Books With a Movie Tie-In
Boyce, Frank Cottrell. Millions. HarperTrophy, 2005. When fourth-grader Damian finds a bag full of cash by the train tracks, he and his brother try to spend it fast. The bills are all pounds, and England is just a few weeks away from converting to the Euro, so anything they don't use will, in their minds, soon be worthless. This happy predicament sets up some excellent comic situations, including rampant inflation at the school yard and some suspiciously materialistic Mormons. But a lot more is going on than money-related antics. Damian, obsessed with the lives of the saints and a bit muddled about the real world, narrates with endearing naïveté and unintended deadpan humor. Fifth-grader Anthony has an endless supply of schemes, contrasting with his brother's more charitable sensibilities. Though their mother's recent death is not described until later, the boys' sense of loss permeates the story, and their instant fortune subtly leads them to a point where they can finally face their grief. Damian's encyclopedic knowledge of saints is hilarious at times, but also reveals his touching need for faith and reassurance. Supporting characters, including their dad and a shrewd female fund-raiser, have distinct personalities. The imagined 1998 monetary changeover may be confusing to American kids, who might assume the event really occurred, but readers should grasp the resulting need to act with dispatch. There's plenty of excitement as the deadline approaches and the brothers' secret becomes known, but the humor, the strong family story, and Damian's narrative voice make this satisfying novel succeed on several levels.
Capote, Truman, In Cold Blood. Random House, 1965. "Until one morning in mid-November of 1959, few Americans--in fact, few Kansans--had ever heard of Holcomb. Like the waters of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like the yellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama, in the shape of exceptional happenings, had never stopped there." If all Truman Capote did was invent a new genre--journalism written with the language and structure of literature--this "nonfiction novel" about the brutal slaying of the Clutter family by two would-be robbers would be remembered as a trail-blazing experiment that has influenced countless writers. But Capote achieved more than that. He wrote a true masterpiece of creative nonfiction. The images of this tale continue to resonate in our minds: 16-year-old Nancy Clutter teaching a friend how to bake a cherry pie, Dick Hickock's black '49 Chevrolet sedan, Perry Smith's Gibson guitar and his dreams of gold in a tropical paradise--the blood on the walls and the final "thud-snap" of the rope-broken necks. The resulting chronicle is a masterpiece--agonizing, terrible, possessed, proof that the times, so surfeited with disasters, are still capable of tragedy.In Cold Blood. [films]RCA/Columbia House Pictures, 1967. Directed by Richard Brooks, Starring Robert Blake & Scott Wilson. Truman Capote's extraordinary nonfiction book about the course of two killers in this world--their lives, their senseless slaughter of an entire family, their executions--was faithfully adapted for the screen in this 1967 film by Richard Brooks (Deadline USA, The Blackboard Jungle). Robert Blake and Scott Wilson are remarkable as the murderers, but what have kept this film special over the decades are Brook’s blunt, clearheaded, and nonsensational approach to the story. (The term "semi documentary" has been applied to Brook’s style on this film, and it's an entirely fair description.) The experience of watching In Cold Blood is naturally unsettling, but the director--as with Capote--leaves final judgments about justice to the beholder.
Capote. Sony Pictures, 2005. Directed by Bennett Miller, Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener. Bolstered by an Oscar®-caliber performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman in the title role, Capote ranked highly among the best films of 2005. Written by actor/screenwriter Dan Futterman and based on selected chapters from the biography by Gerald Clarke, this mercilessly perceptive drama shows how Truman Capote brought about his own self-destruction in the course of writing In Cold Blood, the "nonfiction novel" that was immediately acclaimed as a literary milestone. After learning of brutal killings in rural Holcomb, Kansas, in November 1959, Capote gained the confidence of captured killers Perry Smith (Clifton Collins, Jr.) and Dick Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) in an effort to tell their story, but he ultimately sacrificed his soul in the process of writing his greatest book. Hoffman transcends mere mimicry to create an utterly authentic, psychologically tormented portrait of an insincere artist who was not above lying and manipulation to get what he needed. Bennett Miller's intimate direction focuses on the consequences of Capote's literary ambition, tempered by an equally fine performance by Catherine Keener as Harper Lee, Capote's friend and the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, who served as Capote's quiet voice of conscience. Spanning the seven-year period between the Kansas murders and the publication of In Cold Blood in 1966, Capote reveals the many faces of a writer who grew too close to his subjects, losing his moral compass as they were fitted with a hangman's noose. Believe me when I tell you that this is one of the best films of the year. It is a complex and multi-layered work of art.
