The Art of Making Art: Putting It Together

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The Beauty Is - The Light In The Piazza

requested by an anon, thank you!

Cult or not, the fact of the matter comes down to this: the true Master in any sense is Paul Thomas Anderson, the visionary director of such films as There Will Be Blood (one I consider to be among the best films ever made) and Boogie Nights, among many others. Anderson’s latest venture, The Master, is a glowing, enthralling, and visceral example of the amazing things that happen when there is a marriage of acting, writing, directing, cinematography, and score. The Master creates a puzzling reaction, one that is too confused for its own good, perhaps, for it is a tricky film that does require a dedicated and intelligent audience, one that will go where Anderson wants to take them, yet realizing the brilliant conceits behind the storytelling at hand, both on the technical and performance levels.

            Freddy Quell (Joaquin Pheonix) is an impulsive, agitated, and scarred (literally and figuratively) man who has returned from serving in World War II, frazzled at his own existence and utterly lost, living in an isolated world of drunkenness and eternal lust. How’s chances that Quell encounters Lancaster Dodd (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), a man claiming to know the answers to maybe what Quell is searching for, but is too clever to ever show that. Dodd is fascinated with Quell; his utter brokenness, his long lost love, his psychological turmoil that leads him down a destructive and wild lifestyle. Dodd is the showman who has founded the theory known in the film only as “The Cause,” though the resemblance to the roots of Scientology cannot be ignored. His beliefs are that there is a trove of memories within everyone, and that each soul has been around for trillions, yes trillions, of years. The atmosphere changes as Quell enters the picture perfect family lifestyle; Dodd’s daughter attempts to cheat on her new husband, Dodd frequently gets drunk with Quell, and Dodd’s wife (Amy Adams) struggles to keep everything the way that it is. The path for success, for convention, institution, and compliance are what motivate Adams, and her plainness screams with vicious undertones.

These two men need each other, both as father and son dynamic, as leader and follower, as friends, as competitive energies. They are the distinctions of control and order versus chaos. The result is a maddeningly engrossing tension that escalates in both men, who need each other as much as they want to conquer one another. Quell represents genuine truth. The character aches with heartbreak and the decline of sanity, essentially, in a seemingly tumultuous life. The interest in Dodd lies not in his ability to make things up on the spot, to control great crowds at length, or his simple charm of maneuvering conversations, and more importantly, beliefs to fit his wants and needs. No, Dodd’s depth is what is underneath his façade, which comes out only on occasion, and yet is so dangerously lurking in every scene. Dodd literally creates a religious empire, and is often referred to as the Master. His quest for power and control relies on Quell, and yet Quell could very much ruin Dodd. Quell’s childlike innocence and abandon creates the perfect playground for Dodd’s psychological conquest. Yet as much as Quell wants to believe (he often takes oppnents of Dodd down, literally), his instincts drive him to ultimately leave Dodd to find his sweetheart, a decision based on pure romantic idealism. The opposition of truth and fiction, reality and fantasy, control and chaos, heat the relationship and the two men play it to the fiercest of levels. 

Pheonix gives an incredible physical performance. Every word seems thought out, his characterization so apt and completely consuming, it reminds one of the work of the great Marlon Brando or Robert de Niro. He is lost in Freddy’s desperation, sympathizing with the character enough to fully understand who he is and what he has been through that made him the violent and depressed state he is in. Hoffman finds nuance in every inch of this character, never over-playing the sensation that the character must have, but also allowing the inner life of Dodd to be revealed when his success is threatened. Both of their desperations play out in a fascinating game of master of control and victim of being controlled. Amy Adams delivers one of the most difficult of tasks, having less screen time and less dialogue to showcase the dual personality of her equally simple and monstrous Peggy Dodd. The three of them together could never be anything less than outstanding, and they live up to the standards they have already set for themselves.

Paul Thomas Anderson creates this genius work by carefully and diligently crafting every single shot. His script is devilishly funny and he is able to find the human heart and humor within these characters and this story. Mihai Malaimare Jr.’s cinematography is luscious and shown in gorgeous 70 mm, it captures the essence of the time period and the psychosis of the main characters, with tight shots effortlessly blended in with sweeping landscape photography, the result is truly stunning. The score, by Jonny Greenwood, accentuates the tone of the film brilliantly, with interesting rhythms and involving melodic mechanics that let the tension build, and show the practicality of the huge cult lies that are being spewed.

