Hey folks, Harry here... whew... here's a couple of reviews that give us the first look of how SOLARIS is playing to audiences and it doesn't look good. It seems the the intellect and the theory is all in place and smart. However, it seems that the pacing is so methodically slow that while the movie is just over 90 minutes in length, folks feel the film is nearly double that length in the theater, and not in the good way. The second review tells of an audience fleeing from the theater out of boredom. Man, I hope this isn't a sign that the film reached a level of self-importance that stifles what was a great script. Hopefully, it'll play differently for me.
Harry, Mori:
I am a huge fan/supporter of you guys, and I've written in several times, but none of my tidbits have ever been deemed worthy of posting. Oh well -- I live in Washington, DC, so while there's plenty of dirt to dish on the Bush twins, there's not too much movie news that crosses my path.
There aren't too many Solaris reviews on your site, and I just attended an advance screening courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, so I thought I'd write in with some thoughts. Here goes...
I have never read the story Solaris, nor have I seen the 1972 film, so I came into this movie as a Solaris virgin. Man oh man am I confused! I don't know whether to heap lavish praise or flat out bash this film. I have seriously never been so confused as to my feelings towards a film. The last time I felt this way was when I first saw Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. I know that Solaris has been compared to 2001 before, and the comparison is just. Both movies combine amazing filmmaking, both movies encourage deep thought and reflection, and both movies have indecipherable plots and scenes that drag on endlessly! Maybe I will figure out my opinion of Solaris while I type. Here goes...
George Clooney stars as Dr. Chris Kelvin, a psychiatrist who is urged to travel to a space station circling the planet Solaris to figure out what has happened to the astronauts and scientists on board (contact has been broken, strange transmissions have been sent to Earth, yada yada yada). Immediately upon entering the space station, Kelvin spots all sorts of weird things -- blood trails, dead bodies, more blood trails, some weird kid running around. I was hooked, but I had no idea where the story was going to go. I have still not found the answer to that initial quandary.
Kelvin comes in contact with Snow, played by Jeremy Davies. Let me pause to say that Davies is incredible. I cannot praise this guy enough. When audience members were heckling the film (more on that later), they would immediately quiet down every time Davies came onscreen. Snow is creepy, confused (seemingly stoned) and unable to shed any helpful light on what is going on aboard the space station. Kelvin also meets Dr. Gordon, played by Viola Davis, a scientist who refuses to leave her room and seems very, very freaked out. Davis is also wonderful. I know that I am beginning to sound like a PLANT, but through-and-through, the acting in this film was TOP FUCKIN' NOTCH!
Well, after catching some sleep, Kelvin awakes to find that his wife Rheya (Natascha McElhone...HOT) is aboard the station with him. Well, this is a bit of a problem, because Kelvin left Rheya back on Earth...in a casket (cue Psycho music)!!! Yes, as we soon discover, Solaris seems to be creating companions for each crew member based on memories of people that they miss or dream about or long for or love. The problem is, as Kelvin and Rheya soon discover, Solaris is only able to mold these "re-creations" based on memories.
Well, memories are tricky things. Have you ever dated someone, had a terrible relationship, but then missed them when they were gone? Have you ever only remembered the worst features of someone, and not the best? How about vice versa?? How much do you really, really know someone else -- enough for them to be re-created entirely from your memories??? These questions are definitely meant for the audience to ponder, and they are just the tip of the iceberg. However, the film also raises many questions that do not seem to serve either the plot or the meaning/interpretation of the film.
Amongst the questions raised by Solaris (both purposeful and, perhaps, accidental): We never truly understand how Solaris is deciding what companion to re-create for the crew members. As I mentioned above, the companions first seem chosen by love or longing (i.e., if you love someone and/or miss them, Solaris re-creates them for you), but this theory seemingly gets shot to shit later in the film. Does anything explain the companion created for Snow?? Whom (or what) was created for Dr. Gordon? What is Solaris' goal? Does Solaris even have a goal (it is a planet after all)? What really happened to the two crew members whose bodies were found by Kelvin? What ever happened to the crew of the first rescue mission?? Do the Solaris-created beings have freewill, or are they doomed by the constraints of the crew member's memories? If Rheya is solely a product of Kelvin's memories, then how does she remember events that he was not around to witness? Is it because he has created false memories of things that she did without him? What happens at the end of the film??? Is Rheya's last line a total cop-out, or am I just too shallow to understand?????
Let me say this: I LOVE films that force the viewer to think, and talk about the film, and ask questions. But there has to be a point where the questions posed by a film simply turn into gigantic plot holes. Solaris dances very trickily on the edge of this blade. I was so pleased to be able to talk with my date about the film long after it had ended, but I was discouraged that we were totally unable to solve many discrepancies and contradictions that we noticed within the film. Were these sources of confusion meant to baffle the audience, or was Soderbergh simply unable to pull everything together? As of now, the plot and questions of Solaris are ravaging my brain. This makes me happy, but irritates me at the same time.
