Far from Heaven (2002)

 

Far from Heaven is quite simply a gorgeous film. The production design, the costume design, the cinematography – those beautiful fall colors! – are all just first rate. The score by Elmer Bernstein is so evocative of the movies from the 1950s that director Todd Haynes pays homage to. Far from Heaven is really a sort of reworking of the Douglas Sirk classic All that Heaven Allows (1955), but instead of focusing on two people from different classes who fall in love with each other, the newer film focuses on the growing affection between two people of different races. It also presents a sympathetic depiction of a gay man coming to terms with his sexuality during a period when that was as taboo a subject as interracial relationships. Cathy Whitaker (the astoundingly good Julianne Moore) lives a comfortable if restrained middle class existence. When she surprises her husband Frank (Dennis Quaid giving a career-best performance) at his office after work hours, she finds him kissing another man. Their relationship, unsurprisingly, begins to crumble after this revelation. He seeks psychiatric help, as did many gay men of the time, but refuses to share with her how his treatment is going. He begins drinking more, he becomes outraged easily, and he even slaps her over his inability to… uh… perform. Quaid is a standout in this film. The scene where he reveals that he’s fallen in love with someone else, another man, is a marvel to watch. Moore deservedly received attention for her performance, which is note perfect, but Quaid should have been nominated as well. Cathy develops a friendship with her black gardener, played with such gentleness by Dennis Haysbert. His Raymond Deacon is the only person around whom Cathy seems to feel comfortable. They bond over modern art and even go to have a meal at a local restaurant, but their friendship starts to garner them a lot of attention. The neighbors, played by such great actors as Celia Weston, begin gossiping, and he realizes that they cannot keep seeing each other. In a wonderful small touch, Haysbert sometimes even dresses like Rock Hudson, the male lead of All That Heaven Allows. Haynes and his crew pay such close attention to almost every detail. The rest of the cast is uniformly excellent. Viola Davis, early in her career here, gets one good scene, but it’s enough to see why she’s such an acclaimed actor. Patricia Clarkson is a delight as Cathy’s best friend Elinor; she seems to be very modern and understanding and accepting until Cathy reveals her possible feelings for Raymond and then Elinor is shockingly judgmental. The final sequence of the film is just heartbreaking in so many ways, but you know that it’s also truly realistic.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Leading Role (Julianne Moore), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, nominated for Best Picture of 2002, is the darkest of the trilogy of films based upon the books by J.R.R. Tolkien. Viewers who have seen The Fellowship of the Ring already know the objective is to destroy the ring being carried by Frodo Braggins (Elijah Wood), forcing him and several other hobbits, dwarfs, elves, and men to travel across Middle Earth toward the fires of Mount Doom. The problem is that the forces of evil under the command of Sauron, the Dark Lord, are even more determined (and more numerous) in their desire to prevent the forces of good from achieving their goal.

I have to admit that The Two Towers may be my favorite part of the trilogy. It grapples with issues of warfare and courage and bravery in ways that I find fascinating to watch. We get to see Frodo attempt to resist the power of ring as it slowly begins to weaken his resolve. We also are witness to the loyalty of his friend Samwise (Sean Astin), who does everything he can to protect Frodo from the forces of evil and from the plotting of the creature Gollum (Andy Serkis, just brilliant). And we get to see the interaction between Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd), the two other hobbits, after they are separated from the rest of the fellowship. They're really around to provide comic relief, but they have some interesting insights to share about the need to get involved in global politics, such as "you're a part of this world." Oddly enough, they have to share these thoughts with a band of tree herders led by Treebeard, a sort of walking tree. It makes more sense when you watch the film.

The middle episode of the film series also deepens our understanding of Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), the man who would become king. He is a reluctant heir apparent, perhaps unsure of his ability to rule. Yet he has support from the other members of the Fellowship such as the elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and the dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), who tell him that they will always follow him. He gets to demonstrate his loyalty to his beloved Arwen (Liv Tyler), especially when you consider how much she is willing to sacrifice--immortality, no small treasure to give up--to be with him. Of course, he also has a suitor in the guise of Eowyn (Miranda Otto), the neice of King Theoden of Rohan (Bernard Hill) who finds Aragorn to be quite the object of admiration. Everyone recognizes Aragorn's potential to be a king, except (apparently) Aragorn himself. Mortensen does fine work in The Two Towers showing the torment his character faces in trying to determine what course his life should take.

However, despite all of the character development of the members of the Fellowship, the most intriguing character in The Two Towers is the creature Gollum. What an intriguing psychological case study Gollum would make if you could get him to be still long enough to be studied. He possessed the ring for many years before it fell into hobbit hands, and he wants it back. Like everyone else who "owns" the ring, he thinks of it as "precious" to him. Gollum was apparently human until the possession of the ring turned him into the hideous creature that he has become. When he volunteers to lead Frodo and Samwise to the lands of Mordor and Mount Doom, you understand why Samwise is initially reluctant. He doesn't trust Gollum, nor should he.

You see, Gollum has a split personality. At times, he is Gollum, the scheming creature whose only goal is to obtain the ring again. Gollum is capable of murder, and he is forcefully single-minded as he plots the demise of both Samwise and Frodo. At other times, he is Smeagol, the human he used to be, with all of the requisite guilt and indecision that humans can have. Smeagol wants to be good and even calls Frodo "Master" as a sign of respect for the carrier of the ring. What's most chilling, though, is that he can also be Gollum and Smeagol simultaneously. Watching him carry on a conversation with the two halves of his personality is fascinating. There are times you aren't quite sure who is in command of the physical body until an action or a glance reveals who is in charge at the moment. It's quite a remarkable performance on the part of Serkis, who doesn't appear on the screen himself but whose alter ego was created through motion capture technology.

