Re: Battle of the Sexes reviews
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2017 4:22 am
I was more impressed by what this film does right than by what it does wrong. Actually, that's not fair. I was more impressed by what it achieves than by what it doesn't. And it's impossible to discuss what it achieves without mentioning Emma Stone.
Quick personal aside: I had hoped that after La La Land's defeat, tempers would cool down towards this charming little film. The opposite has proven to be the case in my life. In my circles, there continues to be an animosity towards this film, even referring to the opening number as "the most racist thing ever" which baffles and concerns me for a handful of reasons. But one character in particular, a girlfriend of a dear friend of mine, has a tendency to get drunk and make the same point again and again "Are we REALLY...going to give the SAME...HONOR...we give to MERYL...STREEP...to EMMA STONE?" Again and again, I hear this refrain. This isn't a person who has seen Elle or knows who Isabelle Huppert is, or is aware that Florence Foster Jenkins is a movie, so it's kind of pointless to argue. But on a very regular basis, I hear a lot of shit-talking about the talents of Emma Stone...
Goddamn, she's great in this film. 'Battle of the Sexes' is nowhere near the film that 'Birdman' or 'La La Land' is, but this feels like the most vulnerable work of her career. For an actor who has thus far coasted on her entirely enjoyable persona, here she is with fake hair, fake teeth, unsightly glasses...and she's never looked more like herself. It would be a shame if there wasn't room in the Best Actress lineup for her if only to stick it to all the doubters. These moments definitely front-load the film, but they're enough to carry through the film.
And she is not working from great material either. Simon Beaufoy's script has three problems: 1) there isn't much of a story here to begin with, 2) one half of the story couldn't be less interesting than the other, and 3) this guy is NOT the person to bridge these two gulfs. The best I can say for Beaufoy is he's a craftsman. His stories start up swiftly and spins their wheels for the cheap-seats. At some point, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris are going to find a script worth their talents. But for the first time, I am convinced they are a directing talent. The way they film the queer awakening of Billie Jean King through shot and editing rhythm is conceptually something we've seen many times before, but they do a beautiful job of it. They're aided by La La Land DP Linus Sandgren and Moonlight composer Nicholas Britell.
This is a handsome production, a harmless film, and an important chapter in such an impressive career.
Quick personal aside: I had hoped that after La La Land's defeat, tempers would cool down towards this charming little film. The opposite has proven to be the case in my life. In my circles, there continues to be an animosity towards this film, even referring to the opening number as "the most racist thing ever" which baffles and concerns me for a handful of reasons. But one character in particular, a girlfriend of a dear friend of mine, has a tendency to get drunk and make the same point again and again "Are we REALLY...going to give the SAME...HONOR...we give to MERYL...STREEP...to EMMA STONE?" Again and again, I hear this refrain. This isn't a person who has seen Elle or knows who Isabelle Huppert is, or is aware that Florence Foster Jenkins is a movie, so it's kind of pointless to argue. But on a very regular basis, I hear a lot of shit-talking about the talents of Emma Stone...
Goddamn, she's great in this film. 'Battle of the Sexes' is nowhere near the film that 'Birdman' or 'La La Land' is, but this feels like the most vulnerable work of her career. For an actor who has thus far coasted on her entirely enjoyable persona, here she is with fake hair, fake teeth, unsightly glasses...and she's never looked more like herself. It would be a shame if there wasn't room in the Best Actress lineup for her if only to stick it to all the doubters. These moments definitely front-load the film, but they're enough to carry through the film.
And she is not working from great material either. Simon Beaufoy's script has three problems: 1) there isn't much of a story here to begin with, 2) one half of the story couldn't be less interesting than the other, and 3) this guy is NOT the person to bridge these two gulfs. The best I can say for Beaufoy is he's a craftsman. His stories start up swiftly and spins their wheels for the cheap-seats. At some point, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris are going to find a script worth their talents. But for the first time, I am convinced they are a directing talent. The way they film the queer awakening of Billie Jean King through shot and editing rhythm is conceptually something we've seen many times before, but they do a beautiful job of it. They're aided by La La Land DP Linus Sandgren and Moonlight composer Nicholas Britell.
This is a handsome production, a harmless film, and an important chapter in such an impressive career.