My Review: The Two Faces of January (5/10)

“I’m sorry I disappointed you.”

The Two Faces of January opens with a striking beautiful photography that captures our attention immediately. From the very first scene where we meet the main characters while they are touring at the Parthenon in Greece we are drawn by the visuals, and we soon find out that it plays a huge contrast to the underlying darkness of the lead characters. This is a very stylized and gorgeous to look at film, but the characters are hiding several dark secrets under their exterior cool looks. This is a period piece that gets all the technical aspects of the film right, but the narrative lacks suspense. As complex as these characters may seem, there is very little that attracts us to them. Despite the fantastic interplay and chemistry between Viggo Mortensen and Oscar Issac, the narrative does little to raise our sympathy for these characters. If the screenplay could have been more engaging this could have been a fantastic film because it is aesthetically gorgeous. There are several twists and reveals along the way that are dark and mark a huge contrast to the breathtaking background. Unfortunately, The Two Faces of January is one of those films where the style seems to be more relevant than the story. 

This is Hossein Amini’s directorial debut, but considering he wrote the screenplay for one of my favorite recent films (Drive), I had high expectations for this film. I’m also a huge fan of Mortensen and Isaac’s work so I expected to have a great time, but despite their solid performances I never cared for the characters nor the suspense the film was trying to raise. As a thriller it never really works, but the cinematography makes up for most of the film’s flaws. I also enjoyed the costume design, because it was very stylized and it set the right mood giving it an authentic retro vibe. The score however did feel a bit manipulative and forceful at times. As much as it was pleasurable to look at this film I couldn’t help but feel there was something missing. A thriller without suspense doesn’t really work for me and that was my main issue with this film. There is also an underlying father and son relationship that the film sort of wants to explore, but never really does go beyond dealing with the beginning admirations and ultimate disappointments.

My Review: Interview with the Vampire (7/10)

"Who will take care of me my love, my dark angel, when you are gone?"

I just recently got around to watching Interview with the Vampire, twenty years after Neil Jordan directed this successful film, and I have to admit the recent overload of vampire films and novels over the past decade did affect my viewing since most of the innovative elements that Anne Rice introduced here I have seen in later films and TV series (like True Blood). I'm sure many of these films were inspired by some of Rice's original ideas which made this movie stand out above prior vampire films. Unfortunately I'm giving this a lower rating because I am a bit tired of these films and in my opinion the best vampire film continues to be Let the Right One In (which managed to stay low key unlike this epic story). Rice's story is imaginative and Jordan's direction visionary, thus creating a unique and dark vampire drama with some strong performances. The film did drag at times and it is a bit too long but several scenes were intense and skillfully delivered. If you are a fan of vampire films or of Anne Rice's work then you will probably enjoy this much more than I did because it is dark and gothic, but it does have its weaknesses and the ending is a bit off note.

As the title suggests, the story is told in the form of an interview as a journalist named Daniel (Christian Slater) encounters a 200 year old vampire named Louis (Brad Pitt). His story begins in 18th century New Orleans after having lost his wife when he was 24. Deciding he didn't want to live any longer, Louis set out to destroy his life picking fights at local bars. One night while doing this he catches the attention of a vampire named Lestat (Tom Cruise) who gives him the opportunity to become like him. Louis accepts and becomes Lestat's apprentice, however he isn't satisfied with his new life as a vampire and refuses to kill humans. Louis hates who he has become, but his life changes when Lestat turns a little girl named Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) into a vampire and together they form a family. Louis continues to narrate his story through two centuries as they encounter troubles and betrayals along the way.

Tom Cruise is a huge action star and at times it's difficult to separate him from his characters, but surprisingly he lost himself in the role of Lestat and gives a convincing performance as a blood lusting vampire. Brad Pitt despite not losing himself in the role as well as Cruise does still delivers a believable lead performance. The real surprise for me however was the young Kirsten Dunst who gives the best performance of the film. Once her character is introduced the story really picks up and it becomes engaging. In my opinion the interview scenes didn't work too well; I would have preferred if Louis simply narrated his story directly to us considering Slater's character doesn't really do much as an interviewer. Despite some flaws in the story, the film does look good and the effects are also done well. Jordan and Rice were able to create a unique vampire film that stood out from the rest and that is the reason why 20 years later it is still talked about and referred too.

