Somebody's gonna win an Oscar, people! Maybe the young actress who plays Mattie Ross, maybe the Coen Bros. themselves. Jeff Bridges is not allowed, because he won last year, but he may get a nomination for his performance -- one I enjoyed a heck of a lot. I found the movie in general to be a beautifully produced, well-acted take on the classic story.
I must admit I've never seen the 1974 version. Strange, but somehow it's just one of those movies that slipped under my radar. However, this made for a real treat when I went to see the new Coen Bros. version, as I was only familiar with the story in the barebones sense.
I thought the Coen Bros. managed to capture a world and its language with exceptional brilliance. The story is a simple one but compelling. A daughter's revenge sets in motion a set of events that pit good versus evil, and each of the characters must choose which side of that moral divide they want to be on. While avoiding some of the darker elements that might have been addressed when a girl of 14 wanders into the wilderness with the drunkard Rooster Cogburn and the strange Mr. LeBoeuf (a self-effacing and effective Matt Damon), I found it enjoyable to see how basic human decency, however flawed, can slometimes prevail over evil.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
TRON:LEGACY and the Good Father
There are two fathers in Tron: Legacy: the Zen and kindly father as played by an appropriately aged Jeff Bridges and the scarily young and aggressive one played by a digitally altered version of the same actor.
The good father is concerned for the young James Flynn, and can see the ways in which he has failed as a father to prepare him for their predicament. Then there is the over-confident and competitive Clu. A digital Narcissus, born of the elder Flynn’s need for a partner and, perhaps, someone as smart as himself to help him set up the “perfect system”, one which will help to revolutionize an ailing humanity (certainly no argument there). However, Clu turns out to be too good at creating perfection; he cannot understand the value of the new creatures which spawn in the Tron-verse, the Iso Algorithms, or Isos. Their presence upsets Clu, who organizes a genocide against the innocent creatures. Whether or not this is successful is an important part of the plot of the new Tron movie.
The interplay between the two fathers, and the challenges that James faces, along with his sprightly female friend Quorra, make for an interesting movie. The best part for me, however, was, toward the end, when Kevin Flynn realizes that he is both the wise Flynn and the ambitious Clu, and must somehow manage to combine the two sides of his personality without destroying his son in the process.
There are two fathers in Tron: Legacy: the Zen and kindly father as played by an appropriately aged Jeff Bridges and the scarily young and aggressive one played by a digitally altered version of the same actor.
The good father is concerned for the young James Flynn, and can see the ways in which he has failed as a father to prepare him for their predicament. Then there is the over-confident and competitive Clu. A digital Narcissus, born of the elder Flynn’s need for a partner and, perhaps, someone as smart as himself to help him set up the “perfect system”, one which will help to revolutionize an ailing humanity (certainly no argument there). However, Clu turns out to be too good at creating perfection; he cannot understand the value of the new creatures which spawn in the Tron-verse, the Iso Algorithms, or Isos. Their presence upsets Clu, who organizes a genocide against the innocent creatures. Whether or not this is successful is an important part of the plot of the new Tron movie.
The interplay between the two fathers, and the challenges that James faces, along with his sprightly female friend Quorra, make for an interesting movie. The best part for me, however, was, toward the end, when Kevin Flynn realizes that he is both the wise Flynn and the ambitious Clu, and must somehow manage to combine the two sides of his personality without destroying his son in the process.
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