Monday, February 13, 2006

Mini Reviews - Me and You, Wedding Date, Citizen Kane

Well it's been well over a week so, my mini reviews are well overdue. This week (and a half) I saw a lovely independent film called Me and You and Everyone We Know, a stylish but disturbing French film called Irreversible, vapid Hollywood dreck (The Wedding Date), and an old classic and a personal favorite of every film lover (myself included), Citizen Kane. A full review of Irreversible will come soon. For now, let's look at the other three.

Me and You and Everyone We Know (July, 2005)
Following the lives of several lonely people, we see how miraculous, charming, and quirky the mundane can be; through July's eyes anyway.
This was truly a charming film. Yes, there are some uncomfortable moments when some childhood sexuality is explored, and I am not sure what those explorations add to the film, but the children themselves are vital. But aside from those explorations, what we have is a look at how disconnected we are in the modern world, and to what lengths we go to connect, and to feel connected. To that end, this film is so much more successful than the way overrated Crash that everyone loves so. (Yes that movie was pounding you over the head with discourse on racism, but it was also trying to talk to you about disconnected modern life.) Something was missing from this film that made me truly love, love, love it. But it is delightful and quirky, and doesn't weigh you down with its message, though one is still delivered.

The Wedding Date (Kilner, 2005)
A woman (Debra Messing) we don't care about hires a cologne ad of a man (Durmot Mulroney) to be her fake date (why not he's a fake enough man?) to her sister's wedding. In the course of events, they naturally fall in love (though we neither care, nor buy it) and split up and make up.
This movie is a huge waste of 90 minutes. The acting is unconvincing, Durmot is stiff as a board, and the writing is... is... well empty! Recycled themes from other movies are not enough to make this one fly. Don't waste your time.


Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941)
A newspaper tycoon dies uttering this last, mysterious word: "Rosebud." As a reporter tries to unravel the mystery of this word, so unravels the mystery of a man's life.
Undeniably one of the best films ever made. The writing and everything else is pretty damned good, though there are one or two actors who could have done with a couple more acting lessons before getting onscreen, but they can't diminish the brilliance of this film. That's because the true star of this film is the composition. The shots are truly astounding. Welles was so deft at using camera angles and space to indicate power hierarchies and to add depth to the psychology of his characters. And everything looks so gorgeous. There is so much coveyed in every shot; it's a masterpiece of visual storytelling.

More next time!

Back to the full blog...

1 comment:

Elisabeth said...

Oh! I forgot that I also revisited Dark City this week. Oh well, I will put it in next week's reviews.

 

blogger templates 3 columns | Tech Blog