The MacGuffin

I think most Alexander Payne movies are good, but I have a hard time talking myself into liking them. In fact, the better they are, the less I enjoy them. I can see that Sideways is a good movie, but I find everyone in it repellant, and there is no emotional resonance for me. Election is the same way; it’s a really well made film, and I don’t care about the characters at all. I appreciate that Payne is a real director who makes films for adults who like to think about things, but appreciation and enjoyment are not the same thing. His new film, The Descendants, is pretty flawed, but I was able to connect to this film in a way that I never have with any of his others.

Just released from prison, Mitchell (Colin Farrell) is a criminal who just wants to go straight. Most importantly, he never wants to do time again. As is the case with most criminals in stories like this, Mitchell’s life is surrounded with people who are steeped in crime, leaving Mitchell embroiled in the life he wants to escape, but with little means to do so. In a vain attempt, he takes the tip of a woman he flirts with on the night of his release, who tells him of a job working for a reclusive actress as a handyman and bodyguard. The job turns out to be for a woman named Charlotte (Keira Knightley), presented to us as one of the world’s most famous actresses. She hasn’t acted in some time and has been hiding away in seclusion since, which has only served to make her a fixation for the paparazzi. Mitchell and Charlotte fall for each other, but as Mitchell falls further into Charlotte’s private world, he also becomes further entangled with the world of crime that he lives in.

Mental illness is a theme that is used to showcase many intriguing concepts, such as people overcoming adversity and looking at the darker aspects of the human psyche. The idea has also been used as an easy plot filler in films needing a quick out. In Take Shelter, mental illness is used to look at the life of one family and give us a chance to experience their lives.

There is one movie in my life that has messed me up beyond all others, and it is The Deliberate Stanger, a 1986 two-part television miniseries about serial killer Ted Bundy. At the time it first aired, I was just about to graduate high school—about the same age as many of Ted Bundy’s victims—and lived in the Pacific Northwest, which meant hearing about serial killers all the time because we seem to breed them here. Everybody I knew watched this miniseries, and we were all totally creeped out by it. (Nobody seems to make very many good miniseries anymore. Which is unfortunate; it’s a good way to tell a longer story. The last one I really enjoyed was Storm of the Century, and I am looking forward to Bag of Bones coming out in December.)

You’ve got to be kidding.

While there’s still a little more than a month and a half left in the year, and a good handful of movies left to be released, I’m going to go out there and say with confidence that Jack and Jill, the latest comedy starring Adam Sandler, is the worst movie of 2011. By a mile. Hell, by two miles. Not since Salt (2010) have I walked out of a theater being so thoroughly upset by how silly and stupid a movie was. This is an unfunny holiday comedy that can barely live up to the description of “mediocre.” It does not give the audience—or itself—any kind of respect. There were times where I wanted to turn to the person next to me and ask how they could possibly stay in their seat throughout the duration of this mess. This movie does not deserve a bad review.

We always want love to overcome all, in our books, our television, and, especially, our films. So, it is rare thing when a movie comes along and truly examines that idea without being cynical and cruel, but with an approach that simply asks us to see what challenges love can face and how people really deal with it.

A well-made film about someone selflessly helping another provides a certain distinct sense of pleasure for the viewer, which I believe comes mostly from the fact that films of this sort are usually done poorly. They slide into congratulatory territory; they try too hard to be heartwarming, and miss the point. They suggest that the viewer should immediately go out and seek their own charity case to shower neighborly love upon, whether they want it or not. Le Havre, the most recent film from Finnish filmmaker Aki Kauismäki, tackles such a story of helping a stranger with none of that treacle. Characters who are essentially good people are faced with choices, and they act in the best interest of someone who doesn’t have the means to get through his situation alone. Would that the world was a bit more like this…

One possible attribute of a great documentary is that it shows you a world that you might not be familiar with and finds a way to make it relatable. This can be a great challenge, as it is very easy to have the subjects become caricatures. This was one of my concerns when I heard the synopsis to The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia, directed by Julien Nitzberg.

My Afternoons with Margueritte (two Ts) is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time and arguably the best French movie I’ve ever seen. I don’t say this lightly, as I’ve watched numerous French films. It’s different than most of the ones I’ve seen, but it is a feel-good movie that I wasn’t expecting at all. The film stars Gérard Depardieu and Gisèle Casadesus, who play 100% believable small-town French folks who stumble upon a passion they both share.

Tower Heist (2011), the latest action/comedy film directed by the infamous Brett Ratner, aims to be nothing more than a straight down the line form of popcorn entertainment. On that basic level alone, the film accomplishes what it sets out to do. There isn’t much that is quite remarkable going on here; everyone that is involved has been in far better work. With that said, though, there are certainly a fair amount of laughs to be had, and although the film does have a number of problems, I found myself looking past those issues and concentrating on the elements that did work. It’s a surprisingly fun time; I had walked in to the theater expecting a bad movie, but to my amazement walked out having seen a fairly enjoyable one. Who would’ve thought?