Post by Dale on Oct 26, 2009 11:40:49 GMT -5
Days of Concord
Casablanca is one of MR’s finest critics, nay, it’s finest. He has seen fit to write a second movie to accompany his catalogue of TV Shows and first movie effort “A Mirror’s Image”. I’m sure Casa is aware that I had mixed feelings towards “A Mirror’s Image”, being a great fan of the slow pace, the methodical step by step tension building and then utterly disliking the ending that didn’t really have any other purpose to baffle us and make us question what the hell we just read.
“Days of Concord “retains the things I adored about “A Mirror’s Image”, turning up the humour and leaving out the stuff that made me feel so apathetic towards Casa’s first film effort. Casa retains a sort of supernatural stuff returns, with the character of Thomas Rutherford hallucinating his wife.
The difference between how Casa used it here, and how he used it in “A Mirror’s Image” is that here, it has a purpose. Here, it played into an overall theme. Here it added to Thomas’ psychotic break and his pessimistic, snarky, depressed ex –husband to complete, grade A-Whack job.
The Hotel setting and the constant allusions to animals was very well done, and weaved into the story magnificently. I started looking out for the animal references as soon as the hotel room view, overlooking a zoo was mentioned (I loved the exchange between Thomas and the Hotel Worker during the guided tour scene, it was beautifully written.) The themes and symbolism are things Casa likes to talk about in abundance with his reviews, and here he utilized them beautifully.
The characters were all very well written and developed. Suzy made for a good hopeless romantic type, who became completely besotted with a man who was quite clearly unstable and obsessed with his wife and marriage in general. Thomas’ constant insistence, that Suzy must surely have a husband or fiancé at home made for some very awkward moments that only added to the movie’s final big reveal.
Likewise, the Hotel’s Clerk made for a very interesting character. And having read Casa’s notes, I can certainly see the parallels between Thomas and him. He was probably my favourite character throughout the film and in my opinion anchored it. His character just died the movie together very nicely, both in plot and in themes.
The twist at the end is far more satisfactory that “A Mirror’s Image”. It seems the plot of “Days of Concord” as a whole is more thought out than Casa’s previous effort and it shows. The movie hits the right points to build to the finale and gives us a satisfactory pay off. After finishing the film, I felt satisfied, as opposed to “A Mirror’s Image” which left me feeling, I suppose cheated is the best word to use.
Overall, “Days of Concord” is a strong movie effort from Casablanca. I would best describe it as a Woody Allen, David Lynch love child with a little Casablanca thrown in )both the writer and the movie, especially the style of its dialogue). It’s a movie well worth checking out, if you enjoy thought provoking dramas that feature engaging characters, a good plot with a nice thematic cherry on top.
*** ½ out of ****
Casablanca is one of MR’s finest critics, nay, it’s finest. He has seen fit to write a second movie to accompany his catalogue of TV Shows and first movie effort “A Mirror’s Image”. I’m sure Casa is aware that I had mixed feelings towards “A Mirror’s Image”, being a great fan of the slow pace, the methodical step by step tension building and then utterly disliking the ending that didn’t really have any other purpose to baffle us and make us question what the hell we just read.
“Days of Concord “retains the things I adored about “A Mirror’s Image”, turning up the humour and leaving out the stuff that made me feel so apathetic towards Casa’s first film effort. Casa retains a sort of supernatural stuff returns, with the character of Thomas Rutherford hallucinating his wife.
The difference between how Casa used it here, and how he used it in “A Mirror’s Image” is that here, it has a purpose. Here, it played into an overall theme. Here it added to Thomas’ psychotic break and his pessimistic, snarky, depressed ex –husband to complete, grade A-Whack job.
The Hotel setting and the constant allusions to animals was very well done, and weaved into the story magnificently. I started looking out for the animal references as soon as the hotel room view, overlooking a zoo was mentioned (I loved the exchange between Thomas and the Hotel Worker during the guided tour scene, it was beautifully written.) The themes and symbolism are things Casa likes to talk about in abundance with his reviews, and here he utilized them beautifully.
The characters were all very well written and developed. Suzy made for a good hopeless romantic type, who became completely besotted with a man who was quite clearly unstable and obsessed with his wife and marriage in general. Thomas’ constant insistence, that Suzy must surely have a husband or fiancé at home made for some very awkward moments that only added to the movie’s final big reveal.
Likewise, the Hotel’s Clerk made for a very interesting character. And having read Casa’s notes, I can certainly see the parallels between Thomas and him. He was probably my favourite character throughout the film and in my opinion anchored it. His character just died the movie together very nicely, both in plot and in themes.
The twist at the end is far more satisfactory that “A Mirror’s Image”. It seems the plot of “Days of Concord” as a whole is more thought out than Casa’s previous effort and it shows. The movie hits the right points to build to the finale and gives us a satisfactory pay off. After finishing the film, I felt satisfied, as opposed to “A Mirror’s Image” which left me feeling, I suppose cheated is the best word to use.
Overall, “Days of Concord” is a strong movie effort from Casablanca. I would best describe it as a Woody Allen, David Lynch love child with a little Casablanca thrown in )both the writer and the movie, especially the style of its dialogue). It’s a movie well worth checking out, if you enjoy thought provoking dramas that feature engaging characters, a good plot with a nice thematic cherry on top.
*** ½ out of ****
