Film Pairings — Gone Girl, But Here Comes The Judge

These two films are more recent than those that usually find their way here. But I was fortunate they were almost immediately available despite their Academy Award considerations.  Both are solid. Worthwhile.   Gone Girl is brilliantly cynical while almost its opposite, The Judge is life affirming.

In Gone Girl, Ben Affleck plays a rather dull husband, who initially at least, is out of his league with his far more exciting and creative wife, played by Rosamund Pike. The wife goes missing. A forensics team discovers what appears to be a murder scene at the house and the husband begins to look good for the crime. Early in the film I felt like I was watching some true crime drama – “48 Hours maybe” — only with better dialogue and better lighting. The author of the best-selling book itself, Gillian Flynn hands over a great screenplay to a director, David Fincher, who knew how to put it on film. A top supporting cast, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris and my favorites, Carrie Coon as the husband’s sister and Kim Dickens as the top cop help give this first-rate film its smooth play. But beware.  It has a nasty, unsettling end. Just when you think you have it, it has you.  Who says you have to be happy?

 

Fine acting also marks The Judge. Though neither Robert Downey Jr. nor Robert Duvall test their respective ranges, playing types they’ve successfully played before, they are nonetheless perfectly cast in this story of a dysfunctional family on the verge of  complete disintegration. Duvall has the pivotal role  — a harsh judge not only to those who come before him, but of his family, particularly his smart-assed son played by Downey.  But the judge is nearly destroyed by the death of his wife, his stage IV cancer, mentally challenged son and, finally, a crime he is accused of committing, but cannot remember. David Dobkin directed this film which rises from the merely predictable to something worthwhile thanks to the ability of all the actors, which also includes Vincent D’Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, a magnetic Vera Farmiga and a cameo appearance by Billy Bob Thornton who brought tremendous presence to a small but significant role.

In the first film, Rosamund Pike is forced to move to a small town in Missouri, a fate she regards as worse than death.  In the second Downey is forced to return to his home, a small town in Indiana, a fate he believes is worse than death. The cure for this unhappiness? Inbibification, of course.  For those who wish to imbibe, I recommend tonic and lemon with or without the gin. 

Film Pairings — True Crime Brought To The Screen

Sissy Spacek, Martin Sheen in Badlands

For those who watch crime films about serial or mass murderers for the “kill” moments, Badlands and Zodiac will disappoint.  And I’m betting I’m not the only viewer to feel that both films are tremendously well done and worthwhile, yet unsatisfying because they convey only the senselessness of the acts. There is no answer to the question, why? Because of this, I suspect they more honestly convey the sad truth of it all.

Director Terrence Malick’s Badlands (1973) takes us back to the 1950s to tell the story of real-life spree killer Charles Starkweather and his 14-year-old girlfriend — outcast and naive romantic.  The beauty of this film certainly isn’t the story, nor any powerful lesson one can learn from it.  It is the way the story is told. There is a great deal of quiet, minimal dialogue and powerful cinematography. We are there with them, sharing their isolation, their connection with each other and their disconnection from the world.  The Starkweather role is played intentionally and effectively with shades of James Dean by a very young Martin Sheen. I’m not sure anyone but Sissy Spacek could have convinced us that a smart sensitive young woman could overlook cruelty for so long, despite the charming package that contained it.   In any event, the audience might find itself lost in time and suspended in a place where only the two characters exist.

 

While Badlands is kind of a gritty fantasy, Zodiac, (2007), despite attempts to market it as a “thriller,” is neither fantasy nor thriller. It is as close to a documentary as a scripted, acted film can be. Directed by David Fincher, Zodiac takes us back to 1969 when a killer began to focus his senseless killings in and around San Francisco.  We are witness to the inevitably gruesome aspects to remind us of the level of the horror, but we are given much more information on how the killings affected those – the police, the media and their families and the entire city — who are drawn into and for some, destroyed by the madness.  Here, detail is important and the filmmakers get it right.  We are inside the city’s Hall of Justice where investigators feel the immense pressure of a city scared out its collective wits.  We are inside the offices of the San Francisco Chronicle to witness its internal struggles and moral dilemmas. And we, the audience, never know more than was known as the story unfolds.  Expert casting: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey, Jr. and Anthony Edwards. Brian Cox also appears as San Francisco’s legendary lawyer, Melvin Belli.  The film was based on the book by Robert Graysmith.

As an accompaniment, beer strikes the right mood for Badlands.  So, to bring San Francisco into the picture, go for Anchor Steam.