Room at the Top

In Room at the Top, Joe (Laurence Harvey) is a young, headstrong accountant who has just found a job in a small town.  With the help of a friend, he gets joins a theater club to meet young and beautiful Susan (Heather Sears).  While Joe attempts to woo her, he becomes closer to an older woman, Alice (Simone Signoret).  Very soon, Joe experiences the struggles and strife of being with two women and ends up with tragic consequences.

Susan is a not only an innocent beauty, but a high class girl.  Her father owns a factory, and once Joe is in her family’s radar, he is seen as a threat.  You see, Joe comes from a town that is now largely piles of rubble from the war and is considered lower class.  Joe pursues Susan, partially for a possible future of gaining higher class status, but also just for lustful kicks.  But a clean cut girl like Susan is hard to get to, especially with such protective parents, and in the end will she even be what Joe really wants?

Then there is Alice, a friend Joe never meant to fall in love with.  While Susan is a wide-eyed girl, Alice is a strong, seasoned and careful woman.  She is ten years older than Joe and skeptical, (not so much of his intentions, she seems comfortable with casual sex) but of getting too serious.  Alice is a much more interesting and likeable woman than Susan.  She is smarter, more cultured with a lifetime more of experiences than girlish Susan.  Even better, she is a surprisingly modern feminist, seeing herself and her body as more than a plaything for Joe.  I did not expect these bold conversations from a film from 1959.  When Alice finally does fall completely and trust Joe, she falls hard, and losing him would tear her apart.

A film with so much lust, adultery and the idea of sex being an enjoyable act landed Room at the Top with an X rating by the ABC.  It was so racy for 1959 that film distributors were afraid to touch the film.  However, once it was released, it proved to be a big hit, both critically and financially, and ushered in a new age of adult themes in film.

At the Oscars Room at the Top was nominated for six awards, including Best Picture.  Jack Clayton was nominated for best director, Harvey for best actor and Hermione Baddeley was nominated for best supporting actress for only being in a couple short scenes, but making quite an impact.  The film won the award for best adapted screenplay and Signoret won the Oscar for lead actress.  The way she can put up walls and let them fall and become so vulnerable earned her that Oscar.

Readers, I am so happy to have finally seen Room at the Top.  It was worth the wait and such a surprise.  The acting is superb all around and the story is juicy, enticing and pulls you in so well that you end up just as crushed at the end.  This film is an amazing ride, and i really wish it was more widely available.  I got it off Amazon UK as a second hand DVD, the only one I could find.

“I own my own body and I’m not ashamed of it.”

Notorious

Premiering in 1946, Notorious was Hitchcock’s second film starring Ingrid Bergman.  It is a spy thriller and a dramatic love story all at once, with Bergman forming a complicated love triangle with Cary Grant and Claude Rains.

After her father is convicted for being a Nazi spy, Alicia (Bergman) is sought out by a young government agent, Devlin (Grant).  With her familiarity with some Nazis that have moved to Brazil, he hopes that she can infiltrate their organization.  While waiting for details of her mission in Rio de Janeiro, the two fall in love.  When Devlin gets word that Alice is to seduce a friend of her father’s and past admirer, Alexander Sebastian (Rains), he tries to convince the others that Alicia isn’t right for the job, but to no avail.  He chooses their mission over their love and pushes Alicia to seduce Sebastian.  But how far can Alicia go along with this false love, and worse, what will happen to her if Sebastian realizes she is a spy?

One of the most memorable scenes, that literally pushed some boundaries, is a love scene between Bergman and Grant.  In the height of their romance, it seems the two can hardly stand to part when Devlin is called to get information on Alicia’s assignment.  For two and a half minutes, Hitchcock uses a long shot, focusing on the two kissing and nuzzling in between a few lines and slowly moving Devlin towards the door.  Since this film was made while the Hays Code was in charge of censoring film, kissing could not last for more than three seconds.  To get around this, Hitchcock had Bergman and Grant break off kissing after exactly three seconds only to start up again and again between breathless lines.

While the film was not nominated for Best Picture, it was not completely forgotten at the Academy Awards.  Notorious was nominated for Original Screenplay and Claude Rains was nominated for Supporting Actor.  His portrayal of a secretive man seduced by an old flame and then realizing her true motives is startling and wonderfully believable.

