Since Blade Runner 2049 is coming out, I wanted to post these thoughts I haven't seen mentioned in past or current discussions.
ARRIVAL - this is the best movie ever, but I haven't seen this mentioned in discussions: It's deliberately directed in a detached intellectual fashion, think the opposite of Spielberg. I believe the intention is for the audience to walk away pondering Amy Adams' choice. I pondered it, and I thought it was incredibly selfish because that kid did not go gently into that good night, she had a shaved head which indicates chemo. I noticed that every argument I came up with against her choice is actually used by pro-lifers. But could I judge Amy Adams? No, because I didn't live the experience she did in the movie that led to her choice. (She even calls it a choice at one point.) So I think one subtext of the movie is that it's showing the audience what it means to be pro-choice on an intellectual level, just using the other side of choice instead of abortion to illustrate it. By being detached it somehow leaves empathy up to the audience instead of manipulating us. Very clever.
ENEMY - I don't think it sucks, I just hate it. Nothing much happens for an hour and what does is deliberately confusing. The score is so oppressively tension-filled I lost patience, stopped the movie halfway through and went to read up on it. Unfortunately this movie is from a man (Villenueve said it's about his inner thoughts at the time,) about man problems, and interpreted by men to be such. Very little left for a women's perspective. Which would be fine, except the common interpretation is that wife + child = totalitarianism. 'Scuse me but I felt for the wife because she's saddled with a pregnancy and a gigantic manbaby who goes mental because he can't handle commitment. ffs, really. BUT, there could be more to it. The recurring totalitarianism theme could be political, as Villenueve is French-canadian and the movie is set in Canada. The book it's based on is political from a Venezuelan. I know nothing about French-canadian politics and American politics are hard enough to follow at the moment, so maybe it just went above my and other Americans' heads. If you like abstract puzzle movies with interesting premises you might like this, I dunno, I still hate it.
PRISONERS - there is a crapton of stuff going on in this movie, perhaps missed because it's easy to figure out the main antagonist early on. It's all about the moral grey areas, the irony, we get that. Most people recognize the catholic and norse mythology symbolism present, I mean the characters' names couldn't be more spot on if they tried. But I think there is more to it. It's got character studies on HOW religions impact their actions. Jackman and Gyllenhaal especially. But everyone seems to miss the greek myth symbolism, I don't know why. Terence Howard represents empathy, Viola Davis represents perhaps reason but definitely lawful neutral. The police chief is doubt. The main antagonist is the Minotaur. (I suppose this would make Joy, the little girl who escaped, Theseus.) The shopgirl is an oracle. Maria Bello is Eurydice, back from the dead when her daughter is rescued. And I suspect the movie itself is set up in part like a greek tragedy - it is almost 3 hours long so there is room for it - but I haven't refreshed myself on greek tragedy structure yet. One thing I read that wouldn't have occurred to me is that Loki's trickery would actually make for a successful detective, and the movie explains this by having him raised in a boys home, where the opportunity to become the criminals he's chasing was present. Also he transforms into Odin during his biggest heroic gesture. Is this in norse mythology? I don't know. Det. Loki also has masonic symbols tattooed on his fingers, not sure what that means but it's more food for thought. Interesting that the catholic characters duke it out as (maybe fallen, maybe not) angels and demons though; that's so catholic.
I think together all three movies explore toxic masculinity from different perspectives: the woman's, the man's, and religions'. For instance Jackman in Prisoners is under a heavy burden he himself created with his relationship dynamic to his family. His wife is completely dependent on him to the point of non-functioning, his teenage son can't disagree, only rebel. Terence Howard and Viola Davis had more of a partnership. But Jackman's dynamic and that amount of responsibility that toxic masculinity requires is what Gyllenhaal was afraid of in Enemy. Amy Adams makes her own choice regardless of toxic masculinity, and Jeremy Renner ends up leaving her because he thinks it was the wrong choice, but was it a bad choice? The audience is given autonomy to form there own opinions.
Clever stuff.
Submitted September 29, 2017 at 02:26PM by Vioralarama http://ift.tt/2fxZ8RD
No comments:
Post a Comment