I
reviewed In The Loop last August and gave it a B+. After watching it about 5 more times over the past week on pay-cable, I need to revise that to an A-. The film's full throttle cynicism, vulgarity and creativity get as close to my own sensibilities as any film I can remember. I love the toxic disregard of incompetence and sycophants and blatant scoffing of "principled stands" and false morality. The film recognizes and celebrates that we're all fallen and provides great cutting (i.e. brilliant) dialogue. If you haven't seen it, do. If you have, do yourself a favor and watch it again.
Monday, August 9, 2010
In the Loop - Revisited
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5 comments:
Haven't got around to that second viewing yet, but I remember it on the very high end of the B+ list of 2009. The political shenanigans probably gets a higher rating from you. The first 6 got the A-:
1. The Hurt Locker
2. Inglourious Basterds
3. Up
4. Up in the Air
5. Public Enemies
6. Crazy Heart
7. A Serious Man
8. In the Loop
9. (500) Days of Summer
10. Adventureland
11. Moon
11. The Brothers Bloom
12. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
13. An Education
14. Fantastic Mr. Fox
15. District 9
You could throw 9-15 up in the air and I could defend any order that came down.
doctor, talk to me about what you saw in a serious man. i see your love for framing and production values, but after that i'm a bit lost.
1. Hurt Locker
2. Inglourious Basterds
3. Crazy Heart
4. In the Loop
5. Public Enemies
6. An Education
7. Precious
8. Adventureland
9. Up in the Air
10. Taking of Pelham 123
11. Up
12. Brothers Bloom
I understand your point that retelling Job's story without God is pointless and I can understand why the film frustrates since it asks more questions than it answers. The prologue is somewhere between superfluous and distracting. But - while they are dealing with major issues such as God's existence and man's purpose, I don't think the Coens want the audience to take the whole thing that seriously. How else to explain Fred Melamed as a stud and the Rabbi's love of Jefferson Airplane? The physics professor's problems range from the trivial to the absurd. A neighbor's encroachment, monthly album charges, a brother's skin condition. Most of these things just don't matter and are merely a nuisance. It would seem the existing distance between him and his family make his estrangement the next logical step. I think the Coens are trying to tell everyone to lighten up and don't worry about the little things. Then they abruptly end the film with presumed cancer on his chest x-ray and a tornado set to tear up the whole town. Those obviously matter more than everything that came before.
I think they are also encouraging men to be tougher since most of his problems would disappear if he were more assertive and less permissive. (Adventureland also comments well on extraordinarily weak father figures).
http://www.doctorlawyerpriest.com/2010/02/serious-man-b.html
doc, sorry. i knew your feelings. I was thinking "A Single Man" not "A Serious Man". While I didn't love a serious man, I'll grant you that it has stuck in my head significantly better than many other films I saw last year.
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