Die Hard

Die Hard (1988)

–“Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho.”

 

Once again, this Monday, I am reviewing a movie set at Christmas that doesn’t fall into the normal Christmas category. Instead of Kris Kringle, guardian angels, or Bing Crosby singing “White Christmas,” Die Hard provides thrills, chills and explosions, not to mention plenty of snappy one-liners courtesy of Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman.

In the ‘80s big budget action blockbusters were incredibly popular, especially those starring either Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone. They perfected a certain type of macho hero who was an iron man, practically invulnerable. Bruce Willis had been in several movies before Die Hard, but his biggest claim to fame had been as smart-talking PI, David Addison, in the hit television show Moonlighting. Willis took his gift for delivering witty dialogue and helped it give Die Hard’s hero, John McClane an approachability that previous ‘80s action men lacked.

A running gag throughout the film is for Alan Rickman’s villain, Hans Gruber, to call McClane a cowboy. This is an important distinction from the sort of soldier roles that Stallone and Schwarzenegger specialized in. A cowboy is a hero, obviously, but one that the audience empathizes with. McClane is a reluctant hero: a good man in the wrong place at the wrong time. Gruber taunts him by saying that John Wayne would not be going off with Grace Kelly at the end of this picture. McClane rightly points out that would be Gary Cooper, not the Duke. Besides, he adds, he always had a soft spot for Roy Rogers. McClane has the everyman quality of a Gary Cooper, but not the stoicism. Even more than John Wayne, Cooper epitomizes the strong and silent type. McClane opts for the “singing” cowboy…one who would definitely make more  noise, but also through music make himself more emotionally available than other cowboys.

This is why the first Die Hard movie is still enjoyable. McClane is vulnerable in ways that Rambo and his peers would never be allowed. McClane has come to Los Angeles to see his wife, Holly, (Bonnie Bedelia) and two children. Her career had taken off and she had relocated without him. We see that he is gutted to find out that she has reverted back to using her maiden name, and he lashes out at her when he doesn’t mean to. Just like the rest of us, he is capable of deep feeling as well as making mistakes. This is symbolized throughout the action parts of the film by his bare feet.

Alan Rickman always makes a marvelous villain and Gruber is one of his best. From the beginning we sense that Gruber is someone to be reckoned with – a man with plans within plans. His knowledge of upper class culture and expensive tastes are made obvious; in fact, he almost delights in rubbing our noses in them. It’s almost as though he’s poking fun at our assumptions, but his own pretensions at the same time. Rickman possesses the rare gift of being able to give a performance that allows us to see him think. There’s always a steely intelligence in the back of his eyes, and we know that this is a man we should never underestimate.

The other performances are also memorable. Bonnie Bedelia gives Holly strength and intelligence also. She’s capable of raising two children alone (if her husband can’t get his act together), and being a strong career woman as well. Holly is a natural leader, someone that others lean on for strength. We understand all too well why John is so terrified of losing her, either to Gruber or to his own stubbornness.

Reginald VelJohnson is great as the second half of the “buddy” equation. The twist here is that the “buddies” don’t actually meet until the end of the film. All the more reason to praise Willis and VelJohnson that they manage to project a camaraderie and chemistry between their characters when they’re not actually in the room together. Alexander Godunov, a former ballet star, gives his Karl a dangerous feline grace. He’s mesmerizing.

So, if you’re tired of white Christmases, Ralphie shooting his eye out, or the Ghosts of Christmas teaching Scrooge not to say, “Bah Humbug,” Die Hard may be your cup of tea. It’s brimming with action, but still has love of family held close to its heart.

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Love Actually

Love Actually (2003)

–But you know the thing about romance is people only get together right at the very end.

