Film Pairings — Recent Mysteries You Probably Haven’t Seen

There are crime fiction movies and there are mysteries. They are not necessarily the same.  Few films released in the last couple of years are truly mysteries. We watch chases, slashes, special effects, but we are rarely allowed to gather the clues and try to solve the puzzle as the movie progresses. Here are two recent films that have attempted to put real mysteries on screen.  They remained under the radar.  Both deserved better.

Joseph Fiennes And Nicole Kidman

Strangerland – Seems like many films shot in Australia have a kind of surrealistic, dreamy atmosphere. Strangerland doesn’t quite reach the spiritual or visual power of Australia-set The LastWave, for example, but it maintains an other-worldliness while remaining grounded in the real world with human foibles. Directed by Kim Farrant and released earlier this year, the film stars Nicole Kidman as the mother of two children who disappear in the desert.  Did they runaway?  Were they kidnapped?  Was there something else, something not of this earth?  Kidman’s angry, controlling husband  (Joseph Fiennes) tries to hold the family and himself together the only way he knows how.  It’s not easy. Actor Hugo Weaving gives a fine, understated performance as the local law. Maddison Brown portrays the Lolita-like daughter.

Kazuki Kitamura

Man From Reno — This is my favorite of the two and a very pleasant surprise.  As a long-time San Francisco resident, I’ve gotten used to films shot here taking liberties with the geography — a character running from one street through an alley and ending up on the other side of town. But it happens all the time and it doesn’t distract from this clever, original movie.  The central characters are Japanese, living or visiting the city by the bay, particularly a young woman who also happens to be a best-selling mystery writer on an American book tour.

In the midst of trying to lose her self, he finds a handsome, charming, young and mysterious Japanese fellow with whom she can be herself.  Irresponsibly and uncharacteristically, she abandons her tour. Soon, he abandons her.  She is left to deal with a few undesirables and a lawman from Reno. Something about money and murder. All of them want to find the object of her brief affair. She does too.  Directed by Dave Boyle, Man From Reno features talented Ayako Fujitani as the writer and devilishly handsome and charming Kazuki Kitamura as the questionable lover. Pepe Serna gives a solid, award-worthy performance as the out-of-town sheriff. The film was released in 2014.

As accompaniments to the evening’s double feature, go for the Saki.  If it’s warm where you are, have it cold.  If autumn has already set in, have it warm. Otherwise, maybe some plum soda.

Film Pairings – To Die For and A Kiss Before Dying, Dillon Times Two

As I’ve mentioned too many times before, much of my youth was spent or misspent in the darkened auditorium of downtown Indianapolis movie palaces. My brother and I could catch a an early matinee double feature, then brave the blinding Saturday afternoon sunlight, walk a couple of blocks and take in another double feature. Usually the theater would show one major film, often in color. The second would be a low-budget affair with less famous actors and actresses. That’s how I feel about this pairing.  One is a nearly perfect dark comedy about murder.  The other takes itself quite seriously. Though I liked them both – I’m easy to please – if you have high standards, doing off might not be the worst thing you can do, though the film improves toward the end.

Kidman & Phoenix

Murderous comedies don’t come any better than To Die For. Nicole Kidman plays a beautiful ambitious, marginally bright woman who would do anything to achieve fame.  She marries a handsome young man (Matt Dillon). He turns out to be a major roadblock on her road to stardom. She plots his death. The film is shot in a mock-documentary style that in the hands of others might be disastrous, but with Buck Henry writing the screenplay and Gus Van Sant directing, To Die For is to die for.  Joaquin Phoenix joins the superb cast as Kidman’s lovesick puppet. Casey Affleck is a young tough. The film, based on the book by Joyce Maynard, was released in 1995.

Matt  Dillon

Whereas Kidman’s surprisingly good performance was honored with a couple of awards for playing the shallow narcissus, Sean Young had the dubious honor of picking up two Razzies, one for worst actress and another for worst supporting actress for her performances as twins in A Kiss Before Dying. A reminder:  This is the second feature. You may drift off before they roll the credits.  However this turns out to be mostly worthwhile, largely due to Matt Dillon’s solid portrayal of a man’s obsession to succeed by hook, crook or murder. This is the second film based on Ira Levin’s book of the same name. The earlier (1956) version starred Robert Wagner and Joanne Woodward. This one (1991) was directed by James Dearden, who also wrote the screenplay. The story had a Hitchcock-like sensibility, but played out even more mechanically than those by the master. There are some clever twists and it’s a pleasure to watch the young Dillon at work after his turn in Drugstore Cowboy, and especially after watching him as a more mature character in To Die For.

A white wine, bubbly or not might be an appropriate accompaniment to the first film. Step it up for the second. Or a latte followed by an espresso.

Film Pairing — What We Do For Love Or What's Love Got To Do With It?

They call it a “mockumentary.” Nicole Kidman, in one of the best roles of her career, plays a character who narrates her own shameless path to fame. When she discovers that not only is her husband not the least bit ambitious but also has a desire to have a real family, she realizes he is a drag on her career. Something has to be done. Whether you love or hate Kidman, the movie will work for you, I promise. And in this era devoted to people who will do anything to be famous — and second-rate cheesy stardom is acceptable — To Die For (1995) seems to anticipate our sad, Kardashian world. This smart, dark comedy was written by Buck Henry and was directed by Gus Van Sant. The film also features excellent performances from Matt Dillon as the all-too-average husband and Joaquin Phoenix as the lovesick puppy who would do anything for the woman he loves.

True Romance, 1993, was written by Quentin Tarantino. And there’s no question that director Tony Scott went with the flow. The film reflects the Tarantino spirit. It is funny and brutal. Gratuitous violence? Oh yes. It’s Tarantino’s stamp and there’s plenty of it here. There is also plenty of star power, though many of the big names — Dennis Hopper, Brad Pitt, Christopher Walken, Samuel L. Jackson, James Gandolfini and Gary Oldman, have only brief, but richly rendered appearances. The scene between Walken and Hopper is worth the price of admission alone. At first, I thought Walken was stealing the scene…but Hopper almost evens the playing field. Brad Pitt is hilarious. However, the film is primarily about the characters played and played well by Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette, who like Kidman in To Die For, narrates the story.

In a sense, both films are about what people will do for unqualified love or what they do when they are the objects of that kind of love. And in that sense, even though they are both dark comedies told from the point of view of beautiful blondes, these two films are very different. And after last week’s gruesome twosome, this pairing is lots of fun.

To accompany the first film, my suggestion is have a light beer — maybe pale ale. For the second, go with a Sicilian Red, perhaps a Primitivo.

CAPTION: Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette in True Romance