Crimson Peak (2015)

A problem with the ghost genre, is that all has been done to death. The rattling doorknob, the dog that doesn't like certain people, the sudden movement and sound to create a shriek and a gasp for the audience etc. Del Toro doesn't really hit a nerve with any of this, as you could expect. Furthermore it's hard to create a notion of something horrible, using small hints throughout the film, when you show the apparition twice early on.

The casting pretty much centres around Wasikowski and Hiddlestone, with a dash of an extremely boring Jessica Chastain. The former have a good chemistry, and particularly Hiddlestone makes the best out of his part, as his character is the only one with layers. The problem with not lining up a stronger ensemble is of course that you have fewer strings, and furthermore that you rely too much on your stars. The biggest drawback though, is that the director fails to pay adequate attention to the other characters. And with his extreme focus on costumes and scenography, Del Toro falls into that trap as well.

 Though the aforementioned provides a beautiful frame for the characters, one must admit. Dark, gothic, lush with satin and velvet, and of course quite ominous in the right places. Del Toro does dark best, and we get to see a little remake of his own funeral of Hellboy. The lighter scenes are more average, if that.

Furthermore, Del Toro fails in the art of subtlety, using too broad a brush for many of his "little" omens. The clues are easy for all to see, thus making the omens and ghosts moot. And when it comes to the violence, it's brutal in a Tarantinoesque way. But not in any way as entertaining.

The music by Fernando Velázquez is one of the more stunning scores of this year, and worthy of a point in itself. Del Toro doesn't make the best use of it, relying too heavily on the main theme, even where it does not really fit in. And often not using it at all. But you really should take the time to listen to it on its own.

It's not totally without its shivers, such as the scene where Wasikowski listens to old cylinders, but all in all, this is a vast disappointment. The story is virtually non-existent, the casting curious, and Del Toro doesn't seem to know what he wants to focus on, never mind what he wants his actors to do. Apart from the wrapping, he misses on almost every level.

 

2/10

The Accidental Tourist (1988)

So you take a Pulitzer-price winning book about loss, grief, loneliness and emotional distance... And cast Geena Davis. Now, there's a gamble.

The pace of the movie is set perfect through the monotonous muttering of William Hurt, cast as Macon Leary, director Kasdan giving us a couple of minutes in quirkiness before his first unpleasant scene. Made a bit more pleasant by Macon "holding steady". As he does.

A high-point of the film is Macon's voiceover of his own books. A travel guide for how to avoid any experience of the destination itself, all with total lack of self-irony. Another is the chemistry between Hurt and Davis, particularly her blatantly direct approach to dating him, encountering only aloofness, and some painfully clear hints for a long while.

So Davis and Hurt are outstanding together, but the casting of Macon's family is breathtaking, with Amy Wright, David Ogden Stiers and Ed Begley jr. shining as the most dysfunctional family quirkiness could muster in the 80's. Then in comes an adorably smitten Bill Pullman, to make them even better. His teasing of, and immediate taking to, their strange ways is a treat. As watching them from the outside, through him. 

The story, based on the novel of Anne Tyler, is quite good, though as earlier illustrated, it's the characters that excel. Muriel sees all the world with wonder, and Macon surfs that wave, finding joy and wonder through her, though borrowed at first. And for a dog-lover like myself, to centre the story around a cute dog is for extra credit, particularly since their classes together are very amusing. 

Williams' music is wonderful. A very sombre, piano and flute-based composition. Unlike most his other scores. Though, like most his scores, this was Oscar-nominated.

For those loving characters and quirkiness more than plots, this slow-paced drama is a little gem. Yes, the ending is a bit lame, but it's so wonderfully casted and acted, you should live with. And it has perhaps the most quiet hug in cinematic history. As for Davis. An Academy Award no less.

8/10