Whenever you see a Martin Scorsese film, you know it’s a Martin Scorsese film: The fast-moving camera, the sharp editing, the pop soundtrack, etc. Scorsese is both a visual artist and a technical master. Alfred Hitchcock, one of Scorsese’s great influences, loved using pure cinema to tell his stories. Pure cinema, distinct from the “cinema pur“ movement of the 1920s and 30s, is the use of autonomous film techniques (photography, editing, sound, etc.) to create an experience distinct from story. Scorsese has used pure cinema in his films as a way of bringing the audience closer his stories. In the films Casino, Goodfellas and Raging Bull, Scorsese uses pure cinema through slow-motion photography, jump cuts, and/or a pop-song laden soundtrack to put the audience in the mindset of his characters.
A pure cinema moment happens very early on in Casino when Sam Rothstein (Robert De Niro) watches as a local hooker known as Ginger (Sharon Stone) throw a bunch of casino chips in the air after one of her johns accuses her of stealing. After she throws the third cache of chips in the air, the frame freezes focusing solely on Ginger. The soundtrack starts playing “Love is Strange” by Mickey and Sylvia. We cut to a wide close up tracking in toward Rothstein in slow motion. He’s just staring at Ginger, entranced by her beauty. As we cut to a reverse shot of Ginger slinking away from the scene, the camera pans right and zooms in to a close medium shot of her – all in slow motion - walking through the crowd, occasionally shooting a flirty look to Rothstein. From the freeze-frame to the final pan, in three shots, we definitely know that Sam Rothstein has fallen head over heals in love with Ginger.
In Goodfellas, pure cinema is used to show a mobster’s mind at work. It happens about 3/4ths of the way into the film. Jimmy Conway (also played Robert De Niro) is a ruthless mobster being hassled for money by Morrie Kessler, the man who planned Conway’s recent robbery of Lufthansa airport. As Kessler is about to leave the bar, we cut to a medium shot of Conway at the counter just as the song “Sunshine of Your Love” by Cream starts on the jukebox off camera. Watch De Niro’s performance carefully as Conway: The camera pushes in as De Niro’s eyes dart from Kessler to his glass to the man sitting next to him and back to Kessler again. A little bit of a smile forms on his face and then just as quickly disappears before he takes a puff from his cigarette. De Niro’s eyes accompanied by camera’s push in reveal that he’s getting deeper and deeper in thought. The song’s bass-filled opening suggests something ominous. In just one shot, the audience can tell that Conway intends to kill Kessler and keep the money for himself.
Finally, in Raging Bull, pure cinema is used every time Jake La Motta (again, De Niro) sees his wife Vicki (Cathy Moriarty) interact with another man as he suspects she’s cheating on him. When Vicki kisses Jake’s brother Joey (Joe Pesci) on the mouth, Jake suspects Joey. When Vicki is seen talking Tommy Como (Nicholas Colasanto), Jake suspects Tommy (And so on, and so on). One of the ways that Jake La Motta’s suspicions are conveyed is by the combination of slow-motion and jump cuts. When Tommy comes to Jake’s house, there is a moment before they leave in which Tommy kisses Vicki goodbye. We are then shown Jake’s POV: he watches as Vicki and Tommy kiss in slow motion. There are also jump cuts from Vicki to Tommy then to Joey, all within the space of a few seconds. The jump cuts represent Jake’s subjectivity, his selecting of details that add to his suspicions. The slow motion represents his heightened awareness. Both aesthetically convey his sense of paranoia and jealousy regarding his wife.
If you think about, slow-motion photography, fast editing, and a pop song soundtrack aren’t exclusive to Scorsese. In fact, these techniques can be found in many of the action-laden blockbusters that Hollywood turns out from year to year. The only difference is Scorsese uses these techniques not to show off or to simply thrill us but make us empathize with very unlikable people. They are the villains in their world and 99% of the time the audience doesn’t associate themselves with villains but the heroes. Scorsese originally wanted to be a priest when he was young and I suspect he has a special place in his heart for these kinds of villains or sinners. A priest has to have love for the unlovable because, as it says in the Bible, “to err is human, to forgive is divine.”
[NOTE 1-29-13: A very special thanks go to Roger Ebert, not just for his body of work in general, but also for his criticism on Martin Scorsese's films which have heavily informed my analysis of his work as well.]
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Friday, September 12, 2008
Burn After Reading (R) ***1/2
Burn After Reading is one of those movies where you come out knowing less then when you went in, but still find yourself smiling and laughing giddily when you're half a block from the theater. Linda Litske (Frances McDormand) and Chad (Brad Pitt) come into possession of a CD that may or may not have confidential material belonging to one Osborne Cox (John Malkovich). Osborne has recently "quit" his position as a CIA analyst and wants to write his memoirs, both for sake of reflection and personal payback. His wife Katie (Tilda Swinton) couldn't care less about him. She wants out of her marriage and make her bed with a compulsive adulterer named Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney).
