The Fighter

People keep asking me about The Fighter and how much I liked it.  I can see that this is a crowd-pleasing film much like The Town so my opinion probably isn't going to go very far.

I will start by saying I have no idea why this film is a frontrunner for winning a Best Picture Oscar.  It's clearly an actor's film and the acting from Bale is very good.  The acting from Adams and Leo is good too.  Wahlberg, however, delivers Micky Ward as one of the blandest sports stars ever.  He just didn't seem to have much of a personality.  I know he is supposed to be overpowered by a clan of crazy sisters, a control-freak mother, and drug-addicted brother, but there wasn't even a subtle charm there.  At least for me anyway.

There's a lot of fighting both in the ring and to have a voice, and subsequently it comes off a little whiny.  The exception is a crack-addicted Dicky Ecklund struggling to stay out of prison, restart a never-going-to-happen-again career, and care for a son. His outlook is grim and his body is skeletal, but there's enough heart there to hope he will get a second and third chance.  It saddens the core of his mother who is forced to push the reality of his life out of mind in order to keep going.  The best of the story lies here.  I could have watched Bale all day, Wahlberg... not so much.

The Drive for Perfection

I've been really happy to hear how well Black Swan is doing at the box office (~$61,000,000) and the good reception it has received in general. I saw Black Swan for the first time in Chicago the day it arrived in theaters and due to some poor planning had to sit in the third row from the front. It was certainly not my ideal movie viewing situation, so I was more than happy to accompany some friends to watch it for a second time.  When I walked into my Buffalo movie theater I could not believe how full the screening was almost a month after its arrival.  Incidentally we had to sit in the front section again, but not quite as close as my first time. 

Prior to its release, it seemed like there was a lot of talk around the internet about how its extreme nature is not suited for the Oscar crowd.  While there is still a long road ahead, Black Swan is going strong and Aronofsky, Portman, Kunis, and Hershey's names continue to get recognition and praise amongst the other strong Oscar contenders.  I will be truly excited to see Aronofsky's name grace the DGA nominee list this week.

My first watch of Black Swan was more focused on the psychologically crazy trip through Nina's transformation, the dynamics of her relationships, and of course the disturbing beauty of the final stages of her metamorphosis.  The second time I was able to appreciate so much more her aspiration of perfection - it's consuming power and consequences.  It's there when she comes before Thomas in his office to ask for the part of Swan Queen, when she is moved in explaining her tendency toward attention to detail over an ability to be completely overtaken by the emotional aspects of the story. It's there when she sits in front of the mirror emotionally exhausted from failure and when she leaves the company for home only to immeadiately get out her shoes to continue practicing in her room.  Perfection is within reach as a quitely assured Nina tells Thomas she will be the one performing not Lily.  And as Nina falters in her portrayal of the White Swan we see her a step closer to embracing an all encompassing spot-on performance of the Black Swan. She becomes the role and by extension everything she has always wanted is hers.  Even in spite of all the suffering endured emotionally and physically, even when the performance costs life itself, Nina is overcome with the happiness of perfection.

Also of note is how watching Nina pull a long layer of skin from her finger went from cringe-party (first viewing) to purposeful in a battle for perfection (second viewing).  Sometimes watching a movie after knowing the ending is really great.  Especially this one because watching Nina's full immersion into Black Swan on the stage will never get old.  I love those first moments when her skin begins to grow goosebumps and her arms start taking on the black and grey tones all the way up to her fully feathered wingspan arched behind her.

Recent Rewatch - Toy Story 3

I watched Toy Story 3 right around the time it hit theaters.  It was my second movie of the night and I did not start watching it until fairly late, so I thought part of the reason I was not impressed might have been due to tiredness.  This is partially true because I definitely felt more engaged during the second viewing and I know I laughed more particularly in response to a tortilla-faced Mr. Potato Head and a Spanish-speaking Buzz.  I will even agree to experiencing a few heart-warming feelings when the toys accept meeting their end together and when Andy leaves behind the toys responsible for so many childhood memories as he enters adulthood.  It's a bittersweet acknowledgement of their importance to him and the inevitability of growing up. I can appreciate the final moments of the film and believe the growing up experience to be relatable to the masses.

