Mid April Showings

1) Closer (Directed by Mike Nichols, with a brilliant screenplay by Patrick Marber):

Rating 9/10

This is a marvelous movie. The beauty of this movie lies with the screenplay. Sure the acting and direction are very very good but if it were not for the screenplay, the movie would not be as interesting. Unlike other movies which bore us with annoying details about a man and woman’s (or girl) daily happenings, this movie jumps around to only show us the relevant portions of their relationship. Jude Law meets Natalie Portman, and after a short conversation, the movie flashes forward in time when the two of them are officially a couple. We are not told what happened in that time period as we infer from their current behaviors. Law then meets Julia Roberts but she turns his down. In a joke, he sends Clive Owen to the same aquarium where Roberts goes (Jude Law meets Owen on an online chat site where Law pretends to be a woman; this scene is just hilarious). Roberts and Owen become a couple much to Law’s annoyance. The movie then moves onto some murky areas of affair, love and heartbreak, all the while retaining the flash forward method. And only when needed, the past incidents are spliced with the present in quick flashbacks. Well worth the watch.

On a side note: Interesting to compare Jude Law's character in this movie with his role in 'Alfie'. If Jude Law is to be the next bond, then it is good to see him get all his broken hearted roles out of the way. Neither Alfie or Closer ends on a happy note for his character.

2) Sideways (Directed by Alexander Payne, Novel by Rex Pickett): Rating 9/10

This is just a charming movie. I never ever expected it to be this good but it is. Part of my pre-conceived notions had to do with all the hype about the ‘wine’ tour and ‘wine’ talks in the movie. But the critics blew it out of proportion. The movie is NOT about a wine tour, but the wine only serves as a background in the lives of two troubled men – one a week away from getting married and the other struggling to get his novel published. Along the way, they meet two women and well sparks fly and emotions run high. Yet the two friends understand each other really well and try to look out for each other, in their own ways. Very well acted, especially by Thomas Haden Church (the groom). The first half of the movie is fast paced and funny with the second half being a bit slower.

3) Jisatsu Saakuru (Suicide Club) -- directed by Shino Sono. Rating 4/10

This is a huge let down; nothing worth seeing here! The opening scene was much talked about -- 54 high school girls jump off the track into the path of an oncoming train which mashes their bodies and spews blood in all directions. Why did the girls jump? And what is the mysterious package found by the train tracks? So we are lead to believe there is a mystery about this so called suicide club. A web site features red dots indicating the number of people who have died. And the mysterious package appears to be a rolled up chain of human skin, from people either dead or about to commit suicide. Unfortunately, the movie does not offer a proper answers to any question it throws our way. The entire mystery of the club even when partly revealed is well, plain dull. I kept thinking of ‘Battle Royale’ in some instances of this movie. In BR, the adults wanted to punish the children for being a trouble. But in this movie, the children try to get back at the adults simply because they feel the adults have ‘lost connection’ with their inner selves.