Shawn
Dec 23rd, 2002, 11:37:58 AM
I was surprised to find that there wasn't already a thread about this terrificly haunting movie. I just got around to watching it, myself, and I found it to be a really powerful film.
In case you hadn't heard it elsewhere: Robbin Williams' performance in the movie is creepy. I genuinely felt uncomfortable every time he interacted with the Yorkin family. Almost every time he spoke to Nina or Will or Jake, there was something about his friendly curiousity that always had a definite undertone - As if he was trying not to make idle conversation, but to find out more about their personal lives. It's that kind of awkward questioning you get from a stranger who desperately wants to be your best friend.
The movie may not seem immediately thought-provoking, but it really can be, if you put the effort into it. There are so many people in our daily lives that we present with the opportunity to look into our thoughts, our habits and our lives, yet we never give it a second thought. How many coaches, teachers and clerks do our children talk to every day? And any of them have the potential to tear our lives apart.
Every time Sy did something that appeared genial and friendly, it only made him seem more... stalker-like. Every line of dialogue, every turn of the camera and every piece of background music worked to convey this impression on the viewer. In fact, I think there is a very real association between cameras and the idea of being stalked.
I have to admit: there's not much new here in the way of plot; There's nothing you haven't seen done in another movie before. But in this case, it's a refinement on every previous attempt at anything like this. Some of the things Sy said and did were so overtly obsessive that it really made me hold my breath just to see what kind of reaction he'd get from the other characters. One scene, in particular, made my eyes go wide in anticipation: If you've seen the film, I'm referring to the one where Sy enters the Yorkin home, walking around and using their things. When the family walked in the door, and the camera panned away from him, I expected him to be gone when it turned back. Instead, he was caught there like a deer in headlights. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of explanation he was going to give them.
Another similar scene was where he was following Nina and Jake in his car, after she picked up the incriminating photos. When he pulled over his car after her's, I thought he was going to get out and offer them help - which would have been tipping his hand too soon. She would put two and two together and realize that he'd been stalking her. But instead, he just stayed in his car and she never really noticed him. It was this kind of tension where Sy risked stepping over the line from neighborly old man to stalker.
The denouement of the film was a bit anti-climatic, but it pretty much ended in the only way it could end. The ending itself, however, was very open to interpretation, leaving a lot unspoken: It practically begs to be discussed at length.
I'm very pleased with the film, even moreso than Williams' last performance in Insomnia. The film was exactly everything I had expected it to be, and will be sitting next to my copy of What Dreams May Come when it hits DVD.
In case you hadn't heard it elsewhere: Robbin Williams' performance in the movie is creepy. I genuinely felt uncomfortable every time he interacted with the Yorkin family. Almost every time he spoke to Nina or Will or Jake, there was something about his friendly curiousity that always had a definite undertone - As if he was trying not to make idle conversation, but to find out more about their personal lives. It's that kind of awkward questioning you get from a stranger who desperately wants to be your best friend.
The movie may not seem immediately thought-provoking, but it really can be, if you put the effort into it. There are so many people in our daily lives that we present with the opportunity to look into our thoughts, our habits and our lives, yet we never give it a second thought. How many coaches, teachers and clerks do our children talk to every day? And any of them have the potential to tear our lives apart.
Every time Sy did something that appeared genial and friendly, it only made him seem more... stalker-like. Every line of dialogue, every turn of the camera and every piece of background music worked to convey this impression on the viewer. In fact, I think there is a very real association between cameras and the idea of being stalked.
I have to admit: there's not much new here in the way of plot; There's nothing you haven't seen done in another movie before. But in this case, it's a refinement on every previous attempt at anything like this. Some of the things Sy said and did were so overtly obsessive that it really made me hold my breath just to see what kind of reaction he'd get from the other characters. One scene, in particular, made my eyes go wide in anticipation: If you've seen the film, I'm referring to the one where Sy enters the Yorkin home, walking around and using their things. When the family walked in the door, and the camera panned away from him, I expected him to be gone when it turned back. Instead, he was caught there like a deer in headlights. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of explanation he was going to give them.
Another similar scene was where he was following Nina and Jake in his car, after she picked up the incriminating photos. When he pulled over his car after her's, I thought he was going to get out and offer them help - which would have been tipping his hand too soon. She would put two and two together and realize that he'd been stalking her. But instead, he just stayed in his car and she never really noticed him. It was this kind of tension where Sy risked stepping over the line from neighborly old man to stalker.
The denouement of the film was a bit anti-climatic, but it pretty much ended in the only way it could end. The ending itself, however, was very open to interpretation, leaving a lot unspoken: It practically begs to be discussed at length.
I'm very pleased with the film, even moreso than Williams' last performance in Insomnia. The film was exactly everything I had expected it to be, and will be sitting next to my copy of What Dreams May Come when it hits DVD.