One of the most wise plot devices in this film was to contrast the fall of Capote with the rise of Harper Lee and her wonderful novel "To Kill a Mockingbird". Capote sinks into depression and alcoholism laced with mounting self pity while Harper Lee gains acclaim first for her novel and then for the film starring Gregory Peck. On the night of the gala opening of "To Kill A Mockingbird" Capote attends the festivities in a drunken depressed stupor and is so self absorbed that he can't even offer his supportive best friend, Lee, congratulations on her novel and film.
What do we make of this film? It is incredibly well done and demonstrates that no act of mercy is totally pure; no act of cruelty is totally evil. It was Capote's incredible skills that allowed him to manipulate the killers to gain the story that made him the most famous American living writer; but he sold his soul to buy the story and he never recovered from the wound. This is mature film-making at its best!
Herbert Frank, Dune. Putnam, 1965. Paul Atreides is the heir apparent of a mighty house, destined to inherit wealth and political power from his father, Duke Leto, who has just been granted the rule of the planet Arrakis. Control of Arrakis is a vital key to power, for this planet is the only known source of the most valuable substance in the universe: the spice Melange, which lengthens life and enhances psychic power. Paul’s world changes overnight when his father’s rule is overthrown by their hereditary enemies of the house Harkonnen. As a fugitive in the deserts of Arrakis, Paul discovers secrets about himself that elevate his standing among the Arrakeen native people, the Fremen, to near-messianic status. He has the potential to revitalize the deserts of Arrakis---or to launch a bloody jihad that could bring about the ruin of galactic civilization. Considered one of the major science fiction novels of the twentieth century, Dune has been made into a film by David Lynch and has also been a mini-series on the Sci-Fi Channel. Neither attempt, however, has captured the epic quality of Herbert’s novel and the complexity of his world-building. This is a must for any science fiction reading list.
King, Stephen. Different Seasons. Viking, 1982. Different Seasons is a collection of four novellas, markedly different in tone and subject, each on the theme of a journey. The first, Rita Haywood and the Shawshank Redemption, is a rich, satisfying, non-horrific tale about an innocent man who carefully nurtures hope and devises a wily scheme to escape from prison. The second, Apt Pupil, concerns a boy who discards his innocence by enticing an old man to travel with him into a reawakening of long-buried evil. In the third story, The Body, a writer looks back on the trek he took with three friends on the brink of adolescence to find another boy's corpse. The trip becomes a character-rich rite of passage from youth to maturity. These first three novellas have been made into well-received movies: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption into Frank Darabont's 1994 The Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil into Bryan Singer's 1998 film Apt Pupil, and The Body into Rob Reiner's Stand By Me(1986). The final novella, "Breathing Lessons," is a horror yarn told by a doctor, about a patient whose indomitable spirit keeps her baby alive under extraordinary circumstances. It's the tightest, most polished tale in the collection.The Movies: The Shawshank Redemption. When this popular prison drama was released in 1994, some critics complained that the movie was too long (142 minutes) to sustain its story. Those complaints miss the point, because the passage of time is crucial to this story about patience, the squeaky wheels of justice, and the growth of a life-long friendship. Only when the film reaches its final, emotionally satisfying scene do you fully understand why writer-director Frank Darabont allows the story to unfold at its necessary pace, and the effect is dramatically rewarding. Tim Robbins plays a banker named Andy who's sent to Shawshank Prison on a murder charge, but as he gets to know a life-term prisoner named Red (Morgan Freeman), we realize there's reason to believe the banker's crime was justifiable. We also realize that Andy's calm, quiet exterior hides a great reserve of patience and fortitude, and Red comes to admire this mild-mannered man who first struck him as weak and unfit for prison life. So it is that The Shawshank Redemption builds considerable impact as a prison drama that defies the conventions of the genre (violence, brutality, riots) to illustrate its theme of faith, friendship, and survival. Nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Actor, and Screenplay, it's a remarkable film that signaled the arrival of a promising new filmmaker--a film that many movie lovers count among their all-time favorites.
