In Contention

Tag: Gary Oldman

  • Alfredon’s ‘Tinker, Tailor’ smolders on screen

    I don’t want to write too much about “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” right now because, point blank, I want to see it again and digest and — gasp! — consider.

    For now, though, I’ll start with this: It’s an impeccably made, satisfyingly dense piece of work from director Tomas Alfredson. It’s the rare film that is a slow burn but nevertheless moves along at a clip, with a very well-honed editorial sense, I might add.

    The thing is, I saddled up to the film this afternoon without knowing the source material or bothering to investigate it much. I’ve never read John le Carre’s novel (I will) and I haven’t seen the 1979 British mini-series starring Alec Guiness (I will). And the vibe I get is it would be helpful to come to the new film with a modicum of knowledge on that, but it’s no less satisfying. It just means a second look is in order, and I’m all for it, because you come away with an extreme reverence for craft here.

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  • Gary Oldman writes up Coppola across the pond

    Here’s a nice change of pace. On the occasion of the UK opening of “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” London’s Telegraph newspaper has commissioned actor Gary Oldman for his thoughts on director Francis Ford Coppola. It’s kind of random, though. Yeah, Oldman starred in Coppola’s 1992 film “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” but there’s no real connection otherwise. Coppola has “Twixt” at Toronto right now, so there’s that, but whatever, I’m not complaining. It’s always nice to get this kind of perspective from an actor. Here’s a taste:

    For me, Apocalypse Now is the peak of his career. So much so that I used a bit of it when I directed Nil By Mouth [1997] — that sequence when Dennis Hopper goes to Willard, who is Kurtz’s captive, and starts telling him about Kurtz (“What are they gonna say? That he was a kind man? That he was a wise man?”). Francis gave me that footage for free, which was very kind of him.

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  • REVIEW: “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” (***1/2)

    Venice Film Festival

    An uncharacteristically dark Venetian downpour greeted this morning’s premiere screening of “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” and if some flashbulbs of lightning last night hadn’t already previewed the turn in weather, I’d suspect the pervasively, necessarily drab atmospherics of Tomas Alfredson’s artful John le Carré adaptation of bleeding out from the screen and into the beyond.

    Looking for all the world as if the print has been stewed in black tea before being left to gather a few months’ worth of dust in the projection room — and that’s a good thing, I hasten to add — the film proves a happy marriage between two very different brands of understated precision: the British scholarliness of le Carré’s dense espionage lore and the icier Scandinavian calm that Alfredson brought to his breakout vampire drama, “Let the Right One In.”

    In many ways, Alfredson directs le Carré’s self-described “little gray men” of Britain’s MI6 intelligence service as they are themselves vampires of the Cold War: lurking in irremovable half-light, striking efficiently and selectively, and only notionally acquainted with the concept of sunlight, these thickly-tweeded spies appear to bear the burden of their profession as a lifelong alibi for the avoidance of intimacy, social functionality and even standard-issue conversation.

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  • ‘Tinker, Tailor’ joins the December club

    American viewers already frustrated about waiting two months longer than the Brits to lay eyes on Tomas Alfredson’s “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” — welcome to our world, guys — won’t be pleased by Pete Hammond’s revelation in a recent column that the wait has been extended by three weeks.

    Yes, Focus Features has pushed the film back from its original November 18 release date to December 9, a move that some will interpret as indicative of bolshy awards-season hopes for the star-studded John Le Carré adaptation — though the pre-Thanksgiving berth wasn’t exactly Oscar-unfriendly either.

    That said, Focus might have picked a date with less intimidating high-end competition: originally set to precede “The Artist,” “The Descendants” and “Hugo” by only a few days, the film now need only stare down limited releases of Madonna’s “W.E.” and Jason Reitman’s “Young Adult.”

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  • ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’ poster

    Yes, another poster — but it’s a good one, and for a film many of us are awaiting rather eagerly, so hopefully you’ll let it slide. The teaser trailer for Tomas Alfredson’s adaptation of John le Carré’s classic spy novel (previously, and very successfully, filmed for television with Alec Guinness in 1979) debuted to a warm response a few weeks ago, and this tastefully sober one-sheet, playing up the more cerebral qualities of the material,  further supports expectations of a classy package. (Spot the release date, by the way.) Also nice to see Gary Oldman given lone above-the-title billing, despite the presence of supporting names that might currently be more marketable. Full poster, courtesy of Empire, after the cut.

