#pryce is. a very interesting character and also a very frustrating one to discuss.
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cutter was born in the 20s, and he'd become "arthur keller" by the early 70s, so obviously pryce's story at the beginning of brave new world can't be taken literally - that's not even an old man, much less "older than anyone she had ever met." it's also inarguable she was an adult already working on her... ideas for the human body when cutter sought her out; "i want you to make a doll for me" and "i found people who had some very bold ideas about how to... tune up the human body [...] i funded their work, and provided them with a willing test subject" are pretty definitely referring to the same events. so, it's fairy tale language, but the question is: why? why frame it this way?
one part of it is the "fountain of youth" in connection to immortality, strength, and health. the implication isn't literally that cutter is very old and pryce is very young; it's that she represents this power, and that he wants her to bestow it upon him: "then you and i will fix the world. i will be young and you will be whole." cutter and pryce choose to look eternally 28, while referring to and conducting themselves as if they're very old: it's not just vanity, it's part of their self-mythology. simultaneously young and old, having overcome the natural order.
that mythology of "overcoming" natural limitations is especially significant for pryce: characterizing herself as a "little girl" within her own story is both self-victimizing and self-aggrandizing. pryce does not see herself as disabled so much as temporarily inconvenienced; even the usual limitations of the human body are something she hopes to transcend. "instead of being wretched or afraid, the little girl decided to be clever." she was put at a disadvantage, but overcame it all by herself because she was smarter and better than other people. by extension, anyone who can't do what she did just isn't good enough, even as she's closing doors behind her and making it harder for others like her. and at the same time: it's an underdog story that requires her to have been an underdog. she hasn't been in a very, very long time, but the power she holds over others remains justified in her self-perception by this image of a sick little girl who was hurt by the world. there's an implication of inherent worthiness, and even a sort of expected assumed innocence in characterizing it that way. the first thing people notice about pryce is her eyes, and... sure, maybe it's the technology, but if cutter can catch bullets without any visible signs, it seems likely to me that, like her age, this is at least in part an aesthetic choice. it intimidates people. she's turned this point of hurt and vulnerability into a power play, and remains attached to it.
and that's the other part of the mythologizing that's going on: presumably, pryce was not the only person who worked on all of this. cutter funded others. but the story retroactively simplifies it, in a childish fairy tale way, and paints an image of them as exceptional, uniquely capable and so uniquely deserving, people.
i think there's something interesting to consider here about pryce in contrast to hera: that pryce is a woman who self-justifies her cruelty via a mythologized girlhood, while hera is a woman who was never a girl, who was never considered innocent or even allowed the same recognition of the ways she's been a victim. pryce resents humanity and all it represents, resents her body and its limitations, feels that being human has only caused her suffering, but still clearly believes that she has more of a claim to humanity than hera does by nature of her biology and upbringing. pryce's "bootstraps" attitude re: disability and her own self-victimization are the crucial things here, but i think that is also particularly interesting if you read hera as a trans woman.
(incidentally, this is part of why i have a particular love for hera designs where she's just a regular woman, more angular, and maybe even older looking - a natural 30-something in contrast to an unnaturally maintained 28 - than pryce. they're both women who have chosen how they want to look, and it highlights something.)
#wolf 359#w359#do you get what i'm saying. i think she would hate to have this pointed out in this way and would consider it ridiculous#but that history is necessary to sell her success story.#lots of rich and powerful people do this. everybody wants to think of themself as the underdog who Overcame It All.#pryce is. a very interesting character and also a very frustrating one to discuss.#anyway. i see people taking her story very literally sometimes and it kinda drives me up the wall.#no cutter did not meet her as a literal child. in a way you're falling for their propaganda.#also considering everything else about pryce doesn't it make you kinda wonder what she means by Fixing the orphanage she grew up in
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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND April 5, 2019 Â - SHAZAM, PET SEMATARY, THE BEST OF ENEMIES, PETERLOO
Sadly, this is yet another weekend where I wasnât able to see two of the three new movies, but thatâs because Iâm in Las Vegas covering CinemaConfor The Beat, but I do want to write a little more about a movie coming out this weekend that I want to put a little added focus on. Back in the day, I used to include a âChosen Oneâ in each weekâs column, and Iâm getting to the point where Iâd like to try to do something like that again⌠and so, after the jump, you will get my review of one such film.
