Johnny Simmons

I’m a big fan of Jude Law. That in itself feels like a gross understatement. Next to Ralph Fiennes he’s my favourite living actor. And it’s weird, I’m always wailing about consistency, but Jude doesn’t have an impeccable track record. Like any good actor he stars in less than in interesting projects I often wonder if Jude sincerely believes in the films he promotes – maybe he’s self deluded like Errol Flynn, remember his line in The Aviator “I have an eye for talent”, considering the times he's been great - you'd think so. Then, considering things like Sherlock Holmes, Repo Men, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus – not bloody likely.

                         

Oh, but I do love him – even if my worth as a fan is incredibly precarious when I consider the Jude Law films I haven’tI Heart Huckabees, which with its eclectic must be seen one day; or Breaking & Entering, which as a staunch Anthony Minghella fan I have no excuse for not seeing; or AI: Artificial Intelligence, which I’ve seen showing often but never bothered to watch. And yet, I’ve still got five performances of his that I especially love.

What is it about Jude playing moguls of perfection? I like to remember this movie for Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, the former especially who's never revered as much as he ought to be, but Jude steals the show playing the perfect man, who's not so perfect. Jerome is a bit of a dick, okay a lot of a dick - but that's the thing about Jude, even when you hate him...you can't. Even though Niccol's Gattaca didn't take off as well as it should have, does anyone (besides me) remember it anymore?

And he moves from the somewhat sympathetic epitome of past perfection, to a full blown cad who's know for his (you guessed it) perfection. Dickie Greenleaf is still my favourite Jude performance...it's one of my favourite supporting performances period, he just has those line-readings down pat. And when he says everyone has one talent, you kind of think that his is playing perfect - and being a pretentious douchebag, that we still can't help wishing we were friends with.

                        

(Somewhere in between this he played another epitome of perfection in AI: Artificial Intelligence)

As it is, though, I do find something beautiful in the fact that Jude earned his two Oscar nominations (thus far) for Anthony Minghella projects. Truth be told, I might have given him the Oscar this year - it's so tough for me to choose between him and Sean Penn. He's every bit as awkward as you'd expect his hillbilly character to be. Inman is probably my favourite character of him, which is surprising since he's the most introverted. You don't expect him to be a good introvert, but the extroversion in Cold Mountain is left to Renee Zellweger and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Jude handles his role beautifully, though I admit I spent an undue amount of time waiting for him and Nicole to umm...get it on...and they were apart for sooooooo much of the movie. (I  demand a rematch.)

Is it because Dan is such a stealth meanie that this performance didn't catch on? Yeah, I'd have probably Oscar-ed him for this one too. He is my best-in-show, and I LOVE this movie. 2004 was supposed to be his year, he was downright impossible to avoid - I did love him in Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow, that one's delightful amidst all the madness and woefully underrated.

The recent drought of any substantial Jude roles feels a bit like a broken promise, he's supposed to be getting more work by now. I'm hoping that Contagion and Hugo Cabret (with SCORSESE) take off, I'm a bit tired of waiting on this train to arrive. But, then again, it's Jude and his moments of perfection outweigh the current drought. I were to rank the five it'd be #5: Jerome, #4: Harlan, #3: Inman, #2: Dan and #1: Dickie.

                 

I know, I KNOW! More from Titanic and it’s not even a real moment – yes, but I’m right there cheering on. Well in my mind.

There really are so many moments when I’ve felt that vicarious thrill when cinematic characters finally get their acts together. As much as I love Anne Baxter in All About Eve I can’t resist cheering George Sanders on as his Addison DeWitt has way with her (hitting a woman is wrong, but not when she’s Eve Harrington).

Or how about Kate’s Christina Drayton telling off her racist worker? "Don’t speak just…go!"I find myself ecstatic when Ethan's degenerate of sorts manages to make his getaway at the end of Gattaca or I’ll pretend I’m part of the audience when Will & Viola complete their performance of Romeo & Juliet in Shakespeare in Love. The thing is nothing gets more cheers than brilliant ends and performances…so naturally an ending that IS a performance gets double the cheers. And when it’s Baaaaaaaaaaaaarba? Who can resist?

