Two years ago, the Swedish vampire film LET THE RIGHT ONE IN became a minor hit (for a foreign language film) in the US--and the rights were immediately snapped up for an American remake. The GREAT news is that the new film, LET ME IN is just as good as the original--in fact, some of the plotting makes more sense, and many of the scenes are shot for shot the same. When it first screened at SIFF several years ago, no one really knew anything about it, but it clearly was not what anyone expected. In fact it transcends it's subject matter, and even festival goers who do not like horror or "vampire" films were quite moved by the story which involves a 12 year old boy who is being ignored by his estranged parents, becoming involved with a young girl who has been 12 years old for quite a while. The film doesn't cheat on the classic vampire lore, but it creates a moody, fascinating story that is involving, creepy, satisfying and sympathetic towards its three main characters, although some may complain that the final scene aboard the train leaves more questions than answers. I wish that the producers could have taken the clue from the original on how to promote this new version better. The current picture on the poster of a child making snow angels just doesn't have the emotional depth or edge that the new picture delivers. I would urge you to give this one a try, even if you think you won't like it. This film gets under your skin and may haunt you for months.
GRADE------ B+
DOUBLE TAKE is an initially fascinating experimental film that unfortunately just doesn't jell. By using vintage clips and ads and an Alfred Hitchcock look-alike, the director tries to patch together a thin plot which has Hitchcock meeting his doppelganger (double), and then tries to conjecture that some of Hitchcock's films (with occasional clips) are influential in the Cold War maneuvers. It is all stretched pretty thin. Go see a Hitchcock film instead. GRADE-----C
A one-concept-idea, the new film THE FREEBIE is (what should have been) a 12 minute short film that has been stretched into 85 dreary minutes. A young happy couple talks themselves into giving each other a one time evening where they each can go have a one night stand (sex) with any one else with out feeling guilty or having to explain, etc. The execution is (of course) harder than it seems, and the next day (of course) is filled with remorse and regret. BLAH BLAH BLAH. GRADE------C-
The new film called NEVER LET ME GO, based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, who also wrote REMAINS OF THE DAY, wants to haunt you, too, but I found it to be too mild and obscure. The actors are well cast and the photography and the music are lovely, but the plot, about children raised to be organ (and other body parts) donors doesn't feel right. This is set in the mid 1970's to mid 1990's---where is the rebellion, the sense of righteousness, the social protest? Why do all the characters act so unimpassioned and docile? The film raises questions and red flags at every turn. Even the subplot of jealousy and a misdirected love triangle feels uninspired. I could hardly wait for the film to be over. GRADE-------D+
Back in 1974 when the Worlds Fair was held in Spokane, I went with my parents for a weekend stay. While they were sleeping in the motel bed next to mine, I watched for the first time, and on the late show-- IMITATION OF LIFE (1959) and sobbed so hard that my mother woke up and asked what was the problem. When I told her it was a movie on TV she just shook her head and went back to sleep. I have to say that I cried and cried all over again this past week. This glossy version of the Fannie Hurst novel has got to be one of my favorite tear-jerkers of all time, the it's a lot of fun to watch. Lana Turner has never been better, and John Gavin, Robert Alda, and Sandra Dee are all terrific as her two lovers and her daughter. But best of all is Juanita Moore who plays the good-hearted black woman who works for Turner and must deal with her selfish troubled daughter who tries to pass for white. GRADE------A-
On the same DVD is the first version of IMITATION OF LIFE (1934) which features Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers. Instead of wanting to become an actress which Lana Turner was so good at, Colbert starts selling a pancake mix based on Beavers recipe. Obviously in the 30's the portrayal of black and white friends was more carefully orchestrated. When they make it rich, they both live in the same townhouse mansion, but Beavers and her daughter live downstairs in the basement and Colbert and daughter live upstairs. (In the 1959 version, the mansion is quite large--they have their own wing.) There's a great emotional scene which has them parting, with one ascending and the other descending in the same frame. Beavers daughter also tries to pass for white, and the scenes carry a dangerous feeling of racial hatred. It is most interesting to compare the two pictures. Even though they both have the same story arch, the approach and emotional result is quite different yet effective in both versions. I didn't cry watching this version, but found it to be quite fascinating for its socio-economic milieu and for what-at the time- must have been a very provocative theme. GRADE-----B
Released just one year after the shocking success of Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO, gimmick master and hack director William Castle tried to cash in with HOMICIDAL (1961), the picture with a "fright break," which was 60 seconds of a heart beating and clock ticking to allow frightened people to exit the theatre before the "shocking" ending. The film moves very slowly and oddly--the first murder seems to come out of nowhere, and then there's an hour before things pick up again. The murderess seems so completely psychotic that is seems strange that her boyfriend and their friends don't pick up on the problems much earlier. The finale is surprising, although my wife and I both made a comment half way through that surprised us by actually being true!!!!!! Interesting in an odd, stilted sort of way. GRADE------C+
I didn't remember much about the original movie version of SLEUTH from 1972, except that I thought that Laurence Olivier and Micheal Caine were both very good actors. The remake version of SLEUTH (2007)stars Caine in the Olivier role, and Jude Law as the younger man. It has been modernized and set in a cold stylized British country mansion, and the dialogue is pithy and sharp. The plot is basically a word game between the two characters over the older man's wife, that could turn deadly at any time and I was not emotionally engaged, but found it to be watchable. GRADE-----C
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That's interesting about Ishiguro's book made into a novel. I am a great fan of the writer, but found that book boring. The ideas of organ harvesting, etc., are not new in science fiction and he didn't offer anything to make it interesting beyond what I'd already seen explored. It seems that a lot of "literary" authors were trotting out their versions of standard scifi tropes but failing to advance the discussion.
ReplyDeleteWhen Atwood and Le Guin spoke recently in Portland, they quipped that the local papers had prepared the audience for a "cat fight". Didn't happen. Nevertheless these two distinguished authors are distinctly at odds over some critical definitions of terms. Atwood claimed that science fiction was what "could never happen" and that her preferred term, speculative fiction was what could happen.
Huh? Has she even checked a dictionary? She trotted out Star Wars and Le Guin just sighed. "You're talking about media" not literature. There is a lot of bigotry associated with the "genres" but it's still sad to see.
Anyway, Ishiguro's book had a thin plot, a simplistic concept, and I'm not surprised it didn't make a great movie if they followed the book, which might have made a terrific short story.