'closer'
dir., mike nichols
2004
now that's what you call acting, baby.
i've never noticed it until now but interesting use of prodigy and the smiths in the background.
Monday, April 30, 2007
closer
in defense: sofia coppola
this past october i think i reached the apex of my film geekdom. in december of 2005 sofia coppola released quite possibly the most beautiful movie trailer i have ever seen. the razza mataz of new order, fireworks, and kirsten dunst in a powered wig was perfectly alchemic and everything that gets me hot and bothered about movies. the trailer was for coppola's upcoming revisionist take on the french heroine marie antoinette. the anticipation building up to the film's eventual release in october 2006 was too much for words. i saw the film two and half times in the theaters and indulged in a marie antoinette themed pastry party after the second screening. my manhood may have been in question, but coppola roused an excitement in me, and i'm sure many others, that only happens with films that are breathing such vitality and truth that gorging on strawberry millefeuille is completely justifiable.
little did i, and probably she, known that this film in all its sherbet-hued glory would court such controversy and scathing reviews. for a such a bright, young filmmaker with brimming talent and such an interesting point of view, i am surprised, and not so surprised, that coppola has become somewhat of an easily criticized artist. for all the reviews that labeled 'marie antoinete' as 'hollow', 'superficial', and 'vacuous', there was also mention of her famous family, legion of equally famous friends, and her bourgeois upbringing of summers spent interning at chanel and vacationing at posh hotels and exotic getaways. i'm not entirely convinced that coppola's envious and seemingly 'cool' life is the real reason critics have a hard time swallowing her. most critics are middle aged men who write about an art form that is largely dominated by men, largely made for men, and made in a patriarchal culture. thus, it does not surprise me in the least bit that coppola's power and prowess as a filmmaker is threatening, but i say her talent should not be denied because her work is consistently growing in a direction that is heads and shoulders above what most her male contemporaries are even thinking.
with her triptych of films that are a loose trilogy of sorts, coppola has crafted films that speak a great deal about class privilege, a young woman's burgeoning sexuality, and the dynamic of power between men and women. the doomed heroines of her debut film, 'the virgin suicides', wallow in their untapped and dangerous beauty. their repressive suburban bubble shames their longing to be touched, which of course draws more boys to the yard, but in the end causes them to leave behind a dream of who they are, not a life full of rebellion and freedom. coppola's follow up and perhaps greatest stroke of subtle cinematic genius thus far, 'lost in translation' asks the audience to identify with a unique heroine. she has cute japanese friends, wears stylishly frumpy clothes, spends a lot of time in her luxury hotel window, and yet embodies the new middle class post-college ennui of life uncertainty. should we feel sorry for her or do we empathize with her? her stunted circumstance is only made that much more interesting when bill murray shows up and becomes her platonic paramour. this film is coppola's most financial successful film and earned her a deserved academy award for its original screenplay and a nomination for her able direction (the first for an american female). the pressure was on for the next film and coppola delivered a treat in the opposite direction of 'lost in translation's leisurely paced mood. explosions of champagne, decadent costumes, and opulent art direction in 'marie antoinette' marked in an interesting direction for coppola. her palette and scope were a little more grand and poppy, but she never lost the intimacy and reverie that has made her films so definitive and entrancing to watch.
however, coppola's world of frivolity proved too much for critics and audiences. the infamous booing at cannes and awkward press conference that soon followed set 'marie antoinette' on a troubled path. i must admit i was weary after its mixed reception, but my faith shouldn't have been so fleeting in coppola. when i finally caught 'marie antoinette' in theaters, i was witness to a work of art that was modern but never cold. i picked my mouth off the floor after that opening credit sequence of a reclining dunst and her hand maid slipping on a manolo blahnik slipper set to the tune of 'natural's not in it' by gang of four. the aggressiveness of post-punk guitar riffs and the ostentatiousness of the cake, the feather accented coif, and her self-aware glint was a cinematic moment that crackled with inspired originality and great observation. a young woman relishing in abundant pleasure is a rarity in american film. this pleasure drives the narrative and begs the audience to identify with such unabashed femininity and delight. the punctuation of the blondie-like bubblegum pink and hard black font that reads the titular character's name punches through the screen further establishing the anachronistic marriage between 18th century france and the nostalgia of the early 1980s of new wave music and mtv.
what does this reveal, if anything? what makes coppola such a fascinating artist is her ability to skillfully make films that are cinematic in the purest definition of the word. the sly editing, the contemporary pop music score, and the dreamy moods of coppola's work culminate in a true film experience. doesn't this make you forget that one of her best friends is marc jacobs and her dad was a master of american cinema in the 70s? much like the theme of the transition from girl to woman that has permeated coppola's films, i think her talent will only transition into a more mature and iconic direction.