Apt Pupil. This movie quickly disappeared from the theaters, which is really too bad, because it's an excellent film. Those reviewers who disliked it because it didn't have enough "Stephen King" have missed the point. Good horror doesn't always depend on lots of supernatural gore. Sometimes the most frightening things are the terrible possibilities we find within ourselves -- if we dare to look. Much of this film consists of psychological games, but that doesn't make it any less terrifying. If you have ever wondered how ordinary good citizens (like yourself???) could have ended up serving the Nazi genocide machine, then this movie is a chillingly real answer. An excellent study in how seemingly moral people can be manipulated by fear and seduced by power. What starts out as an honor student's curiosity about a dark chapter in history soon degenerates into cruelty and manipulation on both sides. The student begins by blackmailing an old Nazi war criminal into telling him all about the concentration camps -- and that means EVERYTHING -- or else he will turn him over to the authorities. The old Nazi, fearing arrest, complies. But the boy soon goes beyond curiosity, as he begins to enjoy having absolute power over another human being. At this point, the student is the sadist, and I actually found myself feeling sorry for the old man. But wait -- the Nazi still has a few tricks up his sleeve, and the tables are soon turned... To tell you more would be a spoiler. Just remember: when you dine with the devil, the spoon is never long enough.
Stand By Me. A sleeper hit when released in 1986, Stand by Me is more about the joys and pains of boyhood friendship than a morbid fascination with corpses. It's about four boys ages 12 and 13 (Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell) who take an overnight hike through the woods near their Oregon town to find the body of a boy who's been missing for days. Their journey includes a variety of scary adventures (including a ferocious junkyard dog, a swamp full of leeches, and a treacherous leap from a train trestle), but it's also a time for personal revelations, quiet interludes, and the raucous comrade-ship of best friends. Set in the 1950s, the movie indulges an overabundance of anachronistic profanity and a kind of idealistic, golden-toned nostalgia (it's told in flashback as a story written by Wheaton's character as an adult, played by Richard Dreyfuss). But it's delightfully entertaining from start to finish, thanks to the rapport among its young cast members and the timeless, universal themes of friendship, family, and the building of character and self-esteem. Kiefer Sutherland makes a memorable teenage villain, and look closely for John Cusack in a flashback scene as Wheaton's now-deceased and dearly missed brother. A genuine crowd-pleaser, this heartfelt movie was directed by Rob Reiner.
King, Stephen. The Stand. Doubleday, 1978. "The Stand" is an incredible novel; perhaps one of the best I have ever read, by any author or in any genre. The story is predicated on the accidental release of a "super-flu" that wipes out 99% of the humans on the planet. The survivors find themselves drawn into a battle between good and evil that will determine the future of the entire planet. As one might expect a novel with such an ambitious plot and of such prodigious length touches upon numerous themes. In order to simplify my review, I am going to break down the novel's strengths into the following categories, and then consider them one at a time: world-building, plot, characters and themes.
First is world-building. In most apocalyptic fiction, one (if not both) of two things will be true: 1. the characters stay in one place or 2. The action picks up after the disaster. An example of the first is "Earth Abides" and of the latter "On the Beach". There's nothing wrong with either plot device, but in "The Stand" King injects a remarkable level of detail into his novel by covering the super-flu from start to finish. The novel starts at the very beginning of the outbreak, and many key plot lines are developed before the epidemic ever rears its head. King charts the breakdown and eventual destruction of civilization, and then offers a short, but remarkable, picture of the survivors in the immediate days after the flu has run its course. He makes the subtle observation that many survivors would die in a second wave of suicides, accidents and depression that would weed out many of those unequipped for an empty world. Finally, as the story progresses, King makes remarkable (but not overbearing) predictions about how nature would reshape the U.S. in the absence of man.
