by M. Moscato

Writer and filmmaker Noah Baumbach mentions in a recent interview that his latest film, Margot at the Wedding, is a movie about mid-action. And this concept feels decidedly deliberate: from jump cuts to scenes that end mid-sentence, an opening shot of a character receiving change for hotdogs purchased on a train, and the overall family and sibling dramas that the viewer suddenly becomes immersed in with only limited back story revealed throughout. Yet as much as themes may have been premeditated and scenes rehearsed, Margot at the Wedding never lacks for an overwhelming sense of spontaneity and freshness. Beyond Baumbach’s own concise summation, the film is actually about so much more.

Margot, portrayed with gratifying proficiency by Nicole Kidman, is accompanied by her son, Claude, to visit her long-estranged sister, Pauline. Pauline, played with equal skillfulness by Jennifer Jason Leigh, is about to get married. In fact, as original and accomplished as Baumbach has proven himself to be with past films and scripts (such as the Oscar-nominated The Squid and the Whale, as well as a writing partnership with Wes Anderson for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou), Baumbach has utilized a larger production budget to also enlist a remarkably talented cast on the whole. Jack Black provides both his best onscreen dramatic and comedic turns yet as Malcolm, Pauline’s playful though occasionally juvenile fiancé. And the two young children—Margot’s son, Claude, and Pauline’s daughter, Ingrid—display some fine abilities among such high company. Even chameleon John Turtorro has a small part, as Margot’s dutiful husband in what is an apparently fast-disintegrating marriage. However, amidst such a lively ensemble and a wedding that really is supposed to revolve more around her sister, Margot still manages to become the force and character to drive the action.

At once fragile and childlike yet volatile and vicious, Baumbach and Kidman create a remarkably complex character in Margot. She evokes both tremendous irritation and rage, as well as sympathy and compassion. In her most frustrated and utterly lost moments as a parent (and an artist), Margot can be careless and at times intentionally hurtful towards her most cherished son, Claude. She smokes pot, confesses too freely in his presence, and hurtles harsh, deeply hurtful criticisms at the adolescent youth. On the porch of her sister’s seaside house, Margot lies to Claude and fallaciously attributes cruel criticisms of the boy to Pauline: “You laze about the house . . . you’re never helpful.” (Almost a foil for Margot, Pauline is consistently loving and attentive and would never make such remarks about her nephew.) Margot then looks with disappointment at her son and remarks, “You used to be rounder and more graceful.” The evident displeasure in his mother’s eyes brings Claude to the verge of tears. Yet Margot’s annoyance with her son is only transitory; her possessive tendencies, coupled with that same confiding habit also reminiscent of great amity, ultimately reveal a loving—if not troubled—mother. More importantly, as demonstrated in a memorable scene with an injured dog and her well-meaning, even altruistic husband, Margot realizes her flaws in contrast to other more naturally compassionate people; and her awareness of her shortcomings makes her angry and then, bitterly, weep.

Finally, in one of Baumbach’s great uses of symbolism and cinematic metaphor, another powerful and maybe duplicitous message is hinted at about this odd, fractured family and the disturbed, would-be domineering figure of Margot. Not unlike the employment of the giant museum structures of the squid and whale in Baumbach’s previous film, this time a treasured tree on the family property appears to be the centerpiece of significance. Just as with the familial, sibling, and romantic relationships throughout, the tree is under constant threat of being destroyed (largely due to disputes with Pauline’s neighbors). When the tree finally does come down, though, it is difficult to determine whether this is, in fact, the proverbial family tree that has just been demolished, or whether it is a manifestation of Margot’s inner turmoil and collapse—perhaps a signal of her barriers breaking down and a shift towards being a different, more sensitive and considerate human being. As Margot makes that sudden confused and furious sprint after her son’s departing bus, the answer is as uncertain as whether Baumbach has just envisioned a quirky, fast-paced comedy where audiences will doubtlessly laugh (uncomfortably) out loud or, rather, a poignant, razor-sharp drama to be revealed upon subsequent viewings; either way, it is infectious and unforgettable.

Item #2. I feel like the phrase "I love him/her to death" is ALWAYS followed by a but. I love him to death but he's a complete assclown. I love her to death but she can be such a wedgie in my happy underpant. If you catch yourself saying "I love __ to death" remember that you're about to state a reason why you don't love that person. Do you really love __ to death? Maybe just say "I don't like this person because xyz. Otherwise, he's ok."

Finally, like I really can't stand hanging out with douchebags. And I really feel that I have good criteria for what constitutes a douchebag so I don't think I'm being unreasonable. When someone says "Ethiopia - wait. Is that a country in Africa? Where, like, people don't eat, or something?" Yeah. A nation of voluntary anorexics, you fucking donkey. That constitutes a douchebag. I've been around an ungodly amount of douchebags in the past 48 hours. No, I haven't been in North Beach.

