The Theory of Everything

Based on the memoir Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen by Jane Wilde Hawking, The Theory of Everything is about the life of physics theorist Stephen Hawking and his relationship with first wife Jane Wilde who would later cope with Hawkings’ diagnosis of motor neurone disease. Directed by James Marsh and screenplay by Anthony McCarten, the film is an exploration of Hawking’s early life with Wilde from their years as college students to the events that lead to their separation as Eddie Redmayne plays Hawking and Felicity Jones plays Wilde. Also starring Charlie Cox, Emily Watson, Simon McBurney, Maxine Peake, and David Thewlis. The Theory of Everything is an extraordinarily rich film from James Marsh.

Set from the early 1960s to the early 1990s, the film plays into the life of physics theorist Stephen Hawking from the day he meets his first wife Jane Wilde and to the year he would meet the Queen of England where he would be offered a knighthood. With Hawking being famous for proving about everything that goes on in the universe, he would suffer motor neurone disease early in his life as Wilde would support him and eventually marry him where they would later have three children. With Hawking’s disease worsening, his fame would grow through his theories on time while Wilde would get the aid of a preacher named Jonathan Jones (Charlie Cox) whom she would fall for. While it is a simple bio-pic, it plays into Hawking’s own belief about science and how he believes that a black hole created the universe while he isn’t sure if God exists. Even as Wilde is someone who believes in God as it is among the reason for her attraction towards Hawking.

Anthony McCarten’s screenplay maybe conventional in terms of its plot scenario but it does maintain a sense of humanity in Hawking who is just a simple student with a vast point of view about the world. While he is an intellect, he is someone that is like any other young college student back in the 1960s as is Jane Wilde where they are part of a world where everyone is asking big questions. Part of what makes the story so interesting is the relationship between Hawking and Wilde where they have different ideas in belief yet Wilde is intrigued by Hawking’s own theories on the universe and time itself. By the time Hawking’s own ailment would occur and Wilde would be there to support him, they would have a good marriage but things do become overwhelming for Wilde until she meets Jones who becomes a friend of their.

While there is an attraction between the two as well as an ambiguity into whether or not they had an affair where Hawking’s mother asks Jane if Jonathan is the father of their third child. It is clear that Jones is a good man and knows when to step back where things become complicated in the 1980s when Hawking would fall for his new nurse Elaine Mason (Maxine Peake) who would eventually become Hawking’s second wife. Yet, the heart of the story is Hawking and Wilde’s relationship and their devotion to one another as it all plays into Hawking’s own theory of everything about the world, the universe, time, and the cosmos.

James Marsh’s direction is quite stylish in terms of some of different film stocks that he uses for the film but also in the way he re-creates certain periods in time to play into Hawking’s life. Shot on location in Cambridge University in Britain, the film does play into that world of college life where it wasn’t wild nor very political as the 1960s would later become while there are elements of fun. Even as there are elements of humor as it relates to some of the theories that Hawking presents where there are those who don’t buy into it but there are those who are amazed by it where it is simplified but show that it is really out there. Much of Marsh’s compositions are simple in terms of close-ups, medium shots, and wide shots yet he would use some different film stock to play up into certain events in Hawking’s life from his wedding to Wilde and the birth of their children as it adds to the sense of happiness Hawking had despite his illness.

The direction would have these elements of visual flairs that play into key moments in Hawking’s life into not just his own discoveries of his own as well as moments that play into his ailments. By the film’s second half where Hawking’s condition would worsen as he would lose the ability to speak, the drama does get heightened but the tone sort of changes as it plays into Hawking’s willingness to live despite the diagnosis that he had two years to live upon getting the disease early in his life. In some ways, it’s a film of triumph of a man who rises above his ailments to share his views of the world with the people and connect with them in ways that go beyond the understanding of the universe. Overall, Marsh creates a very engaging and thoughtful film about the life of Stephen Hawking and life with Jane Wilde.

Cinematographer Benoit Delhomme does brilliant work with the film‘s colorful cinematography with its inspiring usage of filters and coloring schemes to maintain different moods for certain scenes as well as playing with film stocks for the home-movie footage. Editor Jinx Godfrey does excellent work with the editing with its approach to reverse-style cuts, montages, and other stylish cuts to play into Hawking‘s own revelation towards his theories. Production designer John Paul Kelly and set decorator Claire Nia Richards do fantastic work with the look of the dorm rooms he lived in college as well as the home he and Jane lived with their children. Costume designer Steven Noble does superb work with the costumes from the dresses that Jane wears throughout the years to play into different periods in time as well as some of the clothes that Hawking would wear.

Hair/makeup/prosthetics designer Jan Sewell does amazing work with the different hairstyles Jane would sport in the years as well as the look of Hawking in the years he would endure his disease. Sound designer Glenn Freemantle does terrific work with the sound from the way Hawking would hear things in his state as well as scenes set in a few parties as well as the church where Jonathan would serve at. The film’s music by Johan Johansson is remarkable for its evocative and soaring orchestral score that is filled with lush string arrangements and electronic textures to heighten the music while music supervisors Sarah Bridge and Claire Freeman create a soundtrack that features jazz, classical, opera, and soul music from the different periods that Hawking and Wilde encounter.

The casting by Nina Gold is wonderful as the film features some notable small roles from Charlotte Hope and Lucy Chappell as Hawking’s sisters, Frank Lebeouf as the Swiss doctor who would tell Wilde more about Hawking’s condition that would render his speech, Abigail Cruttenden as Hawking’s mother, Guy Oliver-Watts as Wilde’s father, Harry Lloyd as Hawking’s roommate Brian, Enzo Clienti as fellow physics theorist Kip Thorne, Georg Nikoloff as the famed Soviet physicist Isaak Markovich Khalatnikov who is impressed with Hawking’s theory, and Christian McKay as the famed mathematician/theorist Roger Penrose who would give Hawking the idea to search on a theory of time. Emily Watson is terrific as Jane’s mother Beryl who would suggest to Jane to join a church choir while Simon McBurney is superb as Hawking’s father Frank who is aware of his son’s deteriorating condition as he would be the one to suggest a nurse to aid him.

Maxine Peake is excellent as Elaine Mason as the nurse hired to watch over Hawking in the late 80s as she would care for him where she would eventually become Hawking’s second wife. David Thewlis is brilliant as Hawking’s professor Dennis Sciama who would support his theory and become a colleague of his while helping to introduce Hawking’s theory to the world. Charlie Cox is fantastic as Jonathan Jones as a preacher who leads a church choir who befriends Hawking and Wilde where he falls for the latter but doesn’t want to get too close as he also enjoys his time with Hawking despite their differences in beliefs.

Felicity Jones is phenomenal as Jane Wilde Hawking as a young woman who is a literature student that falls for Hawking as she copes with his illness while helping him live as it’s a very radiant and touching performance from Jones. Finally, there’s Eddie Redmayne in a marvelous performance as Stephen Hawking as this young physics student who would create a theory as he later succumbs to motor neurone disease which only makes him more determined to share his theories with the rest of the world as Redmayne maintains a unique physicality in scenes where he’s not speaking to make Hawking a very charming and soulful person.

The Theory of Everything is a sensational film from James Marsh that features amazing performances from Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. While it is a conventional film that does play into elements of what is expected in bio-pics, it is still a film with some charm as well as a strong love story that concerns the relationship between Stephen Hawking and Jane Wilde Hawking. In the end, The Theory of Everything is a remarkable film from James Marsh.

