The Cider House Rules (7/10): Choosing your own destiny or the one drawn for you

“Goodnight, you princes of Maine, you kings of New England.”

Michael Caine’s second Oscar win came from his 1999 supporting role in The Cider House Rules, and despite delivering a solid performance I wouldn’t even rank it amongst his best work. The true standout here was Tobey Maguire who delivers a very subtle performance and is the main reason why the story works so well. I’d say it’s the best performance of his career. The film is old-fashioned (and the references to Dickens’ David Copperfield reinforce that claim even more) as it manages to capture the humanity in the story with a wonderful adaptation from John Irving of his own 1985 novel. The film isn’t afraid of tackling some moral dilemmas such as abortion and incest, and it does so without forcing a point of view on the audience. Lasse Hallstrom directs this film with his characteristic beautiful visual style although at times the melodrama can be a bit too sentimental. I felt like the film was much more similar in style to his prior film, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, as it focuses on several family dynamics and various subplots in a similar way. This is also as close as a Dickens movie we will get set in America. The film isn’t perfect however and there are several relationships that feel forced, but I assume it has to do with trying to fit the most important elements of the novel into a two hour movie. 

The film opens with a voiceover narration from Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine) explaining how he became the orphanage director at St. Cloud, Maine. He takes special interest in a young boy named Homer Wells who is returned back to the orphanage immediately by every foster parent who attempts to adopt him. After a while it becomes evident to Dr. Larch that Homer will stay with them for a long time so he begins to teach him everything he knows about being a doctor. After several years, now Homer is a grown man (Tobey Maguire) who becomes Dr. Wilbur’s assistant in the orphanage. When Lt. Wally (Paul Rudd) and his pregnant girlfriend Candy (Charlize Theron) show up at the orphanage to have an abortion that Dr. Larch is willing to do, Homer decides it is time to explore the outside world and leaves with the young couple. Wally offers him a job at his family’s apple farm which he gladly accepts. Before heading back to war, Wally and Candy take Homer to see the ocean for the very first time and this is just the first of many first time experiences that Candy will go on to introduce him to. Meanwhile, Dr. Wilbur has hopes that Homer will return and carry on the work which he has groomed him for, but he refuses to consider himself a doctor and seems to be enjoying life picking apples and spending time with Candy. 

There are a couple of strong supporting performances from Delroy Lindo as one of the men in charge of the apple picking group and Erykah Badu who plays his daughter. Jane Alexander and Kathy Baker are two of the nurses in the orphanage who work with Dr. Larch. Some of the child actors playing orphans deliver some strong scenes as Kieran Culkin, Erik Per Sullivan, and Paz de la Huerta specially stand out. My greatest complaint with the cast however is that J.K. Simmons is given absolutely nothing to do here playing Candy’s father. He seems to be only in a couple of montage scenes, but they completely misuse him. One of the strengths of the film however is that despite a shocking discovery surrounding Delroy Lindo’s character, he is never portrayed as a one dimensional character. There is some complexity to his character and he isn’t simply portrayed as a villain. On the moral dilemma surrounding the issue of abortion we have two characters with differing points of views, on the one hand Dr. Larch is very much for it, while Homer who has more faith in humanity is against it. The film may take a slightly pro abortion stand, but it doesn’t feel heavy handed considering the main issue here is Homer’s struggle to discover his own identity or follow the destiny Wilbur has traced for him. 

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (8/10): A classic family drama with touching performances.

“I want Momma to take aerobics classes. I want Ellen to grow up. I want a new brain for Arnie. I want…”

