Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Almost steals the show

  • You Tube, also on the Pride and Glory front, have a Canadian Press video we seemed to have missed from Toronto, featuring snippets from Gavin O'Connor and Edward Norton at the film's press conference. Also worthy of a peek are a comprehensive one-on-one with Mr N and a short collection of red carpet comments from various Pride and Gloryers, courtesy of the aptly-named RedCarpetDiary.

  • In other quarters, it seems one is less likely to find Snakes on a Plane than Rains on a Plane. One blogger mentions that Before the Rains was one of the available selections on her long-haul flight, even if it 'wasn't as good as [she] had hoped'.

  • The film however is given the highest mark of movies reviewed this week by The Vast Picture Show, who come up with several thumb ups:

[...] Director Santosh Sivan approaches the theme of betrayal with classical simplicity. Also a cinematographer, [he] conjures lush topography and sensuality.

But he coaxes too some wonderfully nuanced performances from his excellent players. Henry’s wife (Jennifer Ehle) makes a late entrance and her face, a slow-motion car crash of realisation, almost steals the show.

Sivan is aided by a fine script from Cathy Rabin [and] the film’s moral complexity captures precisely the political and emotional tenor of the period. [...]

  • Another member of the blogosphere loosely agrees with the 'yay' verdict, arguing that:
[...] while Before the Rains is not nearly as powerful a film as Sivan’s The Terrorist...this Merchant Ivory production [nonetheless] is a beautifully realized, thoughtful and thought-provoking study of the three characters who all make terrible choices. [...]
  • Debashine Thangevelo from Tonight speaks with Rains' Nandita Das who, on the experience of making the film, says:
[...] It was shot like a dream and the backdrop is beautiful. ... Everyone involved with the film made it so special with what they brought to the table. Santosh, with his cinematic vision, created a comfort level that energised the actors. The making of this film has been one of my best experiences. [...]
  • Lastly, Buzzine's Issac Butler asks whether the US should have a national theatre, in a Utopia-mentioning piece that avid theatre readers might find a pleasant way to spend five minutes. Enjoy!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Saw you linked to me in this post, thought it was a funny coincidence that the first thing you mentioned was the Woodstock Film Fest and the Daily Freeman. That's where I'm from, and the Freeman is my local paper.

By the way, I did enjoy "Before the Rains." It was just much different from the previews than I expected.

-Melissa

Abi said...

Thanks for that Melissa - definitely a coincidence! Apologies if I misunderstood what you had written, but at least you did enjoy it in actual fact.

Very interesting about having a film festival on your doorstep. That's quite an exciting prospect down my way!

Happy festivalling,

Abi x

Anonymous said...

"Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherf'ing rains on this motherf'ng plane!"

It had to be said.

Abi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Abi said...

Thanks ahem, tee hee! x

Anonymous said...

ahem: just a film quote or r u not a fan of post style?

Anonymous said...

That's a "Snakes on a Plane" quote. I am a big motherf'ing fan of motherf'ing post style ;)

Anonymous said...

hehe, me too. thanx 4 clarification ;)

Abi said...

Me three, but constructive criticism is always welcome. Happy weekend! x