Starting Out In the Evening (2007)
I have a fascination with authors and the writer's life. If it wasn't so hard and I wasn't so lazy, I would like to write novels. I suppose this is why I enjoy most movies about writers, even the sad ones like Starting Out in the Evening.
For an indie movie, this film had really good acting. Frank Langella is brilliant in this movie. He plays Leonard, an author nearing the end of his life and struggling to finish his last novel, which he has been working on for over ten years. His earlier and more well-received books are now out of print and he lives alone in NY hoping that one day his characters will "do something interesting." Then he meets a young grad student, Heather, who wants to write her Master's Thesis as a critical biography of him and his works. At first he resists but after reading an article she recently wrote and realizing that he needs someone to help get him attention again in order to have his final novel published, he agrees to a series of interviews. Their relationship progresses, they become colleagues then friends and then - in an ill-fated and rather awkward encounter - lovers.
Leonard's health deteriorates around this time just as Heather finishes her Thesis and their relationship begins to crumble. This is when the movie really becomes a great character study and everything that happens seems so frustratingly "real life" that the movie is really touching.
Throughout the film there is also a subplot about Leonard's daughter struggling to find love (the love her father always reserved for his writing?).
I found this movie to be much better than I expected. The acting was all-around good and the plot was believable.
Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
I really liked this documentary (is that what it was?) a lot. Even if you take the film at its most literal it is a great portrayal of street artists. Of course, there is a lot more going on and it is obvious that Banksy is trolling the audience pretty hard by the end, which brings the title of the movie into view and expresses something about art (dare I speculate on what that something is?). Anyway, this movie has had me thinking about it for a week now, which is always a good thing.
Tiny Furniture (2010)
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| Awkward pipe sex |
I think that I have reached an age where I am over the post-college student searching for...something...movie. However, this movie actually steps in to that slot and seems new and interesting. The cinematography was not great and some of the acting was actually painful in spots. But what I appreciated about this movie are all the little things that bigger movies do not have. The main character is a female and the entire movie does not prevaricate or hedge at all. She is a bit chubby, awkward, sometimes annoying and her family life is strange. Even though she is a person of privilege living in NYC and her problems are "Princely problems" I still felt her confusion and loneliness.
I definitely think that this movie speaks to young and artistic college graduates trying to figure out their place in the world and how to marry their idealism to reality. It does this while remaining humorous and accessible.
Good Hair (2009)
I drifted in and out of this documentary while I was sick on Christmas night. It follows Chris Rock as he explores the hairstyles of African-American women. All I can say is that I had no idea.
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John, I still have not had a chance to see True Grit. I hope to get to see it some night this week. Feel free to write about it, I just won't pay attention until after I see it. I am also hoping to see The Fighter as well. I like both David O. Russell and Mark Wahlberg and after reading what both you and Brandon wrote about Bale I'm really looking forward to it.
*giggle*
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