While this setup sounds simple enough, knowing the Coen Brothers (Joel and Ethan) means they will find many a clever way to twist the plot so it will churn up the characters in the process. The Coens have always been fond of ever-complicating conflicts, like in "Blood Simple" or "The Big Lebowski". As in those films and this one, characters often find themselves at dangerous cross-purposes, setting each other up to fall, often accidently, without ever really discovery why. In "Burn", we do indeed learn the true nature of the CDs contents early on (Semi-spoiler: The contents aren't "Top Secret"), but most of the characters in the film don't. How the CD is created, and why it is created, is an expert example of how to summon a MacGuffin out of thin air (Points to Hitchcock fans who don't need the word "MacGuffin" explained).
The movie also works as a good case study for how actors (in concert with a sharp script) can create indelible performances. Each actor, main and supporting, infuses their respective character with such energy that we're afraid it will blow off the screen. Clooney plays his adulterer with unbridled zeal, making the phrase "Hi there!" funny with his delivery alone. Pitt's dumb gym trainer Chad never lets out a hint of intelligence, making his happy-go-lucky attitude somewhat charming despite his obliviousness. Malkovich's analyst, on the other hand, is shrewd, exacting and in desperate need of anger management and A.A. McDormand's "positive-thinking" gym instructor is so myopic and dedicated to achieving the perfect body that she just might be the only one to come out of this movie alive (...or barely scratched).
The Coen Brothers, who recently won Oscars for "No Country For Old Men" (a film I need to reevaluate), love to tackle farce and follow their stories to the logical endpoint instead of bailing characters out at the last second. What makes this movie so fun is how the CIA Superior and Officer (they aren't given names, but are played perfectly by J.K. Simmons and David Rasche) are left to make up the film's denouncement, and even they aren't sure what to make of it:
"What have learned here?" says Simmons' character. "I don't know," responds Rasche. "Well, let's hope we don't do it again, whatever it was."
While this setup sounds simple enough, knowing the Coen Brothers (Joel and Ethan) means they will find many a clever way to twist the plot so it will churn up the characters in the process. The Coens have always been fond of ever-complicating conflicts, like in "Blood Simple" or "The Big Lebowski". As in those films and this one, characters often find themselves at dangerous cross-purposes, setting each other up to fall, often accidently, without ever really discovery why. In "Burn", we do indeed learn the true nature of the CDs contents early on (Semi-spoiler: The contents aren't "Top Secret"), but most of the characters in the film don't. How the CD is created, and why it is created, is an expert example of how to summon a MacGuffin out of thin air (Points to Hitchcock fans who don't need the word "MacGuffin" explained).
The movie also works as a good case study for how actors (in concert with a sharp script) can create indelible performances. Each actor, main and supporting, infuses their respective character with such energy that we're afraid it will blow off the screen. Clooney plays his adulterer with unbridled zeal, making the phrase "Hi there!" funny with his delivery alone. Pitt's dumb gym trainer Chad never lets out a hint of intelligence, making his happy-go-lucky attitude somewhat charming despite his obliviousness. Malkovich's analyst, on the other hand, is shrewd, exacting and in desperate need of anger management and A.A. McDormand's "positive-thinking" gym instructor is so myopic and dedicated to achieving the perfect body that she just might be the only one to come out of this movie alive (...or barely scratched).
The Coen Brothers, who recently won Oscars for "No Country For Old Men" (a film I need to reevaluate), love to tackle farce and follow their stories to the logical endpoint instead of bailing characters out at the last second. What makes this movie so fun is how the CIA Superior and Officer (they aren't given names, but are played perfectly by J.K. Simmons and David Rasche) are left to make up the film's denouncement, and even they aren't sure what to make of it:
"What have learned here?" says Simmons' character. "I don't know," responds Rasche. "Well, let's hope we don't do it again, whatever it was."
Friday, May 30, 2008
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (PG-13) ***1/2
He's back!
He's got the fedora, he's got the whip, he's got the gun- Damn, he left that at home. Oh, well. It's good to have you back, Indiana!
In KOTCS, Jones (still played by the rugged Harrison Ford) is forced by Soviet agent Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett, in probably her oddest role yet) to find an artifact known as the Crystal Skull. Not much is known about it except that there are thirteen of these special kinds of skull in the world and they are all extremely, bizarrely magnetic. All kinds of metal are drawn to it, even gold, which shouldn't be. Along the adventure, Indiana meets the brash, young Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) who's only to trying to find the skull to save his mom. Guess who?!
