It is in moments
like these that I convince myself once again that I have to have to have to go to
film school – sooner the better. Grace
of Monaco has been universally panned by critics across the board and the
comments have been really nasty. Why is
it that I disagree with what most critics are saying? Maybe I need
Showing posts with label Derek Jacobi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Derek Jacobi. Show all posts
Friday, 13 June 2014
Saturday, 25 February 2012
My Week with Marilyn
My whole life, I have grown up idolizing and fantasizing about one Norma Jean Mortenson and how I have been unlucky enough to be born into a generation which did not see here alive. And I am quite certain that I am not alone in this world. Just looking at photographs is sufficient for most men to feel the absence of knee caps or for that matter feet of any kind. And it really didn’t matter if you are at the bottom of the food chain or as high as the likes of JFK or in this case Laurence Olivier. The reaction that the first lady of Hollywood got from the male of any species would have been the same. So I guess it was only a matter of time to get the right script for a movie that would show the original diva in her complete glory.
My week with Marilyn is the true life story – yes indeed it is true, much to the heartbreak of most people in 1956 and even now – of one Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne). Colin is best known for his book The Prince, The Showgirl and Me. Quite aptly titled considering that Colin met Marilyn (Michelle Williams) on the sets of 1957 hit The Prince & The Showgirl where he was 3rd Assistant to Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh). The story dates back to 1956 when Marilyn flew down to England for shooting the movie. A couple of weeks into the movie, she developed a serious fondness for Colin perhaps because he is the only person who seems to understand. The fondness turns into a relationship for a week with the nonchalance and the eccentricities that only Marilyn could be associated with.
Written by Adrian Hodges & Colin Clark, My week with Marilyn has been nominated for 2 oscars – Michelle Williams for best actress & Kenneth Branagh for Best Supporting actor. Another nomination I could have thought of would have been screenplay. Some of the dialogues just kill you. Like when Olivier tells Clark, “Remember boy, when it comes to women, you are never too old for humiliation” & when Olivier helplessly admits to him that, “What I see in that magnificient face is a reflection of my own inadequacy”. Worth mentioning is when Dame Sybil Thorndike (Judi Dench) tells Clark, “First love is such sweet despair Colin”. And lastly when Colin admits that, “My only talent was not to close my eyes”.
The enigma called Marilyn cannot remotely be recreated on screen but the effort put by the team and Michelle Williams in particular is stunning. Many of us would have passed out… maybe even passed away if Marilyn Monroe had kissed us. I would have been in the latter group. But Colin Clark not only stayed on his feet but went on to write a book about it. He is officially on date the man I envy the most. 7.5 on 10 for this magnificient effort dedicated to a goddess.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2677710361/
Friday, 31 December 2010
The King's Speech
There are so many movies that just don’t see the light of the day in India. Sadly, some of them are works of sheer brilliance. And I am not sure if it is sheer coincidence but most of these movies are British. I had the good fortune of seeing one such movie 2 days back – The King’s Speech.
Prince Albert Fredrick Arthur Geroge (Colin Firth) in 1925 goes onto become King George VI in the late 30s. But he has a problem of public speaking and stammering in general. Something that cannot get him a long way if he has to lead a country. His first attempt at speaking in public ends in a complete disaster when he is supposed to speak at the closing ceremony of the Annual Empire Exhibition – the first time any public address was to be broadcast on radio. Quite an embarrassing situation to be in and something that forces him and Princess Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) to seek medical help. A variety of doctors try their best to make things work but the Prince’s temper and inability to cope with the weird methods don’t really help. Nine years go by.
In 1934, On the advise of an acquaintance, the Princess, posing as a Mrs. Johnson (the name used by the Prince during the First World War) contacts Lionel Logue (Sir Geoffrey Rush), a speech therapist of high repute. Lionel works in a place which is definitely not suited for royalty and that too without a receptionist – sacrilegious!!! He is an Australian by birth but moves to England post the war to make the most of his skill to get people over speech defects. He is willing to take on the assignment but wants “The patient” to come over to his clinic. Even after knowing, quite embarrassingly, that he is conversing with the Duchess of York and the would be Queen of England. My Castle, My Rules as he proudly proclaims. After a bit of deliberation and much against his wishes, the Prince agrees to go through one final attempt at therapy. The attempt doesn’t have a great start but Logue does hand over a recording of a paragraph from Hamlet that he gets the Prince to read while he is listening to loud music over headphones – the latest technology at that time. It is only much later, after yet another debacle that the Prince actually listens to the recording and is quite shocked to hear himself speak so well. He returns to Logue to be treated.
The King’s Speech traces the friendship that King George VI and Lionel Logue build over their experience of ridding the King of his disability. It is garnished with fabulous British humour and most importantly, splendid performances from Colin Firth, Sir Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter – all three of which are in line for nominations at this year’s Oscars. Even the piece meal performances from Jennifer Ehle as the wife of Lionel Logue and Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill are absolutely outstanding. This one is a movie for demonstrating acting talent from some of the best known names in the industry. Director Tom Hooper must be a very fortunate man to have worked with some of the most natural actors possible. Also notable is the outstanding effort in editing from Tariq Anwar. All in all one of the best movies of the year. Hope it releases in India soon – I hadn’t seen the trailers before I left. 8 on 10 for sure.
Prince Albert Fredrick Arthur Geroge (Colin Firth) in 1925 goes onto become King George VI in the late 30s. But he has a problem of public speaking and stammering in general. Something that cannot get him a long way if he has to lead a country. His first attempt at speaking in public ends in a complete disaster when he is supposed to speak at the closing ceremony of the Annual Empire Exhibition – the first time any public address was to be broadcast on radio. Quite an embarrassing situation to be in and something that forces him and Princess Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) to seek medical help. A variety of doctors try their best to make things work but the Prince’s temper and inability to cope with the weird methods don’t really help. Nine years go by.
In 1934, On the advise of an acquaintance, the Princess, posing as a Mrs. Johnson (the name used by the Prince during the First World War) contacts Lionel Logue (Sir Geoffrey Rush), a speech therapist of high repute. Lionel works in a place which is definitely not suited for royalty and that too without a receptionist – sacrilegious!!! He is an Australian by birth but moves to England post the war to make the most of his skill to get people over speech defects. He is willing to take on the assignment but wants “The patient” to come over to his clinic. Even after knowing, quite embarrassingly, that he is conversing with the Duchess of York and the would be Queen of England. My Castle, My Rules as he proudly proclaims. After a bit of deliberation and much against his wishes, the Prince agrees to go through one final attempt at therapy. The attempt doesn’t have a great start but Logue does hand over a recording of a paragraph from Hamlet that he gets the Prince to read while he is listening to loud music over headphones – the latest technology at that time. It is only much later, after yet another debacle that the Prince actually listens to the recording and is quite shocked to hear himself speak so well. He returns to Logue to be treated.
The King’s Speech traces the friendship that King George VI and Lionel Logue build over their experience of ridding the King of his disability. It is garnished with fabulous British humour and most importantly, splendid performances from Colin Firth, Sir Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter – all three of which are in line for nominations at this year’s Oscars. Even the piece meal performances from Jennifer Ehle as the wife of Lionel Logue and Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill are absolutely outstanding. This one is a movie for demonstrating acting talent from some of the best known names in the industry. Director Tom Hooper must be a very fortunate man to have worked with some of the most natural actors possible. Also notable is the outstanding effort in editing from Tariq Anwar. All in all one of the best movies of the year. Hope it releases in India soon – I hadn’t seen the trailers before I left. 8 on 10 for sure.
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