No Country for Old Men (2007)

Minimalist poster, showing the
role of fate

Director: Joel and Ethan Coen 
Screenplay: Joel and Ethan Coen (based on the book by Cormac McCarthy)
Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin 
Music: Carter Burwell
Time: 122 minutes
Bottom-line: One of the best cat-and-mouse dramas ever!

This neo-noir Western thriller is one of the best works of the Coen brothers thus far, and proves to be very tough to beat! Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin, along with Woody Harrelson, this film explores how fate treats three different men all involved in one plot.

Brolin as Moss

1980, Texas: After a monologue by the Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Jones), the story starts with Anton Chigurh (Bardem), a prisoner who escapes after strangling the cop who arrested him. His weapon is a captive bolt pistol. Meanwhile, welder and Vietnam veteran Llewelyn Moss (Brolin) comes across a failed drug deal in the desert; he finds several people murdered, and a suitcase containing two million dollars. With greed overcoming his conscience, Moss decides to take the case home, but soon he is pursued by two strangers. He sends his wife to safe custody and flees. We now understand that Chigurh is a hitman hired to retrieve the case. So as Chigurh starts hunting down Moss, his wife becomes concerned and asks Bell to protect her husband. As the three men interfere in each other’s lives, they realise one thing – there are no clean getaways... 

Bardem as Chigurh, with his weapon 

The storyline is simply brilliant. From the moment Moss picks up the case, you know the chase has started, and then it never stops. Every scene your heart beats loudly and your hands start trembling. The cinematography and editing are so perfectly done that each sequence has the right amount of screen time to give that suspenseful feeling. The film is kind of a case study of how fate can control your life, with just enough violence to make sure it has an impact – Moss decides to follow his greed, and his life has one story; Chigurh is the merciless killer who will go to any length to retrieve the money, and how his life turns out is also shown. The only clean character seems to be Sheriff Bell. With this theme, the story is built and is supported by the drama of the cat-and-mouse chase in the desert landscape of Texas.

TLJ as Sheriff Bell

The film has no grand climax, but it is those little incidents during the film that you should look out for, especially Chigurh’s encounter with the old man at the shop. The dialogues are exceptional, and they carry a nervous humour along with them; the way he taunts the man into deciding whether he should live or not, is chilling! If this guy isn't a terrifying villain, I don't know who is! Javier Bardem is the exact guy to portray this character, with his build, accent and just enough facial expressions; it was a well-deserved Oscar win. His hitman character, with his captive bolt pistol, is truly scary... particularly in that scene where he assaults the motel guests! I also liked Josh Brolin’s acting as Moss, and I think he did an excellent role of playing the “mouse” of the movie. If it wasn’t for the acting, the film would have never been as great as it is considered now.

The ending does not exactly tie up all loose ends, but it makes one thing clear – you can't stop what's coming. Everyone gets what they deserve, and it is entirely up to fate.

My Rating: 4/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 93%

Wall Street (1987)

Director: Oliver Stone

Story: Oliver Stone, Stanley Weiser

Cast: Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Daryl Hannah

Music: Stewart Copeland

Time: 126 minutes

Bottom-line: An engaging drama powered by Michael Douglas

Every dream has a price.

Featuring one of the most iconic characters (and antagonists) of the 1980s, Oliver Stone’s Wall Street is a drama film about a young stockbroker and his relationship with a corporate raider. The film not only had a positive impact on critics but also on other Americans who have claimed to be inspired by the film to work on Wall Street. The film stars Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen in the lead roles, with Martin Sheen, Daryl Hannah and Terence Stamp in the supporting roles.

Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.

1985, New York: Bud Fox (C. Sheen) is a junior stockbroker for Jackson Steinem & Co. Not entirely happy with his current job, he wants to work with legendary Wall Street player, Gordon Gekko (Douglas). After a long wait, Fox gets his chance for an interview with Gekko. Desperate to impress Gekko, Fox leaks out some inside information on Bluestar Airlines, which he heard from his father, Carl Fox (M. Sheen). Gekko becomes Fox’s client and asks him to spy on a British CEO (Stamp) as his next task. With time, Fox becomes rich, enjoying all the perks offered by Gekko, and even gets a girlfriend though him (Hannah). But when Fox has to choose between family and money, he finds himself in a shaky situation. Would he go against the immensely powerful Gekko? Or does he do what’s morally right?

