Adult Situations

December 31, 2009

While watching the new Jason Reitman film Up In The Air, which I loved, I was struck most by the adult relationships on display. The characters played by George Clooney and Vera Farmiga are mature, complex, fully-developed people who engage in thoughtful and intelligent conversation. It’s amazing how something that simple can lift and enervate you in ways that $400 million in special effects cannot.

The film made me think back to some other film moments when two characters engaged in relationships, conversations, and situations that felt alive, fresh, and adult. One of my all-time favorite scenes comes from Victor/Victoria. Victoria (Julie Andrews) and King Marchand (James Garner) find themselves sitting on a bed after months of an extremely complicated courtship. The two discuss their relationship – or, rather, potential relationship – in adult, frank, and honest ways. It helps that Blake Edwards’ excellent dialogue is delivered from two terrific performers at the top of their game. But what is so refreshing, so exhilarating, is listening to honest dialogue from two adult characters we have come to care about in the film. Check out this scene right here:

Wonderful, isn’t it?

Another example of this is one of my all-time favorite films, Remains Of The Day. It’s a romance film about unrequited love – the most painful kind – starring two of the most powerful actors of this generation. Again, keen dialogue forms the basis of this dynamic onscreen relationship, and it’s built upon by nuanced performance to make movie magic. Why can’t we see more adults coping with complex emotional situations in mature and fascinating fashion? Why must everything be dumbed down, farted on, and shoveled into the hog trough all the time? Check out this amazing and beautifully-acted scene between these two fine actors:

In the face of intense, realistic, fluid scenes like these, isn’t it shocking that anyone wastes their time watching eye-gouging garbage like Transformers? Mature films like these with adult emotions cost nothing to make, yet they sink deep into the hearts of audiences and stay there forever. Why would we ever want anything else?

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1-31-10
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With the DGA and the Producer’s Guild lining up behind Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker, it’s pretty much guaranteed to take the Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. And that’s a good thing; it was the best film of 2009 in a weak year. Just as long as Avatar doesn’t win, I’m fine.

1-29-10
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It’s hard to believe that Miramax will now be absorbed into Disney and will disappear forever. This is the studio that produced gems like Pulp Fiction, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, and Clerks. Of course, it also produced over-hyped crap like The English Patient and The Aviator.

Hmm … perhaps it was for the best after all.

1-22-10
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My first thought when I saw these promotional stills for the upcoming Oscar show was: “Geez, Steve Martin looks like he’s lost or in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s.” My second thought was: “Man, this show is going to feel like it’s Oscars 1978.”

1-21-10
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This is a surprisingly in-depth look behind the scenes at the making of Avatar. Like the movie itself, there is very little attention paid to the story, while the effects take center stage.

1-20-10
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This news segment is interesting in that it shows how defensive and weird Mel Gibson has become in recent years. That 2006 anti-Semitic remark still haunts him. I say it’s time to move on.

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