Shattered Glass in an Ice Storm
May 17, 2010 3:33 PM Subscribe
FilmFilter: What artistic quality might Shattered Glass and The Ice Storm have in common? Where can I find more of it?
Something about the cinematography, direction, acting, and/or editing makes these films feel filled with real people, like they're capturing the way real people speak and move--except in a slightly more polished fashion. I do think it's some artistic choice rather than a signature thing, because I IMDB'd the directors and cinematographers and the other movies of theirs that I've seen don't have this quality. I did note Sarsgaard's performance in Kinsey at the time I first saw it, because it seemed real in this way, but he's not in The Ice Storm. And it doesn't have be set in modern times--Howards End has something of this quality as well.
They look alike to me, even though I can't pinpoint why. They're beautiful but not as artificial as Kubrick's and Wes Anderson's beautiful films are. Instead, they feel more intimate and realistic, almost like documentaries filmed secretly and in a very polished way.
The acting feels natural too. It could be that Sarsgaard, Kline, et al are just extremely subtle at being great, so their performances seem spontaneous rather than rehearsed. But so are many other fantastic actors whose films don't seem similar in this mysterious way (I didn't see it in American Beauty, for example).
Whatever this understated/restrained/natural/intimate/realistic yet mind-blowing thing is, I want more of it. Suggestions? Feel free to tell me I'm wrong.
Something about the cinematography, direction, acting, and/or editing makes these films feel filled with real people, like they're capturing the way real people speak and move--except in a slightly more polished fashion. I do think it's some artistic choice rather than a signature thing, because I IMDB'd the directors and cinematographers and the other movies of theirs that I've seen don't have this quality. I did note Sarsgaard's performance in Kinsey at the time I first saw it, because it seemed real in this way, but he's not in The Ice Storm. And it doesn't have be set in modern times--Howards End has something of this quality as well.
They look alike to me, even though I can't pinpoint why. They're beautiful but not as artificial as Kubrick's and Wes Anderson's beautiful films are. Instead, they feel more intimate and realistic, almost like documentaries filmed secretly and in a very polished way.
The acting feels natural too. It could be that Sarsgaard, Kline, et al are just extremely subtle at being great, so their performances seem spontaneous rather than rehearsed. But so are many other fantastic actors whose films don't seem similar in this mysterious way (I didn't see it in American Beauty, for example).
Whatever this understated/restrained/natural/intimate/realistic yet mind-blowing thing is, I want more of it. Suggestions? Feel free to tell me I'm wrong.
You might like All The Real Girls and Snow Angels.
posted by reductiondesign at 3:45 PM on May 17, 2010
posted by reductiondesign at 3:45 PM on May 17, 2010
Best answer: This is my favorite genre of film. I call them 'slice of life' movies. I haven't seen Shattered Glass, but just watched the trailer (and I've seen and loved The Ice Storm). What I've loved about these movies is that the focus of each scene is on the lines. Er, rather, what's between them. Which is much like real human interaction. If the scene is, let's say a party, and two people are talking, one may glance across the room and make eye contact with another...while the dialogue is what we are paying attention to, it's the glance and what it means that we are left with, even if it's not the purpose of the scene. Movies like this are pragmatically rich. We can watch them on the surface level, with lots of attention paid to the plot and how all the scenes fit together to tell a story. But we can also pay attention to the meta-level, with just as much meaning gleaned to what is not said and what's relevant to the characters beyond (and more accurately, below) the plot. American Beauty (while I consider it a slice of life film) does not work because the 'glances' serve to further the plot. The director wants you to notice them as relevant to the characters' plights. But with these others, the 'glances' have lives and meanings of their own, sometimes coalescing with the plot, but often not.
Short Cuts does this. As does High Fidelity (and I'm thinking of a particular scene here...when Dick walks into Rob's office after he (Rob) just received some bad news. Dick asks, "Do you want to talk about it." Rob says, "No...but thanks Dick." That simple exchange was more than Rob refuting Dick's offer of companionship, because the way Rob replied anticipated Dick's insecurity about being rejected for the offer, and the viewer recognizes that Rob found it slightly trifling to have to deal with the social nicety of putting himself aside to address Dick's oncoming bruised ego, which he has probably done a million times before. You see the struggle; Rob appreciates the offer, but really doesn't feel like talking and must pause and attend to the pragmatics of the exchange he is currently engaged in. Actors don't always play their scenes like this, because while the moment is real, the ongoing social world before and after the exchange, which crucially informs the relationships, doesn't really exist for them. But this is how human interaction works and very few dialogue exchanges in movies can express those deeper level subtleties.)
