Slate all this week is hosting a discussion among several very smart film critics- a few of whom were disciples of the late Pauline Kael- on the recently concluded year in film. Some great stuff, mostly tearing apart the year's three most overrated movies ("Sideways," "Fahrenheit 9/11," and "Dogville"). Here's Charles Taylor, demolishing the latter film:
As with every von Trier it's grainy, washed-out, and, to borrow a line from the late, great Moms Mabley, so ugly it hurt my feelings. The people who praised it remind me of nothing so much as the liberal, urban theatergoers in Brian DePalma's Hi, Mom! who attend a night of radical black theater, are mugged and raped by the actors, and then leave talking about what a rewarding, eye-opening experience it was for them.Read it also, for Armond White's trashing of "the Village Voice brand of self-righteous liberalism," some deserved mocking of the Voice poll respondent who sat through "Dogville" three times, and Taylor's dismissal of "Sideways" as "a 'Cathy' comic strip for middle-aged men," while also pointing out the obvious class condescension in that film, similar to that in director Alexander Payne's previous picture, "About Schmidt."
Check it out; they’ll be there all week.
Charles Taylor is my favorite reviewer. Period. The dude can write!!
Posted by: red at January 5, 2005 10:28 AM"so ugly it hurt my feelings" - a very accurate description of the student body with whom I spent 4 formative years in college.
Posted by: LilB at January 5, 2005 12:52 PM