From PASTO, COLOMBIA-Via: L. A. CA; CALI, COLOMBIA+ORLANDO, FL
The ONLY Tony Kiss Castillo on FaceBook!---------------------------------
************May Contain a Couple MINOR Spoilers**************
The TV promo trailer for "The Weather Man" did nothing to capture my interest. It looked like another of those "Light" comedies, which usually just aren't that good. Via recommendations from a few of my students, I decided to check it out. Wow!..Sometimes Hollywood marketing teams are so utterly clueless! In this case, the trailer shown on TV and the film projected in the theater had absolutely nothing in common with one another!
Director Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean, The Ring) has given us a film that at first glance seems simple enough, but which ends up being as absolutely unpredictable as the science of meteorology itself. David Spritz (Nicolas Cage) is a divorced meteorologist who has attained considerable success on a professional level, but whose personal life, despite his perpetual fantasies to the contrary, is an explosive and unmitigated disaster.
As the perturbed and ever-reflexive protagonist, Nicolas Cage (National Treasure, Lord of War) positions himself in the eye of his own tormented life, and is likewise the title character of the film. Like almost every other human being, Spritz is unable to come to grips with the stark reality that the dark clouds constantly present in his life are creations of his own device. They are clearly the consequence of his own actions and his particularly obstinate way of being and not merely products of some uncontrollable, mystical fate.
While growing up, young David always loomed in the shadow of his famous Pulitzer-Prize winning father, Robert Spritz, played masterfully by Michael Caine. It seems that communication between father and son was never really what it should have been. Similarly, David leaves a lot to be desired in the area of warm and communicative interaction with all the important people in his life: His son, daughter, and of course, his ex- wife. David's disconnect is that he fantasizes that love and affection from his loved ones is linked directly to his level of professional success and recognition.
The Weather Man, despite being a great European style film, suffers from some excesses. In order to drive home the fact that David often walks rather aimlessly through life, it isn't indispensable to permit the film to meander and lose its focus for a few minutes as well! Nor do I believe that the constant, non-stop profanity to be consistent with the characters nor with the overall tone of the film. But if you enjoy European flavored cinema and movies which project life through a slightly surreal philosophical prism, surely this Weather Man will make your daySunny and Clear!
8* STARS*...ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!
Any comments, questions, or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!
