Romance returns
Movies seen autumn 2009.
Originally written: April 2009
Oscars 2009
Last Chance Harvey
Duplicity
In the Shadow of the Moon
Casanova
Stardust
I wasn't all that interested in the Oscars this year. A combination of Oscar fatigue and a lack of anything creative in most of the selected entries had led me to being less than my usually enthusiastic self. The broadcaster with the local rights, the Nine Network, showed the whole thing live this year, which meant it was on air from about noon on a Monday in Sydney. I missed the fact of this live broadcast, expecting the usual 'live on delay' broadcast in the evening. In fact, on that Monday night, the television station broadcast a 'good parts' version of the ceremony starting at 2130. That meant that those of us who watched the repeat did not get to see the whole show. I remain unsure as to how much of Hugh Jackman's performance as MC (about which more anon) was eliminated but the Nine Network showed that it remained the epicentre of anti-intellectualism in Australian television. I would expect that the majority of the minor categories (short subject, animated short etc) would be cut but the network went further and declined to show any of the writing awards or any of the foreign language film award. The cutting of the writing awards led to us not seeing what was reported as one of the few comic highlights of the evening: the banter between Steve Martin and Tina Fey. Nor did we see the cinematography award, hence missing Ben Stiller's send up of Joachim Phoenix, the other noted comic highlight. Nonetheless we saw in full the very unfunny sketch featuring Seth Rogen and James Franco about the non-nominated movies. They seem to have cut the show with pinking shears - and an eye to the lowest of the lowest common denominators.
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What I saw of the show indicated that it was an improved product from the last few years. The decision to go with an actor/hoofer, rather than a comedian or talk-show host, was a sound one. Hugh Jackman was featured largely in two production numbers but we saw little of the linkages he must have provided. The opening was based on the conceit of a cheap-as-chips production number, using do-it-yourself sets to allow Jackman full throttle on the humor of the send-ups. Surprisingly, the "spontaneous" assistance from Anne Hathaway on the Frost/Nixon pastiche was about the best part of the number. The second number, with support from Beyonce and two of the nameless drones from the High School Musical cast, was a medley of musical numbers and was indistinguishable from many similar efforts in previous years - but at least it was entertaining. Hopefully, the better ratings accruing to the Jackman Oscars will mean an end to the recent cookie-cutter talk-show hosts, none of whom has even a modicum of the talent that Johnny Carson brought to the job.
Amongst the good innovations was the use of five former winners in the acting categories to introduce each of the nominees and talk about their career and their particular performance. Most of them worked, particularly Robert DeNiro on Sean Penn (which was funny and moving at the same time) and Shirley MacLaine on Anne Hathaway (reducing her subject to a quivering mound). Others were not so successful: our Nic's attempt to talk up Angelina Jolie ended up sounding both false and forced, while language problems in reading the script handicapped both Marion Cotillard and Sophia Loren. Nonetheless, I think this a good idea - at least in the first few iterations, until they run out of presenters capable of doing the job well and start using the likes of Roberto Begnini, Marisa Tomei, Gwyneth Paltrow or other of the embarrassing earlier choices. While the idea of a bunch of actors extolling the virtues of their peers was excellent, there was no analogous honor for the artisan awards. Once again we fell back on the young and the feckless (with some honorable exception - like Martin and Fey, who at least can claim to be writers as well as actors) telling us how films are edited or photographed or have sound added. What is wrong with an editor or two talking about editing or a production designer presenting the Art Direction Oscar?
Also on the downside was the lack of adequate recognition of The Dark Knight and Wall-E. We already know that the old pharts of the Academy are committed to the serious and pretentious at the expense of genre pictures, no matter how entertaining. However, in previous years, they have recognised the artisanship of the genre movies. Not this year. Most of the craft awards went to Slumdog Millionaire and to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. So Slumdog had the best original song, score, editing, sound mixing and cinematography while Button won for visual effects, makeup and art direction. Apart from Heath Ledger's deserved posthumous award, The Dark Knight won only for sound editing and Wall-E for animated feature. The tendency for movies nominated for best production to win downstream awards, despite the fact that there are better crafted films amongst those never likely to get a Best Production nomination, is a continuing, and growing, scandal.
Finally, I should note that, in the truncated red-carpet moments shown by Nine, there appeared to be very few truly awful dresses amongst the actresses. No Bjork or Cher moments this year. It was left to a couple of the males, particularly Philip Seymour Hoffman and Mickey Rourke, to show that the ability to wear appalling costumes is not a solely female trait.
Older boy meets woman
The conventions of the romantic comedy remain little changed in modern cinema. Boy meets girl in a meet cute (in the present film there are two meet cutes just to make sure the characters get together); there are romantic complications; a set-back likely to doom true love; and a resolution that upholds the basic romantic premise. This works best when some of the elements are re-imagined and modernised. British writer-director Joel Hopkins, handling his first truly commercial film (he has a thin resume featuring an independent production in 2001), has effected a few tweaks in Last Chance Harvey. The romantic leads are no longer in the first bloom of youth: Dustin Hoffman is a musician reduced to jingle writing, in London for his estranged daughter's wedding; Emma Thompson is a spinster of the parish, working for a tourism interview agency at Heathrow. Instead of an estranged daughter, she has a strange mother, who fears her new neighbor is a mass murderer. The movie takes a long time to get Harvey and Kate together but, while they are, it works: Hoffman and Thompson are too good for there to be any other result. Unfortunately, Hopkins couldn't manage with just the central plot (together with its reasonably predictable Affair to Remember twist). He had to add subplots related to the wedding on one side and the mother's angst on the other. There are a couple of nice cameos among the supports, including Richard Schiff as Harvey's boss and Eileen Atkins as Kate's mom, but the movie shines only when Emma and Dustin are together and sparking off each other. Hopkins gives us perhaps too many scenes along the banks of the Thames as the couple discover each other, but he leavens that with a good ear for dialog and some interesting music. Last Chance Harvey is a good, but light, entertainment that will be just as effective on DVD as it was at the cinema. An old-fashioned sort of film that could well have emerged from the studios of the 1940s or 1950s, with leads just a little older than they might have been then. It reminds you that, when he puts aside the histrionics, Dustin Hoffman is a pleasant personality and it reinforces that Emma Thompson just doesn't get enough work.
