After our critical studies
lecture we tend to have a film showing, it’s never specific to a genre or style
but the films always have some sort of depth that creates an engaging
atmosphere and environment, much like most good games. In other word’s I don’t
think our tutor would show something like ‘White chicks’ or ‘American Pie’
simply because the only thing these films have going for them is... ‘It’s
funny, because it’s stupid’. Anyway, I have been lacking on blogging about
these and I can’t say I have attended every showing (I had good reasons,
promise!) but its time I backtracked and watch/review all this stuff for my own
good, as games create great escaping environments and I don’t think films are
far behind.
The Machinist
So the first film we saw
was The Machinist, I had seen it before so it refreshed my memory. I think the
whole film is interweaved around the self destructive mentally that we humans
can face after hurting someone else or disrupting the status quo in someone
else’s life. Christian Bale aka Trevor Resnick is a factory worker who hasn’t
slept for significant amount of time, both paranoid and unhappy he lurks around
looking like some sort of zombie. He knows his life was not like this before
but it’s as if he does not recall why he is now the way he is. The film is
unique because unlike your average flick where you see many sides of a story
but the actors only know one, and you find yourself shouting at the screen
because you know something the main character doesn’t. The Machinist only shows
you the perspective from the first person so as the film progresses through
Trevor’s thought processes and actions you understand more and more what is
actually going on. I believe people do live in their own little worlds so there
viewpoint is a skewed, distorted perception of reality and this film really
does play on this a great deal.
Trevor’s memory seems to
have taken a few hits due to his lack of sleep so he finds himself every night
at a coffee shop at the airport, trying to achieve some sort of friendship with
the waitress. A worker at the factory looses an arm due to an accident and
Trevor is the one all fingers point to. His paranoia eats at him to over think
everything but he never gets any real answer until the film unravels itself
right at the end. Though Bale is a huge actor his intense almost anorexic
weight somewhat over shadows the depth of this film, or I guess some could
argue it compliments it. I think overall it is a very strong piece at is
exaggerates a emotional state we all can find ourselves in, but in a way where
we can still relate to the character, in the end of course you see Trevor find
peace with himself as he gets what he always wanted, the narrative also
explains itself as to why the character is in such a self destructive state,
this keeps audiences involved throughout the whole film. It also reminded me of
the film ‘Fight Club’ which I may watch once again in my personal time to do a
review.
L.A. Confidential
This film takes place in
the 1950’s where corruption, drug deals, police brutality, organised gun crime
and prostitution is an everyday thing. Here you have three completely different
characters that are set on the same task; each one is like the perfect contrast
to the other. Russell Crowe aka ‘Wendell White’ stars in this as the
aggressive, high in testosterone officer who especially hates women beaters.
Then you have Kevin Spacey aka ‘Jack Vincennes’ who loves the limelight and
attention, finally the younger more truthful and ‘by the book’ detective Guy
Pearce aka ‘Edmund J’. Exley. Straight away I was thinking of the game L.A.
Noire as they greatly share the same setting and it may be that the game owes
some debt to the film. The film represents Los Angeles facade of glitz and
glamour quite well alongside a dark, cynic atmosphere where the good guys can
be bad, but the bad guys are worse.
Overall I thought it was a
pretty decent film as it displayed corruption throughout the higher levels of
officials in the police business, it creates a almost heroic atmosphere when
the underdogs or in this case detectives had to take down the ‘big guy’ but
don’t have evidence or any witnesses to prove their accusations. It reminds of
the player verses final boss thinking where you can only defeat the final boss
when you have equipped yourself with the best gear in the game after going
through all the lower levels first. I enjoyed it although I wouldn’t consider
it my faverouite film it was a great detective story with a pretty strong
narrative that kept me watching till the end. It has a very interesting way of
ending itself as the underdogs do win and the ‘final boss’ type character has
to go down however because the main bad guy is such a high official in the
police ranks its apparent that the characters which discovered his corruption
now face the whole police department as their reputation is at risk, this keeps
it realistic.
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