Once Upon A Time In America, Late to the party

So I just recently, on a much needed day off, watched a movie called Once Upon A Time In America. Now firstly I have to say that I know I am very late to this party with this one. This movie came out in 1984, 2 years after I was born, and was Sergio Leone's last film he directed, and one of his last to have written. I have been meaning to see this film, and many people have told me I should, but just plain and simply never had gotten around to it. The length of the definitive cut alone is enough to make you want to put it off (3 hours and 49 minutes). However, I finally did watch it. I'm not going to say what I think, and I'm not going to comment on the quality of the film. The reason being this is one of those movies that I think each and every person who watches it may have a very different opinion on it based on different factors in it. What I intend to do is talk about Leone's masterful art of creating a film like this, and a little about the actual films content and structure.

First of all I want to talk about the movies content. It is a gangster movie that if you've seen The Godfather you'll feel right at home with. Its about a group of friends who group up in the Jewish ghettos of New York City in the early 1900s. They grow up to become gangsters running booze and pulling jobs during the 1930s. They of course become rich and start to get in with the unions and politicians. This all leads to a tragedy of all of them but one, the main character Noodles played by Robert DeNiro, dying in a shootout with the police. Than in the 1960s we see Noodles returning to New York City because of a mysterious letter he has received, and than a suitcase of cash. Now all that I am saying is taking this movie down to its most simplistic roots and giving you a VERY rough idea of what its about with little plot being given. There is quite a lot of strife in the group, especially between Noodles and his friend Max, played by James Woods, about who runs things and what jobs and people they will get involved with. I'm also completely leaving out a love story between Noodles and a neighborhood girl who is the brother of a friend of his who runs the speakeasy that they get involved with in the 20s/30s. The reason I am not getting into deep detail is twofold. One because this movie is incredibly long and it would take me quite a long time to go into it in detail even with just the first third of it. Two, because the movie is very complex as well, and in order to detail out even some of the major events the minor events need to be explained as well to help the reader/watcher understand the motives that are driving the characters involved. So as for the plot, if you want to know it, watch the movie.

Now for the actual technical part of the film. This is a joy to speak about. The music of course is wonderful, as is the music in all of Leone's films. It sets the tone, moves the transitions along, and helps to put us in the proper mindset for each scene. The sets and costumes are amazing. I felt like Leone had taken a camera to these three eras and filmed them. The buildings, the cars, the clothes were all so perfect and detailed. You never have a moment where you think to yourself, "Gee that is so 1980s, they really should have fixed that." Leone is a stickler for details, and it shows. It really is a crime that not a thing of this movie was put up for an Academy Award. This was due to the U.S. distributor did not file the proper paperwork, or any, to make any part of the film eligible for the Oscars. The editing of this film is simply wonderful. It confuses you at first because Leone moves from the 30s to the 60s and than back to the 30s and than to when the characters are boys. However, after the first two or three transitions, this is expected, and almost welcomed. You get this sense of the movie just being remembered by Noodles (DeNiro) and feel like you're inside his mind instead of just a voyeur watching through a television screen. This is something that makes this movie into a work of art in a way that it otherwise may not have been.

So in closing I am just going to say that if you are going to watch this movie be prepared for a long sitting, and that you more than likely won't get up until it is done unless you have to go to the bathroom. The movie may be similar to The Godfather, but it isn't The Godfather, and don't expect it to be. It is darker, and more realistic in many ways. This movie is based on a book that was written by a man who claimed it was all true, so expect some things in it to seem gritty and almost surreal. This is partly due to Leone's style, and partly due to it being an adaptation of this book. So give the movie a chance and see what you think. You may be surprised, you may be disappointed, you may get exactly what you expected. Like I said in the beginning, I am not going to let on what I thought. What I will say is that I really enjoyed the technical aspects of the movie, and I doubt anyone will argue that point. Enjoy, and if you keep reading them, I'll keep writing them.

Brick, a movie you should see

So recently I rewatched one of my very favorite movies of all time. It's a little movie called Brick. The reason this movie is one of my favorites isn't because its action packed, or because it has amazing special effects, or even because it makes you think. It isn't any of those really. It is a detective story with a pretty good hook, its based in a modern day high school where people say things like "status quo" or "upper crust" as the kids in the popular/rich group are called. I saw this movie on a lark years ago because of Netflix (thanks again Netflix for giving me the chance to see a great indie film). It recommended it to me because I love the movie Memento and because I rated that highly and also rated The Maltese Falcon highly. I got it and figured, well the worst that could happen is I watch it, hate it, send it back immediately. That isn't at all what happened. I watched it, than watched it again to be certain I had actually just seen the movie I thought I did. Than I watched it a third time the next day with my roommates at the time. They loved it.

It has a fresh off of 3rd Rock From The Sun Joseph Gordon-Levitt in it as our main character named Brendan. He shows us glimpses of great things in acting to come, which are still coming again and again if you see Inception you can see what I mean. He brings an air of maturity, stability, and determination to the character that you don't see often in modern movies, and especially in modern detective films. You watch it and get a feeling of a Sam Spade type of character running down the suspects to find out what happened exactly so he can finger the right person and possibly outplay them at their own game. The plot is fairly simple to understand, but hard to follow if you aren't paying attention, like any good detective movie this is the case but also you want to pay close attention as well. We start off with Brendan (Levitt) hunched over by a dead girl near a tunnel, and than we flash back to him getting a phone call from the same girl. Her name is Emily (played by Emilie de Ravin) and she wants to talk to him, and than when she does, she tells him she needs his help. They get cut off, something scares her off, and they later meet up. She tells him she cares deeply for him but he has to move on with his life, alluding to a previous relationship the two had, and that she doesn't need his help any longer. The entire scene pulls hard at your heartstrings and makes you wonder if Brendan knows she is essentially saying good bye to him forever, or if he thinks he will see her again soon. Soon after they let us see how Brendan ended up at that tunnel with the dead Emily, and what happens next is him trying to find out how she ended up dead, and why she did. The fantastic and underused and underrated Nora Zehetner plays opposite him as the girl who won't stop trying to help him in his quest. She wants to help him because she sees how much he loved Emily and wanted nothing but to help her. She sees this, and from what we can gather early in the movie, is almost jealous of that. She continually is offering her help to him. Brendan refuses, stating he can't trust her. He decides that somehow Emily got involved with the kingpin of the area. So he sets out to find him. What happens next, and from there on, is where the true detective elements of the story start. I don't want to get too into anything else other than to say, watch the movie. I have purposely left out elements of even the beginning of the movie to make sure not to ruin anything.

Nothing about this movie feels cheap or contrived. Not the sets, not the actors, not the dialogue, none of it. You would think making a modern detective film set in a high school would end up somewhat ridiculous even, but it never does. It keeps your interest from start to finish. You want to know what happened to Emily, and how Brendan will get through the next thing, and will he live to avenge Emily. You really end up caring about Brendan to such a degree that it almost takes away from the other very clever and well written characters. I did say almost though, and the other main characters of the film are both interesting and feel real. The movie should feel almost like a weird version of The Maltese Falcon in fact, since the director actually even uses lines from it in two different parts (try and guess where when you watch it). Also, the film is entirely shot at San Clemente High School, which is just a little shout out to one of my faithful readers. So give the movie a try, I sincerely doubt you will be disappointed.

You keep reading them, and I'll keep writing them.