Dana beat me to the "Why did I read the comments". Thanks for having my back, yo.
Simon: The decision saved your life. Zoe: Won't happen again, sir. Mal: Good. And thanks. I'm grateful. Zoe: It was my pleasure, sir.
'Out Of Gas'
Buffista Movies 6: lies and videotape
A place to talk about movies--old and new, good and bad, high art and high cheese. It's the place to place your kittens on the award winners, gossip about upcoming fims and discuss DVD releases and extras. Spoiler policy: White font all plot-related discussion until a movie's been in wide release two weeks, and keep the major HSQ in white font until two weeks after the video/DVD release.
amych - Apr 10, 2008 8:40:06 am PDT #4983 of 10000
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?
Jessica - Apr 10, 2008 8:40:20 am PDT #4984 of 10000
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
Like how deeply stupid Naomi Watts' character is in Eastern Promises ?
I actually haven't seen that one yet (being released, as it was, post-baby). I think we have it on DVD at home though, so I'll see it eventually.
Sean K - Apr 10, 2008 8:41:01 am PDT #4985 of 10000
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty
I'll admit to spending a fair amount of time yelling "NO, YOU IDIOT" at female Cronenberg characters, but I submit in general they are more fully rendered than most female characters, even if their actions are stupid and annoying.
juliana - Apr 10, 2008 8:43:35 am PDT #4986 of 10000
I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I miss them all tonight…
Like how deeply stupid Naomi Watts' character is in Eastern Promises?
She was so stupid, I could not finish the film. Not even nekkid fighting Viggo could induce me to continue.
I didn't have anything to put in the papers.
What, the ashes of your enemies wasn't enough??
Amy - Apr 10, 2008 8:45:14 am PDT #4987 of 10000
Because books.
Not even nekkid fighting Viggo could induce me to continue.
Wow. That's a serious no.
Hayden - Apr 10, 2008 8:46:15 am PDT #4988 of 10000
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
I'll admit to spending a fair amount of time yelling "NO, YOU IDIOT" at female Cronenberg characters
No, Holly Hunter! Don't do a creepy sex scene with other car-crash enthusiasts! NO ONE wants to think of you like that!
Jessica - Apr 10, 2008 8:46:18 am PDT #4989 of 10000
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
I submit in general they are more fully rendered than most female characters, even if their actions are stupid and annoying.
But I always have the vague niggling sense that the female characters' layers are only there to illuminate something about the male lead. They never seem to have characteristics of their own.
Which I realize is an argument you can make about practically all supporting characters - they exist primarily as foils to the (almost always male) lead, and as such don't really deserve their own stories - but with Cronenberg it tends to feel like bait & switch, and is somehow even more offputting than if they were just 2-dimensional objects to begin with.
(Yes, the last scene in History of Violence made me very, very angry, why do you ask?)
Miracleman - Apr 10, 2008 8:47:29 am PDT #4990 of 10000
No, I don't think I will - me, quoting Captain Steve Rogers, to all of 2020
What, the ashes of your enemies wasn't enough??
When I obliterate my enemies not even ashes remain.
So, no.
Frankenbuddha - Apr 10, 2008 8:48:10 am PDT #4991 of 10000
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"
Like how deeply stupid Naomi Watts' character is in Eastern Promises ?
I think the stupidity was inherent in the screenplay (which was not Cronenberg's), because pretty much if she doesn't do the initial stupid thing, there is no movie. Yeah, her character was my one big problem with the film since she's more of a plot device than a character. There was so much other stuff I liked that I didn't wreck my enjoyment of the movie; mostly I just felt bad for Naomi Watts having such a thankless role.
Actually, apart from Geena Davis in The Fly (and maybe Jennifer Jason Leigh in eXistenZ), most of the women in Cronenberg's movies have either been fantasy figures or plot mechanisms (usually both), or seriously secondary characters.
Hayden - Apr 10, 2008 8:49:52 am PDT #4992 of 10000
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
mostly I just felt bad for Naomi Watts having such a thankless role
That's kind of her thing, isn't it?