Film Pairings — The Stuff Of Dreams, Nightmares Actually

Horror films are supposed to touch our deepest fears, awaken us, our flesh covered with sweat, screaming for our mothers. Those aren’t my nightmares. I’ve never had dreams in any way related to Freddie Kruger types, where the monster is so apparent.  I’m much more likely to have bad dreams that lead to despair rather than death and dismemberment.   The two I mention below, in story and style, are certainly different from the garden variety nightmares in which the dreamer is chased by a monster.  One is a visceral hell, and the other an intellectual one.  However if it is escape you want, neither offers a way out.

 

The Salton Sea — Some critics have called it “derivative.”  What isn’t? It is fair to say that the film certainly brings Tarantino to mind.  A reality – a violent one – is created that is inhabited by the kind of people most of us will never know, thank goodness. Psychopaths, desperate meth users and corrupt killer cops battle in Val Kilmer’s nightmarish, noirish existence. And the question, of sorts, is: “Is it a nightmare?”  Kilmer, who some of us have nearly forgotten is good.  So is Vincent D’Onofrio as the whacko, noseless, drug dealer Pooh Bear.  Credit also goes to actor Peter Sarsgaard in this 2002 film directed by D. J. Caruso with cinematography by Amir Mokri. 

Ex Machina  — I am a fan of Alex Garland’s work.  He wrote three novels – all of them well worth reading – The Beach, Tesseract and Coma. He also wrote and directed Ex Machina , which was released this year to surprisingly low buzz. That shouldn’t be a surprise. There are no big-name stars. The special effects are low-key. They couldn’t be costly. The questions the film raise are endless. Though touched on before, they’ve never been answered, nor are they here. However we need to keep asking them until they can be answered.

Not only is it likely we will be able to create artificial intelligence in all ways equal to human intelligence but should we? Are these creatures equal?  The same? If we say they are less because they are programmed, what about us?  Aren’t we programmed by our DNA or the nurturing process or some combination thereof? If what we manufacture is capable of love as well as self-awareness, have we created a being? Garland presents us with a story, a little less powerful but more intimate than Blade Runner, that forces us into some uncomfortable thinking. The important thing here is that it is a thought-provoking couple of hours. Actors include Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Sonoya Mizuno and Oscar Isaac. Rob Hardy was in charge of cinematography.

To accompany this double feature, I think we avoid the meth so prevalent in the first film and the vodka in the second. Maybe substances supposed to make us smart would work here.  Pomegranate juice, coconut water, blueberries, salmon….

Film Pairing — Revenge May Be Sweet, But It’s Not As Easy As It Looks

Two very different small crime films tackle revenge and betrayal.  And viewers would be advised to remember the sage advice of Yankee philosopher Yogi Berra:  It’s not over until it’s over.”

In the film Shallow Grave, we are introduced to three Edinburgh flatmates played by Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston and Ewan McGregor.  After a rigorous if not insane interview process they decide on a fourth mate to help them pay the rent. The man dies, leaving behind a suitcase full of money.  The three, not quite self-less, creatures decide to bury the body and, of course, split the treasure. The problem is the money belongs to someone else.  And if the three mates are less than honorable members of society, they are angels compared to the folks coming after the money the dead man had taken from them.  Fear and greed make strange flat fellows and the trio’s attempt to escape danger and keep the money makes for a twisting and turning plot.  The film, released in 1994, was among the first for McGregor.  His work here reminded me a bit of an only slightly restrained Malcolm McDowell in Clockwork Orange.

The Dying Gaul (2005) is downright mean.  One might not think so watching this little drama begin to unfold.  A little love triangle melodrama perhaps? A successful producer, played by Campbell Scott, who in fact produced the film, wants to buy a screenplay from a young and seemingly principled playwright, portrayed by Peter Sarsgaard.  The catch is that the producer wants the play, about two gay men in a long-term relationship, to be rewritten so that the main characters are in a heterosexual marriage. All the playwright needs to do is sell out.  Would a million dollars do it?   Enter the catalyst, the producer’s wife, played by the incredibly talented Patricia Clarkson.  All three characters hit it off.  Perhaps a bit too much.  The producer, we discover, goes both ways. He seduces the emotionally vulnerable playwright, while the producer’s wife, feeling immense compassion for the tragic life of the young man, attempts in a kind, but deceitful way, to help him through his heart-ache.  Both good deeds and bad deeds are punished.  Compassion turns to revenge and this tiny slice of life drama turns into a slice of hell.

These are not big films.  Geographically, you will go nowhere exciting.  There is very little action.  There aren’t great, overarching glimpses into human nature that haven’t been seen before.  However, they are fine, character-driven short stories and certainly a fascinating, eyebrow raising double feature for a quiet rainy evening.

This is a night for wine, a full-bodied red.  Be prepared for some dark humor as well seemingly light story that goes very dark.