Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2019 12:49:16 GMT
I watched this film for the first time this morning, and I wanted to see what you all thought of it. Its reception upon release was decidedly negative, but I found it to be incredibly lovely and moving. Its productions values are handsome, but it easily transcends the trappings of Victorian Pittsburgh with the performances of Keaton and Gibson - talk about an unlikely (but great) actor pairing! Their chemistry is exhilarating and palpable - when Keaton's character finally surrenders to her desire for Gibson's, the euphoria is dizzying. The film's elegance and repressed setting never belie its passion.
I also want to pose a question to you - Is Diane Keaton equally adept at comedy and drama? I think so. Her trademark chirps and ticks deployed for comedy are softened in dramatic performances - there is a tenderness to her soul-bearing - it's hard to think of any other descriptor than the trite "poetic" - in Mrs. Soffel and in other dramatic performances (Reds, Marvin's Room, Looking for Mr. Goodbar), her desires, her weaknesses, her passions - they are deeply, maddeningly felt.
|
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Aug 9, 2019 13:11:57 GMT
I watched this film for the first time this morning, and I wanted to see what you all thought of it. Its reception upon release was decidedly negative, but I found it to be incredibly lovely and moving. Its productions values are handsome, but it easily transcends the trappings of Victorian Pittsburgh with the performances of Keaton and Gibson - talk about an unlikely (but great) actor pairing! Their chemistry is exhilarating and palpable - when Keaton's character finally surrenders to her desire for Gibson's, the euphoria is dizzying. The film's elegance and repressed setting never belie its passion. I also want to pose a question to you - Is Diane Keaton equally adept at comedy and drama? I think so. Her trademark chirps and ticks deployed for comedy are softened in dramatic performances - there is a tenderness to her soul-bearing - it's hard to think of any other descriptor than the trite "poetic" - in Mrs. Soffel and in other dramatic performances ( Reds, Marvin's Room, Looking for Mr. Goodbar), her desires, her weaknesses, her passions - they are deeply, maddeningly felt. Well in that period of her career she wasn't doing any comedy and was going for Nicole Kidman-esque roles BN (before Nic) I'd call it - or circumstantial suffering with shifting emotions underneath the placid surface - which was not in vogue when she did them - she ended up getting nothing career-wise from this, the little seen Shoot The Moon (great film and she's great there imo), Little Drummer Girl. I think the problem with that film is the director Gillian Armstrong was far more idiosyncratic before and after with her Judy Davis vehicles and Mrs. Soffel seems pretty much self defined and the rest of the casting and some peripheral details are lesser than the Gibson-Keaton pairing which is aces - some other things in it seems stilted and not strongly cast maybe not as panoramic. I do like it for their performances - one of her most underrated I'd say - their scenes especially the hushed and quiet scenes are lovely and both actors are in sync. She is quite adept at drama because her overriding characteristic is human quirk not movie quirk - she's idiosyncratic in a way people in your real life are not as someone playing a comic trope is who can't transfer to drama (ie not like Meg Ryan imo). |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2019 13:19:27 GMT
The only print Warhol ever did of Keaton was NOT Annie Hall, but Mrs. Soffel - how cool is that?  |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2019 13:35:57 GMT
I watched this film for the first time this morning, and I wanted to see what you all thought of it. Its reception upon release was decidedly negative, but I found it to be incredibly lovely and moving. Its productions values are handsome, but it easily transcends the trappings of Victorian Pittsburgh with the performances of Keaton and Gibson - talk about an unlikely (but great) actor pairing! Their chemistry is exhilarating and palpable - when Keaton's character finally surrenders to her desire for Gibson's, the euphoria is dizzying. The film's elegance and repressed setting never belie its passion. I also want to pose a question to you - Is Diane Keaton equally adept at comedy and drama? I think so. Her trademark chirps and ticks deployed for comedy are softened in dramatic performances - there is a tenderness to her soul-bearing - it's hard to think of any other descriptor than the trite "poetic" - in Mrs. Soffel and in other dramatic performances ( Reds, Marvin's Room, Looking for Mr. Goodbar), her desires, her weaknesses, her passions - they are deeply, maddeningly felt. I think the problem with that film is the director Gillian Armstrong was far more idiosyncratic before and after with her Judy Davis vehicles and Mrs. Soffel seems pretty much self defined and the rest of the casting and some peripheral details are lesser than the Gibson-Keaton pairing which is aces - some other things in it seems stilted and not strongly cast maybe not as panoramic. Do you feel that this is intentional, though? I think the stifling set design and direction are metaphorical - Keaton is trapped in a loveless marriage and by a repressive Victorian society, while Gibson is quite literally trapped behind bars. I'd say this is why the eventual love scene between the two is so rewarding - it's symbolic of freedom, of passionate release. I loved it. |
|
|
|
Post by getclutch on Aug 9, 2019 14:02:48 GMT
This film has been on my watch list for years. I need to get on it ASAP. Glad to see it having a positive review on here. Modine had very interesting projects of that decade, how was he in this one?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2019 14:25:41 GMT
This film has been on my watch list for years. I need to get on it ASAP. Glad to see it having a positive review on here. Modine had very interesting projects of that decade, how was he in this one? He is good! He doesn't have as much character to play as Keaton or Gibson, but he is thoroughly convincing as the more "straight" criminal - he would rather use Keaton's character and then get rid of her rather than love her and reciprocally help her "escape," too. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2019 21:40:15 GMT
Hit me with your best shot - I think this image perfectly encapsulates the film's strange, foggy surrealism:  Mattsby - Have you seen this one? What did you think? I know you're a big Keaton fan.  |
|
|
|
Post by Mattsby on Aug 9, 2019 21:56:18 GMT
Mattsby - Have you seen this one? What did you think? I know you're a big Keaton fan. Yup, I rate it like a 7, worth seeing for Gibson/Keaton whose chemistry elevates the whole thing. Armstrong, while never besting her marvelous masterful debut, usually does a good job shaping her lead characters, specifically how she frames them. Casting great talents always helps (Judy Davis, Blanchett, etc) but you can tell in the way she gives them space, and rightly timed close ups, she’s guiding the internal contradictions her characters are prone to. |
|
