No Country For Old Men

The Great Coen Brothers (Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou, The Big Lebowski, etc.) have adapted the Cormac McCarthy novel No Country For Old Men for the big screen. The plot centers around a man, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), who finds a drug-deal/bloodbath in the desert. He soon finds $2 million and walks away. Little does he know a man of incomprehensible evil, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) wants that money. So begins the long chase. In the mean time, Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) is investigating these homicides, and a few others that Chigurh has perpetrated along the way.

Do you ever see a film and feel like something profound and incredible happened on screen but don't feel like you really caught it? That was my experience. This film has deep, deep truth in it but I am going to need another few viewings to grasp it. This is a film that causes the audience to feel inadequate in its shadow.

The main focus of the film centers around the question of evil. Why does it exist, where does it come from, is it inevitable, does it progress/lessen/stay the same over time and history? Chigurh is truly seen by the film as a psychopath (a term I like to stay away from because it assumes that there is no cause). The film offers no history or explanation for his evil-ness. At one point near the end of the film, Chigurh flips a coin and asks a potential victim to call it. He says that he got there the same way the coin got there, implying fate, or chance, or a mixture of the two. Is he saying that he was destined to kill people, that he didn't have a choice, it's all chance (the flip of a coin) or fate. Is this his justification for all he has done? Evil is seen throughout the film from a fatalistic, almost nihilistic point of view. One character says to Sheriff Bell: "You cain't stop what's comin'." This implies that evil has, and always will exist. We cannot stop it. Nothing Bell, or anyone else does, will make much of a difference. Yet we as humans still strive against it. The film is set in 1980, but the year isn't all that important. Evil was around then, horrific and unexplainable, just as it is around now. Evil is a disease that entered the world at the beginning of time, and we are helpless, utterly helpless, against it. There is only one who can, and will, conquer it: Jesus. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try with everything we have, but sometimes it seems as though all is lost.

The human condition is a difficult thing to grasp. It confounds us, yet we live in it. We look for explanations for why things are the way they are, as do the characters in the film. Fate, chance, God, why are things the way they are? Bell reads a story of a couple who murders old folks to his deputy near the end of the film. The couple was caught because an old man with a dog collar and nothing else was seen running away from their place (they tortured people). The deputy laughs. Bell says he laughed when he heard it the first time too. Sometimes evil is so difficult to understand that all you can do is laugh. The film even evokes some comic moments, some strange morbid chuckles.

There is a very real level of tension throughout the film. One scene involves Chigurh flipping a coin and asking a gas-station owner to call it. It is implied that the man's life depends on it. There is so much build-up that the audience wants to explode. No Country starts out very bloody and gruesome. By the end, the "important" murders are taken completely off-screen. Why is that? Matt Zoller Seitz, in his blog The House Next Door, suggests that we have a morbid fascination with all stories of extreme violence. Yet after a while the shine wears off, and we realize that it is just the same thing that has happened before. Again, it's nothing new.

*spoiler warning* Near the end of the film, after Chigurh whacks pretty much everyone and gets away scott-free he his blindsided by a random car. Just when we thought there was no justice in the world (is this a divine hand? fate again? chance?) But it comes too late. Then he is helped by a few young men, and one literally gives him the shirt off of his back. If anyone in the world should not receive help, it's Chigurh. Yet he receives grace. But it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. Again, evil is truly incomprehensible.

As I predicted before, this film will be nomiated for Best Pic, and may win. No Country is shot in a stark, lonely and contemplative way. The music (which is the primary way films manipulate our emotions) is minimal, allowing us the space to think and to be confronted with evil. We have nowhere to run. The dialogue is quirky and unique. The acting is flawless. The film is masterful, but difficult to convey through words. I find that I am lacking much to say. Maybe that's a good thing.

Into The Wild

Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) is tired. Tired of life, tired of society, tired of responsibility, tired of feeling trapped, tire of this world. So he leaves everything behind (his car, his life savings, his family, his future) and goes on a whirlwind journey that lasts two years and ends in the wilds of Alaska. This is a true story based upon the non-fiction book by Jon Krakauer. This is an epic journey Into The Wild.

