In the first decade of the 21st century we explored the phenomenon of the indie comedy with the rise of films such as Juno and Little Miss Sunshine. That trend continued into the 2010s with countless more indie comedies being highly acclaimed by critics such as the next film on our list; The Kids Are All Right.
The film stars Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as lesbian couple Nic and Jules who have two teenage children in the form of sensible Joni and slightly reckless Laser. The couple's children were both conceived by insemination with Nic being the mother to Joni and Jules having given birth to Laser. Laser is keen to find out more about the man whose sperm helped to make him so when his sister turns eighteen he pesters her to ring up the sperm bank and discover the identity of the man in question. The children later track down restaurant-owning Paul whose chilled out philosophy works its charm on Joni however Laser isn't initially convinced. When Nic and Jules discover what their children have been up to they demand Paul come over the the house with both feeling the same way that Laser did about him. However, when Paul hires Jules to do some gardening work for him the pair end up in bed together on more than one occasion. Gradually Paul's influence sweeps over the family with both Laser and Joni's attitudes changing as a result of getting to know the donor. Only Nic remains unconvinced and her feelings towards Paul lead to resentment throughout the family. As you would expect events lead up to a crescendo where Nic discovers Jules' affair whilst at Paul's house however the fallout was at least a little surprising. I have to say that the way Nic discovered the affair and brought it up wasn't the usual way you would see in a film and her quiet revelation was neatly written. The fact that the conclusion was quite sweet-natured is a testament to a film that felt very realistic despite its somewhat far-fetched premise.
A lot of the reason for this is down to Lisa Cholodenko's assured direction and brilliant script that she co-wrote with Stuart Blumberg. Seeing as Cholodenko starting outlining the script in 2004 I'm not surprised that she takes as much care with her characters as she does. What I liked about The Kids Are All Right is that a lot of the subtext comes from the characters' gestures rather than their dialogue. Not that the dialogue is at all bad and instead the script feels incredibly well-paced with each major incident being padded out with several scenes of gardening or drinking. Although most of the plot strands are tied up in just over ninety minutes my only slight niggle was that I don't think we got a resolution to Joni's feelings towards her friend Jai. The Kids Are All Right's other ace in the hole is the five central cast members all of whom do their best to try and make the film as good as possible. Indeed it was the attachment of big name stars that got The Kids Are All Right the green light in the first place with the first actor to join up being Julianne Moore. Moore is absolutely fantastic in the role of free-wheeling Jules, who is asked to re-examine her life following Paul's introduction. Whilst Moore provides a lot of emotional moments throughout the film, it was Annette Bening who garnered all the awards buzz during Oscar Season. After winning the Golden Globe for her fantastic portrayal of Nic it was thought that Bening would finally win an Oscar but this wasn't to be the case. Also nominated for his role in the film was Mark Ruffalo who gave a breezy turn as the laid back interloper Paul. Meanwhile, Josh Hutcherson and particularly Mia Wasikowska bolstered the movie with their bold portrayals of Laser and Joni. With everybody playing their part neatly, The Kids Are All Right ended up being a fantastic character study of modern family dynamics and how things can go horribly wrong with the introduction of a newcomer in the family home. Despite a few story inconsistencies, I find little to fault in a film which I found to be quirky, heartfelt and enjoyable in equal measure.
Next time we review two Best Picture nominees who offer tips on how to survive certain perilous situations.
Showing posts with label Annette Bening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Annette Bening. Show all posts
Sunday, 24 May 2015
Wednesday, 4 March 2015
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 392-393: Tales from Suburban America
The common bond our next two films share is that of suburbia, is that they seemingly focus on normal families going about their daily business. However, the slightest change in circumstance alters the characters in both of these films significantly. Although one film relies a lot more on quirks both look at the stereotypical American family and the cracks that show beneath the surface.
