I found a movie I like everything about. It's been a really long time and I've been watching lots of movies; about one or two a day. And I've found lots of stories I like, and lots of performances I like and some actors to look up and see what else they've done, and so on. But there's almost always a few nagging plot holes or a bad accent or some boring parts, or something to distract me. Sometimes I think too much of the actor and/or the script instead of getting into the character and the plot. I know it's a good movie or book when I ask myself "Why did that person just do that?" forgetting for a moment that it's all contrived. More often, I'm asking myself "Why was the scene written that way?" or "Why did the actor make that choice here?"
The Two Faces of January has one annoying aspect and that is that the title makes no sense to me. But since I liked everything else, I'm willing to admit that maybe I just didn't catch the meaning in the title. Maybe the book makes it more plain that the two faces on the bracelet are like Janus, who also wears two faces. I don't even remember if the word January was mentioned. Other than that, the movie was great. I never heard of it until I found it at the local library, so I bet it didn't do well at the box office. Maybe, it was even straight to DVD. I'm anxious to look it up on IMDB.com and see what others thought of it.
Yesterday, I finished a series that was well-received critically, and I liked it, but I didn't like everything, and it had a very high score on IMDB. I bet this one doesn't. But I liked the music, the scenery, the story, the acting and it held my interest for the entire time. I believe if the same movie was made in black and white in the 50s it would have been good box office for the time and considered now to be well done and to some people it would be a classic. But since it was made recently, I bet it was basically overlooked.
Now let's see what IMDB.com has to say about it.
Hmmm. Many people found the pace slow and with not enough characterization. I think both were excellent in this film, and I often dislike both, but this one did it right. This is the directorial debut of Hossein Amini so I'm very interested to see what he does next. I really liked Snow White and The Huntsman also, and he had a hand in that too.
The film stars three actors who do a great job. Each one did exactly what they should have. I look at one of them and I then they could be a nice guy occasionally doing some swarmy things... or maybe they're swarmy characters doing some nice things. And that question is constant for all three!
You see it and you decide.
Viggo Mortenson has a great quote on IMDB.com about an actor's role in a film:
"It comes down to the fact that you supply the blue, and they supply the other colors and mix them with your blue, and maybe there's some blue left in the painting and maybe there isn't. Maybe there wasn't supposed to be any there in the first place. So have some fun and make a good blue and walk away."
Here, Viggo is captivating. I never know what it is about him. Maybe his face is molded from plastic and he's basically an acting mannequin; the kind whose wavy hair is molded on top of his head all in one piece, or maybe he's aged well or maybe he hasn't. Has he had a ton of work or none at all on his face? I don't know, but there's something about it. Who needs dialogue when you have faces? Well, we have lots of good dialogue, too.
Oscar Isaac plays a great foil to Viggo. Don't you want to know what he's thinking?
Kirsten Dunst makes you wonder. Can she be exactly what she seems? Or is there something else going on inside that hat?
Don't you want to see what this guy is up to? Is there something in that newspaper he can't quite believe so he has to turn away? Or did somebody just call his name and he glanced up for a second.
I know, maybe he's just using the newspaper to give his hands something to do while he's staking the joint, thinking it will help him blend in with the surroundings.
Kissing on the steps at The Parthenon, wandering through a bazaar in Istanbul, dancing in Greece... Come on, this is what a movie is supposed to contain.
What are these people up to, anyway?
Kirsten Dunst has intrigued me since she played an old vampire in the body of a little girl. She can play young, but she can be any age. She's a real actress, who sometimes plays parts that any girl could play.
Oscar Isaac is great in this. I'm glad to see that he's in Star Wars and I look forward to seeing him there.
The film got a pretty decent score on IMDB.com but I found the comments making me defensive about it. I liked it. I really liked it.
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