On his travels, McCandless changes his name to Alexander Supertramp. He is changing his identity. So why does he feel the desire to be someone else? What is he running from? We soon discover that McCandless' childhood was rough, and in his opinion it was all a lie. His father was actually married to someone else the whole time, so McCandless considers himself a bastard. Plus, their home was full of strife and abuse. He does have some deep and troubling wounds, and we can sympathize with his desire to get away from it all. McCandless' desires resonate with all of us at some level. His desires are primal. He wants truth, purity, "real life" that this society we live in tends to stifle. In some sense, he wants to go back to Adam and Eve's state in the Garden before the fall. We as a human race retreat from the world in many ways, but it is all because of the pain and sin in the world. This human world is truly jacked up.

The storytelling style is non-linear, following two parallel veins. First, we see McCandless at the "magic bus" in Alaska, all alone. This is near the end of his life. Then we see frequent flashbacks as to how he got there. He meets various people along the way, from Arizona to South Dakota to California. The most interesting (and last) meeting is with an old man named Ron Franz (Hal Holbrook). Ron's wife and son were killed in an accident 35 years ago. He has not truly interacted with the world since. These two make for an odd pair. One day McCandless convinces the elderly Franz to climb to the top of a hill for a great view. While there Franz tells McCandless that he has to stop running from his past. He has got to forgive (and that is really what he is running from). Franz says "When we forgive, we love, and when we love, God's light shines on us." Right then the sun peeks its head out from behind the clouds, as if God is saying "I agree." Unforgiveness tears us apart. Even though others have hurt us, if we hold on to the anger and pain instead of accepting the healing that only comes from Jesus,we only hurt ourselves all the more. Forgiveness is very difficult sometimes, but it is essential in order to be whole again.

McCandless' search for true freedom is a common one, but ends in an ironic twist. His search, as he so eloquently puts by quoting Thoreau, is about truth. The truth is that when we throw off everything we have ever been and known we actually end up feeling trapped. True freedom, as Christ says in John 8:32, comes from obedience to someone greater (Christ himself). Another example of the upside-down world that Christ preaches and calls us to live. We have to trust him when things don't make sense. True freedom comes when we put Him in charge of our lives so we can be free to be ourselves in Him.

Another one of McCandless' epiphanies, as written in his diary just before death, reads like this: "Happiness only real when shared." He has ultimate "freedom" from the world and any other human relationships and responsibilities. But the truth is that this life was designed to be done in community. We are not whole when we are alone. We do have some value in being alone for a time, but true life must be done in the context of a group. Sadly, this tragic hero does not realize these truths until the end of his life, and he dies alone (don't worry, I didn't give anything away, we go in knowing he dies).

Into The Wild is truly an epic journey into the heart of what makes us human. It is a trek across our continent, but also across our souls. The themes investigated and expressed in this film are fundamental to all of us throughout all of history. Let us take this journey with our hero, and find out a little bit more about ourselves in the process.

Beowulf

Beowulf, the old English 8th century epic poem, comes to the big screen this time as a motion-capture animated film. And oh by the way, make sure you see it in 3-D.

Beowulf is set in the 6th century A.D. in Denmark. There is a great monster, Grendel, terrorizing a small kingdom. King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) is at his wit's end after another slaughter. He is willing to give half the gold in his kingdom to anyone who will come and slay Grendel. Enter Beowulf (Ray Winstone), who comes with his band of Geats to fight not for money, but for glory. At the time, the hero is renowned for many great feats, including defeating sea-monsters. He is supremely confident and perfectly brave. He baits Grendel, then takes him on butt-naked without a sword.

There are some inaccuracies with the storyline (especially with regards to Grendel's mother, Angelina Jolie), but that is almost irrelevant. Beowulf itself is a poem written down after hundreds of years of oral tradition, where it could have been changed time and time again. The point is that the hero's legend grows. He is great, he is bold, he is courageous, he is human.

