Review of Head in the Clouds (2004) by Mel M — 29 Jan 2005

It appears that we have been hit by an ice "storm". We Southerners can't handle any sort of winter weather and Atlanta is nearly completely shut down. But I'm sort of okay with being stuck at home, as it means I have nothing better to do than watch movies and read and maybe do some homework and maybe do some scholarships.

L'AVVENTURA (1960).

It took me about a week to get through this. I started it last weekend but didn't get to finish it 'til last night, and I kind of wish I had watched it in one sitting.

I'm sure everyone knows the plot by now: A bunch of bored, rich socialites go out on a yacht. One of them disappears. Her best friend and her lover become attracted to each other.

The plot is simple. But that's about the only simple thing in this film. The characters are magnificient, you never really know what's going on with them. But definitely the greatest part of the film is the cinematography. It's absolutely stunning. I've never seen such perfectly set up shots.

I'm completely obsessed with BLOW-UP and I much prefer it to L'AVVENTURA, but seeing another Antonioni film just reassured me that he is a genius.

MELVIN AND HOWARD (1980).

My dad suggested I add this to my Blockbuster queue after we all went and saw THE AVIATOR.

From the very first scene, I couldn't stand this movie. Howard Hughes does something so un-Howard Hughes like that I couldn't give any merit to the rest of the film because yes, I am that judgmental. And then when I realized that Jonathan Demme, director of the horrendously horrible MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE remake, directed it...well...yes.

I really probably shouldn't rate it at all because I paid hardly any attention for a majority of the film. But oh well.

HEAD IN THE CLOUDS (2004).

I wanted to like this so much. And I did like it, but I feel that it should have been so much better and I should have loved it.

I loved it up until Penelope Cruz's character was introduced. I think she was completely irrelevant to the story and should have been completely cut out. I guess throwing in a female lover made the story more controversial and more artsy and I really feel like that's the only reason she was in there. And the music...jesus. The music just screamed, look at me I'm a historical drama feel my sorrow. Talk about [i]baiting[/i]. I think that is what ruined the film most for me, the horrible music.

As soon as Penelope and Charlize and Stuart start living together, I thought of THE DREAMERS, which probably isn't that similar but still somewhat comparable. And maybe it's just because I'm re-reading it now, but I think that Graham Greene's [i]The End of the Affair[/i] is also comparable.

But even though the story and the direction lose focus early on and the film just struggles on, there is more good than bad. Fantastic costumes, some fantastic sets (many of the streets look too stagey), some fantastic performance (Charlize Theron is so-so, my favourite performance of hers is still THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS, Penelope Cruz fumbles around,.

But Stuart Townsend was great).

The story brings up an interesting point, one that I've often argued about with my best friend, but the more I think about it, the more it depresses me.

It was rather funny to see Stuart Townsend shaggy and unshaven during some of the war scenes. I could actually picture him as Aragorn. Oh well. His loss.

"The moment is everything". - HEAD IN THE CLOUDS.