The Shape of Things
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Movie Reviews of The Shape of Things
Movie Review: The shape of things to come...
Summary: 4 Stars
The Shape of Things is a four-person play translated to the big screen. Despite long, stretched out scenes and theatrical dialogue, it all works very well thanks to the energetic performances of the entire first-rate cast.The movie--based on LaBute's play of the same name and starring the same four actors from the play--is a uniquely contemporary story of love, sex, and art set in a college town, which follows the steadily intensifying relationship between Evelyn (the wonderful Rachel Weisz) and Adam (the charming Paul Rudd). As Evelyn strengthens her hold on Adam, his emotional and physical evolution discomforts his friends Jenny (Gretchen Mol back in top form) and Philip (well-acted by Frederick Weller), with unexpected consequences for all. The quartet of college-age characters deal with the conflicting human desires for autonomy and connection, truth and love, and the notion that seduction is an art, making for a clever and mean-spirited satire on life and friendship.
The material is a sort of throwback to LaBute's first two movies, "In the Company of Men" and "Your Friends & Neighbors," after the bigger-budgeted, broader-canvassed "Nurse Betty" (in which he directed someone else's screenplay) and "Possession" (in which he adapted A.S. Byatt's novel). Like the first pair of films, LaBute once again homes in on an intimate group of men and women and the razor-edged sexual politics among them.
Some of the behavior in "The Shape of Things" is every bit as nasty as in the other films, once again reaching the point of getting a tad bit 'uncomfortable.'
Adam and Evelyn - the symbolic names are no accident - meet while he's working as a school museum guard and she literally crosses the line to spray-paint a sculpture that has had its genitalia covered. "You're cute. I don't like your hair," she tells him, and a romance is begun. Soon she's suggesting wardrobe and styling fixes and taking him to graphic performance-art happenings. She's of the art-equals-provocation-equals-truth school and butts heads with Philip, who's more of a regular-guy philistine.
LaBute doesn't pretend that his source material is anything other than a play. He keeps the action divided into 10 discrete scenes, with snippets of Elvis Costello's poisoned-romance songs (the musical equivalent of velvet-sheathed knives) serving as the links between them.
You must accept a certain theatricality to the material, as much of the action occurs off screen, and what's there hasn't been "opened up" so that conversations take place over multiple locations. The performances are scaled down from what they must have been in the theater, but LaBute's dialogue has its own particular rhythms that aren't entirely "realistic." And that's fine. The writing is smart, so you stick with the story on its own terms.
The movie ultimately lies on Weisz's shoulders, though, as she has to convince you that Adam would give in to Evelyn's manipulations, her obvious beauty notwithstanding. And she does, her performance balancing seduction and the sense that she's one eye twinkle away from being a whack job. Evelyn is the character who would be most at home in the take-no-prisoners world of LaBute's earlier works, yet you suspect the director's sympathies might lie closest with her, or at least her inclination to shake things up.
Any meaningful dissection of "The Shape of Things" must revolve around the ending, yet revealing it would be a crime against art. Suffice it to say that LaBute is interested in the way that surfaces affect our perceptions of content, and how those perceptions can, in turn, become our reality. It's harsh and mean but LaBute never loses sight of what shape he wishes this crafty story to take. In the end, his aim is true.
Movie Review: Rachel Weisz and Neil Labute make a great cinamatic team.
Summary: 4 Stars
Interesting yet true look at relationships is probably the best film we have had on the subject in a very long time. The topics raise are true in a lot of ways and it does require multiply viewing just to understand the underlying message that Neil Labute its trying to say. Its very easy to say that what Evelyn did to Adam was wrong but in essence if you saw the movie little more closely, you would have notice the fact that she had told Adam numerous time on what she was up to. So Evelyn is really not that responsible for the outcome of the film, and Adam is not as innocent as some might think he was. He did after all let her to it to him, and he did it willingly, despite the warnings and the hints she gave him. So to put it in a better perspective, the only honest character in the whole film was in fact Evelyn, and that is because you knew where she stood. The other characters in the film ether lived in denial or just did not know what they really wanted.
