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James M. Cain’s classic Depression-Era tale was turned into a film noir by Michael Curtiz in 1945. Todd Haynes decided to readapt Mildred Pierce, and turned it into a 5-part HBO miniseries. In this current rendition of the book, the luscious Kate Winslet has played the role of the titular character, made famous by Joan Crawford in the Curtiz version. She is an independent-minded lady, she throws out her philandering, albeit good-natured husband, and takes the job of a waitress to support her daughters. The movie goes on to follow her eventful life over the next few years, as she loses her younger daughter, gets into a tumultuous relationship with a dapper upper-class fellow (Guy Pierce), becomes a successful entrepreneur by opening her own chain of restaurants only to eventually lose them, so on and so forth. However, at the heart of the movie lies the complex relationship she shares with her pretentious elder daughter Veda who grows into an exceptionally gorgeous young girl (Evan Rachel Wood) but one of the vilest characters one could think of. The more Mildred tries to bestow her love on her, the more she is hurt by the monstrous prima donna. The film boasts of an exceptionally well-rounded turn by Winslet and superb art direction recreating those times. Unfortunately, it seems a tad hollow in its soul, and filled with a lot of implausible character dynamics. Why Veda behaves the way she behaves throughout the storyline in fact remains its most disappointing mystery.
Director: Todd Haynes
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Country: US
Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes continues to remain one of the most enduring literary creations and perhaps the single most famous sleuth ever created in the world of literature. The legendary resident of 221B Baker Street has been adapted to cinema and TV numerous times, but never has he received such a wacky image makeover as in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes. Here, not only does Holmes have superior intellectual and deductive abilities, he is also a martial arts expert, and he requires all his faculties at full force to combat his antagonist. Robert Downey Jr., who seems to be “in the zone” so to speak, has given a sterling performance as the arrogant, cynical and brilliant Holmes, while Jude Law is decent enough as Dr. Watson. The film’s art-direction is excellent, especially in its recreation of Victorian-era London. Though it has a serpentine plot and delivers a number of twists on its way, it essentially remains a quintessential illustration of “style over substance”; at the end of the day, though immensely entertaining and darkly funny, the same can not be said about its impact or lasting value.
Director: Guy Ritchie
Genre: Thriller/Action/Mystery
Language: English
Country: UK
British enfant terrible Ken Russell’s Altered States was an adaptation of a book of the same name by Paddy Chayefsky, but the author (who was also the screenwriter for the movie) disowned it after he saw the final cut. The movie starred William Hurt as an eccentric underground scientist who is obsessed with his experiments on altered states of human consciousness and human evolution – so much so that he starts resorting his bizarre experiments on himself. Suffice it to say, the consequences of his spending hours in an enclosed chamber and self-infliction of hallucinogenic drugs, are grotesque to say the least. Accompanying him on this fantastical journey are his loving wife, his ever-loyal friend, and a disbelieving doctor. The director juxtaposed the ominous tone with prolonged usage of psychedelic lights, imageries and sounds, to present us a movie that does a decent job in treading the fine line between a disturbing, visceral experience on one hand, and silliness and ludicrosity on the other. Russell’s overt self-indulgence would be evident to anyone who has watched the film, yet there’s also a strangely engaging quality about the disorienting visual fest, outlandish psycho-babble, and especially the excellently crafted sequences with the ape-man that he dished us in this “body horror”. The acting too was good if not great.
Director: Ken Russell
Genre: Psychological Horror/Sci-Fi
Language: English
Country: US
Terry Gilliam is renowned for his incredible sci-fi satire Brazil. 12 Monkeys, though not of the same caliber, nonetheless remains a competent sci-fi set in a dystopian timeframe. A dark and intense examination of the meaning of “madness” and how its definition varies from person to person, the movie is about time-traveller James Cole (Bruce Willis), a prisoner in the future, being sent to the past to unravel the origin of and possibly thwart the virus attack that has wiped out nearly the entire humanity. Upon his journey to past he befriends a sympathetic psychiatrist (Madeleine Stowe) who, initially reluctantly and later willingly, becomes his only ally, and also the mad, rabble-rousing son (Brad Pitt) of a world-famous biochemist. The film delivers the goods in creating an atmosphere that is filled to its brim with grime and grunge, which in turns helps in holding our attention despite the plot not being its biggest strength. Bruce Willis, as the time-traveller on the verge of insanity and perpetually plagued by a sense of déjà vu (through his recurring dreams), gave a solid performance, as did the beautiful Madeleine Stowe; the show however was befittingly stolen by Brad Pitt for his gleefully over-the-top supporting turn. Though not a great film per se, over the years it has managed to gain considerable cult following.
Director: Terry Gilliam
Genre: Thriller/Sci-Fi
Language: English
Country: US
In the last few years films from Far East Asian countries, especially Japan and Korea, have set the standards for horror movies – a fact substantiated by the number of American remakes they inspire. A Tale of Two Sisters, which can essentially be clubbed as psychological horror, is decidedly a part of that trend. Directed by Kim Jee-Woon, one of the most exciting Korean filmmakers of today, and inspired by an ancient folklore, the movie is not so much about supernatural elements as it is about exploration such themes as familial dysfunction, memory, loss and mental disintegration. The most noteworthy aspect about the movie is that the eerie and spooky moments it comprises of have been very well complemented by its melancholic tone and lush visuals. The plot begins with two closely-knit sisters arriving at an isolated house, located at the middle of nowhere, to stay with their father and step-mother. Not only would be criminal of me to reveal any more of the plot, it would also be exceedingly difficult for me to do so given its byzantine nature. The third act might seem too mind-bending for some and the climax especially cryptic and ambiguous – but in my opinion they added to the very essence of the film as this was anyway never planned to be an open-and-shut kind of work. The acting in this haunting mood-piece is also really good and engaging.
Director: Kim Jee-Woon
Genre: Horror/Psychological Horror/Family Drama
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea
