The last I read of DI John Rebus, he was frantically trying to save the life of his nemesis, the gangster Gerald Cafferty, in a Scottish hospital. That installment of the Rebus series was Exit Music (2007), and as rides into the sunset for fictional detectives go, the concluding scenario didn't exactly echo Holmes&Moriarty grappling life and death over a mountain waterfall. But the exit in Music did have one clear advantage. Unlike Holmes's final appointment at Reichenbach Falls, it allowed for the possibility of Rebus's return.
II.
The possibility becomes fact in the 18th novel of the Rebus series, Standing In Another Man's Grave. Author Ian Rankin presents Detective Inspector Rebus now as pretty much the Rebus of old: he still drinks and smokes too much; he likes the rock music, preferably on vinyl; his sense of humour leans toward bad jokes; and he is still obsessive and relentless in the pursuit of justice.
But in the time Rebus has been away, other things have changed. For starters, he is now a civilian (retired) employee with the police, assigned to the cold-case unit. This means he has to play nice with careerist officers like James Page. "'You've changed a bit,' Rebus said. Page looked at him blankly. 'Led Zeppelin,' Rebus explained. 'Guitarist'." <1> Page's humourless bafflement leads Rebus to further refer to him as "Dazed and Confused", and later, "Physical Graffiti".
And then there's DI Malcolm Fox, the head of the internal affairs department, who has become suspicious of Rebus's continued association with gangsters like Cafferty. Fox thinks Rebus a maverick dinosaur, and thinks even less of Rebus's plan to reapply to the police as a serving officer.
III.
One of the attractions of the Rebus series has always been Rankin's acute attention to land and life in contemporary Scotland. In Another Man, Rebus follows a missing-persons case well away from his home base of Edinburgh. With Rebus at the wheel of his trusty Saab, Rankin guides us up into the northern Scottish coastline. "The landscape grew more alien, almost lunar...now and then there would be a spectacular cove with pristine white sand and blue sea... [Rebus] felt utterly alone in the world. No traffic sounds; no other humans".
IV.
The eventual resolution of the case turns a whodunit into a thriller about how the guilty will be caught. It's all suspenseful, page-turning work. As Rebus replies at one point to being a "stuck" recording: "Maybe so, but the song's still a smash". Standing In Another Man's Grave proves it.
__________
<1>Rankin, Ian. Standing In Another Man's Grave. Orion Books, 2014.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Saturday, March 1, 2014
When the Oscar Went
Oscar Night '14 is tomorrow, March 2nd. In 2013, Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell) was one of the films nominated for Best Picture, when the Oscar went to Argo (Ben Affleck).
II.
Silver Linings Playbook opens with Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper) leaving the mental institution he's been confined to. It's his mother Dolores (Jacki Weaver) who has come to take him from the institution, against the best advice of Pat's doctors. When Pat and mum arrive at the Solatano home in Philadelphia, we further learn that Mrs Solatano has retrieved her son without telling her husband Pat Sr. (Robert De Niro) of the plan.
How did Pat Jr. end up in a mental institution in the first place? Seems Pat had come home unexpectedly one day, only to find his wife Nikki (Brea Bee) showering with another man. This infidelity leads Pat to a bipolar break acute - he beats his wife's lover senseless - and extended - his wife is forced to take out a restraining order against Pat. In the end, it was resolved that Pat seek treatment for his issues in a residential setting.
III.
But now Pat's back, living in his parents' home, attempting to deal with his bipolar disorder without the medications indicated for the condition. This has mixed results. Pat gets so agitated by the conclusion of a book he is reading, for example, that he throws it out his bedroom window. As the book is a novel by Hemingway, a writer syllabused upon me during my school days, I was delighted to see one of Papa's works flung farewell through a window. In the film, Mr and Mrs Solatano aren't similarly pleased by their son's brand of literary criticism, or his ranting that follows it, in the middle of the night.
After being involved in some more erratic incidents, Pat reluctantly agrees to go back on his meds. This in no way means that he has retreated from his original plan however, which is to win back his wife, and resume their marriage. As part of his goal Pat decides to get in better shape, by taking up jogging. Wearing a garbage bag over his tracksuit. To help him sweat off the excess pounds.
In the meantime, Pat is introduced to his friend Ronnie's sister-in-law, the recently-widowed Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence). The romantic attraction between Pat and Tiffany is immediate; Pat just won't let himself admit it quite yet. To help him along the path of realization, Tiffany has Pat agree to be her partner in an upcoming dance competition. In return, Tiffany will help Pat circumvent his wife's restraining order, by contacting Nikki on Pat's behalf. So begins the narrative that concerns the balance of Playbook, which is mostly the story of Pat and Tiffany's building relationship, and Pat's acceptance that his marriage is really over.
IV.
The performances are strong across the line in Playbook. Bradley Cooper plays Pat as a man grappling with unspoken mental pressure. Just look at Cooper's way with Pat's eyes - how they dart back and forth, seeming to come into, and then out of focus; or at Pat's body language as a whole - how he shifts abruptly between stillness and movement. Look, and Cooper will show you how hard Pat is working to convince others, and himself, that he is coping successfully.
