Session Five / All the President's Men

This movie had all the elements that I like in a movie.  It had great actors, suspense, a solid story and it was based on true events

Theme:  The theme of this movie was based on the age-old fight between good and evil.   Two journalists stumble upon a story about a break-in at the offices of the National Democratic Party that turns into an investigation into White House corruption that goes all the way up to the President of the United States of America.

Relationship of the Parts to the Whole:

In many parts of the film, we see the struggle between doing what is right and going along with corruption, in order to protect careers and lifestyle.  It is evident when Woodward and Bernstein try to interview employees of Creep (Committee to Re-elect the President).   They received no cooperation at all during the first attempted interviews, due to employees trying to protect their jobs and lifestyle.   In another part of the film, Debbie Sloan convinces her husband to resign when they discover the depths of corruption.  She proclaims that, “This is an honest house” when the reporters come to interview her husband.  She wanted them to know that neither she nor her husband wanted any part of the dishonesty and corruption that they found happening around them.    The struggle was also evident in the conversations with Donald Segretti, although he was a bit more arrogant about his role in the corruption.  He knew what he was doing was wrong, but dismissed it as trivial.  He maintained that it was not as bad as what he did in college, excusing himself as a college prankster rather than part of the corruption.  At the same time, you could see and feel his emotional struggle as he realized the enormity of what he was facing.  I saw this same emotional struggle between good and evil in many more situations, including the exchange between the reporters and the co-worker who was dating the Creep employee, the bookkeeper at Creep who knew about the illegal activities, and even Deep Throat, who would provide confirmations, but not information, even though he knew the level of corruption and the names of those involved.

Subjective Evaluation:

I found it fascinating the Robert Redford both directed and acted in this film, and that he could stay so focused on each of these roles.  The integrity and endless amount of research that went into this film to keep its credibility is mind-boggling.  I have so much respect for the final product, knowing how important it is to remember our history so we don’t repeat it.  It is a film that I will encourage both of my children to see.  It was such a huge part of my formative years, and saddens me that neither one of them really understands the enormity of what happened in the early 70’s.

The Film as Moral, Philosophical or Social Statement:

This film has an abundance of moral, philosophical and social statements that are as relevant today as they were when this story first broke in 1972.   Robert Redford did an outstanding job of telling a true story, but giving it the weight and seriousness it deserved.  If you didn’t know that it really happened, you would have to marvel at the complexity of the story line.  Knowing that it was true, I was impressed with the way the director told the story, made it seamless and taught some very deep lessons without preaching.  I believe this is a very important film and one that will watched for years to come by many generations.  It has, and will have a serious impact on those watching it and interested in the history it has to offer.   In one scene, a women says to Bernstein that he shouldn’t believe the myths of the White House.  Society needs to hear and remember this.

Works Cited

Boggs, J. M., & Petrie, D. W. (2008). The Art of Watching Films (7th Edition ed.). Ashford University: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Session Five / The Cider House Rules

I really enjoyed this movie.  It had so many emotional stories wrapped up into one.  I connected so emotionally with this film that I found myself weeping during several scenes.

Theme:   The title of the film set the scene for the theme of the movie.  It was based on the Cider House Rules, rules that were ridiculously redundant, and meaningless.   They were rules that someone else had imposed on those living in the Cider House. On a deeper level, the theme is about the rules that each one of us lives with, whether imposed on us by others or rules that we impose on ourselves.   The theme on rules takes on another sub-theme; rules are made to be broken. 

