Reviews: Nebraska and 12 Years a Slave

As I've mentioned in my February Goals, now that I've seen almost everything in theatres, I'll be using my Movie Pass to see the new releases of each week, but won't be going to the theatre quite as much as I did in January. As a result, I'm going to start reviewing two films per movie post instead of three, as I have less to catch up on.

22. Nebraska
Sometimes a director will make a film so good that it is virtually impossible for him to ever top it. For Alexander Payne, that movie is "Sideways". I have never seen a movie more artfully walk the line between serious drama and laugh out loud comedy, both aspects of the film resulting from some brilliant performances.

It is clear while watching "Nebraska" that it is made by the same filmmaker. There are some sequences that would be right at home in a film like "Sideways". But this time I did not connect anywhere near as well with the characters, so these sequences did not have the same comedic or dramatic effect they would have had in the other film. They could still be amusing, but rarely rose above that. There were some isolated moments that truly had life and drew me in, but they were too few to elicit sustained interest. Also, I was not bothered by the film being in black and white, but do not see how this was as "essential" as Payne has claimed.

In short, I did not dislike this film, but did not particularly like it, either. "Sideways" was like capturing lightning in a bottle. Anything that follows is not likely to live up to it.

23. 12 Years a Slave
Before seeing this film, I had heard that it was good, but that it was a "homework" movie, something you felt you should watch, but wouldn't particularly enjoy. For me, the most important factor in a movie's "enjoyment" is whether or not it kept my attention. No matter how hard certain parts of a film are to watch, as long as I'm not bored, I consider the film to be enjoyable.

Based on that criteria, I enjoyed "12 Years a Slave" quite a bit. Yes, there were some acts of violence that were difficult to watch, but the film kept my attention for its entire run time. It is full of good actors, featuring many veteran performers in small roles (it was nice to see Paul Giamatti playing a nastier character than he usually does). Even knowing where the film was going (the title hints pretty overtly that the lead character's time as a slave has a shelf life), the strong performances kept me invested in what was happening to the characters in the present.

My only issue with the film is that some shots are held for a bit too long, especially some close-ups. The problem is that these shot lengths did not feel organic, and called attention to themselves. When I'm sitting in a theatre thinking "this shot has gone on for a long time", it pulls me out of the story a little.

Next up: "Captain Phillips" and "Gimme Shelter".