It’s a bit ironic that one of the most original filmmakers of our time has made one of his very best films by following someone else’s formula. A remake of the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, Martin Scorsese’s The Departed (A) traces a young undercover cop (Leonardo DiCaprio) infiltrating a South Boston crime syndicate led by Jack Nicholson while the mobster’s protégé (Matt Damon) has simultaneously penetrated the police department as an informer for the syndicate. Both DiCaprio and Damon become deeply consumed by their double lives and the plans and counter-plans of their respective operations; but when they discover there’s a mole in their midst, they must race to expose each other’s identity. This is Scorsese at his most efficient, with each and every sequence important to the plot and every shot of blink-and-you-missed-it importance to the big picture. It’s an astonishing adventure with a great trio of central performances plus many other great ones in the ensemble including Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen and Vera Farmiga.
Tag Archives: Drama
“Brokeback Mountain” a Watershed Gay Romance
Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain (A) pairs brilliant actors Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as men who fall in love in the Wyoming wilderness of the 1960’s and spend the rest of their life trying to reconcile their forbidden desires to their wives (played by Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway) and hide their emotions from themselves. It’s a heartbreaking reverse-romance as most of the love is unrequited. The cinematography and storytelling are exquisite, and the brittle emotions cut to the bone. The passage of time parallels the creeks and brooks of the gorgeous countryside, even if the emotions run deep and powerful but often unexplored. Ledger and Gyllenhaal may be more daring than they even know for taking on these roles with such abandon, and Lee gives them a narrative that resonates.
David Cronenberg’s “A History of Violence” is Powerful
David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence, based on a graphic novel of the same name, is a powerful thriller in which Viggo Mortensen plays a low-key small town merchant who fends off some criminal types that come into town and outs himself as having a bit of a secret past. Mortenssen is dynamite, and Maria Bello is also spectacular as his wife. William Hurt is also great in a creepy extended cameo. Packed with secrets and poignant as a meditation on crime and American life, this was one of the best films of 2005.
“Before Sunset” Reunites Linklater’s Talky Lovers
Richard Linklater’s Before Sunset (B) reunites the spontaneous lovers played so memorably by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in Before Sunrise. This time the conceit is that the roving conversation (this time in Paris) plays out in real time. It’s a bit more experiment than narrative continuation and only occasionally nails universal truths as before. But rarely do you get films with emotions laid this bare, and it’s fascinating to watch what Jesse and Celine will do next.
“Passion of the Christ” Depicts Gruesome Crucifixion, Leaves Other Jesus Highlights on Cutting Room Floor
Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ (C+) is a peculiar cinematic work: a re-creation of the bloody death of Jesus Christ, which we presume is intended as an exercise to depict the intensity of personal sacrifice suffered by man’s ultimate martyr. As played by Jim Caviezel, the actor doesn’t get much opportunity to act the part but rather to be the part. Gibson should be applauded for authenticity in filming on location and in the Aramaic language, although he throws in some bizarre effects and lingers on some strange exchanges that could play into charges of religious intolerance. The overall film is graphic and punishing and technically quite an accomplishment in its nightmarish depiction of brutality; but in telling the story of the life of one of the most remarkable figures to have ever walked the earth, it is a curious choice to hone in on only the torture that ended that life.
“Kinsey” an Engrossing Glimpse at Sex Scholar’s Complex Life
Bill Condon’s Kinsey (A-) is a marvelous exploration of the life of a scientist who studied human sexuality in all of its forms. As played by Liam Neeson, it’s a revelatory performance, and so is Laura Linney’s as his wife. His controversies confound his expectations both scholarly and personally, leading to interpersonal drama. It’s a fascinating and well-made biopic.
2004’s “Crash” is Dramatic Parable on Racial Tension in America
Writer/director Paul Haggis’ Crash (A-) tells its tales of race and social tension and relationships in modern-day Los Angeles through the multi-character interlocking storyline format that Robert Altman made so famous. Don Cheadle, Michael Peña , Sandra Bullock, Thandie Newton and Matt Dillon are among the standouts in this passion project that turns a mirror up at society and shows its characters how each becomes a situational racist when threatened by unsettling environments. It is a challenging and provocative work.
“Million Dollar Baby” Stunning Showcase for Swank, Eastwood and Freeman
As director and the film’s leading man, Clint Eastwood fills the sports drama Million Dollar Baby (A) with a vital sense of surrogate family. His boxing coach protagonist along with his business partner (Morgan Freeman) take on a female trainee (Hilary Swank) to help her realize her dream of becoming a professional. As hopes are realized and tragedy strikes, this central trio sticks together through thick and thin. The film contains well-observed sequences of how humans behave under pressure-cooker situations both physical and emotional. It’s also doubtful you’ll see three performances this outstanding together in a film in some time.
“Cold Mountain” is Epic Drama
Anthony Minghella’s Cold Mountain (B+) is a stirring Civil War-set adventure and romance with some of the best work done by Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger. The director deftly handles two parallel stories, invoking color and detail in the backwaters of battle. The film has epic sweep and intrigue throughout.
“Shattered Glass” Depicts the Terror of Living a Lie
Writer/director Billy Ray’s Shattered Glass (A) may give you an uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach as you watch its conman antihero (a captivating Hayden Christensen) play loose with the truth as he makes up stories at The New Republic magazine. It’s a wrenching look at the journalism profession through the eyes of fellow reporters (Peter Sarsgaard and Chloe Sevigny are incredible). The suspense in waiting for the truth to catch up with “Stephen Glass” is the amazing part of watching the film. As the character weaves fiction, Ray shows the stories come to life, so the subjects are sometimes blurred and it makes it difficult to remember what really did happen. It’s a spectacular work.
Scorsese Dream Project “Gangs of New York” is Epic, Uneven
Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York (B-) is an epic historical drama set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points district of Lower Manhattan. While Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz are fine in their roles, it is Daniel Day-Lewis who steals the show as Bill “The Butcher” Cutting, the crime boss and political kingmaker of a time period inclusive of Irish immigration, the Civil War and the New York Draft Riots. It’s clear Scorsese was going for Dickensian characters and atmosphere on classic American turf, but then he rushes the final act. The story isn’t all that memorable, even if The Butcher’s menace lingers on.
“A.I. Artificial Intelligence” an Austere Spielberg/Kubrick Hybrid
Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence (B-) is full of so many good ideas, many germinated by the late Stanley Kubrick for decades, that it’s a shame the final package is a bit, well, robotic. The story starts off with Frances O’Connor and Sam Robards adopting an android child, played by Haley Joel Osment, but they ultimately reject and abandon him to a cruel world of robot runaways (Jude Law plays a cyber-gigolo who befriends the tin tyke). The imagery cribbed from Pinocchio as the central character pines away to become a real boy is haunting, but the enterprise doesn’t seem to know what its viewers’ key takeaways are supposed to be. Both the humans and the androids in the film are equally unappealing, but the flickers and flights of fancy help the film occasionally rise to its ambitions.