At the same time, I have to say TS3 is no Up!, it's no Beauty and the Beast, no Lion King, it may not even be as good as the first Toy Story or How to Train Your Dragon for that matter.  My point is I do not believe Toy Story 3 is the greatest animated film of all time.  It was a good ending to a great story, but it did not have the emotional depth that Up! gave us in the form Carl and Ellie's love story, their disappointments and greatest moments that defined a love one could never get over even through death.  Nor does it provide a heroine as beautiful and intelligent as Belle or a grief and shame as deep as Simba's.  When animation provides a story with great emotional intelligence and beauty it deserves all the praise one can heap upon it.  I get that some people felt this deeply about Toy Story 3, I just wasn't one of them.

Black Swan, Natalie Portman, Oscar Chances

Black Swan is both disturbing and masterful.  It is an ode to the art of film making and a crazy trip into the mind of one ballerina who would be perfect.  The innocent and meek Nina Sayers has performed with her ballet company for years, but has yet to be featured in a leading role.  News hits that the aging prima ballerina, Beth would perform her last production at the request of the company and a new dancer would be selected for the lead role in a production of Swan Lake. As the director of the production, Thomas, surveys the class for his new prima ballerina, touching certain dancers on the arm as they warm up.  Nina spins harder, faster and watches him as he watches them.  He explains that his production of Swan Lake will be dark and visceral and the dancer selected would be required to portray both the purity and perfection of the White Swan as well as the passionate and villainous Black Swan.  He finishes his recollection of the major plot points of Swan Lake and calls together the group of women he has selected for a tryout at the end of the day. 

Nina flawlessly portrays the White Swan in her tryout, but when asked to perform the role of the Black Swan, she falters.  Thomas comments on the precision of her White Swan performance and explains that were he only looking to fill the role of the White Swan, Nina would be the perfect selection, however, she does not possess the raw emotion required to play the Black Swan. Disappointed Nina goes home to her overproctective mother and bedroom outfitted in light pink and decorated with stuffed animals.  Her mother, once a dancer herself, never achieved the success she longed for and subsequently has internally vowed to spare her daughter from the harsh realities of stardom.  Their relationship is much too close as Nina has no space that is her own in their small apartment and her mother's actions toward her are just plain creepy as she draws a bath for her daughter, inspects her body and clips her fingernails.  They are the actions of a mother towards her five year old.  It is in the realm of childhood that Ms. Sayers keeps her fully grown daughter.  As Nina agonizes over the seemingly lost chance of the lead role with her mother, she decides to go back to Thomas to convince him of her ability to play the Black Swan. Soft spoken and unsure she proceeds to tell Thomas of her qualifications to which he shares that the role will be given to another. Broken hearted she turns to leave his office as he comes on to her.  Struggling to break out of his grasp and away from his kiss she bites him and he is left to ponder a side he did not think Nina possessed.  Minutes later the role is hers and so begins her descent into the life of the Black Swan.  To help her she studies the ease of new dancer to the company, Lily.  Her technique is not as precise as Nina's, but her passion is at the forefront of her dancing, the perfect Black Swan.  Nina wavers between the two personalities and the result is a psycho-thrilling ride through the insecurities and longings of a dancer craving perfection.

Natalie Portman completely becomes Nina Sayers.  She fully embraces a dancer losing her grip on reality, the struggles of cutthroat competition, the technique of a master performer.  It will be remembered as a performance made for the likes of Portman, a perfomance wrought with raw emotion and perfection. The result is both Nina Sayers and Natalie Portman experience their own swan songs.