Second to consider is the plot. As I alluded to earlier, King has used the emptied United States as a battleground between good and evil. Soon after the flu has run its course, the survivors begin having dreams about an old woman (Mother Abigail) who seems to be marshalling the forces of good, and a malign presence (Randall Flagg) who is gathering those who would serve him and his ends. Insofar as the reader knows, the choice is clear-cut, irrevocable and mandatory. It is very much a "are you with us or against us" type of situation. That said, much of the book is devoted to the characters traveling across country to Boulder or Las Vegas (guess which side is where), no mean feat in a world without mass transit, hotels, etc. In fact, King's writing is so effective, the novel would be fascinating if the characters did nothing but travel around and attempt to reestablish society. The second, metaphysical, layer just makes it all the more interesting.
Thirdly, we have the characters to consider; I'll won't name names or speak in specifics to avoid ruining the plot, but there are a few general points worth mentioning. To start, the cast of characters in "The Stand" rivals that of "Lord of the Rings", and King handles it every bit as well as Tolkien. One might expect that a novel with a story this complex would skimp on character development, but the opposite is actually true. King took a huge idea (good vs. evil) and reduced it to a human element that the reader could digest. His characters show an incredible range of emotion, and even their flaws serve to enhance the reader's view of them. They struggle and fail and are rarely sure of themselves, in other words, they are human. As such, their actions take on a level of realism that is astonishing.
Finally, we come to the themes of the book. The way I see it there are three: the dualistic nature of good and evil, redemption and hope. The first is the most obvious, King correctly points out that good cannot be appreciated or striven for in the absence of bad. We can strive to limit the effects of evil, but it will never be overcome, as King sees greed and hate as intrinsic to the human condition in general, and civilization specifically. The second theme, of redemption, is subtler and offsets the first. King does not paint anyone is irretrievably lost, and along the same lines, he considers how good intentions are frequently misdirected through ignorance and fear. King seems to believe that given the opportunity and support, anyone can salvage their lives. Which brings us to the final theme of hope. As the novel ends, the reader knows that evil has not been vanquished, but also that it can never triumph because within its very nature are the seeds of its destruction. Over time, evil empires have gained power because they have torn down their enemies (see Nazi Germany), but as the saying goes, live by the sword, die by the sword. There is always hope, because evil cannot win.
There are so many other points to touch on, I could write indefinitely, but what it all comes down to is this: if you're looking for a novel that will entertain you even as it makes you think, "The Stand" is for you.
The Stand. Republic Pictures, 1994. Starring: Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Jamey Sheridan, Laura San Giacomo, Ruby Dee, If you haven't read the novel (first of all, shame on you), you'll probably find this movie tiresome and cheesy. "The Stand" was pretty much made only to please fans of the book who wanted to see it come to life. Like most all King adaptations, it gets some things right and some things wrong, but it's still fun to watch.
The cast is a mixed bag. Gary Sinise makes a great Stu. Adam Storke is a less than perfect Larry. Rob Lowe makes a surprisingly sympathetic Nick. Miguel Ferrar is great (as always) as Lloyd. Jamey Sheridan probably was definitely NOT the best choice for the Dark Man; too bad Jeff Goldblum turned down the role. But Molly Ringwald as Frannie? AAAHHHHHHH! What were they thinking?!?!? And Corin Nemec as Harold fails to pull this fascinating, important character together. And Laura San Giacomo is absolutely dreadful as Nadine.
The plot comes together nicely. The characters are introduced flawlessly, and we easily care about them. (Well, most of them.) There is tension and drama in the right places as the "superflu" spreads and decimates the population. The emotion is high and genuine.
Most of your favorite scenes from the book are intact, like Larry's trek through the Lincoln Tunnel (although it's not as scary as it could have been). Myself, I would have loved to see Trashcan Man's hellish journey with "The Kid" and the highway shoot-out at the overturned pink trailer (fans of the book know which scene this is), but I guess I can see why they were cut.