In the grand scale of Hitchcock films, Notorious may not be one of the most essential films, but I believe that is an important one in Hitchcock’s filmography.  While it’s a taught spy thriller, the element of romance is mixed in stronger than ever.  There are smaller moments of mounting suspense, like Devilin and Alicia’s discovery in the wine cellar, that may not built to big moments, but keep the story moving in a more placid manner.  Still, Notorious is an enjoyable and intriguing film perfect for any fan of Hitchcock, Grant, Bergman or Rains.

“A man doesn’t tell a woman what to do. She tells herself.”

Being John Malkovich

I first saw Being John Malkovich for a film class in college.  This was supposed to help us focus on the aspects of acting.  Before this film, I guess I saw acting as a simple thing.  Get in costume, say some lines, make it sound convincing, right?  No way.  The ideas the film presents about being inside someone else, slowly taking them over and the relationship between puppet and puppeteer fueled a very zen-like discussion in class which we related to the art of acting.  The film alone was a head-trip, the discussion was like, far out man.  Sometimes I miss my hippie classmates.

The story is wonderfully far-fetched.  An out of work puppeteer, Craig (John Cusack), finds a job as a filing clerk.  The company, that seems its only function is to file papers, is located on the 7 ½ floor of an office building.  As in, half way between two floors, and half the height, causing everyone to stoop over when standing.  Behind a filing cabinet, Craig finds a tunnel in the wall, crawls in, is transported inside John Malkovich for about fifteen minutes and then is spit out on the side of the New Jersey Turnpike.

The characters are just as strange as the setup.  Craig has all his aspirations wrapped up in being a famous puppeteer, with looks odd enough to match.  His greasy, unkept beard and ponytail combination would deter most respectable job offers.  His wife, Lotte (Cameron Diaz), looks just as odd, but brings a friendlier charisma to herself.  She keeps several animals in their small apartment, most of them suffering from some form of mental trauma.  At work, Craig meets Maxine (Catherine Keener), a calculating woman who knows she is beautiful and uses her looks to toy with people.  While Craig tries to win over Maxine, who pushes him into turning the Malkovich portal into a  quick business, Lotte discovers her attraction to Maxine while she is inside Malkovich.

This may sound like a lot of confusing  paradoxes, but the film has a way of presenting them so smoothly.  The love triangle (or square really, since Malkovich becomes the link bringing Lotte and Maxine together) does not become an overpowering force.  The relationships between the characters needs the portal and uses Malkovich for his body and later his power and fame.  The ideas between puppetry, acting and the role of poor Malkovich are easily linked.

Being John Malkovich is so smart and out there, not one thing in this film is normal.  Yet, we accept it all and want more.  We happily enjoy that there is a floor 7 ½ made for the love of a midget woman with a portal into John Malkovich behind a file cabinet.  We love accepting all these crazy things and the odd people.  That is what makes this film worthy of my Oscar-Snub series.

While this film is smart, witty, well written and a ton of fun, I think it had one major flaw to keep it out of the Best Picture category.  No matter how many times I see this film, the cinematography irks me.  During my first screening, I honestly thought something was wrong with the projection system, the image was so dingy.  It’s a little odd to find so much gray in this film’s palette when the story is so colorful.

Still, the fact that there is so much going on in this film, in terms of ideas, plot twists and endless surprises is priceless.  At times, there can be a huge mix of emotions all at once.  In my favorite scene (one of the best comedic scenes of the 90’s), where Malkovich has entered his own portal to be in a world where everyone and everything is himself, I laugh until I cry and become very disturb all at the same time.  What a hilarious nightmare.

“I have seen a world that no man should see!”

Coming Home

Coming Home examines three types of people affected by the Vietnam war.  There are the soldiers who come home crippled, unappreciated for their sacrifice and in horrible care.  Then there are the soldiers still out there or about to leave, full of pride and little anxiety at first and then disillusioned and wondering why they get to live or keep their limbs.  Lastly are the women left behind to worry about their men overseas who see the devastation of the dead and paralyzed men returning.

