meganchoritz

I came upon this movie while channel surfing. I missed the opening but I was drawn in immediately. I loved the dialogue. A scene happens, there is no "action" but the characters are changed by each other. And the characters are so strange and hectic. But you fall into them and their foibles. I also loved the 'jewishness' of Dale. Mamet's dialogue is my best. I always have a sense that he is writing and then I have to come and check. It's heightened dialogue. Almost super-real. Peter Faulk and Denis Leary are also an absolute treat in this movie. I knew that Joe Mantegna was a favorite actor of Mamet's but I didn't know that he directed as well. Very well I thought. I don't remember ever hearing about this movie before so I'm glad I caught it.

Just saw Elephant on TV. I was strangely unsettled by it. It was really beautifully shot. And it portrayed real children and dialog. Although there was the possibility of stereotyping, this never happened. I could believe it. I know it's a good few years later, but it still has a fresh now feel to it. We are so often exposed to the 'moral message' of a movie at the expense of the story. Not this time. The unresolved feeling at the end supports the fact that this could happen with such ease. I was especially struck by the scenes in the photography class. And finally, the music. what a great idea. I was taken straight to my own adolescence and my morbid preoccupation with Mozart's Moonlight Sonata.

I am still a bit shaken from the emotional roller-coaster ride that Capturing the Friedmans takes you on. Mostly I found the absence of a strong director "voice" or opinion so exciting. You never forget, even though the events are so sensational, that the Friedmans are real, in pain and unheroic. The film is a must see for documentary fans. Child abuse and molestation is a terrifying subject, particularly in the hands of the media.The film manages to make the family and the conflict and relationships the central theme. One of the interesting aspects of the film is that because of the 'home movies' the story unravels in past tense. An extraordinary moment for me was to see Elaine remarried and happy towards the end of the movie.