The Last of the Mohicans (1992 film)

Based on the novel by James Fenimore Cooper and the 1936 film by George B. Seitz and screenwriter Philip Dunne, The Last of the Mohicans is the story of two sisters who are accompanied by a major during the French and Indian War where they’re saved by a white Mohican warrior who accompanies them to a fort where their father is stationed at. Directed by Michael Mann and screenplay by Mann and Christopher Crowe from an adaptation by John L. Balderston, Paul Perez, and Daniel Moore, the film is a thrilling adventure film set during the French and Indian War in the Adirondack Mountains in the then-British colony of New York where a man tries to help two sisters reach their father while dealing with all sorts of foes. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Jodhi May, Russell Means, Wes Studi, Eric Schweig, and Steven Waddington. The Last of the Mohicans is an exhilarating and gripping film from Michael Mann.

It’s 1757 during the French and Indian War between the British and American colonials against the French and various Native American factions where a trio of Native Americans save a major and two women following an ambush by Huron warriors on their way to a fort that is the home of the women’s officer father. It’s a film that play into three men who live a life of peace and generosity as they decide to help these two women to be with their father yet things would get complicated once they arrive at their destination during this conflict that is happening. The film’s screenplay by Michael Mann and Christopher Crowe that was also based on Philip Dunne’s screenplay for the 1936 film by George B. Seitz does play into the world that its protagonist Nathaniel Poe/Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis) lives in with his adopted father Chingachgook and adopted brother Uncas (Eric Schweig) as they live to hunt and be good company to other colonial settlers.

The first act is largely about Major Duncan Heyward (Steven Waddington) wanting to accompany his lover Cora Munro (Madeleine Stowe) and her younger sister Alice (Jodhi May) as their father Colonel Edmund Munro (Maurice Roeves) who is stationed at Fort William Henry. Major Heyward and his entourage is accompanied by the Huron warrior Magua (Wes Studi) unaware that he’s leading them an ambush by his own tribe as he has a hatred towards Colonel Munro over events from the past that related to his family. It would be Hawkeye and his family that would save the Munro sisters and Major Heyward where Cora isn’t sure about trusting Hawkeye yet realizes what is at stake. The film’s second act that takes place at Fort William Henry during a battle with the French army led by General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm (Patrice Chereau) where the Munro sisters learn that from their father that they weren’t supposed to come.

The screenplay wouldn’t just play into this developing relationship between Hawkeye and Cora but also revelations that would plant the seeds of what is to come in this shaky alliance between the British forces and the colonial militia. After witnessing what happened to a family that Hawkeye and his family knew and Colonel Munro’s dismissal over the incidents due to lack of evidence. Cora realizes that even someone like her father is more concerned with maintaining his position rather than have the militia return to defend their home and families. The film’s third act which has everyone leaving the fort is about survival as well as the ideas of war where one group of people want to do what is honorable but another has personal reasons to wage war.

Mann’s direction is definitely astonishing in terms of its visual presentation and intense approach to action. Shot on location largely on the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina as well as various locations in the state as upstate New York and the Adirondack Mountains. Mann would use the locations as characters in the film as it play into a world that is peaceful only to be ravaged by war as it opens with Hawkeye and his family hunting and bringing food to eat and share with a family. The simplicity in Mann’s direction is key to the relationship Hawkeye would have with Cora later in the film with its usage of close-ups and medium shots as well as the brief moments between Alice and Uncas with the latter being protective of her from danger. The usage of hand-held cameras would play into the action as well as Hawkeye and his entourage trying to get to the fort and later hide from Magua and his tribe.

Mann’s usage of the wide shots would play into the scope of the battle scenes as well as the attention to detail of the French digging trenches and getting closer to the fort as well as the distance of cannons firing toward their target. Mann’s usage of tracking and dolly shots add to the detail of the landscape and chaos of war while he would also aim for precise compositions to play into the suspense as it relates to Magua ambushing the British army. Mann knows when to break from the action and suspense as its climax where Hawkeye meets with the Huron sachem Ongewasgone (Dennis Banks) in a plea for peace and mercy despite Magua’s need for revenge. Mann would know when to keep things engaging but also play into the drama. Overall, Mann crafts a riveting and adventurous film about a white Mohican who help two British women and officer find safety during the French and Indian War.

Cinematographer Dante Spinotti does phenomenal work with the film’s cinematography with its natural approach to lighting for many of the daytime exterior scenes as well as some scenes at night including one beautiful scene in a cave with the waterfalls and the usage of fire as it is a major highlight of the film. Editors Dov Hoenig and Arthur Schmidt do brilliant work with the editing as it has elements of style with its usage of slow-motion and rhythmic cuts as well as some other stylistic moments that play into the action, suspense, and drama. Production designer Wolf Kroeger, with set decorators Jim Erickson and James V. Kent plus art directors Robert Guerra and Richard Holland, does excellent work with the look of the homes of some of the characters as well as the interior of the fort and tents as well as the design of the Huron tribe camp. Costume designer Elsa Zamparelli does fantastic work with the costumes from the rugged look of Hawkeye and his family as well as the militia to the period dresses that Cora and Alice wear as well as the uniforms of the soldiers and officers from both the French and British.

