Doubt
2008, John Patrick Shanley.
Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis
Based on the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play, Doubt is the story of a Catholic priest and two nuns, and question whether the priest acted inappropriately with a young altar boy. When performed as a play, there was only one single act. Shanley had intended for the second act to occur after the play was over, in the thoughts and conversations of the audience as they pondered whether or not the priest was guilty.
Steph and I saw this at the Bytowne on New Years Day, and many of my friends and family have also seen the movie in that time. Everyone has had an opinion; some say he's guilty, some innocent, and some are just not sure, which is as equally valid as the first two opinions.
One friend pointed out various shots and plot points as way to come to a conclusion, but I believe those clues to merely be red herrings. In fact, I'm not sure there is an actual answer (supposedly there is, and the director and Hoffman are the only ones that know it, but as its not in the text itself, I believe it to be thus irrelevant). The purpose of the story is not to make you decide whether the priest is innocent or guilty, but to examine the way that you decide such things.
Meryl Streep gives a performance as the head nun that is subtle in the way that it is theatrically over the top. It is arguably one of her best, but the list is a very very long one, going all the way back to The Deer Hunter 30 years ago, and never missing more than a couple years in a row since. Hoffman, I believe, has the most difficult role, including his two sermons that frame the film, put comes off superbly, avoiding moments where it would have been easy to over-act. Viola Davis, although she only appears in the two scenes of one single sequence, demonstrates how determining whether the priest was right or wrong may be over simplifying things. Amy Adams, although I believe she is the weak link in the film, manages to stay afloat between the heavyweights of Streep and Hoffman.
This is a great film, and one that everyone I know that has seen it is still talking about. Playing now at all the major theatres, and for the next week or so at the Bytowne. Check it out.
5 stars out of 5
Showing posts with label Hoffman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hoffman. Show all posts
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Upcoming movies in the next week
Welcome to the holiday edition of Upcoming Movies, and on this Christmas weekend, there are a bunch:
Tomorrow, Christmas Day. If your family is starting to annoy you and you want to escape to the movies, you have no less than 7 new movies opening in Ottawa tomorrow. Here are your choices:
The Reader
This adapation of the bestselling German novel (and Oprha's Book Club pick) is about a man who discovers that the older woman he had as a lover when he was young might have a terrible secret in her past. Psst .... the secret involves Nazis. Directed by Stephen Daldry (The Hours) and starring Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, Brune Ganz and my favorite Romanian actress, Alexandra Maria Lara (this is the 3rd film in 4 years with Ganz and Lara, all of which involved Nazis).
The Spirit
Comic Book writer Frank Miller directs this comic book adapatation, which is getting some downright awful reviews. Stars Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson.
Bedtime Stories
From Disney comes this Adam Sandler movie where he tells stories to his nephews, and the stories come to life. Sarcastic Yay!
Doubt
This new film is about a power struggle between a head nun and a young idealist priest in a New York parish in the 1960s. The play was a huge hit on Broadway, and teh film has garnered lots of awards attention already. Stars Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis. Opens on Christmas Day, but also heads to the Bytowne a week later on New Years Day if you want to support your local independent theatre.
Valkyrie
Want more Nazis? Instead of Oprah's Book Club pick The Reader, you can have Oprah's Couch Club pick Tom Cruise in Valyrie, where Cruise must single-handedly assasinate Adolph Hitler in order to restore Scientology as the dominant force in Germany. From director Bryan Singer, and also starring Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp, and Bill Nighy.
Marley & Me
Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston adopt the worst puppy ever, but grow to love it. If you want to see a real bad dog, rent White Dog.
And my pick for a Christmas movie this year, David Fincher's
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Brad Pitt stars as a a baby born as an old man who then ages backwards, while the world keeps going forward. The movie looks fantastic, and I encoruage everyone to check it out. Also stars Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton.
I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas.
Tomorrow, Christmas Day. If your family is starting to annoy you and you want to escape to the movies, you have no less than 7 new movies opening in Ottawa tomorrow. Here are your choices:
The Reader
This adapation of the bestselling German novel (and Oprha's Book Club pick) is about a man who discovers that the older woman he had as a lover when he was young might have a terrible secret in her past. Psst .... the secret involves Nazis. Directed by Stephen Daldry (The Hours) and starring Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, Brune Ganz and my favorite Romanian actress, Alexandra Maria Lara (this is the 3rd film in 4 years with Ganz and Lara, all of which involved Nazis).
The Spirit
Comic Book writer Frank Miller directs this comic book adapatation, which is getting some downright awful reviews. Stars Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson.