As Bob (Bruce Dern) is about to leave for Vietnam, his wife, Sally (Jane Fonda), tells him she will stay with his mother and not work, just like he wants her to.  Soon she starts volunteering at the Veterans hospital and rents a house near the beach with her friend, Vi (Penelope Milford).  At the hospital, driven mostly by curiosity, she finds an old classmate, Luke (Joh Voight), who is now paralyzed and enraged about the way he is treated.  As Sally becomes closer to Luke, and eventually starts a steamy affair with him, she wants to make people more aware of the treatment the injured veterans are having to endure.

While visiting Bob on leave in Hong Kong, we understand more of the current soldier’s plight.  Before Bob left, he was much more laid back and calm, but now overseas he seems drained and tense.  He talks about the horrible things he’s seen, like how his men cut off victims heads and put them on spikes as warnings, and how everything just seems like bullshit, not at all the patriotic duty everyone makes them think it will be.  We also get the real reason he doesn’t want Sally to work, or volunteer (her once justifiable loop hole).  Bob is really just afraid she will be unfaithful while he is away.

For Sally, it seems that she is on a path of self discovery while her husband is away.  It felt like she and Vi always had men to depend on all their lives, but now with just the two women running a house, they realize they can exist without men.  Sally is more taken care of than Vi though, who still works regular shifts while her husband is away.  With Sally realizing how wonderfully privileged her life has been, she feels more obligated to give back and volunteer.  And once she finds Luke, she finds more purpose in helping him, both with his physical setbacks and political agenda.  Then, as they become lovers, Sally learns that men can be sexually giving as well, but no one really wants to see Jane Fonda in that explicit of a position.  You have been warned.

By this tail end of the film journey, I’ve seen multiple movies about the mistreatment and plight of paralyzed Vietnam veterans.  I’d say that this gives the viewer a broader perspective by not just focusing on a man in the wheelchair, but becomes watered down to a love triangle.  Sadly, the only character I really liked here was Luke, he gained my sympathy while Sally and Bob seemed to be setting themselves up for their problems.

“And I know some of you guys are going to look at the uniformed man and you’re going to remember all the films and you’re going to think about the glory of other wars and think about some vague patriotic feeling and go off and fight this turkey too.  And I’m telling you it ain’t like it is in the movies.”

The Country Girl

Based off the Broadway play of the same name, George Seaton’s The Country Girl tells the story of three people.  There is the young Broadway director, Bernie Dodd (William Holden), who is in desperate need of a leading man for his new play.  He wants to hire Frank Elgin (Bing Crosby), who Bernie saw as a kid back when Frank was in his prime.  But Frank is nervous about taking such an important role, doubts himself and turns to drinking.  His wife, Georgie (Grace Kelly), who is also his manager tries to keep Frank in line, but Bernie thinks she is domineering  and holding him under her thumb.  Little does Bernie know what secret guilt is gnawing at Frank and what passion is hidden within Georgie.

The greatest drive of the story is the three-way tension going on between Bernie, Frank and Georgie.  Frank reveals things to Georgie that he tries to calmly cover up around Bernie to remain the likable lead.  To Bernie, this makes Georgie look like the bad guy causing all of Frank’s insecurities that interfere with his work.  Thus, in an effort to save his play, Bernie is pitted against Georgie telling her to stop being a critic and just a supportive wife.  But soon the whole truth comes out and a love triangle forms.

This is not our usual Bing Crosby character in The Country Girl, but a much darker and tormented person.  There is still room for a few songs to show off that beautiful voice, but in between we see a man filled with despair, self loathing and doubt.  He tries to hide all this from everyone but Georgie, the only one who understands his plight.  To Bernie and everyone affiliated with the play, he just tries to be likable and easy-going, but inside he is being crushed with his own insecurities and turns to alcohol.

Grace Kelly won her only Oscar for her stunning performance as Georgie.  It’s clear from her first scene that Georgie is a strong and opinionated woman, perhaps a ball-buster in the eyes of Bernie.  This enables her to support Frank by trying to manage his career and alcoholism.  As the film grows, we start to see a more fragile side of Georgie that Frank has not been nurturing well enough for a long while and that is what allows her to become closer to Bernie.

I especially love how this trailer narrated by Holden describes The Country Girl.  It really is a stirring, smart and beautiful film about three people in one of the most complicated moments of their lives.  If you want to see Kelly or Crosby in one of their most compelling roles, you have to see The Country Girl.

“No one has looked at me as a woman for years and years.”