James Marsh Films: (Wisconsin Death Trip) - (The King (2005 film)) - Man on Wire - Red Riding: 1980 - Project Nim - (Shadow Dancer) - (Untitled Donald Crownhurst Film)

Related: A Brief History of Time

© thevoid99 2015

Belle (2013 film)

Directed by Amma Asante and written by Asante and Misan Sagay, Belle is the story of an illegitimate mixed-race girl who is sent by her father to live with her rich relatives as she copes with her identity and what her uncle does while falling for an aspiring lawyer. Inspired by a 1779 painting, the film is a fictionalized story about Dido Elizabeth Belle and the events that she took part in that led to the abolishment of slavery in Britain as she is played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Also starring Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson, Sarah Gadon, Penelope Wilton, Miranda Richardson, Tom Felton, Matthew Goode, Sam Reid, and James Norton. Belle is an exquisitely rich and ravishing film from Amma Asante.

The film is a fictionalized story about Dido Elizabeth Belle as she is a young woman who is half-black and half-white as her white father asks his relatives to care for her where she would contend with her identity as well as what to do with herself as she falls for an aspiring lawyer. It’s a film that plays into this young woman who has all of the means to advance in upper-class society yet is often confused due to her skin color as well as what her uncle is doing as it relates to a famous trial relating to an incident known as the Zong Massacre. Yet, it’s more about this woman who is trying to understand who she is as she deals with prejudice for who she is as well as cope with what is happening in this trial that is happening.

The film’s screenplay does take a few dramatic liberties as it relates to the trial of Gregson vs. Gilbert yet it is more about Dido’s relationship with her uncle William Murray 1st Earl of Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson) who would take the young Dido in as he cares for her as well as her status. A status in which Dido would inherit money from her late father (Matthew Goode) as well as be given a much larger inheritance from her uncle and aunts. It’s a status that would help Dido as she would get the attention of many suitors but it would create some problems in her relationship with her cousin Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon) who is in need to marry someone who has money or else she would be destitute despite Dido wanting to share her inheritance with her. While there’s a chance for Elizabeth to be married into a rich family when Dido gets engaged to Oliver Ashford (James Norton), Dido still has to contend with Oliver’s bigoted older brother James (Tom Felton) and their scheming mother Lady Ashford (Miranda Richardson).

It is when Dido meets John Davinier (Sam Reid) where she begins to ask questions about not just herself but also what is happening around her as it becomes a key plot-point for the film. Especially as Davinier is a young man who doesn’t come from a rich family as he aspires to change the world through law as he rouses Dido’s view of the world as she thinks about herself and where would she be if her father hadn’t took her out of the slums and into a life of great wealth and love. Yet, Davinier would prove to be a man who doesn’t just see Dido as more than just a woman with mixed-skin but as a woman where the two fall in love though he’s not the kind of person that her uncle wants her to be with because of her rich status as she also has to think about her own family. Still, Murray’s encounter with Davinier and Dido’s own awareness of who she is would come into play into not just the decision of this court case but in also how he sees Dido as more than just family.

Amma Asante’s direction is truly exquisite as it plays into a drama where a young woman deals with her upbringing as well as the role she is destined to play along with her identity. Most notably in the way she creates a period drama that manages to be so much more as well as play into how things were back in the late 18th Century where it is set during a crucial period in British history when slavery was still prevalent. Asante would maintain something that feels quite contemporary while still giving the film a feel that is set in 18th Century as she would bring in some unique wide and medium shots into the film but also some unique close-ups into the film as it relates to Dido’s relationship with Davinier. There’s also a few hand-held camera shots and some tracking shots to play into some of the drama while Asante’s compositions are very entrancing to the way it plays into a world that is changing as well as being sort of disconnected from what is really happening.

The direction is also very intriguing for the way it explores the Zong Massacre and the Gregson vs. Gilbert which plays into Davinier trying to reveal exactly what is at stake. While Murray is a man that has the power to create change, he’s reluctant as he has a lot on his plate about how it would effect Britain but also his own status and his own family. Asante maintains that sense of tension that is in Murray as he also copes with the future of his own nieces as his wife Lady Elizabeth (Emily Watson) and his sister Lady Mary (Penelope Wilton) are trying to ensure that Dido and Elizabeth will marry to good families. The film does climax with not just the trial itself but also the reveal of the famous painting that features both Dido and Elizabeth as it relates to exactly how Murray sees Dido. Overall, Asante creates a very captivating and evocative film about a young woman dealing with her identity as well as knowing what she wants in her life as well as how she sees the world.

Cinematographer Ben Smithard does brilliant work with the film‘s very lush and colorful cinematography for the look of the gardens and exterior in the daytime scenes to the usage of candlelight and other lights to play into some of its nighttime interior and exterior scenes. Editors Pia Di Ciaula and Victoria Boydell do amazing work with the editing as it‘s quite straightforward while also having bits of style in a few montages and some dazzling rhythmic cuts. Production designer Sarah Bowles, with set decorator Tina Jones and supervising art director Ben Smith, does phenomenal work with the set pieces from the homes the characters live in as well as the courthouse and the look of the slums where Dido‘s father found her in the film‘s opening sequence. Costume designer Anushia Nieradzik does fantastic work with the design of the dresses from the way it plays to the personality of the women as well as the clothes that the men wear.

Hair/makeup designer Marese Langan does excellent work with the design of the wigs some of the men wore as well as the hairstyle of the men and women. Visual effects supervisor Henry Badgett and Angela Barson do terrific work with the minimal visual effects scenes that is really more set dressing in a few key scenes. Sound editor Lee Herrick and sound designer Robert Ireland do superb work with the sound from the way shoes sound on floors to some of the scenes at the parties that occur in the film. The film’s music by Rachel Portman is wonderful as it is largely a lush orchestral score that adds to the sense of drama while music supervisor Maggie Rodford bring in a soundtrack that is largely classical pieces from Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel.

The casting by Toby Whale is incredible as it features some notable small roles from Bethan Mary-Jones as the black maid Mabel, Lauren Julien-Box as the young Dido, Cara Jenkins as the young Elizabeth, Alex Jennings as James and Oliver’s father, and Matthew Goode in a brief but very touching role as Dido’s father Captain John Lindsay who manages to the most of his brief role. James Norton is terrific as Oliver Ashford as the youngest of the two brothers who likes Dido while Tom Felton is superb as Oliver’s more prejudiced older brother James who detests Dido for being black while proving to be very cruel to Elizabeth. Penelope Wilton is wonderful as Dido and Elizabeth’s aunt Lady Mary as someone who tries to keep both women in check while realizing their fate if both women don’t find men to be in love with. Miranda Richardson is brilliant as Lady Ashford as a woman who doesn’t like Dido very much only to agree to Oliver’s engagement to her out of ensuring that her son will have money.

Sarah Gadon is fantastic as Elizabeth as Dido’s cousin who is like a sister to Dido as she copes with the changes in Dido’s life but also her own future as she tries to find a good husband so she wouldn’t be destitute. Emily Watson is excellent as Lady Elizabeth as Murray’s wife who is considered the conscious of the film as she tries to ensure the futures for both Dido and Elizabeth while trying to make sense of the decision that her husband is going to make in this court case. Sam Reid is amazing as John Davinier as a reverend’s son who aspires to be a lawyer and makes change as he has this presence that is very engaging as someone that displays some humility as he is intrigued by Dido where he would eventually fall for her.

Tom Wilkinson is phenomenal as William Murray as a man who reluctantly takes Dido in only to care for her as if she was his daughter as he copes with everything he’s trying to do for her as well as being involved in a case that involves blacks which affects the decision he would make. Finally, there’s Gugu Mbatha-Raw in an absolutely tremendous performance as Dido Elizabeth Belle as this young woman who is coping with her identity and place in the world while realizing the complications of the real world as it relates to her race as well as what is expected from her as a woman as it’s a very radiant and powerful performance.

Belle is a remarkable film Amma Asante that features an incredible performance from Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Along with a strong supporting cast as well as an engaging story that features some insightful historical elements. It’s a film that manages to be more than a period piece and a character study as it is also a film that features characters coping with changes as well as uncertainty in their idyllic and safe environment. In the end, Belle is a sensational film from Amma Asante.

