Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

Director: George Clooney
Writers:  George Clooney, Grant Heslov
Cast:       David Strathairn, George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr.

Film is an historical drama portraying the conflict between veteran radio and television journalist Edward R. Murrow and US senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, especially relating to the anti-communist Senator's actions with the Senate Permanent Committee on Investigations. It focuses on the theme of media responsibility and also addresses what occurs when the media offer a voice of dissent against Government policy. 

2005 was a good time for the film to get released because the media in US, now fully corporatised, didn't do his job post 9-11 as terrorist scare was used to push through all sorts of questionable legislations like 'Patriot Act' and conduct some dubious wars. Red Scare was something similar that happened in US after the second world war, whipped up by the likes of J. Edgar Hoover & Senator McCarthy. The communist bogey was used to infringe upon civil rights and liberties, and the activities that they did on its name look totally ridiculous when looked back upon. But you have to be mindful of the cold war context and the nuclear threat to realize how they got support/silent approval to do so. The film will also be very relatable to us Indians, who are going through a similar state of affairs under a right-wing government. Accusations of being commie naxals/Maoists and an order to go to Pakistan is something that is hurled at dissenting voices these days in Modi's India. 

The film is in black and white and features an excellent central performance from David Strathairn capturing subtle mannerisms. The title of the film comes from Murrow's signature parting line in his show. Film uses archive footage of McCarthy and so he plays himself in it. I has recently read a NYT piece which cited the questionable practice of Ed Murrow in which he uses his show to promote a cigarette brand by having a smoke. That does look shocking when looked from a modern context, especially as we don't see people smoking on TV in a non-entertainment program these days. But I have to say that, I did see David Lynch on Charlie Rose show, in the 90s, having a smoke and looking cool while doing that. George Clooney manages to convey a sense of somberness throughout the film and it works as a good docu-drama. But, I think, I would have preferred to see it as a straight-up documentary. At the end of it, you do go: 'Is that it?'. Still it is quaint to see them, during the early days of TV journalism, worry about the influence of corporate side influencing journalism, while these days we are taking it as a given and always look at who owns the outlet and assume some bias.

PS: If you hear about McCarthyism, as I have been these days with increasing frequency, then it refers to accusation of treason or subversion without proper regard for evidence.

Rating: 3.5/5

                                                                      

The Proposition (2005)

Director: John Hillcoat
Writer:    Nick Cave
Cast:       Ray Winstone, Guy Pearce, Emily Watson

A lawman (Ray Winstone) apprehends a notorious outlaw (Guy Pearce) and gives him nine days to kill his elder brother, or else they'll execute his younger brother. Film is set in Australian outback of the 1880s. 

Both the director and screenwriter are known for their involvement with Western films and this one is another one of those. Nick Cave is a man of many talents and have been involved in various films as musician, composer, screenwriter and actor. As far as moderns films in western genre goes, Andrew Dominik's 'Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford' is the standout film along with Coens' 'True Grit'. One could consider Tarantino's last two films as Westerns but they are also many other things to be truly considered as a genre film. His next one, 'Hateful Eight', will be a typical Western film and when it comes out we can compare it with the other two I have mentioned earlier so as to ascertain where it stands in comparison. Knowing Tarantino these days, he might self indulge the shit out of it.

As for 'The Proposition', one can deduce from the plot synopsis itself that the story is pretty basic and it is all about the grittiness of the setting and the performances from the excellent cast that it has got. I am a huge fan of Guy Pearce and have always felt that he is quite underrated. He should have been in more films and maybe it is a choice that he is making from his part by opting out of shitty money-grab films. John Hurt plays a cameo in it and  is among the more interesting of characters from the film. The elder brother character played by Danny Huston was quite underwhelming. Film is largely told through the POV of the lawman character played by Ray Winstone.

Overall it is a great watch without being compelling enough to be termed as a great one. Maybe it was an intentional subversion of genre by taking away any humor, set-piece scenes or larger than life characters from it. The songs that are used in the film are like ballads and the film was commended for highly accurate portrayal of its aboriginal characters. Australia really did seem like a hellhole and the outbacks maybe still is. It was shot in Queensland. Guy Pearce starrer 'The Rover', which can be called a post-apocalyptic Western, is a better film than this and is highly recommended.

Rating: 3.5/5

                                                                       

Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

Director: Ridley Scott
Writer:    William Monahan
Cast:       Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, Edward Norton, Liam Neeson

Balian of Ibelin, travels to Jerusalem during the crusades of the 12th century, and there he finds himself as the defender of the city and its people. In the beginning of the film, Balian (Orlando Bloom) is a blacksmith, in a French village, grieving after his wife's suicide. He meets Lord of Ibelin- Godfrey (Liam Neeson) who tells him that Balian is his bastard son and invites him to the Holy Land. Godfrey dies on the way and Balian becomes Lord of Ibelin. Jerusalem is under the rule of the leper king, Baldwin (Edward Norton), who doesn't have any direct descendants and is about to die. When he dies, the kingdom will pass to his nephew, whose mother (Eva Green) has romantically fallen for Balian. Her husband is baying for a war with the Muslim king Saladin- with whom Baldwin has a truce as long as the Muslim pilgrims are protected. Everything comes to a head when the leper king dies.

