tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post8982155451786268281..comments2023-03-30T16:56:53.692-07:00Comments on Icebox Movies: Redacted (2007)Adam Zanziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-13579873981662929082009-12-21T12:45:48.693-08:002009-12-21T12:45:48.693-08:00Mr. K,
I don't necessarily believe that Rush ...Mr. K,<br /><br />I don't necessarily believe that Rush and Flake start out in bad shape. Like Sean Penn and Don Harvey in <i>Casualties of War</i>, we (or at least I) are willing to accept them as normal soldiers doing their job. In the opening scene when McCoy and Salazar are recording their conversation about "the truth" with the other guys, Rush jokes along with them. He's in jest for a moment there.<br /><br />Also, we originally presume that Flake is an inexperienced kid who needs some helping out. We presume that he's going to be one of the better-natured soldiers. After he murders the pregnant girl in the car, however, all of those chances are evaporated- again, like John Leguizamo's timid soldier who turns into a rapist in CoW.<br /><br />Now, honestly, I had no problem with the acting during the scenes where the characters didn't know they were being recorded. In the hidden camera scene, for example, when Rush puts McCoy in an armlock and is warning him to "keep things in Vegas", that really had me gripped. I felt sorry for McCoy that he had to be forced into that situation. And I'd have to give credit to both Rob Devaney and Daniel Stewart Sherman for allowing me to believe the whole thing.<br /><br />I watched <i>Blow Out</i> (1981) for the first time the other day, and I actually think that the acting in that film tends to feel even faker than the acting in <i>Redacted</i>. Sometimes, when Travolta and Nancy Allen are arguing, their lines definately feel like they've come right out of a screenplay. Not that I'm dissing that film- <i>Blow Out</i> is awesome and Travolta and Nancy Allen are, for the most part, very good in it- but I was far more engaged in the conflict <i>Redacted</i> brings up.<br /><br />I think this has been a swell decade for De Palma. He's given us two masterpiece (<i>Femme Fatale</i> and <i>Redacted</i>), and two flawed great films (<i>Mission to Mars</i> and <i>The Black Dahlia</i>). I'm eager for more!Adam Zanziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-90095127566667339892009-12-20T11:36:23.716-08:002009-12-20T11:36:23.716-08:00I understand what you're saying about the way ...I understand what you're saying about the way people get self-conscious on camera, but too much of the footage comes from situations when the characters don't know they're on camera!<br /><br />And despite what you're saying about the way DePalma does try to implicate the sexist military culture and the tense environment for some of the behavior, I think he stacks the deck too heavily against Flake & Rush. We see them continually at their meanest, most racist and stupidest, with nary a hint of any other qualities. It kind of works against his argument that this isn't a few "bad apples". These guys are the worst apples from beginning to end.Mr. Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01489439585866708542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-35632364033284877712009-12-18T01:12:53.250-08:002009-12-18T01:12:53.250-08:00Missed this but will return to it when I see it. N...Missed this but will return to it when I see it. Nice to have someone to talk DePalma with on here too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-84495982633311096192009-10-19T20:54:55.456-07:002009-10-19T20:54:55.456-07:00Rosenbaum is retired & didn't "review...Rosenbaum is retired & didn't "review" the film in any traditional sense. But at his blog/site jonathanrosenbaum.com ("Notes" section) -he will peridiocally weigh in on newer films. I miss hearing his voice on more eclectic, challenging movies - I always found him less useful with mainstream movies since he tended to be contrary for contrary's sake (like Armond White but in a different irrationally cranky way).<br />Here's the link to what he wrote about The Hurt Locker: http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.com/?p=16094<br />I saw a screening of the film first back in February with Bigelow & she said the same thing more or less. I'm almost positive there was an Iraq vet in the audience who was clearly moved by the film (he didn't identify himself as a vet, but I could just tell). Even if she says the film isn't agenda driven specifically making political statements - I think the politics are built in subtly in the way it critiques war and the way we deal with others. Anyway, here's a link to what Rosenbaum wrote:<br />http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.com/?p=16094ckoh71https://www.blogger.com/profile/10563402142923766923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-44434775448677848092009-10-19T15:56:52.138-07:002009-10-19T15:56:52.138-07:00Your comment is much like the others made over at ...Your comment is much like the others made over at Cinema Viewfinder, where (hehe) my debate with some of the people over there somehow ended up turning into some ludicrous shouting match. We were all going mental on each other for whatever reason!<br /><br />About the film's acting, I agree with De Palma's explantation that all of the actors in <i>Redacted</i> were behaving in the way any normal person usually behaves in front of a video camera. Our attitudes and vocal expressions always tend to be ridiculously exagerrated. Not to say all of the film's acting is this way, however; I really did feel that Rob Devaney's monologue at the end of the film was shattering. I would love for De Palma to cast Devaney in another film again. I thought it was noble, too, for De Palma to have Devaney acknowledge the Afghanistan conflict but at the same time condemn the Iraq conflict.<br /><br />Huh... I had no idea Rosenbaum reviewed <i>The Hurt Locker</i>. I thought J.R. Jones reviewed it in his stead, but of course Rosenbaum retired from the Reader. I'll have to see what Rosenbaum said, but does he really believe the film criticizes U.S. policy in Iraq? Bigelow herself said she tried hard not the make the film manipulative in any way.Adam Zanziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-3387004916856866332009-10-19T07:40:57.442-07:002009-10-19T07:40:57.442-07:00I wish I could share your enthusiasm for this film...I wish I could share your enthusiasm for this film, but I admit I felt that it was handicapped by common DePalma bugbears (the cartoonish acting and tendency for dramatic sloppiness). If it had the performances and rigor of Casualties of War, it might have had the impact DePalma had hoped for - but I think it unfortunately comes across too much like a one note rant that makes it easier to dismiss by detractors - however much one may agree with its message. For me, the most fascinating and compelling aspect of the film is its formal virtuosity. DePalma is deconstructing how we actual see and perceive the war through various media. His technical expertise makes him see through the mechanisms of rhetoric (of any stripe) ala Orson Welles but I feel that he's filled the actual content with equally shallow rhetoric. I think DePalma should work with a real writer next time. He tends to hold traditional narrative in such contempt that he resorts to absurd contrivances a bit too easily (the end of Snake Eyes or most of Raising Cain - a movie I really enjoyed btw).<br />I also would disagree that The Hurt Locker is necessarily apolitical (did you read Jonathan Rosenbaum's piece on his blog about it? He makes a compelling case for how pointedly political Bigelow/Boal's critique of American policy and action is).ckoh71https://www.blogger.com/profile/10563402142923766923noreply@blogger.com