Change Your Image
cheppler
Reviews
De-Lovely (2004)
Love is long-suffering and it will be here when we are gone
Since we humans are so prone to get it wrong with love so often, it is appropriate that we ask, and for Cole Porter to write, "What is this Thing Called Love?" A few humans are fortunate enough that no matter how much they fall short in their capacity to love others as they would be loved, they are found and loved by another whose love like a daily gift. Usually these few fortunates realize the significance of love as a gift too late. About as good as anyone could do with regard to the "love story" of a couple from the distant past, one of whom has been dead for fifty years and the other for forty years, Irwin Winkler and Jay Cocks have corroborated in weaving the music [and words] of Cole Porter and the action of the characters of Porter and Linda Lee Porter into a "story of Love." I say "Love" because something more that the sum total of the parts of the lives of Cole and Linda Porter is "glimpsed" in "De-Lovely." Which of us would not desire to be loved in spite of our not deserving it? Were we wise enough, would we not question whether there is anything greater than "normal" love? Could we not ask the question, "What is this thing called Love?" Four scenes in particular illustrate how Winkler and Cocks caught and give us a "glimpse" of that greater than "normal" love. The first scene is the entire scene in which "Begin the Beguine" is featured. There are not only the performances of Sheryl Crow and the combo, but also the cut aways to Linda and Cole. The second scene is the one that follows "Begin the Beguine," where we learn that the "ember" is cold. The third scene is when Cole is writing, playing and singing "So in Love" at home for a gravely ill Linda, with the cut aways to the theater where the song is being performed on opening night. The fourth scene is the one following "So in Love," where we get another brief "glimpse." Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd are outstanding in their performances.
Twisted (2004)
Unresolved conflict in our lives cause us to grasp after reality in shocking ways.
If one goes back far enough in our Indo-European languages we find that "twist" once meant "quarrel." In order to quarrel one must have a conflict of at least two unresolved interests within oneself; not ironically, "twist" is also related to "two." So the "two" in conflict don't have to be "two" religions, or races, or nations. Each human can be in "two." Sarah Thorp, the writer of "Twisted," had a brilliant premise: a promising policewoman rising on her merits to her place of service. But, this woman, Jessica Shepard, is in "two," she has some unresolved conflicts of interest in her psyche. Jessica's unresolved conflicts center on the loss of her parents 25 years ago when she was six. Even though Jessica was raised in a loving foster home, she was never allowed to deal adequately with her loss. "Twisted" attempts to show us what can happen when an intelligent, bright woman grasps after several means of resolving her long pent-up conflict of interests, namely, very casual sex and excessive drinking. Should being a police officer be enough incentive to keep one from pursuing such a desperate life style? Perhaps. But sometimes the anxiety brought on by the unresolved conflict of interests causes a person to live a life that departs from the "norm." Had Sarah Thorp pared down the scenes of "determining the tide" and "Jessica's aimless walk in the park," she might have written two scenes in which the "twist" in Jessica could have been developed more fully. A limited attempt was made in this direction early on when Jessica opened the lock box in which she kept the "past." In this scene Jessica gave some hint of her conflicts when she picked up the two dolls and kissed them. More of this conflict needed to be developed. Given the script and how she was placed in her scenes, Ashley Judd brought a great deal of understanding to her role.
The Ryan Interview (2000)
Like hot pancakes topped with butter & syrup followed with coffee.
The ease with which both Ashley Judd and Eddie Bracken play off of each other is a joy to behold. Two humans meeting and enhancing each other's life.
Once again, Arthur Miller shows that life is lived from the inside.
Eye of the Beholder (1999)
Want to know what "to hurt" means?
It is worth the wait to see Ashley Judd portray utter confusion, fear, abandonment, and the need to know in the scene near the end when Ewan McGregor, the "Eye," calls her by her real name. Eye of the Beholder could be used as a training film for those who work in the field of psychopathology.