movies

The Giver: Movie Effectively Delivers Dark Message

Posted on August 18, 2014 by CharlieClaywell

200px-The_Giver_CoverI read The Giver when my daughter read it for school and was impressed by how Lois Lowry delivers such a dark message in a powerful way.

The movie also accomplishes this very well, even though, it does not follow the book.

The story centers around the teenager Jonas — a messiah figure — who as a Receiver must take in all the memories of past societies so normalcy can be maintained in the current world. Long before Jonas was born, city elders had created a society where sameness, truthfulness and conformity ensured humanity would never fall to the ills of war, pain or any other negativity caused by an emotional reaction to life.

The story is dark and thought-provoking as one learns that society’s woes, like murder, have simply been replaced by government-sanctioned killings. Less desirable members of society, whether they are the elderly or non-thriving infants, are sent to Elsewhere. One of the most disturbing moments in the story is when Jonas realizes that his father, a caretaker in a children’s nursery, culls young infants from society by euthanizing them.

Despite a strong performance by the Giver (Jeff Bridges), the chief elder (Meryl Streep), Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) and Fiona (Odeya Rush) the movie failed to draw a large crowd on its opening weekend. This could be an indication of viewer fatigue with young adult dsytopian society movies — like Divergent and Hunger Games — or the fact that The Giver is more cerebral, making it somewhat more difficult to transition to the large screen.

But, having watched all three of the movies, The Giver holds its own very well. No, it is not the book, but someone who has never read the book can watch the movie and will be pulled in to the jarring nonsensical approach to living that a society based on sameness and ‘reason’ creates.

And everyone will be hoping Jonas can handle the weight of his calling and that he can save the life of the infant boy, Gabriel.

 

Categories: movies | Tags: ,

The Company Men Examines Cost of Corporate Committment

Posted on June 3, 2014 by CharlieClaywell

The Company Men (2010) starring Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner, Craig T. Nelson and Tommy Lee Jones follows the lives of three men who become victims of downsizing during the economic crisis which mirrors the recent Great Recession. All three men are forced to redefine themselves and come to terms with what it means to be successful in a society where the only measuring stick is money and power.

One of the characters, Gene McClary, (Tommy Lee Jones) helped start the company — with his college buddy, James Salinger (Craig T. Nelson) — that eventually dismisses him.

But, before he is handed his pink slip McClary tries hard to be the voice of reason inside a company that is struggling to stay afloat. McClary, who questions the ethics of the layoffs, personally takes on the fight to keep 60-year-old Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper) employed — and temporarily succeeds as Woodward takes on the work of several employees to remain with the company.

But it only postpones the inevitible.

Each of the three men — McClary, Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) and Woodward — undergo their own unique set of obstacles and redefining moments as they try to find their way back inside the world of work. The movie centers mostly on Walker who is forced to come to terms with his new life. Walker learns to redefine himself and the definition of success, slowly and steadily as he first loses his Porche, then his house and eventually his self identity.

The movie dips into the well of corporate responsibility and the inequity of wages mostly through the eyes of Walker’s brother-in-law Jack Dolan (Kevin Costner). Dolan is a salt of the earth type construction worker who despises the idea of CEOs earning 700 times more than their employees. True to his type, Dolan is also the one that offers Walker a job despite the economic hardship it causes him. The job serves as the catalyst for Walker’s rebirth.

Some viewers will be put off by the commonly-used white male, greed-infested CEO, but at its core the movie does hit upon a uniquely American phenomenon. The paradox of how a Christian-based society (with its economy guided by the All-Knowing) easily and quickly disposes of its employees during hard times — feeling no ethical responsibility toward the individuals who made them successful during good times.

If you have worked in a less-than-perfect corporation that used layoffs to improve profitability — the movie’s accuracy in depicting the downsizing process will feel uncanny.

Rated 4 out of 5.

Categories: American Workplace, movies | Tags: , ,

The Great Gatsby: Skip the book, watch the movie

Posted on April 9, 2014 by CharlieClaywell

The Great Gatsby was one of those books on my to-read list that I never read, so I cannot say if the movie follows the novel’s story line, but I can say, the movie is well executed with great performances by Leonardo DiCaprio (Jay Gatsby), his friend and Daisy’s cousin Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), Daisy (Carey Mulligan), Daisy’s husband (Joel Edgerton ) and the mistress (Isla Fisher).

Simply put, the story is a love triangle. Gatsby loves Daisy, but Daisy is married to Tom. The story’s narrator, Nick, just happens to be Daisy’s cousin and Gatsby’s neighbor — so he is pulled into the plot to solve the problem.

From the onset, you figure out that at the very least, Gatsby is a troubled soul. He is mysterious and aloof, throws outlandish parties and has fabricated a personal history that enthralls everyone — although no one really knows him. The story is told through the eyes of his neighbor Nick, a midwestern war veteran who find a servant home nestled among all the Long Island mansions of the newly rich. When Nick receives a personal invitation to one of Gatsby’s party — their friendship blossoms.

Gatsby’s pain — and parties — are centered around the ever elusive Daisy Buchanan — the young love he met as a soldier, but was unable to wed because of Gatsby’s overwhelming need to be wealthy. Gatsby asks Daisy to wait while he created his wealth, but Daisy does not and marries Tom Buchanan — with ‘old money’ instead. Unfortunately for Daisy, her husband is involved with many women, including a mistress he rents an apartment with in the city.

When Gatsby finally arranges a meeting with Daisy and woos her back, he has only one — albeit — odd request. Daisy need to tell her husband that she never loved him — something Daisy cannot do. Because, although they have fallen out of love, she cannot change the past — the time when she did love Tom.

Gatsby spirals out of control with Daisy refusal to tell her husband (at the forced meeting arranged for Gatsby). In the ensuing drive home — in which Daisy’s husband asks Gatsby to drive Daisy home — Daisy accidently strike’s her husband’s mistress with the vehicle killing her. Stories are revised and lies are told — and the accident is eventually blamed on an unknowing Gatsby.

But it is not the police or the crime that seals his fate — it is a misguided and grieving lover.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Great performances, excellent sound track, intriguing story filmed in a compelling way.

Categories: American History, movies