diane and darin play hooky
The quote of the day: Although the gay bar opened and the march was held (McBride sent his wife and two children to Greenville for the weekend), the 34-year-old Mayor still hopes to preserve the traditional family orientation of his town.
"What we've built ourselves on over the last 60 years is the traditional family base," he said. "People don't come here to be subjugated to all the progressiveness, all the sophistication, all the enlightenment of big city life."
Running news:
Day off. It was intensely sunny this morning at 7:30am, when I woke up, which means (I bet) that it was hot. Gotta wake up earlier.
What I liked:
- The main characters. Both characters are clearly drawn, and both have good sides and bad sides that really are bad and good, as opposed the Hollywood method of showing someone's weak side, which basically comes down to, "Isn't satisfied until the job is done perfectly."
- The supporting characters. The film does a great job of giving everyone a character, or at least letting the actor provide a character. Lots of quirky behavior on the Reservation that doesn't descend into "Look at these dumb Indians." Everyone gets good lines, something to do.
- The sense of place. This is often missing in films, so I appreciate seeing it. What life on the Reservation is like is set up very quickly and deftly. The bus ride to Phoenix is shown in clear strokes.
What didn't work for me:
- The story is weak. Almost nonexistent. I like movies that build toward something, but this movie is more episodic in nature: they do this, that happens, they do this, that happens, then they do this.
Sherman Alexie based the screenplay on his own book of inter-related short stories, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Using the short stories qua short stories probably contributed to the movie's episodic nature.
- The epiphanies are too subtle. The major emotional catharses of the movie are muted. There are universal themes running through this movie--the relationship between fathers and sons--in addition to the more specific themes of Indians and the outside world--in which too much goes unsaid. I felt I was supposed to project too much of my own experience on what the characters were going through, rather than learning from their experience.
I've heard of people crying their way through the last 15 minutes of this movie, so don't take my word for it.
The interplay of present time and flashbacks was handled well, but as Darin pointed out, Lone Star did it so much better that anything else pales by comparison.
I didn't hate myself for seeing it, I just wanted more: better character development, a more coherent (read: less episodic) plot. If you are thinking about going to see it or are curious, I'd say go see it--many of my complaints are subjective, rather than what I consider my objective complaints about Armageddon
Darin and I watched El Mariachi tonight. First time I've ever seen it. It was entertaining on its own, but if you've read Rebel Without A Crew--and if you're interested in filmmaking, you have to read it--you see that you could do this too. Rodriguez writes about how he made the movie, how anyone can make a movie. What you and I can do with a camera.
Had a long chat with Len tonight about movies. I called to ask if he'd read the rewrite I'm doing, and he said sure. We mostly talked about the current trend in big summer movies. Or, rather, the end of the 10 year run of big, stupid action blockbusters, which have simply tanked. Began with Die Hard, ends with Armageddon. The Bruce Willis era.
Len said, "Whoever comes up with the next trend, will make so much money."
"I'm working on it, I'm working on it."
Audiences seem to be avoiding the stupid, plot-free spectacles that the studios have been foisting at us, but they don't seem to be seeking out the ones with story (like Out Of Sight). What the hell do you people want, anyhow?
Maybe the run of bloated action spectaculars is analogous to the big-budget Technicolor musicals of the 50s and 60s. The musicals had been tops for so long, everyone went to see them, and then suddenly...nothing. I don't think the action pic will disappear the way the musical has--and if Disney animated movies don't start doing better, you may not be able to find a musical anywhere near you--but maybe they won't be all we get.
Hasn't quite made it to the Quote of the Day, but should have: "You're scientists, you're accustomed to failure," from Our Man Flint.
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Send comments and questions to diane@spies.com