A FEW (MORE) WORDS ON THE KILLER *UPDATED*

The Killer has become my comfort movie. It's what I throw on when I can't sleep or just need something to watch. I don’t think it’s a masterpiece or any great cinematic achievement. It’s just a fun slick hitman thriller (emphasis on “fun” as there’s quite a bit of underrated humor that flows all throughout the film). I shared my initial thoughts on it last year (click here to read), but now that I’ve watched it ten more times or so – I have a little more to say.

First of all – this post is absolutely an excuse to share my throwaway Hitchcock/Fincher comparisons that didn’t make it in to my initial review (my main twitter account is still shadow-banned so perhaps someone will actually see my movie comparisons here).

I think the best Hitchcock is when Hitch is peeping - David Fincher, HITCHCOK/TRUFFAUT

Vertigo/
The Killer

Vertigo / The Killer

Vertigo /
The Killer

Rear Window /
The Killer

Rear Window /
Vertigo

Rear Window /
Vertigo

Throwaway comparisons aside, I finally know why I enjoy this movie so much. If you’ve followed this blog for the last 2-3 years then you know my most consistent complaint about modern cinema is that I personally think most modern films are made for film twitter, tiktok and letterboxd film-brained people. It’s as if today's writers, directors and producers comb twitter and letterboxd and craft their stories to cater to those specific lanes of film discussion. And no that is not a good thing. You know the type of people that talk in to the camera phone with a forced snarky standup comedian voice (tiktok), or the types of folks/”critics” that put representation first before anything else (film twitter). The kind of folks with no sense of film history that don’t like a movie because they didn’t see themselves represented in any way therefore it couldn’t possibly be good. The people that can only critique something by saying “it’s just a bunch of toxic white dudes doing white dude stuff”.

Think about it. From Barbie (which I did enjoy) to the large majority of A24 films and everything else in between - you can tell these movies were made to get all the cringey think-pieces flowing as opposed to any genuine film talk.

Now…The Killer certainly has a main character that is white and is quite “toxic”. But that honestly isn’t what the story is about. And, going back to the humor in the movie, there’s plenty of material in The Killer to make for the typical cringey comedic letterboxd review but that’s collateral. I truly don’t believe this stuff was on Fincher’s mind like it is with other modern filmmakers. It is my belief that he just wanted to make a simple, styleish, Hitchcock-influenced hitman thriller and he succeeded in doing so. There’s no obvious message or anything having to do with social justice, race, gender or sexuality unless someone reaches to find it.

More movies like this please!

A FEW WORDS ON THE KILLER *UPDATED*

The main critique/commentary/talking point concerning Fincher’s latest hitman thriller has to do with it being a cynical/somewhat on-the-nose response to the negative criticisms of Mank. Almost like he’s trying to make up for something at the same time. I get why folks feel that way. In my personal opinion, Mank has zero original style. It’s also boring. The bad kind of of boring. This is going to sound harsh but it felt like...nothing. This time around Fincher made a film that was all about style. That ice-cold euro style reminiscent of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The Killer certainly has a handful of exciting moments but for the most part it’s also pretty boring. But the good/interesting kind of boring. Imagine The Killer in a triple feature with Anton Corbjin’s The American and Jarmusch’s The Limits Of Control. “The cool silent Hitman trilogy” (you could add The Mechanic in there and make it a quadtrilogy)

The American / 
The Killer

The Mechanic / 
The Killer

I don’t think The Killer is a cynical response or Fincher apologizing for anything (if anything, The Killer makes up for Michael Fassbender in The Snowman). I think it’s more of a “slick” response in that he’s saying; “you think I don’t have any style after Mank? Well watch this…”. He took the negative criticisms of his previous feature as a challenge and made a mostly fun feature length stylish music video (that isn’t an insult as Fincher’s roots are in music videos which are all over his latest feature).

Express Yourself / 
The Killer

And to be clear - there is a plot concerning revenge after a botched assassination but, The Killer is all about style at the end of the day (and maybe a deeper meaning about covering your tracks after a fuck up at work). That might not be for everyone but it certainly worked for me. 

