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In film nist (2011)
Valiantly motivated experiment that mostly worked!!!
This Is Not a Film -
This movie definitely gets the "most interesting back-story" award for the year. Iranian film maker Jafar Panahi was punished for producing films that the government of his home land found objectionable with a sentence of six years in jail and a twenty year ban on the writing, directing, and/or production of films. While at home on bail awaiting the ruling of the appeals court, he began looking for ways around this. He already had one unproduced screenplay that he had written before the ban, which technically did not him from acting or reading screenplays that were already completed. He invited a friend who was a camera man over to tape him reading from (and to some extent, acting out) said screenplay. Technically, he was not disobeying the court order and technically "This (Was) Not a Film". Of course, these technicalities did not deter the film maker from cautiously smuggling the picture out of the country in a birthday cake before its release on the film festival circuit.
What starts out as a mere reading of the completed script ends up being a meditation on art, film-making, Iranian culture, and many other things. For fans of the director, it is an intriguing look into the mind of a master of his craft. For general audiences, it may be a little dry. I found it to be not only an interesting look into Panahi's thought processes, but into the plight of a film maker who loves his people but finds the constraints pf the oppressive government that rules them to be too constricting to allow the artistic process to flourish. Furthermore, it is a look into how any artist MUST struggle to express themselves no matter how difficult their current circumstances have made that task. If any of these themes sound particularly intriguing, by all means check the film out. If it doesn't sound like your particular cup of tea...as I said, a little dry...4 out of 5 stars.
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The Loneliest Planet (2011)
Decent concept that a needed a firmer hand in editing room
The Loneliest Planet - The sophomore effort from writer/director Julia Loktev, this film follows a young American couple as they take a trek through the man's ancestral homeland in Georgia (the nation, not the state)'s Caucus mountains. I am unfamiliar with the director's previous effort (2006's Day Night Day Night) but regret to say that The Loneliest Planet did not really inspire me to seek her earlier work out. The problem lies primarily with the screenplay, especially the first hour, which plays more like high quality excerpts from someone's vacation video than like a narrative picture. NOTHING happens. Okay, that's an exaggeration, there are a FEW bits of characterization and foreshadowing that lend to the storyline. However, with a run time of an hour and fifty odd minutes, the movie's first seventy-five could easily have been cut to thirty without detracting from the (minimal) story that the script sets out to tell. Without the lovely cinematography contributed by Inti Briones, the first half of the film would be practically unwatchable.
Gael Garcia Bernal (The Motorcycle Diaries, Y Tu Mama Tambien) and Hani Furstenberg (Yossi and Jagger) do respectable jobs as the vacationing couple, but are not really given enough dialog or activity to really show us what they are capable of. First time actor Bidzina Gujabidze actually outshines them both as their tour guide, his "local color" helping to bridge some of the more debilitatingly slow passages of the film, but even he is fighting an uphill battle. I can appreciate the point of Loktev's story, but it just didn't constitute a two hour movie. It might have made a nice short film...2 1/2 of 5 stars.
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The Words (2012)
Overly complicated plot structure kept this from being a better film.
The Words - This movie had a long road to The Movie Frog. It was on my 2012 viewing list for a while, then fell off as it became obvious that Bradley Cooper's awards play this year was definitely going to come from Silver Linings Playbook. Then I saw a great preview a few weeks ago, and back on the list it went. The Words is the premiere feature from co-directors (and writers) Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal (who had previously written the rather disappointing Tron Legacy together). It was a somewhat mixed bag of a film. I don't feel angry about the hour and a half of my life that I spent watching it, but I don't feel that my coverage of this year's best films would have lost out much if I had skipped it, either.
The picture had an interesting premise, but the script becomes a bit of a mess. We're dealing with three (sorta four) different time periods that create fictions within fictions. The narrative structure is further confused by flashbacks within these different levels of fact and fiction and it all becomes very confusing. Thematically, this is done to an extent on purpose, as the film tries to explore the nature of the thin line between fantasy and reality, especially as it applies to the life (lives?) of a writer. It's meant to make you work at cohesion, but for this viewer, the film's truths became ambiguous to the point of inaccessibility.
