Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Lady In The Downward Career Arc

Before Mel Gibson shared his world views with us this past weekend, didn't it seem like M. Night Shyamalan was fast becoming Hollywood's favorite guy to savage? Is everyone pissed that Shyamalan still lives in Pennsylvania? Are they jealous about that Amex spot? Hard to tell, but I like this, a very different take on Shyamalan's new movie: "Better to fail gloriously than succeed at something plenty of others can do."

(I know. It can be so disorienting to follow a link only to find the exact same Blogger template. But sometimes it simply can't be helped. See?)

7 comments:

SuzanH said...

Our template ROCKS!

I haven't seen this latest Shyamalan movie, but I've enjoyed everything except Unbreakable. This doesn't look good, but I agree, it's more important that he keep his vision than sell out.

And as I'm learning in therapy, everyone fails, and it's o.k. (That's a tough one to get behind!)

Irene Done said...

"Everyone fails, and it's O.K." should have been the name of this blog.

I've liked Shyamalan's movies too. I do wonder if Hollywood resents him. He's been given so much creative freedom and he's almost a household name -- a brand name -- all that probably fuels a lot of jealousy. But I'll take Shyamalan's glorious failures over Michael Bay's successes any day.

HighJive said...

Well, I disagree a bit here. As a creative, it’s OK to subscribe to the notion of “everyone fails, and it’s OK.”

But not when the motherfucker makes me pay 9 bucks and wastes a few hours of my time.

This last movie was an embarrassment, and the director had to know it.

Irene Done said...

Yes, the creature and the alien -- both disappointingly fake-looking. And fake. I think LAGuy really hits on something when he mentions that Shyamalan "often holds the shot so we can watch the actors act." Maybe it's that or something else I can't define, but Shyamalan movies always have a sense of intimacy -- and tension. Amid all the creepiness, there's always these warm and loving relationships that feel very real and are totally charming.

And yes, I said "warm and loving" in a non-ironic way. Perhaps a NotBillable first!

Irene Done said...

HighJive -- everyone disagrees and that's OK too.

I get why people are tired of Shyamalan's schtick. But for me, his movies are at least different and most times, interesting. I don't get the violent dislike for him, which seems to be the spirit of the moment in Hollywood. I say all this without having seen Lady so...you know....

And I stand by the failing gloriously quote. At least if it's someone else' failure.

HighJive said...

Irene,

You definitely need to see the movie. I never saw The Village, but loved all the rest. The latest one, though, goes beyond garbage.

I saw the female star on a talk show, and she admitted that the director is not very open to actors acting — he has a specific vision and forces them to follow it.

The director actually cast himself as a major character in this latest flick.

I’m not aware of any violent dislike for the guy. But he does seem to be in a rut of sorts.

Irene Done said...

OK. Because HighJive told me to -- and because HighJive also made me laugh so very hard with that Chad Lowe comment the other day on Logo's blog -- I will go see a movie that I fully expect to suck.

And if it changes my mind about everything I've written here, look for a new Shyamalan-you-bastard post soon!