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Review: A Single Man

02.16.2010 by Nicola Balkind // Leave a Comment

 
A Single Man is the directorial debut of Gucci designer Tom Ford. Starring Colin Firth in his most acclaimed role in years, we follow a single day in the life of George, an English professor who recently lost the love of his life, Jim, in a car accident. With Ford’s eye for fashion comes a great respect for continuity in every aspect of filmmaking, from his a sharp sense of pacing and crystal clear aesthetic to the beautifully drawn character arcs and development.

Rather apt of a character-driven narrative, Ford forges an intimacy with his characters that is rarely seen in mainstream cinema. With tightly framed facial close-ups and a penchant for the top left quadrant of the subject’s face, Ford moves in close and, without so much as a flinch, creates an astonishing sense of intimacy that never intrudes, discomforts or distorts. We experience the world through George’s eyes: his despair washing the world of all colour, his eyes lighting up with lust. The focus on facial features allows us to get inside George’s head, experiencing those rare, colourful moments of pleasure between melancholic states that seem to last for hours. For George, every location has a meaning, bookmarking a memory that opens up to allow us to remember Jim; to love him, to miss him, and making his absence felt.

Firth’s performance has earned him an Academy Award nomination, and it is well-deserved. My predilection for sadness and darkness within tortured characters such as his caused something of an internal battle of the wills with this performance. While he feels he has hit rock bottom, there is something that keeps you from believing it. In this way it drives us to root for George, to believe that he is not like Charley (Julianne Moore), whose self-proclaimed future is living in the past.  It makes us believe that these moments of beauty in life and human interactions are what makes life worth living. Without giving too much away, this all ties together seamlessly; another great testament to Ford’s faultless continuity.

A Single Man is like a Tom Ford suit: seamless, elegant, and fitting.

Categories // Film

Script Review: Swingles

02.15.2010 by Nicola Balkind // Leave a Comment

Swingles is a screenplay that is currently in development. Zach Braff has announced that he is to direct and star (in a supporting role) in the film alongside Cameron Diaz. These are my thoughts on the spec script.

Hats off to Duncan Birmingham, as he has truly outdone himself with this one. It’s He’s Just Not That Into You with a dash of I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell (I don’t even have to watch that one), wrapped up in the fuzzy blanket that is the safe and predictable rom-com formula. Pepper in the words, “Sexy”, “Cute”, and “Awesome” every time you introduce a nameless caricature of a character — all in various stages of undress — and what do you get? The recipe for a dinner-and-a-movie date film.

The idea behind this film is that you can treat your audience in the same way as you do your female lead. Introduce Max and his wingman Nathan, who love to barhop and pick up chicks. Enter Jessica and Sophie, a pair of New York thirty-somethings complete with shrinks, unfavourable relationship histories and insecurities by the bucketload. It’s not long till their worlds collide, and Nathan and Sophie hit it off. In classic rom-com style, the two wingfolk are left to a match of “who can detest and outwit the other more in the space of five minutes?”

When Nathan and Sophie unexpectedly get together, decide to marry within 4 months, then announce that Sophie is pregnant, Jessica and Max are left to play the field alone. Or are they? Max quickly transforms into Justin Long’s character in He’s Just Not That Into You, and Jessica returns the favour. Realising that they make great wingmates, Jessica and Max play the field, shapeshifting their personalities to fit their prospective partners. Hence, Swingles. They soon come to learn much more about each other, and themselves, than they could ever have imagined. Can you guess what happens next?

Swingles is your typical Hollywood fluff, replete with dude-bro gay jokes, misogynistic trash-talking, and cheesy… pardon me, “romantic” quotations of The Accidental Tourist. Duncan Birmingham has clearly taken a great deal from his multiple viewings of When Harry Met Sally and re-runs of Entourage.

With Zach Braff on board, I have no doubt that it will be a massive hit.

[Image from slashfilm website.]

Categories // Film

Classics: Duck Soup

02.13.2010 by Nicola Balkind // Leave a Comment

 
The Classic: Duck Soup (1933)
Director: Leo McCary
Starring: Groucho, Harpo, Chico, & Zeppo Marx

The Excuse: I didn’t pay any attention to black & white comedies until I took a Silent Film Comedies class at UCSB. The focus was, of course, the silent clowns. For some reason, after watching a great deal of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd, I didn’t graduate on to Laurel & Hardy and the Marx Brothers. Well, now I’m making those first steps into the world of 1930s comedy.

The Review:
Did I miss something? Perhaps my expectations screwed me over. I had always imagined the Marx Brothers would be somewhere between Chaplin and Keaton’s balletic and stylised physical comedy, and Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor’s chemistry and facial expressions. After watching Duck Soup, I can’t help but conclude the same thing that many film historians have deduced over the years. Physical comedy died with the silent era. Expecting balletic comedy and ending up with prop humour, Duck Soup was a disappointment.

While I feel like I must be alone in this admission, upon reading the Wikipedia page, I found that Duck Soup was “a box office disappointment, although it was not a ‘flop’ as is sometimes reported.” While this is no measure of quality, perhaps Duck Soup wasn’t the best place to start. It seems that criticism about this film evolved, and as opinion became increasingly positive, culminated into the definitions of “classic” and “Marx Brothers masterpiece” that are ubiquitous today.

For those of you who haven’t seen it or need a refresher, Duck Soup is about the fictional nation of Freedonia. Before agreeing to donate more money to the bankrupt nation, the wealthy Mrs Teasdale insists upon the appointment of Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx). Meanwhile, Trentino, ambassador of rival nation Sylvania, hatches a plan to woo Mrs Teasdale and invade Freedonia. Chicolini and Pinky (Chico & Harpo Marx) attempt to infiltrate the government and generally cause a lot of mayhem. In a nutshell, all of the double-crossing and general confusion result in a war between Freedonia and Sylvania.

My negativity does not go to say that this is a bad film in its entirety. It had some redeeming moments, like the  rivalry between Pinky and the lemonade merchant, and the timeless mirror scene. Overall, though… I just Don’t Get It.

Favourite Quote: 
Bob: Your Excellency, you’re shooting your own men!
Rufus T. Firefly: Here’s five dollars. Keep it under your hat. Wait, never mind. I’ll keep it under my hat.

The Verdict: “Well, what can I say? Everybody is different. It doesn’t make you a bad person.” — My Dad. I fear that what this really means is, “Nicola, you’re crazy, and entirely alone in this whacky opinion. But you’re my daughter, so I won’t hold it against you.” Thanks, Dad.

Further Viewing for Experts:


The mirror scene. What else?


[Image from LoveFilm website.]

Categories // Film

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