.(Almost) entire cast is superb as well - Carrie Coon delivered wonderful work as the most honest person in the movie as Nick's sister Margo. Coon's final scene in the film, despite the movie being in full blown satire mode by then, is the movie's most heartbreaking moment. Kim Dickens is also fantastic as another honest and decent woman - detective Rhonda Boney - who approaches Nick both with suspicion and benefit of the doubt.
One of the many things I adore about Fincher is that the man respects his audience. He doesn't zoom in on the things you are supposed to notice - he shoots them wide like the moment Nick hides clue three in his pocket. He assumes you are observant and you don't need hand holding through hard scenes nor pointing to notice important things. While other directors would do flashbacks to something that happened 30 minutes ago in the movie, Fincher doesn't do that. And seeing the reactions to this movie? I think the man has far too much respect than the modern audience deserves.
The amount of issues people have with what is essentially a satire and fairly straightforward story is saddening - how did she get pregnant? Is this Desi's child? Why did Nick stay with her? How did she not go to prison? Why did the hospital leave blood on her? What about the surveillance cameras? Why did the movie end the way they did? Why didn't the police look into Amy's story? - I'm not sure whether people are too frightened by where the story went and want to brush it off as 'plot holes everywhere' or they left for bathroom 10 times during the movie, but these are not plot holes. It's all there.Granted, I read the book before seeing the film and while some things are mentioned ten times in the book and only once in the movie, they are still there. There is nothing superfluous in Gone Girl - if a person says something or if a certain scene is included it's because it is important. While some things are easy to miss - such as leaving the blood on Amy so she would wash it away with Nick, symbolizing her baring it all, her true self, no bullshit only with him - other things like the sperm bank are indicated before in the movie with the entire conversation Nick and Margo have. Not only do people not connect the dots, they dare to accuse the script of plot holes. What did they want? A montage titled "The Magnificent adventures of Nick's sperm" beginning with Affleck jizzing in a cup? Also there are four separate scenes indicating that Amy tempered with cameras in Desi's place. Yet just because people didn't see another montage of Amy doing that, they scream plot hole. Mr. Fincher, this audience doesn't deserve you.
Another thing I love about Fincher is his unique style, achieved with his insistence on shooting a scene sometimes up to 50 takes. But it pays off - there are many flawlessly composed shots here, stellar, memorable images, such as the fantasy sequence of Amy's body floating in water, the crumpled find Amy leaflet on the street or very unique, weirdly unsettling opening credits.There is also a great deal of symmetry here, more so than in any other Fincher's movie - while some things are straight from the book like the duality of sugar storm showing the beginning and end of love for Nick and Amy, many are movie additions - the brilliant sequences showing Amy locking herself up, mirrored by Nick doing the same later on or a ingenious scene of Nick opening the door and seeing no one outside and the same happening to Amy several scenes later - it's a trick that shows something similar happening to these two characters, a small little piece that adds - if only a bit - to the notion of them being right for each other.
The most obvious symmetry comes from the opening and ending of the movie and it's yet another showcase of Pike's ability - in the beginning she looks sweet, innocent, harmless. In the end? She's a goddamn predator. She actually looks frightening.Fincher also does something new which is adding a pulsing, slow fade to black technique to the movie's most shocking and violent moments. People actually gasped when Nick pushed Amy and she hit her head on the stairs. And during the climactic murder? Everyone turned pale. These are incredibly intense scenes to begin with but the way Fincher handled them, which remained very realistic, in spite of this stylistic choice, only added more impact to them.
Then there is tremendous score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. I really liked their work in The Social Network and especially in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but I think their contribution to Gone Girl is their best one yet. From creepy intense tracks like Under Suspicion and haunting Consummation to soft, Badalamenti style mysterious tunes like Appearances, Just Like Us and Like Home the score adds so much to the film. The fact that the lovely Sugar Storm is reprised in one of the movie's most memorable moments is ingenious. Gone Girl does something not many movies manage to do - it successfully blends thriller genre with satire. The film goes into satire territory completely in its third act and that is where the true star of the film shines the brightest - Pike is the only one who shifts her performance into satirical, no fear of coming off absurd ("Shampoo?"), being our guide through the last act. Nick, at that point, is just a cocoon caught in the web.
While the film could use some ideas from novel better - like the presence of Nick's father who only has one scene in the movie, or the desire to be perfect both Nick and Amy share, Flynn did a wonderful job adapting her own book. The film is as good of an adaptation as they could possibly make - staying true to the characters, events and the general spirit of the source novel.I did write about misogyny claims here so I'm not gonna repeat myself here. The thing about Gone Girl and its importance is that its a high profile big movie where something unusual happens - a female character that would be killed off or sent to mental institution in a convenient plot resolution in any other movie, triumphs here. She doesn't go full blown insane, makes a stupid mistake and gets caught, as would be the case in dozens of different films. She is at the top. She is impossible to run away from. It's unique, unsettling and fresh. It's something new. How often do you get to say that about a movie?
There have been many insightful; and painfully realistic movies about marriage - sometimes impossibly depressing ("Blue Valentine"), sometimes just depressing ("Revolutionary Road"), provocative ("Eyes Wide Shut") and hilarious ("The War of the Roses"). Gone Girl combines all of those traits, working half an almost mythological cautionary tale - think of Amy as a siren, luring a man to his doom with the promise of everything he ever wanted, half a biting, entertaining satire with a dark twist - the question in the back of your mind, how well do you know the one you're with?While the film does have some small flaws - the casting of Ratajkowski, not digging into Amy's personality enough and underutilizing some of the book's fine ideas - it is my second favorite Fincher movie after Se7en. While it's not as great and easy of a viewing as Se7en - while brutal, Se7en has shorter runtime and more packed storyline and is more fun than this, which is a dark picture of a love and marriage, things that are supposed to bring you happiness - I hope Gone Girl will prove at least half as influential as Se7en.
