Since the school semester is finally coming to an end and it's been far too long since any activity I thought I'd post a months late top ten from last year. I wanted to try and post this around Oscars but I'm lucky I even saw half of what I intended to by the time Oscars rolled around. Anyway, let's get right into it.
10. A Dangerous Method (David Cronenberg)
For the most part ignored because it was deemed "uncinematic" this analytical film tackles a lot more than I would have thought to even attempt. Not only does it break the surface between Jung and Freud's approaches and theories it really develops these historic minds as more than just iconic figures in the world of psychoanalytic theory but as actual people, and their own problems are just as human as the patients they analyze. Fassbender and Mortensen both deliver great performances. Also, the whole "uncinematic" view is a bunch of hogwash. Though the material itself is rather stagey Cronenberg uses simple film techniques to say a lot. There's an early scene where Jung asks Sabrina Spielrein (Keira Knightly) a series of questions and just by simply breaking them into their own frames and by use of screen direction isolates the two figures and says quite a bit in a scene that is basically two people in a room talking.
9. Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol (Brad Bird)
Now to move on to something completely different, Brad Bird's wildly inventive Mission Impossible movie. Though its Burj Khalifa tower scaling is the scene that garnered much of the buzz around the movie the other sequences be it a prison escape in the beginning, a rotating car park garage fight sequence, or magic show at the Kremlin are all fresh and exciting in their own right. It's like Bird set out to make scenes that really would be impossible to accomplish and the MI 4 crew seems to breeze through them with ease. Plus there's a lot of humor just through self-aware jabs at the MI tropes like self-destructing messages and face masks that keeps the movie constantly carefree and fun.
8. Terri (Azazel Jacobs)
It's been quite some time since I've seen as honest an interpretation of high school life. How rough and unforgiving it can be for those unfortunate outcasts in teenage social circles. Terri, the character himself though, is impossible to dislike and Jacob Wysocki captures that awkward uneasiness perfectly. John C. Reilly perhaps steals the show, or at the very least every scene in which he appears. It's a performance that trumps every supporting nominee from last year and adds to an already great year for Reilly (including Carnage and We Need to Talk About Kevin).
7. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Tomas Alfredson)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy follows the deconstructionist tradition of the spy genre along the lines of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Unraveling the mystery of a mole which is less important than breaking down the cold landscape in which these people operate and in which they ultimately must live. Oldman's performance is very different than what's usually expected from him, with aggressive and larger than life characters. Here he does a lot by seemingly doing very little, by contemplative looks and small gestures. And visually it's a hypnotic and captivating film.
6. Contagion (Steven Soderbergh)
Soderbergh's clinical approach to his film about world wide epidemic bio-catastrophe both eliminates much melodramatic sensationalism that generally bogs down these types of disaster films and makes the urgency and danger in the situation all the more real and immediate. Plus this opens the movie up to its moments of genuine humanity to have far more impact, like its low key final scene, which just goes right for the heart.
5. We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lynne Ramsay)
Perhaps the most devastating film from last year is not Soderbergh's disease disaster film but rather Lynne Ramsay's drama about a housewife and the shear overwhelming difficulty of motherhood. Tilda Swinton's starring performance may just be the most overlooked bit of acting from last years Oscars and probably the finest performance from the entire year.
4. The Muppets (James Bobin)
The latest Muppets film may just be the best in the series. It captures what we love about the felt covered puppets who have over the years become real life personalities. It's nothing short of sheer exuberant cinematic joy and the happiest escape into the theater from last year. Its use of self-awared humor is in top form and the (Oscar winning) music is a delight.
3. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick)
Malick examines life and relations in a way that only he can. Like many of his films it's an acquired taste but with visuals this beautiful and questions this big it's a film that really deserves any recognition and praise that it's received. It truly is one of a kind.
2. The Descendants (Alexander Payne)
Though it's in great company I found this to be Payne's best film yet, or at least most effective. I can think of few directors that can take moments, and such dramatic moments, and bring them to the point of no return without breaking, and interject them with such genuine moments of comedy as release. Clooney gives another great performance (one I personally found was robbed of an Oscar from last year) where he's even able to break away from being the center of his scenes and is able to fall into the background while giving other actors moments to shine, in particular a great breakout performance from Shailene Woodley, best known for her TV series work.
1. Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen)
This may just be my favorite Allen film since the late 80s Crimes and Misdemeanors. Exceedingly charming, clever, and one of his most realized films from the last ten years. A really delightful movie that avoids what is generally thought of as Allen cynicism and captures a Paris that may not exist, or even have existed in the past, but merely exists in remembrance and not to live in that past but in the present.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Ordinary Life is Pretty Complex Stuff.
I know there are many of you out there who missed my pseudo egotistical movie countdown from the 2000s so I am going to try and get back into the habit of posting.
92. American Splendor (Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, 2003)
American Splendor is based on the cult hit comic book series of the same name from Harvey Pekar. What Pekar has to say about his comic is that it's "an autobiography written as it's happening. The theme is about staying alive. Getting a job, finding a mate, having a place to live, finding a creative outlet. Life is a war of attrition. You have to stay active on all fronts. It's one thing after another. I've tried to control a chaotic universe. And it's a losing battle. But I can't let go. I've tried, but I can't." In a medium filled with spandex clad superheros Pekar's series put comic books to a different use, depicting the average struggles of an everyday life.
in 2003 documentarians Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini turned American Splendor into a hybrid comic adaptation of Pekar's book and a biographical film about Pekar himself. Starring as Pekar is Paul Giamatti in perhaps the first big role of his career, coming a year before the Oscar nominated Sideways (2004). Giamatti embodies everything one could wish for in his portrayal of Pekar. His performance comes off so naturally that it thoroughly feels as though he's the real Harvey Pekar, which is quite the feat considering Pekar himself appears in the film periodically in a few candid cameos.
Giamatti and the material itself are just two thirds of the film's main strengths. The last is Berman and Pulcini's combination of conventional narrative techniques and documentary style that not only makes American Splendor a unique film on its own but also fits the style of Pekar's comic splendidly. With the booming financial success of big superhero comic book film adaptations it's great to see their more grounded brethren reach the silver screen as well and some days just getting through a crummy job or finding someone to love could be just as daunting as saving the planet from super powered megalomaniacs.
Films from 2003 on List:
American Splendor (Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini)
Oldboy (Chan-wook Park)
92. American Splendor (Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, 2003)
American Splendor is based on the cult hit comic book series of the same name from Harvey Pekar. What Pekar has to say about his comic is that it's "an autobiography written as it's happening. The theme is about staying alive. Getting a job, finding a mate, having a place to live, finding a creative outlet. Life is a war of attrition. You have to stay active on all fronts. It's one thing after another. I've tried to control a chaotic universe. And it's a losing battle. But I can't let go. I've tried, but I can't." In a medium filled with spandex clad superheros Pekar's series put comic books to a different use, depicting the average struggles of an everyday life.
in 2003 documentarians Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini turned American Splendor into a hybrid comic adaptation of Pekar's book and a biographical film about Pekar himself. Starring as Pekar is Paul Giamatti in perhaps the first big role of his career, coming a year before the Oscar nominated Sideways (2004). Giamatti embodies everything one could wish for in his portrayal of Pekar. His performance comes off so naturally that it thoroughly feels as though he's the real Harvey Pekar, which is quite the feat considering Pekar himself appears in the film periodically in a few candid cameos.
Giamatti and the material itself are just two thirds of the film's main strengths. The last is Berman and Pulcini's combination of conventional narrative techniques and documentary style that not only makes American Splendor a unique film on its own but also fits the style of Pekar's comic splendidly. With the booming financial success of big superhero comic book film adaptations it's great to see their more grounded brethren reach the silver screen as well and some days just getting through a crummy job or finding someone to love could be just as daunting as saving the planet from super powered megalomaniacs.
American Splendor (Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini)
Oldboy (Chan-wook Park)
Thursday, September 15, 2011
But With You By My Side I Can Do Anything.
93. Morvern Callar (2002)
Morvern Callar is Lynne Ramsay's second feature after the breakout Ratcatcher (1999). Samantha Morton stars as the movie's title character, Morvern Callar. The movie opens on Christmas day in her flat with her boyfriend. She finds him dead after committing suicide, having cut his own wrists. He has left her a music compilation and on his computer's flickering screen a completed novel. Callar, desperately desiring to break free of her dull dead-end life, working at a small supermarket in the Scottish town of Oban, publishes the novel as her own. This sparks an interesting and uncommon journey both geographical and emotional.
