My big problem with biopics

Let me talk to you about The Theory of Everything and Foxcatcher.

My big problem with biopics is that they all too often are more about the events than they are about emotions/ideas/people. TToE felt like it had beats to hit that hurt us from really getting to know either character on a deeper level. The sciencey stuff felt like the B story; fat that should have been trimmed. But you can't have a movie about Stephen Hawking without a montage of him studying, so what can you do. It would have been more interesting to have watched something about the dynamic between an able bodied wife and an als ridden husband. Foxcatcher felt understated to a fault. Carrell's mannerisms didn't make him feel like a real person, and the prosthetics only further pulled me out of it. There were ways that I think that they could have made the story more interesting though that, had they not been bound by the reality of what happened, they would have been freer to explore. And then there's always a slant. If it's a movie about what a person did (Jobs, Theory of Everything, 42, etc.) the point of the movie seems like it's to inform. I'd rather watch a documentary. If it's something more psychological (The Kings Speech, The Social Network, Wolf of Wall Street), that can be interesting.

lawrence of arabia, 12 years a slave.. there are some great biopics out there.
I will still enjoy watching them regardless of the issues presented.

I did not see the two films you mentioned

My issue with a lot of biopics is that they are more interested in trying to hit as many parts of the biopic Oscar formula as they can then focusing on making a good movie.

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Gunslinger summed it up nicely. For me, so long as it doesn't bore me, I'm willing to forgive it any "un-biopic-ish" qualities.

Well I saw Foxcatcher and it seems you and me mlaturno are two for two on disappointing biopics flicks.

I just find biopics somewhat suspect because the filmmakers inevitably smooth the rough edges off the subjects to make them more likable to audiences. Man on the Moon was a good film, but it tried to portray Andy Kaufman as a lovable sort of prankster, when he was in fact frequently insufferable to those around him (two biographies bear this out) while also being a genius performance artist. Or the film Ed Wood omits that Wood was also a writer of pornography and a womanizing, alcoholic bastard as well as a terrible filmmaker. Both of these people could be charming and charismatic, but they had dark sides that were not well served by their respective films.

That said, I loved the film Ray, that didn't sugarcoat the details of Ray Charles' life at all, really.

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Actually, I thought the problem with TToE was not focusing enough on Hawking's life as a scientist. It was made as an Oscar-bait, with the pretty story about a cripple who found love that resisted everything, bla bla bla...

I'm sure a movie focused on Hawking's work as a scientist could have been fine, but that wasn't the movie they set out to make. The sciencey bits got in the way of the real story the movie was trying to tell.

I agree with you when it comes to The Theory of Everything, but wholeheartedly disagree about Foxcatcher, which I think is one of the best films of last year.

I agree that the film will try to sensationalize, omit the "boring" parts and just try to commercialize the film. And to do this, films are inaccurate, which totally eliminates the purpose of it being a bio, it would be better to just create your own story "based loosely on _____"

And then you have a film like "Lenny" where Dustin Hoffman is funnier and more literate than Lenny Bruce.

I also notice how people who die are so revered, but sometimes never noticed until they do. It's also odd how they won't do anything on someone who is alive, especially if they are living in their late 80's for example. As if dying was a virtue... Commercialism on steroids.

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I disagree on TTOE, can't speak on Foxcatcher but everything i wanted to see in TTOE i saw. I may not be understanding you correctly, but if i am i suggest The Imitation Game and American Sniper are far better examples for me personally, but hey, to each their own

This!

Hawking is about science. Rest is irrelevant. The movie did a good job of grazing both sides, without overdoing one side.

But when it comes to biopics, this year, it has to go to Imitation game. The best movie for the win. By now, watched most of them, nothing comes close. Birdman, Whiplash, Foxcather all fall short.

And Cumberbatch for the best actor.

Only Selma is left. will get a better idea once i finish that.

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