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Who would have thought there would be similarities between the action/adventure movie The Legend of Tarzan (2016) and the thriller Disturbia (2007)? The thing is: there are. I wrote about them this morning, which led me to think about something a male character said to Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). © 2017 Alline Cormier  
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Last night I analysed Room (2015), the Irish-Canadian production that won the best motion picture award at the Canadian Screen Awards in 2016. The screenplay was written by Emma Donoghue, based on her novel of the same name. The movie tells the story of a young woman and her son who are sequestered in a garden shed in Ontario by a man who regularly rapes the woman. Well before the end of the movie the woman and her five-year-old son manage to escape their forced confinement and the young woman is reunited with her parents, seven years after her abduction. I'm not revealing any secrets--this was all in the trailer. What struck me most about this movie was the lack of discussion about the ordeal this abducted and repeatedly raped woman went through. Her parents do not discuss it with her when she moves in with them, nor does she discuss it with a psychiatrist. The only time she voices her opinions on the seven years of hell this man put her through after abducting her off the street when she was seventeen was when she shouts at her mother: "I'm sorry that I'm not nice anymore, but you know what? Maybe if your voice saying 'be nice' hadn't been in my head then maybe I wouldn't have helped the guy with the f*cking sick dog!" No lengthy discussion ensues. The absence of discussion between the young woman and her mother is disappointing. It would have been interesting to see more exchanges between the female characters. Women's voice is one of the dozens of things I track in movies for my upcoming book. © 2017 Alline Cormier #Room #EmmaDonoghue #CanadianScreenAwards  This year for Valentine's Day instead of flowers I wanted Carrie Fisher's new autobiography, so that is what my obliging husband gave me. I am confident Fisher will be able to provide a type of insight into Hollywood that I would not be able to obtain otherwise. I can't wait to devour this one. I read an autobiography by Judy Dench a few months ago and found it interesting but it focused heavily on a time frame that has all but disappeared so most of the players--except the younger ones like Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson--were unknown to me. The more movies I watch that tell stories from a man's perspective the more I enjoy reading actresses' memoirs and autobiographies. © 2017 Alline Cormier #CarrieFisher  Due to an ill-timed cup of coffee I was ready to analyse a movie by 5 a.m. today. I tackled something light-hearted: Crazy, Stupid Love (2011) starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Julianne Moore and Marisa Tomei. Unfortunately, it always seems to be that kind of movie that provides the most material, so I ended up watching it until after the sun came up. The rest of the day seems to have slipped away by the fireplace, where my laptop found a new home on a coffee table. When I reread my notes for Crazy, Stupid Love I was surprised to find something there that I had not noticed while I was watching the movie: a disturbing realization that I will need to check against similar movies that include children. Yesterday Canadian filmmaker Rob Stewart's body was found in the water near the Florida Keys. He died while diving for his next documentary about sharks. His death is a real loss for humans and the health of our planet because he was an amazing conservationist. I am deeply saddened, especially because I know he would have accomplished so much more if only his life had not been cut short. I'm guessing I will often find myself thinking of him in the years to come. Rob made a real contribution to humanity and likely a lasting one. I will forever be grateful to him for his work. © 2017 Alline Cormier  After a week of 'classics', Jack Nicholson movies and Tom at the Farm (2013, Xavier Dolan) I am more than ready for something much sunnier and upbeat. I even treated myself to some Sherlock at lunch. If the supper party I need to attend tonight finishes early I might make another attempt to see Hidden Figures. What are the chances it will be sold out two weekends in a row? I need a weekend of movies without any violence against women. Getting back to Xavier Dolan and Tom at the Farm... I preferred Mommy, his film from 2014. Movies where women are called hard-ons, threatened and pulled around by their hair are just too depressing. Still, it was nice to see a woman (Sarah, played by Évelyne Brochu) fight back, grab a knife to defend herself and make it out of that hellish situation alive. © 2017 Alline Cormier #TomattheFarm #XavierDolan  |
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