Archive for August, 2006
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
A Scanner DarklyUSA 2006
Director: Richard Linklater
Seven years from now, around one quarter of the American population is dependent on a powerful and highly addictive psychoactive drug known as Substance D. ‘Agent Fred’ (Keanu Reeves), an undercover police officer assigned to monitor a household of drug users, is also Bob Arctor, a member of that household whose girlfriend and dealer, Donna (Winona Ryder), is suspected of having links to the uppermost source of Substance D. So far, so simple, right? Er…
Robert Linklater’s much-anticipated adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s novel is, unsurprisingly, a little trippy in places. After all, we are being drawn into the world of a man whose consciousness is literally splitting in two and who is becoming increasingly incapable of even recognising the correlation between his two parallel identities. However, despite the often hilarious scenes featuring the paranoia, psychobabble and stoner logic of Arctor’s associates Freck, Luckman and Barris (Rory Cochrane, Woody Harrelson and a scene-stealing Robert Downey Jr.), it would be sheer folly to dismiss this film as simply being for and about the chemically-enhanced. If I were to liken it to anything it would be more classic film noir than Cheech and Chong, with prominent themes of corruption and betrayal and Arctor as the fundamentally-flawed hero trying to get to grips with something he can’t fully understand while being led to his ultimate demise by a femme fatale (although there is a rather clever twist to this that is pretty unexpected unless, unlike me, you’ve actually read the novel).
Much has been made of the fact that this film is rotoscoped, the live action film painstakingly traced by animators to give it a grown-up cartoon effect. This device certainly pays off and adds to the whole atmosphere of A Scanner Darkly, contributing to the sense of detachment and feeling that nothing is quite real or as it seems. It’s also strangely satisfying seeing the cast of familiar names in a new way and, on a more prosaic level, simplifies the inclusion of Dick’s ’scramble suits,’ something that would have been incredibly difficult to create without big-budget CG effects.
Keanu Reeves is one of those actors that people seem to just love to criticise but, having seen this film, I find it hard to imagine Arctor being played by anyone else. Reeves’ characteristic lazy and laconic style fits the role perfectly and he can certainly do blank and bemused very well, making him ideal as an unwitting cog in a machine. The casting of actors who, in the majority of cases, have had highly-publicised dalliances with illegal substances is a very knowing move and slightly adds to the air of despair and inevitability that pervades a lot of the piece. That said, this film is not a depressing didactic on the dangers of drug abuse. A Scanner Darkly is rich, intelligent and compelling while also being entertaining and thus can be appreciated on a variety of levels.
Maria HallSolaris (2002)
SolarisUSA 2002
Director: Steven Soderbergh
I should be honest from the outset and admit that Soderbergh’s adaptation of Solaris is the only version of the story that I am familiar with, having seen neither Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1972 film nor read Stanislaw Lem’s novel on which both adaptations were based. However, I do not necessarily believe this to be a negative thing as I feel Soderbergh’s Solaris works perfectly well as a stand-alone piece and is perhaps even more interesting when viewed in isolation, without any baggage from previous incarnations of the story affecting interpretation.
The plot is deceptively simple – psychologist Chris Kelvin (George Clooney) is summoned by an old friend to a space station orbiting a world called Solaris. On arriving, he finds most of the crew dead and the remaining members in a state of mental instability caused by a strange phenomenon that he is told cannot be explained until he himself experiences it. Soon enough, like the others before him, Chris receives a ‘visitor’ in the form of his deceased wife Rheya (Natasha McElhone). The arrival of Rheya is the point at which the film really becomes interesting and starts to delve deeper into the psyche of Dr Kelvin, as he moves from professional skepticism and fear of this aberration to a renewed longing for the woman he has loved and lost — even to the point of being willing to reject the concepts of science and reason in order to hang on to his second chance at happiness. Through the character of Rheya, Solaris raises questions about the nature of love and the nature of what it means to be human without providing any obvious answers – my interpretation of what Rheya and the planet Solaris were was remarkably different to that of the first person that I discussed the film with afterwards. That, for me, is the beauty of this film. It does not spoon-feed the viewer facts but deftly leaves ambiguous clues that point to several plausible meanings.
The tone of this film is generally rather restrained, with pared-down settings and costumes and sparse dialogue giving it a dream-like feel. Stylistically, it is near-perfect, with the claustrophobia and the strangeness of the space station denoted by unusual camera angles and heavy shadow, and a crew member’s belief that the ‘visitors’ are nothing but reflections of human need and desire being echoed visually through frequent shots of reflections in mirrored surfaces to denote Chris’ increasingly fragmented self. The station is given a sinister and artificial appearance by harsh white and blue neon lighting which adds to the air of foreboding and creates the feeling that something is not quite right about the place; however, the ‘memories’ of Chris and Rheya, shown through flashback, are no more realistic in appearance and thus call into question our willingness to trust a subjective version of events narrated to us by a man who may (or may not) be slowly losing his sanity.
