500 Words About 4 Movies
A Beautfiul Mind: A little too Hollywood for me, maybe because Ron Howard directed it, I don't know. I enjoyed the costumes and sets from the 50s; I had a hard time with the oversimplification of schizophrenia. Although a true story, I'm not sure how effectively someone can "control" schizophrenia without meds and still led a productive life. Jennifer Connelly was excellent as Mrs. Nash and, despite her role being merely a prop to Russell Crowe's, managed to create a memorable presence. Russell Crowe completely submerged himself in this character and is obviously more talented than I have previously given him credit.
The Assassination of Richard Nixon: Inspired by a true story of a man (Sam Beck, played by Sean Penn) in the throes of divorce (wife is Naomi Watts, a brunette here), a slimy salesjob, and the stranglehold of his sense of propriety in life, who decides that no statement would be stronger for the modern man, he of broken spirit, if Richard Nixon, the incarnate of greed and corruption, were assassinated. Eerily enough, Sam plans to hijack a plane and fly it into the White House (yet more proof that Condoleeza Rice is a f*cking liar). I love Sean Penn. I love him because he creates characters that you want to sympathize with but just can't—they've gone just a little too far over the edge and all you can do is watch from a distance and hope they don't hurt anyone.
Maria Full of Grace: I only saw the last twenty minutes of this, but I liked what I saw. Colombian girls swallow rubber bags, the size of eggs, full of drugs (heroin? cocaine?), as many as sixty, and fly into the US, where they poop them out, get paid for their troubles, and fly home. That is, if they don't die from the transport, i.e., a bag getting caught in one's intestines or rupturing. English subtitles. Based on true stories.
21 grams: They say the body is 21 grams lighter after the soul leaves it. Three lives intertwine unknowingly through tragedy. As Sean Penn (you gotta love the guy), says in the end, "You know what is lost, but what is gained?" Shot (and written?) cyclically instead of linearly, it's still easy enough to figure out the core of what happens fifteen or twenty minutes into it. Then it's a long night of fitting every small piece together, although not unenjoyable. The cinematography is beautiful, and the music is haunting. Benicio de Torro is wonderful, and Sean Penn again creates a character that I can't help dispising, even as he tries to "right" what he feels are karmic imbalances in the world. Naomi Watts does a good job, given the immensity of her suffering, but I can't help but feel her transition from what she was to what she becomes was too fast, too easy. How long a period of time does this movie take place? A few weeks? A few months? Very hard to discern.
posted by Jen @ 8:38 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
I've only seen the first and the last.
I liked A Beautiful Mind, and I'm not sure that one CAN'T function with dysfunction, to a degree; it's a matter of recognizing the unreal, and adjusting accordingly... it's like recognizing that a suspicion someone hates you for no apparent reason is solely in your head, and not letting it bog you down. Obviously to a greater extent, but it seems almost easier to deal with a more extremely unreal thing, like the apparation of a man you know doesn't exist... that said, I thought the bits when he was trying to suppress his hallucinations were among the most wrenching.
Also, I did not like 21 Grams. The next day, I couldn't remember what movie I had just seen, it left that little of an impression on me. Not bad, per se, I just didn't care at all about anyone or anything in it.
I liked A Beautiful Mind until the end. Any movie that ends with an awards/applause scene makes me angry. Admittedly not quite as bad as one of those romantic comedies whene the couple makes up in the middle of a busy food court and everyone claps, but still annoying.
Compare the experience of schizophrenia to that of asthma. Some asmatics may find that the use of drugs alleviates the symptoms. Others, find that alternative techniques, such as yogic breathing, help them to deal with the effects of the illness. Similiarly, it is possible to use alternative ways of managing a mental illness. In neither case has the underlying difference been resolved but people can manage their symptoms in different ways. Full 'control' of schizophrenic symptoms with antipsychotic drugs can feel more disabling than the hallucinations themselves. It is possible to achieve a successful and positive life without the use of drugs.
I agree with all of you; I just feel these types of movies tend to oversimplify complex themes like schizophrenia. I live with someone with a physical chronic illness, which certainly isn't as debilitating as living with someone with a mental illness, I'm sure, but there are so many days when I feel like John Nash's wife, just breaking the mirrors and whatever else around me. I agree with Heb that the movie shouldn't have ended with applause, a high note, but with something frustrating happening to John, like a new "friend" he has trouble discerning, or something, just to remind the audience that illness is a life-long, minute-by-minute battle without an "ending" and that peace and satisfaction come from moments inbetween.
You probably really liked the Graduate, didn't you? Go on, admit it! I did too.
Do I know you?
Um. No?
Post a Comment
<< Home