Perhaps the most admirable thing about the film is that it works on so many different levels. A commentary on the media and the public passing the sentence before any evidence was presented - blinded with the righteous indignation that will make them feel like they are good, decent people (the recent situation of people calling for crowds to grab torches - literally - and going to Woody Allen's house after Dylan Farrow wrote her letter comes to mind), a painful look at two people growing apart in marriage, a mystery thriller about disappearance (I wonder what people who didn't read the book thought happened to Amy) and finally a horror movie about modern relationship.The film also shows how such evil as Amy - which is made scarier by being a product of things you yourself experience like disappointing others, wanting to be admired, getting tired of waiting for something to happen and making it happen - lurks in the most ordinary place, quiet suburban home. She makes crepes for breakfast, she feeds the cat. She smiles at the children, she goes shopping, she waves to her neighbors. And she can cut your throat or make your life hell if you give her one displeasing look.
Like other Fincher movies Gone Girl deals with a theme that so many of us can relate to - religion (Se7en), ambition (The Social Network), anger (Fight Club), fear (Zodiac) - now it's love. You can choose to think that there really is no love here - just lies, pretending and hellish entrapment. Or you can choose to believe that Nick and Amy are so uniquely messed up that they become the modern kind of soul mates - all their issues, all their bad experiences, all the things that made them cold, insecure and fucked up shaped them into these two specific people who understand each other and who see each other better than anyone in the world sees them.There's something oddly romantic about that.
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(154) Just as you are + links
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The Ten Best Superhero Movies of All Time RELAY
M.Brown of the awesome Two Dollar Cinema passed me the baton in The Ten Best Superhero Movies of All Time Relay by Bubbawheat, of Flights, Tights and Movie Nights.Here are the rules:
1. The list of movies will be passed to another blogger who will post their list within a week.
2. The blogger will take their list, remove 3 movies – with explanations, and replace with 3 new movies – with explanations.
3. If a movie lasts five rounds without being removed, it becomes locked in; it is permanent and can no longer be removed from the list.
4. If a movie is removed three different times, it is locked out and can no longer be put back onto the list by someone else.
5. Once four movies are locked into place, bloggers will replace 2 movies.
6. Once eight movies are locked into place, bloggers will replace 1 movie.
7. Once all ten movies are locked into place, the relay will be complete.
Locked in: The Avengers, The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 2, Iron Man, Unbreakable, The Rocketeer, The Incredibles
Films to choose from: Oldboy, The Crow, Blade 2, X2, Superman 2
What I'm taking out:
Superman 2 - I'm not a big fan of the franchise and the character to begin with, sure the guy should be present in this relay race somewhere but I'm not the one who has to keep him in. I'm not big on X men movies too, but the love for this franchise seems to be strong so I'm not taking that out. And there is no way I'd deprive the relay of the awesome darkness of The Crow and Blade 2.
Oldboy - that one I'm taking out purely because I don't think people even realize it is based on a comic book, plus the race is called superhero and....well, it just doesn't strike me as this kind of a story.
What I'm putting in:
Guardians of the Galaxy - oh come on. We've gotta have this in. If freaking Spiderman 2 is in and something called The Rocketeer (what is that?) then you've gotta have the movie that was arguably most fun normal people had in theaters this year (I had more fun during Gone Girl but I think we can all agree I'm not a picture of sanity). We need our underdogs. Avengers may have larger than life heroes - billionaires, super spies, Gods and...Mark Ruffalo and all his divine curly hair but Guardians are the opposite - guys who no one roots for who do the right thing anyways and all of that is served in a truly incredibly fun package.
Thor - this will probably get thrown out in a matter of seconds by the next participants but I just love this movie. It's my favorite Marvel film along with Avengers and Guardians - I love the humor, the chemistry between Hemsworth and Portman and obviously Loki. It's just such a fun movie, it has everything - funny scenes, good romance, great villain, brave hero and it even has cute dogs and Idris Elba.So the list now:
locked - The Avengers, The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 2, Iron Man, Unbreakable, The Racketeer, The Incredibles
and - X2, Blade 2, The Crow, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor
I'm gonna go ahead and pass this to someone with actual film knowledge - Alex of And so It Begins.
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(155) Spooky* + links
* in honor of Dusty Springfield's song which I always listen to on Halloween
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This is gonna get dirty. Fast. I've been weekend-movie watching, gif-making, iris-heart-shaped-turning hardcore cheating on Stephen this week. Ever since I saw that Avengers 2 trailer I've had the biggest crush on Mark Ruffalo. I have a very important question - what is up with Hulk's pants? Why do they not rip to pieces so that when he shrinks back they are gone? I mean I know Disney owns the franchise (they do, right?) but...this is bullshit! Or in Avengers - he wakes up among the rubble right? And the PANTS are waiting for him. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? Word is he is getting ScarJo in the sequel. As in Widow/Bruce romance. As in oh my God YES. This is extremely important. I saw Now You See Me, which was ridiculous but thankfully wasn't boring. The suit - scruff combination is the second only to armor - scruff combination. Why would men ever shave? I don't have the time to brush my hair but I made two gifsets. This is really serious. I both want to do things to this man and cuddle him. He's like a sexy koala bear. I also rewatched The Kids are All Right.What an important, IMPORTANT movie.
