If there's anything to be gained from Woody Allen's latest "comeback" film Vicky Cristina Barcelona-- and trust me, there's not much new here that Allen hasn't done better before-- it's that the moment after Javier Bardem sticks his penis inside you, you will turn into one cuckoo-for-Cocoa-Puffs crazy bitch. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) arrive in Barcelona pretty normal, if a tad bit hung up on the intellectualization of the smallest details of their psyche and personas, but by the time Bardem's Juan Antonio has his way with each of these ladies, Vicky wants to leave her loving, but ultimately boring fiance and Cristina is engaging in a three-way relationship with him and his ex-wife Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz). The problem with Vicky Cristina Barcelona is, unfortunately, that Woody Allen doesn't find anything wrong with this situation and whole-heartedly supports Juan Antonio's sexual adventures while the women are treated as silly creatures who can't let go of their hangups and just be sexually free.Not all of Vicky Cristina Barcelona is bad. I did enjoy the cinematography (I loved the yellow tint that most of the city was shot through and the landscapes looked free and enticing) and the editing was incredibly sharp with a consistently strong point of view. The most interesting moment in the whole first half of the film was when Vicky and Cristina are coming from the airport and even though they are sitting next to each other in the same car, they are shown in separate frames to highlight the fact that they completely differ on their viewpoints about love and life. They may be close, but there will always be something about each other that they will never understand.The real problem with Vicky Cristina Barcelona is, rather surprisingly, Woody Allen's lazy, repetitive script. Not only, like his Cassandra's Dream released earlier this year, were most of the themes the same themes we've been exposed to through the last ten years of Woody films, but it is also the laziest, least interesting screenplay I've ever seen from him. The voiceovers gave away absolutely everything about how we should be feeling and what the characters were thinking at crucial times instead of showing us and letting the actors take control. And it's not even like the completely unneccesary voiceover is written that well; I believe at one point, the narrator says something like, "Vicky thought the bulidings were beautiful"....wow, could you be any less descriptive? Why didn't you just write "They were good"? Plus, I couldn't believe how little the characters developed through the course of the film. I don't care to remember how many scenes in the second half of the film revolved around Vicky trying to convince herself and everyone else that she wanted to be with her fiance when she really wants to get banged by Javier Bardem. Her character was interesting for awhile, but after five scenes with this same dilemma, I quickly grew disinterested.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona has one saving grace and, just like you've heard, that miracle worker is Penelope Cruz. I grew so bored with this movie by the halfway point that I was just hoping that she enter quickly to shake things up. Needless to say, my high expectations were met and surpassed. Forgive me for being a bit of a blurb whore right now, but let me just say that Penelope Cruz gives quite possibly the best performance of the year so far. She's fiery, fiesty and full of life; whenever she appears on screen the film suddenly snaps back to attention and she actually gives the illusion that this film is interesting or worth exploring. I completely agree with PUXZKKX when he says about Cruz's performance: I just wish that she had been showcased more in her final scene, but that's what good supporting acting is - when an actor or actress leaves you wanting more. It is a spiky, tangy and exotic performance...
The rest of the cast is adequate, if not exactly as interesting or in depth as Cruz and her Maria Elena. Javier Bardem emits a smoldering sexuality and that's all the role really requires of him. Rebecca Hall starts off with that great berating of Bardem's Juan Antonio when he approaches the two of them in the restaurant but then she becomes the Woody Allen character and I completely lost interest in her. ScarJo looks pretty, I guess? She doesn't really add anything to a role that is just begging for something to be done with. Something has happened to ScarJo, and Woody for that matter, since their success in Match Point nearly three years ago. They haven't been able to duplicate it and, frankly, at this point I'm not sure that they can. C
You don't need me to tell you how excited I am for the rumors that Nicole Kidman and Dame Judi Dench are in talks to star in the film adaptation of the musical Nine. Two of my beloved divas together with Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard and Sophia Loren, directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago)...I think I just died and went to heaven. I really don't want to overhype this movie in my mind, because then I know I'll be sorely disappointed when it comes out next year, but right now I'm just so excited to see Kidman sing for the first time since Moulin Rouge! and relish in divalicious presence of Dame Judi (who can also sing very well, if you haven't seen before).
And the nominees are...
Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men
Although not quite as much fun as Hannibal Lecter (to whom everyone compares him), Bardem's creation is just as creepy because he seems like someone you could possibly run into in a sleepy small town.
Key Scene: The coin toss and "Call it...friendo."
Paul Dano as Paul Sunday and Eli Sunday in There Will Be Blood
I wasn't too terribly fond of Dano in his supposed "breakthrough" performance in Little Miss Sunshine, but after seeing him stand toe-to-toe with a larger than life Daniel Day-Lewis, I have a new found respect for him. His over-the-top shrieking like he was Malachai from Children of the Corn in the trailer really bothered me, but seeing it in the context of the film, Dano completely blew me away.
Key Scene: Chastising his father for selling to Plainview
Ben Foster as Charlie Prince in 3:10 to Yuma
Relentless in his journey to save the man he loves from an impending death sentence, Foster finds the delicate balance between a Christian-esque flaming stereotype and so subtle that his attraction to Crowe is seen as nothing more than a "friendship". Plus, you have to love the way he rocks that leather jacket...total rockstar.
Key Scene: Waiting for Ben to come out of the hotel
James Marsden as Prince Edward in Enchanted and Corny Collins in Hairspray
Facing obscurity after his few years as a 90's pretty boy (and as the guy who always gets dumped), James Marsden unleashed untapped star quality and sang and danced his way into the hearts of Americans all over (well, at least mine). Even with such goofy characters, Marsden remains committed to the performance at all costs.
Key Scene: In Hairspray, "The Nicest Kids in Town". In Enchanted, slaying the "dragon"
Tom Wilkinson as Arthur Edens in Michael Clayton
Is he really insane, or he is the only sane person left in a world full of corruption and winning at all costs? Wilkinson teeters on the edge of going majorly over-the-top, but there's a reason for it: he's a mad prophet, preaching to no one who gives a damn what he has to say.
Key Scene: The opening monologue....some people hated it, but I was hooked from "I'm drenched in afterbirth."
If Only There Were Six: Heath Ledger, I'm Not There Cate be damned, Heath had the most interesting part of I'm Not There, understanding this shallow cad and making him work in the grand scheme of things. Heath will surely be missed.
Rest of the Top 10: Sam Rockwell, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford...Robert Downey, Jr., Zodiac...Ed Harris, Gone Baby Gone...Hal Holbrook, Into the WildBRONZETom Wilkinson, Michael ClaytonSILVERJavier Bardem, No Country For Old MenGOLDJames Marsden, Enchanted, Hairspray
