3.5/4
This movie is haunting, seductive, disturbing, extravagant.... sort of like a more modern Great Gatsby. Matt Damon is a charming, likable, boyish Tom Ripley, someone who can mold himself into whatever social situation is brought upon him. A true talent. His character is extremely reminiscent of Paul from Six Degrees of Separation: quick-witted and charismatic but manipulative.
Jude Law is a fascinating character to watch: his acting is perfect for the snoody yet enticing and magnetic Dickie Greenleaf. The two female sides, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cate Blanchett, are nothing too special, but are both fun to watch in some little way. It is the males that give the film its major punch: Damon, Law, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
The twists are shocking, and disturbed me to watch.
The setting is much of what makes this movie so enjoyable: it is mostly played out in Italy, a beautiful countryside, quaint architecture... a dreamy fantastical setting that sets the stage for the brutal events that cut abruptly into this beauty. Tom Ripley shatters a beautiful country, a beautiful set of lives.
It is written widely that the character of Ripley is a monster, a sociopath, a villain. I disagree completely, judging by this adaptation of the literary character alone. In my view, he simply makes mistakes. His first murder seems to disturb him. So does his last. The scene with Gwyneth and the blood-soaking robe seems out-of-character... a little too psychopathic for what had already been established.
Matt Damon puts on a terrific performance in a shocking and intense movie with a beautiful setting. Excellent!
Friday, May 30, 2014
Review: A Late Quartet
3.5/4
Wow, what an impeccably-made movie. The direction is not lacking in any way, as far as I can tell, the writing is intriguing and dramatic, and the acting is pure perfection. Let's talk more about the acting: three of the four stars of this film are either Catherine Keener, Philip Seymour Hoffman, or Christopher Walken. The remaining is an excellent international guy named Mark Ivanir. Keener is, as always, extremely warm and down-to-earth, the sad but inevitable love you could never do without. PSH plays with the same kind of love, as he has done before. It's entirely intentional that Keener and Hoffman were reunited as husband and wife after their previous pairings in Capote, and much more significantly, Synecdoche, NY. Both represent in the latter film a mediocre love, not attractive, not passionate, but sad and needy. However, in Quartet both deliver with intensity and passion beyond what was expected of them in that film. Christopher Walken plays the godfather of the quartet, the moral conscience that owns the respect needed to kick the other, more immature players back into gear. He is a wonderful character, a widower, a brilliant cellist, disease-stricken. I love watching him play this part. All in all, the script is nothing revolutionary; it acts as a stage to showcase some beautiful and complex performances by a few of today's greatest actors. The one non-legendary actor is Mark Ivanir. His character is not the most lovable of the four, but is possibly the most intense and polarizing. He is the lead violinist. This means that he is a better player than Hoffman's character, a very bold idea. Extremely bold. Hoffman tries to claim equality with him, but the audience knows that Ivanir is better. Or are they truly just different.......
The musical background in the film is very interesting. We are allowed to see a world-renowned classical string quartet behind-the-scenes, practicing, playing, conversing, jogging, having sex.... We get to see a set of geniuses who are no different than us. The amount of time and effort they have put into becoming geniuses have not made them better people; this is a message that stuck out to me. Hoffman could work on the line in a factory, and have exactly the same inner life as he does as a violin virtuoso. It seems that all the music does for him is inflate his ego. Unless there is a deeper, unseen need in these humans that is being fulfilled by the music, by the practice, by the greatness and respect earned.
I also really enjoyed the abundance of classical music in the film...others will obviously find it less appealing, but it adds a tone of beauty and decadence and sophistication to the film, which I appreciate.
A fascinating movie, one I was able to invest myself in emotionally because of my love for the characters and actors. This isn't a life-changing film, but it is a nice little piece of art and emotion to be seen every once in a while.
Wow, what an impeccably-made movie. The direction is not lacking in any way, as far as I can tell, the writing is intriguing and dramatic, and the acting is pure perfection. Let's talk more about the acting: three of the four stars of this film are either Catherine Keener, Philip Seymour Hoffman, or Christopher Walken. The remaining is an excellent international guy named Mark Ivanir. Keener is, as always, extremely warm and down-to-earth, the sad but inevitable love you could never do without. PSH plays with the same kind of love, as he has done before. It's entirely intentional that Keener and Hoffman were reunited as husband and wife after their previous pairings in Capote, and much more significantly, Synecdoche, NY. Both represent in the latter film a mediocre love, not attractive, not passionate, but sad and needy. However, in Quartet both deliver with intensity and passion beyond what was expected of them in that film. Christopher Walken plays the godfather of the quartet, the moral conscience that owns the respect needed to kick the other, more immature players back into gear. He is a wonderful character, a widower, a brilliant cellist, disease-stricken. I love watching him play this part. All in all, the script is nothing revolutionary; it acts as a stage to showcase some beautiful and complex performances by a few of today's greatest actors. The one non-legendary actor is Mark Ivanir. His character is not the most lovable of the four, but is possibly the most intense and polarizing. He is the lead violinist. This means that he is a better player than Hoffman's character, a very bold idea. Extremely bold. Hoffman tries to claim equality with him, but the audience knows that Ivanir is better. Or are they truly just different.......
The musical background in the film is very interesting. We are allowed to see a world-renowned classical string quartet behind-the-scenes, practicing, playing, conversing, jogging, having sex.... We get to see a set of geniuses who are no different than us. The amount of time and effort they have put into becoming geniuses have not made them better people; this is a message that stuck out to me. Hoffman could work on the line in a factory, and have exactly the same inner life as he does as a violin virtuoso. It seems that all the music does for him is inflate his ego. Unless there is a deeper, unseen need in these humans that is being fulfilled by the music, by the practice, by the greatness and respect earned.
I also really enjoyed the abundance of classical music in the film...others will obviously find it less appealing, but it adds a tone of beauty and decadence and sophistication to the film, which I appreciate.
A fascinating movie, one I was able to invest myself in emotionally because of my love for the characters and actors. This isn't a life-changing film, but it is a nice little piece of art and emotion to be seen every once in a while.
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