The Burnhams in American Beauty have almost so many cracks that the surface is all but gone. Alan Ball's script focuses on the spiritually dead Lester Burnham who is reawakened by several new faces in his life. The first is his teenage daughter Jane's new friend Angela, whom he has numerous sexual fantasies about and begins to work out after eavesdropping on a conversation between the two girls. Meanwhile, his new neighbour, and Jane's love interest, Ricky Fitts supplies him with marijuana and as a result he regresses into a youthful state. These new changes in her husband's life don't go down too well with his prim and proper realtor wife Carolyn. Carolyn is a very methodical person who likes everything just-so so when Lester resigns from his job her world starts to change too. As Ball has already let us know, Lester dies by the end of the film, so part of the plot is devoted to building up a list of suspects. With Carolyn taking shooting lessons and Jane asking Ricky to kill her father; both seem like likely candidates however the actual perpetrator is the man who has a room full of guns. The aim of Ball's script is to poke fun at the middle classes with their candlelit suppers and finely pruned roses. I feel he does this admirably as Lester's breakdown begins to effect the world around him and change the status quo in the household that Carolyn has maintained.
I've watched American Beauty several times before and I remember rather enjoying it. However, on this latest viewing, I found myself initially hating Kevin Spacey's performance as Lester. Although the character of Lester is well written, Spacey plays him so withdrawn that it's hard to sympathise with him. It's only in the latter scenes that Spacey brings out an extra dimension to Lester however I feel that other actors would've made me warm to Lester sooner. It seems like I'm in the minority though as Spacey won his second acting Oscar in as many nominations, his first coming via his superior turn in The Usual Suspects. If anybody should have won an Oscar for their performance in American Beauty then it's Annette Bening. Bening utterly becomes Carolyn and makes the scene in which she 'must sell this house today' utterly compelling. In fact, by the end of the film, I had much more sympathy for Carolyn than I did Lester. Fine support was provided courtesy of a regimented Chris Cooper and a withdrawn Alison Janney as Ricky's parents. Sam Mendes, who won the Best Director award for what was his debut feature, perfectly anchored the film's offbeat style. Although a little pretentious for its own good at times, especially with the dancing shopping bag, there's also a lot to like. Among these positive elements are Thomas Newman's haunting score and the way that cinematographer Conrad Hall presents the scenes in which Ricky films Lester and Jane. Despite American Beauty being a well put together and interesting film it doesn't scream Best Picture winner to me. Whilst I enjoyed myself and found it to be an easy watch, I was never blown away and found Spacey's central performance inconsistent throughout. That being said it's still better than a fair few Best Picture nominees that I've watched up to this point and at least the Academy picked a film with plenty of substance.
Whilst the Burnhams are dysfunctional throughout the course of American Beauty, the Fowlers are initially a well-adjusted happy clan who live a fine existence in the small town of Camden, Maine. Father Matt is the town's GP whilst Ruth teaches singing at the local school, meanwhile their son Frank is training to be an architect. The Fowlers lives are full of poker games, barbecues and trips to luxurious cabins; however everything changes when Frank starts to date the much older Natalie Strout. Natalie doesn't come alone; as she has two young sons as well as an abusive ex-husband who turns up every now and then expecting to reunite with her at some point. It's Natalie's ex-husband Richard who changes the course of the film when he storms the family home and shoots Frank dead. From then on the film explores the theme of grief with both Ruth and Matt dealing with the incident in different ways. Matt tries to put a brave face on things and attempts to return to work however it's later made clear that he isn't coping as well as he should. Meanwhile Ruth becomes a lot more withdrawn and it takes it a while to go back to the school to train her choir for the upcoming Labour Day concert. Director Todd Field and co-writer Robert Festinger; who based their script on Andre Dubus' short story Killings, perfectly pace the first two thirds of their story. I felt that Ruth and Matt's ultimate argument occurred at the right time with both throwing the finger of blame at each other. Where the film lost me was in its final act, where Matt finally attempts to extract vengeance for his son's death. These final scenes felt out of place with what had happened up to this point however I felt that Field and Festinger pulled it back with a rather open-ended final scene.
