* * * *
D: Norman Jewison (Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates, Lee Grant)
PG, C-109m, USA
Best Picture, Best Actor (Steiger)
Tagline: "They got a murder on their hands. They don't know what to do with it."
After being falsely accused of murder, a black detective (Poitier) reluctantly joins forces with a bigoted town sheriff (Steiger) to catch the real killer in small-town Mississippi. What transpires next is a clash of wills.
Yes, the Gillespie character is a bigot, but unlike most of his fellow rednecks, he had the capacity to change. He has a temper, but isn't cruel for the sake of being cruel. He's a product of his environment. I suspect he may have been a KKK member in his youth, but age and being surrounded by idiots might have made him go, "Hmmm..."
Virgil Tibbs (Poitier) is awesome, but even he isn't perfect. Like the other cops, he wants a person to be guilty, simply because he doesn't like them. He's as prejudiced as Gillespie, but more cool-headed, which is a very good thing. His feelings get in the way, which leads to a potentially deadly encounter during an interview with a witness. He can be arrogant, especially to the town residents, simply because his quiet confidence and calm gaze is so unsettling. Sidney Poitier is so perfect here -- dignified, with only a flicker of rage in his eyes. I can't imagine anyone else in the role (there was a brief TV series starring Carrol O'Connor (Archie Bunker) as Bill Gillespie, but I can't remember who played TV Tibbs. Denzel Washington could probably do his own interpretation, but it just wouldn't be the same.
Don't let the dated cars and clothes fool you. Some things have changed for the better, but human nature and bigotry has always been an uneasy partnership. This film works as a police thriller, character study and social commentary.
Showing posts with label Suspense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Suspense. Show all posts
April 09, 2011
February 06, 2011
DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
* * * *
D: Billy Wilder (Barbara Stanwyck, Fred McMurray, Edward G. Robinson)
PG, b/w-107m, USA
Tagline: From the Moment They met it was Murder!
How could he know that murder could sometimes smell like honeysuckle?
Based on James M. Cain's 1943 classic novel, this sordid tale of an ice-cold housewife who conspires with an insurance salesman to kill her husband scores on every level. Barbara Stanwyck sets the bar high with her portrayal of a heartless femme fatale. She wasn't conventionally beautiful, but she's so compelling in personality and perverse sensuality ("That's one honey of an ankle bracelet."), that it doesn't matter. No one equals Phyllis Dietrichson, in presence and genuine evil, with a few exceptions (Mattie Walker (Body Heat, 1981), Bridget Gregory (The Last Seduction, 1994).
Perfect film. Even with the silly blonde wig, Stanwyck is the ultimate femme fatale. The dialogue is brilliant: sharp, cutting, and hilarious. McMurray wasn't known for his villain roles (except in The Apartment), but he's completely believable as a smart schemer who underestimates the ones who can really do him damage.
The latter even gives a sly nod to Indemnity's characters' names. E.G. Robinson steals the show as their unwitting nemesis. The script just crackles.
September 11, 2010
THE AMERICAN (2010)
* * * *
R for violence, sexual content and nudity, 105m, USA
D: Anton Corbijn (George Clooney, Irina Björklund, Johan Leysen, Paolo Bonacelli, Thekla Reuten)
This is a fantastic thriller in the spirit of Hitchcock and suspense films of the 1970's. George Clooney is Jack (notably without a surname), a lonely hitman hiding in Italy, waiting to carry out one last assignment before retirement. And everyone knows what a great retirement package the Mafia offers. This isn't the Mafia, but might as well be. In the beginning, Jack makes a casual, yet shocking decision that demonstrates his coldly pragmatic nature. And he's prepared to do it again, if with some regret. But there are no tears or railing against fate - he accepts the risks and deals with them. At one time, he had been at the top of his game, but time and weariness are taking their toll. He knows it's time to quit. After a disastrous incident in Sweden, Jack seeks out his boss/mentor, who advises him to stay low in a small Italian village and not to make any "new friends".
