Dolores Claiborne (1995)

Now here is an example of complete Oscar oversight. This movie has a fantastic acting, an interesting story solid direction, yet  not a single Oscar nomination? I have lost some respect for the academy right at this moment. Kathy Bates stars as Dolores, a woman who is accused of murdering Vera Donovan (Judy Parfitt, who is a powerful presence). Jennifer Jason Leigh as Selena St George (Dolores' estranged daughter) and Christopher Plummer as Det. John Mackey, who is determined to 'catch' Dolores for Vera's 'murder' after he couldn't convict her of killing her husband 18 years earlier.

Now i want to get one thing clear, this is based a Stephen King novel (and i love his novels, in fact he's my favourite writer- oh yeah and i, like, read the book) so i kind of had preconceptions before i went in, i knew what i thought the characters would look like and i knew how it was to end. But the best thing about the film is that it twists our expectations right on their heads, i knew what would happen, but i was biting my nails along with the characters anyway. So therefore: bravo to Taylor Hackford (director), Tony Gilroy (screenplay), the actors and of course Stephen King who though of it in the first place.

I want to focus on each of the four principle actors individually if that's alright with you..
Kathy Bates is awesome. Anyone who has read my review of Misery knows that i think she is one great actress (i like her more than Streep, there i said it!) She brought Dolores (as great character on the page) to a whole new sort of life on the screen, she deserved an Oscar nom AT LEAST for such a great performance that was both sympathetic and tough. So its a hell of a thumbs up from me.

Jennifer Jason Leigh as Selena was a surprise, i could certainly see the character i had envisioned and was very satisfied with her performance, she over did it occasionally but i think she was solid and captured a side of Selena that wasn't shown in the book, i think JJL enhanced her. This is a performance that deserved an Oscar nom for best supporting, she portrayed the tortured and dark humored Selena with great confidence and she was easy to sympathize with.

Judy Parfitt was a scene stealer, a complete and utter scene stealer. She even took some away from Bates! Which as many know, would be pretty hard to do. Parfitt was perfect in every form for this role, she captured the essence of 'bitch' that Vera embodied but still was able to portray a humane side. Best supporting actress right there.

Christopher Plummer is fondly remembered as Master Von Trapp in The Sound Of Music (1965) but let me tell you: He's great. It's not a showy role but he does all he is required to do and is damn convincing. Maybe not best supporting actor worthy but certainly worthy of praise.

Now for the three supporting roles...........
Joe St George (David Strathairn) is really good. He is so convincing that i really hate him, we all cannot wait to see the end of him. Believe me you will feel  feel no sympathy for Joe St George.
John C Reilly gives solid support as Constable Frank Stamshaw and that is really the main cast in a nutshell.
Ellen muth (as young Selena) was good, but i didn't always believe her performance. However i think she did a good job in her emotional scenes (which were what the majority of her scenes were anyway).

I really liked this movie, it's not the best I've ever seen but that doesn't mean anything because i've seen a lot of great movies, BUT this film is still amazing. It has believable characters, a great story and wonderful direction, what's not to like? But if you really hate certain accents then you might find it grating because the accent of Bates, while very good and highly unusual (to me anyway) can be a bit tiresome if you notice that sort of thing.

"Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman has to hold on to" Vera Donovan (Judy Parfitt), Dolores Claiborne

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

What is there to say about the best black and white movie ever made? Well.... Masterpiece. My first Marlon Brando movie was a tremendous success, my second Vivien Leigh movie has made me ask myself a question: Is this better than Scarlett? (From Gone With The Wind [1939])Well, that was a tough question, they are both so different, but they share some similar traits (selfishness for instance haha)

In the first scene we see Blanche DuBois (Leigh) arrive in New Orleans, so far removed from the youthful glamour of Scarlett that i was taken aback at first. I watched the parts of the film on youtube (mostly 2-3 minute clips) and thought that Leigh was over the top, but everyone praised her so i decided to give the movie a chance. Afterwards i came to a realization. It isn't Vivien Leigh who is being OTT it's Blanche. Which makes the performance even more remarkable. Blanche's descent into madness was amazing and often times i forgot it wasn't real. Which is exactly what a makes a great performance. Speaking of great performances...

Brando is.... Phenomenal. He is Stanley Kowalski who we should all hate because he's a mean brute, but do we? No. Brando had this weird charisma about him where he could make you people understand and even sympathize with 'bad' people.. Which is why i think he was such a great actor.

The supporting cast is great. Kim Hunter as Blanch'es sister Stella (the subject of Stanley's now iconic plea) is perfectly refined and turns in an underrated performance. Karl Malden (another underrated actor) is superb as Blanche's would-be Romeo. I have to say that i was thoroughly engrossed in the film within minutes which doesn't happen as often as i would like it to.

The cinematography is excellent (and i mean EXCELLENT) particularly later on in the film. The film was brilliantly directed by Elia Kazan (East of Eden [1955], Splendor In The Grass [1961])

Sorry about the short review but yes it was a really good movie. (i had to rush)

"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers" Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh), A Streetcar Named Desire

Gone With The Wind (1939)

i have just completed the classic: Gone With the Wind starring Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard (whom i keep calling Ashley by mistake) and Olivia De Havilland. There isn't much to say about this marvelous film (but i'll try hard) except that it is worthy of every praise and reference it has ever had.