Something that was great throughout the course of In The Bedroom were the performances given by Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson as Ruth and Matt. One great thing about doing this challenge is watching the entire span of an actor's career and that's what I feel I've done with Sissy Spacek. From her idealistic roles in Coal Miner's Daughter and Missing, In the Bedroom sees her deal with much more of a down-to-Earth matriarch. However, Spacek's outstanding ability is demonstrated here as she is able to say so much with a sudden glance or the smoking of a cigarette. The grief that Ruth feels is conveyed brilliantly by Spacek especially in an almost inconsequential scene at a log cabin where she chats with an old friend. It's also great to see Tom Wilkinson graduate from British films to playing the lead in an American production where he's able to showcase his extraordinary skills. Wilkinson brings a charm to the character of Matt however I didn't believe his descent into darkness in the aforementioned final scenes. Both Wilkinson and Spacek were nominated for Oscars for their performances as was Marisa Tomei for her turn as the tortured Natalie. As a big fan of Tomei's I was upset when she had little to do following Frank's death although her earlier scenes were more than enough to put her in the Supporting Actress category. Antonio Calvache's cinematography was perfect as he sometimes focused on a specific part of a character's body rather than their facial features. This often gave the character's more depth and allowed us to see through the eyes of Ruth and Matt. Also worth a mention is the haunting music that Ruth is teaching her choir for the concert; this music is added to several of the film's pivotal scenes which gives them a certain eerie edge. It's a shame that In the Bedroom isn't as well remembered as American Beauty because in my opinion it's the superior product. Despite a wonky third act; In the Bedroom is still a brilliant piece of film-making that explores what happens when a shocking incident affects a seemingly normal suburban family.
Next time the blog goes to the races as we have some fun horsing about.
The Burnhams in American Beauty have almost so many cracks that the surface is all but gone. Alan Ball's script focuses on the spiritually dead Lester Burnham who is reawakened by several new faces in his life. The first is his teenage daughter Jane's new friend Angela, whom he has numerous sexual fantasies about and begins to work out after eavesdropping on a conversation between the two girls. Meanwhile, his new neighbour, and Jane's love interest, Ricky Fitts supplies him with marijuana and as a result he regresses into a youthful state. These new changes in her husband's life don't go down too well with his prim and proper realtor wife Carolyn. Carolyn is a very methodical person who likes everything just-so so when Lester resigns from his job her world starts to change too. As Ball has already let us know, Lester dies by the end of the film, so part of the plot is devoted to building up a list of suspects. With Carolyn taking shooting lessons and Jane asking Ricky to kill her father; both seem like likely candidates however the actual perpetrator is the man who has a room full of guns. The aim of Ball's script is to poke fun at the middle classes with their candlelit suppers and finely pruned roses. I feel he does this admirably as Lester's breakdown begins to effect the world around him and change the status quo in the household that Carolyn has maintained.
I've watched American Beauty several times before and I remember rather enjoying it. However, on this latest viewing, I found myself initially hating Kevin Spacey's performance as Lester. Although the character of Lester is well written, Spacey plays him so withdrawn that it's hard to sympathise with him. It's only in the latter scenes that Spacey brings out an extra dimension to Lester however I feel that other actors would've made me warm to Lester sooner. It seems like I'm in the minority though as Spacey won his second acting Oscar in as many nominations, his first coming via his superior turn in The Usual Suspects. If anybody should have won an Oscar for their performance in American Beauty then it's Annette Bening. Bening utterly becomes Carolyn and makes the scene in which she 'must sell this house today' utterly compelling. In fact, by the end of the film, I had much more sympathy for Carolyn than I did Lester. Fine support was provided courtesy of a regimented Chris Cooper and a withdrawn Alison Janney as Ricky's parents. Sam Mendes, who won the Best Director award for what was his debut feature, perfectly anchored the film's offbeat style. Although a little pretentious for its own good at times, especially with the dancing shopping bag, there's also a lot to like. Among these positive elements are Thomas Newman's haunting score and the way that cinematographer Conrad Hall presents the scenes in which Ricky films Lester and Jane. Despite American Beauty being a well put together and interesting film it doesn't scream Best Picture winner to me. Whilst I enjoyed myself and found it to be an easy watch, I was never blown away and found Spacey's central performance inconsistent throughout. That being said it's still better than a fair few Best Picture nominees that I've watched up to this point and at least the Academy picked a film with plenty of substance.
