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"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"
We'll never know how The Shadow knew, but these days when evil, unthinkable events unfold we desperately try to reason them out. Though we think we can "sympathize" with certain crimes perhaps, generally no one can or wants to relate to the pedophile. First-time Austrian director Markus Schleinzer makes an audacious debut with his drama Michael, the story of a timid 35-year-old insurance salesman with a dreadful secret: he's holding a 10-year-old boy, Wolfgang, captive in his basement. Schleinzer has the cold, critical eye of Hitchcock or Chabrol that produces the appropriate cringe factor for such a story, which is told through the title character over a period of five months. What unfolds is a bleak tale of ordinariness gone wrong. Michael's exterior life is a dull as his work and his office. He's closed off and tight, yet receives invitations to skiing weekends and promotions at work. When told by his pals on their trip that the barmaid has eyes for him, he almost dutifully remains behind listening to her tales of single motherhood and then, rather embarrassingly, attempts to have sex with her.
The only times Michael opens up is when the metal window barriers go down on his bland suburban home and he ventures into the basement past the foam-covered door. Trying to create a normalcy with his victim, Michael sets the table for dinner as though his dinner guest doesn't lived locked in his basement. Turning on the lights in the boys prison is as everyday as eating and brushing his teeth. They watch TV together until Michael announces enough; the boy's straggling to watch for a few minutes more subtly covers the desire to forestall his fate of sexual slavery. Cut to the encounter being noted in Michael's diary. Though not a story of Stockholm Syndrome, the film documents the taut relationship of a victim and his kidnapper who both find themselves in a hopeless situation several months in.
Schleinzer has done a remarkable job of creating a horror story out of the mundane. Lingering shots of fluorescent lights, office interiors, and car garages emphasize the ordinariness of Michael's life (and kept reminding me of photographs by Bernd and Hilda Becher) and he often just sets the camera down and lets the scene unfold in front of it. His years of being a casting director certainly worked to his advantage as well. Michael Fuith as Michael is an exceptional tightly-wound powder keg who, when he does go off, shows the hysteric desperation of a man who has dug himself into a deep dark hole and cannot get out. David Rauchenberger plays Wolfgang with an sullen authenticity that ups the creepiness factor of this film ten-fold. It's achingly honest and makes it well worth the price of admission. One does not want to reveal the end of this film but suffice it to say Schleinzer gives his tale enough quirky twists and splashes of dark humor to give the viewer a thoroughly satisfying cinematic experience.
Michael will have a two week engagement February 15 - 28 at Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street with daily screenings at 1:15, 3:15, 6:00, 8:00 and 10:00
It s a big weekend for Film Forum this weekend, the home of the new the novel and the classic. A FILM UNFINISHED has been receiving rave reviews and THE RADIANT CHILD is still held over, but for me this weekend offers the chance to see Hitchcock's DIAL m FOR MURDER in 3-D. The master visual composer, you cannot truly appreciate this film unless its seen in its original 3-D release. Hitch shrewdly and expertly understood what the depth of field that 3-D could allowed him to add to his storytelling abilities and once you see the flawless Grace Kelly 'knife' her attacker in the back you'll understand what I mean. The courtroom scenes will make much more sense to the 2-D viewer as well. WORTH EVERY PENNY!!
Once again TCM's SUMMER UNDER THE STARS has boffled up its programming schedule; Katherine Hepburn is featured today but nothing of real substance and fun is scheduled until after midnight tonight: BRINGING UP BABY, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY & SUMMERTIME in a row. The last, David Lean's gorgeous ode to Venice and lost love is truly lost to most viewers at 4AM.
Paul Newman is featured on Saturday and they have a nice string of films at a reasonable hour; CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF at 1:45 PM is a watered down version of Tennessee William's stage play but feature A+ performances by Liz Taylor, Burl Ives, Judith Anderson and the always oily Jack Carson. This is followed by HUD (in glorious Black & White by James Wong Howe), HARPER, and THE STING. Once again in the 4AM slot another gem SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH with Geraldine Page!
John Mills is featured Sunday with one of my all-time favorite films HOBSON'S CHOICE at 8AM. Another early David Lean under-appreciated classic features Charles Laughton in the title role of Henry Horatio Hobson. Mills is delightfully naive as his talented boot hand, William Mossop and Brenda DeBanzie as Hobson's eldest daughter Maggie, determined not to remain a spinster. It also features a young Prunella Scales (of Fawlty Towers fame) as the youngest of Hobon';s daughters, Vicky.
Not to put down John Mills but why isnt Elizabeth Taylor, featured on Monday with a great list of films, scheduled on a weekend when most people have time to enjoy them? Hmmmmmm?
You still have a few days to catch this wonderful new print of Jean-Luc's Godard early masterpiece at Film Forum (I wouldn't be surprised if it it gets held over). I am not a big Godard fan. I find him pedantic and petulant most times. But there is something about the lyricism of this black-and-white elegy that raises it to the level of poetry.We know were in for something different right from the first scene (the film is divided into 12 scenes, each with its dutiful Godard placard). Nana (Anna Karina) is having a conversation with her estranged husband in some nameless Parisian cafe. They talk about their child, his parents, why she has left him (to become a film actress). And the entire conversation is shot from behind; all we are seeing is the back of their heads! Karina was concerned about her looks during the filming; she felt her deteriorating relationship with Godard and a low budget were making her look "bad". I'd have to disagree. She looks luminous and her dark pageboy haircut accentuates her keen features. She is a doomed beauty. How can you not love her as we watch her watching an interrogation scene from Dreyer's Passion of Saint Joan? Godard certainly lavished the same doting close-up time to his saintly title character as Dreyer did to his.A masterpiece!! Catch this great new 35mm print while you can!!
