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Definition of Suspense Documentary explores classic cinema bromance by alex de vore @teamalex
In 1966, French filmmaker François Truffaut, known primarily at the time for The 400 Blows, wrote to the acclaimed master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, and invited him to discuss his entire body of cinematic work in great detail. Perhaps surprisingly, Hitchcock obliged, and the two would go on to spend a solid week discussing the man’s career in addition to Truffaut’s then minimal résumé. The resulting book, Hitchcock/Truffaut, was an unprecedented look into the mind of the man who took the concept of sus-
pense to dizzying heights with films like Sabotage, The Man Who Knew Too Much and, of course, Psycho and Vertigo. The book would include storyboardesque photography that illustrated Hitchcock’s unique cinematography and rule-bending aesthetics; to this day, it remains a sort of bible to filmmakers working within the thriller, drama and suspense genres. In his new documentary, filmmaker Kent Jones (A Letter to Elia) highlights the discussions from the book alongside pertinent audio clips from the meetings, as well as director commentary from filmmakers like Wes Anderson, David Fincher, Peter Bogdanovich
SCORE CARD
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meh
barf
see it now
not too bad
rainy days only
avoid at all costs
yay!
ing of Hitchcock/Truffaut is in how little Truffaut we are given. As a sounding board for Hitch, he proves a necessary and vital aspect to uncovering the many layers at play in the man’s many films, but whereas it would have been nice to be given information about how Truffaut actually put his inspiration and regard to use in his own films, the entirety of the doc boils down to little more than a celebration of Hitchcock. This is all well and good, but it hardly seems fair to publicize the film as an exciting meeting of the minds, when we only really get inside one mind (and barely, at that). Of course, it never hurts to be given a more cerebral appreciation for someone who was so powerful as a filmmaker and so important to our understanding and appreciation of the artform. For those who thirst for more Hitchcock information or even want to talk shop with their cinephile friends, Hitchcock/Truffaut is a must, but for anyone who already has the information or has read the book, you’ll find little more than a whole bunch of reinforcement for your very right, very important belief that Hitchcock was an absolute master. HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT Directed by Kent Jones With Bogdanovich, Scorcese and Anderson Center for Contemporary Arts 79 min. NR
SCREENER
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and Olivier Assayas. Through snippets of the actual conversations, we are given a heretofore unknown and intimate view into the production of the book while Hitchcock’s style, process and work ethic are laid bare. For fans of the silver screen, especially the golden era of the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s, Hitchcock/ Truffaut provides a cathartic and thrillingly expansive view into the ways in which Hitchcock flipped the script on the industry and forever altered cinematic storytelling. Take Psycho, for example. Within the first 35 minutes of the iconic film, the perspective and main character are radically altered in a way that had never before been attempted. Or look to Jimmy Stewart’s descent into obsession and pain in Vertigo and how, by the standards of the day, the subject matter was startlingly bleak and sexual. This was a body of work that not only conveyed totemic, dreamlike imagery in profoundly relatable ways, but that could also explore sinful obsession and eroticism and still maintain a skillful subtlety, an unparalleled series of films that inspired a generation of directors like Martin Scorcese to create masterworks not beholden to arbitrary standards or an unrealistically wholesome view of the world. In a word, Hitchcock was magic. While absolutely interesting to hear from top directors about how the works of a cinematic genius impacts their own processes, the ultimate shortcom-
HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT
“in a word, Hitchcock was magic”
THE BIG SHORT
“if you’re not pissed off, you’re not paying attention”
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
yay!
“a new chapter in the operatic space
yay!
THE HATEFUL EIGHT “one of 2015’s best films”
yay!
MACBETH “breathtaking performances elevate the film into rarefied territory”
tale of love, loss and lasers”
THE BIG SHORT
What’s that old saying about how if you’re not pissed off, you’re not paying attention? Obviously, this sentiment rings especially true in America, where the rich literally steal from the poor, and we know and allow it. The new film from director Adam McKay (Anchor Man), The Big Short, proves this beyond a possible doubt as we follow various bankers and fund managers who predicted and invested in the economic collapse of 2008. The true charm of the film isn’t in the stellar performances from big names like Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling or Christian Bale, but in the unspoken assumption that our heroes (or anti-heroes, as it were) believe they operate within a system that works. There is true doubt and disbelief as the characters finally absorb that the top brass at our nation’s banks not only were fraudulent criminals, they didn’t even care. This causes visceral and emotional reactions to these real-world events and reminds us as an audience, or as the American public, that there may not be an end when it comes to greed. Some of the imagery errs more toward the heavyhanded and the true morality of the main players is nebulous at best. Additionally, the breaking of the fourth wall, while enjoyably humorous, recalls The Wolf of Wall Street perhaps a little more than the filmmakers should have been comfortable with, but given the lengths to which The Big
Short goes to make its tedious and tiresome subject matter accessible, it becomes something akin to a PSA. This is the kind of film that should be shown in high school economics classes and a Cassandra-esque warning that these fuckers are still out there preying on your dreams to this day, despite that all-important truth that is all too often lost on the soulless and the greedy: You can’t take it with you. (ADV) Regal, Violet Crown, R, 130 min.
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
As Thursday wore on, SFR Art Director Anson Stevens-Bollen and I felt our Star Wars tickets burning holes in our respective pockets. Obviously the new installment from sci-fi overlord JJ Abrams had been highly anticipated by a couple of super-nerds like us, but even more than that, it represented a possible turning point for the series after the garbage of the prequel trilogy. Now that we’ve seen the film, I am happy to report that it has essentially erased any concerns we may have had about the franchise while opening an exciting new chapter in the operatic space tale of love, loss and lasers. Turns out the only thing Star Wars really needed was less George Lucas, and JJ Abrams has cobbled together an exciting mélange of the old and the new into a tight and action-packed story. The Empire, as we all know from Return of the Jedi, is no more, but a new shady and evil sect has risen in
their place. The First Order is basically the same thing—maybe a little more Nazilike—right down to the storm troopers, the mysterious and monstrous puppet master who pulls the strings from his throne and is like, I dunno, royalty or something, maybe, and the masked super-villain, Kylo Ren, who is so totally evil, but maybe there’s something about his past we don’t know yet that might explain why, and we’ll just have to be patient and find out. Anyway, everyone is looking for Luke Skywalker, who has disappeared under mysterious circumstances, and the fate of the galaxy rests on the shoulders of a precocious BB-8 droid that gives R2-D2 a serious run for his money, a beautiful lady scavenger who also has a mysterious past and a storm trooper in the midst of a crisis of conscience. Yeah, it’s badass. And far more complex than most of what Lucas had going on, not counting the baffling and pointless intergalactic political intrigue stuff we all had to suffer through. … Jar Jar Binks in the Senate? Shut up. We shan’t delve into further details so as to not spoil it for those who haven’t been yet, but suffice it to say that some serious shit goes down. The true genius of Abrams’ vision is in the mirroring of certain aspects from the original trilogy while constantly expanding the details in satisfying ways. The battle of light vs. dark is the oldest story in existence, but through artfully CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
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JANUARY 6-12, 2016
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