Back to the 90s!

Cookie's Fortune
(Robert Altman 1999)

'Conflict arises in the small town of Holly Springs when an old woman's death causes a variety of reactions among family and friends.'

I've become a fan of Robert Altman's movies at least when he makes films like Cookie's Fortune. This is set up like some of other Altman's films as it's an ensemble cast of diverse personalities set in the small Mississippi town of Holly Springs. The movie is filmed on location in Holly Springs which effectively functions as another character in the movie. I liked the way Altman never rushes a scene but allows the moment to play out and linger long enough to feel like we're part of the story. I really enjoyed this.

Paradise (1991)
Dir. Mary Agnes Donoghue

I liked this much more than I thought I would. I thought this might be like a Hallmark movie, sweet and sappy, but nope it wasn't. Paradise is a serious look at what happens to a married couple when their only child dies. When a couple loses a child it often destroys their relationship as the pain of their loss causes them to retreat in ways very much like what happened in the movie. When we meet Ben (Don Johnson) he's a jerk, he's full of anger and keeps people at bay by being bitter and in that way he has an 'anger shield' that protects him from future hurt.

When I seen this was written and directed by a woman I knew it had a good chance of being an intelligently told story that explored the inner psyche of people suffering from loss. I thought Don Johnson did a good job at playing a bitter man and at the same time reaching out to Willard (Elijah Wood) as he would've to his own son and in that way helping to heal himself and resolve his inner conflict. Melanie Griffith seemingly was the 'nice lady' but as the film progresses we see that she's frightened to feel anything, especially for her husband who she drives away as she's full of guilt believing that she was responsible for her son's death. She gives a good performance especially in the tense bedroom scene when she breaks down and tells her husband she's afraid to feel anything and needs to protect herself by feeling numb to the world, that was a strong scene and it rang true. The entire story arch of the couple to me is what powers the movie even though much of the scenes are focused on the two small kids.

The kids themselves are not just there to be cute, they're dealing with abandonment and self delusion with finally accepting the truth that their fathers are deadbeats and won't be in their lives. Thora Birch as the little girl was one heck of an actress. Solid acting by everyone in the movie.

I loved the shooting location in rural South Carolina. That's the reason I decided to watch this as I love movies set in out of the way places as the setting can add a lot of character....Sorry this is so long, Paradise is one of the few movies that makes me think a lot and hence I wrote a lot.


90s movie #31

Arizona Dream (1993)
Dir. Emir Kusturica

So many great images in this indie surrealist dark comedy to choose just one. Stand out performances by the entire cast (Johnny Deep, Faye Dunaway, Jerry Lewis and Lili Taylor). Fascinating direction & script from Serbian direction Emir Kusturica. I'm not sure what I just watched but I'm impressed!