Stephen Fry's script was too twee.
Great news for Brokeback mountain fans though - nearly all the major awards. Funnyy picture of Jake Gyllenhall there, trying to look serious but happy, considering he was a complete goofball in his speechifying.
Heath Ledger didn't get it though, and lost out to Truman Capote. It's a shame in a sense. Sw it again the other night with a mate whose reaction to the film I thought was as sledgehammer as my own - so thought wouldn't mind reviewing it again. Ledger's performance came across far more second time. Little things he did early in the film that when you know his character, make a lot more sense second time around.
I thought I might be able to watch the film and enjoy the terchnical aspects of the direction, the beautiful cinematography and so forth and I did, for all of about 10 minutes, but those guys' central performances were just so good, I was of course sitting there with silent tears pouring down my cheeks at the appropriate moments.
Tom thought that yes, it's a romantic "movie" movie and does all those things like make you cry and all that love "stuff" but most of all it's a film to be angry about. That there should be no reason for that film to exist in terms of the atmosphere surrounding the story existing in the first place. He's obviously right.
God though the character of Ennis really hits me now. He's a great picture of a whole and decent man that's been crumpled and become unrecognisable, with only shards of the original showing, in a confused jumble.
Anyway. Having read "From story to Screenplay" and seen it twice, I think I can now safely say I have it in perspective ; )
Ang Lee was very nice about UK audiences in his speech. i didn't realise "The Ice Storm" didn't really do much business until it had been a massive critical success in the UK. Now that is also a great, great movie. He's a fabulous director of human emotion and he also directs like a painter. Which can't be bad.
Posted by cait at February 19, 2006 11:41 PM