I find voyeuristic pleasure peeking back at student films/low-budget debuts of well-regarded directors. Alexander Payne's The Passion of Martin, made as a thesis for a MFA degree, is quite good for that pedigree and frankly pretty enjoyable even without grading on a curve. Like the two other Payne films I've seen (Sideways and Election), it rides the line between black comedy and cynical drama quite effortlessly, pulling out some of its best jokes at especially bleak moments.
The story follows…
Truly a miraculous balancing act -- warm and inviting without being too sentimental or treacly.
My 4 and 6 year old daughters will grow up in a world that's more complicated and messy than the one I did (let alone the one Margaret does). But they will at least have this movie as company in their early adolescence as a guide for working through the complexities of tweenage girlhood. That's brings me a small sliver of comfort, at least.
If the last scene ever fails to make me cry, please call a morgue, thanks.
Richard Williams' 1971 Oscar-winning short is an astonishing adaptation, animated with beautiful, pencil-drawn grace and showcasing the creepier side of the story.
Some of the moments here have never been depicted like this before. Marley's jaw dangles, unhinged, with all the fright described in the text. The ghost-hearse races up the stairs. The Ghost of Christmas Past flickers and shapeshifts.
The sets are shadowy and starkly angled; the graves at the cemetery in Christmas Future sprout like a horrid fungus…
