Meee—yow!
So Michael, Deeps and I trudged out to the cinema as part or our semi-regular ritual as members of the Wednesday Night at the Movies club. It was, however, Friday. Anyway, we chose to see the film being hailed as Peter Bogdanovich's comeback film, “The Cat’s Meow.”
The premise is steeped in old Hollywood legend. I won’t go into details; you can get them elsewhere. However, I will comment a bit on the elements of the film. The acting was okay, and despite the sort of potential that the story may have had, the script was sorely lacking. No one really knows what happened during that weekend – so there was a lot of room to invent something truly interesting. But instead we got a lame story that basically follows Orson Welle’s version of events.
Despite the close quarters of the film – 90% is set aboard a yacht at sea – the camera moves beautifully and the sets are lavish. And despite the fact that the film was adapted from a play, there wasn’t any of the awkward movement or talkieness that sometimes happens when plays are made into films. I still liked Eddie Izzard’s performance; but then again I’m quite partial to Mr. Izzard.
And Kirsten Dunst wasn’t that bad. I mean I think I reached a point during the film where I wasn’t overly aware that I was watching Kirsten Dunst onscreen. So, I guess that is a big breakthrough in our relationship.
But despite those few things, including my affection for the work of both Izzard and Bogdanovich, I can’t recommend the film. It’s plodding and dull and you don’t really learn anything more about the characters than what you may already know. I tried to find my redeeming qualities about the film since I picked it.
I might argue that Marion Davies is painted as the only semi-sympathetic character in the film, despite the fact that no one in the film is very sympathetic. And I might argue that the filmmakers make an interesting choice when Davies is forced to make a decision that ultimately makes her very unsympathetic. But that really gives the movie too much credit, so I’ll have to pass on that.
I’d suggest watching Gosford Park which was a much more interesting film and while it did sort of peter out near the end, it’s quite engaging for nearly 2 hours.
So Michael, Deeps and I trudged out to the cinema as part or our semi-regular ritual as members of the Wednesday Night at the Movies club. It was, however, Friday. Anyway, we chose to see the film being hailed as Peter Bogdanovich's comeback film, “The Cat’s Meow.”
The premise is steeped in old Hollywood legend. I won’t go into details; you can get them elsewhere. However, I will comment a bit on the elements of the film. The acting was okay, and despite the sort of potential that the story may have had, the script was sorely lacking. No one really knows what happened during that weekend – so there was a lot of room to invent something truly interesting. But instead we got a lame story that basically follows Orson Welle’s version of events.
Despite the close quarters of the film – 90% is set aboard a yacht at sea – the camera moves beautifully and the sets are lavish. And despite the fact that the film was adapted from a play, there wasn’t any of the awkward movement or talkieness that sometimes happens when plays are made into films. I still liked Eddie Izzard’s performance; but then again I’m quite partial to Mr. Izzard.
And Kirsten Dunst wasn’t that bad. I mean I think I reached a point during the film where I wasn’t overly aware that I was watching Kirsten Dunst onscreen. So, I guess that is a big breakthrough in our relationship.
But despite those few things, including my affection for the work of both Izzard and Bogdanovich, I can’t recommend the film. It’s plodding and dull and you don’t really learn anything more about the characters than what you may already know. I tried to find my redeeming qualities about the film since I picked it.
I might argue that Marion Davies is painted as the only semi-sympathetic character in the film, despite the fact that no one in the film is very sympathetic. And I might argue that the filmmakers make an interesting choice when Davies is forced to make a decision that ultimately makes her very unsympathetic. But that really gives the movie too much credit, so I’ll have to pass on that.
I’d suggest watching Gosford Park which was a much more interesting film and while it did sort of peter out near the end, it’s quite engaging for nearly 2 hours.
Labels: 2002
