6 posts tagged “casey affleck”
Gripping tale of child abduction that exposes the deception at the heart of a Southie community before cutting you in half with the bitter sting of moral judgement.
More than anything this should be heralded as a stunning debut from first time director Ben Affleck. While his Oscar winning screenplay Good Will Hunting gave a rough charm to the Southie community in Boston, here he tears it down, exposing the hypocrisy and contempt for family and religious values that lies stagnating beneath the surface. Not uncommon themes, but brought vividly to life by the surprisingly accomplished direction. In fact, at no point does it feel the work of a newcomer. The flash and gimmicks one might expect are nowhere to be seen. Instead Affleck shows impressive restraint, concentrating instead on the mood and the authentic details both in setting, look and local dialect.
He is ably supported by a beautifully pitched performance from his brother Casey who went on to cement the potential here with his Oscar nominated role in Assassination. But one could say it is with this that the true masterstroke is made. His Patrick is a fascinating dichotomy; bruised nobility reinforced by a strong moral code, crossed by a simmering rage that speaks of a possible misspent youth. Casey plays it subtle, hinting at a power that belies his wiry frame. It’s truly magnetic work and embellished by his interaction with the no less impressive Michelle Monaghan as his partner in love and business. She’s a calming and one senses, a maturing influence and there’s a natural charm shared by the two whenever they’re onscreen. While beautiful, it’s a beauty that never detracts from a performance that lingers even when Monaghan is sidelined later in the film.
What’s heartbreakingly perfect about the film is that, like the classic film noirs, the tragedy to come is wrapped transparently. There to be seen if you’re paying attention. It can be seen in the early intuition of Monaghan's Angie, but doomed to be ignored by the innocent moral fortitude of our baby faced, sportswear casual PI. The same silent look shared between them then as they consider whether to take the abduction case, and at the end of the film bear different results, but both hang on what Patrick sees as the right moral decision. The decision many in the audience would come to. Affleck has constructed the classic PI trap, fooling you into thinking that the snaky plot is unfolding with relative ease; that he is not really being seduced by the grotesquely unfit mother (a brilliantly believable Amy Ryan) and that his confrontations with the gnarly police vet, Remy Bressant (the punchy Ed Harris) are won because of moral superiority when in fact it’s the shade of grey that both Angie understands and that the police shows that could be the true way.
The film climaxes on a moral quandary that is devastating in its consequences, recalling the sombre tone of Eastwood’s Mystic River which should come as no surprise, being that they come from the same pen of writer Dennis Lehane. However this feels like the more potent work simply because in his imperfections and his possibly Van Sant inspired observational eye, Affleck brings the grit and reality that slams the message home. One must hope that the same courage he evinces here remains in his future efforts, and that in his development as a director he doesn’t lose the natural touch that makes this film so damn affecting.
Gripping tale of child abduction that exposes the deception at the heart of a Southie community before cutting you in half with the bitter sting of moral judgement.
More than anything this should be heralded as a stunning debut from first time director Ben Affleck. While his Oscar winning screenplay Good Will Hunting gave a rough charm to the Southie community in Boston, here he tears it down, exposing the hypocrisy and contempt for family and religious values that lies stagnating beneath the surface. Not uncommon themes, but brought vividly to life by the surprisingly accomplished direction. In fact, at no point does it feel the work of a newcomer. The flash and gimmicks one might expect are nowhere to be seen. Instead Affleck shows impressive restraint, concentrating instead on the mood and the authentic details both in setting, look and local dialect.
He is ably supported by a beautifully pitched performance from his brother Casey who went on to cement the potential here with his Oscar nominated role in Assassination. But one could say it is with this that the true masterstroke is made. His Patrick is a fascinating dichotomy; bruised nobility reinforced by a strong moral code, crossed by a simmering rage that speaks of a possible misspent youth. Casey plays it subtle, hinting at a power that belies his wiry frame. It’s truly magnetic work and embellished by his interaction with the no less impressive Michelle Monaghan as his partner in love and business. She’s a calming and one senses, a maturing influence and there’s a natural charm shared by the two whenever they’re onscreen. While beautiful, it’s a beauty that never detracts from a performance that lingers even when Monaghan is sidelined later in the film.