Special makeup effects/prosthetics designer Vincent J. Guastini does amazing work with the look of the Huron tribe through its makeup as well as their Mohawks and other hairstyles of the times. Sound designer Lon E. Bender does superb work with the sound in capturing the atmosphere of the locations as well as the sounds of guns and cannons that help play into the action and its impact. The film’s music by Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman is incredible for its bombastic music score with its usage of heavy percussions, woodwind arrangements, and other instruments that play into the drama and suspense while music supervisor David Kershenbaum would use a traditional Scottish piece performed by Dougie MacLean as one of the film’s music themes along with a piece performed by Clannad as it’s a highlight of the film.

The casting by Bonnie Timmerman is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Jared Harris as British lieutenant early in the film talking with militia, Colm Meaney as an officer in Major Ambrose, Pete Postlethwaite as one of Colonel Munro’s officer in Captain Beams, Dennis Banks as the Huron sachem Ongewasgone, Tracey Ellis and Terry Kinney as a couple in the Camerons that Hawkeye and his family are friends with, and Patrice Cheraeau in a terrific performance as General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm as the French general who is a man of principle as he is also someone that cares about the rules of engagement and humanity as he tries to get Magua to honor these ideas of war.

Maurice Roeves is superb as Colonel Edmund Munro as a British officer who is the father of Cora and Alice as he is dealing with being trapped as well as trying to maintain his position only to be indifferent towards the situations that colonial militia are dealing with. Steven Waddington is fantastic as Major Duncan Heyward as an officer who is hoping to marry Cora as a man trying to protect them as well as maintain his own position in rank while dealing with the chaos of the ambush from the Huron. Russell Means and Eric Schweig are brilliant in their respective roles as the father-son duo of Chingachgook and Uncas as two Mohican warriors who are family to Hawkeye as they help the Munro sisters find safety with the former being a master warrior while the latter becomes a source of comfort for Alice. Jodhi May is excellent as Alice Munro as Cora’s younger sister who is dealing with the ambush and terror of war where she befriends Uncas whom she becomes close to.

Wes Studi is amazing as Magua as a Huron warrior who harbors deep hatred towards Colonel Munro as he is revealed to be a double-agent for the French where he is hoping to get his revenge and bring honor back to his tribe. Madeleine Stowe is incredible as Cora Munro as a woman who deals with the ambush and situation that she and her sister are encountering while getting an understanding about Hawkeye and what she sees as she would gain a completely different perspective from what her father sees about what is really happening in the war. Finally, there’s Daniel Day-Lewis in a phenomenal performance as Nathaniel Poe/Hawkeye as a white man raised by the Mohicans since he was a boy as he is someone that knows what is happening as he is doing what he can to protect the Munro sisters while falling for Cora as it’s a charismatic and thrilling performance from Day-Lewis who proves he can be tough and heroic.

The Last of the Mohicans is a tremendous film from Michael Mann that features a great performance from Daniel Day-Lewis. Along with its ensemble cast, Dante Spinotti’s gorgeous cinematography, its immense music score, beautiful locations, and themes of war and honor. It’s a film that play into a group of people caught up in a deadly conflict as well as see things that would complicate the ideas of war forcing them to survive and evade the horrors of war. In the end, The Last of the Mohicans is a magnificent film from Michael Mann.

Michael Mann Films: The Jericho Mile – Thief - The Keep – Manhunter – L.A. Takedown – Heat – The Insider – Ali – Collateral – Miami Vice – Public Enemies (2009 film) – Blackhat - Blackhat - Ferrari - (Heat 2) - The Auteurs #73: Michael Mann Pt.1 - Pt. 2

© thevoid99 2019

Certain Women

Based on the short stories by Maile Meloy, Certain Women is a collection of three different stories involving women dealing with trials and tribulations in their lives. Written for the screen, directed, and edited by Kelly Reichardt, the film follows the lives of different women set in Montana as they deal with their place in the world as well as what they want. Starring Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart, Michelle Williams, Lily Gladstone, James LeGros, Jared Harris, John Getz, Sara Rodier, and Rene Auberjonois. Certain Women is an engrossing yet evocative film from Kelly Reichardt.

Set in small parts of Montana, the film follows the lives of women in three different stories where they deal with something out of ordinary in their day-to-day lives. It all play into this location that is quaint yet it also has something that does feel extraordinary where it revolves around the lives of these three women. Rather than employ a cross-cutting narrative that can be confusing, Kelly Reichardt chose to go for something that is straightforward though its main characters are connected in some way despite rarely interacting with one another. The first story involves a lawyer named Laura Wells (Laura Dern) who is dealing with a client who has become disabled due to what happened at work. It would lead to a moment where he would hold a security guard hostage forcing her to deal with the situation and help him find some justice.

The second story revolves around a couple who want to build their dream home as they’ve set up camp at the site of the house as they want to buy stones from an old man. Yet, Gina Lewis (Michelle Williams) is also dealing with tension with her teenage daughter over the home she wants to build. The third story involves a lonely ranch hand named Jamie (Lily Gladstone) living outside of the small town where the characters live at as she unknowingly attends night school for a class on law where she falls for its young teacher in Beth Travis (Kristen Stewart). For Jamie, this sudden attraction has her wanting to break away from the monotonous life where she tries to find ways to woo Beth as they would go to a diner though Beth has to travel four hours from her town to go and teach in the smaller town and then drive four hours back. It all play into these events that the women had to endure as well as deal with something that can impact their lives.

