Movie Review The Good German

The Good German (2006) 

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Written by Paul Attanasio 

Starring George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire 

Release Date December 15th, 2006 

Published September 10th, 2007

Before Tarentino and Rodriguez put the clicks, pops, scratches and cigarette burns back into film in Grindhouse, Steven Soderbergh had already used technology to revive the look of another Hollywood era. In The Good German, Soderbergh crafted a wartime noir love triangle but it was his attention to period detail, and the way he recreates the way movies looked in the 40's and 50's that makes The Good German notable and modestly watchable.

In The Good German George Clooney stars as an investigative reporter for the New Republic and an ex-soldier who returns to Germany for the first time since the end of the war and the beginning of the reconstruction of two different Germany's. Upon his return Clooney's Jake Geismer seeks and finds trouble in the form of his ex mistress Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett) who had been his stringer before the reconstruction forced her into prostitution to pay the bills.

When Jake and Lena reunite it's not a warm moment. Lena is now involved with another American, a motor pool con man named Patrick Tully (Tobey Maguire). Tully is no stranger to Jake, when he arrived in the country for this assignment, Tully was made his driver. How did the current boyfriend of Jake's former flame end up his driver upon his return to Germany? Jake is not a believer in coincidences and his reporter's instincts lead him to a dangerous conspiracy.

Steven Soderbergh's painstaking detail in making The Good German resemble the films of the 40's and 50's is admirable and intriguing. Unfortunately, all of that fascination with technique and style left the story of The Good German in neglect. The story plays out in three acts from three different perspectives and plays like rough character sketches that were only integrated at the final moment.

The script by Paul Attansio, the talented writer and creator of TV's Homicide and Oz, plays second fiddle to the technology on display to recreate the era. It's quite clear that Soderbergh is more interested in his black and white toys than he is in this script. As evidence, the script highlights anachronisms that undermine the period detail Soderbergh is going for. The Good German is R - rated for nudity and naughty language; two things that would never have made it into a film made in the period Soderbergh is attempting to recreate.

A more bold and clever play, in a script the director cared about, would have been to make The Good German meet the standards of the Hays code, the ratings system of the day that was essentially institutional censorship. Not to say that the Hays Code was good, it wasn't, but how clever might this movie have been had they explored the boundaries of the period and employed the kind of subtext and layers that directors like Michael Curtiz made such wonderful use of during the Hays Code period. But then that would have taken far more work than what went into this rough draft of a script.

If the biggest draw of The Good German is the period evoking technology , the biggest issues may be the actors on camera. Though few actors can evoke golden age leading men as well as George Clooney, he seems ill-suited for the role of a putzy patsy taken for a ride by a nitwit like that played by Tobey Maguire. Maguire may be Spiderman but take away the web slinging and the costume and he is no match for the star wattage of Clooney.

As the alleged mastermind of this plot, Maguire is tremendously over-matched. With his high pitched voice and slight frame, Maguire is the least believable tough guy ever to start a bar fight in a German grog hall. Opposite Cate Blanchett in romantic scenes early in the film, scenes in which he is supposed to be intimidating, Maguire looks as if Blanchett could break him in half if she had to. Blanchett is more of a mother figure to Maguire than a lover and I don't believe that was the film's intention.

As for Ms. Blanchett, hampered by an ugly German accent, and despite her remarkable talent, she is at a loss to make this underwritten character work. As she attempts to evoke Ingrid Bergman, Blanchett at times crosses the line from serious drama to melodramatic parody. As the character is written, as a classic femme fatale, Blanchett is all grandiloquent gesture and emotional projection. Sometimes it works, other times she seems something out of Ed Wood.

The technique is the star of The Good German. Credit director Steven Soderbergh for his bold ideas and loving homage. What a shame that the same care was not taken in crafting a plot to match the technique in depth and complexity. As it is, The Good German is a notable failure. A wonderful experiment in the possibilities of film technology but not a movie that will be remembered for anything other than its technique.

