Elle
12-29-2005, 07:43 PM
There's a British movie on this Friday night on IFC at 11:00 pm titled "Sexy Beast." Ben Kingsley gives this amazing, I think Oscar-nominated performance as a London gangster who is so unrelenting with his verbal attacks, it's reminiscent of R. Lee Ermey in "Full Metal Jacket." He is like an angry pit bull that will not let go.
I'm starting a separate thread for it because so much about it is excellent, the antithesis of what Hollywood churns out. First, the plot is interesting, different and intriging. A retired mobster living in Spain is asked by his former boss through Ben Kingsley to do one last job back in London. The catch? The retired mobster does not want to go, but that's not what Kingsley wants to hear.
Second, the actors are real actors, with experience and character that goes along with age. It is a pleasure to see what looks like real people who are characters that are in roles for their age. The two married couples are close in age--no Catherine Zeta Jones and Sean Connery. They're not perfect looking, as in Hollywood perfection, but that's what I love about it. There are wrinkles and lines and extra weight. But they look great. I especially think the woman playing the wife of the retired mobster is beautiful. She's the kind of woman you could look like and feel good about yourself when you skip a week at the gym, as opposed to Hollywood actresses that are unblemished and eating the zone. They are character actors, the kinds with interesting faces. I swear if you're not beautiful in Hollywood, nobody wants to look at you.
Third, it's suspenseful. One scene has no talking and the soundtrack keeps you riveted.
I just wish Hollywood would make these kind of movies where you don't have to appeal to everyone in America. I also wish they would take a chance on scripts and ideas. Not every movie needs Cruise or Paltrow to be great or to be made.
I hope some of you get to watch you. If you do, or you have seen it, let us know what you think.
I'm starting a separate thread for it because so much about it is excellent, the antithesis of what Hollywood churns out. First, the plot is interesting, different and intriging. A retired mobster living in Spain is asked by his former boss through Ben Kingsley to do one last job back in London. The catch? The retired mobster does not want to go, but that's not what Kingsley wants to hear.
Second, the actors are real actors, with experience and character that goes along with age. It is a pleasure to see what looks like real people who are characters that are in roles for their age. The two married couples are close in age--no Catherine Zeta Jones and Sean Connery. They're not perfect looking, as in Hollywood perfection, but that's what I love about it. There are wrinkles and lines and extra weight. But they look great. I especially think the woman playing the wife of the retired mobster is beautiful. She's the kind of woman you could look like and feel good about yourself when you skip a week at the gym, as opposed to Hollywood actresses that are unblemished and eating the zone. They are character actors, the kinds with interesting faces. I swear if you're not beautiful in Hollywood, nobody wants to look at you.
Third, it's suspenseful. One scene has no talking and the soundtrack keeps you riveted.
I just wish Hollywood would make these kind of movies where you don't have to appeal to everyone in America. I also wish they would take a chance on scripts and ideas. Not every movie needs Cruise or Paltrow to be great or to be made.
I hope some of you get to watch you. If you do, or you have seen it, let us know what you think.