Or are they? The greatest fact about The Master is its sense of belief. It is said that sanity can only come when one’s beliefs have some shred of doubt. The audience in The Master wants to believe in Dodd so much (a credit to both Anderson and Hoffman) and yet knowing the banality of the theology that Dodd creates. Quell being such a real human being, he is simply lost and wants to find a peace. He can never get that peace because Anderson realizes the truly American struggle between individuality and the desire to be lead, a theme that is so relevant to today’s world, with an important election coming in just a few months, and to the world at the time, when the imposing war made for new discoveries and the very beginnings of what would turn into a complete cultural and social revolution where conventionalities, organized religion and Christianity one of them, being questioned, challenged, exposed, and leading to an array of political and institutional disillusionment. The entire film restores a faith in not just American cinema, but in the life of cinema at all. It may not have the emotional tangibility that There Will Be Blood possessed, but it delves into a fascinating corner of American pastime and Western thought, that the movie becomes more than just a film, but a political, psychological, and sociological statement that reflects the inner pursuits of desire and need to break away from isolation that instill in all of us the essences of our beliefs. In the end, the film represents the very “cause” that Dodd presented; that to look to the future, one must understand their past completely, which goes beyond what we might even think or know, and into the ocean of tragedy and success that we have known. It is a balance of past and future that create the present, and the balance of belief and doubt that shape who we are. If you understand this about the film, we may very well be in the cult of Dodd, or perhaps a cult all of our own.A 

(via letsplayshowtunes)

Source: hipstertheatrepictures

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Source: hipstertheatrepictures

Best Movie Posters of 2011

Beginners is a charming film, and so quirky, it almost out-quirks itself. Trying to be the ideal “indie” film, it essntially loses it’s sight along the way, but it has some really fantastic attributes to it. One, or shall I say three, are the leading performances. Ewan McGregor and Melanie Laurent as the two love-birds in this low-key RomCom are both great, McGregor playing his usual best and Laurent giving us something new and subtle and fantastic, in a bizarre you-can’t-take-your-eyes-off-of-her way. The real star, of course, is Christopher Plummer, who plays a 80 year old father to McGregor, finally coming out of the closet. Plummer brings such grace and such youth to his role, it is truly astonishing. He captures the essence of the character so much (the wit, the class, the wistful nature) that you honestly forget it’s an actor playing the role. The direction and cinematography are both great, though it tends to lose it’s kitsch towards the end of the film. It’s sweet, lovely, and down-to-Earth in the most hipster way possible. And the hipsters all probably pretend to hate because it’s too “mainstream” but really all love this movie for how hipster it is. But that may get in the way sometimes to tell a truly great love story, with a powerful heart. Just because it’s indie doesn’t mean falling into cliché of indie. However, there’s way much more good than bad, and Plummer alone brings such sensibility and beauty to his role, you simply can’t resist. 

Sean Durkin’s first feature is quite the trip. Durkin’s sensibility as a director shines with this film, and shows undeniable promise. The really crazy thing about this film is that it’s quietness is only juxtaposed by the really messed up things that are happening in the plot. An intriguing analytical mess of reality, memory, and fantasy, Martha Marcy May Marlene is about a paranoia, an extreme desire to escape the past, though it always comes back to haunt you. It is the isolation and the trouble that comes with that, that Martha really suffers from— the cult has a certain way of thinking and the film geniously explores the psychological persuasion into a way of thinking…the way that the cult tries to make their ethics and morality universal is a terrifying, and intriguing thing. Elizabeth Olsen does a helluva job as Martha, giving her dewey eyed complexity, both bewilderment, shock, digust, and intrigue. She gives quiet moments great momentum, and is an actress to keep an eye on. Jody Lee Lipes’ cinematography is eerily distant and then uncomfortably close; the mixed bag reflects Martha’s psyche in an interesting way. The scariest thing about Martha Marcy May Marlene is that it actually could happen. It may have even benefited from taking that dive a bit further, let us know just how paranoid and altered Martha is, and especially contrasting that with the old Martha, and the only complaint I might have is that we never get to see what the original Martha was like; it is only infered as to why she would even accept and join this group in the first place, or what exactly she was running away from. But perhaps that makes the film only more intriguing—running away brought her to this society, and of course it looks fine on the outside, with it’s acceptable living conditions and always a “family’ of sorts around you. But, ah, there’s always more than meets the eye. 

Martin Scorsese knows a thing or two about magic. Or so it would seem from his stunning film Hugo.

Hugo is about a variety of things, one being a boy, who lives in a clock tower, obsessing over finding the key to his last recollection of his father, which happens to be a robot. Other various plots includes the young boy meeting a young girl and them discovering her grandfathers past passion for cinema, and his work as a director. Another involves a train stration security guard of sorts who is out to find Hugo after chasing him around the train station. The plots go on and on and on, a lot of times without any clear throughline or connection. The characters are sometimes random and the events don’t always pay off (or feel like they should or have to pay off). The performances are fine, nothing too outstanding (besides Ben Kingsley’s brilliant turn as the ex-director). Whatever. Those things don’t seem to matter at all. Scorsese truly shows what he can do in this film. His direction is seemingly magical and he brings these strange stories to life in such an inventice and fascinating way (some of his single shots are fantastic) that you are deeply invested into everything that is happening for the 2 and a half hours you are spending in the theatre. Sure, it’s a little long and there are unnecessary parts, but Scorsese’s love song to cinema and to film is a stroke of genius rarely seen in film, let alone commercial film, these days. The art direction and photography for this film are also breathtaking, and this may be the one film worth seeing in 3D this year. Hugo may not be the most fulfilling time this year, but it certainly is one of the most magical.