Movie Review Leatherheads

Leatherheads (2008) 

Directed by George Clooney 

Written by Duncan Brantley, Rick Reilly 

Starring George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, John Krasinski, Jonathan Pryce 

Release Date April 4th, 2008 

Published April 3rd, 2008 

George Clooney is a big fan of old Hollywood. At his best Clooney throws back to the stars of the 40’s 50 and 60’s with flair and relish. Evoking the look of Clark Gable, the charisma of Cary Grant, and the cocktail hour suavity of Frank Sinatra, Clooney is a throwback in modern times. You can see this in his film resume. Movies like Intolerable Cruelty which threw back to the classic 50’s and 60’s style romantic comedy, The Good German, shot in black and white no less evoked Bogart in mystery mode with a dash of Spencer Tracey. And, of course, there are the Ocean’s movies; which modernize the 60’s cool of Sinatra’s rat pack.

No wonder then that Clooney is so at home in his latest role, a period comedy with period clothes and a period romance. Leatherheads stars George Clooney as Dodge Connelly the leader of a ragtag group of pro footballers watching their league slowly collapse around them. Set in the mid 1920’s Clooney could not be more at home with style, grace, and rapid fire banter that filmmakers of the day like Preston Sturges and Howard Hawks made legendary.

In 1925 College Football was America’s game and its stars were the stars of American sports. Pro football on the other hand was played on fields, literally, corn fields, wheat fields, anyplace with a fair patch of grass and enough room for a few rickety bleachers. Better known for its ugly cheating and brawling. Pro football of the time was an outlaw sport and Dodge Connelly and his Duluth Bulldogs were the Oakland Raiders of their day. The Raiders have a reputation for being tough and bending the rules. 

Unfortunately for Dodge, his beloved Bulldogs and their fellow barnstorming pros in Milwaukee, Decatur and even Cleveland are struggling financially and folding up at an alarming rate. Eventually, even Duluth can’t afford to keep playing and the Bulldogs are out of a job, forced to return to the mines and other menial work. The team and their pro league is sunk until Dodge gets a great idea. 

Traveling to Chicago, Dodge meets with the top college football star of the day, a kid nicknamed The Bullet, Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski), Princeton University football captain and a bona fide war hero. If Dodge can convince The Bullet, and his smarmy agent C.C (Jonathan Pryce), to come to Duluth and play for the Bulldogs, Dodge believes that he can save his team and likely the sport of pro football.

Following the story of the football star/war hero is a crafty reporter named Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger). Posing as a sports reporter, Lexie is chasing a scoop about The Bullet’s war hero story being a big fake. Her task is to convince The Bullet to confess but after meeting Dodge, it’s all Lexie can do to avoid a scandal of her own.

Like Clooney, Renee Zellweger is a star out of time. Her work in Chicago and the little seen gem Down With Love showcase a talent that would have been perfectly at home with Howard Hawks, Preston Sturges or opposite Gable, Bogey or Grant. Zellweger banters like Rosalind Russell and paired with Clooney she smolders like Bacall.

The chemistry of Clooney and Zellweger nearly overwhelms the lightweight football comedy and definitely puts co-star John Krasinski at a disadvantage. The breakout star of TV’s The Office is an affable young actor with a bright future but his burgeoning talent is no match for the veteran Clooney and the experienced Zellweger.

Krasinski simply cannot sell the love triangle aspect of Leatherheads and fades through the background when Clooney and Zellweger are on screen. I don’t mean to demean Mr. Krasinski, not many actors could match the kind of fizzy chemistry of Clooney and Zellweger. It’s just a shame that so much of the movie rides on us buying The Bullet as a viable alternative to Clooney’s mantastic Dodge Connelly.

Quick witted if a bit dawdling at times, Leatherheads is a pithy, sweet romantic comedy that happens to feature sports. A throwback to a completely different era of movie history, George Clooney directs Leatherheads with the verve of Howard Hawks if not the complete skill set of that film legend. Charming and funny with a pair of great lead romantic partners, check out Leatherheads for Clooney and Zellweger and wish John Krasinsky well on the future of his career.