What’s heartbreakingly perfect about the film is that, like the classic film noirs, the tragedy to come is wrapped transparently. There to be seen if you’re paying attention. It can be seen in the early intuition of Monaghan's Angie, but doomed to be ignored by the innocent moral fortitude of our baby faced, sportswear casual PI. The same silent look shared between them then as they consider whether to take the abduction case, and at the end of the film bear different results, but both hang on what Patrick sees as the right moral decision. The decision many in the audience would come to. Affleck has constructed the classic PI trap, fooling you into thinking that the snaky plot is unfolding with relative ease; that he is not really being seduced by the grotesquely unfit mother (a brilliantly believable Amy Ryan) and that his confrontations with the gnarly police vet, Remy Bressant (the punchy Ed Harris) are won because of moral superiority when in fact it’s the shade of grey that both Angie understands and that the police shows that could be the true way.
The film climaxes on a moral quandary that is devastating in its consequences, recalling the sombre tone of Eastwood’s Mystic River which should come as no surprise, being that they come from the same pen of writer Dennis Lehane. However this feels like the more potent work simply because in his imperfections and his possibly Van Sant inspired observational eye, Affleck brings the grit and reality that slams the message home. One must hope that the same courage he evinces here remains in his future efforts, and that in his development as a director he doesn’t lose the natural touch that makes this film so damn affecting.
What did people think of it, considering this was a first time effort from Affleck? Anyone who saw Assassination preferred Casey's performance in that?? Should this have been been delayed because of Maddie's abduction?
I'm slowly slipping up my own ass. Apologies, but sometimes when you get passionate about something, you get a bit verbose. Anyway, here's the review, unedited, and unspellchecked, as I'm too lazy install my old copy of Word onto my laptop:
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Assassination is no mere killing. It takes such tawdry events and elevates them to something with real significance, be it ideology or politic. Andrew Dominik’s melancholic epic The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, takes this a stage further, playing with our understanding of this unwieldy and seemingly explanatory title over some two hours plus of slow moving, yet transfixing filmmaking.
At the centre of this is the strange relationship between Jesse James (Brad Pitt) and the much younger, Robert Ford (Casey Affleck), who had become entranced by the mythology built up around this man by the dimestore novels and newspaper articles of the time. There is an immediate sense of unease as Ford seeks him out, wheedling his way into the celebrated outlaw’s gang, against the wishes of the more perceptive, elder James brother, Frank (Sam Shepard).
And yet Dominik concentrates on this attraction between these two men, sidelining those closest to him. Jesse's wife Zee (Mary-Louise Parker) is almost invisible while Frank disappears soon after the train robbery, a shared look between the brothers telling a perceptive audience all they need to know. Times have changed for Jesse. The ties are cut with the better days of his past in Frank and the potential of a better future in Zee. Jesse's gang, a once proud, and loyal group of ex-guerilla fighters are gone, replaced by the whoring, the dull-witted and the conspriatorial.
There is almost a sense that this is really Ford's fantasy. The early train robbery seemingly a construct of a potent imagination, transformed into an encounter between black knight and dragon, its presence, initially a slow, low throb, growing into a howling ember spitting monster that cuts the night in two. It’s a riveting scene. even more so for what follows. For just as we are initially taken by the charisma of Jesse, his foul, unnecessarily violent treatment of the bank guard knocks us back a step. In fact Jesse seems almost addicted to his felonies, rejeuvenated by the excitement and violence, and deathly bored by the periods of fallow.
Instead of this being a simple tale of early media obsession in Western form, the film posits Ford and Jesse as mythologically entwined, almost biblically. Affleck, startling, as this sickly angelic bundle of dichotomies; bold, yet timid, emfeebled yet strong. Pitt's Jesse is distanced as the figure of worship, shot through antiquated lenses as a foggy figure in history, almost a God, and a primal one at that, draped in furs and prone to explosive anger. It's a commanding performance, and though charismatic as most leads, he is also able to articulate the the mystic in Jesse, seemingly existing outside this reality, playing with the wonderful language of the script, his eyes fixed on the endless stars or the spaces behind the ice on a frozen lake.
