Babel
This film works on so many levels I don’t even know where to begin. Four stories about four families, all sharing a common theme of loss and lack of communication, with an undertone related to concerns of class and North-South relations. Hope that made sense, since I don’t know how to say more without ruining it for those who haven’t seen it. Just consider the different characters’ fate in the end of their respective story-line; who has a happy ending and who gets screwed? And why? There’s a clear pattern there, which, judging by other people’s comments, a lot people seem to have missed entirely. Great acting from everybody - even the kids, which is unusual. Nice also to see Brad Pitt pull off a different kind of role.
The Departed
What can I say about this? The acting is good and the premise is fairly interesting, but there is one major problem with this film: I’ve seen it all before, in a better film. It’s hard to say this without sounding like some kind of puritan fanboy, but I really don’t see why they had to re-make a film like Infernal Affairs. It was good as it was, and it sure had a better ending than The Departed. All the character depth from the original is lost in Scorsese’s adaptation (again, compare the endings), and the added love triangle really had no place in the film (I don’t know why Hollywood filmmakers keep insisting on putting these unmotivated love interests in every bloody film - it’s getting really old now). This is not a bad film, but it doesn’t add anything new, and it gets pretty boring for a while in the middle act. Can’t say I’m too fond of the overly macho dialogue, either (I thought we’d gone past the days of “fag this, fag that”, but apparently not). For a film that’s nominated for best picture, The Departed is a major letdown.
Little Miss Sunshine
I paid no attention to this film prior to its Oscar nomination because I got the idea that it was about beauty pageants - an American phenomenon I happen to despise with intensity. It turned out to be a really enjoyable story, however, with lots of heart and black humour. It gets a little over-the-top in the end, perhaps, but I’m willing to overlook that. The film is both tragic and hilarious, and also spot-on in its depiction of little miss beauty pageants as nothing but creepy forms of child exploitation. That may or may not have been the filmmaker’s intention, but that’s how I interpret it. Great acting by everyone, and I especially love the cinematography. I consider it a major snub that it wasn’t nominated for this. If you don’t see what I mean, just check out the scene in the kitchen in the beginning, when Greg Kinnear’s character is on the phone. Nothing much happens, but the clever hand-held camera work still makes it captivating to watch.
The Queen
As a radical anti-royalist, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed watching this. It’s quite a fascinating speculation in what might have gone on with the British royal family following the death of Princess Diana. The only problem is that it is just that; mere speculation - which I didn’t fully realise until after seeing the film. Still, apart from a couple of odd scenes involving a stag (which in retrospect seem even more ridiculous and overly symbolic), this film is an interesting depiction of a royalty caught between tradition and modernisation. Helen Mirren is fantastic, and I mean that. Never seen anyone play a now living public figure with such confidence before.
Letters From Iwo Jima opened here two days ago, but I haven’t had the time to see it.
