Duel (1971)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Story: Richard Matheson (originally a TV film)

Cast: Dennis Weaver

Music: Billy Goldenberg

Time: 89 minutes

Bottom-line: Redefines road-rage  

Steven Spielberg’s first film can be best described by his later film: Duel is “Jaws on wheels”. Originally made as a television film, Duel is entirely one long car chase on a highway. Dennis Weaver stars as an unnamed car driver (so I will refer to his character as Weaver), driving a red Plymouth Valiant, on a deserted highway. We learn that he is on his way to meet his boss. En route, he encounters a rusty Peterbilt 281 tanker truck, that slows him down. When the truck driver signals him to overtake, Weaver is nearly hit by an approaching car. When he does get ahead of the truck, the truck driver chases the car at high speeds, eventually forcing Weaver to crash into a fence. Weaver never gets a chance to see driver’s face – and neither do the viewers – but truck is always onto him. Every means of escape is fruitless, as Weaver finds him the victim of a psychotic murderous truck. How does he escape?

 

Weaver as the unnamed car driver

As Spielberg put it, since the truck driver remains faceless, it is the truck itself that is the villain. Usually I hate car chase sequences in films; they’re always exaggerated and God knows how people keep quiet about all that damage! Yet, when one makes a film entirely about a car chase – another example would be Mad Max: Fury Road – then that is a different story. Here, the story is a near real-time experience, that makes it so much more exhilarating. The fact that it is a one man show – an unnamed, ordinary everyman – trying all the logical options (that any of us would have done in his place) makes it realistic.

 

The truck 

The camerawork – close-ups of the monstrous truck, the size of its body, the focus on Weaver’s expressions – and the suspenseful score add to the thrill. The tension is captured beautifully too: Weaver and the truck are both stationary on the road, each waiting for the other to make his move, each with his own game-plan… and it is a new tactic every time. Sooner or later you will find yourself at the edge of your seat; the experience is such that you put yourself in Weaver’s place.

The strength lies entirely in the storytelling structure; the camera, sound and Weaver’s acting do all the work. All the dialogues are more or less irrelevant, and the other lines are just Weaver thinking out loud; Duel could have well been a silent film. Weaver does brilliantly as the terrified car driver. He pretty much has to act scared throughout the film, but those subtle expressions he shows of revenge and forming a subterfuge to get the better of the driver – and his reaction in the climax – are to be noted.

So, what can you do with just a car and a rusty old truck? Hand them over to the right people, and you can make wonders. In this case, Spielberg and crew have given us a high-octane thriller, which I for one, never had hopes in… and I couldn’t be more wrong.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 87%

Sathuranga Vettai (2014)

English translation: The Gambit Hunt

Director: H. Vinoth

Story: H. Vinoth

Cast: Natraj, Ishaara Nair

Music: Sean Roldan

Time: 149 minutes

Bottom-line: A racy script, with plot twists all over the place

Praised as an Indianised con movie, H. Vinoth’s crime drama, Sathuranga Vettai adds to the list of unconventional Tamil films that released in the 2013-14 period, along with Neram, Soodhu Kavvum etc. The standard of acting in these films is a not perfect, mostly due to the use of an entirely new cast, and the same goes with this film too. However, given this script – with the plot and dialogues – the acting takes the back seat. By the time Gandhi Babu has finished conning you, it will be one hell of an experience.

Gandhi Babu (Natraj) has been a conman all his life. Realising that money is the ultimate thing in the world, he has devoted his life to trickery, heists and scams. He fools a landowner by selling him an ordinary snake, claiming it to be worth crores; he starts a marketing firm promising huge returns, but runs away with the invested money. In the process, he meets Banu (Nair), an innocent village girl looking for a job. Despite knowing Babu has conned everyone, she seems to understand his point of view. Soon, Babu’s victims track him down and beat him up, demanding their money be returned. Babu seems to give in, but he has other tricks up his sleeve.

