Movie Review: MELANCHOLIA

MELANCHOLIA

2011

R

"Hold my hand. Close your eyes."

-- Justine

Melancholia is a 2011 dramatic arthouse film directed by Lars von Trier that delves into the concepts of depression and disaster. In the midst of her wedding celebration, new bride Justine (Kirsten Dunst) unwittingly falls victim to a number of outside circumstances that keep her from enjoying what should be the happiest day of her life. Her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and her husband John (Kiefer Sutherland) continually pester her about her mood, and she withstands a number of confrontations from her employer (Stellan Skarsgård) about work-related issues. Her mood swings affect her new husband Michael (Alexander Skarsgård), and at the end of the night, Justine finds herself without a husband and without a job. The film then transitions to its main story: Justine has fallen into a deep depression, and the world watches as a rogue planet called Melancholia heads on a course for a fly-by of Earth. Justine comes to stay with Claire and her family, and she slowly gets back on her feet. Around the same time, Claire begins to worry that Melancholia might, in fact, collide with Earth, causing the end of the world as she knows it.

I first heard about Melancholia as it made its way through the film festival circuits back in early 2011. Dunst managed to nab the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival, a feat which sparked early Oscar buzz for her performance. The film itself would go on to be selected as the best film of 2011 by the U.S. National Society of Film Critics, and it managed to score a number of nominations and wins at ceremonies around the world. But it was the performance of Dunst, whom has been both good and bad over the years, that truly drew my personal interest in the film. Little did I know that von Trier had something truly special hidden up his sleeve.

I think I need to start with this disclaimer before I get into my overall review: Melancholia is an arthouse film, and it's not going to appeal to all viewers and audiences. Fortunately, the film's opening sequence will set the stage for whether or not you are personally going to make it through the over two-hour venture. The film opens in true arthouse fashion with a number of seemingly random sequences that are sure to confuse many. I myself was scratching my head at the very outset, wondering what exactly I was getting myself into. If you're already turned off by the opening sequence, then Melancholia might not be the flick for you, but if it offers you a sense of intrigue, I implore you to keep watching.

As I previously stated, the film delves into the deepest realms of depression and disaster. It's not the easiest film to watch, and it certainly doesn't offer any real happy ending. It's going to leave a bit of a sour taste in your mouth, but I think that's the point. The storyline itself is relatively rudimentary, but it's the subtle nuances about the screenplay that bring this film to life. The events taking place in the world outside of the film's characters are merely the pieces that keep time moving forward. Melancholia is more about investing yourself in the characters and the emotions they convey. The brilliance in the screenplay stems from the wonderfully-written characters. Even the characters we only see for a moment seem perfectly-placed, and it gives the film a true sense of reality and validity.

The best part of the screenplay, in my opinion, is von Trier's look at the world of depression. Having had my own issues with mental illness, I'd be lying if I said I didn't take a personal emotional interest in the cinematic look at this world so familiar to me. Von Trier himself has had his own issues with depression, and it was these circumstances that led him to craft this particular film. What he creates is one of the most honest and heartbreaking looks at a person with depression, and for that alone, I have to applaud the filmmaker and writer.

This character-driven creation would have never come to life were it not for the stellar cast that von Trier was able to bring together. Dunst is a revelation as one of our principal leads, and I'm left scratching my head, wondering how she was left off last year's Oscar ballot. This is a role unlike any she has ever taken before, and she knocks it out of the park. I laughed with her Justine, I cried with her, I fell to the very depths of sanity with her. When an actor is capable of bringing the viewer on that kind of emotional ride, you know they're doing something right. What's incredible is that Gainsbourg is just as good as Dunst, and it's almost unfair to think that this film managed to snag two fantastic performances. Between the two, it's easily one of the best pairs of performances I've seen together in one film in the last few years. Dunst may take the cake, but Gainsbourg is definitely having a slice or two. The rest of the cast fills out quite nicely, with both the elder and younger Skarsgård offering solid, albeit small, performances. Sutherland also does well with his bit, but he's overshadowed by his female counterparts. Also be on the watch for a great bit piece from John Hurt.

As I said before, Melancholia is not going to be a film that everyone will enjoy. If you've watched other arthouse fare and had trouble remaining engaged, then you might want to pass this one by. However, I personally found it to be an incredible cinematic feat, and Dunst's performance alone is enough to give it recommendation. If you have the patience for it, I'm sure Melancholia will deliver for you in the way it delivered for me.
 

Movie Review Summary

Grade: A-

Status: Should See

Movie Review: INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL

2008

PG-13

"How much of human life is lost in waiting?"

