VERSUS THE SCARECROW EPISODE FIFTEEN: The Perennial Steven Soderbergh. I decided to challenge myself and really open the doors of my film knowledge and take on “The Scarecrow Video Movie Guide”. It’s 808 pages of movies and movie reviews from some of the most knowledgeable movie people you don’t know. It’s a book put together by a staff that praises, and destroys, some of our favorites and not so favorites. You can read the rest of my series here.
Just a quick refresher: each episode, I’m going to tackle three films from three different categories. Two films will be films I’ve never seen before and one will be one I’ve seen before or own. For the new films, well, new to me, I’m going to review them like a typical FTS review using the TOAST Rating system. But, for the films I’ve seen, I’m going give a quick paragraph or two about why I like or don’t like the film. We’ll try to include the poster and trailer for each film. “….and here. We. Go!”
Steven Soderbergh is a fantastic director. His casts are solid, his scripts are tight, and his visual style subtly shifts every film, creating a chameleon effect that has endured and will continue to endure. It’s a shame that he’s announced his retirement, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he returned in a few years with something new. (At least I hope and pray he does… have you seen Side Effects yet? I was thoroughly impressed) In this episode, we look at the remake Solaris (2002), the super sexy Out of Sight (1998), and I reflect on the masterful, yet depressing, Traffic (2000).
Solaris (2002) Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Starring: George Clooney, Natascha McElhone, Ulrich Tukur. IMDB says: “A troubled psychologist is sent to investigate the crew of an isolated research station orbiting a bizarre planet.”
“I could tell you what’s happening, but I don’t know if it would really tell you what’s happening”
Solaris is a beautiful film that tackles the ideas of isolationism and the psychological effects of living in space almost as good as Kubrick did with 2001: A Space Odyessey. Now, there are no supercomputers named Hal or monoliths that have the ability to speed up the process of evolution, but you will find beautiful visuals depicting space and solid performances by everyone involved in the film. Coming in a whole hour less than it’s Russian original (released in 1972 Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky) Solaris takes you to unexpected places as Chris Kelvin (George Clooney) is sent to investigate a crew on an isolated research station currently orbiting a strange planet. The planet seems to overpower the crew members, making them not want to leave the station and return home, despite having finished their mission. Kelvin, with a troubled past of his own, when reaching the station, comes across the visibly disturbed Gordon (the very talented Viola Davis) and Snow (Dickie Bennett, er I mean, Daniel Faraday… oops, I meant Jeremy Davies) and the effects of the planet begin to wear on Kelvin.
I don’t want to spoil the mystery and surprise tucked away throughout the film, so as far as plot details I will stop there. But I will say, the cast is solid. Not a bad performance or poorly delivered line in the whole film. Either Soderbergh knows how to pick and edit scripts, or he’s just that good at directing his actors/actresses to get just the right performance out of them. They play at all the right angles to pull you in and get you emotionally invested. The score is a perfect accompaniment, adding to the eeriness and suspense of the film, but never overpowering it or coming across as generic or overplayed.
The film’s visuals are inches from breathtaking and really add to the setting much like 2001: A Space Odyssey used it’s visual style, almost as another character to add emotion and depth to the film. I did find one or two of the subplots to be predictable, but it’s coming from source material that hadn’t explored those regions of science fiction on the big screen yet. It doesn’t take away from the film because it’s still enjoyable enough to push those notions away. While it’s not available on the Netflix Instant Queue, it is available via disc. I recommend getting a bowl of popcorn, or pretzels, and sitting down to enjoy this film. Maybe even turn the lights off for dramatic effect? I wouldn’t cause I’m scared of the dark, but that’s just me.
Check back tomorrow to read my review of Out of Sight and then again on Thursday for the conclusion of episode 15 with my reflections on Traffic. If you're interested in more, you can find the rest of the Versus The Scarecrow series here.