SPEAKING OF MOVIES...
By Memo Salazar
2/18/2006
I don't know where you are, but I live in New York City, where the largest snowstorm since 1948 just hit…yet a mere 2 days later, I find myself walking around in a t-shirt, feeling the warm breeze run through my hair. Ahhh. Where'd all the snow go? Must be hiding, along with our ozone layer and our sense of environmental responsibilty. While I wait for a tidal wave to envelop my Queens apartment, I swing by a couple of press screenings for small, independent films about to come out.
The first one that comes my way is called The Proposition, directed by John Hillcoat. I've never heard of him, either; apparently, he's a music video director of some repute. Which is probably how he knows the screenwriter, the illustrious Nick Cave, who is what brought me to see this revisionist Australian western. Cave's music and lyrics are always interesting, even if they do make me want to leave my lover a farewell note before drowning into the Hudson River holding a single dark, red rose. And now the guy's gone and written himself a movie? You might think this pair of creative types might produce a moody, gothic MTV-like visual feast of odd camera angles and cowboy vampires roaming the Outback. Instead, we get a surprisingly slow-paced meditation on some universally engaging themes like brotherhood, loyalty, and marriage. Who knew?
Cave provides some strong dialogue to weave his tale of a brother (Guy Pearce) sent to murder his feared, outlawed older brother (Danny Huston) in order to avoid the hanging of his weak, innocent younger brother. The lawman behind this proposition is wonderfully played by Ray Winstone, who portrays a hard-working, honest captain trying to do the right thing while juggling the angry townsfolk, a selfish politician, and his strong, ever-observant wife, played by the equally great Emily Watson.
It's a basic, timless plot (referred to as "mythic" by Cave himself) but it works beatifully to convey the relationships between the characters in a quiet but insightful way that's highlighted by Cave's dark, minimalist music and Benoit Delhomme's beautiful photography, the latter recalling another classic film set in this land -- Nicholas Roeg's Walkabout. The pacing, though, is more Terrence Malick than anything: let the characters do their thing as the story unwraps itself slowly, building to a classic, dramatic finale.
On a completely different wavelength is Unknown White Male, a documentary about a young Englishman living in New York who finds himself in Coney Island not remembering anything about who he is, where he's going, or why he's there. Let me say it again -- a documentary, not a fictional film. This really happened, which is what makes the film so fascinating. Total amnesia is a rare event, but capturing it on film is unheard of. We see Doug, our protagonist, rediscover every aspect of being alive again for the first time -- eating Indian food, looking at art, hearing the Rolling Stones, meeting his family, smoking pot… it's all here, through anectdotes or actual video footage taken by Doug himself (or the filmmaker, who happens to be an old friend from back home.)
The filmmaking itself is pretty basic, and, as far as the narrative is concerned, nothing fancy. It's shot competently, but not innovatively. The story is told clearly and straightforwardly, which might be the right choice in this case, since it doesn't get in the way of the subject matter, which is really the key. But that's the thing -- I left the theater realizing that if someone had told me this same story over a couple of beers at a bar (as I ended up doing to others during the following days) it would have been just as fascinating. In other words, the film aspect doesn't really add anything to the story. It's ALL about the story, and, specifically, the implications it presents. Yeah, there's some nice montages and genuinely dramatic moments (meeting dad for the first time) that take advantage of the film medium, but let's be honest -- it's the story that fascinates us, because we could be that guy. Anyone can.
What really fascinated me the most was to see how Doug's friends and family saw him; unequivocally, they all commented that "New Doug" had many of the same mannerisms as "Old Doug", but was still quite a changed man. Old Doug was a stockbroker with the personality that comes with such a career -- brash, arrogant, fearless. New Doug is sweet, introspective, and thoughtful -- which makes absolute sense, since New Doug is seeing the entire world experience like a newborn, but through the eyes of a mature male. How can you be anything but introspective in that case? All the stupid things people value seem petty in comparison, and you're left with some pretty big, basic questions to wrestle with. Who am I? What's the point of being alive? By the end of the film, Doug has a girlfriend -- quite literally, his first love. Can you imagine feeling that same pureness you felt back in middle or high school for someone, before all the shit of adulthood came to complicate everything? Just pure, adoring love. Now imagine that feeling withOUT all the insecurities and nervousness of adolescence, and you might get an idea of what Doug is going through in every aspect of life. No regrets, no guilt, no jadedness.
And THAT'S what makes this such an interesting film -- because it brings up philosophical ideas and psychological questions we all have a stake in. What begins like fodder for a great horror film ends up as the opportunity of a lifetime. There aren't really any great characters, witty lines, or other elements that film geeks look for in movies. It's all in the subject matter, but holy shit, what subject matter. Definitely worth watching… or, at least, pondering over a couple of beers at your local pub.
Might as well think about something meaningful while you're waiting for that tidal wave to strike.
("Unknown White Male" opens in New York and Los Angeles on 2/24/06 via Wellspring Cinema. "The Proposition" opens in New York on 5/5/06 via First Look Pictures.)