Douchebags, as a people, sometimes feel they can overcome douchebaggery by adopting characteristics of non-douchebags. Well-travelled people, for example. Just because a douchebag has visited several countries does not qualify him for non-douchebag status. "I remember when I was travelling through the Qinghai province of China, I wondered to myself whether the First World would ever..." No, douchebag. I still think you suck. I don't care if you summered in fucking Yemen, hearding goats with impoverished villagers. If you're a screaming drunk, wearing a visor and your favorite song is "Time of Your Life," you're still a douchebag. Namedrop any country you want, I stand firmly by my judgement.

On the same note, I feel that several arenas adopt the same idea. That maybe if you do the same thing someone else has and succeeded, you will succeed. Movies do this. Recently I've been on a Netflix streak of shit movies.

Case #1: Margot at the Wedding. Terrible movie for many reasons. But I'd like to focus on a couple. Margot at the Wedding attempts desperately to portray awkward family relationships, dry-humored assholes and the ironic underlying misery of all the characters. Wes Anderson has succeeded in doing this and making mind-blowing good movies. Nicole Kidman and Jack Black in MATW? Not so much. What is with falling-in-the-pool scenes? Why do directors think dramatic plunge in water = good movie. This is simply not true. And let's just come out and say that Will Ferrell did it best in Old School because he was satirizing the ridiculous overuse of the aquatic scene, The Sound of Silence was playing, and he made out with a mullet-sporting Sean-William Scott. And scene.

Case #2: Things We Lost in the Fire. Sounds like a good movie title, right? Maybe I thought so because it reminds me of The Things They Carried, which is a great book. It sounded like it was going to be some profound shit. It was just shit. Spousal death and/or tragic accidents don't automatically constitute a good movie. That's number one. Number two - story line. Happy couple with kids, David Duchovny dad dies, single Halle Berry mom invites dad's heroin-addict childhood friend to live in the house. Riiiiight... We'll just hope little Johnny doesn't walk in on Benicio del Torro sweating and puking off his withdrawals. And you're trying to tell me Duchovny was out of the alien-chasing business in the first pleace? I don't buy it.

I don't buy any of it.

anyway, about halfway through the film, candace says to me that margot reminds her of nicole kidman. so i inquire if she means her personality to which candace replies, 'no, like she kind of looks like nicole kidman' as i stare at her strangely and then reply:

'it IS nicole kidman'

then we had to pause the movie because we were laughing so hard.

Vizyon Tarihi : 18 Temmuz 2008
Süresi : 92 dak.
Yönetmen : Noah Baumbach
Tür : Dram / Komedi
Senaryo : Noah Baumbach
Görüntü Yön. : Harris Savides
Müzik : George Drakoulias
Yapım : 2007, ABD
Oyuncular : Ciaran Hinds, Jack Black, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ashlie Atkinson, Flora Cross, Halley Feiffer

Filmin Özeti

Başarılı fakat nevrotik yazar Margot’nun, özgür ruhlu kız kardeşi Pauline’in düğününe katılmak üzere oğluyla birlikte yola çıkar.Ailenin fertleri arasında hiçbir zaman tam anlamıyla bir uyum sağlanamamıştır.

İki kardeş bir süredir görüşmemektedir ve aralarında çözülmemiş problemler vardır. Bencil, herkesi yargılayan, ikiyüzlü Margot, Pauline’in seçimini onaylamaz ve başkalarının işine burnunu sokmaktan vazgeçmez. Günün sonunda, geride bozulmuş ilişkiler ve açığa çıkarılan sırlar kalmıştır.
[dailymotion id=x3awau]

It turned out to be another almost awful Thursday except for the Hancock movie.

I was urging my youngest brother to go with me to watch the movie but he wouldn't. I even tried to persuade him that I will pay for everything because I just want to be with somebody that day but he really would not since he just had an accident the night before.

It was a reigning 32 degree celsius day. I went out after lunch time since I woke up very late.

My first goal was to watch Hancock only to find out that Mamma Mia and Dark Knight (Batman) were already showing. Nevertheless, I did not hesitate in choosing Hancock since it was on my first to-do lists.

The movie was short. It was not an action-packed movie I expected (even if I have already watched the trailer) but I like it.

I like the plot of the story. I love the 'love story' in which Hancock (played by Will Smith) and his kind were fated to be with their exact opposites like a soulmate. Their kind or race, whatever you call them, are gifted with super strength and immortality like gods but when they have exactly found their opposite and be with them, they become mortals and experience love, to be loved, get hurt, to feel and die eventually. However even if they will be separated, fate will always bring them together.

Hancock's wife (The beautiful Charlize Theron) sacrificed being separated from him so he can save people. Also in the movie was Jason Bateman whom I saw in movies Juno and The kingdom  (which was more likely a war film) so he was together with Jennifer Garner in a couple of films.

I realized that sometimes to become great, we sacrifice something/someone very dear to us and that's really heart-breaking!

