Darkness at Noon

Film: Suddenly, Last Summer
Format: DVD from Rockford Public Library on laptop.

I will admit that when I grabbed Suddenly, Last Summer off the shelf at the library a couple of days ago, I did so only because I’m behind on Best Actress nominations. The 1001 Movies list is limited in Best Actress nominations it includes, which means a lot of catching up for me. As it happens, Suddenly, Last Summer is the only film I had remaining with two Best Actress nominations. So I grabbed it. With that title, I had no idea what to expect. I most certainly didn’t expect the darkest couple of hours I’ve experienced watching a movie in a very long time.

And I do mean dark. While the topic of homosexuality wouldn’t be considered that taboo in this day and age, in 1959 it was still a very touchy topic. In the 1937 the film takes place in, it was even more taboo. But we don’t stop at homosexuality with Suddenly, Last Summer. No, we’re going to delve deep into insanity, lobotomies, family evils, hidden crimes, and much darker subjects of which I will not speak here. Oh, this is a merry-go-round of evil and darkness, power, corruption, and deep family secrets. I had no idea what I was getting into here, but I can’t for a moment say I’m upset that I dove in.

My Fair Guttersnipe

Film: Pygmalion
Format: Streaming video from Hulu+ on laptop.

I’ve mentioned before that I tend to put the “very long wait” films at the top of my NetFlix queue. Because NetFlix is NetFlix, my full list has something north of 50 films that fall into that category. When I see the opportunity to knock one of those films off without having to wait for NetFlix, it’s difficult to resist the opportunity. And, well, Pygmalion was available on Hulu+ thanks to Hulu having nabbed the streaming rights for the Criterion Collection. So it’s one less “very long wait” film for me.

I’m not going to go too heavily into a rundown of the story here, since this is absolutely the source material for My Fair Lady, which everyone should have seen (and if you haven’t, shame on you). This is not merely the same basic story, it’s a pared down version of the exact same story. Pygmalion is much tighter and shorter, though. In addition to everything that was added through musical numbers, My Fair Lady adds a number of scenes, almost doubling the rather trim 98 minutes of its non-musical original version. Much of this is done through montage, which is used effectively here as a way to indicate all of Eliza’s training without having to sit through her learning how to pronounce all of the vowels correctly.

Two Hours would Overstay the Welcome

Film: One Hour with You
Format: DVD from NetFlix on laptop.

Films like One Hour with You are infuriating to me. On the one hand, it’s a difficult film to dislike. It’s charming and comes complete with the delicate and mildly naughty touch of the great Ernst Lubitsch with some uncredited assistance from the great George Cukor. On the other hand, the people in this film need to all be stood in a long line and slapped repeatedly. I have trouble with fluff pieces like this one because while there’s nothing specifically unpleasant about them, there’s also a constant low-grade irritation for me.

Since One Hour with You is a musical romantic comedy, we can guess from the start that we’ll be getting a happy ending by the time this short little nothing winds up. More than that, we can guess within the first couple of minutes that our main couple is going to experience a series of misunderstandings that would be easily resolved with a couple of words. Really, it’s more or less the chance to look at a couple of pretty people and hear a couple of peppy songs. That’s it. And, since it’s Maurice Chevalier, which means a lot of fourth wall breaks where he speaks directly to the audience.

Bombshell

Film: Blue Sky
Format: DVD from New Lenox Public Library through interlibrary loan on laptop.

I seem to be saying what I’m about to say a lot lately: the movie I watched for this review has no idea what it wants to be. Blue Sky is one half domestic drama and one half military thriller, resulting in a complete muddle of a film that has a couple of grand performances at the center. But grand performances in the service of what? I have no idea. Blue Sky, which was shelved for four years after wrapping because of Orion’s money problems, is a mess of a film. It tries to be something for everyone and ends up being something for no one.

Major Hank Marshall (Tommy Lee Jones) is one of the players in the American nuclear testing program in the 1950s. His job, more or less, is to monitor radiation, and he has slowly come to the realization that above-ground testing is an increasing issue. This, and the fact that his wife Carly (Jessica Lange) is a “free spirit” who does things like sunbathe topless within sight of the base, much to the enjoyment of the men. After her last display, Hank is transferred to Alabama to start over again. We get the feeling, particularly from the comments of the Marshalls’ daughters Alex (Amy Locane) and Becky (Anna Klemp), that this is not the first time Hank has been transferred because of Carly’s inappropriate behavior.

Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Animated Feature 2003

The Contenders:
Brother Bear
Finding Nemo (winner)
The Triplets of Belleville

All the World's a Stage

Film: The Dresser
Format: DVD from NetFlix on rockin’ flatscreen.

It’s not rare for a film to get multiple acting nominations, but it is rare for a film to get two nominations for the same award. It happens now and again, of course, but it’s pretty unusual. The Dresser is one such film, and I’d be hard-pressed to suggest that the Academy was wrong for nominating both Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay. The film itself is a small one, a little story, but the performances of those two actors are truly grand in the greatest sense.

The plot is almost a nothing. A great Shakespearean actor referred to only as Sir (Albert Finney) is attended at all of his performances by Norman (Tom Courtenay), his dresser. Norman, after years of essentially being Sir’s servant, knows every mood of the man and every possible whim. The troupe has fallen on hard times because of World War II—all of the best young actors are off fighting in the war.

Still Waiting for Godot

Film: Edward, My Son
Format: Streaming video from TCM Watch on laptop.

Typically, when a rare film shows up on Turner Classic, I DVR it so I can watch it at my leisure. I was aware that Edward, My Son played a day or so ago, but I completely spaced on setting up the recorder, which meant I had to get it online within the week. So, rather than risk not being able to see it at all, I watched it today. I’m not sure if that was the right call. I realize that my goal is to see all of these films on this Oscar list, but it’s ones like Edward, My Son that make me question the wisdom of that decision.

The film starts with Spencer Tracy walking out and introducing himself as Lord Arnold Boult. In the world of the film, we’re supposed to have heard of him because he’s incredibly wealthy, and tells us he likely owns the theater he imagines us sitting in. He also tells us about his son, Edward. It’s sad for Boult that we never got to meet Edward but we can’t because Edward, his son, is dead. And before you can say “doodly-doodly-doop” we’re back in the past.