Eastern Promises: The Poll

[Hustler]

The film is well built and performed but, I´ve seen better movies directed by Cronenberg. Coming from a talented filmaker as him, which delivered us a movie like A History Of Violence, I wouldn´t have expected such a conventional product.



Edited By Hustler on 1203192052

[Sabin]

Not sure. The film does not for a moment care about plot but it's still elegantly crafted. Viggo is a hoot. Would I have liked a film that took itself more seriously? Probably not. Right now? *** a second viewing? a notch less perhaps.

[rain Bard]

I agree with the general sentiment expressed. I think it's a terrific idea to have all these polls, and to make sure a poll is available for each new film discussion.

But the fact that new votes obscure the ability to see when new comments are being made is annoying enough to cancel that out in my opinion.

[Eric]

Yes, you should figure out a way so that the poll threads are only bumped when someone comments on the thread, not just when they register a vote. That's my biggest non-personality-related pet peeve about this forum.



Edited By Eric on 1201717841

[The Original BJ]

Can we take a poll on this new poll thing?

Mainly for the reason Mister Tee states (that each new vote registers as a new comment), I know I would prefer the polls to be kept separate from the discussion threads, not fused into the same thread.

If I'm alone on this that's cool, but it seems others have been voicing similar suggestions, so I thought I'd add my two cents.

[Akash]

I agree, Mister Tee.

Says you's, Dr. Seuss.

[OscarGuy]

These will replace the typical split poll/discussion topics in the future (as my Pinned Post in 2008 states).

So, actual discussion will take place in these threads, not in separate threads.



Edited By OscarGuy on 1201713709

[Steph2]

I agree, Mister Tee.

[Mister Tee]

Okay...is there any way we can put all these polls in a separate section? 1) They register as New Comment every time someone votes, even if there's no post; and 2) they bury the actual discussion threads (at this point, most will be pushed off the front page).

It's not I'm uninterested in people's judgments; I just think this is overwhelming the general discussion.

[OscarGuy]

vote and discuss.

[Okri]

I agree with Mister Tee that this feels more like a Steven Knight film and I think it was only okay. Mortensen was awesome, though.

[Sabin]

'Eastern Promises' is fun. One or two subsequent viewings of 'A History of Violence' has tempered my enthusiasm, but at least there are fine subtexts to grapple onto and not simply Cronenbergian flourishes, ie things he does to keep himself amused. The strongest moments in 'Eastern Promises' are nothing but these flourishes: Viggo's jokey performance, the enourmously homoerotic relationship between Viggo and Vincent Cassel's fey gangster, the naked fight. Oh, the naked fight. You can almost hear David Cronenberg reopening his eyes after a nap through the screenplay and call his agent, screaming "I'll do it!"

The flaws in 'Eastern Promises' are many but it's still a good time. I look forward to seeing this one again; like '3:10 to Yuma', there certainly is a chance it will only improve.

[Mister Tee]

Sabin and BJ already mentioned being underwhelmed by the film in the Third Round thread; I don't have the energy/arm strength for a full-scale review, but I basically agree with their take.

The movie, overall, feels more like a Steve Knight film than a Cronenberg, and it's a script that's not nearly as elegantly worked out as Knight's Dirty Pretty Things was. There are quite a few interesting elements -- you can see why the script attracted interest -- but the version on the screen feels like an early draft that needed a few more times through the process to pull those elements together (I had particular problems with the dynamics of the Cassel/Mueller Stahl/Mortensen relationships, which I'll discuss more when enough people have seen the film that spoilers won't matter so much). Cronenberg's main contributions seem to be to keep the film extremely glum (in color-shading and actor-energy), except for a few bursts of truly grisly violence. (My wife pronounced these parts of the film disgusting)

I don't get the enthusiasm of the critics Sonic first encountered, or the voters at Toronto (except the latter might have been supporting the home town boy). All I know is, for me, this comes nowhere near History of Violence (and I found even that a letdown in the final half-hour).

[Sonic Youth]

(There's no thread for this?)

David Cronenberg's newest film just won the TIFF audience award. For the last dozen years, most of the films that won this award ended up being quite successful.

Toronto's recent track record:

2005-Tsotsi. Won Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
2004-Hotel Rwanda. Three major nominations.
2002-Whale Rider. Arthouse hit, surprise Best Actress nomination.
2001-Amelie. No Oscars, but a big international hit.
2000-Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Won several Oscars, became the first subtitled film to make over $100 million in U.S.
1999-American Beauty. Best Film Oscar winner, among other things.
1998-Life is Beautiful. Won two major Oscars and was a box office hit in the U.S.
1996-Shine. Arthouse hit, Best Actor Oscar.
1995-Antonia's line. Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner.

Naturally, nothing is consistent, and there are a few films that didn't receive a boost from Toronto, including last year's "Bella", whatever that was. But I can't see how this won't help "Eastern Promises" immeasurably. Both the film and Viggo Mortensen have been getting terrific notices.

Consider it a major Oscar contender for now.