Bedtime Stories
From Disney comes this Adam Sandler movie where he tells stories to his nephews, and the stories come to life. Sarcastic Yay!
Doubt
This new film is about a power struggle between a head nun and a young idealist priest in a New York parish in the 1960s. The play was a huge hit on Broadway, and teh film has garnered lots of awards attention already. Stars Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis. Opens on Christmas Day, but also heads to the Bytowne a week later on New Years Day if you want to support your local independent theatre.
Valkyrie
Want more Nazis? Instead of Oprah's Book Club pick The Reader, you can have Oprah's Couch Club pick Tom Cruise in Valyrie, where Cruise must single-handedly assasinate Adolph Hitler in order to restore Scientology as the dominant force in Germany. From director Bryan Singer, and also starring Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp, and Bill Nighy.
Marley & Me
Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston adopt the worst puppy ever, but grow to love it. If you want to see a real bad dog, rent White Dog.
And my pick for a Christmas movie this year, David Fincher's
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Brad Pitt stars as a a baby born as an old man who then ages backwards, while the world keeps going forward. The movie looks fantastic, and I encoruage everyone to check it out. Also stars Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton.
I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Synecdoche, New York
Synecdoche, New York
2008. dir. Charlie Kaufman. star. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Emily Watson, Tom Noonan, Jennifer Jason Leigh.
2 hours 5 minutes
Steph and I caught this on Friday night at the Bytowne, where we split some popcorn and a diet Pepsi.
Synecdoche, New York is the sixth film to come from the pen of Charlie Kaufman, and the first he has directed himself. And like he previous efforts, such as Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the film is by no means straightforward. It (loosely) concerns a playwright (played Philip Seymour Hoffman) and his forty-year effort to put together his massive theatre project that includes, among other things, and life-sized replica of Manhattan built inside a warehouse in …. Manhattan (keep repeating to yourself, “Charlie Kaufman, Charlie Kaufman”). But that is merely the plot, and the film is about two more grandiose concepts: the human mind, and life itself. Heavy stuff.
As the theatre project takes hold, it gradually becomes clear that Hoffman is making a play of his own life. He casts fill-ins for his ex-wives and girlfriends, and then eventually even himself. He ends up spending so much time with these actors, however, they then become an integral part of his real life, and so much must cast actors to play the actors who are playing his love interests. And so on, and so on.
I was in no way confused by Synecdoche, NY, but it is a film that I want to revisit again. One of the central themes, though, is that every one is the central character in their own life, and that their interpretation of the other people around them is not reality, but in fact, just their interpretation. Next time you’re on the bus, or train, or plane, or in a store, or whatever the situation may be, remember that the person beside you is living an entire life, just as complex as your own. It may give you a new perspective on things.
5 stars out of 5
Fun Fact of the day: Philip Seymour Hoffman's character's last name in the film is Cotard, which is a reference to Cotard's Syndrome, which is defined as a rare neuropsychiatric disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief that he or she is dead, does not exist, is putrefying or has lost his/her blood or internal organs.
Once you see the film, it will make sense.
2008. dir. Charlie Kaufman. star. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Emily Watson, Tom Noonan, Jennifer Jason Leigh.
2 hours 5 minutes
Steph and I caught this on Friday night at the Bytowne, where we split some popcorn and a diet Pepsi.
Synecdoche, New York is the sixth film to come from the pen of Charlie Kaufman, and the first he has directed himself. And like he previous efforts, such as Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the film is by no means straightforward. It (loosely) concerns a playwright (played Philip Seymour Hoffman) and his forty-year effort to put together his massive theatre project that includes, among other things, and life-sized replica of Manhattan built inside a warehouse in …. Manhattan (keep repeating to yourself, “Charlie Kaufman, Charlie Kaufman”). But that is merely the plot, and the film is about two more grandiose concepts: the human mind, and life itself. Heavy stuff.
As the theatre project takes hold, it gradually becomes clear that Hoffman is making a play of his own life. He casts fill-ins for his ex-wives and girlfriends, and then eventually even himself. He ends up spending so much time with these actors, however, they then become an integral part of his real life, and so much must cast actors to play the actors who are playing his love interests. And so on, and so on.
I was in no way confused by Synecdoche, NY, but it is a film that I want to revisit again. One of the central themes, though, is that every one is the central character in their own life, and that their interpretation of the other people around them is not reality, but in fact, just their interpretation. Next time you’re on the bus, or train, or plane, or in a store, or whatever the situation may be, remember that the person beside you is living an entire life, just as complex as your own. It may give you a new perspective on things.