Relationship of the Parts to the Whole:

Throughout the film, we see the theme play out again and again.  Dr. Larch made a decision, (rule) that helping unwed mothers either deliver their children and give them up for adoption or abort the pregnancy was his calling in life.  He believed that un-wed mothers must have options and that he was the only way for them to have safe options.   Those were the rules he made for himself, even though abortion was illegal.  On the other hand, Homer was happy to deliver babies, but would not perform an abortion, his rules for himself.  Candy had her rules, too.  She would commit herself to Wally, but since she was no good at being alone, she would have an affair with Homer and not see anything wrong with it, since Wally was away.  Even Mr. Rose had his rules, since Rose Rose was his daughter, his property, his rules excused the incestuous relationship he forced upon her.  All of these scenarios follow the theme.  I found it interesting, that after the apple picking crew discovered what the Cider House Rules actually said, we then started seeing them act out against the rules.  In the beginning of the movie, they never went up on the roof.  After Homer read them the rules, there were several scenes with the crew on the roof.

Subjective Evaluation:

I was impressed with the way the director handled such controversial subjects as abortion and incest.  It is so easy for people to take an either black or white, for or against stance on abortion.  The director established a relationship between the audience and Rose Rose.  When he revealed the nature of her pregnancy, it was harder to look at it as a "for or against "abortion issue. 

The Film as Moral, Philosophical or Social Statement:

The director definitely used the humanistic approach for this film.  He established relationships between the characters and the audience.  He showed the despair and anguish the orphans felt, the longing for families of their own.  He allowed us to empathize with the characters, regardless of our own beliefs.  He showed us that circumstances could change our beliefs or rules.  Even though Homer would not perform abortions in the early parts of the film, he came to believe that it was the only way out for Rose Rose.   


This movie affected me at a deep level.  The rules that we have for ourselves are usually deep rooted, and most likely the results of our upbringing or experiences.  After watching this movie, it really made me think about evaluating what I believe.  

Although I did not change my beliefs due to this film, I certainly have more empathy for anyone else having to make life altering decisions.

Works Cited

Boggs, J. M., & Petrie, D. W. (2008). The Art of Watching Films (7th Edition ed.). Ashford University: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Session Four / The Graduate

This was a great movie.  It was like a trip down memory lane, seeing the houses, fashions, and parties of my parent’s era.  The non-chalant cigarette smoking and cocktail parties seem so odd now, such a relic of a time gone by.  The phone booths, dial telephones, and in home bars were like walking through a 60’s museum.

Color:  The director made great use of color in this film.  The fashions had lots of black and white, animal print patterns and geometric patterns that were so popular in the 60’s.  A standout scene for me was when Dustin is at the Berkeley campus sitting on the edge of the fountain.  The director focused on all the colors, the deep green of the grass, the brilliant red of the flowers, the enhanced blue water in the white fountain, the red, white and blue of the American flag – all very slow and focused with no distractions.  The next scene is the same location, filmed from further away with people all of a sudden imposed into the scene.  It was a very interesting effect.

The director also made good use of black and white as identifying colors for the scenes at the Taft hotel and also the interior rooms of Ben’s parents house.  In one scene, the door to the hotel room suddenly becomes the door to the kitchen of Ben’s parent’s as he quickly shuts the door.  It was a good effect, inferring that Ben was ashamed of what he was doing and didn’t want his parents to know the truth.

Dialogue/Sound:

The dialogue was very simple, almost on the verge of boring at times.  I am sure the director did this intentionally to set up the affair as very emotionless.  When Ben does try to have a conversation with Mrs. Robinson, it is very stilted, awkward and unsuccessful.  It is in direct contrast to his conversations with Elaine, light and easy. 

There were some great special effects using dialogue.  The scene where Ben is in the diving suit and heading into his parent’s pool stands out.  All you can hear is the sound of the Ben breathing slowly via the air tank.  You can see his parent’s and the guest’s mouths moving, but the only sound is the slow, steady breathing.  It is very dramatic and effective.  A similar effect is used when Ben and Elaine are at the drive in restaurant.  They are trying to have a conversation but it is very noisy, so he puts the top up on his car and closes the windows.  All you can see is Ben and Elaine’s mouths moving as they have an animated conversation that is completely silent to the audience.