Overall, this is a very faithful, potent adaptation. There's a lot to admire about it. But read the book, for cryin' out loud. That, after all, is the only way to truly experience this compelling story.
McEwan, Ian. Enduring Love. Joe Rose has planned a postcard-perfect afternoon in the English countryside to celebrate his lover's return after six weeks in the States. To complete the picture, there's even a "helium balloon drifting dreamily across the wooded valley." But as Joe and Clarissa watch the balloon touch down; their idyll comes to an abrupt end. The pilot catches his leg in the anchor rope, while the only passenger, a boy, is too scared to jump down. As the wind whips into action, Joe and four other men rush to secure the basket. Mother Nature, however, isn't feeling very maternal. "A mighty fist socked the balloon in two rapid blows, one-two, the second more vicious than the first," and at once the rescuers are airborne. Joe manages to drop to the ground, as do most of his companions, but one man is lifted sky-high, only to fall to his death.In itself, the accident would change the survivors' lives, filling them with an uneasy combination of shame, happiness, and endless self-reproach. (In one of the novel's many ironies, the balloon eventually lands safely, the boy unscathed.) But fate has far more unpleasant things in store for Joe. Meeting the eye of fellow rescuer Jed Parry, for example, turns out to be a very bad move. For Jed is instantly obsessed, making the first of many calls to Joe and Clarissa's London flat that very night. Soon he's openly shadowing Joe and writing him endless letters. (One insane epistle begins, "I feel happiness running through me like an electrical current. I close my eyes and see you as you were last night in the rain, across the road from me, with the unspoken love between us as strong as steel cable.") Worst of all, Jed's version of love comes to seem a distortion of Joe's feelings for Clarissa.
Apart from the incessant stalking, it is the conditionals--the contingencies--that most frustrate Joe, a scientific journalist. If only he and Clarissa had gone straight home from the airport... If only the wind hadn't picked up... If only he had saved Jed's 29 messages in a single day... Ian McEwan has long been a poet of the arbitrary nightmare, his characters ineluctably swept up in others' fantasies, skidding into deepening violence, and--worst of all--becoming strangers to those who love them. Even his prose itself is a masterful and methodical exercise in defamiliarization. But Enduring Love and its underrated predecessor, Black Dogs, are also meditations on knowledge and perception as well as brilliant manipulations of our own expectations. By the novel's end, you will be surprisingly unafraid of hot-air balloons, but you won't be too keen on looking a stranger in the eye.
Movie: Whenever I've heard anyone discuss "Enduring Love," or read a review of it, there's always a vivid description of the first scene involved. And, usually there's mention of how the film was a letdown - not 100% of the time, of course, but often enough to take note. And people don't just say, "I didn't like this movie." - plain and simple. They use the words "letdown," and "disappointment," as if they had been expecting so much more. I read Ian McEwan's excellent novel, upon which the movie was based, and was certainly curious to see what one of my favorite directors, Roger Michell, ("Persuasion"), had done to bring the literary work to life. I so hate being one of the crowd....but:
It's a warm, windy summer day. There's a sunny meadow, surrounded by hedgerows - all green and earth tones. A couple, Joe, (Daniel Craig), and his girlfriend, Claire (Samantha Morton), are on a picnic. As he opens a bottle of "posh" champagne, she stares over his shoulder as a beautiful red-colored helium balloon floats by, low to the ground. Then there's a shout and it seems as if the balloon is out of control, tilting oddly, dragging. The beauty of the bright red contrasted against the pastoral greens and browns is suddenly gone. One feels jarred. Joe and Claire rush toward the balloon, as do four other men who seem to come from nowhere - laborers from nearby fields, people in a passing car. The men grab on to the balloon. The pilot catches his foot and hangs from the line. The only passenger, a boy, is too afraid to release the cord or jump out. The wind picks-up and the balloon ascends, the men still holding on. As it rises, all the men let go, all but one. He manages to hang on until it's too late to drop safely.