The film making pair DID seem to fair better as directors than as writers, however, and got some admirable performances out of their cast. Bradley Cooper continues to prove himself as a leading man of great depth and range, highly deserving of his newly elevated status among his peers. Dennis Quaid also reminds us clearly of why he used to be such a big star. Jeremy Irons's stern eyes and crisp diction are put to excellent use. The women's roles provide a little less meat to chew, but Zoe Saldana and Olivia Wilde still manage to turn in respectable performances as well.
Like the Loneliest Planet, The Words was a great concept thematically, but didn't quite translate into a great movie. Unlike the other film, The Words is packed with enough memorable moments and strong acting turns to keep it watchable, if a little incomprehensible in places...3 1/2 of 5 stars.
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On the Road (2012)
(Byg)on(e) the Road
TheMovieFrog.com reviews: "On The Road"
As far as I can tell, this is the second film that Walter Salles has directed in the English language, following the tepidly received feature Dark Water. I have not seen that picture. My familiarity with the director derives from his classic Spanish and Portuguese language movies: The Motorcycle Diaries and Central Station. While On The Road doesn't quite live up to the par set by those films, it is a valiant effort at a very daunting task.
The picture is based on Jack Kerouac's classic manifesto of the beat generation of the same name, which was long thought to be unadaptable. To do the impossible, Salles re-teamed with Motorcyle Diaries scribe Jose Rivera. I have only read the first couple of chapters of the novel (and that was back in college), so it is difficult to say for sure if Mr. Rivera hit all the points that fans of the book would have expected him to. However, I will say that he managed to pen a pretty cohesive story from a source that I recall as being a fairly rambling and stream of consciousness type of book, which is always difficult. While certainly not the year's most riveting screenplay, On The Road held my interest throughout.
One thing that often WAS riveting about this movie going experience was the photography from cinematographer Eric Gautier (Into the Wild, Motorcycle Diaries) whose vision of America is quite beautiful to behold. The landscape of almost an entire country as seen from its roadways must be tough to capture the essence of in a couple of hours, especially one as large and diverse as the U.S. On The Road is a quintessential story of American culture during a particular slice of time, however, and it is just as much about the places as it is about the people. I would say that Mr. Gautier did said places justice, to put it mildly.
On The Road IS also about the people, though, particularly the subculture known as the Beat Generation (or Beatniks). These were the original lost youth of the twentieth century, a backlash to the almost Victorian repression prevalent in post-war America. Backlash to repression manifests most clearly along a spectrum that runs from hedonism to a pure yearning for self-expression. The two lead characters of this story manifest both of these tendencies, yet favor one over the other.
Sal Paradise (Sam Riley) is a writer. Although he is the "main character", he is more of an observer throughout most of the film. We watch the other characters through his eyes more than we watch him. When we are watching him, he is mostly sitting alone and scribbling on whatever scraps of paper he can find. Obviously, his escape from the chains of societal norms is found primarily through artistic expression. He records the antics of "the mad ones" in order to show America how the pressure to keep up appearances eats at its youth from within. Mr. Riley gives a nice, understated performance that is a far cry from the incessant mugging he ALMOST was able to get away with in Brighton Rock.
He is COMPLETELY upstaged (which is actually appropriate to the characters, honestly) by co-star Garrett Hedlund in the role of Dean Moriarty. Dean is hedonism personified. Life within a ten foot radius of Dean is a whirlwind of pot, booze, speed, and sex at all times. He is Sal's favorite muse, the embodiment of his restless theme. Any conversation Dean holds with ANYONE is laced with sexual tension, be they man or woman, gay or straight. Hedlund pulls this off flawlessly, and that's just the beginning of what he captures in this performance. In his hands, Dean is truly a charismatic force of nature, but sooooo hurting, needy, and desperate at his core. I'm glad I got to see this film before I put together my Supporting Actor list for the Best of 2012 series (coming soon).
The cast is chock full of amazing talent including Amy Adams, Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, Elizabeth Moss, and Steve Buscemi. I don't think I've seen Tom Sturridge in anything since Fairy Tale when he was just a lad, but he is fantastic as Carlo Marx, often fighting Hedlund for focus in their shared scenes. Kristen Stewart also made the most of her screen time as Marylou; I think this may be my favorite thing that she's done. Her general wistfulness plays well in this part and I totally bought it.
