Watching any piece of
biographical journalism on film these days takes me back to the first time I watched
two contemporary films that belong to this genre.
It may not be
that I claim these two to be the best of the lot (All the President’s Men
clearly wins that race), but what I am certain of is that these two, for me, represent
two extremes that can exist within the boundaries of good filmmaking, particularly in this
genre.
I am, of course, talking about Michael Mann’s The Insider and David
Fincher’s Zodiac.
Now, I could (and I
should, but I won’t, owing to a serious lack of inclination to write anything these
days) put forth atleast half a dozen points to prove my argument of how these
two films veer towards opposite directions even if both are excellent pieces of journalism-related filmmaking.
However, in the interest of keeping this post about the film that I
have referred to in the post title, I shall only mention one:
Mann’s film is about
a journalist wanting to air on his news channel a whistleblower’s account
against his tobacco manufacturing employers. Fincher’s is about a journalist and
an amateur detective trying to track down a serial killer on the loose.
So, going by the plot
lines I have just mentioned, the first should be flat, cold and calculating- given the little
or no threat to life that there is to the characters involved. And the second…
well the second should atleast be filled with emotional turmoil.
Only, if you were to think so, you would be totally wrong.
The Insider is anything but flat or cold or calculating, whereas Zodiac is- like every other film of Fincher’s- exactly that.
Watching Spotlight,
this year’s chief contender and ultimate winner in the Best Picture category at
the Oscars, made me think of the two films at various points.
Starring an adequately
wrinkled Michael Keaton and an adequately toned down Mark Ruffalo amongst others,
the film follows a four-person investigative team called Spotlight that works
for The Boston Globe newspaper as they probe into multiple occurrences of child
sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Boston area, only to find that the occurrences
aren’t singular at all, but systemic to the workings of the Catholic church.
And
so, what begins as an inquiry into one case of a priest being accused of molestation
quickly turns into thirteen as they start digging; and then into a staggering
eighty seven, as they go deeper.
Dealing with a subject
as sensitive as this, I thought Tom McCarthy has does a fine job of sticking to
a script that is focused solely on the efforts of team Spotlight without
straying into greyer, more sensational areas that would’ve certainly made the
film much more controversial while not adding anything to its artistic merit. McCarthy
uses all elements, right from a steady background score, muffled cinematography,
authentic-sounding dialogues and subtle actor performances to maintain a near-neutral
tone in the narrative that rises only on a few occasions.
Which is fine, as it
still makes for an interesting watch.
And yet, while
watching the film I could not help but wonder how different and, more so, how
much more effective all of this would’ve been had it been helmed by either
Fincher or Mann (or atleast the Mann from the 90s). Because, I found the film to be surprisingly underwhelming for one that has just bagged an Oscar for Best Picture.
Yes, it is indeed
commendable how the director succeeds in bringing out such restrained performances
from an A-lister star cast (I particularly liked Stanley Tucci and Liev Schreiber
who bring depth into their presence despite their limited screen times)
But it is also not a
good sign when the performances are so restrained that you are not able to find
a single shot in the film you could deem as memorable and affecting, except one:
Don’t get me wrong,
on a scale of 1 to 5, I’d give this film a definite 3.5 on any given day.
I am
just not sure how much of it winning at the Oscars can be attributed to it
being a fantastic film and how much of it is merely owing to the fact that it
deals with a subject matter that a primarily Christian audience would find sensitive.
Worth a watch.
Catch trailer here:
PS: On account of the latter being pure fiction and not biographical unlike this film, I have refrained from comparing Spotlight with Barry Levinson's Sleepers, even though the two revolve around child molestation in institutions where children are easily silenced. However, if I were to compare, I would go with Sleepers as the better film.
2 comments:
"adequately wrinkled Michael Keaton" has to be one of the best phrases that I've recently read.
I liked the film too (A bit more than you and definitely more than Sleepers). I think it would help if u thought of the church as something completely at par with ones family. In a discussion, Tom McCarthy said he was surprised with the unique Tribalism that exists in Boston and that has somewhere translated in the film. Tight-Knitty-ness of Tribal community can be easily compared with the a city so glued together with the Church.
Also among a few other scenes, that scene where the reporter finds out that the rehabilitation center is right next to his house is also memorable. It brings out the intensity of blind spots that underscores the film.
This comment is turning into a review. I better stop.
I'll give it another shot. Might be a mood issue.
Sleepers is flawed too (a lot!) But I rate it better compared to this in terms of bringing out the victims' plight and making one feel for them. I found that missing at many places in Spotlight.
And yes, that scene is good, the one where he finds out his close proximity to the scandal.
Post a Comment