Le Samourai / Ghost Dog /  The Killer

Naturally like The Killer pulls from every single classic hitman movie in existence. This is also a voyeuristic film so there are plenty of  homages to Fincher's hero; Alfred Hitchcock…

I've probably seen REAR WINDOW sixty times. I know his movies inside and out - David Fincher, http://www.musicolog.com/fincher_interview.asp

Psycho / 
The Killer

Vertigo / 
The Killer

Vertigo /  The Killer

The American / 
The Killer

Rear Window / 
The Killer

Vertigo / 
The Killer

Vertigo / 
The Killer

Rear Window / 
The Killer

Movies like this is where Fincher is at his best for me. Style over substance is the pocket I prefer Fincher to be in. Lens flares, electronic music, etc. But that’s just me. I doubt I’ll be thinking about The Killer in a few months but I certainly enjoyed it in the moment.

SONG TO SONG

Like any Malick film, I needed to sit with my thoughts for a little while before writing about this. Anyone who follows this site on a semi-regular basis knows that I'm blindly in love with his post-New World cinematic universe (I actually found myself liking his latest movie before I even actually saw it which isn't a good thing). Song To Song is hardly a perfect movie (by this point you should know that no Terrence Malick film is going to be without flaw no matter how beautiful it is).
First of all, it is my personal opinion that Song To Song is kind of a terrible title. I don't mean to sound so harsh & nitpicky but I just can't connect with it. And what's strange is that it does go with the film's vibe & ambiance (a story about musicians & songwriters).
Secondly, I think the film's length (126 minutes) could have been much shorter (around 80 minutes) or much longer (possibly over 180 minutes). To quote my friend Chris Funderburg of the Pink Smoke, movies should be either really short or really really long. I couldn't agree with that sentiment more (especially in the case of this movie). These 2 hour and 10 minute movie lengths are just silly. Seriously what's the point?
I guess you could say that's a positive criticism in the sense that part of me wanted more of this movie (and to be clear I wanted more of and not from it. There's a difference)

My final critique is that Rooney Mara didn't come off like a believable musician. She certainly played her part in any scene that didn't concern music but whenever we see her holding a guitar or plucking at piano keys it really didn't look believable. Some of you may consider that to be a little nitpicky as well but her character was supposed to be a musician. She needed to be believable. She just came off as a "play" or "pretend" musician. But, like I said earlier, she still played her part overall. I can't think of another actress who could play her role in Song To Song. And I would say that Rooney Mara's character is the most depth I've seen Malick give a female character in a very very long time...



While this film is still shot in the same exact style as his three previous films (Tree Of Life, To The Wonder & Knight Of Cups) and uses some of the same actors & actresses (Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett & Michael Fassbinder standing in as sort of a surrogate for Malick-regular Christian Bale), it's not part of the same semi-autobiographical Malick world he's been exploring for the last 5-6 years. He seems to have finally got all his family "stuff" off his chest for the most part (there is a nod to Malick's second wife towards the second half of the movie but you wouldn't know this unless you read a biography on him). Song To Song is the story of romance & relationships between a group of aspiring musicians set within the Austin music scene (a large chunk of the film was shot during the Fun Fun Fun fest).

Plenty of Malick detractors will watch Song To Song (or just watch the trailer) and see no difference between it and his previous work. And that's fair. Just look at these imagery comparisons between Knight Of Cups & Song To Song...

This is Malick's first film to really concentrate on youth & youth culture. I know Badlands, Days Of Heaven & Tree Of Life feature important young characters, but Song To Song is Malick's first film set during a music festival which, although inclusive to all ages, is mostly synonymous with younger people. There’s also a lot more energy & aggression in Song To Song when compared to Knight Of Cups & To The Wonder (especially To The Wonder). The first words spoken in the movie talk about sex being violent. That’s foreign to the world of Terrence Malick.