posted by iamkimiam at 4:12 PM on May 17, 2010 [4 favorites]
Short Cuts does this. As does High Fidelity (and I'm thinking of a particular scene here...when Dick walks into Rob's office after he (Rob) just received some bad news. Dick asks, "Do you want to talk about it." Rob says, "No...but thanks Dick." That simple exchange was more than Rob refuting Dick's offer of companionship, because the way Rob replied anticipated Dick's insecurity about being rejected for the offer, and the viewer recognizes that Rob found it slightly trifling to have to deal with the social nicety of putting himself aside to address Dick's oncoming bruised ego, which he has probably done a million times before. You see the struggle; Rob appreciates the offer, but really doesn't feel like talking and must pause and attend to the pragmatics of the exchange he is currently engaged in. Actors don't always play their scenes like this, because while the moment is real, the ongoing social world before and after the exchange, which crucially informs the relationships, doesn't really exist for them. But this is how human interaction works and very few dialogue exchanges in movies can express those deeper level subtleties.)
posted by iamkimiam at 4:12 PM on May 17, 2010 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: If the scene is, let's say a party, and two people are talking, one may glance across the room and make eye contact with another...while the dialogue is what we are paying attention to, it's the glance and what it means that we are left with, even if it's not the purpose of the scene....American Beauty (while I consider it a slice of life film) does not work because the 'glances' serve to further the plot...Actors don't always play their scenes like this, because while the moment is real, the ongoing social world before and after the exchange, which crucially informs the relationships, doesn't really exist for them. But this is how human interaction works and very few dialogue exchanges in movies can express those deeper level subtleties.
YES!! Bingo, iamkimiam. It's like we know things about the characters that we don't actually need to (whether to understand the plot or understand the driving theme of the film), which is what makes the characters (and the worlds they live in) feel real, like they exist outside the screen.
Thanks for the suggestions so far, everyone.
posted by sallybrown at 4:23 PM on May 17, 2010
YES!! Bingo, iamkimiam. It's like we know things about the characters that we don't actually need to (whether to understand the plot or understand the driving theme of the film), which is what makes the characters (and the worlds they live in) feel real, like they exist outside the screen.
Thanks for the suggestions so far, everyone.
posted by sallybrown at 4:23 PM on May 17, 2010
You really need to revel in some Altman films. I recommend Nashville, but iamkimiam's recommendation of Short Cuts is good too.
posted by hermitosis at 4:32 PM on May 17, 2010
posted by hermitosis at 4:32 PM on May 17, 2010
Try The Sweet Hereafter
posted by sad_otter at 4:46 PM on May 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by sad_otter at 4:46 PM on May 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
Oh, this is a pretty cheesy TV show, BUT, the actors in "Lie to Me" really attune to these features, as the whole show is about micro-expressions, context, and pragmatic signals (the characters are forensic psychologists solving crimes by investigating the truths - or lies - people tell).
I find it fun, because sometimes you see a glimpse of something super real, especially from Tim Roth's character.
posted by iamkimiam at 5:09 PM on May 17, 2010
I find it fun, because sometimes you see a glimpse of something super real, especially from Tim Roth's character.
posted by iamkimiam at 5:09 PM on May 17, 2010
I found My Blueberry Nights to have a quality quite similar to what you are talking about.
posted by gauche at 5:18 PM on May 17, 2010
posted by gauche at 5:18 PM on May 17, 2010
My favorite type of film too. Lots of English directors, most notably Mike Leigh and Ken Loach make movies like this, if grittier. My favs would include Happy-Go-Lucky and Life is Sweet.
posted by bendybendy at 5:26 PM on May 17, 2010
posted by bendybendy at 5:26 PM on May 17, 2010
And if you like "Savages" and "Happiness" then you'll probably also enjoy "The Squid and the Whale."
posted by nevercalm at 6:14 PM on May 17, 2010
posted by nevercalm at 6:14 PM on May 17, 2010
You might be interested in the films of Lisa Cholodenko, Karen Moncrieff, and Nicole Holofcener.
posted by cazoo at 6:36 PM on May 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by cazoo at 6:36 PM on May 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Happiness
About Schmidt
Away We Go
You might be interested in this old question of mine, though certainly not all of the movies fit.
posted by Jaltcoh at 3:44 PM on May 17, 2010