Looking back at Leonardo DiCaprio’s filmography I’m constantly reminded what a great actor he is. In What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, he plays a seventeen year old mentally ill kid in such a natural way that if I didn’t know this was Leo I would’ve believed the actor playing Arnie was really mentally ill. This is probably one of his standout performances and is one of the highlights of this emotionally gripping family drama. However he is just a supporting character in this film as the title character is played by Johnny Depp, Arnie’s older brother who is always taking care of him and the rest of the family. Gilbert’s father has abandoned them and ever since he has been the male role model for the family in the small community where they live. He not only takes care of Arnie, he also has to provide for the family by working in a small local supermarket. He is ashamed of his obese mother (Darlene Cates), who simply stopped caring about her beautiful body after her husband abandoned her. Gilbert also has two sisters who help out with the family chores, Amy (Laura Harrington) and Ellen (Mary Kate Schellhardt). The responsibility Gilbert feels towards his family has taken its toll on him and explains why he seems to be half asleep all the time. He has no time for accomplishing any personal goals or dreams and spends his few free minutes with his local friends, Tucker (John C. Reilly) and Bobby (Crispin Glover). Things take an unexpected turn when Becky (Juliette Lewis) arrives in town and the two form a special bond together. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is an emotionally gripping family drama that works thanks to the strong performances from the cast and a fantastically well written script by Peter Hedges. The film avoids feeling cliche or melodramatic and I found it to be an honest story. Lasse Hallstrom has been accused of being overly melodramatic at times, but I think that the director avoided much of those moments here thanks in most part to a well written script.

Leonardo DiCaprio gives the best performance of the film, but Johnny Depp also delivers in a very subtle way. His character doesn’t seem to say much, but the way he simply moves and speaks says a lot about him. He knows he isn’t getting anywhere in life and feels stuck in this small town, but at the same time he has responsibilities and knows that his family relies on him to survive. He is trapped in a prison he can’t get out of. He cares deeply for his family, but at the same time he resents them and it seems they have become a burden for him. The way he approaches the character is fascinating because he doesn’t have to say or do anything for us to understand how he feels. We can easily identify and sympathize for his character. The chemistry he shares with Lewis is also strong. She is in some ways the opposite of him. She is free spirited and has travelled across several states. She doesn’t have many responsibilities, and the two end up complementing each other quite well. Their relationship might not be the central theme of the movie, but it does lighten up the mood a bit. Reilly is always funny on screen and despite playing a more serious character he still delivers his usual quirky silliness to the role. All these small relationships are the central theme of the movie and the brotherhood between Depp and DiCaprio stands out above them all. I enjoyed this family drama and I’m glad I finally got a chance to watch it.  

My Review: Safe Haven (4/10)

¨There´s no safer place for you than here with me.¨

Chicks will definitely love this film, but I found it to be yet another recycled Nicholas Sparks adaptation. Sparks may have a fan base through his novels and movie adaptations, but if he continues to write the same movie over and over again he will eventually lose them all. I was a fan of The Notebook because the relationship felt authentic and Sparks writing was new to me, I really liked it, but Safe Haven is completely flawed. Not only is it full of romantic clichés (we get to see another canoeing scene in a lake interrupted by rain like in The Notebook), but it has some of the worst plot twists I´ve seen in film history. I guess it was an attempt from Sparks to make this film different from the rest, but the suspense and thrills never worked. It felt like The Stepfather with the melodrama from any chick flick you´ve seen. It´s too bad Safe Haven didn’t work because I like Swedish director, Lasse Hallstrom, who has made Chocolat, What´s Eating Gilbert Grape, The Cider House Rules, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. This is one film that he would probably want to erase from his resume. The writers in charge of adapting Sparks´ novel were Dana Stevens (City of Angels and For Love of the Game) and Gage Lansky. The script was weak, predictable, and extremely mushy. The film also suffers from a weak lead performance from Julianne Hough who was much better in the musicals she starred in: Burlesque and Rock of Ages. Her performance never felt believable and that hurt the chemistry with her co-star Josh Duhamel, who has also made a living off rom-coms like When in Rome, or Life as We Know It. Those mediocre movies look like masterpieces when compared to Safe Haven. Duhamel is a likeable actor, but Hough´s performance made it difficult to tolerate this film.

