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Tag Archives: Tim Robbins

Jacob’s Ladder

06 Tuesday Oct 2015

Posted by vinnieh in Movie Reviews

≈ 35 Comments

Tags

1990's, Adrian Lyne, Danny Aiello, Elizabeth Peña, Horror, Jacob's Ladder, Matt Craven, Psychological Horror, Psychological Thriller, Tim Robbins

Film Title

Jacob’s Ladder

Director

Adrian Lyne

Starring

  • Tim Robbins as Jacob Singer
  • Elizabeth Peña as Jezzie
  • Danny Aiello as Louis Denardo
  • Matt Craven as Michael Newman

A Vietnam vet’s tortured existence that blurs between reality and visions is captured in horrifying detail in Jacob’s Ladder, directed with creepy certainty by Adrian Lyne and anchored by a powerful turn from Tim Robbins. This is a film that will stay with you for a long time not just due to the haunting, disturbing story and bizarre visuals, but for its harrowing emotion rare in a horror film.

Jacob Singer is a Vietnam vet who after the war is now working as a postal worker in New York City. Jacob's Ladder PosterAlthough now living with his seductive girlfriend Jezzie following a divorce from his first wife Sarah, Jacob is also mourning the death of his young son and recalling a terrifying an experience during the war when he was stabbed with a bayonet by an unseen soldier. Yet as he tries to move on with his life through his new relationship and job, terror soon encroaches upon it due to visions of demonic beings plaguing him in a fragmented fashion. On his way from the subway, a passenger’s face appears distorted and strangely warped. A nurse appears to have horns under her hat. A wild party turns into a room of beasts. What is causing these sights and are they real? Has Jacob’s mind been fractured by the traumatizing events in Vietnam? Jacob SingerHe begins to believe this theory when fellow members of his platoon come forward with their stories and they become convinced that the government did something to them while they were stationed in Vietnam. But with his visions growing stronger and finding it harder to distinguish what is real and what isn’t, can Jacob uncover the mystery before the horror completely overtakes him and he completely crumbles? With assistance from his kindly chiropractor Louis and a mysterious man named Michael Newman, Jacob attempts to fathom the nature of these visions and the validity of them before it is too late.

Adrian Lyne brings the nightmarish world Jacob inhabits to life with assured direction, that also taps into the deeper emotions of the story. His successful direction gives life to the ambiguities that Jacob’s Ladder throws at us and places us like Jacob in this abyss of not knowing what to believe or see. Visually, Jacob’s Ladder is phantasmagorical with horrific visions and sights. The fragmented nature of the movie as it cuts between past, memories and possibly delusions is edited with a disjointed quality that creates fear and confusion. Two particular scenes stand out that convey the sheer horror of the piece. The first features Jacob witnessing a man at a party’s head spinning violently fast as if in a constant state of convulsion. Jacob's Ladder HospitalThe second and most memorably terrifying is Jacob being taken into the decaying bowels of a hospital, strewn with body parts and disturbed patients. Strapped to a gurney, he is investigated by sinister doctor, including a man with no eyes. It truly is terror at its most psychological and unsettling. And yet for all of the horror on show, there is a very melancholy tone that pervades the movie, and is embodied by Jacob’s descent. The film can also be commended for the avenues of possibility it opens up. You’ve got the prospect of government experiments, the grief felt by the loss of a loved one and biblical allusions all at play and giving the film layer upon layer of ambiguity. An ambient score from Maurice Jarre backs the mounting events of bizarre terror and unexplained horror excellently, while underlining the tortured soul of Jacob.

In the role of the eponymous Jacob, Tim Robbins is emotionally powerful and devastating. He elicits sympathy for Jacob and the nightmare he is put through, and the audience feels the same way. As emotional as Robbins performance is, he also embodies the character physically. His movements are awkward and gawky due to his tall frame, his bespectacled appearance makes him look like a young boy and his expressive face is a marvel at conveying Jacob’s plight. In short, Robbins delivers powerful work of deep emotion and clarity. JezzieElizabeth Peña smolders as the sexy but concerned Jezzie, whose name seems very appropriate given the biblical parallels of the story. While her sexuality is showcased often here, Peña gives the character a sense of mystery and fear as she watches Jacob’s slowly fall apart. Danny Aiello makes a mark as the almost angelic chiropractor who gives Jacob an important piece of advice in his search for answers, while Matt Craven is enigmatic as someone who knows more about why Jacob has been receiving these visions.