This is a once in a lifetime performance, deserving of recognition.  As Portman proceeds through Oscar precursors she is looking pretty good. He biggest competition is Annette Bening  for The Kids Are All Right.  Her performance was really great too.  It was real and full of disappointment and the fight for preservation of family. She has never been recognized by the Academy and her past work proves she is deserving, but I hope this is not the year.  My reason is I just don't think I'm going to look back and think her performance was a once in a lifetime role made for Annette Bening.  She's good, really good, but Natalie Portman dove deep into mind, body, and soul of a dancer and the performance will not be forgotten.

I hope Aronofsky gets some recognition as well.  A director nod would be well deserved.  I'm not the biggest Aronofsky fan around, but it's clear that the man knows how to capture the art of metaphor. His film is disturbingly beautiful and a standout for 2010.  I'm planning on seeing Black Swan again sometime over this weekend... maybe I'll have more thoughts to come.

Love and Other Drugs

Jamie (Gyllenhaal) has never been the best at anything - well, except for wooing a different woman into his bed every night.  It's easy to see why this talent was overshadowed by two doctors and a multi-million dollar businessman in the family.  It is his wealthy brother, Josh who suggests Jamie put his selling bravura to a better use and join the world of pharmaceutical sales. And so, he embarks on a journey to small town USA to sell Zoloft to the physician elite.  He manages to get his foot in the doors of doctors' offices through the hearts of their easily manipulated secretaries. It is in one such office, as he poses as a shadowing intern to promote the benefits of Zoloft, that he meets the free-spirited and artistic Parkinsons patient, Maggie (Hathaway).  In the short time following their meeting Jamie manages to offend and outrage Maggie with the coming to light of his doctor act all while he attempts a shot at acquiring her phone number.  She instead storms away and he is left to weasel her phone number out of another secretary with flattery and empty promises.

They meet up in the coffee shop where Maggie works and the two partake in some back and forth banter - touching on Jamie's inability to face the reality of his life and Maggie's woe-is-me complex due to her illness before they rush back to her apartment for an afternoon quickie on Maggie's floor. Afterwards they form a sex-only relationship and agree to expect nothing more from each other.  Over the next few days, however, Maggie somehow breaks down Jamie's wildly lustful relationship patterns and he begins to throw phone calls and drop-in dinners into the mix.  Despite Maggie's protesting, Jamie continues to pursue more emotional ties with her until she relents and agrees to an actual relationship. 

It's a little suspect that Jamie leaves his falandering ways behind within days of meeting Maggie, but since the rest of the film is dependent upon this happening, I'll let it go.  Both characters are likeable with little quirks that make the viewer interested.  The film tries to go deep, addressing the sacrifice required in loving a person with a serious illness, allowing onseself to experience love in spite of fear, and believing in one's own potential.  Their relationship attempts to meet each other's needs and function in the face of insecurities and I can appreciate watching their learning process.

Love and Other Drugs is definitely a chick flick with a little more depth that makes me like it more than the average chick flick.  Since every chick flick is complete with "funny" friend LAOD uses Jamie's brother, Josh to function in this role.  He is overweight, always messy, and quite vulgar.  His presence would not have been missed.  While some light humor is necessary amidst the heavier subject matter, the character of Josh is a parody and serves to make his scenes as awkward as possible.

Gyllenhaal and Hathaway are enjoyable to watch and the film makes a good attempt at forming a worthwile relationship for the two.  There is a feeling of wanting more from their characters, however, in order to embrace the deeper themes the film throws at us.

Quick Takes

Black Swan ****/****

Due Date  *.5/****

The Fighter **.5/****

127 Hours

Everyone who goes to see 127 Hours knows that the central character is going to cut his arm off with a dull blade right? Well, I certainly knew that this film would be chronicling the 127 hours Aron Ralston spent with his arm lodged between a canyon wall and a boulder and the steps he took to free himself.  I bring this up because it was impossible for me to watch this film without that knowledge affecting my viewing.  I sat eyes glued to the screen with nervous anticipation for its duration, awaiting "the scene."