But at the same time that's not to say older people don't play an important part of this movie. There's a lot of older characters in Song To Song who pass knowledge down to the younger characters.

And as disconnected as Song To Song may be from Malick’s previous films, he’s still building off of what he started exploring (and questioning) with The New World. A lot of people (myself included) associate (romantic) love between two people exclusively. It’s kind of the standard idea/unwritten “rule” of what love is supposed to be. But ever since Malick’s “return” with The New World he’s been questioning the idea of monogamy. Of course that’s possible for some people but you don’t really see that too much in movies under a somewhat positive light. Most times it’s considered simply cheating (which it can be sometimes) but Malick is taking the route that Two Lovers explored a few years ago. In The New World we see Pocahontas genuinely fall in love with two men in a kind of organic way. Same thing in To The Wonder. Ben Affleck has genuine feelings for two women at the same time. Throughout Knight Of Cups we see “Rick” (Christian Bale) fall in & out of love quite a few times (this may be the one example of fake and/or fickle love in Malick’s cinematic universe) and Song To Song is just a web of intense romantic relationships. Malick's latest film is being marketed as a love triangle but that’s not really the case. It’s more like a web or a tree branch. Yes, the three main characters are caught up in a love triangle but it doesn’t stop there. They also branch out and have intense organic relationships with other supporting characters. I don’t even necessarily agree with the idea of loving multiple people at once (I’m an only child and I don’t like sharing certain things like partners), but this is still a subject that should be explored.

Song To Song has quite a few other subconscious connections to films outside of the Malick wheelhouse. Seeing Rooney Mara & Cate Blanchett in the same film again (they don't share any scenes together) might remind some of you of Carol (one of the relationships briefly explored in Song To Song is a lesbian relationship which makes the connection to Carol slightly stronger).
Ryan Gosling's directorial debut Lost River is very Malick-esque possibly due to the fact that while Gosling was acting in Song To Song he also worked on Lost River.


At the end of the day Terrence Malick is going full-on Malick with each film and Song To Song is no exception. If you didn’t like Knight Of Cups or To The Wonder there’s no point in seeking this out because you’re only looking to intentionally frustrate yourself. However if you’re a loyal Malick fan or just curious/open-minded, then this is the movie for you.

ZEBRAS IN AMERICA EPISODE 7: SONG TO SONG

For a Terrence Malick fan I've been pretty quiet about his latest film but I assure that I (and Scott) enjoyed it very very much. Listen below as we discuss the beauty of Song To Song.

Enjoy...

12 YEARS A SLAVE

After Hunger & Shame, Steve McQueen became one of my new favorite filmmakers. And I'd be lying if I said a very small part of that had nothing to do with him being black. I don't care, I admit that. But that's something very minor. Steve McQueen could be of any ethnicity and I'd still love his films as long as they continue to come out the way they do (I actually thought he was an Irish guy before I saw a picture of him given his last name and the subject matter of his first film; Hunger - the story of an IRA hunger strike). And I feel I'm allowed that small bit of racial fanboyishness given how much I dismiss the large majority of modern black films & filmmakers these days. But 12 Years A Slave is hardly a "black film". It's an American film. Slavery is a piece of American history (I don't care if the director, along with half the cast, is based out of the UK).
My reaction to most recent films concerning black people is somewhere between a yawn and cynicism that borders on mean spiritedness. Thankfully I've come across so many other people who feel the same way as me so I don't feel so bad. You'd think I'd want nothing to do with a film about slavery because it's such a typical subject. But when you stop and think for a second - there really hasn't been a recent film, good or bad, on the subject of slavery to come out until late last year (please don’t say Manderlay or Confederate States Of America to counter that). I know at first glance a movie about slavery doesn’t exactly sound “new” or progressive but what sets 12 Years A Slave apart from something like Glory or Manderlay is that it’s a personal story. 12 Years A Slave certainly sheds light on slavery as a whole but for the most part it doesn’t try to take on the whole subject in 133 minutes. That’s impossible. This is only about one man which makes McQueen’s take on the subject of slavery slightly different. True, Roots, probably the most iconic representation of Slavery on the small screen, had a central character (“Kunta Kinte”) but the series featured tons of characters that branched off of him and got their own story. McQueen only focuses on Solomon Northup. As long as it's done right, I hope there's more films about slavery made as it can't all be dealt with (and still hasn't been) in one or two movies. It's the recent high profile stories of servitude (The Help & The Butler), the first black person to do something among a sea of evil white people (42 & Red Tails) or the microcosm of the ghetto (Precious) that I feel we've had enough of.

