Tonight I saw the short film Stuck, starring Steve Blackwood and Sandy Bainum.
"It's not a crime scene, it's a situation!"
George (Blackwood) and Helen (Bainum) want to take their intimacy to the next level, so they order a sex machine to spice things up. It arrives the evening of an important dinner they're hosting for clients ... but they hit a snag when the delivery boy gets stuck in the contraption, rendered unconscious.
The remainder of the film is witnessing the couple as they feverishly try to troubleshoot their way out of this predicament and prepare for their evening. Their banter alternates from manic to borderline sentimental as they explore the possibility of how their guests would react if they knew what was upstairs, while simultaneously brainstorming ways to conceal their issue.
Blackwood's high energy is reminiscent of his character Bart on Days of Our Lives, and Bainum is definitely a match with her expressive actions and speech.
All-in-all a fun, 14-minute romp.
~~~
Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Friday, February 28, 2020
Sunday, February 14, 2016
45 Years
This morning I saw 45 Years, starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay.
Kate (Rampling) has loved Geoff (Courtenay) all of her adult life. The pair have been married for nearly 45 years and are in the midst of planning a party to commemorate that. What's normal for many is customary for them too—each have their rituals like reading the paper and walking the dog, though they're often done apart.
When the body of Geoff's first love, Katya, is found on the mountain he long left her on after she fell during a hike, their long-dormant marital tension comes to a head. You see, Geoff didn't tell Kate about Katya. Didn't mention that they were on the verge of marriage before he met her; or that her death had traumatized him ever since.
When Katya's perfectly preserved 27-year-old body surfaces (she's been frozen in the snow until now), Geoff's pent-up sorrow for his lost love does as well. This, of course, raises questions about what else he's been keeping from his wife all of these years. If he can hold a secret that serious for that long, upon what has their entire relationship been based?
This is a film that shows, not tells. This is a film that communicates pain through the faces of its actors; not through dialog. This is a film that moves along at a quiet pace, as life does when something tragic lingers in the air.
It's not an enjoyable movie to endure, but Rampling's performance is certainly worth its Oscar nomination, and watching her work will leave you speechless.
It will also leave you questioning every relationship you've ever had.
~~~
Kate (Rampling) has loved Geoff (Courtenay) all of her adult life. The pair have been married for nearly 45 years and are in the midst of planning a party to commemorate that. What's normal for many is customary for them too—each have their rituals like reading the paper and walking the dog, though they're often done apart.
When the body of Geoff's first love, Katya, is found on the mountain he long left her on after she fell during a hike, their long-dormant marital tension comes to a head. You see, Geoff didn't tell Kate about Katya. Didn't mention that they were on the verge of marriage before he met her; or that her death had traumatized him ever since.
When Katya's perfectly preserved 27-year-old body surfaces (she's been frozen in the snow until now), Geoff's pent-up sorrow for his lost love does as well. This, of course, raises questions about what else he's been keeping from his wife all of these years. If he can hold a secret that serious for that long, upon what has their entire relationship been based?
This is a film that shows, not tells. This is a film that communicates pain through the faces of its actors; not through dialog. This is a film that moves along at a quiet pace, as life does when something tragic lingers in the air.
It's not an enjoyable movie to endure, but Rampling's performance is certainly worth its Oscar nomination, and watching her work will leave you speechless.
It will also leave you questioning every relationship you've ever had.
~~~
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Barney's Version
This morning I saw Barney's Version, starring Paul Giamatti and Rosamund Pike.
I'll swear when I watched the trailer of this it was being marketed as a comedy. Once I was about 30 minutes into the film, I realized I must have been mistaken.
Barney (Giamatti) is a sad sack of a man who has a habit of marrying the wrong women. His first wife is a hippie artist who we never quite understand his connection with; his second wife, played by a spirited Minnie Driver, is a rich brat with beautiful breasts who wins him over with her cleavage.
It's no surprise that by their wedding day, Barney is already looking elsewhere. Unfortunately, it's on his wedding day when he spots "The One."
Miriam (Pike) is a guest on his new bride's side, and catches his attention by simply looking stunning in her bright blue dress. After one conversation with the beauty, Barney knows he's made a huge mistake marrying his second wife. He begins courting Miriam right then and there, never giving up his pursuit for true love.
