I know I said I would do two years this week. But you know how it is, you get busy and only have time and resources enough for one. But nevertheless, 2001 was a great year for films. Three of the five films nominated for best picture are some of my favorite movies still, so I was excited to complete this week’s version.
Most people will rave about The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. I will too, because that’s included in my favorites list. But, spoiler alert here: I thought another, much smaller, more independent film was even better.
Read on.
1. 
A Beautiful Mind MPAA Rating – PG-13 Genre: Drama
Synopsis: John Forbes Nash, Jr. (Russell Crowe) is a genius in mathematics at Princeton University, but shows difficulty in social situations. He develops game theory,
becoming one of the most famous mathematicians in the world. He marries a student (Jennifer Connelly) and everything appears to be settling down for him until he meets
a secret government agent (Ed Harris) who recruits him to break codes for the military during the Cold War. As Nash steps further into the world of paranoia and
distrust, his relationship with his wife is harmed and Nash begins to lose his sanity. Soon, he must come to know the difference between what’s real and what’s
imagined.
Review: The movie is loosely based on the biographical novel of John Nash. I say loosely based because director Ron Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman conveniently
leave out most, if not all, of the facts of the story that would portray Nash in anything closely resembling a bad light. Nevertheless, this is a great movie about a
man fighting for his sanity and the faithful wife who stood by his side as he battled with forces that he couldn’t control. Two great performances anchor this movie –
Russell Crowe’s portrayal of John Nash is a complete 180 degree turn from the one he did the previous year as the stalwart, macho gladiator. In this one, he plays a
paranoid, mentally ill person and, if possible, it’s an even better performance than the one in which he won an Oscar in 2000. If I were to re-gift Oscars, I would
reclassify his Oscar win for this one and not for Gladiator, even though he did a great job in both. The other wonderful job is by Jennifer Connelly as Alicia Nash.
Connelly won an Oscar for this movie and we can see why. She’s a loyal wife, but obviously struggles with having to take care of her husband, plus their family and she
even says at one point that she feels guilty for wanting to leave sometimes. This is a film that takes the very real issue of mental illness and puts a face and a name
to what some people go through, as well as the mocking they sometimes receive. It is a powerful, emotional film that will keep you glued to your seat.
My grade: A
Should you see it? Yes, I definitely think so. It is PG-13, but more for just thematic elements and the fact that it’s a rather disturbing look at mental illness. But
this one I highly recommend and I place it in my favorites category. But don’t take the movie for the real facts of his life. This is very much a dramatization. Read
the book if you want the actual facts. Watch the trailer here.
2. 
Gosford Park MPAA Rating – R Genre: Drama
Synopsis: A wealthy landowner (Michael Gambon) and his wife (Kristin Scott Thomas) invite a large number of people to their estate for a dinner party. While there, the
servants, led by a tough, no-nonsense head servant (Helen Mirren) interact in their own circles, while hearing of a number of events that go on with the wealthier
guests whom they serve. Meanwhile, affairs and mysteries abound between a wealthy man (Clive Owen) with a muddled past; an older woman (Maggie Smith) who’s horrible to
her servant (Kelly Macdonald); an American actor (Ryan Phillippe) pretending to be a Scottish noble as research for a film role and more. Then, the wealthy landowner
is killed and a private inspector (Stephen Rea) is called in to investigate each of the attendees’ motives and history.
Review: So many characters with convoluted backstories, a large amount of information presented at the same time and the viewer’s challenge of trying to keep track of
it all kind of bogs this film down, in my opinion. There are a few things that this movie has going for it, though. First of all, it is a fascinating look at how the
lower and upper classes treat each other and how many dirty secrets the help has to keep for their bosses. The movie is presented mainly through the eyes of the
servants – which gives it a nice overarching view that all of these “lower” people know what’s going on. Secondly, the performances are very good across the board,
even with people who don’t get a lot of screen time because of the sheer amount of characters in this 2 hour, 15-minute film. A few performances in particular stick
out: Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Clive Owen, Kristin Scott Thomas and Ryan Phillippe are all very good. Mirren and Smith were both nominated for Oscars. Other than
those two things, this movie to me, was incredibly boring and didn’t at all meet the hype of a Robert Altman movie.