Whilst the Burnhams are dysfunctional throughout the course of American Beauty, the Fowlers are initially a well-adjusted happy clan who live a fine existence in the small town of Camden, Maine. Father Matt is the town's GP whilst Ruth teaches singing at the local school, meanwhile their son Frank is training to be an architect. The Fowlers lives are full of poker games, barbecues and trips to luxurious cabins; however everything changes when Frank starts to date the much older Natalie Strout. Natalie doesn't come alone; as she has two young sons as well as an abusive ex-husband who turns up every now and then expecting to reunite with her at some point. It's Natalie's ex-husband Richard who changes the course of the film when he storms the family home and shoots Frank dead. From then on the film explores the theme of grief with both Ruth and Matt dealing with the incident in different ways. Matt tries to put a brave face on things and attempts to return to work however it's later made clear that he isn't coping as well as he should. Meanwhile Ruth becomes a lot more withdrawn and it takes it a while to go back to the school to train her choir for the upcoming Labour Day concert. Director Todd Field and co-writer Robert Festinger; who based their script on Andre Dubus' short story Killings, perfectly pace the first two thirds of their story. I felt that Ruth and Matt's ultimate argument occurred at the right time with both throwing the finger of blame at each other. Where the film lost me was in its final act, where Matt finally attempts to extract vengeance for his son's death. These final scenes felt out of place with what had happened up to this point however I felt that Field and Festinger pulled it back with a rather open-ended final scene.
Something that was great throughout the course of In The Bedroom were the performances given by Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson as Ruth and Matt. One great thing about doing this challenge is watching the entire span of an actor's career and that's what I feel I've done with Sissy Spacek. From her idealistic roles in Coal Miner's Daughter and Missing, In the Bedroom sees her deal with much more of a down-to-Earth matriarch. However, Spacek's outstanding ability is demonstrated here as she is able to say so much with a sudden glance or the smoking of a cigarette. The grief that Ruth feels is conveyed brilliantly by Spacek especially in an almost inconsequential scene at a log cabin where she chats with an old friend. It's also great to see Tom Wilkinson graduate from British films to playing the lead in an American production where he's able to showcase his extraordinary skills. Wilkinson brings a charm to the character of Matt however I didn't believe his descent into darkness in the aforementioned final scenes. Both Wilkinson and Spacek were nominated for Oscars for their performances as was Marisa Tomei for her turn as the tortured Natalie. As a big fan of Tomei's I was upset when she had little to do following Frank's death although her earlier scenes were more than enough to put her in the Supporting Actress category. Antonio Calvache's cinematography was perfect as he sometimes focused on a specific part of a character's body rather than their facial features. This often gave the character's more depth and allowed us to see through the eyes of Ruth and Matt. Also worth a mention is the haunting music that Ruth is teaching her choir for the concert; this music is added to several of the film's pivotal scenes which gives them a certain eerie edge. It's a shame that In the Bedroom isn't as well remembered as American Beauty because in my opinion it's the superior product. Despite a wonky third act; In the Bedroom is still a brilliant piece of film-making that explores what happens when a shocking incident affects a seemingly normal suburban family.
Next time the blog goes to the races as we have some fun horsing about.
Wednesday, 4 June 2014
Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 311-312: A Gaggle of Gangsters
As the decades have gone on some of the films on the Oscar Challenge have become more violent as film-makers began to push the envelope. The 1970s in particular featured plenty of nominees that had a violent tone and often focused on those operating outside the law. The gangster genre was revived to an extent in the 1990s with two films focusing on mobsters with both being slightly different in tone.
