Oscar Bait, The Sequel
(02/05/01)
As this year’s Oscar nominations draw nearer (February 13 is the big day!), dozens of films, some worthier than others, continue to compete for our attention and our moviegoing dollars. I’ve managed to see several of the movies in question recently; here’s what I thought.
Right off the bat, Steven Soderbergh’s “Traffic” practically screams “Notice me!” to the Academy. Its real-life subject matter (the war on drugs), deathly serious tone, big-name cast, and nearly three-hour running time make it just the type of thing voters (or at least the nominating committee) have been enamored with in years past. It should get noticed come nomination time, and rightfully so; “Traffic” is perhaps not a modern classic, but still a darn good film.
Based upon a BBC documentary about drug trafficking, “Traffic” follows several loosely interconnected casts of characters and their interaction with the drug trade between Mexico and the United States. There’s the two Tijuana-based cops (one of whom is portrayed quite well by Benicio Del Toro) who work for a Mexican army general who says he wants to wipe out the drug czars in Juarez—or does he? There’s the mid-level dealer who gets busted in the first moments of the movie and then gets talked into testifying against his boss by the two L.A.-based cops. Then there’s the boss, and his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones, proving that she really can act), who proves herself to be capable of quite a bit to protect her family. And finally, there’s the head of the DEA (Michael Douglas), who begins to suspect that he’s fighting a losing battle when his teenage daughter (Erika Christiansen) gets mixed up in the drug culture. If it sounds complicated, it is; it’s heavy stuff, not always easy or fun to watch, but it all fits together quite nicely in the end.
I don’t have many big problems with “Traffic.” The cast is excellent to a fault, the
direction is superb, and the plot is seamless if at times hard to follow. In particular, the cinematography was
grittily gorgeous; the movie was filmed by Soderbergh under a pseudonym, and is
full of blue and yellow washes and in-your-face handheld camera that makes you
sit up and take notice. (One caveat: A
considerable portion of “Traffic” plays out in Spanish. I was very, very glad indeed that I am
relatively fluent in the language; if you’re not, be prepared to read plenty of
subtitles.) I suppose the only reason I
didn’t like it more was that it simply wasn’t that much fun to watch. From a critical perspective, “Traffic” is
excellent, but for the average moviegoer, it plays more like a documentary than
an evening’s escapism. The Verdict:
Go if you’re in the mood for a thought-provoking look at America’s most futile
war—the war on drugs. 3.5 out of 5.
Speaking of Steven Soderbergh, he may just turn out to be this year’s Oscar darling. After all, earlier this year he brought us “Erin Brockovich,” which despite being released in March of 2000 (not exactly prime Oscar season, is it?) has still generated considerable buzz. I saw this one shortly after it came out but never got around to writing about it until now. I don’t know why, since it was quite an excellent film. As you probably know, it’s the true story of the titular character (wonderfully portrayed by Julia Roberts), a struggling single mother with some...interesting ideas about fashion who takes a job with a law firm. Before you know it, she’s almost singlehandedly won a suit against a major corporation who poisoned the water in a small California town. It’s the kind of thing that’s almost too warm and fuzzy to be true or even watchable, yet Soderbergh’s deft direction, the script’s wonderfully snappy dialogue, and Roberts’ honest portrayal of Erin make it a feel-good movie that won’t make you gag.
Overall, “Erin Brockovich” is a fine film, with Oscar
potential that belies its bizarre release date. My only quibble is that the subplot where Erin tries to balance
her career, her three children, and her biker boyfriend is never really
resolved. Perhaps, however, this is
true to life. The rest of the movie
certainly is, and for that, I applaud it. The Verdict: I was just about to say this is a movie for the
whole family when I remembered how often Julia Roberts uses the F-word. Oh well, you know what I mean. 4 out of 5.
Which reminds me...Michael Douglas was in another movie
with one of those weird late-winter release dates that just may do better than
expected come Oscar night. I refer, of
course, to “Wonder Boys,” a well-thought-out, frequently hilarious
comedy. Douglas plays an addled,
pot-smoking English professor who’s having an affair with the department chair’s
wife and struggling to finish the 3,000+ page novel he’s been working on for
years. The young, talented Tobey
Maguire is his student, who churns out hundreds of pages a night (much to
Douglas’ dismay) and strives to be just like his professor. I’ll admit it’s been awhile since I saw this
one, so my memory won’t allow me to get into specifics. However, I do remember “Wonder Boys” being
quite clever, with Douglas turning in what is possibly the best performance of
his career. I certainly could have done
worse. The Verdict: Sure, it’s just
a comedy, but it’s a pretty good one. 3
out of 5.
And finally, I come to “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” After the buzz and the glowing reviews that this one got, I’d been looking forward to it more than any winter movie save “Shadow Of The Vampire.” It’s finally made its way to the culture-starved Midwest, and my excitement was validated in the highest degree.
I went into the theatre expecting “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” to be your standard Hong Kong martial arts movie: plenty of amazing stunts, sure, but not much in the way of plot or characterization. Was I ever wrong! Director Ang Lee has eschewed mindless violence to put two beautiful, bittersweet love stories at this film’s core. First, we meet Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat), an aging warrior who wants to leave his life of battle behind and address his unrequited love for fellow fighter Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh, in a performance that has placed this character next to Ellen Ripley in my pantheon of movie goddesses). But he finds this won’t be so easy when Jade Fox, the woman who killed his mentor, shows up, and his sword, the Green Destiny, is stolen. The thief is Jen (Zhang Ziyi, making her acting debut, if you can believe that), a truly fascinating character—she is Jade Fox’s protégé and a nobleman’s daughter being forced into a loveless arranged marriage. Li Mu Bai thinks Jen shows talent as a fighter and wants to train her, but she is arrogant and refuses his tutelage. She also knows that becoming a warrior might cause her to give up her romance with Lo, a bandit with whom she falls in love under truly bizarre (yet believable!) circumstances. The whole thing comes to a head in a series of breathtaking, mind-blowing battle sequences and a perfectly tragic ending.
The plot of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” may be wonderful, sure, but it’s the stunts that really make this film worth your buck-two-eighty. The climactic swordfight between Jen and Shu Lien particularly stands out in my mind, but there are so many nifty moments that it’d take more time than I have to list them all. In the great Hong Kong tradition, all of the actors did their own stunts, which makes the fluid beauty of the numerous displays of martial arts prowess even more astonishing. (Also, consider that the only use of CGI in this movie was to remove the safety wires for the aerial stunts, then marvel some more.) Some of the feats call for suspension of disbelief, sure, but I can almost guarantee you’ll be too astonished to worry about whether or not it’s really physically possible for a man to run vertically up a wall.
In another review of this film, the author said that “‘Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ is the best Star Wars movie since ‘The Empire Strikes
Back.’” What a perfect
description. Because “Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon” is a Star Wars movie. It’s
also a love story, an action-adventure flick, a period piece, a comedy at
times, a Shakespearean tragedy, and an epic of Biblical proportions. If you thought you hated foreign films, if
you thought you couldn’t stand martial arts movies, think again. Anyone who considers herself a lover of film
should take it upon herself to see “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” while it’s
still in theatres. Believe you me, it’ll
lose something on the small screen. The
Verdict: Do yourself a favor and go see the best movie of 2000. 4.5 out of 5.
Copyright (c) 2001 by Beth Kinderman. This is my original work, so please respect it.