In the span of those few moments everything changes for Joe. The accident plagues him. It has become a terrible intrusion into his once happy existence. Filled with guilt and remorse, thinking that a life could have been saved if he had somehow acted otherwise, his behavior and perceptions become distorted. He sketches hot air balloons, cuts out photos of them, blow up small balloons for models. Enough already!! Joe doesn't understand what is happening to himself and refuses to seek help for post-traumatic stress, as live-in lover Claire suggests. His long-term relationship with her begins to deteriorate. And, oddly, one of the men who tried to help that day, one of the four strangers who attempted to weight down the red balloon, contacts Joe. Scruffy-looking Jed Parry, (Rhys Ifans), attaches himself to Joe and begins to demonstrate extremely obsessive behavior. Jed believes everything happens for a reason. He thinks the entire purpose of the balloon accident was for Joe and him to meet - that they're soul mates - connected in some deep, inevitable way. Is this a sexual attraction? Is Jed a religious zealot? He wanted to pray with Joe after the after the incident.
Whatever else he might be, Jed is a stalker. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the level of Glenn Close's character in "Fatal Attraction," Jed is a perfect 10! He writes to Joe; shows up in his classroom; watches from the park across from Joe's and Claire's flat on sunny days and in downpours. At first Joe appears enraged, then sympathetic, but the psychology behind whatever is happening is obscure. What does Jed want? How far will he go to get it? And why in heaven's name doesn't Joe do something about it?? What does Joe want - what are his fantasies? Call the police, Joe?? Take a long vacation to Australia, New Zealand or Chile with Claire. How engaged is Joe in this warped relationship? It is never made clear. That's a problem.
I think the movie's initial scene is mentioned so frequently because it is so visually striking, and emotionally charged - really outstanding and unsettling. Unfortunately, the film, like the balloon, goes off course after that brief glimpse of brilliance. Director Michell promises so much in the first few minutes and does not deliver. The actors are outstanding. I must give them credit for making the most of what they were given. So, why does the film never live up to its potential? There's too much ambiguity. You need to read the book to understand what's going on in the movie. Isn't it usually the other way around? Jed's repetitive activity, along with Joe’s repetitive passivity, is boring. And Joe's failure to act, even his seeming lack of clarity of purpose during a most critical scene at the end, is the film's failure.
At one point in "Enduring Love," Jed, a real madman, bangs his head against a wall repeatedly. That's exactly how I felt at that same moment, as a viewer. It would have been so easy to stop - just turn off the DVD player. But I kept waiting for some redeeming factor, something enlightening to happen to make sense of it all. Never happened. And the denouement came with a whimper, not a bang. There is no way I can recommend this film, in all honesty - unless you rent it for the first scene and fast forward to some other moments of pertinence before clicking off the remote. Sad.
Meyer, Nicholas. The Seven-Per-Cent Solution: Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. Dutton, 1974. This novel approaches the Sherlock Holmes universe from a decidedly oblique angle. In this moving and suspenseful pastiche, Meyer presents us with a Holmes in desperate need of weaning himself from his cocaine habit. Doctor Watson is deeply concerned for his friend, but who is capable of helping him break the thrall of his addiction? It seems that there is a doctor in Vienna with some rather unusual theories who has himself overcome a cocaine addiction---and that doctor’s name is Sigmund Freud. With the help of Sherlock’s brother Mycroft, Doctor Watson persuades Holmes to go to Vienna, supposedly in pursuit of his old nemesis, Professor Moriarty. But when Holmes reaches Vienna and faces the hell of withdrawal, Watson is doubtful whether his friend has the physical or mental strength to survive . . . until a new mystery comes their way in Vienna, providing Holmes with just the stimulation he needs to distract him from his misery. The film of this novel, while engaging, is quite different from the novel when it comes to the case Holmes sets out to solve in Vienna, but the presentation of his drug withdrawal stays very close to the book and is harrowing to watch. This is an interesting addition to a Sherlockian library or a good read for anyone who likes a suspenseful adventure story.
