Movie Review:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
PG-13 / 2 hrs., 46 min. / 2008
In the first few minutes of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, there is a fascinating flashback about a man who creates an unusual clock for a railway station. Someone needs to take that idea and expand it into a feature film all by itself. But they didn’t, and once the flashback ends, we are left with over two hours of less-interesting material.
Oh, the premise sounds fascinating on paper – that’s why I rented the movie. Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story, the film follows the life of Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt), whose body lives its life backwards. He is born looking eighty years old, and as he grows, his skin loses its wrinkles, his bones lose their arthritis. When he is twenty, he looks sixty; when he is sixty, he looks twenty. His mind, however, moves forward through the normal progression of life from infancy to senility.
Abandoned by his father because of his abnormalities, Benjamin is brought up by Queenie (Taraji P. Henson), a black servant at a Louisiana old folks’ home. As he grows, he learns about life and death, and how to handle both, from the residents of the home as well as his servant parents. And because of his older looks, his young, adventurous curiosity is often thoroughly whetted as people take him places he never would have gone as a little boy, confess things to him he never would have heard.
As the epic tale unfolds, Benjamin learns to play piano from Mrs. Maple (Edith Ivey), gets a job on a tugboat with Captain Mike (Jared Harris), spends a season in Russia, has an affair with a foreign secretary’s wife (Tilda Swinton), fights a naval skirmish in World War II, and falls in love with Daisy (Cate Blanchett) whom he eventually settles down with.
I once heard a comedian’s routine on how youth is wasted on the young and how much more appropriate it would be to age backwards. And clearly F. Scott Fitzgerald figured the idea could deliver a message. So the potential for an irresistible movie is all there, a movie that takes a fresh look at life and love.
But director David Fincher and writer Eric Roth settle for a movie that only looks innovative on the surface. Its melancholy tone suggests that it has something deep to explore, something poignant that its unusual story is able to present better than other stories. But in the end we are left with nothing new regarding the heartaches of human existence. A friend of mine commented that we’ve heard the same message, only better, in Forrest Gump, and I would agree. I suppose a movie does not need to have a deep purpose, but when its presentation suggests that it does have something new to say, it should say it.
The whole phenomenon of Benjamin’s curiosity is treated throughout as just that: A curiosity. Those who spend enough time in Benjamin’s life to notice the wonder seem to handle it with barely a raised eyebrow. The music score by Alexandre Desplat, which is beautiful in itself, suggests that even when the composer realized what was happening to Benjamin, he merely cocked his head to the side, went “Huh, that’s interesting,” and then ignored it. Not that I am in favor of turning the film into another action movie about a power-hungry government wanting to exploit Benjamin’s powers in some way, but surely someone in the movie could have been more amazed at what was happening.
The tagline for the film is: “Life isn’t measured in minutes, but in moments.” And I think that describes the film precisely: A collection of moments, some of which are actually interesting. But they do not add up to a collective whole that is anything to write home about.
One such interesting moment is a sequence in which Benjamin narrates the interesting web of activity that leads up to a certain tragedy involving a taxi. What if any one of the things in the web had not happened, Benjamin posits. Like the clock-maker flashback at the beginning, this section of the film is captivating in itself. What it does not seem to do is contribute to the film. Why this sudden change in mode of storytelling? The film would have told the same story without it, and the import of the narration at this point does not really affect any other portion of the story. A whole movie on that subject could have been interesting, but it lasts barely a minute here.
The film also includes one of my pet peeves: The flashback as a plot framing device. Even when used well, this method of laying out the story never feels as satisfying to me, in part because it gives away certain things by its very nature, such as the fact that we know the people we see in the present will survive whatever story in their past we are about to watch.
The choice to tell this story through flashbacks is utterly worthless. As Daisy’s daughter Caroline (Julia Ormond) sits with her in the hospital, Caroline reads from Benjamin’s diary and we are led into the story. But this framing device adds nothing to the story, and the story adds nothing to the framing device. And the fact that Hurricane Katrina is brewing outside the hospital is equally superfluous despite its contribution to the final shot of the film.