That movie is PETERLOO (Amazon), the new movie from director Mike Leigh, an eight-time Oscar nominee whose work has garnered him much respect and whose work Iâve especially enjoyed, particularly Vera Drake and Happy-Go-Lucky. The first of these is significant because itâs one of Leighâs rare historic pieces but his last movie Mr. Turner went one further by telling the story of a real person, in that case, painter J.M.W. Turner, as played by Tim Spall.
Peterloo is somewhat of a departure for Mr. Leigh, since it isnât focused on a small group of two to four characters, instead telling a massively complex storyline about a peaceful rally in Manchester that was racked by violence when politicians decided to disperse the crowd.
I have to admit that as Peterloo began on the battlefield of Waterloo, I wasnât sure to expect, thinking it might be Leighâs attempt at a war film, but the story follows a young bugler, Joseph, whom we see on the battlefield before he returns home to Manchester with a case of PTSD.  His family, and in fact, the whole town, is suffering from poverty and hunger, and thereâs a growing desire to be represented in the Parliament in London so that things might improve. The cityâs grew white hope is one Henry Hunt, played by Rory Kinnear, and heâs going to travel up to Manchester to talk to the people who will presumably vote for him.
Once it gets going, Peterloo is such a fascinating film. Iâm really curious to see how Americans will react to it, because while itâs just as typically British as Leighâs previous work, itâs a movie thatâs more about British history and British politics, and Iâm just not sure if thatâs the sort of thing that will connect with Americans.
I can completely understand why some might be frustrated with Leighâs latest, because it is very long, it does take some time to get going, and a lot of time you might not know exactly what is going on or what is being discussed. Â I certainly wasnât exactly sure what was going on or who some of the characters were as they flew through the vast ensemble cast moving from one character and location to another. Eventually, you get used to this pace and start seeing familiar faces that makes things much clearer. Â Leigh also uses this tactic to create layers that build and build to the climactic last half hour of the film where violence disrupts an otherwise peaceful day. Itâs quite the counterpoint to the war scene that opens the film, but donât worry. Joseph doesnât get lost in the shuffle, as you might suspect, because it really follows his journey despite often focusing on others.
One of the things I especially liked about Leighâs latest is that while it does often get somber and serious, thereâs still a wit to it, especially in the way it deals with the stupidity of the politicians and magistrates who seem to have little care for the people theyâre supposed to be representing.
Oddly, two days after seeing Peterloo, I saw the Broadway musical Hamilton, a historical piece that takes place in America earlier than the events of Leighâs film, but it offered a similar resonance to me, even though it did so with musical numbers rather than talking.
Leighâs screenplay is another masterpiece, but I was equally impressed by the casting of such a large ensemble, many with British actors whom few on these shores will have ever seen or heard of. Iâm really curious to know where he found them, because heâs become so known for working with the same small group of actors over the years, and almost everyone in this movie is new to the Leigh camp.
Personally, I think this is Leighâs best film in many, many years, possibly on par with some of his best work even though I know it deals with a far more difficult (and localized) subject. Regardless, itâs also a film I will gladly see a second time just to catch some of the nuances I may have missed the first time around.
Rating: 8.5/10
Now, back to your regularly scheduled preview columnâŚ
As far as the wide releases, Iâve only seen one of them and that was SHAZAM! (New Line/WB), the latest DC Comics character to be brought to the big screen, in this case by Swedish filmmaker David F. Sandberg (Lights Out). I already reviewedthe movie for The Beat, so I donât have much more to say about it (other than my Box Office Preview, which is ALSO at The Beat), but I did enjoy this quite a bit, maybe not as much as Aquaman but definitely as much as Wonder Woman. Itâs a good movie that shows you can do something different with supereheroes and still make a movie work on its own merits (rather than connecting to future movies)
The other movie Iâm really looking forward to seeing (when I get back from Vegas) is the new version of Stephen Kingâs PET SEMATARY (Paramount), directed by Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer, who found some fans in the horror crowd with their earlier film Starry Eyes. Â I guess the cast could be more interesting, although I do love John Lithgow and Amy Seimetz has been a favorite of mine from the indie work sheâs done. And I donât hate Jason Clarke either, although some of his choices in films (other than last yearâs Chappaquidick, in which he was great) sometimes leaves me scratching my head.
