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Eastern Promises mini-film review
Dec. 29th, 2007 11:32 amWell, now that the year has almost drawn to a close - I can state that I accomplished my three main resolutions: Learned to knit, finished my novel and sent it to readers and a contest, and got a full-time job that I actually like. Also, another thing, my seven years of pain is about to draw to a close as well. According to my former boss at wonky company - things come in sevens. So I figure had a difficult seven years - next year should be grand.
At any rate - am looking forward to 2008.
Resolutions continue to be simple: keep job, save money for own place or at the very least new furniture, try to get book published and make progress on my next one, spend a lot less time on the internet, spend more time meeting new people and try to get reacquainted/closer with my extended family and my brother.
Saw a great movie the other day - Eastern Promises - which I heartily recommend. It's not as violent as I thought - or rather not as violent as most of the tv shows I've watched.
If you can make it through seven seasons of Buffy and five of Angel without flinching, you can watch this. It's violence is more direct and serious than most tv violence is - which in some ways I prefer, because it makes you wince and makes you aware of the consequences.
I won't tell you that much about it. Best to go in relatively blind like I did. What you should know is the performances are spot on. The writing is tight. It is not too long. Holds your attention throughout. And every little thing, like in most of David Croenberg's films, matters. David Croenburg is an anal director - very detail specific and a bit of a minimalist. If he shows violence? It's not gratuitious. Each piece of dialogue, each frame, is important. Croenburg also is fascinated by the physical or the body. So the film has a nude scene but not a gratuitious one. The nude scene tells us a great deal about the character. And like most Croenburg films, the scene combines nudity with violence and oddly beauty.
Eastern Promises is in some ways a much better film than A History of Violence, but has gotten less play and fanfare. A shame. I wish more people had seen it, that it did better - since it is amongst the best films I've seen this year. Too many, like my pal Wales, were scared off by the critical response to the fifteen minute nude bath scene battle - which is not quite as brutal as everyone seems to think it was. I suspect it was not the violence that shocked so much as the full frontal male nudity of the star, since the violence was no different than what I've seen on most cop shows. I wonder if people would have responded the same way if the star had been fully clothed during the scene. What is it about nudity that scares people so much or rather makes them so uncomfortable? Is it the vulnerability? The feeling that we are exposed? Or is it that we place far too much importance on the sexual and physical attractiveness of others? I don't know, just musing here.
Overall rating for Eastern Promises? A+
Also saw Stardust - which I didn't like as well. It's your basic story about a boy who saves a fair damsel, marries her, becomes king, and ends up with her forever and ever happily ever after. I watched it with my mother - who came into the movie half-way through and had no problems figuring it out or for that matter what would happen next. Neil Gaiman reminds a great deal of Tim Burton - they are more interested in the details of the world they are depicting than in their characters or story, to the extent that the characters and story almost get lost or become inconsequential. I did not care what happened to the characters in this film. The only two I found halfway interesting were the star played by Claire Danes (who actually gave a bit of substance to her character) and Michelle Pfieffer's witch. Can see why it bombed at the box office. I mention it here - because it demonstrates why Eastern Promises, a less showy and far less expensive film, worked better. Eastern Promises focused on creating compelling characters and showing us their story, the story came directly from them and as a result felt unique and different even though it has been told before. While Stardust, the characters were merely there to show off the setting and tell the story, and as a result the story felt cliche and predictable, as opposed to innovative.
At any rate - am looking forward to 2008.
Resolutions continue to be simple: keep job, save money for own place or at the very least new furniture, try to get book published and make progress on my next one, spend a lot less time on the internet, spend more time meeting new people and try to get reacquainted/closer with my extended family and my brother.
Saw a great movie the other day - Eastern Promises - which I heartily recommend. It's not as violent as I thought - or rather not as violent as most of the tv shows I've watched.
If you can make it through seven seasons of Buffy and five of Angel without flinching, you can watch this. It's violence is more direct and serious than most tv violence is - which in some ways I prefer, because it makes you wince and makes you aware of the consequences.
I won't tell you that much about it. Best to go in relatively blind like I did. What you should know is the performances are spot on. The writing is tight. It is not too long. Holds your attention throughout. And every little thing, like in most of David Croenberg's films, matters. David Croenburg is an anal director - very detail specific and a bit of a minimalist. If he shows violence? It's not gratuitious. Each piece of dialogue, each frame, is important. Croenburg also is fascinated by the physical or the body. So the film has a nude scene but not a gratuitious one. The nude scene tells us a great deal about the character. And like most Croenburg films, the scene combines nudity with violence and oddly beauty.
Eastern Promises is in some ways a much better film than A History of Violence, but has gotten less play and fanfare. A shame. I wish more people had seen it, that it did better - since it is amongst the best films I've seen this year. Too many, like my pal Wales, were scared off by the critical response to the fifteen minute nude bath scene battle - which is not quite as brutal as everyone seems to think it was. I suspect it was not the violence that shocked so much as the full frontal male nudity of the star, since the violence was no different than what I've seen on most cop shows. I wonder if people would have responded the same way if the star had been fully clothed during the scene. What is it about nudity that scares people so much or rather makes them so uncomfortable? Is it the vulnerability? The feeling that we are exposed? Or is it that we place far too much importance on the sexual and physical attractiveness of others? I don't know, just musing here.
Overall rating for Eastern Promises? A+
Also saw Stardust - which I didn't like as well. It's your basic story about a boy who saves a fair damsel, marries her, becomes king, and ends up with her forever and ever happily ever after. I watched it with my mother - who came into the movie half-way through and had no problems figuring it out or for that matter what would happen next. Neil Gaiman reminds a great deal of Tim Burton - they are more interested in the details of the world they are depicting than in their characters or story, to the extent that the characters and story almost get lost or become inconsequential. I did not care what happened to the characters in this film. The only two I found halfway interesting were the star played by Claire Danes (who actually gave a bit of substance to her character) and Michelle Pfieffer's witch. Can see why it bombed at the box office. I mention it here - because it demonstrates why Eastern Promises, a less showy and far less expensive film, worked better. Eastern Promises focused on creating compelling characters and showing us their story, the story came directly from them and as a result felt unique and different even though it has been told before. While Stardust, the characters were merely there to show off the setting and tell the story, and as a result the story felt cliche and predictable, as opposed to innovative.
