Dad and I had a dinner and movie date last weekend- first Udon and book shopping, then off to see Road to Perdition
This is an extraordinarily powerful movie. I am predicting Oscar nominations, again for Tom Hanks (Best Actor), possibly for Paul Newman (Best Supporting), and probably for Best Picture and Best Director for Sam Mendes. It's definitely NOT light summer fare- leave the kids at home! It's violent, tragic, disturbing, heartbreaking. No surprise, coming from the man who directed American Beauty!
It's about the Irish mob in Chicago in the early 1930's- Depression, Prohibition, Al Capone. It focuses on father-son relationships, revenge, remorse and redemption. Hanks and Newman play characters you should hate, because of what they do and stand for, but you cannot resist their humanity, Hanks's in particular (and how could anyone EVER dislike Tom Hanks- truly brilliant casting there!).
Jude Law is wonderfully creepy (by the way, Tom Cruise dropped out of Cold Mountain and Jude is taking his place- a MUCH better choice, IMHO!); the young boy who plays Hanks's son, Tyler Hoechlin, is someone to keep an eye on. Beautiful boy, great actor.
If you are looking for a way to beat the heat in an air-conditioned movie theatre this weekend, I HIGHLY recommend this. It will take you away to another world and time, it's a challenge to the mind, and it will keep you enthralled. Some beautiful scenes in downstate Illinois, too- made me a bit homesick for those cornfields!
OH! I came back to add a couple more, since I'm talking about movies. These I rented this week- on DVD or video: Charlotte Gray Cate Blanchett, one of my favorite actresses, plays a Scottish woman who goes undercover to France during WW II to assist the French Resistance in Vichy France. I don't think it did well at the box office, probably because it's character, not action, driven. Cate is WONDERFUL, as is Billy Crudup, who is so dreamy to watch. It's a terrific movie- very passionate (not in a sexual way), intriguing, beautifully filmed, a gripping story. I'm off to find the book...
And I finally saw Amelie. What a sweet, sweet movie. Whimsical, fantastical, poignant- a simple story of love and humanity. And the scenes of Paris- nearly broke my heart. I was filled with such longing, homesickness, an ache to return- it showed Paris at it most luminous, glorious, radiant best.
If you are a dreamer, come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer. If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire, for we have some flax-golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in! Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends.