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  • ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’ international teaser trailer

    Tomas Alfredson’s “Let the Right One In” follow-up “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” is a film I’ve very much looking for. On paper, it looks like a dream, and judging by the freshly premiered international trailer (courtesy of The Guardian), the film appears to be a tightly wound potboiler that might electrify this Oscar season. Focus Features will be distributing and I think Gary Oldman could have a decent shot at that elusive first Oscar nomination. Check out the international teaser by clicking the image below or watch an embed after the jump.

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  • THE LISTS: Top 10 performances in Christopher Nolan films

    The word of the day Friday will most certainly be “Inception,” as casually interested movie-goers and anxious fanboys alike line up to take in Christopher Nolan’s latest effort.

    Now, I have suggested in this space that the film’s ensemble is an organic one, alive and driven.  And that the performances are separately less than their sum impact. It nevertheless seemed a good time to look back over Nolan’s septet of offerings thus far and cherry pick the best portrayals for a return to this semi-regular feature at In Contention.

    Nolan always puts together a great cast. His carefully selected leads tend to ably balance themes of identity, control and psychosis, while highlighted supporting parts always prove to be charming outside-the-box considerations.

    With the latter in mind, I’d have loved to make room for the Steven Tobolowskys, Rutger Hauers, David Bowies, Ritchie Costers and Tom Berengers, but I naturally kept settling on the larger roles when push came to shove.

    So, without further ado…

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  • The Great Performances: 2000

    Tom Hanks in Cast AwayMichael Douglas was robbed.

    The already Oscar-christened actor gave a career-best performance in 2000 in Curtis Hanson’s “Wonder Boys,” but he got no love from the Academy. Worse, his performance was easily among the five best of the year and won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Actor prize.

    That having been said, I don’t think Douglas actually deserved the Oscar in 2000.  That honor belonged to Tom Hanks in “Cast Away” for a performance that was nothing less than astounding. For two and a half hours Hanks commands the screeen, moving into silent film territory for a stretch, the actor using strictly his body and face for the performance. Anyone who has ever, and I mean ever, doubted his range needs to take a hard look at this film.

    The five nominees for Best Actor in 2000 were Hanks, Russell Crowe for “Gladiator,” Ed Harris in “Pollock,” Geoffrey Rush in “Quills” and Javier Bardem in “Before Night Falls.” For me, Douglas was the most glaring omission, followed by George Clooney’s Gable-esque work in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” which I think remains one of the actor’s very best pieces of work.

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  • REVIEW: “A Christmas Carol” (***1/2)

    A Christmas CarolFilmmaker Robert Zemeckis’s allegiance to performance-capture technology these last few years has begun to wear thin for some.  But the fascinating thing to note is an artist improving his craft before our very eyes over the course of three separate productions.

    “The Polar Express” in 2004 didn’t hit the mark for a great many, the “uncanny valley” of its characters’ glossy, somewhat lifeless expressions a considerable liability.  But it was the beginnings of a new process Zemeckis was bound and determined to master.

    “Beowulf” in 2007 was a big step forward, though the director perhaps got a little carried away with consistent, gimmicky elements meant to emboss the 3D aspect of the film.  But you could see the improvement.

    A typical complaint of the technology is that it comes off a bit arbitrary, or that it drowns out the work of actors.  But the value of the process that is too hastily dismissed is that it allows an artist to tell a story in ways rather unfathomable under traditional filmmaking techniques.

    With “A Christmas Carol,” a performance-capture adaptation of Charles Dickens’s classic tale, Zemeckis proves that point explicitly.  And as far as refining his medium of choice goes, I have to say he’s close.  VERY close.

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  • ‘Trainspotting’ named best British film of last 25 years

    Ewan McGregor in TrainspottingThe Observer has just assembled one of the more interesting lists I’ve seen in some time — a collective of the 25 best British films of the last quarter-century, compiled from the votes of over 60 critics, film professionals and assorted outside voices, ranging from Ben Kingsley to Peter Morgan to our friend Anne Thompson.

    Looking down the list, there are remarkably few inclusions that I really take issue with, whether I’d necessarily put them on my own such list or not — the majority of titles here are films I admire that have a legitimate sphere of influence in modern British film history, and they’ve lucked into an intelligent balance between arthouse and populist titles.