 

The cast of Love Actually reads like the British romantic comedy version of How the West Was Won: Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, Laura Linney and Bill Nighy. That’s a lot of A-list British talent (aside from Linney who is American) put together for the directorial debut of Richard Curtis, more famous for his scripts of hits like Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill. The premise is to take a look at love in different guises from the first flush of romance to the disillusionment of a possibly cheating spouse. There are eight different “couples” examined here and not all of them are romantic. Although the narrative is split betwixt the different plotlines like Short Cuts or Pulp Fiction, this is clearly not meant to be taken too seriously – thankfully, since Americans do not come off that well. Instead, we are treated to the ultimate romantic comedy full of sighs, sex, and occasional silliness.

On the romantic side we have two couples who follow the traditional rom-com patterns. The new British Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) upon being shown around Number 10 Downing Street for the first time is smitten by one of the young women, Natalie (Martine McCutcheon) working there. He finds this terribly inconvenient and distracting, especially when the President of the United States (played very threateningly by Billy Bob Thornton) takes too keen an interest in her as well. The other traditional couple is Jamie Bennett, a writer whose girlfriend was cheating on him, and the Portuguese woman who comes in to clean, Aurelia. Actually, I just realized that both men, in essence, fell in love with their housekeepers. Interesting parallel.

Then we have a most untraditional way of meeting your soul mate: both of you being body doubles/stand-ins. Judy and John meet on set and we follow their continued awkward, sweet and mundane conversation while they are asked to strip and assume racy positions for camera setups. Ironically, theirs is the most old-fashioned romance outside of work. They go on an innocent date together and attempt to actually get to know each other. After all, they’ve already seen all of the other stuff!

Emma Thompson and Laura Linney break the audience’s hearts. Linney plays  Sarah who has been in love with a co-worker named Karl for a long time. He suddenly seems to be paying attention to her, but she has to juggle her social life with her familial responsibilities. She’s a woman who has to make hard choices, and in many ways hers is one of the most realistic stories. Thompson is married to Alan Rickman’s character, Harry. Harry is being aggressively pursued by a young woman who works for him. I don’t think I’ve wanted to hit any of Rickman’s more famous villainous characters as much as I did Harry who made Emma Thompson’s Karen cry. Thompson’s performance here reminds one of her Eleanor from Sense and Sensibility. Both are practical women who repress their own heartaches in order to get on with the work in life. Seeing either of them break down results in homicidal instincts for the viewer.

A more unconventional relationship is that between Keira Knightley’s  Juliet and Andrew Lincoln’s Mark. Juliet has just married Peter, Mark’s best friend. She notices that Mark is uncomfortable around her, and assumes he doesn’t like her. She is surprised to discover that the reverse is true: he has fallen in love with her. The situation is handled with a surprising delicacy. There are no implications that Peter is not right for Juliet, and Mark has no wish to damage either the new marriage or the old friendship. This is a situation that can’t go anywhere without irreparable damage to innocent people which both Mark and Juliet recognize.

Bill Nighy plays an obnoxious ex-rock star, Billy Mack, who desperately needs a new hit. He cranks out a cover of “Love is All Around” and turns it into a Christmas song. To the mortification of his underappreciated manager, Billy Mack denigrates the song at every opportunity while also appealing to people to make it a number one song anyway. The relationship between Billy Mack and his manager is funny and poignant as Billy finally realizes that his manager is the only person who has been there for him through thick and thin.

The final couple is my favorite part of the movie: Liam Neeson’s Daniel and his stepson, Sam. Daniel and Sam have recently lost their wife/mother. Sam becomes reclusive and Daniel is afraid something is horribly wrong with him. As it turns out, he’s in love, which relieves Daniel. Sam points out “the terrible agony of being in love.” After reflection, Daniel has to agree. Isn’t he in deep mourning because of that same terrible agony? Not to mention that for the young, love is deathly serious business. Young Thomas Sangster who plays Sam is an utter delight. He completely captures the type of child who talks earnestly like someone far older than his actual age. His chemistry with Neeson is unforced and very heartwarming. They help pull each other through the bleak days of mourning and give each other love, hope and the occasional kick in the pants (or sappy romantic movie, whichever is required).

