Netflixing the Summer Away, Part 1

Lots to catch up on.

Blue Valentine - Ryan Gosling and Michele Williams are terrific portraying a young couple struggling to make things work in a deteriorating marriage.  The movie alternates between the present day and six years prior, when the couple had just met and was beginning a relationship that was based on their faith that they would figure things out as they went along.  Both lead actors immerse themselves in their roles to a degree that you feel as if you're watching real people, which makes their conversations difficult to watch both then and now.  By movie's end they both know something is dreadfully wrong, but are at a loss as to fix it.  You're rooting for them at the same time you're saying to yourself, "make it stop."

Kingdom of Heaven - Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Orlando Bloom, an epic tale of 12th century crusades.  Knowledge of this period of history is not my strong suit, but based on what I've read, what Scott presents us is a highly fictionalized account of the defense of the kingdom of Jerusalem, and how Balian of Ibelin found his way to the city, and became the leader of its defense against Saladin and his fellow Muslims.  As the movie moves inexorably towards the climactic battle (think the Battle of Helms Deep in "The Two Towers"), we see the political machinations taking place behind the scenes, and learn why war was always inevitable.

The cast is uniformly strong, featuring such noted players as Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Eva Green, David Thewlis, and Martin Csokas.  Edward Norton is particularly good as the leper King Baldwin - you never see his face, but Norton - through using voice and eyes only - creates a deeply sympathetic and heroic figure.

Rabbit Hole - Like "Blue Valentine," "Rabbit Hole" tells the story of a couple struggling to keep their marriage intact.  In this case, they're figuring out how to live a life that has lost most of its meaning following the death of their 4-year old son.  The pain and grief are palpable, and everything that happens to the couple (portrayed by Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart), whether important in the scheme of life or not, becomes a battle against the pain, which seemingly never goes away.  Kidman is particularly good as the mother - you find yourself cringing at some of the things she says and does, but at the same time you can completely understand why she's saying and doing them.  The pain is still too close, blocking the way back to a normal life.  Again, the cast is strong, with outstanding performers like Dianne Weist and Sandra Oh in supporting roles.  Miles Teller is very strong as the teenage driver who accidentally hit the son, facing down his own grief and search for meaning in the comic book he's creating, a search for the meaning of life through the pages of a science fiction story.  Well done, all around.

American Horror Story

Gus Van Sant's "Elephant" is a terrifying film made even more so by the fact that there are large swaths of the film where nothing much happens.  You watch high school students during the course of their day at and around school, the students being followed in long-tracking shots reminiscent of the legendary Big Wheel scenes in "The Shining."  You know what is coming, so you watch these scenes with an increasing sense of dread, wondering what lies behind every corner and every door.  But as they unfold, they seem entirely ordinary.

Which is exactly the point.  Van Sant isn't out to make some bold statement about what causes mass shootings and murder, although there are shots where bullying takes place, where violent video games are played, and where weapons of destruction are casually bought on the Internet.  What he's saying is that this could happen anywhere - or anytime.  And that's why the film is so terrifying.  There is no sense to what happens - no one is picked out for anything in particular that they did.  It's nothing more than a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time - in particular, the large rooms like the library and the cafeteria, where there is no place to hide.  The sense of disorientation is enhanced when Van Sant, on more than one occasion, rewinds the timeline of the narrative and shows us a different perspective of the same event.

None of the kids in the movie were professional actors, and they are entirely believable.  They go about their days, and they react to the horror that envelops them in entirely realistic ways.  For the most part, they freeze where they are, reacting a sense of panic and disbelief so strong that it traps them like cement.  Yet even those demonstrating a presence of mind are not safe.  It's entirely random.

"Elephant" is not a fun movie to watch by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a very effective one.