I will never ever ever ever ever
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stop being inspired by art. In 1991, a movie called Dogfight was released to critical acclaim, about a young marine played by River Phoenix who lures a plain girl (played by Lili Taylor) to a party that is actually a contest to see who managed to bring the ugliest girl. I ddin't catch it in the theaters, but found it on cable last week and Tivoed it, finally watching it last night.
Wow. There's more to the story than the short description above. The acting is phenomenal, and it made me angry at River Phoenix all over again for overdosing when he could have been acting and giving the world more amazing performances. Lili Taylor was unbelievable too. The acting and the plot were so UN-cliched, and the movie never took a wrong step. It was like watching a high-wire act, waiting for something to go off-kilter.
One particularly nice thing about the story and acting was that the two main characters never stopped being anything but two individuals bumping along with each other. It's not like there was some magical alchemy that made them suddenly connect and, I don't know, kind of meld. They remained separate and distinct, yet that didn't preclude their journey of discovery.
Alas, I feel that I'm rambling. Bottom line: great movie. And it's great to know how much Art with a Capital A there is left to discover in the world.
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stop being inspired by art. In 1991, a movie called Dogfight was released to critical acclaim, about a young marine played by River Phoenix who lures a plain girl (played by Lili Taylor) to a party that is actually a contest to see who managed to bring the ugliest girl. I ddin't catch it in the theaters, but found it on cable last week and Tivoed it, finally watching it last night.
Wow. There's more to the story than the short description above. The acting is phenomenal, and it made me angry at River Phoenix all over again for overdosing when he could have been acting and giving the world more amazing performances. Lili Taylor was unbelievable too. The acting and the plot were so UN-cliched, and the movie never took a wrong step. It was like watching a high-wire act, waiting for something to go off-kilter.
One particularly nice thing about the story and acting was that the two main characters never stopped being anything but two individuals bumping along with each other. It's not like there was some magical alchemy that made them suddenly connect and, I don't know, kind of meld. They remained separate and distinct, yet that didn't preclude their journey of discovery.
Alas, I feel that I'm rambling. Bottom line: great movie. And it's great to know how much Art with a Capital A there is left to discover in the world.
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posted by Anonymous at
1:50 PM
1 Comments:
i saw this! years ago! probably when it first came out on videotape (VIDEO!). i was amazed by it. i remember watching it several times in succession. such a difficult, beautiful, true movie. so well done.
i absolutely agree that river phoenix was a huge force and that had he lived he could have been one of the greatest actors of his generation. when i watch joaquin phoenix and leonardo dicaprio i get a hint of what i remembered seeing river phoenix.
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