Precious

I knew i was in for a tear-jerker and what did i get, i got a gritty grim 80's harlem teenage abuse story which among other things did manage to elicit a few tear drops. Was it like "Requim for a dream" ? no not at all there was nothing film noirish about it. The claustrophobic household, the nauseous food and all that sweat, abuse and human dirt was so real that i could smell all of it right out of the screen.

I am not qualified to draw comparisons with the book by Sapphire as i have not read it for starters. But the movie is embellished with minor details which shakes the very core of the viewer. There is this one scene in Precious Jones's class where she is told that she has been a victim of incest and she is trying to fathom what the new word means and says "Insect??" the closest word that comes to her mind.

What startled me was not the abuse itself but the way a human being can be forced into a state of dyslexia by her mother. The way her mother's taunts as to how she would be yet another dumb person hinders her learning was positively disturbing.

However, it is Mo'Nique that gives the film's most earth shattering performance minutes before the end of the film. I don't know what emotional reservoir she is tapping into, but she nails the counselor at the welfare with a fury so startling and realistic that it's impossible to trivialize the source of her villainy.

While this movie lacks the rags to riches transition, the never say die attitude of the girl in face of all adversity was something i cheered for in my mind's eye. This rite of passage from a abused teenager to a mother wanting to be someone her mother never was , makes way for a magnificient and disturbing movie.

Guest appearances by Lenny kravitz and Mariah Carey doing what was required of them was a nice touch.

Memorable Quotes
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Some folks has a lot of things around them that shines for other peoples. I think that maybe some of them was in tunnels. And in that tunnel, the only light they had, was inside of them. And then long after they escape that tunnel, they sitll be shining for everybody else.

Verdict
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A must-see biography of an abused colored harlem teenager.

An Education

Carey Mulligan shines and how :-)

*** Spoilers ahead ***

An Education is a simple, well made movie shouldered brilliantly by Oscar nominee (well deserved) Carey Mulligan. Playing Jenny, she conveys teen angst, playfulness, excitement, rebellion, hurt, confusion, happiness in a supremely delicious subtle manner. Bravo girl!!!
Looking like a young Katie Holmes (well atleast when she played Joey Potter from Dawson Creek, and looked less Mrs.Beckham lol), cute-as-a-button Carey pulls off the character convincingly. Peeling back layers in her character - young, wide eyed, giggly teen, whose only act of defiance was stealing a smoke with her gal pals, going dizzy with all the luxuries her heart longed for, compromising on her morals, ending up heartbroken but wiser - Carey turns in a pitch perfect performance.

The plot revolves around a young girl who has everything going for her, atleast not counting Latin translation, a constant reminder that she has to make it to Oxford (which she would anyway!!!) and ofcourse BOREDOM - what happens when she meets with an older man, David (played convincingly by Peter Sarsgaard), and is seduced into loving him and his lifestyle. David is not your regular sleazy old man lusting after PYTs, he is quite charming, proof being he has not only Jenny but also her parents eating out of his hands. He has impeccable taste and the means to indulge in the best.

I would suggest sit out patiently and wait, everything is answered in time and in a simple, crisp manner. No discourses here.... after all neither the audience nor 17 yr old Jenny have the patience do they??? The supporting cast rally well. I am not aware of the nitty gritties of the period (the movie is set in 1961 in the UK), but I think they manage well to create the mood and the setting.

But I reiterate, the star here is Carrey Mulligan, doing complete justice to her part and making the movie eminently watchable.

Fashion

Ok this is probably coming in way too late, what with both leads having won national awards, but hey whatever :-)

I must confess I have a strong prejudice against Madhur Bhandarkar movies, barring Chandni Bar. I think his movies reek of stereotypical characters and situations. They seem forced, or more suited for "shock value".

Coming to Fashion, the reasons I mentioned above contribute to some extent against it. Since the name is quite a give away - the turmoils an ambitious girl goes through in the big bad world of fashion, lets delve straight away into some character analysis of the 3 leads - Priyanka aka Meghna, Kangna aka Shonali and Mugdha aka Janet.

PChops does a decent job, is it national award worthy, now thats up for debate and stuff for another post :-). Her character's redemption lies in overcoming personal shortcomings rather than pulling off some larger than life vendetta scheme against the people who have purportedly wronged her. Makes perfect sense, her fight is with her choices not with any one in particular. This was a good takeaway for me from the movie. Hate to mention that her realization sets in with a really contrived, ridiculous incident. Thats Madhur Bhandarkar for you, you feel his touch in all the wrong places.

Raw, edgy characters have become synonymous with Kangna Ranaut, but her bastard screeching, snorting, wailing character, apparently modelled after Gitanjali Nagpal, never goes beyond these adjectives. Its an in your face character which leaves you feeling.... well nothing. Blame the character etching rather than the actress. Watch Gangster if you want the real deal from Kangna. Contrast it with Mugdha's Janet, a character that is never explored to its true potential and leaves you with a lot of unexplained questions. What about her needs, why does she do what she does....For a new comer she plays it with poignant earnestness.

On a closing note, absolutely loved the haunting strains of Mar Jawaan. Overall an ok movie, if only Madhur's movies did not set out to be a treatise on exposing the underbelly of a certain strata in society, they could achieve a lot more.

A Serious Man

I have always paid close attention to the quote with which a movie opens and make no mistake in this case as the opening quote might be your only ticket to understanding this movie. It runs as below

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi

Being a fan of Coen Brothers i have always been astonished by the remarkable ease with which the brothers are able to blend comedy into serious story lines. I have also experienced first hand the slap on my face when "No country for old men" ended abruptly and I actually thought there was going to be some form of explanation during the end credits. And this time the brothers have graduated from a slap to a choke slam.

You would have to do more than just watch this film but look for allegories in the form of "Schroedinger's Cat". As Nobody really doubts that the presence or absence of the cat is something independent of the act of observation, every person can take home what he wants from this movie. In this very fact lies the perverse maniacal genius of the brothers.

The movie works almost as a modern fable. To simplify it, the lead protagonist Gopnick was so busy mourning everything around him that he never appreciated what he still had the entire film, untill the very end where the brothers insinuate what it's like to really suffer.

The orthodontist's story is a good comic relief to an otherwise Yiddish movie full of goys, rabbis and semitic sentiments. Ebert and such had prepared me for a drama. I suppose it is that too, but much more, A Serious Man is black with very little or no comedy.

This is one of those films which cannot be labelled good or bad but leave you wondering why the jury at the academy nominated it for best picture and screenplay. It is easy to say this movie is self-indulgent nonsense if not for Michael Stuhlbarg's acting, the way his character was etched and the surrounding gritty drama.

Memorable Quotes
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Rabbi Scott: I mean, the parking lot here. Not much to see. It is a different angle on the same parking lot we saw from the Hebrew school window. But if you imagine yourself a visitor, somebody who isn't familiar with these... autos and such... somebody still with a capacity for wonder... Someone with a fresh... perspective. That's what it is, Larry.

Verdict
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If you did watch this in a movie hall, i promise you will return "A Serious Man".