Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

First up it's Milk which picked up the nods for both best original screenplay and a best actor award for Sean Penn. I have to say that I totally 110% percent agree with the best original screenplay and would love to have seen this film get the best picture over Slumdog Millionare. Then again a film about civil rights and civil liberties is pretty much preaching to the converted in my case. I was always going to be on Harvey's side from the first moment, I didn't need Sean Penn's performance (which was sublime) to win me over. For me personally it was the most moving and affecting film I've ever watched. I'd seen so many great films about civil liberties and oppression, whether it be blacks in the US, jews in Germany or the Japanese in America but none was as powerful as Milk. It was the perfect blend of one of histories greatest stories, with a wonderfully fresh script, that felt true, real and ultimately very human and some of the best use of newsreel footage that I can remember. This was a genuine emotional roller coaster I don't think I've ever felt as angry as when the newsreel footage of Anita Bryant was being shown, it makes me want to punch the wall now thinking about such a dispicable human being, but going from the depths and depression to the heights of joy when of course Harvey won. It's one of the those rare films where despite knowing exactly what's going to happen you still get taken on the rollercoaster ride as if you were hearing it for the first time. The film is carried along by a great lead performance but an equal subtly set of performance from the supporting cast, this is possibly the best job of casting I've ever seen, in particularly Emile Hirsch and Allison Pill, they truly brought history to life.

My absolute favorite scene in the entire film albeit the obvious one, is the imfamous hope speech, not the purity or brilliance of the message (we all knew that was coming even if Penn gave it new vigour) it was the moment before he took the stage when he read the death threat but got up there anywhere. It's was such a poignant powerful moment and encapsultated the sacrifice and determination of human rights activists and revolutionaries throughout time, it's about putting the people, the movement, the message before yourself, sacrificing your self interest for what is right. So I'm about as baised towards this film as could be (without being gay or a relative of Harvey) but I was genuinely touched, and I may be a laptop activist but even when you feel what your doing is pointless and hopeless, this film reminds us why we must all as a human race strive forward for what is right not what is expident, and why we must always question what we are told.

So as we all know Mickey Rourke missed out on the Best Actor Oscar to Mr. Penn, and while I'm not exactly annoyed, I do disagree. It's an incredibly tough and close run decision but ultimately my reasoning is thus; Milk was just a hope epic, so well written and put together and so many great supporting performances had the lead actor been merely okay it would still have been a great film. The Wrestler on the other hand lived or died on Mickey Rourke had he under performed or had they miscast the role this film would have flopped. I'd even venture that only Mickey Rourke could have made this film work. Now as a wrestling fan going in I was expecting to hate this film, I thought it would be a lame secrets of wrestling revealed, instead Darren Aronofsky emersed himself in the world on proffesional wrestling and I can garentee that everything was exactly correct, they way the acted, the way the planned the match they even got the post match backstage hand shakes, this was ultra realism. Asides from the accuracy I thought the direction and cinematography where superb, the way the camera followed Rourke, how dark and tragically it was shot, it was absolutely on the money. It's a shame when it comes to cinematography the awards always go to the big epic colourful films but there is a real skill to bringing out the gritty earthy actuality of real life that is oft over looked.

Now back to the acting, Mickey Rourke was utterly superb, this was not a film with an ellaborate plot, this was a man's live, it was a character, it was about believing, relating and emoting. Rourke was perfect possibly becuase he saw himself in the character but he made Randy "The Ram" Robinson come to life. The Wrestler was a great honesty story, the type of film that doesn't get made these days (except by Clint Eastwood of course) this was minimalism, this was one man, his life and his small sad existance. A glorious comeback completed by Mickey Rourke shame that he will never ever top this performance.

Doubt was the big screen adaption of the stage play Doubt: A Parable and ultimately this was the equilivalent of watching a play on the big screen. It was all about powerful acting that could play to the back rows, it was long conversations and big broad speeches. So for such big roles you need huge actors right? Well Doubt delivered we got remarkable performances from both Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Meryll Streep when they had their epic on screen confrontations you could feel their power, was it a bit OTT, well of course it was it's a stage play, the emotions are huge, but it did not stop the actors telling a fascinating play. Viola Davis was equally superb in her brief appearence bringing to life the intense moral struggle of a conflicted mother who only wants what's best for her child (sorry for the vagueness I'm trying not to ruin the plot). Amy Adams is rather hit and miss, a little cartoony, but she ultimately plays the roll exactly how it's written.

Ultimately the films great strenght is it's title Doubt you want to love Phillip Seymour Hoffman's character, he's everything that we think we want from the church, he's modern, he's human, he wants to reform, he believes in equality while Streep is a force for tradition and hard line authority. This is how the film works best you doubt your own first impression, you end up changing sides and being effected by both sides, leading to the films superb conclusion. I can't give too much away but if your paying attention you learn a tragic lesson about the Catholic Church and its hierarchy that I've seen first hand, it's depressing, it's detressing, yet there are so many different political/moral readings to take this film you can debate it for days and trust me I launched into a suitably epic two hour discussion of the moralistic principals with my father dirrectly afterwards.

However, it's not all rosy. The dirrection is pretty horrible, when it's working within the confines of the stage play element (big one to one acting scenes) it's fantastic but whenever the director introduces any cinematographical elements it goes down hill. He ruins scenes with corny horror movie direction, random rain storms, creeky doors, lightening strikes at key moments and worst of all those lame diagonally shot horror style cut scenes of people walking down hall ways (trust me you'll know when you see them), they ruin the atomsphere and have you rolling your eyes. Ultimately it's a minor quibble as the subtlies of the screenplay and the multi moralistic arguments will give you food for thought for months on end.