The Playroom of a Global Phenomenon
February 18, 2015
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015).
D: Sam Taylor-Johnson. DP: Seamus McGarvey. W: Kelly Marcel. Starring: Dakota Johnson/Jamie Dornan/Jennifer Ehle/Eloise Mumford/Victor Rasuk/Luke Grimes/Marcia Gay Harden. (Based on E.L. James’ novel of the same name)
Where to begin? I guess with the beginning…
E.L. James’ self published e-book, Fifty Shades of Grey, exploded onto the internet in 2011. Written as fan-fiction for the Twilight series, in 2012 Vintage Books bought the rights and published the book along with the subsequent trilogy. Discussed as salacious and pornographic, among most circles it was deemed almost unreadable not for its content, but for its quality of writing. As one who found the actual Twilight books laborious, I chose to steer clear and frankly, wait for the film.
Saying this project was a challenging one is an understatement. To build a script that was faithful to its source material, yet would not get rated beyond the socially acceptable ‘R’ rating in the states was a feat. To build and market a commercial product that essentially sells BDSM sex to a wide audience is well, hard. In this way I think Focus Features and Universal have succeeded. Fifty Shades of Grey lifts characters and plot lines from Stephanie Meyers work to build a romance founded around the sex, generally speaking, that Edward and Bella essentially deny themselves until they are married. Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) steps in to interview gorgeous entrepreneur Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) for her college newspaper when her roommate gets sick. Their “chance” meeting leads to insatiable desire in both of them. The rest is well, sex and all its accoutrements.
Kelly Marcel’s (Saving Mr. Banks) script is oftentimes cringe worthy. But can you blame her? Even the names of the leads are ridiculous and sound like they were stolen from mass market romance novels hidden down grocery store isles. Marcel at least keeps things simple, blending the Twilight rip-offs well enough that you succumb to them. Removing a lot of the more scandalous scenes from the novel gives greater weight to the sex that is included on screen (honestly I wonder how much of the sex scenes Marcel wrote or how much was worked out when Taylor-Johnson came on board). However, the best scene is one where Johnson’s Anastasia finally has a little bit of say in her submissive contract with Dornan’s Mr. Grey. She even gets to up her wardrobe!
Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, who previously worked with Taylor-Johnson on her 2009 film Nowhere Boy, attempts to build a beautiful space. But a lot of that credit could be given to production designer David Wasco. McGarvey does give the rain soaked world a sleek quality that invokes a cold expensive beauty that echos the concept of Mr. Grey’s appeal. There are quite a few shots that would have been excellent still photos, maybe director Sam Taylor-Johnson would have been better off making a photo exhibition considering her background in photography? Just a thought. Danny Elfman’s score is hypnotic at best and generally low key. It is overshadowed by the keen marketing idea of integrating nearly every soundtrack song into a scene. Beyoncé got her oar in on this one.
A lot of what doesn’t work in Fifty Shades of Grey probably didn’t work in the books. However, to be fair, the passage of time in the film is far too quick. So Johnson’s loss of virginity (complete with white panties) to BDSM happens shockingly fast and her integration into Grey’s life seems laughably up then down. Sadly the actors chemistry is so limiting, at times they even feel like they want to take one large step away from each other. The scene I previously mentioned is a great release as it actually contains chemistry. The couple are vacant vessels for the sex and are surrounded by such marginalized supporting characters. Dornan is best described as Patrick Bateman light, especially has Mr. Grey’s back story is only given in drips and drabs.
It is a great thing to see a female director be given such a large scale project, but this also makes the film quite troubling. Regardless of its supposed inaccuracies about BDSM, which I cannot speak to, the lack of spark or character development in Anastasia is severely problematic. Ultimately, one walks away from Fifty Shades of Grey feeling like you saw a really expensive hollow lead up to a whipping scene and an abrupt ending that just doesn’t ring true. And where does that leave you?
Where is the Courage to Make One Film not Two?
December 23, 2014
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014).
D: Francis Lawrence. DP: Jo Willems. W: Peter Craig & Danny Strong. Starring: Jennifer Lawrence/Josh Hutcherson/Liam Hemsworth/Philip Seymour Hoffman/Woody Harrelson/Julianne Moore/Donald Sutherland/Elizabeth Banks/Stanley Tucci/Sam Claflin/Jena Malone/Natalie Dormer/Jeffrey Wright/Willow Shields/Mahershala Ali. (Based on Suzanne Collins’ novel of the same name)
This holiday season began with the much awaited third installment in Suzanne Collins’ young adult The Hunger Games series. Picking up where Catching Fire left off, the film finds Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) awakening from the all-star games to the world of District 13, thought to be completely destroyed. She is quickly asked to become to symbol of the resistance, the mockingjay, and must decide where her loyalties fit in this new terrain.
Francis Lawrence, a primarily television and music video direct whose last feature film was 2011’s Water for Elephants, picks up the series seamlessly. There is a nice visual continuity between the film and its previous two, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Hunger Games. This is difficult, but possibly an expression of his work with cinematographer Jo Willems. This team has the harder task of creating an atmosphere even bleaker than the previous films and much more transitional as one novel has been stretched into two films.
Peter Craig and Danny Strong’s script is adequate, but just simply cannot pack the same punch as the story ultimately feels thin. The emotionality of the cut off point for this film falls flat and unfortunately emphasizes the romance rather than the action and choices of Lawrence’s Katniss. This is the harder text to adapt as it lacks a games, but it should have been split into two films.