© thevoid99 2015

Anna Karenina (2012 film)

Based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina is the story of the titular socialite, who is the wife of a statesman, who begins an affair with an officer in late 19th Century Russia. Directed by Joe Wright and screenplay by Tom Stoppard, the film is a look into the life of a woman as she tries to find love only to be ruined by her affair as Keira Knightley plays the title role. Also starring Jude Law, Aaron Johnson, Alicia Vikander, Matthew McFayden, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly MacDonald, Ruth Wilson, Shirley Henderson, Olivia Williams, and Emily Watson. Anna Karenina is a beautiful yet vapid film from Joe Wright.

Set in 1874 in Imperial Russia, the film is an exploration into the life of this aristocratic woman who falls for a cavalry officer where their affair becomes scandalous. Yet, the film is an exploration into many ideas of love as well as infidelity where the latter showcases a woman’s decision in being with this officer named Count Alexei Vronsky (Aaron Johnson) where they fall in love despite the fact that she’s married to a statesman in Count Alexei Karenin (Jude Law). Yet, Vronsky is notorious for wooing many women including Anna’s sister-in-law Kitty (Alicia Vikander) who is also pursued by Konstatin Levin (Domhnall Gleeson) who tries to deal with his ideas about true love and such. All of which is told in a very broad but messy story that doesn’t hold itself together.

Tom Stoppard’s screenplay has this narrative where there’s a lot of characters involved where it has this unique structure that would play Anna’s fall from grace. Yet, it has these other subplots involving her brother Stiva (Matthew McFayden) trying to help Levin while having his own extramarital affairs as well the stuff involving Levin. The first act explores Anna’s marriage to Count Karenin where it’s one where there’s not much communication yet there is love until Anna meets Count Vronsky. The second act is about Anna and Count Vronsky’s love affair and the scandal that it creates where Karenin becomes embarrassed. The third act is about Anna’s attempt to return to society where she is disapproved by those around her while her relationship with Vronsky starts to fall apart.

Notably as the script reveals a lot about Vronsky’s appetite for women which adds to Anna’s insecurities yet neither character become interesting as they have range of emotions that drags the story. Even as the script would shift into what Count Karenin is doing as he feels humiliated as well as the stuff about Levin who feels lost as he tries to comprehend all of the ideas of love. Notably as there’s people like Stiva’s wife Dolly (Kelly MacDonald) who isn’t sure about wanting Stiva back or Vronsky’s cousin Betsy (Ruth Wilson) whose appearances would raise questions about Vronsky’s devotion to Anna. All of which just adds to the messiness of the script as it gets to the point where there’s too many characters to follow and how important they are to the story.

Joe Wright’s direction is unique in the way he presents the story where he wants to go for something that is theatrical where most of the film is presented in a theater. A lot of which seems to play into a world that seems artificial and sort of removed from reality to portray Anna’s idea of the world where things aren’t cold and such. Even in moments of the film where some of the action takes place backstage or above the stage where people will freeze while she and Vronsky are moving. It all plays to that world where Anna and those around her seem to thrive in where there’s even a horse race that occurs on the stage where Anna is watching from the booth. It’s these moments where the idea of fantasy and reality would collide as many of the moments set in the Karenin home is a mixture of that.

There’s also moments where the fantasy is replaced by reality which plays into the Levin’s plight as he goes to the country to deal with some family matters as well as resigning to the fate that might happen to him. These are moments that are all interesting but it also adds to the confusing nature of the story where Wright wants to do both. It unfortunately creates this idea of style over substance where there’s all of this gorgeous imagery with some amazing tracking shots and moments where everything happens in one take. Yet, it doesn’t do enough to really engage the audience into the story despite its emphasis on the themes of adultery and love where its end result is a bit mixed. Overall, Wright crafts a very lavish but lifeless film about a woman’s affair that led to scandal and the loss of her identity.

Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey does fantastic work with the film‘s cinematography from the gorgeous look of the exterior locations to some of the lighting in the theater stage and some of its interior settings. Editor Melanie Ann Oliver does excellent work with the editing from the use of montages and fast-cuts for the dancing scenes as well as some smooth transitions for the fantasy-reality scenes. Production designer Sarah Greenwood, with set decorator Katie Spencer and supervising art director Niall Moroney, does amazing work with the set pieces from the look of the Karenin home to the look of the stage where a lot of the action occurs.

Costume designer Jacqueline Durran does brilliant work with the costumes from the uniforms that Vronsky wears to the many dresses that many of the female characters wear including Anna. Hair/makeup designer Ivana Primorac does dazzling work with the hair/makeup to complement the different looks of the many female characters. Sound editors Craig Berkey and Becki Ponting do superb work with the sound to capture the intimacy of the theatrical settings as well as the broad sound of the scenes set at the train station. The film’s music by Dario Marianelli is spectacular for its heavy yet effective orchestral score to play out the romance and drama while also using some low-key moments and some themes for the different characters including a humorous one for Stiva.

The casting by Dixie Chassay and Jina Jay is terrific for the ensemble that was created as it features some notable small roles from Holliday Grainger as a baroness friend of Vronsky, Michelle Dockery as a friend of Anna, Shirley Henderson as a disapproving madam at a scene late in the film, Raphael Personnaz as Vronsky’s brother, Oskar McNamara as Anna and Count Karenin’s son Serhoza, Alexandra Roach as the Countess Nordstron that Vronsky tries to woo early in the film, and Emily Watson in a chilling performance as the Countess Ivanova who observes Anna’s behaviors as she would eventually tell Karenin about what is going on. Ruth Williams is wonderful as the mysterious Princess Betsy who tries to get her cousin Vronsky to steer him away from Anna while Olivia Williams is excellent as Vronsky’s mother Countess Vronskaya who is very disapproving about her son’s relationship with Anna.

Matthew McFayden is fantastic as Anna’s brother Stiva who tries to deal with the chaos in his own life while helping out Levin. Kelly MacDonald is superb as Stiva’s wife Dolly who deals with her husband’s infidelity while helping out her sister Kitty to find love. Alicia Vikander is remarkable as Kitty as a young woman who is supposed to marry Vronsky only to lose herself in a whirlwind of many prospects while being courted by the more kind Levin. Domhnall Gleeson is marvelous as Levin as a young man who is in love with Kitty only to lose her to her more revered prospects as he tries to deal with his idea of love as well as his family who are dealing with their own troubles. Jude Law is amazing as Count Karenin as a man who is devoted to his service for his country while trying to make time for his family only to learn the truth about what Anna is doing as he tries to comprehend everything as well as make some decisions about what to do for his son.

Aaron Johnson is quite bland as Count Vronsky where Johnson doesn’t do enough to make his character interesting as he spend some of his time being aloof or doe-eyed where it comes across as very uninspiring to watch. Keira Knightley is pretty terrible as the titular character as she spends some of her time either overacting in some of the dramatic moments or just underplaying where she often wears a veil and gaze. It’s a performance that doesn’t allow Knightley to really do more for the character as it has her just being sad and confused most of the time though she’s more effective in the happier moments as it’s not one of her best works.

Despite its amazing supporting cast and technical work, Anna Karenina is a very disappointing film from Joe Wright. Due to the uninspiring leading performances of Keira Knightley and Aaron Johnson as well as Joe Wright’s emphasis on style over substance and Tom Stoppard’s messy script. It’s a film that had all of the tools to be something quite grand and engaging only to end up being dull and flat. In the end, Anna Karenina is a very underwhelming film from Joe Wright.

