"Red State"

Red State - Written and directed by Kevin Smith, starring Michael Parks, Melissa Leo, and John Goodman - Rated R

Anton Chigurh would fit right in with this film.

Kevin Smith has been a self-proclaimed non-director for years. He has consistently commented that his films (Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma) were not terribly cinematic but rather dialogue-driven comedies. This is partly true as his early work featured very few camera movements. There is nothing wrong with still camerawork, but Smith never had much of a visual style. A viewer was much more likely to pick up on a Smith film from listening to a couple of minutes of it than they were from seeing how it was shot. With Smith’s first attempt at a non-comedy, Red State, he has found a style and it is very effective.

Red State is about the Cooper family, an extreme church group from the Midwest (think the Phelps family from the Westboro Baptist church but violent and heavily armed) and their run-ins with the government and some local teens. This film is better seen going in as fresh as possible, so the plot description will be left short. In fact, it would be very difficult to describe the plot of this film without giving much of it away, anyway. To say that Red State doesn’t follow a traditional narrative structure is an understatement…and that is a compliment. The film jumps around and benefits from the movement from character to character.

The narrative juggling of the film is accentuated by the editing. Smith’s early work had a very standard, slow look. Red State stands in stark contrast. The film seems to be in a hurry. There’s no time to wait for a character to get up from a desk to exit a building. Instead, a series of superfast cuts shows his short journey in a couple of seconds. The quick cuts of the film can be a little distracting at times, but for the most part they serve as a style to the film and they keep things moving nicely. The pace of Red State is one of its strongest aspects. The overall length of the film is refreshingly under 90 minutes, too.

If Kevin Smith trying out something other than comedy with a bit of style doesn’t pique your interest in this film (though it should), then the cast should put you over the top. Michael Parks (Kill Bill) is the standout as patriarch Abin Cooper. His sermons and mumbled singing add plenty of creepiness to the film and his overall presence keeps the film interesting. John Goodman gets to yell and be reserved in a fine role. Melissa Leo continues her strong streak as Abin’s daughter. The three teens (Kyle Gallner, Nicholas Braun, and Michael Angarano) get to start the film off on a relatively light note and they all do fine.

The varied cast (I’m leaving out multiple smaller roles) allows the film to go in many different directions. In other words, Red State is a movie capable of surprising the viewer. There are some shocking moments throughout the film. The action is brutal and easy to follow and sometimes it is very sudden. Smith, as it turns out, has a bit of an eye for a decent shootout and a foot chase.

Red State is not perfect or anything, though. It may simply stand out because Kevin Smith made it and it is a very unexpected film from a director like him. It’s hard to separate the fact that he made it so it is impossible to say if knowing this is a departure for him makes the movie more impressive. Surprising as the film may be, there are aspects that don’t jive so well. Stephen Root’s character, while aptly portrayed, came off more as a quick caricature than an actual character. And he seemed to delve into a bit of oddly placed slapstick humor later on. Dark, slapstick humor, but it still felt strange. And Michael Parks’ sermon was nice and creepy, but may have gone on a bit too long. But that is only because his character had been set up with exposition multiple times before he was rightfully introduced. The film may have been more impactful if there had been fewer scenes in which characters blatantly talked about the Coopers.

Minor problems aside (emphasis on minor), Red State is one of the better films of the year thus far. It may be more famous for its release strategy (I watched it on demand, but Smith had been releasing it on his own, taking it from city to city on a tour), but it is a film that deserves to be looked at on its own merits. It is entertaining, darkly funny at times, shocking, visually appealing, and many times it becomes thought provoking as it asks the viewer to decide what is right and what is wrong. And, religion is involved. The film could be divisive because of that fact alone. But if you just look at this as a film, you should end up being affected one way or the other by Red State, and few movies do that these days.

Random Thoughts (SPOILERS)

I bought this on demand for 24 hours and I felt the need to get in a second viewing before it expired.  I suppose that says as much about my opinion of this film as anything else.  I really wish it could stay in my DVR for a few days longer.  This film really stuck with me.

I am a fan of Smith's podcasting and am especially fond of Hollywood Babble-on with Ralph Garman.  I had been anticipating seing Garman as the silent Caleb for many months now and his appearance was not overhyped.  He was downright imposing and creepy in this film.  Garmy strong!

That Kevin Pollak head shot was out of nowhere.  What a great moment.

Smith’s cameo was great.  It was almost too much for the film to end on the funny line of, "Will you shut the f*** up?!" but after a second viewing, I was fine with it.  It's a bit of a statement, really, and I don't know about you, but I was wanting to yell the same thing.  And anyway, Silent Bob has to speak once by the end of the film.

This film looked flat out fantastic in HD.  I'm no camera buff, but whatever Smith was using made for an extremely clean and crisp picture.

Happy to see the "Breaking Bad" love (Smith is an admitted fan) with the casting of Badger (Matt L. Jones) and Skyler White (Anna Gunn).

What’s with the old Miller Lite bottles?  That design has been defunct for years now.  No big deal, but it did cause me to raise an eyebrow.

