I wish I could say I am drinking cocoa and watching movies on this blistering Friday in the City. Alas, I am sipping spicy lemonade (Juice Generation on Ninth Ave)at work, cleansing for bad behavior, sleepy from another midnight showing. But first, the rest of my movie marathon reporting
A Serious Man
There is a lot to like here. The Cohen brothers are notorious for dropping you off in conventional circumstances (a university, a bar mitzvah) with nonconformist characters (Richard Kind as the confused outcast brother). As an audience member you are stranded in their misfortunes (e.g. Fargo, Burn Without Reading, No Country For Old Man) but amused by their motives and tactics. The silly with the "Serious." With A Serious Man, we are given the framing device of an ancestral curse which we are to believe explains the unfortunate trajectory of our central character's life. What appears like the "very bad day" of suburban Jewish middle-class professor assumes a more cosmic significance as he places the events in context with a religious identity crisis. There is some great acting and stellar moments -- the essence of the Cohens' ensemble style. I can't put my finger on why this didn't all add up. I think I was somewhat drained by all the rabbis and the ending which fails to complete the journey. I will recommend this to a certain audience.
Up In the Air
This may be in my top five of the year. And why? Because it told so many topical and yet fresh stories. What could have simply been Office Space meets The Accidental Tourist, or sort of an Enron twist on the Jerry Maguire archetype turned out to be about families, relationships, workplace, growing up. Since this was the fourth in my movie marathon I think I am a bit fragmented in my wrap-up so I will see it again and spend less time being swept up by George Clooney (seriously though, is he Cary Grant?) and more thought on how this film works. And doesn't at points (and is forgiven) such as the twist which really seemed like convenient plot point rather than honest character development. Maybe I am being too sentimental in saying this film speaks to this year. That is subjective to one's experience. Maybe if my world outlook were more bleak, I would say Precious.
In the meantime, Juice Generation's Supa Dupa Greens is my drug of choice.
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2 comments:
I don't think you are going too far to say that Up in the Air is a movie of this year. Many films have chosen to hide from the situation America finds itself in as we enter the second decade of the millennium by setting films in the past (see The Lovely Bones, Invictus, A Serious Man, Inglorious Basterds, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, etc). Perhaps the filmmakers are striving for escapism, the historically proclaimed foremost desire of movie-goers during times of crisis, or perhaps they are poking at allegory, allowing distance to shed light on issues of the present. Up in the Air stands as one of the few artfully maneuvered stories not merely set in but fundamentally about today's America. The genius of this film, and yes, I know what word I just used, is the twists not of plot (although I will give credit to some genuinely heart-wrenching reveals) but of style. What begins (especially if you start your journey with a film at its trailer) as a typical Hollywood "look what crazy situation we've got ourselves in now as both mismatched characters learn something about themselves and the other" nose dives into a thoughtful exploration of the meaning of community amidst loss. The heart of the film turns out not to be about how to let someone down easy but how to deal when you've been let down. And, Ms. Beanscreen, I think you're correct in saying that George Clooney sweeps the audience of its feet. I doubt that any other actor could have delivered the correct balance of kindness, confidence, sadness, wisdom and naivety as this guy does here. You're very right, this is certainly one of the best films of the year.
- kyle@araca.com
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