 

Natraj as Babu (centre) with two of his partners 

Films about con artists have always intrigued me; the ingenuity of the scams they pull off is just too good. Here too, the way Babu’s mind works makes you sit and think how someone could be so clever. At the same time, sometimes you wonder if people can actually be that dumb. Yet, Babu does pull off a lot of surprises: the disguises, plans and the execution. The part I found a bit odd is how his partners let him off twice after he cheats them; knowing what Babu is capable of, why do they still trust him?

 

Nair as Banu

The best part of Babu are his principles: every lie needs some truth to go along with it; only then no can detect that it is a lie. Another aspect that makes Sathuranga Vettai different from Hollywood heist films, say, is that here, the people are being conned; is it not about a gang robbing a rich enemy, or planning an elaborate theft of an artefact. As Babu says, if the people are ignorant to be conned, then it is their fault. Natraj’s acting is superb; not much of emotional content, and half the time he talks like he is reading off a book, but his cunning is what is impressive.

The climax gives us something to think about; it makes us realise what truly matters in life. It doesn’t go with the rest of the film, but it is an apt ending. Till that point, the roller coaster ride of heists, cons and treachery will keep you riveted to your seats. A sure entertainer, don’s miss it.

My Rating: 3.5/5

A Death in the Gunj (2017)

Director: Konkona Sen Sharma

Screenplay: Konkona Sen Sharma (based on a short story by Mukul Sharma)

Cast: Vikrant Massey, Ranvir Shorey, Kalki Koechlin

Music: Sagar Desai

Time: 104 minutes

Bottom-line: Targeted at a very limited section of the audience

Well, the main reason for watching this film was because it seemed to be better than anything else that is running in the theatre. The reviews were on the positive side for Konkona Sen Sharma’s debut film, so I thought it was worth a shot. Having watched it, I conclude that as is, this is a film meant for a very selective audience, and chances are that even those people will end up disappointed by the climax.

 

Massey as Shutu, and Koechlin as Mimi

Inspired by true events.

1979/80: The film starts with two men staring at a corpse in the boot of a car. The timeline shifts one week earlier, where the same car is shown, heading to a small town McCluskieganj, Bihar (now Jharkhand). A family, consisting of Nandan (Gulshan Devaiah), his wife, Bonnie (Tillotama Shome), their daughter, Tani (Arya Sharma), and his other relatives: Shylamlal “Shutu” Chatterjee (Massey) and Mimi (Koechlin). They are joined by friends Vikram (Shorey) and Brian (Jim Sarbh). All the events that take place over the next one week seem perfectly normal, but, bit by bit, they slowly break one person apart… until something irrevocable takes place.

It takes only a few to appreciate what the film has to offer. The atmosphere (and the location), character development and the gradual build-up of the story is you must look out for. This is one of those films where you keep watching without noticing the time fly by, and before you know it, the end credits start flowing. Only later you think back and things start to make sense. This film is the perfect example: all through the film you are waiting for the “build-up” to lead to something (the title says “death”, so when is it??) without realising that “building-up” is all that there is to it.

 

The opening scene of the film: the Tarantino shot, showing
Devaiah as Nandan (left) and Sarbh as Brian

Each day, normal events take place, with a little bit of drama: marital issues, pranks, an affair, a romantic relationship, a budding friendship all play a role till the end, where the consequence of all these incidents takes place. The way the characters are created and the way each “insignificant” incident has a significant consequence are the strengths of the film. All the actors have done well, especially Koechlin and Massey: the former always wanting more sexual satisfaction than she can get, and the latter playing the shy, sensitive man.

 

(From left) Mimi, Vikram, Bonnie, Tani, Nandan
and Brian

The language used is predominantly English, and there are also several other elements one usually doesn’t find in Indian films: the profanity, the sexual content, and the cinematography had a few unique, notable moments too. The main flaw here – that pretty much ruins the film – is, as I said, the climax. It is too abrupt, nonsensical, and probably to some extent, expected. It certainly made me go, “Why the hell would they do that?!” and before I could collect my thoughts, the credits came up. (Spoiler alert) The story is – in the subtlest way possible – a journey of depression going from one stage to a worse stage, but just like another Netflix series of recent times, this film also portrays suicide as a solution to all problems. At least the movie doesn’t make it look fancy.  

