Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Violent History
WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS! LOOK FOR ALERTS!
Every once in a while I watch something that keeps me inexplicably transfixed. A film that draws me in until I find myself making strange faces or other bodily reactions to what I'm watching. Mind you, I'm not talking about the kind of reactions you would expect from a bunch of drunken frat boys and a horror movie. I'm talking about real gut reactions. I'm talking about being truly affected to the core by some inexplicable quality of the film. This happened a few weeks back when I finally got around to watching Steve McQueen's (the artist, not the actor) first feature length film Hunger.
If you've seen the film, perhaps you know what I'm talking about. It's available on Netflix Instant, although if you're a quality snob, the people at Criterion Collection released a Blu Ray for it earlier this year. Is about IRA member Bobby Sands, who was a key player during the No Wash prison strike during the Thatcher era, in which the IRA were attempting to force the British Parliament to recognize them as political prisoners and not as terrorists.
The film lingers heavily on the psychological effect of prison treatment on both the prisoners and the guards using slow photography and cold textured lighting. It stuck with me for a good long time, but I wanted to let it gestate before talking about it further. McQueen is an expert with his camera, showing all the filth and the fury involved in the strikes. It reminded me greatly of some of the cinematography of Orson Welles' films; long moving shots, refusing to cut when one would expect it, forcing the viewer to be with the film at precise moments and there by getting under the viewers skin.
There are some hard scenes to take in, especially knowing that the film is based on fact. Michael Fassbender commits wholly to his character, once again doing a fantastic job in his portrayal of a man fighting for his conviction against all odds. That is not to say that the film is totally one sided. McQueen also gives us a glimpse into the life of a prison guard and a young riot officer, both of whom are affected violently, both physically and mentally.
Sands commits fully to his ideals and we watch as a strong man, full of vigor, is reduced to a shrunken, shriveled skeleton of a man, before death takes him. We are left with the sensation to cherish our innocence while we have it, because, as history has shown, it can all come crashing down to a wretched and violent end.
For all it's grittiness and it's heavy subject matter, Hunger, is a beautifully shot film about a tense and ugly situation in the history of the United Kingdom. 'The Troubles' as they have been called, left a huge scar on the psyche of the people and films such as Hunger can only attempt to examine those scars so that true healing can begin. I look forward to getting out to see McQueen's second feature (also starring Fassbender) Shame.
Every once in a while I watch something that keeps me inexplicably transfixed. A film that draws me in until I find myself making strange faces or other bodily reactions to what I'm watching. Mind you, I'm not talking about the kind of reactions you would expect from a bunch of drunken frat boys and a horror movie. I'm talking about real gut reactions. I'm talking about being truly affected to the core by some inexplicable quality of the film. This happened a few weeks back when I finally got around to watching Steve McQueen's (the artist, not the actor) first feature length film Hunger.
If you've seen the film, perhaps you know what I'm talking about. It's available on Netflix Instant, although if you're a quality snob, the people at Criterion Collection released a Blu Ray for it earlier this year. Is about IRA member Bobby Sands, who was a key player during the No Wash prison strike during the Thatcher era, in which the IRA were attempting to force the British Parliament to recognize them as political prisoners and not as terrorists.
The film lingers heavily on the psychological effect of prison treatment on both the prisoners and the guards using slow photography and cold textured lighting. It stuck with me for a good long time, but I wanted to let it gestate before talking about it further. McQueen is an expert with his camera, showing all the filth and the fury involved in the strikes. It reminded me greatly of some of the cinematography of Orson Welles' films; long moving shots, refusing to cut when one would expect it, forcing the viewer to be with the film at precise moments and there by getting under the viewers skin.
There are some hard scenes to take in, especially knowing that the film is based on fact. Michael Fassbender commits wholly to his character, once again doing a fantastic job in his portrayal of a man fighting for his conviction against all odds. That is not to say that the film is totally one sided. McQueen also gives us a glimpse into the life of a prison guard and a young riot officer, both of whom are affected violently, both physically and mentally.
The film really, to me at least, is an attempt to show the pointlessness and the sheer loss that results from such violent bull headed ideologies. When the No Wash strike fails, Bobby Sands announces a Hunger Strike, where the film takes it's name from and McQueen doesn't let the audience off easy.
SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!