Reichardt’s direction is actually very simple where doesn’t go into any kind of visual style nor does the film contain a lot of close-ups to emphasize more on the characters and their surroundings. Shot on location in the state of Montana with the town of Livingston being where much of the film is shot as well as other locations in the state. Reichardt would shoot the film during the winter period where it feels true for the location while she would use a lot of wide shots to play into this world that is sort of isolated from much of America in terms of its big cities and high-octane culture for something simpler. Reichardt’s approach to medium shots has more to do with the way characters interact with each other in situations or in how they deal with the typical aspects of their day-to-day life. Also serving as the film’s editor, Reichardt would emphasize a lot on long shots though knows when not to cut as she would infuse some jump-cuts for parts of the film as well as bits of suspense for the story involving Laura and her client. Reichardt would also maintain a sense of low-key melodrama for Gina’s story in her interaction with the old man while the story about Jamie and Beth is more light-hearted but also with a sense of restraint as the film would end with realistic conclusions for these characters who are all dealing with a sense of loneliness in their stark surrounding. Overall, Reichardt creates a riveting yet intoxicating about the extraordinary lives of women in Montana.

Cinematographer Christopher Blauvet does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography as it is largely natural and low-key to play into the realistic yet gorgeous look of the daytime exteriors set in the winter to some low-key lighting for some of the scenes at night. Production designer Anthony Gasparro, with set decorator Pamela Day and art director Kat Ulmansiek, does fantastic work with the look of the tent Gina lives in as well as the classroom where Beth teaches. Costume designer April Napier does nice work with the costumes as it is largely casual since it is set in the winter with its big coats, sweaters, and winter boots. Sound designer Kent Sparling does superb work with the sound as it is largely low-key to play into the locations that the characters are in as well as the scenes that play into the drama and suspense. The film’s music by Jeff Grace is wonderful as it’s largely low-key as it only appears sparingly in its mixture of folk and ambient music setting.

The casting by Mark Bennett and Gayle Keller is great as it feature some notable small roles from John Getz as the local sheriff in Livingston, Sara Rodier as Gina and Ryan’s teenage daughter Guthrie who doesn’t like her mother, James LeGros as Gina’s husband Ryan who is trying to keep the peace between mother and daughter, and Rene Auberjonois as the old man Albert whom Gina wants to buy some stones from in the hopes to build her dream house. Jared Harris is superb as Fuller as Laura’s client who is dealing with an injury that has kept him from working as he tries to get some money for the injury that happened to him where he becomes very desperate. Lily Gladstone is excellent as Jamie as a ranch hand who deals with her lonely and monotonous existence where she stumbles into a night school class where she befriends and falls for a lawyer teaching the class about the ideas of the law.

Kristen Stewart is fantastic as Beth as a lawyer who takes the teaching job four hours from where she lives as she copes with her own lonely existence and lack of stability where she finds a friend in Jamie whom she’s intrigued by. Michelle Williams is amazing as Gina as a woman that is eager to build her dream home as she also deals with the sense of disconnect with her daughter as well as some of the immorality she takes part in getting what she wants for her home unaware of Albert’s emotional attachment to the stones. Finally, there’s Laura Dern in a brilliant performance as Laura Wells as a lawyer who is trying to help her disabled client Fuller as well as deal with her own life that doesn’t have much excitement where a crisis would give her that bit of excitement.

Certain Women is a phenomenal film from Kelly Reichardt. Featuring a great cast, compelling stories on loneliness and the need to connect in a rural existence, gorgeous visuals, and a minimalist approach to its storytelling. It’s a film that explores a world that simple yet with characters that want more as they contend with their surroundings and need to either get out or make something of it. In the end, Certain Women is a sensational film from Kelly Reichardt.

Kelly Reichardt Films: River of Grass – Old Joy - Wendy and Lucy - Meek's Cutoff - Night Moves (2013 film) – First Cow - Showing Up - The Auteurs #72: Kelly Reichardt

© thevoid99 2018

The Ward (2010 film)

Directed by John Carpenter and written by Michael and Shawn Rasmussen, The Ward is the story of a young woman who is sent to a mental institution after an arson as she is haunted by a ghost from the institution. The film is a psychological thriller set in the mid-1960s where a woman copes with not just a ghost in this institution but why is it haunting her and the other women at the ward. Starring Amber Heard, Mamie Gummer, Danielle Panabaker, Lyndsy Fonesca, Laura-Leigh, Mika Boorem, and Jared Harris. The Ward is an engaging yet flawed film from John Carpenter.

Set in 1966 rural Oregon, the film revolves a young woman who is sent to a mental hospital after burning a farmhouse where she is sent to a special ward with four other women as they’re being haunted by a ghost who was killed in the ward. It’s a film that plays into a woman dealing with her surroundings as she wonders if she is getting out as she befriends a few of the women while they deal with this ghost and why it’s after them. While the story is a simple one, it also plays into the world of psychiatry as these women are trying to deal with their illnesses and hope to get out and return to the real world. Yet, the film’s screenplay has some strange ideas for the narrative which does try to be ambiguous over the ghost that is haunting these women but there’s some flaws in there as well as some unanswered questions that alludes to a young woman who is killed early in the film. Once the story progresses and characters get killed off, the film does become formulaic where it also raises some questions as the script does have some holes about what is going on and why this ghost is after these women.

