Deception

Some things in life make sense, and others, we just weren’t meant to understand. Deception is a film that seems to fall into the latter category. It follows Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan McGregor), a bored accountant who merely goes through the motions of life, until one day, he meets Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman), a lawyer at a firm he audits. They become acquainted while under the influence of mild-altering drugs, the sparks fly, and they live happily ever after…. Not!

Well, it wouldn’t be called Deception if it were that easy, right? Bose introduces his new friend, who appears to have little luck with the ladies, to an anonymous sex club they call The List, and then things get complicated. Rendezvous with Charlotte Rampling, Michelle Williams, and Maggie Q, as well as intrigue and money laundering ensue. And, as the movie promoters would have you think, nothing is as it appears.

Now, the idea might be somewhat interesting, and about 50% of those “nothing is as it appears” movies tend to actually be reasonably good. Sadly for this film, it fell to the other half of the good/bad divide. The lovely cast-members were painfully wasted on this unfortunate script. Even the fun lines were painful to hear.

The plot was full of holes and character development was close to nil. Even worse, all the twists and turns they’d hoped would impress you were unexciting and relatively predictable. On the plus side, I did enjoy the slick production values, which leaves you with a glassy, Mies van der Rohe, “shot in Chicago” feel in this New York-based film. But ultimately, this is a disappointing story with disappointing dialogue, and an ending that leaves you asking, “Why did I just watch this?”

Also, was it just me, or was Hugh Jackman’s American accent just a bit off the entire time? It appeared to improve as the movie went on, but still, it was yet another distraction in a movie I could hardly get into in the first place.

Note: This review is cross-posted at The Natty Reviewer. For more reviews, please hop on over to our new review blog, run with Miss MX. Movies, music, books, food, and who knows what. Nothing shall be left un-criticized!

Another Depressing Movie:

The Good Shepherd

Firstly, I would like to mention that I’ve found something wonderful. Amazon Video On Demand, starting from 99¢! I couldn’t believe it, maybe because I’m getting old and not with it or something, but I really had no idea. And this is wonderful. I mean, who wants to go out and physically rent a DVD in this weather anyway? And since I watch a lot of my movies on my laptop anyway, I might as well, right?

All right, on to the real work of the day. I watched yet another movie to promote the winter blues, The Good Shepherd. Now, I know this movie has an all-star cast (including top-billed Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie), but I was prepared for this to be a movie that made you feel worse about life. And to that end, it did not disappoint. The film basically follows the sad life of Edward Wilson as he slowly makes his way from idealistic college student to an over-cautious, perpetually sleep-deprived CIA agent who sells his soul for “the good of America.”

I know there are a lot of people who enjoy these intense mystery/thriller type movies, but I had a huge problem following the story since all the WASPy guys in drab-colored suits and bowler hats looked the same to me. When you can’t tell any of the many male characters apart (aside from Matt Damon, whose dumb expression always manages to make him stand out), it’s a bit of a problem. My friend had a huge issue with the jumps back and forth in chronology, but I just couldn’t focus. I was too busy being annoyed by the Matt Damon character’s useless son. Also, I had a really difficult time believing the aging of the characters from 20 to nearly 50 since they looked remarkably the same.

The family dynamics examined were more interesting, as we were reminded of why shot-gun marriages due to pregnancy are not always such a great thing. (I wonder how Sarah Palin’s daughter is doing….) In perhaps the most powerful moment of the entire film, Angelina Jolie’s Clover tells Edward to look out for their son out of fatherly love. “Of course I love him,” the angry Edward says to his wife, “I married you for him!” Ouch.

The quick take on The Good Shepherd: Good for those who like their films suspenseful, and probably best enjoyed when one’s mind is completely awake and aware. It’s also a good opportunity to spend 2 hours trying to remember what exactly it was that your high school history teacher taught you about the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion.

