The Caffeine Diaries
I'm about to be swamped by movies, as I got 5 more out of the library last night, so I need to get moving on a few more of my backlog.
Atonement (2007)
To start off, I put off watching this movie, because I kept hearing raves about the book, and the interpretation of such by the film. I put in my library request, and tucked right into it when it showed up. However, by the end of it, I wasn't super-convinced I loved it as a novel as much as everyone else seemed to. There were a few points where it almost became too precious for its own good, primarily the review of Briony's submission to the magazine, which struck me as meta, but not in an amusing way. The reveal at the end almost saved the book for me, where Briony gave Robbie and Cecilia a false happy ending; while the bitterness of never being able to publish her book until Lola and Marshall both passed, combined with the poignance of someone who beat herself up with her memory every waking moment slowly forgetting it all, that was powerful. (At the very least, it erased that horribly concocted "look at me, look in my eyes" exchange that I knew Keira Knightley was going to overplay and make me hate anyway.) So, not in love with the book, but intrigued by the writing style and the subtlety and imagery.
Going into the movie (the first I've seen in theaters this year!), I wished that anyone but Keira were playing Cecilia, because I have a particular dislike for her and knew it'd be hard for me to connect with the character. It was, and in fact, a lot of the acting fell flat for me. I liked Saoirse Ronan well enough and even Romola Garai was affecting. (I wanted to like Vanessa Redgrave, but I got pissed at what they did to the ending, so I got distracted and stopped paying attention to whether she was any good.) I am not really on board with everyone's apparent adoration of James McAvoy, and I really disliked Knightley altogether. And I'm not a fan of the idea that a film filled with sub-par acting is a strong contender for a Best Picture win, so I was extra-pleased that they didn't get it, though I'm kind of surprised they were nominated at all.
However, the visuals were stunning. I'm a sucker for lush greens and the muted colors of a period piece, and I was not disappointed. Everything was beautifully composed and some scenes were downright haunting (the aftermath of the subway bombing especially stuck with me for awhile).
Mostly, I thought the story was allowed to breathe in the way it needed to. It unfolded at a good pace, and McEwan's writing (which was light on interestingly constructed dialogue and heavy on imagery) came through pretty well. It mostly dictated the movie, which you've got to let do in a dialogue-light piece like that.
However. The movie lacked any sense of subtlety about events. Maybe they didn't trust the audience to follow given the shorter amount of time it takes to watch a movie than to read a novel, so they heightened it all, but where the book was delicate and ambiguous, the movie steamrolled points at you. And, ever more frustratingly, the movie was not as clear about character's thoughts and motivations as it should have been.
The worst was the changing of certain elements that really affected the story. I hated how Briony was painted as a jealous child, when that wasn't her motivation in the book. I liked it much better when it was Robbie who, in the absence of any other explanation, recalled her "love" for him at the swimming lesson. I especially hated the ending, with the publication of the book (so much more awesome for Briony never to see it published in her lifetime), the interview, etc. I guess it's a tidy way to express all of Briony's internal thoughts without resorting to monologue, but...aren't the readers going to know Robbie and Cecilia died anyway and now the "happy ending" that was given has been rendered moot?
I walked out of this movie with a bad taste in my mouth, and the only fondness I could generate was for the beauty.
Right after seeing Atonement and then having a post-mortem with Zav in the car for, like, 40 minutes, I walked into my apartment to find Teo watching the closing credits for Wildcats and talking about how it was his favorite movie as a kid. Which just happened to be starting all over again at 10 PM (thanks, ESPN Classic), so despite being kind of exhausted, I stayed up to experience the goofy heart of the movie.
Wildcats (1986)
I have to lead off with how much I really do love Goldie Hawn. I think she's charming and sweet and has great comedic timing. I totally bought her character and enjoyed the heck out of her.
I love watching movies with people who love them, especially when the movies live up to their adoration. Wildcats may be good for a "whaaaaat is that person wearing" every now and then, and there may be a few things about the comedy that are dated, but I firmly believe that it could be made today and would essentially be the same movie and just as good. I've never been one for sports movies, in particular (they tend to be too predictable and formulaic), but this one had a good angle (feminism, plus an ass of an ex-husband threatening to take away the lead's kids) that gave it an excellent approach to the material. The humor manages to be both tongue-in-cheek and utterly genuine at the same time. There is just an overwhelming sense of fondness between all of the characters that is emminently enjoyable. Good movie.
With that, I've got to run. Hopefully I'll get to more tonight, or tomorrow, because I have at least four left in the backlog and I expect to be watching more, shortly!
