In which I am struck by my own obliviousness

Today over on Twitter, someone in my feed (@alxhuls) had thrown out a request: what are some good film scores for background music while working? He retweeted a response that came in to him (from user @Jim_Lochner) that mentioned scores by Rachel Portman. The two thoughts that immediately went through my head: hmm, have I heard of Rachel Portman? and OHMYGOD have I ever heard of ANY female film composers??

Obviously there are women working as film composers out there. And in my own movie geekdom, I don’t focus on that aspect of film too much—except for the Home Alone score on CD I got as a gift last Christmas (my friends know me well), I haven’t owned a film score since I perma-borrowed my mom’s cassette of Somewhere in Time when I was a moody 14-year-old. I’m not sure why this has never been a bigger part of my film appreciation; certainly I notice bad music, but when the music is good it seems to just fuse with all of the elements and cease to be a concern for individual attention from me. But, despite my tendency to gloss over this aspect of a film, I watch awards shows. I see the composers who do the big films, who get the recognition and the nominations. I know that it’s an important part of the Hollywood machine.

So why have I never noticed the lack of women in the group?

I’m a feminist and a movie fan. These are my two Big Things. I talk about this stuff all the time. I write a column about films directed and written by women! I frequently rant about the abysmal ratios of male to female characters in film! But I had literally never thought about the fact that the film composers getting showered with accolades at the Oscars every year are almost exclusively men.

Written by someone else, someone with a better knowledge of film scores in general, this post could easily be one highlighting all of the great work that I am sure is being done by women, lamenting the lack of attention and the fact that the big jobs consistently go to the same few men. I would love to read such an article. But this post, instead, is an opportunity for me to remind everyone, including myself, that sometimes a lack of diversity is not because of malicious intent, but because of just not noticing. This is even more dangerous, in the grand scheme of things. Things that are “the norm” can blur into seeming natural. Louder discussions—such as about the position of women executives and writers and directors, that I am so fond of talking about—can keep other issues from surfacing. Movie-loving feminists can watch the Oscars religiously and not give a thought to the fact that it’s been eleven years since a woman (yes, Rachel Portman, for Chocolat) was nominated for Best Original Score. If I didn’t notice this while presented with it right before my eyes, is someone (who is probably a man) in the market to hire one individual composer for one individual film likely to give it much thought?

Noticing exclusion, noticing a lack of diversity—it takes work. It takes work because even the most aware of us are inundated with instances of the opposite in a manner that indicates it’s no big deal. That shit gets in your head, whether you want it to or not. I recently had a guy tell me I had “blown his mind” by pointing out that every single one of his favorite books had a male author. That’s exactly how I felt after reading those tweets today. That’s what we’re working with.

Let’s all try to keep it in mind.

 

Best of not-2011

It’s time again for my favorite post to write all year. As has become a tradition, this is a list of the ten best films I saw in 2011, that weren’t made in 2011. Though I’ll be putting together the traditional top ten list over on the MacGuffin shortly (just a wee bit of catch-up still to do), this list is more fun because no one can tell me how horrible I am for leaving something off of it. It is mine and mine alone, reflecting my year of movies outside of the theater.

Speaking of the MacGuffin…because so much of my non-new-release viewing time is dedicated to films I’ll potentially be writing or recording about for the site, almost everything I mention here has been discussed in some fashion over there. I’m including links for those who may be interested. Articles and Top 5s are generally pretty spoiler-free; however, you should definitely see the movie in question before listening to any roundtables.

Without further ado…

10. sex, lies, and videotape (1989)

I did a lot of catching up with Steven Soderbergh’s filmography before Allen and I discussed our Top 5 Soderbergh films. His first film as a writer/director, the impressively-cast sex, lies, and videotape, beautifully displays the level of control that has made Soderbergh the kind of filmmaker who can jump from genre to genre with ease. The characters, with their particular quirks and fetishes, click for the viewer instantly, never seeming like they were created just for the purpose of having the conversations that make up the film. Aspiring filmmakers, take note: twenty-two years later, this is still how you make an indie movie that is essentially just people talking in rooms.

9. Fish Tank (2009)

As far as movies about angry adolescents go, Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank might be the best I’ve ever seen. 15-year-old Mia, masterfully played by newcomer Katie Jarvis, has many reasons to be angry, some of which she maybe has brought on herself, some that are out of her control. When she crosses paths with her mother’s new boyfriend—played by Michael Fassbender just before he became Incredibly Desirable Hollywood Star Michael Fassbender—things explode. For more thoughts, especially on that performance by Jarvis, see the piece I wrote about Fish Tank in March.