But this particular loner can't help himself. Despite his brusque manner, people sometimes seek him out, like the almost aggressively friendly Father Benedetto, who offers a companionship that's both comforting and unnerving. He appoints himself as Jack's conscience, even without knowing the details of his past. He also has a secret of his own, so he is not completely unsympathetic to a fellow human in conflict.
"You have done much sinning," he observes at one point.
"All men are sinners," Jack tells him, "Everything I've done I've had good cause to do."
"A man can be reached if he has God in his heart."
"I don't think God's very interested in me, Father," Jack replies.
"You cannot deny the existence of hell. You live in it. It is a place without love."
The two men respectfully disagree with one another, but there is a fragile bond between them as they share a meal and take walks together. Jack needs this connection, as well as the one he finds with Clara (Irina Björklund), a local woman he meets in a brothel, the only place he feels safe in meeting women. No demands, no questions.
This is not an action film so much as a character study with a sense of dread. But the tension is almost unbearable, with any sudden sound a "BOO!" moment. The stealthy, menacing way the camera follows our protagonist, it's like the viewer is an assassin as well, giving them a most uncomfortable point of view. What if he turns his head? Notice that I don't call Jack a hero - he's definitely too amoral to be heroic, but isn't evil in the sense that you'd expect. He doesn't seek out trouble or kill for pleasure. It's simply a job to him. One might suspect that he wouldn't be good at anything else, except tinkering in a garage. Not that he would spend all that time building cars. Maybe he'd build cool gadgets, like Q in the James Bond films.
For me, it was a very interesting look at a questionable profession. It's largely due to Clooney's no-frills performance that we see Jack for what he is. We do not need to see the path of bodies in his wake, or constant gore to know that he's very dangerous. We get a private tour of a hitman's existence and what it's like to constantly be on edge, trusting no one, let alone love. A gun in a woman's handbag - is it for protection or something more sinister?
Imagine even the most banal conversation -- it could be in code - or not. I thoroughly enjoyed the shorthand rat-a-tat rhythm of the dialogue between Jack and a beautiful female assassin (Thekla Reuten) as they negotiate terms for a customized weapon that is needed for a special job. They don't waste words. James Bond would have been all over this woman like blanket. How predictable. Jack treats her as a colleague -- polite, professional, and someone to respect as a potential enemy.
We get the feeling of Jack as an outsider - a not-completely detached observer - watching the human parade pass him by and know with some regret that he can never join them, or even visit for a while. Is redemption possible for him? Yes, but not quite in the way he expects.
November 01, 2009
THE STEPFATHER (2009)
* 1/2
PG-13, C-101m, USA
D: Nelson McCormick. Dylan Walsh, Sela Ward, David Badgley, Amber Heard.
Tagline: Daddy's home
I saw this remake of the much superior 1986 version under duress. My friend's cat had died the week before, so, in an effort to cheer her up, I let her choose the movie. Silly me. I knew it would be bad, but would it be boring or campy? Happily, it was the latter. It was mediocre and predictable and so by-the-numbers, but I was not bored, because mentally heckling the screen is fun. I actually learned a lot.
*SPOILER ALERT*
1. If you're a single mother shopping with your kids at the market, let your kids run wild. If your little squirt runs into a so charming-he's-dangerous man who is clearly Stepfather Material in the aisle, apologize and allow the guy to give fatherly advice to your son, like "Women rule the world." Don't think too hard about this -- any guy you just met who puts down his own gender is a keeper. Follow this with helping him find the peanut butter.
2. Be open and friendly. Let him know that you're a great cook. Let your desperation show, but be flirtatious at the same time. It doesn't hurt to look like Sela Ward. Give a little slack and then reel him in.
3. Do not investigate his past -- that is just rude. It's private! You should be ashamed of yourself for even thinking this. Just because you're letting this new man into your house with all your stuff and your loved ones doesn't mean you should get to know him. That's what married life is for. Even if your well-meaning friends and relatives caution you that you've only known him for six months, invite him to move in anyway. Tell them he's made your life worth living again.
