Much has been written about Avatar since it was released in mid-December. It has become the most commercially successful film of all time, it has made 3D a serious component for the future of cinema, it has raised the bar on special effects, it has proven that human actors are not essential to making a film, and it has also illustrated that when it comes to CGI there are no limits on the imagination. I have to admit I held off watching it at the cinema for some time for the following reasons a) when a film is such a big blockbuster I like to wait for it to settle down as I hate cinemas crammed with teenagers, b) I hate to feel I am being controlled by Hollywood hype (I can make my own decisions thank you very much), and c) I resented the £11 I was being expected to pay to see it in a run-of-the-mill cinema (this is not justified by the cost of the glasses as they were handed back in after the film). When something becomes so successful there does come a point when you feel like you have to give in and see what the fuss is about, even so you can end up hating it and setting yourself apart from everybody else.
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One of my all time favourite films is Dangerous Liaisons (1988), so it is no wonder that I would fall in love with Chéri (2009) considering it reunites three of the principal people involved with the former film - Stephen Frears directing, Christopher Hampton writing, and Michelle Pfeiffer taking centre stage. Both films are adaptations of famous novels - Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos and Chéri and La Fin de Chéri by Colette - and both mark a script writing triumph for Christopher Hampton in adapting them so successfully for the screen, crackling as they do with brilliant humour and acerbic one liners. Both films are incredibly sumptuous and beautiful to look at, with elegant Art Nouveau sets and astonishing costumes recreating Belle Époque Paris in much the same way as Liasions recreated the ostentation of the Ancien Régime. And both films are very much concerned with seduction and sex and love, but the heart of Chéri is far less cold and cruel and wicked than its chillier counterpart. This film is much more about matters of the heart than the games played by the opposite sex.
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As I continue to catch up on all the good films released this year, I remembered one film I had greatly regretted not seeing at the cinema was Rachel Getting Married. Firstly I am a huge fan of Anne Hathaway – she is classy and talented in a way few actresses in Hollywood are these days. I was also attracted to the storyline – black sheep of the family, drug addict, and general all-round fuck-up Kim returns home like the prodigal daughter to attend her sister’s wedding. Cue lots of filial nastiness, lots of tension, and cringey moments of self-recognition. I am generally curious to see any film in which the central protagonist receives an Oscar nomination, but it is also nice to see Anne Hathaway play someone completely different and outside of her usual range – and she really does not disappointment with her depiction of Kim, imbuing her with an edgy and often unlikeable quality whilst at the same time offering a sense of vulnerability which makes the audience intensely dislike her and then slowly feel sympathy for her as she reveals her dark past.
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