    “Trainspotting” is an obvious pick for number one, but sometimes obvious is fair. I don’t think it’s the greatest of the 25 titles listed here, but it’s an inarguably fine film that embodies the restless spirit of mid-1990s Britain from its whip-smart dialogue to its mega-selling soundtrack: its lightning-in-a-bottle blend of thrilling cinema and social document assures immortality.

    (Further discussion, and The Observer’s Top 10 list, after the cut.)

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  • THE LISTS: Top 10 Tarantino characters

    Christoph Waltz in Inglourious BasterdsIt’s been over a month since we cranked out an installment of The Lists, but with Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” set for release on Friday, it seemed a good time to cook up a new collective.

    When most people praise Tarantino’s skill as a screenwriter, they tend to focus on his well-honed ear for dialogue.  But I have always been much more enchanted by his ability to create a wide array of separately interesting characters that are nevertheless of a piece with the filmmaker’s pulp sense of the world.

    Each of Tarantino’s films are ensembles of one level or another, usually elevated off the page by the performances he gets out of actor eager to take on something fresh.  And no matter the quality of Tarantino’s work behind the camera, the material is always, if nothing else, unique.

    So a list of the greatest characters ever conceived by the man seemed to be the best course of action.  The list doesn’t merely include characters from Tarantino’s films as a director, mind you.  Those he conceived in original screenplays filmed by other directors were considered as well.  Eight films are featured on the list, two of them twice.

    The only Tarantino-affiliated films that don’t appear are “From Dusk Till Dawn” (a personal favorite that, if I was asked on another day, might show up somewhere) and the “Death Proof” segment of “Grindhouse” (which, if I were feeling particularly generous one day, might yield a mention for Kurt Russell’s Stuntman Mike).

    All other Tarantino extravaganzas are well-represented.  Let’s dig in here…

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  • Gary Oldman at Comic-Con: The next Batman film starts shooting next year

    “But you didn’t hear it from me,” he told the crowd during the Warner Bros. “Book of Eli” panel. It’ll be for a 2011 release.

    The convention center’s roof will land somewhere in La Jolla later this afternoon. Christopher Nolan is fuming somewhere.

  • Disney sneaks a little ‘Christmas’ into June

    A Christmas CarolEvery hour on the hour until 7:00pm today, Walt Disney Pictures is screening a pair of scenes from Robert Zemeckis’s upcoming “A Christmas Carol” over at the Universal City IMAX theater as part of the excited, long-winded publicity build-up for the film.  Currently a cross-country train tour is parked in Sacramento, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the making of process as well as the scenes exhibited today.  Next weekend it’ll be on to Oakland and will continue through its five-to-six month odyssey until it pulls into New York’s Grand Central station just days prior to the film’s November 6 release.

    For details on when the exhibition will be in your neck of the woods, check out the tour’s schedule.

    As for the footage itself, the scenes are strikingly different.  The first is something of a character initiation for Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey), in case you’re somehow unaware of his place in literary lore.  It isn’t the best scene for showing off the film’s 3D particulars but it is, however, a great indication of the detail and textured artistic direction of the film.  The sets are rendered as beautifully as Zemeckis’s “Beowulf,” though there is more of a glimmer of existence in the “lifeless eyes” that many were so loathe to observe in “The Polar Express.”  We also get a look at Bob Cratchit in this scene, one of actor Gary Oldman’s three gigs on the production.

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  • God bless TNT’s lack of original late-night content

    I’ve been tied up in screenings all night, but it looks like they’re on their second re-run of the SAG Awards. Maybe I can check out Gary Oldman’s speech after all.

  • How about some SAG predictions?

    Screen Actors Guild awardWith tomorrow’s SAG announcement hovering, waiting to be the first true litmus test of what the industry thinks of the year’s product (being the first guild out of the gate), I thought I’d take a stab at predictions, fit with alternates for old times’ sake.

    I think this will be the first real trial for a film like “The Dark Knight,” virtually assured a nomination for Heath Ledger in supporting actor, but will the ensemble be taken seriously enough?  Better yet, can another of the film’s cast, like, say, Gary Oldman, show up with a surprise mention?