It rarely feels like a film from the 30s, almost every movie from that era i have ever seen has felt like a 30s movie but this one didn't, it felt just as fresh and as new as ever. The camera angles couldn't ever be improved upon, not even by todays greatest directors and i think Victor Fleming was a genius. The only time when i felt like it was from 1939 were the closeups of faces, the falling (very rehearsed) and the annunciation of the actors. But somehow this added even more to it's charm, it's a 30s film with barely any hint of it's time and when it does hint to when it was made, it hardly makes a difference. Ah movie's that don't feel dated now THAT's something gone with the wind.

The costumes and sets were sublime, the clothes Vivien Leigh wore were a sight to behold, especially when the costumes were green, red or blue. Green and blue seemed to match her eyes (sometimes they looked green and sometimes they looked blue) and red suited the name of her character: Scarlett O'Hara (but who didn't know that?). The costumes worn by Melanie (Olivia De Havilland) complimented the humbleness of her character perfectly and although she didn't look half as glamorous as Scarlett there was far more... i can't think of the words for it, well anyone who has seen the movie will know what i mean.
The clothes worn by Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) and Leslie Howard (Ashley Wilkes) were nicely understated and dignified, they added ruggedness to Rhett and respectibilty to Ashley.

The sets were beautiful and rich with vibrant and emotive colour, sometimes they looked painted (a 30s staple) but most of the time they looked realistic. Especially that beautiful plantation by the name of Tara.
A little bit of trivia: my Dad named my sister Tara after that house, what do i get named after? a race horse!

The music was beautiful. Tara's theme perfectly captures the essence of the film, it is about love, survival, hate, friendship, or in other words: life. A life that hasn't changed so much from the time it was set: before, during and after the civil war. Yes there are no slaves and yes no-one says 'fiddle dee dee' but the love/hate relationships and cruelty of living is still here and every time the music plays it is a constant reminder of this fact. The music adds emotion when it's either playing softly in the background or erupting into it's encompassing beauty. The movie would not have been as good without it's music.

Now for the actors: 
Clark Gable was a great one. To be honest i'd never really thought twice about him, i thought he was one of those actors who played himself in every damn movie. But it wasn't so. He adds emotion and humour to his handsome tough guy character, in those old movies it was rare to see such a realistic father-daughter relationship, much less one that is torn apart. He should have won that Oscar, he lost out to Robert Donat in Goodbye Mr chips, which while good, wasn't as good as this.

Vivien Leigh deserved her Oscar. The life in the character of Scarlett O'Hara is greater than any i have ever seen on film. Her wit, beauty, charm, stubbornness, selfishness and devotion to Tara adds up to a tour de force performance. Not to mention those scenes with Olivia De Havilland (Melanie), even when Scarlett is hopelessly in love with Ashley (whom Melanie is married to) Scarlett does all she can for her. Scarlett is the kind of character many people wish they could be like (perhaps so they can attract a guy like Rhett) and in some scenes you love her, in others you hate her and in some you just don't know.

Olivia De Havilland should have won that Oscar (not saying the Hattie Mcdaniel didn't deserve to win but when you compare the performances it's pretty obvious). The heart and soul she gives the selfless and humble Melanie is joyful to watch and it is sad to see her go through so much in the film when she is so undeserving of it. Melanie is practically a polar opposite to Scarlett which is why they work so well together on screen. Melanie is the friend we all wish we had.

Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes is a strange thing. at the start of the movie i'm not sure i could understand how Scarlett hated Rhett and was in love with this guy. This skinny guy who really wasn't that good looking, seemed sort of soft spoken and far too different from her. But as the movie progressed i found it easier to believe. The character, while not physically strong looking nor handsome was a man of honor and respect, i think a lot of women want a man who is honorable in the end. It seems that almost any ordinary woman would fall for the Rhett kind, but marry the Ashley kind (not Scarlett though, because she wasn't ordinary nor were the circumstances).

The supporting players like Hattie McDaniel were pretty good. I can't tell you how dedicated McDaniel's character Mammy is to the O'Hara's and how good her all too brief scenes with Rhett are. The little girl who plays Bonnie (Rhett and Scarlett's daughter) was well cast, she had the right kind of face to be a young Scarlett and her scenes with Leigh and Gable (especially Gable) show the family dynamic very, very well.

I've seen biographical movies about real people, but somehow i never saw them as real people, they were characters to me, but this was completely different, the actors made me see (perhaps even wish) as though these fictional characters were real. I think if there were more Melanie's and Ashley's in the world the world would be much nicer.
When we reach the end of this 4 hour film (personally i would have been just as happy if it had been longer) we see Rhett walking away in the mist and we see Scarlett, she should be a defeated woman. But she is there with the camera aimed squarely at her face, she has hope that she will get Rhett back. And we hope with her.

I've seen a lot of movies in my lifetime, not all of them good and i enter some with extremely high hopes, i entered this one with them too and in a very rare moment (maybe even for the first time) i was completely satisfied with a film.

"I can shoot straight if i don't have to shoot too far" Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh), Gone With The Wind.