The thing that really keeps On The Road quite clearly short of greatness boils down, in this little Movie Frog's opinion, to a matter of timeliness. The book was quite clearly one of the most innovative and titillating novels of its era, but it is an era long past. The Hippies outdid the "lost generation" status of the Beatniks only to be one upped by the Punk generation, and so on. Of course, the "shocking" elements of On The Road (particularly the homo-eroticism) are a huge part of what kept it from being adapted to film decades ago. Now that you can put such things in movies without limiting their exposure to a very specific segment of the populace, the story has also lost much of its shock value. It's hard to be horrified at Dean's excesses after watching an episode or two of Breaking Bad. It's just a fact. It's not really anybody's fault, and I applaud everyone involved for their efforts. There is nothing really "bad" about the film at all. It only disappoints because a story that was really designed to startle the viewer out of their stupor instead lulls the modern audience into a state of nostalgia...4 of 5 stars.
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Casablanca (1942)
TheMovieFrog Reviews: Casablanca
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So, what do you write about a film that has been discussed and lauded for seventy years? Is it a timeless classic about love, loyalty, honor, and sacrifice or the greatest piece of corn-pone pro-war propaganda ever visited upon the American public? Well, the answer is yes...and yes. It is all of those things and more.
It is, first and foremost, a classic story of love and sacrifice, almost biblical in the way that it is layed out. Lazlo is the Christ- like figure. He has sacrificed everything: his safety, his freedom, and the purpose of his life to the cause of inspiring others to rise up and fight the Nazis. The only sacrifice he will not make is leaving behind the woman that he loves. Ilsa is his inspiration and the thing that keeps him going.
In turn, Lazlo's example of ultimate sacrifice inspires others to sacrifice for the greater good as well. His ability to inspire is demonstrated most dramatically and obviously in the scene where he leads all the patrons of Rick's in song. You can see in the faces of everyone joining in all the pain, fear, and uncertainty of living in a world turned upside down fade away to be replaced by a greater sense of pride and purpose. It is a very powerful moment in the film. However, this man's greater power is in how he impacts and inspires individuals from Ilsa, to Rick, to Renault. Rick has every reason to despise the man, yet it is not just Ilsa that leads him to break precedent and have a drink with the couple.
Is the film a little corny? Well, yes, but only in the best tradition of the time. The dialog is fantastic, but when every other line is a zinger, it does stretch believability a bit. No city has ever been populated by that many people who are that witty that much of the time. Yet the wordplay (continued at www.TheMovieFrog.com)
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The Bourne Legacy (2012)
Far Better Than Expected!!!
The Bourne Legacy - Since his Oscar nomination for The Hurt Locker, actor Jeremy Renner has somehow morphed into Hollywood's new go-to action hero. While I would love to see him do something with a little more meat like that again, I grudgingly have to admit that I am beginning to really LIKE him as an action hero. His characters are smart and interesting and he never looks like he's TRYING to come across as tough or capable. With the parade of blustering buffoons that the genre has tried to push on America for decades, he (along with Daniel Craig) really stands apart as a subtler, more human alternative. And it's working. He contributed to granting Mission Impossible a far better relaunch than I had ever expected in Ghost Protocol and now he's done the same thing leading the cast of the newest entry in the Bourne franchise.
Part of what makes Legacy work is that Renner is not playing Jason Bourne. He is a NEW character set in the WORLD of the Bourne films. Photos of the fugitive Bourne make it quite clear that IF Bourne appears with Aaron Cross (the new character) in a future film, the intent is still for Matt Damon to play that role. In this way, Renner is not forced to try and out-Bourne Damon. Instead, his performance is allowed to stand on its own merit, and it stands quite well.
He gets able assistance from a stronger ensemble of talented actors than you usually get in an action thriller. Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Scott Glenn, Corey Stoll, Zeljko Ivanek, Albert Finney and David Straitharn all added to my enjoyment of the film. Oscar Isaac is particularly engaging in a small role. I've been hungry to see more from this actor ever since(continued at www.TheMovieFrog.com)
Robot & Frank (2012)
Loved it!!!
