movie trends

It has been suggested that these days there are too many movies that are dark for darkness’ sake. Most cite this year’s best picture nominees as proof. Juno is most assuredly NOT a dark tale, but while I have yet to see Michael Clayton, or Atonement, it is my understanding that both are a bit on the brooding side; but the crown jewels of the new noir cinema are this year’s best picture winner, No Country for Old Men and nominee There Will Be Blood. These films are about as dark as you can get, but they are not devoid of redemptive themes. On the contrary, their crystal clear portrayal of sin and its wages make them akin to the great cautionary tales of the Bible (e.g., the fate of Herod or the David/Bathsheba/Uriah triangle or the miserable end of the reign of Pharaoh).

Much has been made about the lack of closure in No Country, but that is actually the point. It is a movie about whether or not fate is fickle or directed, whether our destiny is determined by our choices or is completely out of our control, and whether we are spiraling downward or just reaping the ever present crop of a fallen world. The movie ends by trying to make both points equally and letting you decide which is most true or which will win out or whether it even matters in the grand scheme of things. It is both chilling and thought provoking that the Coen brothers leave that up to you to decide. That took some real guts. Javier Bardem’s portrayal of Anton Chigurh was the most quietly menacing performance I can remember, and the coin toss scene in the gas station will positively turn your blood to ice.

There’s really no question about anything that happens in There Will Be Blood. It’s a pretty straightforward cautionary tale about what happens when you worship mammon and scale the dead bodies of your competitors to get to the “top.” As soon as things become more important than people, you end up like Daniel Plainview and/or Eli Sunday. The movie does not hammer you with this message, however. You are required to do the heavy lifting to discern who is worse, Eli or Daniel, and to some degree, it is left to your imagination how they got there, but where they end up is no mystery, and that arrival forms the centerpiece of the final act - a most dreadful dance of greed, self-interest, and madness, leading to perhaps the most shocking ending in film history. Not to mention that this movie contains the single most amazing acting performance I have ever seen; I think Daniel Day Lewis is possessed.

Finally, here are two movies that might have flown in under your RADAR and that you should not miss:

Once is a 21st century musical. That is, it is a story told predominantly with song, but it is not contrived or unrealistic; no one breaks into song for no reason. It is quiet, moving, and beautiful, contains amazing musical performances by its leads, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, and tells a real story about real people devoid of tidy Hollywood conventions and predictable endings. It is a movie that sometimes soars and sometimes floats and sometimes sits quietly; in other words, it is a lot like life. I love this movie.

Lars and the Real Girl will turn some off because of its premise, which is, simply stated, a story about a troubled young man who falls in love with a mail-order sex doll. If that had been the end of it, I would never have watched it, but fortunately someone I trusted recommended I ignore the premise and give Lars a fair shake. To call this film uplifting and heartwarming would be a gross understatement. Sexual questions are totally immaterial to this story because it is not about the doll; it is about relationships, unconditional love, the nature of mental illness, and the way a community responds to it. And it is also quite funny without being crass or uncaring.

As an added benefit, Lars has wonderful things to say about the church and would offer a great lesson to its members if they could overlook their surface objections to the premise. Let’s say a Christian watching Lars would be much like a Christian actually welcoming someone who comes to the church looking for God but looking too odd. Could you extend the hand of Christian fellowship to a guy who brought his plastic fiancée to church? Well then how about the guy who brings his “partner” or the guy with tattoos and piercings or girl dressed inappropriately or the older woman who has not showered or, or, or… Lars and the Real Girl will warm your heart and maybe change it a little. Watch it. Trust me.