John Carpenter’s direction is very intoxicating in the way he captures the life of a group of women inside this mental ward as many of them display different personalities. Even as he starts the film off with some conventional tactics where a young woman is killed by a ghost while the main character Kristen (Amber Heard) burns down a farmhouse. Carpenter does use some unique tracking shots as well as close-ups and medium shots to maintain a sense of intimacy plus a few wide shots for stylistic reasons. Yet, he is hampered by some of the script’s flaws where it does deviate from conventional scares as Carpenter tries to keep things unpredictable and play with the rhythms of suspense. Another aspect of the film that kind of hurts it is the twist in the end as it relates to the ghost and why Kristen is a major target. Still, it does make things interesting though it does leave a lot of unanswered questions. Overall, Carpenter creates a worthwhile though underwhelming film about a woman being haunted by a ghost.

Cinematographer Yaron Orbach does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography that helps set a mood for some scenes in some of the interiors including the hallways as well as some stylish lights to play into its sense of horror. Editor Patrick McMahon does nice work with the editing where it does play into the rhythms of suspense while some of it deviates towards fast-cutting style to play in jump-scares that doesn‘t work at times. Production designer Paul Peters, with set decorator Rachel M. Thompson and art director Vincent DeFelice, does brilliant work with the design of the ward and other aspects of the hospital where it doesn‘t make itself too much like the 1960s but rather something that is cut-off from the rest of the world. Costume designer Lisa Caryl-Vukas does fantastic work with the costumes where it sort of plays into early 60s clothing as it helps distinguishes the characters and their personalities.

Special effects makeup designer Greg Nicotero and Kevin Wasner do amazing work with the look of the ghost as well as some of the eerie elements of horror in who the ghost kills. Visual effects supervisor Jason McKee does terrific work with the visual effects as it relates to the ghost and some of the eerie elements in the film. Sound designers Javier Bennassar and Leslie Shatz do superb work with the sound to help create some textures into the sound and help build up some of the suspense and terror that looms in the film. The film’s music by Mark Kilian is wonderful for its orchestral-based score that plays into some of the drama as well as help creating the air of suspense throughout the film.

The casting by Pam Dixon is remarkable as it features some notable small roles from Susanna Burney as the chief nurse in the ward Nurse Lundt, Dan Anderson as the chief orderly Roy, Sali Sayler as the young woman who is killed by the ghost early in the film, Mark Chamberlin as a sad man that often makes a visit at the hospital as if he knows someone who was there, and Mika Boorem as the young woman named Alice who would later become the ghost that would haunt the ward. Jared Harris is excellent as Dr. Stringer as the hospital psychiatrist who is trying to help Kristen and the other women in the ward as he is a character that is quite ambiguous due to his methods as he really wants to help them. Laura-Leigh is fantastic as Zoey as the traumatized young woman who acts and dresses like a young girl as she is the most innocent person in the ward.

Danielle Panabaker is superb as Sarah as the snobbish young woman who likes to flirt with the orderlies as she isn’t convinced that something is haunting the ward. Lyndsy Fonesca is wonderful as Iris as the prim drawer who likes to make sketches as she knows the rules of the ward as she is also the most cautious. Mamie Gummer is brilliant as Emily as the most outgoing of the women as she knows what is going on as she is also quite tough but also carries some guilt over what happened to Alice. Finally, there’s Amber Heard in an amazing performance as Kristen as this young woman who is sent to the asylum for arson as she copes with the ghost as she tries to find a way to deal with it and hopefully get out of the asylum as it’s a very compelling performance from Heard.

While it is very conventional and has some very weak aspects in its script, The Ward is still a good film from John Carpenter. Armed with an excellent cast as well as some dazzling visuals, the film does manage to offer something a bit different from the current wave of mainstream horror films as it is told by one of the genre’s great masters. In the end, The Ward is a terrific though very flawed film from John Carpenter.

John Carpenter Films: Dark Star - Assault on Precinct 13 - Halloween - Someone’s Watching Me! - Elvis - The Fog - Escape from New York - The Thing - Christine - Starman - Big Trouble in Little China - Prince of Darkness - They Live - Memoirs of an Invisible Man - Body Bags - In the Mouth of Madness - Village of the Damned - Escape from L.A. - Vampires - Ghosts of Mars

The Auteurs #60: John Carpenter Pt. 1 - Pt. 2

© thevoid99 2015

2012 Cannes Marathon: Dead Man

(Played in Competition for the Palme D’or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival)

Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, Dead Man is the story of an accountant who travels to the West in 19th Century America as he encounters an Indian who makes claims that the man is a killer. The film is a period western that plays with elements of the genre while adding surreal imagery to the genre. Starring Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Gabriel Byrne, Crispin Glover, Iggy Pop, Alfred Molina, Billy Bob Thornton, John Hurt, Michael Wincott, Lance Henriksen, Mili Avital, and in his final film appearance, Robert Mitchum as John Dickinson. Dead Man is an entrancing yet stylish western from Jim Jarmusch.

