Stephen Frears
What is your favorite Stephen Frears film? And why do you think he doesn't get the love and acclaim of some of his contemporaries?
Category: Top 10s and Other Lists
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Persepolis (Paronnaud, 2007)
A lot of films can break your heart--a precious few can enlarge and renovate it.
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The Broadway Melody (1929 Best Picture Winner)
In a nutshell, a must see for cinophiles. Others might consider taking a pass.
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The Life of Emile Zola (Dieterle, 1937)
I will admit that the film has the sort of schmaltzy feel (aided by the over the top score) of its era. It was released in 1937, so some of the acting is what we'd describe as overwrought today.
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Les Miserables (Bernard, 1934)
Victor Hugo's novel is a timeless classic which has been retold and well loved since its inception, in part because it tells the story of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. The contemporary stage adaptation focuses on the antagonistic relationship between Valjean and Javert, but Bernard's film really focuses more on Valjean's spiritual development, echoing the novel's emphasis on his experience of grace and the way that it changes him gradually. Valjean is one of the great characters in the history of literature, and Harry Baur is totally up to the task of bringing him to life. The film feels less like an adaptation than a translation, and every time I assumed there would be a concession to staging or special effects--the barricades, the sewers--Bernard is able to take us there without drawing attention to the effects for effects sake.
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Love in the Afternoon (Rohmer, 1972)
The Criterion DVD had an interview with Neil Labute talking about how Rohmer influenced him, but I confess that towards the end of Love in the Afternoon, the film I kept thinking about was Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut.
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Taxi to the Dark Side (Gibney, 2007)
A well deserved Academy Award (for best documentary) went to Gibney's investigation into the policies and practices that created the Abu Ghraib scandal. Eschewing sensationalistic tactics and avoiding an over-reliance on the photos themselves (which appear but aren't the final word), Taxi builds persuasive force until the viewers amazement reaches a level of disbelief.
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Julius Caesar (Houseman, 1954)
Question: What do the following actors have in common?: Jack Lemmon, Billy Crystal, Keanu Reeves, Nathan Lane, Robin Williams, Alicia Silverstone. Answer: They were all exposed trying to do Shakespeare.
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Lars and the Real Girl (Gillespie, 2007)
Lars and the Real Girl is a sweet film that gets a lot of emotional mileage out of showing people being kind. It is a film in which people are loving for no other reason than they can be and where they choose to be compassionate rather than cruel because doing the former seldom costs more than the latter.
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Lust, Caution (Lee, 2007)
What makes the film's ending so sad and tragic is that I'm not sure that the characters themselves know. One can only spend so much time trying to keep truth hidden before one begins to lose the ability to recognize what it is.