No 96 - American Beauty
Director - Sam Mendes
And so continues my tiny run of 'films narrated by dead characters'. Here we get to enter the gloriously misanthropic, seedy underbelly of suburbia. This is a film that celebrates the fact that nobody really likes anybody, including themselves. It is a film which has a great story, wrapped around a terrific cast. Even the tiny roles are exciting. See the likes of Scott Bakula, Allison Janney and Peter Gallagher crop up for mere minutes (if that) of screen time. It is a delight.
Then there are the larger supporting roles, and of those my favourite must be Thora Birch. Recently watching Ghost World (and then this) has rekindled a feeling I had about her for a while - she is just brilliant.
In both films she perfectly displays the self-loathing and exasperation of being a teenager, of being misunderstood. In this film she is just brilliant, especially when compared to Mena Suvari's character Angela Hayes.
Angela Hayes just bugs me. She may be pivotal to the story - the catalyst - and she may have a wonderful scene in which her character becomes richer, deeper, more interesting. But really, for the majority of the film I just find her really annoying. You can cover her in iconic rose petals as much as you want but it won't change a thing. She bugs me.
But she is the inspiration for this awesome bedspread. And I want this awesome bedspread!
What I think I like the most about Thora Birch - and more specifically her character of Jane Burnham - is her relationship with Ricky, her neighbour. They seem to share a romance which feels genuinely sweet and hopeful in a film which relishes the bleak and hopeless. Ricky is initially portrayed as weird but as you get to see more of him you realise he is a sweet man, a hopeless romantic and a desperate poet (though his 'most beautiful thing I've ever seen' video flirts with the wrong side of pretentious). His character is highlighted as even softer and more beautiful when compared to the walking coil of hate and vitriol which is his father. Colonel Frank Fitts is a horrible man - violent and aggressive, and a sickening bigot. But even he isn't allowed to be a two dimensional character, and Chris Cooper plays him beautifully. By the end of the film, the absolute breakdown which Frank Fitts goes through makes him the most important supporting character of the whole film.
He has a wonderful arc - even though most of it happens very quickly in the final ten minutes.
However, there is one mid-life crisis, one breakdown which is at the heart of the story. Which is the story. Lester Burnham - played by the mighty Kevin Spacey. As the film begins (after his death, with Spacey providing a voice over), I was reminded of something I'd first noticed with The Usual Suspects... Kevin Spacey just has a wonderful voice. It is the kind of voice that you can just listen to for hours. It is a perfect narrator's voice. Which is good, as here it is used to narrate.
What I love is the gradual shift in Lester's priorities. So he begins with a very general malaise about the futility of his life, but after an office blackmail scene (a sexually-themed stylistic echo of the violent Fight Club office blackmail scene) shifts his priority to lust, through the medium of under-age cheerleaders and crappy CGI rose petals. This in turn gradually leads to his realisation that life should be about the simple joy of being happy. Of having no responsibility.
And yes... whilst it isn't good to ditch everything and do whatever you want when you have a family and house etc, I have to admire that extreme level of selfishness for pure personal enjoyment. I think that if you are in a time of your life when you can do that (without hurting anybody else) then frankly you should.
It is that self-entertainment which then slowly moves towards nihilism - not in the same way as Fight Club (and I do think those two films make strangely fitting bedfellows) - but on a smaller, more personal level. All Lester wants is to work out and get stoned. His family is falling apart around him, their respective worlds are collapsing. But he doesn't care because HE is happy.
Considering how selfish he is for the entire film - and considering this is a story which hangs around his selfishness - it is quite nice to have a moment where he slips away from that. The moment where he almost sleeps with Angela shows him at his best. He is kind and compassionate.
And in the end, just before he dies, he is happy.
And as Elliott Smith's utterly beautiful cover of Because trickles over the end credits, that last happy moment of Lester's life leaves me feeling oddly hopeful, in what is essentially a very bleak film.
Showing posts with label kevin spacey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kevin spacey. Show all posts
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
Sunday, 3 January 2010
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist. And like that... he is gone.
No 61 - The Usual Suspects
Director - Bryan Singer.
In my opinion, this is a film that lives for the grand reveal. I have seen it a few times, and call me the cultural heathen but I've found that it lessens with repeat watching. The real strength of this film is the way that it tells an intricate tale of robberies before flooring the viewer with an almighty twist. Usually, I don't feel bad discussing the film's ending etc, however in this context, the ending is the best bit of the film - so I will warn you before I talk about it. In case you've never seen it.
The film itself is made up of two sections.
Firstly, after a massive explosion on a boat, Verbal Kint is waiting in a police station, being 'informally questioned' by the police. The film then flashes back to the story of the series of events leading up to the final explosion on the boat.
I have nothing against the interrogation scenes, they are tense, they are usually angry and Kevin Spacey's depiction of Verbal is superb. For most of the time he is almost monotone, a bored criminal reluctantly giving out information to a cop who wants even more details.
The few time he shows emotion, it is so underplayed, so subtle. Spacey's acting is constantly understated... which is what makes the melodrama of the flashbacks so strange.
My main concern with the story being told by Verbal is that a lot of it fails to make logistical sense...
After all, Verbal is able to explain things that are happening when he is hiding or not in the scene... he also admits to the police that he shot a drug dealer in the head. If this is a genuine discussion of what is going on then there appear to be some serious flaws.