    Meanwhile, Kate Winslet has been coasting with critics’ nomiations for her performance in “The Reader,” but I’m not completely sold yet.  It’s a great portrayal, but that’s a stacked category that could go a number of ways.  Still, the SAG tends to correctly anticipated the Academy’s list of nominees in both actress categories, so when the names are called tomorrow morning, start locking them away and taking them to the bank.

    Speaking of Winslet, “Revolutionary Road” could really use another shot in the arm.  A nomination for Best Ensemble is somewhat crucial, I think, and would be indicative of deep support for the film from the actors, many of which share membership in AMPAS.  I could see anywhere from five nods (including an ensemble bid and notices for Michael Shannon and Kathy Bates), to a mere two (for Winslet and co-star Leonardo DiCaprio).

    One last note, I’m going out on a limb by predicting a Clint Eastwood snub.  I’m probably wrong but the actor’s fellow thesps didn’t vouch for him in 2004 when the Academy did, so it could play out similarly this year.  We’ll know in due time.

    For now, here’s how I see things panning out:

    Best Actor
    Leonardo DiCaprio, “Revolutionary Road”
    Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”
    Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”
    Sean Penn, “Milk”
    Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”
    (alt.: Josh Brolin, “W.”)

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  • Lost in the Heath shuffle, the second best supporting performance of the year

  • An evening with the cast and crew of ‘The Dark Knight’

    Warner Bros. Pictures\' The Dark KnightA boatload of people turned out last night for the Beverly Hills reception in honor of “The Dark Knight.”  I hesitate to say “star-studded,” since the principle cast and crew were the most recognizable parties.  But suffice it to say the premises was packed with little breathing room and plenty of adoring press.

    Producer Charles Roven and screenwriter Jonathan Nolan were the first to show, side-by-side and quick to engage with some of us ready to pounce.  Roven, who I interviewed recently for a Variety profile on Heath Ledger (publishing this weekend), was trying to take it all in stride.  The only film he’s ever produced that landed Oscar’s attention was “Twelve Monkeys” in 1995 (nominations for Best Costume Design and Brad Pitt for Best Supporting Actor).  He’s welcome to the idea that “The Dark Knight” could be his first trip to the party as a nominee but he’s almost more interested in discussing what’s on the horizon, namely Tom Tykwer’s “The International,” which has been with Roven for 16 years of development and will finally find its way to screens in February.

    Jonathan Nolan, meanwhile, proved to be a welcome five-minute diversion.  A real guy’s guy with a swift Chicago accent, he clearly delights in a deep discussion about the Caped Crusader.  His brother Christopher gave him a copy of Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns” when he was 13 years old and the Bat has been with him ever since.  “I’ve been into Spider-Man and Wolverine, but for me, it’s always been Batman,” he said of the character that has brought him into the limelight of sought-after screenwriters.  I asked the obligatory “will there be a third one” question, and taking on the role of fan first, he offered, “I hope so.  Given what happened to Heath [Ledger], it’s hard to say, ‘Yeah, let’s do another one!’  But I hope so.”

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  • My stance: ‘The Dark Knight’ will be nominated for Best Picture

    Heath Ledger in The Dark KnightSo much speculation has surrounded the possible inclusion of this tremendous film in the year’s final five.  And though there are those who believe it has no chance of happening, the majority has gradually seen otherwise.

    Where is written that entertaining films cannot be art? Where does it say that a box office smash cannot be a genuinely great film? May I remind everyone that “The Godfather” was a major hit at the box office before it won the Oscar for Best Picture, basking in some of the finest reviews ever written. That said, success can sometimes be the enemy of both the film and the director (ask Steven Spielberg).

    While no one is calling “The Dark Knight” a film on the level of “The Godfather,” it certainly has its own particular brand of appeal and excellence. Made with breathtaking confidence, technical brilliance and spectacular command of the language of the cinema, the film moves constantly, yet director Nolan never allows the spectacle to overwhelm the very intimate story he is telling here.

    His actors are sublime, beginning with the extraordinary performance from Heath Ledger as the Joker, a performance that takes madness to a new level, one that is terrifying in its realism and authenticity. Yet Ledger is surrounded by a strong ensemble, Christian Bale very good as Batman/Bruce Wayne, a troubled, contradictory man at war with himself, knowing the only way he can remain a hero is to appear to be the enemy.

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