Now, none of this is to say that the film’s individual elements are less than superb. Brad Pitt (Snatch) amply demonstrates that he has grown up as an actor and can handle something more significant than the cocky punks he plays pretty well. Buried in some of the best “old” make-up I’ve seen in a long time, Pitt carefully crafts his facial expressions, his walk, his body language to reflect the decay Benjamin’s body is in. He delivers his role with judicious restraint.
Cate Blanchett (The Aviator) looks positively radiant here, bringing to life a woman who seems almost intoxicated with ballet, the night air, and men. She is both graceful and passionately absorbed with the things she loves, and Blanchett obviously trained well for the ballet sequences as she delivers dance moves that are stunning. Unfortunately, in scenes where she plays a much older Daisy in the hospital, she is so wheezy and mumbling that I missed half of what she said.
Also unfortunate is the fact that despite quality performances, the characters are simply not endearing. Benjamin reminds me somewhat of Pitt’s turn as Joe Black: Curious to learn about life, but generally monochromatic emotions. Daisy apparently has some depth to her, but insights into why she seems to have some angst in her past are never revealed.
The same is true for the entire cast, really. I was convinced by everyone’s performance, but compelled by none of them – a fault which lies more with the script than the talent pool. The most alluring is Tilda Swinton (Burn After Reading) whose very bearing is irresistible; but as the script requires her to cheat on her husband, I couldn’t really fall for her much.
The film’s production design successfully immerses us in the times and places that Benjamin travels. From Louisiana of the 1930's to a hotel in Murmansk in the 1940's and on up to the present, Donald Graham Burt and his artistic crew create a wonderful atmosphere that is ably captured by cinematographer Claudio Miranda. The images are often truly beautiful.
Overall, it is not at all a bad movie; and odds are that if you like character-based dramas, you will glean some enjoyment out of it. But in the end, it’s just another story. A story that pretends to be important and innovative, but which is little more than the gimmick of Benjamin’s age pasted on to some age-old and very obvious lessons about the human condition.
In other words, the film is not much of a curiosity at all.
My Score: 7
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
To Eat Fat
Movie Review:
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother
PG / 1 hr., 31 min. / 1975
Is there such a thing as a case that Sherlock Holmes (Douglas Wilmer) could not solve on his own? What if the client in question needed to feel safe in the arms of a dashing young man in order to give over the facts of the case? The aging Mr. Holmes would hardly satisfy.
Enter Sigerson Holmes (Gene Wilder), Sherlock’s younger and extraordinarily envious younger brother. Having spent years trying to better his famous older sibling, Sigerson jumps at the chance to finally conquer a mystery that seems to have Sherlock stymied.
Aided by Sergeant Orville Stanley Sacker (Marty Feldman) of Scotland Yard, Sigerson attempts to discern what it is that music hall singer Jenny Hill (Madeline Kahn) is being blackmailed for, and what connection there may be in her case to the theft of a document of national importance; a document which, in the wrong hands, could lead Great Britain into a war. And thus The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother begins its comic romp through the hallowed halls of Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary detective.
Fresh from his classic performance as Frederick Frankenstein in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, Gene Wilder directed for the first time, working from his own original screenplay. While his first solo effort has plenty of solid laughs and more than a few wry snickers, to place it alongside Young Frankenstein is to see where Wilder on his own could have used Brooks to help spice up the proceedings.
From the very opening scene, where the muttered voices of Lord Redcliffe (John Le Mesurier) and Queen Victoria (Susan Field) are clearly dubbed over for whatever reason, there are tell-tale marks of a first-time and perhaps low-budget directorial effort throughout the production. Wilder also follows his tendency to put a song or two into his scripts. But while “Puttin’ on the Ritz” became one of the signature moments of Young Frankenstein, the presence of “The Kangaroo Hop” in this film is just silly and inexplicable, even more so when it reprises at the end.
However, Wilder’s novice turn in the director’s chair still managed to produce some very clever material that beats out more polished productions even to this day. The initial interview with Jenny Hill and a scene where Sigerson does his best to interpret a coded message continue to strike me as very amusing twenty years after I first saw them. And while the action set pieces are among the more amateur moments, the concepts fueling them are worth a chuckle.