By the way, Gollum is also quite the drama queen. He is prone to outbursts at the oddest moments, and don't tie a rope around him unless you want to hear constant complaining. You'd think he was being tortured again (which he was under the forces of Sauron). And watch how he overreacts (or overacts) when Samwise cooks the rabbits Gollum has killed; he behaves as if the hobbit has ruined every meal for eternity. It's all a part of his plan to elicit sympathy so that he can win back the ring that he covets. And it's one of the reasons that the character is so vivid in the memory after the film ends.


The Two Towers is not primarily about character development, though, even though we learn a great deal about the various members of the Fellowship and their allies. No, it's really a war movie with an epic battle as its centerpiece, the fight at Helms Deep. Much of the film is a prelude to the battle, setting up what promises to be an astonishing show of special effects (which lives up to and surpasses its own promise, by the way). The forces of evil have been growing in strength and number, and they plan to attack the kingdom of Rohan. The king has already evacuated everyone to the stronghold of Helms Deep, a fortress carved out of a mountain that has proven impenetrable in battles past. It's little surprise that the fortress's protection is going to be tested.

The battle itself consumes a large portion of the last third of the film. The men of Rohan and their colleagues, as well as elfin archers who have come to carry on an old alliance between elves and man, can only manage to hold off the orcs for a brief period of time. The orcs have been tipped off to the one weak spot of Helms Deep, and they use it to their advantage. There's a lot of gore and blood as hundreds on both sides are killed. I'd be hard pressed to think of another battle that is more gruesome in its details than this one. Yet it's also one of the most impressive uses of computer-generated imagery ever put on film. Just watching the flood of orcs coming through the gate, for example, will make you catch your breath.

What's interesting is that the battle scenes at Helms Deep are intercut with scenes of the journey taken by Samwise and Frodo and with Merry and Pippin watching as Treebeard and his fellow trees attack the tower where Saruman (Christopher Lee) resides. There's such a flurry of activity in the last half hour of the film, in particular, including the arrival of Gandalf (Ian McKellan) with additional troops to help fight on the side of the Fellowship. No, he's not dead, but explaining how he survived means I'd have to talk about that belroc thing again, and I'm just not up for that. Besides, you should just be glad to have him on your side, fighting as vigorously as the young men.

I recall watching The Two Towers in a theater and feeling so anxious that I would have to wait another year to see how the trilogy ended. That's what you want in a film series, I think, eager anticipation on the part of fans. Some were undoubtedly turned off by the emphasis on violence that permeates this middle film, but I think you have to witness just how far each side is willing to go in order to understand the importance of the overall struggle. As Samwise puts it, "there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for." If Helms Deep is a primary example of that mentality in this film, then you realize it will likely take the annihilation of one of the sides for the other to be victorious, and that's why I was so anxious to see The Return of the King.

The Pianist (2002)

I can still remember when I first saw The Pianist, a nominee for Best Picture of 2002. It was in the Beverly Center theaters, inside one of those tiny rooms that my ex used to call "grapes." (They have purple upholstery and some are very, very small, so he thought it looked like you were sitting inside a grape while watching a movie.) There were only four other people in the theater for the screening, and I was the only non-Jewish person.

I point this out only because I think a lot of people did not see this film initially because it was about the Holocaust. Despite the quality of films in recent decades that have dealt with this subject, many in the general audience seem to feel that the subject matter has been covered as fully as possible already. Maybe that's why The Pianist seemed to attract (at least at first) very little attention. I went to see it because it was being hailed as one of director Roman Polanski's best films. Polanski has created some remarkable movies over the years, and I do think The Pianist stands among them as one of the his greatest achievements.

The film stars Adrien Brody as Wladyslaw Szpilman, a famous pianist in Poland before the war. In exacting detail, the film reveals the series of events that led to Szpilman being isolated from his family and escaping deportation to the concentration camps. From the forced evacuation of their homes to the liquidation of the Warsaw ghettos to the resistance that those in captivity displayed, this film shows just how desperate survival became for people like Szpilman. It is only through some remarkable luck at times, some quick thinking at others, and the generosity of several people that he manages to live through World War II without being captured or killed--and he manages to stay within the confines of his hometown of Warsaw, a truly astonishing feat.

Brody won the Oscar for Best Actor that year over some pretty tough competition, actors like Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York and Nicolas Cage in Adaptation and Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt. I correctly predicted his win. After you've seen his transformation from the suave, cultured musician at the beginning of the film to the emaciated creature who tries to eat a can of pickles near the end of the film, you'll understand why he won. It's an overwhelmingly emotional performance.

One scene in particular still stands out for me. Discovered by a Nazi officer in an abandoned house, Szpilman is "forced" to play Chopin. His beautiful rendition brings the officer almost to tears, and in a pretty remarkable act of kindness, the officer helps Szpilman to hide and brings him food and even offers him a coat for warmth. Despite knowing that these events are factual, you can't help but be shocked at moments like this. They reveal the depth of our humanity, our ability at times to see past whatever preconceived ideas we have about other people and see the beauty and talent that each possesses. That is why, perhaps, The Pianist most deserves our attention.