Love Field (1992)

Following the Oscar nominated performance in "The Fabulous Baker Boys" (1989), two Golden Globe nominated turns in "The Russia House" (1990) and "Frankie and Johnny" (1991) and the iconic career defining role as Selina Kyle/Catwoman in "Batman Returns" (1992), "Love Field" all too often  slips under the radar in discussions regarding the film career of Michelle Pfeiffer. Which is sad, cause it's an incredibly strong performance and a very interesting piece of cinema. Sadly, like many Oscar nominees that don't claim the title (and even some winners) the film has largely been lost under the sands of time. Although it is worth noting that Michelle did win the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival, so at least her performance wasn't completely unrewarded.

"Love Field" tells the story of Lurene Hallett, a Dallas housewife with a fanatical obsession with the first lady, Jackie O, going to the length of emulating her hairstyle and clothing. Rattled by the assassination of JFK, the second act of the film shows Lurene on a journey of self discovery (accompanied by a father and daughter she meets along the way) across the country, trying to get the the funeral for JFK in Washington. The story explores racism, women's rights in the 60s and the gigantic cultural effect of the JFK assassination. Supported by a superb cast including Dennis Haysbert and Stephanie McFadden, Michelle completely encapsulates the essence of the impact of the assassination. In a lot of ways, her performance as a Jackie O obsessed housewife is superior to that of dozens of other performances by people actually playing Jackie O.

The film still feels fresh to this day, the issues raised are still of relevance. It somehow successfully blends a serious social issue with romance, without being insensitive in doing so. The film is unafraid to show a different perspective on the Kennedy era, showing opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of political perception of the president. The pacing is well timed, varying between more subdued drama to fast paced chase scenes.

The way the film is shot has a kind of timeless feel to it. It certainly does not feel like a product of 1992. The costuming is excellent and feels completely seamless with the time period in which it belongs (there are few things more distracting than clothes looking like they could've been bought today when a film is set in an entirely different time period). 

In short, "Love Field" is a cinematic gem that is worth a look. One of the most interesting and overlooked films of Michelle's career, the film also serves as an interesting insight to the JFK assasination whilst capturing mid-sixties America in a way that is visually and emotionally stimulating.  

Happy Endings (2011 - 2013)

Severe lack of posts lately due to being inundated with university work but now I'm off for Easter so normal service (whatever that is) shall resume. 

ANYWAY, I've had this post waiting as a draft in my posts for a week or so now. I've recently started a re-watch of Happy Endings after catching an episode on E4 a couple of weeks ago and regaining the urge to watch it all over again. For those that don't know, Happy Endings was a single camera sitcom that ran on ABC (and Channel 4/E4 in the UK) from April 13, 2011 to May 3, 2013.

I got really behind on my TV watching last year and pretty much didn't watch the third season of Happy Endings, telling myself I would watch it when I wasn't so busy with uni work. Now i'm glad this happened, cause I can slowly pace myself through what is in fact the final season of the show. All the while telling myself that the cancellation of this show is one of the most ridiculous TV decisions ever made.

It's hard to pinpoint what exactly is so good about Happy Endings, mainly because there are so many things that are great about it. It has a classic sitcom feel to it (kind of a Cheers/Seinfeld/Frasier/Friends vibe) with elements of more contemporary comedies like 30 Rock and The Office. The casting is completely solid, and is reminiscent of the same dynamic applied to the casting of "Friends" way back in 1994. Happy Endings is one of the only shows (if not the ONLY) to successfully utilize the "Friends" formula.

Tina Fey summarized this idea really well in her 2011 autobiography, "Bossypants"  -

"For years the networks have tried to re-create the success of Friends by making pilot after pilot about beautiful twenty-somethings living together in New York. Beautiful twenty-somethings living in Los Angeles. Beautiful twenty-somethings investigating sexy child murders in Miami. This template never works, because executives refuse to realize that Friends was the exception, not the rule."

Perhaps the shows setting in Chicago rather than in NYC or LA was what allowed it to prosper. But there's a lot more to it than that. The casting is solid. Casey Wilson, Elisha Cuthbert, Eliza Coupe, Adam Pally, Damon Wayans Jr. and Zachary Knighton are all relatively fresh talent, all capable of expressing the comedy material to full effect. The shows clever dialogue and unsurpassed use of pop culture references never seem forced on them, they make the characters so believable that they seem like real people, not weird two dimensional sock-puppets that are so often present in run-of-the-mill sitcoms that fill up the TV schedule every September. 

I particularly enjoy the way in which the screen time is distributed. As a general rule, throughout a season of Happy Endings, there has been an equal share of story-line for each of the 6 characters. There are six protagonists, not a couple of main characters and 4 other supporting cast members that only serve the purpose of filling the remaining screen-time. I'd also like to throw it out there whilst on the subject of the characters that Max Blum (played by Adam Pally) is one of the most significant representations of a gay man in television history. Seriously. As previously mentioned, the screen-time of this show is very well distributed, meaning that Max receives the same amount of story-line as his straight counterparts, something which is frustratingly still quite rare on mainstream prime-time television. 

In short, i'm still very much in mourning for this show. It is baffling to me how something that was so critically acclaimed with a regular viewership & avid fan-base could be disposed of, whilst dozens of lesser shows continue to be renewed season after season. I really hope that it gets some kind of revival, if not from another network then perhaps by Netflix or something. Here's hoping. 