Atonement (2007)
To start off, I put off watching this movie, because I kept hearing raves about the book, and the interpretation of such by the film. I put in my library request, and tucked right into it when it showed up. However, by the end of it, I wasn't super-convinced I loved it as a novel as much as everyone else seemed to. There were a few points where it almost became too precious for its own good, primarily the review of Briony's submission to the magazine, which struck me as meta, but not in an amusing way. The reveal at the end almost saved the book for me, where Briony gave Robbie and Cecilia a false happy ending; while the bitterness of never being able to publish her book until Lola and Marshall both passed, combined with the poignance of someone who beat herself up with her memory every waking moment slowly forgetting it all, that was powerful. (At the very least, it erased that horribly concocted "look at me, look in my eyes" exchange that I knew Keira Knightley was going to overplay and make me hate anyway.) So, not in love with the book, but intrigued by the writing style and the subtlety and imagery.
Going into the movie (the first I've seen in theaters this year!), I wished that anyone but Keira were playing Cecilia, because I have a particular dislike for her and knew it'd be hard for me to connect with the character. It was, and in fact, a lot of the acting fell flat for me. I liked Saoirse Ronan well enough and even Romola Garai was affecting. (I wanted to like Vanessa Redgrave, but I got pissed at what they did to the ending, so I got distracted and stopped paying attention to whether she was any good.) I am not really on board with everyone's apparent adoration of James McAvoy, and I really disliked Knightley altogether. And I'm not a fan of the idea that a film filled with sub-par acting is a strong contender for a Best Picture win, so I was extra-pleased that they didn't get it, though I'm kind of surprised they were nominated at all.
However, the visuals were stunning. I'm a sucker for lush greens and the muted colors of a period piece, and I was not disappointed. Everything was beautifully composed and some scenes were downright haunting (the aftermath of the subway bombing especially stuck with me for awhile).
Mostly, I thought the story was allowed to breathe in the way it needed to. It unfolded at a good pace, and McEwan's writing (which was light on interestingly constructed dialogue and heavy on imagery) came through pretty well. It mostly dictated the movie, which you've got to let do in a dialogue-light piece like that.
However. The movie lacked any sense of subtlety about events. Maybe they didn't trust the audience to follow given the shorter amount of time it takes to watch a movie than to read a novel, so they heightened it all, but where the book was delicate and ambiguous, the movie steamrolled points at you. And, ever more frustratingly, the movie was not as clear about character's thoughts and motivations as it should have been.
The worst was the changing of certain elements that really affected the story. I hated how Briony was painted as a jealous child, when that wasn't her motivation in the book. I liked it much better when it was Robbie who, in the absence of any other explanation, recalled her "love" for him at the swimming lesson. I especially hated the ending, with the publication of the book (so much more awesome for Briony never to see it published in her lifetime), the interview, etc. I guess it's a tidy way to express all of Briony's internal thoughts without resorting to monologue, but...aren't the readers going to know Robbie and Cecilia died anyway and now the "happy ending" that was given has been rendered moot?
I walked out of this movie with a bad taste in my mouth, and the only fondness I could generate was for the beauty.
Right after seeing Atonement and then having a post-mortem with Zav in the car for, like, 40 minutes, I walked into my apartment to find Teo watching the closing credits for Wildcats and talking about how it was his favorite movie as a kid. Which just happened to be starting all over again at 10 PM (thanks, ESPN Classic), so despite being kind of exhausted, I stayed up to experience the goofy heart of the movie.
Wildcats (1986)
I have to lead off with how much I really do love Goldie Hawn. I think she's charming and sweet and has great comedic timing. I totally bought her character and enjoyed the heck out of her.
I love watching movies with people who love them, especially when the movies live up to their adoration. Wildcats may be good for a "whaaaaat is that person wearing" every now and then, and there may be a few things about the comedy that are dated, but I firmly believe that it could be made today and would essentially be the same movie and just as good. I've never been one for sports movies, in particular (they tend to be too predictable and formulaic), but this one had a good angle (feminism, plus an ass of an ex-husband threatening to take away the lead's kids) that gave it an excellent approach to the material. The humor manages to be both tongue-in-cheek and utterly genuine at the same time. There is just an overwhelming sense of fondness between all of the characters that is emminently enjoyable. Good movie.
With that, I've got to run. Hopefully I'll get to more tonight, or tomorrow, because I have at least four left in the backlog and I expect to be watching more, shortly!