Cinephillia 005 | The Shape of Water
The Shape of Water is an adult fairy tale about misfits that exist on the margins of society. I can see why Del Toro chose to write a mute protagonist with a black female and gay man as supporting characters, taking place in the 1950’s during the height of civil rights activism.
What I think I enjoyed the most about The Shape of Water is it’s melding of two old Hollywood genres, their accompanying tropes / cultural conceits and plays with them in way that no mainstream director has done before, to make a definitive statement thats fitting for our current political and social climate.
You can draw a clear line of influence from The Birth of a Nation to King Kong to The Creature from the Black Lagoon — classic Hollywood films that are ultimately about the fear of the other and the need of strapping white men to protect cultural standards of beauty/purity (white women) from monsters (immigrants, POC).
It’s not a stretch to see how marginalized groups, LGBTQ, POC, and also interracial couples as well, could empathize with more contemporary versions of those stories that subvert those tropes. You might think Beauty and the Beast counts here, and in a way it does, but the act of The Beast changing into an traditionally attractive man as a reward, disqualifies it in my eyes. Shrek comes closer but doesn’t fit the bill either.
This is what makes Del Toro’s Hellboy and The Shape of Water unique. The “monster,” never has to change and neither does their significant other. What they look like on the outside already matches what’s on the inside and is excepted and loved for it.
“Much like fairy tales, there are two facets of horror.”
Del Toro has said many times that as kid, watching films like The Black Lagoon, and such, he always connected with the “beasts” of these stories more than he did with the human characters. So those parallels are not lost to him. Del Toro is obsessed with the idea of monsters as sympathetic characters — it’s one of the defining elements in his storytelling toolbox and what I take from him in my own writing.
The Shape of Water is an adult fairy tale about misfits that exist on the margins of society. I can see why Del Toro chose to write a mute protagonist with a black female and gay man as supporting characters, taking place in the 1950’s during the height of civil rights activism.
The white male antagonist of the film has a line about how humans were made in God’s image and casually says to the black female supporting character that God looks more like him than he does her. Then there’s the subplot with the gay supporting character and a bartender he has a crush on, that I would rather not spoil.
But anyway...The Shape of Water is amazing. The cinematography, the practical effects, the costume and set design, the acting, the color palette and the score are all incredibly well realized in Del Toro’s signature passionate voice and meticulous attention to detail, on a meager 20 million dollar budget. It’s not for everyone (and no film should be in an ideal world) but it so very much deserved it’s Oscar win for film of the year.
The second (or first, I can’t decide) best film of 2017 for me.
Cinephilia 002 | Get Out
It's rare that a thriller / horror film is any good these days, much less one as hyped as this one.
So, firstly, there are no spoilers here. However if you intend on seeing Get Out. Don't read this. It's best to go into the theatre with no expectations.
The Premise:
Now that Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams), have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway upstate with Missy and Dean. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.
The Technicals:
Get Out was brilliant, in concept and in execution. I went into this thinking it would be passable at best -- a few chuckles here and there mixed with the heavy handed racial commentary you'd expect from a film that, I assumed would basically be "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" meets "The Stepford Wives." Spike Lee (but infinitely more subtle) meets M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan...not The Happening, Shyamalan). Get Out has the DNA of an episode of Black Mirror. In fact, the lead of the film, Daniel Kaluuya, stared in an episode of the show, Fifteen Million Merits. Check it out if you haven't already.
It's rare that a thriller / horror film is any good these days, much less one as hyped as this one. But bruh...Get Out was a revelation -- a wholly unexpected, terrifying and appropriately comical / satirical experience, that plays with and subverts your expectations, while providing fresh, subtle, and uncomfortably sharp / poignant commentary, to boot. This was a really impressive first outing, from Jordan Peele, of Key & Peele fame. Peele has a knack for crafting sharp and hilarious reflections on race in America, but I had no idea that he was such an avid student of the horror genre. This guy did not come to play games.
- The pacing was right on the money -- a slow burn that didn't feel at all like a slow burn.
- Efficient and structurally rock solid in terms of its narrative. The rules of this world are clearly set up and pay off in ways that hit the, surprising yet expected, sweet spot. There are no narrative shortcuts -- no cheap jump scares (save for one), no lazy deus ex machinas, nor does the protagonist make unessecarily stupid decisions -- any missteps he makes are essential aspects of his character or come as a result of a lack of information, as opposed to the writer not knowing how to properly construct a scene.
- The twist is competent and functions on multiple levels. This is a film that rewards you upon a second viewing -- all the pieces were set up organically and hidden in plain sight. Dialogue and character traits carried weight and significance beyond the surface, with not much of it wasted as filler.
- The use of visual and auditory symbolism was a high note for me. Utilizing Childish Gambino's "Redbone", as a nice bit of foreshadowing, cautioning the audience to "stay woke." That was a particular standout for me.
“[Get Out] also sheds light on the kind of benevolent racism that comes from polite, well meaning, unassuming, wealthy, often liberal minded, white people.”
