The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

There is one certain kiss of death in the film industry. Don't lead the public to believe that your film is one thing, when in fact it is another animal altogether. Classic examples of this error can be found in films like Vanilla Sky which was a decent sci-fi flick masquerading as a Tom Cruise thriller, or My Girl, an excellent and poignant drama marketed as comedy by someone who probably became unemployed a full ten seconds after the film tanked. Unfortunately, this film has the kiss right along with the unmanageable title. You hear Jesse James, you think this is a western about a train robber. You would be wrong.

What this film is, is a really well done character study of a sociopath careening merrily down the road of suicidal paranoia and a rabid fan. Brad Pitt's Jesse is tortured and merciless, and he lays down a characteristically complicated and fascinating performance as a man who's not only out of control but knows it and wants it to end. But the real joy is watching Casey Affleck. Affleck imbibes history's hated Robert Ford with no end of nuance - the ignored little brother, a man accustomed to humiliation with dreams of grandeur - Robert Ford is all ego and id - too immature to see that the man he worships is sick and tired of all that ill earned fame. By the time he figures it out it's too late for both of them.

This movie's title isn't the only thing that's toooo long, but even so, writer/director Andrew Dominik gives it a grace and elegance rarely visited on a period piece. It seems more documentary than fiction; the language is refreshingly accurate to the time, the cinematography epic, the acting sublime. I'll admit I took an intermission midway, but I still felt it worth the watch. See the website here. PS - Brad continues to remind me of Robert Redford and see if you don't think RR would have relished this role in his younger days.

There Will Be Blood

Once every great while Hollywood makes some art. There Will Be Blood is such a film; epic, and masterfully crafted, it is destined to be a classic in the genre of Citizen Kane. Paul Thomas Andersen, who wrote the screenplay (loosely adapted from Upton Sinclair's Oil!) and directed this masterpiece, was robbed. This was Best Picture and Best Director hands down in my book. Nothing could have improved it.

Blood is at it's core a character study of Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis who earned his Best Actor statuette in every moment of this film) set against the oil boom in California at the turn of the century. Our first glimpse of Plainview is of a man pitting himself solo against a hole in the ground with a pick axe and some dynamite and, in the first ten minutes of the film, the man is defined - indomitable is just the beginning. Over a thirty year span we watch him acquire - a son, and oilfields and wealth and a nemesis in a preacher (Paul Dano) as slick and dangerous as himself. Plainview despises humanity, and we watch him lose his tenuous grip on his own. I left the theater feeling bruised.

Day-Lewis is said to be a method actor, so feel some pity for those poor souls who had to share the set with his firebrand Plainview. Dano was a perfect counter score. The story is spartan and let's you puzzle about the missing details later. Cinematography was worthy of the epic scope - the black, burning oil derrick silhouetted against the raging fire sort of stuff. And the score...! Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead wrote a score that ratcheted up the tension till you could feel it in your belly. Keep your No Country For Old Men.... this was my favorite this year. See the website here.

Into The Wild

Okay, y'all know my opinions about taking a good book and making it into a crappy movie. Into the Wild was a great book; Jon Krakauer always comes at his research from personal experience - he is diligent and insightful and brings characters to a rare kind of life. Sean Penn isn't quite that talented as a screenwriter, and since he also took to directing his adaptation, well, let's just say I think Sean should stick to acting.

Into the Wild is the story of Chris McCandless who, days after his college graduation, walked away from a life of promise to become a wanderer and ultimately ended up starving to death in the Alaskan wilderness. While Krakauer wrote Chris' tale from a deep desire to understand the "why" of it all - Penn chooses to romanticize and turn Chris into some kind of patron saint of Ain't it Awful. From the book it is apparent that McCandless moved every person that he came in contact with, which makes it all the more a mystery why he always stole away in the night, leaving the people who cared about him bereft. The film makes him seem a Noble Savage - too fine for all these folks - on a vision quest that no one could possibly understand.

Emile Hirsch as Chris gave this film his best - losing 41 pounds in the process - and with his sweet, boyish charm and noble sensibilities he makes for a fine martyr. William Hurt, Vince Vaughn and Hal Holbrook all give outstanding cameo performances. There is some beautiful cinematography of some extraordinary wilderness. But in the end, Mr. Penn made a film that oversimplifies and sensationalizes rather than giving insight into the loss of this amazing young life. And that's a real tragedy. See the equally self important website here.

The Namesake

The immigrant experience in America is always a relevant topic, but even more so today when our national discourse seems more isolationist than usual. Perhaps that made this sweet little film even more poignant to me; maybe I personally needed a reminder of what coming to America means to a great number of Americans. That The Namesake is about a Bengali family coming to terms with life in New York after life in Calcutta seems less important than remembering what America means to those who choose her, rather than to those of us who were simply born here.

