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Reviews
Baby Reindeer (2024)
Eminently Engaging
A tense and engaging story, told with masterly control over pace. The portrayal of stalking by a disturbed person and the response to it by an essentially deceny human being is credible and nuanced. Richard Gadd has done an exceptional work as writer, director and the main protagonist. Indeed, every actor has done justice to his or her role.
The story touches many social issues, without standing in judgement over them.
I will be surprised if this limited series does not become a serious contender for the Golden Globes and other similar awards. If you have the stomach for tension and want to watch one memorable show this year, let that be Baby Reindeer.
Ripley (2024)
Brilliantly Shot
A brllliantly shot series - each scene is the work of an artist. Indeed, the cinmetography is a treat, each shot composed beautifully. Even though in black and white, it beautifully captures Italy's beauty.
The story moves hauntingly, never letting up on suspense. There is some criticism that the series is too long - after all, others have told the same story in a far shorter movie. I haven't seen the other 'Ripley' movies and thus cannot compare this version with the previous ones. To me, except for a short flashback of Rome in early 1600s, nothing appeared unnecessarily dragged out.
Each of the actors gave a fine account of themselves, and Andrew Scottt's performance stands out.
Leave the World Behind (2023)
Tense, Engaging...But Something Was lacking
It is a tense and engaging rendition that repeatedly searches for horror. The underlying idea is scary and curiously relatable. The special effects have been woven neatly into the scenes. But in the end (and not merely because of the ending), you leave wanting for something more to bite on.
There is sufficient tension - even sexual - between characters of Julia Robert and Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke and Myha'la Herrold - but those hints and teasers peter out without drama.
The acting was adequate. So was the background music. If there was a clear winner, it was the filming and the special effects.
The Tender Bar (2021)
And the Point Was?
Maybe I am being too harsh by suggesting that it was a pointless story. But the truth is that I lingered and lingered waiting for a turn that will reveal some big truth. Or, at least, thrill me. It was a rambling tale and an overdose of smart cliches did not manage to save it.
Ben Affleck did what he does best. Tye Sheridan appeared like a man in unfocussed search for something. Briana Middleton dazzled by her attractiveness - but why was she there? Overall, the treatment lacked credibility e.g. The ease - even bonhomie - between JR and his absconding dad during their once in a decade meetings.
I absolutely admire George Clooney. He is a terrific actor. That is what he should stick to. Ouch? But based on this movie, I have no other unsolicited advice for him.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Brilliant, Authentic, Riveting
This is a masterpiece of recreating war. The details are immaculate and the action extraordinarily credible. If I dare voice a criticism, it is this: the movie is too long.
Midnight's Children (2012)
Interesting - But Not Great
I watched Midnight's Children today. Salman Rushdie's book is one of my all-time favorites and I went into the theater with unabashed excitement and even a bias in the favor of the movie I was yet to watch.
Most people will find the movie interesting; I doubt that many would label it 'great'. Even when you make the allowance that it is hard to recapture the magic of a great book on celluloid, it is easy to see that the task Deepa Mehta set herself was near-impossible to achieve. Salman Rushdie's book is a sprawling tale of magic-realism that weaves many incidents together on a large canvas. The attempt to replicate it in a two-hour plus film necessitates a jerky journey that hurries from one incident to the other, just managing to retain seamless coherence. In some ways the movie is like life itself – you know that there would be an ending though not every peak and trough clearly point in that direction.
There is also the problem of depicting magic-realism on this medium. The story is so inextricably intertwined with India's post-Independence history that one begins to seek fidelity in every detail. And not only does the film give accuracy a short shrift; the surrender by Pakistani troops comes across as a minor function at a school with the Indian General dressed indifferently, Major Shiva is not only a war hero (and one who appears during the surrender ceremony and in the presence of his Generals with his cap carelessly shoved under the shoulder flap) but is also in-charge of demolitions of slums and hovering around the country's Prime Minister. The movie's many switches to 'magic' are somewhat less than credible. To be fair to them, this is a 'flaw' that the makers perhaps could not have escaped – it is one thing to see magic in, say, Harry Potter where all else is magic too and thus very much 'acceptable' to the subconscious and quite another to be confronted with bits of sudden magic when one has recently settled down to realism. I must point out that I had not felt this disconnect when I had read the book, some three decades ago. In the movie there are two completely contrasting tastes competing for the viewer's palate with the obvious outcome.
Before I go any further, I recommend the movie both to those who have read the classic and those who have not. The experience for the two groups will be absolutely disparate, I suspect!
Most of the performances are good and Seema Biswas as the guilt-ridden nurse who starts it all by switching babies is noteworthy. But both the redoubtable Anupam Kher as the father and Rahul Bose as a Pakistani General are forgettable caricatures.
The point about the destinies of India and Pakistan being inseparable comes at you, loud and clear. And in his voice-over Salman Rushdie underscores the point in the end that our Republic has not kept all the promises that were made at the stroke of freedom.
Perhaps, when we are seized by joy and optimism, such becomes the nature of promises we humans often make to ourselves.