However, the saving grace in Mockingjay – Part 1 is Lawrence as Katniss. Shouldering the emotional weight of the film, her determination through trauma is felt through the camera and she is able to take the audience on a journey through understanding her own pain. Her chemistry with Hemsworth’s Gale is finally given service here, which Lawrence is able to give considerable depth too. It is nice relief to the rest of the film as one almost forgets that Katniss is only a teenager. Philip Seymour Hoffman is rather great here as Plutarch, giving extra sparkle to his lasting memory. Julianne Moore steps well into President Coin, but her severe gray wig actually distracts from her controlled performance.
Ultimately, the film serves its series well but cannot eclipse the extremely well handled Catching Fire. I would argue that Mockingjay is the least engaging of the novels and actually the most sad. As young adult fiction goes, it rounds out the series very well, a rare fete as this novel is so distinct from the first two. Therefore, I am inclined to forgive aspects of the film as the source material is just not the same. But we will all just have to wait and see how part two plays out.
A Spirited Summer Weepie
July 6, 2014
The Fault In Our Stars (2014).
D: Josh Boone. DP: Ben Richardson. W: Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber (based on John Green’s 2012 novel of the same name). Starring: Shailene Woodley/Ansel Elgort/Nat Wolff/Laura Dern/Sam Trammell/Willem Dafoe/Lotte Verbeek.
At this point no one can deny the box office potential of a young adult fiction film adaptation. However, in a post Twilight and Hunger Games landscape the competition is fierce. With disasters like last year’s Mortal Instruments the turn away from large franchises might find some success with a film like The Fault in Our Stars.
Based on John Green’s new novel, the film harkens back to the basic chemistry of teenage existence. Two youngsters who find a connection and try to navigate their new love. And in this case the leads happen to have cancer, meeting in a cancer support group. Yes tears are inevitable, tears that for me, came in the cinematic experience rather than when reading the book. In a rare occurrence I actually prefer the film to the book, mostly for its visceral quality.
The pitfall of this genre is the hidden borderline between teenage drama and melodrama. Luckily, The Fault In Our Stars never crosses into that territory. Written by the screenwriting team behind The Spectacular Now (2013) and 500 Days of Summer (2009), the script’s ability to handle the subtle and the overt in Green’s plot is admirable. (Both of those films are superior to this one thought.) The film is driven by the chemistry of its leads, Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. Playing siblings in this year’s Divergent, the pair have an ease about them that shines through the painful context of their courtship. Woodley chopped her hair off to play Hazel, which gives her wiry frame a prepubescent look. Hazel has been through a lot of grown up pain, but has not experienced the emotional life to match it.
The Fault In Our Stars is also loyal to its source material, removing excess story lines and characters that helps keep the film focused on the leads. The stylistic choice of using test bubbles to show the teens texting each other also helps the flow of the story and counteract Hazel’s voice-over. Yet the leads’ charms cannot distract from the obvious use of musical ques to jar the audience. The poppy soundtrack actually distracts at some beautiful moments, especially on the couple’s trip to Amsterdam to meet Hazel’s favorite writer. Played by Willem Dafoe who wasn’t nearly as grotesque as one would imagine from the book, but thankfully didn’t gimmick it up. Ultimately the film doesn’t bring much that is new to the teen landscape, but at least puts down the weapons and creatures in favor of some feelings.
Next Generational Cute
July 24, 2012
Ruby Sparks (2012).
D: Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris. DP: Matthew Libatique. W: Zoe Kazan. Starring: Paul Dano/Zoe Kazan/Annette Bening/Antonio Banderas/Chris Messina/Steve Coogan/Elliot Gould/Toni Trucks/Deborah Ann Woll/Alia Shawkat.
Amidst the big action and comic book films of the summer, a few films are hopefully reminding audiences of young, smart talent coming through the wood works. Ruby Sparks, a new film written and starring twenty-something Yale graduate, Zoe Kazan, is one of those. All I can do is pray to my cinematic deities that not everyone misses out on this little gem.
Set in the more charming (and you have to work hard for this) parts of Los Angeles, Ruby Sparks delves into the mind of young writer, Calvin Weir-fields (Paul Dano). Dano’s Calvin, a high school dropout and over night sensation with his first novel, now struggles with following up that book, his success, and the ultimate fear for any novelist, writer’s block. Dano’s wiry physique and owl-like stillness work wonders here as he begins to dream of a girl, writes her down, and then comes home one day to find her living in his apartment. Without giving anything away, Dano’s mere reactions and playing out of that sequence merits true accolades (and laughter).
His major scene partner is found in (real life girlfriend) screen writer Kazan, who plays Ruby. Kazan’s long read hair and borderline gangly body work to give her Ruby a sort of ethereal quality. She will remind some of a wood nymph, with an almost childlike look and wonder at the world and Dano. Their chemistry is clear and thankfully Kazan’s script deals as much with the “is Ruby real” question as the “are we happy in this relationship” and “how do you make that relationship work?” Dano’s other screen partner is Chris Messina as his older brother, Harry. Messina’s character not only gives Dano a familial anchor, but also a empathetic voice of reason. Full of warmth and with his own twinkle in his eye, Messina remains memorable and well cast.
Stealing a few scenes is Annette Bening as Dano and Messina’s mother and Antonio Banderas as her new age sculptor boyfriend. But ultimately the credit must be given to Kazan’s tight writing and Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Davis’ work as co-directors. This husband and wife team is also responsible for directing 2006’s Little Miss Sunshine. They are clear and concise here with Kazan’s story. Nothing feels too long or labored, which thankfully allows the film to be more about the relationships and Dano’s journey than answering any big logistical questions. The only thing working against the film is it’s sort of hipster, adorkable quality that could annoy some audiences members. But hey, at least you’ll leave with a smile on your face.