But seriously - good God, those bitches. I remember seeing it for the first time and just feeling so bad for his character who was essentially left with nothing and was surrounded with all those selfish people. Sure he didn't have to bang Moore but she acted so awful to everyone, her partner included. So it wasn't all on him. The only time I related to Moore's character was this: ![]()
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Let's talk about my shit luck and magical powers, guys. About my shit luck - look what they did to Mark's curls in Foxcatcher. I swear this is just barbaric. And to those of you who know the true story the movie is based on? Fuck my life. This poster is all kinds of hilarious - Carrel looks like a Death Eater, Tatum looks like Shrek and there is an EAGLE coming out of Mark's head. My magical powers? Every year I am rooting for someone ferociously and they win. Wink wink, nudge nudge, let's do this baby. Of course this year my magical powers will be diminished because as I am working now I won't be able to watch the ceremony live. That probably means JK Simmons wins. If I start doing crack cocaine I'll have the energy to watch it after work on Monday and bring you coverage of all the ceremonies like last year, so never fear. Meanwhile in GoT news, there are finally photos from Ireland. Look what they took the picture of instead of Stephen:![]()
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Are you kidding me with this? Obviously EVERYONE in Spain is getting their pictures taken left and right. It looks like Iain Glenn even crushed a wedding. And here's George R.R. Martin hard at work on the next book and Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor. Awful stuff, for many different reasons: ![]()
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Let's talk about my Tuesday night. I'm exhausted. 2 days to send Fisti stuff for Hilary Swank issue of Twice a Best Actress. So I saw both movies in one evening. Oh that was such a bad idea. ![]()
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I went on full on rant in what I wrote about Million Dollar Baby and it should be up on Fisti's blog tomorrow so go and read it. My brakes went off. I usually try to tone it down but I've been so tired lately what you've been getting here on the blog, my twitter and generally in every single one of my words is 100% unfiltered, I don't give a fuck because I'm exhausted honesty. Watch out. I'm unleashed. I was contemplating making a separate post here but I had to finish this RF post and I'm announcing a new blogathon on Saturday. It's now Thursday, my back hurts, my fingers are numb, I have a headache from working and my blogathon post so far just has rules and a chart I made to help you guys out participate. So I have a shitload to write with numb fingers. I'm in so much pain you'd think I work in a mine. What they say about working 40h a week while seated at almost all times is true - it's the fucking worst. I mean I know even Mona Lisa is falling apart but lately I've been falling apart like dried shit. Oh yeah on a related note - I found third grey hair. At 25. This is just wonderful. See I do not need scary things for Halloween. I'm living in a horror movie. When guys get grey hair they look so sexy. When women get grey hair? We feel we are about to die. In my case it also means I'm gonna need to spend 1/10 of my paycheck a month to have that taken care of (my hairdresser is expensive, but hey it's my hair we're talking about here). It's great being female, am I right ladies? Also I read this week that women in my country earn 53% of what men make in same profession. Go on. Talk to me about MRA. I fucking dare you. Have you guys seen that parody of McConaughey's car commercials Jim Carreydid on SNL? It's amazing: ![]()
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Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Martin are no longer an item. Good for him. Run, Chris and in the meantime drop your phone in acid, just in case. Apparently, Interstellar is no good. At least not 100% on RT Oh my God Christ is back in the form of a movie and Nolan cured cancer with his film good. Meltdown all over the web from Nolan fans. I kinda lost interest in seeing that in theaters. That movie is 3h hours long. Add commercials to that and it's 3,5h. It's not the question of my attention span but do I really wanna spend a day's worth of sleep-time for a Nolan movie? With my fucked up back and three grey hair I'm practically an elderly person so I'm thinking no. Lily Rabeis coming back to American Horror Story! And you'll never guess who she is going to play. Again. John Cusackhas been saying fascinating things lately. This dude should write a book or something. Who the hell is James Ellroy and how dare he trash The Ruff and RDJ in Zodiac? What is everyone's costume for Halloween? I'm going as Scarlet Witch. So basically what I'm saying is I'm wearing a black dress and red jacket. I need energy to actually celebrate that day which is my favorite day of the year. Fuck my birthday or Christmas, Halloween is the most important. ![]()
Just in time for Halloween Alex writes about Child's Play franchise Irene reviews Gone Girl Brittani give us Halloween Edition of her favorite movie titles Anna reviews Imitation Game Anna is currently in NYC and she is posting some brilliant, movie related photos Katy came up with an inspiring casting for possible Birds remake Nathaniel has some great ideas for Halloween costumes Inspired by Brittani's awesome idea Ruth shares 10 great acting moments defined by one look. I'm gonna try to do a post on this too. I'll even try it to manage to post it in this year. ![]()
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Begin Again
Meet Dan (Mark Ruffalo). Dan's life is not going well at the moment - his marriage collapsed, he can't connect with his teenage daughter, he drinks way too much and he hadn't had a professional success - in his job as a music producer - in 5 years. One evening, after a particularly shitty day, Dan goes to a bar to get drunk. As he is drinking he hears a song. A song sang by a girl named Gretta (Keira Knightley) on the stage. Immediately Dan wants to sing Gretta up. But as things don't go as they planned, the two decide to record a live album in different locations in NYC. As they do that, they start getting closer to each other and finding something that they didn't have in their lives in a long time - joy.I've never seen Once, John Carney's previous picture. I'm so crushed by Begin Again's ending, having heard Once follows somewhat similar structure I'm not sure I'm ever going to see it. But other than the end the film is exceptionally lovely - it's such a tribute to the love for music, New York City and the idea that no matter how fucked up things get, you can always start again.
I have a lot of respect for Keira Knightley. I may not always like her performances - she was just all kinds of wrong in Anna Karenina - but this girl chooses great roles in so many different things and she always brings so much loveliness to them. Even if the movies she's in don't always work, it's never her fault.As Gretta Knightley is very, very good - she is sweet, friendly, charming but there's also a certain degree of immaturity to her - just the right amount to fit the script. She is also strong and very relatable and Knightley plays her with such effortless grace. She has a lovely singing voice and while I didn't find any of her songs that memorable, it was a joy to listen to while watching the movie.
If there was any justice, Mark Ruffalo would get nominated next January at Golden Globes for his performance here. It's just such a wonderful mix of drama and comedy - we feel for Dan while he is making an ass of himself in front of his daughter and whenever things go badly for him. But Ruffalo is also so effortlessly funny - like when he jokingly coughs after Gretta puts his asshole of a business partner in his place or when he furiously throws CDs with shit music out of his car.And he is so energetic - Dan knows music, he loves music - and it shows every single time he reacts to it with such joy and passion. There is so much authenticity here - in every drunken word Dan mumbles to convince Gretta to make a deal with him, in every jump with the guitar he makes when she sings her songs, in every emotion Dan has which we immediately see because he doesn't concern himself with pretending. He's also so likable in spite of being a real mess - here's the guy who had really bad luck for a long time but he is still not afraid to take a chance on Gretta because he knows what she does is real music and she is the real deal.
The film has truly enchanting, romantic and hopeful vibe which exists thanks to all those amazingly lovely ideas - the standout of which is Dan and Gretta listening to her ipod via two different sets of headphones, while they walk around NYC, dancing, laughing, connecting. I haven't seen a scene this romantic in years.But it wouldn't work without the wonderful chemistry between the leads - Knightley and Ruffalo are such a joy to watch together. Knightley is one of those actresses who can strike romantic chemistry and connection with so many different actors (she also managed to do that with Steve Carrel in Seeking a Friend for the end of the World, which resulted in one of the most gorgeous movie endings you will ever see) and Ruffalo is someone people immediately have chemistry with. These two are just so wonderful together.
