#3 - TRUE GRIT
After watching Inglourious Basterds last year, I had almost reached a definitive conclusion that, despite the the tremendously high quality of Quentin Tarantino movies, there is a slight chance that there are certain types of movies that, if he made, I would be reluctant to be 110% excited about. That's a heck of qualifier, and I doubt that director won't continue to defy expectations, but if there's anything wrong with Basterds (and I need to see it again soon... I'm still picking up brilliant subtleties in Kill Bill upon repeat viewings) it's that little bit of extra eccentricity that might serve the interest of the director, but doesn't quite serve the audience or what I expect from the story. There's a risk that without a new film genre to break apart and comment on, Tarantino would have nowhere to go except retread through his punchy dialogue and cult actor cast. All I'm saying is that if he decided to make, for example, a gangster movie, I have a feeling that he couldn't surprise me, and might actually waste my time.
The Coen brothers, on the other hand, have earned by unmitigated devotion. I have now seen more films by them than any other director (Barton Fink, from 1992, in the last man standing), and, with the exception of the odd diversions of Intolerable Cruelty and The Lady Killers, they have provided, in their work, incredible characters, profound cinematic images, and a real lingering sense of mystery afterwards regarding what the film was supposed to mean or symbolize. Nothing sums things up better than a recent episode of the WTF Podcast where host Marc Maron and guest Kevin Smith, in between discussions about being stoned, took some time to discuss Coen Brothers movies. One or the other said that watching a Coen Brothers is like having a warehouse door opened for you. There are all these incredibly unique characters and activities going on in this warehouse, but no one is guiding you through this warehouse, telling you what to pay attention to, or what to focus on. The Coens just populate this warehouse with the most incredible situations, scenes, and quirks imaginable, and whatever there is lacking in a narrative is more than made up for the clear care in which this cinematic constructers have set these pieces in motion.
Now, critics have called TRUE GRIT a "genre exercise", and in many cases it is very straightforward. I saw a few clips of the original True Grit (with John Wayne) online and it sounds like there are even very similar scenes and plot points. Without that film as a reference point, there's still plenty of weirdness, beauty, humor, and a unique sense of hollow dread, resignation, and/or cynicism that has characterized their annual output since No Country for Old Men.
Overall, it's a film that respects the genre of the Western but with the types of imagery, performances, and off-kilter situations that make a remake of a movie from the 1960s strike a note with the film-going audiences of today.
It's hard to say much about a film that pretty much delivers perfectly. I think growing up and adoring all the other Coen Brothers films, you can appreciate this even more. Because these visionaries have pushed the cinematic envelope with so much wackiness, dark humour, and cynical quirks, it's an incredible thrill to watch them filter their energies into a measured, beautiful film that sits right in the middle of their stylistics and thematic extremes.
The Coen brothers, on the other hand, have earned by unmitigated devotion. I have now seen more films by them than any other director (Barton Fink, from 1992, in the last man standing), and, with the exception of the odd diversions of Intolerable Cruelty and The Lady Killers, they have provided, in their work, incredible characters, profound cinematic images, and a real lingering sense of mystery afterwards regarding what the film was supposed to mean or symbolize. Nothing sums things up better than a recent episode of the WTF Podcast where host Marc Maron and guest Kevin Smith, in between discussions about being stoned, took some time to discuss Coen Brothers movies. One or the other said that watching a Coen Brothers is like having a warehouse door opened for you. There are all these incredibly unique characters and activities going on in this warehouse, but no one is guiding you through this warehouse, telling you what to pay attention to, or what to focus on. The Coens just populate this warehouse with the most incredible situations, scenes, and quirks imaginable, and whatever there is lacking in a narrative is more than made up for the clear care in which this cinematic constructers have set these pieces in motion.
Now, critics have called TRUE GRIT a "genre exercise", and in many cases it is very straightforward. I saw a few clips of the original True Grit (with John Wayne) online and it sounds like there are even very similar scenes and plot points. Without that film as a reference point, there's still plenty of weirdness, beauty, humor, and a unique sense of hollow dread, resignation, and/or cynicism that has characterized their annual output since No Country for Old Men.
Overall, it's a film that respects the genre of the Western but with the types of imagery, performances, and off-kilter situations that make a remake of a movie from the 1960s strike a note with the film-going audiences of today.
It's hard to say much about a film that pretty much delivers perfectly. I think growing up and adoring all the other Coen Brothers films, you can appreciate this even more. Because these visionaries have pushed the cinematic envelope with so much wackiness, dark humour, and cynical quirks, it's an incredible thrill to watch them filter their energies into a measured, beautiful film that sits right in the middle of their stylistics and thematic extremes.
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