The Musical Score:

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel – icons of the 60’s and 70’s.  The soundtrack for this movie was perfect.  The songs used were mirror images of the feelings that Ben was having at the time.  I especially liked the use of the song, The Sounds of Silence.   From the first time we hear it, it evokes a kind of void and unhappiness that Ben is feeling deep inside.   As a leitmotif it continues to recall that feeling every time the song is heard, even to the end of the film.   I really didn’t like the ending, but understand why it was used.  The decisions and uncertain future this new couple had to face was staggering, even somewhat numbing.  Their expressions go from elated to somber very quickly and the song is the perfect backdrop.

Acting:

Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft were excellent together.  She commanded every scene she was in, perfectly in the character of Mrs. Robinson.  It was so fun to see a young Dustin Hoffman; his personality becomes part of every character he plays.  So many of his mannerisms reminded me of later films (Kramer vs. Kramer, Tootsie, Rainman, Meet the Folkers) where he becomes the character, but never loses Dustin Hoffman in the process.  Katherine Ross does a fine job as Elaine Robinson.  She holds her own next to Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman.   She is cast well, part smart college girl, part clueless coed.  The rest of the cast is really there for support of the main story and the main actors.

The Director’s Style

Director Mike Nichols does not seem to have a set style.   The Graduate was one of 22 films he has directed, including Silkwood, The Bird Cage, Charlie Wilson’s War and Closer.  His movies are truly one of a kind, with no resemblance to each other.

Works Cited

Boggs, J. M., & Petrie, D. W. (2008). The Art of Watching Films (7th Edition ed.). Ashford University: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The Internet Movie Database (2011) The Graduate retrieved on Sept. 18, 2011 from:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001566/

Session Four / The Dark Knight

This movie was an action packed story of the fight between good and evil with a love story thrown in for good measure.  I have never been a big fan of the Batman and this movie was no exception.  The plot was so predictable and the stunts were so repetitive that it actually took me an entire day to finish it (what did we do before we had DVD and “pause”?)  With my critique out of the way, I will address the elements from The Art of Watching Films chapters that were assigned.

Color:

This film followed its title very well, The Dark Knight.  The movie was filmed with low lighting, giving it a feeling of a never-ending night.  I watched the movie on my computer, and the low lighting made it very difficult for me to see some of the scenes clearly.  One scene that caught my attention was at the party/fundraiser that Bruce Wayne held for Harvey Dent.  Most of the guests are dressed in dark and neutral colors.  Bruce Wayne enters by helicopter with three beautiful women as his entourage.  Each one is wearing a stylish dress in bold solid colors, bright pink, eye-popping blue and attention grabbing yellow.  As these women integrate into the scene it is impossible for them to fade into the crowd.  The colorful outfits, used in contrast to the rest of the crowd’s dull and formal look, implanted the notion that Bruce Wayne was an individual, a man who had it all and then some, who was not afraid to stand out in a crowd.

The director also used leitmotifs in color, as illustrated in the use of the Joker’s makeup and the masks that his accomplices wore.  The garish, smeared red lipstick served to make the viewer uneasy and to help them recognize the Joker as a dysfunctional and disturbed character.  Whenever the lipstick was seen, whether on masks or under disguises, it set an unsettling tone for the scene.

Dialogue/Sound:

The movie included special uses of sound effects and dialogue.  I was actually quite surprised the first time I heard the Batman’s voice.  It was deep, dark and gravelly, almost a loud whisper.  I found it to be quite scary at first.  It was a good contrast to that of Bruce Wayne, helping the director to separate the two in the minds of the viewer. 

The Joker’s voice and facial movements, like him licking his lips in an exaggerated way, were used well to contribute to his maniacal nature.   Even the use of British Michael Caine as Alfred was effective.  The calm, soothing cadence of his voice made his character very believable as a servant and friend to Bruce Wayne and Rachel.

The background sound was used well.  This was a very noisy film, using lots of exaggerated sound effects such as “city” noises, sounds of buildings blowing up, cars racing and crashing, and guns and bazookas shooting. 

