A Week at the Movies

I saw three films last week, and they were meh, huh and excellent, in that order.

First up, Bright Star, Jane Campion's new film that chronicles the three year romance of 19th century British poet John Keats, and his muse, Fanny Brawne. It was a return to form for Campion (Oscar-winner for her screenplay of The Piano in 1994) after her last main stream film, In the Cut, was, despite Meg Ryan showing her boobies, cut up by the critics. There were a lot of lingering shots that were beautifully composed (the cinematography and set design were incredible) - there was a particularly lovely shot of Fanny's younger brother and sister in a field catching butterflies...if only the world was really that quaint. Well, maybe it was in Britain in the 1820's, but I digress. The real reason to see this film, however, is because it announces the arrival of Abbie Cornish (yes, that Abbie Cornish, the tart who allegedly broke up the seemingly perfect marriage of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe) as a serious, and damn good actress. Her Fanny Brawne is excellent, a layered performance. She has that perfect balance of vulnerability and smarts, her love and affection for Keats is genuine and heart wrenching. Too bad their chemistry is almost non-existent. Ben Whishaw plays the doomed poet, but he doesn't have nearly the same spark that Cornish does...he just kind of mopes around and doesn't do much else. The supporting cast is also great, with a fantastic turn from Paul Schneider as Mr. Brown, Keat's best friend. I wouldn't rush to see this in theaters, but it's definitely worthy of a spot in the netflix queue. I also wouldn't discount Cornish for some notices come awards time. Grade: B

Wednesday brought the Cohen Bros new film, A Serious Man. Set in 1960's Minnesota, the film follows thirtysomething physics professor Larry Gopnick as his life seems to crumble around him. His wife leaves him for another man, his son is about to celebrate his bar-mitzvah, his daughter is a kleptomaniac and raging bitch, and his brother has taken up residence on his couch. To complicate matters, his attractive neighbor enjoys sunbathing topless. As his life spirals out of control, Larry seeks the advice of three Rabbi's, all of whom give him, of course, different takes on his situation. I was not into this movie at all, and it seemed a little "too Jewish" for me...there were points in film where audiences were laughing, but I wasn't quite sure why - was it something I didn't get? I felt like I wasn't really in on the whole thing. The saving grace, however, was Michael Stuhlbarg's tour-de-force as Larry. I saw him a couple of years ago on Broadway in The Pillowman, and he was excellent, I'm glad that he's finding success on screen. His slow breakdown is mesmerizing, and he most certainly deserves a Best Actor nomination for his work in this. I've decided that the Cohen's are hit or miss with me (hits: The Big Lebowski, Fargo, No Country for Old Men, misses: Burn After Reading, Intolerable Cruelty, The Man Who Wasn't There), and the critics are raving about this, but honestly, I don't get it. Was it entertaining? Yeah, I guess...was it one of the best of the year? I don't think so. GRADE: C

One of my most anticipated movies of the year is An Education. I've been reading about it for months, the buzz around it was deafening, and I jumped at the chance to see it the day that it came out in the Boston area. Set in 1960's London, An Education is the story of 16 year old Jenny (played by the magnificent Carey Mulligan) who is at a crossroads in her life. All of the authority figures in her life want her to continue with her studies at Oxford. She meets and gets swept away by the mysterious David, and older man who loves art, culture, music and has fabulous friends, and takes her to Paris for her birthday. Thing of course are not what they seem, and the title has multiple meanings. The performances in this film are nothing short of incredible, most notably the already mentioned Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard as David, who finally gets a chance to shine and show was a truly great actor he is. Director Lone Scherfig has handled her cast with great care and expert direction (sidenote: what a year for female directors! at least two of five nominees have the potential to be women!) and has crafted one of the best films of the year. Mulligan and Sarsgaard have incredible chemistry, watching the two of them together is great, and their side trip to Paris is wonderful. The supporting cast is also quite good, with stand out turns from Alfred Molina as Carey's uptight father and Emma Thomas as the headmistress of Jenny's school. My only problem with the film (and keeping it from being perfect) is the pacing. We are voyeurs on all of Jenny and David's adventures and witness their blossoming romance, but the film takes a sudden and abrupt turn, and ends, almost as if someone was watching a clock and said "oh, it's been an hour and half, we need to wrap it up". The ending comes a little too quickly, but it doesn't make it that less satisfying. Everything about this worked, the performances, the writing, the fantastic period designs, the soundtrack. I think that I need to see it again to appreciate it even more. GRADE: A

The Harry Potter preview is tomorrow at the Museum, and then the last big weekend for band stuff (hooray) with the last USSBA and MICCA shows. Might go to the NME retreat with the bros on Saturday night since I'll already be in Connecticut.

I'm currently rooting for the Phillies to go and win it all and be the first back-to-back World Series winners of the new century (isn't it weird to think about it that way?). Wish the Sox could have gone further, but it wasn't their time. There's rumblings that Theo is going to move some major folks (Lowell, Varitek, etc), which could prove to be interesting. I've already got Opening Day 2010 circled on my calendar vs. the Yankees. I'm hoping they're not the "world champion" Yankees, but the way they've been playing lately, the just might be....