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Proverbs 18:1
This was another recommendation by my boy Swan for my year with faith films. I didn't have as much luck with this one as I did with Breaking The Waves, but I did feel it was pretty good and can certainly see why many are in love with it. First off it is really well done. Leigh completely immerses us in this world. It is dark, dirty, and has the feeling that it could be dangerous at any moment. My favorite aspect of the film is the writing. The dialogue is really well done and as usual this leads to great performances all around. Thewlis leads the way and is fantastic as Johnny. Whatever you think of the character as a whole, there is no arguing that he is written as intended and played perfectly by Thewlis.
I imagine the question everyone has to ask themselves and the one that probably has the biggest impact on how you feel about the film is, how do I feel about Johnny? He is certainly not a sympathetic character, and I don't think he is even intended to be. There are moments when you can relate to him but they are quickly dispensed of. That is because Johnny comes across as a sexual predator and seems to have no tolerance for anyone other than himself. When I talked to Swan about this privately, he gave me a sound reason for how hateful Johnny is and for his fatalistic world view. I certainly buy the explanation although I didn't pick up on it all myself. This explanation would certainly help to explain Johnny's behavior but I don't feel that it excuses it. Regardless of how I came away from the film feeling about Johnny personally, he is a compelling character and one that I am glad I spent a couple hours with.
One character I could have done without completely is the landlord. I understand he is a juxtaposition to Johnny, but honestly I never felt any sort of connection between the two characters. The landlord is completely despicable and never adds anything to the narrative for me. I could honestly have seen myself responding to the film more positively if this character didn't exist, but he does and I really don't have anything else to say about it.
One of my favorite parts of the film come in the last twenty minutes when the third roommate shows up. I feel like she is a bit of an audience surrogate. She says the things that I believe most of the audience as been thinking the entire time. She doesn't take any crap off of Johnny or the landlord. Both are curt, crude, and sexually aggressive with her as they are with everyone. She simply snaps back and lets them know she is not interested in their mind games. She lets light into the apartment and begins to clean up. She acts in a way that I think most of us would in this situation. She is appalled at what appears to have taken place in her home. She immediately moves to rectify the situation. She bring the "real world" into the film. I really like these final scenes but am glad that we still get the ending that I was expecting.
Thematically this film doesn't do a whole lot for me. Johnny seems to have a very fatalistic world view and this leads to a couple of interesting speeches. There is some humor and humanity in these moments. Ultimately I don’t really think the film has much to say though. Some of this dialogue may hit people differently and they may draw a lot of meaning from the film. In the end I find it to be an interesting character study that is really well done. I just wish it had more to offer me.
Proverbs 18:1
This was another recommendation by my boy Swan for my year with faith films. I didn't have as much luck with this one as I did with Breaking The Waves, but I did feel it was pretty good and can certainly see why many are in love with it. First off it is really well done. Leigh completely immerses us in this world. It is dark, dirty, and has the feeling that it could be dangerous at any moment. My favorite aspect of the film is the writing. The dialogue is really well done and as usual this leads to great performances all around. Thewlis leads the way and is fantastic as Johnny. Whatever you think of the character as a whole, there is no arguing that he is written as intended and played perfectly by Thewlis.
I imagine the question everyone has to ask themselves and the one that probably has the biggest impact on how you feel about the film is, how do I feel about Johnny? He is certainly not a sympathetic character, and I don't think he is even intended to be. There are moments when you can relate to him but they are quickly dispensed of. That is because Johnny comes across as a sexual predator and seems to have no tolerance for anyone other than himself. When I talked to Swan about this privately, he gave me a sound reason for how hateful Johnny is and for his fatalistic world view. I certainly buy the explanation although I didn't pick up on it all myself. This explanation would certainly help to explain Johnny's behavior but I don't feel that it excuses it. Regardless of how I came away from the film feeling about Johnny personally, he is a compelling character and one that I am glad I spent a couple hours with.
One character I could have done without completely is the landlord. I understand he is a juxtaposition to Johnny, but honestly I never felt any sort of connection between the two characters. The landlord is completely despicable and never adds anything to the narrative for me. I could honestly have seen myself responding to the film more positively if this character didn't exist, but he does and I really don't have anything else to say about it.
One of my favorite parts of the film come in the last twenty minutes when the third roommate shows up. I feel like she is a bit of an audience surrogate. She says the things that I believe most of the audience as been thinking the entire time. She doesn't take any crap off of Johnny or the landlord. Both are curt, crude, and sexually aggressive with her as they are with everyone. She simply snaps back and lets them know she is not interested in their mind games. She lets light into the apartment and begins to clean up. She acts in a way that I think most of us would in this situation. She is appalled at what appears to have taken place in her home. She immediately moves to rectify the situation. She bring the "real world" into the film. I really like these final scenes but am glad that we still get the ending that I was expecting.
Thematically this film doesn't do a whole lot for me. Johnny seems to have a very fatalistic world view and this leads to a couple of interesting speeches. There is some humor and humanity in these moments. Ultimately I don’t really think the film has much to say though. Some of this dialogue may hit people differently and they may draw a lot of meaning from the film. In the end I find it to be an interesting character study that is really well done. I just wish it had more to offer me.