The story was more than what I have hoped for though it was light but I really like it very much.

Unlike the previous week where the videos I rented were all a disappointment to me even Nicole Kidman's Margot at the wedding   with Jennifer Jason Leigh and funny man Jack Black.

Wieners on the other hand was wickedly and grossly funny. It was one of those nonsense movies anyway. The only thing cute about it was Zachary Levi (from the TV series Chuck). 

 

Brian said that The Savages showed "How to Out Baumbach Baumbach." If Margot at the Wedding is any indication then that's pretty easy.

I thoroughly disliked it when I watched it. As time grew so did my loathing. Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh play distant, selfish sisters. Jason Leigh's Pauline is marrying Jack Black's Malcolm. Kidman's Margot comes for the big day even though her invitation was just a courtesy. Her odd son Claude comes along. Save for Claude, none of the major characters has a single redeeming feature that made me care one iota about them. They spend all their time together undermining each other and talking behind each other's backs. And they don't even discuss anything; they talk at each other instead of to, like two one-sided conversations that happen to occur in the same room, which is entirely unsatisfying.

So all we have are these horrible conversations that go nowhere supported by almost no story. At the end everyone still hates each other and nobody has grown. What is the point, besides boring me?

That's all bad enough but there are all these creepy undertones to Claude and Margot's relationship that made watching this film a truly distasteful experience. Claude's a weird kid, but at least he's aware enough to realize the rest of his family is severely messed up. Mother and son are close but in a completely unhealthy way: he's overly-reliant on her, she domineers and manipulates him to use him as a tool to needle her sister. She shows no affection except to manipulate. And yet I'd describe their relationship as near-incestuous. I don't know what Baumbach was going for but if it wasn't "incredibly creepy" then he severely missed his mark. You really have to see the film to understand how unsettling these two are. Except don't, because it sucks.

For a brief period I was surprised to be impressed by Jack Black's performance. That period passed.

So let it be known that I just couldn't leave 2007 before letting the world know how much I despised Margot at the Wedding.

Pick of the Week

I'm Not There - A polarising, hugely imaginative biopic of Bob Dylan in which the great man is played at various stages by six separate actors, including a young African American kid and Cate Blanchett. The latter gives an amazing performance and the whole film is brimming with wit and overflowing with imagination.

Also out

Batman Cartoons - The Dark Knight Chronicles and Gotham Knight, both decent adaptations of the Batman comics and worth a watch in the build up to The Dark Knight.
Step Up 2 The Streets - More dancing and other stuff from the Disney stable. Haven't seen it and likely won't.
The Spiderwick Chronicles - Really effective little kids horror movie that probably won't do anything for adults but will provide a good evening's entertainment for the little ones.
Love in the Time of Cholera - Haven't seen but a pretty much universally disliked adaptation of Marquez's classic.
Margot at the Wedding - Mean-spirited and misguided difficult third film from Noah Baumbach.
You, The Living - Adored Swedish black comedy. I will be seeing soon based on the pitch of Bergman meets Monty Python
The Cottage - Terrible follow-up to London to Brighton from Paul Andrew Williams which is a horror comedy and isn't scary and isn't funny.
Wrong Move/The American Friend/Kings of the Road - Three more from Wim Wenders. You can read my reviews of the first two here and here. The third incidentally is a freaking masterpiece.
Things We Lost in the Fire - Big time downer but truly a great performance from Benicio del Toro.

El cert és que aquesta boda no és comparable a les altres bodes cinematogràfiques, ni la del millor amic ni la dels funerals. És una boda o millor dit presumpta boda que intenta apropar-se al cinema d'autor amb components algo diferents d'una simple comedieta per passar l'estona al cinema per allò de que s'està fresquet.

No sabria massa que dir-vos, o m'he tornat insensible o simplement la pel·lícula no m'ha dit massa, i no serà perquè no parlin. No sé massa si la fredor l'encomana la Kidman o els xorros d'aire acondicionat del cinema però el cert és que la pel·lícula acaba sent un llarg diàleg entre dues germanes, marits, amants i fills que es reuneixen per la boda d'una d'elles. Hi ha una constant en tots ells i és que cap està bé del cap, el que et fa pensar en certa suficiència del director, al més pur estil Woody, de presentar els seus personatges tan tronats que difícilment t'hi pots identificar amb la historia, més aviat l'efecte és el contrari, acabes caricaturitzant els personatges perdent el mínim component de drama que pot tenir la pel·lícula. No hi ha cap emoció que aflori i acabes rient, això sí, dels diàlegs i de lo entre grulleres i escatològiques d'algunes situacions.

La guapa Nicole Kidman està això, simplement guapa, com sempre, però en començo a estar una mica fart de les mateixes expressions, cares i pentinats.  Crec que posa el pilot automàtic, fa les quatre caretes i veuetes típiques i passa per caixa per cobrar. Difícilment descobriríem de quina pel·lícula es tracta amb una simple foto de l'australiana. M'ha agradat, però, la dona a la vida real de Noah Baumbach, Jennifer Jason Leigh, que potser és la més creïble i amb un personatge més treballat que la resta. L'amic Jack Black trobo que li quedava millor el paper a King Kong i la resta potser millor oblidar.

