Wednesday, October 25, 2017

The Girl With All the Gifts - Colm McCarthy (2017) Some Say Children Are Our Future. I Say They Are Bloody Disgusting

I have not watched a zombie movie in a couple of years now. Face it. The universe has been saturated with zombies everywhere, in TV, movies and video games. We can't even read Jane Austen without bloody zombies being crammed down our throats. I, for one, am burned out.

Still, I have wished for a zombie flick that could peak my interest and rekindle that fire I used to have for those brain-eaters. So I watched "The Girl With all the Gifts" in the hope of the genre hadn't been ruined forever for me. I was drawn in by several hooks in this ambitious zombie flick.

Right at the start of "The Girl with all the Gifts," we know that we are in a dark universe. We're met with children who are treated poorly. Their heads are strapped down tight in wheelchairs, pushed around by soldiers who, mostly, won't speak with them or acknowledge them. The soldiers just refer to the children as "abortions".

It's obvious that these children are capable of the most wondrous kinds of art and intelligence. Melanie (Sennia Nanua) is one of these children. She just might be the brightest among them. Melanie's teacher, Helen, (Jemma Erterton), is willing to risk her life to nurture these kids.

Still, it's curious how government goes to great efforts to educate these little bastards, or abortions, as the soldiers like to call them. And why do all the grown-ups seem so terrified?

Every zombie movie has an "oh crap" moment when we see the military or doctors or whoever's in charge make a stupid mistake allowing the zombies take over in a matter of minutes. If it's a good movie, these moments are chilling.

Then here comes the "oh crap" moment.

We watch the moment from Melanie's POV in an operating room, knowing the true chaos, bloody and deadly is right outside their door, just in our periphery.

Normally films like these are about protecting weak children from the monsters. This film flips that coin. "The Girl With all the Gifts" is about child zombies. At least some of them can reason and the story is told from a zombie's point of view.


Somehow, through all the carnage, Melanie manages to escape with Helen, a soldier, (Paddy Considine) and the woman in charge of the medical experiments, Dr. Caldwell (Glenn Close).

Helen and Melanie escape together, each helping the other through the genocidal battle.

Melanie, is more than an infected zombie. She actually might be their salvation. Melanie protects the group from zombie attacks. Monster or no, Helen nurtures some maternal feelings toward Melanie.

"Neonates" is the term for babies born zombies. Babies of infected mothers who ate themselves out of the womb. Melanie is one of these children. 

"The Girl With all the Gifts" is about the value of life. Why do some people deserve to live, violent scavengers or not, while others can be cast aside because of the way they're born? It's hyperbolic and an extreme example used to prove a point, but that point is a good one. With all of man's ambition, this need for power comes with a very real danger that could literally end everything.

The telling point lies in a question Melanie asks Helen. Why should the humans be the ones allowed to keep their place on their planet? She argues that since zombies are now sentient creatures, they have as much right as humans to dominate the world. 

Now, I don't want to be the guy who's rooting for the zombies, but I had to stop and think. Why should human life as a species take precedence over a world run by zombies? As a human, of course I want us to remain dominant. But as I address the point of view of a sentient zombie like Melanie, I can't think of a good argument to retort.

Then I remembered, they're zombies. They eat brains. Go humans.

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

mother! - Darren Aronofsky (2017)

Most of my friends, who know much about film anyway, are disciples of Darren Aronofsky. I did not care for his work. In fact, "Requiem for a Dream" remains one of my least favorite films ever.

Then a magical thing happened. He surprised the hell out of me with "Black Swan." It's nothing less than a work of elegant magic.

Since then, my interest in Aronofsky as artist was piqued. I watched his other films, I even gave "Requiem for a Dream" another shot. This has led to repeated disappointment.

So every time I see he has a film coming out, I'm wary, even about a film that looks as compelling as "mother!", I'm curious to see if he has made his second great film.

I'll try not to be heavy on the allegorical language, but that's easier said than done. I'll do my best.

"mother!" is a very old story. The oldest. In the beginning, was Him (Javier Bardem.) He discovers a beautiful crystal and He is in a beautiful home with a woman in his bed known to us as Mother (Jennifer Lawrence).

He and Mother live in an intimate dream. They are clearly so deeply in love that neither of them needs anyone else. The crystal He discovered seems to be the only thing they truly need. He keeps it in a special, somewhat restricted room.

