The Grey

As I watched The Grey starring Liam Neeson I could not help noting the parallel between his personal story and that of his character Ottway in the movie.

In the movie Ottway is in despair and is writing a note to his former love, “You left me and I cannot get you to come back.” In a dreamy flashback scene he is lying by her side in bed and she is saying, “Don’t be afraid.” This flashback scene repeated throughout the movie made me wonder if he has similar real-life memories of his wife Natasha Richardson.

His bewilderment fits this story of wilderness survival that involves adversity, enemy wolves, internal demons, personal conflicts and existential perspective.

Ottway worked as a wolf-hunter to protect the oil rig roughnecks before their plane crashed in the Alaskan wilderness in winter. He uses his knowledge to lead them on a trek to escape the wolves and find civilization.

In this note to his love he recounts a poem written by his alcoholic Irish father that demands of himself to choose to “live and die in one day.” Throughout the story he revisits both the scene with his love and the poem by his father. His despair at the outset of the movie contrasts with his determination at the end.

Moby Dick

While the world forgot about it for three quarters of a century it ranks as one of the greatest of all American storytellings. I have had it as my companion for the past several weeks.

Oh, and it is long: 552 pages in the version I read – and I had to wait 519 pages until Moby Dick actually appeared! Chapters upon chapters built a Himalayan-sized backdrop for the final three chapters called “The Chase.”

It's hard to believe that few readers picked up Melville's novel for three generations after it was published. The world did not rediscover Moby Dick until Melville had been dead in this world for decades. He lived for most of his life unknown to the public.

Now we stand in the shadow of his oceanic achievement. His vivid portrayal of life on a whaler is so engaging I felt like I was a twenty-something young Ishmael by the middle of the voyage. (However, there were some dry sections when the novel turned into a biological treatise on the varieties of whales from Iceland to Tahiti.)

I learned much about whales, how the whaling business is conducted, and the economy and culture of the early nineteenth century. I found the details of whaling operations sometimes tedious, but I was soon convinced in my mind that I was on a whaling ship in the Pacific partnered with men from both civilized and primitive  societies.

I really got a kick out of the opening chapters when Ishmael meets Queequeg. They were colorful, perplexing and warming sequences of getting acquainted and establishing their relationship. Melville progressively developed the traits of all the characters to the point that by the final quarter of the story I knew each one and his likely behaviors. Truly, I found fascinating the characters, the unfamiliar setting, and the steady building of the story to its climactic conclusion.

Captain Ahab's monomaniacal quest to avenge himself of the White Whale's previous victory over him precludes him from seeing anything else realistically. Ahab is the dynamic force throughout - from his mysterious appearance to the final showdown with the White Whale. As an experienced, weathered whaling captain Ahab bears all the signs: scars, gruffness, and a whalebone for a leg.

He sought revenge on Moby Dick in a single, impatient, yet determined focus on his quarry. There would be no obstacle to the pursuit: not time, wind, ocean, food, water or manpower.

His knowledge of whaling, of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and of Moby Dick himself enabled him to seek him like a wily grubstake gold miner who eventually strikes the mother lode.

Woe to him who seeks and finds the foe he cannot abandon. Whether it be the man or the whale, at best only one would have the victory. 

The Artist

The Artist: A silent movie about a silent movie star, George Valentin, who experiences a negative life turn. It is one he is not prepared to deal with, nor is he able to easily recover from.

In parallel, a rising young starlet he launched soon passes his now decelerating career only to maintain an interest in his soon shattered fame.

What I liked about the film was the fact that because the movie is silent and in black and white, it made me really watch the movie. Its dramatic sparseness, in both cinematography and script mesmerized me. It drew me in because the only dialog was old-style lines flashed on the screen. (Well, I did a little lip reading when they made it easy.)

There was poignancy in the story as it was told so sparingly yet richly at the same time. When you are rooting for the characters (not always possible in many of today’s celluloid stories) you can’t wait for the outcome.

Oh, and it won the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor.

I give it a hearty “thumbs up.”

P.S. A minor point about content: no profanity (unless the dog was swearing, I really couldn’t tell), no blatant sexual scenes, and the little bit of violence was also subdued.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I went and saw Stieg Larsson's brilliant story told quite well on the screen with Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara and a strong cast.

I listened to the audio book last fall and wanted to get the "full meal deal" first. I'm into mysteries, whodunnits and how it happened.

That's why the first of the trilogy intrigued me. While it was graphic in its portrayal of sexual violence and overly explicit at times in the "normal" sex scenes, it conveyed how deep the sexual issues are in Western culture.

The Swedish title of the story is "Men Who Hate Women" and was written to expose those who exploit women. I appreciate the creation of such a captivating story around such a difficult problem.

Christopher Plummer as Henrik Vanger clearly spelled out the mystery of the disappearance of his niece Harriet Vanger among a large, wealthy, dysfunctional extended family.

Rooney Mara's Lisbeth Salander is quite disturbing, yet I appreciate her strength of character, however misguided at times. Despite her tough as nails and I don't care exterior, she shows her capacity to feel, to love, and to be human in her own way.

This story is rich and abundant in characters whose personal stories ultimately reveal the answer to the mystery all the while drawing me into the step-by-step process of discovery.

Bravo!

Juice

Some things bore you to death. Rhetoric just boils your brain. And then there is the stuff that makes your heart beat, your blood pump, and electrifies your brain. Yeah, that's the stuff I'm lookin' for.