4. If your new love physically disciplines one of your kids, sternly let him know that this is not acceptable. Then have the two of them apologize to each other so you can be a happy family again. Never mind that your child is being forced to live with a bully. He needs to learn to go along to get along. Remember, your kid shares some of the blame. If he hadn't misbehaved, his new stepfather wouldn't have had to get rough.
5. When your strapping 17-year-old son returns from military school, confide in your handsome fiancee that he used to hang out with a bad crowd and get into trouble. Give him ammunition so he can help get the lad on the right track. Also, give him a list of your child's greatest fears.
6. When you sneak into your prospective stepdad's room to search for incriminating evidence, make sure you and your pretty girlfriend do it right after swimming, without drying off first. If you leave wet footprints in the hallway, don't worry about it.
7. If you're watching America's Most Wanted and spot a picture of a man who bears a strong resemblance to the handsome, mysterious stranger across the street, be sure to tell everyone, especially his girlfriend.
8. If you're waiting in the hall and talking to your wife's fiancee, and he disappears around the corner -- keep talking. Just...talk! Tell this stranger that you've checked the yearbook and that you know he's not who he says he is. Tell him you plan to do a background check. Be sure you give all this away when you can't see him. Why, he could come out anywhere to...tell you he's glad that you have him on run! Just because you have an advantage doesn't mean you shouldn't be equals. Again, that would be rude.
9. Never talk to those you trust directly. Texting, emails, and leaving important messages with that good ol reliable stepfather you have suspicions about is good enough. He'll make sure they get those messages.
10. In a raging lightning storm, make plans to catch a plane. Before you leave the house, if you hear a strange noise outside, investigate alone. If you see a patio umbrella floating in the pool, make sure you use a pool-cleaning net with a metal handle and then lean over the edge to reach the umbrella. Most importantly, be safe. Concentrate on what you're doing. Ignore all distractions like that guy standing behind you...
11. To reduce the thrill factor, send your younger kids to sleep at a friend's house. Then they won't get in the way.
12. If a knife-wielding maniac chases you around the house, run up the stairs to the attic with rotting floorboards. This is smart for some reason. After, what's good enough for Ali Larter's nutty stalker temp in Obsessed is good enough for you.
Not only is this not a bad film, but it's an educational one. Just so any wanna-be "Stepfathers" can stay out of prison -- as well as out of the tabloids and any more "Stepfather" inspired movies, I will show you how avoid making these mistakes. I have no scruples helping out felons, so long as it means one less bad movie. I like my bad guys smart. And my heroes less conveniently dumb.
How to disappear from the world and start over as a fresh human being:
1. Look good for your new life. Shower well, shave the facial hair, and pop out those coloured lenses. Make sure to pop in a different colour. Sooner or later, it could get all "Minority Report" out there!
2. Never allow yourself to be photographed, especially for work or ID purposes.
3. Never leave a paper trail. Cash only.
4. If you want a brand new family, a good way to meet them is the Cute Meet. Head to the local supermarket. There will always be an lonely/attractive widow or divorcee trying to control her kids in the aisles. Make sure you step in just in time to catch one of the little buggers before he knocks something over. It will score you points with Mommy.
5. It's also adorable to say, "I'm new in town and haven't learned where to find things in this store. Um... where's the peanut butter?" We gals just love projects like a guy who doesn't know how to take care of himself, especially if he looks like Dylan Walsh.
6. Be helpful. Offer 'fatherly' advice to the kid and reluctantly admit to the mother that you lost your wife and daughter in a car accident. It's much more socially acceptable than admitting that you left your family in prone, bloodied positions in the living room on Christmas morning. If the truth is ugly, tell a pretty lie.
7. Wait about six months, then move in. Attractive widows and divorcees with kids tend to live in the suburbs, complete with a swimming pool. Try to be a father figure to the little boy or else mop the floor with him.
8. Make sure you let it slip that you used to be competitive swimming, just like the oldest son in the family. Do this even if you two never do any swimming in a confrontation-to-the-death scene -- a movie called "The Stepfather" (2009) has a confrontation-to-the-death scene in the attic, not the swimming pool.
