Beckham and Silver Linings

Tonight I watched Silver Linings Playbook and Bend it Like Beckham. And both were….

well unsatisfying. but good to remember movies change overtime for me, ya know, I saw Silver Linings back when it came out and I thought Wow very real and raw. And then I watched it again and Lawrence is a bit forced and the narrative rather explained but ya know, it was fine. Do I think it should have won Oscars? No,

Bend it Like Beckham, first time I saw it, made by a lady filmmaker Gurinder Chadha, and it was very 2002. It had a very beautiful depiction of the Indian culture and how it fits into western London society. Acting was a bit forced on the male lead side (cough Jonathan Rhys Meyers, no offense) and ya know, a bit long in parts. Some of the plot shifts could have been faster and there were moments in the climax bit where it lingered on the Indian wedding too long, but it was nice seeing leading ladies…even though they all talked about men a lot of the time…and actually, the most interested character in the whole movie was the dad - actor Anupam Kher who was ALSO in Silver Linings Playbook (go figure!).

The dad character had the biggest arc, the most interesting dialog, the realest view point…I bet the lady filmmaker felt the most connected to that character which is why it is the most fleshed out.

And I guess since all men directed, wrote and produced Silver Linings Playbook, we know why it’s all men POVs. And yucky Harvey Weinstein produced, gross. SO it had a lot of layers of maleness but it was an OK view on mental traumas…and I like the cinematography.

My take-aways from the double feature - filmmakers tend to fall in love with certain characters and actors can fall into over acting traps. Duh. Also, don’t linger on plot when the story JUST WANTS TO BE LET OUT. Get to it. AND I feel like a part of the Silver Linings Playbook was cut out like there was a scene in it originally with his wife Nikki that got cut which I think is lame, they shouldn’t be able to edit after it came out…. but that’s my competitive side coming out… as it does. :)

Happy movies exist, even if they aren’t perfect or are forced like the dance at the end of Silver or the kiss at the end of Beckham….but happy they are there and that i learn more about how I want to make them (my own way of how I want to make them) every day.

love you film,

ch