On a Clever Camera in The Secret in their Eyes

The Secret in their Eyes in an Argentinean film set across two decades and involving the unsolved rape and murder of a young woman. The story is unexceptional and familiar. It has a glossy, Hollywood finish that is often missing from lower budget foreign films that receive large, international distribution. The Secret in their Eyes also beat the outstanding A Prophet (2009) and The White Ribbon (2009) to the 2010 Oscar for Best Foreign Language picture. So what makes it so good?

There are many strong aspects to this film; the performances, the humour, the dialogue, the pacing and structure, the emotion. What enhances many of these aspects is the confident camerawork and a selection of scenes reveals this. Early on, the protagonist, Benjamin collects his brilliant, but alcoholic partner, Sandoval from the bar. Benjamin must support a barely conscious Sandoval back to work; the camera hovers inches from the chest of the shorter Sandoval, looking up and swaying with him. Not only do we have the movement and complaints of a drunk squarely in our face, but we also have the authority of Benjamin, whose height reinforces his power.

Through Sandoval’s intelligence, both he and Benjamin trace the suspect, Gomez, to his passion; the Racing football stadium. From up high the camera flies through the sky approaching the stadium. As we soar down we see the game in full flow and watch a goal being scored. From the celebrations on the pitch we are thrown into the rapture of the crowd and the searching faces of Sandoval and Benjamin – all in one shot. As they search for one man amongst many we feel the hopelessness of their task, as well as the vertigo of the steep stadium seating. Miraculously they find Gomez and we follow Sandoval as he chases him through the corridors of the stadium. There are few cuts in the stadium and chase scene and the timing and movement of the camera is as impressive as the intensity of the scene.

As a result of an immoral barrister, Gomez is granted his freedom despite being discovered guilty of the violent rape and murder of an old school friend, in return for becoming a snitch. This information is given to Benjamin and his boss / lover not long after they interrogate Gomez in what is a disturbing interview for all involved, especially Benjamin’s boss, Irene. The relief that Benjamin and Irene feel at securing the capture of Gomez is cathartic. The last thing they need after the crushing disappointment of discovering Gomez has been set free is to be trapped in an elevator with a gloating and armed Gomez. The camera sits in the corner and watches Irene sweat, Benjamin try to remain cool and Gomez check his gun. The shift of power from the interrogation scene is powerful and the stillness of the camera catches all three characters in the small space that feels like it’s getting closer by the second.

There are many examples of great camerawork that could be highlighted in The Secret in their Eyes and apart from a disappointing conclusion this is a very good romantic thriller, of which there are not many.

On Natural Chemistry in Going the Distance

On the surface, romantic-comedy Going the Distance looks like every other forgettable rom-com that comes and goes with making waves. It even has a terrible title. What it has in its favour is two important aspects. Firstly, a good concept; long distance relationships and the difficulties they create. Secondly, the pairing of Drew Barrymore and Justin Long.

Natural chemistry is a hard thing to come by, especially as actors can rarely replicate perfectly the ease that comes with knowing someone that well. Even when actual couples work together as movie couples, the results are no better than as if the actors were perfect strangers. See Eyes Wide Shut (1999) and The Getaway (1993) as two examples. Going the Distance (kind of) defies the rules. Barrymore and Long have been a couple in the past and the ease that they feel around each other draws you into the film and allows you to collude in the relationship struggles as if you were one of their stereotypical comic friends. This allows the development of the relationship, which moves quickly, to also move realistically and the sexuality of the film, a lot of which is crude, to feel like a natural progression, rather than forced comedy.

Going the Distance is a refreshing and surprisingly realistic romantic-comedy.

On Style Over Substance in Scott Pilgrim Vs the World

You know that film about Scott Pilgrim who has to fight all those ex’s and it feels like he’s taking on, like the whole world. You mean, Scott Pilgrim Vs the World. Obviously. Of course I know the film, I don’t live under, like a rock, or something. Well it totally doesn’t matter even if you did live under a rock because it references like everything, so you’d have to have lived under the rock for like a million years not to get any of the references. I’ve not heard of it. WHAT! Like, where do you live, Mongolia? No, Toronto, which is like the coolest place in the world. Yeah it is. What’s it about? Duh, it’s about this guy. Scott Pilgrim? Obviously. And he has to like, defeat in Street Fighter style all of these evil ex’s of this girl who’s so cool she doesn’t care, really about anything. Then what happens? He fights them. And? And what? Well, like, doesn’t a film have to be about more stuff and stuff? But it has all these awesome graphics, like snow that melts instantly and dragons that like totally represent loud Japanese music. So, it’s like all style over substance? No way, dude, there’s tons of substance ‘cause Scott has like all this baggage because he has an ex and treats another girl bad and stuff. Then there’s a cool fight. And his girl, Ramona has like come from New York, so she has all this back story. Is coming from New York a back story? Totally. Yeah totally. So how does it end? With this awesome big fight and Scott and the girl getting together. Sounds kinda lame. Yeah, it is.