Arriving to the company town of Machine from Cleveland, an accountant named William Blake (Johnny Depp) arrives to work for man named John Dickinson. Instead, he is rejected by Dickinson and his business manager John Scholfield (John Hurt) forcing Blake to drown his sorrows at a saloon where he meets a young prostitute named Thel Russell (Mili Avital). After a misunderstanding with her lover Charlie (Gabriel Byrne) forces Blake to defend himself as he flees with a pinto as Charlie is revealed to be Dickinson’s son. Wanting revenge, Dickinson hires three notorious killers in Cole Wilson (Lance Henrikson), Conway Twill (Michael Wincott) and Johnny “The Kid” Pickett (Eugene Byrd) to track down Blake while prompting others to find him with a huge reward in hand.

Meanwhile, the wounded Blake meets an American Indian named Nobody (Gary Farmer) who believes that Blake is the famed poet of the same name. Though Blake tries to tell Nobody that it isn’t true, the two go on a journey to a spiritua world as they would encounter a trio of men (Billy Bob Thornton, Iggy Pop, and Jared Harris) and a missionary (Alfred Molina) where Blake eventually embraces this strange role. While he is still in pursuit of those wanting Dickinson’s reward, Blake continues to his strange journey as he and Nobody briefly separates while dealing with other strange forces prompting Blake to have Nobody take him to this strange, mystical land of the spirits.

Jim Jarmusch’s screenplay is filled with a lot of quirks and dark humor such as the back stories for the three men who are hired to hunt Blake as well as Nobody where his story is the most interesting. Here is this man who is a mix of two different tribes who was captured by white men and exploited for entertainment where he gains knowledge and a deep perspective on his disdain for the white man. Throughout the film, people ask Blake if he’s carrying any tobacco as it would lead to a lot of things while the film opens with this amazing train sequence where a boiler man (Crispin Glover) tells Blake that where he’s going is hell. Some of the film’s dialogue that Jarmusch uses has characters like Blake and Nobody often quoting the poetry of William Blake whether it’s to establish the spiritual journey Blake is embarking or to create some kind of humor that is told.

Jarmusch’s direction is truly hypnotic in the way he presents the film as it’s shot on location in parts of Arizona and Oregon. While Jarmusch does stay true to some of the visual ideas of the western with some eerie close-ups on the characters along with intense shoot-outs. A lot of the film definitely harkens more towards a European style of filmmaking with wandering shots of the skies and locations along with more entrancing shots of some of the locations such as a forest of dead trees. The latter of which is a visual tribute to the works of Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky as there’s other compositions that reeks of Tarkovsky’s visual style. Many of it is to play out Blake’s journey where it intensifies once he starts to embrace this role that he is destined to play. Overall, Jarmusch truly creates a rich yet evocative western that goes for the unconventional rather than play by the genre’s rules.

Cinematographer Robby Muller does an amazing job with the film‘s black-and-white photography from the way the scenes in the train are lit to many of the film‘s exterior settings for day and night where this a great degree of style. Some of it definitely plays to visual look of Andrei Tarkovsky while many of the nighttime exteriors have an array of lighting schemes from the use of campfires and lanterns to add something that is truly ethereal as Muller’s work is truly seductive to watch. Editor Jay Rabinowitz does incredible work with the film’s very stylized editing from using fade-outs to move the film’s transitions in an unconventional manner to playing with dissolves for some of the film’s more surreal moments when Blake starts to have strange visions.

Production designer Bob Ziembicki, along with set decorator Dayna Lee and art director Ted Berner, does brilliant work from the set pieces created from the frontier town of Machine that Blake first comes across to the beauty of the Makah village in the film‘s third act. Costume designer Marit Allen does excellent work with the costumes from the suit that Blake wears along with the rest of the clothing of the west to the Native American wardrobe that is created. Visual effects supervisors Randall Balsmeyer and Jon Farhat do nice work with the film‘s minimal visual effects that includes a shot where Nobody sees a talking skeleton that he believes is Blake. Sound editor Robert Hein does fantastic work with the film’s sound from the calm atmosphere of the forest scenes to the more raucous world of the saloon that Blake attends early in the film.

The film’s music by Neil Young is marvelous for the way it Young creates sparse moods with his guitar from chugging riffs to melodic jangles to help maintain a tense atmosphere for the film. With bits of folk guitars in the mix, Young’s score also knows how to build up suspense in a few chilling scenes as the overall work is among one of the film’s highlights.

The casting by Ellen Lewis and Laura Rosenthal is phenomenal for the ensemble that is created as it includes small but notable appearances from Jimmy Ray Weeks and Mark Bringleson as two marshals, Butthole Surfers vocalist Gibby Haynes as a man at the train, and in the roles of the young Nobody, Thomas Bettles and Daniel Chas Stacy. Other noteworthy small but memorable parts include Mili Avital as a friendly prostitute named Thel, Gabriel Byrne as Thel’s heartbroken former boyfriend Charlie, Crispin Glover as an eccentric boiler man, Alfred Molina as a dishonest missionary salesman, John Hurt as Dickinson’s cruel manager, and Robert Mitchum in a fantastic final performance as the very intimidating John Dickinson.

Billy Bob Thornton, Iggy Pop, and Jared Harris are hilarious as a trio of fur traders who tell strange stories with Pop wearing a dress to add more humor. Eugene Byrd is excellent as the young killer known as “The Kid” while Michael Wincott is terrific as the very talkative killer Conway Twill. Lance Henriksen is superb as the very quiet but far more dangerous killer Cole Wilson who carries a horrifying secret that even spooks the other bounty hunters. Gary Farmer is great as the eccentric Nobody who often quotes William Blake’s poetry while providing some humor to the film as it’s a fun performance. Finally, there’s Johnny Depp in an odd but entrancing performance as William Blake where Depp is quite restrained in his role as a meek accountant turned killer where Depp provides this amazing presence for a man that is pretty quiet in dealing with his situations as it’s definitely one of Depp’s best performances.

