DVD catch-up
Now Playing: need to clear this stuff off the table before I move on...
3 WOMEN (1977, Robert Altman)- this was the last really canonical Altman film I had yet to see, so I finally caught up with it following a belated DVD release. On the one hand, I'd love to be able to talk in depth about it, but on the other hand I'm not sure I could. Two quotes from the filmmaker sprung to mind while I was thinking over the film- the first stating that the film was inspired by a dream, and the second stating that his films need to be viewed more than once to be appreciated at any level. Both apply in spades here, but I was still able to enjoy a number of the film's aspects on the first viewing, in particular the performances of Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duvall. Spacek made this film just a year after CARRIE, and she looks positively natal here, a tiny and gawky thing, who as Pinky (in the film's first half) exhibits a wide-eyed wonder at the world that's both endearing and creepy, and who in the second half undergoes a shocking change that's only partially (and insufficiently) explained by an injury. Duvall is even better as the endlessly prattling Millie, who (to quote Woody Allen) operates under the misguided impression that people like her and care about what she has to say- Duvall in the 70s was one of those unique found-object character actresses who got misused by a number of filmmakers as a weirdo, but who blossomed before Altman's camera. I gotta see this again...
Rating: ***1/2

IN MY SKIN (2003, Marina De Van)- "Warning: this film contains scenes of graphic violence", says the package, and while you might think no crap, this being a movie about a woman who gets off on self-mutilation, this really is a disturbing film. Part of what makes it creepy is that the film never explains why its protagonist is so drawn to the thought of causing herself pain (it's not textbook masochism, since she's inflicting the damage), and although we see the accident that sets everything in motion she's never treated as a case study, merely a woman with a bizarre kind of fascination with her body. Also, some of the most unsettling parts of the mutilation scenes come before she actually breaks the skin, when she's testing her limits with the sharp edges and running the knives over her skin in a way that's half curious, half clinical. That the film doesn't really come together (or should I say congeal?) at the end is kind of a shame, but the film succeeds anyway as a macabre short story.
Rating: **1/2.

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981, John Carpenter)- half the pleasure of this film is appreciating what Carpenter accomplished on an obviously limited budget, creating a convincing dystopia with a few run-down exteriors, some trashed interiors and a military base. By not overdoing the awfulness of the future New York, the film also works as a commentary on the pre-cleanup urban-jungle of the early 80s, which was vacated by the haves and left to the have-nots. There's a kind of uneasiness of tone here- he didn't seem sure whether to be serious or cheesy- that separates this from Carpenter's best work (ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, HALLOWEEN, and- yes, really- THEY LIVE), but this film also boasts an iconic turn from Kurt Russell and a surprisingly affecting glider sequence that makes good use of a synth arrangement of Debussy's "Engulfed Cathedral."
Rating: ***.

CARLITO'S WAY (1993, Brian DePalma)- back when I last saw this, I mainly knew DePalma as the CARRIE dude, and this didn't make much of a dent in my brain. Still, my memories of it were fond, and watching it again it really worked for me, for the most part. The key to the film is Carlito's relationship with Kleinfeld, and while Carlito may tell him that "loyalty's gonna kill you faster than a bullet" he doesn't take that to heart himself, and that's the cause of his downfall. This destructive relationship separates this from the SCARFACE wannabes this was lumped in with, since Carlito doesn't suffer Icarus' punishment for flying to close to the sun, but merely aligns himself with people he should be avoiding, which is something we can all identify with sometimes. Plus Sean Penn's great in this movie, playing Kleinfeld as a guy who got in way over his head first out of necessity (there's a certain risk inherent to a mob lawyer's lifestyle) but now has spun too far out of control to stop himself from getting in even deeper- the prison break scene is a small marvel of its kind. The one thing holding this film back from being completely awesome is Penelope Ann Miller as Grace, Carlito's girlfriend- this role needed an actress with stronger presence, who could've made the role feel like an archetype instead of merely a cliche (and could've held up her end of DePalma's tribute to BODY HEAT). All the same, a cut above most entries in this genre- certainly beats the snot outta NEVER DIE ALONE- and one of the best things DePalma's done since his classic period of the 70s and early 80s.
Rating: ***.