Hey folks, Harry here... along with Anton, ArtSnob is our longest and most loyal correspondent from the Toronto International Film Festival. Both of these films are highly anticipated and will no doubt be films to be reckoned with in the Fall / Award Season. And this lucky bastard has already seen both. Dagnabbit. Here you go:
Last year, I predicted multiple Oscar nominations for ATONEMENT, LUST CAUTION, ELIZABETH – THE GOLDEN AGE and MICHAEL CLAYTON. Three out of four as it turned out, and the one that came up empty – LUST CAUTION – was more deserving than ELIZABETH. Here are the two I’d put money on from this abbreviated visit:
THE WRESTLER
The last film I saw on my visit was a perfect bookend to the first. Both films marked a wonderful return to form for directors whose early work I admired and who subsequently dealt me huge disappointments at recent fests. You know from my previous post that the first was Guy Ritchie, atoning for REVOLVER with the rousing ROCKNROLLA; the second is Darren Aronofsky, atoning for the 2006 disappointment (albeit a stylish one) that was THE FOUNTAIN with THE WRESTLER, featuring an even bigger comeback by Mickey Rourke in a career performance. If this film doesn’t get Oscar nominations for picture, director, writer, and actor, a collective body slam for the Academy!
This is much more a traditional movie than Aronofsky’s previous works – none of the usual rapid-fire editing is in evidence. In some ways, it’s like a wrestling update of the old Anthony Quinn movie REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT (which ended with him becoming a wrestler) on steroids – figuratively and literally. And at the center of it all is a towering performance by Rourke. It’s hard to believe that this is the same star of classic love stories of the past such as 9-1/2 WEEKS and BLACK ORCHID who fell so far subsequently before a partial comeback in SIN CITY. I saw BARFLY when it came out and knew that he had acting greatness in him, which made his fall seem like such a waste of talent. The 2001 Toronto-as-Toronto movie PICTURE CLAIRE (with Gina Gershon and a French-Canadian Juliette Lewis) is where I pretty much gave up on him – it seemed like he wasn’t even trying any more.
But his performance here as Randy “The Ram” Robinson is a revelation – as powerful as the one Aronofsky was able to elicit from Ellen Burstyn in REQUIEM FOR A DREAM. As a star wrestler from the 80’s who’s in the late twilight of his career, he’s liked by many, loved by none. He has a flame for stripper Marissa Tomei, but she’s as out of reach as social worker Julie Harris was to the similarly smitten Quinn. He also has an estranged daughter (played by a slightly overwrought Evan Rachel Wood – my only cavil with the film, and a minor one) who he tries to reconcile with. But most of all, he has health issues which dictate the end of his wrestling career.
There’s so much to like in this film – the “inside” banter between him and his fellow wrestlers … the scenes where he has a go at working the deli counter at a supermarket … him playing an old video game he’s in with a neighbor kid in the trailer park where he lives … the memorable final scene. The film also makes amazing use of heavy metal music in the soundtrack – and it’s not used for lame musical interludes, but is actually skillfully woven into the storyline. Wood cavil aside, the performances are excellent (Tomei should get a supporting nomination as well), but this is Rourke’s show all the way. All of the elements are wonderfully orchestrated by Aronofsky, following an excellent, tight script by newcomer Robert Siegel.
A heart-tugger about a pro wrestler … who would have thought it was even POSSIBLE, let alone could be this EXCELLENT? Believe all the good stuff you’re reading about it, and try your best to avoid spoilers. Kudos to all the principals – see you in February.
Note: I had to fly solo for most of this festival due to commitments by my Rochester friends. This was the only film I got to see with somebody, and it was Greg Cruse, proprietor of the don’t-attend-TIFF-without-it website TOfilmfest.com, which I praised in my previous post. We were both of very much the same mind on the movie – there were things we could both see coming, but somehow they didn’t matter.
THE BURNING PLAIN
My other bet for multiple Oscar noms is this draws-you-in effort from Guillermo Arriaga, making a very impressive directorial debut after penning AMORES PEROS, THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA, 21 GRAMS and BABEL (he wrote this, also). He’s at his non-linear best here, fashioning a present/past story in three strands that is a little disorienting at first, but coalesces beautifully as it goes along.
Scenes alternate between the arid New Mexican desert and the soggy Pacific Northwest in a way that’s jarring, but in a good way. It’s very hard to discuss this movie without spoiling some stuff, but it’s not letting on too much to say that when these transitions occur, you’re often travelling across TIME as well. The story doesn’t delineate the three strands … it’s up to you to catch on, and it’s a fun discovery as the pieces fall in to place. People may gripe about the editing as a “gimmick,” but I personally like it when a film can reward a repeat viewing based on what you know going in that you didn’t know originally. (PSYCHO … FIGHT CLUB … MEMENTO … any complaints?) What’s important is that I DO want to see it again, through new eyes.
This is the top-drawer follow up role to MONSTER that has eluded Charlize Theron since her Oscar win. She’s very convincing as the successful operator of a chic Portland restaurant who conveys great inner turmoil without ever overdoing it. She emits self-loathing, and is self-abusive in a way reminiscent of Maggie Gyllenhaal in SECRETARY.
Also very good is Kim Basinger in one of the other threads, although she’s somewhat upstaged by newcomer Jennifer Lawrence who gives a great performance as her daughter. On the Hispanic side of the cast, standouts include Joaquim de Almeida as Basinger’s illicit lover, J.D. Pardo as Lawrence’s boyfriend, Jose Maria Yazpik as a mystery man, and newcomer Tessa Ia. (You’ve even got to be careful with the credits so as not to give too much away!)
One other gimmick that really works: the film employs TWO Oscar-winning cinematographers, Robert Elswit (THERE WILL BE BLOOD) who does the desert shots, and John Toll (BRAVEHEART, LEGENDS OF THE FALL) who does Portland. This all-star pairing certainly doesn’t disappoint. It speaks volumes for the respect Arriaga has earned as a screenwriter that he was able to command this much performing and technical talent for his debut.
Finally, there’s the memorable denouement, which everything else is a prelude to or an aftermath of. Most impressive … a worth-the-wait payoff. The film may not stand a chance for best picture against the more rousing and crowd-pleasing THE WRESTLER, but it should still garner multiple nominations and maybe win a few, especially for writing, editing, cinematography, and best actress.
Side note: I love to be the harbinger of good news, and it’s my pleasure to announce that Tomei and Theron are at the PEAK of their professional pride in these two films. Tomei continues to expand upon her excellent work in BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD, this time (mercifully) with no Philip Seymour Hoffman obscuring the scenery. And those of you who can recall the most memorable scenes in REINDEER GAMES and THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE most assuredly will not be disappointed with Theron’s performance. Be looking for some niiiiiice JPEGs in the near future!
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