Abortion. Another movie on abortion? I know what you’re thinking but let me explain.
This 1996 directorial debut of the brilliant Alexander Payne (”Sideways,” “Election,” and my definite favorite “About Schmidt”) is just as dark as his darkest movie (”Election” probably) and just as poignant as well (”About Schmidt”). Like with any one of Payne’s movies, the first and final five minutes of the film are the culmination of a great work of art—as it communicates the ideas and truths and feelings that are found throughout the rest of the film. In “Citizen Ruth,” Laura Dern gives a walloping, white-trash performance as a poor mother who huffs a lot, living in an America that only cares about causes–refusing to consider, even for a moment, the individual. This movie isn’t about advocating pro-choice or pro-life political agendas because really, it spends the whole movie making fun of both sides. It faults the psycho-evangelical-no-questions-asked-picketing-’Abortion-Kills-Children’ approach of the right while dishing out that the left is more concerned with winning then losing to a group of “religious folks.” Their are almost-equal attacks all around but really, the story is about Ruth–and about how no one really gives a rip about her needs and her life.
In one of the most poignant scenes from the film, Ruth is found in jail…crying out…praying out loud to God, curled up in the fetal position on the cold prison floor. She’s crying out for love, crying out for help, and the rest of the film is seemingly what she gets. But is it enough?
With Rolfe Kent’s beautiful and luminous score (again, the wonderful composer behind “About Schmidt” and Payne’s other films) closing the end film sequence that shows once again, just how powerful “showing” and not “telling” the story is when it comes to watching movies, Payne constructs (like he always does) an ending that is not only better than the sum of the film’s parts, but one that shows why he’s still around making good films, almost 10 years later.
After “Vera Drake,” check this one out for a way different perspective on the whole question of abortion. It doesn’t give answers, just raises questions—and points to what should be the force driving any social movement or cause here in America. But please, please…understand “Citizen Ruth” is a very, very dark comedy. More disturbing and sad than it is laugh-out-loud funny.
Finally, a movie on abortion that treats it with respect and dignity and humanity. “Vera Drake,” is a movie most people need to see not because it is an amazing film, but because it has that sort of gentleness and tenderness toward family and forgiveness; toward choosing life and choosing love. Although many people may shy away from “Vera Drake” because they think it’s left-wing political propaganda, that isn’t what the movie is trying to do at all (in my mind at least—it’s not a “pro-choice” movie, although many will look at it in that light). In a sense, it’s trying to discuss abortion as if the whole debate never existed. It takes us to a place where people still struggle with the issue—and when I say “still struggle” I mean, they still think about it harder than most Americans and most Christians generally do—and this world seems simple and quaint, yet unmistakably unsettling. Imelda Staunton plays Vera Drake, a 1950s woman living in England who lives to love and loves to live. She’s a housekeeper, a maid, a loving mother, a loyal wife—but she’s also an abortionist, a word that even the movie suggests is a bit “over-the-top” to describe someone. In her mind, she’s simply helping women who can’t think of any other way out.
Since this is a film by Mike Leigh, the purist filmmaker who strives for honest filmmaking and real-life representation in most all of his films, the movie has a very intimate feel and yet, a very sad one as well. It’s one that’s worth the rental not because of its subject matter but because of its graceful way of handling forgiveness, which is really what the movie is mostly about.
See it.
Sin City is a movie adaptation of the graphic novel/stories by Frank Miller. It was co-directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez with a Quentin Tarantino as a guest director. There are so many big name actors/actresses in this movie I’m not even going to try and name them all. Check out the link for yourself.
I’m most definitely not going to make a general blanket statement of telling people to go see this movie. This is definitely a comic book made into a movie - and I’m not talking about X-Men, Spiderman, Batman or The Hulk. There was some great cinematography and I loved what they did with the black and white with artistic splashes of color in all the right places.
As far as content in here that might turn people off there’s a decent amount of violence. Definitely nothing that bothered me, but I’m sure it’ll bother some. There was also a decent amount of T&A that I wasn’t necessarily expecting.
The story was great and captivating. I most definitely didn’t understand everything and will need to see it at least one more time. The timeline was also a bit confusing. Sort of like watching Pulp Fiction for the very first time. I’m going to need to talk to Lofton - I’m sure he can explain it all to me.
Overall I’m gonna have to say I liked this movie. Great acting, great directing, great story. It was intriguing as well as interesting. There’s a good chance I’ll be seeing it again with some other people and will hopefully get a better grasp on things.
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