Everything That Dies, Some Day Comes Back

It is more than forty years since I first saw this 1970 masterpiece, directed by Bob Rafelson and starring Jack Nicholson, and all I could clearly remember was the devastatingly bleak final scene. I was worried that it wouldn't hold up on a rewatch, because perhaps (perish the thought) it might be an overrated pretentious piece of nothing. And indeed I'm sure some people think it is, but I loved it, partly I guess out of a feeling of nostalgia for a period when a new generation of directors and actors in US cinema was pushing the boundaries in all sorts of exciting directions. Nicholson's character, Robert "Bobby" Eroica Dupea, is a talented pianist who is now drifting aimlessly, having abandoned his career and his middle class family, comprising father, brother (Karl Fidelio) and sister (Partitia).  When we first meet him he is working on an oil rig and has a girlfriend Rayette (the always wonderful Karen Black) who is not very cultured and who seems to bore him....

For a while I had this confused with 'World War Z', but sadly no zombies turn up in this rather dull film, about the exploits of a Major Fawcett, who  achieved some fame in the early years of the 20th century by exploring the Amazonian rainforest.  The most interesting thing about him is that he became convinced that the forest contained a lost city.   Then in 1925, at the age of 58, he and his companions on his latest expedition (including his eldest son) simply disa ppeared.  The other thing of note about him is that he served his country with distinction during WW1 despite being well into his 40s. Whilst Fawcett was clearly a courageous and interesting person, his life is not that dramatic, so if he is played by an actor lacking charisma (Charlie Hunnam) in a film directed by someone who seems uninterested in building any dramatic tension or excitement (James Gray), the inevitable result is that I was sitting throughout desperately waiting for something (anyt...

I had seen this back in the day, and enjoyed it, but I had completely forgotten just how tremendous it is.  No self-respecting list of great romcoms would be complete without it. I'm not the biggest fan of the director Ang Lee, but he does well here.  But the film really belongs to Emma Thompson, who gives a magnificently understated performance as Elinor Dashwood, and who won an Oscar for her screenplay, adapted from the Austen novel.   All through the film Elinor has to suppress her real feelings, so that when at the climax of the film she breaks down into uncontrollable sobbing when she realises that she is, miracle of all miracles, able to marry the man she loves, I found myself responding in like fashion.  It is a hugely cathartic moment that is somewhat unexpected in an Austen adaptation. I might even get round to reading the novel, if only to see what changes Thompson made. The rest of the cast is well-nigh perfect, from Kate Winslett as Elinor's younger ...

It's a shame this film didn't trouble the box office since it has a lot going for it, not least the unusual setting of medieval France. Naturally, given that Ridley Scott is at the helm, it is visually impressive.  And it has a great cast, headed by Matt Damon, Adam Driver, and Jodie Comer, with even Ben Affleck turning in a decent performance. But I guess the thing that stood out for me was the intriguing story, apparently based on real events, told in three 'chapters', each setting out the truth from the viewpoint of each of the three main characters. This structure has clear echoes of the Japanese classic 'Rashomon', although in that film the different accounts contradict each other on key points, whereas here each account adds more information or gives a different viewpoint, but doesn't materially conflict with either of the other two accounts. For example, in the account of Jean, his response to his wife Marguerite telling him of her rape by Jacques is ...