8. Dead Alive (1992)

I wrote a bit about Peter Jackson’s icky, hilarious, no-seriously-icky horror film during this year’s cascade of pre-Halloween horror coverage. This film provides the very definition of taking things to the next level. Everything in its story of a sort-of zombie invasion in 1950s Wellington goes about ten notches past where you could imagine it might, and then cranks it to eleven, with incredibly impressive, non-CGI special effects. Now that I’ve finally seen it, this is sure to be one I revisit each Halloween.

7. The Thing From Another World (1951)

Howard Hawks made this first adaptation of John W. Campbell’s 1938 novella “Who Goes There?”, and though the tone and the monster are much different than in John Carpenter’s The Thing, I liked it just as much. When done well, the horror premise of being trapped in a remote/inaccessible location with a monster is timeless, and getting to see it with 1950s banter zinging all around at the same time is a special treat. We had a particularly fun roundtable discussion for this one.

6. Paris is Burning (1990)

I recently visited Jennie Livingston’s documentary on the “ball scene,” a subculture of 1980s gay and transgender groups in New York City, mostly minorities. The film explores this world of self-organized elaborate competitions called balls—like fashion shows, but with much deeper and more sprawling significance. The competitions are incredibly fun to catch a glimpse of, and the key figures interviewed by Livingston offer open commentary on the meaning of it all, both for the community and for them personally. The film is an amazing snapshot of a unique moment in American LGBT culture.

5. Holiday (1938)

I saw this Katherine Hepburn/Cary Grant gem for the first time only a few days ago, for a roundtable discussion that just posted today. Given my undying devotion to that other Hepburn/Grant collaboration by George Cukor, The Philadelphia Story, I have no idea why it took me so long to see this one. No surprise, it’s a one-liner filled, charm-soaked delight, as Grant finds out that his new fiancée (Doris Nolan, doing a fine job of being not-Katherine-Hepburn) is incredibly rich, and bonds with her self-described “black sheep” of a sister, who’s not too good at fulfilling her high class obligations. Throw in a scene-stealing Lew Ayres as drunken younger brother Ned, give the ladies plenty of opportunities to wear ridiculous gowns and Grant a chance to show off his vaudevillian tumbling skills, and wrap it up with Hepburn’s trembling jaw: it’s everything I ever want in a classic Hollywood film.

4. Trouble Every Day (2001)

As I wrote about in October, Trouble Every Day was the sort of film I could not get out of my head after watching. Claire Denis, easily one of the most interesting and talented film directors working today, incorporates elements of the horror genre into her extremely visual storytelling style, resulting in a story of searing images that, even after years of horror watching, is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The relationships of two couples—one affected by mysterious violence, the other teetering with paranoia even while in the literal honeymoon phase—entwine to reveal a story about monsters that, like all the best stories about monsters, is really about humanity and its darker impulses.

3. Brothers (2004)

Susanne Bier made one of my very favorite films of all time, the number one film on this list last year: After the Wedding. Her film previous to that masterpiece was Brothers, the story of a damaged man returning home after having been presumed dead while at war, and the complications that arise when it becomes clear that his wife and his brother bonded over their shared loss. Like other Bier films, this is a showcase for acting, and all three principal players (Ulrich Thomsen, Connie Nielsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas) are phenomenal. The Hollywood remake that came in 2009 suffers from making the characters much younger and from feeling melodramatic without Bier’s magic touch; see the original if you haven’t. (I wrote about Brothers for my very first Bird Watching column, which ambitiously states that I’ll be writing it every week. Oh, past Brandi and your lofty goals.)

2. I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978)

Chosen by former MacGuffin writer John for our first roundtable, this early effort from co-writer/director Robert Zemeckis is easily one of the funniest films I’ve ever seen. For added delight: it’s mostly ladies doing the funny stuff. Oh sure, the teen girls on a quest to see The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show have some boys in tow as well, but it’s really their show. Wendie Jo Sperber, Nancy Allen, Theresa Saldana, and Susan Kendall Newman all get their moments in the spotlight, and bits of physical humor from Sperber and Allen reach levels of perfect over-the-top lunacy. Months before I got to revel in the manic bliss that is Bridesmaids, this film was a perfect reminder that there have been women wanting to do that kind of comedy for years, if only they had the opportunity.