Broadcast News

Today, our news shows can be comprised of stories that aren’t news at all, depending on the events of the day.  Just look at the Today show.  The local news usually gets the big stories out first.  A crash on the highway, a building on fire, a robbery, then a segment about the local YouTube star or someones pet raccoon.  This trend in news becoming cheap entertainment, rather than facts on important events, is exactly what the serious reporters in Broadcast News had feared.

We first meet your three main characters as young teens.  Jane is obsessively writing at her typewriter and freaks out at her father when interrupted.  Aaron is the fifteen year old valedictorian high school graduate who just keeps getting beat up for being smart.  And Tom is the good looking boy who tries hard, but just isn’t good at school.  “What can you do with yourself if all you can do is look good?”  They all end up working together in a television news program and form a love triangle.

From their teenage introductions, we understand where each of them will end up.  Jane (Holly Hunter) is the workaholic writer and producer who loves it when everything is in her control.  Aaron (Albert Brooks) is the dedicated, educated corespondent who doesn’t have the looks to hold the world’s attention on TV.  And Tom (William Hurt) just keeps moving up the ladder because he is handsome and a voice that can sell the news.  Tom knows he’s unqualified for his job, sometimes he doesn’t even understand the news he’s reading.  He openly admits these faults, but still runs stories that aren’t real news and gets promoted, leaving Jane and Aaron perplexed and unhappy.  And when the station has to cut the budget, it’s surprising who gets the ax and who is promoted.

On a personal level, Tom is a good guy, and wants to do better at his job, so he tries to learn from Jane and Aaron.  The more Jane and Tom work together, the closer they become.  But Aaron has always had feelings for Jane, yet the two are just very good friends.  As the film progresses, Jane is pulled more and more between the two men and the stress of her job.

The most memorable scene from this film has to be when Aaron gets the chance to anchor the Saturday evening news.  After gaining some confidence using some tips from Tom on how to look good and sounds good, there is one thing Aaron didn’t see coming.  Sweat.  Once the camera goes live, he begins sweating in huge thick drips from his curly haired head.  What’s more hilarious is that every moment the camera is cut away from Aaron, a swarm of people run in to dab his head and have to run off before the camera is back on Aaron.  With all the mayhem, someone bumps into the big hanging map behind the desk, and it’s swinging in the background on live TV.  The whole scene is perfectly hilarious, one of the best moments in the entire film.

You may find Broadcast News under the romantic comedy genera, but it doesn’t feel like one.  It is a surprisingly intelligent film full of witty dialogue and complex characters.  The performances from all three leads are wonderful and worthy of their Oscar nominations, even though Albert Brooks was nominated under supporting actor.  There’s even Jack Nicholson who has a small role as the station’s head anchor who won’t reduce his salary, where in the film he requested not to be paid for the role.  This is the last film James L. Brooks made before The Simpsons started up and it feels like a smart springboard straight into his animated franchise.  At the least, this film was some fuel behind the character, Kent Brockman.

“A lot of alliteration from anxious anchors placed in powerful posts!”

Alexander’s Ragtime Band

We first see Roger (Tyrone Power) having just finished conducting a classical concert.  The ladies try to get near him and his proud old professor tries to give the young man some advice, but he brushes them aside.  He and his band pals Charlie (Don Ameche) and Davey (Jack Haley) have an audition to get to.

At Dirty’s Eddie’s a band has just been kicked out by the owner when Stella Kirby (Alice Faye) arrives hoping for a job singing in the joint.  She tells the bartender she’s got some new music straight from New York.  While she’s catching up with an old friend, Roger and his band show up missing their music.  The bartender hands them Stella’s music entitled Alexander’s Ragtime Band.

Now, these boys are used to playing classical, more serious music.  As they begin to play, they ask, “What time is this?” The music is stiff for a few seconds before Roger tells them, “Swing into it.”  It isn’t long before Stella realizes they’re playing the new music she brought and fumes.  She gets up and starts singing with the band, not wanting to lose her own audition.  Before the boys can tell Stella to get lost, the owner hires all of them.  In that moment, they have become Alexander’s Ragtime Band with Roger replacing his name to the lead Alexander.

