okay, prior to posting anything else, i re-read this very thread,
this thread, and
this thread entirely. i wanted some outside perspective, as i don't have a ton of time right now to get into this film as much as it deserves to be gotten into. i wanted some comments where i could go "i agree with that" or "yep, what they said", but there are really none to be had.
first off, thanks to klimov for
pasting this interview and for taking the time to write up
this response. those were very helpful and insightful, and exactly the things i wanted to read from you after seeing this.
secondly, of all the reviews i've read of this film - both positive and negative - i'd say the one that nails it closest is
the sneersnipe review (beware, red background/white text alert - ow, my eyes!) with
the film thread review being a nice blurb as opposed to a true review.
i have been holding off on posting until i had a second viewing, but i don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. maybe this weekend, but i doubt it. however, i will most certainly be watching this thing many times over the course of my life, of that i'm sure. anyway, i wanted to post some thoughts regardless.
this film is a bit tricky in the sense that while you're watching it, you're unsure of a few things that will only be clear when the film is over. the long, deliberate shots/takes and the gorgeous photography throughout lull you into the impression that Clay is making subtle hints and innuendoes as comments on society and foreshadowing of what's to come, but the reality is that there is nothing subtle about this film - you just don't realize the things you saw until afterwards. like in "real life", say you watch a guy trip over a curb and fall down - you see it happen, but you don't know the true lasting effect on the guy until you read in the paper the next day that he went home and beat his wife to death later that night. did the one incident bring on the next, or was it just a series of events that culminated in the one true life-altering choice? this film is the same way. you watch the decisions robert is making as they happen, but it doesn't really seem too "insane" or out of the ordinary while you're watching it. only in hindsight can you see that we were watching his emotional downfall happen. i believe that's what most people find disturbing about this film, if even subconsciously - that this could easily be any given student. i've been in plenty of situations just like robert was, i've know people just like robert, but iwe were all that one drug-addled choice away from becoming what he became.
not that Clay wasn't trying to tell us something throughout the film, and that brings up one of my (very minor) complaints - there are seemingly out-of-place, very intense, musical queues during the course of the film. it was starting to get almost comical at one point, but as i said - once i realized what was happening, it made complete sense. this is one of the main reasons i want to watch it again. when there is a menacing musical queue during a seemingly harmless scene (like when robert is watching the "popular kids", 2 boys and 2 girls, have a conversation), pay attention - all of these events are sort of mental markers for robert, and pieces of straw in his life that add up to quite a pile.
now, let me explain my comparisons that i made here less than an hour after viewing the film. i think this film has been somewhat unfairly (yet expectedly) compared to ACO. i say "somewhat" because i'm sure TC had to see this coming - it's about a group of male friends that do step out for a bit of the ol' ultraviolence eventually. but, as has been said in one review, these characters are far more realistic and believable than the charactures of the droogies kubrik made in ACO. sure, it was part of what made the film so "cult classic" and "fun", but ultimately i'm not sure which is the more effective approach. i'd say these characters are somewhere between the almost cartoon-like ACO and the farthest oppostie end of something like Kids.
i brought up EWS because of the deliberate, slow-moving style of the film and some of the beautiful photography present therein. that's pretty much where the EWS comparison ends, i think. and i said The Player because of the fun Clay has with simultanious dialog in this one; isn't that somewhat of an Altman trademark? also there are many scenes/characters that don't get revisited as much as it feels like they should, which sort of gives the impression sometimes that the film is "going nowhere"; rather, i can see why some reviews have said that. at any rate, thus endeth the Altman comparisons.
in the end, this film isn't really comparable to any i've seen but more reminiscient of some while injecting what i feel must be some very personal experiences and strong emotions regarding war and how the things that go on/get projected upon us every day ultimatly effect everyone.
things that stand out:
1) the "blue room"/rape scene. again, thank you for the interview and comments you made previously as i was going to ask some of these same questions regarding this scene. really and truly an amazing scene. i still have questions - like what of the two apartment owners after everyone leaves, what happens there? the white guy looks like he's pulling something out of his zipper for a sec but then they both just stand there watching her cry (and bleed, i'm sure). i love the colors and shots in this scene. i love that the black kid gets up and is like "oh fuck this, i'm leaving" while robert just flips around on the remote. and i love that the DJ couldn't care less about what's going on in that room, but only that it's disturbing his practice.
2) robert's cello playing, particularly the first scene in the nigh-empty room. beautiful.
3) the scene of the three boys on the beach. silent, but you somehow know what's going on. effective.
4) the entire final scene, from beginning to end (once they end up in the living room). what a shot! the husband being on the far left of the frame the whole time is simply amazing. i loved this. i wish you would have explored more about why the main "bully" character pulled robert off initially, and what i expected robert's reaction to that would have been, but really - amazing.
minor gripes:
1) the musical queues (which eventually made sense, as i noted above);
2) it seemed like there were too many transitions as far as photography goes in the first third of the film. i think i would have liked to see more hard cuts, but i do believe it was very effective as noted above in lulling the audience into thinking this film was something it was not, or thinking they knew what to expect;
3) coming from an american, i could have used subtitles during some of the scenes of the working class brits - like at the bar. i could scarcely understand the accents. i'm not being an ass here, it was very difficult and required some rewinding;
4) it seems like there are a few scenes/characters that i'd love to see more of but don't. i realize that this film is about robert, but you did go to the trouble of introducing some elements, so why discard them without further exploration? for example, that girl in the class - the one that talks, then eventually sits on the teacher's desk - wow, is she beautiful. *ahem* anyway..... but you really hinted, not so subtly, hehe - at what was going on with these two - her and her teacher. i half expected that to get revisited, but it sort of got dropped. not a gripe really, as i did find it all fascinating, but i wouldn't object to seeing more of her in your future work, heh.
seriously, i don't see what all the negative reviews - those spouting that this was just some über-violent and unnecessary film - were coming from. as has been stated, there's really no on-screen violence - just sounds. very, very explicit, accurate, and disturbing sounds, sure, but the imagery is left up to the capable imagination of the viewer. perhaps that's what's truly disturbing about this film - every person "sees" what has happened differently.
anyway, more after another (or so) viewing(s). short review: beautiful, absolutely gorgeous film. disturbing social commentary. very well-written, directed, and envisioned - both on paper and practically. wonderul, haunting soundtrack - mostly cello music - that i must own. who did this anyway? can i get a raw score? if not i'll rip it from the film. anyway, i'd call it a must-see and i will gladly send as many copies out as TC says is OK. i think everyone should see this. i would rip it and upload it somewhere but i think TC would have a coronary about quality degradation, hehe.... (speaking of which, i noticed zero problems on the copy i have).
I believe the girl you are referring to is Steph.