Recently seen:

Depressing Movie #1

The Duchess

Depressing Movie #2

The Reader

I’m not really sure why I wanted to watch these, unless I am secretly masochistic or something. There are many differences between the movies, I guess, but as my lovely twin would describe it, one is happy and one is sad. Well… relatively speaking.

Her: Do you want happy or sad?
me: um… are either of them happy?
Her: Well, I’m guessing a failed relationship is happier than a failed relationship and Nazis

And this proved to be both true and untrue. Firstly, although Ralph Fiennes was in both movies, the other cast members were, of course, quite different. I usually find Keira Knightley, who plays the title role in the first movie of our double feature, quite charming. However, with all the costumes and makeup that gave The Duchess its feeling of grandeur, I kept getting distracted by the image of the normally beautiful Ms Knightley looking aged well beyond her years, and not because she was supposed to be aging either. (They didn’t actually feel the need to age her during the 10+ years in the story, but that’s the least of this film’s problems.)

And I suppose the fact that the story was based upon the real life of Georgiana Spencer Cavendish should make it interesting, but it doesn’t really work somehow. Not even for me, great lover of costume dramas and period pieces. So the trailer makes a big deal about her wish to be free, and you implicitly understand how she is bound to her obligations, but nowhere in the film does she really appear to be striving for her freedom. And then, the ending was so grossly unsatisfying, I had to watch another movie just to get over it. It’s almost as if whoever was in the editing room suddenly decided the film was getting too long and just cut randomly and added some epilogue. Did I mention how epilogues are a lazy method of storytelling?

The costumes and scenery are, however, absolutely beautiful. It makes you wish you could have lived the life of a landed English aristocrat in the 18th century. Maybe if we could just put the entire movie up as a screensaver on our computers, we could have a better experience with this film.

The Reader, on the other hand, sort of has an appealing story, in a way, if you don’t mind feeling massively depressed. I do think it is important to tell the story of Germany’s collective guilt as a nation after WWII. But, I said it once, and I won’t hesitate to say it again. (From the same conversation:)

me: Kate Winslet must really want an Oscar to be so down with both pedophilia and Nazis.

But seriously, doesn’t it just smell of Awards Season Bait? I think the acting is fine, and rather inspired, and throughout the film, I felt like I could really relate to the characters being portrayed. The Ralph-Fiennes-does-not-age-for-15-years problem aside, both his coldness and his emotional outbursts are very believable. Young David Kross is so incredibly believable, sometimes it’s painful to watch.

Of course, then there’s lovely Kate. And she is lovely, even when they age her up a bit. But why, why, why must they make her have that horrible fake German accent? Does this somehow help disguise the fact that much of the young cast is actually German? Seriously, it’s weird. Plus, how is this a Supporting Actress role, dear Golden Globe voters? The only person who is actually in the entirety of the movie is a supporting character? At least the Oscar voters didn’t buy into that, bless them.

Anyway, this movie somehow actually ended up being less depressing, despite the additional Nazi element. Go figure. The hopeful, uplifting tone rang quite true to my ears. Some might complain that for such a complicated subject matter, the entire presentation is too slick, but I thought the beauty of the film was not at all to its detriment.

So in summary, The Duchess: Pretty, and pretty depressing. Kiera and Ralph are great, but I didn’t care much for the story. Maybe I’ll try it again when I’m in a better mood to see if it’s more appealing then. The Reader: Excellent acting all around and painfully believable at times. A very poignant tale that you might find yourself unexpectedly relating to.

To complete my Ralph Fiennes-athon, I guess the next on my list ought to be In Bruges, as per someone’s suggestion. But I’m not yet 100% convinced.

Her: Try In Bruges
me: is it good?
Her: If you like Colin Farrell
me: what are you trying to say about me?

Or I could go with numerous other movies on the to-watch list, such as these movies that I already have, but have yet to watch:

• The White Countess
• The Constant Gardener
• The English Patient

A depressing-ness rating for these films would be much appreciated.