The Namesake spans two generations of the Ganguli family; Ashoke (Irrfan Khan) and Ashima (Tabu) have an arranged marriage and move to New York still strangers to one another - and coming to raise two very American children with no real touchstone to the life their parents left behind. As their son Gogol (Kal Penn) struggles to identify with the parents he doesn't understand and their alien culture, he moves farther and farther from his roots. This film calls into question the American dream - as Ashoke strives to give his son every opportunity for education and advancement does he sacrifice his traditions and values?

Lovingly directed by Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding,) The Namesake makes us think about who we are, how well we know our origins and what they ultimately mean to us. Not a bad thing to think about, right about now. Calcutta and New York come become equally exotic under the care of cinematographer Frederick Elmes. And Kal Penn proves he has the chops for dramatic work. And you thought he peaked with Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle! See the website here.

No Country for Old Men

Long before I fell in love with the movies, I gave my heart to words. I am first and foremost a reader - and a serious one - and I DO consider Cormac McCarthy to be the American Shakespeare. His classic stuff is hard work to read, and worth every bit of the effort; however his latest offerings have been much more accessible to the average joe - his story lines more linear, his prose less poetic. No Country for Old Men may have been his most mainstream novel yet and was an engaging and fairly quick read, despite Cormac's disdain for punctuation.

Even so, the Coen Brothers had a Herculean task adapting this for the screen; did a fine job and won an Oscar for their efforts. This is a story about violent men doing what they do best and not for the faint of heart. When Llewelyn (Josh Brolin) comes across a nasty bit of mayhem in the desert chock full of corpses, drugs and cash, he opts to take the money. He considers himself a tough hombre, but he knows good and well that someone is going to come after that money. He just didn't bet on who.

The who won Javier Bardem a Best Supporting for playing the most believable sociopath recently on film. Tommy Lee Jones comes in as the savvy lawman and Woody Harrelson has a moment as another yet another violent type, but Bardem makes the picture, bad haircut and all. I followed the plot just fine despite the Bros. Grim leaving out chunks of story, but I read the book; must have been harder for those not up on McCarthy and unprepared for the sheer volume of killin'. The Coens' took home statuettes for Best Picture and Director as well as Adapted Screenplay. They probably deserved the latter just for attempting McCarthy. Don't know if I would have given them the other two. See the nifty website here.

Michael Clayton

I missed catching Michael Clayton pre-Oscar (my home town theater must rent 'em by the hour) so I was eager to catch the DVD. This was nominated for darn near everything, and I'm here to tell you, rightfully so. Smart, well written, with an all-star fabulous cast - I can't believe that only Tilda Swinton took home a statuette. I think everyone else may have been robbed.

Michael Clayton (George Clooney who only gets better and better,) is what the profession calls a "fixer." He cleans up the messes at his high profile law firm; from handling the high priced client who mows down a pedestrian to guarding the precarious mental health of a brilliant senior partner. When said senior partner (Tom Wilkinson) has a meltdown and decides to turn whistleblower on a multi-billion dollar corporate lawsuit and winds up dead, Michael realizes he may have a problem even HE can't fix.

Tilda Swinton is a nightmare of raw nerves and tattered sensibilities as the corporate lawyer way over her head and Clooney is priceless as a flawed man who has become comfortable with his weaknesses. Tony Gilroy wrote and directed, although Sydney Pollack has a supporting role as Clooney's boss. I don't know, but I think this was a better movie than No Country for Old Men... but you be the judge. See the website here.

The Amateurs

I don't know what happened here regarding a limited release gone haywire, but the first I heard of this film was when my hubby brought it home from Blockbuster. As you should know, he's rarely allowed there unsupervised so I was suspicious from the get go - but then I noticed something rare about a film my honey has favored. I actually knew the cast.

The Amateurs does indeed have a sparkling ensemble. Our hero Andy (Jeff Bridges,) is the unofficial leader of a 'Cheers' like group of losers in a tiny town in Nowhere. Andy is always looking for the deal that will finally work for him and has lost his wife and fears losing his son as nothing ever pans out. Then he hits on the no fail idea - he and his friends are going to make an amateur porn movie.

As Otis (William Frichter,) Some Idiot (Joe Pantolino) Moose (Ted Danson, the gay guy in denial,) and Andy decide on plot, try to locate talent, and shoot (backs turned, of course) their masterpiece, it just gets funnier and funnier. This has got to be the cleanest dirty movie ever made - relying on innuendo, cliche and really good writing to make us laugh. Don't know why it didn't make it in the theater; maybe we just want violence this year. But my sweetie did good. Don't miss this one. Almost nonexistent website here:(