2007 / Joe Wright > A couple of things in which Atonement surpasses almost every film this year: Dario Marianelli’s glowing score that anchors itself around the effectively used typewriter clicks, and Seamus McGarvey’s magnificent cinematography, including a three minute long shot that captures the beauty and despair of the evacuation of Dunkirk during World War II. Also memorable is the simmering performance by 12-year-old newcomer Saoirse Ronan (now nominated for an Oscar) as a character of genuine human fault whose covetous nature sets the wheels of the story into motion. But it’s ultimately too hard to digest. The prettiness aside, there’s something incalculably dishonest about how the film interacts with the viewer, manipulating our emotions to prove a point that renders itself ineffective soon after. You can’t particularly blame anyone, since it’s based on Ian McEwan’s novel, so it becomes an issue of unlucky circumstance. Wright, nonetheless, should be commended for such an exacting, exciting effort.
Category Archives: 3.5
Exodus
2007 / Edmond Pang > After a superb directing effort in Isabella, Pang goes off the deep-end in this seemingly ridiculous black dramedy about a secret women’s organization that kills men—or so it seems. Following a haunting, memorable introductory sequence, Exodus dives us into a mystery that takes its sweet time to unwind. Plot twists are somewhat predictable, but the tone is dark and fascinating. Simon Yam’s passive-aggressive cop is spot on and Annie Liu complements him well. Visually, Charlie Lam’s cinematography once again impresses, with lingering, vivid shots that constantly mesmerize the eye. Where the film fails, unfortunately, is in the final stretch where the speed at which the film moves accelerates to a point where it may actually leave the viewers with more questions than answers. It ends up being somewhat superficial and fluffy, but still a wonderful, offbeat treat.
Charlie Wilson’s War
2007 / Mike Nichols > Charlie Wilson’s War has an Aaron Sorkin imprint on it the way it doesn’t have a Nichols one: It’s a witty but forceful political piece where there’s good and there’s bad, and the good fights to win by sometimes doing morally ambiguous things. The film is smart and entertaining, even if it doesn’t offer the kind of depth that that sticks in your mind years after. The writing is as sharp as one would expect, and Tom Hanks utilizes his dialogue well opposite an equally excellent offering from Philip Seymour Hoffman. It may be Nichols-lite, but it’s better than most of Hollywood has to offer these days.
Driving With My Wife’s Lover
2007 / Kim Tai-sik > Through a meticulously tracked black dramedy, Kim explores adultery through the eyes of both willing and accidental participants. The film’s demeanor is understating but effective, often light-hearted in the face of what would generally turn into a violent revenge-fest in similar genre films. While Chungmuro continues to focus on bloated, mediocrity that’s being inspired by Hollywood, Driving With My Wife’s Lover keeps it simple yet engaging. The story, the pacing and the purposefully flat-footed acting are all spot on in creating the kind of atmosphere one would expect from a setting of illegal intimacy. It’s a small gem, having played in Berlin, Sundance and Rotterdam, but one that still has yet to get the notice it deserves.
Ratatouille
2007 / Brad Bird & Jan Pinkava > Is Brad Bird the West’s answer to Miyazaki? For a while, I thought that was the case. Both Iron Giant as well as The Incredibles showed off an intense originality that had been missing under the shadows of Japanese animation. Now, I’m not so certain: Ratatouille is a fine film, enjoyable from beginning to end and very warming to the heart. But I just can’t get over the fact that it feels to me as if Bird’s vision has regressed, that he’s fit his story into a sort of a mainstream mold that caters to preconceived notions of what Pixar should do. This feeling of the gut is what keeps this tale from being a classic—or you could just argue that the cynic in me has won this battle.
Eastern Promises
2007 / David Cronenberg > If there’s one thing that Cronenberg’s always done and deserves the most praise for, it’s the respect and intelligence with which he treats his audience. Hints are dropped, arcs are drawn but most of the dots are ultimately connected by the viewer. More often than not, this technique works wonders (e.g., Crash and eXistenZ). In Eastern Promises, this technique is further refined to the point where it actually backfires a little: Considering the strength of Viggo Mortensen’s character and the underlying tension/mystery that develops throughout, the finale is anticlimactic and disappointingly flaccid. The credits brought forth no emotions in me, a fact I found disheartening after 100 minutes of stellar filmmaking. In The History of Violence, there was an emotional purge at the end that left me at peace, but here that was absent. It’s simply too clever, and I can only wish that he had added a few more minutes to extrapolate the ongoings—not for the purposes of holding my hand, but in order to find a foundation to rest the violence and stereotypes by which the film operates.
Tell No One
2006 / Guillaume Canet > Gripping from the get go, the manner in which Tell No One unravels is both exhausting and exciting. Canet’s complex plotline is a gem that’s further enhanced by a simply terrific performance from Francois Cluzet, stunning, ambient cinematography and the inclusion of sporadic English music that adds to the mood while seamlessly fitting into the French setting. In short, it remains the type of murder mystery/thriller that we’ve seen again and again, but the veil on it is so thick with heart and intensity that we forget about past experiences and get sucked in without fail.
Sexy Beast
2000 / Jonathan Glazer > Sexy Beast is a British gangster drama that’s three-quarters a character study and one-quarter the anatomy of a heist. In this separation is its uniqueness, with the verbal cuts of Ben Kingsley’s neurotic Don Logan running deep into the viewer’s mind as its best attribute. The overall dialogue is as crisp as it is biting, and music video director Glazer’s first feature film parlays quite a bit of his past vocation’s skillset with its quick cuts and rich colors. Pacing is far from conventional and somewhat uneven, and this may irk some while making others happy. In its own way, however, the film succeeds in being an exercise in realistic voyeurism while keeping the aura somewhat fantastical.
28 Weeks Later
2007 / Juan Carlos Fresnadillo > While it lacks the overt philosophical base of its predecessor, it overwhelmingly makes up for it in its incredible, adrenaline-based pacing. Guided by Boyle, Fresnadillo kicks it up a notch with a simpler plotline that becomes more hectic, flashing a surprise or two in the pan as time passes. Only after the film has ended does one realize that the plot was fairly thin, but that’s fine because the experience is bafflingly good. Add to it a maddening score and you’ve got one of the finest, if slightly more intelligent, popcorn films of the year (at least for those who aren’t so afraid of the dark).
Transformers
2007 / Michael Bay > It’s a not a perfect film, or even a good one. It has silly dialogue, little character development and a storyline that leaves one wanting more. But it does have: 1) Robots in Disguise™, 2) lots of awesome explosions, and 3) Megan Fox. The basic sense of childhood nostalgia that brought me to the theatres walked out fully satisfied (and this includes me yelling at the top of my lungs during many parts of the show). I do, however, feel that that any further films in the series (and unfortunately there seems to be a green light for two more) will simply water down the enjoyment gained in this first one.