Film Eight: The Hours

Film Review:

I was over at my friend Emma's yesterday and we watched "The Hours" - she is a drama teacher and she had some great insights into the brilliant performances in this film, it was great watching it with her. First up, I adored this film, I had seen it quite a few times before but I never ever tire of watching the acting tour de force that is this film.

First up, Nicole Kidman, she obviously won the Oscar for this film - she stole it from Julianne who deserved it for Far From Heaven - and she is very good as Virginia Woolf. She is very understated and controlled and even without the fake nose was very convincing. The intense sadness and the feeling of being trapped is so apparant in her performance and Stephen Dillane is brilliant when opposite Kidman, the scene at the train station where he realises that there is nothing he can do to make her feel better and nothing he can do to take away the ever growing madness. The saddest scene I think is when the two are sitting talking at night by the crackling fire about her writing. It is one of the few scenes where you see them as a couple and doing something that is very normal and everyday and I think that really adds a sense of pathos.

The other big performance is Meryl Streep who is simply brilliant in this film. Her unconventional love story with Richard is so believable and real. I love how it slowly shows you that Clarissa isn't some noble woman looking after the dying Richard and being a good friend, but she is a woman who cannot move on from the happiness she felt during her love affair with Richard and is keeping him in her life, keeping him alive to keep her alive. The performance is just stunning. Jeff Daniels also deserves a mention for his seriously creepy performance as Lewis, the only person to know how Clarissa feels but he was strong enough to walk away from Richard because of what Richard's relationship with his mother did to him. He gives Clarissa hope but sadly he is getting it on with a young student - could that ever be something to make you happy? - so Clarissa is the lucky one, she has Sally and Julia and just has to embrace it and Richard finally redeems himself when he sees she cannot let go, so he kills himself. Seriously depressing on the surface, but underneath, oh there is just so much hope in there!

Before I get on to my special lady, few other important things to mention. First, the brilliant way in which the stories were linked - the eggs, the book reading - and how we always spent just enough time with each of the three ladies. Phillip Glass produced a chilling score that is well worth buying or downloading, fits the film perfectly. And with a cast like that, everyone would think there could be no way every actor gets their "moment" but they DO. Every character has their showcase moment, small or epic, but everyone gets it and I liked that the brilliant acting talent were not wasted.

A stunning film!

Top Julianne Moment:

Now this is a tough one!! I kept asking Emma for stand out moments and she kept making noises that were clearly admiration for Julianne's performance. A close second is the harrowing moment when she leaves little Richie and drives away when he is screaming and crying. So cold and desperate and underplayed. But my favourite has to be the final scene where she appears as the old Laura Brown and explains her choices in life and you can see her regret outweighed by the knowledge she made the right decision or she would have been dead. When Claire Danes' Julia hugs her, it just makes me tear up, I'm quite tearful thinking about it just now. How this woman was not given as Oscar for that performance is a crime. Just brilliant!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNF-uXP_CoU&feature=related

Here is the scene here if you want to watch it again.

Julianne Review:

Where do I even start when it comes to Julianne in this film. Her performance as Laura Brown is just an acting masterclass. A woman who has been railroaded by the time into a marriage with a perfect man and a perfect family but feels trapped and cannot escape. The way she looks as if all the life has been sucked out of her is heartbreaking, she looks like a broken woman as she goes about her daily routine. Emma told me that the best thing about the performance in the early scenes was how little she had to say, how every word she did say seemed forced and genuinely difficult, so this shows us that what she does say is not important, not real, not ture, but it is what she doesn't say that is really interesting, honest, true. A woman who is desperate to escape but cannot find the courage to leave her family and the man who loves her so, so much. She should be the most hateful character - we see the devestating effect her decision has on her some Richard - so should she not be a character the audience hate with venom? I defy anyone watching the film not to feel sympathy for Laura Brown, because of Julianne's performance, you long for her to escape, you will for her to escape, even though, like her, you know that it is wrong. Then the scene at the end where she explains she has outlived her entire family and she still does not regret her decision, it's just beyond powerful, the conviction and pathos in her voice is just stunning, the mere thought of it tells anyone just what a talented actress this woman is. I can only hope she knows it herself.