Of course, like many neurotic Jewish characters, Barney is his own worst enemy. Once he gets what he wants in any given situation, he carelessly discards it in favor of behaving like a bachelor.
And then his kids begin hating him, and we begin hating him, and the story takes an even darker turn with his health problems.
All of the acting in this film is great—no argument there—but the way Barney's character is written, I had trouble feeling any empathy for him.
Why would anyone want to spend time with this unattractive, uninteresting man, let alone build a life with him?
I only wish I hadn't wasted two hours trying to figure that out.
~~~
I'll swear when I watched the trailer of this it was being marketed as a comedy. Once I was about 30 minutes into the film, I realized I must have been mistaken.
Barney (Giamatti) is a sad sack of a man who has a habit of marrying the wrong women. His first wife is a hippie artist who we never quite understand his connection with; his second wife, played by a spirited Minnie Driver, is a rich brat with beautiful breasts who wins him over with her cleavage.
It's no surprise that by their wedding day, Barney is already looking elsewhere. Unfortunately, it's on his wedding day when he spots "The One."
Miriam (Pike) is a guest on his new bride's side, and catches his attention by simply looking stunning in her bright blue dress. After one conversation with the beauty, Barney knows he's made a huge mistake marrying his second wife. He begins courting Miriam right then and there, never giving up his pursuit for true love.
Of course, like many neurotic Jewish characters, Barney is his own worst enemy. Once he gets what he wants in any given situation, he carelessly discards it in favor of behaving like a bachelor.
And then his kids begin hating him, and we begin hating him, and the story takes an even darker turn with his health problems.
All of the acting in this film is great—no argument there—but the way Barney's character is written, I had trouble feeling any empathy for him.
Why would anyone want to spend time with this unattractive, uninteresting man, let alone build a life with him?
I only wish I hadn't wasted two hours trying to figure that out.
~~~
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Jindabyne
Today I saw Jindabyne, starring Laura Linney and Gabriel Byrne.
This is one of those films that will probably linger in my head for a while, but I'm not completely sure why.
The story tells of an already dysfunctional marriage between Claire (Linney) and Stewart (Byrne) that is disrupted further by a discovery Stewart and his friends make on a fishing trip. They find the body of a murdered woman and don't report it until the end of their stay at the river. This brings shame from the townspeople and anger from their partners as the crime gets investigated.
As the tale is based on a short story by Raymond Carver, I can see why they left many things a mystery, but I'm not sure it worked in this context.
What we do know is that Claire is Stewart's second wife, she left her husband once, her mother-in-law is a meddling nightmare, and their best friends apparently lost their adult daughter. We also know who the killer is and how he preyed upon his victim.
What we don't know is why Claire left Stewart (though all signs point to post-partum depression), how exactly their friend's daughter passed, why the killer kills and why the Irish Stewart and the American Claire are living in Australia in the first place.
As the film progresses, you think you may get the answers to some of these questions, but you don't. I guess that's the biggest problem I had with this film—too many stones left unturned.
But to call it boring wouldn't be fair.
The performances are good, the pace is fine and the subject matter is interesting, if not exciting.
This is one of those films that will probably linger in my head for a while, but I'm not completely sure why.
The story tells of an already dysfunctional marriage between Claire (Linney) and Stewart (Byrne) that is disrupted further by a discovery Stewart and his friends make on a fishing trip. They find the body of a murdered woman and don't report it until the end of their stay at the river. This brings shame from the townspeople and anger from their partners as the crime gets investigated.
As the tale is based on a short story by Raymond Carver, I can see why they left many things a mystery, but I'm not sure it worked in this context.
What we do know is that Claire is Stewart's second wife, she left her husband once, her mother-in-law is a meddling nightmare, and their best friends apparently lost their adult daughter. We also know who the killer is and how he preyed upon his victim.
What we don't know is why Claire left Stewart (though all signs point to post-partum depression), how exactly their friend's daughter passed, why the killer kills and why the Irish Stewart and the American Claire are living in Australia in the first place.
As the film progresses, you think you may get the answers to some of these questions, but you don't. I guess that's the biggest problem I had with this film—too many stones left unturned.
But to call it boring wouldn't be fair.
The performances are good, the pace is fine and the subject matter is interesting, if not exciting.
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