Actors I love - Sandra Bullock

(Sandra with her Oscar for "The Blind Side" from the 2010 Academy Awards)

Obsessively pouring over the filmographies of my favourite actors is something I always seem to find myself doing. Even now when I should be making some headway with the essay that I have due for next Friday, I find myself instead clicking on the "filmography" tab on the Sandra Bullock IMDB page and happily browsing over the details of her films that I've seen a thousand times. Committing these regular trips down film memory lane to this blog only seemed right. 

Sandra has a pretty big filmography, so this post is probably going to be a little bit haphazard organisation-wise but I'm sure I'll somehow struggle through. The first film I saw her in (if my memory serves) was Practical Magic (1998). Now regarded as a Halloween favourite by many, "Practical Magic" stars Sandra opposite Nicole Kidman as two sisters, detailing their lives from childhood to adulthood and how it was effected by their magical abilities. A truly underrated film in my opinion (as most Halloween favorites seem to be! ie. Hocus Pocus) the film received mixed reviews, although many critics did draw attention to the performance given by Bullock as a highlight. 

"Speed" (1994) also springs to mind when I think of my first Bullock films. Obviously hugely successful and a fantastic film (with a decidedly less fantastic sequel that Sandra has basically disowned) "Speed" is one of the reasons I enjoy her so much as an actor. She began to show her versatility as an actor from the very beginning of her career, jumping from romantic comedies (Love Potion No. 9) to science fiction (Demolition Man) to thrillers (Speed) to drama (A Time To Kill) with ease. Unlike many actors who find themselves typecast for a long time before they begin to establish their independence in terms of choice in roles, Sandra showed capability in choosing projects that would be successful. Only a couple of years into her career she was able to establish herself as a title star (The Net in 1995 featured only Bullocks name on the poster & her picture), a feat that often takes many years of film roles for others. 

Flash forward to 2006 & another stand out for me is "The Lake House". Reunited with her "Speed" co-star Keanu Reeves, "The Lake House" tells the story of two people who live in the same house & fall in love via letter writing, despite being separated by two years (Reeves is in 2004, Bullock in 2006) & their attempts to meet each other. Straight off the bat, this film makes zero fucking sense but I love it. I've watched it countless times and the plot just does not hold up (they try to meet each other when their time zones "meet" but then they must wait another two years for this to happen again) and it baffles me every time. But I cannot help but love it, it's just kinda nice. I find the sheer non sensical nature of the film to be quite endearing & watching it is a definite escapist experience because I forget whatever else is on my mind in order to figure out what the bloody hell is going on.

Both of her Oscar nominated (with one winning) turns are obviously of note. "The Blind Side" is, again another showcase of her diversity as an actor.  During the casting for the film, she almost didn't take the role due to her concerns about playing a devout christian. But she did it. And it was great. She did this film for all the right reasons, and her Academy Award acceptance speech only proves that - 

"I have so many people to thank for my good fortune in this lifetime, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I know. To the family that allowed me to play them, the Tuohy family, I know they're in here and you'll probably hear her in a minute. Maybe not. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to... do something different. John Lee Hancock, Gil Netter, Alcon, Warner Brothers, the actors, everyone who's shown me kindness when it wasn't fashionable, I thank you. To everyone who was mean to me when it wasn't ... George Clooney threw me in a pool years ago. I'm still holding a grudge. But there's so many people to thank. I would like to thank what this film is about, for me, which are the moms that take care of the babies and the children no matter where they come from. Those moms and parents never get thanked. I, in particular, failed to thank one. So... if I can take this moment to thank Helga B. for not letting me ride in cars with boys until I was 18 because she was right. I would've done what she said I was gonna do. For making me practice every day when I got home. Piano, ballet, whatever it is I wanted to be. She said to be an artist, you had to practice every day, and for reminding her daughters that there's no race, no religion, no class system, no color, nothing, no sexual orientation that makes us better than anyone else. We are all deserving of love. So, to that trailblazer, who allowed me to have that. And this. And this. I thank you so much for this opportunity that I share with these extraordinary women and my lover Meryl Streep. Thank you."

Alongside "The Blind Side" is "Gravity" which is to me, the central jewel in her acting crown. I've expressed my love for this film before on this blog, but it's just on another level. "Gravity" completely takes you in, and it's as much down to Sandra as it is to the score and the effects. Everything she feels, you feel. When she was claustrophobic, I was claustrophobic. It's such a visceral performance and I found myself literally sitting at the edge of my seat from pretty much the very beginning of the film.

To conclude, theres obviously a huge wealth of other great films in her filmography that I could go on about (how good is While You Were Sleeping?! and obviously Miss Congeniality) but this feels like the natural place to end this post. All hail Sandra.

Actresses Roundtable (The Hollywood Reporter)

Don't know why I have only just gotten around to posting this but better late than never! I always enjoy these round table interviews by The Hollywood Reporter and this years actresses edition is a particular stand-out for me. Legitimately so inspiring. 

Albert Hall, Manchester

Albert Hall, Manchester, a photo by alexetchells on Flickr.

Got the opportunity to shoot in Albert Hall a couple of weeks ago. Such a great space, especially when it's completely empty.

True Romance (1993)

"Amid the chaos of that day, when all I could hear was the thunder of gunshots, and all I could smell was the violence in the air, I look back and am amazed that my thoughts were so clear and true, that three words went through my mind endlessly, repeating themselves like a broken record: you're so cool, you're so cool, you're so cool. And sometimes Clarence asks me what I would have done if he had died, if that bullet had been two inches more to the left. To this, I always smile, as if I'm not going to satisfy him with a response. But I always do. I tell him of how I would want to die, but that the anguish and the want of death would fade like the stars at dawn, and that things would be much as they are now. Perhaps. Except maybe I wouldn't have named our son Elvis."