Skip to main content

"Man on Fire" (2004) - why do I like a roman à clef

I have watched “Man on Fire” (2004) many times. If it is on or I see it available, I will watch it. I think I got some free movies on Vudu once and bought a copy (although I no longer have any idea how to get to that account). I really like this movie.

Denzel Washington is a large part of my enjoyment. In my opinion, he may be our greatest actor*. His portrayal of the tortured warrior, whose heart is broken by a child, and set on a path for vengeance is fantastic. I cry everytime they are reunited at the end. As for the rest of the cast - Dakota Fanning, Chris Walken, and Giancarlo Giannini are superb. The rest of them carry their parts well enough. Mexico City plays a very nice role. When you lay on Tony Scott’s directing + Paul Cameron cinematography + Christian Wagner editing + the sound design, you get a VERY tense and violent thriller. The music cues are really great.


While John Creasy (Denzel’s part) is a trope of story writing, in terms of a roman à clef, the Sanchez brothers (the kidnappers) are based on real people. I am struck that Hollywood can not write a character worse than human beings can produce. These two spent 2 years kidnapping at least 18 people in Mexico City, cutting off their ears, and collecting $40M USD in ransom. They have spent 25 years of their 40 year sentence in prison so far. I think Creasy’s behavior is a reasonable stand in for the approach that the Mexican Federal Police used to apprehend them. As a result, they may be resentenced soon due to the methods used.



*I wish he and Meryl Streep would do more work together.

Their performance in “The Manchurian Candidate” from the same year is the only one I can find. It is blah - and I blame Demme & the screenwriter for that. Like “Man on Fire”, they had an excellent cast, a book and an excellent original film to base it on. And with that, they produced a film which is decidedly lackluster. It is cool that Roger Corman did some acting in it though.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

They Live (1988)

 "They Live" (1988) is a movie I had never seen until last night when I went over to my sister's place. What a gem (my sister and this movie). Roddy Piper does some of his best work - which even for a Canadian is pretty dull. If, while watching it, you imagine that he never heard the director call 'action', then his performance makes total sense. Offsetting this is any scene where Keith David or Peter Jason are in. They are acting their butts of and are enthralling. (Just so you don't get confused - Peter Jason is neither Meatloaf nor Jason Sudekis' father ... You might think he is, but he isn't). The movie itself is a 94 minute indictment on Reagonmics, and gets plenty preachy. It would be under an hour of you cut out the establishing shots of people walking. But - THE REASON this movie needs to be seen - is a fight scene between Roddy and Keith. It goes on for 5+ minutes - you think it is over at least 3 times - it has all the beats of a professional...
Post a Comment
Read more

Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958) - it is a good deal better than the remakes

I got around to watching the original 1958 comedy caper film - the one that "Welcome to Collinwood" was pantomiming. "Big Deal on Madonna Street" is hilarious. It is 25 minutes longer than the remake and never once did I feel the need to check my watch. I even paused to go refill my water glass. There will be no problem telling who is who or how the story goes - it is well shot and characters are unique. The story is a simple and fun. Comparing the "BDoMS" and "WtC" - they are identical in terms of characters and scenes. "Big Deal on Madonna Street" street is terrific, and "WtC" is a slog. The biggest difference is seen in the dialog. In "Big Deal" the people just talk, like you might expect people to talk. They are funny, but not odd. The colloquialisms happen, but they aren't hard to see through. In "WtC", they are using a vernacular to make sure you are immersed deep in an Eastern European ethnic nei...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fences (2016)

Fences (2016) is nominally a story about being black in the United States of America in the 1950's. 'Troy' is a disaffected working man that never really had a chance. He is unable to make sense of an unfair world. Viola Davis doesn't get as much screen time (this is Denzel's movie), but when she is let on the scene, she destroys. 'Rose' is setting herself aside to make a life & family despite very little prospects for measurable happiness. Based on an August Wilson play - the magic of his writing is that at its root, this story is about people who set aside themselves for "existence". All people yearn for happiness on this world from their achievements (at least to achieve 'success' & 'happiness' relative to people around them). People want to proclaim they are in control of their situations. People want to be treated generously and with respect. People think that the world, society, economy, and people around them should a...
Post a Comment
Read more