2005: The year in film (part one); several trenchant
observations
by NATHAN LERNER
During the past year, I watched over 200 films. Some
left me feeling exhilarated and transformed. Others evoked boredom and,
in some instances, disgust. Here are a few observations, culled from the
time that I spent in darkened theaters.
FILMMAKERS:
BREAKTHROUGH YEAR (FILMMAKER): Once dismissed as a pretty boy actor,
George Clooney came into his own in 2005 with two strong films. He co-produced
and directed Good Night, and Good Luck, in addition to lending his marquee
value to the cast. He followed up by co-producing Syriana, in which he
also portrayed a key character.
BEST YEAR (DIRECTOR): Still creatively fertile at 63, iconoclastic auteur,
Werner Herzog, made two documentary gems, Grizzly Man and The White Diamond.
MOST UNEVEN YEAR (DIRECTOR): Is it possible that there are actually two
Steven Spielbergs? In 2005, some guy(s) named Steven Spielberg, made the
futuristic multiplex fodder, War of the Worlds, as well as the brilliantly
crafted and conceptually provocative Munich. There must be two different
individuals who coincidentally have the same name. Back in 1993, one of
the doppelgangers was shooting Schindler’s List while the other
was editing Jurassic Park. Do you think that they have the same middle
initial?
MOST DISTINCTIVE STYLE (FILMMAKER):
The New World bears the unique signature of Terrence Malick. For better
or worse, his visual panache and elliptical narrative approach are unmistakable.
MOST ATYPICAL STYLE (FILMMAKER):
Woody Allen’s oeuvre is distinguished by its humor, its Upper West
side settings and the presence of the filmmaker or his analogue as a character
in the film. His latest opus, Match Point, is a somber affair set in England.
It is egregiously devoid of a nebbishy Jewish protagonist.
UPWARD CAREER ARC (FILMMAKER): Once upon a time, Paul Haggis churned
out scripts for cheesy television sit-coms. Co-writing and directing Crash,
he demonstrated that Million Dollar Baby, which he had scripted, was no
fluke. It proves that there is life after Love Boat after all.
DOWNWARD CAREER ARC (FILMMAKER): Writer-director, Cameron Crowe, is acclaimed
for such films as Say Anything and Almost Famous. This year, the critics’
darling betrayed his pedigree with the bizarrely bad Elizabethtown. It
was a boring, annoying and misguided botch.
BEST DEBUT FILM (DIRECTOR): Bennett Miller helmed Capote with the self-assurance
of a far more experienced director.
WRITING:
BEST SCREENPLAY (ORIGINAL): Innocent Voices was inspired by the reminiscences
of first-time screenwriter, Oscar Torres. He co-wrote the screenplay with
director, Luis Mandoki. The moving film, about the war in El Salvador,
failed to garner the attention that it deserved.
BEST SCREENPLAY (ADAPTED): The screenplay for Munich, by Angels in America
playwright Tony Kushner and Eric Roth (Forrest Gump), is drawn from George
Jonas’ book, Vengence. The disarmingly literate script demonstrates
a keen ear for dialogue, careful attention to plot mechanics and compelling
characters.
CLIFF’S NOTES ARE A MUST: For Syriana, Stephen Gaghan created multiple
storylines, which involve a panoply of characters (there are over 70 speaking
parts). The narrative density and complexity of the plot required that
viewers familiarize themselves with it before seeing the film.
WORST SCREENPLAY: The screenplay for The Ringer invoked a vile premise,
then bludgeoned the viewer with its tastelessness in every single frame
of the film from start to finish.
BEST DIALOGUE: The crisp dialogue in Munich captured the internal qualms
of its characters without ever sermonizing.
WORST DIALOGUE: George Lucas may be a techno-wizard. However, the dialogue
in Revenge of the Sith was once again putrid. It sounded like it was written
by a lovelorn adolescent female.
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