The first was 1991 nominee Goodfellas, a film I'm ashamed to say I've never watched up until this point. The film covers 25 years in the life of Henry Hill who famously always wanted to be a gangster. The opening of the film sees Henry ingratiate himself into the gang and proves himself to them when he refuses to give them up when he first appears in court. Henry's main associate throughout the course of the film is the incredibly volatile Tommy DeVito, who even clashes with his friends on occasion. The other character who recurs throughout the film is the more senior Jimmy Conway who is seen as a gentleman by those who know him. The majority of the film's first half sees the glamorous life that Henry's new position has earned him especially after partaking in numerous robberies. At the same time Tommy's temper gets the trio in a lot of trouble and they end up trying to bury an important member of the mob who was trying to humiliate Tommy. In fact Tommy later kills a young bartender just for insulting him, this coming after he injured the boy's feet. As the years pass Henry find himself in jail, whilst his relationship with his wife Karen deteriorates when he takes on a mistress. The final third of the film deals with Henry's new line in drug-dealing, something he started in prison, and the gang's involvement in the Lufthansa Heist at JFK airport. These latter scenes strip away the glamour of the criminal life as Henry's associates are either murdered or jailed. Despite all that's happened to him Henry still longs for the glamorous life that he no longer has now he's in witness protection.
Goodfellas is often held up as one of the best films of all time but while I enjoyed it throughout there was nothing particularly remarkable about it. Narratively the film has issues as it is led by an expositional voiceover delivered by Ray Liotta as the adult Henry Hill. Voiceovers like this are one of my pet hates in visual storytelling as part of the film mantra is usually 'don't tell us, show us'. In fact Goodfellas really riled me up when it introduced a second voiceover by Lorraine Bracco who played Henry's wife Karen. Although it does have faults, the script moves along quite sharply so we get all of the key facts about Henry's life without every settling down for too long. Director Martin Scorsese really focuses on the opulent life the gangsters enjoy, both at home and in their social life at the Copacabana. I feel that both the art direction and the costume design deserved to be recognised at the Oscars with the latter brilliantly changing to indicate the style of the time. In the role of Henry, Ray Liotta was a dependable presence who really came alive in the latter scenes when his character started to develop a serious amount of paranoia. As we've seen him become a star name over the past couple of decades it's odd that Robert De Niro was used sparingly until the film's final third. I think it works quite well as Jimmy is an interesting character who is explored more as the film goes on. But obviously the most famous performance in the film, and the one that won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, was that of Joe Pesci as Tommy. From the moment he delivers his iconic 'Funny how?' speech you know you're in the presence of an actor at the top of his game. He employs a frantic energy which means you never know what Tommy will do next but at the same time he makes you sympathise with him when he unsuspectingly gets murdered on one of the happiest days of his life. Action-packed, well-shot and with a fantastic cast; Goodfellas is definitely a fun film to watch but I wouldn't add it to the list of my all-time favourites.
One of the films that I knew very little about before watching it was Barry Levinson's Bugsy which featured in the Best Picture line-up the next year. The film stars Warren Beatty as Ben Siegel who is known as Bugsy to everybody but doesn't like the nickname used in his presence. Bugsy looks at two aspects of Siegel's life both of which happen when he travels from New York to L.A. to sort outside business in the city's betting parlours. Almost instantly Ben falls in love with small-time actress Virginia Hill, who appears to really know how to play to a man's weaknesses. When they meet Ben is already married whilst Virginia is in a relationship with one of Bugsy's acquaintances. Despite that, after a night filled with banter, the two decide that they can't keep their hands off one another. The relationship between Virginia and Ben is rocky at best as he fails to get a divorce and he gets insanely jealous when she even looks at another man. Similarly Virginia is frightened of Ben's violent temper and occasionally he beats somebody up just because they annoy him in some small way. After being abandoned in the desert by Virginia, Ben realises that Las Vegas would be the perfect place to build a hotel and casino. Ben's mobster chums are less than thrilled by the prospect of ploughing a million dollars into a risky venture but they change their minds when they realise that gambling is legal in Nevada. While planning the hotel, Ben puts Virginia in charge of finances and so the project goes way over budget. Eventually Ben is facing problems from every side with his wife wanting a divorce and the mobsters needing a return on the money they've invested. Ultimately Ben's dream for hotel-filled Las Vegas survived but unfortunately he didn't.
