Reviews 130 & 131

This will begin my attempt at movie reviews. This is my first attempt, but, seeing as I've seen 131 movies since January, I thought I might put my critical brain to use. That said, I know I probably suck right now. Hopefully I will get better as I progress ;)

130.

The Life of David Gale (2003) revolves around the cliché of all clichés: an anti-death row spokesman on death row for the murder of another death row abolitionist. Genius. All you need now is a reporter to come and try to save the day before the man proclaiming innocence is put to death by The Man. Oh, wait! There’s that, too.

You’d think with Kevin Spacey, Kate Winselt, and Laura Linney, this film could be saved. But, no. The performances of the principal three actors were nothing less than superb, but the plot and self-righteous moral of the story left me exhausted and peeved. The script revolves around the assumption that the viewer is rooting for David Gale to be freed before his unfair punishment; unfortunately that doesn’t fly. Spacey’s portrayal of the alcoholic Gale is fair in its attempt at pity and sympathy, but it falls short of

I was really disappointed that the makers of this film made the end seem like such a big surprise. I figured it all out within the first twenty minutes of the film, and was rolling my eyes when Kate Winslet was so horrified at the outcome. I keep waiting for filmmakers who do not underestimate the intelligence of their viewers. Believe it or not, sometimes we actually can figure out your intricately-designed plot before the last two minutes of the movie.

Barely 2 out of 5

131.

The City of Your Final Destination (2009) revolves around Omar, a writer/professor who wants to write the authorized biography of a recently deceased world-renowned author, Jules Gund. After writing to his family, Omar gets a letter of denial signed by Gund’s wife, brother, and live-in mistress. This prompts him to travel to Uruguay to personally seek permission to write the biography. Along the way he makes and breaks relationships, and he challenges his ideals and those of the people whose lives he has suddenly invaded.

This Merchant Ivory film is strengthened by Anthony Hopkins’s mysterious presence and Laura Linney’s frosty and domineering sideways glances. At times the film seems to rely on the doe-eyed looks of the women that Omar is falling in and out of love with. References to the elusive Jules border the mythical and sometimes ridiculous, but the story builds a feeling of admiration for the writer from all who knew him. The viewer gets the feeling that this man’s legacy may not have been the single book that he left behind, but the unconventional family he built around himself.

The most interesting part of this movie, as with many Merchant Ivory films, is the way that the plot has become so character-driven. The story brings the characters together, but each part is woven within its own searching story. None of the characters are there simply as support for dialogue for the others; you get the feeling that each of them has a complicated life, a back story, that could be the center of its own drama in its own right. As they all interact with each other, the characters are powered by different ideals and goals – and held back by them.

Cinematically, The City of Your Final Destination is beautifully filmed. James Ivory’s direction and cinematography is gorgeous. It creates an atmosphere in the Uruguay home that could be its own character; set anywhere else and filmed by anyone else, the film could have had the wrong impression entirely. While the screenplay is lacking in some parts, the subtleties of the actors make up for it at times. It is a quiet film to be absorbed rather than experienced hands-on, one created in a time when quiet films are not necessarily in vogue but are still quite refreshing.

3 out of 5