20/20 Filmsight - Film Criticism by David O'Connell

Film Criticism by David O'Connell

I'm a Sydney-based film reviewer that loves to review local screenings and film festivals. Want me to cover your event? Email me at cibbuano ~AT~ orble ~DOT~ com.

After Earth

June 12th 2013 05:33

For M. Night Shyamalan, the once vaunted auteur famed for the twist in his tales, the descent into mediocrity has been a speedy, somewhat ignominious one. After the execrable The Happening (2008) and juvenile follow-up The Last Airbender (2010), the director has been consigned to lowly hired gun, handpicked by Will Smith for an empty vanity project that seeks to introduce the world to a more grown-up version of his son. Given lead duties, Jaden gets to battle CGI monsters and trek across eternal fields of green screen. With his latest Shyamalan has perhaps reached a personal nadir.

Will Smith’s original story, in whatever paltry form it existed, has been handed over to Shyamalan and Gary Whitta to expound upon. And yet neither can produce an even half-hearted attempt at something original or even modestly challenging for an adult audience. This is all you need to know: a fearless, heroic officer, Cypher (Smith) and his wannabe ranger son Kitai (Jaden Smith) are naturally the only two survivors of a crash landing. Disabled by injuries, Cypher must rely on his offspring to do the legwork to save them both. Guess what happens over the course of 100 humdrum minutes? The father/son bond is explored in the most predictable, simplistic manner through dialogue that resounds with the numbing weight of cliché.

After Earth (2013) is most certainly dead on arrival, though some facets of the film are so tellingly infected with the recurring shortcomings of Shyamalan’s previous films that nobody should be too surprised. Though his visuals are often provocative and creatively conceived, clunky dialogue and non-naturalistic performances are a hallmark of Shyamalan’s films. I don’t think it’d be much of a stretch to declare him one of the worst directors of actors in recent mainstream film history. Here, the tradition continues, with Smith snr. relegated to a limp, zombified overseer as his son heads across the expanses of a very different Earth to find a means of signalling their presence back to their homeland. Smith jnr. fares no better, proving that beyond the attractive cuteness of his earlier roles is a decidedly wooden performer severely lacking in charisma and screen presence.

Devoid of spark, inspiration or originality, After Earth can at least be remembered as one of the dullest, most lifeless science fiction films of all time. The one saving grace, as has often been the case with this director’s output, is the score by James Newton Howard. But even he too, without the limitless range afforded by the creative control of previous Shyamalan films, seems to have been slightly hamstrung. Though punctuated by brief moments of musical brilliance, too much fits neatly and anonymously into the general template of the film’s woefully underwritten, underdeveloped narrative.

Vote

Comments (1)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: David O'Connell - Category: United States

Email this Post to a Friend

Like Someone in Love

June 7th 2013 05:53

As he proved with his first excursion beyond his homeland in 2009’s Certified Copy, Abbas Kiarostami is a master preserving the art of compelling dialogue to carry a narrative. Narrowing his chief protagonists down to a select few, he allows their stories to breathe as the blank spaces that separate them are filled with minute details. The effect is of an intricate portrait coming together though anyone who has delved into his back-catalogue knows that nothing is simple about the interaction of his creations: ambiguities are at the heart of what makes the Iranian director's work so utterly compelling.

This time he’s transplanted the action to Tokyo. A young woman, Akiko (Rin Takanashi) finances her studies with work as a high-priced call girl. She’s also involved in an uneasy relationship with a jealous mechanic, Noriaki (Ryo Kase). When she reluctantly meets up with a new ‘client’, a retired professor, Takashi (Tadashi Okuno) an unlikely friendship is forged as, over the course of a couple of days, her two worlds overlap, with potentially dire consequences.

The film’s opening scene provides an offsetting, disconcerting angle; the voice we hear seems disembodied from those in our direct line of sight. This is characteristic of Kiarostami and his masterful handling of composition and it invigorates the film in subtle ways. He’s become especially adept at using reflective surfaces to create space and expand the frame, giving his images greater depth whilst adding a layer of mystery.

