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| Marc |
 Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 5:10 am |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
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| Helen Hunt's performance in The Sessions may be overlooked because it was not "showy." It was a subtle and beautiful performance that gave the movie some much-needed soul. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 5:10 am |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
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| Helen Hunt's performance in The Sessions may be overlooked because it was not "showy." It was a subtle and beautiful performance that gave the movie some much-needed soul. |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 12:48 pm |
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Joined: 12 May 2004
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Lincoln
The first thing that struck me was his voice. It was unexpectedly high and light, not the withered baritone I'm used to hearing from previous depictions. Yet according to all historical sources, Abraham Lincoln really did have a high-pitched voice, even squeaky, although to be fair, you try addressing a crowd of thousands without a microphone and see how much baritone you can dredge up.
It's these kind of detailed touches that Daniel Day Lewis brings to the Abe-veritas version of the US's most iconic president. Day Lewis peels back the icon and there he is: Lincoln the consummate storyteller, Lincoln the playful Dad, Lincoln the frustrated husband, Lincoln the political strategist, Lincoln the thoughtful philosopher and, ultimately, Lincoln the final word. And yet Lincoln the film isn't a biopic. The film begins in early 1865, during the final months of the Civil War and Lincoln's own life, focusing on a pivotal moment in American politics when two mammoth issues -- ending the war and ending slavery -- collided in a battle of bi-polar values between American lawmakers. You can end the war tomorrow, but only if you allow slavery to continue. The story revolves around the political machinations behind squaring that incompatible circle: passing that all-important 13th Amendment and outlawing slavery forever, while ensuring the surrender of the Confederacy and the cessation of violence. Making that happen was a masterful example of political shmoozing, maneuvering and outright bullying by Lincoln and his cabinet.
So yes, this film is equal parts homespun and C-Span. But because the drama is so good and the actors so wonderfully coated in 19th century grit, the political debate comes alive. Day-Lewis is as great as you'd expect. He plays Lincoln warm and close-up, occasionally looking too young for the role (though he isn't), but just as often looking eerily like the original. Is it an Oscar lock for Daniel? Certainly a nomination, but his soft-spoken Lincoln avoids the bombast and keeps it subtle -- not the standard recipe for awards. But if you want nominations, expect one or two from this head-shakingly amazing supporting cast: Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln, David Strathairn as Sect. of State Seward, Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens, plus smaller roles for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader and the ever-elegant Hal Holbrook.
Lincoln is not the best film of the year, though it is very good. It's limited by the obvious lack of plot twists and by a not-quite-there commitment to being either a biography or a political potboiler. Spielberg keeps the issues at the forefront, shying away from maudlin Big Moments like it's part of his 12-steps program -- all good things, in principle. But having Daniel Day Lewis as Abraham Lincoln is a magical combination that made me wish for a fuller biography covering more of his life. I know... that's a different film. |
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| knox |
| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 1:46 pm |
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| I wanted to be swayed by all the positives you mention, Lshap, but my viewing of the trailer yielded a DDL who seems not so Lincoln to me. They show a scene where he's yelling and shaking his finger at several cabinet guys and it just rang false to me. But, full disclosure, I'm not a DDL fan and feel that he often overacts. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 1:59 pm |
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knox wrote: I wanted to be swayed by all the positives you mention, Lshap, but my viewing of the trailer yielded a DDL who seems not so Lincoln to me. They show a scene where he's yelling and shaking his finger at several cabinet guys and it just rang false to me. But, full disclosure, I'm not a DDL fan and feel that he often overacts.
Knox took the words out of my mouth. I will see Lincoln hoping that I change my mind about DDL, or as I called him here recently Daniel Day-Hambone. |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 3:58 pm |
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knox wrote: I wanted to be swayed by all the positives you mention, Lshap, but my viewing of the trailer yielded a DDL who seems not so Lincoln to me. They show a scene where he's yelling and shaking his finger at several cabinet guys and it just rang false to me. But, full disclosure, I'm not a DDL fan and feel that he often overacts.
I love DDL, so there's my bias. But if you're worried about his overacting in this film, don't. As I said, he plays Lincoln as a pensive, quiet character. There's surprisingly little fiery intensity.
I can understand how DDL's lighter voice could throw some viewers, since it conflicts with the false impressions we've had, which have been built on a series of deeper, more commanding voices, all made-up. But that's the fault of myth, not fact. By all accounts, DDL got it right. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 4:24 pm |
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| That part of the performance I'm ready to like. Sick of the cliched Lincoln take. |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 8:06 pm |
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billyweeds wrote: That part of the performance I'm ready to like. Sick of the cliched Lincoln take.
Me too. It was cool to hear Lincoln yell, "I'm settlin' four scores with you muthafuckahs!!" as he walked into the house of reps with an uzi. Watershed moment in history IMO. |
Last edited by lshap on Thu Nov 15, 2012 9:29 pm; edited 1 time in total
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| lshap |
| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 9:28 pm |
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[quote="Marc"]Quote:
I'm the guy who Cloud Atlas was designed to turn-on. I'm a brain-addled old hippie that has suffered permanent LSD-induced chromozonal damage and am in a state of perpetual acid flashback. I still think black-lite posters are the coolest thing since smoking banana peels. I'm the dude sitting in front of you at the movie theater wearing sunglasses and thinking the MGM lion is Jerry Garcia clearing his throat. I'm the demographic that Cloud Atlas was created for and I hated it more than the brown acid I ate in 1969 that resulted in me having sex with a woman who I thought was Janis Joplin but turned out be a short, balding accountant from Westchester named Marty.
