The Hours: Response Post

The Hours is a revisionist melodrama surrounding the lives of three female protagonists and the influence of the novel Mrs. Dalloway along with suicide. The film begins with a scene of a woman beginning to drown herself in a river immediately setting up the tone of the story as being female suffering. There are three main female characters each living in different time periods and all suffering in different ways with various links to the novel by Virginia Woolf, one of the protagonists. This film uses a solid portion of the criteria involved with classical Hollywood Melodrama such as the focus being on the suffering of women while also focusing on the mundane aspects of life. However it is revisionist in the sense of controversy over whether it empowers women through strong feminism or dissipates that sense of power through the use of female suicide in The Hours.

The Hours is an anti-feminist film. This film does involve aspects of female empowerment and women seeking to abandon the social norms that bind them into mundane depressing situations but ultimately, through female suicide, the film smothers these thoughts with such a dark outcome. There is a persistent feel of “melancholy” through the entire progression of the film and is finalized with the depressive suicide. The film focuses on the suffering and although the suicide can be interpreted as a protest it truly reflects the fact that in the male run environment of the movie there is no outlet or escape for women in that life.

Inception: Response Post

Inception is a revisionist film noir directed by Christopher Nolan that truly reevaluates the genre. With the advancement in technology Nolan uses special effects and a monumental budget to full advantage as he adds many more explosions and dramatic settings then the classic film noir from the 50s might have used. The story centers around Cobb as he leads a team through the many layers of a business man’s dreams as they try to plant an idea in the depths of his mind. He recruits a young woman named Ariadne to create the maze/design of the dream in order to protect their mission from Cobb’s projection of his previous wife Mol, who is intent on stopping them at all costs. The accomplish their mission and the ending is left ambiguously open ended leaving the viewer to decide whether Cobb was awake or still within a dream. The film involves a lot of action and dramatic scores to heighten the intensity along with some revisionist versions of past genre conventions such as the femme fatale, being mol.

Christopher Nolan’s use of action and violence in the film acted to evolve and revive the film noir genre rather then replace it. Audiences today are used to excellent visuals and dramatic action sequences and special effects so for a director to resort to the classic black and white along with sparse action scenes would be very difficult to bring in proper amounts at the box office (Although the Coen Brothers in recent years with The Man Who Wasn’t There were able to do alright). So what Nolan did was incorporate the genre conventions of constricted, sometimes claustrophobic settings, distorted psychological influence, and the femme fatale in a balanced mix of excellent plot and crowd pleasing action to attract both the popcorn audiences while appealing to the critics. The use of these action scenes and fast paced plot are adjusted from the classic film noir in order to connect with today’s audiences with a particularly shorter attention span and habituation to violence, which is intended to attract viewers to the style of the genre rather then solely the action.

I’m Not There: Response Post

I’m Not There is a revisionist biopic that implements an innovative narrative to display the multiple personas of Bob Dylan. The six personas portrayed are Bob Dylan the poet, the prophet, the outlaw, the fake, the star of electricity, and the voice of a generation, all of which are played by different actors. The flow of events is not so much chronological but pieces together key points in Dylan’s life and how it defined his particular persona he embodied then. persona’s story is told through a different style of documentary which almost seems to mock every other Dylan documentary by turning itself into a powerhouse of technical work.  An example can be when the persona Jude, the voice of a generation, which is shown in black and white format and one scene involved him performing electric guitar and gets booed off stage by the folk audience who see this as a betrayal. Overall, the film paints a patchwork portrait of Dylan, unlike the norms of the biopic displaying a plot showing the subject’s life, this film displays his life through personas and disjointed events that were critical to him.

This film was innovative in terms of biopic storytelling because it had, not so much a plot, but a linking of personas to form one person, which in turn resulted in its poor acceptance by general audiences. Specifically, the film was almost too detailed and too creative to be attractive to the normal movie goer or even an avid one at that. The true enjoyment is experienced by the Bob Dylan fans who are aware of events in his life and the varying changes he went over his decades of performing. To understand the depth of some parts one may need to do a little research into Bob Dylan or view other documentaries on him to appreciate both the content and the technical work Todd Haynes implements through using multiple styles. So although it may have painted a beautiful picture of Bob Dylan and captured his personas very well, that may in fact be the films downfall.

“I’m Not There: The Future of the Musical Biopic”
Penny Spirou
Metro
June 1, 2010

I’m Not There Class Exercise

Dave Chappelle

Although most prominently known for his comedic personality in stand up comedy, various film acting, and creator of arguably the greatest sketch show of all time, Dave Chappelle is no doubt a superstar. However, he is often typecast as the funny man not just in the industry but in real life as well, when he truly is much more.

Dave Chappelle the activist. Always paying attention to racial and social barriers growing up Dave channelled his frustrations with society into speaking out in front of audiences vying for change and awareness. Laughs were not present after every statement he made, as opposed to his comedic persona, but silent pondering instead replaced it. Dave’s comments and perspectives on racism in America opened both the eyes of his peers and also of others, mirroring that of his comedy but on a serious note.