The acting in this film is a major factor, and the entire cast should be commented for their great performances. Paul Rudd gave a tight woven performance that walked the balance between innocents and desire. You root for Adam and feel sorry for him but deep down, you know that he was asking for the betrayal, and deep down you know that he somewhat deserved it. Gretchen Mol is fantastic as Jenny, the woman who had her eye on Adam since the beginning and is more attracted to him now since his makeover. Her performance is a contrast of character and emotions because while she desire Adam, she also wants to believe that her boyfriend Phillip can change, despite the fact that he will not. Frederick Weller is great as Phillip, a man torn between his own macho ego and his own insecurities. He wants to protect Adam from Evelyn but he is doing it more out of fear than friendship, even though his heart may be in the right place. He portrays the right amount of macho grace but lying beneath lies an insecurity that he wants to keep hidden. The best performance out of the entire cast belongs to Rachel Weisz, who brings a raw and uninhibited sense of independence to her role as Evelyn. She walks a fine line between rebellion and insecurity, displaying Evelyn's own strength and weakness in full view of the audience. Her role is the riskiest one of all and the most dangerous, especially in the last act where her speech to the audience is not only the pay off of the entire movie but a real look at a character who is emotionally damage in every sense of the word. Rachel Weisz is an extraordinary actress with uncanny talent, and she brings out the best in every movie she has ever done. She is simply amazing in this film, and her performance in this film will go down as one of the best performances I have ever seen an actor do in a film.
Neil Labute has an eye on the ugliness of the Human spirit, but if you look closely at his work, you would notice that he is simply warning people of the evil that we can inflict on others and ourselves. A timely message that I will not forget after seeing this movie.
Movie Review: Changing - The Shape of Things (Neil LaBute)
Summary: 4 Stars
I invited a (girl) friend of mine to watch this movie with me. After fifteen minutes I could saw that she was extremely bored, so I stopped the "tape" (because in this DivX days tape is at all used any more) and asked her what happened. "It's a boring movie", she said, "and the boy is really not cute". She was conditioned to think that in an American movie with a male and female character the two of them must be attractive. She looked at the surface, at the shape of things. Would she die of horror if she had seen the end? I doubt so. The human kind has a considerable capacity for cover what nobody should seen or thought of.
Neil LaBute wrote a theorem for the stage, and translated (effectively I must add) to the screen. Each gesture and line from his four actors is refined with the assurance that only months of rehearsal can give. I could not think of another way to convey to the broad public, or at least to the segments of them that wants to chew thought food, this piece of existential question that the one LaBute choose. With static settings and nuanced camerawork the attention drifts toward what each character does, what he says and how he says it. The movie is constructed in a number of scenes joined by slices of Elvis Costello music that refers to the plot.
And what is it? Boy meets girl, girl has a great influence over him. Like a teenager comedy from the eighties. And without a twist. If you read other reviews, they would tell you that a wicked twirl of a regular plot awaits you. But the truth is that LaBute decided to play with the silenced consequences of devotion in the love game. And they aren't a deviation from the regular portray of romance in movies but only the result of a little bit of interest in the moral results of it. In a romantic unbalanced couple there is always one that dominates. The question is if everything that derive from this domination is justified in the name of love. LaBute uses art instead of love, because the last one is too much integrated in our thinking like a big justifier that could cover all moral ambivalence. But art, in my opinion, is only here a proxy.
LaBute has been compared to Todd Solonz in his cold treatment of human relationships and hypocrisy. But if Solondz goes for a shock that always pays off, LaBute thinks in terms of an idea surrounded by little examples about it. That sometimes goes wrong (as in "Your Friends & Neighbours") and sometimes goes well (like here). The obsession and conformity with the surface, our "immoral" behavior, betraying friends (that tries to correct misfortunes but goes berserk and is paid for later), the question about our goodness, all are there in those two LaBute movies.
"The Shape of Things" is more streamlined, more energetic in his dialogs, better of the same. It's cheaper than going to theater but has the same feeling, has great music and actors in it, is thought-provoking, and is a great date movie for that date that really (really) deserves to be with you. So what are you waiting for?
