I saw Ratcatcher with a friend as the first part of a three-part Lynne Ramsay series at the local theater. I didn't think much of it either way. Our conversation outside the theater afterward moved pretty quickly from the film onto life updates and weekend plans.
Before the series concluded with Morvern Callar, my friend lost his fight with addiction.
I couldn't fight the thought that Movern Callar would have been a more fitting final film for the two of…
Noé is my favorite director. Even his segment in Short Plays is worthy of study. I've been anticipating Vortex since hearing about it in 2020. At any time, there are upcoming films which I think I will enjoy, but none that I suspect will become foundational in the way I hoped Vortex would. That being said, I tempered my expectations around an understanding that Vortex would be a departure for Noé. The logline indicated a very different subject matter. Early…
The mystery element is an afterthought, which is a real problem because there's nothing else to push the movie forward. It's a procession of Virgil Tibbs confronting various southern archetypes. The sheriff, the wealthy plantation owner, the Good Old Boys, the overprotective brother. Maybe provides some catharsis and challenged views at the time.
Wexler's cinematography in the opening credits is evocative. Then it's drab for the rest of the film.
It's a marvel to see how much world building Glazer does without a single line of expository dialogue. All the moments which were confounding on the first watch make perfect sense. Masterful visual storytelling. Quite a feat to make a film that reads this experimental on first watch and this conventional on second watch.
The cold perspective on a society which equates beauty with value makes the first half a perfect film. Part of me wishes that it ended with…
Michael Dorman shooting pool in Texas with Durand Jones and Patrick Sweany in the background. Filling a lot of voids for me, especially the Patriot one.
The middle third is really strong. It starts fun and then the layers peel back to reveal an intense relationship between two people with a lot of history and more invested in each other than either of them are willing to let on. There's a great ebb and flow with tons of chemistry between…