My Review: Melancholia (5/10)

¨Life is only on Earth. And not for long. ¨

Melancholia as its name suggests is a very depressing movie starring Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg as two troubled sisters. Danish director Lars von Trier (Antichrist and Dogville) suffered from depression himself and decided to use his personal experience and share his emotions with the viewer in this melancholic film. The story is interesting at some points and the visuals are really stylish, but I am not a big fan of these dark, depressing movies so I didn’t have a pleasant experience. Lars von Trier wrote the screenplay himself as he usually does with his work and filmed the movie in Sweden so the scenery is actually quite beautiful, but the story and characters are too dark for my personal taste. The film is really slow and consists of two parts, one focusing on each sister. The long opening scene set the mood for the entire movie with music from Wagner`s ¨Tristan and Isolde.¨ You can fall asleep with how slow the pace is. This is definitely not a movie for everyone, but those of you who enjoy these depressing movies might have a good time it thanks to the great visual style and the psychological study of the characters. I understood the message that the director was trying to get across, and I actually enjoyed his work in Dogville, but I just wasn’t entertained with Melancholia and found time moving so slowly that the film seemed like it was never going to end. A much better film dealing with depression that I recommend and also came out this year is The Beaver starring Mel Gibson. His performance is much more deserving of recognition than Kirsten Dunst`s work in this film for which she won the best actress award in the Cannes Festival.

The movie opens with a long eight minute scene where we are introduced to some of the scenes that occur during the movie in a very artistic style, like if we were viewing a live painting. We also see how a planet (which we later learn is called Melancholia) is headed towards Earth and collides with it. Then the movie begins with the first part called Justine and it focuses on her (Kirsten Dunst) wedding reception. She seems happy at first as she kisses her new husband Michael (Alexander Skarsgard), but we can tell there is something off about her. She is trying to hide her depression with fake smiles, but she can`t take it for long. Her sister, Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and her brother-in-law, John (Kiefer Sutherland), have spent a lot of money on the wedding reception and are a bit disappointed with the way things are turning out. Their parents, Dexter (John Hurt) and Gaby (Charlotte Rampling), who are divorced have a discussion in front of everyone, so that doesn’t help either. Justine can`t keep on pretending to be happy and all of a sudden tells her boss, Jack (Stellan Skarsgard) that he is a selfish person, she ignores Michael, and ends up having sex with Jack`s nephew, Tim (Brady Corbet). The second part of the story is titled Claire and it takes place at their residence a couple of months after the disastrous wedding. Everyone is aware now that a planet seems to be heading towards Earth, although John (as the scientist he is) assures them that it will just pass by. Justine`s depression is getting worse and worse, but she seems to not care much about the possible collision. It`s Claire`s turn now to suffer anxiety and panic attacks as she fears for the worst.

It`s interesting to see how von Trier plays out this film, making us see how unbalanced Justine is at her wedding. Kirsten Dunst captures her depression really well (although I don’t think it is Oscar worthy if you ask me). Then in the second part of the film we see how all of a sudden the table turns and Justine seems to be the stronger of the two. Justine goes from needing to being taken care of to caring for her sister Claire when she can`t deal with the issue. Even John who seemed to be always in control ends up taking the easy way out. Lars von Trier knew exactly what he was doing because suffering from depression himself he knew that melancholic people tend to deal better under pressure. Kirsten Dunst really transmits this idea through her character, but I still think there have been better and more deserving works this year. I really wasn’t entertained with this movie, and I don’t plan on ever seeing it again. I couldn`t recommend it, although I understand all the buzz it is receiving with the critics. The movie was melancholic, it did its job, but I am just not the kind of guy who is interested in these movies. I was plain and simply bored with Melancholia.

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