9. However, do not try to bond with the oldest son by giving him his own locker in your 'hideaway' from the family. He will eventually wonder what's in the other lockers, not to mention the padlocked freezer.
10. Keep track of your lies. If you refer to your dead little girl as "Little Michelle was everything to me," don't follow up a moment later in the same conversation with a comment about how much "little Lisa" meant to you.
11. After you kill someone, impersonate them on their cellphone to text-message their loved ones. Use it inside the house and keep that volume loud enough to hear in the next room.
12. Delete your internet history so people won't find americasmostwanted.com in the browser.
13. If the whole family is left defenseless and unconscious, don't finish them off. Let them wake up in a hospital on the way to a full recovery. Never ever see them again. Just start a new family that you can threaten to kill and just let live. Remember, you're a lame killer stepfather. And when you see this family, smile chillingly for the camera -- like Damien.
14. If you are serious about creating the perfect family, only to be so disappointed that you kill them in white-hot rage, then you should watch The Stepfather (2009) a million times until you've learned your lesson. If that doesn't work, then see the original 1986 version with Terry O'Quinn. If anything, you'll give your brain a much-needed cleansing.
PG-13, C-101m, USA
D: Nelson McCormick. Dylan Walsh, Sela Ward, David Badgley, Amber Heard.
Tagline: Daddy's home
I saw this remake of the much superior 1986 version under duress. My friend's cat had died the week before, so, in an effort to cheer her up, I let her choose the movie. Silly me. I knew it would be bad, but would it be boring or campy? Happily, it was the latter. It was mediocre and predictable and so by-the-numbers, but I was not bored, because mentally heckling the screen is fun. I actually learned a lot.
*SPOILER ALERT*
1. If you're a single mother shopping with your kids at the market, let your kids run wild. If your little squirt runs into a so charming-he's-dangerous man who is clearly Stepfather Material in the aisle, apologize and allow the guy to give fatherly advice to your son, like "Women rule the world." Don't think too hard about this -- any guy you just met who puts down his own gender is a keeper. Follow this with helping him find the peanut butter.
2. Be open and friendly. Let him know that you're a great cook. Let your desperation show, but be flirtatious at the same time. It doesn't hurt to look like Sela Ward. Give a little slack and then reel him in.
3. Do not investigate his past -- that is just rude. It's private! You should be ashamed of yourself for even thinking this. Just because you're letting this new man into your house with all your stuff and your loved ones doesn't mean you should get to know him. That's what married life is for. Even if your well-meaning friends and relatives caution you that you've only known him for six months, invite him to move in anyway. Tell them he's made your life worth living again.
4. If your new love physically disciplines one of your kids, sternly let him know that this is not acceptable. Then have the two of them apologize to each other so you can be a happy family again. Never mind that your child is being forced to live with a bully. He needs to learn to go along to get along. Remember, your kid shares some of the blame. If he hadn't misbehaved, his new stepfather wouldn't have had to get rough.
5. When your strapping 17-year-old son returns from military school, confide in your handsome fiancee that he used to hang out with a bad crowd and get into trouble. Give him ammunition so he can help get the lad on the right track. Also, give him a list of your child's greatest fears.
6. When you sneak into your prospective stepdad's room to search for incriminating evidence, make sure you and your pretty girlfriend do it right after swimming, without drying off first. If you leave wet footprints in the hallway, don't worry about it.
7. If you're watching America's Most Wanted and spot a picture of a man who bears a strong resemblance to the handsome, mysterious stranger across the street, be sure to tell everyone, especially his girlfriend.
8. If you're waiting in the hall and talking to your wife's fiancee, and he disappears around the corner -- keep talking. Just...talk! Tell this stranger that you've checked the yearbook and that you know he's not who he says he is. Tell him you plan to do a background check. Be sure you give all this away when you can't see him. Why, he could come out anywhere to...tell you he's glad that you have him on run! Just because you have an advantage doesn't mean you shouldn't be equals. Again, that would be rude.
