Eugene weekly., February 21, 2008, Page 16, Image 16

lyric from a forgotten Dylan song: I don’t
belong to her / I don’t belong to anybody …
I’m not there, I’m gone. (12/6/07)
a stirring adaptation of a superb book.
(1/10/08)
In the Shadow of the Moon
10. No End in Sight
8. In the Shadow
of the Moon
Lately, seeing “Ron Howard” attached
to a fi lm is a sure-fi re way to evaporate
my interest. But we owe a great deal to
Howard (Apollo 13) for helping promote
In the Shadow of the Moon, the spectacular
documentary of the Apollo astronauts.
What Wordplay did for crossword puzzles,
In the Shadow of the Moon does for the
space program. This is to say, it makes it
breathe. Except for a soap-box ending, it’s
a masterpiece, evoking pride, laughter and
astonishment. Footage unearthed after 30
years appears crisp, even recent, having
been remastered in high defi nition, but the
decision to forgo a narrator is what makes
Moon an experience you won’t soon forget.
After hearing the astronauts speak for
themselves, even the hardest cynics will
rediscover their inner patriot. (10/11/07)
9. Atonement
From its expert setup — one steamy
afternoon at an estate of repressed desires
— to the seamless effect of its multiple
and overlapping storylines, this is the
fi lm Merchant Ivory Productions always
wanted to make. But here, Joe Wright
(Pride and Prejudice), who at 35 is already
one of the few sure things in Hollywood,
directs. As young Briony, a dangerously
naïve aspiring writer, newcomer Saoirse
Ronan is equal parts innocence and
malice, easily holding her own against
the top-notch Keira Knightley and James
McAvoy. Balanced, intelligent and densely
imagistic but also spry and incredibly
tender, Atonement suggests jeopardy
everywhere while at the same time allows
us to believe in redemption. It is one of
the very best-designed fi lms this year,
with the keenest use of light — natural
and artifi cial — in recent memory. In this
adaptation of the Ian McEwan novel, only
the ending feels blunt; otherwise, this is
The forward-looking title, while accurate,
is a misnomer, given that No End in Sight
examines with precision and authority the
origins of our invasion of Iraq. The lack of
a strategic recovery plan — the fi lmmakers
spent more time on No End in Sight than
President Bush spent preparing for postwar
Iraq — doomed our mission from the
start. These and other failures are laid at
the doorstep of the White House, which
repeatedly ignored key personnel to promote
a pro-invasion agenda. The revelations are so
numerous they defy summarization. Among
its many highlights is the range of offi cials
willing to speak on camera, including Jay
Garner, a grizzled former general unable
to hide his dismay. A sharp, powerful and
defi nitive document, if one that turns a little
smug in the middle, No End in Sight is more
reliable than the administration it chronicles, a
fact I fi nd profoundly discomfi ting. (9/13/07)
THE OTHER TEN
The Assassination of Jesse James by the
Coward Robert Ford A demanding art Western
nearly three hours in length, Assassination
manages, by virtue of its performances, to hold
your attention throughout. Pitt’s Jesse James arcs
wonderfully, from laid-back to wildly paranoid,
even if it takes almost an hour for the fi lm to
coalesce around him. Casey Affl eck leaves behind
the muttering insouciance of earlier roles to give a mature, if earnest, performance;
along with Gone, Baby Gone , Affl eck had a year on par with Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Assassination recalls the nuance and poetry of McCabe and Mrs. Miller , its quiet beauty
superbly photographed by Roger Deakins, who also shot No Country for Old Men.
Away From Her The story of a couple, still sexy and fl irty into their 60s, forced apart
when one of them succumbs to Alzheimer’s. Elements of mystery emerge naturally
— is the affl icted truly deteriorating, or is this
revenge for a partner’s past indiscretion? —
but Julie Christie largely is responsible for the
surprising grace of Away From Her . Christie
is sensual and casually elegant throughout.
Away From Her misses when it tries for
the ethereal — some scenes are bizzarely
aglow, like waking dreams — but this is a
sweet, complex and stirring fi lm about the
presentness of the past and the elusiveness
of the present.
