It's more than a week since Jill Meagher went missing from a Melbourne street, but less than a week since a man was charged with her abduction, rape and murder. I feel for Jill's family. More than that, I feel for the friend/colleague who offered to walk her home and didn't. It's just around the corner she is reported to have demurred. All the more reason to insist said a taxi driver to me during the week. I agreed. I wonder if I would have insisted though. It's just around the corner in a well-lit Melbourne street. It was late, but there were still people around. Would I have insisted? Would you?
There's been a lot of commentary in the wake of this event. Of course women should be safe to walk home at night. We shouldn't need to 'watch out' all the time. What concerned me most was the number of women who came forward and said 'it could have been me, I was approached by a man in that very area'. Had we known, we might have issued a warning to women, cautioned potential perpetrators. We could have done something... Do we not report incidents because we don't want to be a bother? Do we think it is not important? You can't solve a jigsaw without all the pieces and sometimes its the tiny fagments that add up to a bigger picture.
I particularly liked this piece about 'don't rape', rather than 'don't get raped'. We need to put responsibility where it lies. http://www.hercanberra.com.au/index.php/2012/10/02/rape-culture/
More to come if I ever find time to write it...
Thursday, October 04, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Gran Torino
WIN is broadcasting Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" tonight. I saw it on first release in the cinema. It's a good movie.
I love Eastwood's work as a director. "Gran Torino" received some mixed reviews. The use of amateur Hmong actors was criticized and some performances - even Clint's - were described as wooden.
I prefer to think that every performance, every scene, is how Director Eastwood wanted it to be.
There's an authenticity in the amateur actors which I'm not sure professional actors (even if Eastwood could have found any) would have achieved.
I really like the New York Times review. It captures the contribution that Eastwood as an actor makes to this film. It has been suggested that without Eastwood in the leading role that this film would be lacking. I agree. As the NYR article says, Eastwood is "a canny manipulator of his own iconographic presence". With Eastwood comes every vigilante role he has ever played. When Walt Kowalski calls the cleric "padre" it reminds us of Eastwood the outlaw and every "Western" role he has ever played.
Eastwood knows this. As Executive Producer I think he knows it is a role that only he can play. Eastwood is reported as saying that this is his final acting role.
The tension in the final part of the film is perfectly played as the story builds to its surprising conclusion.
I love the cinematography. There's a certain look to the film that captures the tired neighbourhood and Walt's tired life. The final shot (end credits) is the lightest in the film, obviously deliberately so.
On a lighter note, I love the performance of the dog!
Related links:
http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/movies/12tori.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1205489/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Torino
I love Eastwood's work as a director. "Gran Torino" received some mixed reviews. The use of amateur Hmong actors was criticized and some performances - even Clint's - were described as wooden.
I prefer to think that every performance, every scene, is how Director Eastwood wanted it to be.
There's an authenticity in the amateur actors which I'm not sure professional actors (even if Eastwood could have found any) would have achieved.
I really like the New York Times review. It captures the contribution that Eastwood as an actor makes to this film. It has been suggested that without Eastwood in the leading role that this film would be lacking. I agree. As the NYR article says, Eastwood is "a canny manipulator of his own iconographic presence". With Eastwood comes every vigilante role he has ever played. When Walt Kowalski calls the cleric "padre" it reminds us of Eastwood the outlaw and every "Western" role he has ever played.
Eastwood knows this. As Executive Producer I think he knows it is a role that only he can play. Eastwood is reported as saying that this is his final acting role.
The tension in the final part of the film is perfectly played as the story builds to its surprising conclusion.
I love the cinematography. There's a certain look to the film that captures the tired neighbourhood and Walt's tired life. The final shot (end credits) is the lightest in the film, obviously deliberately so.
On a lighter note, I love the performance of the dog!
Related links:
http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/movies/12tori.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1205489/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Torino
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