The Complex:
If you watched the trailer, you possibly discerned that Get Out is about black people's fear of white people's fear of black people (did you get that?) -- the abject paranoia that we sometimes experience while in predominantly white and unfamiliar spaces. The film could have stuck with that as it's primary thematic focus and still succeeded as a relatively solid piece, but luckily for us, Jordan Peele decided to bring his A-game and digs much deeper, focusing heavily on less obvious, and arguably darker, aspects of race relations in America.
The brilliant thing about Get Out goes back to what I said earlier about the narrative subverting your expectations. Hollywood loves to make emotionally manipulative heavy handed movies about racism -- whether it be about the overtly racist social structures that burdened black people during slavery and Jim Crow, or movies about one-toothed hillbilly Neo-Nazi's and Klan members. These are films that essentially make the modern white person feel good about themselves -- as to say, "Isn't it great that we're not like those people anymore?"
Jordan Peele was smart enough to avoid the obvious message and construct a narrative that speaks to the more subtle aspects of systematic racism that black people know and understand well, but are harder to pin down with simple verbiage. The movie doesn't contain a group of villainous confederate flag waving rednecks out to enslave unsuspecting black people. If this were the case then there would be no narrative tension because the audience would already know what's coming. The story and it's caucasian antagonists' motivations are far more complex.
I, once upon a time, wrote a facebook post about how I'm not in the least bit worried about the KKK. I know they hate me and I can willfully avoid those people. I'm worried about the nice old lady down the street in the predominantly white upper middle class neighborhood that I live in, who could call the police on me while I'm running down her street, in a black hoodie, because I look "suspicious."
In addition to touching on eugenics, the institution of slave auctioning, white people's expectations of black behavior, and the painful history of white rape / appropriation of black bodies and culture (see. Thomas Jefferson or Kylie Jenner), Jordan Peele seems to want to point out that we're all a little racist and posses cultural blind spots that need filling.
Peele not only use horror to dissect the complex lingering effects of long standing colonialism, within a given population — on both the colonizer and the colonized — but also sheds light on the kind of benevolent racism that comes from polite, well meaning, unassuming, wealthy, often liberal minded, white people. The kind of racism that tries way too hard to make black people feel comfortable by pulling out a mental list of "black history facts" and "things that negroes like to do" and unloading it all in the form of misguided greetings, compliments, ice breakers, cheerful banter and unwanted physical contact.
The kind of racism that assures black people that, "I am most certainly not racist! I voted for Obama two times." The kind of racism that's oblivious to it's maliciousness. The kind of racism that genuinely comes from a good place, but because of willful ignorance, is none the less misguided and short sighted. The kind of racism that fetishizes black bodies. The kind of racism that looks down on us while simultaneously cherry picking desired traits — positioning us as something more akin to costumes to be worn, instead of fully formed human beings.
I feel like there will be a stark difference in the way that white people and black people process certain scenes. There are moments in the film that some white people might laugh at, passing it off as quirky parody, but to black people -- the barrage of micro-aggressions thrown at the protagonist -- will undoubtedly conjure a fuck ton of heavy emotions and disgruntled moans, leaving their palms sweaty by films end. There are moments where the expressions on the protagonist's face will be instantly recognized by, and all too familiar to, black people, but may go completely over the heads of everyone else. This is the first film I've ever seen that articulates the stress we feel of having to constantly having to defend our fears to those who don't understand. For us, Get Out is potent psychological anxiety trip, through and through, laying bare the uncertainty we feel towards the dozens of tiny everyday social interactions we have with white people — the mental negotiations we make within ourselves to avoid confrontation, and then go home to laugh about it amongst our own to keep from crying.
Get Out spoke to me on a viscerally emotional level. It truly unnerved me and masterfully contextualized an aspect of my experience as a black man in this country that is so often extremely difficult to articulate.
I hope that people who see the film come to understand its true depth as a modern fable and cautionary tale. It's a film that asks us to take a step back, look at ourselves and reanalyze how we choose to relate to, and treat one another. I'm impressed that it even exists, much less has had a successful wide release thus far.
No film is without flaws, and neither is this one, but Get Out succeeds on so many fronts and gets so much right, that it's flaws are small potatoes and do not affect the overall quality and potency of it's message and purpose.
Get Out stuck with me hours after I left the theatre. I can't stress enough how amazing it was -- a testament to the inherent value of black people telling their own stories -- and is destined to be a classic. This is an absolute game changer, not to mention, being arguably the first good black horror film ever conceived...like...ever.
Damn near perfect.
...but seriously, who threw that deer at the car though?
Cinephilia 001 | Captain America: Civil War
Captain America: Civil War, was pretty damn good. Not the revelation that Winter Soldier was, but its up there with the best of MARVEL's ever expanding roster of films.
illustration by Ryan Meinerding
Captain America: Civil War was pretty damn good. Not the revelation that Winter Soldier was, but it’s up there with the best of MARVEL's ever expanding roster of films.