The Musical Score:

During the funeral march of the murdered Police Commissioner, the director chose to use the Pipes and Drums of the Chicago Police Department to open the scene.  This was a brilliant use of music to set the mood.  The sounds of a pipe and drum band sets the viewer in an immediate mood of melancholy and sadness.  It told an inner story and set a dramatic effect without use of any explanation.  It was the only time in the movie that I really noticed the soundtrack.

Acting:

The director made excellent choices in the actors for this movie.  Each one captured the characteristics and personality of the intended character.  I’m sure this is a more difficult task when the movie story has been done so many times before with different actors and in different medium (cartoon, comic book, TV show, video games and movie versions).    I cannot think of one character in this movie that was not completely believable.  Although Heath Ledger received so much acclaim for his rendition of the Joker, I felt that his performance was on par with that of the rest of the cast.   Perhaps that is because they used such seasoned and experienced actors for even the most minor of parts.  Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were outstanding in their roles and were two of my favorites characters in the film.  Christian Bale played both Bruce Wayne and the Batman flawlessly.   There was no typecasting in this movie.  Each actor played a character that was not necessarily the norm for his or her portfolio. 

The Director’s Style:

This is only the second film that I have watched by Christopher Nolan, Memento being the first.  Two of his other noteworthy films, Batman Begins and Inception seem to be similar in style according to my research.    Nolan tends to gravitate towards the same actors, but uses them in different roles than the viewer is used to seeing them.  He also likes to include characters that have some sort of psychological disorder and his endings tend to have a theme of justified dishonesty.  For example at the end of The Dark Knight, the rationale that the “citizens of Gotham deserve to have their faith rewarded” and in Memento, the main character’s question of, “Do I lie to myself to be happy” both hint at justified dishonesty.

Works Cited

Boggs, J. M., & Petrie, D. W. (2008). The Art of Watching Films (7th Edition ed.). Ashford University: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The Internet Movie Database (2011) The Dark Knight retrieved on Sept. 17, 2011 from:

http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=the+dark+knight

Session Three / Memento

This was one of the most bizarre movies I have ever watched.  I can't stop replaying the events in my mind, trying to figure out what really happened.  The visual image flow of this movie was amazingly clever.  The film alternated between black and white scenes and color scenes.   The black and white scenes were actual real time happenings, while the color scenes were what had already transpired, similar to a replay of events.  Of course, during the first viewing of the film, you may not even realize the sequencing is set up this way.

This film used every point of view mentioned in the book, and then some!  Some of the scenes in the film were memories, some were false memories and some were simply fabricated stories that others had planted and presented as reality.  I would say that most of the scenes were from the subjective point of view, building up the psychological situation, bit by bit.   The director's interpretive point of view was evident.  He definitely manipulated our point of view with special angles, color to black and white, showing scenes in both present and past tense and even starting the movie with a scene that was shot in reverse action.

The director also made use of focusing the attention on the most significant object many times during the movie.  During some scenes, that was the polaroid photographs with clues scribbled on the backs.  Other times it was the tattoos that covered Lenny's body and gave permanent clues to the identity of his wife's killer.

Use of close-ups were effective during the black and white scenes when Lenny is on the telephone in his hotel room, telling the story of his past as an insurance investigator to an unknown caller.  This movie had almost non-stop action and used several techniques to keep the images in motion.  Camera angles, color, and filtering added to some of the scene's suspense.  This was especially noticeable during the warehouse scenes and in the scene where Lenny's wife was attacked and he was hurt.

There were no special effects used in this movie, but then again why would they need them?  With all the action, twists and turns, suspense and confusion, there was no need for special effects.  In fact I think they would have taken away from the story line if used.

I am sure that editing this film was a project of immense proportions!  I can only imagine the difficulty of piecing together the scenes to make this story line fit together perfectly.  If a regular film generates twenty to forty hours of raw footage, this must have generated twice that.  It was as if this story was actually two stories, what was happening in real time and what had happened in the immediate past.