While this movie will never take the place of It’s a Wonderful Life, it is a heartwarming look at love in different guises set at Christmas. My only complaint would be that we poor Americans come off quite badly in this film (other than the lovely Laura Linney). While it’s understandable that British sentiment toward American politics in general and the American presidency more specifically would be a bit threadbare in 2003, the other female American characters other than Sarah, are sex-crazed airheads straight from caricatures of male fantasy. I cringed the entire time they were on-screen. Still, ignoring the bimbos, there’s a lot to be enjoyed.

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Sweeney Todd

Sweeney Todd (2007)

–These are desperate times, Mrs. Lovett and desperate measures are called for…

 

I’ve never seen the theatrical version of this musical, so I’m not qualified to comment on the merits of the transfer from stage to screen. I know the Sondheim fans (you know who you are) know much more about the history of the production than I do, so I shall confine myself strictly to Tim Burton’s interpretation.

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are names that go together like John Wayne and John Ford or Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro. Both men have made successful films without each other, but there’s always something special about their collaborations. Sweeney Todd, of course, marks the sixth time they’ve teamed up for a film. Sondheim’s musical provides them with perfect material that plays to their interests and strengths. The big question hanging over the whole production was whether Depp could sing. There are no doubts that he’s an exceptional actor, and he has been a musician longer than he has been making movies…but not as a singer. Frankly, with his overall talent if he could carry a tune I would have been fairly forgiving. I much prefer to see solid acting with weaker singing than weak acting with solid singing…but that’s a personal preference. It’s a relief to report that no forgiveness is necessary because Depp delivers on all counts.

Sweeney Todd was once Benjamin Barker who led a happy life with his wife and baby daughter. Evil, in the form of Alan Rickman’s Judge Turpin, destroys Barker’s paradise. Barker is falsely accused of a crime and sentenced to transportation. He has returned, looking for the family he left behind him. He is told that his wife is dead after being raped by Turpin and the judge now has his daughter as his ward. Barker’s mind is completely consumed by thoughts of revenge, and with the help of Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) he changes his name to Sweeney Todd and cuts a bloody swath through the customers in his barber’s chair.

Depp is appropriately dark, brooding and obsessed. Bonham Carter provides much of the film’s dark humor as she strives to help Todd and run her meat pie shop. Once again, Burton chose actors for his musical not singers and I applaud. The performances are all rich and complex with the exception of Jamie Campbell Bower’s Anthony who acquits himself well as the musical’s standard young lover. His part is not as interesting, but it provides a necessary touch of lightness to brighten the dark hearts of the other characters. Rickman has always been good at villains, but he’s exceptionally repulsive here as a judge with no mercy for other’s sins whilst having no remorse for his own. Sacha Baron Cohen is amusing as Pirelli, but behind his humor there is cunning. I was also very impressed with young Edward Sanders as Toby.

Sweeney Todd is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. The work-study student who works in my office who loves horror movies commented that this movie was too bloody for her. She’s got a point. This is a Grand Guignol horror set to music. Dante Ferretti’s production design is gorgeous and grimy. London and its environs, particularly the poorer sections of the city, are essential characters in the film. This is Dickens gone very, very wrong. Actually, it’s more Hogarthian than Dickensian. I’m reminded of Hogarth’s illustrations of The Rake’s Progress showing the underbelly of London’s nightlife. With the move’s emphasis on Mrs. Lovett’s gin, I’m reminded of what a problem that particular cheap alcohol became in the 18^th century. Water was contaminated, and so London’s poor lapped up gin like mother’s milk as we can see from Toby’s thirst.

As for the fears that Sweeney Todd taps into…well, the fear of being accused of a crime you didn’t commit is nothing new. It’s been exploited in Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo and dozens of Hitchcock films. Monte Cristo also explores that quest for revenge that motivates Todd/Barker. There’s the danger that we can get so lost in our own obsessions that we lose sight of our goals and ultimately destroy ourselves. Of course, there’s also the sickening feeling we get if we stare too closely at our hamburgers and wonder where they came from…

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