I love how Michael Parks says, "Coker-Cola."

The horn.  What a great way to end the climax of the film, and it was such an eerie sound.  I kind of wish the movie had gone that giant leap further and actually ended the film right there, possibly indicating that the Rapture had indeed started.  As cool as an ending that might make, it would also undercut the meaning of the film, though.  It would basically make the Coopers right, and I'm pretty sure that is not the message Smith would want to end the film with.

"The Fighter"

The Fighter - Directed by David O. Russell, written by Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, and Eric Johnson (story by Tamasy, Johnson, and Keith Dorrington), starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, and Jack McGee - Rated R

Much like Bardem before him, Bale gives the standout supporting performance of the year.

The Fighter has all the elements of a boxing drama that might lead people to worry about it being a clichéd, dull retread of every boxing movie from yesteryear, but the film dashes aside the notion that a boxing drama must be 100% drama and ends up being a surprisingly light, effective film featuring an amazing performance from Christian Bale.

The film is the true story of “Irish” Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his older brother/trainer, Dicky Eklund (Bale). The focus of the film is on Micky and his battle to get out of his brother’s shadow and become the champion his brother never was. That sounds simple and basic enough, but the family drama is what makes this film truly effective. Dicky still believes he has a chance of a comeback, and it seems like the rest of his family does as well. No one, aside from his father George, seems to care about Micky’s career.

It’s easy to see why Dicky gets all of the attention. Micky is the quiet type, just sitting back and letting everyone else take care of him. Dicky, on the other hand, is outspoken and charismatic, though he suffers from crack addiction. The film becomes interesting here for two reasons: the treatment of the addiction and Bale.

Drug addiction is usually shown in a very negative light, with terrible consequences. In The Fighter, though, it’s handled a bit differently…with a bit of comedy. Don’t take that the wrong way, the effects of drug use are still shown, but some of Dicky’s antics are humorous. Perhaps the filmmakers didn’t intend for some moments to be funny, but the end result is humorous at times. This is not a bad thing. Drug abusers in films tend towards the melodramatic; it was refreshing to lighten it up just a bit.

The main reason the character of Dicky works, though, is Christian Bale. Bale has given many impressive performances, but he truly inhabits this character. It is obvious from the first frame that Bale is doing something amazing in this film. Bale made every scene he was in better not just with his accent but with pure physicality. There is an element of weight loss, but it’s the way Bale moves in each scene. Whenever he’s talking to a character in a two shot, I kept wondering what Bale was up to when the camera wasn’t on him. While his character doesn’t get much action in the ring, he still manages to turn every conversation into a simulated boxing match. If he doesn’t get the Oscar for Supporting Actor it will be a travesty.

The other performances pale in comparison to Bale’s, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good. Wahlberg is decent and is notable for the fact that he is back in his range playing an athlete. Amy Adams handles herself well as Micky’s new girlfriend, though I saw her as just a more serious version of her character in Talladega Nights. Jack McGee has quite a few fun moments as George. And Melissa Leo gives yet another strong performance as Micky and Dicky’s manager/mother.

Leo represents the real conflict of the film. She favors Dicky over Micky no matter how many times Dicky screws up. The sincere shock on Leo’s face when anyone stands up to her ridiculous favoritism is enraging and effective. That, along with other situations, makes The Fighter an easy film to get caught up in and enjoy.

One aspect that is hard to truly enjoy is the boxing. Some of it is handled decently and the fights are easy to follow, which is the best you can expect from a film about boxing. Isn’t it time that boxing films ditch the Rocky sound effects, though? Every punch, even blocked punches, carried an overly loud sound effect that became distracting at times. Visually, though, the fighting is exciting and occasionally interesting.

The film is engaging almost throughout and because of that it is easy to get past some of the more melodramatic scenes. The light tone stays intact for the most part, though, only tilting off the rails momentarily.

The nearly comical tone of the film and the realistic family struggles make this an enjoyable film. Christian Bale elevates it to one of the year’s best. It can’t be stressed enough that Bale has given arguably the best performance of his career; no small compliment when you consider Bale’s past roles in American Psycho and Rescue Dawn. Enjoy The Fighter, but be awed by Christian Bale.

Random Thoughts (SPOILERS)

I liked the framing device of the documentary. Good way to bookend the film, especially since it starts with Bale on his own, bringing Micky in and ends with Dicky getting up to leave the camera alone with Micky.

The melodramatic scene I referenced above is the part when Dicky’s toddler son wants to watch the documentary. I don’t know, it just seemed over the top at that point.

I dug the soundtrack; it helped keep the tone consistent and it placed the film in its time period well (except for that Chili Peppers' song from Stadium Arcadium, though it sounded right for the scene).

It was interesting that Mickey O’Keefe, Ward’s real life trainer, played himself in the film. That role was not a cameo. I was impressed with him enough to look him up and find his other roles. I was quite surprised to find out who he was.

The funny aspects of drug abuse, just to be specific, were Dicky’s escape route from the crack house (out the window into the trash) and when he knocked out George. Describing it only makes it sound more serious, but those who see it will understand that it could be viewed as funny.