quote: | Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
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It also gives the game away straight from the outset that he's a dangerous character, whereas I think it would work better if you only start to realise that in the second and third act. |
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Fortunately the scene immediately after at the construction site sets the character properly into focus as a petty but cerebral criminal who's just more untrustworthy than he is dangerous. But the attack on the security guard still irks me as just the wrong kind of precedent. I also think the devolutionary turning point for Bloom was when he dragged the body of a car crash victim into a better field of light, as he's gone from exploiting a tragedy to manipulating one (and engineering them by the third act), and filmed with a deranged sense of artistry. I do wonder if he disabled his competition's vehicle in order to set him out of commission, or if he knew that it would lead to a sellable accident.
quote: | Originally posted by SYSTEM-J I kinda also felt the writing on the scene where the two news anchors were narrating the footage from the house to be verging towards Simpsons-esque silliness, a bit too Kent Brockman to be believable. But then the guy I saw it with spent a lot of time travelling in the States and he was adamant that US regional TV really is that absurd. |
Oh, totally lol. I understand the film is attempting to drive a sharp criticism of media sensationalism, but that scene just felt like an unrealistic caricature of the subject, though it did a wonderful job of replicating and satirizing that polished facade of sympathy (and your friend's impressions are absolutely correct). To that point, the movie as a whole is a bit of a caricature, but I think criticisms like the one's it's making are still better exaggerated than understated.
Out of curiosity, what questions did you feel were left unresolved? I think most of us in the theater were breathing a slight sigh of satisfaction when we saw Bloom placed into handcuffs, but then I remember soon after hoping that he would ultimately be released so as to drive the movie to it's most potent conclusion: that those who profit from human misery not only escape justice but prosper as capitalist success stories.
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He traded sands for skins, skins for gold, gold for life. In the end, he traded life for sand. Afari, Tales
Last edited by Paradox Lost on Nov-19-2014 at 09:25
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