A Four-Star Saturday

This past weekend, recognizing that the serious movie season was upon us, we went for a triple-header on Saturday and boy, did we pick winners!

Blood Diamond **** Much better than I expected. The action is very good, tense and not at all gratuitous, and the story does not digress into too much political lecturing or unreal romance, even though the potential is there. Leo is exceptional – really lost in the character, and his facility with language and accent was astonishing; I forget how truly excellent he can be. Djimon Hounsou was also good, showing intensity and depth, but not much different from several of his other characters in memory (Amistad, Gladiator).

The Queen **** Excellent film. Assuming this is an accurate portrayal of the royal family, it is delightful to see that they are so very normal in such extraordinary circumstances – meaning their everyday lives of privilege and splendour, but also the pressures and responsibilities. Some of the portrayals were a bit too caricature - Prince Charles was a bit of a goof although still trying to do the best for his boys, and I thought that they made Cherie Blair look a bit shrill and silly and the Queen Mum look truly dotty – but the main characters of The Queen and Tony Blair are superbly done. Most striking to me was the change in the Queen’s voice when she gives the televised address – suddenly, there was the fluid high-pitched even-cadenced voice of the sovereign that we all know, and it was striking to see and hear the sharp contrast to the private Elizabeth we’d been watching up to that point. Especially prescient is the Queen’s comment to Tony Blair about the headlines and the fickle nature of the media and the public – his current unpopularity is a sharp counterpoint to the PM on top of the world back in 1997. Go Helen Mirren!!

Notes on a Scandal **** A very compelling story. Could have very easily become tawdry and tabloid, but it stayed very real and very adult. This is a very grown-up chick-flick. Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett and Bill Nighy were all wonderful. Judi Dench is particularly malevolent, if not truly evil – you grudgingly have a measure of sympathy for her, right before she does something despicable. The music was also great, although once I was reminded I recognized it as very similar to the music from The Hours (same composer). Most interesting to see the media portrayed here as the callous and crass scrum that were vilified in the film we watched just a few hours earlier – clearly, we have not learned a thing since 1997 if scandal and vice are still front-page news.