Although both feature characters that essentially rob and murder for a living, Bugsy and Goodfellas are very different films. The main difference is that a lot of the violence in Bugsy takes place off-screen whilst Goodfellas is incredibly graphic from the word go. Although we do see Bugsy get physical on a fair few occasions the key murders in the piece are either only heard or performed a lot more subtly than they are in Goodfellas. Even though Goodfellas had the odd funny line, Bugsy is incredibly comedic at times with the dialogue spoken between Ben and Virginia being reminiscent of that of a screwball comedy. This central relationship forms the basis for a film which has a lot of great one-liners and plenty of energy throughout. Most of this energy is provided by Warren Beatty, who probably gives the best performance that I've seen during this challenge. Beatty makes you care about Bugsy and I couldn't help but be one over by his frantic movements and undying love for Virginia. Beatty plays brilliantly off Annette Bening, who one year later would become his wife, and the pair utilise their real life chemistry to great effect. Brilliant support is also provided by Ben Kingsley Ben's associate Meyer Lansky and by Harvey Keitel as the quick-talking Micky Cohen. Unlike Goodfellas, Bugsy also took home awards for its outstanding period costumes and art direction both of which helped to give the film a glamorous look. Again, like with Goodfellas, Bugsy isn't a film that's ever going to be one of my favourites but overall I found it entertaining and surprisingly funny. Additionally, as he was definitely the star of the show, I feel that Beatty should have won his Best Actor Oscar for Bugsy as it is a prize that has eluded him his entire career.
Next time we head to Italy for the two foreign language films that were nominated for Best Picture in the 1990s.
The first was 1991 nominee Goodfellas, a film I'm ashamed to say I've never watched up until this point. The film covers 25 years in the life of Henry Hill who famously always wanted to be a gangster. The opening of the film sees Henry ingratiate himself into the gang and proves himself to them when he refuses to give them up when he first appears in court. Henry's main associate throughout the course of the film is the incredibly volatile Tommy DeVito, who even clashes with his friends on occasion. The other character who recurs throughout the film is the more senior Jimmy Conway who is seen as a gentleman by those who know him. The majority of the film's first half sees the glamorous life that Henry's new position has earned him especially after partaking in numerous robberies. At the same time Tommy's temper gets the trio in a lot of trouble and they end up trying to bury an important member of the mob who was trying to humiliate Tommy. In fact Tommy later kills a young bartender just for insulting him, this coming after he injured the boy's feet. As the years pass Henry find himself in jail, whilst his relationship with his wife Karen deteriorates when he takes on a mistress. The final third of the film deals with Henry's new line in drug-dealing, something he started in prison, and the gang's involvement in the Lufthansa Heist at JFK airport. These latter scenes strip away the glamour of the criminal life as Henry's associates are either murdered or jailed. Despite all that's happened to him Henry still longs for the glamorous life that he no longer has now he's in witness protection.
