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Swingers, I guess...
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Swingers, I guess...
This was really, really great. So great, in fact, that I'm willing to not dwell too much on its use of the indie-cliche Ambiguous Ending. I can understand the nitpicks, but as crafted, I found it hypnotic from start to finish. A very special combination of performance and form. Perfectly cast, eloquently shot by Jody Lee Lipes, and beautifully edited. One of the most memorable American indies in recent memory.
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Hello there Kirby! FIrst time I've seen you in these parts.
A conclusive ending in a critically lauded indie? Yes. That would be quite unexpected and a refreshing change of pace.
I'm mostly kidding. But I do think the Ambiguous Ending's prevalence in indie cinema is fast becoming cliche. Some of these modern films make it work. Some don't.
Brokeback Mountain and A Serious Man are curious examples to use. While they're both technically Hollywood productions, these are a couple films that I really think embrace indie sensibilities (beyond their use of the Ambiguous Ending). Brokeback Mountain is really unlike anything else in Ang Lee's catalog. Certainly less polished aesthetically and more methodical and unconventional in narrative than his other work (The Ice Storm included). A Serious Man, too, is sort of an outlier for the Coens. I would say it's definitely the least accessible of all their films and definitely the one that seems the least concerned with commercial appeal.Quote:
Originally Posted by baby doll
I'm a big fan of both.
Again, one could say the same about conclusive endings: some films make it work, and some don't. Generally speaking, art movies are less inclined towards conclusive endings because they often pare away a lot of the redundancies that you find in mainstream filmmaking; with regards to Martha Marcy May Marlene, rather than showing the heroine and her family [] the movie leaves it to the viewer to infer what happens next.
Still collecting my thoughts, but I found this to be a gripping, well crafted film. I'm not sure if I like the ending or not-I imagine a second viewing whenever I get around to it will clear things up. Review forthcoming, eventually.
Very belatedly just got around to this before watching his next feature The Nest. If anything, MMMM could have pushed into abstraction even further, as the film's slippery structure reveals its precise method early on, and becomes less disorienting as it goes along, barring some sudden ruptures of violence. But Durkin's idea of PTSD as free-floating cinematic headspace is otherwise so potent and nightmarishly executed enough, and Olsen bridges her three identities of the title brilliantly, switching between the last two to imply a heartbreakingly confused search to get her first one back. 7.5/10