But lemme not get sidetracked. We're supposed to be talking about 12 Years A Slave, right?

In the film, based on the book of the same, Chewital Ejiofor plays "Solomon Northup" - A free black man living in upstate New York whose drugged and eventually kidnapped in to slavery leaving behind his wife & family. 

There seems to be a sudden interest in slavery in cinema all of a sudden. The Rza had a nice little connection/subplot about slavery in The Man With The Iron Fists, I've been told the beginning of The Butler takes place on a plantation, Steven Spielberg recently gave us Lincoln and Quentin Tarantino made Django Unchained which 12 Years A Slave keeps getting compared too. While Django Unchained is a well made movie (minus the two endings and the unnecessary wordiness at times) it's still entertainment. It's cool, fun & action-packed (nothing I associate slavery with, but that's just me). 12 Years A Slave is obviously a movie but it's so far from "entertainment" it's not even funny. Like Abdellatif Kechiche's Black Venus (another recent film with a loose connection to slavery), 12 Years A Slave is great but it's filled with scenes that you just want to end and/or go away because they're so long and tough to sit through. Early on in 12 Years A Slave when Solomon Northup (Chewital Ejiofor) is captured and sold in to slavery, he’s beaten repeatedly with a paddle until it breaks. ...But the scene isn't over (the camera doesn't even cut). The man beating Northrup gets a whip and continues to beat him until you find yourself going; "ENOUGH! OK!" Later on in the film one of the slave owners (played amazingly by Michael Fassbender) has his way with one of the female slaves (once again the scene also has no cuts) and it just becomes beyond uncomfortable and I found myself squirming in my seat. Yes, the reason behind those scenes are to make us feel uncomfortable and horrified (and it certainly succeeded in doing that) but still - that doesn't sound like entertainment, does it?

I remember my anticipation for 12 Years A Slave being indescribable. "This will be Steve McQueen's masterwork" I thought. Then I saw the trailer earlier in the year and I thought "...oh. this isn't exactly what I had in mind." It looked "Hollywood" (sorry to sound like the cliche movie snob). Nowhere in the trailer did I see signs of McQueen's modern style that I love so much. But I quickly remembered that this isn't a modern story so a modern style of filmmaking wasn’t needed. To my surprise, the film is still filled with tons of unconventional shots and strange moments that you wouldn't find in an average historical film/period piece. 12 Years A Slave opens bluntly & abruptly without any grand introduction. And throughout the film theres a few eerie wordless moments of our protagonist (portrayed masterfully by Ejiofor) looking off in to space or intensely zoning out without saying anything. There's also tons of darkly lit shots with minimal movement from the actors in frame which seemed cool & unconventional too (McQueen definitely drew from his photography background for this). So although I didn't get everything I personally wanted in terms of style, McQueen still threw in little things here & there to satisfy. My "favorite" part of the film is the 10-15 minute period from the moment when Solomon Northrup is first loaded on to the slave ship until he reaches his first plantation. It's easily the most (purposely) disorienting experience you'll find in any movie this year outside of Leviathan & Gravity which is a testament to McQueen's directing and the film's editing. Steve McQueen's direction in 12 Years A Slave made me we think of what other modern directors would do with source material set in the 18th or 19th century. Now that Michael Mann has found his groove with new technology & digital filmmaking I'd like him to revisit the time period of The Last Of The Mohicans (not necessarily the same story) to see what that world would look like now. What would a Lodge Kerrigan period drama look like or a Gaspar Noe film set in the 1800's be?

