360

360
Written by Peter Morgan
Directed by Fernando Meirelles
Starring Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Anthony Hopkins and Ben Foster

The concept that we, as human beings, are all tied to each other in some way is one that most people understand on the basest of levels. Many might not think anything of it, while I’m sure many others think the theory is without merit. To genuinely try to conceptualize the grandness of the idea though can be overwhelming. Regardless, it is often fodder for filmmakers, including Fernando Meirelles, the Brazilian director of CITY OF GOD. His latest, 360, takes the viewer around the world to understand that we are just living in one big global community. Who knew that such a big trip could feel so slight?

Even talented scribe, Peter Morgan (FROST/NIXON, THE QUEEN) cannot revolutionize the 360 concept. The trouble with tackling this topic is that the filmmaker’s hand is shown in the first act of the film. The audience may not know precisely where they’re being led but they know that it will be from one insignificant moment to the next in an elaborate game of connect the dots. Subsequently, no attachments are made to the characters on screen and thus, very little engagement in the film is established. Gifted actors like Jude Law and Rachel Weisz (who won an Oscar the last time she worked with Meirelles on THE CONSTANT GARDENER) appear and disappear almost as quickly. Only Anthony Hopkins manages to carve out a memorable scene, with a passionate confession at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. And then he’s gone.

Life is made up of these fleeting moments and 360 does a good job demonstrating how even the seemingly least significant of those moments, derived from chance encounters in airports or dentist offices, can lead to life altering events. It does so in such a banal and uninspired fashion though that all it truly made me feel is that I would be better off making connections with people instead of watching people make them.

Review copy provided by eOne Entertainment.

RAMPART

RAMPART
Written by James Ellroy and Oren Moverman
Directed by Oren Moverman
Starring Woody Harrelson, Ned Beatty and Ben Foster


Dave Brown: Bear in mined, I’m not a racist. Fact is, I hate all people equally.

There is only one reason RAMPART, Oren Moverman’s second directorial effort works as well as it does and that is Woody Harrelson. As a corrupt cop whose 24 years of questionable service in the Los Angeles Police Department are finally catching up with him and we are there to witness him spiral out of control. The beauty of Harrelson’s performance is that his particular fall from grace is executed with nothing but the most brilliant of technical control.

Moverman’s first film as a feature director is THE MESSENGER, another film that features a powerhouse performance by Harrelson. Moverman even received an Academy Award nomination for his work on the screenplay. With RAMPART though, he seems to have lost some of the confidence one would have expected would have just grown exponentially from his first success. His work with the actors continues to shine (including bleak but brave performances from Ben Foster and Robin Wright) but his visual approach here is amateurish. You can feel the constant need to be edgy or try new things, which only serves to take us out of the moment instead of draw us in deeper. Still, Harrelson is there to anchor everything.

RAMPART also boasts a screenwriting credit from L.A. crime writing expert, James Ellroy. His work with Moverman here is at times a bit ambitious in terms of the unwieldy web they try to weave but the character of Dave Brown himself is the best of their collaboration. As the audience, we are privy to so many of his darker moments and Harrelson, whom we know can lose his temper without notice in the part, exhibits so much restraint and internal struggle that by the time some of his walls begin to crumble, we can feel both the weight of the pain and the relief of the release. The film may not stay with you but the performance will.

456. Rampart

456. (05 Nov) Rampart (2011, Oren Moverman)* 36



Moverman's The Messenger had moments of promise, but this is just dreadful. He's rapidly devolving as a director and writer, letting every little quirk get the better of him. There are ridiculous subplots, like one involving Harrelson's ex-wives, that derail the film for long stretches of time. There are countless throwaway scenes and Moverman's style is outright bad in many places. There's occasionally a solid scene, like one where Sigourney Weaver calls Harrelson's character out. But such moments are few. Harrelson's Oscar buzz is unnecessary.