On to The American. It's short. I mean, really short. It had so much plot stuffed into less than two hours, I was really surprised. It felt a lot like watching a short story: you begin in media res, no background to the characters, no last names, three minutes in -- DEATH! (wow, what a great trailer). I'm still not really sure what Jack/Edward does (is he an engineer? a spy? an assassin?) or what his real name is or even if he ever meant a word of what he said to Clara. Buh. But a good buh. And not an action flick either - only one chase I can remember and one (kinda) fight scene. Yeah, there's guns, but mostly they're not important. Mostly.
The other really notable thing was the suspense - holy Aunt Jemima! I haven't been this tense since The Ring and there was nothing horrific about this movie at all. The scripting is really sparse, the scenery is really idyllic, the streets are deeply organic and the acting is done mostly with the body than with the lines. All in all, a very lean movie. And therein lies its surprising allure. Who's the bad guy? Who's the good guy? Is that an innocent bystander that just got shot or a potential enemy? All these questions and so few tantalising answers!
It was really good. If you're baulking at paying full price for a movie ticket for 105 minutes, I understand. A rental will not diminish this movie's impact, but I feel like we need to support art-ish films more. 4 out of 5 stars.
2 comments:
I love how you think a movie with George Clooney is "art-ish". The plain truth is that you can't even see "art-ish" movies in Mississauga. Another friend warned against this flick, "boring as hell." I think I'll pass.
DRK
boring!? now that's not a word I'd have picked... slow suspense, yes, but not boring. Honestly, the trailer makes it seem like an action movie and if you go in looking for that then, well, yes, you'd be bored. I was told it was not, so I had some preparation that this is a character (as opposed to plot) driven vehicle.
And yes, it's art-ish (not to be mistaken for pretentious, which is what most art house films really are). And just because i didn't hump it down to the Carleton to watch it doesn't mean it's suddenly for the masses. Having watched my fair share of indie, foreign and Palme D'Or movies, (at home, because enduring the subway for a two-hour movie and a full-price ticket is not my idea of a fair trade) this one definitely feels art-ish.
But hey, we all have our prejudices. You wouldn't catch me dead at a RomCom screening, as desperate as I sometimes am to fill an evening.
Post a Comment