Robin Bissellâs THE BEST OF ENEMIES (STXfilms) is a civil rights drama that one would normally see during Oscar season, since it stars Oscar winner Sam Rockwell and nominee Taraji P. Henson. This story is interesting to me as someone who loved last yearâs Green Book, mainly because there are stories like this (and that) from the â60s that deserve to be told. Unfortunately, Iâm missing this due to CinemaCon as well, so hopefully Iâll have a chance to see it when Iâm back in New York.
LIMITED RELEASES
Besides Peterloo, reviewed above, thereâs a few other films I recommend seeking out, and hopefully the first three of these will expand into other places than big cities after this weekend:
Correction: Oops!! It looks like I missed the fact that Teen Spirit will not open in select cities until April 12, so Iâll rerun my write-up on it next week
Seemingly a lost project/movie, the late filmmaker Sydney Pollack was commissioned by Warner Bros. Records to capture a concert by Aretha Franklin singing gospel songs for a movie, but it was shelved due to technical difficulties. More than 45 years later, that concert is presented in AMAZING GRACE (NEON), and if there ever was any doubt in your mind about what an amazing singer Franklin was, this movie will certainly change that. It opens in select cities.
Opening in New York, L.A. and other cities is Emma Tammiâs Western werewolf movie THE WIND (IFC Midnight), which played at TIFF and Fantastic Fest last year and the more-recent What the Fest in New York. It stars Caitlin Gerard from Insidious: The Last Key as a rugged woman who has moved into a cabin on the American frontier in the early 19thCentury, where she immediately starts feeling as if thereâs a sinister presence, possibly tied to the only other couple who lives out there. Her husband (Ashley Zukerman) doesnât believe her.  If you like Westerns and want to see one with a dominant female presence (both in front and behind the camera) then youâll want to check this out.
I guess this is as good a place as any to mention that one of my favorite filmmaker Terry Gilliamâs new movie The Man Who Killed Don Quixote will be available to see nationwide on Tuesday via Fathom Events. The movie, starring Adam Driver, Jonathan Pryce and a number of amazing European actors who I was unfamiliar with, is one that Gilliam has been trying to make for over 20 years and no surprise, it harks back to his great films like The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and The Fisher King, which came out during the filmmakerâs heyday. Iâm just so happy Gilliam was finally able to make this movie, and it actually turned out quite well.. maybe a little weird for some tastes, but not too weird for lifelong Gilliam fans like myself.Â
Hilary Duff stars in the title role of Daniel Ferrandsâ THE HAUNTING OF SHARON TATE (Saban Films) about the murder of the 26-year-old actress who was pregnant with Roman Polanskiâs baby when she was murdered by Charles Manson and his cult.It opens in theaters and will be available On Demand starting Friday.
Jordan Downeyâs The Head Hunter (Vertical) involves a medieval warrior who is protecting the kingdom from monsters, collecting their heads as he slays them. The one monster he hasnât killed yet is the one that killed his daughter, so he travels on horseback to try to get revenge. It opens in select cities and On Demand.
Jai Courtney stars in Shawn Seetâs adaptation of Colin Thieleâs Storm Boy (Good Deed Entertainment), an Australian drama in which the retired businessman Michael Kingley reflects back on his past life. Some of these memories including a story about how as a boy, he rescued an orphaned pelican and named it Mr. Percival.
Filmmaker Emilio Estevezâs latest film, the political drama The Public (Greenwich), will also open Friday after playing TIFF and a few other festivals. It stars Alec Baldwin with Estevez, Jena Malone, Taylor Schilling, Christian Slater, Gabrielle Union, Michael K. Williams and Jeffrey Wright, and with a cast like that, do you really need to know what the movie is about? Okay, fine. It takes place in a public library in Cincinnati where a number of homeless patrons take it over during an Arctic blast, seeking shelter from the cold but also staging an act of civil disobedience, in the process.
Showing FREE OF CHARGE at New Yorkâs Film Forum (as part of their annual Free Movie Week) starting Wednesday is Cam Christiansenâs animated doc Wall, which looks at the decision by Israel to build the 435-mile long wall to separate the Palestinian West Bank from the rest of Israel. Building that $4 billion wall meant the confiscation of 4,000 acres of Palestinian land and the destruction of 1,000 treesâŚand that area is still in disarray. So yeah⌠building walls is a bad idea.