As most of you know, 12 Years A Slave features an all-star cast but in reality a lot of the big names in the film really only have "extended cameos" which I found to be a little distracting at times (especially in the case of Brad Pitt & Michael K Williams). We get this introduction of a particular character played by a familiar face and then minutes later we never see them again. That was just odd to me. But at the same time, this is a sad, dark & horrific film. It may not feature the cinema verite style of a John Cassavetes film but its still real enough (it was real enough that I found myself hating Paul Dano & Michael Fassbender outside of the evil characters they played in the film). Maybe we needed the occasional extended cameo from Paul Giamatti or Brad Pitt to make us all feel safe and to remind us that 12 Years A Slave is just a movie. 

I’m apprehensive to give ANY criticism of 12 Years A Slave. Much like Gravity, people are treating it like it’s beyond criticism but there are a few things that could have been done a little better. I don’t mean to harp on the bad stuff so much because at the end of the day 12 Years A Slave is pretty exceptional. But I really found Brad Pitt’s presence to be strange. It’s like he was just playing himself. *SPOILER* And Brad Pitt’s character really can’t be distracting or take you out of the story at all because he’s a crucial element in Solomon’s freedom *SPOILER END* I also found the score to be a little unnecessary in some parts. Its good overall but a lot of the scenes spoke for themselves without the music and I already knew what to feel without the added presence of heavy stringed instruments. Some scenes would have been absolutely incredible had there been no music because everything would have felt even colder & darker.

Outside of Chewital Ejiofor & Michael Fassbender, the supporting cast of Paul Dano, Benedict Cumberbatch and newcomer; Lupita Nyong’o are also great (Lupita Nyong’o being the standout, delivering a heartbreaking performance that’s bound to make you tear up). What's kinda cool is that 12 Years A Slave is somewhat of an amalgam of modern black film in that it features actors & actresses like Michael K. Williams & Alfree Woodward (both very briefly) as well as Quvenzhane Wallis & Dwight Henry (Beats Of The Southern Wild) and Adepero Oduye (Pariah).
This is an American film about slavery & racism so naturally there’s plenty of typical evil white characters (Michael Fassbender takes it to another level) but unlike the prototypical characters found in something like 42 (a movie I wish I never watched, but I saw it on a plane so it’s almost like it never happened) McQueen crafts more complicated characters, specifically the slave owner William Ford - played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Ford is a Baptist preacher, he’s “kind” to Solomon and there’s even one scene where he tries to buy an entire family as to not separate them from each other. Early on when his character was introduced I thought to myself; “oh no, one of these characters?” (the racist white person who eventually changes his evil ways and we’re supposed to feel good about it or the white character whose racist but only under the circumstances. It's not really his fault). But by the time his character is out of the story, it’s made clear that no matter how “nice” he may be to the slaves, he’s still businessman and a slave owner first.
And speaking of 42 (if I can just divert for a moment) cinema really has yet to the scratch the surface of the psychological pressure & depression that comes along with being the first black person to do something. Specifically the post-stress. There are plenty of films like 42, but the really sad story behind Jackie Robinson’s life is the fact that he died at the age of 53. No professional athlete should die that young. There have been four movies made about Jackie Robinson’s years in major league baseball and they're all pretty much the same. Haven’t we had enough? Will someone make a film about his life after baseball? That’d be the real unique story...

It's not saying much, but 12 Years A Slave is definitely one of the best films of the year (this year has been fairly weak) even with my little criticisms. But if it means anything I'd probably be saying the same thing had it been released in 2010, 2011 or 2012. This has been stuck in my head since I've seen it and hardly any movie has been able to do that this year which makes it a success in my book.

