Tommy

Format: DVD from Rockford Public Library on laptop.

There are times, and this is one of them, where a summary won’t handle it. I can’t begin to explain Tommy. Ken Russell’s films are pretty fubar in the best of times, but Tommy makes movies like Altered States, The Devils, and Gothic look like Sunday brunch. This is an acid trip with a psilocybin chaser, and is very much a film that I can only imagine would be a far different and perhaps more meaningful experience if watched in a completely altered state. It also helps if you like the music of The Who.

Tommy is a rock opera in every way. It’s based on the concept album by The Who (the rock part) and has no real spoken dialogue (the opera part). It starts out pretty normal, except for the music and singing. Captain Walker (Robert Powell) and his wife Nora (Ann-Margret) spend an idyllic day together before he heads off to fly bombers in World War II. He’s reported lost, and not long after, she has a baby that she names Tommy. Fast forward a couple of years and Nora meets Frank Hobbs (Oliver Reed). The two are eventually married and life is good. And then Captain Walker returns. Shocked that his wife is remarried, a fight breaks out and Frank kills Captain Walker by beating him over the head with a lamp. Tommy witnesses all of this. Terrified, Frank and Nora tell the boy that he didn’t see or hear anything and will never talk of it. This immediately turns Tommy into a psychosomatic Helen Keller, unable to see, hear, or speak.

Working Girl

Format: DVD from NetFlix on laptop.

You know how you can tell when a movie is from the seventies by looking at the wardrobes of the people in it? By the same token, you can tell that Working Girl is straight out of the 1980s. It’s not the wardrobe specifically, but the hair. Working Girl features the most ‘80s hair in film history. It’s difficult to fault the film for that, but it’s very difficult to ignore the fact that, for example, Joan Cusak is a good six inches taller with the hairdo. Come to think of it, it’s difficult to ignore her three-toned eye shadow as well.

So how to explain Working Girl? Working Girl is what Wall Street would be if you swapped genders and made it a rom-com. Sort of. Actually, that’s very much selling the film short, because Working Girl is smarter than that. Still, in addition to the big ‘80s hair and shoulder pads and garish eye makeup, this is a film that is heavily mired in the 1980s corporate environment of acquisitions, mergers, and corporate raiding. It’s going too far to call it a quintessential ‘80s film, but it’s certainly one worth pointing at as a solid way to define the decade.

A Cat in Paris (Une Vie de Chat)

Format: Streaming video from NetFlix on laptop.

There are times when I wonder what the hell the Academy is thinking. Why nominate a film like A Cat in Paris for Best Animated Feature? Don’t get me wrong—this isn’t at all a case of a film not being good, but of a film that genuinely had about as much of a chance of winning that award as I did. What small readership I enjoy is pretty film-literate. My guess is that most haven’t seen this film and that a large portion haven’t heard of it. Was the nomination there to give a little publicity to a film that otherwise wouldn’t get it? I guess I can get behind that.

The most noteworthy aspect of the film is the art style. This seems to be a theme with me and animated films of late. The art is unlike anything I’ve seen in a film recently, although it bears some surface resemblance to The Secret of Kells. That surface resemblance is little more than it’s being 2D and hand drawn, though. In effect, this is impressionism seen through the lens of Keith Haring with the Squigglevision of Dr. Katz thrown in for good measure. It’s a bit disconcerting at first, but ultimately rather attractive.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)

Format: DVD from Cordova District Library through interlibrary loan on laptop.

In a particular way, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde bears a similarity to The Adventures of Robin Hood in that it’s a story that almost everyone has some vague familiarity with but that almost no one has actually read. “Jekyll and Hyde” is a reference understood by almost everyone almost inherently. There are dozens upon dozens of adaptations of the story if you include spoofs, re-imaginings, and reworkings like The Nutty Professor, which was itself remade. I’ll admit I haven’t read the story, either.

Anyway, the version in question here is the 1931/1932 version (typically it’s considered a 1931 release, but IMDB lists its release date as January 3, 1932). This version is particularly noteworthy since it’s one of those rare instances where a film firmly in the horror genre not only received an Oscar nomination, but won.

A Serious Man

Format: DVD from DeKalb Public Library on laptop.

I like the Coen Brothers pretty much without exception. Note the words “pretty much” in that first sentence. Admittedly, I haven’t seen all of the Coen films, although I am in double digits with their filmography, and I’ve liked or loved all of them. Until now. There’s something about A Serious Man that simply rubs me the wrong way. I realize that I’m in the minority on this—there are a number of people who consider this one of their best if not their absolute best. For me, who has seen 10 of their 16 films, A Serious Man comes firmly in 10th place.

Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) is a pretty ordinary guy on the surface, but a seething cauldron of angst underneath. His marriage is falling apart, his kids have no respect for him, his application for tenure is under review and not looking good, a student tries to bribe him, his brother sleeps on his couch, and his neighbor is constantly encroaching on his lawn. Everything starts to fall apart at exactly the same time.

Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Director 1980

The Contenders:
David Lynch: The Elephant Man
Robert Redford: Ordinary People (winner)
Martin Scorsese: Raging Bull
Richard Rush: The Stunt Man
Roman Polanski: Tess

Erin Brockovich

Format: DVD from NetFlix on rockin’ flatscreen.

I think it’s kind of easy to dislike Julia Roberts sometimes. I mean, I think it’s easy to believe that she gets a lot of acting jobs because of her looks. While that may or may not be true (and probably is), it’s easy to forget that she can actually act. A film like Erin Brockovich, for which she won an Oscar, is a case in point. A more cynical viewer might well comment that she won for Brockovich’s characteristically foul mouth or because her cleavage is on display in virtually every scene. Again, that may or may not be true, but regardless, this is a good performance.

The film is the sort of biopic that’s been in vogue for quite some time. Rather than looking at a person’s entire life, the film instead focuses on the seminal moment of that life, the thing that truly defines it. We start with Brockovich (Julia Roberts) looking for work and being on the receiving end of a bad car accident. She hires Ed Masry (Albert Finney) to defend her. She loses the case primarily because of her own outburst on the stand. Desperate and unable to find work, she shows up in Masry’s office and demands a job. Feeling sorry for her, he complies, but offers no benefits.