The movie begins with a young scared girl named Katie (Julianne Hough) making a frenetic escape from her hometown in Boston to a small North Carolina town known as Southport. She´s running from something, but we are never shown exactly what happened. All we know is that something happened in her home involving a knife and a man, and now she has cut her hair and died it blonde and has escaped to this isolated place. Police officer, Tierney (David Lyons), tries to hunt her down but gets to the bus station a few seconds late. Katie decides that Southport is the perfect place to start over and finds a nice little cabin in the woods and a job at a local coffee shop. Katie tries to keep to herself, but she forms a nice bond with a little girl named Lexie (Mimi Kirkland) who is the daughter of widowed Alex (Josh Duhamel). Alex soon falls for Katie´s good looks and they grow closer together. However Katie never mentions anything about her past. Katie also befriends her neighbor, Jo (Cobie Smulders), who seems to always be there for her for good advice. As Katie begins to fall for Alex more and more, she is still haunted by her past and isn’t sure what her next move should be. Thus the melodrama begins.  

Safe Haven had some beautiful shots of romantic locations, but it was full of clichés and bad dialogues. At times while the music was playing the film even felt like one long music video or commercial. Safe Haven also suffers from an extensively long plot. At almost two hours I kept waiting for the end to approach, and it never did. One plot twist after another the film continued to grow increasingly tiring and tedious. By the end if you thought the film was entertaining you will be left with a bad taste in your mouth because the final twist is just ridiculous. Yes the film is romantic and sweet and girls will love this movie, but I don’t think the male audience will be won over by the suspense and thrills. It didn’t work for me, there was just no depth to the characters or the story.

  

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

My Review: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (7/10)

¨When things get tricky in my life, I talk to my fish¨

Don`t be scared away by the title of this film or by the slow opening because this movie is really worth your time thanks to some strong performances and some interesting characters which are actually hard to find nowadays. This British film was brought to us by Swedish director, Lasse Hallstrom (Cider House Rules, What`s Eating Gilbert Grape, and Chocolat) and the screenplay was adapted by Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours) so there were a lot of talented people involved. I found this romantic comedy pretty charming and enjoyed the dialogue very much despite not knowing or carrying much about Salmon fishing. The heart of the film relies on the relationship between Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt`s characters who are so different from each other but have great chemistry together. The film was adapted from Paul Torday`s novel and some elements probably didn’t work as well in the movie as they did in the book but I still enjoyed this film considering most Hollywood rom-coms are overly sentimental and predictable. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen has some heart touching moments, but it never tries to be melodramatic and most of the dialogues and jokes are pretty well written without being raunchy or forcing the comedy. Fans of the actors won`t be disappointed as both Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt give strong performances and have great material to work with. They make what seemed as a boring idea turn into a good film.

Dr. Alfred Jones` (Ewan McGregor) life revolves pretty much around Salmon fishing. He`s a fisheries expert working for the British government living a dull life with his wife Mary (Rachael Stirling) who`s also dedicated to her job and always travelling. When the relationship between the Middle East and Great Britain gets tense, the Prime Minister`s press secretary, Patricia Maxwell (Kristin Scott Thomas) decides to search for a good will story that could help lessen the tension. She finds her story when she hears that a Yemen Sheik named Muhammed (Amr Waked) is trying to bring the sport to his homeland. When Dr. Jones is asked to help the Sheik he claims it`s impossible and foolish to try to take the sport to the Yemen desert. However, the government forces him to accept the proposition and come up with some plan to make the Sheik`s dream come true. The Sheik`s representative is Harriet (Emily Blunt) who is in charge of accommodating the doctor and putting the team together. Despite the doctor`s reluctance at first he discovers that the Sheik actually has good intentions for the project and that things might work out. He also befriends Harriet and despite the fact that at first they can`t stand each other and that she`s dating a military soldier sent to Afghanistan they become good friends.

Ewan McGregor has been choosing some interesting projects lately, although I wouldn’t say this one was as good as his character in Beginners, but he does some interesting things with his character once again. He`s obsessed with fishing but at the same time seems emotionally detached which makes us question really if he suffers from Asperger`s when he joked about it in one scene. He`s also very analytical, but he changes after befriending Blunt`s character who has great charm once again. The film seems to point out how sometimes we become so comfortable with our own routines that we forgive really to live and that was what was happening to Dr. Jones. Once the project was forced up his throat he had to change and ended up enjoying the process. Change can be difficult at times, but sometimes it can be good for us. Overall I enjoyed this film quite a bit and thought the characters had a lot of charm, I would definitely recommend it.

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com