Normally, I do not revise reviews once they’ve been written. Recently, however, I inadvertently wrote two reviews for films I had already posted full-length reviews on. It wasn’t my intention and I discovered it only after Peter pointed out that he had perviously edited them. To my chagrin, I had spent a good deal of time writing new reviews unintentionally. Sometimes, when I write my Morning After short reviews, I expand those thoughts or re-write them entirely for a full length review (full-length is 400+ words in my mind). This isn’t one of those cases.
Not wanting to lose the work I have done on them, I present the new reviews here in full along with links to the originals. Some of my ideas and comments may have changed in the interim, which merely reflects how easy it is for time to alter one’s perception of movies the either once thought were better or worse. In this case, the reviews are for Shame and The Adventures of Tintin. The former has risen in my estimation and even merited an increased star-rating (from 3.5 to 4 stars). The latter hasn’t really changed my in my memory, so may be more similar to my prior review.
Shame
Shame (2011)
Before Shame, the idea of sex addiction was the purview of comedians and politicians. Perhaps with an eye-opening examination of the genuine addictive personality disorder, the concept can get a more even-handed concern among the public.
Brandon (Michael Fassbender) loves women…too much. When he’s not galivanting through the subway seducing married women or trafficking night clubs in the search for his next conquest, he’s at home in his spacious, meticulous apartment watching online pornography. It may seem like a normal guy-thing, but a deeper examination of his behavior suggests something more dangerous. His work computer has been infested with countless virii from the various porn sites he’s visited. His one attempt to seriously date a co-worker ends disastrously when all he wants to do is get her in bed. He cannot connect emotionally with women, which is all the more exacerbated by the sudden arrival of his suicidal sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan).
As Sissy attempts to get close to Brandon, spiralling out of control in a depressive state brought on by a recent break-up, he continuously pushes her away, angry that his sexually extravagant lifestyle must be put on hold while she’s invading his space. There are even subtle suggestions throughout their interactions that perhaps Brandon’s sexual proclivities had started at a young age and his sister may have been the victim of them; psychologically, this idea can be supported by her inerrant co-dependance. Sissy is unable to form lasting relationships with men and because Brandon has moved on and has little need for the one girl who was in his life for the longest time, Sissy seems further distraught, constantly attempting to gain his attention, which includes seducing his horny boss David (James Badge Dale).
Fassbender’s performance is one of the most thrilling of his career. He brought a surprising humanity to vindictive super villain Magneto in X-Men: First Class; made his automaton in Prometheus the most emotionally complicated character in the entire film; and conveys a sleazy, methodical determination in Haywire. Even with all of these accomplished performances under his belt, Shame is a work of mesmerizing beauty, the kind of performance that defines a gifted actor and provides an ever-heightening bar over which he must leap. As Brandon, Fassbender is cool and calculating with subtle vulnerability percolating below the surface. The intensity of his attempts to control his life while relinquishing the control of his libido leads him to all manners of sordid acts that would seem anathema to anyone who considered themselves normal. His performance is a self-destructive tour-de-force that is matched and supported ably by the outstanding Mulligan.
Mulligan is one of the most gifted actresses of her generation. Alongside the likes of Michelle Williams (with whom she’s occasionally confused), Mulligan has shown a tenacity of character in her role selection. Never allowing the potential for a large bank account to dictate what roles she takes, Mulligan has cobbled together an astounding array of performances of which many actors should be envious. As Sissy, Mulligan’s vulnerability is unquestionable. She’s wounded and needs the support of her big brother to carry on; however, the slinky side of her that has been influenced by him, leads her to her own set of risky behaviors. There is seldom a moment where her world-weary character doesn’t seem on the verge of calling it quits. Her sultry performance of “New York, New York” is a highlight of the film. She’s seductive, yet mournful.
In only his second outing as a director, Steve McQueen has displayed remarkable control over his projects. As writer and director, McQueen doesn’t compromise on the darkness he conveys through his films. Shame may have some nihilistic elements, but its bleakness is its strength. Only by exploring the extremes of a dangerous addiction can we begin to understand how destructive it can be. Before films like The Lost Weekend and The Man with the Golden Arm, addiction was handled too lightly, treated more as a fraility of the human personality than a debillitating illness. Like those aforementioned films, Shame explores the subject with tact and honest, though perhaps a bit more deep and forbeoding than those classics.
Something akin to Requiem for a Dream, which took a grizzly look at drug addiction, Shame doesn’t pull its punches and avoids sentimentalism, exchanging it for raw emotion. Shame isn’t a film for the squeamish or sexually intimidated. It’s a mature film that unfortunately carries an undeserved NC-17 rating. The film may have a lot of sex and nudity, but it’s all subservient to the plot. This isn’t a movie that glorifies such behavior, quite the opposite. It’s an object lesson on the destructive nature of sex addiction and the emotional toll it weighs on addicts and those around them.
July 17, 2012
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin (2011)
The unenviable task of adapting an internationally-celebrated comic strip character and bringing him to mostly unfamiliar American audiences was rightly put in the hands of two craftsmen whose careers have been defined by their attention to detail and love for action-adventure. The Adventures of Tintin is a rousing event that will hopefully whet American appetites for more.
Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson jointly picked up the rights to Tintin, the brain child of Belgian artist Hergรฉ. Both are intimately familiar with the character and that association is a boon to the computer animated film they have put together. For the first film (future films are planned, but were hinged on the success of this effort), Spielberg takes on the role of director while Jackson takes producer duties. The script, written by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish finds Tintin, a young journalist and snoop (voiced by Jamie Bell), and his trusty fox terrier Snowy, are confronted with a confounding mystery surrounding an old model ship, a lost treasure and a ruthless villain who will do anything he can to get it.
Sakharine (voiced with all the malicious intent possible by Daniel Craig) has long sought the sunken treasure from an old ship commanded by an ancestor of Captain Archibald Haddock (Andy Serkis). After Tintin is kidnapped, he uncovers the alcoholic Haddock also onboard a steamer bound for parts unknown and together, they escape in search of the ship and its treasure, hoping to beat Sakharine to it. Along the way, Haddock must try to remember the riddle that was passed down to him by his father, which the booze is keeping murky, and in the process learning how to cope without his enabler.
The material in The Adventures of Tintin has a childlike mentality but is decidedly adult in theme. Most children might not find a lot to relate to in the film, but that in itself may be its biggest strength. For years, animation has been the domain of children. Only as Pixar emerged as the preeminent animation house has the genre become more accessible to adults while still being friendly for children. Motion capture animation’s arrival has tended towards darker material with the likes of Beowulf showing that the medium can be decidedly anti-family. In the hands of Spielberg, the tonality is a bit lighter, giving it a few elements that can be enjoyed by kids. And for a film like The Adventures of Tintin, that distinction is important.
A bridge between childhood and adulthood, Tintin‘s titular hero is himself a young man, one whose naivety about the dangers of the real world is partly informed, but largely extant. The film suggests he’s had adventures, but none quite so dangerous as the one in which the audience finds him. As an amateur detective, Tintin belies his age with a sharp mind and quick wit that should act as an excellent role-model for teenagers who want to look towards the future while still retaining their youthful vigor.
The film’s acting strengths hinge entirely on Serkis’ able voicing of Haddock. Anyone familiar with his work in The Lord of the Rings films as Gollum and as King Kong in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of the same, might be surprised at first to hear Serkis in the role. His performance is little like his more physical roles in those films, which is a fantastic thing. There’s a maturity to this performance that perfectly reflects the film’s thematic maturity. Here we have an actor whose performances have seemed a bit juvenile even if talented, growing up into a role that is more creative and demanding emotionally. Serkis keeps Haddock from becoming a one-note punchline generator and creates an intensely likeable character.
If there’s a type of movie that Steven Spielberg does well, it’s action-adventure. With films like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jurassic Park defining his career as one of the great, broad-appeal filmmakers, Spielberg’s decision to make his first foray into animation is a welcome one. Choosing a celebrated character that isn’t terribly familiar to American audiences provides a challenge, but is one which Spielberg’s should have little trouble overcoming, building on his own brand. The film does this well, displaying his acute knack for exciting adventure hooks and memorable chase scenes.
Tintin isn’t without its flaws. Spielberg hasn’t crafted a perfect or near-perfect film in over a decade. While each of his movies are above standard efforts that outshine many of his contemporaries, there’s always some nagging issue that, once it takes hold is impossible to shake off. I’ll set aside the notion that tragic elements are never relieved at the end of the film. Even in films like Schindler’s List, he leaves things with an optimistic or at least positive conclusion. The Adventures of Tintin does this, but the tone and genre of the film lend themselves to this type of storytelling, thus why I mention it both don’t admonish him for it.
My major issue with the picture is the animation itself. With computer animation finding new ways to create realistic imagery, it’s hard to believe that a technique that records an actors physical movement and translates that into character movement would have issues with realism. Much of Tintin feels very tactile, an environment you can almost breathe; however, there’s a scene leading up to the grand chase scene that culminates the second act. Haddock and Tintin are attending an operatic performance where they believe Sakharine is planning to steal the last model ship he needs to find the lost treasure. This entire scene is broad and expansive, but feels hollow. The crowd of non-captured people look fake and indistinguished. When you compare a detailed character like Haddock or Tintin to these other faces, they look bland and inexpressive. While this might be easy to chalk up to the need to create a crowd without extras, the surrounding environment is likewise oversaturated and flat. It’s as if the animators got to this scene and decided to take a break or let inexperienced designers go to work on them. The entire scene feels like something ripped from a direct-to-video animated film where everything looks cheap and mass produced. It isn’t enough to take away from the great animation work in the rest of the film, but it’s not of the same quality level, which is disconcerting.
By now, it would be difficult to defend motion capture as a still-emerging technique as it’s been around for the better part of a decade now. Until this film, I never really had an interest in the style. While The Lord of the Rings films used it sparingly to create the impressive Gollum character, the other films that have come out fully using motion capture have just looked cheap and outside my area of interest. Spielberg may change my impression of the technique, but I’ll need to see a few more films that arise in its shadow to decide if it’s a medium that interests me.
The Adventures of Tintin is a film that you owe yourself to see. You may not be familiar with the characters and you may not care about motion capture animation, but both camps should have little trouble finding satisfaction in Tintin.
July 18, 2012
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