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Film Review: Amazing Grace

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see."

There aren't many that don't know the song. But few people know the circumstances that made it famous.

Amazing Grace tells the story of the fiery political activist, William Wilberforce, who's convictions spurred him to lead a movement that abolished the slave trade in 18th century England. John Newton's lyrics serve as a backdrop to the amazing story of faith and compassion.

The characters in Amazing Grace are excellently crafted, and bring life to the screen in the hands of the cast. Ioan Gruffudd brings passion and compassion to the character of William Wilberforce without laying on the cheese. He is able to stand up and provide ample screen presence even in the presence of costars such as Albert Finney, Michael Gambon, Rufus Sewell and Ciarin Hinds. Romola Garai, a relative new-comer, also makes a fabulous addition to the cast, matching Gruffudd's gusto.

The writing actually surprised me. Since it was a heavily Christian-themed film, I expected to get the usual load of saccharin-infused syrup. However, Stephen Frears, an Academy Award nominee and Critic's Circle Award winner for Best British Screenwriter for Dirty Pretty Things, delivered a compelling script full of political intrigue. It was impressive that he kept a very objective stance with such a subjective subject, keeping far away from the "black vs white" issue and focusing more on the principle of slavery.

The direction was wonderful. Although, Michael Apted, best known for his direction of The World is Not Enough, Enigma, and the HBO miniseries Rome, probably didn't have to work too hard to get a good performance out of his cast.

David Arnold's score was well done. I don't see it as Oscar material, but it was a wholly functional score that added to the scene without drawing too much attention to itself. Subtle, but very sufficient.

I rate the film 4.5 out of 5. I definitely recommend seeing this as a family in the theater.

Rated PG for thematic material involving slavery, some mild language, and a scene involving to men running barefooted in the grass.

Release: February 23rd, 2007

Film Review: The Nativity Story

Christmas is nearly here, and soon the lights of the season will be put up in celebration of the most festive holiday of the year.

But what is the meaning of the season? Writer Mike Rich and director Catherine Hardwicke try to remind the world of the purpose of Christmas in The Nativity Story.

The film follows Mary and Joseph through the moments before the birth of Christ. We see the characters as they were before their betrothal and the fateful visit from the angel Gabriel. Mary, played by Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider), is portrayed as an innocent girl who catches the eye of a young carpenter, Joseph, played by Oscar Isaac (Guerrilla). She shows no immediate attraction to him, and when told that she is to be his wife, she isn't all too happy. However, though the course of the film, their relationship grows stronger with the child she carries at the center.

The film is very touching in some parts. But aside from the liberties taken for drama's sake, there were several things that I found distracting, and at times annoying. One of the major things was that Mary lacked any sort of emotion through most of the film making her seem shallow and aloof. In moments when I thought she should be beaming with excitement or happy to the point of tears, she remained expressionless. The character, though meant to be portrayed as holy and meek, came across as bland and uninteresting.

Overall, the characters weren’t very exciting. Joseph was definitely the best out of them. He seemed to have a very deep personality, and I liked his character a lot. The other characters were unique, but didn’t come across very strong. I see it as a flaw in directing. With the same script, the film could have been much more powerful, but everything turned out rather monotone.

The effects were pretty well done. The cityscapes of Jerusalem are most impressive. I enjoyed seeing the shots of the Temple sitting on the top of the hill. I did have some minor issues with the color palette. I don’t know if it was because it was a prescreening, but everything was very cold. The blue and green tones were accentuated, taking out all of the warmth of the oranges and reds. When the angel Gabriel appears, the light that he emits is bright, but in an almost cruel way.

I liked the score. There was some great use of traditional chant hymns such as O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, Of the Father’s Love Begotten, and some other well loved carols. Mychael Danna did an excellent job of working those into the film, and using them as motifs throughout the score. The main theme itself seemed appropriate as well. However, like the characters and the overall feel of the film, the score lacked impact. There was nothing there that had my heart pounding, or brought tears to my eyes. I’ve listened to Danna’s music since I was eleven, and he’s capable of delivering a much more moving score.

Overall, I would say that most of the flaws are a result of weak directing. At times it felt fragmented and incohesive as a story. I felt like I was watching a moving picture book rather than a movie. The film should have had much more impact than it did. As it is, it feels more of a sentimental story for those who know and love it. But as an evangelical tool that shows the world a glimpse of wondrous news, I believe it falls far short of its potential power.

I rate the film 3 out of 5. It’s the Christmas story told as a classic legend, leaving out some major theological and historical points, but keeping the message clear: that Christ is the only begotten Son of God. I would say that it’s worth seeing it once.

Rated PG for some briefly violent sequences and long drawn-out traveling scenes.

Release: December 2006

Currently Listening White Lilies Island By Natalie Imbruglia see related

Stormfall

I had just finished some studies in the library.  It had started raining in the middle of standard deviations and k-bars, and I could hear the telltail pattering on the windows.  I stopped to chat with Jill when a group of men walked into the cafe.  Drenched.  They made such a ruccous as they awaited Jill's service at the counter.  It was then that I decided it was time to brave the weather and return home.