Fueled by a connection with the people without the offer of payment, activism leads to fame and national attention. Dave in actual life panicked at the offer of a 50 million dollar deal for fear it would change him and how he was perceived by the public. Through activism he is able to bypass money and go straight to doing what he loves, speaking his mind to avid listeners.

Intolerable Cruelty: Response Post

Intolerable Cruelty is a screwball comedy revolving around the interactions between Miles, a divorce lawyer, and Marilyn, a gold digger. The chemistry begins when Miles takes over the case of Marilyn’s soon to be ex-husband as he miraculously defends him and protects his money that she was after. Partially motivated by his boredom and Marilyn’s beauty, Miles pursues her. The film makes a fake but also very real portrayal of marriage showing each parties specific desires and revealing the cutthroat attitudes that are pervasive in turbulent partnerships. Today, nearly half of marriages end in divorce so all of the ridiculous events surrounding the characters are not entirely farfetched but more real events with a witty and false spin. Eventually Miles and Marilyn go back and forth, getting married then each wanting a divorce for the other’s money but in the end they reconcile and get married with no pre-nuptial agreement.

This film portrays men as after only beautiful women and women after men with money, and then the mess that follows these desires. Marilyn is gorgeous and this immediately attracts Miles attention and leads him down a wild path of pursuing her. Miles is rich and has a very successful job which prompts Marilyn to use her looks to sway him into a romance so she can trick him into a marriage and then take his money. She attempts this but eventually through complications the two go back and forth with pre-nups and divorce papers, culminating in the two eventually tearing it all up to stay together in true love. This outcome still shows that each was after the other’s assets, but decided to stay together in the end.

Across the Universe: Response Post

Across the Universe is a revisionist musical that celebrates the 1960s counterculture ultimately driven by the music of The Beatles. The story follows Jude, a young man from Liverpool who is traveling to America to find his father. After visiting the college his father works at, Jude befriends Max and the two move off to New York where they are swept up in the rush of the counterculture. Max is enlisted into the military and sent to fight in Vietnam while his sister Lucy moves and Jude falls in love with her. The film’s story is left up to the meanings of the many songs of the Beatles that play almost the entire film and convey the love and strife between the characters and society.

Across the Universe seeks to romanticize the American 1960s counterculture but is ultimately a celebration of The Beatles’ music and artistic interpretation of the time period. Firstly, the film’s soundtrack is composed of over thirty classic Beatles songs that are tweaked in meaning and compose the majority of the storytelling. Jesse Hassenger makes the claim, “Taymor and her collaborators can’t contain their enthusiasm for referring to as many songs, characters, real-life incidents, and other elements involved in the storied history of the Beatles.” The main character Jude is meant to be a mix of the creativity of McCartney with the political activism of Lennon, the most clear example being when he enters the extremist activism group where Lucy worked to the tune of Revolution. The film both follows and truly supports the decisions Jude makes as he goes with and against certain pieces of the counterculture and in essence promotes the ideals and statements the Beatles made as they both changed and defined a generation.

“Across the Universe” (Review)
Jesse Hassenger
Filmcritic
October 11 2007

Dead Man: Response Post

Dead Man is a Revisionist Western that follows the character progression of William Blake. He first enters the west as a civilized and almost naive easterner from Ohio, but after being accused of murdering a prostitute, and actually murdering a man attempting to kill him, he flees and is guided by a Native American called Nobody, who temporarily saved his life after Blake was shot in the chest. Three bounty hunters pursue him as he tracks his way across the terrain that was unforgiving and matched by an equally hostile town called Machine, which is much different from a classical Western where it showed a vast and beautiful landscape matched with civilization as an oasis. Blake is forced to kill in order to defend himself and eventually “goes native” and becomes a full embodiment of how the west changes a person. In the end, he dies from the bullet wound and sees his guide killed at the hands of one of the bounty hunters.

Dead Man very darkly romanticizes the people and culture of the Native Americans. It is extremely subtle but Jarmusch divides the American civilization with the Native Americans by, “criticizing the idea of manifest destiny and the taming of the savage wilderness by white settlers.” (Moliterno). This critique is shown through the opening sequence when Blake first walks through the town and sees all of the violent and outright grimy imagery creating an environment that was very negative and unlikable. The film by no means shows a purity of Native society or an outright victimized people, but rather displays the general lack of hostility that Nobody, the character, seems to embody, as evidence by him saving Blake’s life. As a revisionist Western it certainly contrasted the classic Western by befriending the so called “savages” instead of having tribes be the repeated antagonists.

