I'm not a dedicated Kaufman fan, but I have enjoyed his other films. This movie has Kaufman all over it... dripping in his artist style. I gave it an 8 not because I liked it, but because I sat for 20 minutes pondering how much I thought Michael Stone, and perhaps Charlie Kaufman himself, is an utter a**wipe.
And after thinking about it, I realized that it is an artistic work. I appreciate art, even if it leaves a strange and bitter taste in my mouth. I think the average viewer will not like it, they will probably be cursing after and wondering why they spent their money to see it, or why they willed themselves to sit though it...or why they didn't leave sooner.
I get the film, and of all the bits that were super weird, the best part was Michael's breakdown when he was giving his speech. I love the reference to the corruption of the Bush administration, and I love how it brilliantly captured a moment I personally wish would happen; a person on stage breaking a barrier of civility and letting their frustration out. You know, expressing their loneliness and pain, albeit in a really awkward way.
I can imagine most female viewers to be pretty upset at the slightly manipulative aspect of Michael and Lisa's affair, it's what appalled me most. This film is told from a very male perspective, so I can understand why Michael acts the way he does. It really shows the fragility of some men, and the lows they go to. I don't know, is that normal to treat a woman like that?! I happen to have the utmost respect for women and find it very selfish of Michael to pursue Lisa. It seems out of his extreme loneliness he was able to focus on her and find something beautiful about her. Only to turn it around and distort it, making her into an ideological savior. He wakes up the next morning to realize she really isn't that different and unique as he thought...she is kind of just like the others. Conversely, through Lisa's loneliness she willingly and naively accepts Michael's actions as normal...and that scene at the end where she is happily writing that letter to him, WTF!? And then it makes me think, maybe Michael and Lisa really are meant for each other, and Michael was too scared to truly change his life.
But perhaps that's the point of this film, to be a little disgusted I mean. The entire qualification for a good work of art is to convey and transmit some sort of truth. Not all truths are beautiful and uplifting. This story is very true to many people's lives, especially of American life. Loneliness and that feeling that so many people are just replicas of a copy. Mindlessly living life...
Did I enjoy this film, no. Will I watch it again, perhaps not for another 10 years. Can I respect what it was aiming to achieve, yes.
And after thinking about it, I realized that it is an artistic work. I appreciate art, even if it leaves a strange and bitter taste in my mouth. I think the average viewer will not like it, they will probably be cursing after and wondering why they spent their money to see it, or why they willed themselves to sit though it...or why they didn't leave sooner.
I get the film, and of all the bits that were super weird, the best part was Michael's breakdown when he was giving his speech. I love the reference to the corruption of the Bush administration, and I love how it brilliantly captured a moment I personally wish would happen; a person on stage breaking a barrier of civility and letting their frustration out. You know, expressing their loneliness and pain, albeit in a really awkward way.
I can imagine most female viewers to be pretty upset at the slightly manipulative aspect of Michael and Lisa's affair, it's what appalled me most. This film is told from a very male perspective, so I can understand why Michael acts the way he does. It really shows the fragility of some men, and the lows they go to. I don't know, is that normal to treat a woman like that?! I happen to have the utmost respect for women and find it very selfish of Michael to pursue Lisa. It seems out of his extreme loneliness he was able to focus on her and find something beautiful about her. Only to turn it around and distort it, making her into an ideological savior. He wakes up the next morning to realize she really isn't that different and unique as he thought...she is kind of just like the others. Conversely, through Lisa's loneliness she willingly and naively accepts Michael's actions as normal...and that scene at the end where she is happily writing that letter to him, WTF!? And then it makes me think, maybe Michael and Lisa really are meant for each other, and Michael was too scared to truly change his life.
But perhaps that's the point of this film, to be a little disgusted I mean. The entire qualification for a good work of art is to convey and transmit some sort of truth. Not all truths are beautiful and uplifting. This story is very true to many people's lives, especially of American life. Loneliness and that feeling that so many people are just replicas of a copy. Mindlessly living life...
Did I enjoy this film, no. Will I watch it again, perhaps not for another 10 years. Can I respect what it was aiming to achieve, yes.