PAGE 16 • September 26, 2013 • The Montclarion
Arts & Entertainment
Prisoners
Recapping The Emmys Surprises and tributes
themontclarion.org
A captivating drama Joseph Davis-Lees Contributing Writer
Victoria Nelli Staff Writer
The fall movie season has hit the ground running, and thank goodness that it has. From director Denis Villeneuve is the fall movie season’s first hit, Prisoners. Straight out of a positive reception from the Toronto Film Festival just a few weeks ago, it has, without any curiosity or doubts, earned its good reputation. Led by a fantastic cast and intricate directing, Prisoners tells a daunt-
Denis Villeneuve deserves a lot of credit for an excellent sense of character, direction and composition as he drives this cruel and powerful story. This film is hard to watch in the best possible way. Watching these characters go to dark lengths to gain the information they need isn’t pretty, but the fact that the film’s direction allows the actors to evolve and not hold back is what makes the movie so gripping.
and Gyllenhaal lead the company through two different but equally impacting performances. Jackman digs deep to put forth the true and painful agony that comes when facing the abduction of a child. The way Gyllenhaal balances the ethics of his work and his passion to find the missing children is strong and makes for very impactful viewing. Terrence Howard, Voila Davis and the always
Photo courtesy of AP Images.
Fallon and Neil Patrick Harris onstage.
Neil Patrick Harris started the show off with a bang. Even though the bit with all the previous hosts got old really quick, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s cameo made the show a thousand times better. Even so, Harris did a fantastic job hosting. From the Tony Awards to last night’s Emmys, he just knows what the crowd and the people watching at home want to see. He makes fun of himself, which is really amusing and something a lot of people enjoy. Since the whole cast of Veep is tremendously talented, it was no surprise at all that Julia Louis–Dreyfus took home the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Her co-star Tony Hale also took home Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series earlier that night. A short bit featured Anna Chlumsky, Dreyfus and Hale portraying their Veep characters and couldn’t have been more on point. It lightened up the mood to a very awkward and somber evening. The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons receiving the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series was no surprise at all, since he wins every year. Personally, I would’ve been happier seeing someone like Jason Bateman for his role on the Netflix revival of Arrested Development or even Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock. “This may be the saddest Emmys ever, but we couldn’t be happier,” said Steven Levitan, the cocreator of Modern Family. The sad atmosphere he was referring to was the very beautiful but tragic tributes throughout the night featuring the deceased co-stars presented by Edie Falco of Nurse Jackie and Jane Lynch of Glee. Many were upset that the producers of this year’s Emmys strayed from the usual “In memoriam” tributes done in the past, when they played a slideshow of the deceased and have an acclaimed artist perform music over it. This year was very selective of who was honored, and it was very uncomfortable for viewers, let alone attendees in the Nokia Theater. The winners were a bit shocking in some of the more recognizable categories. Merritt Wever took home Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy for her work on Nurse Jackie. Many were surprised by her win over the other six very qualified nominees.
Anna Chlumsky from Veep is outstanding and would have been a great surprise if she were to have won. One of the most talked-about wins was Jeff Daniels for his portrayal of Will McAvoy on The Newsroom. Critics and fans alike assumed the Emmy would go to Bryan Cranston for his raw, insane and inspiring portrayal of Walter White on AMC’s Breaking Bad. When Daniels’s name was called, the crowd was in shock, as was Daniels. Both of those shows are incredible and both worthy of Emmy praise, yet Daniels absolutely deserved the win. The Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series win was well deserved and obvious. Although fans on Twitter and other social media sites assumed Kerry Washington would take home the gold, Claire Danes took home the top prize, and for good reason in her work on Homeland. She won last year and if she continues to shock us with her convincing portrayal of Carrie Mathison, she will probably take it home again next year as well. The top honors last night had pretty predictable winners. Best Comedy Series went to (shocker) Modern Family, probably one of the most deserved awards of the night. Yes, they win every year, but for good reason. Modern Family is not only the currently best written comedy but also has the strongest cast and production team. For Best Drama Series, the winner was the Vince Gilligan-produced fan favorite Breaking Bad. The cast was thrilled, as was everyone watching at home. In its last season and last episode airing this Sunday, no show was more deserving. Winning Best Drama was a wonderful way to end the era of Heisenberg.