Movie Review Lions for Lambs

Lions for Lambs (2007)

Directed by Robert Redford 

Written by Matthew Michael Carnahan 

Starring Robert Redford, Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Michael Pena, Andrew Garfield 

Release Date November 9th, 2007

Published November 8th, 2007 

A valuable dialogue on the most important topics of our times is well engaged in Robert Redford's Lions For Lambs. Inter-cutting three different stories, unfolding simultaneously, and one important flashback, Lions For Lambs fails in structure but succeeds for its intentions. The inescapable issue is how tremendously un-cinematic Lions For Lambs is. Maybe I'm grasping, but a movie needs to be more than the sum of its windy pretenses. Even as someone who agrees wholeheartedly with the message, the message fails in the milieu and good intentions bog down for lack of a more compelling cinematic arc.

Robert Redford directs and stars in Lions For Lambs as a political science professor, everyone just calls him doc. This morning Doc is early to chat with Todd (Andrew Garfield) , a student with a sharp mind who refuses to apply himself and often just doesn't show up. The war and the government has so disillusioned young Todd that apathy has set in. For the next hour Doc attempts to awaken the engaged mind of this student with so much potential.

As that is happening in California, a journalist (Meryl Streep) has arrived in the office of a young Senator (Tom Cruise) who, years earlier, she had proclaimed the 'future of the Republican party.' The senator took the hyperbolic headline to heart and now wishes to repay her unintentional compliment with a real important scoop. As the two chat, a military operation that the senator helped plan is getting underway. He hopes that telling the journalist this story will help him with another front page headline to add to his presidential resume.

Meanwhile, the soldiers assigned to carry out the new strategy have left the comfort of the American base in Bagram on their way to a remote, hilly region of Afghanistan, dangerously close to the Iran border and covered in snow. A gun battle causes PFC's Finch (Derek Luke) and Rodriguez (Michael Pena) to fall out of a transport copter into an enemy nest. Surrounded, they must conserve their ammo, nurse their wounds, and deal with the cold as they await a rescue.

Each of these three storylines, written by the very talented Matthew Michael Carnahan, dovetails off of the other with modest detail. Using Mark Isham's quietly compelling score to link one scene to the next, Redford makes no pretense about what his point is. Lions For Lambs is about excoriating cowards who make decisions in Washington while our lions are sent off to die to protect these lambs. It's a heavy handed point but a well made one, especially if it already speaks to your beliefs as this film does mine.

I've opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning and listening to Robert Redford and Meryl Streep make the points that I have already made myself, in various arguments over Iraq, is quite affecting for me. However, it may mean nothing to you. If you are for the war, a supporter of the President and his policies, you won't like much of Lions For Lamb. The film is unabashedly, unashamedly liberal and that, at the very least, is bold especially just a mere three years after the Dixie Chicks were threatened with death and the end of their careers for speaking out.

Times change quickly and now a spate of Hollywood heavyweights have taken on the war to varying results. In The Valley of Elah, The Kingdom, Redacted, Rendition and a number of documentaries have taken on the war to varying degrees of success. Robert Redford delivers, arguably, the most thoughtful film of the bunch but also the least cinematic. Sorry, but we need more than just actors speechifying for over an hour. The film lacks dynamism and feels stultifying by being limited to a one speech after another structure. 

There is little to no visual accomplishment to Lions For Lambs. Don't get me wrong, it is professionally shot, but only a few scenes, those set in the mountains of Afghanistan, manage to be visually compelling. The rest is just a series of conversations shot almost statically in two shots broken up by the occasional showy camera move or tight close up.

Tom Cruise has the most difficult role in the film, that of the conservative voice, a strawman for the liberal messaging of the movie. His ambitious Senator may look like John Edwards but he talks like Dick Cheney. Jousting with Streep's skeptical journalist, Cruise more than holds his own. His character being a natural villain, a congressman and snake oil salesman, he is doomed to be outwitted but he doesn't go down without a fight.

