Oh, don't worry. There's a review of "it" very soon. In the meantime... Written at the time of the film's release and it's winning Best Picture at the 2009 Oscars.
"Is That Your Final Answer?" or "My karma ran over your dogma" There's a backlash against Slumdog Millionaire. There had to be. Showing up at the end of the year with such a positive critical reputation and so many glowing reviews, a few noses-out-of-joint had to be lifted in the air to pronounce that it couldn't be "thatgood."
But it is.
The irony is that these clowns' dismissal roughly parallels the story of director Danny Boyle's (and co-director Loveleen Tandan's) energetic film where it is assumed that a seemingly humble chai-wallah for a cell-service call center could not possibly know the answers to go (as the pompous host intones) "from rags to raja'" on the Hindi version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."*
When we first meet Jamal (Dev Patel), he is one question away from winning it all...and losing his life. Strung up like a piece of meat, he is being tortured by the local authorities***to find out how he's cheating—he must be as so many others (of more worth) haven't done as well on the game-show as he has. Sounds like the "feel-good" movie of the year ala Forrest Gump, or as Time Magazine blurbles: "A Poignant Hymn to Life."**
Obviously, it's more complex than either view.
The movie even begins with its own "Millionaire" question for how he manages to do it: A. He cheated; B. He's lucky; C. He's a genius; D. It is written.
Is that your final answer? Really? (feigned look of concern)
You'll do a lot better with the movie if you don't pick just one, or pigeon-hole it into being this type or that, for the answers have too many facets, too many colors and shadings, and offer up the extremes of life—the ebullient and the tragic. In the end, it's a little bit of all of them.
This movie would seem like an odd tangent for Danny Boyle if every step of his career weren't punctuated by abrupt changes of pace. Especially lately after splitting from his writing partner John Hodge. To go from the zombie epic 28 Days Later... to the sublime kid's parable Millions, then to the sci-fi allegory Sunshine to this are as stunning turn-arounds as the dervish-like camera moves he is constantly spinning in Slumdog Millionaire. Boyle lived in India for five years, and so his camera-eye goes right to the colors and exoticism of Indian street-life.
In a dizzying chase sequence early in the film, a five year old Jamal and his older brother Salim are running from the police through the back-alleys of a shanty-town on the outskirts of Bombay. Boyle (and his Indian co-director Loveleen Tandan) films a wide variety of shots in different styles and speeds, sometimes step-editing the shot, twirling the camera, changing perspective, while out of the corner of your eye you see odd little details of street life going on (at one point, he cuts away to a close shave at a barber's, while in the alley behind the shop the kids streak by). But one never loses perspective on the chase, despite the wildly disparate angles and frenetic pace—something sadly lacking from the Bond-movie chase masters in Quantum of Solace****—and the result is exciting and masterful.
Sound like fun? Some critics seem to think so. Even without the beatings and torture that start the film. But Slumdog Millionaire follows its own karmic path to a pre-determined destiny in tune with the mixture of sweet and rancid of Indian life. And what these jaded writers don't get is the dharma of it all: when things are good, you better recognize it and enjoy it while it lasts.
Because it won't.
Doyle manages to capture the sense of India—an acid-trip without the acid (or so I've been told)—and communicate it on-screen—the colors, the desperation, the joys that crash through the crust of grinding poverty—to a delirious ending that would please Ganesh. Stay through the closing credits.
Enjoy it while it lasts.
* Although it no longer dominates the American air-waves, I've seen it in Spain ("Who Wants to be a Mult-multi-Millionaire?" and Austria. No matter where you go in the world, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" plays just the same. ** Although did I ever tell you about the time my Mother and her sisters went to see Martin Scorsese's Casino because they thought it was a musical? Fuggedabaht Joe Pesci being bludgeoned to death, or the guy with his head crushed in a vice--there's a sex scene between Pesci and Sharon Stone! Eyeeeww!
*** The Inspector in charge of the interrogation is played by Irffan Khan—memorable in The Namesake and The Darjeeling Limited , but absolutely essential to the effect of A Mighty Heart. His unstated power and ability to internalize conflicting emotions across his face makes him fascinating to watch. **** Funny that I made this comment: Boyle up until the end of last year was the working director of what is currently called "Bond 25" until disagreement with the producing Broccoli kids lad the director and his script-writer John Hodge to leave the project. Quite a few screenwriters have revised the script and American Cary Joji Fukunaga began filming this week in Jamaica.
