Movie Reviews from Hell
Blue Car
| Director: | Karen Moncrieff |
|---|---|
| Year: | 2003 |
| Rating: |
 |
Blue Car has been dubbed as a "Coming of Age" tale, which it is, but don't throw it away thinking that it is one of those silly renditions of the genre, as we've seen in American Pie and other similar movies.
Those others were good, but for their comic value. This movie is excellent, for its portrayal of a girl's harsh reality during tough times. And the storytelling is fantastic, without being too obvious, condescending, or revealing too much at once.
The director, Karen Moncrieff, has let life speak for itself - during the worst of times. The young star, Mel (played by Agnes Bruckner), experiences a tragic and emotionally devestating period of time in her teenage life. Her family is on the virge of falling apart after the leaving of her father (this happens just as the movie begins.) Her younger sister has a serious mental condition and massacist tendencies, while her mother, although meaning well, is weak and distressed, and escapes her problems through single-tracking her mind and focusing on the minutae of her own life. Her weakness to distraction alienates her daughters in their time of need. All of this contributes to Mel's world falling apart, piece by piece, day by day.
Enter the knight in shining armor, Mel's English teacher (played by David Strathairn.) When Mel is in her hour of need, he reaches out to her, by encouraging her to focus on her talent for poetry.
Or so it would seem.
There are clues right from his first encounters with Mel, that Mel's mind isn't the only thing he wishes to nurture. In a short amount of time, it becomes apparent that it is irrelevant what David's character actually thinks of Mel's poetry, and that it is simply a sleezy, although physchologically cunning, way to get inside of Mel's defenses and have his way with her.
However, David's character is not a slasher movie predator, but instead a man who is weak, and I would guess, very insecure. His seemingly confident way of interacting with Mel is more of a ruse, a default role that he leans on, from his experiences of being a figure of authority. He is very aware that what he's doing is wrong, and the fact that he is a figure of authority to Mel becomes a crutch for him to lean on, as he unwillingly plots his inevitable demise as a respectable human being.
The beauty of David's acting in this role was his ability to show this very delicate balance. In fact, credit must be given to all involved - Bruckner's part was beautifully played, in all of it's confusion and turmoil. She was real, and I cared what would happen to her, her little sister, and her family. The teacher's wife was also a short, but very keen role. Her character was very keen, too - all it took was the administering of a 30 second eye-to-eye examination, complete with a few lax statements, and the entire story about her husband and Mel was clear to her.
This movie is another masterpiece that I think should of recieved more attention than it did. It was a critical success, yes, but did the public really respond to it in the way I think it deserved? No. It's sad to see this movie holding only 4 slots at the video store I rented it at, when simple formulaic trash like "Head of State" still holds an entire column several weeks after it's release.