I often say that my favorite thing is an actor capturing so much authenticity and real emotion in a single look. And in Begin Again both Knightley and Ruffalo manage to do that. During that wonderful running around, listening to music sequence there is a moment when the two dance and Gretta looks at Dan with so much love and hope. And then in the subway, in the same sequence, Dan looks at Gretta. And there is so much in these looks.
There is also a lovely scene which should probably warn me that this movie will break my heart a bit - the two have an argument during which Dan points out to Gretta that she has no idea what it means to have marriage fall apart after 18 years. Dan walks away and Gretta runs to him - and in something completely different than what we would see in a big American movie we don't see the close up - we see Gretta run to Dan and hold him from behind, in a simple 'I'm sorry, you are right' gesture. The film doesn't make anything easy.The way I saw it was that we are being served this amazing, lovely dream - these two people who have their hearts broken (Gretta's boyfriend cheated on her) meet. They have this amazing connection, they create something beautiful together. They talk, they laugh, they make each other happy. And then the ending punches you in the heart.
SPOILERS Am I allowed to dislike the ending just because it's not something I wanted to see? Something which I thought made the film worse and had it worked in another way it would be so much more hopeful? I really thought Dan and Gretta would end up together. I thought there is no way two people who obviously have feelings for each other and been through so many lovely moments won't end up being happy together in even more romantic way. And if that was not supposed to be a romance, then what the fuck with the way they look at each other after she hugs him? That was just brutal in the context of the ending.Dan goes back to his awful, hateful wife who broke his heart. And the film didn't even try to make the wife character sympathetic, there is nothing that could make me go 'maybe she's not bad', while at least the movie tried to come with some excuses for Gretta's ex, it's like Dan's story was an afterthought in the end. And yes perhaps I don't understand and Gretta doesn't understand but it seemed to me it was just going to familiar ways instead of having the courage to go after what could have been real happiness.
I thought the end betrayed the movie and the audience's - well in this case mine - expectations but I liked Gretta driving off after really breaking it off with her boyfriend, hopeful, smiling, proud. END OF SPOILERS That was a very nice image to end the movie with. And the whole ending - done to the accompaniment of outstanding Lost Stars by Adam Levine which is the best movie song I heard in years was exceptionally well done. The film isn't perfect and there are some obvious flaws - Adam Levine's not an actor and boy, does it show, he was so bad - but it is very, very charming movie. The music, the lead performances and the individual scenes have so much charm to them. Before the Oscar season begins with all the mandatory heavy, disturbing, intense dramas in which we will see both Ruffalo (in Foxcatcher) and Knightley (in The Imitation Game) go through some horrendous shit - this is the movie to see.
(Begin Again, 2013, 104 minutes)Plot: A chance encounter between a disgraced music-business executive and a young singer-songwriter new to Manhattan turns into a promising collaboration between the two talents.
Director:John Carney
Writer:John Carney
Stars:Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Adam Levine
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Soundtrack Wednesday - Begin Again
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(156) The feels + links
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Brilliant acting defined by one look
Brilliant Brittani of Rambling Film had this fabulous idea for a post and then Ruth of flixchatter followed up with her own awesome list. I love that they wrote posts on that - for me the most amazing thing an actor can do is make us see real emotions - disappear into character's state of mind, state of heart, state of soul. While it would probably be impossible for an actor to show this kind of authenticity through entire performance, the best of them can do that in brief moments, just in one look.
"Just one look" may not seem much but these moments are absolute masterpieces and for me they prove to be the most unforgettable thing. Whenever I think of a specific movie or a performance and such moment was there, my mind immediately goes to the image of the actor in this specific few seconds being able to convey what the character is feeling so profoundly.
There are actually quite many moments like these out there, so this list is the combination of the things I've seen recently that featured a moment like that and my all time favorite moments. Numbers 1-3 are all time hall of fame stuff, though. I don't think I'll ever see joy, anger and love expressed more brilliantly.
10. Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby
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This moment comes from the scene of the infamous fight sequence that throws the movie into the pits of tragedy and pitch black depression. Scrap is watching the fight on TV and his look of total astonishment at how ruthless of a fighter Maggie's opponent is should be enough of a warning sign 'abandon all hope' for the audience.
9. Alan Rickman, Sense and Sensibility
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This is the look that you simply remember if you saw the movie. I have yet to see someone who captured the look of being absolutely floored and falling head over heels in love better than Alan Rickman did here when Brandon sees Marianne for the first time.
8. Michael Fassbender, Shame
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The heartbreaking look on Brandon's face when he hears his sister sing New York, New York gives, quite possibly, the biggest insight into his character - here he is, sitting peacefully, forced to listen to this song, unable to escape his mind and fall into the arms of his addiction. And he is there in all of his sadness, utterly alone.
7+6. Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley, Begin Again
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The way Ruffalo and Knightley look at each other in this movie is filled with pure, electric chemistry. But there are two specific looks they give each other in the film's most lovely moment. These looks are such love, such joyful, happy, free, hopeful, untainted love. It's happiness, hope and the sense of connection all in one. And it's all in one look!
5. George Clooney, Michael Clayton
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Clooney is a master of looks in this movie. He is my win over Day Lewis in There will be Blood and it wasn't even close. He looks horribly frustrated, driven but burned out, tired but unable to give up through most of the movie but he also looks serene in the lovely scene with the horses and there is of course the famous ending credits sequence. But my favorite look is from my favorite scene - right after he explodes and yells at Karen with eyes expressing the purest fury, she falls into his trap and the look of total and complete 'I own you' shows on Michael's face. It's so amazingly satisfying after seeing this man struggle throughout the whole film.
4. Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
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There is a number of fantastic 'one look' moments Ros has in Gone Girl - seeing Nick with Andy, looking at him while drinking her coffee and thinking 'Happy anniversary' and finally the look she throws Rhonda in hospital letting her know she is indeed guilty as sin but Rhonda can't do anything about it. But it's the mixture of contempt, disgust and fury she gives all the cool girls that is the most accurate and spot-on depiction of Amy's emotions in the film.