Dead Man is an extraordinary yet visually-astonishing western from Jim Jarmusch. Featuring a spectacular ensemble cast led by Johnny Depp, it’s a film that really gives fans of the western genre something that is very different but also something that does capture the spirit of the genre. For those who interested in the works of Jim Jarmusch, this film is definitely one of the best works of his career. In the end, Dead Man is a mesmerizing film from Jim Jarmusch.

Jim Jarmusch Films: Permanent Vacation - Stranger than Paradise - Down By Law - Mystery Train - Night on Earth - Year of the Horse - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai - Coffee & Cigarettes - Broken Flowers - The Limits of Control - Only Lovers Left Alive - Paterson - Gimme Danger - (The Dead Don't Die) - The Auteurs #27: Jim Jarmusch

© thevoid99 2012

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 12/25/08

The short story of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button told the story of a man born with a body of an aging elderly. When he grows, his has the mind of whatever age he's in while he starts to look younger. The story is one of the most intriguing tales by Fitzgerald that an adaptation for a film project took years to create with several screenwriters including Charlie Kaufman and directors like Ron Howard and Gary Ross attached to the project. When the project finally found a director that will stick to the project, it seemed that it would finally be made though it would be in the hands of David Fincher. The man behind such provocative films like Se7en, The Game, and Fight Club. Yet, 2007's Zodiac about the Zodiac killings of the late 1960s marked a change of pace for Fincher that him the ideal director for the film version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story.

Directed by David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button tells the story of a man born as an elderly as he's under the care of people in New Orleans during World War I. Over the years, he ages backwards while falling in love with the woman he met when she was just a child as he lives throughout the world. Screenplay by Eric Roth, who wrote the adapted screenplay for Forrest Gump, the film version is different from F. Scott Fitzgerald's version as the time frame is set from the time of World War I to August 2005 when Hurricane Katrina arrived. With an all-star cast that included longtime Fincher cohorts Brad Pitt and Elias Koteas plus Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond, Taraji P. Henson, Jared Harris, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, Phyllis Somerville, Elle Fanning, Madisen Beaty, and Jason Flemyng. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a majestic film from David Fincher and company.

It's August 2005 as Hurricane Katrina is approaching New Orleans. An ailing woman named Daisy (Cate Blanchett) is in a hospital bed with her daughter Caroline (Julia Ormond) by her side. Daisy tells Caroline a story about a man named Gateau, a blind clockmaker who created a clock that would run backwards that he unveiled one day to Teddy Roosevelt (Ed Metzger). Daisy asks Caroline to read a diary found in a suitcase which is about a man named Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt). Caroline reads Button's diary as he was born the day World War I ended. Yet, Benjamin's mother (Joeanna Sayler) died due to complications of childbirth as her husband Thomas (Jason Flemyng) listened to her final words. Yet when he sees the baby, he's in shock over the baby's grotesque look only to take it away and leave in to outer staircases of a retirement home run by a woman named Queenie (Taraji P. Henson).

Queenie takes in the baby despite his grotesque nature as she names him Benjamin. With help from her boyfriend and caretaker Tizzy (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali), Benjamin was in the care of various elders where he learned about the world despite looking old. Around the time he was seven, Benjamin finally got to walk with help from a preacher (Lance E. Nichols) while a Creole man named Ngunda Oti (Rampai Mohadi) took him on a tour of New Orleans. Then one day, Benjamin meets a young girl named Daisy (Elle Fanning) whom he befriends as she's visiting her grandmother (Phyllis Somerville). After learning piano lessons from Mrs. Maple (Edith Ivey), he also gets a first-hand lesson about death. When he starts to look and feel younger despite his old appearance, Benjamin notices that Queenie is starting to focus on her own daughter.

At 17, Benjamin meets a tugboat captain named Mike (Jared Harris) who gives him a job as Benjamin becomes entranced by adventure. It would be around the same time Benjamin would meet Thomas Button though Thomas wouldn't reveal his true identity yet. When Daisy (Madisen Beaty) visits again, she is amazed at the world Benjamin is starting to live in while she has dreams of being a ballerina. When Benjamin decides to leave home to work with Mike as a member of a tugboat crew, he writes Daisy many letters until his stop at Russia where he meets the wife of a British diplomat named Elizabeth Abbott (Tilda Swinton). The two first engage in late night conversations that proved to be fulfilling as Abbott once tried to swim across oceans. Yet, their conversations would lead into a secret affair only to end quickly as she leaves Russia.

When World War II begins for the U.S., Mike and his crew decide to serve for the Navy with Benjamin joining along. Returning home to New Orleans once the war ended, Queenie is glad to see him as he continued to work at the retirement home. When Daisy makes a visit, Benjamin is amazed at the new world and career she's in though it overwhelms him. Another encounter with Thomas Button revealed some truths as Benjamin becomes confused only to learn more about Thomas. When Benjamin goes to New York City to surprise Daisy, she is surprised by his visit while Benjamin gets a closer look into her new world including a boyfriend named David (Adrian Armas). For Benjamin, it's too much as he leaves Daisy behind to venture a world of his own. When Daisy gets injured in Paris in an accident, Benjamin visits but Daisy feels ashamed.