Post-Modern-Femi-Noir or I See London, I See Trance
Danny Boyle has been on something of a tear lately. His last couple films have been popular show-cases of how diverse and direct his story-telling skills can be now, and resonant with audiences. And yet none of his recent films should have "worked:" Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire's combination of pop culture, Bollywood, gangsterism and classic literature; 127 Hours' brutal and claustrophobic story about a man who cuts off his own arm, which still manages to be uplifting and even inspiring. Boyle is now a household name and an A-list director thanks to Slumdog. His previous film, the sardonic sci-fi film Sunshine did not attract an audience, nor did his kids' film Millions (despite being delightful, both for kids and adults). His new prestige made him the natural choice to become the creative director for last year's London Olympics.
It was while working on them that the opportunity came to take a break, and he rushed this film,Trance, into production—not that you could tell, it's full of his multi-media eclecticism that at times can run out of control. The script had already been directed (by its writer Joe Aherne) as a TV movie in 2001. It's a heist film with several twists, and, as Doyle has said in interviews, it was a dark tonic to the celebratory work he was doing for the Games.
We are introduced to the movie by Simon (James McAvoy) who gives us a brief art history lesson on particular paintings and their peculiarities. But one thing about this ersatz collection sets them apart; "You haven't seen them because they've been stolen." Simon works as an art auctioneer and walks us through a brief summary of audacious art thefts, and the precautions that auction houses take to protect their commodities. "Lesson number one," though, is "don't be a hero. No work of art is worth a human life."
"Rule No. 1: Don't Be a Hero."
It's a lesson he should take to heart. A robbery does take place, and true to instructions, Simon isn't a hero--he's in on it, the job's "inside man.' But, in the shell-game of keeping up appearances, he is given a severe head trauma, and (isn't this a pretty picture?) can't remember what he did with the painting.
This is, of course, quite upsetting to the ringleader, Franck (Vincent Cassell), who tries to extract the information in the typical gangster fashion (old fashioned threats of death, disfigurement, and the actual pulling out of fingernails). Nothing breaks through Simon's personal pentimento.
Go to Plan B. They send Simon to hypnotherapist Elizabeth Lamb (Rosario Dawson), who's had quite a success breaking addictions, changing lives and messing with heads. It's the latter skill that comes in good stead as she quickly realizes that Simon is not just a guy in need of finding his car-keys, but may be in league with the devil. Finding his memory might even make him a memory.
Doyle's good at messing with heads, as well, as Trance proves fairly quickly.
Under his hypnotherapy, loyalties are tested (particularly the audience's), and no matter what subject matter is on screen, whether grisly or enticing, it's tough to take your eyes off it. Pretty soon you're not sure what's real, what's illusion...or (finally) what's going on. Some neat tricks are played, expectations are shattered, but all to the service of a script that isn't all that great.
One can appreciate the twists and turns and diversions, and the slightly feminist slant that the movie tilts in the traditional role of the femme fatale in film noir. But, ultimately the biggest trick that's pulled is the illusion that a better movie is happening. For all the visual pyrotechnics and the reality warping manipulation of the audience, Trance isn't that good a movie, and unconsciously or consciously, a trifle.
Goya's Witches in the Air—the "MacGuffin" of the movie
Switching Psyches (The Ol' Good Bot/Bad Bot Routine) or Because I'm CHAPPiE...(Like a ROM Without a Roof)
The director of the brilliant District 9 (and the more ordinary Elysium) now has a third visionary sci-film under his belt. Neill Blomkamp is a great visual stylist—none of his movies look like anything else out there, and just when somebody takes up his concepts, he pushes things further into his bleak concept of the future as an extension of the strife of Johannesburg (or Jo-burg, as it's called in his movies, eschewing the Dutch influence) despite technology continuing to move forward. His movies always have a sense of wonder about the future, but it's always along the lines of "Wonder why everything is so shitty, still," (which is a variation of "If we can get to the Moon,* why can't we fill in the blank??") CHAPPiEis no different, even though the ads make it seem like a winsome version of a distopian "Mad Max" movie. It is anything but. Yes, the performance of Sharlto Copley as the title character is a marvel, innovative and often very charming (Copley, who is Blomkamp's "go-to" actor for...everything...does a marvelous performance of the "motion capture" variety (the thing that Andy Serkis, of Peter Jackson's movies and in the new "Planet of the Apes" series, does so extraordinarily). The movie itself is a depressing look at technology and Society, while containing a couched message about the malleability of the human spirit and a cautionary one of being too fixed to expectations.