Moore, Alan and David Lloyd. V for Vendetta. DC Comics, 1985. At a time when terrorism is a subject of international concern, Moore and Lloyd’s graphic novel is relevant and gripping in its treatment of the thin line that can exist between terrorist and freedom fighter. In the world of this story, England is a state under totalitarian rule only a few steps removed from the all-encompassing control depicted in George Orwell’s 1984. The rogue element is the mysterious figure V, who covers his face with a Guy Fawkes mask, systematically and violently undermining government controls over the press, the TV news stations, and the personal lives of citizens. V wins our sympathy early in the novel by rescuing a young woman, Evey, who is about to be arrested, raped, and most likely murdered by corrupt authorities for being out after curfew; hidden from the authorities in V’s carefully concealed underground base of operations, Evey struggles with her gratitude for this man who has saved her versus her horror at his tactics to engineer social change (such as dynamiting major London landmarks). The recent film of this novel went for a very spectacular cinematic ending as opposed to the more quiet, thought-provoking conclusion of the novel, along with some other more minor changes; however, the film did capture the disturbing quality of a work in which we find ourselves cheering on a vigilante simply because the alternative to his tactics is a simply unendurable society. V for Vendetta belongs on the Top Ten List for any fan of graphic novels.
Pickett , Rex. Sideways. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2004. Can you say road trip! Miles and Jack set off on a 7-day wine tasting road trip through the wine country of California as their last hurrah before Jack is married. For Miles, who is an ultra sensitive, frumpy unpublished author, who happens to love wine, the trip is a week long reflection of his past, present and not so clear future. For Jack, his tall confident friend and old college roommate, it is a last ditch effort to get laid as often as he can before his wedding day on Sunday. Filled with interesting details about wine, Sideways is a humorous look at love, human relationships, and the realities of life.
Movie: In this intoxicating, intelligent comedy, director Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt) serves up "one of the best movies of the year" (Entertainment Weekly) about the ups, downs and sideways journeys of life. In Sideways, Paul Giamatti (American Splendor, Cinderella Man) has become an unlikely but engaging romantic lead. Struggling novelist and wine connoisseur Miles (Giamatti) takes his best friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church, Wings) on a wine-tasting tour of California vineyards for a kind of extended bachelor party. Almost immediately, Jack's insatiable need to sow some wild oats before his marriage leads them into double-dates with a rambunctious wine pourer (Sandra Oh, Grey’s Anatomy) and a recently divorced waitress (Virginia Madsen, The Hot Spot)--and Miles discovers a little hope that he hasn't let himself feel in a long time. Sideways is a modest but finely tuned film; with gentle compassion, it explores the failures, struggles, and lowered expectations of mid-life. Giamatti makes regret and self-loathing sympathetic, almost sweet.
Proulx, E. Annie. Close Range: Wyoming Stories. (including short story "Brokeback Moutain"). Scribner, 1999. Brokeback Mountain[film] Ang Lee, 2005. Pulitzer Prize winner, E. Annie Proulx’s short story, Brokeback Mountain was first published in the New Yorker in 1997. Screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana optioned the work for film almost immediately, yet it did not make it to film until eight years later.The story and the film introduce two nineteen year old male characters who meet when they are hired as ranch hands in the Wyoming mountain country in the winter of 1963. Ennis del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) are charged to set up a main camp, but one of them must travel miles up a mountain each night to sleep amongst a herd of sheep to guard against their going missing or being poached. After several brutal nights, Jack decides to stay overnight at the main camp in order to eat better and stay warmer. They both drink a fair amount of whisky and settle into a tent for the night. In his sleep, Jack reaches over to Ennis (for warmth) and soon they are locked in a carnal act that they will intermittently deny and again seek out over the next several decades. Both marry women and live at some distance from each other, reliving their awkward liaison on occasional fishing trips. (While there is ultimately a tragic ending, further story details are being withheld by this reviewer in order to not spoil the story for those who have not yet read the story or viewed the film.)
