Formal Film Studies #2 - Joseph Gordon-Levitt

When we think of the great actors/actresses of our time period, many people wouldn’t put Joseph Gordon-Levitt in that category.  To be honest, I didn’t think I would’ve either, but the more I see him work the more I appreciate his talent, and I think it starts with the direction the industry is going.  I guess my interest in him was sparked while watching (500) Days of Summer with my sister.  So I figured I'd do my formal film study on him as I was getting bored of the director theme and wanted to do something different.

Having already seen The Dark Night Rises, and Inception I decided to watch Brick, Looper and Premium Rush - 3 very different films that show a very versatile Gordon-Levitt.  And the thing is, all 3 of these films received very different reception.  Brick: a very indie, neo-noir, heavy auteur commentary style movie received an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and is now often viewed as a modern day cult classic.  Premium Rush received a 76% but audience gave it a mere 62% and from what I had heard before watching was that it was a waste of time, dry plot, and had a weird theme of bikes that a lot of people felt was lame.  Looper is the widely appreciated sci-fi thriller action film that everyone seemed to like with a ton of violence and of course featuring the original killing machine himself, Bruce Willis. It received a whopping 93% and audience reception was right up there with it.

The thing is, there's much more than meets the eye when it comes to Levitt... Once a child prodigy, he starred in Beethoven and Angel's in the Outfield and even voiced a character in Treasure Island.  And while that's all great and wonderful, Levitt did what not many child prodigy's can do: last.  Not just last, but develop into someone versatile, unlike the Olsen twins or Lindsey Lohan or Shiaf Labouf, he's been able to transform his career.

That same versatility has made him so successful and in fact one of the most sought out actors in the business.  Just recently it was announced that a film, Don Jon, was going to be released this coming October, directed by Levitt, in which he also plays the main character.  The point is, this guy is mad talented and always brings something new to the table.

Finally, now that I covered all that other boring background stuff I can really get down to what really matters... how he feels on screen.  It's not to say that Levitt is a method actor, because in reality no one is these days, except Daniel Day-Lewis, and maybe the late deceased Heath Ledger, maybe.  But there's parts of what Levitt does on screen that seem so genuine and so real that I can believe he's the real actor.  For starters, Levitt tries to do as much of the film as he possibly can, or is physically allowed to.  In Premium Rush, he suffered 30 stitches in training for that movie, and was actually fit enough to do all that riding.  Granted the studio wouldn't let him do everything, but he told vanity fair, “I had to be able to do it all day, every day. I didn’t want the film crew waiting for me to catch my breath.” and there's something to be said about that intensity that resonates through the film.

That same intensity shines bright in Looper and even stronger in Brick as these films challenge the bounds of society and definitely bring neo-noir and auteur commentary styles into play.  I found it interesting that in both films, Rian Johnson was the director and called on Levitt to handle the load of these very complex protagonists.  Also, oddly enough Noah Segan stars in both films and I think this is just a testament to how those around Levitt perform better and trust that he will provide an interesting performance.

In the end, the thing that makes Joseph Gordon-Levitt such a good actor in my opinion is that he knows what he's good at but always tries to push the limits.  In Brick, he plays a teenage boy caught up in this whole underground drug scene, in Looper he plays a trained assassin, in Premium Rush he plays a mail carrier, in Inception he plays a genius on a team with Leonardo DiCaprio.  These are all different roles and yet they all feel so natural and almost charming in their own respects.  And even though I only briefly explained the movies, I can assure you that Levitt steals the show in all 3.

MYST Post #4: Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob

To be honest, I don't really know what possessed me to watch this film, and maybe that's what made my experience so much better.  I have never particularly been interested in foreign films, and in broader terms I haven't really branched out into the indie scene either, but as I've gotten older my tastes have widened and I can appreciate the different cultures and their artistic values.

Okay, I'm kidding I know exactly why I watched this movie - I was forced to... As part of this diversifying of curriculum we have in our wonderful district 86 classes, my french teacher decided to show us famous and in many cases, very controversial films just east of the Atlantic.  And as it turns out, this film doesn't shy away from it's fair share of satirical commentary.

Being of french diccent, as well as a having taken french for more years than I can count on 2 hands, I consider myself very much a local frenchman and figured this movie was worth a watch in french with no subtitles, and in an environment I could actually focus in and not do other homework during class, my basement.

So as I watched on, I noticed 2 main things.  The first being that this movie is actually funny as hell, and the second being that the acting in foreign films, no matter how big the budget, looks much more natural than in their American counterparts... Let me explain.  As I watched on, I saw how you could really get the Autour feel, and even the actors didn't seem to be acting, just doing.  I don't know if I'm preaching to deaf ears, and I guess the fact that I don't know how to back this up makes me look absurd, but even in the movie "Breathless" I could get the feel of the "cool" french culture.  I imagine an American rendition of the film looking forced and awkward but I guess that's why there isn't one.

Back to the movie, which basically follows the transformation of a racist factory owner, Victor Pivert, and the crazy events that change him into a man who is loving of all cultures.  One of my favorite scenes includes Pivert walking into an abandon factory and falling into a giant tub of gum extract.  The scene basically follows slapstick elements and eventually culminates with him crudely insulting the Muslim assassins.

In the end, I wish I knew more about the actors and the director to be able to see just how this movie ranks in comparison to other french films, but I think Gerard Oury did a fantastic job.  The thing that makes this film so successful in my mind is that it doesn't do anything spectacular in cinematography it's just a comedy with a funny commentary on the problems with racism in our society.  IMDb gave it a 7.2 and in my opinion it deserves an 8.0 - definitely worth watching, and an entertaining enough movie to really get you hooked on foreign films.