I watched the strangest film today. I never got around to reordering my Netflix queue last week, so they sent me the next two on the list. One happened to be Fur with Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr. I'm not even sure how it got on my list. It is supposed to be a "fictional biography" of the life of photographer Diane Arbus--meaning I am not sure how much of the film is actually based on reality. I read somewhere that this is sort of an invented story of where she got her inspiration to take her first photo. I'm familiar with some of her work, but not with her life story. She was a typical 50s (born in 1923) housewife. Her husband had a photo studio and photographed models for magazine covers and ads. He apparently encouraged her to also take photos, and she did--but they were vastly different than his. Her photos very often were of subjects on the fringe of society. She was a very unusual person and now I am intrigued by her and her work and plan on reading more about her. I'm planning on getting ahold of Patricia's Bosworth's biography, Diane Arbus and seeing what books of photography we have of her in the library. The film was interesting--good in an artsy sort of way, but I am not altogether sure that it wasn't a bit over the top. Still, I did really enjoy it when I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into!
I'm afraid I didn't really enjoy The Good German with George Clooney and Cate Blanchett, which I also watched this weekend. I think I disliked it for the same reasons I liked Fur. It was filmed in B&W (though I did like how they interspersed actual WWII footage into the film) and had an artsy feel to it. I'm sure they were trying to make it feel atmospheric, but it mostly just annoyed me, and I don't really mind B&W films. As much as I like Cate Blanchett, even she couldn't redeem the film for me. I have the book, The Good German by Joseph Kanon, but now I am not sure I will read it. I think I was just in the wrong mood to watch it--usually I like these sorts of WWII thrillers.
I did see a very good film a few weeks ago that I would recommend, if you like crime/mystery-ish sorts of movies. The Dead Girl directed by Karen Moncrieff was really excellent. There are some violent scenes and the subject matter is rather dark--about a young murdered woman--but it is well done all around. The film moves backwards--from the discovery of a body at the beginning to the end where we see how the murder came about. What's interesting is the interaction between characters who don't know each other but are brought together--or how their paths unknowingly cross--because of the murder and how everyone is affected by it.
I seem to be all over the place in terms of movies, don't I? I never quite know what to add to my queue, but I am willing to try films that are completely unknown to me. I have found some really good ones by taking these chances, and some...well...not so good ones. I have several more on my pile to get to (from the public library) including Masterpiece Theatre's Frenchman's Creek. I'm almost a little afraid of watching this one. I really liked the book and am afraid what the movie might be like, but surely Masterpiece Theatre has done it justice? I'll find out soon enough.