De tota manera no acabes de sortir emprenyat del tot del cinema, t'han pres el pèl amb una pel·lícula pretensiosa, intelectual i esnobista però que no és dolenta del tot. El guió, del mateix Noah Baumbach, és ben aprofitable però potser no ha estat massa encertat que ell mateix dirigeixi la pel·lícula, es creu un Bergman i encara li queda. La fotografia freda i la música que ho tenia tot per ser un revival de les nostres músiques dels 70 en prou feines es deixa sentir. El reconèixer 'Clair' de Gilbert O'Sullivan tampoc és per nominar-la als Oscars. Això sí, sembla que ha guanyat el premi al millor guió del festival de Penyíscola.

Evitable.

Web de la pelicula:http://www.margotylaboda.es

Titulo: Margot Y La Boda

Titulo Original: Margot At The Wedding

Género: Comedia

Nacionalidad: USA

Año: 2007

Director: Noah Baumbach

Guion: Noah Baumbach

Reparto: Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Zane Pais, Jack Black, John Turturro, Flora Cross, Ciarán Hinds

Sinopsis: Margot Zeller (Nicole Kidman), una inteligente escritora de relatos cortos con una lengua muy afilada, que suele crear el caos por donde pasa, decide presentarse por sorpresa en la boda de su hermana Pauline (Jennife Jason Leigh), una chica sin pretensiones y libre de espíritu, a la que no ha visto en bastante tiempo. Margot, acompañada por su hijo Claude (Zane Pais), un chico muy maduro para su edad, llega con la fuerza de un huracán. En el momento en que conoce a Malcolm (Jack Black), el futuro marido de su hermana, empieza a sembrar dudas acerca de la unión. La boda se acerca y las complicaciones se suceden: vecinos vengativos, un árbol muy querido en la parte trasera de la casa y los problemas matrimoniales de Margot. Las dos hermanas se encuentran de pronto al borde del precipicio, pero no tardarán en darse cuenta de que incluso cuando la familia está a punto de autodestruirse, si se busca consuelo, no hay nada como la familia.

Filmtipset har fått mig att inse att när jag väl hittar filmer som jag gillar på grund av deras neurotiska eller psykadeliska teman, så är det en bra idé att sluka allt som står att finna av personen som ligger bakom. Och eftersom jag älskade "The squid..." tog jag och tittade på "Margot at the wedding" häromdagen. Precis som den tidigare filmen byggs en neurotisk känsla upp kring handlingen och karaktärerna, som även här består av en grupp intellektuella med kvasimisslyckade liv och förhållanden. Karaktärerna här försörjer sig, precis som i "The squid...", som författare eller universitetslärare. Nicole Kidman spelar en elak och egocentrerad mor och syster. Hon går med en konstant kyla genom hela filmen, och det är så att man ryggar tillbaka då hon säger till sonen (som är i de yngre tonåren) att han brukade vara så vacker och graciös, men att han nu blivit stel och kantig, eller då hennes konstanta trackande av systerns blivande make aldrig slutar. Det blir knappast bättre av att hon går omkring och ställer psyko-diagnoser på alla omkring henne.

Stämningen är genom hela filmen dämpad och tyst - när Donovans "Teen Angel" drar igång på slutet slår det mig helt plötsligt hur fruktansvärt tyst filmen varit i bakgrunden, men denna tanke till trots dyker det bland eftertexterna upp en lista på låtar som finns med på soundtracket...

Trots filmens många gemensamma drag med Baumbachs tidigare kändes den inte ända framme, och jag måste erkänna att jag blev besviken. SJälv hade jag lite svårt att sätta fingret på vad som var fel, så jag hänvisar till de recensioner jag hittat i Sydsvenskan och DN. Sydsvenskans Jan Aghed skriver att åtskilligt verkar "gällt och forcerat" i filmen, medan Helena Lindblad i DN menar att "den nya filmen inte [är] riktigt lika kondenserat välformulerad som föregångaren". Jag vill långt ifrån avråda från att se filmen, men det de båda recensenterna skrivit sammanfattar tyvärr filmens kvalitet i jämförelse med föregångaren ganska så bra.

2. Ce s-a mai fost vizionat:

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - o fi Peckinpah the illest meanest gun lovin badass, cu personaje  trigger-happy şi un mesaj belicos, camuflat la oha în predici anti-violenţă ,  dar ma aflu un om al timpurilor  pe fugă  si  vreau să vad mai mult dinamism intr-o poveste cu vinatori de recompense,  gun trotting badasses, mexicani mustăcioşi şi fete neprihănite. Nu e rău deloc, dar mi se pare datat şi prea molcom for its own sake. Ca atare prefer, în continuare, Straw Dogs.

