I have been so excited about both of these movies!
I really loved Eileen: The Book and def intrigued to see how it comes across on the screen. Beyond delighted that Shea Whigham is the dad in this - I don't know that there is an actor more suitable to the casting and I can only hope that this opens the door to many well-paying roles as senior grumps (versus middle-aged grumps) for him.
Just caught that May December shows up on NF tomorrow and while I'm sure it'll look grand on a big screen (Haynes has never made a movie that didn't look amazing, even his first few super low-fi things), this movie is gonna get such a wide audience on that platform that I can't see it as anything but a win.
I really loved May December. All the top performances are excellent, but Melton really stands out for being the emotional core of the film. He's already won Supporting Actor at NYFCC and that's probably not going to be his last win.
I also find the end reveal of the film Elizabeth is working on to be a great punchline.
I found the ending really quite heartbreakingly hilarious! This movie Elizabeth is working on is just as terrible as the snippet of the made-for-TV one we saw, but damn it, she's trying! Really hard! Going for that third (or fourth) try at that terrible line.
In the made-for-TV movie, I think Gracie tosses some piece of clothing over the snake aquarium? So I guess this is a slight upgrade, having the snake actually be in the scene. The embarrassingly obvious female/viper metaphor and Elizabeth's desperate earnestness for Truth (TM) -- man, what a movie. All three leads here really are amazing.
And I must apologize to Mr. Melton, as I didn't think he looked Korean at all -- but he's half Korean!! I really should have learned my lesson by now, but I have not: https://alllooksame.com/ (I failed MISERABLY -- I scored far below 50% in the face quiz.)
Marin Ireland stole Eileen for me... only 2 scenes (1.5 maybe), but her big scene was the hinge of the film... great actor having a great year (where my Birth/Rebirth heads at!)
Happy that Keith didn't focus so much on May December as "camp" or "funny". Not that it isn't, but to me it's doing so many more interesting things with regards to denial and image. Charles Melton is revelatory, damn near steals the movie and it's because he gives off this in-between "not a boy, not yet a man" type vibe that seems to be barely holding on.
Always a great sign when I find myself chewing over a movie and discovering new things to think about or look at. I've had some great conversations about May December and I'm excited to see more.
Yeah, this movie is playing in my mind unlike any other this year. So many layers to it conceptually and emotionally. I just like how the mere presence of this actress asking basic questions just cracks so much open. You realize how much this relationship has relied on a dynamic that's been set from the start and preserved by never evolving or being interrogated.
It's as if the foundation itself is so horrifying that no one can look at it directly. Not even the community can refrain from either ignoring it or participating in the delusion. You almost have to become blind because the second one of them starts thinking, it all snowballs. Complex, but at the same time rather simple.
I was really looking forward to seeing May December. I tried to find, Keith, what you saw in it, but, alas, I couldn't. I thought it was such a bland, listless piece of work in which all the colors were bled out (literally) and all the blood was colored out (figuratively). It barelly scratched the surafce of any of the characters, using "one can't really know any one" as an excuse for bad writing, yet it felt so self-important. I rarely comment on music in films -- either I love it, like in In the Mood of For Love or Body Heat, or The Mission, or Once Upon a Time in America -- or I don't remember it. But the music in this film was abrasive, screaming out "look at this, we're making a masterpiece!"
Yes, there are good scenes (I counted two): the "lipstick" scene, shamelessly borrowing from Bergman's Persona, and the graduation scene, when Joe watches his kids get their high school dimplomas and tears up helplessly. I think telling the entire story from his point of view would have been much, much more interesting. Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. I hope I didn't spoil anything for anyone or offended anyone. Peace!
Just saw Eileen last night, and it is such an oddball movie. If it wasn't based on a novel, I'd say the screenwriter didn't know how to handle the third act, but I see it's close to how the book goes. The novel is written in the first person, and maybe you need that kind of tunnel-vision/solipsism to make this more sensical, but the movie really falls apart for me when the big turn happens.
However, I absolutely adored the first two acts. McKenzie is so good (been a fan of hers since Leave No Trace), and Hathaway is wonderful in vixen mode. Somewhat surprising, as she was quite frumpy in Armageddon Time and I thought she'd aged out of these types of roles, but good for her -- I thought she was sultry and mysterious.
Marin Ireland's confession is amazing, not only for her performance but the content of that confession. Kudos to the studio for not softening the edges at all.
"She gives long looks to a particularly lithe and handsome inmate in the yard, despite his booking for stabbing his father to death"
"Despite", Scott? seems like she might think killing a father is an attractive quality in a young man.....
Dammit! That's a really good insight!
I have been so excited about both of these movies!
