January 2022 Movie Roundup
Carnage (2011) — directed by Roman Polanski
A movie about two couples — John C Reilly and Jodie Foster, and Christoph Waltz and Kate Winslet — getting together for lunch as they discuss a physical disagreement between their two 10-year old sons at school. The couples do not know each other, but want to amicably hash out what they can do to reconcile the situation.
What follows is a totally undoing of from all four people as social barriers are torn down. Everyone begins to speak their mind, to the opposing couple, and their opposing spouse, as the aggravation and unsettling reality of parenthood, and life in general is dissected. The chops of four excellent actors is on full display as they each take turns breaking down, showing off their comedic and emotional chops in the process.
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) — directed by William Wyler
Considered to be one of William Wyler’s greatest movies (next to Ben-Hur), The Best Years of Our Lives lived up to the hype, not feeling a day old as it explores soldiers who struggle to return to society after the trauma of war. The movie follows three different men each at different stages of life — an older family man, a late 20-something married man, and a still fresh-faced “man” returning to his fiancée with mechanical hands after losing his in battle.
As you might expect, their assimilation back into society is less than seamless. Their respective families, bosses, and the world as a whole is unable to understand what they have been through. Capable men, some of them war heroes, are not qualified to be anything more than a drugstore clerk. The Best Years of Our Lives came out in 1946, the perfect time to empathize with the thousands of men like these returning home from World War II.
Obviously the stylistic look, talk, and rhythm of movies has evolved greatly in the 90+ years since the first “talkies” came out: from the Golden Age of the 30s-60s, into the prestige era of the 70s, into the modern blockbusters we began seeing in the late 70s. Yet movies remain so singular. So many themes we consider modern, like mental health, marriage, and purpose, have been around since the inception of movie making.
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) — directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
At times, the uncanny valley of Coen Brothers movies can toe the line between being intriguing and off-putting. Beyond knowing The Hudsucker Proxy was one of their more overtly comedic movies, I knew nothing about what the flawlessly ambiguous title indicated.
As I recently wrote, Hudsucker makes it easy to chart the throughline from the 1940s screwball Preston Sturges movies to what the Coens began making in the late 80s. From what I’ve seen, Christmas in July seems to have the most parallels — from the constant ambient noise of typewriters at work in sprawling offices, to office meetings intercut between the protagonists failing upwards, albeit in very different ways.
Check out the similarities between the Jimmy Macdonald and Norville Barnes. Both humble but ambitious protagonists begin the movie as floppy-haired aw-shucks office worker bees; then, gradually, their hair becomes slicked back as they achieve allusions of grand success beneath the veneer of larger corporate agendas. The homages do not end there, but I digress.
Beyond the overt reverence, The Hudsucker Proxy stands alone as a fantastic satirical piece on the inherently comedic nature of the capitalist facade that post-war America is built upon. The entire plot is driven by Norville’s “new idea”, one that is so absurd on it’s surface that it’s almost impressive it can drive an entire full length feature narrative. As I alluded to, the towering Hudsucker building/company and the buffoonishly masculine types that occupy and oversee it exist within the uncanny valley. Massive offices with one measly desk. Cartoonishly large clocks. “Bigger = more absurd” is more text than subtext. It’s a post-war America, but it’s ambivalent in just when exactly that may be. And the harder you try to figure that question out — the deeper you burrow into any floor of the Hudsucker building, including the mailroom — the more absurdity you will find.
Favourite Rewatch: The Master (2021) — directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
As I’ve fallen more in love with PTA’s filmography over the past year, The Master stands out as one of the best and certainly the most elusive film in his oeuvre. Joaquin Phoenix as Freddie Quell is clearly a lost, troubled character as he re-enters society after World War II.
As he struggles to maintain employment he stumbles upon Philip Seymour Hoffman as Lancaster Dowd, the titular Master, and joins his loyal cultish following. But what is Freddie Quell searching for? Does he know he’s lost? Does he understand how Dowd and his “family” perceives him? Does he know he’s different than they are? Certain scenes, like the motorcycle scene below, seem to point to Quell understanding his place on the fringes of society better than we are explicitly lead to believe.
After two viewings of The Master, I’m confident saying almost nothing is stated outright, as far as I can tell. That can definitely leave a lot to be desired, as it’s difficult to really explain what the movie is about beyond its brief premise. It also leaves a lot to chew on, requiring viewers to sift through each scene more deeply, looking past the incredibly bright fluorescent colours and lighting that make for an easier watch amidst the ambling plot.
Movie I Need to Watch Again : Miller’s Crossing (1990) — directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
After the rise and fall of the noirs of the 40s and 50s in young Hollywood, neo-noirs came around in the 1990s. The Ringer recently published a fantastic series of articles on the resurgence of the genre at that time, many of which are all-time favourites of mine. The self-awareness of the 90s neo-noirs, and the variety of approaches they took towards playing with the genre, is what I find so fascinating. Much like sci-fi, the throughlines aren’t as obvious as they seem other than some generic plot points. Heat, Pulp Fiction, The Big Lebowski, The Usual Suspects, The freaking Matrix, all occupy such different lanes in tones, themes, mood, and so on.
This all had me itching to see some of the mainstays that have eluded me up to this point. Combined with my recent goal of crossing unseen Coen Bros. movies off of my watchlist, Miller’s Crossing was an obvious early pick.
It’s hard to put my finger on what didn’t fully land for me. There were still the subtle, blink-and-you-miss-it jokes. An excellent supporting cast with the likes of John Turturro, Albert Finney, and Coens pillar Jon Colito. Perhaps it was the plot, which I just didn’t have a full handle on. Perhaps it’s what felt like a slower start than normal for the Coens. More than likely it was just my mood, coupled with a script that rewards repeat viewings to gain better understanding of the sometimes bizarre tonal language of the film.