True North - He splices the ropes and he sets the sail/ While southwards he roams to the home of the whale. Niste scotieni umblau pe mare intr-o barca. O, tu, casa a pestelui, cum ii pui tu la incercari pe bravii mateloti. Apoi marinarii decid sa se incarce cu un container cu chinezi, pe care sa ii treaca fraudulos granita. Pe final,  o mare vorba spusa la necaz de Peter Mullan, in timp ce viziona un porno cu asiatice: filmele astea, in care joaca actori cu pula mare, sint filmate de unii cu pula mica, ca sa se uite la ele unii cu pula mijlocie.

His Big White Self - sint fanul lui Broomfield, inteleg ca documentaristii sint, intr-un fel, un soi de beat reporters, da-i cu acelasi subiect pina il umpli de singe, dar aici si apartheidul, si dictatorul in dizgratie Eugene Terre Blanche (ca-n El otono del patriarca, asea) si toata insistenta lui Broomfield mi s-au parut cam lipsite de miez si miza. E un sequel la The Leader, His Driver... din care, cel mai misto lucru, e doar titlul.

Myrin - Islanda, pelicula Fuji face ravagii in albastru, atmosfera aia periculoasa de tinut unde bate soarele de prea putine ori pe an, dar o poveste asa de incilcita si impiedicata, cu un surprinzator si dezamagitor touch de one-hour drama sedusa si abandonata de policier,  incit joaca la nivel de Liga I.

Te Doy Mis Ojos - daca intelegi asta, pe muzica lor poti sa-ti bati nevasta. Imedebe SRL zice ca: Male Full Frontal Nudity | Art Museum | Church | Wife Beater | Female Nudity. E suparat filmul, nu atit de suparat ca Nil By Mouth, iar violenta e mai degraba de ordin psihic decit fizic. In cea mai intensa secventa a filmului, sotia se scapa pe ea.

Hallam Foe - direct de la autorul lui Young Adam, voyeurism, sex, copii fugiti de-acasa si, perfect justificabil, un balet fotografic spectaculos cu long lenses (asta ca sa rimeze cu scoptophilia si umblatul pe acoperisuri).

Margot at the Wedding - portret de familie disfunctionala. Autor, Baumbach, care a percutat eficient cu The Squid and the Whale, se imblinzeste putin, spre nenorocul filmului. Si Nicole Kidman stie meciul, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black, etc, dar supararile si intimplarile lor sint mici in marea schema a lucrurilor, fara sa capete dimensiunile fantastice ale studiului Luptei Calamarului cu Balena...

London to Brighton - wicked!

]]> http://speilet.wordpress.com/?p=415 Thu, 08 May 2008 21:20:25 +0000 trondjo http://speilet.wordpress.com/?p=415 Vurdering:

USA 2007 | Spilletid: 93 min | Regi: Noah Baumbach | IMDb

Jeg falt pladask for det tragikomiske familiedramaet The Squid and the Whale fra 2005, en av mine favorittfilmer fra det året. Nå er regissør, Noah Baumbach, endelig tilbake med den svært etterlengtede Margot at the Wedding. Jeg føler jeg har ventet en halv evighet på denne filmen…

I et hus landlig isolert på den amerikanske vestkysten, utspilles et familiedrama med to søstre i hovedrollen. Det er den kynisk kalkulerende, intellektuelle og vakre Margot (Nicole Kidman) som har tatt med seg sin unge sønn på besøk i anledning søsterens nær forestående bryllup. Søsteren, Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh), er Margots motsetning i en noe mer jordnær, fritenkende sjel. I huset samles også andre nære og fjerne slektninger; alle med sine historier, de går hverandre på nervene, hemmeligheter avdekkes, frustrasjoner kommer til overflaten. Det er mange historier i historien. Men kort sagt blir vi kjent med en familie så dysfunksjonell at eget familietreff ikke lenger virker så fryktinngytende.

Det er kanskje også noe av filmens problem: menneskene her er så kalde og usympatiske at det ikke umiddelbart er gitt at publikum orker å bry seg. Men her kommer skuespillerne sine karakterer til unnsetning, og da særlig Nicole Kidman og Jennifer Jason Leigh som begge spiller subtilt på sine skarpe personlighetstrekk. Alt tones ned i en mer ulmende enn overtydelig fremstilling. Selv om karakterene sett utenfra muligens fremstår som selvsentrerte og elitistiske kunstnersjeler som vekselvis utstråler fordømmende og belærende intellektualisme, og skaper et manipulerende og kynisk vesen av seg selv – ute av stand eller med uvilje til å reflektere over noe så simpelt som de nære verdiene rundt seg – klarer likevel Nicole Kidman å gjøre karakteren til et fascinerende objekt.