SCOUT (CHAPPiE, specifically)
Blomkamp plops us back into the world of Elysium where the city-slums are policed by robo-cops on a set pre-program. The main defense if the Scout-droids—tall, angular humanoid shapes that patrol the streets (as outlined in the de rigeur video-fed prologue). But, all ready to go online are the Moose-droids, which are big, elephantine machines, controlled by remote human handlers using a helmet—plugged-in gamers in their own version of an urban first-person shooter. The Scouts' development team is led by Deon Wilson (Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire and The Best and Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) while the competing Moose designs, spear-headed by Vincent Moore (Hugh Jackman, in a way that we'll talk about later) are still in the development stage. Moore is impatient to get them on-line to the point where he'll sabotage the successful Scout program to do it. Boss Sigourney Weaver goes with whatever works and the Scouts, for now, are working.
MOOSE
But Deon is not satisfied with success, and with merely working to sets of parameters and protocols. He wants his Scouts to be more human—real-live-boy Scouts—with artificial intelligence that learns and grows as it does its job. The Boss is less than encouraging about advancing the product, as much as churning them out to meet demand. Deon conspires to develop them off-site, taking a disabled Scout, a new program he's developing, and the most guarded of the firm's gizmo's, the chip to program the 'bots.
Office politics in Jo'burg: Patel and Jackman
Wouldn't ya know it? When Deon has all that gear is precisely the time he gets kidnapped by car-jacking street punks Yo-landie (played by South African punk-rapper Yolandi Visser—real name Anri du Toit) and her partners, Ninja (played by South African punk-rapper Ninja—real name Watkin Tudor Jones) and Yankie, (played by honest-to-god actor Jose Pablo Cantillo). They're scheming, too. They're in the debt of Hippo (Brandon Auret, who adapts a patois so thick, he's actually sub-titled in the movie, even though he's speaking English). Their operations are going so poorly, thanks to the Scouts, that they decide to fight fire with fire, by getting their own Scout as a defense against the robo-force. Basic math belies this (1≠zillions), but then, if these guys were any good at numbers, they wouldn't be in debt (especially considering they're living expenses amount to bling, and stolen bling at that).
Perp walk, Jo-burg style: Yolandi, Ninja, Yankie, and CHAPPiE
Deon is forced to fix his little experiment at gun-point and under less than ideal conditions, but the re-constituted droid comes to life with basic programming, like that of a child, and quickly learns to imprint himself on the humans, interacting with them.
What CHAPPiE sees
This is good in the case of Deon and Yo-lande, semi-okay with Yankie, and downright harmful in the case of Ninja, who tends to over-react when things don't go his way, usually with violence.** This is where the movie becomes really uncomfortable and begins to feel like watching child abuse. Look, it's a movie, okay? It's about robots. I get it. But, one is supposed to connect emotionally with a movie—that's the intent. And my reaction to watching Ninja abusing the still-in-development Scout (Yo-lande calls him "Happy Chappie," which Deon hates) creates a feeling of revulsion. Blomkamp plays rough—his settings have all the charm of a refugee camp and his environments combine grinding poverty with sci-fi tech, a not mutually exclusive reflection of reality, but amped up on both sides of the spectrum.
There's a warning label that says: "Never fist-bump with a Scout-droid"
Yo-lande and Ninja live in a gutted out industrial site, and even as Deon tries to nurture Chappie in his intellectual growth, Ninja teaches him how to live on the streets, but when Chappie's employed to do some car-jackings, the media picks up on it, sending the city of Jo-burg into a panic. Moore is pressed (actually he does the pressing) to bring the Moose on-line, and his interests are more than stemming the tide of unrest, he wants to wipe out the gangs, Deon, and Chappie for his own career advancement. It's clear that Moore is an HR nightmare. And it's interesting to note that while Copley is busy being the title character, Jackman is copying Copley's jibbering, flinty acting style for the role that (if he wasn't busy wearing a CGI suit) would have been played, equally as manically, by Copley. It's a different (and alarming) side of Jackman that's fun to watch him pull off, even while his character is being seriously psycho.
"Walk like a man/Fast as you can" Ninja teaches Chappie to "walk street"
That backstage swapping of personalities is a bit like a sub-plot of the movie, a variation of the Sci-Fi/Horror trope of mind-swapping (only in the new vernacular, it's "up-loading" and "down-loading"); whatever the term, it's a borrowed device, but CHAPPiE (the movie) only really does anything different, and has any spark of wonder and the fantastic (or even ingenuity) in those sections. That, and in the stunt-casting of the South African rap duo Die Antwoord as themselves (think of it in the same light as casting Prince, The Beatles, or Eminem to play fantasy versions of their personas) are the only aspects where CHAPPiE isn't terribly derivative, and becomes something more than the ol' Sci-Fi zap-'em-up with Rock'em Sock'em Robots, and becomes a sort of sweetly reversed "Frankenstein," with a conclusion that says "what matters lasts."
