I’ve been going to a lot of Academy Award qualification film
screenings in the last few weeks—a great way to see films, as nobody talks,
nobody checks their mobile phones during the film, and (almost) nobody noisily
unpacks candy wrappers. There’s also the tradition that you stay in your seat
until all the credits have rolled, which gives you some quiet time to let the
film sink in.
It’s fun to just let a movie wash over you, but if you’re a writer it can also be very instructive to return to the film in your thoughts later and figure out why it worked—or didn’t. Here are a few thoughts on the films I’ve seen recently (if they’ve not been released in your area yet, they will be soon):
“Tale of Despereaux” featured delightful animation but a
very muddled storyline. It seems that because it’s a fairy tale the writers
decided anything could happen anytime without worrying too much about logic or
connections. It may be that kids won’t care and the quality of the animation
will make it a hit, but if Pixar had done it the story would have been as good
as the animation.
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, is about a man who is born old and gets younger as time goes on. The effects used to create this illusion (with Brad Pitt as Benjamin) are fantastic. The core of the story works fine but it’s a sprawling tale (almost three hours long) and it may require patience movie audiences don’t have any more. As with a lot of films, taking out about 15 minutes wouldn’t have hurt.
One of my favourites so far was “Gran Torino,” starring and directed by Clint Eastwood. Very funny and full of politically-incorrect lines coming from the mouth of the Eastwood character, a troubled curmugeon out of synch with the modern world. It’s as though Dirty Harry had retired and moved to the declining suburbs. Some of the dialogue is a bit clunky, but the story is tightly constructed with enough twists to keep it from feeling predictable.
Feel free to add your own recommendations!
