Fact and fiction at the movies
I saw "The Queen" and "Letters from Iwo Jima" this weekend (I saw "Notes on a Scandal" as well--pulling the old two-for-the-price-of-one-sneakeroo when I noticed it was playing shortly after "The Queen" in the theater right next door at the Bayonne multiplex; don't worry, the theater got its money worth out of me when I made the mistake of getting a small popcorn and soda that cost me more than the price of my ticket). All three are worth seeing, but "The Queen" got me thinking about how truthful it was to the actual events. As far as I know the screenplay wasn't based on memoirs from any of the principals, so does this make it a fictional presentation of real events? There are some harsh words attributed to people who are still alive (and some who are dead). Is this OK? The movie left me wondering what the Queen or Tony Blair would think of the movie. Although the events may approximate the truth as played out in the British media, does this give a writer the latitude to put words in real peoples' mouths? I don't know. All I know is that, although I enjoyed the movie very much, I felt a little funny afterwards.
My brother felt the same way about "Letters from Iwo Jima." I don't know how truthful Clint Eastwood's account of the Japanese defeat at Iwo Jima is either. I suspect in the interest of telling a compelling story, he may have diverged somewhat from actual events (I wondered in particular about a scene that seemed to be included mainly to make the point that Americans do terrible things during war, too). For some reason this didn't bother me as much as it did in "The Queen." Maybe because the events are a little more remote. I'm not sure.
Judi Dench is the main reason for seeing "Notes on a Scandal." She does a terrific job in making you feel sympathetic toward a character most people would avoid at all costs in real life. The old ladies who I share the audience with at the Bayonne theater when I catch a matinee (they came out in droves for "The Departed" which made me think that they may be a bloodthirsty bunch) hooted loudest during a scene when Cate Blanchett's character is shown wiping her ass. "That wasn't necessary," I heard one mutter and I had to agree.
My brother felt the same way about "Letters from Iwo Jima." I don't know how truthful Clint Eastwood's account of the Japanese defeat at Iwo Jima is either. I suspect in the interest of telling a compelling story, he may have diverged somewhat from actual events (I wondered in particular about a scene that seemed to be included mainly to make the point that Americans do terrible things during war, too). For some reason this didn't bother me as much as it did in "The Queen." Maybe because the events are a little more remote. I'm not sure.
Judi Dench is the main reason for seeing "Notes on a Scandal." She does a terrific job in making you feel sympathetic toward a character most people would avoid at all costs in real life. The old ladies who I share the audience with at the Bayonne theater when I catch a matinee (they came out in droves for "The Departed" which made me think that they may be a bloodthirsty bunch) hooted loudest during a scene when Cate Blanchett's character is shown wiping her ass. "That wasn't necessary," I heard one mutter and I had to agree.
posted by BayonneMike at 12:24 PM
5 Comments:
That kind of toileting in a class movie first shows up in EYES WIDE SHUT. Kidman taking care of business looks as artificial as Cruise making out with Kidman in front of a mirror.
Are you suggesting the Blanchett wipe may have been a homage to Kidman?
Une homage de oui oui.
Mom stopped going to the movies after SPACE COWBOYS. I didn't see it, but she said they showed the bare bottoms of the male stars when they were taking their physicals to go to space.
"Can you spare a square?" -Elaine
I asked my dad, an avid fan of Judy Dench and Seinfeld, for his take on the trend towards the inclusion of of butt wiping scenes in these movies. He was shocked and appalled, not so much that Blanchett would agree to it, but that Ms. Dench would have permitted that kind of a scene in any movie she would be acting in.
Dench bears a striking resemblance to mom who is quite 'the' prudent.
Vin's conclusion: "Dench is stench, Blanchett is rancid, and Kidman is shitman."
Wait...I believe he said Skidman.
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