Five Films That Shaped Me

In case you haven't heard, At The Movies is back and is presented by Roger Ebert. You should be able to find it on your local PBS station friday nights, and its a welcome return to the show's original format. The jury is still out on the new hosts, but they're slowly coming into their own. The new hosts are Christy Lemire of AP and Ignatiy Vishnevestsky of Mubi.com. I have issues with both of them, but they are better than any incarnation of the show since Ebert left. Ignatiy is only 24, and while it's impressive that he is co-hosting this show at that age his reviews are all over the place. However, his knowledge of the medium is quite impressive. In February (when I first started writing this post) they did a special in which they presented the five films which shaped them as critics (Ignatiy's were as annoying and pretentious as you could imagine a 24 year old film buff's choices to be). I figured I would take that as a cue to share my own choices. Each of my choices is a film that opened a new cinematic door for me and made me look differently at the possibilities of the medium. 

Beautiful Girls

Beautiful Girls is just such a joy to watch. The script is perfect and the cast is full of some of the most likable actors in Hollywood. The direction is understated and the story is down to earth and relatable. If you know me then you know I love what I call "a time and place" films. By that I mean the movies where there isn't exactly an ending where every issue is resolved and wrapped in a bow (some of them may not have a real beginning either). They tell the story of a very specific place and time in the characters lives and the transformations that occur during that sample. Beautiful girls isn't an extreme example of this type of movie, but it still qualifies. Somewhere out there Birdie is plowing someone's lot, Kirkwood is screwing up another relationship and Marty is in college; and something about that is comforting. Beautiful Girls showed me that it doesn't have to be all about action, melodrama and special effects. 

Hoop Dreams

When you're a stupid teenager and know everything, the last thing you want to do is go to the theater to see a documentary with your parents. Well I did; twice. That documentary was Hoop Dreams. Thanks for taking me Mom! While it was a nationally recognized film, I'm pretty sure it was playing in much bigger theaters and for a much longer time in the Chicago area then in any other part of the country. It really is a perfect film. It showed me that documentaries aren't always like sitting through a lecture. Sounds silly, but when you're thirteen that's what you think. All I wanted to see were movies like Independence Day. Hoop Dreams opened my eyes to the documentary medium and how powerful it could be.

Leon

Leon (or The Professional) again opened my eyes to what else was out there in the world of cinema. I wish Luc Besson would get back to making films like this one instead of producing crap like The Transporter series. Like Seven, Leon was like no other action/crime/thriller movie I had ever seen. It blew my mind. Not just because of the thin wire it walked with Leon and Mathilda's relationship, but also the care in which their characters were developed. The ending is still gut wrenching to this day because we watched as the love they had for each other grew and became something real.  Lets not forget I'm talking about a hired assassin who takes an orphaned twelve year old under his wing and trains her to follow in his footsteps. This could have been a simple action flick and that would have been fine. However, Besson cared enough to make it more, make it unique and create a classic.
My full review of Leon can be read here.

Seven

Seven is a movie that is really hard to categorize. It can put into the crime thriller group, however I think it's more of a subtle horror movie. The crimes are gruesome, the killer arguably a genius and the imagery is dark and disturbing throughout. If the idea of the conclusion doesn't scare you a bit, or even how the Lust murder was carried out, then you truly are desensitized. When Seven came out there was nothing else like it; not only because of the story and imagery, but also because of how well made it was. Usually this kind of story is saved for writers, actors and directors who can't rise above the cliches.
Seven showed me horror movies could be of award winning caliber.  

State and Main

Ah, my good friend David Mamet. I was young and naive when I first found State and Main in a Hollywood Video and I had yet to hear of Glengarry Glen Ross. State and Main was my introduction to the canon of David Mamet. Later I would revel in Heist, The Spanish Prisoner, House of Games, Oleanna, Spartan and most recently Red Belt. State and Main showed me that words are just as important as imagery and are in and of themselves an art form. Joseph Turner White: "You like kids?" Ann Black: "Never saw the point of 'em." Joseph Turner White: "Me either."