tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post6771162406456449791..comments2022-03-24T16:11:50.124-04:00Comments on The Man From Porlock: Love Conquers All (Tabloid and Jane Eyre)Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-44581583916310412652011-09-17T17:05:39.832-04:002011-09-17T17:05:39.832-04:00Craig: I must say I loved 13 ASSASSINS and look f...Craig: I must say I loved 13 ASSASSINS and look forward to hearing your reaction. You may well be right about DRIVE, though the proof will be in the pudding in a few hours, as I have a 7:30 P.M. viewing lined up here. I will definitely be heading over to your lead piece afterwards to compare notes.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-69197118410211420172011-09-16T19:30:20.463-04:002011-09-16T19:30:20.463-04:00Nice to hear from you, Sam. I haven't seen &qu...Nice to hear from you, Sam. I haven't seen "Poetry" or "Of Gods and Men, though "The Tree of Life" is, for me, the movie of the year. Following that, so far, would be the mythic "Drive" (which I have a hunch you may not like) and "Certified Copy," which I know was technically released last year but I only just saw it in the Spring. I'm about to watch "13 Assassins" and hope to add another film to what has been a very short list.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-29969982234545857852011-09-16T17:30:46.505-04:002011-09-16T17:30:46.505-04:00JANE EYRE is actually my personal favorite film of...JANE EYRE is actually my personal favorite film of 2011 thus far, ahead of TREE OF LIFE, POETRY and OF GODS AND MEN. But I know full well this is not everyone's cup of tea and respect your position.<br /><br />I do think that Dario Marianelli's ravishing score is the best in that category this year.<br /><br />Excellent post.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-32424002536686044002011-09-07T08:29:31.011-04:002011-09-07T08:29:31.011-04:00I disagree that Morris isn't interested in tru...<em>I disagree that Morris isn't interested in truth. You don't make a movie that gets an innocent man off death row without some investment in that subject. His real theme has always been why people believe what they believe; he's all about process, and his best films are about that too.</em><br /><br />I'm not sure we're too far apart here.<br /><br />Clearly, Morris has some interest in truth. But I think it's not as deep as his filmography might imply at a glance. <em>The Thin Blue Line</em> makes it seem as if Morris is a crusader for justice. And <em>Fog of War</em> and <em>Standard Operating Procedure</em> might seem to come from the same place.<br /><br />But while I think Morris has a curiosity about the truth that gets him to these stories, his films are not about "figuring it all out," so to speak, as much as his films often accomplish that. As you suggest, he's more fascinated by the various versions of the truth, the way people can look at the same evidence and come away with different interpretations of what happened -- either by honest means or otherwise.<br /><br />Interestingly, since you mentioned Michael Moore, Moore's films are more driven by a fascination with exposing truth, which is totally ironic because Moore's style is maniuplative and loose with the facts.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-44392903729328532822011-09-05T22:56:10.379-04:002011-09-05T22:56:10.379-04:00"The Errol Morris Basement Tapes" is won..."The Errol Morris Basement Tapes" is wonderfully put. "Tabloid" is visually striking, particularly for a documentary -- the movie looks great. And I enjoyed some of the cleverness, though Michael Moore had gone to the well many times with "Ozzie & Harriet" fantasy flashbacks before Errol ever got there. <br /><br />I disagree that Morris isn't interested in truth. You don't make a movie that gets an innocent man off death row without some investment in that subject. His real theme has always been <i>why</i> people believe what they believe; he's all about process, and his best films are about that too. When you've got Robert McNamara in the interviewee's chair, pride and guilt and self-denial butt up against each other in compelling ways. When you've got Joyce McKinney -- a fantasist, that much is clear -- there needs to be a grounding in reality to offset her delusions, or at least provide context to them, and Morris doesn't offer that.<br /><br /><i>"The stuff at the end with the dogs was particularly unrewarding."</i> Ah, yes: I began to wonder if Errol Morris made a bet with his old pal Werner Herzog over who could end his next movie with the weirdest coda. "Hey, Werner, I've got cloned puppy dogs. What have you got?" "Radioactive albino crocodiles." "Touche!"Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-88136267483961554852011-09-05T21:58:20.244-04:002011-09-05T21:58:20.244-04:00You've written about two movies that I planned...You've written about two movies that I planned to write about back when I saw them ... but didn't. Mostly it was because of time. Although with <em>Jane Eyre</em>, I had the same problem you did: After just a week I had to remind myself I'd seen it. That said, I think your praise for Wasikowska is exactly right: "who has four or five more things going on across her face than Fukanaga manages for the entire movie." Well said!<br /><br />As for <em>Tabloid</em> ...<br /><br />It really does seem incomplete. I was going to write that the film felt like Errol Morris basement tapes: some really great stuff that deserves to see the light but that isn't enough to stand alone as a Morris picture. (The stuff at the end with the dogs was particularly unrewarding.)<br /><br />One of the things that's interesting about Morris is how absolutely uninterested he is in the truth. How many other directors, for example, would interview McKinney without ever asking the most obvious question: when you ushered him into the car to take him to the love nest, did you have a gun with you? Not that the answer would have explained it, but from a journalistic standpoint it was an obvious question.<br /><br />For me the most telling detail is that McKinney escaped the UK, but not without bringing back several suitcases full of clippings that, if discovered, could have thwarted her return to the US. She's an odd bird, to be sure. And Morris loves 'em like that.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-76572625722724923372011-09-05T21:05:27.420-04:002011-09-05T21:05:27.420-04:00I suspect, more than a continuity error, it is a r...I suspect, more than a continuity error, it is a result of problematic editing. That is because the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Eyre#Plot_summary" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia plot summary</a> of the novel (I haven't read the book) says - "She leaves her bundle of her possessions on the coach and has to sleep on the moor..." <br /><br />As John Uskglass tweeted, "Jane Eyre (2011) is a gorgeous rendering of the Jane Eyre wikipedia page".Satish Naiduhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07430507934390595828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-14594449484795694552011-09-05T08:51:10.465-04:002011-09-05T08:51:10.465-04:00Thanks for weighing in. That's an interesting ...Thanks for weighing in. That's an interesting point, and maybe I'd have noticed the light more in a theater than streaming on my TV. I just didn't find what that light was shining on to be terribly absorbing, though I certainly didn't hate the movie.<br /><br />The disappearing red bag that you tweeted about (and <a href="http://movie-place.blogspot.com/2011/09/jane-eyre-movie-review.html" rel="nofollow">discussed</a> in your fine review), however: I'm pretty sure it's a continuity error. Sorry, that's the cynic in me....Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-1800750529076966982011-09-04T23:38:23.310-04:002011-09-04T23:38:23.310-04:00Craig,
I thought Mr. Fukunaga was doing interesti...Craig, <br />I thought Mr. Fukunaga was doing interesting things with the way he was using light in the movie, sort of as a symbol for conscience/principles and also as a way of introducing cinematic light (projector/monitor) to "reveal" the darkness behind that opening image. <br /><br />In a way one might feel that it is the background (the shadows, the darkness, the light) that is actually guiding the plot and romance. I sort of liked that aspect.Satish Naiduhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07430507934390595828noreply@blogger.com