Morvern Callar is a movie driven by visual, auditory, and emotional aesthetic rather than plot or dialogue. As the film plays out Callar is swept up into a rapidly progressive hectic life with changing locales and a few of the usual attendees, including sex and drugs. With its presentation of Callar's passions, grief, mourning, and guilt clashing with her newly blossoming sense of individuality and personal understanding and experiencing parts of life and the world she may not have been wholly familiar, Morvern Callar is a sensual film of wild discovery.
Samantha Morton gives the best performance of her career as the enigmatic title character. How she deals with her boyfriend's suicide, is it self destructive grieving? Is it individualistic liberation? Just what boils beneath the surface of this character like the film is enticing, aided by the beautiful way it's filmed. The movie's soundtrack is another significant element. Played off the mix tape from her boyfriend the tape both works as a connection from the deceased character, still speaking to Callar, and a way of chronically her emotional journey, while pulling the viewer into her mind between those earphones.
Films from 2002 on List:
Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay)
Morvern Callar is Lynne Ramsay's second feature after the breakout Ratcatcher (1999). Samantha Morton stars as the movie's title character, Morvern Callar. The movie opens on Christmas day in her flat with her boyfriend. She finds him dead after committing suicide, having cut his own wrists. He has left her a music compilation and on his computer's flickering screen a completed novel. Callar, desperately desiring to break free of her dull dead-end life, working at a small supermarket in the Scottish town of Oban, publishes the novel as her own. This sparks an interesting and uncommon journey both geographical and emotional.
Morvern Callar is a movie driven by visual, auditory, and emotional aesthetic rather than plot or dialogue. As the film plays out Callar is swept up into a rapidly progressive hectic life with changing locales and a few of the usual attendees, including sex and drugs. With its presentation of Callar's passions, grief, mourning, and guilt clashing with her newly blossoming sense of individuality and personal understanding and experiencing parts of life and the world she may not have been wholly familiar, Morvern Callar is a sensual film of wild discovery.
Samantha Morton gives the best performance of her career as the enigmatic title character. How she deals with her boyfriend's suicide, is it self destructive grieving? Is it individualistic liberation? Just what boils beneath the surface of this character like the film is enticing, aided by the beautiful way it's filmed. The movie's soundtrack is another significant element. Played off the mix tape from her boyfriend the tape both works as a connection from the deceased character, still speaking to Callar, and a way of chronically her emotional journey, while pulling the viewer into her mind between those earphones.
Films from 2002 on List:
Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay)
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Remember, When in Doubt Never Do What You Really Want to Do.
94. Human Nature (Michel Gondry, 2001)
Human Nature is the first collaboration between screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and director Michel Gondry. The film's story involves a collection of oddball characters. Patricia Arquette is a young woman with a rare hormonal condition in which her hair grows rapidly all over her body, Tim Robbins is a scientist, Dr. Nathan Bronfman, teaching and observing manners in other animals, and Rhys Ifans is a man raised in the wilderness later affectionately named Puff, lacking any level of civilized sophistication. Finding Puff in the wild Nathan takes it upon himself to civilize the wild man, studying him in the process.
Of all Kaufman's films Human Nature appears to be his most overlooked and unappreciated. Perhaps the silliness of the movie either turns people away or masks the real wit in the picture, of which there is indeed plenty. Throughout the movie Puff progresses from a sex driven animal to a more sophisticated man, though it becomes clear that mankind's apparent civilized nature is only there to obscure and cover the reality of his baser instincts. It's as though in the process to obtain what we really want we have to appear as if we don't desire it at all.
Human Nature is not just silly, but the absurdity, like Kaufman's first feature screenplay Being John Malkovich (1999), is so strong it's nearly palpable. From the film's title its theme should be plain as day, poking fun at the true human nature of mankind. One of my favorite absurd running bits of comedy in the movie is the way it shows Puff's unrealistic rapid progression through learning art, literature, and so forth becoming a man of "culture". The movie continuously references the unnatural absurdity of his educational growth as it uses it to comment on man's lack of control on their own instinctive desires, to undermine the entire facade. Though Human Nature's satirization on human manners may be blunt and to the point it is nevertheless wholly amusing.