Yes, that gets a big whoopee from me….and so the MEME ends. Sigh. 

Congrats to Ryan and Jess who MEMED with me, Ruth for weighing in now and then and Ripley, Mike and Anna for doing it all at once. Thank you and goodnight.

If you ask someone what they remember about 1997 they’ll say Titanic if they’re honest. If they want to go against type they’ll say Boogie Nights, and if they’re a ''serious'' film enthusiast they’ll say L.A. Confidential. All of these films are great but one film I wish would get some remembrance for being wonderful in 1997 was Gattaca, one of my favourite science fiction films and #97 on my list of 100 favourite films.

Gattaca is thoroughly science fiction film, there is not other genre it could be placed in. It takes place somewhere in what may or may not be the near future. The world has become so technologically adept that parents are able to choose what type of children they want so that their offsprings are as perfect as possible. In this perfect world, of course these perfect specimens are the ones who get the superior jobs and they’re the ones who are respected in society. Enter Vincent, played by a brilliant Ethan Hawke. Vincent is an imperfect with a weak heart. According to science he should be dead by now. All his life he has lived as a degenerate with no respect from the world. Ignored by his parents in place of younger, perfect brother he has lived life in the shadows. But like the typical dreamer he has big aspirations; his are of becoming an astronaut. With his imperfect background these hopes are essentially unattainable. With the help of some underground personnel [Tony Shaloub in a deliciously cameo] he meets Jerome a miserable perfect who has experienced a crippling accident. With Jerome’s genes makes attempts to win the respect of this perfect world and a perfect woman played by Uma Thurman.
I don’t know what it is about this film that makes me love it so much…but I can guess. First there’s Ethan Hawke. He is one of the most underrated actors in the industry right now being recently notoriously snubbed for one of the best male performances this century in Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. Vincent is not a showy character, so I can understand why recognition is not wrought for his performance in the film. But the beauty of the film rests on his shoulders. His Vincent is an everyman character. We root for him. He’s not annoyingly good, he’s not exceptionally good looking, but he’s relatable. We want Vincent to win, and seeing that most of the suspense in the film comes from whether or not Vincent will succeed Hawke does a good job.

With Ethan Hawke as the lead, the producers needed to cast an actor who would be the epitome of perfection…and they couldn’t have done worse than Jude Law. This is the first Jude Law film that I remember seeing and I was very impressed with his performance. I guess some would want to say that he was showboating, and maybe he was. But the performance demanded it. Jude’s tortured character is an important part of the film and his rapport with Ethan Hawke is impressive. There is a finale scene where the crippled Jerome drags himself up some stairs and the acting on Jude’s part is truly heart wrenching.

Where the film is not as strong for me though is with Uma Thurman’s role. Uma does a good job of playing Irene, a perfect woman whom Vincent falls in love with. The character seemed a bit undeveloped and it didn’t allow Uma to do as much as she could have. As is typical with so many science fiction films the women are little less than ornamental figures. Uma, as she usually does, makes her character [the only notable female] as strong as she can, but the film is not particularly working in her favour. Still, it doesn’t spoil the entire success of the narrative.

Gattaca is a superbly directed film. With the tight shots and the quick editing the pacing is wonderfully. It’s enjoyable and yet it’s not a vacuous experience. It’s a sci-fi flick, but it’s not some action ridded drivel lacking in plot. Despite being a big fan of a certain guy called Oscar, I have realised by now that goodness is not synonymous with Oscar, but this film deserved recognition from any awards ceremony.

Jude and Ethan really gave great performances and the in the face of the weak male performances that year it’s unfortunate that they didn’t gain any buzz. Of course, this was the 90s when science fiction had no correlation with awards worthy. But even better than the acting, the technical aspects of Gattaca are its strong points. From the bleak and almost repressive set design and costumes, the cinematography and editing, the sound and most important the haunting score. It’s regrettable that only the Art Direction received any Academy Award nominations. But no matter, this is still a great film…a great film that unfortunately has become forgotten. If you haven’t seen it, do so, something will impress you?

Have you seen Gattaca? What did you think? Or what science fiction films do you like?