3. Michelle Fairley, Game of Thrones
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Fairley is my Queen. No one on Thrones comes close to her - though everyone had at least one of those great 'it's in one look' moments, Fairley had about dozens of those per season. I could rip my own heart out and go with Red Wedding sequence but there is a moment that is even more poignant and honest - it's from ninth episode of season 1 when Catelyn is waiting on the brink of the forest to find out the outcome of the battle between her son Robb's forces and the Lannisters. Ser Rodrik is urging her to go to safety but Catelyn refuses. Suddenly the knights are seen emerging from the forest and Catelyn looks startled and hopeful. And then we see her reflection soften, tears appearing in her eyes. And we see Robb riding forward, unharmed. Catelyn starts crying and laughing, so happy and relieved.
2. Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive
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Naomi Watts's performance in Mulholland Drive is my all time favorite work from any performer. She is just brilliant in the movie and there is no moment as impressive as the sequence during dinner party where Diane first sees her beloved ex-girlfriend kiss another women and then hears her boyfriend announce engagement to her. No one else captured the heartbreaking pain, all consuming jealousy and pure rage as well as Watts did here.
1.Stephen Dillane, The Hours
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This is the one moment when I realized just how much I adore scenes like that. Everyone is really good in The Hours but the actors I appreciated the most were always those who create the movie's most affecting, powerful work regardless of how much screen time they have. And Stephen Dillane gives far and away the best performance in stellar ensemble.
The train station scene is often highlighted as Kidman's best moment in the film, hell, it was even her Oscar clip, but for me she is merely reacting to Dillane being able to show, in mere seconds, the depths of love Leonard Woolf had for his wife.
She tells him she is suffocating in the country, in the small town they moved to so that she could have peace and quiet. She tells him that she wants to move to London or else she chooses death. We see Leonard realize she is being serious - she is unhappy, trapped. We see that he knows if he agrees the women he loves will inevitably succumb to her illness, which was far worse in London. The illness that drove to trying to kill herself. But she wants to go. She wants to have a choice. And even though he knows it means death for the woman he loves, he agrees. He cries and then looks up following this moment with a simple question that says so much - Leonard at all times cares for Virginia, for her well being, more than he cares about what he wants and needs.
That is pure love.
"Just one look" may not seem much but these moments are absolute masterpieces and for me they prove to be the most unforgettable thing. Whenever I think of a specific movie or a performance and such moment was there, my mind immediately goes to the image of the actor in this specific few seconds being able to convey what the character is feeling so profoundly.
There are actually quite many moments like these out there, so this list is the combination of the things I've seen recently that featured a moment like that and my all time favorite moments. Numbers 1-3 are all time hall of fame stuff, though. I don't think I'll ever see joy, anger and love expressed more brilliantly.
10. Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby
This moment comes from the scene of the infamous fight sequence that throws the movie into the pits of tragedy and pitch black depression. Scrap is watching the fight on TV and his look of total astonishment at how ruthless of a fighter Maggie's opponent is should be enough of a warning sign 'abandon all hope' for the audience.9. Alan Rickman, Sense and Sensibility
This is the look that you simply remember if you saw the movie. I have yet to see someone who captured the look of being absolutely floored and falling head over heels in love better than Alan Rickman did here when Brandon sees Marianne for the first time.8. Michael Fassbender, Shame
The heartbreaking look on Brandon's face when he hears his sister sing New York, New York gives, quite possibly, the biggest insight into his character - here he is, sitting peacefully, forced to listen to this song, unable to escape his mind and fall into the arms of his addiction. And he is there in all of his sadness, utterly alone.7+6. Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley, Begin Again
The way Ruffalo and Knightley look at each other in this movie is filled with pure, electric chemistry. But there are two specific looks they give each other in the film's most lovely moment. These looks are such love, such joyful, happy, free, hopeful, untainted love. It's happiness, hope and the sense of connection all in one. And it's all in one look!5. George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Clooney is a master of looks in this movie. He is my win over Day Lewis in There will be Blood and it wasn't even close. He looks horribly frustrated, driven but burned out, tired but unable to give up through most of the movie but he also looks serene in the lovely scene with the horses and there is of course the famous ending credits sequence. But my favorite look is from my favorite scene - right after he explodes and yells at Karen with eyes expressing the purest fury, she falls into his trap and the look of total and complete 'I own you' shows on Michael's face. It's so amazingly satisfying after seeing this man struggle throughout the whole film.4. Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
There is a number of fantastic 'one look' moments Ros has in Gone Girl - seeing Nick with Andy, looking at him while drinking her coffee and thinking 'Happy anniversary' and finally the look she throws Rhonda in hospital letting her know she is indeed guilty as sin but Rhonda can't do anything about it. But it's the mixture of contempt, disgust and fury she gives all the cool girls that is the most accurate and spot-on depiction of Amy's emotions in the film.3. Michelle Fairley, Game of Thrones
Fairley is my Queen. No one on Thrones comes close to her - though everyone had at least one of those great 'it's in one look' moments, Fairley had about dozens of those per season. I could rip my own heart out and go with Red Wedding sequence but there is a moment that is even more poignant and honest - it's from ninth episode of season 1 when Catelyn is waiting on the brink of the forest to find out the outcome of the battle between her son Robb's forces and the Lannisters. Ser Rodrik is urging her to go to safety but Catelyn refuses. Suddenly the knights are seen emerging from the forest and Catelyn looks startled and hopeful. And then we see her reflection soften, tears appearing in her eyes. And we see Robb riding forward, unharmed. Catelyn starts crying and laughing, so happy and relieved.2. Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive
Naomi Watts's performance in Mulholland Drive is my all time favorite work from any performer. She is just brilliant in the movie and there is no moment as impressive as the sequence during dinner party where Diane first sees her beloved ex-girlfriend kiss another women and then hears her boyfriend announce engagement to her. No one else captured the heartbreaking pain, all consuming jealousy and pure rage as well as Watts did here.1.Stephen Dillane, The Hours
This is the one moment when I realized just how much I adore scenes like that. Everyone is really good in The Hours but the actors I appreciated the most were always those who create the movie's most affecting, powerful work regardless of how much screen time they have. And Stephen Dillane gives far and away the best performance in stellar ensemble.
The train station scene is often highlighted as Kidman's best moment in the film, hell, it was even her Oscar clip, but for me she is merely reacting to Dillane being able to show, in mere seconds, the depths of love Leonard Woolf had for his wife.
