Wood v. Polanski

I'd like to say that I go into this match-up without expectations or bias, but honestly, Polanski is the favorite to win in my eyes. I've never heard of Sam Wood, so he could completely knock me off my feet, I have no idea, but I have seen Chinatown and it is one of my all time favorite films. It is such a powerhouse that it's difficult to imagine a movie (or even two) that could beat it in this competition. That said, I'll try to approach this round as open-minded as I can be and will allow Wood to surprise me.

King's Row

I have to admit it, Reagan was a bit of a hottie. And not a terrible actor, either. I was a bit surprised by the quality of this film, especially with the warning that it was made shortly after the Hollywood rules came into play and movies could not be realistic about sex. Sex is a major part of the plot and even defines many of the characters in King's Row, an adaptation of the novel by Henry Bellamann. Those who are having sex and how they are viewed is very central to the themes and key to the romantic relationships. And this movie was able to communicate that without ever being explicit. In many ways, the rules made this film feel more authentic as a period piece because the assumption is that it was improper to mention sex just as it was improper to engage in it. Another positive aspect of the film is that it switched focus between characters very smoothly and was able to shift from one storyline to another, ending one loop and creating something new without feeling forced or like multiple films combined. I am glad that I have seen this movie and I'm almost certain I wouldn't have if Wood hadn't come up in the contest.

Chinatown

As I said before, I love this movie. It is so near flawless and has such consistent, impressive tone throughout and brilliant, surprising and engrossing storytelling that I am having a hard time finding a crack to point out. It is easily my favorite Jack Nicholson movie (even beating Batman) and has such striking visual power. Seeing it for a second time was actually even better than the first, showing how rich this film is. I discovered more on another viewing, saw how the entire story was there in the actor's performances all along and was so engrossed in that process that the ending of the film hit me again like a truck, shocking and different from most films, willing to commit fully to its own themes and message in an impressive way. This film has so many layers and different strands blended together, it plays as a noir crime drama, but includes political intrigue, romance, family drama, subtle points of humor and suspense in each story line. One of my all-time favorite movies, if you are interested in a film that thinks with a beating, bleeding, living core, watch Chinatown. Over and over again.

Pride of the Yankees

"Plot as two-dimensional as this poster!"

Well, this movie was disappointing. It's going to be hard not to bash it going forward because it was so bland, one-sided, and almost propaganda-like in its positive, all-American portrayal of Lou Gehrig and his life story. It was a completely one-dimensional story tauting Lou Gehrig as a nearly perfect man who had almost no conflict in his life until he started to suffer from the disease that killed him. Very little seems authentic about this story and the lack of conflict has you wondering, Why should I care? And I don't care, ultimately. I care about Lou Gehrig, the real, complex human being who certainly struggled with many challenges and was an admirable person. But I do not have anything invested in Gary Cooper's portrayal of Gehrig beyond his facial expressions sometimes being cute.

The humor of the film completely misses the mark and is usually more cruel than funny, such as the scene in which Mrs. Gehrig allows one of their closest friends to believe that her husband is having an affair and he says in desperation, "I've lost all my faith in humanity!" She then pulls up at a little league game where Gehrig is the umpire and laughs at her friend's despair. The emotions of the film are largely flat because none of the other characters react realistically or accordingly. And the mother of the film is treated so poorly by her son and husband as they lie to her for months, pretending that Gehrig is at Harvard when he is in actuality playing in the minors in Hartford and also tell her the money coming in is from a job her husband has as a politician when he is apparently actually a layabout. Anyway, I would skip this and if there are any excellent directors out there willing to take on this story once again, I encourage you to make a better, more complicated portrayal of an actually interesting life.

**One note of redemption that has to do with the filming of this movie: to make Gary Cooper look like the lefty that Lou Gehrig was, all players wore uniforms with reverse numbers and Cooper ran towards third and they reversed the film.

The Pianist

I had never seen this movie before and I am so, so glad that I have now. It is moving, visually stunning, well-acted and heartbreaking. This Holocaust story forced me to imagine myself in the place of the main characters, watching as my siblings and parents were ripped from me and taken to an unknown, invisible place on an unlabelled cargo train. Polanski and the creative director of this film force you to look, to see the horror that took place in Warsaw during the war. See the dead on the sidewalk, the remorseless murders of human beings and put yourself in this emotional, desperate place. This is what history films should look like and The Pianist has now taken its place among my list of most impressive and moving historical dramas.

Though I know there is more to say, time is short and we are moving along. And so is Polanski, the big big winner of this match-up.