amyew914 Reviews

On the Edge (2001)

ambitious but falls short

[6/10 · 28 January 2006]

This film is ambitious. Suicide-attempt survival is a topic with many dark corners and impenetrable emotions. I laud it for trying. Unfortunately, some parts of the movie had a real paint-by-numbers feel that made it impossible for me to connect to the characters or the story at times. The soundtrack as a stand-alone CD would likely be a fantastic mix for driving or listening, or lots of things. At the same time, the sheer popularity of the tunes makes them distracting and pigeonholes the characters and their feelings into particular contexts. Some of the only cases where this actually worked in favor of the film were when the Pixies and Supergrass showed up. The bright part of the movie, of course, is Cillian Murphy and his performance. In the beginning, he comes across as cocky and self-involved, and only through the much more disturbed Rachel does he realize that his problems aren't as bad as he thought. Their scenes were among the best in the film, but his scenes with Stephen Rea were quite poor. Maybe that's because Rea's characterization of the doctor was a little too real, in that he was too bland to be offensive, but seemed also too detached to be a help. In those scenes, Jonathan Breech comes off as a wise-ass with very little understanding and too much ego, which is perhaps intentional. However, the writing was not strong enough to keep the burden of believability afloat. I kept feeling like the director was in the back, saying, "With more disdain! Wow, you really hate that doctor! Let it show!" Then there's Toby. Cute, sad, and a bit of a blank. Just about anyone could have been cast in the role, which makes it sad that it wasn't an Irishman. Aside from the feeling that at any time the actors might turn to the camera and shout, "Acting!" Jon Lovitz style, it was watchable. Nice cinematography. I wouldn't even call it too sad, though, as the characters didn't come across as people, they came across as actors. Not even the bittersweetness of the orange Popsicle could save that.

How Harry Became a Tree (2001)

less interesting as it continued

[28 January 2006]

I rented this movie for the simple reason that Cillian Murphy is in it, an actor with great range, great talent, and I can't stop staring at him sometimes. In any case, I really tried to see the humor, and it was mildly funny, at first. Of course, it's not that funny a movie, it's quite sad and insane. I've never had anything against Colm Meaney, but his descent into utter irrationality was more irritating to me than anything else. The landscape, the town, the pub - all of it was just too depressing without really giving any meat to chew on. Watching this movie will make you feel damp and cold, without any possibility of getting warm again. Another piece of advice for the director: if you're going to include a love scene, perhaps it shouldn't be the same tender, dispassionate kissing going on for 4 shots too long. Just because there was good light that day doesn't make it a good scene, and more time doing nothing doesn't add weight or develop characters.

Intermission (2003)

diverting and entertaining

[10/10 · 28 January 2006]

Is Intermission a great movie? No. But it doesn't have to be. It's thoroughly enjoyable, and I can't understand why some viewers have so much trouble with that idea. It's a slice of life intersection, where the most we can hope for is a little self-recognition, a little empathy. You will not be moved much by anyone's performance. At the same time, though, there's good acting. Now I may be biased, but I thought Cillian Murphy was fantastic, as well as whoever plays Oscar, and Shirley Henderson. Others are parodies, like Colm Meaney's "hard-as-nails c**t," or Colin Farrell's bad boy with a soft spot for woks. So give this a go, sit back and enjoy yourself. Some of the camera work is a bit dizzying at first, but I found myself really enjoying the feeling of walking through the scenes, and the long takes. That kind of work is often very difficult, and I appreciated what went into the film more after watching it a second time and realizing the difficulties in timing.