Golden_Lily Reviews

Melancholia (2011)

Melancholia may be a terrifying but magnificent metaphor for suicide.

[8 February 2012]

Melancholia illuminates the concept that the great unknown above reflects what is also mysterious below; that both the perfection and chaos expressed in the cosmos reflects the same perfection and chaos within us. Lars von Trier's Earth destroyed by the planet Melancholia could be a metaphor for the self-destruction of a human being suffering from severe depression. The bride tells her sister that she "knows" that there is no life elsewhere in the Universe; life exists only on the Earth. She says that if the Earth is destroyed, all life will be gone forever.

What could be more final than the destruction of all life in the Universe, and likewise, for an individual human being to commit the terrible and final act of suicide? Suicide is to the self, after all, nothing less than the absolute destruction of the self's experience of the Universe.

A Single Man (2009)

A film by an artist from another field (fashion design) is hit out of the ball park!

[6 April 2010]

I think this was the most amazing film. It portrayed passionate love in a rare and immaculately sensitive way. I liked the beauty of the entire film...the sets, costumes, actors, script, story. Beautifully cast. Colin Firth was absolutely stellar. I think he should have received the Academy Award for best actor in a dramatic role.

I also thought that Before Night Falls by Julian Schnabel was another unique and incredibly beautiful film of great emotional depth. Perhaps there is something to films made by artists who come to film via another art form. I highly recommend this movie to people who like beauty and romance.

Drop Dead Diva (2009–2014)

Brooke Elliott, the new "It" Girl

[10/10 · 5 October 2009]

Like Tom Hanks, Brooke Elliott has "that certain something", that very few actors have. It has to do with Likability. She exudes a very pleasant charm. She makes it easy to believe that a sweet, model-aspiring airhead has inhabited a high power attorney and has access to her rapid-firing brain cells. I like it that the Jane Bingum character has a golden moral compass and yet is playful like a Sex in the City girl. Kudos to the creator and writers for creating a character that is like a real person. The Jane Bingum character reveals great sensitivity and vulnerability along with areas of great strength and fortitude. This is no "one note" character like the many that usually populate series TV shows. Drop Dead Diva is both high drama and wry comedy by virtue of its excellent writers. But, where would this show be without Brooke Elliott? It will be interesting to see what she does next. I predict a smart producer or director will cast her in a movie on the big screen very soon.