 

Douglas as Gekko

While Charlie Sheen later became pretty much synonymous with Charlie Harper in Two and a Half Men, his role as Bud Fox is far better. Chosen for the role because of his “stiff acting”, I like the way he portrays the naïve stockbroker willing to go to any length to win the admiration of Gekko, the way he gains confidence and stands on his own two feet, and how he reacts when his world comes crashing down. Michael Douglas went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role – the powerful, cunning and unrelenting raider. His speech to the Teldar Paper panel is the highlight of the movie. While you’re admiring Gekko’s style and panache, you are also shocked by his ruthlessness (I wrecked the company because it was wreck-able, all right?).

Martin Sheen as Carl (left) and Charlie
Sheen as Bud Fox

Now whether you want to follow Gekko’s policy of “greed is good” (Greed, in all of its forms: greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge, has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, will save that malfunctioning corporation called the USA) or whether you want to wade through Wall Street as an honest man, the film will certainly pique your interest in this area. From one group of people yelling at the top of their voices to buy or sell stocks, to others in suede suits relaxing in their penthouses, the film gives a glimpse of all such characters. Although you may not understand the technicalities of everything that’s going on, the plot is still entertaining enough.

 

Hannah as Darien, Bud's girlfriend

While finance is a murky area – and the film also shows just that – how much you want to be “inspired” by it is up to you. However, with Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen taking centre-stage, Wall Street will definitely be worth watching for anyone who dreams of finding themselves in the titular location.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 78%

Awakenings (1990)

Director: Penny Marshall

Screenplay: Steven Zaillian (based on the memoir by Oliver Sacks)

Cast: Robin Williams, Robert de Niro

Music: Randy Newman

Time: 121 minutes

Bottom-line: A bittersweet experience; one of the most beautiful films about the human spirit

Based on the memoir by the renowned neurologist, Oliver Sacks, Awakenings is a film that explores the bonding between a doctor and a post-encephalitic patient. Robin Williams and Robert de Niro star in the lead roles, with John Heard, Julie Kavner and Penelope Ann Miller in the supporting roles. The story is inspired by real-life incidents.

There’s no such thing as a simple miracle.

1969, The Bronx: Dr Malcolm Sayer (Williams) is a caring physician at a local hospital. Despite having no previous experience with humans (if only they were less unpredictable, he says) he is designated to work with patients who have survived the 1917-28 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica. Despite their catatonic states, Sayer finds that they are able to respond to familiar music, catch a ball reflexively etc. After attending a conference on the L-Dopa drug and its effects on people suffering from Parkinson’s, Sayer decides to test it out on one particular post-encephalitic patient, Leonard Lowe (de Niro). After several doses, Leonard miraculously “awakens” from his catatonic state. Following the success, other patients are also given the drug. As Leonard adjusts to the new world after 30 years, he falls in love with a patient’s daughter, Paula (Miller). However, the drug starts to have side effects, and all the patients realise that the miracle was too good to last. What happens to Leonard? What happens to his relationships with Dr Sayer and Paula?

There was a time when I was on a spree of Robin Williams films: Insomnia, Dead Poets’ Society, One Hour Photo… and this film made it into the list then, but I never got around to it. Nevertheless, when I decided to watch it, I was rewarded with a poignant, emotional film, with incredible performances by Williams and his co-star, Robert de Niro. In one of his most famous non-comic roles, Williams is wonderful with his sensitive portrayal of emotions: the way his character is influential and genuinely kind to win the admiration of the staff, the patients, and of course, the viewers. Robert de Niro spends the first fifty minutes of the film frozen in a single pose, but is downright amazing in the next half. From the man “waking up” to the new world, to the man making friends and falling in love, to the diseased “patient” suffering from tics and spasms, de Niro makes you smile in joy and almost weep over the course of the film.