TIFF HIGHLIGHT #5: MONSIEUR LAZHAR (had to hold back tears) & SHAME (nenette & boni 15 years later)

MONSIEUR LAZHAR
Today was a pretty awesome day at the festival. I saw 2 films that were instantly added to my TIFF Top 5. 'Monsieur Lazhar' became the first (and will probably be the only) film that made me fight back tears. And the thing is, the powerful scene that almost made me shed tears happened early on in the film lol (like 30 minutes in). In a way, 'Monsieur Lazhar' kinda made up for Lynne Ramsey's disappointing 'We Need To Talk About Kevin'. It also falls in to the same category of films like 'Elephant', 'After School', 'Chalk', one of the stories in 'Donoma' and especially 'The Class'.

'Monsieur Lazhar' is made up of 2 stories that intertwine:

Two 11 year old elementary school classmates; "Alice" (played by newcomer Sophie Nelisse) & ."Simon" (Emilien Neron) witness the suicide of their beloved teacher (she hangs herself at school early in the morning before class starts and the 2 students find her body). Their friendship is put to the test when Alice threatens to reveal the secret as to why their teacher may have committed suicide. Alice is forever changed and broken up by the suicide, but seems to move on. Simon is the one that has a more difficult time accepting the fact that his teacher is gone and struggles with anger and aggression. I have a hard time believing the 2 lead children had never acted in anything else before. Their performances are so amazing and so mature (especially Sophie Nelisse who delivers a heartbreaking/powerful speech reminiscent to Yang Yang's funeral speech to his grandmother at the end of 'Yi Yi'). At some points in the film Sophie reminded me of Alice Houri in 'U.S. Go Home' (there i go mentioning her again). 

The 2nd story is about the children's replacement teacher. Mr Lazhar is an Algerian refugee who's entire family was assassinated because his wife wrote a book that someone found offensive. After finding political refuge in Montreal, he's hired as the students replacement. Naturally him and the children struggle to get a long at first but eventually they come to accept him (especially Alice who's clearly his favorite). Later on in the film a secret from Lazhar's past comes back to haunt him. 'Monsieur Lazhar' makes a great companion film to 'The Class'. What made 'The Class' so great and unique was that not only did it portray teachers in a realistic manner, but there was no subplot involving the teacher's life outside of school. Everything about 'The Class' took place in the school. The same thing applies to some of the other films i mentioned earlier like 'Elephant'. 'Monsieur Lazhar' deals with things outside of the class room, but keeps it to a minimum.

SHAME

I cant tell you how happy I am that Steve Mcqueen didn't succumb to the dreaded "sophomore jinx". In fact I think 'Shame' is better than his first film 'Hunger'. When i first heard of his 2nd feature film, I was a bit disappointed because it had been reported he was supposed to make a biopic on the the life of Fela Kuti (which I still hope is on). But after seeing the amazingly acted and emotionally draining 'Shame', this will more than hold me over. I've been describing 'Shame' as "Nenette & Boni all grown up". And please understand that this blog entry isn't a cheap excuse to mention Alice Houri and/or Claire Denis again (if you notice I made an Alice Houri/Claire Denis comparison in the 'Monsieur Lazhar' review as well), but that 'Nenette & Boni' description is so fitting. 'Shame' is kinda like a Claire Denis film with a lot more aggression. It plays on hints and implications instead of completely spelling things out (something Denis is a master at). If only i was a film critic on the level of Amy Taubin I'd have that quote on the cover of this DVD when it comes out.

'Shame' is the story of a sex addict brother; "Brandon" (Michael Fassbender in the performance of his career so far) and his dependant suicidal jazz singing sister; "Sissy" (Carey Mulligan). When Sissy has nowhere to stay she shows up unannounced and stays with her brother indefinitely (a plot somewhat similar to Denis' 'Nenette & Boni'). The longer Mulligan stays with Fassbender, the more tense things become between them, leading up to a powerful and (somewhat) explosive finale. Hopefully you're able to put all the pieces together by the end of the film. Things are somewhat subjective and open-ended, but the siblings issues with one another is pretty evident even though they aren't spelled out.