What is a hero? That is the central question of the film. Beowulf comes from a land far off to slay the wicked monsters and to win fame and glory. He is the very definition of a hero. Yet the film sprinkles in references to the Christ God that I found very interesting. First they wonder if this God will save them, they might as well pray to him too. But King Hrothgar says that the gods will not help them with what they will not do themselves (echoes of Ben Franklin's "God helps those who help themselves"). Later, it is said that "the time of heroes is dead, the Christ God has killed it, leaving humankind nothing but weeping martyrs." It is supposed to be a stab at Christianity, but there is deep truth in it. Jesus is not like all the ancient epic heroes. He is opposed to them. Jesus could have called down all the angels, led Israel out of Roman occupation, and even taken down Satan himself. But he didn't, instead he became the ultimate martyr. He sacrifices himself for the good of all mankind, for the good of the whole world. Jesus is the ultimate hero. The people of Beowulf would see Him as a weakling, as do many today. But Jesus' life and death was the be-all-end-all of courage and strength. We have to reexamine what we believe a hero to be. It hasn't changed much since Beowulf was committed to paper (or since the beginning of time for that matter). Yet, Jesus shows us another way, the true way.

The film itself has an intriguing storyline. The human condition is front and center. Human pride and human greed are examined and found to be a plague. Even the great Beowulf cannot resist the wiles of sin. Humankind has not changed much in 1500 years. Beowulf is exciting, the animation is truly fantastic most of the time (except sometimes, when it looks like a video game). It was actually quite gratuitous for a pg-13 film, in terms of gore and sex. The 3-D adds quite a bit to the visual aspect of the film, without it the film would probably be mediocre. Overall, this film captures the spirit of the ancient epic (glory, bloodshed, the human condition) quite well.

American Gangster

Ridley Scott is one of the most prolific directors alive today. He has had some fantastic films over the years (Alien, Blade Runner, Black Hawk Down, and Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut), but also some very mediocre material, especially the overrated Braveheart rip-off known as Gladiator. Fortunately for us, here Scott hits another one out of the park.

American Gangster is the rags-to-riches story of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), a Southern black man who rises to fame and fortune in Harlem during the Vietnam era. Lucas starts out as the driver for a prominent area business man/crime boss. When his boss dies, Lucas decides he has the desire and the know-how to take control of Harlem. The business is heroine. Lucas is a savvy, intelligent, hard-working businessman. He wants the best product possible, so he goes directly to the source to make sure its pure (Vietnam). Then he sells his product, which is better than the competition's, for a lower price. He creates a virtual heroine monopoly. In comes Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), a clean, honest cop who is trying to take down the drug trade in New Jersey. But Lucas is smart, so it will take some brilliant work to catch him.

Lucas lives the American Dream. He works hard to make a name for himself. He gets rich, he becomes a figure looked up to in the community, and he provides a comfortable life for his family. He buys a beautiful home for his mother, gives his wife everything she wants, and provides lucrative jobs for his brothers. But American Gangster can be seen as a scathing indictment of the American Dream. The only thing that separates Lucas from everyone else who we look up to as a hero for the American Dream is the fact that his product is heroine, and that's illegal. He also has an extremely cutthroat way of going about business (ie. shooting his rivals on the street, in broad daylight at a crowded market), but think about the way other legitimate businesses go about what they do. I am not saying big business is evil, but greed is, and that is what drives many, many people in the business world. You have to be greedy to be good. Plus, as is pointed out by one character in the film, success equals enemies. If you want to have friends, don't be successful. Business is business, so let us examine how we do business. Let us see that people like Frank Lucas can exist outside of crime rings. Let us understand that God desires us to do business and participate with businesses that act with integrity, with honesty. And most of all, let us not buy into the American Dream completely and wholly. We all want a nice life, we all want to provide for our families. But at what cost? There is more to life than success, something Lucas did not realize. His pride is what drove him, and pride can be a very costly thing.
Who are our heroes? Why are they our heroes?

Crowe's Roberts is also a multifaceted character. One day in court, while he and his wife are battling over the custody of their children, Roberts' wife says that he thinks there are two kinds of honesty. You see, Roberts does the right thing at his job (especially when it comes to not taking money on the side), and is proud of that. But on the flip side he has abandoned his wife and son. He is, in effect, living two lives. He sees himself as an honest man because of one life, but the other life he is leading is destructive. Roberts fails to realize that good men live (or at least try to live) honestly all the time, it's a holistic thing.

