I saw all four of these movies this weekend; of course, none of them were new.
I was so interested in Saving Mr. Banks because I loved the Travers books when I was a child and saw them as really wonderfully weird. Learning that Walt Disney and Travers had a rocky relationship was no surprise then, really. This film was so beautifully made. The acting was fantastic (it was a wonderful cast, down to Melanie Paxson and Kathy Banks as secretaries). I love Emma Thompson and I thought her ability to imitate Travers' speech patterns and accent was sublime. I thought that there was a real anarchic streak in the Travers books, so I suspect that their relationship was even more rocky than depicted. And the depiction of Travers' childhood was the experience of many; that could have been my grandmother.
Philomena was another wonderfully crafted movie - great music, good writing, another wonderful cast, wonderful acting from Judi Dench .. although it was a wonderful script, one that permitted Philomena to be a complex person with many feelings, some of them unexpected, I just think the movie would not have worked without Judi Dench's performance. I read some criticism that argued that the jokes in the movie are made at Philomena's expense. That's true, and a fair criticism. Criticizing her perspective was part of the characterization of the character Martin Sixmith, and it added a needed comic element. I can see how it would make some viewers uncomfortable and seem exploitative and like a cheap shot.
I loved the Invention of Lying, which is more a social satire than a romance. Jennifer Garner's performance is both charming and deeply disturbing. The film was shot in Lowell, Massachusetts, and in the film, Lowell is filled with many handsome buildings.
The notion of the film is that there was a time when no one lied, not even to spare each others' feelings. In the film, we see that all that honesty makes people really scary; there's a wonderful scene in which Rob Lowe's character says of Ricky Gervais's character, "I don't like him because there's something different about him and that challenges me." Have to love it; that's so much conflict in a nutshell.
Ricky Gervais is set upfor a date with Jennifer Garner and crushed when she tells him that she won't go out with him again because she wants someone more attractive to father her children. (Actually, he takes it fairly calmly because he's accustomed to being disappointed.) Then he's fired and faces homelessness - until, in desperation, he discovers lying can at least solve his income problem.
About Time is a Richard Curtis film that stars Rachel McAdams and Domhnall Gleeson; the fact that she starred in another time travel movie, The Time Traveler's Wife, caused me to be surprised to see her here. Still, the time travel is not really an important part of this film: it's more of a scaffold on which to lay some sentiment about family love. I know I read a review of this film that was lukewarm, but I enjoyed it. I think that I enjoyed having these issues explored again, although they've all been explored many times before. I also was happy to see Lindsay Duncan, whom I like very much, and who played a part a little different than the others I've seen her in - most recently, Lady Blackwood in "The Last Vow" episode of Sherlock.
And, of course, Bill Nighy. I love Bill Nighy. His persona of self-deprecation is so charming: it seems to make him a natural joke-tossing-off vehicle. Yes, I never tire of Bill Nighy.
I was so interested in Saving Mr. Banks because I loved the Travers books when I was a child and saw them as really wonderfully weird. Learning that Walt Disney and Travers had a rocky relationship was no surprise then, really. This film was so beautifully made. The acting was fantastic (it was a wonderful cast, down to Melanie Paxson and Kathy Banks as secretaries). I love Emma Thompson and I thought her ability to imitate Travers' speech patterns and accent was sublime. I thought that there was a real anarchic streak in the Travers books, so I suspect that their relationship was even more rocky than depicted. And the depiction of Travers' childhood was the experience of many; that could have been my grandmother.
Philomena was another wonderfully crafted movie - great music, good writing, another wonderful cast, wonderful acting from Judi Dench .. although it was a wonderful script, one that permitted Philomena to be a complex person with many feelings, some of them unexpected, I just think the movie would not have worked without Judi Dench's performance. I read some criticism that argued that the jokes in the movie are made at Philomena's expense. That's true, and a fair criticism. Criticizing her perspective was part of the characterization of the character Martin Sixmith, and it added a needed comic element. I can see how it would make some viewers uncomfortable and seem exploitative and like a cheap shot.
I loved the Invention of Lying, which is more a social satire than a romance. Jennifer Garner's performance is both charming and deeply disturbing. The film was shot in Lowell, Massachusetts, and in the film, Lowell is filled with many handsome buildings.
The notion of the film is that there was a time when no one lied, not even to spare each others' feelings. In the film, we see that all that honesty makes people really scary; there's a wonderful scene in which Rob Lowe's character says of Ricky Gervais's character, "I don't like him because there's something different about him and that challenges me." Have to love it; that's so much conflict in a nutshell.
Ricky Gervais is set upfor a date with Jennifer Garner and crushed when she tells him that she won't go out with him again because she wants someone more attractive to father her children. (Actually, he takes it fairly calmly because he's accustomed to being disappointed.) Then he's fired and faces homelessness - until, in desperation, he discovers lying can at least solve his income problem.
About Time is a Richard Curtis film that stars Rachel McAdams and Domhnall Gleeson; the fact that she starred in another time travel movie, The Time Traveler's Wife, caused me to be surprised to see her here. Still, the time travel is not really an important part of this film: it's more of a scaffold on which to lay some sentiment about family love. I know I read a review of this film that was lukewarm, but I enjoyed it. I think that I enjoyed having these issues explored again, although they've all been explored many times before. I also was happy to see Lindsay Duncan, whom I like very much, and who played a part a little different than the others I've seen her in - most recently, Lady Blackwood in "The Last Vow" episode of Sherlock.
And, of course, Bill Nighy. I love Bill Nighy. His persona of self-deprecation is so charming: it seems to make him a natural joke-tossing-off vehicle. Yes, I never tire of Bill Nighy.
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