Two films of note kind of blew me away in the last week. Mostly because I never watched or don't remember a whole lot about them:
The Rainmaker (1997):
On the surface, it sounds crazy boring about a young lawyer who tries to take down an insurance firm. Based on a Grisham novel and stars a young Matt Damon, a pre-blasting Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, Jon Voight, and Claire Danes.
It's an oddly optimistic movie, both in tone and story. There's really nothing ground-breaking here but it's just a simple plot that is told expertly.
By the end of the film, I wondered, "who the hell directed something so solid?" Yeah, Francis Ford Coppola. I had no idea and it explains a lot. It was also the last mainstream film that he directed... which seems like a shame.
Searching For Bobby Fischer (1993):
I know I watched this as a teen, but have little recollection of it. I imagine it's being pushed on Netflix because of The Queen's Gambit.
It's got a murderer's row of character actors: Joe Mantegna, Ben Kingsley, William H. Macy, Laurence Fishburne, Joan Allen, David Paymer, Tony Shalhoub and Laura Linney. I think I got them all.
Again, a simple plot about a would-be chess prodigy and learning to win/lose. There is no real antagonist (that exists as a character, at least) in the story, so creating conflict is tricky but they nail it.
I tend to ignore the opening credits (I'm working while watching), but again had the same question: "who the hell directed something so solid?" Yeah, Steven Zaillian... who also wrote the damn thing. The same guy who wrote screenplays for Schindler's List, The Irishman, Gangs of New York, Awakenings and Moneyball.
Both of these films, to me, are like a masterclass in film-making and story. I imagine the lack of a broad appeal is why they're not celebrated more.
|