Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Even when Spike Lee makes a failure, I find him fascinating, and I always hope for the best. Sounds like he may have made a real winner here, going the Altman/SECRET HONOR route to craft something personal and intimate and powerful.
Hey, Quint, you chubby chimp, you're in Vancouver for this festival. Do the right thing, boyo... get your ass to a screening of this and give us a report. Let us know if today's reviewer, Porridge, is on the money or out of his mind. Either way, he's passionate. Check it out...
DAMNNIT THIS IS IMPORTANT! or Best Spike Lee Movie Since Do The Right Thing!!
Dear Moriarty,
You guys support a lot of films. Films that usualy may go unnoticed by mainstream audiences. So please take the time to read this message, because a great film is on the verge of not being appreciated.
I don't usually pimp films. But there are great films, and there are GREAT films. Films that address questions that riddle your existence. Challenge your thought process. Films that make you write emails to your smartest friends an hour after leaving the theatre. Films that are so well-executed and refined, from top to bottom, you re-evaluate yourself as an artist, and as a person. This is up there with Crumb, Happiness, Heat ... It is as good as storytelling gets.
A Huey P. Newton Story, written and performed by Roger Guenveur Smith and directed by Spike Lee. The entire movie is Huey P. Newton (played by Smith), the founder of the Black Panther's, sitting in a chair on stage. Talking. Joking. Teaching. Mourning.
Why this movie is so good:
1) It is the first great digital movie. It is shot with 12 digital cameras. The editing, the shot selection, is excellent. This ain't the Blair Witch project or Timecode -- Simple novelty acts. This is not Bamboozled - It is far more refined, controlled, focused. This movie is one notch better than the last good movie I saw, Ghost World, in every aspect - cinematography, acting, script, direction ... maybe Ghost World had a better or more eclectic score. This is what digital filmmaking, or the digital revolution, should be about - Giving great films that don't have a shot in hell in the Hollywood system a chance. SO SUPPORT IT.
2) It is the best thing Spike Lee has ever directed, next to Do The Right Thing. This as restrained as Lee has ever been, which me it is still beautifully shot, paced, edited. Bamboozled, Summer of Sam, He Got Game - why fascinating and ambitious, they were tad overindulgent.
*Note: Since Spike Lee didn't write this script, this isn't your 'typical' Spike Lee movie. It is much more. And don't let the subject matter fool you -- This is not a BLACK film, about BLACK people, for BLACK audiences. This is about humanity, society, conditioning, and revolution.
3) R. G. Smith's performance is downright incredible. The accent, the speech patterns, the mannerisms, the ticks ... you can see the acting in the eyes. It's so complex and psychologically involved; you can hear the wheels turning in his brain. It's rare to see such a complicated, eccentric, intelligent, tortured person (Huey) captured this well. The amount of energy and dedication required to pull this part off is almost beyond belief. You think DeNiro was the shit for gaining 30 pounds for Raging Bull? Well, Smith has researched, performed and workshopped this part for the past 12 years. That's how well refined this performance is. It's one of the best performances captured on film/tape.
4) The script is equally refined. It's brilliant, and pretty much composed of speeches, writings and poetry by Huey Newton, and the incredible ad libs of R. Smith. They could of made it Huey's biopic, but it wouldn't get close to covering the themes this movie does (i.e. Panther, by Mario Van Peeples). Not only is the cadence and poetry of the language sophisticated; melodic; downright Shakespearean in craftsmanship, but the content; the subject matter -- Holy shit. Really compelling. This is a man who started a revolution that never happened. Discover what it's like to believe something so strongly that you would die for it, and what happens when that belief is taken from you. Discover the personal, social, and political consequences of wanting to make the world a better place. It's about revolution, icons, and the human condition. It's a tragedy loaded with insight and funny observations that all twenty year-old, let's-change-system pseudo-intellectuals should experience. So you want to change the world, kid? Watch this movie.
In short, this movie kicks ass. What's tragic is that this movie may pass by unnoticed/appreciated. It has already aired on the (ugh) Black StarZ channel in the U.S., although they're pushing for a theatrical release (improbable). It's deserves a wider audience. Thankfully, Smith (he was at the screening) says it will air on PBS next summer, if anything. It is also playing again...
THIS MONDAY, @ HOLLYWOOD 12:30 PM IN VANCOUVER. SMITH WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE.
Smith's funny, and full of witty anecdotes (like referring to Mario Van Peeple's doomed Huey Newton flic as "New Jack Panther").
It was quite a cool experience, exceeding all my expectations. But now that I've raised yours, you'll probably be disappointed. Sorry. But see it anyways. How can you not love a movie with a line like:
"The first course I took in college was criminology. I always knew I wanted to be a criminal, I guess I didn't know what kind I should be."
From Porridge.
Like I said... strong words. Smith is one of those great character actors that's never had a defining part, something people would forever identify him with. Sounds like he's finally found one, and I'm looking forward to it. Can't believe this one has flown so far under the radar so far. Let's hope we can change that...
"Moriarty" out.