Wilder managed to round up a first-rate team of comedians for the production. Marty Feldman (Young Frankenstein) plays the Watson-like assistant Sacker, who has a “photographic sense of hearing.” If he hears it, he can remember it; and Feldman’s choice to have Sacker knock himself upside the head to get the motor running is delightfully silly. Feldman’s large eyes prove useful for just the right zany look to his whole bearing.
Madeline Kahn (Blazing Saddles) is the charming Jenny Hill, and Kahn once again proves that her sense of comic delivery can steal the show right out from under everyone else. The very tone of voice with which she turns down a cup of tea has been a part of my memories of this film for years. Even when she’s not being deliberately funny, her face and bearing are fine-tuned to bring a smile to audiences’ faces.
Joining in the fun are an exuberant Dom DeLuise (The Glass Bottom Boat) as opera singer and blackmailer Eduardo Gambetti; Leo McKern (Ladyhawke) as Professor Moriarty with a twist; and Roy Kinnear (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) as Moriarty’s hungry assistant. McKern in particular has a long history of much more serious roles, but he manages to contribute to the comedy significantly, including a priceless moment where he corrects Kinnear’s eating habits during an important meeting.
In fact, I think that’s kind of a summary of the film: Priceless moments. While as a whole it does not hold together as strongly and unified as when Wilder worked with Mel Brooks on Young Frankenstein or even The Producers, there are lines, conversations, and whole scenes that do succeed in presenting hilarious dialogue and visuals. A handful of sand in Sigerson’s face, a box of chocolates all over the floor, a cup of hot water instead of tea, a chilly dance through a ballroom – the ingredients to generate good hearty laughter are present.
All of this is dropped into some gorgeous scenery. Terence Marsh creates interior rooms that are lusciously decorated from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. If he's still designing sets when I get a budget, I'm hiring him.
Capping it off is a rousing score by John Morris, another Brooks collaborator. The opening titles are reminiscent of an Errol Flynn adventure, and the movie is granted a grand and exciting atmosphere, even if it doesn’t always totally live up to its music.
For a silly night of popcorn and laughter, have a good time with The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother. Pair it up as a double-feature with Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley in Without a Clue and your face should be good and tired from laughing when it’s all over.
My Score: 6
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother
PG / 1 hr., 31 min. / 1975
Is there such a thing as a case that Sherlock Holmes (Douglas Wilmer) could not solve on his own? What if the client in question needed to feel safe in the arms of a dashing young man in order to give over the facts of the case? The aging Mr. Holmes would hardly satisfy.
Enter Sigerson Holmes (Gene Wilder), Sherlock’s younger and extraordinarily envious younger brother. Having spent years trying to better his famous older sibling, Sigerson jumps at the chance to finally conquer a mystery that seems to have Sherlock stymied.
Aided by Sergeant Orville Stanley Sacker (Marty Feldman) of Scotland Yard, Sigerson attempts to discern what it is that music hall singer Jenny Hill (Madeline Kahn) is being blackmailed for, and what connection there may be in her case to the theft of a document of national importance; a document which, in the wrong hands, could lead Great Britain into a war. And thus The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother begins its comic romp through the hallowed halls of Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary detective.
Fresh from his classic performance as Frederick Frankenstein in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, Gene Wilder directed for the first time, working from his own original screenplay. While his first solo effort has plenty of solid laughs and more than a few wry snickers, to place it alongside Young Frankenstein is to see where Wilder on his own could have used Brooks to help spice up the proceedings.
From the very opening scene, where the muttered voices of Lord Redcliffe (John Le Mesurier) and Queen Victoria (Susan Field) are clearly dubbed over for whatever reason, there are tell-tale marks of a first-time and perhaps low-budget directorial effort throughout the production. Wilder also follows his tendency to put a song or two into his scripts. But while “Puttin’ on the Ritz” became one of the signature moments of Young Frankenstein, the presence of “The Kangaroo Hop” in this film is just silly and inexplicable, even more so when it reprises at the end.
However, Wilder’s novice turn in the director’s chair still managed to produce some very clever material that beats out more polished productions even to this day. The initial interview with Jenny Hill and a scene where Sigerson does his best to interpret a coded message continue to strike me as very amusing twenty years after I first saw them. And while the action set pieces are among the more amateur moments, the concepts fueling them are worth a chuckle.