Watch how Cruise regulates that star charm, holding back on that natural glint in his eye. It's an extraordinary effort because the man is effortlessly charismatic. He literally has to dial it down to play a charismatic congressman. In Lions For Lambs Cruise brings just the perfect mixture of political savvy, ugly ambition and earnest passion. He's the kind of villain who doesn't see himself as the villain and those are the best kinds of villains. 

Lions For Lambs ends with a poignant offering of why Redford chose this title. I won't spoil it for you but I will say that anyone who questions Redford's patriotism and commitment to our troops will have not seen these final gut wrenching scenes. In the end, Lions For Lambs should be far better than it is. The subject matter deserves a more compelling direction. It needs more than just a series of soapbox declarations and condemnations. Valuable subject matter is rendered inert due to a lack of style that keeps Lions for Lambs from transcending its polemical intentions.

Movie Review: An Unfinished Life

An Unfinished Life (2005) 

Directed by Lasse Hallstrom 

Written by Virginia Korus Spragg 

Starring Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez, Morgan Freeman, Josh Lucas, Damien Lewis 

Release Date September 9th, 2005 

Published September 8th, 2005 

Director Lasse Hallstrom is hailed by many as a genius. I do not share this sentiment. I find Mr. Hallstrom's inveterate brand of gooey, feel good, hokum to be excruciating. Credit for the success of both Chocolat and The Cider House Rules is owed far more to the creative marketing execs at Miramax than to the artistic credibility that Lasse Hallstrom allegedly brought to them. For me, the bland, soupy, emotionally manipulative style of Hallstrom turns my stomach. 

So you can imagine my shock at watching Lasse Hallstrom's latest effort, An Unfinished Life starring Robert Redford, and finding myself honestly moved. Stripping away his stock melodramatics, Lasse Hallstrom crafts a quiet, unassuming examination of grief and four uniquely fascinating characters that succeed without Hallstrom's usual heavy handedness.

Robert Redford stars in An Unfinished Life as Einar Gilkyson, a crusty old cowboy living set in his ways in the mountains of Wyoming. Milking cows and riding horses are Einar's daily pursuits. What you would not expect is the care with which this curmudgeonly character takes care of his oldest friend, Mitch (Morgan Freeman), the victim of a bear attack for which Einar feels responsible. Dropping any pretense of cowboy toughness Einar is genuinely caring for his old friend.

Then, into the daily routine of Einar and Mitch's walks Einar's former daughter-in-law, Jean (Jennifer Lopez). Having just escaped with her 12 year old daughter Griff (Becca Gardener) from an abusive boyfriend, Jean is turning to the only family she has left. Einar, however, is not happy to see her. Einar blames Jean for the death of his son Griffin, her husband. Having disappeared immediately after Griffin's funeral, Jean never told Einar about his granddaughter.

This premise sets up for a number of possible melodramatic flourishes and opportunities abound for grand thematic gestures. However, what makes An Unfinished Life so fascinating is the number of times those grand gestures are passed over in favor of a quieter more realistic approach to the characters. Oftentimes directors like Lasse Hallstrom overwhelm dramas with grandiose turns of plot, traumatic, almost Job-ian, pitfalls that are meant to create further drama but more often take away realism in favor of jerking tears out of the eyes of moviegoers.

Here, much to my surprise, Lasse Hallstrom stays so far away from this method that An Unfinished Life threatens to become so real as to mirror mundane everyday life. That is only avoided by the terrifically talented cast lead by Robert Redford. In what is a return to form after a series of forgettable films, Mr. Redford digs in and delivers a wonderful portrait of a grieving father, an aging cowboy ,and an extraordinary friend. Redford and Morgan Freeman make a wonderful team onscreen and they seem to relish playing old cowboys reminiscing about a way of life that is now almost nonexistent.

