The Scary Ferry: Ghost Writer and Shutter Island

Roman Polanski is back in fine form with THE GHOST WRITER, a political, psychological thriller with a nice dark edge. Pierce Brosnan plays an ex-British Prime Minister (think Tony Blair) who is accused of war crimes for his approval of torture to fight terrorism, and Ewan McGregor is the ghost writer hired to rewrite his autobiography. The writer becomes convinced that the previous ghost writer was murdered and soon becomes involved in a political cat and mouse game to prove it. There are some very tense moody scenes, several of which take place on a ferry.

A ferry also becomes an ominous feature in the new film by Martin Scorsese called SHUTTER ISLAND, which I felt was a bit over-directed at first. Scorsese likes to use symbolic set designs instead of realistic settings to create tension or feelings of fantasy or unearthliness, and here the feeling of isolation and desolation are vividly portrayed by creating a man-made cliff that keeps the characters from easily crossing over to the lighthouse, where there may or may not be illegal medical operations occurring. There are times when the plotting becomes confusing and illogical, but stick with it--Scorsese and his troops have created an eerie ode to madness in their tale of a U.S. Marshall and his assistant who travel to a mental hospital to search for a missing patient. Things are not always what they seem on SHUTTER ISLAND and I felt that keenly watching this film.

On DVD I caught up with a film that I'd never really seen from start to finish, but one that you think you have seen before because you've read so many things, and seen bits of it here and there. CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF is a solid bit of drama with some great performances by the entire cast including the Oscar nominated Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, and Burl Ives (although that year he won for THE BIG COUNTRY instead of CAT), and very good support by a nearly unrecognizable Judith Anderson, and Jack Carson. When Tennessee Williams is done right, there is nothing better, and the dialogue (by writer/director Richard Brooks) really resonates.

WOW---I don't know how it happened, but I realized this week that I forgot to include 2 (two) of my favorite films from SIFF that also played in Seattle theatres in my TOP FILMS OF 2009 list!!!!!!!!!!!
The first is called SUMMER HOURS--a French film by director Olivier Assayas about three adult children with families and lives of their own, who must decide what to do with their recently deceased mother's estate of lovely and valuable art pieces and furniture. She had been the companion of a well admired artist, and her death forces them decide what should become of these valuable and "priceless" works of art. It becomes cathartic to their relationships, and a painful reminder that what one considers a nuisance, others have great feeling for. The final scene really socks home that feeling as a new generation shows seeming indifference to the beauty of the "antiques" around them. This film should affect any one who is in the position or has been in the position of probating an estate of their beloved parents or relatives. I cried through most of this film, but it is not necessarily sentimental.

The second film is DEPARTURES, a Japanese film about a young man who returns to his parents small town home after their death with his new wife , because he has lost his job as a
cellist. The only job he can find is helping a funeral home "prepare" bodies for burial or cremation--a job that brings him shame when others find out, but which soon provides much joy and comfort to the families that he helps. It is an engrossing, happy/sad film that uses these rituals to create a greater appreciation of life for the survivors. Another film that had most of the movie-goers in tears for much of the film. These films are both TOP FIVE on my list--which will be amended soon.