Recent media consumption
Jul. 24th, 2004 08:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
muck_a_luckSo, in the last two-three weeks, have watched Gosford Park, *finally*, A Room with a View, again, and The Name of the Rose.
Gosford Park. What's not to like? Something for everyone. Murder mystery, love story, melodrama, singing, beautiful countryside. My first thought was to be boggled at the way a house like that was run and the wealth it obviously took to make that happen. (CK presumes historical accuracy. CK knows nothing about English country manors between the wars except what she sees in TV land.) The "behind the scenes" part of the house is as big as the part where the family lives! Swarms of people whose entire function is to keep a few other people comfortable and well fed. Well, to be fair, a lot of guests at the shooting party, but still. Second thought, Housekeeper an executive position expected to be held by a woman. So interesting.
A Room with a View. First, I would like to acknowledge that I have not read the book, so all my comments are movie related. This is a really weird look at love. Cecil, despite his obvious lack of charm, seems to be honestly in love with Lucy, though I can't imagine what she saw in him. Or maybe he was in love with the idea of Lucy, the Pure Country Girl. But still, I didn't get the impression it was in a crass, sort of "she's good breeding stock" kind of way. More a sweet, searching for purity and fulfillment kind of way.
George seems to be in love with Lucy for no clear reason. Lust at first sight, seems to me. They have their little interlude in Italy which amounts to a lot of nothing, except the incident in the Palaza. And if the death of that man is supposed to be some sort of binding moment between them, then that's more than a little twisted.
Lucy seems to be madly in love with George, possibly just because he is so in love with her. Of course, he is passionate, as well. Fine. More lust at first sight. So, my question. Are they being held up as ideal lovers? Or illustrating the shallowness of young love?
Husband asked me who I would want, Geroge or Cecil. Quite frankly, given the choices presented by this film, I'd be much more interested in George's father or the vicar. Sure, they're kind of dumpy middle-aged to late-middle-aged men, but they have real personalities and depth of character and senses of humor that make them SO much more interesting than Lucy's two suitors.
And I'm sorry. What is supposed to be homoerotic about that scene? It does have three penises in the same film frame, but that is the extent of the "homoeroticism" that I saw. People are so lame...
The Name of the Rose. Fun murder mystery. And there is a sex scene in this movie about monks that is the most naked thing I have ever seen. OK, so, I don't get out much. But we nearly saw the monk's you-know not to mention darn near full-full-frontal of filthy mad woman. Not a deep movie. Funny to imagine Christian Slater being cast as the beautiful boy. But he does have a sort of sweet-faced innocence in this. (Jeez, I can't spell...) But my final thoughts at the end of the movie - life of clean intellectual celebacy v. filthy madwoman sex? Hmmmm.
Gosford Park. What's not to like? Something for everyone. Murder mystery, love story, melodrama, singing, beautiful countryside. My first thought was to be boggled at the way a house like that was run and the wealth it obviously took to make that happen. (CK presumes historical accuracy. CK knows nothing about English country manors between the wars except what she sees in TV land.) The "behind the scenes" part of the house is as big as the part where the family lives! Swarms of people whose entire function is to keep a few other people comfortable and well fed. Well, to be fair, a lot of guests at the shooting party, but still. Second thought, Housekeeper an executive position expected to be held by a woman. So interesting.
A Room with a View. First, I would like to acknowledge that I have not read the book, so all my comments are movie related. This is a really weird look at love. Cecil, despite his obvious lack of charm, seems to be honestly in love with Lucy, though I can't imagine what she saw in him. Or maybe he was in love with the idea of Lucy, the Pure Country Girl. But still, I didn't get the impression it was in a crass, sort of "she's good breeding stock" kind of way. More a sweet, searching for purity and fulfillment kind of way.
George seems to be in love with Lucy for no clear reason. Lust at first sight, seems to me. They have their little interlude in Italy which amounts to a lot of nothing, except the incident in the Palaza. And if the death of that man is supposed to be some sort of binding moment between them, then that's more than a little twisted.
Lucy seems to be madly in love with George, possibly just because he is so in love with her. Of course, he is passionate, as well. Fine. More lust at first sight. So, my question. Are they being held up as ideal lovers? Or illustrating the shallowness of young love?
Husband asked me who I would want, Geroge or Cecil. Quite frankly, given the choices presented by this film, I'd be much more interested in George's father or the vicar. Sure, they're kind of dumpy middle-aged to late-middle-aged men, but they have real personalities and depth of character and senses of humor that make them SO much more interesting than Lucy's two suitors.
And I'm sorry. What is supposed to be homoerotic about that scene? It does have three penises in the same film frame, but that is the extent of the "homoeroticism" that I saw. People are so lame...
The Name of the Rose. Fun murder mystery. And there is a sex scene in this movie about monks that is the most naked thing I have ever seen. OK, so, I don't get out much. But we nearly saw the monk's you-know not to mention darn near full-full-frontal of filthy mad woman. Not a deep movie. Funny to imagine Christian Slater being cast as the beautiful boy. But he does have a sort of sweet-faced innocence in this. (Jeez, I can't spell...) But my final thoughts at the end of the movie - life of clean intellectual celebacy v. filthy madwoman sex? Hmmmm.