As another review aptly put it, “A Death in the Gunj will make your jaw drop in so many places, except when it actually should – the climax”. I would recommend a one-time watch, and DON’T drag along your family or friends for this; I repeat, this film is not meant to be liked by everyone.

My rating: 2/5

Ayutha Ezhuthu (2004)

English translation: A Tamil alphabet

Director: Mani Ratnam

Story: Mani Ratnam

Cast: R. Madhavan, Suriya, Siddharth

Music: A.R. Rahman

Time: 155 minutes

Bottom-line: Bit over-dramatic, but highly relevant to today’s situation

Somehow, Mani Ratnam was able to predict the political situation in Tamil Nadu, in 2017, 13 years earlier, in this 2004 political drama. Ayutha Ezhuthu features an ensemble cast, with R. Madhavan, Suriya, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, Trisha, Esha Deol and Bharathiraja.

 

Madhavan as Inba, and Meera Jasmine as Sashi

In the roads of Chennai, a ruffian, Inba Sekar (Madhavan) shoots another man, Michael Vasanth (Suriya), at point blank range. This is witnessed by Arjun (Siddharth). The story flashes back to the lives of each individual. Inba is a thug, who works for his brother, the main hitman of a corrupt politician, Selvanayagan (Bharathiraja). Selvanayagan’s main rival is an honest, “clean”, student leader, Michael, who even forgoes an opportunity to study in the US, to stand in the elections. This rivalry eventually leads to Inba shooting Michael (as seen in the start of the film). The witness, Arjun, is carefree and spoilt by riches. Despite being a man looking for quick success without working for it, he is inspired by Michael’s story and decides to support him, as they both team up and contest against Selvanayagan.

Siddharth as Arjun, and Trisha as his love interest,
Meera

The title refers to an alphabet which is written as three dots, each symbolising one of the lead characters. The narrative is somewhat like a hyperlink structure, but not all the way; it is more of an anthology film, with the shooting of Michael being the connection point of all three tales. The realism and relevance of the story to the current scenario is uncanny; the way Ratnam has portrayed the muscle power of the corrupt, the unison of students for a better cause, and the change of heart of the youth to serve the country rather than himself, is excellent. Of course, the drama with the romance, and the fistfights (and of course, the songs; not a good soundtrack at all), could have been removed to reduce a good 30 minutes of screen time; but if the message did get through, then that is a job well done.

 

Suriya as Michael, and Esha Deol as Geetha

This is probably the only film where Madhavan has played a villainous role; in every other film, he is as clean a hero as can get. With his haircut and body language, the look of a goon matches perfectly. The way he executes his role is amazing: the violence, the anger and the whole lot. Suriya, for once, plays a hero without the glamour. He doesn’t have the look of a student – even lesser so of a studious geek or a captivating leader – but apart from that, his acting was good. The encounter between Inba and Michael when the former tries to bribe the latter is one of the best moments of the film. Siddharth has done superbly; be it his flirtation, his carefree attitude, or his sincerity, he adjusts himself to the situation well.

 

Bharathiraja as Selvanayagan

Among the female leads, only Meera Jasmine had a chance to showcase her acting skill; the other two are nothing more than romantic interests. Bharathiraja plays the cunning, diabolical villain, and the way he portrays the corrupt leader is also accurate. Ayutha Ezhuthu should be watched for the message it is trying to get through: that the youngsters of today will be the leaders of tomorrow. This is made foggy by the other elements, but the film does have its strengths… and the acting, is a big plus.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Anjali (1990)

Director: Mani Ratnam

Story: Mani Ratnam

Cast: Raghuvaran, Revathy, Shamili, Prabhu

Music: Ilayaraaja

Time: 150 minutes

Bottom-line: A magical movie, that plays with your heart

Often considered Mani Ratnam’s best, this 1990 drama was also India’s official entry for the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film (but never got nominated by the committee). The three-National-Award-winning film stars Raghuvaran, Revathy and Shamili in the lead roles, with Prabhu, Master Tarun and Shruthi Vijaykumar in the supporting roles.