Wilder managed to round up a first-rate team of comedians for the production. Marty Feldman (Young Frankenstein) plays the Watson-like assistant Sacker, who has a “photographic sense of hearing.” If he hears it, he can remember it; and Feldman’s choice to have Sacker knock himself upside the head to get the motor running is delightfully silly. Feldman’s large eyes prove useful for just the right zany look to his whole bearing.
Madeline Kahn (Blazing Saddles) is the charming Jenny Hill, and Kahn once again proves that her sense of comic delivery can steal the show right out from under everyone else. The very tone of voice with which she turns down a cup of tea has been a part of my memories of this film for years. Even when she’s not being deliberately funny, her face and bearing are fine-tuned to bring a smile to audiences’ faces.
Joining in the fun are an exuberant Dom DeLuise (The Glass Bottom Boat) as opera singer and blackmailer Eduardo Gambetti; Leo McKern (Ladyhawke) as Professor Moriarty with a twist; and Roy Kinnear (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) as Moriarty’s hungry assistant. McKern in particular has a long history of much more serious roles, but he manages to contribute to the comedy significantly, including a priceless moment where he corrects Kinnear’s eating habits during an important meeting.
In fact, I think that’s kind of a summary of the film: Priceless moments. While as a whole it does not hold together as strongly and unified as when Wilder worked with Mel Brooks on Young Frankenstein or even The Producers, there are lines, conversations, and whole scenes that do succeed in presenting hilarious dialogue and visuals. A handful of sand in Sigerson’s face, a box of chocolates all over the floor, a cup of hot water instead of tea, a chilly dance through a ballroom – the ingredients to generate good hearty laughter are present.
All of this is dropped into some gorgeous scenery. Terence Marsh creates interior rooms that are lusciously decorated from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. If he's still designing sets when I get a budget, I'm hiring him.
Capping it off is a rousing score by John Morris, another Brooks collaborator. The opening titles are reminiscent of an Errol Flynn adventure, and the movie is granted a grand and exciting atmosphere, even if it doesn’t always totally live up to its music.
For a silly night of popcorn and laughter, have a good time with The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother. Pair it up as a double-feature with Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley in Without a Clue and your face should be good and tired from laughing when it’s all over.
My Score: 6
Friday, December 4, 2009
One Film to Impress Them All
Movie Review:
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
PG-13 / 2 hrs., 58 min. / 2001
I read J.R.R. Tolkein’s massive fantasy adventure The Lord of the Rings about twenty years ago, and I decided at that time that it definitely needed to be remade as a live-action series of films instead of the Ralph Bakshi animated versions. It is with mixed emotions, then, that I must admit defeat to Peter Jackson – defeat because not only did he beat me to it, but because his films are so superb there will be no call for a remake during my lifetime. So I don’t know whether to be excited or sad.
I am writing this review after all three movies have come out, so by now a plot synopsis is probably pointless, but it’s my duty. The four books of the trilogy (the story proper and a prelude) take place in a mythical land called Middle-Earth – perhaps some rabid fans can clue me in here, but I’ve never been able to discern if Middle-Earth is supposedly an era in Earth’s history, or an entirely other fictional world. It is a moot point, as Tolkein provided so much detail in his books that he created a whole new world either way.
This fictional world is populated by all manner of traditional fictional creatures (trolls and elves) as well as a few new inventions (hobbits and ents). The epic revolves around two hobbits (creatures that are human in basic form though significantly shorter), Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) and his nephew Frodo (Elijah Wood), and their adventures in connection with a mysterious and powerful magic ring. Bilbo found the ring in what reads almost as a tangent in The Hobbit; and in The Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo passes it on to Frodo.
The ring, we learn, was forged by the evil Sauron, a being we never really see either in the book or the film, but his watchful eye can be felt from great distances. With the help of Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen), a powerful wizard, Frodo learns that the ring is Sauron’s evil in material form, basically, and must be destroyed by throwing it into the volcano it was forged out of.
