Film, life and everything in between
Weekly Review -- Fractured reflections
Spread (2009) -- The misadventures of the young, the trendy and the beautiful are always great fodder for romantic and dramatic cinema, giving us insight into lives that are often mirrors of pain merely waiting to smash against reality. This David Mackenzie offering is a peek into one of such lives, peppering the glossy surface with healthy doses of irony and reproach. Nikki (Ashton Kutcher) is a womanizing hipster, well versed in the politics of seduction and charming his way into his conquests' bank accounts. His current flame is Samantha (Anne Heche), a successful lawyer who, unlike most of Nikki's other sugar mamas, wants more out of the fickle affair. While Nikki fails to comprehend this disruption of the arrangement, he meets Heather (Margareta Levieva), a waitress who seems to be his wisecracking match and who makes him reconsider his lifestyle... Although Spread does a great job demystifying many a young'un's illusions and delusions of glamour in the City of Angels, its problem is its lack of interesting turns of events. Yes, we know that Nikki is, for all intents and purposes, a loser. Yes, we are hopeful that the women who fawn over him have at least one ounce of self-respect, and yes, we are aware that his way of life cannot last forever. The movie keeps bringing up the same points over and over again, without much development. The characters do not boast any redeeming qualities, what with the movie being an equal opportunity sexist piece. One can occasionally feel a glimmer of sympathy toward Nikki -- one of the 30,000 dreamers that arrive in Hollywood every month, as he puts it -- for getting lost in a utopian fantasy, but a glimmer would be the extent of that sentiment. However, Kutcher injects the aimless gigolo with plenty of self-deprecation, the kind of dryness that attempts in vain not to appear jaded, and it is his performance that makes the film watchable. Heche is pretty pale as a femme fatale, though she does have good moments of subtle emotional gravity, and Levieva brings casual charm to a positively bewildering character, one that appears unfinished as the movie comes to a close. Spread does have its own perspective on its protagonist's lifestyle, a stance confirmed in the film's unique final scene, but it is mostly too distracted by this lifestyle's fictional trappings to pay attention to its own story.
5/10
Weekly Review -- Selling souls
The Girlfriend Experience (2009) -- I was looking forward to seeing this film for several reasons. First, the trailer displayed a very somber aesthetic, something that mainstream Hollywood does not utilize often. Second, I was intrigued by a new perspective of the oldest profession from the man who explored human character and desire in the brutally frank Sex, Lies, and Videotape. Finally, I was wondering about the stance that the film would take toward women who decide to enter this perilous world. Unfortunately, the film poses many questions and leaves the audience with few answers. Chelsea (Sasha Grey) is a high-end New York City escort, operating her own business while trying to expand it during the 2008 economic crisis. Her personal trainer boyfriend Chris (Chris Santos) is having financial troubles of his own, being unable to keep clients in the recession and looking for greener pastures himself. The story follows the couple as their emotions and vices traverse the mostly unsavory proceedings. The problem with The Girlfriend Experience is that it never finds its point of view. It wanders aimlessly around its realm without offering up arguments that support, justify or even attack the protagonist's choices. The film moves along in a vague, dispassionate tone, achieving the rare feat of being detached from itself. If ever there was a topic for discussion, it would be the underground world of the escort industry, and Steven Soderbergh squanders the chance he has to make a taboo debatable. Several interesting issues arise -- the central relationship and the principal character's motivation are among them -- but they are never explored within the decidedly unusual context. Grey, an adult film celebrity, lends a hint of poignancy to Chelsea, suggesting a well hidden truth behind the shrewd facade. She provides some earnest moments, making it difficult for the audience not to find a grain of sympathy for the character. The rest of the actors do well within the experimental framework, but are often drowned out by the style, which overwhelms the story. I loved the dark, subdued cinematography, which corresponds perfectly to the gloomy themes, but style does not a masterpiece make. In the end, The Girlfriend Experience is as vacuously pretentious as the life of its protagonist. It does not draw the viewer into its universe; rather, it leaves the audience stranded, searching for a meaning in a narrative that should never have been meaningless.
