The Diving Bell And The Butterfly - Review

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a truly innovative film. Say what you want about the film, critique it if you must (not that it's a film worthy of much critiquing), but you cannot deny that director Julian Schnabel has created a true work of art here. Diving Bell tells the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, a Frenchman who suffers a stroke and is rendered paralyzed and unable to communicate - save for the blink of a single eye. Schnabel films much of the story from the point of view of that very eye, taking us into the world of Bauby (played brilliantly by Mathieu Almaric) and enabling us to see what he sees and hear his thoughts at work. Bauby wrote a book using blinks to signify the letters he wanted, an inspirational story not even Hollywood could dream of.
If the premise doesn't seem like it would be an easy movie to make, that's because it's not. But Schnabel and screenwriter Ronald Harwood do a more than admirable job of taking inside Bauby's head. It's easy to believe that most filmmakers would have never thought of the first-person view, filming the story traditionally through a series of flashbacks or filming more of the other characters and less of Bauby in his incapacitated state. (If Michael Bay had directed it, Bauby would have gone into a stroke thanks to a massive car explosion taking out 16 city blocks. But I digress...) Yet thanks to some visionary direction, the movie works. Diving Bell's main flaw is that, well, it's not exactly prime movie material. The story becomes repetitive as I suppose it has to, with the reciting of letters and Bauby's blinking taking up perhaps more time than we'd like. I also wish the flashback and fantasy scenes were more interesting - they're hit or miss, some wildly imaginative while others seemingly pointless. Yet ultimately, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is quite a success against all odds. It's a work that Bauby himself would have been proud of.

Grade: B+

Public Enemies - Review

Johnny Depp aims his gun at the man who forced him to shave his mustache.


No doubt about it: Public Enemies is one of those movies that will sharply divide critics and the general public alike. Director Michael Mann's decision to shoot the film in HD Digital divided people even before the movie's release. It was an unconventional decision in an unconventional film - Enemies eschews back story and traditional character development for a film focused on Public Enemy #1 himself: notorious 1930s bank robber John Dillinger. It's a decision that puts the pressure on Johnny Depp, who portrays the infamous criminal, and Depp delivers with one of the absolute best performances of his career. It's his star power that drives a film which ranks as the second best picture of the year so far.
As previously mentioned, Public Enemies dives right into the story with an opening prison raid orchestrated by Dillinger. There is no need for backstory and exposition here - Dillinger is a brilliant and dangerous man, and that's clear to see from the very outset. It's perhaps one of the weaker scenes in the entire movie at times as the shaky camera sets a nervous bginning to the movie but the action is choreographed quite well after that. The bank robberies and tommy-gun fights are well shot and the attention to detail for the period is truly something to behold. The film looks beautiful, thanks to Mann and cinematographer Dante Spinotti, with plenty of memorable shots and scenes included. One of the finest involves tension between Dillinger, making an escape from prison, and a stoplight that won't seem to turn green. It's a series of simple shots that becomes a powerful source of tension when put together.
Ultimately the film belongs to Depp, who radiates star power as John Dillinger. You cannot and do not want to imagine anyone else in the part as Depp owns every second of his screen time. It's not an over-the-top performance by any means, nor does it have to be. Christian Bale plays FBI Agent Melvin Purvis coldly, as a man obsessed with catching Dillinger and nothing else, while Marion Cotillard radiates as Dillinger's love interest Billie Frechette. But make no mistake: it's Johnny's show, and everyone else is just along for the ride.
Apparently Depp and Mann didn't get along on the set. It doesn't matter. Depp's original acting combined with Mann's confident directing lends itself to a multitude of great moments. Perhaps the best scene in the movie: Dillinger sits in a movie theatre with his face imposed on the screen. The audience looks left. They look right. And all the while he sits among the crowd, unnoticed, with a wry smile on his face. Or maybe it's the scene where Dillinger walks into a police station, undetected by the very cops who are trying to catch him. Or it could be his face-to-face matchup behind prison bars with Purvis. It's a good problem to have when you can't figure out the most memorable scene from a movie. And Depp and Mann make sure Public Enemies is full of them.

Grade: A-

BLOG RELAUNCH!!!!

I know you're excited!! I'm excited!!

OK, nobody really gives a crap but the award-winning Browntown's Blog is back. Mainly for my mini movie reviews which will hopefully be plentiful as I watch more and more movies. And random thoughts will appear here as well! Oh hooray!

First up: a review of the new Michael Mann film Public Enemies.