Romantic Film Review - Brief Encounter

How many "affair" films work, so that you feel sorry for the cheating couple? It never happens right? And yet Brief Encounter is, at its core, a film about a couple who cheat on their partners. So why do we love it so very very much? It is easily one of the greatest love stories ever told, and it breaks my heart every time I see it.

The primary reason we love it, is that the number one topic is not the love shared, but the guilt, fear and tawdry nature of the affair. From the start the love affair is doomed, and both know they will never leave their partners. Neither Laura (Celia Johnson) nor Alex (Trevor Howard) ever try to blame their spouses for anything, nor justify what has happened between them. They acknowledge the truth of what is going on and that (in Laura's words) "something violent has happened" and that no matter what they feel, they must put an end to it.

The other magical thing about Brief Encounter is the so very ordinary look of Laura and Alex. They are not a breathtaking starlet and handsome rogue, they are ordinary people who are just going out their ordinary day. She is a housewife keeping herself busy and he is a simple GP taking care of his families income. They look like normal people. they are not courting what happens between them, they are not dissatisfied with their lives.

But of all these things, my very favorite thing about Brief Encounter is Laura's internal monologue. Brief Encounter is based on Noel Cowards play Still Life, and he co-wrote the screen play. Combine this almost perfect writing about the pain a woman encounters when she finds her life straying from her obligations, the love for her children and husband with David Lean's fantastic film making and you have a stunning representation of a woman's longings. Think particularly of the scene in the train when Laura has first told Alex she loves him. As she speeds home, she confesses to silly imaginings of her and Alex in romantic locations, flirting and loving one another. David Lean films this in the reflection of the trains glass, so that all the time we see the housewifely face of Laura reflected in the silly fantasies. It makes me cry every time, and is one of the most flawless evocation of female frustration I have ever seen.

If you've never seen Brief Encounter, grab it on DVD tonight. It might be better watched alone - there are a lot of frustrating things about the great film, and the last thing you want is to be sitting next to a husband who says the film is stupid because the lovers didn't have sex with each other - a comment that can be made so easily, and yet might haunt a partner if the other said it. It's not an easy film in many ways, but it is one of the greatest (if not the greatest) love stories ever told. The hand on the shoulder will haunt you forever.

I dare you to not cry at the last line when Laura's husband's saiys: "Thank you for coming back to me."

Romantic Film review - Splash

I watched this again the other night.

I've always loved it, despite the inappropriate 'anorexia joke (remember that? the woman in the store says her daughter is lucky, she's thin because she has anorexia? It become one of the most notoriously bad jokes of the 80's - and probably ever) the rest of the screenplay is so witty it still brings a chuckle all these years later. Not to mention being one of John Candy's greatest roles. The scene when he tells his brother Allen (Tom Hanks) that he is jealous of his life always brings a tear to my eye.

Splash is one of those odd films with a completely ludicrous premise that actually works. It helps that Ron Howard is the director and Tom Hanks is the star, but so many things that could have gone "wrong" don't in Splash.

Take Daryl Hannah for one. She may have been sort of no where in the 90's, but despite her being considered a bimbo, she is a great actress - one of those most likely considered a bimbo simply because she is beautiful. She was great in Blade Runner and Wall Street and it is an easily argued point that the success of Splash hinges on her convincing performance as the mermaid Madison. I mean, if she sucked, if that role was weak in any way, the film wouldn't have worked.
And how do you play a mermaid and take the role seriously?

The other off thing about Splash that somehow works really well, is the surprise ending, which I won't spoil for the three people who haven't seen Splash, but I will HINT at being one of the oddest endings I think I have ever seen on a mainstream film. The main point of the film is that Madison and Allen love each other, but where they take that in the end really sets the film up for a sequel that never happened, and I think we can all thank our lucky stars for that. You can get lucky with a great mermaid film once, but I can't see anyone pulling it off twice, and this point is further underlined by the unfortunate sequel attempt made in 1988 that includes none of the original cast, and ignores the ending of the first film - so does that count?

Splash is filled with those amazing moments we all remember: the nude walk up to the Statue of Liberty and all the tourists photographing, Freddy's tossing the coins under the ladies dresses as an obnoxious child and then doing it again as an adult, Freddy's squash ball to the head (do people still play squash? - maybe I will bring it back) Madison's pronunciation of her name that blows up all the TV's, Madison buying Allen the fountain, and my favorite joke in Splash (which Daryl Hannah pulls off perfectly)...
The blue box scene when Allan gives Madison a snow dome in a Tiffanys box, and Madison thinks the box is the gift.

This is definitely a great one for a solo night - grab some popcorn, ice cream and soda of choice, set up the foot spa for a mani-pedi, and settle in for the trip down memory lane.

Romantic Film review - Reality Bites

So, can you believe Reality Bites is twenty this year?
I watched it again a couple of weeks ago, just to have another peek and see if it has stood the test of time. The answer to that question is, I have no idea, because I just fell in love with it all over again, and officially have absolutely no idea if its just because I love it or because it really is as cool as I think it is that it still looks so cool - if you can work out what the hell I mean by that.

Ok, so I love Reality Bites. I thought Ethan Hawke was the hottest thing on the planet in that film - and I have to say, I still do. He is SO sexy as the moody Cobain-esque Troy that I thought I would die of pleasure all over again. Forget that I saw him as old as me in Before Midnight this year, I loved watching him all dark and Gen-X. I thought he was so 'real' and 'soulful' when I first watched this film. Over time I saw him as a spoiled pretentious brat who can't play an instrument for shit. Now, twenty years on, the older wiser me, sees him as 'real' and 'soulful' again.

Which, lets face it, is totally what you want from Reality Bites.

What I didn't know from Reality Bites was that we used to all be so precious about divorced parents. My god, they go on and on about how close to totally fucked up they are because their parents are divorcing - HA! Can you imagine that today? You'd so be told to harden up. I also didn't realize how bad Lelaina's (Winona Ryder) documentary about her friends actually is, nor how unbelievably cool Vickie (Jeanne Garofalo) was. The dance scene to 'My Sharona' is still cool as cool, even if we have all done it a hundred times and seven-eleven's really aren't quite the generational statement Ben Stiller thought they were.

I did, however, have a hundred moments of hard core clothing memory, as calf length dresses in green with polka dots, Mary Janes, round ray bans, huge vests, hair slicked to my forehead at the front and layered at the back, headbands, mascara and red lipstick, and giant oversize shirts came flooding back.

If you're in your late thirties, early forties and have been married all that time, you should treat yourselves to a Reality Bites night. Get rid of the kids for the night, get a pack of cigarettes, a bottle of cheap wine, a lot of coffee, and some hotdogs, and play your old records really loud, and watch Reality Bites.
Don't forget The Knack Cd's.