and the flood came, and destroyed them all by karen g.

Darren Aronofsky's films always portray tormented souls. Noah starring Russell Crowe, is no different. What was always a whimsical Sunday school story, turns out to be a dark, disturbing tale about human nature, survival and our darkest thoughts toward ourselves and the rest of mankind.

While the film is set in the time of Genesis in the bible, the movie is current in its depiction of an overpopulated, crime-ridden and sick world. Though inspired by the biblical story, Aronofsky’s adaptation has less to do with God’s wrath than it does with our desire to find peace in a less-than-perfect world. I’ve certainly felt dark thoughts creep into my heart while riding an overcrowded 6 train through the city. This movie, while portraying a bygone era is relevant in how we relate to each other as humans today. The “every man for himself” attitude is heavily played out in this story.

Noah is tormented by striking visions of great masses of water and eventually ponders what the “Creator” might be trying to tell him. Noah travels to visit his father, the wise Methuselah, played by Anthony Hopkins, to find the answers to his persistent nightmares.  He takes his family on an epic journey across the lands of the fallen angels, to find Methuselah. At his side is his reluctant, yet loyal wife Naameh, played by Jennifer Connelly and their two sons Ham, played by Logan Lerman of Perks of Being a Wallflower and Shem played by English actor, Douglas Booth.

There are moments where the movie made me feel like I was watching a cross between Transformers and The Neverending Story. The endless CGI sequences and the portrayal of the fallen angels known as "The Watchers" were more laughable than dark and moving to me. I felt, considering the subject matter, that "The Watchers" were a lost opportunity to really bring forth the crises we face as humans in just the smallest moments of our daily lives, when we struggle with what is right and wrong.

Methuselah’s character is quirky and comedic. Played against the gritty, serious Noah, the chemistry between Crowe and Hopkins just does not work. Methuselah ends up reminding me of a Star Wars type character, maybe even a Hopkins-like Yoda, with his hunched performance, skittish childlike banter and his endless search for "red berries."

Emma Watson in the role of Ila does not do a bad job of playing the young girl rescued by Noah and his family after her village was destroyed by pillagers. She grows to be loved by Shem but is barren due to an act of violence and is tormented by the fact that she will not be able to repopulate the earth. She begs Shem to find another wife, despite her love for him.  Ham, who is plagued by his need to find a wife and companion before the storm comes, is moody throughout the film. In the later scenes his resentment for his father leads him to a revengeful plot against him.

The scenes of the animals entering the ark and the epic storm sequences are all CGI, and they feel just as fake. I did not feel emotionally attached to any of the characters, except maybe the twins born to Ila (after a magical blessing from Methuselah in the forest).

I felt like the film tried to accomplish too much and so all we ended up with was another really long movie. I was exhausted by the trials and tribulations of Noah and his family, his growing resentment to his family and fellow man and his unshakable “calling” to serve the Lord - at any and all costs. I was even disappointed by Clint Mansell’s score that felt disconnected and unfaithful to the story and characters.

I will hand it to Aronofsky for always giving us the unconventional and the film certainly leaves you with a deep sense of discomfort, as all his past work does. The movie is definitely original in its structure and subject matter as it is thrown into a biblical setting, but we can definitely all relate to the feeling of being trapped. The ark is the perfect metaphor for our search for enlightenment and truth while sometimes feeling confined, and in the dark, even when we are surrounded by the ones we love.


-Karen G.

bling ring

Just the other day I was watching some of Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides.  I had forgotten about that dirge of a movie, with its eerie Air soundtrack, Giovanni Ribisi's moody narration and Edward Lachman's yellowish-green tinted cinematography.  I remember being riveted and unnerved by it when I first saw it in theaters in 1999.  Since then, I've always looked forward to what Coppola comes up with next.  The Bling Ring may be her best and most entertaining since Lost in Translation.  It's based upon a group of teenage Calabasas misfits who broke into some celebrity mansions, stealing swag. I missed this story when it was reported on blogs and entertainment news, perhaps because my attention was solely on the Presidential election in the fall of 2008. The incidents were even made into a Lifetime movie, which I haven't seen, but can't imagine has Coppola's unique sense of rhythm and keen insight into glamour's bitter pills.

Coppola's film smartly sets her materialistic characters in a taut fashion and image-obsessed vacuum.  Realistically, they are also clumsy criminals (Coppola first gave her actors a chance to "rob" a home, just to see what mistakes they would make).  Ringleader Rebecca (Katie Chang) is perhaps the most adroit and fearless.  She quickly latches onto awkward newbie Marc (Israel Broussard) who expresses a similar interest in fashion.  In a great early scene, she takes Marc with her to pilfer cash and a purse from parked cars along a neighborhood street.  Marc, desperate for friends and tired of his humdrum, not-attractive-enough existence, yearns for a more exciting life; for the rest of the film, she seems to use him as her sidekick.

There are some flaws. The script moves through some Social Network-future narration style, a conceit that really didn't do much for the drama of the pic. In fact, I think it would have been more claustrophobic and tense to tell it in a more straightforward style.  I also thought the scenes with Leslie Mann and Emma Watson, though undoubtedly amusing, had comedy that was "too broad" (almost John Waters-y) that didn't fit in with the naturalistic feel of the rest of the flick; I didn't really buy Mann's Secret-obsessed character either.  Here I felt the picture seemed like it was straining to mine social commentary, something that critics seem to complain there isn't enough of it, though I feel the movie had enough of that on its own merits (the use of Paris Hilton's real home and her invitation to re-create the robberies there is unsurprising and fascinating). Whenever the movie focused on Mann and Watson, I felt that the satire wasn't as interesting as what was going on in the rest of the picture.  Because of this, the most well-known stars (Mann and Watson and Gavin Rossdale as a sleazy club owner) surprisingly are the weakest of the cast.

But the strengths pretty much outweigh the flaws.  The film effectively oscillates between exhilaration and disappointment. I loved watching Chang take on her character's mischief, dishonesty, and yearning so subtly (a long-take scene where she gleefully sings along high to Kanye West's "All of the Lights" and another where she sprays perfume on her neck are stunners).  Broussard effectively gets his character's paradoxical ways.  In a small role, Claire Julien, daughter of Dark Knight cinematographer Wally Pfister, completely shines.  She is the principal figure in another great long-take shot in a beige toned-sunlit kitchen.  In that scene, the satire somehow works and its a mesmerizing moment. The brazen pop-rap song choices are outstanding as well--M.I.A., Azaliea Banks, and more--and fit in with what the characters would be listening to and the tempo and glamour they aspire to.  The film is dedicated to its late cinematographer Harris Savides who wasn't able to finish filming, his work is aided by Christopher Blauvelt and the photography is alluring and stunning--especially when the camera lingers over Paris Hilton's collection of shoes.  ***


-Jeffery Berg