7 Quick Takes

—1 —

Update: Just because. Mainstream news services aren’t mentioning it, but new spelling bee champ Zaila Avant-garde is…homeschooled. First homeschooler to win the Bee since 2000. But, as I said, you won’t read it in the NYTimes….

All right, for this set of quick takes, I’m going to do a run through of some recent movie viewings with some random links for whatever is left. (Update: nothing. Oh well.) Not in order of watching, just in order of when they come into my brain. For far more intelligent takes on film, go to my Film Guy Son’s page here.

— 2 —

The Graduate watched with 20-year old. Which is the age Dustin Hoffman is supposed to be in the movie, but of course, in real life wasn’t – he was almost ten years older. But no matter. I’ve seen the movie a couple of times before, and have always enjoyed it. It’s so much of its time (1967) and really could be of no other: nihilistic, everyone drifting, the Greatest Generation robustly assuring the Boomer of the way to inner and outer peace…plastics.

It’s a landscape in which everyone is terrible, everyone uses each other, no one’s really settled or truly at home in the world. Very much of its time – and of ours, for we, their children and grandchildren, are still suffering from and working our way through all of these people’s issues and the ways they chose to cope.  

A world of accomplishment but no purpose.

A world of relaxation but no rest.

A world of need but no love.

Depressing? Maybe.

Realistic? Absolutely.

— 3 —

The Great Gatsby, Baz Luhrmann/DiCaprio/Maguire version. I’ve never seen the Robert Redford version. It came out when I was in high school, and back then, I had a deep aversion to Redford, a man for whom many of my female friends swooned, but whose face always struck me as a weird combination of too pretty but also malformed.

All three of us watched this, and I’m going to admit to you – I liked it. A lot. There are a few problems with it including the casting of the actor who plays Tom Buchanan and awkward exposition of Gatsby’s past. I mean – it’s in the novel, but the way it’s handled in the film seems inserted and not smoothly done. I liked the framing of the film – Nick writing the book in a sanitorium, which is entirely fitting since so much of the power of the book comes from the narrative perspective  – but I also felt there was too much of this. It should have been at the beginning, and at the end, with no scenes of him typing and furrowing his brow in between.

But other than that, I thought it was good. You might sniff at the use of contemporary music in the party scenes, but, as we discussed in our living room afterwards, it works. Perfectly, almost. It serves to bring the modern viewer more intimately into the moment of the film, successfully, at least for us, avoiding the temptation to see the thing as a museum piece. Guys, this is us – striving, faking it, chasing after illusions, reaching for the light on the other side of the bay hopefully, yet hopelessly.

— 4 —

Alien  – seen it several times, but one of us had never seen it. Highly enjoyable, although not, of course, as groundbreaking in impact as it was over forty (WHAT) years ago.

— 5 –

Rear Window – again, I’d seen it, one of us had not. The film is masterful in creating such suspense in such a confined space, but I think what elevates the film and makes it truly affecting are the side plots emanating from the other windows – from the honeymoon couple whose shade is never raised to the ballerina who entertains multitudes, but in the end welcomes back her little shrimp of a serviceman love, of course Miss Lonelyhearts who is saved by music – so lovely, and so true – the couple who sleeps outside and lowers their poor doomed dog in the basket and finally, the sculptress on the bottom floor – my alter ego, really. Living contentedly by herself in the city, making her art, sitting outside in the sun with her reading material. Geez, Hitch, get OUT of my dreams already.

“It’s called ‘Hunger.'”

— 6 —

Jackie Brown – we actually watched this a couple of weeks ago, the twenty-year old and I. Again, a great film. Tarantino fanatics probably don’t like it as much as they enjoy the rest of his blood-soaked oeuvre, but as a woman of a certain age, I’m here for it. I saw it in the theatres back in the day, way before I was a certain age, but didn’t remember much about it. What I for sure didn’t remember about it was that aside from Pam Grier, the other real star was Robert Forster, the late lamented featured player of Breaking Bad – Vacuum Cleaner Man. I had no idea he played such an important role in this film.

And again, as in Rear Window – it’s the human factor that he provides that raises this film to another level. Jackie Brown is certainly a film best understood by those in the middle of the journey of our life. Like Jackie Brown, we’ve scrambled our entire lives, taken steps forward, but perhaps more steps back, and just really want to get off. Like Max (Forster’s character), we’re maybe ready to take a chance.

But the end? Perfect. It ends in absolute respect of both characters. It could force a “happy” ending of the two of them riding off to Spain together, but it doesn’t. It could have – but it doesn’t. And that makes all the difference.

Oh, and this with The Graduate – we have two films that begin with long shots of characters riding smoothly on automated sidewalks through airports. Add it to the the equivalent scene in Mad Men, and I guess you have a trend.

— 7 —

What’s next? Well, people want to go see the Black Widow, so I guess they’ll do that. I checked out The Big Sleep from the library, so I guess we’ll do that, too. One of the guys is going to be busy this weekend, and the other is out of town with friends, so I guess all of these will wait until next week.

Which just means Mom will have the television so hello Criterion Channel.

Oh, and Loki was watched. I watched it too even though I don’t understand a bit of it and don’t want or need it explained to me. I’m just here for the obvious jokes and for Owen Wilson, thnx.

For more Quick Takes, Visit This Ain’t the Lyceum