Mayor Tilman: “Do you like baseball, do you, Anderson?”
Anderson: “Yeah, I do. You know, it's the only time when a black man can wave a stick at a white man and not start a riot.”
Now I have no clue why I turned this one on I just happened to whilst flicking through on my day off, I vaguely remember hearing about it and had some of my favourite older actors in it and thought why not give it a go. I really enjoyed it and it was an amazing film technically but does come with its own caveats
What struck me instantly was the cast, because they are amazing and quite young even Gene Hackman who would’ve been 50 almost 60 in this! Speaking of Gene he is superb in this which is no surprise to me nor should it be to anyone else I have a special place for him in my heart for The Replacements which isn’t one of his greatest but I love him in it! He was really good in this film he brought the perfect amount of everything needed for this particular character. This has to be one of the very few of Willem Dafoe not being bad or a little bit crazy actually there is a scene outside the hospital between these two men that show off he is in fact and can be a little crazy, I thought that Willems line delivery was perfect here and he done a great job of playing this tricky character who changes a lot during the film. A very young Frances McDormand I didn’t actually recognise her until later in the film she isn’t a massive role per say but she is quite good and I enjoyed seeing her on the screen. There was an abundance of a supporting cast that I thought put in a great job. Brad Dourif, Gailard Sartain, R. Lee Ermey just to name a few but overall everyone was great even the people that had 1 line max.
I thought that the sets, the Mise En Scene was great I really felt like I was moved back 60 years ago, just from a visual standpoint the cars and the costumes were divine and really improved the medium.
On top of this factor of going back intime I found that the script and the way everyone spoke was perfect obviously the overuse of the N word starts that but not even that just the way they talk in saying and riddles almost and the accents the works which shows the point above of how well the actors delivered this. I automatically think of the can of worms quote, the rattlesnake quote it goes on.
Talking about script the way this film was written delivered and directed was very well done I think it showed a great deal of what was happening during this time period and in some instances around the world is unfortunately still happening in different ways but still happening nonetheless. We also got to see what can will and did happen when this isn’t dealt with in a proper way and the people rorting the system and writing the rules aren’t playing by them. We could go on and on and delve into these themes but just quickly I’ll mention what they did well and spoke up about. Obviously oppression, racism, corruption, injustice, what happens when people are silenced and fearful.
I thought the characters were very complex and written extremely well and deep you have Dafoe who is this classic guy from the city up north who is everything the South despise and hate. Hackman is an old Mississippi boy who has left and in their eyes turned his back on “who he is” what his beliefs are etc etc. I found McDormands character to be quite well written also a lady who was stuck and trapped in her life and her relationship she doesn’t know it or know anything else and we learn this very early on but it seems subtle. I really enjoyed her chemistry with Hackman also.
I was a huge fan of the soundtrack and score I thought it was used to perfection and they knew what they needed and when to use it.
The cinematography was quite exquisite I loved the opening and closing shots in particular were simply divine I want to watch the film again just for this. Outside of these two in particular there were a lot of shots that were confronting but it was great because this whole time period, treatment and time in the world should be confronting and hard to watch and the shots really embodied this. There were plenty of scenes that had no dialogue but the shot itself spoke 1000 words well done.
Look I don’t think I have missed anything above, I found that although gripping the film did have pacing woes with me don’t get me wrong I enjoyed it but it did seem to drag for a few scenes but quickly hooked you back in, in saying all of this it was very few and far between.
I also found some of the editing to be choppy, just during the fight scenes which was whatever and not a lot of it but it was slightly jarring, noticeable and unnatural.
Outside of this people have been talking about how the FBI come in as hero’s and the black as suppressed to be little to no voice and need people to sort it out for them I don’t wholeheartedly agree with this criticism and think it is portrayed quite well for the time period but I agree more so with the FBI side of it and how they are glorified.
The only other criticism I can see for this film but I done my research before I watched this due to how it was worded I believe Stan had it as “fictionalised version of the…” so I did some research however outside of the actual date and the details behind the 3 kids being murdered nothing else is factual but don’t take my word that was a quick google.
Look overall I really enjoyed this film it is well shot, very well set in regards to costumes etc acted supremely. With a very confronting and hard themes tackled very very well. I urge everyone to watch this and I am certain it will give people a new outlook on this issue and how this is still happening in a way. Compassion being there for one another regardless of who you are where you have came from or what the colour of your skin is. Fantastic film!
Wow I’ve had to come back here this won an Oscar for best cinematography I thought it was great but wasn’t expecting that Wowe! I’ll have to look into its competition.