Films from 2001 on List:
Human Nature (Michel Gondry)
Human Nature is the first collaboration between screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and director Michel Gondry. The film's story involves a collection of oddball characters. Patricia Arquette is a young woman with a rare hormonal condition in which her hair grows rapidly all over her body, Tim Robbins is a scientist, Dr. Nathan Bronfman, teaching and observing manners in other animals, and Rhys Ifans is a man raised in the wilderness later affectionately named Puff, lacking any level of civilized sophistication. Finding Puff in the wild Nathan takes it upon himself to civilize the wild man, studying him in the process.
Of all Kaufman's films Human Nature appears to be his most overlooked and unappreciated. Perhaps the silliness of the movie either turns people away or masks the real wit in the picture, of which there is indeed plenty. Throughout the movie Puff progresses from a sex driven animal to a more sophisticated man, though it becomes clear that mankind's apparent civilized nature is only there to obscure and cover the reality of his baser instincts. It's as though in the process to obtain what we really want we have to appear as if we don't desire it at all.
Human Nature is not just silly, but the absurdity, like Kaufman's first feature screenplay Being John Malkovich (1999), is so strong it's nearly palpable. From the film's title its theme should be plain as day, poking fun at the true human nature of mankind. One of my favorite absurd running bits of comedy in the movie is the way it shows Puff's unrealistic rapid progression through learning art, literature, and so forth becoming a man of "culture". The movie continuously references the unnatural absurdity of his educational growth as it uses it to comment on man's lack of control on their own instinctive desires, to undermine the entire facade. Though Human Nature's satirization on human manners may be blunt and to the point it is nevertheless wholly amusing.
Films from 2001 on List:
Human Nature (Michel Gondry)
Monday, September 12, 2011
Don't Worry, Be Happy.
95. Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh, 2008)
Happy-Go-Lucky is one of the more recent films from popular British filmmaker Mike Leigh and serves as a good counter balance to a lot of the other movies I've posted so far. Especially compared to the thoroughly unsettling Dogtooth, Happy-Go-Lucky is charming and infectiously pleasant. Sally Hawkins plays the film's protagonist, Poppy, a school teacher who refuses to let the world get her down whether it's her embittered driving instructor, her fervently emotional dance teacher, or even the prospect of being single.
Decidedly character driven, the film is all about Poppy's determinedly sunny disposition and wraps itself around her warmth, cheerfulness, and general good nature. There are plenty of films that will tell their viewers to enjoy life while you can, look on the brighter side of situations, and to appreciate the little things in life, nearly to the point that they become confectionery cliches. What sets Happy-Go-Lucky apart from these films is the way it expresses its theme, it has a way of not telling us how to feel but instead bringing us into Poppy's world from her unique perception. It becomes an empathetic experience rather than an instructional life lecture.
Of course this infectious experience couldn't work without the performance of Sally Hawkins. This is as much Hawkins' film as it is Leigh's and through every little piece of Poppy which Hawkins and Leigh have created for this film, from her free spirited chuckle to her bouncy mannerisms, the rest of the movie is built around the foundation of her performance. Hawkins and her character command the film as exceptionally as any actress from this past decade and with her director have created an unforgettable character, from a performance that I could not envision with another actress in the business, no matter their versatility or talent. Poppy is as signature a performance for Hawkins as Happy-Go-Lucky is a film from Mike Leigh.
Films from 2008 on List:
Happy-G0-Lucky (Mike Leigh)
Happy-Go-Lucky is one of the more recent films from popular British filmmaker Mike Leigh and serves as a good counter balance to a lot of the other movies I've posted so far. Especially compared to the thoroughly unsettling Dogtooth, Happy-Go-Lucky is charming and infectiously pleasant. Sally Hawkins plays the film's protagonist, Poppy, a school teacher who refuses to let the world get her down whether it's her embittered driving instructor, her fervently emotional dance teacher, or even the prospect of being single.
Decidedly character driven, the film is all about Poppy's determinedly sunny disposition and wraps itself around her warmth, cheerfulness, and general good nature. There are plenty of films that will tell their viewers to enjoy life while you can, look on the brighter side of situations, and to appreciate the little things in life, nearly to the point that they become confectionery cliches. What sets Happy-Go-Lucky apart from these films is the way it expresses its theme, it has a way of not telling us how to feel but instead bringing us into Poppy's world from her unique perception. It becomes an empathetic experience rather than an instructional life lecture.
