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gurdies
Reviews
The Clearing (2004)
Film-makers don't know what a story is anymore
The makers of this film didn't know whose story it was; Redford's, Mirren's or Dafoe's and in any event were unable to bring any of the possible stories to a satisfactory conclusion. The implication at the end is that the Mirren character who has lost her husband in a mindless killing should be contented with a scribbled note on a piece of paper in recompense. Hello!
Having a ghostly Redford appear to her at the end was a real cinematic copout!
This film started well but eventually disintegrated into a narrative slough. Least satisfactory film I have seen in some time.
Blonde (2001)
Insightful biog of MM
This was the most insightful account of Marilyn Monroe's life I have seen. With a novelist's intuition, Joyce Carol Oates has focused on MM's emotional neediness as the key to her character and the film faithfully reproduces this. Her mother won't tell her who her father is, and all her relationships with men are proxies for this lost part of who she is. It is no accident that she calls both Joe Di Maggio and Arthur Miller "Daddy". Poppy Montgomery does a stunning job in the most difficult part any actress could be called upon to play - reproducing what was basically a unique persona. I thoroughly recommend this film.
In Australia Blonde was shown on TV as a movie on a single night and therefore cut back from 4 to 3 hours - this condensation of the story may have helped it's impact.