cappy-9 Reviews

Conspiracy Theory (1997)

Mel Gibson!!

[6/10 · 21 August 1999]

Mel Gibson turns a grade four movie into a seven. He does this with sheer grit, remarkable intensity, and incredible (especially in a cliche-ridden action flick)consistency. One goes through this movie with him in the same way one went through a Janis Joplin performance--on a very high wire. Certainly memorable--his madness, his beauty, his human-ness (how can we forget all those very personal apologies for his defensive violence). And certainly his toughness, not this canned romance stuff, should have marked the final scene

Paris Blues (1961)

city of music and love

[9/10 · 12 March 1999]

Paris of the Beat-era is the city of blues and jazz, the city of romance and love. This is cool, and "Paris Blues" is real cool (great jazz, deep feeling, sparkling romance) but it is more than cool--it hurts. In the end, an ending tougher than Thelma and Louise (and maybe more feminist) and more genuinely surprising than the revelation in "The Crying Game," all the movie's stellar music and romance is thrown into question by Joanne Woodward's (Lilian's) "small present" to rising jazz star, Ram Bowen (Paul Newman). Music or Love? Why should one have to choose between them? But in this hidden gem of a film Ram Bowen seems to have to choose and the result is scary, sad, and tragic in a kind of secret way (men are usually shown to just throw this kind of loss off). But unlike the unsatisfactory tragic end of say "West Side Story," this ending is both strong and very adult.

I Confess (1953)

hitch's sleeper

[9/10 · 23 February 1999]

"I Confess" is the most under exposed/appreciated/rated of Hitchcock's films. It is as convincing (except for the minimal flashbacks) as "Shadow of a Doubt" in terms of both its art and its reality. Its mise en scene captures Quebec City, its specifically Catholic culture, its history, its moral dramas, and its character types. I think Clift and Baxter are perfectly cast, as are Aherne and Maldon. Keller and Alma truly hit home as Catholic parish staff and carry effectively much of the drama and suspense of this true Hitch sleeper, which is also a memorable romance. (There is indeed a great deal of genuine emotion and deep feeling in this very ordinary and convincing world).