The premise of the film is that it is two years later and a filmmaker has made a documentary of the event, interviewing the secret service agent in charge, an FBI man assigned to find the killer and the wife of the Syrian man accused of the crime. The film also suggests that the real killer is not the man convicted of the crime. Range uses the format to bash current U.S. policies and the Patriot Act that is being used to erode the freedoms of the American people. The film also suggests that the greatest danger to our country is not necessarily the forces from abroad that harbor anger and distrust of the U.S. government. The greatest danger is that Americans themselves, who feel betrayed by their country, will strike back in anger. Will the film make it to American multiplexes? I doubt it.
In contrast, the Barbara Kopple documentary about the Dixie Chicks, including their problems with their fans and country radio following Natalie Maines’ offhand remark that she was ashamed President Bush was from Texas, seems tame in comparison. The movie Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing, is a straightforward look at Maines, Martie Maguire and and Emily Robison as they face their changing fan base and cope with the fallout, channeling their anger into their work.
Earlier in the week, I had the chance to view several of the big-ticket movies coming soon to a theater near you. A Good Year is a sweet comedy from the Gladiator team of Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott. Those who are used to the gloomy persona of Russell will be pleasantly surprised by his deft touch that recalls his earlier film work in Australia in particular Proof and The Sum of Us. At the press conference Crowe suggested we had just missed the intended humor in Gladiator. Said Crowe, “If you cut off a man’s head just the right way … it’s hilarious.”
All the King’s Men is a solid, but shy of excellent, remake of the Academy Award-winning film from 1949 that won Oscars for Broderick Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge. Writer-director Steven Zaillian’s period detail is exquisite and the performances by Anthony Hopkins and Jude Law are outstanding. Sean Penn is also good but a lack of subtle shadings is a handicap.
One of the present surprises was Shortbus, a film that blends real sex acts on screen by an unknown cast with a tremendous amount of humor and pathos. The money shot that everyone is talking about involves a man who can self-gratify himself in a way that I thought was only possible for a dog (use your imagination!).
On the disappointing side, Brad Pitt’s latest film Babel is a real downer that if extremely grim without an effective emotional payoff.
Other movies I enjoyed to date include the gory horror comedy from New Zealand, Black Sheep; the Oscar-hunting spoof For You Consideration from Christopher Guest; Volver, the latest from Pedro Almodovar starring Penelope Cruz, and Indigenes, an excellent war film about North Africans you fought for France despite the fact that the French treated them like American treated its black troops during World War II.
For more info on my TIFF experiences, check out my blog entries at http://blogs.acweekly.com/