She tells him she is suffocating in the country, in the small town they moved to so that she could have peace and quiet. She tells him that she wants to move to London or else she chooses death. We see Leonard realize she is being serious - she is unhappy, trapped. We see that he knows if he agrees the women he loves will inevitably succumb to her illness, which was far worse in London. The illness that drove to trying to kill herself. But she wants to go. She wants to have a choice. And even though he knows it means death for the woman he loves, he agrees. He cries and then looks up following this moment with a simple question that says so much - Leonard at all times cares for Virginia, for her well being, more than he cares about what he wants and needs.
That is pure love.
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(157) How can anyone not love Oscar season? + links
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Interstellar
(SPOILERS!)I remember when Inception was released among all that ridiculous praise it got. Then I remember watching the movie and thinking 'Really? That's it? That's the movie people give 10/10 to'? Interstellar is in comparison so boring, dumb and irritating I would have gladly see Inception three times instead of it.
Hell, I'd gladly make that damn spinning top my screen-saver.
Behold Interstellar, the film that manages to make that gorgeous Dylan Thomas' poem annoying because Nolan just has to have it repeated several times until you go 'oh my, is it a metaphor for the characters? Thank you Christopher for assuming I'm daft and making sure the poem is repeated enough of times so that a simple moron like me understands your genius".
The film is praised for being ambitious. When that ambition amounts to movie this silly, you really shouldn't praise it. In Nolan's case ambition goes with having an ego the size of space itself. Is he a good director? Yes. Is he a good writer? Absolutely not. Nolan's characters are always painted with insanely thick brush and the only reason these people are coming off as real people and not caricatures is thanks to actors.Nolan and his brother Jonathan who also co-wrote the script here also have the tendency to have incredibly lazy third acts to their movies - to name examples a James Bond movie rip-off in Inception and the whole Harvey Dent situation in The Dark Knight which felt rushed and so easy (not to mention the awful make up). Interstellar's climax, while easily the most consistently emotional part of the film, is just an embarrassment to witness.
There's also not much originality in this film. Earth is dying and we need to find a new planet. That's it. That's the set up. But the movie wastes what felt like 10 years on that set up. The first somewhat interesting thing that happens is the actual launch into space. But it's still a disappointing scene. Up until that point it's just a bunch of exposition, telegraphing the plot twist at least 5 times and incredibly ugly cinematography. It's dark, it's shot without any imagination and the scenes at the farm are presented as dully as they are written.After the launch - and that was a big shock for me - the film's visual side improved only slightly. That the script will be lame, I knew going in. It's Nolan after all. But this? A film of this budget and this is its visual side? There are couple nice shots here and there but honestly only the terrific sequence of docking of the spinning, disintegrating Endurance is worth seeing in the theater. It's the film's peak and its only unforgettable moment where for 2 minutes everything works.
That sequence is also the only time Zimmer's score shone. I don't know why people say it's louder than dialogue - unfortunately I had no problem hearing the lines Nolan brothers came up with. The claims regarding Zimmer's music calling this 'his best work' and 'best soundtrack of the year' are simply incomprehensible to me. It's not even in top 3 of his best work for Nolan, let alone his overall compositions. Inception at least had a variety of memorable melodies that constantly added to the movie. Here it's just Zimmer playing at being Phantom of the Opera and soundtrack kinda sorta just being there. It blends too much with everything else without actually adding anything to the movie.In fact only the terrific "Mountains", played in one of the very few moments in the film that had genuine tension and excitement, is brilliant both as its used in the movie and as a stand alone track.
But the film's most lovely emotional moment has no sound at all - it's in the very good messages from home moment when the camera cuts to show us Cooper who is crying hysterically. The sound is gone many times in the film, to illustrate that 'there is no sound in space' fact that we heard about so often when Gravity was premiering last year. But it's a musing, it's a part of trivia, it's Nolan trying to make it all realistic while he can, before bending the laws of everything in third act and having the audacity to have stuff like 'Love is the one thing that transcends time and space' said to us in what is supposed to be a smart science fiction film.
But this sequence - the messages from home moment - was wonderful. What got to me was how we are told about things, horrible things and they have an impact - we see Cooper's son with his son and then we find out that the child died. We aren't being told what happened (at that point of the movie) but we see Cooper's son broken up about it. That felt more powerful to me that any amount of Amelia's words about the power of love. That was real, profound, emotional. Not gimmickry with which the film is filled, until the point you want to vomit. From technical stand point, something that should be the film's saving grace, the film is not good. And the story? The idea that there are other galaxies out there with potentially habitable worlds is fascinating but leave it to the Nolan brothers to use that set up for a ridiculously dumb and cliched plot with a scientist going nuts. Really, that's what you came up with?
See there is this big secret that Matt Damon was even in this movie. Who the fuck cares, really? Why make it a big secret that a well known actor has a cameo here? What's the point? Especially that other than Damon's dedicated acting his sequences are just awful. It feels like a filler moment, a distraction. That time could be spent on something far more interesting than predictable tale of Dr. Mann.
I was actually trying so hard not to laugh when Damon proceeded to climb downhill after McConaughey in super slow speed while mumbling some nonsense at him.But it's all brilliant writing comparing to the level of pure insanity that is the bookshelf sequence. Stuff like 'they created three dimensional scene to help you understand their five dimension worlds' is being uttered. McConaughey is floating around in a recreation of his daughter's room, multiplied. He communicates with her by throwing books on the floor. He then teaches her quantum mechanics with the use of a watch.
Believe me - it's actually MUCH dumber than it sounds.
I was absolutely speechless. This is being compared toShyamalan's twists by many but I consider it to be a great insult to the guy - no twist of his was that fundamentally moronic. Actual physicists were consulted when that movie was being made and yet no one told Nolan 'Dude, this is fucking awful idea'? I know nothing about physics but here's the thing - as a movie goer, one that is collage educated no less, that movie didn't make it easy for me to buy this even with this much exposition. No, no - it didn't do anything to make me buy this idea. And there is another issue - I simply don't care if it's possible. The film has not interested me enough to even research that idea.Listen, I'm far from being a cynic. In fact it's been 18 days and I'm still lamenting over the fact that Begin Again did not have a romantic ending. I believe love is a genuine miracle, one that makes PEOPLE do amazing things. But the idea that it can actually influence dimensions is something so profoundly silly no amount of explanations and reasoning could convince me.
