The Great Gatsby (2013)

3/5

Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby somehow manages to be both a tepid and titillating reinterpretation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic. In the most banal ways it seems to copy the book verbatim, with Tobey Maguire basically reading Fitzgerald's elegant prose in an unnecessary and belabored voice-over. At 2.5 hours runtime, the film's editing is incredibly mis-managed thanks to an overlong first half filled with pedestrian introductions and explanations reminiscent of lazy storytelling.

And yet something about the anachronistic music and Leonardo DiCaprio's enigmatic charisma manages to pull you in and excite you. It becomes filled with verve and vivacity. The acting by DiCaprio and Mulligan is particularly compelling. Their characters, and the magnetic attraction between the two, are the heart and soul of the film. But as good as they are, the rest of the cast fails to impress. And while Baz Luhrmann can do incredible things with music, he seems unable to direct the rest of the movie with equivalent panache.

Films made out of books must be adapted, not simply migrated to the silver screen. Luhrmann should have tried harder to pin down the spirit of the book--that je ne sais quoi that made generations consume it so voraciously--and communicate that same elusive vitality to the movie. Instead he has taken some of the words to the cinema, but has left the heart on the page.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1343092/

The Ice Storm (1997)

4/5

I didn't know much about Ang Lee's The Ice Storm when I saw it, so it took me a while to internalize the time and place. But understanding the setting--70's suburbia in the midst of their own version of a sexual revolution--is integral to fully appreciating the film. The story looks at both the parents and children of a dysfunctional family, and each generation's exploration of freedom in sexuality and inebriation, both different and identical. It is a world so very far from ours, and at the same time so near, that we are able to laugh at the forgotten customs and traditions while simultaneously picking up on the tragic nature of their current expressions.

The Ice Storm examines the paradox of family: how we can distance those we grow closest to, how we can hate those we love most, and how we require security but want excitement. There is a sense of impending doom, a foreboding heaviness, that keeps you breathless in anticipation for the full running time. It is a testament to Lee's abilities that he can insert moments of laughter without cutting the tension. We always know that something will happen to these people, these people so desperate for release and escape. It is the inevitable outcome of human nature.

Technically, the movie worked well. The editing especially was stellar, as it interwove multiple stories with such immaculate precision that we not only remember every complex character, but we also understand their motivations, their wants and fears. The acting brought to life already strong writing. Still, a lot of the movie was just flat-out weird and unconvincing. As in other films by Lee, the movie was peppered with unnatural angles, discontinuous blocking, and bizarre compositions. Much of the cinematography seemed drab and underwhelming, but maybe that is the point? Regardless of any minor flaws, this film goes highly recommended by me.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0119349/

Deconstructing Harry (1997)

4/5

Deconstructing Harry is a hilarious foray into a neurotic writer's life and mind. Harry Block travels to upstate New York where he's going to be honored by his old college. On the way, he gets a chance to reflect on the choices he's made, both in his writing and in his life. His stories and the characters that inhabit them stem from real people and real events, which has often caused anger and resentment by those whose secret and personal lives he's put on display through his work. I love this movie because it is both meaningful and entertaining. I found myself laughing the entire time. But it also made me think about this writer's life, how he took advantage of it, and what his creations (or are they merely alterations?) mean to himself and to others. Deconstructing Harry is an absolutely wonderful and delightful fantasy about real life that is witty, nostalgic, and philosophical all at once. I loved the acting by all parties and especially enjoyed spotting soon-to-be-famous actors in small roles (Tobey Maguire, Paul Giamatti, Jennifer Garner, etc.). I am in love with the way he made Robin Williams (and himself, later) blurry and out of focus while the rest of the scene was crisp and sharp. I wish I knew how he did it. You can see Allen's creativity positively brimming and overflowing in this movie (although not as profusely as in Annie Hall).

I fail to understand the purpose of the neurotic editing, except perhaps as a banal and gimmicky way of putting the director's own flightiness and anxiety into his work, as Harry Block replicates his life in his writing. Using this editing style to start the movie was extremely off-putting. Some scenes feel rather pointless, without adding much to the table in terms of plot, humor, or pathos. Also, most of the movie is told from Harry Block's point of view, and as such takes on a cynical and misogynistic quality, which obviously may not be for everyone (take his version of Hell, for example). Otherwise, though, a thoroughly fantastic movie that I enjoyed and appreciated from start to finish.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0118954/

The Good German (2006)

3/5

The best part about The Good German is how it looked. A murder mystery set in 1945 post-war Berlin, it attempts to emulate a film noir style but doesn't quite succeed. The problem is that Soderbergh doesn't know film well enough, and doesn't get the specifics right. I liked how he made the film look, with his stark black and white photography and slightly blurred images, but film noir didn't look like that. While film back then was never quite as crisp as the HD cameras we have now, it was certainly more crisp than the TV-style images inhabiting this movie. And the heavy black and whites with minimal gray midtones was too stark for 40's noir; it felt more in line with the worse film grain from the mid-30's. Additionally, while noirs are supposed to have confusing, labyrinthine plots, this one is a bit excessive. At the end of the movie, I really had no idea what had happened, which is never a good thing. I understood more about The Big Sleep. It seemed as if there were a bunch of innuendos and assumptions that the characters went with that I never got, which left me in the dark for most of the movie. Also, there were so many "references" or "homages" to Casablanca, not just in shots, but in entire plot constructions, that it just felt like theft to me.

On the other side of the stick, the cinematography was amazing. The lighting and composition in so many scenes were spot-on and looked like actual 1940's film noir. The consistently bleak mood and dark underbelly of surviving in such a ravaged situation fit nicely in the noir genre. While the swearing and sex were not exactly staples of film noir, their inclusion in the movie made it feel more crude and more vulgar, which I believe is how film noir felt in the 40's. The acting was amazing by all parties. Tobey Maguire unnerved me, Cate Blanchett was equally stunning and deceptive, and George Clooney, it seemed, really would stop at nothing to get to the truth. Unfortunately, this movie is not a film noir, for a great many reasons, and despite all its efforts, it is merely an unsuccessful attempt at one. Not really recommended, but A for effort.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0452624/