5 stars out of 5
Fun Fact of the day: Philip Seymour Hoffman's character's last name in the film is Cotard, which is a reference to Cotard's Syndrome, which is defined as a rare neuropsychiatric disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief that he or she is dead, does not exist, is putrefying or has lost his/her blood or internal organs.
Once you see the film, it will make sense.
Friday, November 21, 2008
New Movies this Weekend
A couple new movies this week, and a few classics as well:
Friday:
Synedoche, NY
2008. dir. Charlie Kaufman. star. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan
This is the directorial debut of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, who wrote Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Human Nature, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. I am told that you will not understand this on your first viewing, so we'll see. Steph and I checking this out tonight.
exclusively at the Bytowne
Heaven and Earth
2008. dir. Deepa Mehta
I've seen a preview a couple of times. Seems like it's an India-Canada immigration drama. Mehta's last film was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar.
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
2008. dir. Mark Herman. star. David Thewlis, Vera Farmiga
The story of two young boys interacting through opposites sides of a concentration camp fence during World War II in Germany. Expect tears.
exclusively at World Exchange Cinemas
Bolt
animated crap, with the voices of Hannah Montana (or whatever the fuck her real name is) and John Travolta. It'll be shit. You know I'm right.
Twilight
As I'm not a 15 year old girl, I have no comment on the vampire tale. I bet it'll suck, though (hahahahahahahahahahah ... I am funny)
Monday through Wednesday:
Check out the Mayfair before it becomes something else (though hopefully something better)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1968)
The Sting (1973)
both dir. George Roy Hill. star. Paul Newman, Robert Redford.
Butch Cassidy is a great western with awful fucking music and a stupid bicycle scene. Without that crap, it'd be one of my favorite westerns.
The Sting is considered a classic (and it won the 1973 Best Picture Oscar, though I feel that The Exorcist and Cries And Whispers are far better films).
Wednesday
Australia
2008. dir. Baz Luhrman. star. Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman.
Big Aussie epic centering around the bombing of Darwin. I'm sure it'll be the feast for the eyes, though I have no idea whether it'll be any good. A warning though, it clocks in a a whopping 2 hours and 44 minutes.
Four Christmases
2008. dir. Seth Gordon. star. Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon.
The premise is that Vaughn and Witherspoon play a couple who have to visit all of their families on Christmas. Since both of their sets of parents are divorced, that means 4 christmases. Hence the tile. The trailer has some laughs in it, though don't all trailers? We'll see, I guess.
Friday:
Synedoche, NY
2008. dir. Charlie Kaufman. star. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan
This is the directorial debut of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, who wrote Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Human Nature, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. I am told that you will not understand this on your first viewing, so we'll see. Steph and I checking this out tonight.
exclusively at the Bytowne
Heaven and Earth
2008. dir. Deepa Mehta
I've seen a preview a couple of times. Seems like it's an India-Canada immigration drama. Mehta's last film was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar.
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
2008. dir. Mark Herman. star. David Thewlis, Vera Farmiga
The story of two young boys interacting through opposites sides of a concentration camp fence during World War II in Germany. Expect tears.
exclusively at World Exchange Cinemas
Bolt
animated crap, with the voices of Hannah Montana (or whatever the fuck her real name is) and John Travolta. It'll be shit. You know I'm right.
Twilight
As I'm not a 15 year old girl, I have no comment on the vampire tale. I bet it'll suck, though (hahahahahahahahahahah ... I am funny)
Monday through Wednesday:
Check out the Mayfair before it becomes something else (though hopefully something better)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1968)
The Sting (1973)
both dir. George Roy Hill. star. Paul Newman, Robert Redford.
Butch Cassidy is a great western with awful fucking music and a stupid bicycle scene. Without that crap, it'd be one of my favorite westerns.
The Sting is considered a classic (and it won the 1973 Best Picture Oscar, though I feel that The Exorcist and Cries And Whispers are far better films).
Wednesday
Australia
2008. dir. Baz Luhrman. star. Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman.
Big Aussie epic centering around the bombing of Darwin. I'm sure it'll be the feast for the eyes, though I have no idea whether it'll be any good. A warning though, it clocks in a a whopping 2 hours and 44 minutes.
Four Christmases
2008. dir. Seth Gordon. star. Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon.
The premise is that Vaughn and Witherspoon play a couple who have to visit all of their families on Christmas. Since both of their sets of parents are divorced, that means 4 christmases. Hence the tile. The trailer has some laughs in it, though don't all trailers? We'll see, I guess.
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