Joe Wright Films: Pride & Prejudice (2005 film) - Atonement - The Soloist - Hanna

© thevoid99 2013

Gosford Park

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 3/30/07 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Based on an original idea from Robert Altman and Bob Balaban, Gosford Park is a murder mystery set in the British countryside in the course of a weekend involving a group of wealthy people and their servants as a conflict emerges between the two parties. Directed by Robert Altman and screenplay by Julian Fellowes, the film is a take on the whodunit mystery as it's set in the 1930s that is a mixture of comedy, drama, and suspense. With an all-star cast that includes Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren, Michael Gambon, Stephen Fry, Kelly MacDonald, Jeremy Northam, Kristin Scott Thomas, Bob Balaban, Ryan Phillippe, Alan Bates, Richard E. Grant, Camila Rutherford, Emily Watson, Eileen Atkins, Clive Owen, Tom Hollander, Charles Dance, Derek Jacobi, and Geraldine Somerville. Gosford Park is a witty yet delightful whodunit from the brilliant Robert Altman.

A weekend gathering at the British gathering is happening as a group of rich socialites and many others arrive at the home of Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon) and Lady Sylvia (Kristin Scott Thomas). Among those arriving are the Countess of Trentham (Maggie Smith) with her maid Mary MacEachern (Kelly Macdonald), Lord and Lady Stockbridge (Charles Dance and Geraldine Sommerville) with their servant Robert Parks (Clive Owen), Freddie and Mabel Nesbitt (James Wilby and Claudie Blakely), Lt. Commander Anthony and Lady Lavinia Meredith (Tom Hollander and Natasha Wightman), Ivor Novello (Jeremy Northam), and American producer Morris Weissman (Bob Balaban) with his servant Henry Denton (Ryan Phillippe). The servants are accompanied by the head butler Jennings (Alan Bates) along with housekeeper Mrs. Wilson (Helen Mirren), head maid Elsie (Emily Watson), jewels security chief George (Richard E. Grant), and the chef Mrs. Croft (Eileen Atkins). Immediately, conversations occur throughout the house as Denton tells Wilson and Croft that his boss is a vegetarian as he observes the place much to the annoyance of his fellow maids and servants. Meanwhile at the house, a lot is happening where the Nesbitts are having marital issues where Freddie seeks to have an affair with Sir McCordle's daughter Isobel (Camilla Rutherford) and Lt. Commander Meredith is seeking to have a business deal with Sir McCordle.

While dinner is happening both up and downstairs, Denton continues to ask questions to the maids and servants where Parks reveals himself to be an orphan where a couple of late arrivals happen in Lord Rupert Standish (Laurence Fox) and his friend Jeremy Blond (Trent Ford). Mary does some last minute work as she tries to figure out how to work in a big house without bothering anyone. On the next day during pheasants hunting with Sir McCordle, things don't go well during the hunt while Anthony Meredith and Freddie Nesbitt are both eager to talk to him. Instead, things don't go well as everyone starts to get testy with one another leading to a tense dinner where a comment by Lady Sylvia has Elsie finally speaking out in defense of Sir McCordle. Elsie leaves due to her behavior as Ivor Novello decides to change the mood by entertaining the guests while Weissman is waiting for a phone call. Later that night, Lady Stockbridge makes a shocking discovery where Inspector Thomas (Stephen Fry) and Constable Dexter (Ron Webster arrive to the house to investigate. With Thompson amazed by the home, he talks to all of the servants including Probert (Derek Jacobi) as well as the guest about their connections to McCordle.

Still, revelations are unveiled into why Henry Denton had been so snoopy as many of the guests and servants who killed McCordle and why. Mary makes a discovery about Parks in relation to McCordle as does Dexter. Once the investigation winds down, Mary receives a final lesson from Mrs. Wilson about servitude.

While the movie is a classic whodunit where everyone is a suspect, Robert Altman takes the genre off its feet and makes it into something where it becomes more about the people behind the homes and how they run the place. Yet, it's not surprising that the servants, butlers, cooks, and valets are far more interesting than the people above the basements who spend their time talking about things common people can't relate to. That doesn't mean the posh aren't uninteresting, there's moments when they can be interesting. Yet, they are out of touch somewhat with the real world when Weissman talks about a movie he plans to make yet, most of the people he is surrounded by aren't interested or intend to watch his films. Really, the film is about a murder and how people react to it while living their own idea of life.

Screenwriter Julian Fellowes does an amazing job in taking the structure of making the story feel like a theatrical play of sorts. There's the first act where the story introduces the characters, the second act about the murder and the investigation, and the third is the aftermath. It's all told in a simple way while it's all helmed by the brilliance of Robert Altman. Taking an almost, entirely British cast whom all seem to have some kind of theater background. The film does feel like a theater play where all the actors have their place and their own take on the character.

Yet, Altman deconstructs all of that to the point where the actors feel a bit loose, improvise, and enjoy themselves. Including a very comedic scene where Maggie Smith is seen laughing as if she's having a hell of a time. The camera rarely stands still as it's constantly moving to observe a conversation, a moment where people are having fun or something else. It's all part of the Altman style of improvisation, overlapping dialogue, and something that feels natural for the audience to relate to. Yet, it still works to the point where though at times, it's hard to follow, it's a lot of fun to watch.

Cinematographer Andrew Dunn does great work in capturing the atmosphere and difference of the two cultures with very dark, intimate lighting schemes on the basements to more showy lights on the upstairs part. Production designer Stephen Altman and art director Sarah Hauldren do amazing work in playing to the film's authenticity of 1930s cars, objects, and such with costume designer Jenny Beavan creating wonderfully lavish clothing for the upper class people.

Editor Tim Squyres adds to the film's energetic, improvisational style with some wonderful cutting and tension to build the momentum for the suspense. Sound editor Nigel Mills also adds to the film's atmosphere with a great sequence where Ivor Novello sings and how the people downstairs react to his music playing in the background. The music of Novello is heard as is a wonderfully melodic, suspenseful score from Patrick Doyle whose piano flourishes and orchestral arrangements adds to the film's unique energy.

Then there's the film's amazing cast in which, there isn't a single bad performance. To the smallest of performances to the most well-known cast member. Yet, it's a bit hard at times to remember everyone involved. Small performances from Trent Ford, Laurence Fox, Teresa Churcher as cook Bertha, Jeremy Swift as the gay butler Arthur, and Ron Webster as Constable Dexter are memorable. Sophie Thompson is great as the ever-loyal Dorothy who seems willing to do anything for Mr. Jennings. Charles Dance and Geraldine are wonderful as Stockbridges with Clive Owen giving a fantastic role as the shady Robert Parks.

Derek Jacobi is wonderful as Mr. McCordle's personal butler with Richard E. Grant as the snotty George. Ryan Phillippe is very good as the shady Henry Denton who gets more than he bargains for when he plays both sides only to be humiliated in front of both. Bob Balaban is excellent as the consumed American producer Weissman who carries his own secret that only Denton knows. Jeremy Northam is wonderful as the entertaining Ivor Novello.

Maggie Smith is wonderfully funny as the spoiled Constance who enjoys her own lifestyle though not fully aware of the real world. Tom Hollander is good as the desperate businessman Meredith with James Wilby as another desperate man in Freddie Nesbitt. Natasha Wightman and Claudie Blakley are excellent as their respective wives to portray the contrast of their own love life with Blakley being more dramatic. Stephen Fry is charming as the inept, distracted Inspector Thompson, who never gets to say his name entirely while Emily Watson is amazing as the Cockney-accent Elsie whose experience and care for McCordle makes her a very complex character. Camila Rutherford is excellent as the suffering Isobel who is often pursued by Freddie with Kristin-Scott Thomas as her mother Sylvia, who is a divine as the bitchy, bored wife of McCordle.

Sir Michael Gambon is excellent as this awful yet mean man who has become more distracted by money and riches as he opposes all sorts of old businesses and such. Eileen Atkins and Helen Mirren are great as feuding members of the staff who don't like each other with Mirren giving an amazing performance as the perfect servant, Mrs. Wilson. The late Alan Bates is great as the head butler Mr. Jennings who have his own secrets while managing the house while Kelly MacDonald is great as the naive yet observant Mary MacEachern who learns what it takes to be a great servant.

