Tag: billy crudup

The future lay sparkling ahead and we thought we would know each other forever. “Sleepers” (1996)

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directed by Barry Levinson
© 1996 Warner Bros. All Rights Reserved.

There are so many gems in this film that you cannot miss it. But let me tell you what it’s about and later I can share the most admirable elements. We get to know 4 boys who are a group of friends: Lorenzo knowns as Shakes (Joe Perrino, later Jason Patric), Tommy (Jonathan Tucker, later Billy Crudup), Michael (Brad Renfro, later Brad Pitt) and John (Geoffrey Wigdor, later Ron Eldard). They are just normal children, often guided and supported by their local priest Father Bobby (Robert De Niro). However, at some point they start cooperating with wrong people and accidentally injure a man during a robbery. All of them are sent to Wilkinson Home for Boys where guards tend to torture and abuse children. Horrible things are happening there, but you will see yourselves. After leaving the facility, they decide not to tell anyone and keep it a secret. When the boys grow up, they one day bump into Sean Nokes (Kevin Bacon), the worst and most abusive guard from Wilkinson Home. And they have a chance to get revenge… Not telling you more, but now I’d like to share why I found this film worth watching. First of all, the story. It’s often that children are abused by adults if nobody’s watching. And since children are too small and weak to fight back, they often shut themselves up and deal with the trauma. We should speak about and do it very loudly. Besides, juveniles or any kind of facilities like that shouldn’t be houses for torturing. I know it’s not possible to work with everyone, but we should be more focused on educating such criminals during their sentence. Second thing is that I was surprised by Robert De Niro as I couldn’t recognise him. His role of the priest was something different and I think I discovered this actor one more time. And my personal cherry on top – Kevin Bacon! I’d like you to pay attention to how spectacularly he performed in this film. Especially in the scene where one of the boys is undressing and Nokes is standing behind the bars looking at him. When the boy takes off his underwear, the camera points at Nokes and we can see a slight movement with his eyes. Yes, eyes. He honestly expressed this sick desire of his character with his eyes only. I had chills. Chapeau bas, Mr. Bacon! Oh and if you haven’t seen young Brad Pitt as a lawyer, you may also be interested in this production.

My rating: 7/10
S.

If you don’t create, you will become a menace to society. “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” (2019)

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directed by Richard Linklater
© 2019 United Artists Releasing. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you feel like stopping whatever you’re doing right now, standing up and leaving? Just like that? Just grabbing a backpack, wallet and sunglasses (never leave without sunglasses) and go. Who cares where, who cares what for. It comes to my mind quite often, but somehow never done it. If you have, congrats. So has the main character of today’s film. “Where’d You Go Bernadette” is based on the book by Maria Sample and it tells the story of a very special woman. At first you may think that Bernadette (Cate Blanchett) is a typical mother, loving wife and generally a women of success. Well, she is happily married to Elgin (Billy Crudup) and they have a very smart daughter Bee (Emma Nelson), but Bernadette is ‘rotting’ from the inside. She’s a very creative individual, who needs to develop and keep trying new things. Instead, she’s focused on building a family and raising Bee. Which, obviously, she doesn’t regret, because those two get on with each other very well, but Bernadette is still missing being herself. Soon, she gets an impulse, which pushes her to go on an adventure. That is why, one day, she disappears. Doom, doom, doom. It’s one of those stories about trying to search for oneself and realising that their life hasn’t been going in the right direction. But this film is quite special for me, because the main character seems oddly real. I mean, she settled down, she became a wife, a mother, she’s gorgeous and incredibly intelligent – and she’s still not happy with herself. And that’s the point. People, peers, media, society – everybody pushes us to certain things which, according to them, guarantee successful life. But we’re all different and we cannot follow the same path. Even though this film might seem simple, it’s actually a very good reminder to screw the system. And I honestly wish you that.

My rating: 6.5/10
S.

Three equally good ones. “The Experiment” (2010)

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directed by Paul Scheuring
© 2010 Stage 6 Films. All Rights Reserved.

Yesterday I wrote about “Cell 211” saying that it’s like a reversed version of the famous prison experiment. If you haven’t heard about it, let me introduce you to one of the most fascinating experiments ever. In 1971 professor Philip Zimbardo invited a group of college students and each of them was randomly assigned with a role, either of a guard or a prisoner. The volunteers were supposed to play their roles for two weeks and the professor was observing their behaviour. Unfortunately, the simulation had to be stopped after 6 days because of terrifying actions done by some students. If you really haven’t heard of that experiment, I recommend you watching one of the films and then reading more about the actual simulation. And you may choose from 3 films. I’ve seen all of them and they are equally good for me. “Das Experiment” (2001) by Oliver Hirschbiegel is quite… raw, but generally still 7/10. Then “The Stanford Prison Experiment” (2015) by Kyle Patrick Alvarez. The newest version of them all and I think choosing Billy Crudup to play Zimbardo was a genius idea! He actually made me believe I was watching a documentary. That’s why it’s also 7/10 for me. However, my personal winner is “The Experiment” (2010) by Paul Scheuring. It’s a little bit different from the previous ones as it doesn’t tell a story of students, but of random adults, which makes us disconnect it from the real simulation. Marvellous Adrien Brody. Simply marvellous. I liked this film the most of those three because the authors decided to present the idea of the experiment in a little different way, not to copy what had actually happened in 1971. That is why it’s my personal “prison winner” and it’s 8/10 from me. But feel free to watch them all together with the documentary about the experiment and decide which is your favourite 🙂

My rating: 8/10
S.