Reviews
Review: Sicko and A Mighty Heart, AKA the most emotionally draining weekend I’ve had in a long time.
I saw two films this weekend that spoke at one point about the captives at Guantanamo Bay. In one film, the actions that happen are in direct correlation with how US soldiers had treated potential terrorists and enemies to the state poorly, and the other film talks about how they are actually treated better and have more privileges when it comes to health than most US citizens. So, which of these two films was directed by Michael Moore?
“If you can find money to kill people, you can find money to help people.”
That’s a quote from a man named Tony Benn who appears in Michael Moore’s new documentary about healthcare in the United States Sicko. Moore’s last feature, Fahrenheit 9/11 did a lot. It’s the most financially lucrative documentary in our history, yet the only thing that people seem to remember is that there were a ton of holes in Moore’s argument against President Bush and the war in Iraq. The thing most people forget is that it made so much money and sparked so much intrigue because it’s a well-filmed, intelligently crafted movie. Fahrenheit was essentially made to bring down Republicans. It was like Moore was the unpopular fat kid picking on the trust fund baby, who everyone knew was an asshole to begin with, but people felt compelled to jump to the trust fund baby’s aide. Moore damaged his reputation as a reporter with his last movie and needed to make a movie that would be non-biased and thought-provoking or just start making safe, obvious documentaries a la Spike Lee.
Fortunately, Michael Moore chose the former.
Sicko is brilliant. Moore gets back to doing what he does best: using his resources to find interesting material, sympathizing with those who are unfortunate, making himself the subject who is being overwhelmed by what he finds, and editing this all together perfectly to create a mixed bag of emotions. There were parts early in the movie where I thought Moore was reverting back to Fahrenheit tactics, specifically when we watch children cry because there father has to leave to become a plumber in Iraq and when he shows bubbles with price figures above politicians’ heads indicating how much the insurance companies had paid them to cooperate. After awhile though, the information starts to sink in and Moore does very little narration to explain what it is we’re watching. We begin to figure things out for ourselves, which is a tremendous testament to how well Moore has done his job.
You’re going to start hearing a lot about this film in the next coming weeks, and if that doesn’t happen it will be a shame. This is much closer to Moore’s previous best effort Bowling for Columbine than it is Fahrenheit 9/11, and the difference is that there’s a real sense of hope when leaving this film that Moore may have actually accomplished something, and may get enough people talking about universal healthcare as to persuade someone important (like Hillary Clinton circa 1993) to pay attention finally.
I won’t go into much more detail in this review because you really need to see it to appreciate. This isn’t a debate amongst Democrats or Republicans, responsible reporters or tabloid journalists. This is real. My fear is that Fahrenheit left such a bad taste in so many peoples mouths that they won’t listen or pay attention.
Sicko is simply the best film that’s been released this year. It will spark conversation and make you feel thoughtful, sad, scared, and happy all within the course of a couple minutes. It’s an emotional roller coaster, but what’s important to remember is that Moore is such a gifted filmmaker that he always keeps you on the same track.
My rating: stars
A Mighty Heart is this year’s United 93. It’s a movie that pretty much from the start makes you feel helpless and vulnerable. I, like many people, have seen the Daniel Pearl video. It was a night in the summer of 2004 and it popped up in a bit torrent search for something I don’t remember exactly. Overwhelmed with curiosity and intrigued I uploaded the video and watched it, having to pause periodically to see if I had the courage to hit play again. I didn’t make it to the end. I made it right up to the climax and then had to throw up. I followed this experience by watching reruns of Family Guy on DVD. Michael Winterbottom’s film is much the same experience. Except while I was in the theater I couldn’t make the projectionist pause until I was ready to go on.
Though, unlike the video I found on bit torrent, this movie does have an incredible story to tell. Winterbottom tells the story in such a creative way, taking us through the few weeks after Daniel Pearl is kidnapped, showing us in flashback how he interacted with the people leading up to the day he disappeared and then, inevitably building tension towards the ending we all know is coming. In the middle of all this, he manages to coach terrific performances out of his lead actors–filled with heart, humor, and depth.