Robot and Frank - This, the debut feature (lots of creative debuts in this post) from director Jake Schreier is sure to land the young film maker a slot on The Froggy's (or Best of 2012 series...coming soon) list of first time directors this year. Quite "Frank"ly I loved this picture and it was one of the happiest surprises I've gotten from a movie in quite some time.
I don't know why I didn't expect more going in, honestly. Frank Langella is always stellar. Susan Sarandan is one of the best actresses working and seems to be in a minor career upswing at the moment. Neither disappoint at all. Liv Tyler turns in her best post-Altman work to date, and James Marsden holds his own capably beside the two living legends who lead the cast. Oh, and let's not forget Peter Sarsgaard's voice work as the Robot. Without his ability to portray the character with so much human and inhuman quality the picture would never have worked.
I guess I just expected a flick about the frustrations of getting old and not being able to do things for yourself. I sympathize with the theme, but it has been covered in cinema often enough and well enough that I require some unique and original elements to really grab my attention. The Robot & Frank script (by writer Christopher D. Ford) has them in spades. It was a film about friendship and acceptance. It was also a film about the way that technology is changing the world that we live in. I would have given this a five star grade if not for the fact that the big plot twist is taken almost verbatim from an even SMALLER indie pic called Lovely, Still from a couple of years ago. Robot & Frank handled said twist with a lot more panache, so I won't judge it TOO harshly. Oh, and watch the closing credits. They tell a story all their own...4 1/2 of 5 stars.
Les Misérables (2012)
Best Musical of the Year!!!
Les MostlyAbles
I first discovered the stage musical version of Les Miserables at age sixteen on a trip that my high school theater department took to New York. It was love at first sight (sound?). I don't think that I have ever literally cried so many times in a few hours in my whole life. It quickly became my favorite Broadway show ever (okay, tied with Cabaret). Obviously, when it comes to musical theater, I pull a little to the dark side. Which is why I was concerned when I found out that Tom Hooper the (okay, yes, Oscar winning) director of The King's Speech was going to be helming the long awaited film adaptation of the play. After all, this is the director who turned a story about disability and World War into a charming little lark about an unlikely friendship and now he chooses to take on the bloodiest, gloomiest musical ever made.
Despite my reservations about what manner of mood shifts Mr. Hooper might bring to the piece, I couldn't deny that he had assembled an amazing cast and my anticipations ran VERY high. Word that he was going to make the innovative move of having the actors singing live within the scenes rather than prerecording the voice tracks only fanned the flames of my excitement. "So...", I hear you wondering, "Did Mr. Hooper remain true to the starkness of his source material or fall prey to his schmaltzier tendencies?". The answer, sort of dispassionately, is: a little of both to be honest.
On the positive side, the choice to have the actors sing live was a rousing 95% success. One actor's lack of musical proclivity may have been accentuated, but the honesty of emotion that it lent to the rest of the performances is undeniable. Hooper was also able to pull some terrific work out of MOST of the cast, as he did in The King's Speech. The man is obviously a gifted actor's director.
On the not so positive side, those with cinematically weak stomachs might want to take some Lactaid before viewing a FEW of the scenes. I'll just give one quick example. In the stage play, the song One Day More ends the first act as all of the characters join in slowly until it creates a tableau of the players that freezes with several members of the general cast hoisting French flags to complete the picture. While slightly contrived, this is an accepted convention of stage craft that works in that medium. In conversion to film, Hooper chose to show all of the individual characters singing their parts of One Day More in the separate locations where they would logically be at the time, which is great. On the final note, however, Hooper flashes to random French citizens hoisting French flags in the street for no apparent reason and then cuts with no segue whatsoever to what was designed to be the beginning of Act II, Scene I, presented after an intermission. This climax and (lack of) transition significantly undermine the inherent power of one of the most affecting numbers in the production.
Besides a few cheesy directorial flourishes such as these, I really only find two faults with the film. I really hate singling actors out and he's already taken a lot of flack from almost every reviewer on the planet, but this is not Russell Crowe's finest hour (or two and a half hours, but why quibble?). Suffice it to say that this usually far more capable actor is horridly miscast, mostly because his singing is always strained and often slightly off key. His acting suffers as well in the struggle to over-compensate. My other gripe with the film is the Original Song "Suddenly" which lacks the (abundant) inspiration so obvious in the original libretto. It was obviously thrown in just to garner one more Oscar nomination (which it did) and does nothing to enhance the already lengthy production.
