Dec 10, 2020 10:49
kerry washington,
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Last weekend, we watched Ammonite. I loved the cinematography, and the story was sort of interesting, with not a lot of exposition, in a good way. But unfortunately, Saoirse and Kate just had zero chemistry. I am generally easily emotionally affected by films, but I just didn't feel anything at all about either character other than bummed they had to do that kind of work in big-ass skirts. And whether it's fair or not, the setting, characters and story lead me to repeatedly compare it with Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and it does not do well in that comparison. I still think it's worth watching; it was just disappointing, especially considering that it stars of my favorite actresses and I really liked God's Own Country from the same director.
We also watched Mank, which was okay but did not do it for me. Amanda Seyfried was easily the best part. When they said that Gary Oldman's character (the titular Mank) was in his 40's, I laughed until I realized it was not a joke!
This week, we watched Gladiator, which I talked about in roundup yesterday - it wasn't as good as I hoped it'd be, either, but the battle scenes were amazing.
Then last night, we rewatched Brokeback Mountain. I only watched it once, over a decade ago, and it came out 15 years ago yesterday so I thought I'd give it a rewatch. And damn, that one holds up. The cinematography, the performances, the music, the minimal dialogue, all perfectly arranged to make a beautiful film. It fucking sucks that Heath Ledger died, because turning in that performance and then the Joker two years later.... that's range!
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i also looked up mank after seeing that meh movie and saw the age he died. i was like wow fincher you really stretched it with 60+ gary oldman there buddy
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There is on an intellectual level some interesting material here, particularly toward the ending, where rather than the [Spoiler (click to open)]complications for the same-sex relationship being the result of Saoirse Ronan's character being married and the world being against them, etc., which is the standard ending for these types of period-set stories, it comes down to class tensions and Kate Winslet's devotion to her work. But I don't think this lands the way it could have, much of which has to do with the very chilly tone taken by Lee (very akin to what he did with God's Own Country, which a lot of people loved, though I was more lukewarm on it).
I liked Mank more than you did, even if it's lower-tier Fincher. Brokeback is so great; I remember that I saw in theatres when it came out and I liked it, but it wasn't until rewatching it a few years later that I really understood how powerful it was, which I attribute to the difference between seeing it as a teenager and seeing it as an adult.
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And ITA with your thoughts on Ammonite! I liked GoC a lot, but I think its general chilliness is one of the reasons why CMBYN hit me much harder that same year - warmth is so much more appealing to me as a viewer.
I gotta say, I always enjoy reading your comments, even when we feel differently about a movie!
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