Gosford Park is an incredible film from Robert Altman that features an amazing ensemble cast. The film is definitely among of Altman's great films for its take on the whodunit mysteries as well as utilizing his mastery of finding life in an ensemble piece. Notably as it explores the world of class and servitude and the roles that these people play in this way of life. In the end, Gosford Park is an extraordinarily rich film from Robert Altman.

Robert Altman Films: (The Delinquents) - (The James Dean Story) - Countdown (1968 film) - (That Cold Day in the Park) - M.A.S.H. - Brewster McCloud - McCabe & Mrs. Miller - (Images) - The Long Goodbye - Thieves Like Us - California Split - Nashville - Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson - 3 Women - (A Wedding) - (Quintet) - (A Perfect Couple) - (HealtH) - Popeye - (Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean) - (Streamers) - (Secret Honor) - (O.C. and Stiggs) - Fool for Love - (Beyond Therapy) - (Aria-Les Boreades) - (Tanner ‘88) - (Vincent & Theo) - The Player - Short Cuts - Pret-a-Porter - (Kansas City) - (The Gingerbread Man) - Cookie’s Fortune - Dr. T & the Women - The Company (2003 film) - (Tanner on Tanner) - A Prairie Home Companion

© thevoid99 2013

Punch-Drunk Love

Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Punch-Drunk Love is the story of a lonely man who meets and falls for a mysterious woman as he pursues her while dealing with an extortion scam. The film marks a departure of sorts from Anderson’s previous efforts for something much more intimate and simpler as he aims to create a love story that involves two people who are out of sorts with conventional society. Starring Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Luis Guzman, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Robert Smigel, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Punch-Drunk Love is a mesmerizing yet touching romantic film from P.T. Anderson.

Barry Egan (Adam Sandler) is a business owner who is dealing with loneliness as he would often have emotional outbursts and fits of rage. Notably at a family dinner as he’s often ridiculed by his seven sisters including Elizabeth (Mary Lynn Rajskub). On one morning, Barry wakes up to see a harmonium being dropped into a street as a woman named Lena (Emily Watson) asks is she can park her car in his work place. Barry agrees as he wouldn’t see Lena again for a few days as she’s revealed to be a co-worker of Elizabeth. Dealing with his loneliness, Barry calls a phone-sex line where things get weird when the woman he talks to wants money for her rent. Barry refuses as he starts to get a strange idea to buy Healthy Choice pudding with airline mileage stickers so he can redeem some frequent flyer miles.


After seeing Lena again where the two have a date, she tells him she’s going to Hawaii for a business trip as she plans to see him again. Barry is elated until he’s being chased by a group of men who work for a mattress salesman named Dean Trumbell (Philip Seymour Hoffman) over the phone-sex money. Barry decides to go to Hawaii to see Lena as the two forge a very strange yet fruitful relationship. After they return from Hawaii, they’re attacked by Trumbell’s men where Barry manages to fight back as he decides to confront Trumbell in order to prove his devotion to Lena.

The film is really the story of this lonely, emotionally-awkward man with fits of rage who falls for an enigmatic yet captivating woman as they forge a very strange relationship in the course of a few days while he deals with an extortion scam. During the course of the film, this man would try to create a scheme of his own to buy as many pudding products to get some frequent flyer miles as a chance to go all over the world. In meeting this woman, it would make him more determined to create a scheme as he hopes to share it with the woman he is in love with.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s screenplay is more driven by characters and their actions rather than traditional plot schematics. Notably as it centers around this oddball in Barry Egan who wears the same blue suit wherever he goes. He’s a very strange man who doesn’t know how to socialize as he comes from a dysfunctional family where his sisters call him “gay boy” as he responds by destroying windows and later crying about it to his brother-in-law (Robert Smigel). In meeting Lena, it would provide the chance to get out of being lonely as well as motivate to prove his love to her. Yet, he would have these strange encounters that begins with this bizarre car crash where left behind is a harmonium that he would grow to care for. Then comes this group of brothers who want money following a phone-sex scam as they would try and threaten Barry until it involves Lena where Barry’s rage would finally take over as finds a reason to be use his anger for the sake of good.

Anderson’s direction is very stylish in the intimacy that he creates as he doesn’t go for a big scope in order to tell something that is much simpler. While the film starts off with this very strange, bizarre scene of Barry watching a car accident where he would find this harmonium. The film would have these small interludes that is filled by the artwork of Jeremy Blake to create the sense of a world that Barry wants to be a part of even though it isn’t real. Anderson would create shots that are simplistic in their presentation while maintaining a degree of style through some shots such as the scenes of Barry at the supermarket. The compositions would showcase something that has Anderson taking on ideas of humor where it’s presented naturally rather than forcefully.

Shot largely in Los Angeles with some parts of the film in Hawaii, Anderson chooses to create a film where he isn’t repeating himself visually as a lot of the lighting schemes are very low in order to create something that is dreamier. Even for many of the scenes at night where Anderson just wants to keep the visual look to be more grounded rather than emphasize too much on stylish lighting. The confrontation scenes where Barry starts to get angry shows a real sense of intensity as Anderson just has the camera fixated on Barry’s face in a medium shot to display his anger full-on. It’s part of Anderson utilizing new tricks to say something as he creates a truly engaging yet enchanting romantic film that explores the world of oddball love.

Cinematographer Robert Elswit does amazing work with the film‘s low-key photography by utilizing underexposed lighting schemes to create a grainy yet dream-like look for many of the film‘s nighttime scenes in both its exterior and interior settings to emphasize a gorgeous look to the film. Editor Leslie Jones does excellent work with the editing to create a more straightforward approach to the cutting while utilizing some rhythmic cuts for some of the film’s scenes in the supermarket. Production designer William Arnold, along with art director Sue Chen and set decorators Jay Hart and Lori A. Noyes, does terrific work with the set pieces such as the place that Barry works at along with the apartment that Lena lives in.

Costume designer Mark Bridges does nice work with the costumes from the blue suit that Barry wears to the red dress that Lena wears. Sound editor Phil Benson and sound designer Christopher Scarabosio do wonderful work with the sound such as the film‘s opening sequence as well as the dinner scene that overlaps a lot of the conversation that is interrupted by Barry‘s rage. The film’s music by Jon Brion is definitely one of his best scores as it’s driven by a harmonium to play off the serenity of the film’s romance that includes lush string arrangements. The soundtrack features a mixture of cuts by Conway Twitty, Lady K, and a remixed version of Harry Nilsson’s He Needs Me sung by Shelly Duvall from the Robert Altman film Popeye.

The casting by Cassandra Kulukundis is brilliant for the small ensemble that is created as it features some notable small roles from Robert Smigel as Barry’s brother-in-law, Luis Guzman as Barry’s co-worker Lance, and Mary Lynn Rajskub as his sister Elizabeth. Philip Seymour Hoffman is great in a small but menacing performance as Dean Trumbell who tries to boss around Barry only meet his match in their big confrontation scene. Emily Watson is incredible as Lena where Watson displays a sense of low-key charm and warmth to a woman who sees offbeat but there is something about that is endearing as it is definitely Watson at her best. Finally, there’s Adam Sandler in an astonishing performance as Barry Egan as Sandler creates a character that is troubled yet sympathetic character who is odd yet loveable. It’s Sandler displaying that he definitely has range as it is really the best performance of his career.

Punch-Drunk Love is an exquisite yet ravishing film from P.T. Anderson that features marvelous performances from Adam Sandler and Emily Watson. While it’s a film that doesn’t have the ambitious scope of Anderson’s other films, its approach to romance and drama is still engaging for the way he creates a very unconventional yet heartfelt story. Even as it features lush imagery and an exotic score that helps soar the film into uncharted territory. In the end, Punch-Drunk Love is a magnificent film from Paul Thomas Anderson.