You have no idea how much this film and in particular Julianne's performance made me think. I just cannot get it out of my head. I suppose now I've started this blog that maybe I think about my Julianne films differently now, or actually maybe I don't and I've always thought about them that way. I think I get the importance of happiness and how we always long to find it, but I think what I learned from it is that everyone has their own type of happiness. You feel you have to meet what everyone else deems the standard definition of "happinees" but what is your idea of being happy is not what other people think of as happy. It would take a very strong character to understand that and certainly an even stronger character to go and get it. I always talk about my relationship on here - think it would be over if he ever knew that - but I've been thinking a lot about the idea of happiness and whether I am happy or whether I just feel I have all the components and I SHOULD be happy. A lot of my friends think he's wonderful and I should be embrace it and never let go, but am I happy? I shouldn't have, but I had dinner with my ex this week and he was the first person I'd say I loved, he really is just one of those special people I don't think you meet very often. I would have properly spent the rest of my life with him, but alas, it was not to be. Anyway, dinner was good, even managed two glasses of red wine and all the way through and all the way home afterwards I realise that during those three hours or so, I felt alive, yup, alive is the best word I can use to describe it. I realise I may sound mental and that I think Im now directly quoting from Julianne films but I honestly did. It was easy, it was enjoyable and it was alive, the evening I'm talking about and I loved every minute of it. I kept wondering what the point had been of the evening, why would you go and have dinner with your ex-boyfriend, but maybe that was my moment to realise what MY idea of happiness it, what kind of person or what feelings make me happy. I think I have a good idea of happiness from my point of view, I think I know what it is I'm looking for. Companionship. I think that's the answer, someone you want to spend a lot of time with, someone that makes doing the things you love doing even better and someone who you feel comfortable with. Is that what I have just now? Mmmm, I'll need to think about that one, but I'm pretty sure I already know the answer to it. The thing that holds me back is lonliness, I cannot think of anything worse and that is what is holds me back and that is what frightens me.

I think about Laura Brown and I just wonder how many Laura Browns there are out there - obviously not to the same degree - but think they have everything they want, or everything they should want and it still doesn't make them happy. I just think I'm looking for that person that makes me feel alive, I don't want to be Laura Brown. I realise because I am in a relationship that I must sound like a horrible person and maybe you may think I don't deserve to be happy.

Obviously, in my dreams, Julianne reads this and then decides to get in touch and says "I know the perfect guy for you..." (that's a quote by the way, can anyone guess the film?) and then I live happily ever after and I am content. Just like Laura Brown was when she caught the bus to canada and started her little job in the library. But sadly I'm well aware that Julianne doesn't even know that I exist but hey, dreaming can make you happy too!

If you have not seen "The Hours" ever or in a while then I urge you to settle down on your sofa and get seriously comfy and then watch an utter acting masterclass. You will not be disappointed. Granted you may not go to bed with a smile on your face afterwards, or hang on, wait, maybe you will.....

Enjoy!

Maybe the trailer will convince you...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMErdpA804Y

Film Seven: The Shipping News

Film Review:

I can't explain why but I never really fancied this film at all, it was one of the few Julianne's I had never watched before. It was my friend Emma that told me to watch it so off I went and into the dvd player it went. And wow! What a brilliant film. I feel it is a very simple film, it is simply about a man coming to terms with his grief, nothing fancy or over the top but dealing with a very human emotion and each of the characters had their own trauma to deal with. Quyole must come to terms with the fact that Petal never really loved him and his only experience of love was one of pain and loss. Agnis had to come to terms with returning to her home and facing her awful demons and remembering that love and happiness were both possible and Wavey had to let go of her husband and realise that although it felt like only yesterday, there was still the chance for tomorrow. I loved how simple the film was and felt that it was carried by the stunning performances. Spacey was just so understated and such a likable protagonist, even when he was behaving like a bit of a drunken tool. There was real heart in the performance and I rooted for him every step of the way as he went from a sad doormat to an enriched, successful writer and a good father. Blanchett was great too in quite a cliched role, she was just a unlikable character and it certainly seemed like she was having fun. Agnis was able to confront her demons and Dench was so stoic and likable, what appeared to initially be an lighthearted and comedy performance became something of intense pathos and sadness and it really was just a joy every time she appeared on screen. The scenery was stunning and the film was visually a treat, so epic and grand. It looked like a really epic film, but it really was a small film about believable and realistic people. And then there is Julianne...

Top Julianne Moment

There is something so beautiful about the scene where Wavey asks Quoyle if she has blown it and whether he still wants to be her friend. It captures that slight insecurity that exists in us all. After you say something or react to something and then worry about it being the right thing or not and then it's on the tip of your tongue whether you should ask or not. So realisitic.

Julianne Review

I just loved Julianne in this, so unexected. It was such a subtle performance, she wasn't over the top or in your face, she was quite clearly Quoyle's road to redemption and it was the strength of her performance thta made is so believable. The scene where they are flying the kites and Quoyle rests his head on Wavey's leg, the look on Julianne's face is brilliant, you have all her demons and the fact she has not dealt with her husband's death and the pain is still raw, THEN you have her concern for Quoyle, who she obviously cares for deeply and is not concerned she will hurt him. Just a masterclass of face acting, no over the top, stating the obvious, just a look and that is why she is so fantastic.