Angelina Jolie is outstanding. She plays Mariane Pearl with a sense of subtle optimism and simple integrity. She’s a refined and intelligent woman who manages to stay mostly strong throughout the most horrible of ordeals. I even remember reading about Mariane Pearl back when this whole series of events went down and how she seemed cold, but put into context within the film (and Pearl’s book) it makes perfect sense for her to have acted the way that she did. I urge people not to be distracted simply by the fact that this is Angelina Jolie on the screen, because she’s truly giving a great performance here that deserves to be recognized. There’s moments, particularly late in the film, where it would be hard to see if any other actress could pull it off so convincingly.
Others who deserve recognition are Dan Futterman (who was nominated for an Oscar for writing Capote and played Robin Williams obnoxious son in The Birdcage) as Daniel Pearl. He’s actually quite charming in the performance and luckily we only get to see Pearl in the job of reporting that he clearly enjoys so much and being a good husband, we don’t have to watch any of his captivity. Archie Panjaba plays Mariane’s right-hand Indian woman, Asra with exceptional strength and matter-of-factness. Irfan Khan plays a real-world Jack Bauer who is brought in to find Daniel Pearl. The only real criticism I would give to this movie is that for a relatively long stretch of time, it almost turns into a thriller. Khan’s “Captain” and his men follow leads about where Daniel Pearl is being held and desperately launch a last-minute frenzied search which involves some breaking-and-entering and torture. This isn’t Jack Bauer torture either. This torture is not meant to entertain us, and the people who are being tortured are not necessarily bad people and they don’t react in the normal way people in movies/television generally do. This is a very real film, and it’s Khan’s performance and Winterbottom’s direction during this stretch that make the scenes bearable.
A lot of critics have been writing about how A Mighty Heart is either very inconsistent with it’s story-telling or that it’s simply a vanity project for Angelina Jolie. Neither is the case. I don’t necessarily agree with Winterbottom’s decision to make this as if it was a political thriller, but the way he tells the story makes you believe that there’s a real sense of urgency for the characters, that their lives FEEL like a political thriller, and that’s all that matters. There is a scene where two Wall Street Journal writers who work with Mariane are talking about possible names for her soon-to-be-born child and then they are interrupted by some shocking news via phone call. This is the kind of moment that would be played in a political thriller with the introduction of ominous music and quick cuts, but the characters behave realistically and the filmmaker avoids all obvious cliches. So even though it MAY feel like a political thriller, it is still bound in reality and the characters behave as such.
As far as this being a vanity project–I don’t agree. Vanity projects are movies like The Last Samurai starring Tom Cruise or Mona Lisa Smile starring Julia Roberts, movies where the only existence is fueled by the potential to be taken seriously or win Oscars. I doubt A Mighty Heart will win Oscars and I bet with all her recent real-life shenanigans most people won’t see Jolie’s performance in this movie. It’s a shame when we let our celebreality interfere with our ability to be entertained. M:I-3 was actually quite a good movie that nobody liked because we all hate Cruise now. My co-host on Strong Words admits to this day that he loves Gigli, even though most people ignored it because they were overexposed to “Bennifer.*
There should be a law, much in the same fashion as separating church and state, requiring people to leave their bullshit at the door when going to see movies.
*and actually, Gigli really is a terrible movie and my co-host is also currently searching for every available Sylvester Stallone movie that’s ever been released to add next to his Halloween and King of Queens DVD collections.
My rating: stars
Discussion
9 comments for “Review: Sicko and A Mighty Heart, AKA the most emotionally draining weekend I’ve had in a long time.”
Post a comment
jesus christ, a guy buy a couple rambo movies and suddenly his secret shame is all over the internet.
buyS
You stupid ass, you re-commented to fix a typo, fuck typos.
Yeah, you never saw Tim correct any of the times he misspelled “Sopranos” did you?
Did I just misspell “misspelled”? Hmm.
Fixing misspellings is stupid. I fixed a few of my soprano mistakes, but things that end in o need an e before the s… like potatoes
haha, secret shame. Over the Top is better than anything Josh has ever laid eyes on. He can’t comprehend it–damn small mindedness
I saw Over the Top when you were still in diapers friend. So…’92 or so.
On first read of your post, I thought you wrote “I saw Over the Top in your diaper friend”. I thought I might have to pay you a visit and throw you through a plate glass window.
Go home, put on Kenny Loggins’ “Meet me Halfway” and pull that fuckin horn rope until your arm bleeds.
whoa, gaseous clay is hardcore.