The Manhattan Movie Marathon: Part 1

The bad weather posed problems for a lot of New Yorkers this weekend. But I could ask for no greater climate for my epic (indoor) film challenge -- four movies in 48 hours. On the slate: An Education, Broken Embraces, A Serious Man, and Up in the Air. The theme threading these selections was simply a jumpstart on the approaching Oscar season (all buzz-worthy choices). However, the films linked in other ways, notably their collective meditations on the institution of marriage through perspectives mediated by era, ethnicities, age, and social status.

First up:
An Education -- this plucky British import penned by Nick Hornby (About a Boy, High Fidelity) has the morality of a John Patrick Shanley play combined with the slickness of the 60s drama Mad Men. Before I start issuing my own Oscars for this phenom ensemble (Alfred Molina, Carey Mulligan, Peter Saarsgard and all the supporting actors turn in first rate stylized performances), I want to look at what is being said here about marriage.
First we have Jenny's protective parents -- crippled by their lower-middle class sensibilities, simply hopeful for the possibility of upward mobility and excitement. Marriage to them is a necessity, an expectation, the financially responsible thing to do.
Helen and Danny -- the playboy pals of young Jenny's older boyfriend. For them marriage is a joke -- not sure if they ever reveal their own marital status, too busy throwing back the booze and stealing paintings from the homes of senile ladies. I categorized Danny as gay a few times, though that might not change any of his relationships. I briefly considered a plot twist involving a reveal of his feelings for David.
Then we have all these prudish schoolteachers overly cautious of their students affairs, who we are to believe live the life of nuns.

So Jenny is given only a few models for behavior -- the boredom and domestic unrest of her parents, the freedom of Helen and Danny's relationship (drinks, flashy cars, clothes, and jazz clubs), and then spinsterhood. Ultimately she learns the only person she can rely on is herself and marriage/another person will never be a replacement for a life's education.

I certainly enjoyed this film. Just as Jenny got to float through these opulent environments, playing hooky from a more tiresome reality, I too savored the escape. But we all know we will have to confront our obligations eventually. Hard to be Audrey Hepburn day in and out.

Broken Embraces, the latest by Spanish film auteur Pedro Almodovar, seduces us with noirish intrigue and love triangles from the first shot. Marriage here plays less of a role than attraction, romantic jealousy and obsessive revenge. Sex, violence and filmmaking seem to link all the characters' dangerous activities. No one is married but certainly everyone has several key obligational relationships. Penelope Cruz as Lena uses marriage as a lure for the mogul Martel to finance her film activities, meanwhile she sleeps with the director. Without giving too much away, everyone seems to be connected by one tryst or another. Almodovar paints a society in complete anarchy devoid of social institutions, where players simply screw each other over for personal or professional gain.

With elements of Matchpoint (Woody Allen) and some of the voyeurism of the Hitchcock canon (maybe North by Northwest or Rear Window), Broken Embraces is certainly a slick little film with a lot of tricks. Highly recommended.

Back tomrw with more from the marathon...nourished by the Love Coffee truck and Whole Foods vegan scones (a wonderful combo if you are willing to brave the epic "Express" lines on a Sunday in Union Square). But first a minor complaint:

Dear Fellow Film-Goers, If the film hasn't started yet. I mean, if the film hasn't started with preview coming attraction trailers, you actually can't shush me, or direct me to sit all the way back in my seat. Don't snap at me, or my friends during the film. Don't tell me where I can and cannot place my bag. Or yell at me for checking my watch. I understand you are angry about $12.50 for a film and feel you have acquired certain rights with your ticket. You are telling me. I paid $3.75 for a first-run movie in Ohio last week. However, you don't get to be rude. That doesn't come with your stub. The great thing about seeing a movie in the theatre vs. on your netflix cue is that collective audience experience as we all observe humanity in performance. Don't be a spoil sport. If you don't like people, stay at home and get premium cable.