My grade: C+
Should you see it? I think you can skip this one. The only kind of person that I would suggest this movie to is a fan of Downtown Abbey, because it includes a lot of
the same plot lines and, frankly, is just as boring. Watch the trailer here.
3. In the Bedroom MPAA Rating – R Genre: Drama
Synopsis: A college-aged man (Nick Stahl) has begun a relationship with an older single mother (Marisa Tomei), who is divorced from her abusive ex-husband (William
Mapother). The man’s parents (Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek) worry about the relationship and feel their son should enjoy life as a college student and not have to
worry about exes, kids and other things. After tragedy strikes when the ex husband kills the young man, the parents and the woman he was seeing each have to come to
terms with the grief, anger and love in their own way. The grief threatens to tear them all apart as they each try to find a way to cope.
Review: First of all, this title has nothing at all to do with sex. In fact, “the bedroom” is a fishing term when someone has caught a lobster and puts it in a cage as
the fishermen travel back home. This is an amazing film. Obviously, it is not a happy one, with the death of a young college man being the catalyst for so much anger,
grief and regret. How each of these characters comes to grip with this is a fascinating character and motivation study. Tom Wilkinson’s character is angry and
vengeful, thinking that justice requires the killer’s life. Sissy Spacek’s character is bitter and tosses blame on everyone for not being more aware and careful with
the situation at hand. Marisa Tomei’s character is shocked and depressed at the loss of the man she loved who treated her and her child with respect and love, as well
as guilt-ridden that she could have kept him safe if she never went after him. How these characters interact and the steps they take – getting increasingly more
disturbing and dark – makes this a very suspenseful thriller. All three leads were nominated for Oscars for this movie. While none of them won, all three had ample
reason to win an Oscar that year. I know The Lord of the Rings was released in 2001, but in my mind, this was the best film of that year.
My grade: A+
Should you see it? It’s a very disturbing, emotional and powerful film, so it’s not for everyone. It can chill you to the bone and it can fill you with sadness and
bitterness. But this is such a great film that it should be viewed and studied for screenwriting, acting and more. It is so good. Watch the trailer here.
4. 
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring MPAA Rating – PG-13 Genre: Fantasy
Synopsis: Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), a hobbit, is given the one ring and told by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to take it to the land of the elves. Accompanied
by three hobbit friends (Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd), he sets off on the adventure. Once at the land of the elves, the five, including Gandalf, are
joined by four others: two men (Viggo Mortensen and Sean Bean), a dwarf (John Rhys-Davies) and an elf (Orlando Bloom) on a quest to destroy the one ring and bring
peace to Middle-Earth. However, a long journey and hundreds of lethal obstacles stand in their way.
Review: These movies were done with the passion of one Peter Jackson, who said he wouldn’t do the movies unless he could do the books justice. And boy, has he done it.
All three movies, and this one in particular, are just about perfect. They’re all long, especially if you get the extended editions, which pushes this movie well past
the three hour mark. It’s a spectacle to witness. The visual effects are jaw-dropping; the costumes, art direction and cinematography are all breathtaking, the makeup
that gives the orcs and monsters their fierce, otherwordly look is amazing. The acting is top notch, which in a movie about swords, rings, magic and things called
hobbits, could get the actors to completely ham it up. Not in this case. Every one of these actors take their jobs seriously and the movie became an instant classic.
It is wonderful. It is exciting. It is suspenseful. And, even though pushing three hours on the standard edition, you sit there wanting more.
My grade: A+
Should you see it? If you haven’t seen this movie, shame on you. This is now part of the culture we live in. It’s the same as not seeing Star Wars or The Wizard of Oz.
It’s a must see, a classic and one you will not regret seeing unless you’ve already made up your mind against it. Which, if so, then why? In principle, it’s the same
thing as Star Wars – an otherwordly story not based in anything we have here, about a journey of self discovery and revelations. Watch it. Watch the trailer here.
5. 