But, it's a lot of torture getting there.
* Or it's "conspiracy theory" variant: "If we can fool the world into thinking we went to the Moon, why can't we mass-produce tin-foil hats for the Masses?" And yes, I am watching you while you're reading this. And so are they. ** This puts him at odds...and odd kinship...with Deon, who also wants things "just so" as he defines it, and explodes when they're altered, to the point where he has enough and buys a gun. The one character who "goes with the flow" is Yo-landie.
The Story: First off, I apologize if today's scene is difficult to get through. There are a lot of deletions and additions in the script portion that will make a cursory look at this post almost impossible.
But, I think it's worth it. This speech, the emotional high-point of Ben Affleck's 2023 film of Air—a film I highly recommend, both for its entertainment value and for the artistry involved in its creation—went to my highest priority list of "Scenes" I wanted to put "out there" on this blog, and I realized it even as it was playing before me in the theater (I'm sorry that so many of you missed it—but then, The Super Mario Bros. Movie opened that weekend too). This is a great scene, not only because it's well-written, speaks truth, but also because it haunts. "I'm going to look you in the eyes," says Nike marketing exec and talent scout Sonny Vaccarro to prospective endorser Michael Jordan, "and tell you the future." And then does.
And while he tells Jordan the generic "predictable pattern" of fame that happens "again and again and again" the highlights and low-lights of Jordan's career are inter-cut into the scene.
That's in the script by Alex Convery—the strikeouts and green additions are from the simplifying and polishing (and, let's face it, "dumbing down"—audiences would have zoned out at the emphasis on "contexts") done by Affleck and co-writer Matt Damon, who is also the actor delivering the lines. But, Convery wrote the scene and the strategy behind the scene, and it was important for me to show that in the simplest way possible...by showing the scene as it was actually written (but also acknowledging the work done to make it the best scene it could possibly be).
It's important for you to see that. There's a Writer's Strike going on right now (it's why the networks have a steady diet of game-shows on their schedules). None of the movie-images that swipe across your eyes happen in a vacuum (not even the ones from bad movies). They must be conjured, tapped out, and committed to format before anything can happen. And it's the Shock and Awe of those words that get the adrenaline going and the money flowing in the movie-making factories around the world.
If it doesn't happen, we get game shows, and that's never made anything good. Except for Slumdog Millionaire. Oh. And Quiz Show.
So, here's Convery's script of the scene and I've deleted what was deleted (but you can still read through the strikeouts) and the words that were added, ad-libbed, or changed.
Jordan didn't co-operate with the film, other than to say "you can do it, but leave me out"—in fact, Jordan is treated the way Christ is in some religious epics, as a shadowy figure, a presence, but never the focus, we see people react to him—and had only two stipulations. He did say that he wanted Viola Davis to play his mother and that the story should include Howard White, who is currently the Vice President of Jordan Brand Affairs and had been there when Jordan was first approached by Nike (he'd been left out of the script). Viola Davis' husband, Julius Tennon, played Jordans' father, James—his future is part of the story, too.
Hope you enjoy.
The Set-Up: Nike marketing executive Sonny Vaccarro (Matt Damon) is a gambler. But, he rarely goes "all in"—except on the job. This time, an uninspired roster of possible Nike endorsers from the NBA has him upping his game. He wants Michael Jordan, who is looking to endorse another shoe brand. But, Sonny thinks he can get him...if they play their cards right. It's worked to the point where the Jordan family (Viola Davis, Julius Tennon and a mostly unseen Damian Delano Young) have agreed to fly to Nike headquarters in Portland, Oregon to meet with CEO Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) and executives Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) and Howard White (Chris Tucker), and they've gotten to the lackluster highlight reel, when Sonny decides to "go for broke" just one more time.
Action.
The lights dim. The projector boots up.
And on the screen...
A highlight tape of Jordan’s UNC highlights set to the
Pointer Sisters "JUMP".
Sonny watches the Jordan family closely.
Examining their
faces for any sign or hint.
And it’s clear to him. They look bored.
They don’t look
impressed.
Sonny looks around.
At Strasser. At Phil.
We see it in his
eyes. He needs to do something.
SONNYHey. Hey. Shut the video off. I'm sorry.
SONNY Turn it off.
Everyone at the table starts to look around. What the hell is
going on?
SONNYRob...turn it off, please?
SONNYJust turn it off...
PHIL KNIGHTSonny...Sonny (what the fuck are you doing?)...
