So Long, Sidney Lumet

One of my favourite directors, Sidney Lumet died today, and as I heard about it on the news, there was one scene that immediately sprang to mind. Dog Day Afternoon was one of the films that really made me love film; it contains so many wonderful, moving, funny and heart-breaking moments, it's unimaginable.

The two-disc DVD of it is a treat, there's fantastic audio commentary by Lumet, as well as several fun features. It's a great tribute to a great film. My favourite scene is the one where Sonny calls Leon, and they have the saddest heart-to-heart ever captured on screen. All credit to Frank Pierson for the beautiful dialogue.

A phonecall between two estranged lovers, who know they probably won't see each other again. There's cops listening in on the conversation and it's just awkward as hell. It's only that scene that the estrangement between Sonny and Leon becomes so painfully clear to the viewer and you realise just exactly how bleak their situation is -- not with any big revelations of unhappiness, but everyday chit-chat that just goes round in circles. It's the precise moment Sonny loses any hope he had left.

It's five minutes between Al Pacino and Chris Sarandon. On the DVD commentary, Sidney Lumet explains how they shot it. The phonecall between Sonny and Leon ("his male wife", as Lumet puts it) and Sonny and his female wife Angie took about 14 minutes to film, but as a film reel only holds ten minutes and Lumet wanted to film the scenes consecutively, Lumet set up two cameras and curtained Pacino off from the rest of the set. The other actors were on the end of the phone, acting with Pacino.

After they did the first take, Lumet told Pacino he wanted to go again, and "he looked like I'd shot him, cos he was exhausted". It's the moment after the phonecall with Leon, when he drops his eyes.

"The only thing that was missing in the brilliance of the performance, was the exhaustion of having been there since two-thirty that afternoon, and we were now maybe ten at night, and the exhaustion of doing it a second time shows in his face and that was the reason for going again." -- Sidney Lumet

It's not on YouTube, but I promise you it's worth buying the DVD for.

Last Night (2010)

Why there's a six-month delay in the film being released over here, I don't quite understand, but I'm very excited about the release of Last Night next month. Normally, I'd avoid movies about cheating like the plague (seriously, it's been done!), but with the amazing mix of accents in this trailer, I can't wait.

In recent years, probably since Atonement, I've become quite a fan of Keira Knightley's. Although I think she could do with doing less advertisements, she's picked some amazing films to star in; The Edge of Love being my favourite, and Never Let Me Go as another film on my most-looking-forward-to-in-2011-list.

Reviews so far have been pretty decent for Last Night and even if I can't judge the content yet, the film gets major props from me for allowing the actors to keep their natural accents. It's strange to me how New York is always portrayed in films to be such a melting pot, yet all too often non-American actors are forced to adopt some peculiar overly-unoffensive American accent for their adventures across the pond.



PS: Yay, Guillaume Canet!

I Love You, Lindsay Lohan

Seeing all the footage today of Lindsay Lohan going into court today and her subsequently being booked into jail made me sad for her. Ever since her holy trilogy of colourful teen films -- Freaky Friday, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and Mean Girls, the latter obviously being the very best -- I've been a big fan of hers. She's got a spunk and sensitivity that I think is rare for such a (mainstream) young actress. Vanity Fair has done a 'young starlets' feature numerous times now, but when I think of which young actresses I really admire, Lindsay always pops up.






From her beautiful role in Emilio Estevez's Bobby to some impressive key scenes in Georgia Rule (otherwise a trainwreck), Lindsay always delivers; she's come close to saving numerous bad films she was in. She's shooting a film about 70s X-rated star Linda Lovelace at the moment (let's hope the collagen lips are part of the role) and I'm actually excited about it. The script outtakes sound rather disastrous, but if it's the same Lovelace project Angelina Jolie was once attached to star in, then I'm curious to see what Lohan will come up with.






Linsday Lohan in Bobby
Long story short, I have a huge soft spot for her -- I think she's really talented and hope she'll come out on top. While it's obvious she's made some huge mistakes, it's sad to realise I'm actually three weeks older than her. When you look at her nutjob parents and her career (starting when she was six!), I kind of just want to give her a hug and a nice sandwich.

Good luck, Linds, I hope there's a good script waiting for you once this is all over.

Bobby (2006, Emilio Estevez)

The first time I saw Emilio Estevez's Bobby, I was impressed by it, but also a bit put off by the celebrity-studded cast and over-the-top admiration for the man. Of course, you don't spend close to ten years working on a script if you feel ambivalent towards someone, but still. I first saw the film three years ago and some of the scenes in the film have really stuck in my mind.

In January, I started taking a screenwriting course and it's really made me appreciate Bobby a lot more. For all its flaws, it's a film I feel really strongly about. There's some scenes I'd scrap, some characters I'd throw out, but all-in-all, I really admire what Estevez did with the film. Aside from the politics, it's a beautiful example of how people lead their lives, how politics play a role in their lives and how it influences human interaction. It's not too preachy -- not too believable at times either, but it makes you sit up and notice, and think.

It's interesting to me that Estevez didn't choose to make a film about Kennedy himself, but about how he influenced people. When you see the archive footage of Kennedy (RFK is portrayed by RFK, basically), you realise that's the perfect tribute to him. A movie about Kennedy is a movie about Kennedy, a movie about Kennedy's influence shows just how important he was.

The great thing about Bobby is also that it was made by an actor. It's interesting that Emilio Estevez chose to make the movie with a lot of old friends, colleagues and even his Dad. It's a star-studded affair but when did you last see 'Mighty Duck' Joshua Jackson play a meaty role (pre-TV's 'Fringe')? Nick Cannon has a great serious role, Harry Belafonte and Anthony Hopkins share some amazing screen time and Laurence Fishburne and Freddy Rodriguez share the most intense, gorgeous scene in the film. Also, Lindsay Lohan is loveliness personified but then again, I'm probably the only LiLo-fan left. I'll always sing her praises, she shines in this film.

My favourite thing about Bobby, though? The scene between Demi Moore and Sharon Stone. It may be a result of growing up in the early '90s, but Sharon Stone is legendary to me. I don't think these two great actresses (seriously!) would have ever gotten to share such great material if it weren't for Emilio Estevez. Just genius casting. Sharon Stone got by on her sex appeal for a long time, but the look of hurt on her face in this scene just wipes the floor with me.

Leading Man: Cary Grant

Pesky May holidays already running my epic blogging, here's a picture post for you to enjoy while I'm away.

Every leading man has his charm and Cary Grant certainly had an abundance of charm. Dr. Macro is my favourite film-related website, with thousands (literally!) of gorgeous photos of Old Hollywood stars. One of the things I noticed about Cary Grant's photo gallery, is the way he always pressed his cheeck close to his leading lady's. Doesn't it make you swoon? Oh.


with Myrna Loy in Wings in the Dark (1935)


with Ingrid Bergman in Notorious (1946)


with Jean Arthur in The Talk of the Town (1942)


with Audrey Hepburn in Charade (1963)


with Ingrid Bergman in Notorious (1946)


with Jean Harlow in Suzy (1936)


with Grace Kelly in To Catch A Thief (1955)