Movie Review: Time To Shape Up
Summary: 4 Stars
There's a point in Neil LaBute's razor sharp satire, The Shape Of Things, where the protagonists, Adam and Evelyn, are discussing a show they've just seen. Their graphic description sounds suspiciously like Karen Finley, whose zany antics helped galvanize the extreme right wing against all things liberal and artistic. I saw Finley perform and will freely concede that watching her pour chocolate sauce on her naked body was amusing, diverting, and tested the perimeter of what may seriously be called art. Finley's position was that she herself was her own artistic statement. Evelyn, played brilliantly by Rachel Weisz, takes this concept one step further.
Although it reads like a play adapted for film, it is, The Shape Of Things is really more like a slow burning horror movie that builds to an unbearable climax. It's urbane and clever, a yuppified Who's Afraid Of Virginia Wolf in its sensibility. Plenty of fun references for all the liberal arts major out there. But beneath all this smart banter is a basic assumption laying the groundwork for cruelty to come. That is, when we fall in love, we fall in love with the person who we will have shaped out of the person who is before us now. We don't even see the actual person in front of us; we see what that person might become.
In this regard, The Shape Of Things is a "high concept" film, because it addresses a clearly defined philosophical problem. But the great irony here is that almost all of us are ultimately disappointed because efforts to change the objects of our affection are doomed to failure; people simply don't change unless they must. Thus, the day comes for us when we look across the breakfast table and see the actual person, at last, and most often, that individual is not from royal lineage. We say goodbye to the imaginary person we thought we could shape, and feel a sense of loss.
The dynamic between Adam and Evelyn poses the opposite question - what if you succeeded in shaping a person to your will? What then? What would you have gained? What would be the consequences of such an act, especially the unintended consequences? It's a fascinating question with many layers of complexity, and LaBute is to be congratulated for raising it in his compact, disciplined film. All four players come through admirably, Weisz is amazing, and Paul Rudd delivers the goods in a deceptively understated way. Evelyn's sketchy motives for remaking Adam are clearly the lynch pin of The Shape Of Things, but all the human interactions in this film will get you thinking and keep you thinking. Recommended.
Movie Review: The Shapes Are Diabolical
Summary: 4 Stars
Some people may not feel this movie the same way others do, as it seems to be a Conversationalist film and not a so much the college love story you may expect. At first it definitely does feel like love is brewing between the two main characters but after a while it loses the love and gains a ton of drama. The best thing about The Shape of things is that after a little bit of time the film becomes unpredictable. This movie is filled with talk and even ends in a lot of talk but it is more interesting than boring and you get hooked to see where the story is going.
Adam (Paul Rudd) meets his future girlfriend Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) in the museum he works security. Unfortunately they meet while Evelyn is closing in on a very important sculpture but the can of spray paint in her hand lets Adam know she's not there for a closer look. Now I figure that trouble is coming but the two are almost perfect for each other and they settle for a number exchange. Evelyn is a loud and sometimes obnoxious art soldier and loves anything she can do to make a statement. Paul on the other hand is a nice, calm, and shy guy or geek. Paul's two friends Phillip and Jenny who are engaged give the story that gigantic load of drama it needed to keep the viewer interested.
The four-man cast does a great job making you believe that love or some affection is involved between them but the mystery is who actually loves each other. The genius in the Shape of Things though lies within the belief that one thing is going on and then bam your hit with an unexpected ending and a nicely done performance from Rachel Weisz. She never gives off the secret that she's hiding from her new boyfriend.
This is a movie not only about well kept secrets but psycho girls willing to do anything to get what they want, dishonesty, betrayal, an unlikely love, and most astonishing humiliation for a good grade on an art project. Though to some this film would seem to be unoriginal it was very well done. The style that it was made with was very smooth even though it's mostly talk. It's a great movie and I'm sure that girls will enjoy it on almost all levels especially the ending that is sure to destroy any guy and Rachel Weisz definitely nailed the coffin shut. The story tries to get you to wonder why Evelyn is with Adam but the real story and mystery is why she gets him to change so much or her obsession with photographing and taping themselves but eventually she tells you and it makes the movie pretty good.