This Week’s Watches
The Girl Next Door (2004)
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Elisha Cuthbert & Timothy Olyphant
Directed by: Luke Greenfield
Rating: ★
I was told to watch this by one of my readers, because, apparently, it is meant to be very good, and I had actually heard positive things about it from other people too. Unfortunately, once again, I was badly let down. This film defies logic, and let me tell you why: it is a fifteen year old boy’s sexual fantasy. And unlike another movie, I Want Candy, which is also about the porn industry and is clearly the writer’s sexual fantasy but is actually good, this one is just awful.
Matthew Kidman (Hirsch) meets his beautiful next door neighbour Danielle (Cuthbert) and starts dating her, only to find out that she is a porn star. If that wasn’t unbelievable enough, he follows her to Las Vegas to stop her from going back into the industry and working for sleazy producer Kelly (Olyphant) and then everything goes spectacularly wrong. He gets into big trouble with various powerful porn producers, his money is stolen and then he has to make an adult film himself. I’ve written this plot so that it makes some kind of logical sense, but when watching it, it doesn’t.
This is mainly because the characters and the world in which they live are completely unbelievable. We are supposed to believe that Matthew is so incredibly intelligent that he gets into one of the best Universities in America, and yet every single decision he makes throughout the duration of the film is mind-bogglingly stupid. Who would get into the car and go on a drive through the woods with their porn star girlfriend’s producer who has already threatened their life? That is just one of the incredibly senseless choices that Matthew makes, which result in his life being ruined, so basically, he deserves what he gets.
Also, let’s not overlook the sexism of this movie. Danielle is hardly in it, and when she is, she is only there to be ogled at. She has no real character, personality or plot, and is basically a MacGuffin to drive an illogical plot forward. It’s astounding how unrealistic this movie is, in the way that makes you think: this could no way happen in the real world ever, it could only happen in the middle of a mid-masturbatory delusion. And you might say “well does realism really matter?” And to that I would reply: “No, not always. But in a film that tries it’s very hardest to be ‘indie’ and ‘edgy’ with its ‘trendy’ soundtrack and ‘angsty’ plot and ‘grimy’ filming style, then yes, it does”.
So basically, The Girl Next Door tries to be gritty and alternative, but because it defies the laws of intelligent reasoning, ends up being spectacularly awful.
Dancer In The Dark
Starring: Björk, Catherine Deneuve, Peter Stomare, David Morse & Cara Seymour
Directed by: Lars von Trier
Rating: ★★★
I had heard a lot of good things about Dancer In The Dark, a movie that, quite literally, has divided critics across the board. Some love it. Some hate it. I, quite uncharacteristically, sat in the grey middle ground, and liked it. It has some very powerful moments, but also some insipidly imprudent ones too. Unfortunately, the later sequences weigh the movie down, and what could have been outstandingly moving, ends up being just… alright.
Dancer In The Dark is a musical melodrama. The first half is really good, as it focuses on Selma (Björk), an immigrant factory worker who lives in 60s America, who is going blind. All she wants is to save up enough money to give her son an operation so that he too will not suffer the same fate as her. More than anything in the world, she loves to sing and dance, and with her friend Kathy (Deneuve), she joins the local amateur musical society. But then something goes horribly wrong, and Selma’s life is shattered forever.
The event that ruins her life is unnecessary and pointless, and really makes the movie transition from ‘powerful drama’ to ‘over-the-top melodrama’. I think this actually ruined the film’s momentum, and effectiveness. But once you get past this manipulative plot hole, the ending to the film is truly emotional and shockingly powerful. The finale may not be as potent and poignant as Infamous (2006) (which has a similar conclusion), but nonetheless, it is very sentimental and does tug at your heart strings.
The songs that Björk wrote and sings are quirky, catchy and memorable; the solid ending makes up for the weak middle. My main issue with Dancer In The Dark was that if it had been executed differently, and made the most of its unusual and interesting premise, it would have been so much better. The first half tries so hard to be a ‘kitchen sink drama’ that it really is a slap in the face when it is almost all thrown down the plughole for a crazy plot development that spoils what could have been a truly effective and moving drama.
Dancer In The Dark is a calculated movie desperately trying to be soppy and upsetting. Some might fall for this and some might not. The idea for the movie is a great one, but isn’t executed as well as I hoped.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2009)
Starring: Michael Nyqvist & Noomi Rapace
Directed by: Niels Arden Oplev
Rating: ★★★
The original Swedish thriller, based on the book of the same name by Stieg Larrson, was made as part of a trilogy, which explains why those of us who haven’t read the other two books or seen the other two films, may not really understand the ending to this one. But on the whole, this is a good, if not overly long and tedious, movie, mainly because Nyqvist and Rapace give very good performances: they really are the characters Blomkvist and Lisbeth as I imagined them when reading it. Unfortunately, just like the novel, it is a real slow burner, and not in a good way. The film starts off well, but really lags in the middle, and also has the outrageously annoying original solution at the end. It’s obvious in the book who did it, and it’s obvious in the movie. Even after they solve the mystery, the film continues going for a lot longer than it should, and by this point my mind had turned to mush and I just wanted it to end.
As an aside, not one for being a fan of brutal rape scenes, I was glad that they didn’t linger and relish this part as much as the book does.
This movie is much more ‘gritty’ and ‘raw’ and ‘real’, but, if you want to see a better version, then watch:
My Pick Of The Week
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Starring: Daniel Craig & Rooney Mara
Directed by: David Fincher
Rating: ★★★★
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| They may not be as good as the original actors, but the film is still better. |
I’m a sucker for David Fincher, and really, with this movie, his directing, aided with the help of his excellent editors Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, is the real star of this show. Together, they know how to pace a movie, especially one as long as this, and they definitely know how to create tension and make a not very interesting book much better. This version is glossier and more manufactured looking, but I liked that, as it has an underlying style that the other version does not. The plot here is also much more focused and better adapted, which makes the film much stronger, and on the whole, enhanced. This is because they change the ending from the book so that it makes more sense, and, unlike the original, they add an awesome finale for Lisbeth where you actually get to see her in action. This is one of the most satisfying moments of the film.
Craig and Mara are not very strong and are really nothing like the characters from the book- they are too sleek and ‘Hollywood’, and don’t look like ‘real’ people: and they aren’t very good actors. The rape scene in this film is much less disturbing, which is a good thing, and the whole thing actually plays out like a murder mystery, unlike the original which gets heavily bogged down in subplots.
Craig and Mara are not very strong and are really nothing like the characters from the book- they are too sleek and ‘Hollywood’, and don’t look like ‘real’ people: and they aren’t very good actors. The rape scene in this film is much less disturbing, which is a good thing, and the whole thing actually plays out like a murder mystery, unlike the original which gets heavily bogged down in subplots.
So, because of a better script, and much better director, and two superb editors, this film is an excellent watch. David Fincher: you’ve done it again!!
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