Kinsey and Million Dollar Baby

[topaz]

Have been catching up on my movie viewing.

On Tuesday, got to see Kinsey and had a very nice, long dinner and evening stroll with the always fascinating psongster. The movie was very nicely done: I had problems with some of the characterizations (like Kinsey's father) but it was very well acted. In particular I liked the fact that while it didn't shy away from Kinsey's problems and the shortcomings of his methodology, it also didn't demonize him for them. Given that it was ultimately a very favorable portrait I thought it was as neutral as it could possibly be, given how polarized the subject matter was.

Last night I saw Million Dollar Baby. What a movie. Anyone who considers themselves a student of writing should see this one. The script is deceptively complex -- deceptive because it seems, when you are watching it, like a very simple, straightforward story, but the more you think about it, you will find layer upon layer of meaning that you had not noticed before. The stories fit together so neatly and so beautifully that you can't imagine them being told any other way. Lots of critics named Sideways the best picture of the year, and while I think I enjoyed the time I spent watching Sideways more, I can't say that it was the better film. The craft of Million Dollar Baby was so remarkable that even thinking about it now it takes my breath away.

Still want to see The Aviator and Rwanda, and Assassination and Aquatic before they leave the theaters. And Neverland if I can get keyne to go with me before the Oscars.

Comments

[qnetter]

I never would have believed that people like Lithgow's portrayal of Kinsey's father existed, at least that one-dinmensionally, until this past Christmas. Then I heard LOMLFOML's 87-year-onld grandmother describe her father.

As for Million Dollar Baby, the issue, I think, is that no matter what Eastwood does, many people still see Dirty Harry and the Man with No Name, whether in front of the camera or behind it. He's very much the Fred Astaire of serious non-indy filmmaking these days: great craft that is distinguished even further by its invisibility.

I'd love to know what country is Eastwood's equivalence of Jerry Lewis' France.

[psongster.livejournal.com]

Yes, my father grew up in a family/church like Kinsey's, so that portrayal rang quite true to me. But I do see the criticism that their final conversation is under-motivated in the context of the film. My grandfather never, in his entire lifetime, opened up like that to his son.