Given the ludicrous rewrites of the 2008 - and far superior - draft of the script Nolan ego pushed him to have I'm inclined to think nobody involved knew what they were doing. For example - in the first draft of the script there is a romance and even a sex scene between Brand and Cooper. Given the story's ideas on how powerful love is - the ending made sense - excuse me I misspoke - the ending made more sense - than the one in the actual movie, where Cooper is essentially going after this woman who he doesn't have much connection to, who was in love with someone else. It's all preposterous, no matter how lovely the ending looked on screen. You think about it for more than 30 seconds, it collapses on its ass.We actually had Jonathan Nolan say that the wormhole that would allow Cooper to reach Amelia is now closed. So what feels like a hopeful, albeit profoundly retarded ending in the film is in actuality - what? Cooper just spinning around in space? Amelia being on new planet alone? Have they put in more than 5 minutes to actually talk this ending through?
Say it with me - INCOMPETENCE.
See had they left the romance arc in this version of the story, LOVE would probably create a new wormhole and angels and unicorns would carry Cooper to Amelia magically. But Nolan, in his tin hollow chest, has zero understating for passion so he wouldn't know how to film a sex scene to begin with.The acting is good from everyone really, but Jessica Chastain is terribly inconsistent. She is completely unbelievable as her character in the scenes where she doesn't look constipated with rage, when the script asks her to be relaxed and curious she simply isn't. She can be so sympathetic in her roles but she plays Murphy with perpetual bitch face on. It was impossible to care for this girl - she is jaded and in her sweeter moments I completely didn't buy what she was selling.
Edward and Bella's daughter outacted the shit out of her as little Murphy. Mackenzie Foy was especially amazing in the moment Murphy realizes Cooper has no idea when - or even if - he is coming back. That was heartbreaking.In fact Casey Affleck who had far less screentime is so much better than Chastain here too. Wes Bentley is also really good as is David Gyasi. Michael Caine gets stuck with a thankless role with ridiculous twist at the end of it. There's also miscast Topher Grace whose character brings nothing into the movie. No, sorry - he participates in a ridiculous moment where poor Jessica Chastain gets to shout 'Eureka!.
Oh, the horror!
Anne Hathaway is doing beautifully even with all the limitations her character has to struggle with thanks to Nolan's deplorable treatment of women again. In this movie love is a force more powerful than science. Yet when Amelia tells the crew to go to the planet that is more likely to be a habitable world, Cooper uses love against her - someone she loves is on that planet so obviously she gets treated like stupid, emotional, untrustworthy female while a man is the one who makes a decision.That the script has absolutely no consistency is one thing. That Nolan is being a misogynistic prick while simultaneously turning otherwise sympathetic Cooper into an asshole? Now, that is unforgivable.
Still, Hathaway hits all the right notes and creates a courageous and interesting character that you root for. But the film belongs to Matthew McConaughey, whose performance is the best thing about it and in all honesty I think without his dedicated work, that thing would be completely unwatchable. I think Matthew deserves Oscar nomination, because for him to actually create something so good while having this script to work with, it's truly an accomplishment.McConaughey makes us care about his character and sells the film's most impossible moments like him shouting in agony for Murphy to notice him. He is game for the film's insanity and brings in his entire talent and charm to bring this character to life. Without him that ride wouldn't be worth taking at all.
Interstellar indeed doesn't "go gently into that good night" - it's inconsistent, heavy with exposition, tiresome with all the ridiculous twists and turns and disappointing visual side. Everything in this movie is laboured to the point it lacks any kind of finesse, flow, room to breathe.Had all those years ago Interstellar was released in the place of Inception, it would have impact, even with all these issues. But almost exactly a year ago we saw a science fiction movie that proved that all you need to have to make a good space movie is a talented cinematographer, director who is not obsessed with technology to the point of it clouding his judgment, two good actors and an elegant, simple, coherent script.
In the cinematic world post Gravity, Interstellar is simply forgettable.
Interstellar (169 min, 2014)Plot: A team of explorers travel through a wormhole in an attempt to find a potentially habitable planet that will sustain humanity.
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain
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Soundtrack Wednesday - Interstellar
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(158) Hey, they chose the wrong Avenger + links
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Mark Ruffalo Appreciation
November 22, 1967 (Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA)
"Don’t lose your heart, just keep going, keep at it."
In Crazy Stupid Love Steve Carrel's character describes his wife as 'the perfect combination of sexy and cute'. It's not a frequent thing - that someone can be so sweet, friendly and charming while at the same time being impossibly hot.
Enter Mark Ruffalo.
This is one of the most friendly celebrities we have these days - he reblogs his fans' artwork on tumblr, hell the fact he even has a tumblr is so cool, he tweets his followers birthday wishes, when asked about a phone conversation with a fan he actually remembers the fan's name, even though it was a long time ago.
He loves his fans.
Then there is that time he helped out Zoe Saldana. And then there's the joint story.
He shares stories about his dog, he takes his daughters to a park along with their pet bunny and he uploads stuff like this. Are we overdosing on adorable?
No?
Good because there's also THE RUN.
This guy is adorable. Listen to Sam Jackson. And RDJ.
He is also really humble:
And he shares his birthday with Scarlett! So happy birthday to Scarlett too!
There's also that time Mark responded to a fan who was mesmerized Mark takes time to actually respond on tumblr by writing that he is just like everyone else. Tumblr - insanely accurately - responded with this.
There's also this. Whatever the story behind this is, I'm sure I cannot handle:
And you've gotta love that Paul Rudd situation that happened on Comic Con. It's still the funniest thing I've seen all year:
Mark Ruffalo is also someone who chooses such fantastic roles in a variety of movies. He could just settled for being the cute lead of romantic comedies - being effortlessly sweet as he is building doll houses for Jennifer Garner or creating gardens for Reese Witherspoon - but he constantly challenges himself in roles that aren't easy in films like In the Cut - where he played tough cop, We Don't Live Here Anymore - where he played a cheating asshole - or Thanks for Sharing - where he played a recovering sex addict.
