VOL. NO.
19
LIFESTYLE
THE NANYANG
07 CHRONICLE reviews
ALBUM NO ELEPHANTS Lisa Germano (Alternative Rock)
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MUSICAL DEVIANT: Lisa Germano experiments with electronics and static sounds in no elephants.
PHOTO: INTERNET
WHEN a neighbour called the police on Lisa Germano for crying too much over her dead cat, she wrote a song to mock his actions. Ev ident ly, penning radiofriendly songs isn’t Germano’s specialty. “I don’t make records you can put on at a party. It’s not that kind of music,” she said. Her unapologetic style is already evident with the opening song Ruminants as the album introduces listeners to Germano’s personality. Her trademark hushed vocals make even the most random lyrics — “Graceful/ Sonata/ Sugary Cover/ Hogwash/ Come On” — strangely intimate. The compelling mood of the album culminates in its interlude, Dance of the Bees. The track is a musical collage with its overlay of static sounds, acoustic guitar r iffs, and the beeping of a rejected call, creating a surprisingly addictive rhythm. But the album is more than an experimentation of lyrics and sounds. Germano reveals her sensitive side too, singing about matters close to her heart.
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In a bittersweet, reminiscing track about falling out of love, the 52-year-old conveys her anguish in …And So On. Despite the literal expressions used (“I’m sad because I love/ I love you every day”), the song manages to tug at the heartstrings with its slow piano accompaniment. The same melancholia from the warm tones of Germano’s piano is also evident in A Feast as she cries for help against animal cruelty: “What of the foie gras, God help us all/ How in the world?/ How in the world?” At first, the seemingly disparate acoustic and electronic elements in the album may leave a listener disconcerted. Over time, however, it gets easier to appreciate Germano’s choice of diverse sounds as a form of expression. Like a book, no elephants requires listeners to take time to slowly work through her music. Ultimately, Germano communicates her confusion in trying to understand the world as she sees it. Unfortunately, towards the end of the album, the melodies begin to sound repetitive. For this reason, the penultimate track Last Straws For Sale is especially forgettable and uninspiring. Overall, though occasionally ambiguous, no elephants does encompass some layers of meaning and musicality. It just requires patience to scrutinise and grasp everything Germano has to offer.
-Goh Chiew Tong
FILMS THE SESSIONS
DRAMA (R21) John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William Macy 95min
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isabled-sex comedy-dram a s a r e u ncom mon i n Hol ly wood ci nema, but director Ben Lewin ensures The Sessions is a fine example of its kind. The movie is a rare gem in an industry fond of sexualising intimacy. It narrates the true story of Mark O’Brien (John Hawkes), a journalist and poet paralysed neck down by polio since age six. O’Brien’s physical condition leaves him trapped in a giant iron lung for life support, a hindrance to his love and sex life. At 38, he decides it’s finally time to lose his virginity, and hires a sex therapist to help him do so. Playing a bedridden character, Hawkes has no room for bodily movements. Yet relying only on facial expressions, Hawkes manages to give O’Brien a child-like vulner-
ability. Glassy-eyed and insecure about his decision to lose his virginity, his unrestrained emotions convince audiences of a disabled person’s emotional capacity. Hawkes also inserts a dry selfdeprecating sense of humour into O’Brien. While in a church, he talks with sarcasm and cynicism: “I’m definitely a true believer, but I believe in a God with a sense of humor… One who created me in His odd image.” Oscar-winning actress Helen Hunt plays O’Brien’s sex surrogate, Cheryl Cohen-Greene. With Hawkes being in a bed throughout the film, Hunt exudes grace, confident of her body. There is nothing pretentious about Hunt’s performance, leaving the audience in awe of CohenGreene’s patience, kindness and ease with full-frontal nudity. As she strips bare under the watching eyes of O’Brien, the audience becomes even more aware of her every movement, nuanced and purposeful. Hunt also delivers with great control the increasing emotional complexity Cohen-Greene experiences as the sessions progress. When O’Brien’s love poem for her ends up with her husband, Hunt’s portrayal of a seemingly fearless woman, burdened by her
BIRDS AND BEES: Helen Hunt plays a sex therapist, hired by Mark O’Brien (John Hawkes).
patient and the responsibilities of a mother and wife, shines. Put together, Hunt’s gentleness and Hawke’s endearing performance make the sex scenes unexpectedly tender. Lewin employs clever cinematography to highlight the intense moments, particularly the use of
close-up shots during moments of physical intimacy — communicating the novelty of the sexual experience for O’Brien and making the process movingly humane. In just over 90 minutes, the film sheds light on the thin line bet ween love and desire, and bet ween prostitution and sex
PHOTO: INTERNET
therapy — all with due honesty and caution. While the film does not moralise or provide any easy answers, it’s an honest portrayal of the disenfranchised as individuals finding their way as they seek —and make — love.
-Goh Chiew Tong