The Vow (2012)

3/5

The Vow tells the ridiculous but apparently true story of a woman (McAdams) who wakes up from a car accident with short term memory loss. She remembers her mom (Lange), her dad (Neill), her sister (McNamee), and her ex-fiancé (Speedman), but not her recently-wed husband (Tatum) and his weird cadre of hipster friends (which is a plus in my book). The rest of the movie is spent trying to restore her memory and win back her love. The script was predictable but appropriately tender. There were scenes with awkward cheesy teen romance and others where we felt intimately close to everything going on.

Much like The Time Traveler's Wife, The Vow is about two imperfect people who do the best they can in an impossible situation. Both tell stories of people who are victims of circumstances beyond their control, whether it's time travel or amnesia, who end up causing pain to the people who love them. McAdams, with that mesmerizing sparkle in her eye, plays to perfection the exact same role she always does: the fiercely independent, slightly selfish artist whose love knows no bounds. The supporting cast, including Tatum, varied between acceptable and above average. Lange stood out the most, delivering a fantastically moving moment near the end of the film.

Although similar in almost all respects to The Time Traveler's Wife, The Vow fell behind in a number of areas. First, its cinematography was nothing to write home about. Second, the medicine was surprisingly less believable than the science of time travel. (I honestly don't think anybody in Hollywood knows what intubation or extubation looks like.) The Vow is a solid romance and a must for fans of Rachel McAdams. But for everyone else, the predictable story and middling technical aspects will leave you wanting more.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1606389/

Broken Flowers (2005)

3/5

Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers was--remarkably--not as bad as all his other movies. The movie actually held my interest and packs an emotional punch. The plot follows Don Johnston (Murray) on a quest to find an old girlfriend who wrote him a letter telling him he has a son. Watching Broken Flowers, I noticed that he has a unique sense of style that permeates past their dress and into their interactions and mannerisms. His style is not universal or classic, but indie and fickle. I have a feeling that I don't like Jarmusch's older movies for that very reason: they just don't age very well. But I'm finally starting to see the comedy in his films. I think it's all dependent on the actors he chooses, because Bill Murray saves the film with his seemingly effortless comic timing (moreso than Roberto Benigni in Down By Law). Murray somehow matches an apathetic outward demeanor with internal fascination. It is truly remarkable to watch him act.

Be that as it may, I'm not the biggest fan of Jarmusch's filmmaking. He still lingers on shots for far too long when editing, making every shot begin and end 1-2 seconds before and after they should. He frequently fades in and out, both visually and aurally, which probably contributes to the feeling that this movie is more like stop-and-go traffic than fluid, smooth storytelling. It's jagged and stilted, with episodic interludes and minimal overarching structure. This is probably his best movie after Night on Earth, but I'm not sure I would recommend it to anyone who isn't already a fan. It will probably be good enough to satisfy Bill Murray fans, however, as he manages to carry the entire project on his shoulders with aplomb.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412019/