raymond_chandler
Joined Jun 2001
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raymond_chandler's rating
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raymond_chandler's rating
I just finished watching "Hail, Caesar". This is a new Coen Brothers film which pays homage to the film studios in their waning days of 1950s Biblical spectacle and Western singing cowboy flicks. It follows a classic one-day pattern of starting in the morning of one day and ending about 24 hours later in the morning of the next day. Tilda Swinton steals the movie despite only appearing on-screen for about four or five minutes. She plays feuding twin sister columnists, based on the rivalry between Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons. TS is phenomenal, creating two completely individual characters using voice inflection, facial tics, posture, attitude, and costumes (including fabulous HATS, natch!). George Clooney does a sort-of reprise of his befuddled goofball from "O Brother Where Art Thou?", but he is not as successful this time, IMO. Josh Brolin plays the main character, a grizzled studio 'fixer' who must deal with the disappearance of a big star in the midst of shooting the climax to the titular epic tale of Jesus Christ and a Roman soldier's conversion at The Crucifixion. Josh does a great job, capturing the rhythms of the Coens' zany dialogue and satirical tone, without going completely over-the-top. Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, and Alden Ehrenreich also do outstanding work in this loaded ensemble piece. Other notable actors appearing briefly include Clancy Brown, Fisher Stevens, Frances McDormand, Christopher Lambert, Ralph Fiennes, and Jonah Hill. I loved it, and I look forward to re-watches just for the pleasure of Tilda's acting.
"Hah! Would that it were so simple!"
"Hah! Would that it were so simple!"
Bill Forsyth is a Scottish-born director and writer of great insight with a whimsical view of the world. His movies tend to focus on low-key characters and obscure places rarely seen in filmdom. "Local Hero" is one of my all-time favorites. I now add "Housekeeping" to the list.
The movie is adapted from a novel by Marilynne Robinson. It takes place in the tiny town of Fingerbone, located in the Cascade Mountains of what I assume is Eastern Washington or Idaho, given many references to Spokane and Portland. I have lived in Seattle for many years, and I adore the scenery featured in this movie. One can almost smell the pungent, bracing aroma of decaying logs, fir trees, and smoldering campfires in the outdoor scenes.
Christine Lahti is an actress of rare gifts. Her basic decency and warmth comes through in every film I have seen her in. She plays rootless Sylvie, who comes to be the guardian of two adolescent orphaned nieces, Ruthie and Lucille. The story takes place in the 1950s, and the fashions, cars, and social mores are all dead-on. She and the girls live in a large house on the outskirts of Fingerbone, the same home Sylvie and her deceased sister Helen grew up in. The story explores the relationships of these three women, and the shifting dynamics of those relationships. There is an implied parallel of Ruthie and Lucille with Sylvie and Helen. "Housekeeping" supplies a rich family history for these off-beat characters, and provides a context for their behavior and development.
There are very few men in this film. It is resolutely about the lives of women among other women. The story unfolds over several years, and we see how Lucille (the younger sister) comes to be the responsible one, who yearns to live 'like other people'. Sylvie exists in a dream world, and Ruthie is gradually drawn into that land of longing and detachment. Eccentric is how most people would describe the behavior of Sylvie, but I prefer haunted. Haunted by the lingering presence of dead siblings and parents, haunted by the inability to fit in to modern society, haunted by the endless possibilities of other places and times. To me, "Housekeeping" is a ghost story, but these ghosts yet live.
"She IS sad. I mean, she should be sad."
The movie is adapted from a novel by Marilynne Robinson. It takes place in the tiny town of Fingerbone, located in the Cascade Mountains of what I assume is Eastern Washington or Idaho, given many references to Spokane and Portland. I have lived in Seattle for many years, and I adore the scenery featured in this movie. One can almost smell the pungent, bracing aroma of decaying logs, fir trees, and smoldering campfires in the outdoor scenes.
Christine Lahti is an actress of rare gifts. Her basic decency and warmth comes through in every film I have seen her in. She plays rootless Sylvie, who comes to be the guardian of two adolescent orphaned nieces, Ruthie and Lucille. The story takes place in the 1950s, and the fashions, cars, and social mores are all dead-on. She and the girls live in a large house on the outskirts of Fingerbone, the same home Sylvie and her deceased sister Helen grew up in. The story explores the relationships of these three women, and the shifting dynamics of those relationships. There is an implied parallel of Ruthie and Lucille with Sylvie and Helen. "Housekeeping" supplies a rich family history for these off-beat characters, and provides a context for their behavior and development.
There are very few men in this film. It is resolutely about the lives of women among other women. The story unfolds over several years, and we see how Lucille (the younger sister) comes to be the responsible one, who yearns to live 'like other people'. Sylvie exists in a dream world, and Ruthie is gradually drawn into that land of longing and detachment. Eccentric is how most people would describe the behavior of Sylvie, but I prefer haunted. Haunted by the lingering presence of dead siblings and parents, haunted by the inability to fit in to modern society, haunted by the endless possibilities of other places and times. To me, "Housekeeping" is a ghost story, but these ghosts yet live.
"She IS sad. I mean, she should be sad."