Just out., March 06, 2009, Page 33, Image 33

OREGON S GAY/LESBIAN/BI/TRANS NEWSMAGAZINE
MARCH b 2009
in«:
keeping an
eye on local
growers n'
showers?
Watchmen exceeds expectations.
Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), but at the same time
he gets infatuated by self-destructive Michelle
(Gwyneth Paltrow). This deeply affecting,
character-driven story asks the question, “Do
you choose the one you love or the one who
loves you?” Isabella Rossellini is superb as
Leonard’s mother. Two Lovers also showcases
Phoenix’s remarkable talent; hopefully he will
find his way back to acting instead of being
the butt of Oscar jokes. Opens March 6 at
Cinema 21. B
—Yvonne P. Behrens
»Watchmen
Count me among those who waited with
trepidation to see what the cinematic version
of this revered comic book would be. After all,
when it was first released in 1986 and 1987,
I was a comic store retailer and foisted this on
customers as one of the best and most adult
deconstructions of superheroes ever created.
Watchmen has held that distinction in most
critics’ minds ever since and had become, in
Hollywood terms, “unfilmable.” With a dense,
multilayered story, flashbacks about every
character, plot elements that played with time
and space, and a nihilistic and dark world­
view, could Watchmen ever be faithfully—or
even semi-reasonably—translated to film?
Especially by Zack Snyder, who directed the
Dawn of the Dead remake and 300?
The comfort to the fears of the faithful is
that the Watchmen movie is everything they
could hope to see and more. It is extraor­
dinarily faithful not just to Alan Moore’s
original writing but to Dave Gibbons’ art
and designs as well. Snyder’s style replicates
the look and feel of a dynamic comic book
while using camera tricks and occasional
slow motion to capture iconic action im­
ages. The cast is significantly strong, es­
pecially Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan,
a quantum-powered superman losing his
grip on his own humanity, and Jackie Earle
Haley as the violent vigilante Rorschach,
who lost his humanity decades ago.
For those unfamiliar with the story, the
year is 1985, and the world has had costumed
adventurers since World War II (including a
lesbian one, briefly seen). But the arrival of an
actual superpowered being, Dr. Manhattan, has
changed everything, from the outcome of the
Vietnam War to the delicate balance of power
between the United States and the Soviet
Union. Now, with the world at the brink of nu­
clear destruction, the savage murder of one of
the heroes—the Comedian—leads Rorschach
and others to search for someone who may be
hunting them, even as Dr. Manhattan may
have decided to leave mankind to destroy itself
as he seeks peace on Mars.
The film is grim and depressing—and
long—which will likely limit the appeal to
mainstream cinema audiences. But for those
looking for a lengthy movie that feels so full
of story that it could be even longer, filled with
characters both dazzling to view and disturb­
ing to psychoanalyze, Watchmen will bring a
smile...and the knowledge, as in 1986, that the
very concept of superheroes has fundamentally
been changed. A
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