Doubt and the Case of Benjamin Button
It's your last week to catch award-nominated films on the big screen before we gear down for the next few months. On offering this week is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (TCCBB) and Doubt. For any occasion, you can’t go wrong with either one.
When I first viewed TCCBB it passed me by like a glossy advert dedicated to Brad Pitt’s smouldering good looks (with a distinct look of a young Robert Redford). However on a second screening, there are more layers and parallels of meaning and morals that will relate to you in one way or another. Which begins to justify some of its 13 Oscar and 11 BAFTA nods this year, but it still falls short in being completely worthy of its praise in my opinion. After all a film that follows Pitt’s character as he is born an old man medically close to death, but under curious circumstances ages backwards over time growing evermore youthful. His story intertwines with Cate Blanchett as she grows up and grows old, and the two eventually meet in the middle of their lives.
Don’t get me wrong: the film is thoroughly intriguing and the CGI is jaw-droppingly good to the point where it's almost distracting as you ask yourself “How did they do that?” It reminds me of 2003’s Big Fish with Ewan McGregor, which set the benchmark for this biographical/fantasy genre. TCCBB has added to it with clever cutting-edge technology and better looking cast, but it's an equally solid tale of ye olden times.
Doubt on the other hand is the thinking person's choice this weekend. The film based is on a stage play about a strict Catholic School set in the 1960s. Meryl Streep plays joint lead character Sister Beauvier and is on top form. You can sense she is in her element with this performance, surely one of her top five ever. Opposite her is Philip Seymour Hoffman playing Father Flynn, again not putting a foot wrong with his character choices. His performance, like others of late, is exhilaratingly intense.
Although the context of the film looks at possibly inappropriate actions between the Father Flynn and the school's first black child, it at no point openly mentions this accusation or divulges on what real evidence the accusation is made. The clerical malpractices over the last 10-20 years both in the UK and USA may influence your outlook on the moral of the film, but if you don’t let them, you will appreciate the film for what it tells you about doubt.
As Streep plays the vindictive, archaic headmistress who taunts the pupils and Hoffman plays the friendly, supportive teacher who provides protection to the weaker pupils, your biases will be your weakness in assessing who is right and who is wrong. One sign of an intellectual film is one that leaves you thinking about it for days - if not weeks - after viewing. You’ll be debating with your friends about this film, and for good reason. It’s truly engrossing.
Don’t get me wrong: the film is thoroughly intriguing and the CGI is jaw-droppingly good to the point where it's almost distracting as you ask yourself “How did they do that?” It reminds me of 2003’s Big Fish with Ewan McGregor, which set the benchmark for this biographical/fantasy genre. TCCBB has added to it with clever cutting-edge technology and better looking cast, but it's an equally solid tale of ye olden times.
Doubt on the other hand is the thinking person's choice this weekend. The film based is on a stage play about a strict Catholic School set in the 1960s. Meryl Streep plays joint lead character Sister Beauvier and is on top form. You can sense she is in her element with this performance, surely one of her top five ever. Opposite her is Philip Seymour Hoffman playing Father Flynn, again not putting a foot wrong with his character choices. His performance, like others of late, is exhilaratingly intense.
Although the context of the film looks at possibly inappropriate actions between the Father Flynn and the school's first black child, it at no point openly mentions this accusation or divulges on what real evidence the accusation is made. The clerical malpractices over the last 10-20 years both in the UK and USA may influence your outlook on the moral of the film, but if you don’t let them, you will appreciate the film for what it tells you about doubt.
As Streep plays the vindictive, archaic headmistress who taunts the pupils and Hoffman plays the friendly, supportive teacher who provides protection to the weaker pupils, your biases will be your weakness in assessing who is right and who is wrong. One sign of an intellectual film is one that leaves you thinking about it for days - if not weeks - after viewing. You’ll be debating with your friends about this film, and for good reason. It’s truly engrossing.
Here Is The Writer : Omer Bhatti
Omer Bhatti, Head Sales Trader of WorldSpreads and markets commentator during the week, is always happy to go to a cushy cinema and devour films on the weekend. No film is ruled out, be it French film noir, Hollywood CGI action, or Japanese Manga. Look to Omer for input on where to go and what to see, whether it’s for a first date, family outing, Sunday recovery session, or guy's - or girl's - night out. (Just don't make him watch Sex & the City again.)
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