Of course this infectious experience couldn't work without the performance of Sally Hawkins. This is as much Hawkins' film as it is Leigh's and through every little piece of Poppy which Hawkins and Leigh have created for this film, from her free spirited chuckle to her bouncy mannerisms, the rest of the movie is built around the foundation of her performance. Hawkins and her character command the film as exceptionally as any actress from this past decade and with her director have created an unforgettable character, from a performance that I could not envision with another actress in the business, no matter their versatility or talent. Poppy is as signature a performance for Hawkins as Happy-Go-Lucky is a film from Mike Leigh.
Films from 2008 on List:
Happy-G0-Lucky (Mike Leigh)
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Oh, In the Name of God! Now I Know What It Feels Like to Be God!
96. Dogtooth (Giorgos Lanthimos, 2009)
Giorgos Lanthimos' bizarre film serves as a good follow-up to my last post, the biopic Control, because one of its primary themes is indeed control. This strange Greek film follows a family, mother and father with their three children, two girls and a boy. There are references to another son though we never see him on screen and due to the nature of the film we are never certain of the truth behind his existence. This makes more sense when the rest of the movie is explained. The family's father has isolated his children from the outside world and their days are spent mostly learning a twisted language from their father on recorded tapes where the meaning of each word is switched around or competing with each other through "lessons" given to them by their father. It's never certain whether they actually have another brother because their father isn't the most trustworthy source of information.
At first glance Dogtooth is an unsettling exercise in abuse, both psychological and physical yet at times dark patches of intended humor can even be seen sprouted throughout. There are many discussions that could arise from those who find it a commentary on politics, to the illusions of the ideals of the perfect nuclear family, to religious implications and the notion of an imperfect god. Maybe none of these are correct or maybe they all are and more, though I find a movie that raises many questions at the very least interesting even if it doesn't always give answers to those questions.
Perhaps at the least Dogtooth is an interesting conversation piece, personally I think it's a film about a man attempting to exert control over any part of the world he can, though ultimately struggling with it and in the end failing all together. The house and yard which inclose the family almost become its own world with its unique logical rules constructed by the family's father. Though in the end, like the outside world, a man's control is forever fleeting even in a world he has seemingly created.
Films from 2009 on List:
Dogtooth (Giorgos Lanthimos)
Mother (Joon-ho Bong)
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Werner Herzog)
Giorgos Lanthimos' bizarre film serves as a good follow-up to my last post, the biopic Control, because one of its primary themes is indeed control. This strange Greek film follows a family, mother and father with their three children, two girls and a boy. There are references to another son though we never see him on screen and due to the nature of the film we are never certain of the truth behind his existence. This makes more sense when the rest of the movie is explained. The family's father has isolated his children from the outside world and their days are spent mostly learning a twisted language from their father on recorded tapes where the meaning of each word is switched around or competing with each other through "lessons" given to them by their father. It's never certain whether they actually have another brother because their father isn't the most trustworthy source of information.
At first glance Dogtooth is an unsettling exercise in abuse, both psychological and physical yet at times dark patches of intended humor can even be seen sprouted throughout. There are many discussions that could arise from those who find it a commentary on politics, to the illusions of the ideals of the perfect nuclear family, to religious implications and the notion of an imperfect god. Maybe none of these are correct or maybe they all are and more, though I find a movie that raises many questions at the very least interesting even if it doesn't always give answers to those questions.
Perhaps at the least Dogtooth is an interesting conversation piece, personally I think it's a film about a man attempting to exert control over any part of the world he can, though ultimately struggling with it and in the end failing all together. The house and yard which inclose the family almost become its own world with its unique logical rules constructed by the family's father. Though in the end, like the outside world, a man's control is forever fleeting even in a world he has seemingly created.
Films from 2009 on List:
Dogtooth (Giorgos Lanthimos)
Mother (Joon-ho Bong)
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Werner Herzog)
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Love will Tear Us Apart Again.
