#730 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Thursday August 17)
Good morning,
We are living in a summer of phenomena. The most obvious of these is the oppressive heat pervading the nation and the world. Human generated warming is real.
On the entertainment front, there are two other phenomena. One is the women’s trifecta of the Beyonce tour, the Taylor Swift tour and the Barbie movie. It is a great summer for female-centered entertainment! The Taylor Swift tour is definitely a cultural moment.
But I want to talk about another phenomenon, which is taking place in movie theatres this summer. People are coming out in droves to indulge in the aforementioned Barbie movie and Oppenheimer, the Christopher Nolan magnum opus on the father of the atomic bomb. These two movies are different as can reasonably be from that which has come before—particularly what the recent menu of movies have been. These very different, original movies have taken the moviegoing public to places it has not been, while breaking Hollywood’s model of the past decade.
Let me just note that these two movies, which I saw in successive weeks, were the first two movies I have seen in a theatre since the onset of Covid. Since most everything eventually streams anyway, and since I believe TV contains most of the best writing these days, there seemed little reason to head to the theatre.
WHERE WE’VE BEEN
For the past 10-ish years, big ideas, great writing, and thoughtful “think pieces” have resided on TV (and, of course, books). Cinema has become a derivative medium. The costs are high and studios generally will adopt to nearly certain success with what’s worked before, rather than pushing the genre to new heights. Gone have been the great ideas that sparked Scorcese, Anderson, Burton, and other great directors. Sure there’s the occasional Inaritu or Cuaron but over the last few years, generally we’ve been fed a diet of comic book superhero movies, sequels, prequels and reboots. The studios basically have decided to go with “safe” and with what they believe the audience wants.
It was on TV that I really was made to appreciate just how uninteresting Hollywood has become. One of the best TV limited series was The Offer, based upon the making of The Godfather. While the journey of that masterpiece was shown to go up against “the suits” and the formulaic movies of the time, there were people in positions of authority who dared to empower a director’s vision and take risks. From this story came two best picture winners. And I can’t help but think that the Scorsese triumphs like Gangs of New York, Goodfellas and The Departed owe a great deal to the opening up of a whole new genre of story-telling that was pioneered by the Godfather epic.
WHERE THESE MOVIES TAKE US
But I think if these two movies teach us anything, it is that there is a hunger for something different—something challenging. For the first time in a while, two well-crafted, unique visions have made it to the screen and, contrary to the view that the public wants one more Spiderman movie, the public is eating them up. These movies are taking us to new places with unique aesthetics, directorial vision, solid acting, and important messaging. Perhaps the American public is ready to be challenged a bit more. I certainly hope so.
It is ironic that these well written films are breaking box office expectations while a writers’ strike is going on… Anyway, here are my brief notes on each of these movies:
OPPENHEIMER
This is an important film, not just in relating the history of the pursuit of the bomb to win World War II, but the moral dilemmas associated with its discovery, use and ultimate legacy. But it’s more. It deals with the red scare of the 1950s, how government projects of the time were made to happen, and the risks taken by various people involved. One of the most endearing and fascinating aspects of the story was the conversations amongst the various physicists, including Einstein and Bohrs, over the 1930s and 1940s, and their childlike wonder as they made discoveries about the universe, the creation of stars, as and the workings of the atom. They built upon each other’s work and changed the world, all while considering the moral dilemmas that their discoveries presented.
A few other notes:
1. It really was a work of art. The three (or was it more?) timelines were at times confusing but, in the end, told the story well.
Robert Downey, Jr. will win the Best Supporting Actor award, even if his last scene was a bit of scenery-chewing acting.
This was an important film about an important story. Its messages were profound.
The first hour, largely focused on the physicists who came together with wonder to try to understand the universe through stars and atoms was great.
The cinematography and story-telling was good.
Christopher Nolan, while not perfect (see, e.g., Tenet and Interstellar) is a great auteur. He should win Best Director.
It could have been a half hour shorter and probably wouldn’t have lost much.
I will never sit in row 2 of an IMAX theatre again. I think our location distracted from the experience (and definitely contributed to neck pain!).
BARBIE
From the opening scenes of “Barbie World,” and the great color palette that framed the rest of the film (including the juxtaposition of all that care-free pink with the real world to which Barbie and Ken crossed over, the aesthetic was amazing. Not necessarily as novel as Wes Anderson’s aesthetic, but nonetheless beautiful and evocative. A few additional notes:
1. The female empowerment theme is great. As a father who raised an empowered daughter, I appreciate the importance of this message.
2. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are beautiful people. My goodness…they’re specimens of another species!
3. The makeup did its part in making the faces of the characters from Barbie World look plasticine. Really great.
4. The inside jokes about discontinued dolls and the plight of these dolls were great.
5. I could have done without the long tangent to the creator of Barbie. But, oh well.
6. While the criticism of the patriarchy was fair, it was a bit heavy handed and didn’t really offer male characters who had depth, understanding, or substance. It could have been toned down a tad.
7. All the creativity and aesthetic in the world can’t make up for a plot with little plot. But I suppose you can’t have anything. Greta Gerwig has followed up Little Women and Lady Bird with another great movie. I will look forward to what is next.
Bravo for these movies. Hopefully we will witness a bit of a renaissance for non-superhero, non-derivative fare that makes us think, laugh, and smile.
Have a great day,
Glenn