Ellie Pearson Posts

To close out this blog, I sought it only right to watch an American classic, The Notebook. Adapted from the Nicholas Sparks novel in 2004, this movie tells the love story of rich schoolgirl and a poor lumbar worker in 1940s South Carolina. To fight cliche’s there is an added dimension to the plot: the love story is told by an old man, who is reading to his wife who has dementia. The end is bittersweet, but the type where everything falls exactly into place. Pure genius in my opinion, so hats off to you, Nicholas. However, despite his amazing writing skills, he does not deserve all the credit. The real showstoppers in this movie are none other than Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams.

Let’s start with Ryan (Noah) . Sure, it helps that he’s beautiful, but boy does that guy know how to FLIRT! I couldn’t stop imagining what I would do if someone ever risked their life on a ferris wheel for a date with me or told me they liked me the minute they saw me. He manages to be so incredibly intense in such a calm way, and it is captivating. A sinister part of me also adored when he was heartbroken. Once he found out that Allie was engaged he worked day in and day out to finish the house that he built for her. I think most men would have set it on fire.

Now on to Rachel (Allie), although I really wouldn’t mind devoting an entire post to swooning over Ryan. While Ryan balances intensity and tranquility, Allie balances grace and chaos. Because she comes from a wealthy family, she is a bit of a people pleaser and always does the right thing. But as she gets to know Noah, he challenges her and brings out her true self, which is pretty wild. I’m intrigued by Allie because I think that I am the opposite of her. I’d say I’m pretty wild as is, so I guess I’m looking for someone to calm me down, not rile me up. Or maybe a little bit of both.

The most fascinating part about this movie is something that I found out after the fact: Ryan and Rachel despised each other while filming. It is interesting because even if it was through hate, the passion definitely showed through in their acting. But my favorite part is that after the film wrapped, they started dating. It breaks my heart that they are not together anymore, but I guess not every true love is one that can last a lifetime! In my perfect fantasy world , their love was just so strong that it hurt and was unsustainable. But again, I am relating this to their on screen mid-1900s love, which looks very different to relationships today.

Anyways, I apologize for this blog being particularly gossipy but I think I wanted to give a flavor of how I think when I watch romantic dramas like this. What can I say, I’m a swooner and I’m nosey. Lethal combo. Unfortunately this is my last blog post, so thank you for coming along for the ride.

A lot of movies could be books. A lot of movies are. Whiplash, however, is a movie that could never be a book, because it’s brilliance relies very little on its plot. On the surface, this movie is about a tense relationship between an ambitious student and a tyrannical music teacher. The director based this script on experiences he had with a high school band teacher, which honestly makes it sound even worse. Sure, they exaggerated the plot and added in a handful of punchy lines to the script. But this movie would be nothing without its editing, its soundtrack, and the work of its actors. The Academy agrees with me, because it won Oscars for best sound mixing and film editing!

The movie was shot in 19 days, probably for its limited location. The protagonist, Andrew Nieman (Miles Teller), is a student at the fictional Shaffer Conservatory, which is said to be based off of Julliard. While at school, he is plucked by Terrence Fletcher (JK Simmons), a legendary musician and conductor, to be a drummer in his studio jazz band, which is one of the best in the country. At first, he is elated at the opportunity, but quickly after his admittance he discovers that his teacher is the most terrifying and skillfully ruthless person he has ever met.

JK Simmons does an excellent job in his role, and again, the Academy recognized it and granted him Best Supporting Actor! Seriously some of the most brutal, deep cutting insults I have ever heard. They almost make you wince. But they would be nothing without Teller’s reaction to them, and how his drive for success is so obsessive that he can’t remove himself from the situation. This relationship is what makes this movie a psychological drama, and it will keep you on the edge of your seat. If there is anything this movie knows how to do it is create tension. Through the acting, editing, and even the tempo of a composition, this movie turned me into a ball of adrenalin.

I will note that I think it is extremely important that Andrew played the drums instead of the flute or saxophone. When Andrew is playing the drums, there is a lot of imagery of blood, sweat, and tears, which is the necessary concoction for success. When all three of these stain his drum set, and when he continues to play and the vibrations send them beading off in slow motion, he is expelling all of his signs his body is giving him to quit, and it is an incredibly powerful image.

