Detachment (2011)

Promotional still from the movie

Over the holiday weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing "Detachment." The film is directed by Tony Kaye, who is best know for his Oscar nominated film "American History X." This film stars Adrian Brody, Christina Hendricks, Lucy Liu, James Caan, and newcomer Sami Gayle.

The story is that of a long term substitute teacher, Henry Barthes, portrayed by Brody. Henry is a very disconnected person who seems like he has little to no feelings for those around him. He is the lone caretaker of his ailing grandfather, and experiences flashes back into his traumatic past. Somehow he ends up taking in a young girl who was prostituting herself near his apartment building, his aim to help get her back on her feet and off to a youth rehabilitation center. Henry's personal story is the main focus of the film, although it was marketed as a feel good story about a high school substitute that makes a difference in a failing school. His experiences in the high school where he subs is the backdrop for the rest of the issues his character faces. A good portion of his realizations occur while at school, although they focus mainly on his own personal endeavors.

I had been very eager to see this film for a long time and I really enjoyed it. I found that it took an interesting approach to what could otherwise be skewed as a feel good high school film. It presented real life issues in a very bleak light and expected the audience to be able to handle what they saw. Because the directed took this approach, it became apparent that the director was trying to bring a realistic feeling to the film. The realism did not feel forced, but natural. I believed that the issues covered in the film were issues that teenagers and adults face on a regular basis. It also intrigued me how the characters took each issue and personally dealt with it.

One example is one of the girls in Henry's English 10A class. Meredith is a girl who was bullied constantly, an artistic girl who liked taking photos, but was a disappointment to her parents. She wished to go to art school but her parents dashed her dreams, instead continuously berating her for being different. She turned to Henry, who felt burdened by her and unsure if he could help because he felt very similar feelings of emptiness, and so when she felt she had no one else to turn to, she killed herself.

This movie did not play with the emotions of the audience. It gave to viewers exactly what it promised; a bleak vision of a lower middle class high school and the children and adults whose lives center around the school. I give this film an A-.

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Promotional still from the movie

"Midnight Cowboy" is a film directed by John Schlesigner in 1969. It stars Dustin Hoffman as Ratso and Jon Voight as Joe Buck. I entered the viewing of this film with absolutely no information on it. I was aware that Dustin Hoffman acted in it, but the plot eluded me, so upon my viewing I was pleasantly surprised at what I found.

It is a story of a over eager "cowboy," Joe Buck, who desperately wants to make money. He abandons him job in Texas and moves to New York City to become a male hustler. Joe is naive and unexperienced in the field he wishes to enter, so once he arrives in the Big Apple, he is in for a rude awakening. He is easily taken advantage of by his first customer, and then a slimy Ratso cons him out of $20. He is left penniless and on the streets, resorting to desperate measures to earn any sort of money. Eventually Joe and Ratso reunite and plan to make Joe into an irresistible male companion for all the lonely New York women. The duo never seem to have any success, and them film ends with Ratso's tragic death, leaving the viewer feeling unfulfilled. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I was very excited when it turned out not being about a cowboy on a horse in the middle of the desert. Instead it tackled some very serious topics, such as the modern condition of a society and how difficult it is to become successful in the wake of the late 60's with all the forces of nature pushing you towards failure. Joe Buck is fighting against an infrastructure that has been in place for decades and it is entirely impossible for him to break in to. There is also the fact of repression and how Joe is not only escaping Texas to find a new job, but because of a past that is so traumatic that is sits in his subconscious, subtly eating away at his sanity. 

Stylistically, what made the film unique was it's editing. It used a form of montage in which images and frames were spliced together to create a dramatic and unsettling feeling. This montage style of editing was most effective during moments when Joe was unwillingly coming face to face with his past. Joe, in his shocked and unhinged state, would retreat back into his mind and the images that flashed upon the screen were from the event from his past that changed his life. As the film progresses, Joe has more and more of these visions in which he must face his past. Each time, the audience is given a little bit more information to go on, until finally realizing just what happened to Joe that made him so desperate to become a prostitute. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this film and would suggest it to any one who is interested in a unique look into the time of the late 60's. I give this film a A. 

Cloud Atlas (2012)

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"Cloud Atlas" is a science fiction film directed by Lana and Andy Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer. The film takes places over generations and ages and realities and dreams and fantasies. The film stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Ben Whishaw, and Xun Zhou.

"Cloud Atlas" does not follow a linear story line in that it recounts the tale of a main character in straightforward fashion. Instead it cuts back and forth between characters and these characters individual tales. The film has many main characters across various eras and times. The stories of these characters at first seem to be standalone stories, but by the end of the film it becomes apparent that all the stories are somehow connected in one way or another. Something interesting about the film: the actors did not only play one role, but played many roles over all the different narratives.

What I found most intriguing about this film was it's use of storytelling. Each character passed through their story as if they singlehandedly controlled their own destiny. As the narrative progressed, however, it became apparent to the viewer, as well as the character, how very untrue this mentality was. The characters were no more in control of their own life as they could be in control of another humans life. The film was more about the codependency of a race, of a group of people, of a couple than anything else. It became clear that each character and their existence was only made possible by the reliance on others. The message of the film, often repeated by the characters across story lines, was that everyone is connected. Characters who lived in a Neo Soeul in 2114 were dependent on those characters who lived in Victorian England, and so on and so forth.

If I were to have a complaint about this film, however, it would be directly related to one of the story lines followed. Tom Hanks and Halle Berry both star in in one tale titled "The Hawaiian Islands on post apocalyptic earth (dated 2321)." My largest complaint was primarily the dialogue and how it was spoken. The lines given to the actors was written in a severe reconstruction of the English language, a new vernacular of sorts for those on earth who survived the apocalypse. Whenever this story was on screen, I had a hard time paying attention due to the fact that I couldn't understand a word that was being spoken. This drew me out of the film experience, which is one of my greatest pet peeves. If it were to eliminate this story entirely from the film, I would have had a much more pleasant time watching the film.

I enjoyed "Cloud Atlas" overall. I found it entertaining, and at some parts even moving. I will rate it a C+ only because at times I felt the message of the film was being continuously repeated as if I was unable to understand it. I also thought "Cloud Atlas" was trying to desperately to be what "Tree of Life" (directed by Terrence Malick) was two summers ago.