I’m sorry, these are not exactly my idea of decent reviews but  my brain isn’t working right now. (Like isn’t it always?) And I really need to get back to work now-now. Wow, time is a scarce commodity nowadays.

Revolutionary Road (2008)
Genre: Drama; Directors: Sam Mendes
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Michael Shannon

Suburbia. Boring as it seems, suburbia is a deep well of materials for film and TV. The loneliness and grief found in suburbia, as shown in films such as American Beauty and The Safety of Objects, make me wanna thank God I’m living a cosmopolitan life despite EDSA and MMDA. Wala lang, nabanggit ko lang.

Revolutionary Road is about two people who are trapped in a predicament called “family.” Personally, I know so many people who call that walled place they stay in a “prison,” rather than a “home.” (My parents, for example, wahaha.)

The movie succeeds in showing the couple’s desperation to free themselves from their suffocating predetermined domestic roles and their frustration that led them to turn on each other, leading to the deterioration of their marriage and ultimately themselves.

Leo and Kate delivered painfully convincing performances, you’d forget they are the same couple in Titanic. Or that it is actually their reunion movie. I’m not a fan of Leo’s but he exhibited immense maturity in this movie. And Kate, well, I declare her name synonymous to the best of acting performances.

Although it’s not really an entertaining piece, or something I’d wanna watch (over and over) again, this is Sam Mendes’s best work. And it should have been nominated for Best Picture. Why, Oscar, why? 5.0

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The Reader (2008)
Genre: Drama; Director: Stephen Daldry
Stars: Kate Winslet, David Kross, Ralph Fiennes

“What would you have done?”
”Is that kinder?”

These questions may not have an impact on you now but watch The Reader and you’ll see. And the funny thing is, the movie does not answer these questions. It just asks. And it’s up to you to find answers for yourself.

Only two emotions get the better of me: shame and guilt. Director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter David Hare (people behind The Hours) explored these emotions gracefully in The Reader. You can just imagine how much this film affected me, being someone always overpowered by guilt and shame.

The film’s plot centers on a sexual affair between a curious 15-year old boy and a 36-year old enigma, who turns out to be one of the Auschwitz guards during the Holocaust. Although it is an integral element in the film, The Reader is NOT a Holocaust movie. Or maybe it is. Wahaha. But whatever, it does not steer away from the absorbing illicit relationship between the two characters.

Kate Winslet is a standout. She attacked the role with a precision incomparable to any of her other performances. Her eyes scream her past. Also, the way she irons her underwear. And the way she closes doors. And the way she puts her foot in front of the other. Winslet was able to balance the guilt of a naïve former Nazi guard who does not know the consequences of her actions and the shame of an illiterate human being.

Given its premise, one may expect big scenes with larger than life confrontations, characters screaming their emotions out — histrionics in a typical Oscar-aspiring melodrama. But Stephen Daldry carefully avoided such scenes. Emotions are conveyed in ways too slow and subtle, the film gives you enough time to think. Think. Think. Feel. And then think again.

Michael’s guilt is the guilt of the post-war German generation. Michael’s guilt is also our guilt. Michael’s shame is our shame. Hanna’s shame is our shame. Her guilt is our guilt, too. This film rubs in our faces, without us being aware of it, how broken we are as a people by simply showing how broken we are as human beings.

“What would you have done?”
”Is that kinder?”

These lines still echo in my head. It’s been a week.

Forget about Slumdog Millionaire. I want this to win the Best Picture Oscar.  5.0

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Milk (2008)
Genre: Drama; Director: Gus Van Sant
Stars: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, James Franco

Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the United States. Well, the film is about that. Oh yeah, it’s so timely. With Obama now the President (not that Obama is gay) and the Proposition 8 issue and all. And since it’s a biopic, you know what to watch out for — acting performances. And man did Sean Penn deliver a divine one. It’s probably his best ever. His every twist and turn is so swishy convincing, even the dormant gay alter-ego inside Mr. Oscar will come to life. Oh wait, The Oscars is gay. Hehe.

Director Gus Van Sant’s decision to narrate this familiar story with exuberance and gaiety is impressive. He managed to tell an inspiring story of a social movement and a man who started it in a manner that is awakening, compelling and touching at the same time. It’s like watching a propaganda film except it’s not irritating. Hehe.

Although the emotion and tension levels are flat throughout the film until the last few minutes, the movie keeps your attention in an almost hypnotic way. It’s amazing — it’s not exactly a visual treat nor a plot wonder but you’re just sucked into Milk’s world and you don’t wanna get out of it. Maybe it’s just Sean Penn. Maybe the film itself. Who cares? 4.7

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Next: Frost/Nixon, Changeling, Wall-E
images courtesy of firstshowing.net, awardsdaily.com, latimes.com

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