We talk the cast of
Rogue One,
Possession (2002), historical mystery, the Republican debate, whether women should be in politics, how romance has changed throughout history, and
the duty of journalists. Additionally: we act out a scene from our movie of the week, and C.S. Lewis chooses his favorite Republican candidate
.
The movie is the kiss that beckons the viewer to experience the book to fulfill the promise of the kiss. The book was just shy of 600 pages, so it's not surprising that a lot was dropped. The film is a love letter to the English language and countryside and how can that be bad?
ReplyDeleteChristabel La Motte is Emily Dickinson and Ash is, of course, Robert Browning--to answer the question that was raised in the Podcast. [Wiki has Christina Rossetti as the model for Christabel, but there are clues in the book and A. S. Byatt eventually confirmed that it was Dickinson.] As for the motivation of the "bad guys"--money for the rich guy who already had the largest private collection of Ash's poems and letters. And fame for the scholar and career advancement. The appearance of the letters would spark public interest and increase the value of memorabilia several fold. And keep in mind that It is said that literary scholars fight so hard (and viciously) because the stakes are so low.
The scene with Christabel (Jennifer Ehle) where she acknowledges that she is ready for physical love without words--with just the look that says it all--is reason enough to see this film. Her eyes light up the room.
ReplyDelete“There are things that happen and leave no discernible trace, are not spoken or written of, though it would be very wrong to say that subsequent events go on indifferently, all the same, as though such things had never been.”
Shall probably type more later, as we're about to leave picking grapes, but I did think she did a very good job. She has an incredible presence, I just wish that had time to flower in this film as it did in Pride and Prejudice. I'd have been happier if they cut half the scenes with Paltrow and Eckhart and just had Ehle doing her thing.
DeleteNo cuts. As a typical movie-watching American man-slut, I enjoyed falling in love with Gwynnie the Gooper AND Jennifer Ehle and, in my case, that tall, blond manager at the Bay Hotel in Witney, Yorkshire, that says "I'm sure it's more complicated than I can imagine" when Maud and Roland are contemplating the single bed.
DeleteTo be honest, it's a little hard to forget Ehle's performance as Elizabeth Bennet. We've seen that 50+ times, and everything else savors of anticlimax. Odd: I can take Colin Firth seriously in other roles. I don't know why that is...
DeleteMaybe it would have worked best if they'd just split the stories into two separate movies. I'd watch em.
As an aside, possession is said to be nine POINTS of the law. To a jeweler, that would be 9/100. To a lawyer, there are thousands of points of law. Does it help you to have the expensive watch you looked at in the Department store in your pocket when the police stop you? It is the receipt that matters, not possession.
ReplyDeleteI think Blogger ate this the first time. Trying again...
ReplyDeleteThese are the De Niro movies I've seen, off the top of my head, plus brief comments:
Taxi Driver (If you do see this, you won't want to see it again. Be warned that while it is fascinating, in its twisted way, and certainly well acted, it is a nasty, nasty film. Plus, some fairly disturbing stuff involving an underage prostitute. Jodie Foster needed her sister to double for her by law in certain scenes.)
Godfather II
Midnight Run
The Deer Hunter (This is a Vietnam film and a Best Picture winner---very long running time, not required viewing, but it's one of my favorite De Niro performances. I think if you're a film buff, you'll find interesting stuff in there, plus a very strong Oscar-winning performance by Christopher Walken.)
Wag the Dog (A deeply cynical comedy with lots of dark humor. De Niro plays a spin doctor, Dustin Hoffman plays a Hollywood producer. Together, they manufacture a war to take attention off the President's latest sex scandal. This was made during the Clinton years, needless to say.)
Awakenings (If you still haven't seen this, make this the next De Niro film that you see. It's that good.)
Heat (I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, it's terrific fun to see Pacino and De Niro occupying the same screen together. The action set pieces are glorious, the cinematography is rich and interesting, and Pacino chews the scenery in fine style. On the other hand, I feel like it gives some of the villains too much rope/sympathy, and Pacino's character is difficult to really like or root for all that much. Plus, there's some corny dialogue and some needlessly unpleasant violence that doesn't even particularly contribute to the story. It probably needed to lose a half hour or so, then it would feel tighter. I would actually compare it to The Dark Knight, and if you see it you'll know why. So in short, if you like crime drama and gunplay and you love Pacino/De Niro, go for it, but some of the choices characters make will leave you rolling your eyes. Also, the constant foul language is fatiguing, and the context always feels harsh, never light-hearted or funny like with Midnight Run.)
The Score (A throwaway heist movie whose main selling point is that it brings together De Niro, Marlon Brando and Edward Norton. Norton actually kind of steals the show. If you don't have anything else to watch, this is a fun little flick.)
Couple of those sound interesting. I admit, I am fickle in my movie-stalking, and have moved on to Tom Cruise, for the most part. (Yeah, I'm tired, and I like action movies.)
DeleteYou ought to try The Mission next. De Niro is pulling a Daniel Day-Lewis and being completely different from anything else I've seen him in. The music and cinematography are glorious, though I do have a few issues with the movie. The first third (which I will not describe) is simply stunning storytelling.
I really should! Need to get around to it...
ReplyDeleteHey, you should see Rain Man if you're getting into Tom Cruise. Granted, it's not his action-movie persona (which like with Liam Neeson is only kind of emerging as he gets older), but it's a classic movie, and it might set you off on a Dustin Hoffman binge. Another one of the old-time greats like Pacino, Duvall, De Niro, etc. I like Hoffman because he's not a cops and robbers type. He plays quirky characters that you don't normally think of as leading men, but then he does these amazing things with them.
I just LOVED the latest Mission: Impossible flick, so that sent me back to watch the others. They varied wildly in quality. Minority Report was fun, though. Not my favorite Spielberg, but as professional as ever.
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