Though they’ve got the job, it’s not smooth sailing.  Alex and Stella are at each other’s throats at first.  She thinks he’s a snob and he thinks she is too crass.  There’s a great power struggle scene where Alex is trying to make Stella’s costume look classier, but she won’t budge and knows what keeps the audience entertained.  Throughout their fights, Charlie keeps the peace and plays referee.

Soon, a love triangle forms.  Charlie falls for Stella and writes a beautiful song for her, but as she sings it during a performance, she and Alex realize their love for each other.  Their romance is sweet, especially when they incorporate their feuds.  Nothing like embracing and telling your love, “And that’s for all the times I wanted to break your neck.”

With Charlie approving of Alex and Stella’s relationship and the band about to grab the ear of Broadway producer Charles Dillingham (Joseph King), everything seems smooth sailing.  Unfortunately, Dillingham only wants to put Stella on Broadway and soon after the rest of the band gets recruited into the army for WWI.  The rest of the film follows changes through the roaring twenties and days of prohibition where Alex tries to become a post war success and Stella tries to make up for lost time.

I believe I’m finally starting to warm up to these 1930’s musicals.  Either that or Alexander’s Ragtime Band is simply a film that cannot work without all the ragtime numbers spread throughout.  One of the great things about this film is that the plot doesn’t come to a dead stop for each musical number.  Many times they’re part of the action, like when Alex and Stella realize their affections and Stella runs off the stage mid-song and Alex simply hands his baton to Charlie to go after her.  Later, the army’s shows finale doubles as the troops deployment.  Talk about improvising.

In the end, Alexander’s Ragtime Band is an engaging story through the 1910s and 20’s.  Our emotions are pulled and pushed between the love story, Stella’s stage career and Alex’s rise from ruin.  Just like in the audition at Dirty Eddie’s, the band would not have worked without Stella’s voice, and the film cannot go on without the Oscar winning music.

“Just because you can stand here and shout you know everything about music.”

Mildred Pierce

Throughout WWII women had stepped up, taken factory jobs and realized the joy and accomplishment of working and providing.  In 1945, men were returning from war and pushing Rosie the Riveter out of her job and back into the home, where she was to get to work on creating the Baby Boomer generation.  Not all women went willingly.  Some realized their potential and went on to provide for themselves, no man needed even when raising a child.  Mildred Pierce is one of these stories brought to life with a noir murder mystery twist.

Mothers will do anything to win their daughter’s love and Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford) is no exception.  The movie opens with the murder of her husband, Monte Beragon.  As Mildred is being interrogated by the police, it goes into flashback where the real story is.   After her first husband, Bert (Bruce Bennett), leaves Mildred she has to find a job to support her and her two daughters.  She spoils the girls, especially the older one, Veda (Ann Blyth), who demands the best of everything.  Mildred finds a job as a waitress, but hides it from Vera, knowing she would look down on such work.  When Vera does find out, and disapproves, Mildred opens her own restaurant and becomes quite a success.  As she’s more able to buy her child’s love, she falls into a messy love triangle, between her ex-husband, future husband and business partner.

The ladies truly run this show.  Joan Crawford won the Oscar for Best Actress as Mildred.  She plays this self made woman with such gusto; it’s a performance to be rivaled to this day.  From grief, love, strife and determination, Crawford strikes into every emotion, brings a modern model for women to life and is the force moving the film.

Ann Blyth and Eve Arden were both nominated for supporting actress.  Blyth portrays Veda, surprising everyone with the treachery and loathing she is capable of without losing a speck of her beauty.  Arden has a small role as Ida, who helps Mildred run her restaurant and provides support.  Though she doesn’t have much screen time, she delivers some great one-liners, mostly about men.  She seems to be the most free of the three women, probably because she doesn’t have men to deal with.

The movie is filmed meticulously.  The lighting is always perfect and character move in and out of the shadows with a purpose.  Throughout the film, shadows and silhouettes are used as well as mirrors.  These techniques go a long way, in a film that is ruled by its actresses.  New dimensions are created that makes you have to think more, rather than stare and drool.  It’s visual candy for your eye and mind.

Watch Mildred Pierce with some spoiled brat kids to scare them into straightening out.  Or better yet, give them a quick history lesson on feminism in the forties.  Otherwise, the importance of a woman running a business may be lost on them.

“Personally, Veda’s convinced me that alligators have the right idea. They eat their young.”