Charlie Wilson’s War Tom Hanks is at his easygoing best in Charlie Wilson’s War ,
as is Philip Seymour Hoffman, playing a CIA hothead who bursts in on a cloud of
expletives and proceeds to steal every scene he’s in. If the fi lm plays a little fast and
loose with the facts, well then, it’s a comedy. Julia Roberts resurfaces as strong, sexy
socialite who appears almost omniscient at times, while Amy Adams ( Enchanted ) has
great things ahead. A fi tting tribute to a fl awed but simple man who got America off
the fence when it counted, Charlie Wilson’s War is as delightful as it is unbelievable.
(1/3/08)
God Grew Tired of Us This is the story of the “Lost Boys of Sudan,” the refugees
who escaped extermination in their native country only to face lions, starvation and
bombing raids in the African desert. Almost as remarkable as their courage is their
facility with the English language, which they use with great respect and emotion. “I
don’t know where I am,” says one boy, “and where I am supposed to be in the future.”
When the boys are relocated to Pittsburgh and Syracuse, their experience is in turns
amusing and heartbreaking.
Hairspray Grease with a conscience. If
Traci Turnblad’s (Nikki Blonsky) plumpness
doesn’t alienate her, her progressive
values will: This is 1962 in unintegrated
Baltimore, but Traci, who lives to dance,
can see a future in which whites and blacks
shake their booty together. Exuberant and
purposeful, Hairspray is full of comedic
gems, largely (so to speak) in the person
of John Travolta, who crosses over to
play Traci’s mom in a size 60 fat suit. It’s
great fun. Racial mixing has never been handled more gently as in this fi ne fi lm about
wanting to be a regular when life gives you extra-large. (7/26/07)
16 FEBRUARY 21, 2008 EUGENE WEEKLY
Into Great Silence A documentary of simple majesty, if one that takes great
patience, Into Great Silence is a three-hour visit to the monastery of Grande Chartreuse.
The fi lm, like the 1,000 year-old monastery it chronicles, is rhythmic and repetitious,
but also beautiful and deeply felt. The monks speak very little, mostly to pray and sing,
a memorable exception being the “brief period of conversation” they’re permitted for
recreation on Sundays. If you can make it to the end of Into Great Silence , you will not
be disappointed.
Juno Comparisons to Little Miss
Sunshine are inevitable, but Juno
better resembles Garden State and
Rushmore ,
two
music-propelled
coming-of-age fi lms that captured,
at least briefl y, the attention of a
generation. But Juno is less whimsical
and more mature than those fi lms. Yes,
it’s about teen pregnancy, but Ellen
Page’s Juno is a beautifully complex
creature, literally growing before our
eyes with every passing scene. This
is a great fi lm about returning the
love you’re given and keeping your
promises — in other words, it’s about
growing up. (1/10/08)
Lars and the Real Girl What happens
when a special-needs young man takes a
sex doll for his girlfriend in rural Wisconsin?
You get a tender fable by the name of Lars
and the Real Girl . Screenwriter Nancy Oliver
( Six Feet Under ) strikes a perfect balance
between morality tale and offbeat comedy,
while Ryan Gosling builds on last year’s Half
Nelson with a stunning performance. Patricia
Clarkson ( The Station Agent ) contributes in a
supporting role as the wise doctor who keeps
the locals from overheating. (11/1/07)
Michael Clayton Workmanlike but brilliant
in places, Michael Clayton is the story of a man
in crisis. Actually, two men: 30,000 hours into
defending a carcinogenic weed killer, attorney
Tom Wilkinson breaks down and becomes a
whistleblower, at which point George Clooney is
called in to clean up the mess. Wilkinson is superb
in a supporting role, his every scene a revelation.
When he asks Clooney, “Then who are you?” he’s
simultaneously bonkers and completely lucid. Clooney breaks type to play a sleepy-eyed
fi xer who, after a lifetime of mistakes, vows to do something right. That a half-crazed
Wilkinson can lead him there is part of the beauty of Michael Clayton . (10/25/07)
Ratatouille The story of a rat who was born to cook. Not that culinary excellence
puts Remy, the hero of Ratatouille , in good stead with his fellow rodents, let alone
the humans at Gusteau’s, the restaurant where Remy cooks. Director Brad Bird ( The
Incredibles ) scores again with this tale of how easily we misunderstand what is new,
peculiar or different. Stand-up comic Patton Oswalt, a sophisticated maniac on stage,
steals the show as Remy. (7/12/07)
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