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The Sight (2000)
Trite and true
I put my hand up to not finishing this film. It's a topic that I like but what has put me off continuing to watch is a poor script. The first jarring note was the dialogue between the Chinese neighour and the hero. She says "Jack the ripper has returned to London". I sorry but this rang so trite. The script so far has very little original content. Also at one point a police officer says "I want more evidence." When, in fact, at this stage they have no evidence only theories. It just lazy writing. Why have an American hero? To increase the American market size? Although he does make the useful comment that London was bombed in the WWII.
The cinematography is OK, some nice moody framing.
I do like the hero's long coat; very Sherlock Holmes. Lol.
Prodigal Son (2019)
Am I being unfair?
I am not a fan of US serial killer TV shows. I do put my hand up to this. And only watched 1/2 of the first episode. My impression is that this is a programme that has been 'dumped' not crafted. The motivation and premise are shouted. Nothing to discover. No subtlety no crafting. This is what really puts me off. It feels like this kind of writer/director/producer treats me like I'm stupid or that they are lazy. The result is that I couldn't be bother hanging in there, may be it got better or more likely more of the same.
The Descendants (2011)
Subtle and real
I stumbled across this movie. I don't think it is a spoiler to say, pivotal to the story is a death which is dealt with in a realistic way.All throughout the movie the dramatic moments were dealt with softly, the writing and acting were subtle.
The other aspect that I found realistic was the interior shots. The movie is set on Hawaii and the homes portrayed in the movie were different from the usual homes created for many movies. They seemed to reflect the place; they were furnished like homes you would find in Hawaii. Also the Hawaiian music track that was played frequently and this made another connection between the theme of ancestors and family's location.
I found the unfolding of the individual's characteristics were unexpected. Many seem to begin predictably and then would show a surprising aspect. This was one of the strategies that let the story unfold in a very real and unexpected way. One thing missing for me was the lack of discourse around 'family' and its function. Family and the place it has in the present and the past was the lynch-pin for all of the story lines. While the link with land was included, it seemed to be portrayed without the depth that this connection would have had if these were real people.
A Long Way Down (2014)
Subtle underplaying
This film brought, once again, into relief the differences between American and British ways of telling stories on screen. I put my hand up to the generalisation and my bias.
Spoiler In this film the characters have a scene in front of a TV day show. The event doesn't become pivotal which it often does in American movies which seem to make sacred anything with a big audience.
I thought the acting was great. Toni Collette does an excellent job portraying a dowdy frightened mother. Sam Neil is also called on to underplay his poor parenting and does that well.
Pierce Bronson presents a relatable, once again underplayed, humiliated celebrity, and doesn't hog the screen.
Another movie cultural difference is that during the fight scene there doesn't need to be a speech or some sort of reconciliation, there's just mess.
There was not a big deal made of 'why' the characters were seriously contemplating suicide. There were not problems to solve, which to me is another difference between American and British story telling. The characters unfolded themselves, flowering in subtle complexities. I loved that.
An Island Calling (2009)
Documentary on two brutal murders in Fiji
I watched this in 2014. I had known of the coups in Fiji and some of the politics driving them but I hadn't heard of these crimes. The makers of the documentary assumed some foreknowledge of both these things. They began at the end, went back to the beginning, moved on, past the event and then went backwards. I would have liked to hear more analysis of the interplay between the native Fijians, the population with an Indian heritage and the colonial British. There was a mention of an early confession but this was never explained. Visually it was OK but I was never moved, only irritated. I think the conservative Methodist church got off lightly. (As a side comment, the film never showed any graphic violence, no more than what would be seen on a news report.) It is a tragic and horrific story.