I'm sure by now it sounds like I didn't like Les Miserables and this could not be further from the truth. There is a lot of really good stuff going on. My personal affection for the source material just makes me very tough to satisfy completely. However, I would recommend the movie for exposure to the story and music alone. I have seen the film criticized for concentrating too much on the love story as if were some typical musical comedy but this could not be further from the truth. Les Miserables is no simple happy-go-lucky boy meets girl tale. Instead, it is a story about love can make the world a better place even in the most seemingly impossible situations: love of freedom, the love of a parent for a child, love of humanity, the love of God, and...yes...romantic love. I have also read a review by a writer who (continues at www.TheMovieFrog.com)
End of Watch (2012)
End of Watch Movie Review
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End of Watch -
Writer/director David Ayer was only really familiar to me before I saw this film for writing the script to Training Day. That, and positive buzz from the festival circuit, gave me some measure of hope that I was really going to enjoy End of Watch but it just didn't quite do it for me. Unfortunately, both of the big problems land squarely in Mr. Ayer's lap.
Can fake found footage film making be finally finished? I, for one, have had it. It was revolutionary in The Blaire Witch project. Today...blase, blase, blase. This movie actually takes it to a whole new level, where the cops are making videos while on the beat and the crooks are making videos as they commit the crimes. If they'd put down their own cameras for a second they could probably watch their opponents' every move on YouTube. This gimmick (I won't even call it a directorial flourish) plays about as ludicrously as I've made it sound. Again, I ask: Since the found footage snake is obviously eating its own tale, can we just stand back and let it finish its meal? Thank you.
So, besides coming off like Cops meets Lethal Weapon live tweeted, the other problem is with the script. End of Watch is SUCH a stereotypical buddy cop movie. I spent almost the entire run time going, "Oh, that's just like in _________, only shot on much lower quality film". The screenplay's only saving grace lies in the dialogue between the two main characters as they ride around in their squad car. Fragments of that are actually quite witty.
Which leads to the real bright point of the film: Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena's performances. They have great on screen chemistry, and their interaction is THE reason to check out this picture (once). This should be a real breakout role for Pena, who actually manages to upstage his far more famous co-star. Together they are able to overcome the predictability of the movie and make it enjoyable for scant moments...but only moments...3 of 5 stars.
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Sinister (2012)
Sinister Movie Review
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Down with Sinister Lies! 0
In today's crop of DVD reviews we reap the French equivalent of The Big Chill, another preachy film about failing schools & a horror film that was actually pretty good for once. Might as well dive in...
Won't Back Down - You know, this picture has made me a believer. No, not about the problems in our modern school systems, I was already a believer about that. It has made me a believer that even someone as talented as Viola Davis faces great difficulty finding decent roles as a middle aged black woman in Hollywood. How else can you explain the two time Oscar nominee accepting this role in Won't Back Down? She does a great job (as always), but even someone as seasoned as she is unable to elevate this material into something more. Maybe they should have given her the Oscar for The Help while they had the chance.
That explains her choice, I suppose, and actresses Holly Hunter and Rosie Perez haven't exactly been beating offers off with a stick the last few years either, but didn't Maggie Gyllenhall get nominated for an Oscar for Crazy Heart just a few years back? And she follows that triumph up with this film and Hysteria? I'm a little lost.
I'm sure that when Daniel Barnz (who also directs) and Brin Hill sat down to write this screenplay, it was with the best of intentions. I'm sure that they really wanted to call attention to the problems of American schools, celebrate those who are working to fix it, and inspire others to do the same. They might as well have written a greeting card. What they've produced is an obvious and cloying message movie. Message movies belong on television as after school specials, but occasionally they get enough stars attached to them that they wind up on the big screen.
The performances by the two lead actresses DO make the film somewhat watchable, but all in all it's a bit of a snoozer, unfortunately. To Ms. Davis and Ms. Gyllenhall, demand that your agents find you something worthier of your talents. This time, Don't Back Down...3 of 5 stars.