Okay, BIG, HUGE PROBLEM: Solaris drags like RuPaul. Soderbergh really takes his time with each shot and each plot development. He gives the audience time to consider and ponder each new occurrence as it happens onscreen. This is wonderful at first, but it grows old quickly. At about the 2 hour mark (I didn't have a watch, so I don't know the exact time -- more on that later), people started heckling the screen, laughing at inappropriate times and talking out loud--even groaning. Eventually a good 25-30 people (NO exaggeration) stormed out of the theater. I have never, ever seen so many people walk out of a film before. I felt that this kind of response was totally unwarranted, but I did understand the frustration. I was hooked on the film, but I was also desperate for the plot to advance, desperate for the film to provide some answers instead of only posing more questions.
I am not afraid of long films-- Solaris may have been 3 hours long, but so was Lord of the Rings, and I never wanted that movie to end! Oh well--when Solaris finally did end, the whole theater clapped and cheered, and I truly feel that half of the audience was applauding out of appreciation for the film, and the other half because the movie was finally, finally over. Well guess what--upon leaving the theater, my date checked her watch and was shocked to find that the film was only 90 minutes long! I could not believe it--surely her watch had broken. I watch a ton of movies -- I know a 90 minute film, and I definitely know a 180 minute film. Solaris had to be the latter. Wrong. My cell phone (when turned back on) confirmed that the movie was indeed only 90 minutes.
No matter how much you love a film, it is NEVER a good sign when you overestimate the length by a factor of 2!
Well guys, I need to get to bed. I don't know if this rambling summation of my Solaris experience is at all helpful or worthy of posting, but I needed to get it off my chest. Like an exorcism.
Your friend forever,
ZeMightyJedd
This review details how people fled the screening in boredom by the droves, but how he still liked the film quite a bit. Here ya go...
Harry,
Went to a screening of "Solaris" tonight in D.C. and boy was it surreal. I'll try to keep this spoiler free but i may drop a few. Incase you didn't know "Solaris" is about a psychologist, Chris Kelvin (George Clooney), who is informed that one of his old friends, Gibarian (Ulrich Tukur), sent him a message requesting help. So Chris goes off to the space station orbiting around the mysterious planet of Solaris. Once he gets on board the weirdness begins and i don't even want to start explaining it (even the characters can't explain it).
I liked the movie a lot but i don't know what to think of it, yet (hopefully you'll understand what i mean when you see it). George Clooney give's what in my opinion is his greatest performance on his career, but to some people that might still means he sucks. I didn't find him as wooden in this role and at time's he was able to express great emotion. Clooney is in every scene and he did a great job in this extremely dramatic role. No matter how good I felt about Clooney, he comes nowhere close to Jeremy Davies. Davies plays "Snow" and he gives the best performance in the film. In my opinion Davies plays "Snow" like a pot head who is amazed by everything he sees but can't explain it. All I can say is WOW, he adds a little bit of humor in the parts that need it and he also sets the mood right from the beginning. Clooney's wife in the movie is played by Natascha McElhone and she did also did a Great job giving her role is pretty difficult. She shine's in every scene and emits an amazing screen presence. Once you see the film and you see the emotions she has been act, you'll see what i am talking about. Viola Davis plays "Helen Gordon" and she does a good job with what she is given. she only has about 5 scenes and she is not given much to do in those scenes but she still manages to be the center of the focus. That pretty much the entire cast.
The real star of this film is Soderbergh. Steven Soderbergh is the writer and director of this film and he does a good of making eye candy. I was amazed by the look of almost every shot, the man is a true artist. I'm personally glad that James Cameron decided not to do this as his follow up to "Titanic". In my opinion people would have been very disappointed because they would be expecting another "Titanic" type movie and this is not that type. There has been very little buzz around this film for some reason considering the talent behind it. Almost everybody i know has never heard of it, and my guess this is because they really have not advertised it. I've never seen the preview in the theaters (and i go a few times a week) only a handful on TV and every little on the Internet.
This brings me to the screening, one of the weirdest time at a movie ever. The film starts with no credits and jumps right into the story. About half an hour into the movie 2 people stood up and left. Then another 2 and then another 4. About every 5 minutes a few people would stand up and leave. It cumulated with about Half an hour left when 3 ROWS! of people stood up and left. Some people started laughing and seemed to not be enjoying the movie. In total I would say 50 people left. As the ending credits began to roll a few people began to clap, but were quickly silenced. out in the lobby i heard such things as "Worst Movie Ever" and "The last screening i went to was The Time Machine and now this, I think I'll never go to one again". I was not surprised. there where a few of us who were keeping ever quiet, praising the film but the people who hated it were being very vocal. The biggest complaint I heard was that it was boring. I was wondering if we saw the same movie because i never felt bored (in fact the film was shorter than expected, i was expecting a 2-2 1/2 hour film and instead it is only about 95 minutes).
Well over all i liked the movie but many people hated it. the last time i was at a film that was this diverse was "A.I.", where i was the only one who stood up and applauded. See the film on the 27th and see what your opinion is. This film will truly divide an audience.
Sincerely,
Shab-a-doo