Men dette er tross alt et relasjonsdrama, og det er forholdet mellom søsknene, samt Margots forhold til sin sønn, som er filmens ramme. Da vil jeg også trekke frem unge Zane Pais som gjør en imponerende følsom og presis tolkning som den observerende sønnen, Claude. Han er ganske enkelt et funn. Videre er Jack Black modig castet i rollen som den rastløse, arbeidsledige abstraktmaleren som skal giftes inn i familien, uten at Margot mener han er søsteren verdig. Jack Black sliter tidvis med å finne presisjonen i de alvorstyngede uttrykkene, men han klarer seg likevel overraskende greit.

Filmen er flere steder blitt omtalt som komedie, noe som nok har bidratt til at den har nådd frem til «feil» publikum. For all del, jeg dro flere ganger på smilebåndet. Men humoren vil for et bredt publikum være gjemt bort i underlige personlighetstrekk og originale manusfinurligheter. Filmen er også hakket mørkere og mer ukomfortabel enn The Squid and the Whale. Med en klarere distanse til komedien.

Skal man trekke paralleller til andre filmer, er det nærliggende å tenke på de melankolske familiedramaene i regi av Ingmar Bergman, Eric Rohmer og Woody Allen. Selv så jeg ved en tilfeldighet Woody Allens fremragende Interiors tett på Margot at the Wedding, og likhetene i stemning og tematikk er slående.

Baumbach har forankret filmen i et presist manus og sterke rolletolkninger. Innholdet er uspiselig, men resultatet dypt fascinerende. Sannsynligvis er dette en av årets mest undervurderte amerikanske filmproduksjoner, uten at den i min bok får mesterverkstatusen jeg er tilbøyelig til å gi The Squid and the Whale.

Margot, écrivain à succès installée à New York, rend visite, en compagnie de son fils Claude, à sa soeur Pauline, qui vit dans la maison où toutes deux ont grandi. Pauline est sur le point d'épouser Malcolm, un artiste sans emploi, mais ce choix déplait profondément à Pauline.

Il semble que le film s'appelle Margot va au mariage chez nous. Il a donc un titre français. Mais aucune date de planifié. Un peu logique, vu que nous sommes en plein cinéma indépendant. Et pas des plus accessibles. Sincèrement, je n'ai pas du tout aimé. Je suis pourtant habitué aux films centrés sur les familles dysfonctionnelles. Seulement, les travers ont leurs limites. S'il n'y avait que Margot qui souffrait de problèmes psychologiques, je pense que le film aurait été bien meilleur. Malheureusement, ils sont tous un peu dégénéré dans le lot. Nicole Kidman et Jack Black font tous deux du bon boulot, et on note aussi la présence de Ciaran Hinds, qu'on aime toujours voir à l'écran, que ce soit dans un bon ou un mauvais film. Pas que le reste du cast ne soit pas bon, mais tous les trois sont au dessus du lot. Il faut bien cela pour faire passer la pilule, car malgré sa courte durée, 93 minutes, je me suis vite ennuyé. Aucune énergie ne s'y dégage, et j'ai plus souffert au visionnage, désespérant de voir le bout.

Le film est pas mal comparé avec The Squid and the Whale (désolé, j'ai oublié le titre VF), car même scénariste. Ce dernier a d'ailleurs écrit Steve Zissou. Celui là je l'ai vu. Cela explique un peu le style du gars (Noah Baumbach), qui est aussi le réalisateur. Ce n'est pas qu'il n'y avait pas d'idée ou du potentiel, c'est que c'est plat, et qu'il veut trop en faire. Il plombe alors lui-même son scénario.

Je conseille alors bien aimablement de passer son chemin. Après moi ce que j'en dis... Vous faites ce que vous voulez.

• Drink their own bathwater
• Suck the paste off their toothbrushes
• Watch the Teletubbies

Another thing J does, or I guess doesn't do, is sleep late.  No matter how late he stays up at night, he will always rise with the sun.  Even when he's sick, and I'm begging him to get some rest, he will ask me defiantly, "Mom, how am I supposed to sleep?  The sun is up."  He just can't understand when I tell him that sleeping when the sun is up is one of the greatest indulgences life can offer. There are days, quite a few of them actually, when I feel like I would give almost anything to be able to sleep when the sun is up.

Manfrengensen and I are going to a costume party tonight.  The hosts sent out invitations with random letters of the alphabet, and we have to dress as something that begins with the letter "F."  We are going as F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.  I told this to my babysitter who said, "Nice. Wow, you really are a literary nerd."

Another Movie Review

Last night Manfrengensen and I watched Margot at the Wedding, which was rather disappointing.  It was basically the story of this woman, Margot (Nicole Kidman) who changed her mind often, and as a result she has these dysfunctional relationships with everyone around her.  Her character had no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and I really found myself hating her. She came off as downright psychotic. I felt sorry for her family, especially her son, and at the end of the movie, I found myself wondering what the point of the whole exercise was.  It was no Squid and the Whale, and overall, I felt, a waste of my time.  Should have watched Thursday's Lost again.

