Wednesday, December 28, 2005

pta night

there are rare moments when i believe that god is visible in film...it's uncommon--sure there are films that entertain me...ones that engage me...ones that make me chuckle...and I don't often ask much of the movies I watch. I'm thrilled with the mindless joy of a silly teeny-bopper movie or romantic comedy...in the past few days there have been three that, while not the best in the world, have been just what I was looking for, one after the next after the next...i'm embarassed to admit.

but there are two directors who seem to constantly keep me in awe...who seem to consistently entertain, intrigue, and engage me....who make me envy their skills to the point of greenness...and who provide me with immeasurable quantities of those rare moments when i forget to breathe because the film is so incredible. despite the remarkable differences between them, both occupy that space just inside the front hall of household name-dom...and both deserve a place at the diningroom table as far as I'm concerned.

the first, paul thomas anderson, catapulted to the heights of my consciousness when I saw the film that has become my personal jesus--magnolia. Magnolia is a complicated story that leaves the viewer constantly in awe of the art and craft that went into both writing it and making it. It is a constant reminder of the power of our personal demons, and the reality that life, however strange and inconsistant, will go on. It is the film that changed my life. if you haven't seen it, you should. (not to mention the fantastic soundtrack from Aimee Mann)

But the genius of anderson is in all of his films--from Hard Eight, a fantastic first film that is, on the surface, about gambling, and at its core about the realities of life; to Boogie Nights, which proves that no world is perfect; to Punch Drunk Love, which leaves us all with the valuable lesson that, no matter how we have limited ourselves in the past...the future can always exist with hope.

The joy of watching any Paul Thomas Anderson film, however, is his ability to demand and draw out the most amazing performances from any actor--Magnolia proves this 100 fold with remarkable performances by Philip Seymor Hoffman, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, Jason Robards (in his final film) and others...but the cake topper here is the completely uncharacteristic performance from Tom Cruise--as insane as Cruise is proving himself to be recently...he has never been more talented and less egocentric in his acting than he was here, under Anderson's tutelage.

If he could do it for Cruise, is it any wonder that Marky Mark turned Mark Wahlberg under the same mastery? That Adam Sandler proved his own acting skill with Anderson behind the camera in Punch Drunk Love? It shouldn't be...but it is always amazing to see the performances that PTA pulls from the actors he works with. But don't take my word for it...check out this article from Esquire...and believe what you read.
In all of his films, however, he has demonstrated a natural filmmaking flair, a bent for risk taking, and a predilection for taking actors where they might otherwise never get to go. But what further distinguishes him is a skill much rarer among modern young filmmakers—his ability as a dramatist.
Rumor has it that his next film, coming in 2006, is an adaptation of the Upton Sinclair novel Oil! starring Daniel Day Lewis--a man who I think is one of the best actors in film ever...needless to say...i'm looking forward to seeing the next project from this remarkable man.

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After all this gushing about Paul Thomas Anderson, it will likely shock the hell out of you when I tell you that the second director of all directors on my list is a guy who makes a living on ending films with a twist and a flourish...M. Night Shyamalan. I know...I know...people either love him or hate him...and he is the man who gave bruce willis, mel gibson, and william hurt the vehicles with which their careers rekindled...which is a tragedy of cinema, I'll agree...but what about Joaquin Phoenix, Blythe Howard and Toni Collette?

It all began with the sixth sense...yes...haley joel osment saw dead people. creepy. then came unbreakable (the superhero one)...and signs (the alien one)...all of them suitably creepy...all of them suitably big cinema big thrill big "holy shit!" in the middle of a movie theater. I loved them all, I confess, because they were complicated, character driven, and had unique little things about them that I hadn't seen in other places.

And then came The Village...a story that began as just another creepy M. Night movie and ended as a commentary on society as we know it. ended with a quiet "wow" instead of a loud "oh my god!"...ended with me leaving the movie knowing that shymalan had crossed that treacherous territory from movie director to filmmaker. the characters...the humanity...the writing...all superb...and he even managed to keep the twist that i love so much in all his movies.

the other night, at a midnight showing of Brokeback Mountain, a trailer came on and the everyman of everymen, Paul Giamatti seemed to be the star of a charming romantic comedy...mr. movie intoned about an average joe building super...ah...silly me...i should have known...it was a teaser for the next shyamalan film...The Lady in the Water.

A bedtime story that Shyamalan wrote for his children, The Lady in the Water is Blyth Dallas Howard (Ron Howard's daughter--who was discovered for the lead role in The Village)...a bedtime story characer who is trapped in our world and must be protected by the residents of Giamatti's building while she solves the puzzle that is keeping her in the real world.

Bizzare? Yes. Worth my $10.50? Absolutely.

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So what is it that draws me to these two directors more than any of their peers? What is it that makes them, so different in their own right, occupy my highest regard? Many things, I'm sure...but most importantly, their powerful ability to portray the remarkable in the average--a feat that so many attempt, and fail to accomplish.

Fix your jones for some damn good cinema @ www.mnight.com or http://www.cigarettesandredvines.com/

Posted by sarah t. at 10:10 PM