Here’s Looking at Film, Kid

Disclaimer: I apologize if the movies I write about have been out in the States for ages. As I am currently in France, and most American films experience a delayed release in Europe, I may often be writing about films that came out months ago.

Also, I share Matt’s distaste regarding the release of another Saw sequel. I have yet to see any of them, and the fact that a new one is shat out by Lionsgate every year does nothing in the way of making me want to change that.

Anyways, on to the review!

Film Review:
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Directed by Andrew Dominik
Starring Casey Affleck, Brad Pitt
Rated R, 160 mins.

*** out of *****

The above header will be the first and last time I write out the ungodly long title of this movie. From here on out, I will use the simple acronym TAOJJBTCRR. As it turns out, my simple acronym is not simple and is extremely awkward to type. Therefore, I will simply refer to the film as The Assassination. Everybody good to go? Fabulous.

Part moody period piece, part gun-slinging western, The Assassination is a film with an identity crisis. The effects of publicized arguments between novice director, Andrew Dominik, and studio executives are apparent: the resultant film is not allowed to delve into its characters the way it wants to, and has no grand action set-pieces to help pass the time. What the viewer is left with is an inundation of mind-numbing narration that breaks the cardinal rule of cinema: show, not tell. Every action, every glance, every gesture and possible thought that the film’s characters produce is explained by the cumbersome narrator. This does a great disservice to the film’s stellar cast. Casey Affleck is more than capable of letting the audience know what he is thinking, as is Brad Pitt. The narration hurries the story along to such a point that dialogue is nearly eradicated. Excellent supporting cast members like Zooey Deschanel and Mary-Louise Parker have almost nothing to do, save stand prettily in the background while their daily activities are explained overhead in painful detail. This split personality can be attributed, not only to studio woes, but also to the fact that The Assassination is only the second film from director Andrew Dominik. His inexperience shows in his inability to balance the inner workings of James and Ford and the thrust of the story.

What is perhaps most disappointing about The Assassination is that I truly believe there is an excellent film in there somewhere. The dynamic between Pitt and Affleck is intriguing, and the casting choices for both titular characters, as well as for the rest of the film’s roles, were quite well done. Affleck in particular was especially moving in his performance. The film, in appearance, is beautiful and grand; it simply lacks the foundations to support its grandiose settings. I honestly cannot say whether the film’s mediocrity is a result of studio interference or simply a mistake on the part of co-writer/director Dominik. What I do know is that the excess of narration kills the film’s momentum, and reduces the audience to children sitting cross-legged before an adult with a storybook. Personally, I feel old enough to read for myself.

Film Review
The Kingdom
Directed by Peter Berg
Starring Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner
Rated R, 110 min.

*** out of *****

Riddles are fun. Here’s a good one I heard the other day: I have rivers without water, forests without trees, mountains without rocks and towns without houses. What am I? Answer: A map. Here’s another one: I am political without scenes in the House of Congress, action-packed with only a few explosions and three shootouts, pro-American with an anti-war message and powerful without being manipulative. What am I? Answer: Director Peter Berg’s ensemble piece, The Kingdom.

Berg – who directed The Rundown, one of my favorite action films of the new century – has with The Kingdom achieved a sort-of political-action-thriller hybrid. And what’s this below the surface? Why, it’s a diatribe on American involvement in the Middle East. It’s refreshing to see an action film so overtly thrilling and grandiose and yet so mindful of the well-worn conventions of the genre. But I think that’s what keeps The Kingdom from achieving true greatness; it’s simply too much for one film.

The film opens with a brutal terrorist attack on an American compound in Riyadh by Islamic extremists. After negotiating his way into a five-day stay on Saudi soil, FBI Special Agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) assembles a crack team (Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) to travel to Saudi Arabia and bring the men behind the bombings to justice.

Now here’s the part of my review where I say, “From here, the movie plays out like your typical …” except that I can’t bring myself to do that with The Kingdom. It can be very loosely labeled as an action film. But when was the last time you watched a top-notch action thriller with a heavy dose of social/political commentary touching on topics as diverse as race relations, religious extremism, revenge, war, family, violence and consumerism? Berg manages a deft juggling act with all of these themes through the film’s two-hour runtime.

Certainly, The Kingdom is genre bending at its most daring. But filmmaking this risky requires subtlety, control, simplicity in its themes, complex though they may be. For rookie director Berg, nuance doesn’t come easy. At its core, “The Kingdom” is still a procedural action film

Performances are solid from each of the leads (Bateman is particularly enjoyable), but the most stellar performance arrives courtesy of relative newcomer Ashraf Barhom, who plays the sympathetic Saudi colonel, Faris Al Ghazi. I’d like to see an Oscar nod float his way for Best Supporting Actor.

So here we have Syriana with a dash of action, a post-9/11 political film for the theater crowd. It’s a tough film to pinpoint, though – I’m still not entirely sure if I enjoyed it or not, to be honest. But it’s worth seeing for its distinct style. The Kingdom simply overshoots expectations, leaving the audience in its wake, scratching their heads and shrugging their shoulders as it rockets past. In its first act, the film struggles to decide what to do with itself as the dozen genres within vie for power. As it flounders, though, something emerges. Amid the few unnecessary aspects of The Kingdom, a truly fantastic piece of cinema clambers to the surface, gasping for air. It’s simply a shame the film doesn’t allow itself time to breathe.