I am not sure if Tabloid is a great film or a great story, so I am going to go with BOTH! Morris captures this cooky (and fascinating) story of Joyce McKinney, and if there was ever any performance award for a documentary, she would be the winner! Such an interesting story, and it’s told with such umph and intrigue, it keeps you there throughout the entire film, which is hard to say for many other documentaries. 

The gang is back! And thank God for that!

As I walked into the theatre I got such a sense of enormous joy and excitement to see what the Muppets can bring, after a nearly ten year absence from pop culture altogether. They’ve always been there, distilled in numerous films, television shows, and random videos but never were given the chance for a true comeback. I was extremely happy to find out that they did not disappoint. Walter, a Muppet-obsessed Muppet, is dying to visit the old Muppet studios, and finally gets his chance when his best friend Gary (writer Jason Segel) and his girlfriend Mary (a delightful Amy Adams) vacation to Los Angeles. They finally meet Kermit, to Walter’s shock, who tells them that the entire Muppet studios is being renovated…but what Kermit doesn’t know is that Tex Richman, a meta-name if there ever is one, is planning on tearing down the studios to drill for oil. Unless Kermit and the classic Muppet gang, who have long separated and moved on since their days together, can come up with 1 million dollars, they will lose their beloved studio. So what else to do than put on a show?!

The new venture isn’t perfect. There needs to be more Muppets…many of the sequences and musical numbers are hardly performed by the crew that the film is titled after! Other problems consist of a lack true Muppet heart…the film feels all too much like a fun nostalgia trip, than a new addition to the Muppets canon. Some characters have been reduced: Rowlfe barely has a personality at all, while Rizzo is there in merely passing glances. But it does a whole lot of things right. It has the zany, cooky energy that the Muppets have lost and an endearing quality is back that has been missing since Jim Henson’s death. The simple nature, the meta-awareness, and this film finally brings back the great comedy that the Muppets are capable of. The songs, though short and often forgettable, express a lightheartedness and Amy Adams is just the kind of celebrity who would be a guest host, if the Muppet show were around today. She proves herself Muppet worth in this film for sure, though her character gets shifted at times due to the films lack of focus. To me, this film is great but could have been more, and maybe that’s just what will happen. The nostalgia is only nostalgia for those who knew the Muppets, but kids today have no idea who these felt creatures are! As an introduction, the film is lovely. It’s heartwarming, and may create a few tears for true Muppet fans…when Kermit begins to sing “The Rainbow Connection,” it is a reminder of what the Muppets have always been about: suspending disbelief and keeping the dream alive. They’ve infiltrated the hearts of America almost like no other since their inception, and judging by the box office reports, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of them. It may not fully capture all the magic of the Muppets in their golden age, but The Muppets is a brilliant, hilarious, and positively gleeful time to be shared, and certainly a promise of the greatness to come. B+

George Clooney’s newest film The Ides of March is anything but safe. This tale of a young Junior Campaign Manager, Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) who is working on winning his candidate, Mike Morris (George Clooney), the Demoicratic primary in Ohio to become the Democratic nominee in a modern-times election. With this battle comes private battles of their own. The angst between Meyers and Morris’ Senior Campaign Manager Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to get things done. The pace quickly picks up as Meyer’s secretly meets with the opposing candidates manager (Paul Giamatti) and becomes romantically involved with one of the interns working on the campaign (Evan Rachel Wood). There are twists and turns along the way, and the action only rises from there.

Clooney has a great sense of character (not uncommon coming from a director with an acting background). The manipulation of characters plays perfectly into the greedy twisty political interplay that everyone is basically akin to, but Clooney, along with screenwriters Grant Heslov and Beau Willmon do it in a way that maneuvers human emotion of the characters, a true strength of the film, and one that Moneyball REALLY wished it could have had. The performances were solid all around, even despite Gosling being a bit miscast in the role. Evan Rachel Wood is climbing a ladder of greatness, and her next few projects, whatever she decides those are, are going to take her to new levels; talk about a promising actress. It is no surprise that Clooney fits into the mold of his character extremely well, and the supporting cast (including a fabulous Marisa Tomei) are excellent. 

The social context of the film is intriguingly displayed, with the plot revolving around an Obama-esque character, so soon to the start of his re-election campaign. It’s a film about winning and what that costs to the person themselves. And it’s handled pretty admirable. B+