This was the funniest thing I've read in a long time and worth repeating. But I mostly (but not completely) disagree with you on the film itself. I think the problem with Cloud Atlas was that it had an SUV body with a mid-sized sedan engine. And there's nothing wrong with mid-sized sedan engines, especially since most films are powered by golf carts. The story was interesting if not profound, it aimed for the big philosophical overview and hit some interesting points along the way. Unfortunately, a mid-sized message ain't gonna have enough torque to pull a three hour elephant. Quaint themes like 'Love is forever' are sweet, but they feel inadequate in a story that spans centuries. After all that time and so many reincarnations, can't these characters come up with a weightier connective thread than that? On the plus side, Cloud Atlas ranks two weight classes higher than Avatar's simplistic morality for kids. I liked the trippy sense of connectivity and subtle hints at Mankind's evolution. Post-apocalyptic future-past cause-and-effect stories are always a hoot, but being a veteran of great sci-fi films and every Star Trek episode ever made means I felt like I'd already seen this film. Maybe in a past life. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 9:44 am |
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Quote: Post-apocalyptic future-past cause-and-effect stories are always a hoot, but being a veteran of great sci-fi films and every Star Trek episode ever made means I felt like I'd already seen this film.
Yes, part of the fun. As for weighty connective threads, I didn't reach too hard for them, going on the notion that the viewer is given a basic metaphysical scheme and then supplies whatever depth of reflection she wants. In the simple reincarnative plan, there seem to be complexities - Hugo Weaving (slaver, nasty nurse, hired killer, Enforcer, figment) seems to be on the karmic payment plan where you end up as an impotent hallucination in someone else's mind. Hugh Grant takes an odd detour between sexist nuke plant manager and murderous tribesman - the math is puzzling, too.
Part of the "trippy sense" you describe comes with uncertainty if each actor is meant to represent the same soul - for example, Jocasta seems to be prior incarnation of journalist Louisa, and both are Halle Berry, but it's the musician Jocasta sleeps with, Frobisher, who has the same birthmark as Louisa. Hugh Grant is 40-ish in 1973, but then seems to pop up in the next life being 70-ish, in 2012, as Cavendish's vengeful brother. Are there torches being passed without the standard transmigration? As I said, I think some depth can be supplied. |
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| knox |
| Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 10:15 am |
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It seems unlikely anyone here would be interested in this biopic:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0975645/
Cloud Atlas - the most confusing karmic path, for me, was Tom Hanks. But then I figured it out: if you throw a CRITIC off a rooftop, you get to sleep with Halle Berry in utopia. |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:40 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Lincoln is as good a dramatiazation of the legislative process as we shall see. Daniel Day-Lewis portrays Lincoln's grit as well as humor quite well. Not a memorable film, but quite good.
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 8:26 pm |
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lshap wrote: I love DDL, so there's my bias. But if you're worried about his overacting in this film, don't. As I said, he plays Lincoln as a pensive, quiet character. There's surprisingly little fiery intensity.
I can understand how DDL's lighter voice could throw some viewers, since it conflicts with the false impressions we've had, which have been built on a series of deeper, more commanding voices, all made-up. But that's the fault of myth, not fact. By all accounts, DDL got it right.
I found it took just a few seconds to get used to DDL's voice. He doesn't overact; about the only time Lincoln really blows up is in that cabinet meeting when the vote is getting imminent and some of the cabinet is still temporizing.
I never realize passage of the 13th Amendment through the House was such a close-run thing. It had already gone through the Senate with a 38-6 vote, eight more than it needed. (Slavery wasn't ended with the events in the movie; the Amendment still had to go to the states, and their approval took most of the year. By the way, the first version of the Amendment was proposed to the Senate by a Democrat, which is interesting because it's the Democrats who are the stumbling block in the movie.)
Tommy Lee Jones may get a supporting actor nomination, but I was really impressed by David Strathairn's portrayal of William Seward. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 5:03 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Quote: Helen Hunt's performance in The Sessions may be overlooked because it was not "showy."
That's an interesting comment considering she was very much naked in many of the scenes.
I had a hard time liking the character played by (Billy? He's been in other movies and is quite a chameleon and an actor to watch.) in the iron lung. His accent or his flippant attitude. And William H. Macy didn't show the depth you'd expect from a Catholic priest. I do however believe in the film's premise: everyone no matter how handicapped should have an avenue to sexual experience.
Billy, I just saw Marion C. in Little White Lies, a French film that relates easily to The Big Chill. She was good. The director did Tell No One. It was 2 1/2 hours.......enjoyable simply because it was French and there were alot of French actors including the main character in TNO. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 5:40 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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| Tell No One is one of the most incoherent movies in recollection. I have hardly ever--if ever--seen a movie with such a convoluted plot. I truly hated this film. And it got some of the best reviews of the past few years. What a huge disappointment. |
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