Wavey was the person that was able to save Quoyle and show him that there was still a lot of life worth living and he could still find happiness. Julianne does that for me sometimes, now I can assure you I'm not on the edge or in as bad a situation as poor Quoyle, but I had a difficult week this week. My partner and I aren't having the best time, he doesn't seem to know how to be in a relationship, for example, he was away to London this week and didn't even mention it to me, so obviously I felt a bit put out, he's also far more concerned about seeing his mates and I just felt like I was on the bottom rung of the ladder and not very important. We have been together 7 months now and I'm still waiting to feel like I'm in a serious relationship, he's still too scared to use the word "boyfriend" for christ sake. He's never been in a relationship before and I honestly don't think he understands how to. I felt pretty down this week about it, work was tiring and I came home looking for some understanding but got none, didn't even hear from him. But alas, then something comes along and makes you ignore all the stupid drama of it all and of course it was Julianne.

http://scottfeinberg.com/soliloquies-that-sealed-the-deal

Just reading that speech from Julianne makes you realise how difficult relationships can be and makes you realise that you have to work at them and put the effort in and it certainly isnt easy. Of course he knows none of this because I'm an idiot and don't actually discuss how Im feeling about the situation but instead I just watch the trailer for "The Kids are All Right" over and over again and hope that it all just works itself out. I suppose I feel a little bit like I don't want to run the risk of being alone and if I'm not with him, then I'm alone. I wonder what Julianne would do?

There is just something about her different performances that I can always find to make me feel better and make me think about things more clearly, it's what makes her special I think. When I write on here, it feels like I'm able to say all the things to Julianne that go through my head before, after or while I'm watching one of her films and maybe that's why I am able to be far more honest than I would be normally, even with my bloody partner.

Just from sitting on a friday night and watching "The Shipping News" I was able to put into words the way I was feeling and that's because of Julianne and the way she made me feel during that film, maybe out there somewhere is my own version of Wavey, because I would really like to meet them and I would really like for them to make that feeling and fear of being alone disappear. I guess that only happens when you do meet that special someone, that Wavey. But hey, until then I still have Julianne, as always, thank you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x1z8IK-L0U

You should watch "The Shipping News" if you haven't already! Enjoy everyone!

Film Six - "Next"

Film Review:

Well this was a real disappointment. This could have been a really enjoyable little no brain action film. The story is quite interesting and could have been brilliant but is let down by a few things. The CGI is awful, couldn't they just have used a real train rather than the most awful computer game version of a train possible. Next - boom boom - Nicolas Cage is just plain creepy with his weird mullet and his odd seduction of the beautiful Jessica Biel, just wouldnt happen, why couldnt Julianne's character have been the "necessary" love interest, they are much closer in age and The Moore is pretty smoking hot in this film. Cage pawing at Biel just comes across as a seriously pervy old man, poor Hollywood and your obsession with older men and younger woman. The twist end - I won't ruin it for you if you haven't watched this film - is more frustrating than shocking. The build up to the end is mostly a lot of mindless shooting.

The set piece on the mountain side was quite entertaining but this really isn't one of Julianne's best choices. A film to stick on in the background if you are doing a few other things. Lots of potential but poor, poor execution.

Top Julianne Moment:

Em, em, em, there really aren't any scenes where she is called upon to act but she looks pretty hot in the gun range scene.

Julianne Review:

Money. I think that's why she made this film and remember she did follow it up with "Savage Grace" so I feel it all falls into place! She seems to be just re-treading her role in Hannibal, except this time she doesn't have anything to do, it's a very generic, thankless role with very little acting involved, not one of Julianne's best decisions.

However, this film holds a very special place in my heart. My friend who I wrote about a couple of blogs ago, we were always a bit complicated and had a bit of a parting of the ways which meant we didnt speak for a long time and most importantly we stopped going to see Julianne films together - I make that sound like it is a mutual decision! This was the first Julianne film we saw after our estrangement and it even though a 85 minute movie felt like bloody Titanic, it was a special experience. There was a lot of nerves and anxiety about trying to rebuild our friendship, the awkward ick and never knowing what to say and the whole worry about maybe we've moved on too much and we can't go back, yeah never go back, just forget it. But there we were and there was Julianne, this woman is always there for me! The film was an obvious disappointment but it was an important night for me, managed to rebuild a very important friendship and if it hadn't been for Julianne and my very vocal love for her, it would never have happened that way.
I wouldn't have had the courage to do it and I would have lost out.

I could maybe suggest you revisit "Next" but life is indeed short, but hey, you might end up liking it.

Thanks for reading my blog and it's brilliant when you leave comments.

Keep Julianne-ing