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Empathy (2003)
It twisted theory of architecture, psychoanalysis, and the life of a struggling actor into one.
Empathy in short is part fictional - part documentary about psychoanalyst. The film is about getting to the root of therapist thoughts and intertwining it within a character story. I really enjoyed this independent flick. It brought together the psychoanalyst's process of joining the internal with the external and making the distinction vague and blurred. The main theme of this film was to make the audience unsure of what was real and what was true, what was a projection of thoughts and what was reality. It twisted theory of architecture, psychoanalysis, and the life of a struggling actor into one. I found it extremely entertaining and interesting.
The director, Amie Seigel, probed the psychoanalyst with questions you have always wanted to ask but unsure if you wanted to know the answers. Her filmed almost seemed more like a collection of intimate moments and thoughts, then someone actually saying and thinking these things out loud and for a camera. She plays on vulnerability, which made the audience a bit uncomfortable and surprised by the scene.
The film was a bit lengthy and at times was trying to be too vague/creative/artful with its scenes. There were a few scenes that did not remove your attention from the film but were reaching for something that was not ever going to be there, therefore creating a wasteful transition from one scene to the next. The story itself was intellectual and insightful. It masterfully combined architectural and psychoanalyst theory with a character desperate to break out of her voice over life. The film allowed the audience to 'imaginatively step into another's perspective and consider how things look from over there, as if one were an insider while one is not one in fact.' [Google] In other words the filmed allowed the audience to experience empathy.
The Hours (2002)
How I felt about "The Hours"
The story itself and the screenplay adaptation deserve a huge nod, but what makes you understand the pain, the frustrations, and what it was like to be these women, was the acting. Oh, the incredible acting. Nicole Kidman lost herself in Virginia Woolf. She wasn't Kidman playing the influential writer, she was the influential writer. She read Woolf, lived Woolf, and became Woolf to the point that you would not have ever known it was Kidman. Julianne Moore. Her name deserves to be in a sentence, alone. She brought it all together as the most tortured soul of the film. She made it seem so simple, so pure. You anguished with her, you were caught off guard by her, you felt for her. And the infamous Meryl Streep. She just wanted to plan the perfect party - Mrs. Dalloway. This film was full of small roles that had large meanings. The supporting cast was incredible and helped piece together why these women loved they way they did.
This film made me feel like I had this little light inside of me. That we all have this light. And we forget sometimes to turn it on. We forget to live, to love, to laugh. These three women triumphed even when others thought they failed. These women all supported each other even though they were not aware of the other's existence. It is a story all about the surface, that magically forced me inside, that made me think about how these women came to be. What death and life mean and how different the answers can be from one person to the next. It is a film about the pains of life and how one survives the pain. The Hours, is a powerful story told by powerful actors. For me, the hours went by too fast. I enjoyed the world they invited me into, longing already to be part of it again.
Panic Room (2002)
MUST SEE (many times)
Could have got an 10 had the last five minutes not been predictable, but it still is a very very solid 9. Ok, I know, I am a Jodie Foster fan, but aside from that this was an incredible film. Intense, well acted, and well written. Even from the beginning with the credits, the producers were doing something different. Camera angles, characters, the general story line... all made this movie an A. I can't say enough about the realistic acting. Kristen Stewart (plays the daughter) not only calms you at times, makes you laugh at others, and just terrifies you with her completely believable terror and acting. And then Jodie Foster, damn! She is just always on top of her game.
To make a movie that solely takes place in one room, but yet keeps you on the edge of your seat, is a feat on its own. Paranoia and suspense keeps you guessing and gripping. In the end, I couldn't wait to sit through it all over again and I plan on locking myself up in the Panic Room many more times to come