The Painted Veil(dir. John Curran)
The whole thing is pretty much disposable. It's sort of blandly affecting and it's already escaping my memory as I write this, but I still think it's recommendable. There's something inherently theatrical about actors doing fake British accents and period piece decor and this film has both. Toby Jones gives probably the most memorable performance because well, he's actually British and has the juiciest role as a good-hearted sleazeball. Naomi Watts looks ravishing as usual. She has a rather simplistic role, but she still gives a fine performance. The film doesn't contain much depth because everything is pretty much on the surface so it creates an instantly forgettable atmosphere, which makes the whole thing feel disposable. The story seems to scream for a sweeping epicness much like a David Lean film like Doctor Zhivago, but it simply doesn't have it. The director aimed for a more intimate and self-contained atmosphere, but since everything is rather simplistic, his attempt isn't entirely successful. Doctor Zhivago, a film that contained that epic scope, also felt intimate so it's possible to acclompish both. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
The Last Days of Disco(dir. Whit Stillman)
It's strange to find a film being ameliorated with this fun, light-hearted, and borderline ridiculous ending, but yeah. The ending clearly has the sense of fun that some of the film's preceding moments would have greatly benefited from. These characters are his most unlikeable creations since none of them realize how vain they are. In his other films, it seemed like some of his characters were conscious of their flaws, but here, they all seem oblivious, which makes them more irritating to spend time with. The film is also not all that romantic outside of it's ending compared to his previous efforts. There's never really a moment in the film where the characters show that they're aren't completely narcissistic so it's hard to really embrace the film, but man, it's hard not to have a smile on your face with that ending. This film actually has some of his most amusing bits of dialogue especially one memorable conversation about Lady & The Tramp. It also contains the funniest moment out of all of his films, which is simply the sight of Chris Eigeman's priceless expression after Kate Beckinsale's character says that disco might have died because of the herpes epidemic, but this film is still, in my mind, his weakest effort. It's disappointing to find Carolyn Farina's presence only amounts to a brief silent cameo since I thought she was the most appealing part of Metropolitan. She really needs to do more movies because she has a terrific screen presence. If it wasn't for the ending, I wouldn't being recommending this film, but here I am, slightly recommending it. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
P.S.
Interestingly enough, I saw a tiny bit of this when I was younger and it happened to be the scene where the woman is nude on the couch. I'm pretty sure it was my first exposure to nudity in a movie. I always wondered what the movie was called and it's strange to stumble upon it by simply going through my normal cinephillic viewing pattern, but yeah.
The whole thing is pretty much disposable. It's sort of blandly affecting and it's already escaping my memory as I write this, but I still think it's recommendable. There's something inherently theatrical about actors doing fake British accents and period piece decor and this film has both. Toby Jones gives probably the most memorable performance because well, he's actually British and has the juiciest role as a good-hearted sleazeball. Naomi Watts looks ravishing as usual. She has a rather simplistic role, but she still gives a fine performance. The film doesn't contain much depth because everything is pretty much on the surface so it creates an instantly forgettable atmosphere, which makes the whole thing feel disposable. The story seems to scream for a sweeping epicness much like a David Lean film like Doctor Zhivago, but it simply doesn't have it. The director aimed for a more intimate and self-contained atmosphere, but since everything is rather simplistic, his attempt isn't entirely successful. Doctor Zhivago, a film that contained that epic scope, also felt intimate so it's possible to acclompish both. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
The Last Days of Disco(dir. Whit Stillman)
It's strange to find a film being ameliorated with this fun, light-hearted, and borderline ridiculous ending, but yeah. The ending clearly has the sense of fun that some of the film's preceding moments would have greatly benefited from. These characters are his most unlikeable creations since none of them realize how vain they are. In his other films, it seemed like some of his characters were conscious of their flaws, but here, they all seem oblivious, which makes them more irritating to spend time with. The film is also not all that romantic outside of it's ending compared to his previous efforts. There's never really a moment in the film where the characters show that they're aren't completely narcissistic so it's hard to really embrace the film, but man, it's hard not to have a smile on your face with that ending. This film actually has some of his most amusing bits of dialogue especially one memorable conversation about Lady & The Tramp. It also contains the funniest moment out of all of his films, which is simply the sight of Chris Eigeman's priceless expression after Kate Beckinsale's character says that disco might have died because of the herpes epidemic, but this film is still, in my mind, his weakest effort. It's disappointing to find Carolyn Farina's presence only amounts to a brief silent cameo since I thought she was the most appealing part of Metropolitan. She really needs to do more movies because she has a terrific screen presence. If it wasn't for the ending, I wouldn't being recommending this film, but here I am, slightly recommending it. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
P.S.
Interestingly enough, I saw a tiny bit of this when I was younger and it happened to be the scene where the woman is nude on the couch. I'm pretty sure it was my first exposure to nudity in a movie. I always wondered what the movie was called and it's strange to stumble upon it by simply going through my normal cinephillic viewing pattern, but yeah.
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