A Vida Por Um Fio

Besides the fact that as a movie, it was barely okish, I didn't realize that was Sharon Stone so I'll either give her kudos on the makeup job, or not blame her for hiding behind it, and knocking off the paycheck work. I don't even blame Travolta, he actually gave a sincere performance, given what he had to work with. The real issue here was in the writing, direction and edit. I just didn't buy any of it. The bar swilling, fist fighting, ol' boys approach to the film was overdone to the max. I don't need to be told a real linemen life (or any profession) is not actually like that, so why lie to me?

What I did appreciate was the lineman commenting here on the inaccuracies of the line work being done in the film. Like most, I know nothing about the details of their work, but I knew ... I just knew as I was watching, that Hollywood had it wrong here, and made it as sensational as they possibly could. A whole cities power supply resting on one switch? Do ya think I'm an idiot? And apparently it wouldn't have worked like that anyway says a lineman.

When will movie makers realize that its not wrong to actually portray someones job correctly, make sure they get the details right and let go of the need to push beyond reality to the point of reckless? The problem is I don't lose trust in the actors, I lose trust in the system that simply cant understand what I really want in a movie.

John Travolta is a line man, one of those guys you see in a hard helmet and red vest on power lines, doing something dangerous and obscure.... and the power running. Lives depend on that power, and he's got s pregnant niece, her boyfriend as his new, unobservant apprentice, and a storm on the way.

Watching this attempt to mythologize another form of Texas Hard Man in the aftermath of at least 86 Texans dying because their power grid went out last month.... well it interferes with the impulse; it's hard to print the legend with the facts still fresh in your mind. It's also startling to hear Travolta with a twang overlaying his usual accent, but to my untutored ears, he's pretty good, his face buried under a beard. If's a good updating of the standard western tropes. Perhaps when this year's events have faded, it will seem better.

Feel good movie. Maybe not technically accurate but it is nice to see a move about people who work hard and are willing to risk their lives on a fairly regular basis doing a job that not everyone can do or is willing to even try. The bad reviews miss the point entirely. It is about hard work, sacrifice, personal pride and the love of a man for child and young woman. We need more moves that have a positive theme and make you feel good about your fellow man.

This started as an interesting looking movie, based on a real story. An aging power line is being replaced accross an entire state in the South of US and we follow a company of lines men working on the line, We see an uncle played by Ttavolta, bringing up his adopted niece into a young woman. There are hugs and kissed between the uncle and his niece. Then later in the movie there are more hugs and kisses. Feels like the South!

The small town life is cliche ridden, with tough guys saddlin up for blue collar work in the day and gathering at bars in the evening for booze and fight.

There are some decent buildup later in the movie, but just as things get a bit exciting, cheesy dialog scenes meses up with the progress of the story.

The most impressive thing in this movie is watching rugged John Travolta, or Beloved Uncle Beau or Bub or Bubba actually climbing up a giant pole!

And jokes aside, the acting of Bubba lifts the movie a lot. The rest of the actors felt a little under par. They should have used Sharon Stone better in this movie too. The cross cutting in the movie where there is a bit action really brings the movie down.

So besides Unca Bubba, this movie turned out not so good as it could have been. What would have been a missed opportunity here is showing more footage from high rise power line poles to show the sctual hazards of this LINE OF WORK. Instead we get hugs and kissed from Unca BUBBA.

Watched this tonight - Watt a treat, its absolutely shocking, electrifying and keeps pylon on the suspense, it really amps up towards the end, and manages to fuse and splice current day tech with raw acting power, if you want a film that makes you go "ohm my god" you cant do better than this John Tra-volt-a charged joule of a movie. This really sparks the imagination and overloads the senses, worth the watch. Follow it up by watching the new program on the documentary channel about power workers searching the top floor of abandoned power stations for old valuables - Cash in the static.