-- Professor 'Ox' Oxley

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a 2008 action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg that serves as the fourth installment in the Indiana Jones franchise. Released nineteen years after The Last Crusade, this new adventure with Indiana Jones took a very different turn than its predecessors. The film opens on the 1950s, where an aged Indiana (Harrison Ford) has been taken captive by a group of Russian KGB operatives led by a Dr. Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett). At gunpoint, Indiana helps the Russians steal a classified box from a secret warehouse, but he does not know exactly what the box's contents contain. After being returned home, he thinks himself done with the situation until a young man named Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) seeks him out to tell him that a mutual friend named Professor 'Ox' Oxley (John Hurt) has been captured by the same Russians in connection with the box they stole. The two make their way to South America to find Ox, and it is there that they learn that their friend had found himself caught in a plot to find a legendary city called Akator by using an equally legendary artifact known as the crystal skull. Indiana and Mutt start to piece together the puzzle that Ox has left for them, but the Russians are soon on their tail once again, eager to find Akator first.

I would like to start this post by telling you a story. I was a sophomore in college in Santa Cruz when Kingdom of the Crystal Skull hit theaters, and like most other Indy fans, I was rather excited to see it. So excited, in fact, that I made the trek down to the local theater for the midnight screening on opening night. The theater was sold out, and fans were lined up around the block to see Ford don the fedora for the fourth time, so you can imagine our audience's anticipation as we sat impatiently waiting for the opening credits to roll.

Fast forward to a little over two hours later, and you would have found me walking out of the theater talking nothing but trash about this film. After that first go-around, I hated it. I despised it. I though that Spielberg had found a way to destroy one of my childhood cinematic heroes. And for that, I was rightfully angry. It took me a few days, but after I thought about the film for a while, I started to come around and think that maybe it wasn't as horrendous as I had originally thought. I soon came home for the summer, and I had the chance to view the film again per my father's request, and seeing Kingdom of the Crystal Skull actually helped to open my eyes to its concepts and themes a little bit more.

I always hear quite a bit of opposition towards this film when I talk about it amongst my friends and my readers, and I can somewhat see their point. I am in now way going to spend hours here trying to convince you of why this film fits into the Indiana Jones canon - although I may save that project for a later date - but I think that I should at least tell you why I happen to enjoy the film. Because so many people did not like Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, many actually forget that it managed to secure relatively positive reviews amongst the critical community. On Rottentomatoes.com, the film holds a seventy-seven percent approval rating and holds the following critical consensus:

Though the plot elements are certainly familiar, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull still delivers the thrills, and Harrison Ford's return to the title role is more than welcome.

Even more indicating of the critical response is the film's score of sixty-five on Metacritic.com, which correlates to "generally favorable reviews." Still, so many of the fans have yet to come around, and I'm sure I know why.

Ultimately, it all boils down to the fact that Kingdom of the Crystal Skull does not measure up to its predecessors. Because those films set such a lofty bar, it would have been nearly impossible to reach that particular goal. Still, fans were deservedly spoiled by the first three installments, so why shouldn't they expect something the same, right? But enough of this vagueness. Let's talk about why I like this film.

For starters, I like the story. I think it's an original tale of something that an over-the-top archaeologist like Indiana Jones might actually find himself looking for. Sure, there are some snags here and there, but to be fair, none of the Indiana Jones flicks are perfect. They all have flaws here and there, and Kingdom just has a few more that it couldn't quite work out. But the storyline works well and flows incredibly well, and it manages to keep you wondering where it might actually be going. Let's be honest - did any of us really expect those climactic scenes in Akator? I think not, and I think that's why so many people have spoken out against it. But the story itself works and proves to be entertaining.

I also thought the cast proved to be effective as well. Ford does a fine job reprising his role from nearly twenty years earlier, and he plays the part to a tee considering how much he's aged. I also think that Blanchett was a good addition to the cast list, and her star power alone makes this one worth a gander. Some of my readers will know that I'm not much of a Shia LaBeouf fan, but after re-watching this today, I have to say that I'm not entirely turned off by his performance. It works well with the context of the story, and he's really not as central as I had remembered. John Hurt gives a fine performance in a supporting role, but it's so out there that I think most people overlooked it. Also be on the watch for decent supporting roles from the likes of Ray Winstone, Jim Broadbent and Karen Allen, who returns as Marion Ravenwood.