Kiarostami, typically, eschews the need for a score and any perception of artificiality that may come attached. The few pieces of music are source; one of which, a gentle crooner’s lament circulating through Takashi’s apartment that couldn’t be more ironic, provides the film with its title. The abrupt ending, after a nerve-jangling preceding two minutes, will be a source of frustration for some. But it follows the Kiarostami modus operandi of never leaving his audience with a predictable, easy solution.

Like Someone in Love (2012) gets better as it progresses, solidifying in the rich accumulation of details as we learn more about Akiko and Takashi. Both actors are superb, often wordlessly transmitting a depth of emotional pain and confusion. But it’s the marvellous Okuno as the dignified professor who steals the show. Tiny details such as the way he negotiates his feet in and out of his slippers upon entering or leaving his apartment are enough to break your heart. Though not quite in the league of his masterpiece, Taste of Cherry (1997), this is an exquisitely moving, fascinating drama that further enhances Kiarostami’s reputation as one of world cinema’s most important voices.

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: David O'Connell - Category: Arthouse

Email this Post to a Friend

Spring Breakers

May 28th 2013 05:33

Spring Breakers (2013) may offend, appal or bore but Harmony Korine’s latest provocation is a memorable postcard to denote the heady, illusory days of youth that have shaped an era. This is an impressively vapid, candy coloured dissemination of the American dream burning at both ends; of childish yearnings that inevitably corrupt; of a mindless subservience to narcissistic hedonism; and of the glittering, intoxicating allure of excess.

Four young women – Selena Gomez, Rachel Korine, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Benson - long to participate in Florida’s spring break celebrations. A lack of resources, however, seems set to deny them. But they concoct a plan to rob a convenience store to fund their excursion. When they get into more strife in Florida, a sociopathic drug dealing gangster, Alien (James Franco) bails them out. The freedoms he exposes them to effectively pops the bars on the window of their deflating, small-town incarceration. Soon they fall under his spell, with one exception, and he under theirs.

Three of Alien’s new devotees could easily be merged into a single generic identity; only brunette Gomez’s Faith, shown to have a religious devotion that anchors her with a conscience, is differentiated. Her conflict reflects a rite of passage; as Alien’s possible influence on the quartet’s life shows venal undertones, she begs for release, and it’s a cathartic one as she returns home, presumably, to a vague but at least predictable homelife.

It’s in the mesmerisingly vibrant visuals, courtesy of cinematographer Benoit Debie, that Korine’s film reaches an aesthetic summit. From voyeuristic slow-mo’s that lock onto flowering, unsheathed female bodies to a staggering array of kaleidoscopic colours and warped angles, Spring Breakers is never less than compelling to look upon even if the dialogue is resoundingly trite and narrative arcs non-existent. The cannily utilised music - whether source or by contributing composers Cliff Martinez and Skrillez - provides dizzyingly appropriate accompaniment.

The film’s standout sequence features a montage overlaid with a Britney Spears ballad, Everytime. Here, shots of Alien singing at a piano - the oceanic backdrop dripping with gorgeous sunset tones - are juxtaposed against languidly decelerated scenes of he and his scantily clad minions violently invading a rival’s home and seizing command. The effect is strangely haunting and affecting – and not the only moment when you suspect the presence of some kind of twisted genius at work here.

Then there’s the dazzling work of Franco. With glittering, steel capped teeth, cornrows and an endless stash of cash and weaponry, his overpowering, benignly vacuous presence as Alien deserves to be the film’s centrepiece. It’s like nothing else this talented performer has done before and a world away from the hammy work he provided most recently for Sam Raimi’s soulless remake-by-conglomerate, Oz the Great and Powerful (2013).

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: David O'Connell - Category: United States

Email this Post to a Friend