END SPOILER! END SPOILER! END SPOILER! END SPOILER! END SPOILER!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Psychoanalysis Sounds Better
David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen have been on a roll for the past few years. After the smash success of History of Violence and the follow-up Eastern Promises it would appear that they have definitely become a hit making director/actor team reminiscent to the days of Scorsese/DeNiro. While their newest venture, into the early life of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud may not prove to be as successful as it's predecessors, it is none-the-less an intriguing film.
The film begins with the introduction of Sabina Spielrein, played by Keira Knightly, being carted, kicking and screaming to the Burghölzli, where she became a patient of Jung (Michael Fassbender). It becomes clear very early on that Jung is the central focus of the story, passing through time as he attempts to secure his place in the budding field of psychoanalysis. He develop's a father figure in Freud and through interactions with both, his own theories start to emerge further.
The film is well shot and there is great attention to the period detail. The performances were all quite solid, featuring interesting dynamic range from all three principle actors. However, there was something seriously lacking in the pacing of the film. Perhaps, this is due to lack factual evidence or even due to the writing. True enough, the script was written by playwright Christopher Hampton, based on his play The Talking Cure and as such, pacing can become an issue when presented in the film medium. Now, add the fact that it's a play adapted from a nonfiction novel, John Kerr's A Most Dangerous Method, effectively making it an adaption of an adaption.
The beginning of the story seems to push forward rather quickly, almost as though it's trying to satisfy the audience expectation of the interactions between Jung and Freud. The films real power lies in the fallout of the central conflict. Watching the character interactions amid scandal, as friendships become rivalries, makes some pretty enjoyable cinema.
As we know from history, Jung and Freud's friendship was a short lived one. Both ambitious men, the dinosaur and the babe, the audience watches them simultaneously nurture each other and destroy one another as well as themselves in the process.
One of the other main plots is the affair between Jung and Spielrein, which has an interesting psychoanalyzed approach to S&M. Whether or not their relationship was as such is up to much speculation, but it is generally believed that some type of extramarital relationship developed between the two. Cronenberg, has always been known for sexuality being a central theme in his films, but I felt like this film conveyed the psychological power dynamics involved in sexual relationships, more so than any of his previous films.
An interesting film, worth a watch for sure, but definitely more for fans of Cronenberg than for people interested in the history of psychoanalysis. That is, of course, not to say that it doesn't have some very intriguing moments examining early psychoanalytical practice, but that is not the focus of the film.
The film begins with the introduction of Sabina Spielrein, played by Keira Knightly, being carted, kicking and screaming to the Burghölzli, where she became a patient of Jung (Michael Fassbender). It becomes clear very early on that Jung is the central focus of the story, passing through time as he attempts to secure his place in the budding field of psychoanalysis. He develop's a father figure in Freud and through interactions with both, his own theories start to emerge further.
The film is well shot and there is great attention to the period detail. The performances were all quite solid, featuring interesting dynamic range from all three principle actors. However, there was something seriously lacking in the pacing of the film. Perhaps, this is due to lack factual evidence or even due to the writing. True enough, the script was written by playwright Christopher Hampton, based on his play The Talking Cure and as such, pacing can become an issue when presented in the film medium. Now, add the fact that it's a play adapted from a nonfiction novel, John Kerr's A Most Dangerous Method, effectively making it an adaption of an adaption.
The beginning of the story seems to push forward rather quickly, almost as though it's trying to satisfy the audience expectation of the interactions between Jung and Freud. The films real power lies in the fallout of the central conflict. Watching the character interactions amid scandal, as friendships become rivalries, makes some pretty enjoyable cinema.
As we know from history, Jung and Freud's friendship was a short lived one. Both ambitious men, the dinosaur and the babe, the audience watches them simultaneously nurture each other and destroy one another as well as themselves in the process.
One of the other main plots is the affair between Jung and Spielrein, which has an interesting psychoanalyzed approach to S&M. Whether or not their relationship was as such is up to much speculation, but it is generally believed that some type of extramarital relationship developed between the two. Cronenberg, has always been known for sexuality being a central theme in his films, but I felt like this film conveyed the psychological power dynamics involved in sexual relationships, more so than any of his previous films.
An interesting film, worth a watch for sure, but definitely more for fans of Cronenberg than for people interested in the history of psychoanalysis. That is, of course, not to say that it doesn't have some very intriguing moments examining early psychoanalytical practice, but that is not the focus of the film.
Friday, December 2, 2011
The Serpent and the Spider
If you know me, you know that I'm an avid fan of asian cinema, particularly the cinema of Japan. I go to great lengths to find films that are otherwise impossible to find in America, simply because I like the Director's work. This is achieved through websites like Yes Asia and various other means, such as bootlegs and torrents.