Director Damien Chazelle shot this movie in 19 days. That is impressive, yes, but its also pretty funny because it was nominated for Best Picture alongside Boyhood, which was shot on and off for 12 years. It was originally a short film, which Chazelle did not intend, but producers suggested it since the original script wasn’t getting funds. The short film casted JK Simmons again and Johnny Simmons (no relation) and it won a Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Once it was regarded highly by Sundance, it had no trouble receiving funding and J. Simmons was recast as Miles Teller. Teller was the perfect pick because he was a huge name in the 2010’s  (Divergent, Footloose, the Spectacular Now, etc.) and he had actually played the drums since he was 15. Still, he was no prodigy, so he took lessons 4 hours a day, 3 times a week to prepare. 40% of the official soundtrack is Teller on sticks, which showcases his immense instrumental talent.

Speaking of instrumental soundtracks, this movie was my introduction to Jazz as a genre. As someone who likes when music falls into a pattern, Jazz always unsettled me. As I’m writing this, I’m realizing how brilliant it was to make the band a jazz band. Like the drums, this movie would not be this movie if it was classical rather than jazz. Jazz is unpredictable and always leaves you anticipating, which again helps build tension in the movie. The movie ended with a 5 minute drum solo, and you’d think that would get old. But my eyes never left the screen. During this scene, the camera man panned back and forth between Andrew, Fletcher, and the band, and it gets quicker and quicker with tempo…giving you whiplash….GENIUS.

I’m getting excited just writing about this movie, and I can’t believe I just now watched it. It came out in 2014! I’m almost embarrassed. Anyways, I hope I didn’t give to much away, but even if I did, I hope I serve as the final push for readers to go watch this movie. This adrenalin high made me understand the meaning of “Chasing the Dragon.” I have never seen anything like Whiplash and I think I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to find something close.

On December 16th, 1988, a drama/roadie film with a couple A-list actors hit the big screen. I wonder if they knew then what a success it would be. This movie grossed between 350 and 415 million dollars on a 25 million dollar budget, becoming the highest grossing film of the year. It also ended up receiving 8 nominations at the 61st academy awards, and won four of those nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay. In other words, it. was. a. hit. Any guesses on the flick? If you guessed Barry Levinson’s Rain Man, you would be correct.

This film stars Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), a young, selfish wheeler dealer who believes he is coming into wealth after his estranged father’s death. However, when he returns home to collect, he discovers that his father’s multimillion dollar fortune was left to Charlie’s older brother, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), who he knew nothing about. Raymond is an autistic savant, and has been living in a mental institution for over half of his life. In an attempt to get the money that he believes is “rightfully his,” Charlie abducts his brother and takes him back to his home in Los Angeles. On their road trip, Charlie learns more and more about Raymond and the ups and downs of his condition, and they end up forming a brotherly bond.

Although it would never fly in today’s social climate, Dustin Hoffman did an excellent job playing an autistic savant. The writers based the character off of Kim Peek, a real life savant, and Hoffman was able to spend some time with him to learn his mannerisms. Because it was the 1980s and a lot of social issues had yet to be spoken about, I think this movie was a good introduction to autism awareness, especially since it was a central plot line. I also believe that through his role, Hoffman did an amazing job educating on the range of autism and savant syndrome, and I liked that the story put an emphasis on how people with autism can still form connections. There were, obviously, still some scenes that had that sweet 1980s ignorance, but I think for the time period, it was very well done. I was mesmerized by Hoffman’s work.

Another mesmerizing part of this movie was just how 1980s it was. I’m every soundtrack piece was the work of a synth and every piece of woman’s clothing featured shoulder pads. I loved it. I wonder if I will live in a period as iconic as the ’80s, or who knows, maybe I already have. A frequent shoulder pad wearer was, of course, Tom Cruise’s very beautiful, very Italian girlfriend played by Valeria Golino. Obviously, a story about two men wouldn’t fill the theater seats, no matter how heart warming. But if you throw a tan, seductive woman with an Italian accent who flashes a nipple once in a while, you’ve got yourself a hit! I thought some of her scenes were unnecessary to the story line but hey, I get it…sex sells.

Rain Man serves as an excellent pop culture history lesson, and the screenplay is about as unique as the ’80s has to offer (cliches sell tickets!). I think it is an amazing classic film that is worth the watch and clearly, based on the stats I delivered at the beginning of this sermon, I’m not the only one who thinks it!