P.T. Anderson Films: Hard Eight/Sydney - Boogie Nights - Magnolia - There Will Be Blood - The Master - Inherent Vice - Junun - Phantom Thread - Licorice Pizza - One Battle After Another

Related Reviews: The Short Films & Videos of P.T. Anderson - The Auteurs #15: Paul Thomas Anderson

© thevoid99 2012

Synecdoche, New York

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 12/6/08 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Written and directed by Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche, New York tells the story of a playwright who tries to work on a play that goes on 40 years as he questions his own mortality and the women in his life as he struggles to create his most ambitious play yet. Inspired by Kaufman's own work in the theater, the film explores Kaufman's themes of surrealism and the creative process in this complex, high-art story. With an all-star cast that includes Kaufman regular Catherine Keener along with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, Emily Watson, Tom Noonan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hope Davis, and Dianne Wiest. Synecdoche, New York is a high-concept, complex, and provocative directorial debut from Charlie Kaufman.

Playwright Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman) has just mounted a play of Death of a Salesman that features a young actress named Claire Keen (Michelle Williams). While Cotard has a nice home life with wife/painter Adele (Catherine Keener) and their 4-year old daughter Olive (Sadie Goldstein), an incident involving a sink has him going to doctor where he's ill with numerous diseases. After attending couples counseling with therapist Madeline Gravis (Hope Davis), Adele leaves Cotard as she and her friend Maria (Jennifer Jason Leigh) take Olive to Berlin to venture into the city's art world. Caden befriends box office holder Hazel (Samantha Morton) as he deals with sudden success and own personal issues. While he and Hazel have a brief affair, Caden finds companionship with Claire as he receives a prestigious grant where he would stage a grand play based on his own life.

Claire joins Caden in the development of the play, Caden decides to stage it in an old factory where the staging of the play would become bigger for several years as he later marries Claire. After a trip to Berlin to meet Olive only to discover that she's grown under Maria's influence into a dark world. Caden's relationship with Claire falters as Hazel returns to his life as a married woman where she would assist Caden in the play's development. After casting an unknown named Sammy Barnathan (Tom Noonan) to play Caden, things become confusing prompting Claire to leave with their daughter Ariel while Sammy starts to put his own ideas about the play. When a British actress named Tammy (Emily Watson) comes in to play Hazel, things eventually become confusing as reality and fiction blurs for the overwhelmed Caden.

With Hazel hung up on Sammy, Caden tries to deal with Adele's success in the art world where he would sneak into her apartment and clean her place in the guise of a maid named Ellen. The character would eventually be played by Millicent Weems (Dianne Wiest) where things would unravel due to Sammy's presence as he becomes too much like Caden. With his own health failing and learning about what Olive had become, many around Caden wonder if the play will ever open.

If Charlie Kaufman has a theme that's prominent with some of work, it's about the artist and how the artist struggles to create that great work. While scripts like Being John Malkovich, Adaptation., Human Nature, and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind explore the mind of the creators in a humorous way. Synecdoche, New York is far different as the film explores an artist's mind as he creates something from his own life as it's continuing where reality and fiction blur. The film also explores death as this man is aware that he's sick and not feeling well realizing he's about to die. Yet, it becomes this long, 40 year period where he's trying to keep himself alive while seeing everything around him evaporate as well as his world between reality and fiction.

Kaufman's screenplay is definitely complex in this story about a man dealing with his own mortality and life with women as he creates a play about his life. Filled with funny dialogue, heartbreaking stories, and such. There's also something loose about the way Kaufman is telling the story as he has the characters make things up as they go along. While there's time where the idea of reality and fiction blur, Kaufman as a storyteller is trying to challenge the audience in the world of the creative process. The result isn't perfect depending on what type of audience Kaufman is aiming for as the pacing of the film and story drags at times. Notably its ending where people wonder how it's going to end as it's definitely drawn out. Still, Kaufman creates something with his screenplay that is definitely provocative and intelligent.

Kaufman's direction is definitely surprising as he uses some unconventional styles of coverage in creating the film. Taking his background in theater, he definitely uses many of the film's rehearsal scenes where the actors in the background are acting while whoever is in that scene are acting. Yet, Kaufman doesn't go for conventional styles of coverage as he sticks to where the emotion of the performances are as he's capturing it as he's just filming it and knowing when not to cut. Kaufman definitely has learned from people like Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry where as a director. He's definitely creating a style of his own. While there's flaws in the direction due to its pacing, drawn-out ending, and his unconventional approach to telling the story. Kaufman overall creates a film that is truly original and mesmerizing.

Cinematographer Frederick Elmes does an amazing with the film's stylish photography with some moody interior shots of the smoky-fire house with soft lens in those scenes. In some of the hospital and hallway scenes, it's in a blue-green style that's effective with the mood of its protagonist. Elmes' work in the exterior is great as he keeps the camera on the protagonist as it moves constantly and stopping at times to see where everything is taking place. Elmes work is truly magnificent in its photography and camera work as he reveals a wide scope into the world of theater and its ambitions. Editor Robert Frazen does fine work with the film's rhythmic cutting and transitional cuts that work in keeping the story moving despite its slow, turgid pacing.

Production designer Mark Friedberg, along with set decorator Lydia Marks and art director Adam Stockhausen, does spectacular work with the film's set designs. Notably in the big play scene where they create numerous replicas of the warehouse inside of the warehouse and another inside. With the look of the town and everything else, it's truly amazing as Friedberg's design is definitely brilliant in its staging and look. Other scenes shot in the homes are done wonderfully to reveal the contrasting world between Adele's posh lifestyle and the drab world that Caden lives in. Costume designer Melissa Toth does fantastic work with the evolving style of the female characters as the film goes on where the character of Hazel had this look, frizzy look to something more sophisticated as it progresses. The clothes that the women wear are superb while the look of Caden in all of its blandness is excellent for the way his character is.

Visual effects supervisor Mark Russell does excellent work with the recreation of the buildings as well as the zeppelin that flies around in the city. Makeup designer head Judy Chin does brilliant work with the aging look of the characters with the use of wigs and such along with the tattoo designs by Tim Kern for the adult Olive character. Sound designer Eugene Gearty and editor Philip Stockton do terrific work in the sound in capturing the atmosphere of the theater as well as other sounds to convey the troubled mind of Caden. Music composer Jon Brion creates a melancholic, heavy score filled with somber notes and jazz touches to help create the mood of Caden's mind along with original songs co-written with Kaufman done in a jazz style. With vocals by Sadie Goldstein on one track and Deanna Storey on three other songs. It's definitely a noteworthy yet haunting soundtrack from Jon Brion.

The casting by Jeanne McCarthy is phenomenal for its array of actors that she assembled. Small performances from Jerry Adler and Lynn Cohen as Caden's parents, Peter Friedman as a doctor, Josh Pais as an opthamologist, Amy Wright as the burning house realtor, Rosemary Murphy as the woman at the hallway Caden meets, Christopher Evan Welch as a pastor, Robin Weigert as the adult Olive, Deidre O'Connell as Ellen's mother, Kat Peters as the young Ellen, Daisy Tahan as Caden and Claire's daughter Ariel, and Paul Sparks as Derek are all memorable in their individual scenes. Sadie Goldstein is wonderful as the young Olive with some funny lines and some great scenes with Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Jennifer Jason Leigh is good in her small role as Maria, Adele's friend who manipulates Olive into becoming a tattoo model while later sporting a German accent to be an enemy of Caden.

Hope Davis is funny as a manipulative, sexy therapist who helps Caden with his problems but only for her own gain. Tom Noonan is great as Sammy, a doppelganger of Caden who plays the part of Caden so well that he ends up charming Hazel. Emily Watson is wonderfully funny as Hazel's doppelganger as she mimics everything Hazel does on character but as herself, she's a dreary Briton who threatens to change things for the play. Dianne Wiest is amazing as a dual role of Adele's maid Ellen with her dreary life and the actress Millicent who ends up becoming a driving force to the play late in the film as Weist's performance is phenomenal. Catherine Keener is excellent as Adele, Caden's sympathetic first wife who couldn't deal with the fact that her marriage to Caden is going to work as she leaves to become the person that shadows Caden for the rest of his life.