Certainly charges of artistic extravagance could be made against Dominik, with the supreme talents of cinematographer Roger Deakins articulated in the grey and sepia of the landscape and the seemingly countless shots of lonely rocking chairs and whispering corn during the film's languid second act, but it is the same shorthand used by such luminaries as Malick and it serves to capture the elusiveness of Jesse, as if he were more spirit than substance, flitting from place to place, forever escaping incarceration lest it be one of his own making.
Dominik intoxicates us during this lulling, yet captivating middle. Switching between the artistic naturalism of the aforementioned Malick and 3rd person docu-narration that give an authenticity as well as a new strangeness to events. The mood he creates hearkens back to the filmmaking of the 70s; melancholic, yearning, always distancing us from fascinating characters and yet captivating because of it.
It is the power of this mood that when it changes, it catches us quite by surprise. Jesse’s paranoia growing at an almost animalistic rate until the Ford Brothers find themselves penned in with this slowly dying, psychotic presence. While Ford changes with him, steeling himself for what has to come, it is in these moments before his death that we see the real reasons for Jesse's relationship with Ford and the sting in this film's title.
Rather than fearing his death, he embraces it, tending the affections of Ford, much like a lover, mocking him, taunting him, but always bringing him closer. In response to envy he placates and gifts him a gun, and thus creates his own killer, to do what the lawmen and the government could not. In that house, with its whitewashed purity and the sparse piano from Ellis and Cave's elegaic soundtrack, Ford pulls the trigger on an epochal moment, destroying his own life, and transforming Jesse's. It's terrifically resonant, turning the all too short final coda into something of a Greek tragedy, as Ford finds his own infamy too much to bear, his own end coming as a dull, blunt punctuation into darkness.
Two years...Two long years from principal photography 'end of summer 2005 to the now 'confirmed' release date of September 21st of this year. The Western starring Brad Pitt as the eponymous Jesse James, and directed by 'Chopper' talent Andrew Dominik has apparently been mired in disputes over the content of the movie. Whether it's a blam blam Peckinpah or a calm calm Malick prestige flick seems to be the problem here, and I'd read some screening reviews a while back that said the movie was pushing 3 hours. According to a report I read on Joblo.com even Pitt was having a go at an edit to see if they could resolve the issues.
Of course now it seems some kind of agreement as been made because we've got that release date and this statement from Warner Bros saying that the version of Assassination released.
"is true to the source material and in keeping with the creative vision of its filmmakers. We do not comment on the internal creative process of bringing a picture to the screen, but the goal of both the studio and the filmmakers is to deliver the best film possible…. We are all very pleased with the picture we are bringing to theaters this fall."
If you've been read anything on this blog you'll know what a fan I am of the Ron Hansen source novel. It's both mythic and terrifyingly realistic in its portrayal of the twisted relationship Ford had with his idol and curse Jesse James. The brilliant director of 'Narc', Joe Carnahan has seen the movie and reported over at his blog that:
"It's so close to being a full-fledged masterpiece, it literally had me
sitting there, saying things like 'Where the hell has Casey Affleck
been?' He's a LOCK for some sort of major acting nod. Be it Globe,
Oscar, something. Nobody comes out of this movie without viewing that
guy in whole other light. Mindblowing. I'm not bullshi*ting you guys.
He's that good. And Brad Pitt has never been better in a film. He too,
should be lauded for what he accomplishes with that role. The guy
projects a menace I've never seen and goes very, VERY deep.
There are moments of still and utter silence between characters as tense and awkward
and
terrifying as anything you've ever seen. Andrew's ability to just allow
a scene to develop gradually and let the audience watch and observe
without the need for rampant schisms of rocket propelled editorial
breaks is the mark of a true master. If you saw and loved 'Chopper'
then I can't imagine you not falling head over heels for this flick.
We throw words around like 'brilliant' and attach greatness to
things that in the end don't really deserve that level of praise...This
one DOES."