As I stepped outside, I realized how serious the weather situation was.  Rain fell in sheets beating the cold concrete with firm resolve as dime-sized hail scattered across the ground.  An umbrella would have been a worthless defense.  If it weren't for the lights, I might not have been able to see the buildings across Alumni Circle. 

I zipped up my jacket, pulled my backpack tight around my back, and comitted myself to the storm.  I was immediately soaked from head to foot.  As I ran, I felt the wieght of my jacket slowing me down.  Lightning flashed across the darkened sky, illuminating the ominous sight for a split second.  Trees towered over me like dark, menacing shadows reaching up to catch a taste of light.  A fear of being struck by lightning came over me.  The sky lit up again, and I hurried my steps toward my goal, thankful for my boots as water and rain sloshed around my ankles.

When I arrived at the house, and pushed the door open to dryness.  I was met by five sets of eyes.  Matt, Ryan, Liza, Katie and Stephanie just looked at me as water trickled from the fringes of my jacket forming a puddle on the harwood floor.  Droplets of water formed little beads at the ends of my sloppy hair as others raced in streams down my face.

I smiled, and said, "Hi!"

We sat for a time, chatting about creepy experiences and sipping tea and cider.  The power went dead at 9pm, leaving the house dark and noisy with screams and giggles (guess who).  Flashlights were brought out, and more stories were told.  I played guitar (my five chords), and the girls laughed a lot.  At one time, the girls tried to leave, but didn't make it past the flooding street before they turned around and ran back inside.  Rain continued to pour mercilessly.

Finally, the rain let up, and we escorted the girls back to their dorm buildings.  Four a couple hours, we struck deep conversations about fear and faith in the lounge of Dinkmeyer.

The power didn't come back on until 11am today, so my classes were cancelled until 5pm.  Just my luck.  I have a class at 5pm.  Statistics.  Great.  I'm sure I'll have loads of fun.  For now, I'll finish my ranting, and prepare for class.

Weekend Ramblings...

The weekend really started with the end of my evening class on Thursday. At 5pm I had a statistics exam which, so far, I feel really great about. We’ll see if my gut feeling about this test is just as inaccurate as for any other test tomorrow. Anyway, my Friday morning class was really easy stuff, so it went really fast. After that, the long but fun filled weekend started.

First, I was able to hook up with one of my very best friends for an awesome lunch. Contact with close friends is rare since I left Harper, so it was a welcome joy.

After lunch, four trains, and farewells, I boarded a bus for choir retreat. I had no idea what to expect on the retreat, and since I was one of the many “noobs,” I boarded with some unease, though I was determined to have a good time. It’s really all about what you make of the situation. If I refused to have a good time, I could have easily made it miserable for myself, and every person that I came in contact with. But then, I would be the enemy of the entire choir, and they would have stolen my flashlight and left me in the woods. But when it comes to choir, no matter how nervous I feel, or even how sick I feel, I enter with a fierce determination to enjoy myself.

Thankfully, I wasn’t feeling sick. Just a little nervous. But all nervousness was abolished during the course of the trip. I still feel like a “junior” member, which is a really odd feeling because I’ve always been a leader in some capacity in my other choirs, but I don’t feel like I don’t belong there. After being paired up with a cool sister, and being a part of the fire team that lit the camp fire, and making a fool of myself along with everyone else during those crazy teamwork games, I feel like part of the family.

Retreat was basically one night. We got to the camp in the early evening, and got back early afternoon the next day. I got about four hours of sleep. So, as you can imagine, I got back a crashed on my bed.

Saturday evening, I met up with a couple members of Elmhurst College American Marketing Association (an organization of which I am Co-Director of Professional Development) at a sports bar and chatted about stuff concerning AMA and conferences and all that fun stuff. :D

I spent Saturday night, and all of Sunday with my family and friends before coming back to the house at around 1:30am Sunday night/Monday. I washed up, and stuff, and chatted with my roommate for a bit.

At around 2:30am, I heard some scratching and clunking noises coming from outside. I immediately knew that we had a nocturnal visitor, and informed Ryan that there was a coon in our garbage. I grabbed my wooden sword and flashlight, and we both went to check it out, snickering all the way. When we got to the back of the house, we didn’t see anything at first, but could still hear the noises coming from the cans. He was deep in the garbage can, and probably couldn’t even hear us.

I circled around to the steps, and Ryan turned on the flashlight. Out popped a masked face with two glowing eyes. He was actually kinda cute. He gave us a look, and I almost expected him to say “What?! Can’t you see I’m busy here?” He just sat there looking at us for about ten seconds while Ryan and I were cracking up. He obviously didn’t see what was so funny.

I poked him with my sword and asked what he thought he was doing. I think it was then that he realized he was in our garbage, and quickly jumped out and scurried as fast as he could to the nearest car. As fast as he could was really, really slow. He was probably the fattest raccoon I’ve seen, and he moved like Bob (some of you know who that is).

After he disappeared into the night, Ryan and I went back inside laughing like idiots, and went to bed. All in all, I had a great weekend.