Moulin Rouge! MPAA Rating – PG-13 Genre: Musical
Synopsis: A writer (Ewan McGregor) moves to Paris where he meets up with a group of out-of-luck actors. When they turn up at a jazz club owner’s (Jim Broadbent) party, one of his performers (Nicole Kidman) performs for the writer, who instantly falls in love. The two begin an affair behind the owner’s and the man (Richard Roxburgh) who is sponsoring the club in exchange for her hand in marriage. As the hiding becomes harder and the love for each other grows, the two must make tougher decisions based on love and loss.
Review: It had been a while since a musical had been nominated for best picture – you have to back several decades to find one – the ’60s and ’70s were a big time for big musicals. This one is unlike any musical you’ve ever seen. Director Baz Luhrmann might be one of the strangest movie directors living – the way he shoots his films, the seemingly disorganized plot, the whirling colors and sounds and, in this case, the music is made up of mostly covers of famous pop and rock songs of previous eras. The first time I tried to watch it, the sensory overload was too much and I turned it off in the first 20 minutes. The second time, however, I stuck it out and it rewarded me. After you get past those initial WTF moments (of which there are several), you finally get sucked into the story and you root for the romance between Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. Both leads do a great job in this film (Kidman was nominated for an Oscar) and they provide the stabling force that connects this wild and nonsensical movie to your heart and mind. Jim Broadbent, Richard Roxburgh and John Leguizamo provide wacky, strange and extremely colorful characters (in more ways than one) and will get you laughing at times, although you won’t be sure if it’s out of comedy or sheer bonkers. It is a very strange, but ultimately fulfilling experience.
My grade: B
Should you see it? It’s definitely not for everyone. The way this movie comes across is like you’ve been taking heaps of speed and LSD – it spins, it’s colorful and you’ll sometimes have no clue what’s going on. But if you stick it out, you will be rewarded. Watch the trailer here.
Some other 74th Academy Awards Honorable Mentions include Training Day, the movie where Denzel Washington won an Oscar as the scary and corrupt police officer training Ethan Hawke’s character. Washington is always good, but in this movie, he is incredible. A lot of people diss I Am Sam with Sean Penn, but I really enjoyed the movie. Penn is one of the best actors alive and his performance as the mentally challenged man who wants custody of his daughter is both heartbreaking and beautiful.
Black Hawk Down is another war film that features a few too many characters. But other than the number of people, the story is simple, easy to follow and an eye-opening war film about the Somali civil wars and the American involvement in them.
Christopher Nolan is one of my all-time favorite directors and I haven’t come across a film of his that I haven’t loved. Memento was one of his first films and it is amazingly original and messes with your mind. It’s about a guy with amnesia, played by Guy Pearce, who tries to solve the mystery of his wife’s murder, but loses his memory after a time and has to start over again, keeping things straight by the pictures he takes and the tattoos on his body. Just the way this movie is written and filmed is one for film classes.
Ghost World is another well-written film about a girl trying to grow up and the people she meets along the way.
Two of my favorite animated films came out this year – Shrek and Monsters, Inc. Both are so good and I believe Shrek still may be the best non-Disney animated film out there.
A couple more mentions and then I’m done. This was the year where the first Harry Potter film came out – the first of eight films that got progressively better as they went along, like the books. But the first one, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, while clearly made for children, is still fitting right in the theme of the series and is a good film that stays super true to the novel.
Pearl Harbor tried to take the Titanic approach to a disaster story and interweave a love triangle between Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale and Josh Hartnett. It is a powerful film, whose long, nearly half hour attack of Pearl Harbor is both intense and realistic. But the love story isn’t nearly as good as the Kate and Leo vein, probably because the three actors aren’t nearly as good.
Last one: A.I. – Artificial Intelligence is one that seemed to slip through the cracks. It’s a Steven Spielberg movie but it didn’t seem to attract all the attention that a Spielberg movie usually creates. And it is really, really good. It’s about Haley Joel Osment’s character, who is a robot, trying the whole Pinocchio thing and wanting to be a real boy. But Spielberg has created a world of robots in the future and is a spectacle to watch.
That’s it for this week. Join me next week, when I probably will only do one more year.
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