1. A Single Man (2009)

Despite my love for Colin Firth, I had missed his Oscar-nominated performance in Tom Ford’s beautiful film, and remedied that early this year. Though I am pleased that Firth won the next year for The King’s Speech, his work here is more impressive to me, because the emotions have to stay even more contained at first, before outbursts that are even more painful to watch. As a gay man in the 1960s who loses his long-time boyfriend to a car accident, Firth plays the aftermath to perfection. Tom Ford’s direction is visually impeccable, but wisely puts most of the focus on that devastating lead performance. Exceptional.

Previous lists:

Best of not-2010
Best of not-2009
Best of not-2008

“You know good and damn well what I’m talkin’ about.”

Today, Ridley Scott woke up and found himself to be 74 years old. Crazy times, huh? I’m sure most people think of him primarily as the man behind the camera for Alien and Blade Runner (and now as the dude whose weird to-do list keeps including a remake and/or sequel to the latter film, maybe?), but my personal favorite of his work will always be Thelma & Louise. I don’t call it a perfect film, but there simply isn’t anything out there that hits the same spot for me. It showcases what feels like a real female friendship (as rare in film as a spotted eagle sighting on a leisurely nature stroll), takes real problems that females face about how they are treated and perceived in society seriously, and is also is a kick-ass road movie with explosions and hot male eye candy. There’s just no other movie like it, right? (Recommendations are very welcome if anyone has some!)

Anyway, happy birthday Ridley Scott, you old son of a gun. Thanks for bringing this script to life. This scene, most of all:

“You say you’re sorry, or I’m gonna make you fuckin’ sorry.” HEAVEN.

Side note: Every six months or so I find myself wandering to Thelma & Louise screenwriter Callie Khouri’s IMDb page, hoping that there will be some upcoming project there that sounds as terrific and smart and badass as this film, but I’m always disappointed. Something for 2013 called A Season in Central Park with Ronald Bass and Aline Brosh McKenna also listed as writers? There’s no way that’s not a rom-com…not that there’s anything wrong with that…but…Callie! You wrote Thelma & Louise! I want some more foul-mouthed ladies with guns, yo. Get on it.

Top 5 Movies I Might Watch Today If I Feel Like It

It’s Halloween and I have the day off from work. I’m obligated to watch some movies that are in the holiday spirit, am I not? Right this second I’m watching Pale Rider as part of some MacGuffin-related Clint Eastwood research. It is not a horror film (except Clint Eastwood has said his character in it, The Preacher, is pretty much a ghost. So there’s that?). Why am I watching a Western?! I need some horror! Here are my main candidates for the day:

5. A Chinese Ghost Story

Because I rented this for a roundtable possibility and then we didn’t use it (hear us talk about what we watched instead, Cemetery Man, here!). I think it is due to Scarecrow tomorrow, so I better get on it. (I am terrible about renting things that I can have for a week and then not watching them until the last second. Like, in the two hours before I have to go to store to make the 8 PM deadline.) Also, it sounds pretty sweet. “1987 Hong Kong romantic comedy horror film”? It won’t be boring, I’m sure.

4. House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Because of Netflix streaming! And because of Vincent Price! And because it is 74 minutes long, leaving me time for other filmic adventures! It also feel like a pure, “Halloween-y” movie to me. There’s nothing like a good ol’ black & white haunted house.

3. 28 Days Later…

Because I own it, I love it, it is one of my favorite films of all time, I never get tired of it, and it is just pure, great storytelling. It is one of those films where if I start thinking about it, I’ve created an itch that won’t go away until I just watch it again.

2. Paranormal Activity

Oh my god, I should not have noticed that this movie is streaming on Netflix. Because it scared me so bad the first time around, I put it on my Top 5 Great Films I’ll Never Watch Again list! And I should stay true to my word. But, it’s daytime? And I know what to expect now? Oh god no, I shouldn’t do it because nighttime will come again and I’ll still be in a place which is how all ghosts and demons get you, as evidenced in this film. Aaaarggggh.

1. Thirst

Because I have had this Chan-wook Park film on disc from Netflix since January of 2010. Not even kidding. Going on two years of anticipation with this one! And I can handle vampires, because vampires are not real. Not like the ghosts and demons that will kill me in my bed if I watch Paranormal Activity again.

May you all watch something great today, and not have nightmares tonight.

Fictional characters responsible for my unrealistic expectations of potential boyfriends: through the years.