Number Three: Thelma and Louise (1991)

Second Ridley Scott movie of 2017. A film I've had waiting on Sky since we first got it installed back in July of last year.

What I enjoyed

The performances honestly blew me away. Susan Sarandon is always fantastic and doesn't seem to have aged in 25 years! Just a tough as nails bad ass, with a prickly brutal delivery throughout. Geena Davis as the young firebrand - emotional, constrained by her husband's negligence, like a puppy off the leash on the run. What actually happened to her as an actress? She was a huge deal in the early 90s but today just seems to have big TV roles here. I'd love to see her do more Julianne Moore-esque roles today. Supporting cast brought their A-game too - Brad Pitt, a properly grimy performance from Christopher McDonald and not one but two Reservoir Dogs. All of them felt rounded, purposeful but allowed the female leads to shine. Great stuff.

A classic American road movie, in every sense. Music, locations, pacing, Southern drawls. The twangy 90s guitar, sounding every bit like a Billy Ray Cyrus video. Dust covered covered roads, cheap motels, gas stations and the open road - a 90s western. The film didn't slow down, building with such pace to the iconic dramatic crescendo. I love a movie that ISN'T epic... it lets you know characters as they are, give them time to breath in the moment, which this really did. The story, increasingly manic as the characters, accepting their fate relax further and further... loved it. All top off by authentic, deep South accents, charm personified.

Bechdel test smashed. Real simple - 1. the movie has two women in it. 2. who talk to eachother 3. about something besides a man. This story is all about the women. Escaping the men, who in their own way all way are all looking to control Thelma & Louise, for the women to somehow fix or complete them. But as the film develops, it's really a story of them letting go of these men. Whilst there is a lot of lust or wanting (I'd argue very little love) the women only really come alive when they abandon their masculine anchors.

The scene with the cop... where Thelma finally steps out of the shadow, asserting herself as the real badass of the pair. Perfectly scripted, perfectly played, perfectly shot. And damn funny. The scene before too, where the dynamic between the two leads really shifts, pitches the shift with such emotional subtlety. I love how Thelma's costume evolves with her character, almost like a wrestling heel turn! From girl next door white dress with hair flowing down in the opening section, to white trash confederate skull and cross bone t-shirt wearing fugitive in the finale.

What didn't quite work

Camerawork at times, felt a bit tight. This did work for the story, which is meant to be personal, deep and so keeping the camera close makes sense. For me though... let the open road shout! I wanted huge vistas, sweeping shots as they drive through the desert. And whilst there were some, these were not plentiful enough for my Americana loving tastes.

Touches of 90s sentimentality don't really work form me. The soundtrack at times had a bit too much schmultz. I'd have been happy with it being pure twang and slide. There's also moments where the dialogue drifts into emotional exposition - sometimes things that are obvious are better left unsaid. Definitely a picture of it's time though, which also explains why every other background character seemed to be dressed as Axel Rose.

Conclusion

I really like this. A lot. It reminds me very much of one of my favourite films from last year - Hell or High Water. Love a road story, love renegades, love 90s America and the film told a simple story simply - a surprisingly tough task. The film tells a timeless story in an America which truly matches my vision of what that country should be.

Number Two: Life is Beautiful/ Ila Vita E Bella (1997)

Now this a film I have intended to watch for years but approached with definite subject matter related trepidation.

What I enjoyed

The storytelling here is brilliant. I love that this wasn't a war film in the traditional sense - I don't remember hearing gunfire until the last ten minutes - but more a sincere story of a good, truly loving man. The film begins with a caption setting out the story's fairytale-esque qualities and I could see that throughout - there's always just a hint of whimsy, fantasy, a haze but not a gloss. It doesn't though shirk or duck the horrors of the holocaust and there are moments of real terror which intensify throughout. There's a sense of tragic inevitability but Guido's optimism, even in circumstances of such desperation ('Well open an anvil factory!') give this film such heart and rare emotional depth.

Roberto Benigni won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance - utterly deserved. Clown prince in the first act, sad clown in the second, he was note perfect throughout. At times I felt like I should be emotional but his boundless enthusiasm, to keep Joshua's spirits high, pulled me up every time. Right until the very end he kept me smiling. The relationship between Guido and Joshua is handled so well, with a genuine warmth between the actors playing them - an excellent father/child story.

This film does not feel like it was made twenty years ago. The production style echoes back to Hollywood's golden age - the obvious studio interiors, the upbeat music often used to punctuate Guido's slapstick and, despite the awful subject, a certain sense of wholesomeness the film just feels classic. A timeless.

What didn't quite work

Narratively the film took a while to get going. Personally, I love this - the extended back story, detailing how Guido meets Joshua's mother is beautifully told, really endearing the character to the viewer and providing a clear explanation for why he acts as he does once incarcerated. I know though that many like their films to get into the action early and because I loved this film so much I'm kind of clutching at straws!

Conclusion

This is not like any Holocaust film I've seen. It might not have the intensity of The Pianist or Schindler's List, but I'd argue the relationships and my attachment to the characters is far greater as a result. It's a tragedy rather than a horror. A beautiful film and one which has already become a firm favourite.

Number One: Blade Runner (1982)

A film I know very well that I *should* have seen so an obvious one to start with. For reference, this is the Final Cut edition - one of seven different edits of the film I read have been released (more on that later).

What I enjoyed  

The influence of this film on others that I really like is obvious from the get go. Almost anything made since Blade Runner dealing with artificial intelligence borrows so heavily from this film, particularly Ex Machina and Fallout 4. Also the futuristic cityscape, almost comedic when you consider the film is set only two years from now, is extremely immersive and again has been imitated many times since, most notably for me in The Fifth Element.

The themes and ideas really left me contemplating the ethics of creating 'life'. The film explores this notion in many ways, from the inbuilt life span of the replicants which drives the story forward and particularly the freak show in Sebastian's lab, Blade Runner raises increasingly pertinent questions about where artificial intelligence is going... and at what point robots earn rights.

The sound, particularly the editing, really grabbed my attention. Very immersive, the mix created an awkwardness and emptiness which was essential to establishing the world. The scene where Rachael first arrives in Rick's apartment, with a blaring alarm, deep, rhythmical added so much to the feeling. The soundtrack too, very much of it's early 80s era, adds such dark urbanity, with a very Kavinsky vibe throughout.

What didn't quite work

The story felt quite muddled and loose. I must admit I don't love noire storytelling - the strong silent hero solving a crime does little for me. I'd suggest though that there were ideas which weren't fully developed (the six rogue replicants, the back stories of the antagonist group to mention, Sebastian and Tyrell) and others which were dwelt upon too long (the love story between Rachael and Rick). I wonder perhaps if a different cut of the film would be an easier watch as films with multiple versions often become somewhat diluted. I also don't love ambiguous endings, so this did little for me.

Harrison Ford as Rick really did nothing for me. I was left wondering what he was pitching as - Jack Nicholson in China Town maybe or a badass Clint Eastwood type role? His best stuff is as a tongue in cheek loveable rogue, the kind of stuff Chris Pratt does today. For me, his delivery throughout was simply wooden. I loved Daryl Hannah's tricky intensity though and Rudger Hauer with what developed into a very complex performance stole the show.

Conclusion

I'm left in no doubt of this film's immense impact - it'd be a ground breaking film in 2017, let alone 1982. There's a lot to like and I'd be very keen to watch it again as I wonder if there's things which would be clearer to me on a second viewing. I'd also be very keen to see the sequel in November!