However, the story is told and, the thing is, there have been hundreds of gangster films or films about heists gone wrong. This film is about a group of 5 villains who get collected by the police and put into a prison line up (in another university wall adorning iconic poster), when banged up together they decide to go on a robbery which has dangerous repercussions. Whilst is interesting seeing this bunch of reprobates get caught up in more and more extreme jobs as they get entangled with the mysterious Keyser Söze, the story is not really that compelling and the acting isn't all that strong. It is a case of - group go on a job, something goes wrong, group are persuaded to go on another job. Leading up to a big drug deal (or is it....) on the aforementioned boat.
This is a film that hinges entirely on the question - Who is Keyser Söze? Being both the question which moves the film on but also the question which redeems the film. For as the question is explored, out come the clever and interesting aspects of the film.
Keyser Söze is an enigma, he is spoken about in hush tones and is given near mythical status by the criminals throughout. What I love is that in the flashback, the fictional depiction of Keyser making him look like an epic figure shrouded in mystery and flame.... or El Mariachi.
The mystery of Keyser, and the strange company he keeps is the film's most interesting strength. My final point before I go into SPOILER territory is a quick question about Mr Kobayashi.... He is described as a Limey, making him English - but his accent is bonkers, partly Indian or maybe Middle Eastern. Where is he meant to be from?!
So... Now... SPOILERS - DON'T READ ON IF YOU'VE NOT WATCHED IT!!!
Whilst the film may be a bit pedestrian the moment of reveal when we discover that everything is fake.... that is cinematic genius. All of a sudden you can talk about why the story feels cliched or convoluted - it is being made up, on the spot. The use of cliche and easy set ups makes complete sense once that is all taken into account.
The race is beautiful as Kint leaves the police station, gradually losing his disability as he walks down the street, the way that it is inter cut with flashes of the office showing where Kint got his inspiration. It is both an iconic moment of cinema but also a truly fabulous piece of writing. The ending all that makes up for the plodding middle of the film (though I still wouldn't rate the film so highly).
What I also love is that, even after the film ends... you could still argue that the question is never really answered.
Just who is Keyser Söze?
Director - Bryan Singer.
In my opinion, this is a film that lives for the grand reveal. I have seen it a few times, and call me the cultural heathen but I've found that it lessens with repeat watching. The real strength of this film is the way that it tells an intricate tale of robberies before flooring the viewer with an almighty twist. Usually, I don't feel bad discussing the film's ending etc, however in this context, the ending is the best bit of the film - so I will warn you before I talk about it. In case you've never seen it.
The film itself is made up of two sections.
Firstly, after a massive explosion on a boat, Verbal Kint is waiting in a police station, being 'informally questioned' by the police. The film then flashes back to the story of the series of events leading up to the final explosion on the boat.
I have nothing against the interrogation scenes, they are tense, they are usually angry and Kevin Spacey's depiction of Verbal is superb. For most of the time he is almost monotone, a bored criminal reluctantly giving out information to a cop who wants even more details.
The few time he shows emotion, it is so underplayed, so subtle. Spacey's acting is constantly understated... which is what makes the melodrama of the flashbacks so strange.
My main concern with the story being told by Verbal is that a lot of it fails to make logistical sense...
After all, Verbal is able to explain things that are happening when he is hiding or not in the scene... he also admits to the police that he shot a drug dealer in the head. If this is a genuine discussion of what is going on then there appear to be some serious flaws.
However, the story is told and, the thing is, there have been hundreds of gangster films or films about heists gone wrong. This film is about a group of 5 villains who get collected by the police and put into a prison line up (in another university wall adorning iconic poster), when banged up together they decide to go on a robbery which has dangerous repercussions. Whilst is interesting seeing this bunch of reprobates get caught up in more and more extreme jobs as they get entangled with the mysterious Keyser Söze, the story is not really that compelling and the acting isn't all that strong. It is a case of - group go on a job, something goes wrong, group are persuaded to go on another job. Leading up to a big drug deal (or is it....) on the aforementioned boat.
This is a film that hinges entirely on the question - Who is Keyser Söze? Being both the question which moves the film on but also the question which redeems the film. For as the question is explored, out come the clever and interesting aspects of the film.
Keyser Söze is an enigma, he is spoken about in hush tones and is given near mythical status by the criminals throughout. What I love is that in the flashback, the fictional depiction of Keyser making him look like an epic figure shrouded in mystery and flame.... or El Mariachi.
The mystery of Keyser, and the strange company he keeps is the film's most interesting strength. My final point before I go into SPOILER territory is a quick question about Mr Kobayashi.... He is described as a Limey, making him English - but his accent is bonkers, partly Indian or maybe Middle Eastern. Where is he meant to be from?!
So... Now... SPOILERS - DON'T READ ON IF YOU'VE NOT WATCHED IT!!!
Whilst the film may be a bit pedestrian the moment of reveal when we discover that everything is fake.... that is cinematic genius. All of a sudden you can talk about why the story feels cliched or convoluted - it is being made up, on the spot. The use of cliche and easy set ups makes complete sense once that is all taken into account.
The race is beautiful as Kint leaves the police station, gradually losing his disability as he walks down the street, the way that it is inter cut with flashes of the office showing where Kint got his inspiration. It is both an iconic moment of cinema but also a truly fabulous piece of writing. The ending all that makes up for the plodding middle of the film (though I still wouldn't rate the film so highly).
What I also love is that, even after the film ends... you could still argue that the question is never really answered.
Just who is Keyser Söze?
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