The script was adapted for the screen by the writers of the book of the same name, Mike Spragg and Virginia Korus Spragg. The husband and wife team living in the mountains of California crafted the story character by character, giving each a backstory that they only later linked to the other characters as the story progressed. This unique approach helped in creating wonderfully fleshed out characters whose depth and soul are communicated by this great cast.

Naturally not every element of the book could make it into the film. Some of the lost items include a little of Jean's backstory, that of her jealous and dangerous ex-boyfriend Gary (Damian Lewis), and much of Jean's romance with the local Wyoming sheriff played by Josh Lucas. At some point these stories were left undone in favor of making the movie more about Einar.  Everything flows from him in this version and this is not a bad approach, especially since Robert Redford delivers such a terrific performance.

I love the idea that characters like the ones played by Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman really exist. It's charming to think that somewhere in the mountains of Wyoming there are these rough and tumble cowboy types of bygone days who have deeply philosophical conversations and poetic musings about dreams. The location is romantic and the characters give context to that romantic air by acting as if they really exist, somewhere out there away from society.

The focus on Einar and Mitch's close friendship is also a source of humor in the film. The old friends have an old married couple that quite funny. And then there is a more overt question of their closeness from the granddaughter who in her precocious 12 year old way asks outright if the two old cowboys are gay. This could have been a cheap joke but in execution it's a very sweet funny moment and a necessary moment of levity breaking into the underlying and ponderous sadness at the film's core.

In the end, An Unfinished Life is about grief and forgiveness. Einar has never forgiven Jean for the car accident that took his son's life. By the same token, Jean has never forgiven herself which led her into a series of abusive relationships. The film emphasizes the point with expository dialogue from Jean saying exactly what we in the audience already knew.  She feels she deserves the abuse because she holds herself responsible for the death of her husband.

That tendency in the dialogue to over-explain a point is one of a few minor flaws in the film. Another is the budding romance between Jean and the local sheriff played by Josh Lucas. The two actors look good together but the sparks never really ignite, probably because both characters' stories are cut back to make more room for Einar and Mitch's stories. Thankfully Einar and Mitch are so interesting you can forgive the inconsistencies.

Another issue that might annoy observant moviegoers is a small number of editing problems. Scenes that do not connect with the rest of the story, seemingly added to give supporting characters more screen time. Lopez is the subject of most of these extraneous scenes, such as a scene in a diner, where she has taken a job, in which she confronts a pair of rednecks warning them not to mess with her. The scene shows Jean can stand up for herself when she wants to but that point is repeated more compellingly and necessarily later when she has a final confrontation with Einar.

Regardless of these minor problems, An Unfinished Life is a lovely dramatic piece. Lyrical, prosaic at times, but always involving. Director Lasse Hallstrom has never crafted a more enjoyable film. It's a real shame that the film was yet another casualty of the Miramax-Disney war. After sitting on the shelf for a year the film has the stench of failure attached to it. This is quite unfair, especially for a film that marks the return to form of the legendary Robert Redford. Given the proper care An Unfinished Life could have been an Oscar nominated coda for Mr. Redford's extraordinary career.

Movie Review: Charlotte's Web

Charlotte's Web (2006) 

Directed by Gary Winick 

Written by Susannah Grant, Karey Kirkpatrick 

Starring Julia Roberts, Dakota Fanning, Robert Redford, Steve Buscemi, Oprah Winfrey, Kathy Bates

Release Date December 16th, 2006 

Published December 15th, 2006 

Most people of my generation, Gen-X, were exposed to E.B White's classic children's fable Charlotte's Web by the cartoon adaptation that was a television staple since its creation in 1972. Interesting fact about that adaptation, E.B White hated it. He was wary of Hollywood to begin with and found the adaptation to be lightweight and far too Hollywood.

There is no telling what he would think of the latest incarnation of Charlotte's Web; White died in 1985. However, he did once hope that the film would be given a live action treatment. Under the whimsical direction of Gary Winick (13 Going On 30) with a slightly updated script by Karey Kirkpatrick (Over The Hedge) and Susannah Grant (In her Shoes), this live action Charlotte's Web has the kind of magic that I think E.B White may have appreciated, especially as a fan of talking animals.