9. Never talk to those you trust directly. Texting, emails, and leaving important messages with that good ol reliable stepfather you have suspicions about is good enough. He'll make sure they get those messages.
10. In a raging lightning storm, make plans to catch a plane. Before you leave the house, if you hear a strange noise outside, investigate alone. If you see a patio umbrella floating in the pool, make sure you use a pool-cleaning net with a metal handle and then lean over the edge to reach the umbrella. Most importantly, be safe. Concentrate on what you're doing. Ignore all distractions like that guy standing behind you...
11. To reduce the thrill factor, send your younger kids to sleep at a friend's house. Then they won't get in the way.
12. If a knife-wielding maniac chases you around the house, run up the stairs to the attic with rotting floorboards. This is smart for some reason. After, what's good enough for Ali Larter's nutty stalker temp in Obsessed is good enough for you.
Not only is this not a bad film, but it's an educational one. Just so any wanna-be "Stepfathers" can stay out of prison -- as well as out of the tabloids and any more "Stepfather" inspired movies, I will show you how avoid making these mistakes. I have no scruples helping out felons, so long as it means one less bad movie. I like my bad guys smart. And my heroes less conveniently dumb.
How to disappear from the world and start over as a fresh human being:
1. Look good for your new life. Shower well, shave the facial hair, and pop out those coloured lenses. Make sure to pop in a different colour. Sooner or later, it could get all "Minority Report" out there!
2. Never allow yourself to be photographed, especially for work or ID purposes.
3. Never leave a paper trail. Cash only.
4. If you want a brand new family, a good way to meet them is the Cute Meet. Head to the local supermarket. There will always be an lonely/attractive widow or divorcee trying to control her kids in the aisles. Make sure you step in just in time to catch one of the little buggers before he knocks something over. It will score you points with Mommy.
5. It's also adorable to say, "I'm new in town and haven't learned where to find things in this store. Um... where's the peanut butter?" We gals just love projects like a guy who doesn't know how to take care of himself, especially if he looks like Dylan Walsh.
6. Be helpful. Offer 'fatherly' advice to the kid and reluctantly admit to the mother that you lost your wife and daughter in a car accident. It's much more socially acceptable than admitting that you left your family in prone, bloodied positions in the living room on Christmas morning. If the truth is ugly, tell a pretty lie.
7. Wait about six months, then move in. Attractive widows and divorcees with kids tend to live in the suburbs, complete with a swimming pool. Try to be a father figure to the little boy or else mop the floor with him.
8. Make sure you let it slip that you used to be competitive swimming, just like the oldest son in the family. Do this even if you two never do any swimming in a confrontation-to-the-death scene -- a movie called "The Stepfather" (2009) has a confrontation-to-the-death scene in the attic, not the swimming pool.
9. However, do not try to bond with the oldest son by giving him his own locker in your 'hideaway' from the family. He will eventually wonder what's in the other lockers, not to mention the padlocked freezer.
10. Keep track of your lies. If you refer to your dead little girl as "Little Michelle was everything to me," don't follow up a moment later in the same conversation with a comment about how much "little Lisa" meant to you.
11. After you kill someone, impersonate them on their cellphone to text-message their loved ones. Use it inside the house and keep that volume loud enough to hear in the next room.
12. Delete your internet history so people won't find americasmostwanted.com in the browser.
13. If the whole family is left defenseless and unconscious, don't finish them off. Let them wake up in a hospital on the way to a full recovery. Never ever see them again. Just start a new family that you can threaten to kill and just let live. Remember, you're a lame killer stepfather. And when you see this family, smile chillingly for the camera -- like Damien.
14. If you are serious about creating the perfect family, only to be so disappointed that you kill them in white-hot rage, then you should watch The Stepfather (2009) a million times until you've learned your lesson. If that doesn't work, then see the original 1986 version with Terry O'Quinn. If anything, you'll give your brain a much-needed cleansing.
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