Rocket Science
Oscar Award winner Jeffrey Blitz brings an intensely personal story to the screen with Rocket Science (2007), a film based on his life that swept the crowds at Sundance and is bound to further win over nationwide audiences upon its August 11th release. The film captivates the heart and brings the viewer along for the not-quite-so-typical coming of age story of Jeffrey Blitz in disguise as Hal Hefner on screen.
It cannot be stressed enough how incredibly refreshing it is to see a writer/director allow so much of himself to be exposed to the public eye. And it is an intensely wonderful experience to see something real and less Hollywood formulaic on the screen. Jeffrey Blitz has a lot of himself to share and an incredibly wonderful eye for style, talent and a great understanding of the human condition.
From extras to the socially awkward, speech stumbling lead Hal Hefner, Blitz’s characters are fantastically original and memorable. It would seem impossible to keep an audience’s attention with a stuttering lead but his character was so strong, so unique and so endearing it becomes a rather engaging experience, especially as the audience is taken with him on his journey to win 1st place at State on his high school’s debate team. Yes, indeed, this boy with a horrific speech impediment! By the ending of the film, the audience goes through every track of the emotional roller coaster with Hal and every possible awkward moment a person can stand to bear in one theater sitting.
This cannot, however, all be accredited to writer/director Jeffrey Blitz as Canadian actor Reese Thompson’s performance had quite a bit if not just as much to do with it. The brilliance of his performance led the show, pulling in the audience closely and personally. That is absolutely not to discredit the rest of the ensemble, as they too were incredibly well cast, particularly Anna Kendrick playing Ginny Ryerson, Hal Hefner’s ill-fated love interest and eventual semester-long foil. Most unwillingly admit that she becomes the girl everyone hates to love, but somehow do despite the blackness not so deeply buried in her heart.
The visual style and direction can only be related to that of Alexander Payne’s Election (1999). Every corner of this film was preconceived and thoroughly considered from hair and make-up to high angled shots to the steam left on the school bus windows. The dialogue is smart. The cinematography is smart. The editing is smart. It is a very well directed movie that is clearly accepted and can be appreciated by the viewers. It all pops out in a very, very good way.
Blitz is quite successful at making the mundane overtly interesting and has succeeded once again with this piece. Rocket Science, though marketed as a comedy, truly stands in its own genre and leaves the audience with something more than a laugh and couple of jokes to run with. In the end, no raised questions are answered and the heroine doesn’t quite get what he’s sought out because though love shouldn’t be rocket science, it somehow his. But some great things are accomplished in Hal Hefner’s effort; the viewer is somehow left feeling a little less alone in the world. And that accomplishment deserves a slamming high five at the very least. And maybe even a nice, warm pat on the back.
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Filed under film, life, credits, producing | Comment (0)A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash
In general documentaries tend to argue one side over another. And of course ‘A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash‘ is an opinionated piece. But that is what documentaries do. They bring an under represented issue to attention and cause a stir to get movers and shakers roused up. This documentary does that well. It does not lie to you. It gives you the facts as they are. It is necessary.
And of course it does not strongly argue that there may be potential in finding oil reserves elsewhere. Why would it? That’s not the point. The point is that one day the resources will be depleted. The point is that we are too lazy to care and that one day there will be a ‘peak’. It may not be today and it may not be tomorrow. It may not even happen during our lifetime. But it is simply irresponsible to dismiss the fact that it will happen someday because we are too comfortable to find an alternative to something not affecting us today. But it is impending.
It is time to stop standing idly and embrace knowledge and education. Ignorance is no longer a luxury we can afford. ‘A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash’ is an important film and a must see for everyone.
Filed under film | Comment (0)So where is he now, Folks?
I guess it’d be safe to assume that the Fantastic Adventures of Lex White have been all but fantastic. You could assume that, sure. But you’d be wrong. My inactivity is merely the result of preparation for the long journey ahead–unemployment.
I’ve done the things every young 20-something should do:
- Graduated from college.
- Dicked around.
- Drove across the country, and back.
- Freelanced.
- Began the job-hunting process.
Of course I had some fun along the way and I fell in love a time or two.
Filed under film, life | Comment (0)Science of Sleep
Michel Gondry brings yet another creative spin to motion picture through the integration of his uncanny music video approach into a living, breathing feature film that does more than stand on its own in the history of cinema. As a first time writer, Gondry manages to eloquently reveal both the story of a man escaping the mundane reigns of society as well as the story of the woman he fell in love with along the way, seamlessly. Science of Sleep (2006) captures the soul of human imagination and pleasantly whisks its audience away into an unfamiliar world for every bit of 105 minutes.
The film begins in the middle of one of Stéphane’s many dreams. From then on all bets are off in terms of what is real and what is not. The truth—Stéphane continuously fails to distinguish the difference between his dream world and his reality often leaving the audience in the dark. Reality seamlessly seeps into his dreams while his dreams seamlessly seep into reality and at the most unexpected of times at that. This lack of clarity that would normally leave an audience disturbed or agitated, actually grants the audience the freedom to let go and delve freely into Stéphane’s world with no physical laws or reason to hold anything back. Something that is simply not possible with general A to B logic.
By the time Stéphane’s job and love interest Stéphanie are introduced in the story, the audience is already so deeply invested and enthralled with his character they are passionately rooting for him to succeed in whatsoever mission he chooses to engage in. When he works up the nerve to ask for his artwork to be published in the calendar his workplace designs and manufactures, the audience wants it just as badly as Stéphane does, if not more. Stéphane’s battles to surpass the mundane are small but are so romanticized there is nowhere to go but big and bigger until suddenly typical occurrences such as delivering a letter or sneaking into a window become fascinatingly epic events.
Somehow the audience grows torn, unsure of whether or not to support Stéphane and his endeavors against the plain and the boring. It is quickly realized that the more battles he wins, the further his grip on reality grows and the more difficult his real life becomes for him. Not to mention his chances to connect with Stéphanie who, at this point, appears to be the only one capable of joining him in his lavish imaginary world. Suddenly, the audience is rooting for the girl for Stéphane’s own good and his only apparent chance at a normal life. But then it happens—He finds his way back to a harsh, 9-5 reality and no one likes it. It’s what the audience was tricked into wanting, but regrets almost immediately. He loses the girl, gives up on himself and begins a quick downward spiral into a terrifying depression. It’s realized that Stéphane is not meant for the real world, that he doesn’t exist on reality’s level and does not belong there, at least not full-time.
The pay-off to the film is undeniably worth the experience of confusion, deceit and regret. Though the ending is ambiguous, as is much of the film, all loose ends are tied. And eventually it is realized that it is not Stéphane that goes through a character arch—he remains the same—it is, in fact, the audience that makes the change. The experience and realization of it is absolutely irreplaceable. Everyone is left in a phenomenally good place, the tree-hugging, mom-kissing kind of good place.
Science of Sleep sets new precedents for cinema. As fun as it appears to be—and is—on screen, it is a piece of work that ought to be taken seriously. In it’s own right it is a psychological thriller, not for the characters but for the audience. As rare as it is, this film takes the audience as an active participant and relies on that participation to be effective. And it is done subtly and flawlessly as if permission were previously asked and consent granted. It is not only a film that steals its audience away into a fantastical visual and emotional experience, it is a film that awakens the viewer and allows him into the mind of a man that, for his own good, leaves reality behind. A must see for anyone with a living dream!
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