When he moved to Horror/Thriller, with Cure, the story about a bizarre link in a series of killings, he was on the cusp of leaving "product films," but at the challenge of a producer friend of his he made two more, in the space of 1 and 1/2 weeks. Not an easy feat, let me tell you.
One Director, whose work I come back to somewhat frequently, is Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to master film maker Akira Kurosawa). Most of his films which have received release in America fall into the supernatural, horror, and thriller genres, but some of his lesser known films were genre pieces. Like many director's cutting their teeth in the late 80s and early 90s, Kurosawa made his fair share of Direct to Video/TV Movie features. Films like the Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself series, or Door 3 are examples of this.
When he moved to Horror/Thriller, with Cure, the story about a bizarre link in a series of killings, he was on the cusp of leaving "product films," but at the challenge of a producer friend of his he made two more, in the space of 1 and 1/2 weeks. Not an easy feat, let me tell you.
Those films are The Serpents Path and Eyes of the Spider.
Both films are revenge stories and both films involve a character named Nijima (played by Sho Aikawa), and yet completely different in pace and tone. The Serpents Path, for example, plays like a traditional revenge/detective procedural with a few interesting twists along the way. Nijima is a math teacher who helps a low-level yakuza track down a group of people who were all involved in the rape and murder of said yakuza's 8 year old daughter. We are drawn in because we do not understand until later why Nijima is helping this man. He has an enigmatic quality about him. Why would a man who teaches math at a cram school to students young and old (one of which is an 8 year old prodigy) risk his life and his career to help a low-level thug? Is it out of empathy or does he have an ulterior motive? Does he NEED to have a motive? These questions kept me hooked, regardless of my small laptop screen and awful speakers.
On the other hand, Eyes of the Spider, is completely different. It misleads the viewer into thinking it is going to be another standard revenge procedural when instead the revenge aspect of the story is resolved within the first 10 minutes of the film.
The core premise is the same, with a few important differences. This time, Nijima, who is NOT a math teacher, but some kind of salaryman, is the father of the victim. An average man, he goes to the extreme and finds his daughter's killer himself after 6 years of searching. After satisfying his revenge, his life becomes devoid of meaning and he drifts through each day until a chance meeting with an old high school friend has him leave his salaryman life and enter that of a low-level yakuza gang. The film has a much more philosophical tone and Nijima has to deal with issues like the validity of life and the effect of his actions on his own soul. What is right and what is wrong when the whole world seems to be absolutely insane? And what about consequences?
The world, as we know it, always finds a way to give consequences to our actions. It is no different in films than it is in life. Spider does an excellent job of showing the consequences to all the characters actions, whether they are physical or metaphysical in nature.
Despite these glaring differences, their are also structural similarities that needn't go unlooked. Each film starts with the revenge plot, each film has a bloody climax, and each film has an open ending that begs certain questions from the viewer.
Unfortunately, these films still do not have domestic release, but if you're internet savvy, you can find a way to see them. Definitely worth the watch.
Note: I am in no way, shape, or form, condoning piracy to the readers of this review. As such, I will not be held responsible for the individual actions that any person who reads this review makes.
On the other hand, Eyes of the Spider, is completely different. It misleads the viewer into thinking it is going to be another standard revenge procedural when instead the revenge aspect of the story is resolved within the first 10 minutes of the film.
The core premise is the same, with a few important differences. This time, Nijima, who is NOT a math teacher, but some kind of salaryman, is the father of the victim. An average man, he goes to the extreme and finds his daughter's killer himself after 6 years of searching. After satisfying his revenge, his life becomes devoid of meaning and he drifts through each day until a chance meeting with an old high school friend has him leave his salaryman life and enter that of a low-level yakuza gang. The film has a much more philosophical tone and Nijima has to deal with issues like the validity of life and the effect of his actions on his own soul. What is right and what is wrong when the whole world seems to be absolutely insane? And what about consequences?
The world, as we know it, always finds a way to give consequences to our actions. It is no different in films than it is in life. Spider does an excellent job of showing the consequences to all the characters actions, whether they are physical or metaphysical in nature.
Despite these glaring differences, their are also structural similarities that needn't go unlooked. Each film starts with the revenge plot, each film has a bloody climax, and each film has an open ending that begs certain questions from the viewer.
Unfortunately, these films still do not have domestic release, but if you're internet savvy, you can find a way to see them. Definitely worth the watch.