I really loved Eileen: The Book and def intrigued to see how it comes across on the screen. Beyond delighted that Shea Whigham is the dad in this - I don't know that there is an actor more suitable to the casting and I can only hope that this opens the door to many well-paying roles as senior grumps (versus middle-aged grumps) for him.
Just caught that May December shows up on NF tomorrow and while I'm sure it'll look grand on a big screen (Haynes has never made a movie that didn't look amazing, even his first few super low-fi things), this movie is gonna get such a wide audience on that platform that I can't see it as anything but a win.
I really loved May December. All the top performances are excellent, but Melton really stands out for being the emotional core of the film. He's already won Supporting Actor at NYFCC and that's probably not going to be his last win.
I also find the end reveal of the film Elizabeth is working on to be a great punchline.
Absolutely. The coda is completely brilliant. So much to chew on with this movie. It's just the most wonderfully Haynes-y thing.
I can't wait until more people have seen this so we can get into some spoiler-y discussions.
I found the ending really quite heartbreakingly hilarious! This movie Elizabeth is working on is just as terrible as the snippet of the made-for-TV one we saw, but damn it, she's trying! Really hard! Going for that third (or fourth) try at that terrible line.
In the made-for-TV movie, I think Gracie tosses some piece of clothing over the snake aquarium? So I guess this is a slight upgrade, having the snake actually be in the scene. The embarrassingly obvious female/viper metaphor and Elizabeth's desperate earnestness for Truth (TM) -- man, what a movie. All three leads here really are amazing.
And I must apologize to Mr. Melton, as I didn't think he looked Korean at all -- but he's half Korean!! I really should have learned my lesson by now, but I have not: https://alllooksame.com/ (I failed MISERABLY -- I scored far below 50% in the face quiz.)
Oh, the ending absolutely rips. The line, "It's not that kind of snake" has been echoing through my head since I saw it. A truly incredible film.
Marin Ireland stole Eileen for me... only 2 scenes (1.5 maybe), but her big scene was the hinge of the film... great actor having a great year (where my Birth/Rebirth heads at!)
Happy that Keith didn't focus so much on May December as "camp" or "funny". Not that it isn't, but to me it's doing so many more interesting things with regards to denial and image. Charles Melton is revelatory, damn near steals the movie and it's because he gives off this in-between "not a boy, not yet a man" type vibe that seems to be barely holding on.
Always a great sign when I find myself chewing over a movie and discovering new things to think about or look at. I've had some great conversations about May December and I'm excited to see more.
Yeah, this movie is playing in my mind unlike any other this year. So many layers to it conceptually and emotionally. I just like how the mere presence of this actress asking basic questions just cracks so much open. You realize how much this relationship has relied on a dynamic that's been set from the start and preserved by never evolving or being interrogated.
It's as if the foundation itself is so horrifying that no one can look at it directly. Not even the community can refrain from either ignoring it or participating in the delusion. You almost have to become blind because the second one of them starts thinking, it all snowballs. Complex, but at the same time rather simple.
I was really looking forward to seeing May December. I tried to find, Keith, what you saw in it, but, alas, I couldn't. I thought it was such a bland, listless piece of work in which all the colors were bled out (literally) and all the blood was colored out (figuratively). It barelly scratched the surafce of any of the characters, using "one can't really know any one" as an excuse for bad writing, yet it felt so self-important. I rarely comment on music in films -- either I love it, like in In the Mood of For Love or Body Heat, or The Mission, or Once Upon a Time in America -- or I don't remember it. But the music in this film was abrasive, screaming out "look at this, we're making a masterpiece!"
Yes, there are good scenes (I counted two): the "lipstick" scene, shamelessly borrowing from Bergman's Persona, and the graduation scene, when Joe watches his kids get their high school dimplomas and tears up helplessly. I think telling the entire story from his point of view would have been much, much more interesting. Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. I hope I didn't spoil anything for anyone or offended anyone. Peace!
Just saw Eileen last night, and it is such an oddball movie. If it wasn't based on a novel, I'd say the screenwriter didn't know how to handle the third act, but I see it's close to how the book goes. The novel is written in the first person, and maybe you need that kind of tunnel-vision/solipsism to make this more sensical, but the movie really falls apart for me when the big turn happens.
However, I absolutely adored the first two acts. McKenzie is so good (been a fan of hers since Leave No Trace), and Hathaway is wonderful in vixen mode. Somewhat surprising, as she was quite frumpy in Armageddon Time and I thought she'd aged out of these types of roles, but good for her -- I thought she was sultry and mysterious.
Marin Ireland's confession is amazing, not only for her performance but the content of that confession. Kudos to the studio for not softening the edges at all.