Mayor Tilman: “Do you like baseball, do you, Anderson?”
Anderson: “Yeah, I do. You know, it's the only time when a black man can wave a stick at a white man and not start a riot.”
Now I have no clue why I turned this one on I just happened to whilst flicking through on my day off, I vaguely remember hearing about it and had some of my favourite older actors in it and thought why not give it a go. I really enjoyed it and it was an amazing film technically but does come with its own caveats
What struck me instantly was the cast, because they are amazing and quite young even Gene Hackman who would’ve been 50 almost 60 in this! Speaking of Gene he is superb in this which is no surprise to me nor should it be to anyone else I have a special place for him in my heart for The Replacements which isn’t one of his greatest but I love him in it! He was really good in this film he brought the perfect amount of everything needed for this particular character. This has to be one of the very few of Willem Dafoe not being bad or a little bit crazy actually there is a scene outside the hospital between these two men that show off he is in fact and can be a little crazy, I thought that Willems line delivery was perfect here and he done a great job of playing this tricky character who changes a lot during the film. A very young Frances McDormand I didn’t actually recognise her until later in the film she isn’t a massive role per say but she is quite good and I enjoyed seeing her on the screen. There was an abundance of a supporting cast that I thought put in a great job. Brad Dourif, Gailard Sartain, R. Lee Ermey just to name a few but overall everyone was great even the people that had 1 line max.
I thought that the sets, the Mise En Scene was great I really felt like I was moved back 60 years ago, just from a visual standpoint the cars and the costumes were divine and really improved the medium.
On top of this factor of going back intime I found that the script and the way everyone spoke was perfect obviously the overuse of the N word starts that but not even that just the way they talk in saying and riddles almost and the accents the works which shows the point above of how well the actors delivered this. I automatically think of the can of worms quote, the rattlesnake quote it goes on.
Talking about script the way this film was written delivered and directed was very well done I think it showed a great deal of what was happening during this time period and in some instances around the world is unfortunately still happening in different ways but still happening nonetheless. We also got to see what can will and did happen when this isn’t dealt with in a proper way and the people rorting the system and writing the rules aren’t playing by them. We could go on and on and delve into these themes but just quickly I’ll mention what they did well and spoke up about. Obviously oppression, racism, corruption, injustice, what happens when people are silenced and fearful.
I thought the characters were very complex and written extremely well and deep you have Dafoe who is this classic guy from the city up north who is everything the South despise and hate. Hackman is an old Mississippi boy who has left and in their eyes turned his back on “who he is” what his beliefs are etc etc. I found McDormands character to be quite well written also a lady who was stuck and trapped in her life and her relationship she doesn’t know it or know anything else and we learn this very early on but it seems subtle. I really enjoyed her chemistry with Hackman also.
I was a huge fan of the soundtrack and score I thought it was used to perfection and they knew what they needed and when to use it.
The cinematography was quite exquisite I loved the opening and closing shots in particular were simply divine I want to watch the film again just for this. Outside of these two in particular there were a lot of shots that were confronting but it was great because this whole time period, treatment and time in the world should be confronting and hard to watch and the shots really embodied this. There were plenty of scenes that had no dialogue but the shot itself spoke 1000 words well done.
Look I don’t think I have missed anything above, I found that although gripping the film did have pacing woes with me don’t get me wrong I enjoyed it but it did seem to drag for a few scenes but quickly hooked you back in, in saying all of this it was very few and far between.
I also found some of the editing to be choppy, just during the fight scenes which was whatever and not a lot of it but it was slightly jarring, noticeable and unnatural.
Outside of this people have been talking about how the FBI come in as hero’s and the black as suppressed to be little to no voice and need people to sort it out for them I don’t wholeheartedly agree with this criticism and think it is portrayed quite well for the time period but I agree more so with the FBI side of it and how they are glorified.
The only other criticism I can see for this film but I done my research before I watched this due to how it was worded I believe Stan had it as “fictionalised version of the…” so I did some research however outside of the actual date and the details behind the 3 kids being murdered nothing else is factual but don’t take my word that was a quick google.
Look overall I really enjoyed this film it is well shot, very well set in regards to costumes etc acted supremely. With a very confronting and hard themes tackled very very well. I urge everyone to watch this and I am certain it will give people a new outlook on this issue and how this is still happening in a way. Compassion being there for one another regardless of who you are where you have came from or what the colour of your skin is. Fantastic film!
Wow I’ve had to come back here this won an Oscar for best cinematography I thought it was great but wasn’t expecting that Wowe! I’ll have to look into its competition.
