Film Pairings – Sweet And Not So Sweet Mysteries Of Life

The second film on tonight’s bill is not a crime film, which is what I usually cover here. However, there were certainly vitally important truths to uncover and society’s overall attitude toward transgender people was and is a crime.  The first film is more of a conventional crime film or at least a thriller. But it too has to do with broader themes  — discovering secrets we hide from ourselves, confronting uncomfortable truths and making bold decisions to get to them. Both films are timely in the sense that today’s headlines reflect an increasing awareness of identity, gender issues, politics and civil rights.

 

The Crying Game – Directed by Neil Jordan this 1992 film was an inspiration to me.   While I feel that The Crying Game is actually two films – in tone at least — they are two really good films.   One is essentially about the Irish Republican Army, a hostage and his guard, where we are engaged in race, politics and honor with life and death riding shotgun. The second is a story confronting, the idea a man of falling in love with someone that every inch of his being tells him cannot be possible. When can a promise be dismissed and not lose your honor? Can love be ignored when not only society but also everything you believed in forbids it? The film stars Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Jaye Davidson and Forest Whitaker.

The Danish Girl —  It’s important to note that this isn’t a true story, but fiction based on one. That is, to say, true in spirit. It is also important to note that last year’s The Danish Girl is banned In several backward countries — Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Malaysia.

In addition to the exceptional performances by Eddie Redmayne, there is a standout performance by Alicia Vikander and another by Matthias Schoenaerts. Even so, much credit has to go to the director Tom Hooper and especially cinematographer Danny Cohen who makes Denmark breathtakingly beautiful.  The story is tender and tragic as a young, married man begins getting subtle clues that there is a deep feminine side to his nature.  His exploration of this, initially aided and abetted by his wife, goes well beyond what he is able to cope with in 1920s Copenhagen (we won’t mention mention the 2016 American South.) The barriers to acceptance ­— actually underplayed here — of the emerging but also inherent Lily are mercilessly fortified by horrendous medical treatment. This underscores what it means to be transgender in a bi-polar society.

To accompany a thought provoking evening, perhaps a glass of Pernod in honor of the French followed by a glass or two of hearty ale to honor the Irish is in order. For the rest of us and those who must drive, how about some rich, iced coffee to keep our minds stimulated, allowing them to keep pace with our hearts?

Film Pairings  — Heading Out On The Cinema Back Roads

I have no problem with well-made mainstream, even formula films.  I like a few hours of pure escape from time to time.  I think Indiana Jones is one of the greatest B movies ever made, for example. But as regular readers of this blog (both of you) know, I also like off-the-wall cinema. Though I’m not attracted to gratuitous violence sex or blood and guts, I like taboo topics and quirky themes, and I especially like psychological thrillers.  What I expect though is what I’d expect from any good film — fine acting, a compelling story and professional though possibly unusual cinematography. The movies in the double feature I comment on here will make some squeamish, some flummoxed and some angry.  So, having read this, watch the films at your own risk.

Several posts back I posted film commentary on films by Joseph Gordon-Levitt called “A Thousand Shades of Crazy.” Eddie Redmayne, like Gordon-Levitt, is now a certifiable top-list actor. Though their charms are different, both were fiery comets from the beginning, often playing deeply troubled young men. I reviewed one of Redmayne’s early films in this post.  Here are two other of Redmayne’s early works.

Tom Sturridge And Eddie Redmayne

Murderous Intent:  There is a sense that the bones of the drama are vey much like the current glut of mythical/romantic tales of vampires and legends and destiny and castles and blood. Tom Sturridge, in this British boys’ school drama, is cast as either a crazed loon or a descendant of an ancient tribe who must occupy his contemporary counterparts’ mind in order to realize the myth. That mind belongs to an already troubled schoolmate played by Eddie Redmayne.  It is destiny. Or it’s murder.  And the police have Redmayne’s rebellious character under arrest for the deaths of three likely killed by the eerie Sturridge character, including the eerie Sturridge character himself. Toni Collette helps steady the film as a valid crime drama despite its not quite integrated medieval roots.  She plays a forensic psychologist trying to help homicide sort things out. Gregory Read directed this 2006 film that, other than Redmayne’s extraordinary performance, needed a good bit more sorting. Setting this modern story against a Gothic boarding school background kept reminding us of the murky subplot. But for those up for a bit of a challenge, Murderous Intent, also known as Like Minds, is worth it. And it’s quite possible that the murkiness is a product of my own murky mind.

Julianne Moore And Redmayne

Savage Grace: This is a true story, though there is some dispute about some of the scenes. However the film about the heirs of the Bakelite fortune – the incest and murder aspects, anyway — is purportedly accurate. Redmayne plays the dangerously schizophrenic son of an absent father and a clueless mother, played by Julianne Moore. The film was based on the book of the same name, written by Natalie Robbins and Steven M. L. Aronson.  It was directed by Tom Kalin, and released in 2007. Kalin also directed Swoon, another psychological thriller based on a true story.

Many will find the two films add up to a disturbing evening  — each film for different reasons.  However, those viewers who appreciate masterful performances need to look no further than Eddie Redmayne and Julianne Moore.

To have at hand during the evening if you’re staying in might be some hearty red wine for the first of the two features. Because we move to a sunnier climate (and fewer clothes) for the second, maybe a white wine from Greece or Portugal. My new personal favorite non-alcoholic drink is merely a chunk of lemon or lime with tonic.

Film Pairing — A Night with Nighy, Wild Target and Glorious 39

The common thread (or threat) of this double feature is Bill Nighy. The British actor is not a household name here in the colonies, but he is gaining visibility from having played the hilariously disgusting Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean and having been nominated for acting awards for performances in such jewels as Notes on a Scandal and such television masterpieces as Page Eight and State of Play. Tonight’s pairing gives you an idea of his range and two movies to enjoy from the comfort of your sofa.

In Wild Target, a powerful art collector (Rupert Everett) hires a meticulously professional hitman to kill a woman (Emily Blunt) who ripped him off with a clever scam. There is a lot of wonderful British silliness in what is essentially a caper gone wrong movie. Bill Nighy plays the hitman — it’s a family business — who goes astray, failing to fulfill his promise to the vengeful art collector and live up to his mother’s strict business code. There are twists and turns in this 2010 comedy directed by Jonathan Lynn, including a hitman to hit the hitman and the mother, played by Eileen Atkins, who has a little hitting on her mind as well. Martin Freeman and Rupert Grint also star.

Glorious 39 also has a magnificent cast — Nighy, Julie Christie, David Tennant, Christopher Lee, Eddie Redmayne and Romola Garai among them. This alone would be enough. But it needn’t be. It is a richly filmed story that alternates between now and World War II. Spies, politics, unexplained deaths and most of all keeping secrets — at all costs — keep the characters and the viewers guessing as the civilized veneer begins to peel. This 2009 film isn’t a thriller, despite claims that it is. You’ll only be disappointed if you approach it this way. This sedate film is all about character. The takeaway isn’t about what you can see, but about what you can’t — a kind of lackadaisical evil.

Nighy’s performances are understated in both. It seems to be his trademark. The films set entirely different moods — one being on the silly side and the other with a serious, more classical approach. The characters that Nighy plays are at opposite ends of the spectrum as well, yet Nighy bridges them subtly and beautifully.

It’s a slow, though entirely pleasant evening. A bottle of white or rose would work with the first film. Brandy is highly recommended for the second.