carnality

"Ernest Hemingway once wrote, "The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part."

I watched Se7en (1995) last week and finally understood why it was a cult hit; acknowledged to be one of director David Fincher's masterpieces. Starring Morgan Freeman as a measured older detective about to retire, and Brad Pitt as the brash young cop about to replace him, Se7en is a study of humanity and the darkness that is integral to our existence. The plot revolves around the two aforementioned detectives searching for a serial killer who carries out murders in the theme of the seven deadly sins, hence the film's title.

I love this film because I believe it to be an intelligent thriller - something that is hard to come by these days. Touching on subjects such as death and morality, the script written by Andrew Kevin Walker never patronizes the audience and instead engages it. The acts of violence and murders are never shown, also allowing what is unseen and unknown to scare us, with the evidence and aftermath of the crime scene prompting our imaginations to go wild. Personally, I find such implicit direction to be preferable to the bloodbaths of most R-rated thrillers these days, where the prevalence of barbarity is currently banal, contrived and lacking the shock factor.

This film is also a winner to me because of the lighting, the set design and the make-up. Set in a grimy unnamed city that could be inspired by New York, Fincher uses a monotonous industrial palette made of grey and blue hues to communicate the sense of dread, fear and danger that pervades throughout the film. Buildings are shown to be dark, run-down and crumbling, perhaps paralleling the disintegration of the world's morality - one of the overarching themes of this movie. Thirdly, the make-up is a feat in itself, with the corpses from each murder looking like extras off the set of The Walking Dead, something both macabre yet fascinating. When the three factors cited above come together along with Howard Shore's effective and chilling score, the result is movie magic. Take a look for yourselves.

Look at these powerful mise-en-scenes, I know they will definitely stay with me for a long time.

Finally, the last factor as to why this movie works is due to the acting. Morgan Freeman brings great gravitas and wisdom to his role, with his character forever giving the vibe that he is "the smartest guy in the room" (yes I ripped this quote off Now You See Me, a terrible convoluted mess of a movie that Freeman also starred in, acting in a role he could ace in his sleep). He owned his role as a world-weary detective that has seen and felt too much in his lifetime, projecting both grace and regret. Brad Pitt admittedly and understandably was then still unable to attain the finesse of Freeman in his performance, but was still effective and convincing in his part. The authenticity of Pitt's performance was pivotal in the climax of the film, where he wrestles with grief, anger and a great dilemma in the face of a shocking revelation. Last but not the least, Kevin Spacey's gut-curdling performance as the serial killer was another star-turn. Together with Fincher and Walker, he created a complex and interesting villain that was enigmatic, intelligent and highly unsettling. Without revealing too much, the disturbing nature of the murderer is heightened when he reveals the rationale behind his killings, and we as the audience cannot help but marvel and perhaps even understand the logic and truth behind some of it. 

I leave you with Se7en's opening credits - a testament to the greatness of the film itself and Fincher's construction of an abhorrent and twisted world that is only a shade darker than ours. 

I swear that outro by Nine Inch Nails is going to haunt me forever.

you hold me without touch

"What do you like the most about this place?"

"Silence."

I know I am extremely late to the whole hoo-ha regarding Alfonso Cuarón's highly critically-acclaimed film Gravity (2013), but that shan't stop me from heaping praise on this masterpiece. 

For those who do not know, the film chronicles medical engineer Dr. Ryan Stone's (Sandra Bullock) catastrophic experiences as she attempts to survive, after debris hits the space shuttle she is working on and destroys everything in its path, with another astronaut (George Clooney) providing her with aid along the way. It is a tale of survival, faith and the overcoming of adversity. 

Although Bullock gives an incredible performance that grants her a well-deserved Oscar nomination, in my opinion, the most marvellous part of this almost-perfect film is its much-lauded direction and cinematography. Due to the use of visual metaphors, the film's themes never come across as overly pedantic and instead are given a spiritual significance. 

Furthermore, the fact that Cuarón managed to pull off an 'impossible' film should warrant more applause and appreciation, as the scenes of spacewalking and Stone spinning uncontrollably in space are given a never-before-seen heightened sense of realism. Shots taken from Stone's perspective are extremely dizzying, as the view of Earth below highlights the magnitude and distance between home and the merciless void of Space. Moreover, the dichotomous nature of Space itself being both beautiful and frightening, is underscored with the juxtaposition of Stone's calamities and the breathtaking view of our blue planet at sunrise, dusk and after dark. With its feats in cinematography, it simply pisses me off right now that I have to watch this film (which was specifically crafted for IMAX 3D) from a 13" laptop screen, as its release date was during the period before my dreaded A levels last year (fuck you very much), causing me to be unable to watch it in the cinemas!

