PaulusLoZebra

I agree with other reviewers that Anthony Asquith's Libel is a tense and engrossing film, at times riveting, in the style of the best courtroom dramas. But I also agree with those who say that this otherwise wonderful film was ruined by a preposterous and overly clever, overly complex ending that left me unsatisfied. Dirk Bogarde's great talent is on full display here; he is a joy to watch, conveying a wide range of emotions and enormous discomfort. Robert Morley and Wilfrid Hyde-white are also excellent. Paul Massie is stiff but serviceable, and Olivia de Havilland is unfortunately not convincing.

Looking back at the Godard movies I've seen, he seems to be a very erratic filmmaker. Maybe it is because he wanted to be experimental at every moment, and avoid boredom at all costs for himself and his viewers. Whatever the reasons, for me he was a prolific artist proclaimed as a genius by the intellectual crowd of his time but who produced only a few great works that hold up well for later generations. I loved Breathless and Alphaville, but this one, Pierrot le Fou, looks like a forgettable relic of another age. That would be the swinging sixties, when technical experimentation, partial nudity and political references could all be jumbled together and the world would confirm the work as an act of greatness. I found it tedious and trite. It was great to see the beautiful sites of the French Mediterranean coast and to watch how hard Belmondo and Karina, both beautiful and talented, were working. But it is difficult for me to relate to the very odd relationship of these two loathsome characters. Godard gave us some clever uses of color, absurd dialogue, and products to decry the commercialization of everyday life, materialism, the Viet Nam war and other political topics. But that is too thin to sustain 1h50.

Cinema schools in 2050 (if such a thing still exists in our AI robotic future) might study Gore Verbinski's The Lone Ranger the way we studied Citizen Kane or Vertigo. Not because this film is as good as those - it isn't even close - but because they will want to understand how a director, the writers and producers can put so much of everything into 150 minutes. That "everything" includes: majestic scenery (from many locations); sumptuous sets, costumes and cinematography; social messages and historical commentary about native Americans and westward expansion; various kinds of humor; CGI, seamlessly woven into the live action; endless and amazing stunts; countless references to past films and film scores; highly distilled, playful, rich dialogue; non-stop action, and many scenes with high quality acting. It is so densely packed that I need to rewatch it to see what I missed in the background of frames while I was focused on the foreground.

It's a great looking film with great production values. Like most westerns made in the past 50 years, this one has the look and feel of a spaghetti western, but glossier. Many scenes seem to pay direct homage to Sergio Leone. And even if Hans Zimmer is one of the greatest film composers alive, it seems obvious to me that he channelled Ennio Morricone in many of his passages. There are many other moments that made me think of great films of the past, westerns of course because of Monument Valley, several John Ford films, but also others, in what seems to be deliberate homage. The best of these is Tonto's ladder scene, channeling Buster Keaton !

Speaking of Tonto, Johnny Depp is outstanding. At first I was a bit distracted by the similarities to Jack Sparrow, his great achievement with Verbinski, but that eventually faded with the depth and nuance of his performance and Tonto's backstory.

Armie Hammer is also outstanding, as the Lone ranger. Even if this is Depp's film in key ways, the movie of course revolves around Hammer. He delivers a fully nuanced superhero. He is strong and handsome, but also naive, vulnerable and trusting. He bumbles and stumbles so that it becomes clear to everyone, even himself, that he needs to rely on the ultra-wise Tonto to survive. But he never waivers from his core beliefs and values, he represents law, order, kindness, fairness and loyalty.

This Lone Ranger and Tonto, great American heros from the less complicated 1950s, are updated to a more realistic, messier world facing really nasty bad guys and the inexorable and violent settlement of the West.

The film does have a couple of weak spots. It's made in this contemporary style (does it have a name ?) that I still am not used to that continually mixes the serious with the humorous and the overblown. And while it has a great beginning and end, it does sag a bit from an overly long and slightly jumbled middle. But those are minor quibbles !