The Shape of Things
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Movie Reviews of The Shape of Things
Movie Review: a picture is worth a thousand words
Summary: 4 Stars
This film ranks among the best films I've ever seen, but since I didn't care for the sound track and the acting could have been better, I give it 4 stars. My favorite films all have three things in common; they all make some sort of profound statement(s) are hard to forget and usually have at least one character or experiences that I can relate to in some way. The film is about how people tend to focus on the superficial aspects of things or their shapes, hence the title "The Shape of Things". The two main characters in the film are a grad student and a security guard. The grad student (the girl) is an artsy type and the security guard can be described as an akward and shy young man. The two meet in a museum in front of a large semi-nude statue. The girl gets his attention by walking too close to the statue. After being asked to step back, she doesn't budge and continues to defy him by ignoring what he says. The security guard doesn't have the guts to assert himself, so the young woman continues to stand close and break more rules by taking pictures of the statue and she even pulls out a can spraypaint. The two get into sort of an akward conversation and decide to see each other again. They fall in love with one another and start dating. Everything seems fine up to a point but the first person to discover that something is not quite right is another female friend of the security guard.
Although I didn't predict exactly what was going to happen at the end, I seriously thought that something much worse or sinister was going to happen so I was prepared but still surprised.
From the very beginning of the film, I think anyone who has common sense could easily see that one of the characters in particular has a few screws lose and would be best left alone. I could also tell by one of the characters answers that someone's leg is being pulled. The character's demeanor, behavior and appearance spelled TROUBLE from the very beginning. The "stunt" that was pulled in the film would not blow over well with everybody. The antagonist had to be very selective of the target.
This is one of those films that can cause people to talk for hours because it's so unique and has so many interesting ramifications.
Movie Review: Intriguing movie
Summary: 4 Stars
I have never seen any of this directors other films, so I wasn't prepared for the shocking conclusion of this one! From reading about his other movies, those who are fans of his would be more likely to see it coming I imagine!The basic story involves only four characters and from what I've read, is adapted from a 4-person play which explains a lot of the extended scenes. Adam (Paul Rudd) is an overweight nerd who works in a museum. When Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) comes in and attempts to deface a statue's genitalia, the two meet. Adam is immediately smitten and is surprised when the beautiful, artsy Evelyn flirts with him. The two begin a relationship and Evelyn steadily begins to change things about Adam. At first, she just gets him to change his hair style and start jogging. The changes get steadily larger and include getting plastic surgery on his nose, getting rid of his favorite jacket and him getting a tattoo of her initials. She also gets him to ditch his best friends, engaged couple Phillip and Jenny (Frederick Weller and Gretchen Mol).
While I say I wasn't prepared for the shocking conclusion, I did realize soon in to the film exactly what Evelyn was up to. I was expecting there to be some sort of twist to it that would make Adam wise up to her, but there wasn't any of that. I was a little disappointed because it seemed way too obvious what Evelyn was going to do. Also, the way the ending was pulled off was a little awkward and stiff. The rest of the movie was much better, I don't think the ending did it justice.
Overall the acting in the film was good, the only complaint I would have is Frederick Weller was a little over the top with his character. There are some scenes, especially the one in the park between Adam and Jenny, that were obviously shot in one take, which is impressive! Rarely do you see a 10-15 minute scene done in one long take anymore. The film was shot in very few locations, I think only around ten. I'm assuming this is because it was originally a play, it wasn't meant to have dozens of sets. The dialogue is overall well written (until the end) and despite being somewhat disappointed by the conclusion, I still enjoyed most of the film.
Movie Review: The Evil of Art
Summary: 4 Stars
Like being punched in the nose, the pain is so shocking that it leaves you fallen to the ground holding your head in surprise and victimizing you pride. Being dumped in a relationship can hurt a person, in The Shape of Things; Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) plays an evil hearted woman who sculpts a human being into her art thesis. In this sour comedy Evelyn's main title for her thesis is "Moralists have no place in an art gallery," which holds true for the climax for this movie. Adam (Paul Rudd) ironically works in a museum, who innocently discovers Evelyn and from that point Evelyn secretly molds and shapes Adam into societies clich? of what people see in popular magazines. Evelyn uses her skill of sexual seduction, convincing persuasion, and even reframes from using powerful motives such as; you must or you have to. With these artistic persuading skills Adam has changed his style of clothing, his sense of style, he finds him having surgery on his imperfect nose, disregards his friends, and even lives a different way to accommodate Evelyn's wants. Neil LaBute writes edits and directs this move in such a poetic and sophisticated way that he is the modern day parallel to Edgar Allen Poe. Having the climax at the end of the movie makes it slow paced, but with patience this move really is emotionally disgusting. Labute successfully created this movie to show that "Moralists have no place in an art gallery." Labute also demonstrates how powerful the combination of women and persuasion has on men, and what extremities men will do to satisfy a women's needs. It is controversial to say that "Moralists have no place in an art gallery," because of history of art. Shakespeare demonstrated tragedy, but tragedy shows us reality, and other poets who talk about happiness, these are things that show us reality and it is the reality of art to show us what is moral and what is not. The Shape of Things is a move about a big question, is there moral in art? This movie successfully challenges the audience to think about that big question. It is also ironic that the characters name are Adam and Evelyn... Creative but sad this move is granted four stars out of five.Movie Review: A Successful Stage to Film Transfer
Summary: 4 Stars
Neil LaBute is a force to reckon with. In THE SHAPE OF THINGS he has transferred his four character play (using the original actors) to the screen without resorting to a lot of cinematic chicanery to alter his message about art imitating life imitating art. Though the dialogue feels stilted in the beginning (the ending of the story is so well concealed that we the audience are literally part of the charade), LaBute guides his quartet of actors through vignettes that trap us deeper and deeper into the jolting ending with phenomenal ease. Rachel Weisz is the guiding charlatan on this adventure and her willing model is Paul Rudd, believably undergoing the transformation from an overweight nerd into a fit and classy man about campus (the college of scene is aptly named 'Mercy College'). The unknowing other 'players' in this tale are Gretchen Mol and Frederick Weller who add a dimension of reality to the progressing project. In the end we understand that we have been witnessing the dark side of comedy and we are left with the question "What constitutes Art?" - and it is at this point that we wish we could return to the beginning and fully appreciate just how fine is LaBute's writing. This is a difficult film to classify, but that again is part of its unique quality. Recommended.Movie Review: Very smart and unsettling.
Summary: 4 Stars
For people who've seen this movie:
I found the double-cross at the end of this deeply unsettling. This movie felt like a comedy of manners/character ensemble at first and I was looking for fun personality quirks and that kind of detail, but the playwrite was really working towards making a _Statement About Art_, a kind of philosophical Point - something very rare in American cinema. I was surprised - I would expect it more in a French movie.
I found it easy to fall for Rachel Weisz myself, and morover I thought the male friend was just a repellent jerk. So although Rachel was obviously trying to mold him in a certain direction, it felt agreeable and OK because his resistence wasn't very strong and the people and traits he was getting away from were not necessarily a reflection of his true nature. They were personality ticks holding him down. She was improving him.
That she turned out to be a strangely uncaring sociopath at the end..well it made sense in hindsight, and it was a good hook to hang a movie around, so I guess this film succeeded on its own terms. This is a good character drama and worthwhile as a rental if not a purchase.