A View from the Queue #2: Hairdressers, Gadflies, and Love Dolls

Sometimes there are patterns that occur at random but are only recognized when you have the chance to look back over the recent past.  By sheer chance, the Netflix queue last week delivered up three movies with a shared theme. This was pure serendipity, but I found it odd that all of these movies dealt with characters on the fringes of society.

The first movie was Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands (1990), which when boiled down to its basic parts is a modern day remake of the classic Frankenstein movie (1931), but with a pastel, suburban twist.  I am not sure how I missed this film when it was released, but I found it to be quite wonderful.  The visual contrasts are stunning and the movie itself is quite charming. And, how can you not love a boy with a heart made from a cookie, who also can trim the hedges and style your hair? I mean really...nothing by delicious sweetness there. (Rating: 3 cookies out of 5)

The next movie was Capote (2005) which earned Phillip Seymour Hoffman an Oscar. I am torn on this film.  The cinematography reminded me a little of Mad Men (one of my favorites), but that may have been all the skinny ties and smoke filled rooms. The acting was outstanding.  Hoffman fully embodied the 5'2" mincing, high-pitched lisp, and professional party guest / gadfly that Truman Capote became following the publication of Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) and the movie of the same name (1961). My only memories of the actual Truman Capote was from his talk show circuit appearances in the late 1970's in which he retold, quite humorously I might add, numerous stories about classic Hollywood stars. I appreciated the technicality and the acting, but I was unable to connect with any of the main characters due to their lack of moral clarity. The movie itself left me feeling as if the main characters sold their souls for immediate fame at the expense of longevity and continued literary production. Capote achieved lasting fame for the book he wrote as chronicled in this movie, but it was his last complete work. (Rating: 3.5 lisped S's out of 5)

The biggest surprise of the week was Lars and the Real Girl (2007). This is an outstanding independent film that could have easily devolved into a one joke movie: however, the characters, directing, and writing allowed for the story to expand beyond the comedic bounds in which it could have become mired.  The basic story line is about a functionally autistic man who orders a Real Doll off the internet and proceeds to introduce her to his family, coworkers, and the citizens of his very small upper mid-western town as his girlfriend. Coincidentally, this movie also stars Ryan Gossling in another quirky, touching role.  I think this guy is soon to be my favorite young actor.  He is outstanding in this movie as the "village idiot," but what makes the movie so touching is that the village goes along with his delusion because he is THEIR idiot. Needless to say, the tears were flowing by the end of the movie, but they were tears of the happy, cleansing type. This is, without a doubt, my recommendation of the week. (Rating: 4 tacky sweaters out of 5)