Sinister - I have not seen writer/director Scott Derrickson's creation The Exorcism of Emily Rose but now I feel as if maybe I should go back and watch it. I love a GOOD horror movie, but even a Movie Frog like me sees so few of merit nowadays. They mostly go in for the gross out, replacing elements like suspense and mystery with blood, guts, and (cheap looking) special effects. That is not the sort of film that Mr. Derrickson and co-screenwriter C. Robert Cargill have crafted here at all.
Sinister is full of suspense AND mystery. It has a sufficiently original villain with a credible back story. It goes for creepy more often than it goes for shock value (the slow motion movements of the ghost children who vanish in such a way that you can almost see them dimension hopping is a particularly nice touch). It takes some effort to craft interesting characters, and builds a sub-plot of family drama that actually works. It tells a real story that actually somewhere.
Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a capable veteran actor like Ethan Hawke in the lead. He plays the part for all it is worth without ever going too far over the line. We share his curiosity, frustration and terror because it is always in reaction to what has happened. His acting never telegraphs what is coming; the viewer believes that he is just as surprised by every twist as they are. Relatively unknown supporting players Juliet Rylance (as his wife) and James Ransone (as Deputy So-and-So) also lend much stronger back up than you usually expect... (continued at www.TheMoiveFrog.com)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Citizen Cane Review
www.TheMovieFrog.com Classic Cinema Series #2 - Citizen Kane #2
Starting a review for Citizen Kane feels a lot like starting a review for Casablanca did. What am I going to say about the film Roger Ebert has dubbed "the greatest of all time" that hasn't been said before? EVERYONE knows that this is one of the most innovative and masterfully constructed movies ever told. It was drastically ahead of its time in terms of cinematography, editing, sound design, you name it. But we all knew these things long before I started this article.
I could certainly write a whole review about the acting, so naturalistic and understated for a picture of the time period. Welles is a revelation as Kane, with this marvelously smug yet confidential line delivery like he's talking down to you and honoring you with a secret wisdom at the same time. Agnes Moorehead is positively creepy as the loving mother who has completely turned her emotions off in order to do what's best for her son. Dorothy Comingore absolutely blows me away as Susan Alexander Kane, probably the most fully realized character not featured in the title. Everett Sloane as Mr. Bernstein, George Coulouris as Walter Parks Thatcher, the movie is full of great performances. Again...we knew this going in.
I could speak at great length about the film's groundbreaking narrative structure. We begin with the end of the story, then we get a brief overview that lays the ground work for the sub plot that creates the structure for the rest of the movie. Then we see different, shifting periods in Kane's life through the eyes of several different characters who all have their own take on who the man was. This may not seem so significant in an age where film makers like Nolan and Tarantino regularly turn chronology on its head, but these men owe a huge debt to Welles for showing them how it is done long before they were born. But...we knew this.
I could write a piece in which the central point is that Citizen Kane is one of the most quietly busy films ever made, rife with symbolism. In the opening scene alone, we are treated to images of snow super-imposed over Kane's face symbolic of both an ending, and the story's beginning (which we don't know yet). We see the snow globe shatter, as Kane lets go of his... (continued at www.TheMovieFrog.com)
Arbitrage (2012)
Arbitrage Movie Review
The Movie Frog:
Review for Arbitrage:
Arbitrage - Richard Gere has never been my favorite actor. He's just always faded into the background a little bit for me. Not in any sort of "Please, God, not the movie with Richard Gere" kind of way. I was never turned away by his appearance in a film, but it didn't encourage me to watch it either. Looking back at his filmography, I find four or five glaring examples of pictures that I would have expected myself to have seen, most shamefully I'm Not There and Days of Heaven.
In most of my favorite Richard Gere films, it's his co-stars who have stuck with me long after the lights came up. Pretty Woman is about Julia Roberts. Primal Fear is about Edward Norton (boy howdy). Chicago is about, well, damn near everybody but him. So I wasn't really anticipating being as blown away by Arbitrage as many critics had been. Sometimes I love being wrong.
Arbitrage is a GREAT little movie, and for once, Gere's performance undeniably rules the day (and it's not like he didn't have any competition, more on that in a bit). His performance as Robert Miller stands as one of the best that I have seen this year. He's captivating, with great depth and nuance. He is a man full of contradictions and conflict. I have always found talk of Gere being "overdue" with the Academy to be a bit hyperbolic in the past, but I think they missed the train on this one.
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