The Circus (1928) directed by *Charles Chaplin
rewatch
CONTAINS SPOILERS
I'm in utter disbelief at the fact that the first time I watched this film, I barely liked it. My only conclusion would be that I saw it at the wrong time, as it's taxing for me to uncover its blemishes. The tight rope scene stalls a bit, and...um...well that's all.
A feeling of sheer and absolute elation overwhelms me whenever I set my eyes upon that (unreasonably) hoity-toity, jealous, hopeful, and altruistic little tramp. And my heart, it shatters the moment I see him in pain; when I see him constrained, watching the dropped-from-heaven sole bright spot of his life, being taken from him; or when he cowers away, out of fear of being seen for what he actually is; or when he's lonely. Which brings me to what I wanted to discuss—I wish I could say it was Chaplin, but I can only stretch out the compliments "he's funny" and "his physical comedy is the best I've seen, bar none" (Keaton has him beat in the gag department though) so far—the ending.
Conflicted, conflicted, conflicted am I. One hand: I LOVE different. I was actually thinking about this days before; about how most of the silent comedies I've seen end with their protagonist, figuratively or literally, in the arms of a woman—and if not that, at least on a happy note. Which is why I appreciate The Circus' ending. To an extent. Because, on the other hand: I want the character, that I love so dearly, to be happy. I was teary-eyed at the sight of him all alone in that abandoned circle. I mentioned that I've seen this once before, and halfway through, while filled with joy, I was reminded of the not-so-happy ending that awaited me...and I didn't want it to be true. I hoped that I was mistaken, or that there was a clue, that I had previously missed, insinuating that he wouldn't be so alone. But, unfortunately...you know. Thankfully, it isn't too somber, as we get a glimpse of the Tramp's well-known optimism, but still...damn.
9/10
The Nice Guys (2016) directed by Shane Black
My first Black
Like that of another film penned (but not directed) by Shane Black, Lethal Weapon: it's the film's unlikely duo that pushes the vehicle over the finish line. Again, I get the impression that Shane put all of his effort behind fleshing out each of the disaccording partner-partner dyad, and their relationship, rather than the story they were placed in. Though, to be fair, The Nice Guys' tale was extensively more interesting—however, considering how lackluster Lethal Weapon's was, that ain't saying much; Nice Guys' was only half-assed, whereas Lethal's was about a 1/16 of a buttock. Still, there are no "oooohhhh" moments whenever a piece to the puzzle comes into place, but there are a few very convenient moments that force the story forward, so that's um...not so good. Pretty yawn-inducing stuff, to be honest.
Beside Gosling and Crowe (and their characters) arduously keeping me engaged, there was also very consistent snappy dialogue that kept me smiling, and Black's subversion of the crime genres' norms—the usual slick and effortlessly cool are replaced with the clumsy (Gosling excels at this) and quasi-realistic—kept me on my feet and entertained. I'm aware this subversion isn't new to Black—he's done it once before (that I'm aware of) with yet another conflicting-couple crime film, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Speaking of which: I'm keeping my fingers crossed that KKBB doesn't follow the same path as the two I've seen.
One last point: The soundtrack is severely lacking solid 70s jams. It's always a joy to nod my big head up and down while mouthing/silently singing "Ay, Ay, Ayyy! Ba de ya - say do you remember" to September, but I need more! C'mon, Shane! If you want to keep this simple-minded person entertained, you've gots to give me some catchy tunes! Wuswrongwitchu!?
6.5/10
The Apartment (1960) directed by Billy Wilder
My second Wilder
Every which way—but most notably: Lemmon, MacLaine, and, the integral Billy Wilder—The Apartment is tops!
Lemmon could put anyone at ease with his friendliness, was convincingly frantic/nervous, and had charisma to spare (which is perhaps his finest quality); for Christ's sake, the man makes cooking a dinner for one not only watchable, but entertaining. MacLaine was, inadvertently alluring, with one of the best smiles I've seen to date. More importantly, she earned my respect by way of her ability to overcome such a gargantuan obstacle, with ease, I might add. That obstacle being, having to garner my pity after I'd been made aware of an immoral deed in which she partook, which she was able to do oh so swiftly; her monologues on the situation she was in were nothing short of heartbreaking. And the crème de la crème of the picture is, of course, Billy Wilder. The man behind the words that took me aback and moved me; that had me grinning ear-to-ear (Mildred!); and that will forever stay with me (I will, without a doubt, never hear "-wise" the same way ever again). If that wasn't enough, what really got me to love the man, was him introducing, to me and to the world, the two wonderful schnooks who've been took; both equally lovable and easy to root for. I can't say for sure, but this is definitely a contender for the most I've ever wanted two characters to get together. This is what warrants a standing ovation level of praise from me.
I can't think of much else to add, but if I am missing something, whatever it is would just serve to further state the obvious: I love this film; I absolutely adore it!
9/10
Favorite Film of the Week: The Apartment directed by Billy Wilder
My Letterboxd, if anyone's interested.