SXSW Film - Chapter 2

A bit of work and the start of the music festival on Wednesday (more on that later) brought my viewing tally down, but I remain diligent.

Monday:

Manhattan, Kansas (B-) - Why people feel the urge to videotape their worst "I need therapy" moments continues to confound me, but I thought I'd stretch my boundaries a bit. Here we have a mid-20's woman returning to visit her mother in rural Kansas. Supposedly Mom is an undiagnosed mental monster, and our heroine is going back for... what exactly? To get revenge? Expose her personal traumas to the world? In any case, while her mother clearly lives an unconvential life (lots of leftover hippie vibes) and may not have been the best caretaker for a youngster, neither does she come across as destructive. If anything, the daughter's tendency to turn every conversation into a confrontation seemed like the source of much of their conflict. It's the type of family bickering that I would turn away from if witnessed in a restaurant, but I guess putting it up on screen lets us stare without embarrassment. Or less, anyway.

The OH in Ohio (B-) - Amusing but far too scattered tale of a woman (Posey) seeking her first genuine orgasm, first using mechanical assistance, and finally an actual man (DeVito, in an underwritten, straaaaaange role). High-pitched set pieces abound, and Posey throws herself into every moment, but in general the subplot with her now-ex-husband (Rudd) felt more satisfying, perhaps because he seemed to exist in reality, instead of Comedy! Land!

Tuesday:

Maxed Out (B+) - Doc about credit card debt, which thankfully moves quickly beyond the obvious points (uh, debt is bad) and looks more at the system that creates and sustains the situation (hint: for credit card companies, debt is good!). Still pretty one-sided, but then banks and credit card companies may not feel any need to defend themselves, or are too busy writing federal bankruptcy legislation. More affecting are the (sadly many) portraits of lives shattered by financial pressures, in most cases over sums that wouldn't even register on a billion-dollar bank's statements.

Wednesday:

V For Vendetta (B-) - You know it's a serious graphic novel film adaptation when the literary references and 50-cent words fly faster than the knives and bullets. I read the Alan Moore book years ago, and while he's certainly a wordy fellow, I suspect the Wachowski brothers may be more to blame for the film's more ponderous moments. Fortunately there's also plenty of over-the-top political statements (sigh, the government still can't be trusted) and slo-mo fight scenes for distraction. More thoughtful than the average action flick, perhaps, but I think Orwell's legacy is still safe.