After having some time of his own, Daisy re-enters Benjamin's life where the two finally reach the point where they're nearing the same age. Just as life was going blissful for them, Daisy's news that she's pregnant starts to worry Benjamin. After the birth of their child, Benjamin who is aware that he's about to become younger makes a fateful decision that would impact the life of Daisy and their child.

While F. Scott's Fitzgerald's original short story is set in a different time and place. The concept of a man aging backwards does create an idea that is unique. While screenwriter Eric Roth and story adapter Robin Swicord created some major changes that differentiates from the original short story. Their approach does work in setting the story in early 1900s New Orleans to New Orleans 2005 just Hurricane Katrina is set to approach. Yet, not everything works with Eric Roth's screenplay despite its unique structure, character study, and time frame. There's a couple of big flaws in the script though it often depends on what the audience wants. One is that the script is predictable in connecting the dots to what is about to happen and a few surprises that aren't really surprises. Yet, it depends on how the audience can handle that approach to the plot which isn't really Roth's fault or the story. It's just that it creates a lack of suspense or the fact that it isn't surprising.

The other major flaw with the script and story is its relation to Forrest Gump. There's many similarities to the famed novel by Winston Groom and its 1994 film adaptation that was scripted by Eric Roth. Both films have a protagonist embarking on adventures through their own simple, curious commentary. Both are chasing women who live in different worlds while having a maternal figure that can impact their lives. Both characters meet unique characters along the way while living through different eras. Yet unlike Forrest Gump, Benjamin Button isn't a simpleton. Instead, Button is someone who is more aware of the world despite the fact that he's reversely aging. Button is someone trying to live to the fullest where the story is helped by its structure. The first act is about Benjamin as a child, meeting Daisy, and setting on his own adventure. The second act is about his encounter with Elizabeth, the war, and coping with Daisy's new life.

Then there's the third act which begins with Daisy's return and the new life they live in. Once there's a child coming, the audience knows what's coming. Unlike the character of Jenny in Forrest Gump who lived recklessly through certain trends and without any clear goals.

The character of Daisy comes to full effect in the third act in how she's trying to cope with Benjamin becoming younger knowing what would happen. Yet, it's all told with voice-over narration by Benjamin as Daisy's daughter Caroline reads it. While the script had those flaws, Roth's approach in moving the story back and forth from Benjamin's time to the final moments of Daisy's life works in creating a subplot about Daisy's relationship with Caroline. Though audiences do know what's coming where despite its flaws. The script and story definitely is wonderful.

The direction of David Fincher is truly remarkable and majestic. Fincher takes new heights to his direction where he presents the film in various locations, notably New Orleans. When the film progresses, Fincher shows New Orleans in its beauty from the early 20th century to the time just before Hurricane Katrina was about to hit. Every time a certain period is shown, Fincher does it with a majestic style to keep the story moving forward while creating an atmosphere for the period. There's parts of the film where Fincher takes a certain period and adds grainy scratches to the camera work to emphasize the atmosphere of that time. Notably the story about Gateau and his clock which plays a very important part of the film.

Fincher's direction definitely takes him places he hadn't been to like romance and drama while creating a sense of excitement in the film's World War II scene where the tugboat known as Chelsea faces off against a submarine. While Fincher does use CGI-based visual effects for some parts of the film, it's done wisely without looking very fake in its emphasis to create atmosphere for a location or a certain era. In the dramatic approach, there is the idea of sentimentality but it's earned because of what is going to happen. Instead of having to draw out the ending, he creates a slow momentum in having the audience expect the outcome. The overall result of David Fincher's direction is truly spectacular and magical as it's definitely some of his best work as a director.

Cinematographer Claudio Miranda does an amazing job with the film's unique visuals with the sepia-like colors in some of the film's nighttime, interior settings to the period, colorful pallette of the exteriors in Paris, New York, and New Orleans. Miranda's work in the daytime exterior shots of New Orleans without much tints in the colors work in creating a period and atmosphere through Fincher's direction as it's definitely gorgeous in its look. Editors Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall do great work with the editing in the film's Gateau sequence in a scene play in rewind while using swift, smooth cuts on a commentary by Benjamin Button about how fate plays into the world. With its transition cuts, slow-motion cutting, and rewinds. The editing is definitely phenomenal. The visual effects work of Eric Barba and company is great in the creation of a few key moments in the scenes like the stormy sky in a shot at the Gulf beach, a shot of a rocket, a hummingbird, and other visual effects that work very effectively.

Production designer Donald Graham Burt along with set decorator Victor J. Zolfo and a team of art directors do an amazing job in the recreation of the period look of New Orleans through the ages. With its look of the homes that Benjamin visits and lives in to the duplex he and Daisy stays in. The art direction is phenomenal in every location and setting to create an atmosphere to the time. Costume designer Jacqueline West does a brilliant job with the look of the costumes including the ballet leotards and dresses that Cate Blanchett wears to the period clothes that everyone else wears throughout each time. Makeup artists Carla Brenholtz and Stacey Herbert do an amazing job in having the young model actors look like an older version of Brad Pitt while giving Pitt a look of an elderly where one had him look like Marlon Brando. Cate Blanchett's makeup by Elaine L. Offers work to show her aging look in the film's third act is also great in how her character ages while Benjamin looks younger.

