Film pairings — Sort of (From Book To Film)

 Often we hear of all these non-profits, some of them governmental, some not, doing various kinds of missionary-style work in poor or developing, but almost always vulnerable nations with propped up governments. A lot of funny business goes on in these places, usually in the Middle East or in various African locales.

Last night I happened upon a film, The Gunman, Sean Penn did a fine job of trying to tell the story of the greed and corruption behind or surrounding the best of the do gooders. As a paid assassin, Penn’s character tries to live the rest of his life making up for his previous bad acts. But he is a witness to the truth and THEY come for him. As they had for the others. It can be seen as just another action film.  However only seen as superhero crap — if that is what you are looking for – the film is mediocre.  

If you are looking for more, you’ll find it. It is a microcosm of most governments – certainly ours – where those at the highest levels of power are protected against prosecution of the crimes they committed against the people over whom they have the power.  And as long as the few have the money and the influence, and the many are too frightened or dumb – I should say uninformed, shouldn’t I? – nothing will change.  Even Penn’s character is only activated when he realizes he is in the crosshairs and essentially, has nothing to lose.  If this were an action film, he would win in the end. Instead it flirts with noir, something the novel has in spades.

For me this was extraordinary cinema. A man, with right on his side, against the impossible. I hadn’t realized as I watched it that I had previously read it. The directors, Penn being one of them, took some liberties. The Gunman was based on The Prone Gunman, the short novel by the acclaimed French crime novelist Jean-Patrick Manchette and first published in English by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s City Lights Bookstore in 2002.

Jean-Patrick Manchette

In addition to Penn, the cast of The Gunman include Javier Bardem, Idris Elba, Ray Winstone and Jasmine Trinca

Watch it no matter what the online reviewers have to say.  And read the book.  Both are worth the time and could be done in the same evening.  If you are staying in, maybe some Pernod or Absinthe.  Okay, stay in.

I have written previously about Manchette.  If interested in reading more, go here

Film Pairing — Corrupt Cops and Self-Destruction

One of the standard noir plots and of crime fact and fiction in general is about cops becoming robbers.  I think that being a cop has to make even the noblest of people vulnerable to the hardening of the soul, to the bitterness that comes when the bad guys make out better than the good guys, when it seems that nothing you do seems to make any difference or when getting by with it looks easy.  And of course, not every soul is noble to begin with.

Two films, one heralded and showered with awards and the other nearly forgotten even before it was released are featured here.

The Departed, directed by Martin Scorsese, won four Oscars. Scorsese, himself, won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for best director. Released in 2006, the film was based in large part on a highly rated Hong Kong film called Infernal Affairs.  What we have is an active-duty cop on the take and another cop doing undercover in a Boston gang trying to ferret him out.  It’s a simple plot, but one with suspenseful twists and turns and a cast of Hollywood heavyweights.  Where else would you find Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin and Vera Farmiga in the same film? And for good measure there is the inimitable Ray Winstone playing second in charge of the local Irish gang to Boston boss Nicholson, more than keeping up with the scenery-chewing icon.  Lots of testosterone.  It oozes from the screen.

In The Departed the story is about finding the bad cop.  In Rampart, the story is about a police department that doesn’t want the cop found.  They are already sinking in a sea of bad PR from the bigger corruption — Rampart, a real LAPD scandal of immense proportions.  They don’t want the story of this bad seed and his highly personal brand of corruption to the mess. What we get from Rampart, released only last year, is a lesser phenomenon, but not a lesser film. The corruption of the cop in The Departed is a fait accompli pretty much from the beginning of the film.  In Rampart the focus of the film is on one cop, who despite the larger scandal going on around him, finds ways to be corrupt all on his own. He is a guy who wants what he wants and takes it — a man without allegiance. The world exists for him alone. It is perhaps a little less exciting than The Departed, but we delve into character a bit deeper — or try to. 

In a screenplay co-written by the famous crime writer, James Ellroy, we watch Woody Harrelson’s cop character devolve from a nasty human being to an even nastier one.  While the cast is not the powerhouse of The Departed, we are treated to fine performances from Ned Beatty, Sigourney Weaver, Anne Heche, and Ice Cube, with a cameo by Steve Buscemi.