The characters in the film are fictionalized versions of their Historical counterparts. The first time I watched it some years back, I wasn't that aware about the intricacies concerning crusades, and since then I have watched the BBC series-Crusades which was presented in a comical manner by Terry Jones (of Monty Python). It certainly helps in appreciating the film more in terms of understanding the negative light it casts on the fanatical Christians. It was those times when Europe was largely under the influence of Roman Catholic Church and was going through what we now call as the Dark Ages. The misguided missions of Crusades were representative of the European decline with it being an exercise that put barbaric European Christians against  the Islamic empire in its glory years. One could criticize the film for the extremely binary nature of its character portrayal. The actions taken by the negative Christian characters are extremely irrational and suicidal which would have made more sense if they were seen to be doing it because of religious reasons. I guess it is understandable because to have a much more nuanced story would be extremely difficult within the scope of a feature film when the scale is this big. Another big millstone for the film is of course its lead actor, Orlando Bland (© Mark Kermode), and I don't know how he was trusted with such a big role. He is surrounded by such good actors in this film that it really felt like giving Roy Hodgson the responsibility to manage an all star football eleven. 

Got to say that, despite all this, film is still a great watch. At least the director's cut version of it which I watched. It was released in a 144 minutes version which received only a mixed response from critics and general audience. The reaction to the DC, which is forty five minutes longer, was much better and this is another one of those Ridley Scott films that got mishandled by the studios. The film didn't do well in North America but got good response from rest of the world and particularly from Muslim countries. It came out in 2005, a post 9-11 world which was again going through turbulence which was again dangerously described as a clash of civilizations, compounded by Bush's crusades comment. Some took exception to how negatively Christians were portrayed in the film relative to Muslims, but I guess it was justified since it is much more intended towards western audience. Cinematography is absolutely stunning and the battle scenes were breathtaking. Soundtrack was also memorable and the performances from Edward Norton, a masked one, and Jeremy Irons were particularly excellent. It would have been even greater if they had cast someone good instead of Orlando Bloom as its lead. It is a much more memorable film than Gladiator, which is much more acclaimed.

Rating: 4/5

                                                                       

Jarhead (2005)

Director: Sam Mendes
Writers:  William Broyles Jr., Anthony Swofford
Cast:       Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Lucas Black

Based on former Marine Anthony Swofford's best-selling 2003 book about his pre-Desert Storm experiences in Saudi Arabia and about his experiences fighting/not fighting in Kuwait. The title comes from the derogatory slang term used to refer to Unites States Marines and originates from their haircut which makes their heads look like a Jar.

For most people, the Gulf war under George Bush Sr. was an insignificant one which ended before it began. Not many films have been made on that and the only one I can seem to remember is David O'Russell's 'Three Kings', which was more of a comedy about the ridiculous nature of it. Jarhead is about a group of marines who are not very brave in a Hollywood sense getting bored by nothing happening for their platoon related to war like things. They are initially posted as part of Desert-Shield, protecting oil wells in Saudi Arabia. They spend a few months doing that and things that normally don't get covered in usual war films like-girlfriends/wives cheating them back home, the boring drills to keep them on toes, nothing really happening etc are shown in this film. As per Swofford's own words:

"[voice over narration] Suggested techniques for the Marine to use in the avoidance of boredom and loneliness: Masturbation. Rereading of letters from unfaithful wives and girlfriends. Cleaning your rifle. Further masturbation. Rewiring Walkman. Arguing about religion and meaning of life. Discussing in detail, every woman the Marine has ever fucked. Debating differences, such as Cuban vs. Mexican, Harleys vs. Hondas, left- vs. right-handed masturbation. Further cleaning of rifle. Studying of Filipino mail order bride catalog. Further masturbation. Planning of Marine's first meal on return home. Imagining what the Marine's girlfriend and her man Jody are doing in the hay, or in the alley, or in a hotel bed. "

They indeed do get deployed a part of Desert Storm in Kuwait for a sum total of four days without any kills. It was a war decided by the air-strikes and the ground troops didn't have much to do since there was no significant occupation after the war like in Iraq war of the noughties. Film can be best described as a different kind of anti-war film with its narrative driven by its boredom and what it does to the Marines in their personal lives and what is in store for their future, instead of politics. Nothing Hollywood happens to provide the characters a redemptive movement and we really want them to take the sniper shot for their sake at the end instead of waiting for the air force to bomb the place. It is a very good watch without being great and not much scope for rewatchability. The editing is top-notch and the scenes of oil-wells in flames were brilliant. One can watch Herzog's 'Lessons of Darkness' which just had that and is beautifully surreal.

Sam Mendes is someone who consistently provide better than good films without making a great one. I loved American Beauty when I saw it first and but it is something that has not aged well and loses considerably on re-watch. He also made the best James Bond film in 'Skyfall'. He is also gonna make the next James Bond one and am looking forward to it even though I am not a huge fan of the franchise.

Rating: 3.5/5