On Being Pleasantly Surprised During Knight & Day

A superfluous title, check. Occasional smugness, check. A blatant vanity project for both stars, check. This is all true of James Mangold’s action comedy, Knight & Day, yet this remains an enjoyable two hours. The success of Knight & Day lies in its awareness of the genre and the character it is lampooning and that character is Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt from the Mission: Impossible trilogy (1996 – 2006).

The action is extravagantly ambitious, the globe trotting even more absurd than Quantum of Solace (2008) and the plot – involving the ultimate battery – a feature that shouldn’t be focused upon too closely. It could be argued that Knight & Day is a smug action comedy, in the same way that Ocean’s Eleven was criticised for the enjoyment the actors seemed to be having (although, as long as the audience are enjoying it too, surely this is no bad thing). And actors such as Tom Cruise are easy targets for such criticism, yet here, the film is instantly more watchable and entertaining when he is on screen. The chemistry between Cruise and Cameron Diaz is easy and the banter flows. The action is well choreographed and while this is hardly pushing any boundaries for action or comedy, Knight & Day’s energy and charm is rare.

On The Expendables

There is a popular saying to encourage brevity; if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.

On the Lack of Bite in Salt

Fractured Russian US relations have proved prevalent material for film makers since the Cold War. At a time when Russian spies have been discovered living as US citizens and the US president attempts to improve relations between the two super powers, Salt is both prescient and unwelcome. Fortunately, for those Americans hoping to keep ties with Russia friendly, Salt is poor all over and immediately forgettable.

Even the presence of Angelia Jolie cannot prove enough distraction from this film’s lack of energy, but this is not for lack of trying. Director Phillip Noyce, who has directed sold thrillers, most notably The Quiet American (2002), struggles to inject excitement into the set pieces. The speed and style of the action attempts to emulate the Bourne Trilogy (2002 – 2007), but is a poor imitation that feels less like referencing and more like plagiarism. While on paper the characters may have been richly drawn, the direction offers them little chance to develop and the wooden manner in which the dialogue is delivered suggests the actors have little belief in the story. In short, Salt is lazy entertainment that lacks bite.

On Oneirism Explored in Inception

Abnormal states of consciousness? Controlled perceptions of unconsciousness’? Both? Through 150 minutes, Inception continually tests the boundaries of reality by weaving together a narrative involving a crack team of thieves specializing in a very specific form of theft. By inducing their mark into a heavy sleep, they infiltrate the dream to steal information buried in the subconscious. This involves a team with a very precise form of skills, including a dream architect. The title of Christopher Nolan's mind manipulating opus refers to the very rare and difficult job of not only stealing from a subconscious, but sowing the seeds of an idea that does not yet exist into the mind of the unwitting mark.

Yet it is not the dream world of the mark that provides the fascination here. In fact the mark's dream world seems to be comprised of elaborate and easily differentiated landmarks. It is Leonardo DiCaprio's Cobb, whose heartbreak and unwillingness to let go of his wife who committed suicide that provides Inception's most relatable and dream-like offerings. Dreams are not fluid, they do not make sense, they do not follow a structured narrative, yet when in a dream, none of this inconsistency is noticeable. Imagine, though, that within the fractured world of the dream, you held all the motor functions and awareness that you have while fully conscious. How would you deal with being faced with the reality of your subconscious? This is Cobb's, and by association with him, his team's challenge.

Within the landscape of someone else's dream, Cobb's hidden world comes seeping though and only when we are thrown completely into his mind does it all start falling into place. The notion of being plugged into a world like our own, but with the added benefit of being able to manipulate it is not as unique as may be initially thought. The Matrix (1999) is perhaps the most immediately memorable,but also Existenz (1999). And The Matrix and Inception share some common ground. Both have created wonderful, cinematic action scenes and brought originality to big budget mainstream cinema, as well as demanding of their audience more than a passive participation. Yet, where Inception is superior is in its full comprehension of its idea and how that idea is related clearly to the audience and in the depth of the emotion the film reaches.

Experiencing Inception feels distinctive simply because so few major summer releases challenge and offer us a world where we rarely go. Dreams are elusive concepts and Inception may be our best opportunity to view the nature of dreams while awake.