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Yesterday, I saw "Elizabethtown".
Some movies do not restrict themselves to an emotion. That's true of all art, of course; Shakespeare opens "Romeo and Juliet" with a scene of witty banter that thrilled me to read it. Perhaps that is a characteristic which people have forgotten to appreciate – like some, maybe most, of the best movies I've seen, "Elizabethtown" was a terrific failure in theaters. But it takes something to make people laugh one minute and cry the next, and to do it as honestly as this.
Ironically, failure is a central theme to the movie, failure and dealing with failure. The main part of the protagonist's narration is on the subject of failure and fiasco, that difference between mere lack of success and true legendary collapse. I'd compare it to the classical tragic hero – characters like Oedipus in their defiance of destiny are glorious, though they still fall defeated. (Does the protagonist fall defeated in the end? Now that's a spoiler – I ain't tellin'.) Or maybe I should contrast it with the classical tragic hero – "Elizabethtown" treats tragedy differently.
It even makes me think of Jerome K. Jerome, in a way. There's a perfect willingness to interrupt a person's self-indulgence that's common between "Elizabethtown" and "Three Men in a Boat".
But really, what's most impressive about the movie is the characterization. People talk a lot, they interact, they get angry and sad, and from the greatest to the least they seem like real people. To talk about the movie again with my mother is to see even more in it than before.
Also, on the side, I shouldn't talk about this movie without talking about the music. The music in this movie is superb. I rarely notice music in movies and I could hear how terrific this soundtrack is.
Yeah, other stuff happened today – installation of a folding futon and so on – but some things aren't worth talking about, and others are.
Some movies do not restrict themselves to an emotion. That's true of all art, of course; Shakespeare opens "Romeo and Juliet" with a scene of witty banter that thrilled me to read it. Perhaps that is a characteristic which people have forgotten to appreciate – like some, maybe most, of the best movies I've seen, "Elizabethtown" was a terrific failure in theaters. But it takes something to make people laugh one minute and cry the next, and to do it as honestly as this.
Ironically, failure is a central theme to the movie, failure and dealing with failure. The main part of the protagonist's narration is on the subject of failure and fiasco, that difference between mere lack of success and true legendary collapse. I'd compare it to the classical tragic hero – characters like Oedipus in their defiance of destiny are glorious, though they still fall defeated. (Does the protagonist fall defeated in the end? Now that's a spoiler – I ain't tellin'.) Or maybe I should contrast it with the classical tragic hero – "Elizabethtown" treats tragedy differently.
It even makes me think of Jerome K. Jerome, in a way. There's a perfect willingness to interrupt a person's self-indulgence that's common between "Elizabethtown" and "Three Men in a Boat".
But really, what's most impressive about the movie is the characterization. People talk a lot, they interact, they get angry and sad, and from the greatest to the least they seem like real people. To talk about the movie again with my mother is to see even more in it than before.
Also, on the side, I shouldn't talk about this movie without talking about the music. The music in this movie is superb. I rarely notice music in movies and I could hear how terrific this soundtrack is.
Yeah, other stuff happened today – installation of a folding futon and so on – but some things aren't worth talking about, and others are.
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