Ruffalo was in Oscar talk for Zodiac but he finally landed the nomination for the role that was just perfect for him - playing, sweet, kinda confused laid back guy in The Kids are All Right.
I wouldn't be myself if I hadn't mentioned the fact he is so hot in this movie the audience is not surprised at all when even a lesbian wants to bang him.
I also wouldn't be myself if I didn't mention that in a way he is like McConaughey:
So good.
This year alone Mark has been in three so different movies - In the Normal Heart (Emmy nomination) he played a journalist involved in a fight against the government and everyone ignoring the spreading AIDS epidemic among gay men, in Begin Again (keeping my fingers crossed for Golden Globe nomination!) he was hilarious and heartbreaking as the music producer desperate for a break and in Foxcatcher (which looks like it's gonna bring him his second Oscar nomination) he plays a wrestler Dave Shultz.
Mark is being credited for playing 'every man roles' but it's really not accurate for me. There's really nothing ordinary in how relatable and sweet he makes his characters. He makes us care, he makes us relate, he is so often the heart of his movies and steals the picture from others.
And he probably apologizes for it to them later.
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| Begin Again |
My Life Without Me
The Normal Heart
Avengers
Zodiac
The Kids are All Right
Begin Again
In the Cut
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Thanks for Sharing
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| The Kids are All Right |
Begin Again
The Kids are All Right
In the Cut
Zodiac
Thanks for Sharing
We Don't Live here Anymore
My Life without me
Avengers
Now You see Me
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| Now you see me |
Dan (Begin Again) - LOVE LOVE LOVE him!!!
Agent Rhodes (Now you see me)
Malloy (In the Cut)
Paul (The Kids are All Right)
Detective Toschi (Zodiac)
Chuck Aule (Shutter Island)
Trivia:
- Mark used to wrestle in high school, he then decided to pursue his dreams about becoming an actor
- In an interview with Moviemaker magazine, he claims to have made 800 auditions in his lifetime before making it big.
- Bartended for nearly a decade while trying to break in to show business.
- He was set to appear in Signs (2002) but had to drop out when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. His part in Signs (2002) went to Joaquin Phoenix.
(about his wife) "She was pregnant. She was due. Basically I found out, then our baby was born two weeks later, our son Keen."
But he didn't tell his wife, Sunrise. "No. I didn't know how to tell her without making her afraid. And so I just waited until after."
"So you were sitting on this in your head for a month?"
"Honestly, I thought I was going to die. And so when my son was being born, it was very loaded."
(this is an excerpt from this amazing CBS interview from few days back, it almost made me cry)
- The brain tumor Mark was diagnosed with was found to be benign. Following brain surgery, he has fully recovered after suffering from a partial facial paralysis.
- He is of Italian descent on his father's side, and of French-Canadian and Italian descent on his mother's side.
- Mark is a supporter of the creation of 100% clean energy (including a campaign to "Put Solar On It"and various anti-fracking groups including Artists Against Fracking.
- He is also pro-choice which makes him even more awesome.
- Was a close friend of Heath Ledger. He is also friends with Gael García Bernal.
- His brother, Scott Ruffalo, died December 8, 2008, after being found outside his Beverly Hills home after a gunshot wound to the head.
- Mark modeled his character in The Kids are All Right on his brother.
- His uncredited cameo as a snoozing Dr. Banner in Iron Man 3 (2013) makes him only the second actor - the first was Bill Bixby - to play the role twice.
- According to Sam Jackson and Channing Tatum Mark is a very cuddly person. There's a lot of evidence backing that, this being my favorite:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARK!!!
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(159) *rawrrr* + links
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Stephen Dillane Appreciation
Stephen Dillane
November 30, 1956 (London, England, UK)
I have to phrase this perfectly: I'm just not convinced that the attention we give to creating what we think of as a character isn't actually quite often the means by which an actor overcomes his own terror of standing there onstage and creating a mask to hide behind.
Ah, happy day on the blog again. In fact between Mark Ruffalo, Mads Mikkelsen and Stephen all having birthday in the same month November is one happy month.
The way these posts usually go is fangirl on acid kind of approach but today you're gonna witness something semi-professional. For two reasons - Stephen Dillane is quite reclusive so he doesn't do much interviews one can fangirl over and also - his is such a fantastic actor who was excellent in so many roles and yet whenever I write about how much I love him and someone else responds 'me too' I swear it's like we are two unicorns that run into each other.
In space.
In another galaxy.
Where everything is a maze.
The praise is too rare.
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| The Hours |
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| John Adams |
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| The Greatest Game Ever Played |
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| 44 Inch Chest |
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| The Tunnel |
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| Blackwater battle, season 2 |
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| Game of Thrones, season 3 |
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| Game of Thrones season 4 finale |
His scenes are so often the highlight of the episodes - the mixture of moving (the scene where his wife mentions all of their dead children), hilarious (most recently the bank scene) and epic (kicking ass in Blackwater and showing up in season 4 finale). Dillane's involvement in the show is currently the only thing that is keeping me watching so let's hope that he is finally getting the material, screen time and admiration he deserves in upcoming season 5.
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| Spy Game |
The Hours
Fugitive Pieces
Game of Thrones
Firelight
Spy Game
Perfect Sense
John Adams
The Tunnel
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| Fugitive Pieces |
The Hours
Fugitive Pieces
Game of Thrones
John Adams
Firelight
The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall
The Tunnel
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| Haven |
Haven
Favorite characters:
Leonard Woolf, The Hours
Thomas Jefferson, John Adams
Stannis Baratheon, Game of Thrones
Mal, 44 Inch chest
Charles Harker, Spy Game
Trivia:
- Worked as a Journalist before becoming an actor.
- Was inspired to try acting after reading about how Sir Trevor Eve gave up a career in Architecture to become an actor.
- Did not start acting until he was in his mid-twenties.
- He was awarded the 1999 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Real Thing at the Donmar Warehouse, London, England.
- His son, Frank Dillane, played the role of teenage lord Voldemort in Harry Potter films
- On nudity on Thrones - “It doesn’t particularly appeal to me, reminds me of German porn from the 1970s. But I presume it serves a purpose, and the merits of the show far outweigh my concerns on that score.”
- But there's also a great deal of whimsy - check out this Q&A
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
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Soundtrack Wednesday - Only Lovers Left Alive
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