Wilbur (voice of Dominic Scott Kay) was a runt pig on his way to slaughter. Thankfully, young Fern (Dakota Fanning) was witness to his birth and stepped in to prevent his execution. The first few months of this spring-pigs life were spent as Fern's pampered pet. However, once school started and the holiday season grew closer, Wilbur's fate seemed to be Christmas dinner.

No longer allowed to be Fern's pet, Wilbur is banished to the barn owned by Fern's uncle, Mr. Zuckerman, where a menagerie of not so friendly neighbors await. Maybe they are just being realistic and not wanting to get close to an animal so likely to be gone by the first snow, but the animals in the Zuckerman barn are a little standoffish.

That is, except for Charlotte (Julia Roberts), a spider who befriends the lonely little pig. Charlotte can relate to being an outcast. As a spider she is not exactly on good terms with her neighbors either. Some are afraid, like Ike the horse (Robert Redford), others are disgusted by her, like Samuel the sheep (John Cleese). Wilbur becomes Charlotte's first friend. Eventually the two become close enough that Charlotte breaks the bad news to him about his likely fate but also promises to find a way to save him.

When I first began seeing trailers for this new Charlotte's Web I was concerned. The trailers featured fart jokes which to me signaled desperation and created the worry that such modern touches would all involve bathroom humor. My memories of Charlotte's Web from childhood are of a classy cartoon that even made the rat Templeton acceptable, even as he rolled in garbage.

Thankfully, my worries were unfounded. The bathroom humor in Charlotte's Web is limited to just a few scenes. What is prevalent throughout this new adaptation is a classy, old school approach to storytelling. Director Gary Winick spins a wondrous tale that is the perfect mixture of sugary sap and honest, touching emotion. The film is at times so saccharine you need to call your dentist but by the end you will find that you've spent the entire film with a smile on your face and maybe even a hint of a tear in the corner of your eye as one of the main characters passes away.

Julia Roberts provides the voice of Charlotte and her soft, honey soaked tones are so soothing you can't help but fall in love with this spider. Soft and sweet, her voice is the calming element needed to leaven the mood of the other voice actors who are either hyper or extremely put on. Roberts brought a similar vocal smoothness to the animated film The Ant Bully earlier this year, another film where her voice-work stands out.

Like the animated version of this story, this Charlotte's Web has a lovely timeless quality. Even with the CGI necessary to create the talking animals, Charlotte's Web has such a classic look and such an old school approach to storytelling that it seems like it could have existed 40 years ago. Director Gary Winick perfectly captures the innocence of E.B White's fable, his characters ,and even the slightly dark undertones of the story that give it such depth and resonance.

Charlotte's Web is at times a little cloying and at times a little too sweet but most of all, Charlott'e Web is a solidly crafted piece of G-rated children's entertainment. The nostalgia factor makes it appealing to adults as well as children but parents will likely be surprised just how much they enjoy  the feel of this film even beyond their memories of the cartoon and the classic book.

Movie Review Syriana

Syriana (2005) 

Directed by Stephen Gaghan 

Written by Stephen Gaghan 

Starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper, Amanda Peet, Tim Blake Nelson

Release Date November 23rd, 2005 

Published November 22nd, 2005 

2005 has been an extraordinary year for George Clooney. His second directorial effort Good Night and Good Luck, a film about the pitched battle between newsman Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy, has been lauded by critics for its intellect and social relevance. Both Good Night and Good Luck and Clooney's latest acting effort Syriana are awards contenders with Clooney likely competing against himself as a supporting player in both films. In Syriana, Clooney is part of one of maybe a dozen subplots in a byzantine tale of corruption and futility. An exceptionally thought provoking narrative that is as fascinating as it is depressing.

