MIRAL
Directed by Julian Schnabel.
Starring Hiam Abbass, Freida Pinto, Yasmine Al Massri, Willem Dafoe and Vanessa Redgrave.
This could be glorious. It could be immense. It could be small, but powerful. It could be entertaining and nothing more. It could be an Oscar-contender. Based on the trailer, it could be anything – and that’s a problem.
The trailer for Miral has no definable mood or setting to it and the actors’ performances are lost in the waffle that is the story-telling in this chronological structure (is it really, though?). It took me three viewings to grasp the content of the trailer to the fullest and I am still left somewhat numb, if I am honest.
Freida Pinto’s screen presence is damn-near insignificant as she swoops in an out of the frame. An alright actor though she is, she evokes no emotion in the viewer: there is no connection. Why? Because the editing does not bring forward her best moments? Or is she simply not very good? Why could Julian Schnabel not have cast an unknown (Palestinian) actress instead? Pinto leaves no mark on the spectator and this is the first and essential failure of the trailer.
Furthermore, I have a hard time getting my head around the editing style. After the first half, it gets messy, leaving the viewer unsure of how the story unfolds. The more I watch the trailer, the less I understand how it has been edited. It is not at clear as it could have been, nor is it captivating or creating atmosphere. If anything, the background orchestra are alone in setting the mood.
I still want to watch the film, but more so for its subject matter, not because of the trailer. It is not as moving as it could be. Perhaps their mistake is in being too understated? It is a fine line between over-dramatic and underwhelming and cutting trailers is a true art.
But this is a trailer that completely fails to capture its audience and keep them motivated to watch more, thus making it hard for the audience to care. I can barely identify with Miral as a woman. She’s got no personality and is, as it looks here, misrepresented. An unfortunate 5/10.
AMERICAN ANIMAL
Directed by Matt D'Elia.
Starring Matt D'Elia, Brendan Fletcher, Mircea Monroe and Angela Sarafyan.
I have a huge soft spot for American independents made by young inexperienced people like myself. Perhaps because this is exactly the type of movie I would love to make.
However, trailers for these films always end up in one of the other extreme: truly brilliant (and occasionally better than the film itself) or utterly shit. For the first time, I think I may have stumbled upon something so middle-of-the-road-esque, that it am left scratching my head, thinking “How am I going to write this review?”
Let me start with the negatives. Not the best choice of music. In fact, the music sounds like it has been chosen because the film makers needed something with a crescendo. But it feels so half-hearted...
The use of filler clips rarely works. It makes the trailer inconsistent and messes with the viewer’s emotional response to it. A smoother approach could consistent of a series of scene grabs - done! That is the type of style usually reserved for this type of trailer and is efficient enough.
On the other hand, one of the strengths of the trailer is that it represents the film as one that really knows the identity of its target audience. It could either back-flip and perhaps prove to be too narrow and alienating to other audiences, or be right on target. The trailer leaves this question unanswered, making the film even more attractive.
Another question is whether or not there is too much dialogue? Mumblecore is pretty much dead, move on. Or is this perhaps an attempt at keeping mumblecore alive. Sometimes the dialogue is spot on (like the section where they explain how they have created their own world) and sometimes it’s annoying (Not Blonde Angela’s dialogue in the smoking scene has left scars on my inner scriptwriter’s soul).
It’s hard to make one’s mind up about a lot of things based purely on this trailer and it functions nicely in this way. It’s merely a taste of what is to come in the film and entices the viewer to really sit down and watch it before making up their mind.
It may be perceived as a slow trailer, but is intense nonetheless – mainly due to Jimmy’s character, who dominates the screen fully and makes it worthwhile. It also defines the style of the movie (and the trailer) as an actor’s movie and an intriguing character piece. Excellent representation, but with flaws that drag it down to a 6/10.
ANOTHER HARVEST MOON
Directed by Greg Swartz.
Starring Ernest Borgnine, Piper Laurie, Anne Meara, Doris Roberts, Richard Schiff, Amber Benson and Cybill Shepherd.
Movies about old people are just awesome. There’s something incredibly touching about their performance, their personalities, the stories and the whole idea – which is produced all too infrequently – of giving older actors significant roles (let alone make an entire feature film around them!).
There is an innate sympathy in humans, I think, to sympathise with older people. But all too often also, older actors are patronised or used merely for comic effect (e.g. Betty White in, like, everything of the past 10 + years). Older actors can be funny, but they have so much more potential still and it is far too rarely untapped. This trailer shows us a movie where they and their characters are taken seriously and is a touching, clever trailer, from the choice of clips downright to the graphics.
Indeed, the latter contribute subtly yet efficiently to the build-up of the edit. Their function is obvious, but not annoying or redundant.
This trailer works marvellously, as the viewer is touched from the first line when Ernest Borgnine slowly, but not painfully, gets off his chair. The genuine effort he puts into the action (or at least an effort that feels real) inspires sympathy and admiration. That’s how you grip an audience!
It is what I would call a sectioned structure as opposed to a chronological one, because the edit makes you understand what the story is about as opposed to spelling it out, like it would be so easy to do otherwise. In fact, it evokes emotion by selecting small (the best?) snippets of the film rather than attempt to narrow down the narrative to 2½ minutes of blah. It assembles lines and actions from the film to create a sense of character and why we should care about them. Yes, this sounds like a somewhat primitive approach. Nonetheless, it is one that is necessary in this case, so as to pay respects to the film.
It is an acting piece and this trailer fully shows this. More trailers like this please! 7/10
Louise-Afzal Faerkel
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