A civil engineer Shekar (Raghuvaran), his wife Chitra (Revathy) and his two children: Arjun (Tarun) and Anu (Shruthi) move into a new apartment complex, after Chitra’s third child dies at childbirth. The apartment has people of all sorts, from a mentally retarded ex-watchman to an ex-convict (Prabhu). One day, Chitra and the kids decide to surprise Shekar at work, but he is missing. He comes home claiming to be at work all day. Later, Arjun also spots his father talking an unknown woman late in the night. All these activities make Chitra pack her bags and leave Shekar, who eventually comes clean: the third child, Anjali (Shamili) is alive, but is mentally retarded, and is kept at a nursing centre. Chitra decides to bring Anjali home. How Anjali bonds with her siblings, and the other kids in the neighbourhood form the rest of the film.

Raghuvaran as Shekar

Much like Ratnam’s later film Kannathil Muthamittal, here too the prime focus is on family. First, we are shown a happy family, which slowly starts to break apart when Chitra suspects her husband of infidelity, and then that issue is mended. Then again, there is friction when Anjali enters her new home: she remains aloof from her mother despite all of Chitra’s efforts, and while she tries to bond with her siblings, they are desperate to get rid of her (even praying to God that she dies!). When that gets resolved, the other children refuse to accept her… the entire movie is about how children and adults bond with one unique child. The fact that it deals with an otherwise normal community makes it relatable to most viewers.

Revathy as Chitra

The pace might be a bit slow, since a lot of time is given to character development, and for the children’s activities: their pranks, songs, what not. The essence of the story, still sends out a powerful message. The gradual transition of the society slowly becoming “mature” enough to realise that Anjali is no different is beautifully shown. The side tracks are distracting, but they add to the humour and fun of the film. The innocence of Anjali, and her charm, make the climax all the more emotional.

Raghuvaran, being an actor known for his villainous roles, has done an excellent job to play the hero here. Sacrificing everything for the sake of his daughter, and despite the way the society looks down on his daughter, the way he stands up for his family is inspirational. Revathy and Shamili put in their best efforts to lift the film to a great height: the former plays a disturbed mother, first troubled by her husband’s shady activities, and later by the fact that her children don’t get along well, but more importantly because her daughter is not accepting her as the mother. Shamili, who plays Anjali, won the National Award for Best Child Artist, and it is, hands down, one of the best child performances of all time in Tamil cinema.

 

The children: (from left) Anu, Anjali and Arjun

Mani Ratnam shows his versatility in direction by making such a heartfelt family film, following his gangster film Nayakan and romance Mouna Raagam. The story, acting, visuals and the genuine emotions that the film fills you with make this a classic.

My Rating: 4/5

Black (2005)

Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Screenplay: Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Bhavani Iyer, Prakash Katpadia

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukerji

Music: Monty Sharma

Time: 124 minutes

Bottom-line: One of my all-time favourites; absolutely beautiful

“Life is like an ice-cream. Enjoy it before it melts.”

Two national awards, 11 Filmfare Awards… and the list goes on; Black was, is and will remain, one of the evergreen movies in Hindi cinema. Loosely based on the life of Helen Keller, this is the story of a blind and deaf girl who survives life, thanks to her teacher. Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerji play the lead roles, with Ayesha Kapur, Shernaz Patel and Dhritiman Chaterji in the supporting roles.

“The alphabets of the world start with A, B, C, D, E but yours start with B, L, A, C, K... Black.”