Describing the plot of Syriana is a somewhat futile task. The complex, non-linear form of the script defies any simplistic description. The film is essentially about how business is done in the oil industry. But the real essence of Syriana is futility. The futility in attempting to stop the madness in the middle east. Futility in attempting to discern the culpability of oil companies in creating the instability of the middle east. And finally the futility of following the myriad of motivations of each of the characters in Syriana.

There is George Clooney's Bob Barnes, a CIA operative in the middle east, who we first meet as he is setting up some potential terrorists in Iran to be killed. Bob is getting older and his colleagues back in Washington are talking about the end of his career. Bob's career, the chance at a cushy desk job, rides on one last task. He must kill a potential new middle eastern king. When that job goes bad, Bob's career is beyond merely being over.

Matt Damon plays Brian Woodman, an oil industry analyst who lands a major new middle eastern client after his own son is killed at a party held by this new client. Naturally, this arrangement does not sit well with Brian's wife (Amanda Peet) who cannot abide profiting from her son's death. This does not deter however as becomes the top economic advisor to his new client. With this client about to become the biggest player in the Middle East, Brian stands to get very rich. This, however, puts Brian's interests at odds with a number of other competing interests.

Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper and Christopher Plummer inhabit another of Syria's many plots. Wright is an ambitious Washington lawyer who lands a gig trying to smooth the way for two major oil companies to merge into the fifth largest company in the world. Cooper is the CEO of one of the two companies, Killen Oil of Houston, Texas, and Christopher Plummer plays Wright's boss whose CIA connections are key in helping the merger succeed.

How these plots intrude on one another only becomes clear well into your post-film analysis. While watching Syriana you are dazzled individually by each plot, even as you have little idea what they mean or where they are headed. It's a rather astonishing film that can leave an audience so bedeviled and at once so fascinated. Syriana is as compelling a film as they come.

Director Steven Gaghan knows a little something about sprawling multi-layered, massively cast epics. It was Gaghan who scripted the Oscar nominated Traffic. Syriana and Traffic are each muckraking cousins in terms of stirring debates on important issues. Traffic is slightly superior in that it somehow feels more complete and its characters' motivations so much clearer. But both films are a testament to Gaghan's talent for complex and meaningful stories. 

When late in Syriana Clooney's CIA agent is chasing through the desert in attempt to save someone's life you cannot figure if it's just dumb luck that landed him in exactly the right spot or just an editing decision that excised the scene that might explain his luck. At one moment he looks lost, the next he is tearing off after exactly the people he's searching for. I say that Clooney's character was trying to save a life, but his motivation may be more ambiguous than that. There are a few more scenes missing from Syriana that might make the narrative clearer but, in the end, they aren't needed. Part of what makes Syriana fascinating is a level of ambiguity left to the audience to consider well after they have watched the film.

Working from a book by former CIA agent Robert Baer called See No Evil, director Steven Gaghan posits that much of the fictional tale of Syriana is based on reality. If this is true, Syriana could rank as one of the more depressing films of the year. Essentially it depicts oil companies, the CIA, and our government as morally bankrupt and completely corrupt. They do business with people in the middle east who are equally as corrupt and often more murderous than us, though we do more than our share of killing. 

Corruption, as illuminated in a quick but resonant speech by Tim Blake Nelson, in a pivotal cameo, is not only necessary, it is simply what we do. Corruption is American foreign policy. It is the cost of doing business, an everyday part of how things move through the Middle East. Both here and abroad corruption is everywhere and you can do nothing about because all of us, no matter how much you may deplore it, benefit from this corruption every day.

The gas you buy so cheaply as compared to other countries is the result of this corrupt system. Most of the products you buy are produced in some way, shape, or form using the oil that is siphoned from middle eastern oil fields. The corruption is inescapable unless you're willing to accept some major new inconveniences and even then you have to find a way to elect people who will put those new inconvenient policies in place, which means working around the corruption in place to hold up the corruption already in place. Good luck with that.