Aron Ralston, hiking-enthusiast-adventure-junkie-extroardinairre, wakes up, takes a shower, ignores his mother's incoming phone call, finds the equipment necessary for a day of hiking (minus his swiss army knife), and leaves town with a few photocopied pages of a hiking guide - alone.  It's pretty clear from his off-roading trek into his start point and his almost dance-like movements over the desert topography that he knows this place intimately, a second home.  So when he meets two women hiking through, attempting to figure out what direction they need to go, it is only fitting that he offer to guide them and show them the hidden beauty of his home.  He takes them on an adventure, shuffling through a canyon wall only slightly wider than their bodies, suspended in air with their hands and feet pushed against the wall in front of them.  Ralston pulls his hands and feet away from the canyon wall and drops into the unknown.  Awaiting him a few dozen feet down is a refreshing pool, an oasis in the middle of desert.  The girls remain suspended, deciding whether to fully trust their crazy adventure guide and experience the same rush and refreshment Ralston offers.  They drop and Ralston gets the praise for showing them the heart of the desert - a place they would have never found on their own.

This is who Ralston is.  He is the one who takes lost people and sets them straight.  He is the one with the knowledge, the insight, the right moves. 

He ends up leaving the women and they head off in different directions back to the points from which they started.  Weaving in and out of small crevices, testing the strength of the ground he walks on, pausing to look ahead for unstable rock, one knows all his knowledge will not save him from what is to come.  The boulder he stands on gives way, his footing is lost and that same boulder he once stood on has pinned his arm against the canyon wall. 

The remainder of the film is the story of Ralston's will to survive.  With only a rope, a flashlight, a dull knife, a Nalgen full of water and a muffin, the situation looks grim.  We see his regret for refusing to pick up his mother's phone call that would have provided at least one person with his location. We see his attempts at making pulleys, shaving off bits of rock, anything to get that boulder to move a few centimeters.  Then comes hopelessness, an understanding of his horrific situation and hallucinations of past experiences.  He is experiencing ten minutes of sunlight a day and forty degree nights.  His fingers have turned grey, mostly certainly dead by this point.  With a rescue near impossible and no chance of moving on his own, we see Ralston survive by drinking his own urine and keeping his spirit alive by roleplaying on his videocamera.  The dull blade sits on top of the rock and it's coming.  The knife too dull to cut through bone forces Ralston to break his arm twice.  He then stabs his arm as deep as he can, cutting through muscle, tendon, and wincing at the cut of every nerve. His arm from the elbow down remains lodged between the canyon wall but he is now free to stumble out of the cave into sunlight, eventually encountering two groups of hikers who are able to help him until a helicopter arrives.

I have now heard a lot of people say that anyone in Ralston's situation would have done the same thing.  They argue that the will to live gives one the power to do anything to make that happen, that this is inherent human nature.  I would like to believe that with a lack of water, sleep, and the experience of hallucinations egging me on, I too would be able to sever my arm in order to live. I just don't think I could. Maybe the type of person who has it in him to cut his arm is the type of person who goes hiking in the middle of nowhere by himself with no one knowing.  I'm not that type of person either.

Anyway, Danny Boyle directed a beautiful film for more reasons than the prinstine landscape he was able to capture.  The way the days roll into each other, the blur of relationships attached to the thought of experiences that would never be given a chance to exist, the cringe of pain from the cutting of each nerve as the viewer is invinted directly into Ralston's arm.  James Franco nails the spirit of a lone ranger - a man too busy on a quest for adventure to be bothered with precautionary measures, a man who believes himself to be the precautionary measure for the random lost hiker.  The emotional journey he travels through regret, hopelessness, fear, humility, courage, relief is conveyed believably the whole way through. His eventual Oscar nomination will be deserved for playing a man at the high of his life to the very lowest in a mere 127 hours time.