Just like in his debut ('Hunger') Mcqueen's photography skills are all over 'Shame'. So many shots (which are mostly uninterrupted long takes, sometimes with minimal movement from the actors) look like beautiful photographs out of some upscale magazine. And he makes great use of New York City's architecture, expensive apartments and night clubs. After a weeks worth of films at the festival, I've scene a ton of cheaply looking digitally shot films that look awful ('take shelter', 'twixt' and even 'dark horse'). Its good to know there's directors out there that still care about the "look" of their work...

And with only 2 features under his belt, it looks like Steve Mcqueen has already created his "signature" shot/scene. In both; 'Hunger' and 'Shame' (which both star Michael Fassbender), there are pivotal scenes where the 2 main characters face-off against each other in a battle of words in a long continuously shot scene with no cuts...

climax in Mcqueen's 'Hunger' (2008)

climax in 'Shame' (2011)

The climax between Fassbinder & Mulligan is just one of a few similarly filmed scenes in 'Shame' where we see our characters facing each other, shot from a side view...

brother & sister in 'shame'

pick up scene in 'shame'

Michael Fassbender just won best actor at the Venice Film Festival for his performance in 'Shame', and hopefully this is only the beginning. I'm not a big fan of movie awards, but he was so good in 'Shame' that its only right he be rewarded as much as possible. It would be criminal if his performance went unnoticed by the academy this year.

'Shame' has earned a comfortable spot on my top 10 of 2011.

BLACK HISTORY ON FILM PART TWO: HUNGER

WTF?!?! A movie about the IRA for black history month??? I know, i know, it sounds a little strange, but keep reading...
Needless to say, this is an odd pick, but if we're talking about black history in film, this movie has to be mentioned. Lets just put aside the fact that 'Hunger'; a biography about IRA member Bobby Sands and his famous hunger strike in prison, is a GREAT film. And lets also put aside the fact that Michael Fassbender's dedicated performance (and weight loss for the role) is not only one to put Christian Bale in 'The Machinist' to shame, but its one of the must underrated performance of the last few years. We're not going to focus on that stuff. We're going to focus on the making of the movie. The man behind the camera. This recent hit at Cannes, made history not once, but TWICE. 'Hunger', directed by Black filmmaker; Steve McQueen (no, not "Bullit" Steve McQueen) won the "Camera D'or" award at Cannes, which is basically the equivalent for best first feature. Spike Lee never even pulled that off, and there was a time when Europeans (especially the ones at Cannes) LOVED him. On top of that, the movie itself, taking advantage of the flexibility of digital film making, featured the longest unbroken single shot in a mainstream film (17 minutes long). So, not only did Steve McQueen become the first black filmmaker to win best first feature at Cannes, but he also set a record for longest unbroken shot in a "mainstream" film.
Usually directors with a background in either photography (like Steve McQueen) or music videos who make their directorial debut, usually fall victim to putting more emphasis on the style and atmosphere of the film, and less on the actual story and the performances. Steve McQueen got right on his first try. And whats great is that his next film is a biography on Fela Kuti (there, are all you guys questioning as to why i would mention a film about the IRA during black history month happy now?!?! He's doing a movie about Fela Kuti next, so shut up). My only fear about this biopic is that i cant think of a single actor who's able to pull of a performance of such a unique figure.
I imagine not too many black people (especially African Americans) are aware of Steve Mcqueen and his accomplishments, because they're either too busy pretending that Tyler Perry is the only relevant name within the world of black film. Lets not forget about how the so-called black film community pretty much ignored Mariannae Jean Baptise's ACADEMY AWARD nominated performance in Mike Leigh's 'Naked'. In fact, here's some more black history for you: Marianne Jean Baptise became the only black actress to be nominated for an academy award, but not nominated for an image award (which is essentially an awards show that supposedly honors excellence in film among black people). Its ironic how black people are the first to complain about not being recognized for all these movie award ceremonies, then they turn around and totally ignore great black performances and achievements in film making themselves. Anything outside of their comfort zone of Madea, Martin Lawrence or movies about backyard family bar-b-cues never seem to register.