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| Syd |
 Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 1:13 am |
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Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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A Single Man: flawed but moving film about a middle-aged English teacher, George Falconer (Colin Firth) who has lost his partner, Jim, of 16 years, and, after months of waking to pain each morning, has decided to end it all. Being a tidy man, he is carefully arranging his affairs to avoid leaving a mess for his heirs to clean up. Since this is November 1962 with the Cuban Missile Crisis providing background noise, George just can't open up everyone about his loss, although he can open up to his best friend (Julianne Moore), who was also an occasional lover before he met his partner.
Although the supporting performances are reasonably good, this is Firth's film all the way, and this is his best performance since Pride and Prejudice, including The King's Speech (although for that one, he certainly deserved his awards). Since this is what he believes is the last day of his life, he notices things more sharply, and occasionally says something he's always wanted to say (like to the brat next door). Despite his sense of isolation, it's worth noting that everyone notices something's wrong and that he needs a friend.
This is the first film directed by Tom Ford, who comes from the world of fashion design, and this is both a strength and detriment to the film. The look of the film is mostly impeccable, with lots of stylistic flourishes which sometimes work and sometimes doesn't. For instance he has a thing for eyes, since George is noticing them on his "last day." First we have George looking into the eyes of his dead lover (in a dream sequence, since George wasn't present). But then we also look deeply into the eyes of other characters in the film, including Julianne Moore, who isn't even present. Finally George arbitrarily parks his car in front of a pair of gigantic eyes on a blue background, and I sincerely hope this was intended as a joke, because it's ludicrous. (The eyes are from a poster for Psycho. C'mon already.)
On the other hand, I like the way George lays everything neatly out on a tabletop for the people who will find his body. This is an image that really benefits from a visually-oriented director. Or the scene where he meets his neighbor's daughter in an unexpected location. I hope Ford makes a lot more films, because he's obviously talented, and I hope retains his visual sense without getting silly.
Spoiler: I don't like the very end of the film, which strikes me more as a novelist's gimmick to provide closure. Yes, I know it's set up, but to have him die from a heart attack IMMEDIATELY after locking the gun away and deciding to live shouts out that it's a plot device.
So 7.5/10. It was 8.5 of 10 most of the way. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 6:49 am |
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billyweeds wrote: Never seen THX though I've been meaning to for decades. Maybe it's finally time.
Shame on you, Billy. Never saw....[/b] (Haven't seen)  |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 8:44 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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marantzo wrote: billyweeds wrote: Never seen THX though I've been meaning to for decades. Maybe it's finally time.
Shame on you, Billy. Never saw....[/b] (Haven't seen)
Gary--Shame on you for not realizing that the "I've" was understood. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 9:47 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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| It's been a long while since I've seen THX myself, but I'm fairly sure I would still hold it to be George Lucas's best film...and much better sci-fi than all that space opera junk that came later. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 10:41 am |
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billyweeds wrote: marantzo wrote: billyweeds wrote: Never seen THX though I've been meaning to for decades. Maybe it's finally time.
Shame on you, Billy. Never saw....[/b] (Haven't seen)
Gary--Shame on you for not realizing that the "I've" was understood.
I didn't understand it.  |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 12:40 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| Earl and I went to the park to see the silent John Barrymore version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. A pretty good movie and a terrific original score provided by a local group. Hyde is done as a spiderlike creature in this one. I've seen stills over the years reproduced in tons of books, but only watching the movie did I recognize a strong similarity between the look of Barrymore's Hyde and Max Schreck's Count Orlock in Nosferatu, particularly the face and the long, talon-like hands. The Barrymore movie precedes Munau's silent classic by two years. Was it an influence? |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 12:47 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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| I certainly can accept that John Barrymore was an amazing stage actor, but IMO he is a huge ham and overactor on screen. His perf in A Bill of Divorcement is unintentionally funny. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 12:58 pm |
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| Not sure it was a good performance, but I'm also not sure how one defines that in terms of stylized silent-movie acting. |
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You've got a great brain. You should keep it in your head.
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 1:54 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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billyweeds wrote: I certainly can accept that John Barrymore was an amazing stage actor, but IMO he is a huge ham and overactor on screen. His perf in A Bill of Divorcement is unintentionally funny.
It worked well for him in Twentieth Century and Romeo and Juliet where his part called for a great ham and overactor. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 5:24 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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| The Last Laugh: What a drag it is getting old. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 6:34 pm |
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Is that a movie you are talking about, Syd?
I wrote a long time ago that John Barrymore was a stage actor even when he was in a movie so he overacted. It was actually my older brother who said that to me many many years ago, though maybe not in those exact words. Acting live on stage is a different animal than acting in front of a camera, but I'm sure you all know that, especially the actors on here. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 6:52 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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A bit of both, but the film carries it to extremes.
The Last Laugh: Famous F. W. Murnau film told with just one title card after the beginning of the movie, and that card is an apology by the director for foisting a happy ending out of thin air. With a little tweak, he could have given a slight bit of plausibility, but he didn't bother. This is the story of an aging doorman at a great hotel. He is extremely proud of his job, including the respect his doorman's uniform gets him from his neighbors and family, not to mention himself. However, he had now reached the point where he has a hard time toting trunks, so the hotel demotes him to washroom attendant, which humiliates him. So he steals his old uniform to pretend to his neighbors he still has his proud status, and is found out, increasing the humiliation exponentially.
The lack of title cards is not a detriment except at one point when I wanted to know a woman's relationship to him. It forces clear visual storytelling, something Murnau excelled at. It also forces Emil Jannings to overact a bit. Jannings was a a major silent actor, also playing Mephistopheles in Faust, Herr Tartuffe in Tartuffe (both for Murnau), Tsar Paul in The Patriot (the only Best Picture nominee that is mostly a lost film), Louis XV in the awful Lubitsch silent Passion. He was also the first person to receive an Oscar, Best Actor for The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh--they awarded Oscars for multiple roles that year. The last is a famous lost film and is not based on Butler's novel. The Last Command is quite good; it may be my favorite of his roles.
I think the film is somewhat overrated, and the "happy ending" is a problem. The lack of title cards is interesting and successful, but doesn't determine greatness any more than doing Russian Ark as one long tracking shot makes that a great film. I much prefer Sunrise and Tabu among Murnau's films. 7 of 10. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 6:56 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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marantzo wrote: Is that a movie you are talking about, Syd?
I wrote a long time ago that John Barrymore was a stage actor even when he was in a movie so he overacted. It was actually my older brother who said that to me many many years ago, though maybe not in those exact words. Acting live on stage is a different animal than acting in front of a camera, but I'm sure you all know that, especially the actors on here.
That's sometimes true of Lionel as well, both in A Free Soul and Grand Hotel. John is actually more restrained in Grand Hotel. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 7:23 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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| I think I've seen Emil Jannings in five films now, and Tartuffe may be the only one where he looks like Emil Jannings. I'm not even sure about that. Even in Passion he's wearing a wig. I might have to see The Blue Angel to find out what he looked like. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| whiskeypriest |
| Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 7:55 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Syd wrote:
It also forces Emil Jannings to overact a bit. Jannings was a a major silent actor, also playing Mephistopheles in Faust, Herr Tartuffe in Tartuffe (both for Murnau), Tsar Paul in The Patriot (the only Best Picture nominee that is mostly a lost film), Louis XV in the awful Lubitsch silent Passion. He was also the first person to receive an Oscar, Best Actor for The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh--they awarded Oscars for multiple roles that year. The last is a famous lost film and is not based on Butler's novel. The Last Command is quite good; it may be my favorite of his roles.
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