The Great Gatsby. This is the new one from 2013 with Leonardo DiCaprio, directed by Baz Luhrmann. If you know anything about Baz Luhrmann's direction (Moulin Rouge, Australia) you know that he goes in for the theatrical, the visually intriguing, the "over the top" details. He spares nothing in this version of the story of Jay Gatsby, millionaire or playboy or liar. The details of the 1920's are stellar: the clothes, the music, the glitter, the reckless abandon that affects everything. The cast is good, the acting fine but it's the story that carries it, at least for me. I must admit that I have read Fitzgerald's novel at least six times, the most recent about 8 months ago. It is, to me, an American classic about greed, indulgence, hope and despair and, most of all, misplaced love. I liked this movie version because it isn't as misty-eyed as the 1974 version with Robert Redford and this version has some grit to it. DiCaprio doesn't play Gatsby as a total pretty-boy but as a shrewd yet lost man. It is worth seeing.
Behind the Candelabra. I am probably the last person in Northern California to see this pseudo bio-pic of Liberace but, hey, better late than never. Michael Douglas, who knew he would be so good as the flaming piano playing queen? He's great. Matt Damon is good too, especially once he gets the face lift and his face is his own and he doesn't have to walk around with someone else's balloon face. Supposedly the movie is a fair representation of the relationship between the two. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did, which says something. I would definitely recommend it, as long as you aren't put off by the mincing quality of Liberace. It is sort of strange to see Michael Douglas without hair, I must say.
Searching for Sugar Man: if you like music and like documentaries, you will like this movie. It's a winner: a very good young Bob Dylan-type musician in the 1960-70 era gets good press but no one buys his albums After a while he gives up and goes back to construction work. Click ahead 20 plus years and someone realizes that all this time he has a huge following in South Africa. People are contacted, plans are made, flights taken and he ends up, in his late 40's, in South Africa, playing to SRO audiences. This is a true "Cinderella" tale, about a humble man who simply goes along for the ride. And then simply goes back home, back to his real life. See it. You will love it.
Before Midnight: in 1995 there was a small film, Before Sunrise about two young people who meet on a train in Europe and fall in love for one night, knowing that they will probably never see each other. In 2004 there was a small film, Before Sunset, that has those same two people meeting up somewhat accidentally in Paris, ten years later, and they sort of fall in love again. Now, in 2013, 9 years later, Before Midnight has them married with two kids and facing that place in a marriage where it can go either way: leave or stay. Stay or leave. If you haven't seen the first two of this trio, this one might not mean much to you. But then again, what happens in this one, Before Midnight, pretty much happens to all relationships: storms prevail, sometimes rough seas last for a long time, sometimes calmer seas smooth things over. These three movies are all dialogue. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy are great, as is their director, Richard Linklater. Hawke and Delphy are as natural a couple as two people from different countries and backgrounds can be and a lot of their dialogue is spontaneous. Having been married a couple times and having been through those prevailing storms, I found this movie true and honest in how mates treat each other and how they try even when they don't want to, or how they don't try when they think they should. I liked it a lot. It's not for everyone, but if you like honest movies with little action and a lot of talk, you might like it.
OK, those are my picks of the week. Thank you, public library, for free DVDs.
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