I will watch this film again, after a few weeks of pondering and trying to piece together the story.  If that is the fate of the average viewer, the director is brilliant, selling two "tickets" per viewer!

Works Cited

Boggs, J. M., & Petrie, D. W. (2008). The Art of Watching Films (7th Edition ed.). Ashford University: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Session Three /Amelie

Amelie was a funny, fragmented and perplexing film.  It was the first time I have ever watched a film with subtitles.   I found it difficult to focus on the visual elements of the film while concentrating on reading the subtitles.  I had to replay several scenes to make sure I could take in all that was happening on the screen.

The visual image was quite simplistic.  No elaborate sets or scenery, just everyday scenes of the character's homes, train stations, restaurants and the like.  The only exception was the clever use of photographs of the garden gnome taken from locations around the world.  The way this film was shot reminded me of a documentary.

There were a few special effects in this film.  One of my favorites was when Amelie realizes she may have blown her chance at love and she turns to water that crashes to the floor of the restaurant.  It said volumes about the emotions that she was feeling, without ever saying a word.  Another effect that was used successfully was when Amelie and her neighbor would watch each other through binoculars and a spy glass.

The costuming for this film was pretty simple, but made great use of color.  It gave the film a whimsical feel, I especially liked Amelie's style.  It gave her an air of originality, although it did remind me of the cartoon character Olive Oyl.

This cinematic film made use of the objective point of view most of the time.  As I mentioned before, at times it felt like I was watching a documentary.  The objective point of view was most noticeable during the scenes where Amelie was watching her neighbor work on his paintings.  The subjective point of view was utilized effectively during the scenes where Amelie was sneaking into Mr. Collignon's house and messing with his belongings.  I could feel the suspense, wondering if she would be caught.  It was like I became part of Amelie's secret.  The indirect-subjective point of view was particularly noticeable in the scene where Amelie was at the fun fair and rode on the scary ride, all by herself.  Nino, dressed up as a skeleton hops onto the ride and rather than scaring Amelie,  it ends up as a seductive experience for her.  You could actually see her very emotional reaction to having him so close to her.

Special visual effects were used very sparingly in this film.  One example is the scene where Amelie is baking, and there  is a picture within a picture effect of what she is imagining, ( Nino going to the store to get her some yeast, coming home and walking through her beaded curtains, the curtains actually move and she realizes it is her cat) was a subtle yet very cool effect.

Another scene that I like was near the end of the movie.  The director used a handheld camera to shoot Amelie and Nino on his motor scooter riding through the city.  It was shot with the subjective point of view.  You could see the happiness on their faces and had a real sense of being part of their joy and their new found love.

Works Cited

Boggs, J. M., & Petrie, D. W. (2008). The Art of Watching Films (7th Edition ed.). Ashford University: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Good Will Hunting

This was a very enjoyable movie.  It had many elements of a good story, including a unified plot.  The story had an over-riding theme of friendship woven throughout.  It actually told several stories of friendship, between Will, Chuckie and their friends, Sean and Will, Sean and Professor Lambeau, and his assistant, Tom.  It also had a romantic friendship between Will and Skylar and an implied but not observed romantic friendship between Sean and his wife.

The story remained credible and told of life in South Boston – a rough, working class part of town where hard work, drinking with friends and fighting were the norm. It portrayed life as it really is in the old neighborhoods of South Boston.  I knew a young man from this area personally.  He became romantically involved with my cousin.  He had never been out of his “area” let alone out of Boston until he cam to visit in Montana.  He was very entrenched in his life there, much like Will.  The story also held my interest with enough suspense and action sprinkled in to keep me engaged.  I was never sure what Will’s reaction would be and the story kept moving.  The action was there, just more subtle and humorous than in some stories. I especially liked Will’s avoidance tactics in action when he sent Chuckie to the job interview.  Very funny.