Note: I am in no way, shape, or form, condoning piracy to the readers of this review. As such, I will not be held responsible for the individual actions that any person who reads this review makes.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
DELAYS
While I'm not one for making excuses, I must admit that, due to the holiday, I was unable to watch a movie in time for a review this week. Next week will hold two reviews to make up for it.
Friday, November 18, 2011
"The Folly of a Few Can Taint the Lives of Many."
There is something that draws me to old theaters. The type of theater that has been around for ages. I can't exactly put my finger on it, but I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that there are many of them where I grew up. In fact, there are only two facilities that can be called recent in the whole county, and one of them is even at least 6 years old or more. It must be the inherent memories of those theaters that keeps me seeking older and older buildings. Art Decco, ancient seats, single to three screen boxes. Watching a film in a building that is as old as film itself.
I walked into the New Beverly Cinema and that feeling of nostalgia came back to me. With it's gray, blue, and red color configuration, old seats, lack of stadium set up, and it's single screen. You can't help but feel the venue's history, regardless of knowing that it's been open since the 70s. You don't get that at these run of the mill multiplexes who aim to squeeze as much money as quickly as possible out of a print and chuck it on down the line like yesterdays wank towel.
The New Beverly specializes in themed double features, as anyone who has been there can attest to, and retrospectives, but once in a while something truly special comes along to this little revitalized building. I got to experience that tonight with Rie Rasmussen's feature debut Human Zoo.
The film was paired with Luc Besson's Angel-A a film that Rasmussen had a starring role in. What I did not realize upon attending this screening, which happened to be the last of a four night run, was that Human Zoo, until now, has never screened in America to date.
The film starts off with a bang, well, a scream to be exact, but it immediately sucks the viewer into a tense and gritty world. Cross cutting between modern day Marseille, France and Kosovo/Belgrade, Serbia, the film tells the tale of Adria, an Albanian woman who is rescued by a charming Serbian sociopath during the midst of the the 1998 conflict in the region.
Through the narrative we see how the violence of Adria's past affects her in the present day, reflecting that the borders of countries are merely cages to a larger "human zoo." This was the intention of the director and she hits the mark pretty hard. Past reflected in cold blue tones while Present is much warmer and hopeful, although the two collide closer to the end of the film.
At the beginning I found myself turned off by the music choices (she chooses a few rather blunt metaphorical rock songs pertaining to some scenes), but the longer the film played on I couldn't help but become more and more completely absorbed into the story. The film is NC-17/Unrated probably more due to graphic sexual content than violence (although there is far more violence presence than there is sex) but once again, to me, MPAA ratings don't mean a damn thing when pertaining to the validity of a story.
If you're even a little bit familiar with Rie Rasmussen, you know that she wears many hats. She's a writer, actress, model, and director. In this film, she wears three of those hats, starring as the main character Adria, without pulling any punches and showing no fear. It's a difficult metaphor to show and she drew heavily on personal experience. Adria's first love, Srdjan Vasiljevic, played by the show stealing Nikola Djuriko, is a predatory individual who opens up a world of mixed morals and violence that affect her deeply for the rest of her life.
Through all the bad choices made in her youth, Adria is drawn into a situation in which she is able to finally atone for past mistakes, and find a healthy love, but not without a price. What struck me the most about the film is how it reflects the duality of human existence. On one hand we witness the incredible capability of sadistic behavior drawn out by violence and strife while in the other we hold the tenderness of true love.
Rasmussen seems to be very interested in finding out what it is that makes human's prone to make violent choices and to seek injury and death upon one another. Her next film Beyond Good and Evil, a biopic about Richard Ramirez, aims to take a further look at this theme.
Hopefully, Human Zoo will receive further notice. Until then if you want to see the film you'll have to keep your eyes trained for screenings at retro theaters, or buy a foreign DVD and hope for subtitles.
I walked into the New Beverly Cinema and that feeling of nostalgia came back to me. With it's gray, blue, and red color configuration, old seats, lack of stadium set up, and it's single screen. You can't help but feel the venue's history, regardless of knowing that it's been open since the 70s. You don't get that at these run of the mill multiplexes who aim to squeeze as much money as quickly as possible out of a print and chuck it on down the line like yesterdays wank towel.
The New Beverly specializes in themed double features, as anyone who has been there can attest to, and retrospectives, but once in a while something truly special comes along to this little revitalized building. I got to experience that tonight with Rie Rasmussen's feature debut Human Zoo.