lids
i hate that moment in life when you realize there are staples in fashion that just don't work on you. i don't feel so bad when i can't pull together the trendy t-shirt and vest combination a la jude law, but i am bothered that i cannot pull off a hat. i have never had a serious interests in hats until recently when i read about a collection of marlon brando's hats on sale at jack spade's manhattan boutique. they're dashing and antiquated, but if worn with the same untamed sultriness of a young marlon brando, it can look right and fresh.
however, not everybody is brando and nor should they be. i've come to terms with my funny shaped head a long time ago and how it prevents me from feeling the least bit comfortable in something that resembles a hat. somehow i thought i could bypass that fact with my persistent hat craving. oh how naive i was when i tried on hats at dot fox and banana republic recently. i put on a hat and immediately my security drops to dangerous levels and i become acutely aware of the flat, large, balloon-like shape of my head and its aversion to being covered. perhaps this is a case of it looks better in my mind than something that would appropriately act as a stylish punctuation mark to my usual sartorial statement.
damn. hats: 1. me: 0.
Friday, April 27, 2007
a tribute: anouk aimee
today marks anouk aimee's 74th birthday. i'm sure she's as beautiful and mesmerizing as ever. her porcelain cool and easy screen presence have always captivated me.
here are some of my favorite aimee moments:
'a man and a woman'
dir., claude lelouch
1967
'8 1/2'
dir., federico fellini
1963
'lola'
dir., jacques demy
1961
having a moment
it seems as though i'm not the only one enamored by stripes at the moment.
and yes i bought three more striped tops when i made the seasonal trek to h&m the other week.
i can't wait to add these to the collection...
hi. my name's whitney and i'm addicted to stripes.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
the phantom liberty
'the phantom liberty'
dir., luis bunuel
1974
there were bits and pieces of the borat movie that i enjoyed, but the scene that i thought had the most interesting insight was the dinner table scene in which borat is taught the valuable etiquette of dining at a table. dining room manners are something we as americans may not think of revealing much about our culture, but the song and dance routine of dining is very telling part of our culture in terms of gender roles, the omnipotent tension in american society between the vulgar and the pure, and changing technology. with the new roles of fast food, cable television, and single parent families in american life, the dinner table is slipping into irrelevancy. nowadays it almost seems like something out of a norman rockwell painting to sit around a table with your family. luis bunuel's foresight into the decline of this cultural value and what is says about a society is acutely subverted in his film 'the phantom of liberty.'
it's difficult to explain the scene outside of the context of the rest of the movie, but the film is more or less a collection of vignettes that expose and critique the hollowness and silliness of bourgeois society. much like borat's incorporation of poop and its improper place at the dining room table, bunuel expertly switches the very different worlds of the dining room table and the bathroom. in bunuel's world it is not uncommon for its inhabitants to think it is bizarre to sit at a toilet while dining or to be discreet about when you have to eat. this cinematic symbolism is strong in its attack on middle class values. notice the topic of conversations (art, travel, the frustrations of public life), admonishment of vulgarity at the table, and the boy, girl seating arrangements--all things you would expect from bourgeois society. however, the pink elephant in the room are the characters seated on toilets, almost to suggest that bunuel is shitting (pardon the language) on this cultural norm and showing its (and so many others) inherent arbitrariness. although this film was made by europeans and filmed in parts of europe, there is a very american sensibility that permeates the film and particularly this scene. the puritanical aversion to the body and all of its excretions and the blind eye we turn to the degradation of the world around us all feels very american and current.
the scene is funny, sharp, and a witty look at the shit that we are not typically permitted to discuss but can in a bunuelian world.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
design hero: marc atlan
i'm in that bizarre transitional phase in my life where i'm trying to find my professional fit but develop and hold on to my morals, ideas, and sensibilities. to be perfectly honest, i would have never guessed that graphic design was the direction my professional life would be headed in. however, i have never shied away from my creativity and my appreciation of aesthetics. with that in mind, my love of fonts, colors, arrangement of phrases and images is a perfect match for graphic design work. i've learned that my aesthetic as a designer is simple, clean, and contemporary. i pull inspiration from a variety of places but unbeknownst to me, i have long been inspired my artist marc atlan. his strong, paired down designs have made prada, commes des garcons, and the helvetica font just a little bit sexier and more singular in the wide landscape of commercial design. if only i could be this good...
find more of his beautiful work here.
2k
one can never have too many t-shirts in my opinion and although i usually favor striped or solid color t-shirts, lately i have found myself giving into graphic tees. normally these t-shirts get in the way and i think reduce the impact of a t-shirt and jeans combination, but there's always an exception to the rule. 2k by gingham offers a vast array of unique t-shirts by graphic artists that are a little more aesthetically pleasing than those 'vintage' or 'graphic' t-shirts that you find at your local mall.
you can find more here.
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