I've decided to write another review. I guess I had fun with the last one. I've been trying to write more and more. I've been reviving old projects, dusting off this old blog, and journaling extensively. I even wrote a letter to a friend recently. I like writing. And when I'm feeling especially responsible, I take the chances I have to do it.
And I've been going to the library roughly once a week. Obviously I like movies, and this is a new exercise to enjoy new movies. I started with "A" in the DVD section. I picked a movie I hadn't seen before, and I watched it. The next week I brought it back, and I repeat the process with "B", and so on. The keen reader will note that my last review was of a movie that started with "F", and this one starts with "G".
So far in this exercise I've watched Aloha, Annapolis, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Chariots of Fire, The Cat and the Canary, Down with Love, The Eagle, From Up on Poppy Hill, and Genius. Though they all looked interesting to me, they have varied from amazing (I wrote about that last week) to truly terrible (Aloha). In summary, just because you directed Jerry Maguire doesn't mean you have anything good left, Justin Lin has grown as a director, ensemble elderly British casts are still inexplicably entertaining, Spock's dad runs fast, not all silent films are classics, Renée Zellweger does more than squint, Rudolph Valentino deserved the star power he had, read my previous review, and read this review.
There. You're caught up.
Genius is the true story of Maxwell Perkins. Truly an historical footnote of a man. Did you know that Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Thomas Wolfe were all discovered, fostered, edited, and published by the same man? And I can honestly say he lives up to his larger-than-life legacy as a slightly interesting bit of twentieth century trivia.
I tease, but it is genuinely interesting. And the relationship the film focuses on - between him and Wolfe - is beefy enough to fill the movie, and to entertain. I will say outright that the casting was huge in Genius, and certainly provided most of the draw for me. Laura Linney and Nicole Kidman are obviously good in their roles, but I came for Jude Law and Colin Firth, as Thomas Wolfe and Maxwell Perkins, respectively. You get bonus cameos too, from Guy Pearce and Dominic West. And if you keep a sharp eye you'll even spot Vanessa Kirby. She is everywhere and it's starting to scare me.
A lesser screenwriter would have given in to the temptation to make Jude Law's Thomas Wolfe a manic pixie dream girl to Firth's stoic Mr. Perkins. But John Logan is John Logan. He makes movies, not mistakes. As a result, the two actors paint the two characters as interesting, funny, charming, likable, very unlikable at times, and very real. I'm sure everyone's hope in making this movie was to construct a window into what it may have really been like. I don't think there's anyone left to say if they got it right or not, but it sure feels like a window on a real part of history. And that's good enough for me.
Thomas Wolfe was a writer. And he wrote a lot. It is inspiring to me to see a part of his story. And the other stories of the other people around him who have a love for writing. It had a direct influence on me deciding to write this review, and I think that would make Thomas Wolfe happy. John Logan too, but he's not dead so who cares.
Genius is rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and suggestive content. It was written by John Logan and directed by Chuck Norris. I'm just kidding, it was directed by Michael Grandage.
Big Shot Critic
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