The film starts off with a bang, well, a scream to be exact, but it immediately sucks the viewer into a tense and gritty world. Cross cutting between modern day Marseille, France and Kosovo/Belgrade, Serbia, the film tells the tale of Adria, an Albanian woman who is rescued by a charming Serbian sociopath during the midst of the the 1998 conflict in the region.
Through the narrative we see how the violence of Adria's past affects her in the present day, reflecting that the borders of countries are merely cages to a larger "human zoo." This was the intention of the director and she hits the mark pretty hard. Past reflected in cold blue tones while Present is much warmer and hopeful, although the two collide closer to the end of the film.
At the beginning I found myself turned off by the music choices (she chooses a few rather blunt metaphorical rock songs pertaining to some scenes), but the longer the film played on I couldn't help but become more and more completely absorbed into the story. The film is NC-17/Unrated probably more due to graphic sexual content than violence (although there is far more violence presence than there is sex) but once again, to me, MPAA ratings don't mean a damn thing when pertaining to the validity of a story.
Through all the bad choices made in her youth, Adria is drawn into a situation in which she is able to finally atone for past mistakes, and find a healthy love, but not without a price. What struck me the most about the film is how it reflects the duality of human existence. On one hand we witness the incredible capability of sadistic behavior drawn out by violence and strife while in the other we hold the tenderness of true love.
Rasmussen seems to be very interested in finding out what it is that makes human's prone to make violent choices and to seek injury and death upon one another. Her next film Beyond Good and Evil, a biopic about Richard Ramirez, aims to take a further look at this theme.
(unfortunately there is no trailer with English subtitles)
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
A Beautiful Film About The End of the World
Recently, Video on Demand, or V.O.D. if you prefer, has been slowly creeping into more and more homes and changing the distribution model for film releasing. I mean, let's face it, now you can build a Home Theater for relatively cheap, so why leave the comfort of your living room to go to an overpriced Theater where you'll be surrounded by people eating food, texting on their cell phones, talking, and generally disrupting the film viewing experience?
I have my own reasons for why I prefer the Theater, but the number one reason I don't go as often as I would like is the ticket price. For those of you living in towns with ticket prices under 9 dollars for general admission, I can only say, "Don't Move To LA."
But back to the point. You may have seen on various news sites and most certainly on YouTube, that Lars von Trier does not know how to express himself, or how to make a joke. The filmmaker, whose list of credits are undeniably short but brilliant, was banned from Cannes over some comments he made comparing himself to a Nazi during a Q/A for his recent film Melancholia. It was announced that the film would be released to V.O.D. in October preceding his American theatrical release in November.
If Anti-Christ was inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky's The Mirror, I think it's safe to say that Melancholia is inspired by The Sacrifice. The film is about a previously undiscovered planet that, for lack of a better word, has been hiding behind the sun during a massive orbit, and it's orbit is taking it dangerously close to Earth.
The film starts with a 10 minute montage of metaphorical and foreshadowing footage shot entirely with the Phantom HD camera, a camera with shoots the most intense slow motion you've ever seen. We're talking about 4000fps, which when brought into a 24fps timeline (the typical frames per second at which films are shot), allows you to watch a single drop of water explode into millions of bits on a surface. All this, to excerpts from Wagner's Tristan and Isolde.
This film itself is very operatic, drawing heavily from the Wagner score. We follow the grief cycles experienced in differing times of two sister, Justine, played magnificently by Kirsten Dunst, and Claire, played with reserved terror by Charlotte Gainsbourg. A list of name actors are introduced as friends and family in the first half, only to dwindle out as we are left with our core unit of Justine, Claire, Claire's husband John (Kiefer Sutherland) and their son Leo (first and only current credit for Cameron Spurr).
The approaching Planet looms over the family, bringing out all sorts of tensions between the three adults ending in a climax that, while foreshadowed in the beginning, plays out with beauty and grace that can only be described as magnificent.
Though not a shocker like Anti-Christ, Melancholia is gorgeously shot and contains standout performances by a host of veteran and incoming talents. I am curious to see what von Trier will do next now that he has famously stated he will no longer speak to the press. Like many other events going on, Melancholia is set for Limited US Theatrical Release this Friday 11/11/11, an ominous date with apocalyptic entailment. Fitting, no?
Official HD Trailer.
I have my own reasons for why I prefer the Theater, but the number one reason I don't go as often as I would like is the ticket price. For those of you living in towns with ticket prices under 9 dollars for general admission, I can only say, "Don't Move To LA."