Paul Dano opposite Jake Gyllenhaal. ing story that captivates you through horrifying suspense and powerful character drama. Prisoners tells the unfortunate story of what every family fears above all else: the kidnapping of their innocent child. Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) can’t sit still as Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) finds his power to return his and his neighbor’s children as well as his own. However, proceedings go astray when Dover begins to take the law into his own hands when he believes the police aren’t doing enough to find their children. It’s a gripping tale of perseverance and personal endurance that comes when all hope seems lost.
Photo courtesy of empireponline.com
The mastery shot composition that cinematographer Roger Deakins brings to the film allows for the steady build-up of suspense and mystery that adds to the film’s dreary world. The script has a tendency to fall into clichés at points throughout the film, but thankfully not enough to make you think twice about the characters and their motives. It should be pointed out that Prisoners has quite the runtime at 153 minutes, which does lead to some pacing problems, particularly in the second act. Each member of the cast puts forth a naturally powerful and fascinating performance in this film. Jackman
incredibly talented and fantastic Paul Dano do stand out as supportive cast members. The ensemble brings the story to such vivid and cruel life and there are no weak links. To put it simply, Prisoners is a brilliantly produced portrait of mystery and drama that will keep you hard on the edge of your seat as the story unfolds. Packed to the brink with powerhouse performances from an outstanding cast, it’s one of those movies that can keep its audience engaged and engrossed. Minus a few pacing and script issues, I give Prisoners 4 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it to the more mature moviegoer.
Penultimate Suspense
Reaching the end of Breaking Bad Tom Mika Contributing Writer
In the pilot episode of Breaking Bad, Walter White stands before his zoned-out, thankless high school students with a Bunsen burner and a flint spark lighter. He lectures about the meaning of chemistry or in his words, the study of change. “It’s the constant, it’s the cycle. It’s solution, dissolution, just over and over and over. It’s growth, then decay, then transformation.” At this year’s Montclair Film Festival, I had the good fortune of attending a Q&A with the show’s cinematographer Michael Slovis, who attributes the look of the show to the westerns of Sergio Leone (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West.) The homage is evident in the many wide-angle shots of the New Mexico desert vistas, which often isolate a single character in the frame. Similarly, the often slow pacing of the show which forces the viewer to be patient and observant is a characteristic of Leone’s movies and an uncommon television practice. While the show sometimes moves at a gradual rate, it explodes with tense energy during pivotal action as if the editing itself were a chemical reaction. In those less-than-humble beginnings, White was an underpaid, overqualified
chemistry teacher with the noticeability of a faded inspirational classroom poster. In two years, he transforms into a ruthless, money-starved crystal meth kingpin with a pension for building science fair projects that will kill you and whose fashion statement is a pork-pie hat. Over the course of its five seasons, Breaking Bad has built a broad, devoted fan empire whose word-ofmouth spread faster than Heisenberg’s crystal blue meth and whose addiction to the show is just as strong. The show, a recent Emmy winner for Best Drama Series brings its story to an end Sunday night, is in the zeitgeist and at the forefront of quality television. Created by Vince Gilligan, the success of the show owes so much to the creative elements behind it. It’s not just for the writing, whose meticulous attention to detail and subtleties are as clever as its twisting, didn’t-seethat-comin’ plot points. It’s not just the remarkably vivid, nuanced characterizations of its actors (Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Bob Odenkirk). Stylistically, the show is a rich exercise in craftsmanship. The show also makes metaphorical use of its color palette. Take for instance, the colors
worn by Walt and Skylar during this past season, who often wore light, neutral layers over blue, as if trying to mask their criminally blue past with purity and innocence. The blue of the pool which reflects into the Whites’ home at night also serves as a looming, incessant reminder of the meth. The red tarp at the bottom of Walt’s storage unit cash dune is like a pool of blood. Ultimately, the series is a consistently excellent reminder of what happens when a show or movie fires creatively from all cylinders and never loses sight of its story. What a tragic story it is – one that is clearly uncompromising and has no plans for a tidy, happy ending. My predictions for the finale? A bloodbath, I’m sure. Maybe Walt will kill Todd and Uncle Jack. Maybe Walt will save Jesse and Jesse will kill Walt. Maybe Walt will kill his alter ego (Heisenbergwith the ricin.) Maybe Todd will kill Lydia after too many date rejections. Maybe baby Holly will kill Walt’s old Gray Matter partners and put their heads on the back of a tortoise. There will be blood and lots of dread. But no matter what happens, the order of Walter White’s change will be growth, transformation and then decay.