Jack and I were not entranced by this mystery of a retired MI5 agent working to uncover a mole amongst his former co-workers. We saw it almost four weeks ago and I've put off writing for a number of reasons, including my support for the place down the street that screened it. I don't read reviews in advance, because I don't like the buzzkill nor the spoilers, but perhaps I could have benefited from knowing that the clues were going to be hard to find. Then again, maybe not.
Oscar-nominated for Best Actor for Gary Oldman, Best Adapted Screenplay for Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan (from the novel by John le Carré), and Best Original Score for Alberto Iglesias, as well as Best Art Direction in a Period Film for Maria Djurkovic by the Art Directors' Guild, and Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for Hoyte Van Hoytema by the American Society of Cinematographers, it has much going for it, and we don't have a problem with any of the nominations except the confusing screenplay (this is the sixth feature for Straughan, including two funny ones How to Lose Friends & Alienate People and The Men Who Stare at Goats, and the serious The Debt; his wife O'Connor, who died in 2010, worked with him on only the other two). Or was it the director, Tomas Alfredson (I skipped his other hit, the horror movie Let the Right One In (2008), as well as the American remake)? I didn't read the book, or any mysteries I can name off the top of my head. On rottentomatoes 84% of critics and 68% of audiences liked it, which does make me feel slightly more validated (not that that's important to me).
Here's what we did like: the aforementioned production design is gorgeous (Djurkovic was also nominated by her peers for Billy Elliott (2000) and The Hours (2002), by the Satellite Awards for Vanity Fair (2004), and won several other awards for this project); the photography (van Hoytema also shot The Fighter, among others); the music (more on that in a moment); and the cast is outstanding. I do agree that Oldman (my favorites are Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy (1986), Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK (1991), True Romance (1993), The Professional (1994), Basquiat (1996), The Fifth Element (1997), The Contender (2000), and Jim Gordon in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises; and I don't care about Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series) is due for some recognition. The diminutive Toby Jones (last in these pages in Creation, because I accidentally left him out of Captain America: The First Avenger and My Week with Marilyn) is very good. Ciarán Hinds (The Debt), not at all diminutive, is swarthy and scary. Benedict Cumberbatch (War Horse) looks great in his 60s wardrobe and hair, Mark Strong (The Guard) is also handsome, John Hurt (Oscar-nominated for Midnight Express (1978) and The Elephant Man (1980), and I also liked Scandal (1989), Contact (1997), and Love and Death on Long Island (1997), plus he was good in two movies I didn't like: Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993) and Melancholia) is authoritative, and everyone likes Colin Firth (The King's Speech).
Iglesias' (The Skin I Live In) music is beautiful and suspenseful, and you can listen to all of it on youtube, starting with the first track. I talked with someone today who said she didn't understand this movie but loved it. I heard someone else say it needs to be seen again to get it. You go right ahead and let me know.
No comments:
Post a Comment