Michelle McNally (Mukerji) is a blind and deaf woman. When she reaches her house one day, she is informed that a strange man is sitting by their fountain; to her surprise, it is her teacher, Debraj Sahai (Bachchan), who left twelve years ago. However, Sahai is now experiencing an advanced stage of Alzheimer’s disease, and can barely remember his name, let alone recognise his student. The story goes back to Michelle’s childhood, a time when her mother, Cathy (Patel), and father, Paul (Chaterji), are debating over whether or not to send the eight-year-old (Kapur) to an asylum. Enter Mr, Sahai, a recovering alcoholic, with a highly eccentric character. He uses harsh methods that are disapproved by Paul, but somehow Sahai manages to make his way work. Black explores the various phases of this student-teacher relationship, over a period of nearly 25 years.

 

Bachchan as Sahai and Mukerji as Michelle

“Dear Ms. Nair, I have good news. You will be unhappy to know that the magician is at work.”

He can provide subtle humour, make you gasp at his harsh methods, make you applaud with his magic, and make you weep at his pitiable condition… indeed, giving Big B the National Award must have been a straightforward decision! There is no grand entry – on the contrary, the first scene he is shown in we get to know about his Alzheimer’s disease – but as the story progresses we see all his dynamic characteristics: the authority he displays to forcibly prevent Michelle’s from interfering, the “cruelty” of his methods that eventually work wonders and the kindness of his touch that turns Michelle into a well-groomed woman. He says so many biting one-liners throughout the film too. Towards the end he transforms so much… to see such a powerful teacher turn so helpless is one of the saddest parts of the film. One other such “uncomfortable” moment is when Michelle says “In asking you to give me dignity as a woman, I took away your dignity as a teacher. I asked too much, and you didn’t even give me a chance to ask for forgiveness…”

 

Bachchan with the young Michelle (Kapur), Cathy (Patel) in the right
and Paul (Chaterji) and Mrs. Gomes 

“Black is not just the colour of depression…it is also the colour of the graduation robe.”

Rani Mukherji too has given a marvellous performance. Highly convincing and wonderfully composed, I love the way she displays anger, determination, sadness…each with its own grace. The scene where she calls up her mother to tell that she failed is one of the many depressing scenes in the film, while her graduation speech is one of the “happiest” moments; the word is in quotes because on one side you have Michelle, successfully getting her degree after 12 long years, as she elatedly rushes to meet her teacher, who is shown in chains, to keep him in control. Michelle wears her black graduation robe for the first time in front of him and Sahai does his little “victory dance” as his memory flashes for ever so brief a moment… should you feel happy or sad? That is the beauty of Black… the most painful moments and the most joyous moments come together.

“What has taken all of you 20 years has taken me 40. But finally I can say that I did it!”

The story is not exactly “depressing” but yes, it is a painful watch at times… to see Michelle suffer. Ayesha Kapur has done really well as the young Michelle; every bit of it was genuine. The cinematography and the background score are superb. The characters, and the lines they speak are scripted so well…even though the main character says nothing more than “Tee…” and “woahhh”, the film contains some pretty powerful lines and exchanges.

With a deeply moving story, memorable characters, Black is a movie for the ages. It has been a long time since I have given a movie a 5-star rating, but this film, in every aspect, deserves it!

My Rating: 5/5

Eeram (2009)

English translation: Dampness

Direction: Arivazhagan

Story: Arivazhagan

Cast: Aadhi, Sindhu Menon

Music: Thaman

Time: 164 minutes

Bottom-line: A chilling thriller; you will never look at water the same way again

From Arivazhagan comes the much-needed relief from masala films. This horror-thriller – along with the other 2009 film, Yavarum Nalam – give two brilliant unconventional films to enjoy. Eeram stars Aadhi and Sindhu menon in the lead roles, with Nandha and Saranya Balakrishnan in the supporting roles.