Goodfellas is often held up as one of the best films of all time but while I enjoyed it throughout there was nothing particularly remarkable about it. Narratively the film has issues as it is led by an expositional voiceover delivered by Ray Liotta as the adult Henry Hill. Voiceovers like this are one of my pet hates in visual storytelling as part of the film mantra is usually 'don't tell us, show us'. In fact Goodfellas really riled me up when it introduced a second voiceover by Lorraine Bracco who played Henry's wife Karen. Although it does have faults, the script moves along quite sharply so we get all of the key facts about Henry's life without every settling down for too long. Director Martin Scorsese really focuses on the opulent life the gangsters enjoy, both at home and in their social life at the Copacabana. I feel that both the art direction and the costume design deserved to be recognised at the Oscars with the latter brilliantly changing to indicate the style of the time. In the role of Henry, Ray Liotta was a dependable presence who really came alive in the latter scenes when his character started to develop a serious amount of paranoia. As we've seen him become a star name over the past couple of decades it's odd that Robert De Niro was used sparingly until the film's final third. I think it works quite well as Jimmy is an interesting character who is explored more as the film goes on. But obviously the most famous performance in the film, and the one that won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, was that of Joe Pesci as Tommy. From the moment he delivers his iconic 'Funny how?' speech you know you're in the presence of an actor at the top of his game. He employs a frantic energy which means you never know what Tommy will do next but at the same time he makes you sympathise with him when he unsuspectingly gets murdered on one of the happiest days of his life. Action-packed, well-shot and with a fantastic cast; Goodfellas is definitely a fun film to watch but I wouldn't add it to the list of my all-time favourites.
One of the films that I knew very little about before watching it was Barry Levinson's Bugsy which featured in the Best Picture line-up the next year. The film stars Warren Beatty as Ben Siegel who is known as Bugsy to everybody but doesn't like the nickname used in his presence. Bugsy looks at two aspects of Siegel's life both of which happen when he travels from New York to L.A. to sort outside business in the city's betting parlours. Almost instantly Ben falls in love with small-time actress Virginia Hill, who appears to really know how to play to a man's weaknesses. When they meet Ben is already married whilst Virginia is in a relationship with one of Bugsy's acquaintances. Despite that, after a night filled with banter, the two decide that they can't keep their hands off one another. The relationship between Virginia and Ben is rocky at best as he fails to get a divorce and he gets insanely jealous when she even looks at another man. Similarly Virginia is frightened of Ben's violent temper and occasionally he beats somebody up just because they annoy him in some small way. After being abandoned in the desert by Virginia, Ben realises that Las Vegas would be the perfect place to build a hotel and casino. Ben's mobster chums are less than thrilled by the prospect of ploughing a million dollars into a risky venture but they change their minds when they realise that gambling is legal in Nevada. While planning the hotel, Ben puts Virginia in charge of finances and so the project goes way over budget. Eventually Ben is facing problems from every side with his wife wanting a divorce and the mobsters needing a return on the money they've invested. Ultimately Ben's dream for hotel-filled Las Vegas survived but unfortunately he didn't.
Although both feature characters that essentially rob and murder for a living, Bugsy and Goodfellas are very different films. The main difference is that a lot of the violence in Bugsy takes place off-screen whilst Goodfellas is incredibly graphic from the word go. Although we do see Bugsy get physical on a fair few occasions the key murders in the piece are either only heard or performed a lot more subtly than they are in Goodfellas. Even though Goodfellas had the odd funny line, Bugsy is incredibly comedic at times with the dialogue spoken between Ben and Virginia being reminiscent of that of a screwball comedy. This central relationship forms the basis for a film which has a lot of great one-liners and plenty of energy throughout. Most of this energy is provided by Warren Beatty, who probably gives the best performance that I've seen during this challenge. Beatty makes you care about Bugsy and I couldn't help but be one over by his frantic movements and undying love for Virginia. Beatty plays brilliantly off Annette Bening, who one year later would become his wife, and the pair utilise their real life chemistry to great effect. Brilliant support is also provided by Ben Kingsley Ben's associate Meyer Lansky and by Harvey Keitel as the quick-talking Micky Cohen. Unlike Goodfellas, Bugsy also took home awards for its outstanding period costumes and art direction both of which helped to give the film a glamorous look. Again, like with Goodfellas, Bugsy isn't a film that's ever going to be one of my favourites but overall I found it entertaining and surprisingly funny. Additionally, as he was definitely the star of the show, I feel that Beatty should have won his Best Actor Oscar for Bugsy as it is a prize that has eluded him his entire career.
Next time we head to Italy for the two foreign language films that were nominated for Best Picture in the 1990s.
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