No spoilers (promise)
First and foremost...Black Panther. Made. Me. MOIST. I went into this with muted expectations about him and how well he'd translate on screen — would they try way too hard to make him feel genuinely important and powerful and well, African...and turn him into a Tyler Perry-esque abomination? But as soon as I saw T'Challa, as soon as I saw one of his Dora Milaje (bodyguards) (statuesque, proudly bald and intimidating women at that...screw Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman, honestly...Amazonian, my ass), as soon as I saw a wealth of dark skinned men and women that weren't represented in a stereotypical, overstated, or overbearingly regal or insecure way, I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear and giggle like a Japanese school girl. He was my favorite thing about this movie and I can't wait to see his solo film. I feel like his presence could create a shift in Hollywood, opening the door for more dark skinned leading roles in WELL CRAFTED science fiction and fantasy films, especially for dark skinned women. If you have black geeky comic book, fantasy or sci-fi loving children...take them to see this, please!
Make no bones about it, between BvS and Civil War we were sold the same film twice, but the latter is far superior in execution than the former. However Marvel has the benefit of several years worth of development and DC clearly is just trying to play catch up in the worst way possible. Take notes Zach Snyder; THIS is how you handle an ensemble cast of comic book giants (hint hint). The film is funny when it can be and serious when it needs to be. Cap and Tony's motivations and stances were CLEARLY defined, you understood exactly why they clashed, you cared about them, and the resolution to their conflict had real weight and consequences.
Because of it's massive cast and character thread high wire juggling act, some will be quick to call this Avengers 2.5. But make no mistake, this is a Captain America's story. He is the protagonist and the main character — Cap experiences the most change and his actions have a substantial and dynamic effect on those around him.
You understand both sides of the conflict and neither was definitively right or wrong. You have a hard time figuring out who you root for. The text was mature without feeling the need to try and be unnecessarily intellectual. Both sides had their reasons, both walked away altered and flawed and it was lovely. Ultimately I was on Cap's side, but I truly felt bad for both him and Tony.
There’s a good mix of humor and drama. That battle royal style airport set piece was amazing. A villain you could sympathize with in some small way. Spider-Man stole the show in the few minutes he was on screen. The fight choreography was complex and hefty. Bucky's arm...idk...I just think his metal arm is cool and I want one. The plot resolution between Cap and Tony. Captain America's films continue to be a driving force for substantial status quo change in the MCU.
“Not the revelation that Winter Soldier was, but it’s up there with the best of MARVEL’s ever expanding roster of films.”
The pacing was a little off in the first third or so. But even here, I'm hard pressed to find ways to avoid it. The Russo Bros. had to check off a laundry list of elements mandated by the suits at Disney, so I think, like Whedon before them, they did the best they could with what they had. And maybe the next round they will get even better at it...or not...who knows.
At this point, MARVEL is a well oiled machine running at peak efficiency. The films follow a strict formula that somehow remains fun and enjoyable to me despite my waning interest with superheroes in general, and doesn't come off as completely trite, but they ride the line a lot of the time.
There's a lot going on here, and again, a symptom of the ever expanding MCU. Some of the scene transitions and the way some characters are introduced/enter and exit the film feel disjointed. This particularly affected Black Panther and Spider-Man, the latter of which had no real reason to be in this film, despite being really cool to watch. The Black Panther's driving motivation came off a tad cheesy and flat in my opinion. These two were clearly put in here because the MCU sequel set up machine demands it, so I mean, hey...those pesky corporate mandates...what can you do? Am I right Russo Bros?
The airport scene was awesome, as I said. But it felt like filler because, no one was was really trying to hurt anyone...except Black Panther...he was definitely trying to kill Bucky. The real drama, the real thrust of the story, is the between Black Panther and Buck and Tony and Cap -- that's when the meat of the tension arises, sadly, I felt it was too little too late by the time it climaxes.
Speaking of Black Panther, while I enjoyed him, I hope that he doesn't end up becoming this romanticized uber regal mary sue, who is serious all the time and can do no wrong. I'm completely done with our culture's habit of worshiping monarchy as if it's lifestyle one should strive for, It would be great if we gave ACTUAL intellectual and vocational pursuits some time to shine and let the, "I'm rich bitch," philosophy on life, rest a little bit. But anyway, when fans fall in love with a character, particularly one that looks like them (in this case one that looks like me), those fans sometimes tend to project their own insecurities onto that character, balancing all of their hopes and dreams on the shoulders of that character. And if those impossible standards of righteous godhood, demanded of these characters, are not met, accusations of sabotage will begin to fly (despite half of these "fans" not knowing a damn thing about Black Panther before this movie was announced in the first place). That push for intellectual, psychological and physical perfection from people can and will suck the humanity out of a character with as much potential to become internationally iconic as Black Panther. I hope BP doesn't end up a victim of this. Keep him human; keep him interesting...please.
The villain, while sympathetic and fitting, I was unclear as to how he was able to execute a large chunk of his plan.
Well ultimately well shot and choreographed, the first couple of action set pieces could have been just a tiny bit clearer and edited smoother in some spots. Wider shots with less quick cuts so that I could absorb what was going on in those moments a littler better, would have made them golden.
The position some characters took on the overarching conflict seemed forced and didn't make complete sense for their circumstances.
About
Creative Director. Designer. Storyteller. Nilla wafer enthusiast. Under no circumstances should you ever allow my talented and amiable disposition to fool you into thinking that I am anything more than young, dumb and full of ideas.