If you get thirsty or want to feel part of the gang, you might open a bottle of Irish whiskey. If you want to change for the second feature, you could go for beer. Domestic is fine.

Film Pairings — Crime Novels On Film: James Sallis And Ken Bruen

Criminals with standards?  No, not like “rob from the rich, give to the poor.”  More like “I won’t actually rob anybody, but I’ll drive the get away car.” Once you get beyond the notion of “a little bit criminal” you can’t help but be seduced by the surprisingly similar stories in these two fine films. Each petty criminal, as the pressure escalates to pick a side (good or evil), finds it more and more difficult to resist. And in the spirit of noir, contemporary noir to be sure, they find that noble choices may not be rewarded.

The film, London Boulevard, based on the dark, literary and prolific Irish crime writer Ken Bruen’s novel, was all but panned by American reviewers.  The film Drive, on the other hand, based on the dark, literary and prolific American crime writer James Sallis’ novel, received high praise.  I could perhaps understand why critics might dislike both of them. Dark and violent.  Or love both of them.  Great story telling. What I do not understand is why one is damned and one is praised.  Both stories fascinate.  The acting, directing and cinematography are top-notch in both films.  So, please someone clue me in.

Perhaps it is that London Boulevard (2010) brings with it a British sensibility that Americans may find difficult to relate to.  The gangsters are a little different.  Both the top hood and the young thug talk about literature amidst grotesque and quite often senseless violence.  Colin Farrell, who plays the young, and redeemable thug, is gradually seduced into protecting a beautiful celebrity while also trying (nobly) to avenge the mind-numbingly unnecessary murder of a homeless man he had befriended. Farrell is solid as the young man who tries to find a way to escape his previous entanglements with the mob.  Ray Winstone does his usual fine job, this time as the psychopathic gang leader.  However the grandly indifferent — perhaps most malevolent — character, portrayed by David Thewlis, puts the story over the top (in a good way) — and leaves us with perhaps too much interest in the parts of his life that are untold. I want the next movie to be about him.  Credit goes to the writers who created the character and Thewlis who is pitch perfect.  Keira Knightley plays the delicately beautiful celebrity in need of Farrell’s protection. William Monahan wrote the screenplay and directed.

Drive (2011) was a hit, not the blockbuster producers apparently anticipated, but a tough, tight, compelling movie nonetheless. It made a lot of money.  Credit certainly goes to Ryan Gosling who plays a character in a dilemma similar to Farrell’s in London Boulevard.  In this case we have a seemingly amoral loner whose only passion is driving.  He is a reluctant hero.  The last thing he would ever want is to be put in a position to make a decision having to do with the lives of other people.  In that sense, he is farther removed from society than Farrell’s character. But he makes a serious mistake.  He gets involved.  There are also some very fine secondary characters.  At the top of that list is Albert Brooks, who plays a businessman and second-rate gangster. Like Thewlis in London Boulevard, a whole movie could be made by spinning off Brooks’ complex character.  Ron Perlman does a good job as Brooks’ more violent partner.  And Bryan Cranston continues to show what a fine actor he is as Gosling’s not quite up to snuff mentor. Good to see Russ Tamblyn (West Side Story) play a role in this striking film. Nicholas Winding Refn, a Dane, directed.

There’s no question that Gosling’s character is the strong, silent type (a lot of screen time, but not a lot of lines to memorize).  However, his performance is mesmerizing. His character knows what’s coming. So do we. It’s a fine ending, but no surprise to him or us. Farrell realizes the danger he is putting himself in and does what he needs to do anyway however he is surprised by how it ends.  And so are we.  Two very worthwhile, but extremely violent films that are meant to be seen together or at least discussed in tandem.

Beer, I think, is night’s choice.  Lots of pub drinking in London Boulevard. And if I remember correctly, there were lots of cans of beer in Drive. So this time, just pick your favorite brand.