This certainly isn’t the film to watch if you are in the mood to be passively entertained - it is far too philosophically and psychologically challenging for that. Solaris isn’t the most straightforward film to watch but it is one of the most truly human pieces of science fiction I have ever come across and deeply satisfying even if, like me, you feel compelled to watch it again almost straight away to see if you really ‘got’ it.
Maria HallThe Wicker Man (1973)
The Wicker ManUK 1973
Director: Robin Hardy
Language: English
I’d heard about this film for years, whispers about its cult status and legendary performance from Christopher Lee. I wasn’t sure what to expect, short of a possibly strange and disturbing little English film. This turns out to be an accurate description of The Wicker Man.
I’m not too sure how to read this film. Undoubtedly I’ll have a different interpretation now, 33 years after it was first released, than that of the contemporary audience. What was once horror and blasphemy now seems like strangeness and whimsy. Bearing that in mind, I can’t speak to the director’s original intent (something which has little bearing on film studies), I can only speak to my interpretation of the film.
There are many strange sequences in the film, some musical, some sexual. Due to the strangeness of the island, the audience is almost forced to identify with the only ‘normal’ character, Sergeant Howie, even though he’s not totally sympathetic. The film creates an excellent feeling of alienation and maintains that tone throughout.
The performances are good all around, particular standouts being Woodward and Lee. Britt Ekland’s physical presence in the film is captivating, even though her acting is only average. One note of interest: the Scottish accents in the film don’t seem very accurate (at least from the main characters). Not surprising since both Woodward and Lee are from the south of England, nowhere near Scotland.
After viewing the original Wicker Man, I’m curious to see the Neil LaBute remake. I can’t envision a Hollywood version of such a quirky English film. There are many subplots and subtexts in the film that would still shock or confuse modern viewers. Original director Hardy also has an apparent sequel/re-imagining of The Wicker Man in production at the moment as well called Cowboys for Christ, starring Christopher Lee, among others.
I can see why this film has maintained interest for over 30 years. The Wicker Man is dark, sexy, quirky and mysterious and remains one of the most memorable English films of the 1970s.
Colin Le SueurGood Bye Lenin! (2003)
Good Bye Lenin!Germany 2003
Director: Wolfgang Becker
Language: German
A recent trip to Berlin reminded me of two things: I needed to improve my German and that I REALLY needed to re-watch Good Bye Lenin!
Set in East Berlin at the time of the fall of the wall and the reunification of Germany, Good Bye Lenin! tells the story of Alex Kerner (Daniel Bruhl), a young man whose arrest at a protest coincides with his model socialist mother (Kathrin Sass) having a heart attack and slipping into a coma. Eight months later the wall no longer exists, East and West Germany are united and Frau Kerner wakes up. Warned that any excitement could kill her, Alex, along with his slightly less eager sister Ariane (Maria Simon), throws himself into recreating East Germany in his mother’s apartment…
Through the main plot device of Alex’s deception, Good Bye Lenin! skilfully and often humorously explores how this period of great excitement, uncertainty, trepidation and promise affected ordinary people whose lives were turned upside down overnight. Some, like Ariane, willingly accept the change – in quitting her studies for a job at Burger King she seems to embody the acceptance of capitalist values. Other, generally older, characters complain of being ‘sold down the river’ and enjoy recreating the past for the unsuspecting Frau Kerner because it reminds them of ‘how things used to be’. Alex’s viewpoint, I suspect, lies somewhere in between. He may enjoy the new freedom that comes with unification, but his increasingly farcical quest to ‘protect’ his mother from a united Germany (pretending the radio is broken and swapping labels on food packets swiftly becomes bribing children to substantiate his charade and filming fake news bulletins) seems to indicate that he, too, has difficulty in coming to terms with his new way of life and wishes to maintain a concrete link with his past.
As one might imagine, political and social tension is never far from the surface of this film and there are some moments of truly powerful impact, such as Alex confronting a hospital doctor about the exodus of skilled East Germans to the better-paid West and causing a scene when a bank teller refuses to accept his East German money. However,
Good Bye Lenin! is far from politically biased and it pokes fun at both sides – surely the West is about more than fast food and Coca Cola and the East has more to offer than crappy clothing and Trabants?
Scratch the surface of Good Bye Lenin! and, as is so often the case, you are left with a story about people. Love, both romantic and familial, is a central theme and motivates Alex throughout. Deception figures strongly too, with Alex attempting to protect his mother from the truth, his mother (as is revealed in a heartbreaking plot twist) having deceived her children about her relationship with their father and Alex finally deceiving himself by creating the idealised socialism of his imagination, one of acceptance and compassion, in his final news bulletin.
This film works on many levels. Yes, its plot centres on slightly weightier-than-average subject matter but it deals with it in an engaging, amusing and often incredibly touching manner. Bruhl is outstanding as the well-intentioned but perhaps misguided little-man-lost protagonist, and an excellent supporting cast flesh the film out with humour and heart. A must see.
Maria Hall