97. Control (Anton Corbijn, 2007)
Another Movie I posted last time I was going through this list is this biopic following Joy Division's Ian Curtis. To move things along quickly I'll just use much of what I said last time considering I'm still pretty satisfied with it. Control is a biographical film chronicling the rise of the hugely influential rock band Joy Division, primarily focusing on their lead singer Ian Curtis up until his untimely death. There are a number of things that need to be mentioned when talking about the film, primarily three things, the film's dedicated director and well known photographer Anton Corbijn, the irreplaceable Ian Curtis, and the band itself. Corbijn worked as a photographer and has also over the years directed many music videos for bands such as Nirvana, Echo & the Bunnymen, Depeche Mode, and of course, Joy Division. Corbijn himself claims to have a personal connection with the film, living in England at the time, working with the band for photo shoots, and experiencing the way Joy Division's music defined his time there. His talent as a photographer is evident in the construction of the look of the film, presented in black and white to "reflect the atmosphere of Joy Division and the mood of the era" (Control: The Ian Curtis film). Corbijn also financed a large percentage of the production of the film personally.
Next, the band itself, Joy Division began using energy and influence of the seventies punk revolution and developed it into a sound that became the definitive representation of the post-punk genre that naturally followed punk rock. Unfortunately their rise was short lived with the death of their front man Ian Curtis, and continuing without Curtis as the newly formed New Order. Curtis himself is one of the most interesting individuals in the history of Rock and Roll and his sudden death ranks up there as a tragedy comparable to the deaths of Buddy Holly and John Lennon, musicians who died far too young and too soon. A passionate performer and a complex and introspective lyricist Curtis defined Joy Division's image and sound with his unique stage presence and his deeply personal expression through his song writing.
Virtual unknown Sam Riley portrays the tragic Curtis near flawlessly. Like I said in an earlier post, it's a rare thing when an actor can inhabit a character such as Curtis, such an iconic character in rock history and come off not as a parody of the individual but a genuine believable recreation. Corbijn's film not only captures the turmoil and depression in the mind of Curtis, suffering from epilepsy, it also captures the time period and state of rock music. With music finding the beauty in Curtis' suffering, the film and music serve as remarkable capsules of the expression of an individual that left an impact on generations to follow.
Films from 2007 on List:
Control (Anton Corbijn)
Another Movie I posted last time I was going through this list is this biopic following Joy Division's Ian Curtis. To move things along quickly I'll just use much of what I said last time considering I'm still pretty satisfied with it. Control is a biographical film chronicling the rise of the hugely influential rock band Joy Division, primarily focusing on their lead singer Ian Curtis up until his untimely death. There are a number of things that need to be mentioned when talking about the film, primarily three things, the film's dedicated director and well known photographer Anton Corbijn, the irreplaceable Ian Curtis, and the band itself. Corbijn worked as a photographer and has also over the years directed many music videos for bands such as Nirvana, Echo & the Bunnymen, Depeche Mode, and of course, Joy Division. Corbijn himself claims to have a personal connection with the film, living in England at the time, working with the band for photo shoots, and experiencing the way Joy Division's music defined his time there. His talent as a photographer is evident in the construction of the look of the film, presented in black and white to "reflect the atmosphere of Joy Division and the mood of the era" (Control: The Ian Curtis film). Corbijn also financed a large percentage of the production of the film personally.
Next, the band itself, Joy Division began using energy and influence of the seventies punk revolution and developed it into a sound that became the definitive representation of the post-punk genre that naturally followed punk rock. Unfortunately their rise was short lived with the death of their front man Ian Curtis, and continuing without Curtis as the newly formed New Order. Curtis himself is one of the most interesting individuals in the history of Rock and Roll and his sudden death ranks up there as a tragedy comparable to the deaths of Buddy Holly and John Lennon, musicians who died far too young and too soon. A passionate performer and a complex and introspective lyricist Curtis defined Joy Division's image and sound with his unique stage presence and his deeply personal expression through his song writing.
Virtual unknown Sam Riley portrays the tragic Curtis near flawlessly. Like I said in an earlier post, it's a rare thing when an actor can inhabit a character such as Curtis, such an iconic character in rock history and come off not as a parody of the individual but a genuine believable recreation. Corbijn's film not only captures the turmoil and depression in the mind of Curtis, suffering from epilepsy, it also captures the time period and state of rock music. With music finding the beauty in Curtis' suffering, the film and music serve as remarkable capsules of the expression of an individual that left an impact on generations to follow.
Films from 2007 on List:
Control (Anton Corbijn)
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