Stephanie Wang-Brealâs documentary Blowinâ Up (Once in a Blue) deals with the first-ever court created to deal with prostitution in Queens, New York, the Queens Human Intervention Trafficking Court led by the Honorable Toko Serita. The purpose is to help deal with the women and girls arrested for prostitution who are illegal Asian immigrants or are black, Latina or trans, so they get shuffled through the system without it ever dealing with the complex reasons why they turn to prostitution. The doc opens at the Quad in New York Friday and then in L.A. on April 12.
Opening at the Metrograph in New York City is Qiu Shengâs feature debut Suburban Birds (Cinema Guild) involving two narrative strands, one involving land surveyors who are laying subway tracks, the other involving pre-adolescents who rove the streets of the town unsupervised. It soundsâŚum⌠interesting?
Josh Stewart from Criminal Minds writes, directs and stars in Back Fork (Uncorkâd) as family man Waylon who is struggling to keep his life together after tragedy, becoming more dependent on pills. Also starring Agnes Bruckner, the film will open in select cities and be available On Demand starting April 9.
LOCAL FESTIVALS
First up, on Tuesday began the 11th Annual ReelAbilities Film Festival at the JCC Manhattan, celebrating those who have fought past what would normally be considered âdisabilitiesâ to greatness. It kicked off with the Opening Night Gala and Screening of Irene Taylor Brodskyâs Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements, a documentary about a boy with genetic deafness who grew up with cochlear implants whose grandfather is adverse against using such technology in his old age. The festival runs through April 9 where the Closing Night film is Nick Kellyâs The Drummer and the Keeper about a drummer dealing with a bipolar diagnosis. In between is a full line-up of narratives and documentaries exploring different disabilities from blindness to mental disorders, and itâs quite an amazing array of films, many which might not ever get distribution, sadly. Screenings take place all over the city including Bellevue Hospital, Lincoln Center and the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens.
Although the 22nd Annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival takes place in Durham, North Carolina â home of Duke University -- starting Thursday, I do have a love for the documentary genre that makes me want to mention the amazing programming, which will include a thematic program called âSome Other Lives of Time,â curated by Oscar nominee RaMell Ross (Hale County This Morning, This Evening). Steven Bognar and Julia Reichertâs American Factory is the opening night film while the Aretha Franklin concert doc Amazing Grace (released this weekend in other cities) closes this yearâs festival. Thereâs an amazing line-up of docs in between, some that have played other festivals like David Modiglianiâs Running with Beto  and Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, and others that are premiering at Full Frame. American Factory  directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert are getting a tribute with all of their earlier features and shorts shown, as well as their new film about a General Motors plant in Dayton, Ohio that closed, forcing 2,500 people into unemployment. This is a festival Iâve wanted to attend for so long and I do have friends in the Durham area that would make this worth a visit, but itâs only four days from Thursday through Sunday, so canât do it this year.
Also, the Havana Film Festival New York begins at the Museum of the Moving Image on Sunday.
STREAMING AND CABLE
This weekâs big Netflix release is Brie Larsonâs directorial debut UNICORN STORE, in which she plays a 20-something artist named Kit, who is kicked out of art school, forcing her to move back home with her parents. Just as Kit decides to finally grow up, a salesman, played by Larsonâs Captain Marvel co-star Samuel L. Jackson, shows up to offer Kit her heartâs desire. Based on a script by Samantha McIntyre, the film also stars Joan Cusack as Kitâs mother.
Netflix also has a number of new series starting on Friday including Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (from Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa) and the eight-part nature series Our Planet, narrated by Sir David Attenborough.
I didnât go to Sundance so I havenât had a chance to see Rashid Johnsonâs Native Son, starring Margaret Qualley, Nick Robinson, Kiki Layne, Ashton Sanders, Sanaa Lathan and Elizabeth Marvel, but that will premiere on HBO this Saturday night.