To document Frodo’s adventures would be quite long, but in short: At Gandalf’s instruction, Frodo and his fellow hobbits Samwise (Sean Astin), Meriadoc (Dominic Monaghan), and Pippin (Billy Boyd) set off with the ring. Before long, they are running for their lives from black-cloaked horsemen; following the lead of a mysterious ranger named Strider (Viggo Mortensen); and arriving in the nick of time at Rivendell, an elven city and sanctuary.
At Rivendell, Frodo & Company expands to incorporate Boromir (Sean Bean), a Man who distrusts just about everyone and everything; Legolas (Orlando Bloom), an elf; and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), a dwarf. This counsel determines that the ring must be destroyed before Sauron’s minions find it, and that because of the frailties of the race of Men, only Frodo stands any hope of completing the quest before the lure of the ring consumes him. Thus the titular fellowship of the ring sets off toward Mordor, Sauron’s territory, where the volcano of Mount Doom resides.
At this point the drooling, maniacal devotees of the Tolkein cult (you can recognize them because they are dressed as dwarves and elves at the premieres) are complaining that I have not really and truly delved into the mythos underlying the epic struggle taking place in Middle-Earth, to which I reply: I am on your side, believe me; but I have a limited amount of words in these reviews. Yes, there is much more to the nearly three hours of film than the bland plot summary I have included, and those who wish to know more can either pick up one of the growing plethora of Middle-Earth pseudo-biographical studies appearing on bookshelves, or (here’s a thought) actually watch the movie – which is something I recommend.
Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh have done a wonderful job of taking a highly detailed book and boiling it down into, well, a highly detailed movie. Although I was one of the voices decrying the absence of Tom Bombadil, I will concede that a literal translation from book to film makes for a stilted movie (cough, cough, Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone), and that most of the alterations in the film are acceptable if not always explicable.
Elijah Wood (Deep Impact) has the lengthy task of playing Frodo. Critics have made much of the fact that Frodo does little more than twist his face up into painful contortions over the fact that he must carry the world’s greatest evil across much of the known world, but that’s what Frodo gets to do, and Wood does it well. He has a wonderful face for this role, complete with dazzling blue eyes that add to his persona as a fantasy creature.
The other actors range from satisfactory to excellent, including Ian McKellen’s (X-Men, The Shadow) Oscar-nominated turn as Gandalf, Sean Astin’s (Rudy, Memphis Belle) portrayal of Frodo’s closest friend, and Orlando Bloom’s (Wilde) graceful but deadly elf. The women don’t have a lot to do except stand around and look lovely while speaking at a tempo that would put Modern-Earth to sleep at parties. But they do it well, so props to Cate Blanchett (The Talented Mr. Ripley, Elizabeth) and Liv Tyler (That Thing You Do).
Now, how do I discuss the production values of this film in the space I have left? In sweeping superlatives, I suppose: The Film Looks Wonderful! This is a fantasy film that creates an entirely new world on a grand scale. With the help of computer animation and digital backgrounds, we are taken out of tight studio spaces (Labyrinth) or sets where the back wall is invisible but palpable (Hook) and launched into a full-scale epic covering hundreds of miles of territory and thousands upon thousands of warriors, elven armies, orcs, trolls, goblins, demons, wizards, and other nameless beasts.
The production designer, Grant Major, clearly had his hands full, but obviously loved it because he and his crew of art directors deliver the goods in every set, every costume, every prop. Indeed, every facet of this film could provide an essay on film production by itself, but I will throw out just a couple of quick notes.
The sets, even those portions unaided by computer additions, are wonderful to look at. Hobbiton is perfectly adorable, as it should be for creatures of that disposition. Saruman’s tower is menacing, while Sauron’s fortress is downright terrifying. If you are watching on home video, pause it several times during the Rivendell scenes, look past the actors, and examine the structures they are standing within.
Howard Shore’s musical score is grand and sweeping in its scope. A delicately transparent violin solo presents the countryside of Hobbiton, contrasted with the thick orchestral layers that follow the fellowship across the bridge of Khazad-Dum. A full choir joins the orchestra to enhance the fantastical themes of Middle-Earth.