Michelle Williams is brilliant as Claire, Caden's second wife and then-leading actress who becomes supportive only to later be frustrated by the prolonging of the play as she seeks other ventures. Samantha Morton is great as Hazel, the woman who longed to be with Caden only to be rejected at first and move on, then become his creative partner and later, equal. Morton's performance is just wonderful as she and Hoffman have amazing chemistry that is touching and funny. Finally, there's Philip Seymour Hoffman in a tour-de-force performance as Caden Cotard. Hoffman's performance is just great in revealing the anguished and tortured soul of a man who loses himself into his own creation while his own life falls apart. Yet, Hoffman carries the film with such pain and humor that it's definitely his best performance to date as an actor.

Synecdoche, New York is a brilliant, provocative, and highly-original film from Charlie Kaufman. Fans of Kaufman's view of surrealism, the artistic process, and the tortured soul will enjoy the film for its high-concept and intense exploration into the world of theater and art. Mainstream audiences though, might be baffled by the film's concept and story along with its slow pacing and unconventional humor. It's definitely a film for an art-house film-going audience as they often wanted to be challenged by something like this. The average movie-goer might not understand the film in its concept though the performances by the ensemble cast led by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Samantha Morton do bring something accessible. It might not be for the average movie-goer but this isn't something they shouldn't entirely dismiss. In the end, Synecdoche, New York is a wild, imaginative, and innovative film from Charlie Kaufman.

Related: Anomalisa

© thevoid99 2012

Breaking the Waves

Directed by Lars von Trier and written by von Trier and Peter Asmussen, Breaking the Waves is the story of a young Scottish woman who tries to help her paralyzed husband by having sex with other men and tell him about it in order for him to feel closer to her. The film is von Trier’s first part of an unofficial trilogy exploring women in struggle through immense torment as it’s also the first film to reveal the aesthetics von Trier would use for the Dogme 95 movement. Starring Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgard, Sandra Voe, Jean-Marc Barr, Adrian Rawlins, Jonathan Hackett, Udo Kier, and Katrin Cartlidge. Breaking the Waves is a heartbreaking yet soaring melodrama from Lars von Trier.

Bess McNeill (Emily Watson) is set to marry a Swedish oil rigger named Jan (Stellan Skarsgard) in her strict, religious small town in Scotland as she gets the blessings of the religious council. Her wedding to Jan is a blissful one as her sister-in-law Dodo (Katrin Cartlidge) makes a speech wishing them well as Bess’s life with Jan is one full of joy as she thanks God for making it happen. When Jan has to return to work, Bess is in despair as has a hard time dealing with Jan at work as she becomes desperate as she prays to God for his return. Jan returns but is paralyzed following an accident as Bess feels responsible as she tries to help her husband with help from Dodo, who is a nurse.

When Jan asks Bess to have sex with other men so he pretend that he’s making love with her, Bess refuses at first but decides to do it once Jan is back in the hospital. Bess tries to make various attempts by seducing Jan’s doctor Richardson (Adrian Rawlins) which doesn’t go well. With Dodo and Bess’ stern mother (Sandra Voe) realizing what is going on, it reaches the attention of the religious council led by its priest (Jonathan Hackett) to banish Bess. After meeting a sadistic sailor (Udo Kier), Bess begins to unravel as she asks Dodo to pray for Jan as she would the ultimate sacrifice.

The film is the story of a childlike yet woman in the 1970s who falls for this Swedish oil rigger as her devotion to him is tested following an accident as he becomes desperate to touch her as if they were making love. In this journey, the woman tries to seduce men around her town in hopes that her husband can feel her as if he is making love to her. Over the course of the film, both would start to unravel in different ways as one would find a way to save everything which requires a form of sacrifice.

The screenplay by Lars von Trier and Peter Asmussen is broken into several chapters to emphasize the course of the film which is often accompanied by dream-like paintings that come to life through visual effects. The chapters breaks, that are based on the art work of Pers Kirkeby, is often accompanied by a song from the late 1960s and early 1970s to emphasize the time frame of the story. Since the film features a lot of religious themes that is based partly on von Trier’s then-conversion to Catholicism in the 1990s as it provides a sense of motivation for Bess who often talks to God as she would speak his words in brash voice.

Bess McNeill is a character that is truly one of von Trier’s greatest creations as she is one that is full of innocence as she marries a man who has experienced the world. Through Jan, she discovers sex in its purest and most loving form as in her attempts to help the paralyzed Jan. She becomes desperate and unstable as she would later become a prostitute in order to have sex with other men. While some might claim that Bess’ descent into prostitution and how she gets treated will spark ideas of misogyny. That is not what von Trier is doing as it’s all about a woman trying to find the strength for what she does for her husband in a world where women can’t attend funerals in this religious society.

The script that von Trier and Asmussen creates is an exploration of a woman desperate to save her husband as she communicates to God who looks on at what she’s trying to do. In many ways, it’s God trying to test Bess in what she can do for her husband in a world where there’s a lot of religious oppression. For an outsider like Jan, he gets very close to see what goes on in a funeral scene while he asks the priest why there’s no bells in the church. It’s part of the world that von Trier and Asmussen creates which would allow for an ending where one character would defy this religious oppression while another would find some semblance of hope from above.

The direction of von Trier is probably his most potent and entrancing work of his career in the way he presents the film. Featuring a lot of dreamy chapter breaks, the film has a look that has a personal feel as von Trier goes for something that is reminiscent of a home movie as if it was shot in Super 8 film with natural light. Breaking from his more technical-driven yet more controlled filmmaking style of previous films, von Trier goes for a much looser yet more natural approach to the direction of the film. In this approach, hand-held cameras are used as there’s a shakiness to it without being too frenetic.

At the same time, there’s moments where the fourth wall is sort of broken as Bess is always looking directly at the camera which emphasize her innocent and playful persona. The film also has the feel and look of a storybook that comes to life through the chapter breaks as it includes an epilogue that dwells on melodrama without being too overly-sentimental and heavily-dramatic. There is a rawness to what von Trier aimed for while some of the sex scenes reach the line of being graphic at times though it’s meant to present sex in its purest form. The overall work that von Trier did is truly hypnotic and mesmerizing as he creates what is definitely his best film.

The cinematography of Robby Muller is definitely the film’s technical highlight for its grainy yet naturalistic look to emphasize the home-movie feel of the film. For some of the nighttime interiors, the film has a very dark look to play up its naturalistic look as there’s elements of a static look so that it plays to some of the aesthetics that von Trier is looking for. The daytime scenes with sunlight have a more heightened yet monochrome look where the colors of the film are de-saturated but in a dream-like look that is truly gorgeous. Editor Anders Refn does an amazing job with the stylized editing of the film that has a great emphasis on jump-cuts for some of the film’s playful yet unconventional rhythm that moves quite leisurely for a film with a 158-minute running time.

Art director Karl Juliusson does a great job with the set pieces created for the film such as Bess‘ home, the ship, and the oil rig scenes to create something that looks like that it comes from the world of the 1970s. Costume designer Manon Rasmussen does an excellent job with the costumes from the more plain clothes that Bess wears early on to the more thinner yet stylized dress that Jan bought for her including various clothes to play up the look of the 1970s. Sound designer Pers Streit and sound editor Kristien Eidnes Andersen do a superb job with the sound work to play up the naturalistic tone of the film with natural sounds presented throughout the film.

The film’s music soundtrack features a version of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Siciliana - Sonata BWV n. 1031 that plays in the final credit by a trumpet and organ while the rest of the film’s soundtrack features an array of music from the 1970s. For the chapter breaks, there’s music by the likes of Mott the Hoople, Python Lee Jackson with Rod Stewart, Jethro Tull, Procol Harum, Leonard Cohen, Elton John (who also has two more cuts in the film), Deep Purple, and (in the theatrical version) David Bowie. Additional music that appears in the film include Roxy Music, Bob Dylan, Thin Lizzy, and T.Rex all play up to the world that is the 1970s.