"Everyone else does it, why shouldn't I?" This is an argument that usually comes up with younger people, and may be seen as immature. Yet, this is the line of reasoning the vast majority of the cops in New York at the time use to justify their taking of bribes. In fact, not only do they take bribes but they mistrust anyone who turns money in instead of keeping it (which is exactly what Roberts does near the beginning of the film). We all know that argument is ridiculous, yet we all use it from time to time. But in the end, God knows everyone's actions, and everyone's hearts. He knows. We all have a responsibility to stand up and do the right thing, regardless of what those around us are doing. Even if corruption runs deep, justice will come whether in this life or the next (which is a scary thought).

So where does American Gangster fit into the lexicon of Mobster cinema? In my humble opinion, no other sub-genre has turned out so many fantastic films over the years (On The Waterfront, Donnie Brasco, The Departed, Road to Perdition, Goodfellas, Snatch, Once Upon A Time in America and of course the great Godfather films; the list goes on and on). Scott adds another fine chapter to an already stunning collection. The film is brutal when it needs to be. It paints its protagonist in a horrific yet idealistic light. It brings us face to face with questions about who we are as individuals and as a country. At one point in the film Lucas talks about how he will not leave, he will not surrender, he will not back down, even after people try to kill him: "This is my home. My country. Frank Lucas don't run from nobody. This is America." The film is aptly titled. This is America. So who are we as a nation? And what is our American Dream?

This is a beautiful story we can all relate to, especially men. We want to provide as much as we can for those we love, we want people to look up to us, and we want to be important. So do we want to be Frank Lucas?

Knocked Up

A few weeks ago, one of my female students was excited about turning seventeen and being able to rent R films, so she yelled to her friend: "Hey Cady, we can go get knocked up!" Ah, funny stuff.

Judd Aptow, who brought us The 40-Year-Old Virgin, spins another tale of gross sex jokes that touches our heart. Seth Rogen plays Ben Stone, a total loser who goes out one night and ends up in bed with Alison Scott, played by Katherine Heigl. Certain birth control procedures are overlooked, and Alison ends up getting pregnant. It was a one-night stand, so Ben has no idea. When Alison finds out, she contacts him and they try to figure out where to do from there. Ben must decide whether he will grow up, be a man and take responsibility for his actions, or if he will continue down his promising life path (smoking weed every night, starting an internet porn business, and living off a Canadian government check sent because a mailman ran over his foot). Alison has to decide if she wants to keep the baby at all (her family members encourage her to just "take care of it;" euphamisms point out that fact that they are too appalled by their own suggestion to say "abortion"). She must also decide if she thinks Ben is going to be a guy worth keeping around for her child. The characters in the film are faced with some major choices.

This film is over the top in its dialogue, so be forewarned. It is as vulgar as is humanly possible. It is not for everyone, or for that matter it is not for hardly anyone. Yet, that's the way guys talk sometimes when women aren't present (sad but true). But out of this horribly disturbing dialogue comes this tender, beautiful, and true to life film. Knocked Up captures human relationships (especially between a man and a woman) SO much better than any "chick flick" I have ever seen. It dives right in to the struggles that married people face (there is this great scene in which Alison's sister thinks her husband is out cheating on her, but he is really at a fantasy baseball draft). The insight Aptow has into the way we treat each other, into the way real relationships generally go, is astounding. It is so refreshing to see a Hollywood movie be honest for once about sex, about marriage, and about having a child. What does it or should it look like to be a mother or father, a husband or wife, and still be yourself? How do we love others while battling our overwhelming desire to be selfish? How do we invest in others and keep our own personality? All good questions. Just remember, being honest also means that we may be uncomfortable at times.

I was pleasantly suprised by Knocked Up. This is a very good movie. It is not for everyone, and you may want to be careful who you watch it with, but there is incredible depth to the insight put forth here. Plus, it just flat-out hilarious. And the film does not glorify any sinful behaviors. It shows how ridiculous people are sometimes. It also reminds us that the decisions we make have consequences, even if we are drunk when we make them. To be honest, the film is so raw and real that it makes us very uncomfortable, and sometimes that is what we need.