About a third of the way into this year’s Wellington Film
Society schedule, and the selection almost seems themed, like some group art
exhibition at the public gallery. The tone has been fairly dark, and the themes
are frequently to do with consequences of your actions. There were three
classic American noir films, where people getting what’s coming to them is
often a feature. Nicolas Roeg’s bleak outback adventure Walkabout displays results
of societal pressures of many kinds, and the two European films, The Skin I
Live In and The Consequences of Love feature plenty of, well, consequences. In
order of screening, here are the Film Society’s 2012 offerings from March and
April, with my brief comments.
[Sans comments for two: I missed Wake In Fright, and
I will review The Consequences of Love in a post of its own.]
The Skin I live In (La piel que habito) Spain 2011
Antonio Banderas plays a brilliant plastic surgeon haunted by
his past. Many of his achievements are a result of the experiments he conducts
on Vera (Elena Anaya), a mysterious, beautiful woman held captive in his
mansion.
By many accounts, Pedro Almodovar’s previous film, Broken
Embraces, was a disappointment. I haven’t seen it, but if that’s right, he’s
well and truly back on track with this gorgeous, kitschy yet unsettling surgical
horror film. Almodovar’s usual concerns are on display again here, and his
melodramatic and slightly surreal style is both immersive and sometimes a tad
daft. The explanation for these proceedings is suitably deranged, and delivered
not as a ‘gotcha’ twist at the end, but revealed like the unfurling of a bandage
through the story’s middle act, allowing the audience to dwell on the events
and the madness.
Mildred Pierce USA
1945
Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford, in an excellent “comeback”
performance) runs from a beach-front house after shots are fired and her
estranged husband is murdered. Flashback shows how Mildred came to be in this
position, after leaving her previous cheating husband and trying to raise her
daughters on her own. (Based on the novel by James Cain.)
Underrated film noir that stands up to contemporary viewing
better than the next two examples. While it has an essentially conservative
outlook, the social anxieties of the time are nicely laid bare. It features an
effectively contemptuous performance from Ann Blyth as Veda – one of the most
grating spoiled brats ever put to the screen.
Wake In Fright
Australia 1971
The Postman Always Rings Twice USA 1946
A drifter (John Garfield) arrives at diner owned by a genial,
older man and his beautiful wife (Lana Turner). They fall in love and together
they plot the murder of the husband.
Another
good film noir based on a James M. Cain novel, although
this one doesn’t hold up as well to modern viewing as Mildred Pierce.
(It’s still better than the
1981 remake.) There’s a vulnerability to both leads, and a
precariousness to
their criminal plotting, that lends the movie an odd kind of
authenticity. Despite that, there are also a few ‘Why did they do that?
Why don’t they just do this?’ moments. It features good performances all
round,
especially from Turner and Hume Cronyn, whose devious defence lawyer may
be my
favourite part of the movie. There’s a
good, thorough commentary from Nick Davis
here.
The Asphalt Jungle
USA 1950
A criminal genius gets out of prison and plans one last
heist. He gathers together the necessary team (safe cracker, tough guy, money
man, driver), and everything goes according to plan. Except, not quite.
A very influential, archetypal crime caper movie, The
Asphalt Jungle is probably a must watch for cineasts. So I’m glad that they
played it, although it did have a slight sensation of being a chore. It’s got
an effective atmosphere, and the untangling of the heist is nicely understated.
It’s once again conservative in outlook, but engenders a degree of sympathy
with the characters. However, it seems at times even more preachy than the
other noirs shown so far. Relatedly, perhaps, it feels the most dated.
Walkabout Australia
1971
After their father has a breakdown, a teenage girl and her
younger brother are left stranded in the Australian outback. They eventually
meet and receive assistance from an aboriginal boy on his ‘walkabout’ (a rite
of passage where he spends some time separated from his tribe).
Walkabout is a fascinating, often misunderstood, slightly
naive coming of age adventure. Jenny Agutter (most recently seen as a SHIELD
council member in The Avengers) gives a strong performance, nicely balancing
stoicism and vulnerability. The film seems to suggest mostly a strong element
of cultural
incommensurability, but also a hint of shared humanity, or at least
parallels in, for example, matters confronting those “coming of age”.
This nuanced portrayal is to its credit, but it juggles its
themes clumsily at times, coming across a bit ANTH 101. For example, in the
first meeting between Agutter’s character and the aborigine (David Gulpilil)
sees her trying thick-headedly to ask for water: “Water! ... You must understand ‘water’!” she repeats to
the uncomprehending aborigine. Then her brother mimes a drinking action and gets
the point across. Agutter’s
character wasn’t portrayed as ignorant or dim-witted in most of the film, but
we’re supposed to believe that she thinks he simply must understand “water”,
and it wouldn’t occur to her to mime the act of drinking.
Roger Ebert says the film is about “The mystery of
communication”, and that’s true to a point. But ham-fisted scenes like this one
make it almost feel didactic, rather than mysterious. And some of the stylistic
editing just seems pretentious.
But mostly I agree with Ebert. Walkabout is mostly a nuanced
film about culture and communication. Like The Consequences of Love, it’s able
to say a lot without having characters that speak a lot. Walkabout is for the most part poetic, subtle, visually
strong, and not a simplistic “noble savage good; modern life hollow” tale
that some think.
The Consequences of Love (Le conseguenze dell'amore)
Italy 2004
Titta lives in a Hotel in Lugano, Switzerland. He’s been
there almost ten years, spending his days drinking alone, occasionally playing
cards, and waiting for a mysterious delivery, which in turn triggers a dash to
the bank. Ten years of living an inscrutable life, one day he decides to offer
a barmaid a smile.
