Classic Movie Review Swing Kids

Swing Kids (1993) 

Directed by Thomas Carter

Written by Jonathan Marc Feldman 

Starring Christian Bale, Robert Sean Leonard, Frank Whaley, Barbara Hershey 

Release Date March 5th, 1993 

Published June 21st, 1993 

Swing Kids is an obnoxious movie about obnoxious characters being obnoxious amid the rising tensions and hatred of pre-World War 2 Germany. The story follows a group of young men, led by best friends, Peter (Leonard) and Thomas (Bale). All these boys want to do is dance, listen to records, and meet girls but their idyllic dance-floor utopia is interrupted by the rise of the Third Reich. The demand for conformity and discipline eventually takes hold of Thomas, who becomes a member of the Hitler Youth, straining not only his friendship to Peter but his loyalty to their bohemian, dancing music loving circle. 

It's not a bad premise for a movie but as executed by Thomas Carter, it captures mostly the obnoxious side of being a wild-eyed, horny teenager and the way those who may not have strong family lives, are more susceptible to seemingly charismatic cult leaders. Thomas falls in with the Hitler Youth because he is distant from his rich father, he craves the chance to belong to something, and he's in conflict with everyone else in his life, including Peter who refuses to fall in line with the S.S, and wants Thomas to remember that a member of their friend group, Arvid (Frank Whaley), is Jewish and thus very vulnerable at this point in time. 

Whaley delivers the most interesting and compelling performance in Swing Kids as a Jazz loving, Jazz guitarist who refuses to compromise his Jewish background or his dedicated bohemian, communist morals. Though he is often framed by the film as being unreasonable in how he appears perfectly willing to die in order to defy the Nazis, Whaley gives the performance depth and weight beyond the box that the script and the direction place him in. Whaley's is a performance of deep conviction and sincerity, a counterpoint to Leonard's wishy-washy, non-committal approach and Bale's obnoxious embrace of all things Nazi. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media

Movie Review Tape

Tape (2001) 

Directed by Richard Linklater

Written by Stephen Belber 

Starring Uma Thurman, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke 

Release Date November 2nd, 2001 

Published April 16th, 2002 

Someone once said that there are three sides to every story: Yours, mine, and the truth. This is the central theme of Richard Linklater's film Tape starring Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, and Uma Thurman.

Hawke is Vince, a low level drug dealer and a world-class fuckup. Vince is in Lansing, Michigan for the Lansing Film Festival where his friend John (Leonard) is debuting his first film. The two meet at Vince's rundown hotel room with John expecting to go to dinner, but Vince has another agenda. Thus begins a game of verbal cat and mouse with Vince attempting lead John to the conclusion that best fits what Vince wants to hear.

The disagreement is over Vince's high school girlfriend Amy and an incident between John and Amy that each remembers differently. Vince has a surprise for John in that Amy is in Lansing and on her way to the hotel as they speak. Amy (Uma) is surprised to see John and is obviously unnerved at seeing him again. Vince quickly steers the conversation to high school and the thing that happened between John and Amy.

What happened between John and Amy? Well that’s interesting you see, they aren't quite sure. Each character remembers it differently which leads to amazing bouts of verbal warfare, shifting alliances and childish name-calling.

Linklater, the man behind Dazed and Confused and Slacker, here crafts a story that would easily translate to a play. A single set three actors and a lot of very good dialogue. The actors are up to the challenge. With each line of dialogue they make their point while their faces and actions give the audience insight into who they are. There is some obvious improvisation going on and the improv makes the dialogue feel real.

Linklater shot the film on digital video, which allows him to use the room’s natural lighting and adds to the feeling of intimacy, of being there, witnessing this conversational warfare. As the film progresses, Linklater uses the DV camera to visually shrink the room with tight, claustrophobic, close-ups, magnifying the tension in each characters face.

Tape is a small but powerful film that, like Changing Lanes, is an insightful look at human nature and how right and wrong can at times be decided by what is perceived instead of what is true. Emotions, instincts, anger and self-preservation are all part of being human; it's how you deal with them that define you as a person. I may be over-intellectualizing this film, maybe it's just about three people and a misunderstanding. This review may be more of an insight into this reviewer than this film, but these are honestly all the things that went through my mind as I watched this magnificent film. 

I highly recommend Tape.