Gino Moliterno. “Dead Man.” Senses of Cinema.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Response Post

Invasion of the Body Snatchers is an absolute classic science fiction film emerging during the heyday of sic-fi flicks in the 1950s. The story centers around Doctor Miles Bennell as he returns to his town and discovers that people are beginning to act very strange and emotionless. As the story progresses Miles uncovers the plot of an invasion by the process of replacing humans in their sleep. Although the creators of the film denied it having any social or political commentary, the film does reflect a very subconscious level of criticism towards Communism and Cold War paranoia. The idea of people becoming emotionless and conforming to society is reflective of those living in the USSR and the idea to not fall asleep can refer to citizens keeping attention on our government and not lapse into security. In the end Miles escapes and warns the rest of the population but his love attraction Becky “falls asleep” and is snatched.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers is the quintessential science fiction film and a template for any future picture in that genre. Don Siegel did not create the first sic-fi film, or even the greatest for that matter, but what he did is make a brilliant picture that fit almost perfectly into the genre and displayed how to decipher a science fiction film from a horror, which happens fairly often because they both employ certain conventions and merge together. Here Siegel exemplified the conventions of sic-fi, such as dealing with non human antagonists and the setting taking place in our own alienating world. It was obviously an invasion film, as opposed to a creature film, so it was “more visually paranoid and negative in both its style and narratives”, as described by Vivian Sobchack. This was evident by the employment of uncomfortable camera angles and off-kilter lighting that gave a consistent sense of unease and eeriness that never leaned into horror. What Siegel does to differentiate this from a horror film is make use of not upfront fear but more craftily through paranoia and unease so that the viewer is uncomfortable and engaged rather then hiding behind their seat.

Vivian Sobchack. “Science Fiction.” The Handbook of American Film Genres. Ed. Wes. D. Gehring. New York: Greenwood Press, 1988.

All That Heaven Allows: Response Post

All That Heaven Allows is a melodrama in every sense of the genre. It centers around a widow named Cary who falls in love with her gardner Ron, who is much younger and considered a class below her. The majority of the film is spent displaying the connection between the two as it is strengthened and broken but eventually the two end up together, even if Cary is playing the role of caregiver. Through their romance, the film displays the prejudices of society at that time, as Cary’s high class country club friends “attack” her for such a choice in a partner. Also, there are very subtle jabs at the upper class, one specific comparison is the differences in atmosphere at the parties Cary and Ron attend; the supposed “lesser” class having much more fun while the “higher” class was hostile and sinister. From the start it is displayed that Cary and Ron are meant to end up together and after many back and forth instances, such as Cary’s children displaying their adamant disapproval, the relationship is pushed in just about every direction it can until it culminates in Ron falling and getting injured, at which Cary rushes to his bed side where they are “together”.

The title All That Heaven Allows refers to the belief that the ideals and standards society holds are what those within must meet in order for them to be happy. The idea of heaven is a perfect place that all who believe in it wish to go, so they try to meet the “requirements” that heaven provides. Steven Lipkin states that the genre of melodrama deals with the “opposition between external, social constraints, and the internal experience of characters.” Clearly, Cary wishes to meet the expectations of her children, friends and neighbors, as if once she was married she gave up her identity to her husband, and now that he is dead she is left without support, being pushed by whatever is strongest at that point. So the expectations of everyone around her are the template for “heaven” as she attempts to meet them, but it does not permit a relationship with such a younger and lesser class man. Ultimately, “heaven” is a distorted illusion of what a happy life should be but in reality is simply an imprisonment that only restricts those within it.

“Melodrama”
Handbook of American Film Genres
Steven N. Lipkin

The Killers: Response Post

The Killers is a prime example of the classic film noir style, as it combines dark lighting with complex storytelling and ultimately dark characters with criminal motives, the very beginning of the film epitomizes the sense and feel perfectly, as two hit men enter a diner intending to kill a man known as “the swede”. Here blunt, masculine conversation is seen and after finding the location of his home the two “killers” find and murder “swede”. Basing the opening of the film off of an Ernest Hemingway short story is made clear by a similar tone through out the film, with a sense of macho actions and misogyny, characterizing the noir style as dominated by the male presence. Each character shows signs of crisis of masculinity, such as when swede punches Big Jim in the face just over a card game revealing major insecurities in their psyche. The story is told in similar fashion to Citizen Kane as flashbacks are used to reveal the storyline and ultimately why swede was killed. Detective Riordan goes to various persons involved with Swede discovering he was an amateur boxer and then involved in a group of criminals. In short, the group robbed $250,000 and the “femme fatale” of the story took advantage of it, leading to each male member being killed, and her being discovered.

Although The Killers centers around crime and murder, the underlying concept of the film was a crisis of masculinity and a misogynistic stance towards women. The entire storyline regards the murder of “swede” and eventually the stolen $250,000, but underneath this initial layer of macho crime is an overbearing presence of insecurity. Colin McArthur describes the presence of misogyny in noir as a result of, “heightened desirability and concomitant suspicion of women back home experienced by men at war.” Paul Schrader describes this post war disillusionment where, “a serviceman returns from the war to find his sweetheart unfaithful or dead.” Both these senses are connected and seen in The Killers by the fact that Swede’s wives both eventually remarried and this made him a more violent individual, also turning Kitty Collins into an antagonist of the film. The misogyny was not only directed at the unfaithfulness of women during the war years but more importantly, the resultant actions and damaged egos of the men who experienced it. So even though masculinity and misogyny were prevalent in the film they didn’t necessarily drive it, but more reflected the atmosphere of the time period.

“Notes on Film Noir”
Film Genre Reader II
Paul Schrader