A watchman in an apartment complex notices water overflowing from a flat. On entering the house, he finds a young woman, Ramya (Sindhu) who has drowned herself, with a note saying that no one else is responsible for her death. The case is taken up by Inspector “Vasu” Vasudevan (Aadhi), who was also Ramya’s lover in college. He is convinced that there is more to the case than just a suicide. On interrogating the neighbours, he finds that several of them, including the watchman, claim that Ramya was having another affair (with a man whom Vasu names Mr. X). Over the next few days, two people who vouched for Ramya’s affair die seemingly accidental deaths. Later, Mr. X also faces a violent end. Vasu realises that all the deaths have one thing in common – water. He believes that Ramya could be responsible for them. Is he right? If so, what is the truth behind her “suicide”?

Eeram doesn’t scare you; instead, it sends enough chills down your spine that every time you look at water, you will be reminded of this film. The visuals and cinematography are enough to instil that fear. I am amazed at how Arivazhagan turns water into such an enemy: the deaths of the neighbours, Mr. X and the accidents of Bala’s friend show his ingenious, albeit crooked, thinking. With that said about the goosebumps, the story as such is quite good. It starts off as a mystery, then goes back to Ramya’s college days, then back to the present, where Vasu tries to track down the “murderer”. A lot of supernatural elements are present, so it is not a regular joining-the-dots mystery case.

 

Sindhu as Ramya, and Aadhi as Vasudevan

The cast is almost entirely new, and what a fine show they have put up! In particular, I liked the performances of Sindhu Menon and Nandan (who plays Ramya’s husband, Bala). There is no actual ghost shown on screen to scare you… the scary part is how seemingly normal everyday scenarios – with water – can cause people to die! That is the most effective way to create horror; the same goes with Yavarum Nalam. It starts out as a simple family drama before changing gears and exploring the supernatural. Look out for the scene where Mr. X seemingly “kills himself”; the most intense scene of the film. There are a few plot twists, and the one towards the end could knock your socks off.

Eeram has violence, romance, thrill, and of course, shades of horror, but the best bit being the simplistic setup. These low-budget thrillers are actually turning out to be the ones that are more impressive than the big-budget, star-studded films. Eeram – worth your time and money.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Director: Michel Gondry

Story: Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry, Pierre Bismuth

Cast: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet

Music: Jon Brion

Time: 108 minutes

Bottom-line: A new look at love and heartbreak

I wish that I could wake up with amnesia

And forget about the stupid little things

Those lines are from the song Amnesia by the band 5 Seconds of Summer. It talks about having amnesia to selectively wipe out memories of a failed relationship. This film explores the same theme.

Following Minority Report, I went on a search for other interesting science fiction films, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind featured on several lists and polls. The sci-fi/romance/drama stars Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in the lead roles, with Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst, Tom Wilkinson and Elijah Wood in the supporting roles.

Blessed are the forgetful, for they get the better even of their blunders.

Shy, introverted Joel Barish (Carrey) decides not to go to work one morning, and, following a gut instinct, takes a train to Montauk. On the train, he meets Clementine Kruczynski (Winslet) – an extroverted, wild girl, with freakish hair styles and colours. They begin a relationship despite their contrasting personas. We are then taken back in time, where Joel finds Clementine with another man, Patrick (Wood). He gets to know that she has erased Joel from her memory, thanks to a medical procedure by Doctor Howard (Wilkinson). Joel, seeking revenge, decides to do the same. Most of the film beyond takes place during the memory erasing process – as we join Joel in exploring his past – and related storylines of the technician, Stan (Ruffalo), Patrick, Howard, and his assistant, Mary (Dunst).

 

Carrey as Joel and Winslet as Clementine

There have been dozens of movies about relationships and dozens more about breakups; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind combines both these themes, along with a touch of science, to give us in interesting concept to ponder about: what if we could selectively wipe out memory (“Technically speaking, this is brain damage”, says Doctor Howard)? Kaufman and Gondry put together their imagination to depict the working of a human mind – how does it remember people, what is the power of the subconscious, and is love powerful enough to overthrow science?