Back to My Life As Mom

Today Manfrengensen brought J and T3 up to his parents' house for a visit.  Ee and I went out to run some errands, and then we went to lunch at a little diner near our house.  She is so much fun!  You know, I've waited 30 years to renew this mother-daughter bond, and she is bringing it to me in the most special way.  We sit; we eat; she talks about the things that catch her eye; she leans over and kisses me in the booth or whispers her secrets into my ear.  Then we went to the park, where she called, "Watch me Mommy" over and over as she made her loop up the stairs and down the slide. Up the stairs and down the slide. It's just the most amazing thing.

Okay, I have to confess, I'm getting a little bummed about not working.  I used to tell my family everytime I applied for a job.  Last year, I applied for a volunteer position as a spider collection assistant at the Burke Museum at the University of Washington in Seattle.  You know, the old cover letter and curriculum vitae to nowhere.  I never heard back.  Did they find someone else who wanted to sit in the basement and catalog spiders?

The sad thing, is that my kid, Axel, reminded me the other day that I was unable to even get a volunteer job as a spider collection assistant.  Yeah, rub it in kid.  Just remember who gets you to volleyball three or four times a week and makes sure you have clean clothes.

I did actually try volunteering a couple of other places.  I have a background in health sciences (graduate degree, post-grad work), so I looked at the list that the UW had for research opportunities for undergraduates and sent out a feeler (a little spidey feeler) to a researcher.  No luck with that either.

Is it any wonder my movie queue is up to 355 movies? 

Margot at the Wedding
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Naissance des Pieuvres/Water Lilies
Paranoid Park
The Band's Visit
Mio Fratello e Figlio Unico/My Brother is an Only Child

Margot At The Wedding

It's rare enough to find strong, complex, intriguing, thoroughly flawed characters. It's even rarer for them to be female. And yet here, that's what we have: Nicole Kidman is absolutely brilliant as the passive-aggressive Margot, who's both repulsive and alluring, scary and oddly familiar. And while she is undoubtedly the center of the movie, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black and beginner Zane Pais are just as precisely drawn and sharply observed as Margot's sister, her brother-in-law-to-be, and her son, who you can tell she's already irrevocably screwed up, despite the fact that she does love him.

One moment I love is with Margot's husband - John Turturro, for once playing the most normal person in sight). He does something nice - something wholly insignificant, but totally altruistic. And Margot gets furious. She can't stand it, because somehow her husband doing something good highlights how not good she is. And the scene in the bookstore, where she's asked about her inspiration, and misinterprets the question in a telling way... well, whether Noah Baumbach uses his family as inspiration of not, that's good writing.

The film's too raw to be called perfect, and the business with the neighbors isn't quite necessary, but I wish there were more films like this: sharp, funny, and with at the center a woman who's not only strong but fully-fleshed out, uncompromising, and uncompromised. IT takes balls to be such a bitch on screen, someone who's not just unlikeable but unlikeable in a non-stereotypical, almost too-close-for-comfort way.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Praise has been heaped on Lumet's latest, but I don't quite get it. I agree, the performances are stellar and some individual scenes are incredibly strong. But what's with all the jumping back and forth in time, and why the jarring way of doing it? I know, playing with continuity is all the craze....or wait, what's that? It's not the nineties anymore? Nope, it isn't, and while I have nothing against playing with timelines in general, I do have something again pointless jumping back and forth in time.

And pointless it is. No new information is given that we couldn't have guessed, the "perspective shifts" have no use since the storytelling remains wholly objective, and it makes the story drag. Lumet wanted to make a Greek tragedy, it seems, but this has none of the grace of gravitas of a Greek tragedy, and the conclusion is based more on (mis)fortune than on a decisive character flaw.

I feel like I might be too hard on this film. After all, some scenes (like Marisa Tomei's departure and what follows) are really good. But with all the acclaim the film's been given, I feel like a dissenting voice is called for.

Naissance des Pieuvres/Water Lilies

One of my absolute favorites from the film festival in Rotterdam, this moody, beautiful film is one of the best depictions of adolescence ever put on screen. And like Margot, this one's exceptional also for the gender it chooses to imagine. I don't think any other film evokes so strongly the feeling of being a 15-yo girl. It made me remember all too clearly...and I was relieved when I realized I've now truly left that stage of my life behind.

Marie, Anne, Floriane: the three main characters are stereotypes, at least in their broad outline. The still childish girl, the chubby girl, the pretty one: we've seen them before. These stereotypes make the story accessible, and make this at least look like a general story. Luckily, the details are also sufficiently filled in to make sure these are also real girls, full of insecurities and shattered hopes. They're not innocent - children never are - but they do lose, in the course of the film, a certain sort of innocence.

The French title means "birth of the squids". The legs of the synchronized swimmers, seen in gorgeous underwater shots, do look like the tentacles of a squid. Most of all though, the synchronized swimming serves as a potent metaphor for, to paraphrase director Céline Sciamma, the plight of being a girl/woman: all smiles on the surface, and a frantic struggle below.

