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Post by stephen on Oct 8, 2023 1:45:45 GMT
William Friedkin’s swan song is handsomely, glossily mounted, even if I feel it was a bit too brisk — it felt like he was trying to keep under a certain runtime, and I feel like a bit of breathing room would’ve been nice. It was hard to shake the TV movie feel of it all, because Big Billy was certainly a director who knew how to bring atmosphere and dynamics to an adaptation of a play. But the performances do a great deal to make up for that shortfall. Jason Clarke is in top form, basically playing the antithesis of his Oppenheimer character to great effect. The late Lance Reddick brings gravitas and firmness to the role of the head of the judicial board overseeing the trial. Monica Raymund brings a deft firebrand energy as the prosecutor looking to condemn the accused mutineer. Lewis Pullman has finally shed his boyishness and has a confident swagger about him—he’s going to be a big deal in the next five years with the right role, mark my words. And then there’s Kiefer Sutherland, who brings a frenetic neurotic energy to the proceedings as the notorious Commander Queeg. It may not have been as brilliant a final film as Killer Joe, but it does make for a strong coda on a hell of a career.
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Post by finniussnrub on Oct 8, 2023 2:05:16 GMT
Agreed pretty much on all accounts. Also Pullman now looks exactly like his dad, though with a greater acting ability, therefore unstoppable.
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Post by stephen on Oct 8, 2023 2:15:26 GMT
Agreed pretty much on all accounts. Also Pullman now looks exactly like his dad, though with a greater acting ability, therefore unstoppable. I hope Lynch gets Pullman for the rumoured Wisteria -- I need to see what he could do with a Lost Highway-type darkness. |
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Post by thomasjerome on Oct 8, 2023 7:33:13 GMT
This was amazing. Friedkin always knew how to direct play adaptations and I loved every subtle directing choice he made here and how he used the setting. The performances were all impressive. Kiefer MVP, Clarke is close behind but everyone shines really, I didn't see a false note anywhere. Then there's the ending which was provocative, true to Friedkin fashion. I agree that "Killer Joe" is probably even a better film but still, it's a fitting swan song. The master will be missed.
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Nov 14, 2023 19:58:55 GMT
god I love a good chamber piece. All dialogue, all conversation, lots of monologues. A fantastic sendoff for Friedkin (and Reddick) populated with somber understated performances with just the right alterations to Wouk's material to bring the story into the modern era and mark it as a companion to Dmytryk's 1954 near-masterpiece instead of a replacement. The one-setting format focusing exclusively on the court martial and centering the highly conflicted defense attorney allows for more ambiguity than the source material or Dmytryk's movie where Maryk's decision was understood to be unambiguously heroic. In Friedkin's version we see less of Maryk's heroism and less of Queeg's questionable behavior (the final ball-rolling testimony doesn't have the same impact here as when Bogie did it), and a LOT more of Greenwald's doubt and guilt, which in turn delivers a more provocative experience overall and heightens the power of Clarke's stinging final denouncement of the Caine's real coward: the casually backpedalling Keefer. Pullman is so much less sympathetic than MacMurray who seemed genuinely cowardly like a scared puppy dog -- pathetic and sad where Pullman comes off as just a self-interested prick. Clarke shows him up gloriously. And that jarring cut to black... wow. Left me breathless.
not a bad performance here. Sutherland got most of the praise I think and he's really good but I think I prefer Lacy's understated Maryk and Clarke as Greenwald (partly because Queeg feels almost sidelined here -- but that's an important way Friedkin differentiates this adaptation). Always loved that final monologue. It was thrilling when Ferrer delivered it and it's just as thrilling from Clarke.
Fucking great movie
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Post by Martin Stett on Jun 24, 2024 23:53:30 GMT
The best movie of the year??? It's a close call for me, I'm gonna need time. That cut to black at the end was absolutely shocking. Gonna say this is my favorite Friedkin as well.
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