A deeply unsettling movie of horror and emotion, Jacob’s Ladder is simply an unforgettable movie.

Short Cuts

11 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by vinnieh in Movie Reviews

≈ 37 Comments

Tags

1990's, Andie MacDowell, Anne Archer, Annie Ross, Bruce Davison, Buck Henry, Chris Penn, Drama, Ensemble Cast, Frances McDormand, Fred Ward, Huey Lewis, Jack Lemmon, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Julianne Moore, Lili Taylor, Lily Tomlin, Lori Singer, Los Angeles, Lyle Lovett, Madeleine Stowe, Matthew Modine, Peter Gallagher, Raymond Carver, Robert Altman, Robert Downey Jr, Short Cuts, Tim Robbins, Tom Waits

Film Title

Short Cuts

Director

Robert Altman

Starring :

  • Andie MacDowell as Ann Finnigan
  • Bruce Davison as Howard Finnigan
  • Jack Lemmon as Paul Finnigan
  • Julianne Moore as Marian Wyman
  • Matthew Modine as Dr. Ralph Wyman
  • Anne Archer as Claire Kane
  • Fred Ward as Stuart Kane
  • Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lois Kaiser
  • Chris Penn as Jerry Kaiser
  • Robert Downey, Jr. as Bill Bush
  • Madeleine Stowe as Sherri Shepard
  • Tim Robbins as Gene Shepard
  • Lily Tomlin as Doreen Piggot
  • Tom Waits as Earl Piggot
  • Frances McDormand as Betty Weathers
  • Peter Gallagher as Stormy Weathers
  • Annie Ross as Tess Trainer
  • Lori Singer as Zoe Trainer
  • Lyle Lovett as Andy Bitkower
  • Huey Lewis as Vern Miller
  • Buck Henry as Gordon Johnson
  • Lili Taylor as Honey Piggot Bush

Based on several stories by Raymond Carver, Short Cuts is Robert Altman’s intense, sprawling and minutely observed look into the eventful lives of 22 residents of L.A over a couple of days. Featuring a talented cast( as you may have guessed from the cast list above) that all contribute something to the story, Short Cuts works as an examination on the frailties of human behaviour, how people don’t realise how close we are to each other and how the smallest incident can have big consequences.

Without giving too much away and because I would probably need a lot of pages to write about all the stories, here is the brief outline of some of the stories. Doreen, a waitress struggles with her alcoholic husband Earl. To add to this she accidentally Short Cuts Earl and Doreenruns over the young son of news anchor Howard Finnigan. The boy’s mother Ann panics while her son slips into a coma, and she is harassed by the local baker Andy, as she has forgotten to pick up the boy’s birthday cake. Zoe, a talented yet depressed cello player lives next door and has a strained relationship with her musical mother, Tess. Gene Shepard, a single-minded policeman is playing away with Betty Weathers. This incurs the wrath of her estranged husband Stormy, who finds an interesting way to claim back what belongs to him in the house. Claire Kane works as a clown, while her short cuts Claire and Genehusband Stuart goes on a fishing trip with his friends. On the trip, the men discover the corpse of a young woman in the river and debate what to do with it. Marian, an artist and her doctor husband Ralph have the couple over for dinner, venting their marital frustrations after one too many drinks. And the stories just keep on coming, fleshing out an interesting mosaic like microcosm of lives running congruent with each other.

Although the film runs for a long time, you probably won’t notice because of the intricate way the characters enter and leave each other’s lives. Altman, who often worked effectively with ensemble casts, further shows his craftsmanship with engaging us to the strange and unpredictable characters. Although the characters differ from each other, there is one thread that links many of them. The thread is hiding behind a facade; Marian paints to suppress her unhappiness, Zoe plays mournful music on her cello, Claire works as a clown to make money for herself and her husband. The film may not be to everyone’s taste, but one can’t help but marvel at the way Altman connects the many players of the cast and fashions a suburban tale of frustration, mental angst and dissatisfaction.

An intimate character study of a diverse group of people, Short Cuts is excellent and recommended viewing for the art of interconnecting stories and focusing on the effects of our choices in life.

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