A Revolutionary Defiance

This weekend I managed to sneak in two more 2008 movies even though the latter one was officially released on December 31st.

The first movie is Revolutionary Road starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in their first pairing since the titanic Titanic. This is a story very much about the era that encompassed the 1950's. April (Winslet) meets Frank (DiCaprio) at a party and, like most Hollywood movies of the era, they fall for one another and end up married. Now several years later they're living in a dream house with beautiful children in a neighborhood right out of a Normal Rockwell painting.

The problem is that this is not a 1950's movie. Here we get the "real" story behind the story. April is suffocating and Frank long ago gave up the dreams of youth leaving them only to be going through the motions like everyone else. There's a wonderful line in the movie that goes something like this, "You never forget the truth. You just get better at lying." That is the undercurrent, and a strong one, of this entire movie.

The entire effort is worth the investment. It took just a bit to get going but when it does it does so without ever looking back and neither will you. You'll wish for things to be different because you know either yourself or someone else who has found themselves in this situation or can very much imagine it. The acting is first-rate across the board and the look of the film is flawless.

Why I Wanted To See It:
Not because of the re-pairing but because of the Winslet nomination talk.

Preconceived Notions:
Will it just be a great job from Winslet with nothing else to enjoy?

During The Movie:
Where is this going? Oh! Couldn't they pick someone else besides Kathy Bates to play that role? We don't need anymore Titanic reminders.

Immediate Afterthoughts:
Excellent movie. Might be a bit slow for many but it's deadly accurate and feels it.

The other movie this weekend is Defiance starring Daniel Craig outside his Bond persona.

It's 1941 and the Germans are storming through Eastern Europe. The plan is wholesale slaughter especially with regard to the Russian Jews they encounter along the way. Craig plays a true life character that, in the attempt to save his own family's life, becames entangled in the responsibility of trying to save the many who show up around him.

This is another excellent film and it really is good to see Craig in yet another good vehicle that isn't Bond. He was a good actor before Bond but that role has a tendancy to bring the actor playing him down to a new low. Daniel Craig deserves a much better fate.

The movie is one you need to see to appreciate. My explaining it will only act to trivialize the events simply because we've all heard similar tales a thousand times before. This one is memorable and worthwhile because of the effort put into the details and the sheer power of its emotional tugs along the way.

On the downside it felt much longer than its 2 hour, 16 minute running length and I also had a very strong feeling that its "true" origins have been heavily dressed up for Hollywood here. Aside from that it's a movie that will make an impact and it's one that's worth experiencing.

Why I Wanted To See It:
Craig is an excellent actor and the story sounded just good enough.

Preconceived Notions:
Another Nazi Germany versus the Jews movie? Is there any ground left to go over here?

During The Movie:
How do people persevere through it all? To be reduced to this and still to go on.

Immediate Afterthoughts:
It took me until the parking lot to regain my composure fully. I'm glad I gave this the chance.