The MacGuffin

Trying to discover the logic behind what I decide to watch on any given day is an exercise in futility. I watch some things because the writer, director, DP and/or actor(s) interest me. I watch some things that my movie snob friends would refer to as “embarrassing” and insist I stop talking about. I watch some things because I think the story will be neat. I watch some things because my sister tells me to and eventually I’ll watch it just to shut her up. You may think my taste in film and television is asinine; I think it’s eclectic.

Another MacGuffin Film Podcast Top 5′s segment. This time Brandi and Allen share their top 5 underrated actors and actresses.

It saddens me that the prevalent thought is that Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006) was a disappointing follow-up to her career-making Lost in Translation (2003). In box office terms, yes, it very much underperformed. And it didn’t storm the awards season as Translation did. But this is a film that is worth another look, away from the hype of Translation‘s success, separate from the pressure put on Coppola to repeat that performance and the scrutiny she faced over choosing to do an elaborate period piece as her next film. It is a wonderful character piece wrapped in luscious style; well acted; touching deftly on enormous themes; creating a shimmering world that descends into chilling consequences. It’s a film I love to revisit, captivated by how Coppola creates the sinking, naïve opulence of our characters, showing us as little of the age’s reality as they themselves seem to have understood.

It’s been said that it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. No film better expresses this than Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), one of the most unapologetically romantic films of the new century. Written by the great Charlie Kaufman and directed by the inventive Michel Gondry, it tells the story of a break-up between two unique and quirky individuals, and yet it is not sad or tragic. Instead, the film smoothly engulfs us in itself, making us fall in love with these characters and the relationship that they shared, with one of them fighting with all of their might to prevent those wonderful memories from literally being wiped away forever. Set within a mind bending, sci-fi universe, the film feels incredibly rich and real; we find ourselves relating to these people more than what we may have been expecting. It is funny, charming, tender, and moving, all at the same time.