REPERTORY
METROGRAPH (NYC):
On Friday, Metrograph will open a restoration of King Huâs little-seen 1973 martial arts film The Fate of Lee Khan (Film Movement Classics) but the real winner this weekend is the Playtime: Family Matinees screenings of one of my childhood faves, Ken Hughesâ Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), starring Dick Van Dyke. Late Nites at Metrograph will show Sion Sonoâs 2016 film Anti-Porno, which I may have seen before or maybe I just saw the trailer at Metrograph when it screened there a couple years back. I canât remember! Also, the Total Kaurismäki Show continues through the weekend with Leningrad Cowboys Go America  (1989) on Thursday, more esoteric films like Juha  (1999) and Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatiana  (1994) on Saturday, Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses (1994) on Sunday and then his recent The Other Side of Hopeon Monday. That series continues through next Wednesday. Thursday also continues the Academy at Metrograph series with a screening of the 1959 rom-com Pillow Talk.
THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):
Weds and Thursday are double features of  Jack Nicholsonâs 1971 film Drive, He Said  with the 1972 John Wayne movie The Cowboys. Friday and Saturday, the New Bev does a sci-double feature of Silent Running  (1972) and The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (1971). This weekendâs KIDDEE MATINEE is Tom Hanks and Joe Danteâs The Burbs (1989), the Friday midnight screening is Tarantinoâs The Hateful Eight (Multiplex version) while the Saturday night midnight offering is John Landisâ 1978 comedy classic Animal House. A 4-track mag print (whatever that is) of Carl Foremanâs war movie The Victors (1963) will screen on Sunday and Monday. Paul Thomas Andersonâs Magnolia (1999) will also screen on Monday afternoon.
FILM FORUM (NYC):
Besides debuting an uncut (220 mins. With intermission) version of Franesco Rosiâs 1979 epic Christ Stopped at Eboli (Rialto Pictures), the Film Forum is screening the 1968 war film Where Eagles Dare introduced by British author Geoff Dyer (who wrote a book about the movie) on Saturday, and then John Boormanâs 1967 film Point Blank on Sunday, also introduced by Dyer.
EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):
Noir City: Hollywood â The 21stAnnual Los Angeles Festival of Film Noir continues through the weekend with chronological double features of 1955 films The Big Combo and Bad Day at Black Rock on Weds, the 1956 films A Kiss Before Dying and The Harder They Fall on Thurs, and then 1957â˛s The Midnight Story and Monkey on my Back Friday, Clara Bowâs Call Her Savage from 1932 with a Forbidden Hollywood presentation on Saturday, along with Orson Wellesâ Touch of Evil and Louis Malleâs Elevator to the Gallows, both from 1958. The series ends on Sunday with I Want to Live (1958) and Cry Tough (1959).Â
AERO Â (LA):
I wish I lived in L.A. right now because the Aero is launching a Mike Leigh retrospective called âBleak, But Never Boring: Life According to Mike Leighâ starting Friday with a double feature of Naked  (1993)and Meantime (1984), Saturday is Secrets & Lies  (1996)and Vera Drake (2004), then Sunday is Life is Sweet  (1990)and High Hopes (1988).  On Thursday, the Aero is ALSO showing Animal House⌠but with guests!
BAM CINEMATEKÂ (NYC):
Strange Desire: The Films of Claire Deniscontinues through the weekend with Bastards and The Breidjing Camp on Thursday, Towards Mathilde (2005) with the 2002 short Vers Nancy and US Go Home (1994) & the doc Claire Denis, The Vagabondon Saturday. Denisâ fairly recent film Let the Sunshine Inwill screen again on Sunday, as will Denisâ 1994 film I Canât Sleep.
MOMA (NYC):
Modern Matinees: B is for Bacall continues with 1966âs Harper Weds, Womanâs World  (1954) Thursday and Robert Altmanâs Pret-A-Porter (Ready to Wear) (1994) on Friday.
MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):
Besides taking apart in a few film festivals mentioned above, MOMI will also screen Antonio Tibaldiâs On My Own (1991) with Tibaldi in person.
QUAD CINEMA Â (NYC):
Bertrand Blierâs Get Out Your HandkerchiefscontinuesâŚ
LANDMARK THEATRES NUART Â (LA):
Fridayâs midnight screening is the anime classic Akira.
The IFC CENTER in New York seems to be in-between repertory programs, while FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER is still focused on New Directors/New Films through Sunday.
Next week, Lionsgate revives Mike Mignolaâs Hellboy, this time played by David Harbour, Tina Gordonâs comedy Littlestarring Regina Hall and Issa Rae, and LAIKA Studios returns with their latest stop-motion animated film Missing Link.
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