As Howard slowly starts to wipe out Clementine from Joel’s memory, we – along with Joel – revisit his memories in reverse. We start with their breakup, and go till the moment they first met, two years ago. En route, Joel decides not to go through with the procedure; he wants to savour the bits of happiness he shared with her. So, several weird phenomena start to happen, as Joel’s subconscious and his love for Clementine start to fight against the systematic procedure. As Joel struggles with his memories, the others around him – Howard, Mary, Patrick and Stan, start to explore their own love interests.

 

The quote behind the title of the film

The movie goes on to show that no matter how much science advances – to the extent of even being able to selectively erase bits of memory – love is always more powerful. In some ways, Inception has borrowed concepts from this film, but the 2004 film is something we can relate to better. Jim Carrey shows why he can be a good actor, and not just a comedian. From the happy-go-lucky chap, to the charming romantic, to the depressed lover, every role is performed authentic enough that we can put ourselves in that position. The same goes to Kate Winslet as well, but somehow, I don’t feel the Carrey-Winslet pair is that effective. The climax seems a bit odd; the last twist (with about 10 minutes left) is certainly unexpected, but what follows does not seem right; perhaps the screen time could have been extended a little more to create a better – and less abrupt – climax.

So, while many of you who have gone through breakups would be wondering what it would be like to “imagine it never happened” (easier said than done, right?), this film will surely be food for thought. The imaginative portrayal of the mind, and the blend of science and romance makes the film a special one.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 93%

Blue Velvet (1986)

Director: David Lynch

Story: David Lynch

Cast: Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper and Laura Dern

Music: Angelo Badalamenti

Time: 120 minutes

Bottom-line: Still trying to make sense of the film

Some crazy film search starting from La La Land made me land at David Lynch’s Blue Velvet. Getting a good impression of Lynch’s later film, Mulholland Drive, I expected this one also to be a mind-boggling tale, but it turned out to be a major disappointment. Here’s why.

The story is essentially an attempt to narrate a dark detective mystery. Jeffrey Beaumont (MacLachlan) is home from college after his father has a near-fatal stroke. On his way home from the hospital, he discovers a severed ear. He responsibly takes it to Detective Williams (George Dickerson), who agrees to consider it. The detective’s daughter, Sandy (Dern) becomes friends with Jeffrey, and informs him about stuff she overheard from her father’s office room: that a woman named Dorothy Vallens (Rossellini) is involved in the case. Jeffrey decides to snoop around, and gets to know that Dorothy’s husband and son have been kidnapped by a psychotic, Frank Booth (Hopper), who forces her to perform sexual acts. What the rest of the film is about… is something I am trying to figure out myself!

 

MacLachlan as Jeffrey

Just like Mulholland Drive, Lynch is able to create – and exceptionally well too – an aura of suspense and mystery. The gruesome image of the severed ear, the grim milieu when Dorothy sings “Blue Velvet”, along with the sinister background score achieve this. After a certain point, however, things just get stranger: new characters out of nowhere, a sudden increase in sex and violence, and ultimately, we all end up scratching our heads, for what started out as a mystery ended as nothing more than a whole lot of loose ends. In the end, there is no plot twist, no suspense, nothing.

Dern as Sandy

Probably the sole plus point of the film is the acting, especially by Dennis Hopper and Isabella Rossellini. The former plays a psychotic kidnapper/murderer/sex addict, with his outbursts of anger, violent behaviour and masochistic nature. The latter plays his victim: a lone lady desperate to have her husband and son back from the clutches of Frank. While the characters of Frank, Dorothy, Jeffrey and Sandy are well-developed, the minor characters are not so: like the men Jeffrey spies on, or the man whom Frank takes Jeffrey to.

 

Hopper as Frank, and Rossellini as Dorothy

So, while Blue Velvet gets the starting right, nothing after the first half hour seems to go smoothly. Undeveloped characters, sloppy storyline, horrible climax and overall, an unsatisfactory mystery spoilt the film. The acting is the lone plus, but it’s not worth it.