Along the way, Jones and Williams fight and outwit KGB agents, foot soldiers, and the living dead. For transportation, the two ride motorcycles, trucks, and amphibious vehicles, as well as riding rapids into and out of El Dorado! To complicate matters further, they pick up a deluded Professor "Ox" Oxley (John Hurt), a maternal Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen!), and a treacherous 'Mac' George McHale (Ray Winstone). And I can't even begin to tell you how Jones stumbles into and out of a nuclear test sight!
There was also a bit of social satire in the film that I found refreshing. When Jones and Williams are on a bike outrunning the KGB agents, they end up in an anti-communist rally. To lose the agents, Mutt kicks the wooden post holding a sign that reads "Better dead than red!" which lands on the hood of the KGB's car. I kind of wished this film had more of these sly pokes, much like how the first one skewered the Nazis. Unfortunately, it didn't.
David Koepp's script is uniformly tight, concise, and energetic. Koepp is a go-to screenwriter for big budget films like Spider-Man and Mission: Impossible. His scripts often start off well and lose their way well into the second act. But here, his writing is strong. Of course, it helps if George Lucas wrote the basic story and the script you write is about Indiana Jones.
This is a fun movie, emphasis on fun. Steven Spielberg, being the major creative head of the film, brings back a lot of the elements that made the original trilogy so winning: escalating conflict with a new predicament beginning just as another ends, strong and intriguing characters, a score by none other than John Williams, and an unnerving sense of comedic and dramatic timing. And the visuals... Oh! While some of the film suffers from what I like to call "CGI fakery," the visuals on display are gorgeous. And there is one shot at the climax of this film that is just plain... majestic.
Starring:
Harrison Ford-Indiana Jones
Cate Blanchett-Irina Spalko
Shia LaBeouf-Mutt Williams
John Hurt-Professor "Ox" Oxley
Karen Allen-Marion Ravenwood
Ray Winstone-'Mac' George McHale
Written by David Koepp
Story by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson
Produced by Frank Marshall
Directed by Steven Spielberg
He's got the fedora, he's got the whip, he's got the gun- Damn, he left that at home. Oh, well. It's good to have you back, Indiana!
In KOTCS, Jones (still played by the rugged Harrison Ford) is forced by Soviet agent Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett, in probably her oddest role yet) to find an artifact known as the Crystal Skull. Not much is known about it except that there are thirteen of these special kinds of skull in the world and they are all extremely, bizarrely magnetic. All kinds of metal are drawn to it, even gold, which shouldn't be. Along the adventure, Indiana meets the brash, young Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) who's only to trying to find the skull to save his mom. Guess who?!
Along the way, Jones and Williams fight and outwit KGB agents, foot soldiers, and the living dead. For transportation, the two ride motorcycles, trucks, and amphibious vehicles, as well as riding rapids into and out of El Dorado! To complicate matters further, they pick up a deluded Professor "Ox" Oxley (John Hurt), a maternal Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen!), and a treacherous 'Mac' George McHale (Ray Winstone). And I can't even begin to tell you how Jones stumbles into and out of a nuclear test sight!
There was also a bit of social satire in the film that I found refreshing. When Jones and Williams are on a bike outrunning the KGB agents, they end up in an anti-communist rally. To lose the agents, Mutt kicks the wooden post holding a sign that reads "Better dead than red!" which lands on the hood of the KGB's car. I kind of wished this film had more of these sly pokes, much like how the first one skewered the Nazis. Unfortunately, it didn't.
David Koepp's script is uniformly tight, concise, and energetic. Koepp is a go-to screenwriter for big budget films like Spider-Man and Mission: Impossible. His scripts often start off well and lose their way well into the second act. But here, his writing is strong. Of course, it helps if George Lucas wrote the basic story and the script you write is about Indiana Jones.
This is a fun movie, emphasis on fun. Steven Spielberg, being the major creative head of the film, brings back a lot of the elements that made the original trilogy so winning: escalating conflict with a new predicament beginning just as another ends, strong and intriguing characters, a score by none other than John Williams, and an unnerving sense of comedic and dramatic timing. And the visuals... Oh! While some of the film suffers from what I like to call "CGI fakery," the visuals on display are gorgeous. And there is one shot at the climax of this film that is just plain... majestic.
Starring:
Harrison Ford-Indiana Jones
Cate Blanchett-Irina Spalko
Shia LaBeouf-Mutt Williams
John Hurt-Professor "Ox" Oxley
Karen Allen-Marion Ravenwood
Ray Winstone-'Mac' George McHale
Written by David Koepp
Story by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson
Produced by Frank Marshall
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)