The casting by Joyce Nettles is brilliant as it features appearances from von Trier regulars like Udo Kier as a sadistic sailor and Jean-Marc Barr as Jan’s best friend Terry. Other notable small roles include Mikkel Gaup and Roef Ragas as fellow oil riggers as well as Robert Robertson as one of the leaders of the religious council. Jonathan Hackett is very good as the very strict and humorless priest while Sandra Voe is excellent as Bess’ stern yet grounded mother. Adrian Rawlins is wonderful as the sympathetic but conflicted Dr. Richardson who helps with Jan’s paralyzed state while also trying to help Bess. Katrin Cartlidge is superb as Dodo, Bess’ sister-in-law who tries to help Jan in the hospital while trying to protect Bess from trouble as she gives truly a mesmerizing performance.

Stellan Skarsgard is great as Jan, the oil-rigger that Bess falls for as he has a playful side to him but once he’s paralyzed, he gives a more reserved performance as a man desperate to please his wife though he couldn’t touch her. Finally, there’s Emily Watson in her film debut as Bess McNeill. Watson’s performance is truly one of the most iconic and heartbreaking performances captured on film. For the way she exudes a childlike innocence throughout the film while being all brash as she speaks the words of God. It’s also one full of charm and anguish as it’s definitely a performance for the ages from one of Britain’s great actresses.

***The Following Additional Material is Written from 1/1/16-1/16/16***

The 2014 Region 1/Region A 2-disc DVD/1-disc Blu-Ray dual-format release of the film from the Criterion Collection presents the film in a newly remastered 4K digital restoration print supervised by Lars von Trier with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on Blu-Ray and 5.1 Surround Sound for its DVD. In its 2:35:1 aspect ratio, the film is given a richer look while retaining the grainy look from Robby Muller’s de-saturated yet atmospheric cinematography. In the first disc of the DVD, the only special feature in the DVD is a trailer for the film that serves as a prototype of red-band trailers.

The second disc of the DVD features a 47-minute selected-scene audio commentary track from von Trier, editor Anders Refn and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle who was the film’s location scout in the production. The trio discuss not just the approach to editing where von Trier and Refn reveal that the reasons the way the film was edited in such a offbeat way was that it would serve as an emotional tool rather than something conventional. The trio also discuss the look of the film, the performances, and some of the locations where it was shot partially in Scotland while some of it was shot in Denmark. It’s a fine special feature that features some humorous anecdotes as well as some criticism where Refn reveals his own quibbles about aspects of the ending.

The ten minute interview with filmmaker/critic Stig Bjorkman who made a documentary on von Trier back in 1997 discusses the documentary but also where von Trier was at in his career when making the film. Bjorkman reveals many of these changes while making comparisons to Ingmar Bergman in the way both men were comfortable on a film set as well as have ideas that were similar visually. Bjorkman also talked about what von Trier was doing before this film in directing actors and what changed when he did this film which showcased him being more comfortable with them.

The seventeen-minute interview with Emily Watson has the actress talking about her experience making the film as it was the first film she had ever done. She was a theatre actress before the film as she admits to having very little knowledge about cinema. She talks fondly about von Trier, Stellan Skarsgard, and Katrin Cartlidge who were great help to her while Watson admitted that the film sort of mirrored her own life as she was living in a very religious community where she was cast out due to accepting the role for this film. Watson also talked about the character of Bess and what she felt she was going through while admitting her initial reaction to the film was negative until Cannes where she realized how extreme the reactions where as she looks back at the film very fondly as it’s one of the finest interviews for the DVD/Blu-Ray’s special features.

The thirteen-minute interview with Stellan Skarsgard has the actor talking about his collaboration with von Trier and how he got the part as he had been wanting to work with von Trier for years. Skarsgard also discusses many of the themes of the film as well as Watson’s performance and the many claims about von Trier being criticized as a misogynist. Skarsgard also talks about von Trier’s approach to actors in the way he wanted to them to be loose and make mistakes as it is one of the reasons why he continuously works with von Trier. A two-minute interview with Adrian Rawlins from 2004 has the actor talking about working with von Trier and why he enjoyed it as it had a sense of looseness as well as the need to improvise which something Rawlins enjoyed as opposed to what he usually does for British television.

A two-minute audition clip from Emily Watson features a commentary track from von Trier as the audition showcases not just the kind of naturalism and energy that Watson would put into the audition but also the reasons into why she was right for the role. The commentary track by von Trier, Mantle, and Refn talk about the audition and what impressed von Trier as he stated that something about Watson being barefooted that intrigued him and realized that she was right for the part.

Seven minutes of two deleted scenes and five minutes of two extended scenes are featured with optional commentary by von Trier, Mantle, and Refn as the two deleted scenes include a conversation between Jan and his friend Terry in the hospital and a meeting between Bess and Dr. Richardson just after she escaped from the police. The extended scenes include an extended conversation between Bess and Dodo in the mountains and the other is where Bess calls to her mother to open the door. In the commentary, von Trier revealed that the reasons the scenes were cut either due to the fact that he didn’t like the performances in the extended moments or in the deleted scenes as well as felt they didn’t fit in with the rest of the film.

A two-minute deleted clip featuring the late Katrin Cartlidge serves as a tribute to her which is a scene where Bess, Bess’ mother, and Dodo are in church during a service where Bess asks Dodo about Jan. It’s essentially an outtake where Cartlidge tries to hold her composure but it ends up being very funny which is fitting to the kind of talent that she is. A seventeen-second promotional clip for the 1996 Cannes Film Festival has von Trier revealing that he will not be showing any clips of the film but rather have the people at Cannes see the film as a whole as it is very funny.

The DVD/Blu-Ray set also features a booklet that features two pieces of text relating to the film. The first is an essay entitled Breaking the Rules by film critic/historian David Sterritt. The essay plays into where von Trier’s career was before and after he made the film but also into many of aspects of the story. Especially in some of the religious context and why would someone like Jan be intrigued by someone as naïve and as innocent as Bess. It also play into the element of fantasy vs. reality where the world Jan comes from is reality as his encounter with the community Bess lives in is an entirely different world where he comes from. The second piece of text in the booklet is an excerpt from Stig Bjorkman’s 1999 book von Trier on von Trier where Bjorkman interviews the director about the film. In the interview, von Trier talks about many of the themes of the film and some of the technical aspects of the film. He also talked about the origins of the film and why it was made in this way rather than in a conventional thing. It’s a fascinating interview about where von Trier was at the time as well as why the film is so revered.

***End of DVD/Blu-Ray Tidbits***

Breaking the Waves is an enchanting but provocative film from Lars von Trier featuring Emily Watson’s exhilarating performance. For anyone interested in the works of von Trier will find this as the best place to start since it definitely his most revered film. For fans of Emily Watson, whose career has flourished since this film, this remains her best performance of her career. While it’s not an easy film to watch since it dwells into elements of melodrama with a lot of graphic material. It is a film that challenges the conventions of melodrama as well as stripping down the aesthetics of traditional cinema. In the end, Breaking the Waves is Lars von Trier’s masterpiece that breaks down all barriers of what cinema is and could be.

Lars von Trier Films: The Element of Crime - Epidemic - Medea - Europa - The Kingdom I - The Kingdom II - Dogme #2: Idioterne - Dancer in the Dark - The Five Obstructions - Dogville - Manderlay - The Boss of It All - Antichrist - Dimension (2010 short) - Melancholia - Nymphomaniac - The House That Jack Built - The Kingdom: Exodus - (Etudes)

Favorite Films #3: Breaking the Waves - The Auteurs #7: Lars von Trier

© thevoid99 2011