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laurendavis365
Reviews
Taking Chance (2009)
A powerful requiem
Taking Chance begins simply but powerfully: with a boom that resonates throughout the theater. We enter a confusing and dark situation--much like the soldiers in combat, I imagine. And then...we go beyond the veil. Ross Katz and HBO takes us behind the scenes. After a soldier has fallen, after he is flown back to U.S. soil, after (it seems) his life is over, how does he touch so many people? With Katz's beauty, grace, and humility, we take the journey with Lt. Colonel Mike Strobl and PFC Chance Phelps. We encounter a "great cloud of witnesses" who honor this one life and help give it dignity and meaning. We are witness to the kindness of strangers--from a twenty-something teenage driver, to an airline ticket agent, to the airport baggage crew. We are witness to a tradition and a legacy that has been passed from soldier to soldier, from father to son. On each leg of the journey our minds and hearts are penetrated as Colonel Strobl allows himself to be opened up to this one life and to grieve the loss of it. After a person is gone, after they are placed in the ground, how does their life live on? Taking Chance is a poignant and powerful reminder of the beauty of human life, the courage of sacrifice, and the echo of eternal life.
Jane Eyre (2006)
Overall a very satisfactory adaptation
I have not seen every film adaptation of Jane Eyre but I have seen a number of them and while I agree with some of my fellow reviewers that this version takes certain modern liberties (more on that later) I do believe it gives a perspective of Jane and Edward's relationship that has not been seen before. I thought the beginning very creative, the end at Ferndean Manor satisfying, and appreciated the inclusion of the Gypsy scene. Also, I appreciated that Stephens' Rochester was multi-layered. Many previous versions of this story place the burden on the viewer to reconcile Jane's attraction to a dark, brooding, crass man. At least in this version a context is created whereby the viewer finds themselves recognizing the good that triumphs over bad in his character--beneath the prickles and barbs of his exterior.
However, I do agree that a certain modern sensibility was imposed on this version, especially once their love is pronounced. While the retrospectives are titillating, they diverge from the text almost completely. Where was Rochester's fiery, violent temperament?! Where was Jane's resolve?! Instead Rochester is attempting to seduce a passive Jane into becoming his pseudo-wife with whispers and caresses! Very out of character. There is no attention paid to Jane's Christian moral center which weakens this version's Jane over others (I am reminded of the Ciaran Hinds/Samantha Morton version). Regardless of your personal beliefs, religion is a theme we find throughout the story of Jane Eyre and while Bronte often criticizes organized religion (Lowood School and her cousin's entrance into the nunnery despite her hard heart) we must also recognize that Jane has not abandoned her faith. She is the hopeful Christian to Rochester's hopeless cynic and this seems to be completely abandoned as we begin the 2nd half of this adaptation.
However, aside from this, I was overall pleased with the film. I thought it had a good pace, a strong chemistry between the main actors, and a mostly honest adaptation. If you enjoy this story I think you will find this film satisfying.