Blindness

7. Blindness
Roger Ebert hated this film because it was so jarring to watch and he's completely right. It is jarring because Meirelles is trying to simulate the titular condition that afflicts all but one of the people in the film. Simply, a dude comes down with unexplainable blindness and it spreads to every person with whom he comes into contact: all but one woman. Basically it's allegorical of the phenomenon of moral blindness and, to an extent, the kind of group think that went on in Facist Europe in the 30s and 40s. It's idealistic and a bit naive at points, but overall it's probably an apt allegory. If you're looking for that kind of thing, though, you'd be better off renting The Ox-Bow Incident or Fury or Bad Day at Black Rock, all fantastic films that are much better and much less convoluted. In fact, that's exactly the problem with Blindness: it makes difficult a concept that has been done simpler and better...decades before! It may not be fair to compare this contemporay film with the three that I've mentioned, but it's also impossible to not compare them. In the shadow of those films, this one seems like a monumental waste of time (not to mention a step back from the vaunted pedestal that Fernando Meirelles had been standing on after City of God and The Constant Gardener). The fact of the matter is that Meirelles gives us the best he can based on the source material. After the characters are rendered sightless, their actions are one-dimensional and only serve to move the plot. Every bad thing that happens is so convenient! This film seems so...inorganic. So artificial. And that's all that Blindness is: artiface. Meirelles and, by proxy, Saramago use poorly-crafted plot devices and convenient characterization to pull the wool over our eyes, so we don't see how shallow this film really is.
Grade: D (put those other three movies on your netflix queue)

Frozen River

6. Frozen River
Melissa Leo hasn't really done much worth noting, not for lack of talent, though. To be honest, she doesn't have the conventional beauty for most of the parts being offered to your Cameron Diaz's or Julia Roberts'. She doesn't possess the kind of sexuality that a leading lady does. In fact, her role in Frozen River is aptly comparable to Julia Roberts' role in Erin Brockovich. Leo's character, Ray, is a kind of anti-Erin-Brockovich. Instead of relying and sometimes exploiting her good looks, Ray relies on her wits and the urgency of the moment. She turns to what she sees as a victimless crime, a lucrative proposition in which she helps smuggle people over a fuzzy, unprotected border on a Mohawk reservation. Since the border between Canada and the US runs through Mohawk territory, it is unmonitered by authorities. Seeing a better opportunity than her job at the Yankee Dollar to get the double-wide that she needs to raise her family, she and a Mohawk woman smuggle people over the border. Courtney Hunt's terrific script is both subtle and unfettered by the cautious eye of a studio head. She pulls no punches and, through her deft direction, pulls a performance out of Leo that is more haunting than it is memorable.
Grade: B+

Next Entry: Wednesday

5. W.
George W. Bush is and will remain a person of great interest. His presidency was one wrought with failure and corruption. He deserves to be examined by authors and directors, but this movie may have come a bit too soon. I'm sure Oliver Stone's intentions were good, but the writing is so poor. the script feels more like a MadLibs(tee-em) of Bush soundbites than a narrative script. Maybe with some time and more reflection, this story would have more depth. It's a shame because the man is more interesting than this film makes him out to be. The fine performances from Elizabeth Banks, Toby Young, Richard Dreyfuss and Josh Brolin are wasted. Maybe instead of striking while the iron is hot, as he did with his last film World Trade Center he should wait a while, like with his best film, JFK.
Grade: C

Next Post: Tuesday

The Breaking of Pelham 123

No no no no NO!

Goddamn Tony Scott. Why?

WHY?!


The Taking of Pelham 123 was already fine on it's own. It wasn't as serious and maybe it was a little uneven at times, but shit. It was a fully-actualized film! We don't need another one.




(next post on Monday)