|
www.boxoffice.com - : Lisa Cholodenko's second film, after ''High Art,'' is an equally adept study of the intersection of two worlds and the startling connections between them. Set in the environs of Los Angeles' Laurel Canyon, home to many rock musicians and music producers, the film centers on Jane (Frances McDormand), a freewheeling record producer, and her estranged, conservative son, Sam (Christian Bale), who dislikes everything about his mother. more...
|
|
|
rogerebert.suntimes.com - : Frances McDormand's first film was ''Blood Simple'' (1984), but I really noticed her for the first time in ''Mississippi Burning'' (1988), standing in that doorway, talking to Gene Hackman, playing a battered redneck wife who had the courage to do the right thing. From that day to this I have been fascinated by whatever it is she does on the screen to create such sympathy with the audience. more...
|
|
|
movie-reviews.colossus.net - : One aspect that virtually assures a good motion picture is solid character development (sometimes referred to as a ''character arc''). It doesn't matter if it's a mainstream movie or an offbeat indie - any narrative-based film benefits if the characters are not stuck in stasis (unless, of course, that's the point). The most extreme form of character development is the transformation - where an individual begins as one thing, and, by the end of the film, is someone completely different. This kind of dramatic character arc is the most difficult one to pull of successfully, and the easiest one to screw up. more...
|
|
Critic Reviews