At the end of the day, there's no way that Kingdom of the Crystal Skull can ever be compared to the rest of the Indiana Jones franchise. However, that does not make it a terrible film. I think it's a movie that polarized a lot of viewers at the time of its release, but by giving it another chance now, I think many of them might be able to see past their original insecurities. Ultimately, it's an entertaining romp through the Indy universe, and for that, I think we should all be glad.

Movie Review Summary

Grade: B

Should You Watch It? Yes

Movie Review: TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

2011
R


"She told me she had a secret, the mother of all secrets..."
Ricki Tarr

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a 2011 dramatic film directed by Tomas Alfredson that serves as an adaptation of John le Carré's 1974 novel of the same name. Set in 1973 in the midst of the Cold War, it comes to the attention of the higher-ups in British Intelligence that there is a mole amongst those around them. After being forced into retirement, former agent George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is asked by his government to come back to Intelligence in order to clear up the matter. He starts by looking through the former head of Intelligence's - aptly referred to as Control (John Hurt) - apartment and learns that he had created a list of five potential suspects: the four men currently running British Intelligence as well as Smiley himself. With the help of a younger agent named Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch), Smiley digs deeper and deeper as he tries to weed out the mastermind behind their intelligence woes. Just as things seem to be a little out of place, some new information from a somewhat disgraced agent named Rikki Tarr (Tom Hardy) once again helps Smiley's chase.

Now I know that the above synopsis probably seems a little bit confusing, but with as much information as is given during the film, I'd say I've done at least a halfway decent job of conveying the basic plot outline. I have not read the source novel, but from everything I've heard, it packs quite a bit of information and spy-related terminology into its 432-page duration, so to adapt such an exquisitely-written piece into feature film format must have been quite the endeavor. This is also the second time this novel has been adapted into any type of motion picture - the first was a seven-part television series in 1979 - and even that had difficulty keeping the novel's every last detail. So one can imagine that there would be some concern as to whether a two-hour venture into the story could possibly relay the novel's magnitude. In his review for the Daily Mirror, David Edwards wrote the following:

The big question - and one Le Carré himself asked when the film was announced - is whether such a hefty novel can fit comfortably into a feature-length production. In answering this, the writers have pared things back, meaning it's far pacier than the seven-part TV show. Unfortunately, the plot is every bit as bewildering with an overload of spy-speak, a few too many characters to keep track of and a final act that ends with a whimper, rather than a bang.

While there are some points with which I agree, I'm not entirely on board with Edwards's evaluation of the film's screenplay. On the one hand, I do think that there is just a little too much going on to fit into a two-hour film; I could see this having been expanded another thirty to forty-five minutes, and it might have worked a little more fluidly and made a little more sense along the way. As it stands, the film just starts, and it's almost as though the film requires the viewer to understand its beginnings beforehand. We as the audience are just thrown so much, and while it's all understandable when you sit back and think about it, it's just a tad bit overwhelming. If you're not able to sit back and pause the film from time to time to collect your thoughts, you may get left behind.

That being said, I thought the story and the twists worked excessively well. Once I was able to lock down on the storyline, I found a way to follow it and worked rather hard to keep up with it all, and I do have to say that it proved to be both clever and fulfilling. The consistent flow of facts and information was a tad bit much, but in the end, it all came together and painted a very incredible picture of the events that had led to the film's climax. While it's not the best screenplay I've ever seen, it proves to be an effective one, and for that, the screenwriters should be applauded.

Fortunately, the acting is strong enough throughout the film that it easily counterweights the issues with the aforementioned screenplay. Oldman is fantastic as our leading man, bringing a quiet but strong performance to the screen, but to be fair, I'm not sure anyone expected anything less from him. Some of our supporting actors also give great performances. Be on the lookout for Toby Jones and Colin Firth, both of whom play more antagonistic characters but play the parts well. Hardy is fantastic once again, slowly but surely making a statement as to his overall acting ability. John Hurt was also quite good in his limited appearance. I'd also like to make mention of Cumberbatch and the always great Mark Strong, who both turn in grand performances. Ultimately, this is a fantastic ensemble cast all around.

Despite this, at the end of the day, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy falls a little bit short of its lofty expectations. I was incredibly excited to see this film from the moment I first saw the trailer, and when it managed to garner incredibly favorable critical reviews, my eagerness only grew. Sadly, it was just a little too puzzling from time to time, and ultimately, it couldn't find a way to hook me like so many other dramatic thrillers have in the past. It seems as though a fan of the novel would be best-prepared for a film like this, but seeing as I was not familiar with it at all, I had to go into the film a little bit blind. As a result, I had to fight to stay with the story, and that's not always the best way to experience a film.

Movie Review Summary
Grade: B+
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