Momma didn't raise no fool

The clip/movie I'm planning on showing today (my iMovie project) has no titles because I was unsure of what to put in them, so just to specify, I would say my movie is really all about subject-to-subject transitions. A lot of my movies turn out this way because most of the stuff I make stars me because I'm a terrible, terrible director and have absolutely no patience whatsoever. When I do use actors they end up alienated and morose, the poor little dears. But, if you want to make a cake, you've gotta break a couple of eggs, am I right? See, its this kind of gestapo mentality that has kept me from getting caught up in the sticky, unpleasant business of having to accomplish things.

So yes, the things I feel that are strong in this movie are the subject to subject transitions. I also enjoy using experimental lighting and shot compositions. Most of my scenes are close ups, because the action (and actions) that are going on are minimal, and close ups enhance the drama of the moment.

When the Levees Broke

The show in the Brant gallery at first looks pretty sparse; there are posters around the walls, some of which I liked but mostly they were a little heavily laid out for me. That is to say, I liked the more subtle ones, the kid with the eagle on his shoulders, the divide symbol with the word "racism" on it. Although there's probably a whole science in poster making that I just don't know about about conveying a basic message in a finite amount of time, so, maybe the more heavy handed ones have their place as well.

Also, in the room they have When the Levees Broke, Spike Lee's new documentary about Hurricane Katrina and what the breach in the levees did to New Orleans. They have the director commentary one as well, which is cool. I think this documentary just came out straight to Criterion, which is cool because that means it will stay as visually appealing as it was meant to be. The footage of the devastation is always harrowing to watch, but to see it this way, and not just on crappy video phone-style news footage, is shocking. The foot-high water and totaled houses and property are unlike anything I've ever seen before.

I dunno, just funny lookin

In my infinite wisdom, the movieI have chosen to research is Fargo, a murder drama that takes place in Fargo, North Dakota. It was wrtten and directed in 1996 by the Coen Brothers, Ethan and Joel, critically-acclaimed directors of Millers Crossing, Blood Simple and The Big Lebowski. "Blood Simple", the brothers' first movie which they both wrote and directed, debuted in 1984 and was met with a fair amount of critical acclaim, enabling the brothers to begin establishing a name for themselves. The Coen brothers are somewhat known for creating glacial pace in their movies, which can be seen easily in Blood Simple, Millers Crossing and Fargo, to name a few; these are films that all start off at a crawl and then pick up substantially. Fargo is no different. The plot kicks off with a car salesman, Jerry Lundegaard, who arranges to have his wife kidnapped by two thugs in order to get ransom money from his father in law. The deal goes wrong when the thugs, Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud kill a police officer and two civilians on their way out of town. This is what alerts the local police, headed by Margie Gunderson (Frances McDormand) to their goings ons. Eventually, Carl shoots the senior Lundegaard and takes all the ransom money, only to be killed by his accomplice Gaear. By the time Margie catches up to them, Gaear is systematically shoving Showalter's body into a woodchipper. He is shot and, along with Jerry Lundegaared, apprehended. The movie ends with Margie returning home to her loving husband and ordinary life.

In terms of visuals, Fargo is very sincerely a Coen brothers movie. It is very visual, taking advantage of the cold North Dakota winters and showing broad expanses of frozen land. The interiors of the houses are impressive as well, always made to look homey and lived in, full of trinkets and junk. Color doesn't always play a huge part in Coen movies, and in this one the color is fairly muted due to the overbearing white of the snow. However, there are some scenes that take place in Carl and Gaear's car at night when the red light of a car's tail lights heighten the sick feeling of tension.

The thing I really love about this movie is the dialogue. Every character has a completely different and unique way of speaking, not so much in accent but in tone and word choice. You could probably tell which character was speaking in the script without names, the style is so specific to the character. Every conversation any characters have are carefully choreographed to be meaningful without being exhaustingly so; you get the sense that every moment of dialogue is important without feeling like you're having too much information forced upon you. Not everything can be about exposition without seeming too earnest, but in Fargo, moments of casual exchanges have been woven in throughout plot advancement, making the plot line fuller and easier to navigate. Plot development and tempo in Coen films typically follow a similar arc; the movies start of slowly, the scenes building in momentum until several scenes and exposition happen all at once. Fargo follows this same template, ending with another, smaller slow arc that wraps things up quietly. Miller's Crossing was like that as well, or at least I assume. I didn't make it all the way through that one, I had to take a breather from which I have yet to recover.

(Fargo, beginning of chapter 28 up until arrest of Jerry in Bismark)
The scene I presented is actually very sparse. There are four different shots and angles total, three of which are close ups of Margie and Gaear. Usually the close up stays on Margie, who is the only character with lines in this particular scene, as she talks but when she says "There's more to life than a little money, you know" the camera holds on Gaear's expressionless face, further illustrating his lack of conscience and emotion. When the shot cuts back to Margie and she says "Don't you know that?" we see a little bit of what might seem like naievety but I think is really just Margie's firm belief that people are basically good. The fact that she is a police officer and still holds this belief makes her more of a heroic character, and in the scheme of what has unfolded in this movie, the fact that Margie can remain so morally clean (in belief, not necessarily in deed-she is, after all, a pregnant cop, making her an already "clean" and "good character), is remarkable. She remains unjaded, even after seeing a man go through a woodchipper. I think this also echos the mindset of the North Dakota town that the Coen bros' were trying to exemplify--the almost amnesiac attitude that allows them to live their small lives happily. That is not to say that these lives have less merit or are less worthy of note. Its something that police have to adopt, otherwise they are controlled by their jobs and having seen too much, I believe.

Its a short scene, so most scene transitions are action-to-action or even moment-to-moment, because there's not a whole heck of a lot of action taking place. However, I feel this is the peaking moment of intensity in the movie; others might feel it is the moment when Margie discovers Gaear and the woodchipper, and that moment is definitely the culmination of the main plot action in the film. Its the scene after, however, with Margie and Gaear in the car, in which so much is revealed about both characters and the scope of his and her reactions as a whole, and I honestly can't take my eyes off the screen as Margie reprimands this brutal murderer as if he were a small child.

Absence!

(Lyssa, I can't seem to figure out your email address, so I'm posting this here in the hopes that you will see it.)

Hi Lyssa, I'm sorry I couldn't be in class today, I had a little family emergency and had to miss class. I was wondering what the homework was for next week, and if there are any hand outs I need, when would be a good time for me to pick them up?

Also, due to this same emergency, the computer I have my project on got left in Natick and the earliest I could hand my project in would be this friday. I understand that it will be marked as late, I was just hoping that maybe I could get some credit on it as I have put work in to it. I understand, however, if you decide not to accept it.

- Zoe Hyde (zchyde@yahoo.com)