deborahc Reviews

Shallow Grave (1994)

fresh, brilliant, *nasty* piece of work

[10/10 · 2 August 1999]

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. It's not simply well-done, it's terribly clever and, dare I say - original! A good thriller is hard to find these days, most are just thinly disguised action flicks with somber dialogue and dimly lit sex-scenes. Shallow Grave is classical and very witty, picking up the Hitchcockian gauntlet by focusing not on the murder or the mystery, but on the aftermath of a death and the suspense created when the audience knows more than the characters. That being said, there are some brilliant surprises in this film, including what is quite simply my favorite ending of any movie, ever. And one of my favorite things about the film is that none of the characters are particularly likable, though they are far more complex than some critics have given them credit for.

Who else out there is sick to death of critics, especially professional critics, knocking films because they don't have a hero in a white hat to cheer for? They lambast films with happy "hollywood endings" but if the featured characters are less than fully admirable (and aren't redeemed or destroyed), critics complain that they can't "identify" with them. Moral ambiguity makes things interesting! It boggles the mind that people criticize fiction when they don't like the personality of the characters. So you don't *like* the characters, how does that negate the quality of the work? It's like dismissing Van Goghs "Sunflowers" because you don't like the color yellow. OK, finished ranting. SEE THE FILM!

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996)

expected culturally-rich erotica, got bad romance novel.

[3 July 1999]

I rented this movie to see Naveen Andrews, a very talented actor, and arguably the most beautiful man in existence, in a movie about Indian sexuality and spirituality. First dissapointment--he plays the a****** and all the sex scenes (all two boring sex scenes) go to some Indian version of Fabio. And Sadrita Choudhury, who is also a wonderful actress (I recommend Missisipi Masala) , and a gorgeous woman, also plays support to a terrible actress. (I thought it was interesting that the actors featured looked a lot more Western than the supporting actors.) The whole movie is a pointless mess, I wouldn't mind if a thin plot was thrown together to hold up the sexual content, but there is hardly any sexual content in the damn movie, except that you get to see the main character's breasts every ten minutes. The film certainly has nothing to do with the Kama Sutra, except that a concubine instructor occasionaly mumbles vague rhetoric about how to keep a man satisfied. Totally unstimulating on all levels.

The Buddha of Suburbia (1993)

Another Kurieshi accomplishment.

[3 July 1999]

A very good adaptation of a great book. Fantastic performances, especially the wonderful Naveen Andrews, great depth of character, great writing. A story, really almost an epic one, of a young man coming to terms with his complex identity in the rapidly changing world of 70s England (suburbs and then london). The film didn't capture the atmosphere of the 70s as well as the book, but I suppose making it a real period piece would have distracted from the characters.

As usual, screenwriter /playwrite/ novelist Hanif Kureishi is brilliant in his portrayel of politics, sex, spirituality and fashion, and what happens when they start to become indistiguishible. I saw it actually as a series in England and was happy to see that was just as delightful as a whole, but I also recommend seeing it over two nights as its probably close to 4 hours all through. Also, the Bowie soundtrack is fantastic.