In a way Syriana reminds me of the first amendment documentary Orwell Rolls In His Grave, which details the corruption that has led all of America's communications industries to fall into the hands of a few wealthy elites. The thesis of 'Orwell' was that fighting the battle against the major media is a waste of time because they have all the power. Leaving Orwell I felt pretty hopeless and I had a similar, if slightly less desperate feeling leaving Syriana.

There is something hopeful in just the fact that a movie like Syriana got made. The film shines a light on some things I'm sure those in power would rather not become part of public discourse. That is not to say that Syriana has the power to change the nature of the way we do business in America but it's like the old saying about how people love bacon but no one wants to see how it's made. Syriana shows you just how our American economy is made in all of its gory, blood-soaked, greed-obsessed ways and leaves it to the individual viewers to decide how to live with that information.

Syriana is exceptional in executing its maze of plotting and leaving the audience with questions and feelings that could have a lasting impact. However, if you are looking for a simple movie to pass the time, you might want to look elsewhere. Syriana is not interested in being a simple entertainment. The makers of Syriana are intent on making you think about American foreign policy, about the feelings and interests of our allies, and enemies, and about the dirty business of making money in America. Often disheartening but never boring, Syriana is a powerful film going experience.

Movie Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) 

Directed by Wes Anderson

Written by Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach

Starring George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Wallace Wolodarsky, 

Release Date November 25th, 2009 

Published November 24th, 2009 

Is the Wes Anderson genius wearing thin? After loving Rushmore and, the even more brilliant The Royal Tenenbaums, I seem to have lost my taste for Mr. Anderson's low key, off-kilter charm. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was strong on production design and short on story. Darjeeling Limited was a patience testing observation of exceedingly low key, mannered behavior. Now, for Mr. Anderson's latest overly precious, affectedly quiet effort he has turned to stop motion animation. The result is elegant in production, eye popping even, but yet again a test of the patience of those tiring of Wes Anderson's brand of twee storytelling.

Based on the Children's book by the legendary Roald Dahl, The Fantastic Mr. Fox tells the story of Mr Fox (Voice of George Clooney), a chicken thief turned newspaper man. Mr. Fox gave up his animal nature, stealing chickens, to focus on raising a family with Mrs. Fox (voice of Meryl Streep). Together they have a son (Voice of Jason Schwartzman) who is quite odd and for a time the family is joined by a cousin named Kristofferson (Eric Chase Anderson). 

The story hinges on Mr. Fox's covert move back into the stealing biz, against Mrs. Fox's wishes. Enlisting the help of his pal Kylie, an opossum voiced by Wallace Wolodarsky, Mr. Fox intends to steal from the three meanest, nastiest farmers in the land; Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. He's quite successful at first, but it doesn't take long for the evil farmers to find about the thieving Mr. Fox and when they do, it's war.

The old fashioned, stop motion animated style of Fantastic Mr. Fox is warm and inviting and at the same time a technical marvel. These creatures have astonishing life in their exaggerated features, right down to the shine on Mr. and Mrs. Fox's coats. The production design is flawless and really steals the show from director Anderson's exceptionally low key storytelling.

With his characters modulated to just over a whisper, Wes Anderson turns Fantastic Mr. Fox from a child's adventure story into one of his monotone, pretentious character observations. In the past I have enjoyed observing the behavior of Mr. Anderson's just left of center characters but as his style has aged, it hasn't evolved. Fantastic Mr. Fox is the same blend of absurd quietude and quirky characters as was his Rushmore only without the charm of being something new.

Where Rushmore had an indie, hipster edge and Royal Tenenbaums had airy refinement bordering on arrogance, Mr. Anderson's three succeeding features have become cute and overly precious. His style has become an affectation, an artificial exercise in style. It's an eye catching, often well produced style but with each picture there is less and less substance to back it up. Though the production design is first rate in Fantatic Mr. Fox, the movie as a whole comes up short as little more than an exercise in style. Wes Anderson's ever more affected filmmaking is taking his career in the wrong direction.