I watched this and "Mulholland Drive" back-to-back. (I rated them both a '6') Both Lynch and Weir are directors who know how to build moods; and this asset might be more important than any one thing you see onscreen. "Fearless" is certainly the more 'linear' film of the two, but both aim to get the viewer in their gut rather than with standout scenes.
A lot of the time "Fearless" succeeds in this intention, but ironically it might just be the undoing of the film as well. You could say it's like directing transposed to a poker game, and a lot of the time I found myself thinking: "Am I being shown a hand when I THINK I am, or is it just a bluff?" It's smoke and mirrors, details are revealed at odd moments but never without purpose. It's sometimes comforting not to have to doubt at any time that the director is in control; but it's a competence that could ultimately hurt the film; the core of it embracing so totally as it does the concept of 'abandon'.
Two characters in the film bond through their shared notion of something 'cosmic' that alienates the outsiders around them. Peter Weir is so confident with his material though, that it becomes almost like a gang of three. The character 'couple' know what they're doing/where they're going, and so does the director, but an audience member not attuned to such ethereal moments might feel stranded at times. It's almost like the story will only really 'connect' if you've lived through it YOURSELF, rather than offering much insight from a 'distanced' perspective. This is compounded by our never being told more than we NEED to know about Max. This approach may have worked for some people, but I can't say it really did for me...
A definite 'plus' regarding this route comes from the role of Jeff Bridges. Ever the interesting performer whatever the circumstances, he's permitted to be fascinatingly enigmatic here, and this only serves to make his work all the more hypnotic. Jarringly disrupting this, though, is Rosie Perez. She undermines yet another film via her grating vocals alone, although excepting this she's certainly dramatically adequate. This role, unlike "White Men Can't Jump", doesn't need someone whose permanent setting is 'shrill', and that subtracts from the moments where otherwise she's doing good work.
Max's initial unwavering confidence and insensitivity to his wife at times does this to the film as a WHOLE, too; isolating people when perhaps I would have felt better had he been an emissary spreading the good word. Hell, it worked fine in movies like "Phenomenon" for one; and THAT was with a director and material that were substantially less accomplished than this project sports. 'Engaging' though it was, I'm more inclined to think of this as a missed opportunity, then, as far as I'm concerned...
A lot of the time "Fearless" succeeds in this intention, but ironically it might just be the undoing of the film as well. You could say it's like directing transposed to a poker game, and a lot of the time I found myself thinking: "Am I being shown a hand when I THINK I am, or is it just a bluff?" It's smoke and mirrors, details are revealed at odd moments but never without purpose. It's sometimes comforting not to have to doubt at any time that the director is in control; but it's a competence that could ultimately hurt the film; the core of it embracing so totally as it does the concept of 'abandon'.
Two characters in the film bond through their shared notion of something 'cosmic' that alienates the outsiders around them. Peter Weir is so confident with his material though, that it becomes almost like a gang of three. The character 'couple' know what they're doing/where they're going, and so does the director, but an audience member not attuned to such ethereal moments might feel stranded at times. It's almost like the story will only really 'connect' if you've lived through it YOURSELF, rather than offering much insight from a 'distanced' perspective. This is compounded by our never being told more than we NEED to know about Max. This approach may have worked for some people, but I can't say it really did for me...
A definite 'plus' regarding this route comes from the role of Jeff Bridges. Ever the interesting performer whatever the circumstances, he's permitted to be fascinatingly enigmatic here, and this only serves to make his work all the more hypnotic. Jarringly disrupting this, though, is Rosie Perez. She undermines yet another film via her grating vocals alone, although excepting this she's certainly dramatically adequate. This role, unlike "White Men Can't Jump", doesn't need someone whose permanent setting is 'shrill', and that subtracts from the moments where otherwise she's doing good work.
Max's initial unwavering confidence and insensitivity to his wife at times does this to the film as a WHOLE, too; isolating people when perhaps I would have felt better had he been an emissary spreading the good word. Hell, it worked fine in movies like "Phenomenon" for one; and THAT was with a director and material that were substantially less accomplished than this project sports. 'Engaging' though it was, I'm more inclined to think of this as a missed opportunity, then, as far as I'm concerned...