But back to the point. You may have seen on various news sites and most certainly on YouTube, that Lars von Trier does not know how to express himself, or how to make a joke. The filmmaker, whose list of credits are undeniably short but brilliant, was banned from Cannes over some comments he made comparing himself to a Nazi during a Q/A for his recent film Melancholia. It was announced that the film would be released to V.O.D. in October preceding his American theatrical release in November.
If Anti-Christ was inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky's The Mirror, I think it's safe to say that Melancholia is inspired by The Sacrifice. The film is about a previously undiscovered planet that, for lack of a better word, has been hiding behind the sun during a massive orbit, and it's orbit is taking it dangerously close to Earth.
The film starts with a 10 minute montage of metaphorical and foreshadowing footage shot entirely with the Phantom HD camera, a camera with shoots the most intense slow motion you've ever seen. We're talking about 4000fps, which when brought into a 24fps timeline (the typical frames per second at which films are shot), allows you to watch a single drop of water explode into millions of bits on a surface. All this, to excerpts from Wagner's Tristan and Isolde.
This film itself is very operatic, drawing heavily from the Wagner score. We follow the grief cycles experienced in differing times of two sister, Justine, played magnificently by Kirsten Dunst, and Claire, played with reserved terror by Charlotte Gainsbourg. A list of name actors are introduced as friends and family in the first half, only to dwindle out as we are left with our core unit of Justine, Claire, Claire's husband John (Kiefer Sutherland) and their son Leo (first and only current credit for Cameron Spurr).
The approaching Planet looms over the family, bringing out all sorts of tensions between the three adults ending in a climax that, while foreshadowed in the beginning, plays out with beauty and grace that can only be described as magnificent.
Though not a shocker like Anti-Christ, Melancholia is gorgeously shot and contains standout performances by a host of veteran and incoming talents. I am curious to see what von Trier will do next now that he has famously stated he will no longer speak to the press. Like many other events going on, Melancholia is set for Limited US Theatrical Release this Friday 11/11/11, an ominous date with apocalyptic entailment. Fitting, no?
Official HD Trailer.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Smash His Face In!
Everyone seems to have a blog these days. Everyone also seems to use them to talk about their lives, or films they've seen, or music they love, or their comments on the current status of political destruction of the nation. That being said I suppose it's about time that I joined this community of wanna be journalista's and editorialist's.
I'm going to talk about a film that everyone is still talking about.
I'm going to talk about a film that everyone is still talking about.
It seems that about a month or two ago, when I would look up what films to see I would sigh negatively and resort to my back-catalogue of DVD's I have yet to watch, most of which are foreign, and make remarks about how american cinema is dead.
All the while I start hearing this buzz from certain friends and co-workers in the independent film community about this amazing film with Ryan Gosling. "You have to see it!" was a common phrase and the most unanimously praised aspect of the film had been the score. So finally, I went to see it with my girlfriend and few friends, but not before I did a little research on it.
Looking it up on imdb, resulted in my astonishment at discovering the film was directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, more recently known for his second English language feature Bronson, but known to me by his first feature, The Pusher. If you know anything about Refn's previous body of work you know that he tackles concepts that are generally hard to handle and that he has an affinity for leaving his films open ended. Thematically, his stories delve into the realms of man vs. man and man vs. self.
Back to Drive. The film uses some of the greatest bloody lighting I've ever seen, creating expressions with shadows in a way almost forgotten from the days of Noir and, even further back, German Expressionism.
Since I don't want to spoil it for any of you who are still hiding under your rocks, there is a rather amazing slow motion scene in an elevator through a beautiful lighting pool that preludes an act of ultra violence which left the audience both mesmerized and astounded.
Fans of Refn's work know that he has a very realistic approach to scenes of violence. Who can forget that scene in The Pusher where our anti-hero comes within an inch of losing his life, but not after a little torture.
I would be incredibly surprised not to see both Gosling and Brooks nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in the upcoming Oscar Nominations next year. Gosling threw himself into this role, as he has in all of his previous films, physically and mentally to become an intriguing character driven (pun not intended) by love and the desire to do the right thing (within a few moral gray areas). Brooks, on the other hand, went way outside of his typical character type to play a cold and calculating man. I still get chills thinking about a specific scene in the garage involving a straight razor.
There is one other film I saw all year that impressed me as much as Drive, and hopefully there will be a few more coming up as the final bit of Oscar season takes hold, but if you have the time and the cash to go catch this film in the theatre, then climb out from under your rock and do yourself a favor.
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