He is a writer. The film is vague on what kind of writer or His status. We only know that His work is significant.

Mother's role in the dream is constructing the house that He had lost in a cataclysmic fire. She does a wonderful job, building the building's structure back and taking care of the decorations inside. Her attention to detail is impressive. There is even beauty in the way she blends earth tones. Such delicacy just with browns.

It's a paradise until Man (Ed Harris) shows up at their door. While Mother is wary, He welcomes Man as if he were a long lost friend. The term "mi casa, su casa" is more than just an expression to Him.

When Woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) shows up, she is accepted as well. After all, she is Man's wife. Despite Mother's objections, He insists they put the two up because they have nowhere else to go.

Things change when Man and Woman wander into His personal room to get a better look at His crystal. The two of them break it to shards, leaving Him beside Himself. He scoops up the pieces, clutching them so tight, blood runs out of his fists. He orders them out of the room, but does not make them leave the house because again, they have nowhere to go.

He closes off the segregated room, and life goes on. But the crystal is irrevocably gone. Of course that means unbearable wickedness awaits.

Man and Woman's sons show up, running for their parents, already in a shouting match about some kind of financial grudge. The Oldest Son and Younger Brother fight until Oldest Son beats Younger Brother to death.

Of course, friends and family of Man and Woman come to the house to comfort them. To Mother's horrified disbelief, He welcomes them all to celebrate, mourn and stay. Even His publisher (Kristen Wiig) contributes to the riot as a monstrous herald.

This leads to chaos and the rest of the film plays out the dangers of His love for people even as they destroy everything He and Mother have. The third act of "mother!" has haunted (I know, strong word, but apt) me more than practically anything I've seen in cinema, period.

And as gorgeous as this allegory is, there's something you should bear in mind before you watch it. "mother!" is a horror film. Be careful.

I saw the film twice and waited to write about it because I've been quite obsessed and I wanted to get some distance before I tried to make sense of it to put my thoughts and feelings into words.

The allegory is fairly obvious, but what isn't is how it's going to work into one's world view.

For me, "mother!" is a private film, as it meditates on my faith.

I don't know exactly what Aronofsky believes, but I found the movie both reverent and troubling. He's absolutely right about how human nature has been slowly destroying mother nature from the beginning. And we're not only talking about the ruins our physical world is in right now. Aronofsky also submits that humans are also responsible for every kind of evil. And he's right that we are responsible for original sin.

Here's where I can not agree with Aronofsky. He has characters to signify everyone and everything in our faith except for Satan. A lot of you may laugh at me when I say I believe in Satan, but I do.

How could anybody in their right mind look back on the last century and maintain that he doesn't exist?

The concept that Earth is a phoenix is an intriguing one that I still haven't formed an opinion about. There's a fascinating discussion to be had about that prospect.

I was deeply touched by His love for the adoring, riotous and destructive people. He loves them more than his creation. More than mother. Even more than his only Son.

Like I said, "mother!" is intensely personal, so you'll have to watch it and put it together yourself. But do go and see the film. It wasn't nearly as beautiful as "Black Swan", but how many movies are?

There are so many pretentious adjective words I could throw around to impress you, but I'll just say this. There are good movies and there are bad movies and we spend a lot of time criticizing and adoring them. "mother!" is so much more than that. The dialogues the film is sure to open up revisions of exactly what we believe about God.

You can't really say that about many films. But this one is that important.

I've heard this film referred to as heretical, but that's just not so. It's not only worth watching, it's worth reflection.

So go.


Saturday, October 7, 2017

Happy Birthday to Pulp Fiction!

Isn't this a special week? In the first week in October 1994, my life changed twice. On Wednesday, my firstborn son was born.

Then my mother-in-law came to town to help my wife learn about taking care of an infant. On Friday, October 7,1994 she said she would watch the baby and that my wife should get some sleep. Then she told me I should go relax for a couple of hours and just go to the movies.

My choice was obvious. Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" had been released just two years before, and had quickly became one of my favorite movies. So I went to see "Pulp Fiction."

You all know what that means because you all have seen the movie. It changed everything. Not just how films are made, but how the public consciousness receives films.

So happy birthday, "Pulp Fiction" and thank you Quentin for your gift to the world.