Sonny stands up. The video abruptly halts.
SONNY (CONT'D)
Hold on. Forget all this. Forget
where we are. Forget Nike.
PHIL KNIGHTSonny...
SONNY
Let’s stop with the bullshit.
Sonny looks right at Jordan.
SONNY (CONT'D)
Listen. Forget about the shoes.
SONNY Forget
about the money. You’re going to
make so much
SONNY ...enough money that it’s not
going to matter. You’ll never want
again.
SONNY Money can buy you almost
anything...
SONNY but it can’t buy you
immortality. That... you have to
earn.
Sonny stares Michael Jordan right in the eye. He’s not
scared.
SONNY (CONT'D)
I’m going to look you in the eyes
and tell you the future.
INTERCUT YOUNG MICHAEL PLAYING - HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE
SONNY (CONT'D)
You were cut from your high school
basketball...
SONNY ...team.
SONNY Willed your way to
the NBA. You’re going to win
championships.
SONNY It’s an American...
SONNY...story. And that’s why America will
love it.
INTERCUT FLASHES OF THE FUTURE:
The Michael Jordan we all know. Skinny as a rookie, streaking
down the court in iconic Bulls red.
SONNY (CONT'D)
People are going to build you up,
SONNY ...god are they going to.
SONNY Because when
you’re great...and new... We love you.
SONNY Man, we
build you up into...
SONNY...something that
doesn’t even exist. The entire
nation is going to say they want to
be like a black man from rural
North Carolina.
SONNY You’re going to
change the god damnfucking world.
Battles with the Bad Boy Pistons. Isaiah Thomas. Heartbreak.
The first title. Beating Magic Johnson. Sobbing with the
Larry O’Brien Trophy.
SONNY (CONT'D)
But you know what? WhenOnce they’ve
built you as high as they possibly
can... they’re going to tear you
back down. They’re going to say,
alright let’s find out what’s wrong
with you.
SONNY It’s the most cyclicalpredictable pattern with fame,
SONNY...we build you
into something that doesn’t exist
SONNY...and that means you have to try and BE that thing.until we find your flaws and then
we rip you to shreds.
SONNYAll day.
SONNYEvery day.
The death of his father. Found murdered in a car.
His retirement from Basketball. Taking hacks in the minors
with the White Sox. Jordan rides the bus.
SONNY (CONT'D)
This person that we built into God
isn’t a God, and that makes us feel
better about ourselves, because
we’re not Gods. Because that’s how
it works. And we do it again and again and again. We can’t help but fall in
love, we pretend it’s something
that it isn’t, because we’re
flawed.
Coming out of retirement. The “I’m back” press release.
The second three-peat.
Hitting the final shot of his Bulls career. The leap. The
fist pump.
SONNY And I'm going to tell you the truth.
SONNY You are going to be attacked,
SONNY betrayed,
SONNY exposed,
SONNY and humiliated.
SONNY And you'll survive that.
SONNY A lot of people can climb that mountain.
SONNY It's the way down that breaks them.
SONNY Cuz that's the...
SONNY ...moment when you are truly...
SONNY ...alone.
SONNY And what will you do then? Can you summon the will to fight...
SONNY ...on. Through all the pain.
SONNY and rise...
SONNY ...again. Who are you, Michael?
SONNY That will be the defining question of your life.
SONNY And I think you already know the answer. And that's why we're all here.
SONNY (CONT'D)
A shoe is just a shoe until
somebody steps into it wears it. Context is
everything. Boring running shoe
right? What if I told you it was
the shoe that took the gold medal?
Changes everything. Context is
everything. All we’re doing is
providing that context from the
start.
SONNY Then it has meaning.
SONNY The rest of us just want a chance to touch...
SONNY ...that greatness.
SONNY And we need you in these shoes not...
SONNY ...so you have meaning in your life, but so we have meaning in ours.
SONNY A shoe that serves as a
method of expression. A converse
will always just be a converse.
Your name isn’t on it. Yeah, you
could be mentioned in the same
sentence as Magic and Bird. But you
know what’s better than that?
(off MJ)
SONNY (CONT'D) Being mentioned all on your own. A
tier of one. We’re going to NAME
the shoe after you. No one else has
that. No one. Not Magic. Not Bird.
SONNY (CONT'D)
Everyone at this table will be
forgotten as soon as our time here is up. on
this cold spinning rock is over.
SONNY Except for you.
SONNY You will be
remembered forever.
SONNY Because some
things are eternal.
(a long pause as he goes
for the finish)
SONNY You’re Michael Jordan... and your
story is going to make us...
"Is That Your Final Answer?"