5/10
Weekly Review -- Happiness, the most cryptic of choices?
Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) -- Why is hope such a rare cinematic gift? Gems like Amélie, Little Miss Sunshine, Watching the Detectives and other occasional delights break through the bleakness of many a reel, but a rich and life-affirming piece still seems to have become a needle in a haystack. Fear not, for here is a movie that will make you smile, laugh and maybe, just maybe dance around your house. Poppy (Sally Hawkins) is a vibrant London school teacher with an unbeatable zest for life. She spends her days discovering and re-discovering the beauty of simple things, inhaling experiences and being herself, despite obstacles presented by "reality". Throughout the film, we see this eternal optimist's relationships with her family and friends, as well as the people she meets along the way. Director Mike Leigh's realism is not as present in this work as it is in many previous ones, like Meantime, Secrets and Lies and Vera Drake; then again, the subject matter itself calls for more freedom in improvisation and, on a somewhat technical level, a more inviting type of cinematography. Colors abound, whether we are peering into Poppy's apartment, her classroom or her flamenco lesson. Indeed, they seem to be a character unto themselves, an ever-present entity that saturates Poppy's world inside and out. Hawkins is incredibly expressive as the principal character, playing Poppy as an anomaly in a universe of "adults" which, of course, is where the beauty of her enthusiasm lies. The scenes which allow for the character's happiness to align with her keen perception and a deeper sense of altruism merely enhance her humanity, and Hawkins hits all the right nuances with her portrayal of emotions brimming underneath the surface. The screenplay gracefully shifts gears from a bubbly poignancy to somber themes like free will, life choices and abuse, staying well away from preachy or apathetic extremes of the dramatic spectrum. Leigh's trademark dysfunctional family theme enters the film in a few places, but this time its purpose is to confirm Poppy's joie de vivre, without the dysfunction sharing a symbiotic relationship with the other aspects of the narrative. Happy-Go-Lucky is a unique movie in its depiction of joy, showing that happiness is always within our grasp, if only we place faith in our perception and learn where to look.
9/10
Spread (2009) -- The misadventures of the young, the trendy and the beautiful are always great fodder for romantic and dramatic cinema, giving us insight into lives that are often mirrors of pain merely waiting to smash against reality. This David Mackenzie offering is a peek into one of such lives, peppering the glossy surface with healthy doses of irony and reproach. Nikki (Ashton Kutcher) is a womanizing hipster, well versed in the politics of seduction and charming his way into his conquests' bank accounts. His current flame is Samantha (Anne Heche), a successful lawyer who, unlike most of Nikki's other sugar mamas, wants more out of the fickle affair. While Nikki fails to comprehend this disruption of the arrangement, he meets Heather (Margareta Levieva), a waitress who seems to be his wisecracking match and who makes him reconsider his lifestyle... Although Spread does a great job demystifying many a young'un's illusions and delusions of glamour in the City of Angels, its problem is its lack of interesting turns of events. Yes, we know that Nikki is, for all intents and purposes, a loser. Yes, we are hopeful that the women who fawn over him have at least one ounce of self-respect, and yes, we are aware that his way of life cannot last forever. The movie keeps bringing up the same points over and over again, without much development. The characters do not boast any redeeming qualities, what with the movie being an equal opportunity sexist piece. One can occasionally feel a glimmer of sympathy toward Nikki -- one of the 30,000 dreamers that arrive in Hollywood every month, as he puts it -- for getting lost in a utopian fantasy, but a glimmer would be the extent of that sentiment. However, Kutcher injects the aimless gigolo with plenty of self-deprecation, the kind of dryness that attempts in vain not to appear jaded, and it is his performance that makes the film watchable. Heche is pretty pale as a femme fatale, though she does have good moments of subtle emotional gravity, and Levieva brings casual charm to a positively bewildering character, one that appears unfinished as the movie comes to a close. Spread does have its own perspective on its protagonist's lifestyle, a stance confirmed in the film's unique final scene, but it is mostly too distracted by this lifestyle's fictional trappings to pay attention to its own story.