In the role of Pat Sr, Robert De Niro is marvellous as the father trying to adjust to living with a mentally-disordered adult son. Fine too is Jacki Weaver as Dolores Solatano, and marvellous indeed are De Niro and Weaver together, in showing the Solatanos' resolve to help their son. Stressed, tried and tested they may be by their son's issues, but De Niro and Weaver show us that giving up on their son is never an option for these parents, for theirs is a love duty-bound and steadfast.
And Jennifer Lawrence gives us much to praise in her performance as Tiffany Maxwell (Lawrence won the acting Oscar for which she was nominated from Playbook). Lawrence's Tiffany is a neurotic mass of contradictions: sad but funny; shrewd but naive; promiscuous but romantic; cynical but honest. We are allowed to see all these sides of Tiffany, and more, by Lawrence's always compelling portrayal.
V.
Playbook begins as one kind of quirky comedy, about a damaged psyche, and evolves into a romantic comedy about two damaged people, Pat and Tiffany. Being a David O. Russell film, the quirks remain, but Russell doesn't let them run away with his film. Instead, the director has assembled Playbook so that the idiosyncrasies of his style are of a piece with the acting performances, lending a smooth, genial rhythm to the story being told on the screen. Such a pleasing harmony in a picture dealing with its kind of discordance may be considered artificial or superimposed. Yet, can any of us deny that the sympathy and hope often conveyed by Silver Linings Playbook are among what we all seek, in our own time of trouble and need?
II.
Silver Linings Playbook opens with Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper) leaving the mental institution he's been confined to. It's his mother Dolores (Jacki Weaver) who has come to take him from the institution, against the best advice of Pat's doctors. When Pat and mum arrive at the Solatano home in Philadelphia, we further learn that Mrs Solatano has retrieved her son without telling her husband Pat Sr. (Robert De Niro) of the plan.
How did Pat Jr. end up in a mental institution in the first place? Seems Pat had come home unexpectedly one day, only to find his wife Nikki (Brea Bee) showering with another man. This infidelity leads Pat to a bipolar break acute - he beats his wife's lover senseless - and extended - his wife is forced to take out a restraining order against Pat. In the end, it was resolved that Pat seek treatment for his issues in a residential setting.
III.
But now Pat's back, living in his parents' home, attempting to deal with his bipolar disorder without the medications indicated for the condition. This has mixed results. Pat gets so agitated by the conclusion of a book he is reading, for example, that he throws it out his bedroom window. As the book is a novel by Hemingway, a writer syllabused upon me during my school days, I was delighted to see one of Papa's works flung farewell through a window. In the film, Mr and Mrs Solatano aren't similarly pleased by their son's brand of literary criticism, or his ranting that follows it, in the middle of the night.
After being involved in some more erratic incidents, Pat reluctantly agrees to go back on his meds. This in no way means that he has retreated from his original plan however, which is to win back his wife, and resume their marriage. As part of his goal Pat decides to get in better shape, by taking up jogging. Wearing a garbage bag over his tracksuit. To help him sweat off the excess pounds.
In the meantime, Pat is introduced to his friend Ronnie's sister-in-law, the recently-widowed Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence). The romantic attraction between Pat and Tiffany is immediate; Pat just won't let himself admit it quite yet. To help him along the path of realization, Tiffany has Pat agree to be her partner in an upcoming dance competition. In return, Tiffany will help Pat circumvent his wife's restraining order, by contacting Nikki on Pat's behalf. So begins the narrative that concerns the balance of Playbook, which is mostly the story of Pat and Tiffany's building relationship, and Pat's acceptance that his marriage is really over.
IV.
The performances are strong across the line in Playbook. Bradley Cooper plays Pat as a man grappling with unspoken mental pressure. Just look at Cooper's way with Pat's eyes - how they dart back and forth, seeming to come into, and then out of focus; or at Pat's body language as a whole - how he shifts abruptly between stillness and movement. Look, and Cooper will show you how hard Pat is working to convince others, and himself, that he is coping successfully.
In the role of Pat Sr, Robert De Niro is marvellous as the father trying to adjust to living with a mentally-disordered adult son. Fine too is Jacki Weaver as Dolores Solatano, and marvellous indeed are De Niro and Weaver together, in showing the Solatanos' resolve to help their son. Stressed, tried and tested they may be by their son's issues, but De Niro and Weaver show us that giving up on their son is never an option for these parents, for theirs is a love duty-bound and steadfast.
And Jennifer Lawrence gives us much to praise in her performance as Tiffany Maxwell (Lawrence won the acting Oscar for which she was nominated from Playbook). Lawrence's Tiffany is a neurotic mass of contradictions: sad but funny; shrewd but naive; promiscuous but romantic; cynical but honest. We are allowed to see all these sides of Tiffany, and more, by Lawrence's always compelling portrayal.
V.
Playbook begins as one kind of quirky comedy, about a damaged psyche, and evolves into a romantic comedy about two damaged people, Pat and Tiffany. Being a David O. Russell film, the quirks remain, but Russell doesn't let them run away with his film. Instead, the director has assembled Playbook so that the idiosyncrasies of his style are of a piece with the acting performances, lending a smooth, genial rhythm to the story being told on the screen. Such a pleasing harmony in a picture dealing with its kind of discordance may be considered artificial or superimposed. Yet, can any of us deny that the sympathy and hope often conveyed by Silver Linings Playbook are among what we all seek, in our own time of trouble and need?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)