If Gravity does not win the Best Cinematography at the Oscars this year, anger and resentfulness will literally flow out of every pore in my body, because c'mon let's take a look at some of my favourite mise-en-scenes:

Two words: pure genius. I'm sure you would have to agree with me - Earth has never looked so authentic and yet these are simply computer generated images from the minds of a talented director and cinematographer. My favourite shot would be the third one from the top, which features Stone in a fetal position with the tubes nearby resembling an umbilical cord. According to Cuarón, the scene represents Stone's rebirth after surviving multiple calamities, and is a masterful way of representing thematic concerns without awkwardly inserting them into the dialogue, which many directors are guilty of (I'm looking at you, O. Russell!).

Gravity - one of the best films of 2013 and an example of the unbridled possibilities CGI can bring us in the future. 

"psycho bitch"

Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike as Nick and Amy Dunne in the film adaptation of Gone Girl

(If you have read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, you would know exactly what my title is referring to, but hey I shan't spoil it for those of you who haven't read it yet.)

I read Gone Girl within a span of two days (and during office hours ironically), because it was that thrilling and fast-paced, with the two intertwining narratives hurtling along as you unravelled more plot twists and revelations regarding the two highly unlikable characters, Nick and Amy Dunne. The novel also notably charts the deterioration of a relationship - its sickness, malignancy and poisonous nature, proffering an extremely nihilistic view of marriage so to speak, but a very compelling one nevertheless.

In fact, the subject matter and tone reminded me of a poem I covered in Literature class:

XVII

At dinner, she is hostess, I am host.
Went the feast ever cheerfuller? She keeps
The Topic over intellectual deeps
In buoyancy afloat. They see no ghost.
With sparkling surface-eyes we ply the ball:
It is in truth a most contagious game:
HIDING THE SKELETON, shall be its name.
Such play as this the devils might appall!
But here's the greater wonder; in that we,
Enamoured of an acting naught can tire,
Each other, like true hypocrites, admire;
Warm-lighted looks, love's ephemerae,
Shoot gaily o'er the dishes and the wine.
We waken envy of our happy lot.
Fast, sweet and golden shows the marriage-knot.
Dear guests, you now have seen love's corpse-light shine.

–– An excerpt from Modern Love by George Meredith

Disturbing yet fascinating isn't it? In fact by the novel's denouement I would suggest that the novel is an extrapolation of this series of sonnets by Meredith, but updated for the modern era. 

The originality of the plot also gripped me throughout (until I eschewed lunch with my colleagues in favour of staring wildly at my laptop screen like the anti-social bastard I am), with the first and second acts impressing me greatly. However, I honestly disliked the final act because of its outlandish and slightly unrealistic nature, with the ending feeling unsatisfactory and anti-climatic due to my heightened expectations that were based on the novel's exhilarating set-up.

I guess it might be a blessing in disguise that Flynn has reworked the entire third act of Gone Girl for David Fincher's film adaptation, which will be released later this year. I certainly hope it would be more realistic and more resonating than the hollow resolution of the original text.

beta love

"It's kind of like a form of socially acceptable insanity."

Spike Jonze's latest effort, Her, is a heartfelt tale set in the near-future where operating systems are advanced programmes that seem to develop an ever evolving intelligence and personality, blurring the lines between the real and artificial. Considering humanity's current interpersonal relationship with technology, Jonze's satire could be an accurate prediction of future developments, with people transitioning from staring at their Smartphones to being preoccupied with an omniscient OS perfectly tailored to your character. Her perfectly illustrates the odd and alien behaviour humanity displays when we eschew genuine interaction in favour of self-absorbment.

Furthermore, this film would not have worked without the performances of Joaquin Phoenix (Theodore Twombly), Scarlett Johansson (Samantha) and Amy Adams (Amy), who are organic, relatable and believable. Phoenix and Johansson in particular knock it out of the park, making Theodore's relationship with his OS sincere and realistic when it could have possibly reached comedic territory due to the ludicrousness of the idea. Both actors share a blistering chemistry, despite Johansson only having a (terrific) vocal performance, and are a more authentic couple than let's just say, oh I don't know, Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman in both Thor outings? (Yeah on a side note I find them pretty gross.)

Personally, this film resonated with me as it highlighted the beauty of being love and its doubts - whether one's emotions for another were real or fake and the weight and burden of commitment amongst other issues. This was effected by the quality of the performances and the cinematography, with the soft lighting and warm colours creating elegant scenes that looked straight out of a VSCO Cam preset. 

Her, is easily one of the best films of 2013/2014, and I am excited for future works by Jonze. 

here's johnny

"You've...always been the caretaker."

I can finally understand why many tout Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980) to be a cinematic masterpiece. Pictured above is the famous bathroom scene, with the use of red signalling danger and creating a rather surrealist mise-en-scene.

Plot-wise the film itself is not very frightening, but Kubrick makes up for it through creating tense and creepy atmospheres, as well as invoking career-defining performances from his stars.

In all honesty Jack Nicholson's crazed facial expressions and body language frightened me more than the twin girls and the shape-shifting young lady/old crone ghost.

--

On another note, this film is excellent for making reaction pictures, because this is exactly my reaction to my mother's denigration of my current slothful existence.

Thanks Mum!