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Jun. 12th, 2015 12:48 pm
Sirk glacier/Busnes difrif
In keeping with my ambition to see all of Hollywood's most talked-about performances at least ten years after they went big, I slotted in Far from heaven on my day off as well. Not sure what all the hype was about. Technically, it's a remarkable achievement. Ebert likens it to "a powerful 1957 drama we've somehow never seen before" and confirms its accuracy in terms of themes, technique, social setting, and the like. The big twist is supposed to be that it tackles head-on social issues which directors a half century ago could only address obliquely. Like Ebert, I appreciate that Haynes doesn't fall into the trap of ironic superiority, which is our default lens for viewing the past these days. But unlike him, I never got swept up into the story. If I had to sum it up in five words, I'd call it, "Rich lady has a sad." That's unfair, but there really isn't much more to it than that.
Neither of the two central romances resonated for me. Haysbert may have real acting chops, but all I see when I look at him is the voice of Allstate Insurance: warm, calm, reassuring, but at the same time reserved and distant. I can't buy how naïve his character is about seeking the friendship of a White lady from a different social class or how blithe she is about going off alone with a man who's not her husband and being surprised when there's talk. That would've been the case even with someone of her own race and background. And I really don't buy that Quaid's character is going to run off and set up housekeeping with another man. Yeah, he's intoxicated with love for the first time in his life. So keep your wife as a beard and maintain a love nest, just as all your colleagues are doing with their mistresses. Could be that his boyfriend doesn't have any interest in being a kept man, but there's zero characterisation of him beyond his general social background (UMC White, like Quaid's suburban salesman character), so who knows? The one thing that seemed true to period about it was that the White man has licence to seek fulfillment while the White woman and the Black man get to pound sand.
***
Yesterday's weather was so cool and damp (actually, Cardiff was warmer and drier at the time) that it reminded me I still hadn't gotten around to watching Hinterland. I'd been holding out, hoping against hope that I might be able to get my hands on the Welsh-language version, but a Welsh-speaking friend who's seen both says he actually prefers the English-language one. I thought maybe that would include at least a few token conversations in the language, but nope. Its only presence in the series is on signage, confirming English suspicions that no one really speaks it and all that money for official bilingualism is a complete waste. *ochenaid*
Not to sound repetitive, but the show is technically very good without breaking new ground. It certainly shows off the countryside around Aberystwyth to fine effect and the level of acting is equal to what you'll find in other British dramas despite having to cast nothing but bilingual actors. I'm not sure how much the unrelenting grimness is simply in keeping with the current style for police dramas and how much they're overcompensating for the tendency of Limeys to start sniggering at the first sound of a Welsh accent. I'm going to stick with the series, at least for a while, so perhaps I'll find out.
Neither of the two central romances resonated for me. Haysbert may have real acting chops, but all I see when I look at him is the voice of Allstate Insurance: warm, calm, reassuring, but at the same time reserved and distant. I can't buy how naïve his character is about seeking the friendship of a White lady from a different social class or how blithe she is about going off alone with a man who's not her husband and being surprised when there's talk. That would've been the case even with someone of her own race and background. And I really don't buy that Quaid's character is going to run off and set up housekeeping with another man. Yeah, he's intoxicated with love for the first time in his life. So keep your wife as a beard and maintain a love nest, just as all your colleagues are doing with their mistresses. Could be that his boyfriend doesn't have any interest in being a kept man, but there's zero characterisation of him beyond his general social background (UMC White, like Quaid's suburban salesman character), so who knows? The one thing that seemed true to period about it was that the White man has licence to seek fulfillment while the White woman and the Black man get to pound sand.
***
Yesterday's weather was so cool and damp (actually, Cardiff was warmer and drier at the time) that it reminded me I still hadn't gotten around to watching Hinterland. I'd been holding out, hoping against hope that I might be able to get my hands on the Welsh-language version, but a Welsh-speaking friend who's seen both says he actually prefers the English-language one. I thought maybe that would include at least a few token conversations in the language, but nope. Its only presence in the series is on signage, confirming English suspicions that no one really speaks it and all that money for official bilingualism is a complete waste. *ochenaid*
Not to sound repetitive, but the show is technically very good without breaking new ground. It certainly shows off the countryside around Aberystwyth to fine effect and the level of acting is equal to what you'll find in other British dramas despite having to cast nothing but bilingual actors. I'm not sure how much the unrelenting grimness is simply in keeping with the current style for police dramas and how much they're overcompensating for the tendency of Limeys to start sniggering at the first sound of a Welsh accent. I'm going to stick with the series, at least for a while, so perhaps I'll find out.
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