 

Williams as Dr Sayer (left) and de Niro as Leonard

The story is beautifully written. In many ways, it was similar to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, with regard to the whole atmosphere of an “institution”. The characters of Leonard’s mother, Paula and Eleanor (another nurse; portrayed by Kavner) support the main track – providing elements of motherly love and romantic love, which influence both Sayer and Leonard. The scene where Leonard’s mother pleads to Dr Sayer to save him, and the scene where Leonard unleashes his anger on Sayer are two of the most poignant moments of the film, while on the other hand, the scene where Paula dances with Leonard for one last time – and his spasms temporarily stop – is one of the uplifting moments.

Miller as Paula, dancing with de Niro

Despite being nominated for three Oscars (Picture, Actor – de Niro – and Screenplay), Awakenings seems to be one of the lesser known films of both de Niro and Williams. It deserves a lot more recognition, for being an astounding film on the power of the human spirit. I end the review with this quote by Dr Sayer, something that we should reflect on as well: The human spirit is more powerful than any drug and that is what needs to be nourished: with work, play, friendship, family. These are the things that matter. This is what we'd forgotten. The simplest things.

My Rating: 4.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 88%  

Minority Report (2002)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Screenplay: Scott Frank and John Cohen (based on the short story by Philip K. Dick)

Cast: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow, Samantha Morton

Music: John Williams

Time: 145 minutes

Bottom-line: Interesting concept, and excellent script-writing

"We don't choose the things we believe in; they choose us."

Steven Spielberg’s futuristic sci-fi thriller brings together several themes and ideas, combining neo-noir, crime, drama and of course, science - in fact, it is a standard example of a film belonging to the "tech-noir" genre. Tom Cruise plays the lead role, supported by Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow, Samantha Morton and Kathryn Morris.

The flaw is human.

If the future is set in advance, does free will exist? This dilemma is one of the fundamental themes of Minority Report. The year is 2054, and in Washington DC, there is an organisation called Precrime. Their speciality: three “Precogs”: psychics who can predict the future. Their use: to inform the department about murders that occur in the future, so that Precrime can send in forces to prevent them from even happening. Seems neat, right? The Precrime captain is John Anderton (Cruise), who has separated from his wife after the disappearance of his son. When a United States Justice Department agent Danny Witwer (Farrell) comes to audit the program, the Precogs predict that John would murder a man in 36 hours. Determined to prove his innocence, John takes off. As he starts his investigation, he realises that the system is flawed… and as always, the flaw is human.

 

Cruise as Anderton

The fact that you prevented it from happening doesn’t change the fact that it was going to happen.

I like the way the scenario is introduced to the viewers. The futuristic setup, the Precrime organisation, the concept of the Precogs and what they do, and later, the glitches in the system, are explained in a lucid manner. Spielberg combines the standard wrong-man genre with an extensive science-fiction backdrop that makes the film stand apart. The pace of the story is perfect, with the clues leading to the right answer revealed at the right moments. Then there is the action and suspense, of course – the scene where the “spiders” search for Anderton is sure to give you goosebumps and make you sweat, and the one where Anderton tries to escape from the shopping mall is ingenious.

 

Farrell as Witwer

The science part of the film is the debate between free will and determinism. Precrime works based on the fact that the murders will occur, but have not yet done so. The question is, what is the guarantee that the events to follow will create a different future than the ones predicted by the Precogs? The “future” killer has a choice or free will to shy away from committing the murder, but then determinism says that all the future events are set. Minority Report illustrates this in one of the best ways possible.

The filming style is the highlight when it comes to the technical aspects. A technique known as bleach bypassing is used, such that the film has a high level of contrast, and in several scenes, it looks like a black-and-white picture; the scenes have a “washed-out” appearance. The first few minutes themselves are indicative of the distinctive narrative style, as compared to any other Spielberg film. Tom Cruise’s and Samantha Morton’s (who plays the female Precog, Agatha) acting are excellent.

 

Morton as Agatha

Minority Report may be a movie about flaws, but the film is quite clean. It’s a bit over-dramatic at times, but other than that, the science, the action, the story and the visuals are superb. A sci-fi movie that actually talks a bit about science, it’s worth watching!

My Rating: 4.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 90%