Sound editor Ren Klyce does an excellent job in the sound work, notably the battle scene and sea sequences. The sound is also great in its location settings and atmosphere while in the 2005 scene. Carries a sense of foreboding of what is to come. The music of Alexandre Desplat is definitely rich and majestic with somber pieces, flourishing arrangements, and Desplat's tingling melodies. The score is definitely amazing without being heavy handed or playing up to its sentimentality as it's a lovely score. The soundtrack also includes various music pieces of a certain time period including a wonderful use of a live version of the Beatles' Twist And Shout performed on the Ed Sullivan show.

The casting by Laray Mayfield is phenomenal with a lot of small yet memorable characters that have scene-stealing moments like Ted Manson as a man who had been hit by lightning seven times, Paula Gray as an opera singer, Ed Metzger as Teddy Roosevelt, Donna DuPlantier as Gateau's wife, Jacob Tolano as Gateau's son, Joeanna Sayler as Benjamin's mother, Patrick Thomas O'Brien as a doctor, Lance E. Nichols as a preacher, Yasmine Abriel as a prostitute, Rus Blackwell as Daisy's husband in the third act, Adrian Armas as Daisy's boyfriend in the New York City scenes, and Edith Ivey as the woman who teaches Benjamin how to play piano though Benjamin doesn't remember her name. Other small roles from Don Creech, Joshua DesRoches, Christopher Maxwell, Richmond Arquette, Josh Stewart, and Myrton Running Wolf as crew members of the Chelsea tug boat stand out as well as Phyllis Somerville as Daisy's grandmother.

Rampai Mohadi is excellent in a standout role as a Creole man who introduces Benjamin to New Orleans while Mahershalalhashbaz Ali is very good as Tizzy, the caretaker who teaches Benjamin a few useful skills in life. In the role of the young versions of Daisy, Elle Fanning is wonderfully delightful to watch as the seven-year old Daisy while Madisen Beaty is also great as 10-year old Daisy. For the physical roles of Benjamin Button meshed with Brad Pitt's facial makeup and voice, Peter Donald Badalamenti II as the 10-year old Benjamin, Robert Towers as teenage Benjamin, and Tom Everett as the 17-year old Benjamin are excellent in their physicality. Child actors Spencer Daniels and Chandler Canterbury are also good in their respective roles as the 12-year old and 8-year old versions of Benjamin. Jason Flemyng is very good as Benjamin's father Thomas who is curious about the man who is son while dealing with the regrets he had over abandoning him. Elias Koteas is brilliant in his small role as Gateau, the clockmaker who creates a clock that runs backwards.

Julia Ormond is wonderful as Caroline, Daisy's daughter who reads the diary of Benjamin Button as she tries to contend with her mother's past and the things she never knew about. Jared Harris is delightful to watch as Captain Mike, the tattooed tugboat captain who brings adventures to Benjamin as Harris' performance is fun to watch. Tilda Swinton is great in a small yet brilliant supporting role as Elizabeth Abbott, a wife of a British diplomat who shares great conversations with him as she gives Benjamin a taste of real love. Taraji P. Henson is amazing in a real break-out performance as Queenie, Benjamin's adoptive mother who has some funny lines and comments as she brings a real true maternal quality to the role. While it's a character that could've been played as a cliche, Henson's fiery, charismatic performance is full of life and wit as it shows that she's definitely becoming a real actress after such stellar performances in Craig Brewer's Hustle & Flow and Kasi Lemmons' Talk to Me.

Cate Blanchett delivers a graceful yet wondrous performance as Daisy, the woman who becomes Benjamin's dear close friend and lover as she is amazed by his reversed aging while dealing with how out of place he is. Blanchett's beauty and exuberance is wonderful as she develops from a woman with dreams to a woman becoming content except when she has to deal with Benjamin's approach to childhood. It's a great performance from the Australian actress who continues to morph into any type of role without playing the same character twice. Finally, there's Brad Pitt in what has to be one of his best performances to date. Though it doesn't top the subtlety that he displayed in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford a year earlier. Pitt sells the curiosity and wonderment of the title character while managing to make himself look young and dreamy while doing it with such maturity and restraint. It's a testament to what Brad Pitt can do as an actor where 10-15 years ago, many claim he couldn't act. The performance Pitt gives in this film proves that he's come along way from being a 90s heartthrob.

While not a perfect film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is certainly one of the year's best films from David Fincher. Thanks to Eric Roth's unique screenplay, amazing technical work, and a brilliant cast led by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. It's definitely the right film to see during the holidays in its display of majestic imagery and atmosphere. Along with brilliant supporting work from Taraji P. Henson, Tilda Swinton, Jared Harris, and Julia Ormond, it's a film that is dazzling to watch from start to finish as David Fincher takes a new maturity to his work as a director. In the end, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a magical film that is likely to sweep the viewer into a great, majestic journey from David Fincher.

David Fincher Films: Alien 3 - Se7en - The Game - Fight Club - Panic Room - Zodiac - The Social Network - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Gone Girl

Related: The 15 Essential Videos of David Fincher - The Auteurs #61: David Fincher

© thevoid99 2010