My word processor is crying out for a lengthy description of the special effects, but I must let it suffice to say that Peter Jackson and his crew have mastered the difficulties of size rations on their very first try. Using a stacked deck of effects tricks, they have maintained the illusion that Elijah Wood as a hobbit is significantly shorter than Viggo Mortensen (Crimson Tide) as a towering Man. To do this has required, at any given moment in the film, creating duplicate scaled versions of many of the sets, forcing the visual perspective, and having human dwarves stand in for the hobbit actors. I imagine the crew’s need to keep track of all the details single-handedly kept the yellow legal-pad companies in business during production.
Despite the hubbub over the fact that this film was the inspiration for an entire new computer animation program, I have my usual complaint regarding computer-generated crowds: When one looks closely, some characters, especially distant ones, look more like high-end computer games than real figures. And one particular close-up shot of Legolas vaulting from the head of a cave troll is especially bad. We have come a long way from the very mechanical CG passengers on board James Cameron’s Titanic, to be sure, but we also still have a long way to go.
As a fantasy-adventure enthusiast, I don’t so much watch a film like this as dive in and let it soak all through me. Mr. Jackson has accomplished something here that will long be remembered, and is perhaps a turning point toward new standards in fantasy-adventure production. So I guess I’ll forgive him that he got to the idea before I did.
My Score: 9
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
PG-13 / 2 hrs., 58 min. / 2001
I read J.R.R. Tolkein’s massive fantasy adventure The Lord of the Rings about twenty years ago, and I decided at that time that it definitely needed to be remade as a live-action series of films instead of the Ralph Bakshi animated versions. It is with mixed emotions, then, that I must admit defeat to Peter Jackson – defeat because not only did he beat me to it, but because his films are so superb there will be no call for a remake during my lifetime. So I don’t know whether to be excited or sad.
I am writing this review after all three movies have come out, so by now a plot synopsis is probably pointless, but it’s my duty. The four books of the trilogy (the story proper and a prelude) take place in a mythical land called Middle-Earth – perhaps some rabid fans can clue me in here, but I’ve never been able to discern if Middle-Earth is supposedly an era in Earth’s history, or an entirely other fictional world. It is a moot point, as Tolkein provided so much detail in his books that he created a whole new world either way.
This fictional world is populated by all manner of traditional fictional creatures (trolls and elves) as well as a few new inventions (hobbits and ents). The epic revolves around two hobbits (creatures that are human in basic form though significantly shorter), Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) and his nephew Frodo (Elijah Wood), and their adventures in connection with a mysterious and powerful magic ring. Bilbo found the ring in what reads almost as a tangent in The Hobbit; and in The Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo passes it on to Frodo.
The ring, we learn, was forged by the evil Sauron, a being we never really see either in the book or the film, but his watchful eye can be felt from great distances. With the help of Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen), a powerful wizard, Frodo learns that the ring is Sauron’s evil in material form, basically, and must be destroyed by throwing it into the volcano it was forged out of.
To document Frodo’s adventures would be quite long, but in short: At Gandalf’s instruction, Frodo and his fellow hobbits Samwise (Sean Astin), Meriadoc (Dominic Monaghan), and Pippin (Billy Boyd) set off with the ring. Before long, they are running for their lives from black-cloaked horsemen; following the lead of a mysterious ranger named Strider (Viggo Mortensen); and arriving in the nick of time at Rivendell, an elven city and sanctuary.
At Rivendell, Frodo & Company expands to incorporate Boromir (Sean Bean), a Man who distrusts just about everyone and everything; Legolas (Orlando Bloom), an elf; and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), a dwarf. This counsel determines that the ring must be destroyed before Sauron’s minions find it, and that because of the frailties of the race of Men, only Frodo stands any hope of completing the quest before the lure of the ring consumes him. Thus the titular fellowship of the ring sets off toward Mordor, Sauron’s territory, where the volcano of Mount Doom resides.
At this point the drooling, maniacal devotees of the Tolkein cult (you can recognize them because they are dressed as dwarves and elves at the premieres) are complaining that I have not really and truly delved into the mythos underlying the epic struggle taking place in Middle-Earth, to which I reply: I am on your side, believe me; but I have a limited amount of words in these reviews. Yes, there is much more to the nearly three hours of film than the bland plot summary I have included, and those who wish to know more can either pick up one of the growing plethora of Middle-Earth pseudo-biographical studies appearing on bookshelves, or (here’s a thought) actually watch the movie – which is something I recommend.
Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh have done a wonderful job of taking a highly detailed book and boiling it down into, well, a highly detailed movie. Although I was one of the voices decrying the absence of Tom Bombadil, I will concede that a literal translation from book to film makes for a stilted movie (cough, cough, Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone), and that most of the alterations in the film are acceptable if not always explicable.
Elijah Wood (Deep Impact) has the lengthy task of playing Frodo. Critics have made much of the fact that Frodo does little more than twist his face up into painful contortions over the fact that he must carry the world’s greatest evil across much of the known world, but that’s what Frodo gets to do, and Wood does it well. He has a wonderful face for this role, complete with dazzling blue eyes that add to his persona as a fantasy creature.
The other actors range from satisfactory to excellent, including Ian McKellen’s (X-Men, The Shadow) Oscar-nominated turn as Gandalf, Sean Astin’s (Rudy, Memphis Belle) portrayal of Frodo’s closest friend, and Orlando Bloom’s (Wilde) graceful but deadly elf. The women don’t have a lot to do except stand around and look lovely while speaking at a tempo that would put Modern-Earth to sleep at parties. But they do it well, so props to Cate Blanchett (The Talented Mr. Ripley, Elizabeth) and Liv Tyler (That Thing You Do).
Now, how do I discuss the production values of this film in the space I have left? In sweeping superlatives, I suppose: The Film Looks Wonderful! This is a fantasy film that creates an entirely new world on a grand scale. With the help of computer animation and digital backgrounds, we are taken out of tight studio spaces (Labyrinth) or sets where the back wall is invisible but palpable (Hook) and launched into a full-scale epic covering hundreds of miles of territory and thousands upon thousands of warriors, elven armies, orcs, trolls, goblins, demons, wizards, and other nameless beasts.
The production designer, Grant Major, clearly had his hands full, but obviously loved it because he and his crew of art directors deliver the goods in every set, every costume, every prop. Indeed, every facet of this film could provide an essay on film production by itself, but I will throw out just a couple of quick notes.
The sets, even those portions unaided by computer additions, are wonderful to look at. Hobbiton is perfectly adorable, as it should be for creatures of that disposition. Saruman’s tower is menacing, while Sauron’s fortress is downright terrifying. If you are watching on home video, pause it several times during the Rivendell scenes, look past the actors, and examine the structures they are standing within.
Howard Shore’s musical score is grand and sweeping in its scope. A delicately transparent violin solo presents the countryside of Hobbiton, contrasted with the thick orchestral layers that follow the fellowship across the bridge of Khazad-Dum. A full choir joins the orchestra to enhance the fantastical themes of Middle-Earth.
My word processor is crying out for a lengthy description of the special effects, but I must let it suffice to say that Peter Jackson and his crew have mastered the difficulties of size rations on their very first try. Using a stacked deck of effects tricks, they have maintained the illusion that Elijah Wood as a hobbit is significantly shorter than Viggo Mortensen (Crimson Tide) as a towering Man. To do this has required, at any given moment in the film, creating duplicate scaled versions of many of the sets, forcing the visual perspective, and having human dwarves stand in for the hobbit actors. I imagine the crew’s need to keep track of all the details single-handedly kept the yellow legal-pad companies in business during production.
Despite the hubbub over the fact that this film was the inspiration for an entire new computer animation program, I have my usual complaint regarding computer-generated crowds: When one looks closely, some characters, especially distant ones, look more like high-end computer games than real figures. And one particular close-up shot of Legolas vaulting from the head of a cave troll is especially bad. We have come a long way from the very mechanical CG passengers on board James Cameron’s Titanic, to be sure, but we also still have a long way to go.
As a fantasy-adventure enthusiast, I don’t so much watch a film like this as dive in and let it soak all through me. Mr. Jackson has accomplished something here that will long be remembered, and is perhaps a turning point toward new standards in fantasy-adventure production. So I guess I’ll forgive him that he got to the idea before I did.
My Score: 9
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