Oh, you mean you'll talk to me directly? Then thank you. All is forgiven.Italiano wrote
My God ... Well I am replying directly to you now, so you can't complain...
Okay, I'll bite. First of all, my statement is NOT a compliment. At best, it's damning with faint praise. At worst, it's a pejorative. I seriously doubt that you would only accuse the likes of Eric Rohmer of not making films of storytelling because that would imply that 1) at worst he doesn't really know how to tell a story, or 2) at best storytelling a la Rohmer is a series of moments strung together and that is their meaning? If you took my statement to mean the latter, then no, that is not what I meant.Italiano wrote
I know that you didn't LOVE the movie like flipp, dws and others did. But let's face it, you liked it - you liked the first half especially, you liked the two actors (!), and again, though now you may not agree with yourself anymore, you called it "a film of gestures not storytelling" which in my opinion is a very strong compliment (I'd say that about Eric Rohmer's best films).
Second, what's a gesture? "a movement of part of the body, especially a hand or the head, to express an idea or meaning." My statement comes from a place of honestly trying to understand what Bradley Cooper is doing with this film because even though it is a vanity project I found it more of a frustrating one than an empty one. Despite the presence of other writers, clearly Bradley Cooper is the author of this film. This film clearly started from a place of ideas -- or rather "showing." Some of them are rooted in modern demystification, like wanting to "show" alcoholism on-screen as a disease so it's framed as treatment, not rehab. Some of them are rooted in slightly facile "Purple State" platitudes, like wanting to "show" Jackson being totally comfortable in the drag club. But the most frustrating create erratic storytelling rhythm. Like wanting to "show" Jackson just wanting Ally to be her true authentic self because that's "so important in today's moment"* and yet the way that he does that is by having her sing his song and end in a flashback together. Taken individually, these are nice moments, and yes, gestures. But strung together, not only is it not a story but they undermine each other. But at best, like Ally covering her face on stage in the stadium, they stay with you individually. But that's not writing or storytelling.
But let's be honest. Really, you're just laughing at my word choice, so cheers to time wasted.