My Rating: 1.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 94%

Babel (2006)

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Story: Guillermo Arriaga

Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Adriana Barraza, Rinko Kikuchi, Gael García Bernal

Music: Gustavo Santaolalla

Time: 136 minutes

Bottom-line: Well-paced story, but not as engaging as Amores Perros or 21 Grams

Iñárritu’s ends his “Death trilogy” on a high note, with his third feature film, Babel. The film follows four different storylines connected by a twist of fate, and is narrated in a “partial” hyperlink structure (in the sense that different incidents connect different parts of the story). When two boys in Morocco try out their father's new hunting rifle, they accidentally maim an American tourist, Susan Jones (Blanchett), who has come on a tour with her husband, Richard (Pitt). With communication proving to be a problem and political issues rising between the US and Moroccan governments, Richard must find a way to save his wife…and fast. As the Moroccan police search for the shooter, they trace the rifle to a Japanese man, whose daughter, Chieko (Kikuchi) is a deaf-mute, rebellious teenage girl, traumatised by the recent suicide of her mother. 

 

Pitt as Richard, and Blanchett as Susan

Meanwhile Richard’s two other children, Mike and Debbie, are taken across the border to Mexico by their Mexican nanny, Amelia (Barraza), for a day. Amelia’s nephew, Santiago (Bernal) warns that it might cause problems with the authorities. When they return, with Santiago heavily intoxicated, the border patrol officers ask for permission letters from the parents to take the kids across. Santiago realises they are in trouble and trespasses the border.

 

Barraza as Amelia, with the children: Debbie and Mike

Unlike Amores Perros and 21 Grams, here, no single incident or theme links all the stories. The one “moral” of the film is that ultimately, your family is all you have, when everything else is gone. The Moroccan family is torn apart after the accidental shooting leads the police onto them; the Japanese girl is troubled after a ghastly family matter; the husband-wife couple is also distraught, while their children find a new “mother” in their nanny. Along with films like No Country for Old Men, Babel also shows how fate brings about misery to (seemingly) innocent people, and how characters so far apart physically are actually connected. The reason for the title itself follows from the story of the “Tower of Babel”, where God scattered the people across the world and confounded their speech, making communication almost impossible.

 

Kikuchi as Chieko

I fail to understand the significance of the Japanese storyline; probably the only message intended to convey is that such a tiny link (related to the rifle) can have a huge consequence (as much as tearing apart a family miles away in Mexico), but as such, it was not satisfactory; there is the scene towards the end where Chieko writes a note, whose contents are never revealed (like the scene in Lost in Translation), which makes this part of the story even more bizarre. However, Rinko Kikuchi has done an outstanding job, in expressing her anger, sexual craving, and depression. The other highlight is Adriana Barraza, who plays the Mexican nanny; she turns out to be an innocent victim of the cruelty of fate, and her acting in the desert and towards the end, is brilliant enough to make you empathise with her pitiable situation. Brad Pitt and Blanchett comparatively have lesser screen time.

 

The Moroccan family 

The Mexican and Moroccan tracks don’t have any plot twists as such, except revealing the connection between the different people involved. There is a lot of drama and emotional outbreaks to keep the pace steady, and in this film too, not all ends are tied up; some things like Santiago’s fate, the contents of the note – to name a few – are unknown. Somehow I felt that Babel has lesser amount of the Iñárritu trademarks in terms of story, but the technical aspects are excellent: the score, settings and to some extent, cinematography too.

The third collaboration between Iñárritu, Arriaga and Santaolalla brings together different countries, cultures, families, backgrounds, all in one story, and the variety involved is something I appreciate. Babel is less entertaining compared to 21 Grams and Amores Perros, but it has its own strengths. Garnering seven Academy Award nominations and winning one for Best Original Score, this is one of the underrated films of 2006.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 69%