Here’s something by Anthony Lane, The New Yorker movie critic, in the double issue of Aug. 12 & Aug. 19, 2013. Self has probably missed any number of good reviews (which is how she describes reviews she agrees with, LOL) in the past few months. The summer — no, the entire YEAR — has been unbelievably hectic (but enjoyable, too. Full of learning experiences, joyful family moments, opportunities to garden, every week. No, every day)
Lane’s review begins:
At last, a good big film. The legacy of the summer, thus far, has been jetsam: moribund movies that lie there, bloated and beached, gasping to break even. But here is something angry and alive.
He then goes on to dissect the Matt Damon persona (which is the reason why, in self’s humble opinion, Matt Damon as Bourne worked so well, and why Jeremy Renner’s Aaron Cross doesn’t):
The casting is spot-on here, because something in Damon — in the unsoothable anxiety of his gaze, and in the squat, wrestler’s physique that seems less buffed than primed to explode — suggests an internal drive of high intensity. Projecting not the will to power but a tireless lust to live, he remains likable, and oddly bashful — a regular guy who happens to belong in extremis.
Self recently listened to Matt on a talk show, doing manful publicity for his latest film. He told the host that for Elysium, he had to work out four hours a day to bring his physique to that level of “toned.” Whereas, when he did the first Bourne, all he needed was an hour’s workout. Bless you, Matt, for making self adopt a more realistic attitude towards what her current body is capable of!
Now let us go to a discussion of Jodie Foster, playing the villain: Can that lady rock a suit, or what? Not only that, her suit is silver. But self thinks Jodie does not look as sleek as she did in Inside Man, where she strutted about in the highest stiletto heels self had ever seen, higher even than Sofia Vergara’s anywhere.
But, has self nothing to say about the Foster performance? Nope. Nothing. Except that it is too sad the way this character meets her end. What — was that a spoiler? Oh pardon. Well, if dear blog readers have not figured out from the first five minutes of a movie which stars Matt Damon that there is only one way this can end — well, self feels quite sorry for you. Which should not in any way be interpreted as a diss-ing of Matt Damon or of this movie. Because, face it — in summer, there’s only one kind of action movie one can take: the one where Matt Damon conquers all adversity and where Evil Gets Slayed. It helps, of course, to have eccentric “filler” characters, like the man who plays Spider, who looks nothing like a Spider, and the man who plays the Prime Opponent, the same guy who played the Man-Turning-Into-a-Prawn in District 9, who is here blood-curdling, truly chilling, and truly defiantly Other, because of his very pronounced flaunting of his South African accent (which makes him seem truly daring and “out there”)
Which brings us to the one disease Elysium cannot cure: boredom.
It must be incredibly boring to live in a big donut in the sky, in a white mansion straight out of “Miami Vice,” and wearing preppy clothes or suits all the time.
Anyhoo, self recalls that when The Matrix blew away all movie critic prognostications, one poor reviewer whined that the reality presented by the movie was so awful — one couldn’t even order a steak, for heaven’s sake! — that why would anyone in his/her right mind want to live there? Wouldn’t the Matrix universe be infinitely preferable, even if one had always to go to work in a sterile building and wear a suit?
Truthfully, if the ultimate in wish fulfilment meant living one’s life tanned and standing around engaging in vapid chit-chat by an infinity pool — well, what a startling lack of imagination one would be gulty of.
That’s about the only drawback self can think of concerning Elysium. But she only thought of this afterwards, because during the movie itself self was too busy wondering what Matt was going to do next. Which means he is a really outstanding actor. Because most action stars telegraph by gesture or facial expression what they are going to do next. Their performances lack that essential element of unpredictability. But Matt pulls it off every time. Every single time. Even if, by now, we have seen him in dozens of movies where he always pulls it off. So we should know by now. But no, with Matt Damon, he always makes his action roles seem un-premeditated. Therefore, spontaneous. Therefore, thrilling.
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
Kanlaon 