Can I be trusted?
I love a labyrinthine plot. I also admire the scripts written by Tony Gilroy (the Bourne trilogy and Michael Clayton, inter alia). Duplicity brings these elements together with a couple of winning leads. Julia Roberts has been away from the screen for a while but her teaming with Clive Owen as the mismatched, well-matched antagonists and lovers at the centre of this caper film is a good one. The McGuffin is that the twain, recently separated from their jobs with, respectively, CIA and MI5, in which roles they had had a close encounter in Dubai, are plotting to make a fortune through their jobs in the counter-intelligence branches of two corporate conglomerates, whose divisions include pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. The script, which never takes itself seriously, follows the unfolding of the plot, while interspersing the background events in the lives of Ray and Claire that led them to where they are. This sort of movie thrives on the complexity of the plotting and on keeping the audience in suspense until the denouement. To an extent Duplicity fails this test, because the tendrils of the plot become apparent quite quickly and the likely outcome is telegraphed to those with familiarity with the genre. Nonetheless, Roberts and Owen keep us amused. Perhaps she is given a role less loveable than her classic ones, so her personality has less room to shine through. There is a particular scene where she is interrogating an employee about an indiscretion, where Roberts sits back and lets the other actor take the initiative. We learn much about the character of Claire from this scene, and it helps illuminate her relationship with Ray, but it doesn't help in making Roberts sympathetic. Owen is equally good in a role that could have been written for George Clooney. It is interesting to speculate on how far Owen has come since his largely silent cameo in The Bourne Identity in 2002. His star is rising in a major way and this movie, following the success of Inside Man, will cement him as a lead actor with range. The weak link in Duplicity is in the characterisation of the two antagonistic CEOs. The subtlety that has gone into the creation of Claire and Ray is missing from their bosses. As a result, even though accomplished character actors, Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson, play the roles, they come out as strident and over-the-top. Even allowing for that, they both are best in the finale, when something more of their personalities is revealed. This is a fun ride, an interesting blend of the traditions of romantic comedy with those of the heist movie. Tony Gilroy directs here, as he did in Michael Clayton, and his success is based on a realisation that neither genre is meant to be taken seriously but are entertainments, diversions for the audience. Something to keep them entertained and give them some value for their money. Duplicity is worth the effort and provides a worthwhile diversion.
Houston we've no problem
I mention earlier acquiring a DVD of In the Shadow of the Moon. I have now watched it. It is a documentary both about the Apollo moon missions of 1968-72 and about the men who flew them. Director David Sington has had two advantages: he has had access to ten of the astronauts who went to the moon, including Jim Lovell, who went on missions that did not land; and he could use archival footage that has not previously been shown. The end result is a fascinating history of the moon landings, and an even more interesting insight into the minds of the men who performed them. Some, particularly Michael Collins and Edgar Mitchell, demonstrate conclusively that there was intelligence behind the cool facade they all liked to show. Al Bean always seemed to me to be a joker in the pack - and so he emerges. Buzz Aldrin comes across as an incredibly serious man. Having enjoyed the mini-series, From the Earth to the Moon, I was interested to see what the men themselves would look like. Many of them come across as people you'd like to have to dinner. And much of the original, previously unseen, footage was just fantastic. Loved it.
Also seen on DVD
In 2005 the BBC made a miniseries around the life of Casanova, with Peter O'Toole as the elderly, and David Tennant as the younger, incarnation of the legendary lover. Scripted by Russell T. Davies, the three-hour project was of interest. The first part was full of joy, with both leads, and Rose Byrne as the serving-girl to whom O'Toole tells his tale, very good. The second part is less successful although still enjoyable. Worth seeing if you get a chance ands enjoy David Tennant's work. And lucky Rose Byrne, whose early lead roles in international films (this and Troy) have been in scenes with Peter O'Toole. Who could ask for anything more?
Stardust is an above-average fantasy, scripted by Neil Gaiman from his own novel. Charlie Cox is the young hero and his quest is to find a fallen star, personified here by Claire Danes. In his way stands a plethora of magical obstacles, especially a trio of witches, the leader of whom is Michelle Pfeiffer, and a mess of princes, the last survivor of which is Septimus (the excellent Mark Strong is very good again). Replete with spells, ghosts, adventures and enough humor for several such adventures, this is an enjoyable romp, even if the denouement is slightly predictable. There is a strong supporting cast, most of whom are having fun, including Ian McKellen as the narrator and Peter O'Toole in a cameo as the king. The only bum note is sounded by Robert de Niro as the cross-dressing dread pirate whom the heroes meet up with. He seems to be in a different film altogether. This movie snuck up on me, having missed it at the cinema. An enjoyable movie experience
[Note: Information about the movies mentioned, including cast and crew lists and all sorts of trivia, is available at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).]