While media hype would lead one to think that the film is controversial or sensational, this could not be further from the truth. Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Sense and Sensibility) treats this love story just like any other, only the couple consists of two males. Both Lee and Proulx present an austere landscape peopled with rough- mannered and plain-spoken characters. The simplicity of Proulx’s writing is reflected in the restraint used by Lee. Lee honors the spirit of Proulx’s 31 page story in his two hour and 14 minute film. The first part of the movie shares a one to one correspondence to the written work. The film offers more development in the storyline for the decades that follow the initial carnal act.
Both the story and the film are brilliant. It is hard to imagine how the film would have fared had it been directed by anyone except Ang Lee with his masterful and subtle touch.
Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Randy Quaid and the other players all pull off stellar performances without a single false note. It is particularly fun to see Anne Hathaway play a full-bodied, sassy Texan who realistically ages over several decades after being used to seeing her play countless Chick Lit princess-type roles.
The competition for the Oscar in 2005 was fierce with a bumper crop of fabulous and worthy films. Brokeback Mountain was not even the only film to have gay characters. There was Capote. Also, Transamerica was ground-breaking with its portrayal of a transgendered individual. Some cried foul when Brokeback Mountain lost to Crash in the best picture category. Most notably, E. Annie Proulx lambasted the American Academy for Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in The Guardian on March 5, 2006 in an ungracious, "sour grapes"-styled article entitled "Blood on the Red Carpet." All the best picture nominees were worthy. This reviewer would have liked to have seen Capote win.
Perhaps Brokeback Mountain could have won in a year not so replete with stellar opponents. It should be noted that it did win many important wards including Oscars for direction and adapted screenplay as well as best picture at the Golden Globes.
Some critics with anti-defamation concerns have criticized the film for both the closeted nature of the protagonists and the "inevitable" tragic ending. Witness a couple of statements made by Ennis. "This is a one-shot thing we got going on here." "This thing gets hold of us at the wrong time and wrong place and we’re dead." Indeed the characters are closeted. It is not hard to understand a gay person’s reluctance to be an open homosexual in 1960’s Wyoming. Even more recently witness the hate crime that left openly gay Mathew Shepard (age 21) dead in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998. Of course, Ennis and Jack are not the only victims in the film and story. Their wives and families all suffered in how they dealt with their fears and shame.
This reviewer feels that Hollywood has no obligation to stimulate positive, progressive social reform at the cost of art or an accomplished story. In fact, Ang Lee’s deliberate lack of over-earnestness in his treatment makes the film a better film. All this said, it would still be refreshing to have a well-made and serious story or film portraying homosexuals who are not afraid, ashamed or punished. Of course, that project would not be named Brokeback Mountain.
Weiner, Jennifer. In Her Shoes. Atria Books, 2002. The Feller sisters are equal but opposite. Maggie is the good-looking, dyslexic little sister who knows how to get anything she wants--but not how to keep it. She "felt as if somewhere between the ages of fourteen and sixteen she'd walked off the edge of a cliff and had been falling ever since." Rose is the plump, practical, responsible older sister who knows about law but not much about her own happiness: "What did she like, besides shoes, and Jim, and foods that were bad for her?" When Maggie's latest eviction lands her in Rose's apartment, and Maggie insults Rose by seducing one of her sister's rare boyfriends, what follows is a chain of events by turns hilarious and heartbreaking. Embarrassed Rose evicts Maggie and begins a work sabbatical leading to a new livelihood and way of living. Maggie flees and runs away to Princeton. Masquerading as a student, she learns to love poetry and saves money for a trip to Miami--and a visit to a long-lost grandmother named Ella who might offer her a last shot at sanctuary. But In Her Shoes, the second novel from Good in Bed author Jennifer Weiner, is about more than the sisters' latest sibling rivalry; Maggie and Rose must sort out the childhood vulnerabilities and family mysteries that still linger two decades after their mother's death. In less capable hands, the plot might grow corny, but Weiner's humor and affection for the characters ultimately helps them transcend both neuroses and grief and learn the redemptive power of love.
August 9, 2005
