Stop-Loss, Sleepwalking, Kramer vs. Kramer
Stop-Loss
[ 3 stars out of 4 ]
I appreciate Kimberly Peirce for making a pretty effective film about a policy that is (unfortunately) not familiar to a lot of Americans: stop-loss. Basically, stop-loss involuntarily extends a soldier’s service even if his or her contract has ended. Ryan Phillippe continues to add another serious film in his repertoire and he’s effective here as a soldier who doesn’t want to go back to Iraq. He owns every scene he’s in because you can see in his eyes that determination of wanting to live his own life after serving in the military. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Channing Tatum also did a great job portraying soldiers that took different paths. The film started off well–the scenes in the battlefield is nothing short of gripping. Unfortunately, the picture became a little unfocused somewhere in the middle when Phillippe’s character decided to go AWOL. Still, there were scenes during the middle portion that stood out and established that these soldiers aren’t done being in the war even if they’ve returned home. They go through guilt, post-traumatic stress disorders, and anger; once a person goes to war, there is no going back. What really didn’t work for me, though, was the jarring hip-hop and hard rock soundtrack. I think the film could’ve been elevated with a slow, political folk songs instead. This film is very sad on the surface but very angry in its core.
Sleepwalking
[ 2 stars out of 4 ]
This is not a feel-good movie but that doesn’t make it a bad movie. Even though it may be very heavy-handed on the drama, it managed to have some sort of focus on the story. Set mostly in the winter and shot in areas where there are no bright colors, the tone is depressing and at times a bit claustrophobic. Still, the performances here are pretty good: Charlize Theron is the mother who doesn’t know how to be one because she gets distracted by life’s circumstances, Nick Stahl is the symptathetic brother who sees himself as a failure so he tries hard to pick up his sister’s responsibilities–something he could be successful at, and Dennis Hopper as the father who was way too hard on his children and his past actions catch up to him. Not a lot of things happen in this movie because the film’s purpose was to observe. Still, it could have been much more powerful if Theron has been on screen more and if the picture had more comedic moments that serve as a hint of sunlight amidst all the darkness. By the end of the movie, the tone was more bitter than bittersweet because the characters are still trapped, despite the actions they have taken to try to break free from their own prisons.
Kramer vs. Kramer
[ 3 stars out of 4 ]
This picture possesses a silent power that cannot be found in many modern family dramas. Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep did a great job as far-from-perfect parents; one chose to leave and one had to stay. Eventually, they fight for their child in the courtroom but not in a loud or very dramatic way; it was done in a very naturalistic manner which made the film all the more impressive. The script is very smart in showing how the characters changed in a span of eighteen months. For instance, there’s a scene in the beginning that’s done again in the end to show how the two characters have evolved. There’s no wasted scene here–often, a struggle is shown that will eventually change the character’s outlook on how to parent or prioritize. Still, the title suggests that there will be a war between the father and mother but it never really happened, so it was kind of misleading. Another thing is that some critics say that the film did not favor one parent over the other. I disagree because Hoffman has a considerable screen time than Streep. I think the film would be more balanced if the two lead actors had an equal amount of time in front of the camera. It would feel more like what’s at stake is very, very crucial (or more important than it already is). This is a great family drama–its power mostly lies in the unsaid than the things that are said.
Wilderness of Mirrors