           

I found this to be a very simple movie, that told a fairly simple story, with one great twist – Will’s gift of genius, which added a bit of complexity.  The story was further enhanced by adding the emotional elements of Will learning to trust and confide in Sean and his blooming love of Skylar.

The title of this film grew in significance as I watched the movie.  Will Hunting was on a journey to discover the “good” in himself, and to finally realize the all the bad things that happened to him were not his fault.  He was good.  Those around him already knew that truth, but he had to search it out to truly believe it, too.

There was plenty of conflict throughout the movie; perhaps the most significant was the conflict Will had within himself.  He seemed to try to stifle his gift, to remain “one of the guys” even though he was clearly different.  Another significant conflict was between Sean and Professor Lambeau.  This was a complex love/hate conflict, where Sean never felt like he measured up to his friend’s high standard.  He felt very judged and insignificant by Lambeau.  Although Lambeau had a high opinion of himself, I felt that Sean believed that about himself , rather than Lambeau asserting that as truth.

The characterization through appearance and dialogue were used very effectively in this film.  The Boston accents were spot on, and their use of words such as “wicked” and much of the profanity helped to make Will and his friends very believable.  Their appearance and the appearance of their vehicles, neighborhoods and homes helped paint a picture of real life in a rough neighborhood.   Sean was one of the old neighborhood, but also a class mate of Lambeau.  His characterization took place through dialogue, first by Lambeau mentioning that he was from South Boston and then in Sean’s explanations to Will.   The story of the Red Sox game really made me believe he was “one of them”.

Similarly, Lambeau’s accent made him seem more upper crust, as did his manner of dress.  He wore a scarf, expensive clothing and many references were made to his math award.   The ever-present assistant gave him an air of conceit, especially when he sent him to fetch coffee.  Tim the assistant was a stock character.  The offices of both men also helped with their characterization.  Sean’s was small, messy and cluttered with mismatched furniture and books and papers scattered everywhere.  Lambeau’s office was large, upscale, organized and had room for his assistant, further characterizing the difference between the two men.

Chuckie’s characterization was through appearance, dialogue and leitmotif.  The action of driving to Will’s house every morning with coffee, getting out to walk up to the door, characterized Chuckie as a true and loyal friend to Will. 

The characterization of Skylar was similar to Lambeau.  Her appearance, slender and taller than Will, helped to characterize her as a different class.  The way she dressed and her English accent, in direct contrast to his Boston accent helped portray her as a woman of privilege.  Even her name, Skyler, is very modern and new, helping to further characterize her as out of Will’s league.  Her character was very stereotypical.

This film used lots of symbolism.   Even though we never heard that Will was catholic, the gold crucifix necklace that he wore made the assumption.  The cigarette smoking was a symbol of the tough nature and lives of the young men.   The fighting, although not necessary for the plot of the story, symbolized the stereotypical street culture in South Boston.  Near the end of the film, when Chuckie drives to Will’s house and discovers he is gone, he returns to the car and Morgan jumps into the front seat.  This symbolized a new era for the friendship, with Morgan taking the place as Chuckie’s new best buddy. 

The irony of situation in this film was that Will was a genius and could probably have his choice of a number of great careers, yet he held himself back because he did not believe he was good enough and he was afraid to venture out.  More irony is present when he falls in love with a girl who is fearless and pursues her dreams without apology.  He appears to blame his past, while she has made peace with her past (father dying when she was 13).

The ending of this film was satisfying.  Will finally made peace within himself, Sean was off to start living his life again, the boys from Boston had a new pecking order, Sean and Lambeau resolved their friendship and Will is driving to California to reconcile with Skylar.    Conficts were resolved and new beginnings were springing up everywhere.   I give this movie a thumbs up!

Works Cited

Boggs, J. M., & Petrie, D. W. (2008). The Art of Watching Films (7th Edition ed.). Ashford University: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.