plato's cave twenty seven (being a film journal) two woodfords

anna boden & ryan fleck - mississippi grind - 2015

some loser night/exterior shots from mississippi grind. second viewing of this off/almost-masterpiece. typical of all gambling films; the viewer (or this one more specifically) is very uncomfortable from beginning to end. even when they win they are losers in the most poetic sense. 

reminds me of peter wright's tune song for the losers. this tune simply exemplifies something essential in understanding works like these: only losers can experience the dreary (3 film stills above) in a true sense. the way charles baudelaire's fleur du mal excites.  the occasional shot of a loser bar or a dreary part of town has more meaning in this film than just connecting it aesthetically with 70s cinema.  for this viewer, these shots tap into the vision of our two characters. they experience the world in a unique way. a life comprised of 80% depression/misery and 20% euphoria with 10% of that euphoria drowned out and forgotten from drink and the like.

another brilliant performance from ben mendelsohn. he is indeed one of the best living actors. what he gives to these films is something not easy to calculate. an extremely subtle almost non-performances. and in that way, virtuosic.

plato's cave ten (being a film journal)

andrew dominik - killing them softly - 2012

killing them softly by the new zealand-born australian director andrew dominik (the assassination of jesse james by the coward robert ford), and shot by the australian dp greig fraser.

i have come back to this film a few times. one reason is the cast - james gandolfini, ben mendelsohn, richard jenkins, sam shepard, ray liotta, vincent curatola, brad pitt, max casella, scoot mcnairy. some mf actorshippe here. dialogue not unlike raymond chandler and jim thompson, the film was adapted from the novel cogan's trade by george v. higgins (which i have and have yet to read).

a strong 1970s / early 80s ambiance the film inhabits. trendy these days, but like my father use to say "if loving 70s film is wrong, then i don't wanna be right".

plato's cave eight (being a film journal) aussie double feature

 - ted kotcheff - wake in fright - 1971

brian west - director of photography

“i wanted to recreate what i felt and saw – the heat, the sweat, the dust, the flies,” says kotcheff. “i said to the set designer and the costume designer, ‘i don’t want to see any cool colours. i don’t want to see blue or green. ever. on anything. all i want is red, yellow, orange, burgundy and brown. all the hot colours. on costumes, sets, everything.’ i wanted people to watch the film and be unconsciously sweating.”

 - david michôd - animal kingdom - 2010

adam arkapaw - director of photography

"you had your hand on your cock. your hands go anywhere near your arse or your cock, you wash 'em after."

plato's cave four (being a film journal) the films of ben mendelsohn & sean babbit

derek cianfrance - the place beyond the pines - 2012

second time watching this film. it is indeed a very fine cinematic experience. the performance of ben mendelsohn is really beyond words in this film and most he has been in. his film presence is incomparable in contemporary cinema. 

years back there was an attempt to document actorshippe on the art of memory, but i ended up doing so more in my head than on this site. as being privy to great actorshippe is one of the foremost reasons for watching cinema, it makes sense to get back to it and list works with mr. mendelsohn. films of interest for me are as follows (am probably missing some?)

ben mendelsohn *

- the new world - 2005, terrence malick
- animal kingdom - 2010, david michôd
- killing them softly - 2010, andrew dominik
- the dark knight rises - 2012, christopher nolan
- the place beyond the pines - 2012, derek cianfrance
- starred up - 2013,  david mackenzie
- mississippi grind - 2015,  anna boden & ryan fleck
- bloodline - 2015 to present,  glenn kessler, todd a. kessler, and daniel zelman
- una - 2016, haven't seen, looks promising

other art of memory obsessions - cinematography

the film was shot by the texas-born british cinematographer sean babbit, responsible for shooting steve mcqueen's hunger, shame and 12 years a slave. a graduate from the gordon willis prince of darkness film school.

steve mcqueen - hunger - 2008, sean babbit dp

steve mcqueen - shame - 2011, sean babbit dp

steve mcqueen - 12 years a slave - 2013, sean babbit dp

third image reminiscent of jon wozencroft's photographs for the uk touch label