Paranoid Park

Yet another languorous meditation on, well, stuff, from Gus van Sant, and a nice pairing with Water Lilies as this is again a film from a teenage perspective in which adults are almost absent. The faces of the parents in Paranoid Park stay out of focus, and the only one we see clearly, detective Lu, is clearly an outsider trying - but failing - to breach the teenage world.

This van Sant film unfortunately lacks the clarity of the so-called death trilogy (Elephant, Gerry, Last Days) and is sometimes a bit too reminiscent of his older work (it takes place in Portland, there are long tracking shots through school corridors, there's music by Elliott Smith etc.). However, it does have an amazing soundscape, with everything from Nino Rota music to country to electronic bleeps. Also, Gabe Nevins, a non-professional recruited on MySpace, is entirely devoid of the self-consciousness you usually see in teen actors, and his narration is pitch-perfect.

I whined about the time shifting in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead - well, here the device is used correctly, i.e., with a purpose. This purpose is not to withhold information, as we figure out pretty soon more or less what happened. But as the whole story is told from the perspective of main character Alex, it makes sense that he circles around the crucial event, that he focuses extensively on the periods just before and just after the moment that he'd rather not think about too much.

The Band's Visit

Not many films start by a statement of their own insignificance. "Once-not long ago-a small Egyptian police band arrived in Israel. Not many remember this...It wasn't that important." And it's the truth: this is not a grand, important story, there isn't even much story there. But these people are a delight to spend some time with, and it's one of those films that thrives on beautiful little character moments. That it doesn't address the conflict in the Middle-East is, to me, not a cop-out but a reminder that behind all the hatred that we keep hearing about on the news, these really are just people.

And let's not forget: it's funny. Very funny, even, though not necessarily in a laugh-out-loud way. There's much visual humor: director Kolirin loves placing the men, in their baby blue uniforms, in frames, and the contrast between their formality and the desolation of their surroundings is funny in itself. But there are also great moments of character humor, for instance in how Haled's standard way of seducing girls is to start singing my funny Valentine.

At the heart of the movie, there's a great atypical romance. Ronit Elkabetz is beautiful as diner-owner Dina, and Sasson Gabai makes it entirely believable that he's the one she would choose to pursue over the pretty (and easy) Haled. In the lines of his face you can read the whole story of his life, and it's fascinating.

Mio Fratello È Figlio Unico/ My Brother is an Only Child

Like La Meglio Gioventú/The Best of Youth, by the same screenwriters, this film follows a family to show a part of Italy's turbulent history. Accio joins the fascists after he leaves the seminary (it's not strict enough for him); his brother Manrico, looser and more charismatic, is a communist. Throw in a girl they both fall in love with, and you have yourself a story.

It's all very entertaining and very nicely done, and I have to admit I initially was very enthusiastic about this movie. Three months later, however, very little lingers, and I don't quite feel like I now know more about Italy than I did before. The movie doesn't quite dig deep enough - that said, it does feature some very sympathetic actors, some great scenes, and it's certainly not a bad way to spend a couple of hours - but maybe watching it at home, and not in the cinema.

Some other films I've already written about:

Strongly recommended: No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood, I'm Not There and (if you happen to live in Stadskanaal) The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Recommended: The Darjeeling Limited, Atonement, Juno, Lars and the Real Girl, Das Leben der Anderen, You, the Living

Interesting but unsatisfying: Lady Chatterley, Persepolis, Sweeney Todd

Not Recommended: Jumper

Another view into a dysfunctional family from director Noah Baumbach. In my memory The Squid and the Whale was a better movie than this one. I like these movies which have this kind of uncomfortable feeling, but here there doesn't seem to be much more. No real plot, one (anticipated) dramatic event [spoiler]: the wedding is off. Almost all characters are flawed or unsympathetic in some way, but funny enough I didn't hate them, they just annoyed me every now and then. Maybe that's what is good about this movie; it mirrors one's own experiences in dealing with family at weddings. Didn't get those neighbours, what was the purpose of them in this story?

My wife and I saw the trailer "Margot at the Wedding" on some DVD a couple of weeks ago and agreed that it looked like a very funny movie. Jack Black was hilarious in the trailer and Jennifer Jason Leigh was in it so how could you go wrong right?

First of all, be warned. The fine Nicole Kidman usually served here has been replaced with a woman who looks like Nicole Kidman if Nicole Kidman had WAY TOO MUCH botox. She appears to be a ferret.

Second of all, Jack Black is NOT funny in it. He is VERY SAD. The trailer for this film is cut to be a laugh riot but the very same scenes in the context of the actual film are not funny at all - some are actually disturbing.

The trailer editor in Hollywood is the most powerful dude around.

Wortha Redbox rental if only to see the difference between the trailer and the actual movie.