(Editor’s Note: I get a bit combative on this one. Be prepared. Too few people appreciate Barry Lyndon, and for the worst reasons imaginable. This irks me. Ergo, I respond with ire.)
Most films lie 24 times a second.
Barry Lyndon paints 24 portraits. I really have no idea what else to say about this movie (well, we all know that isn’t true). Watching it is like walking through the Louvre, the Metropolitan, and the Sistine Chapel at the same time. Every frame is perfectly composed; each blade of grass seems obsequious to Stanley’s will. It is as if the universe said to him: “You have 300 days. Make me look good.”
Any film that uses cameras developed by NASA is going to have my approval, but to belittle it by claiming that a mere technical innovation allowed Barry Lyndon to flourish would be criminal. Charles Dickens it is not quite, but never has a movie been able to overcome a “weakness” like Barry Lyndon. The story is still very good. I do not think the beauty would matter if it weren’t. I think the story was meant to be slightly less captivating than The Sound and the Fury. It is almost as if Kubrick is asking us how we can care about dialogue and plot points and philosophizing when we have this to look at.
Mind Only Matters
Cold. I am told Barry Lyndon is cold. Unfeeling. Unfeeling!? Are you kidding me? How can you watch this movie and not be transfixed? Have you no intellect?
There is an absurd idea that has crept into modern culture, which more or less states that your heart should be telling you what to do. This has given us lots of sappy, emotionalist nonsense (and it gave us emo; if you are inclined to consider agreeing with this insanity of modern times, remember that it forced emo upon us) and led to a lot of bad policies and dumb decisions and recessions. Making decisions with our hearts is why we tear down a tree full of life of all kinds so that we can build a little dog house for our “adorable” puppy. Making decisions with out hearts got us into Iraq and it made Slumdog Millionaire an Oscar winner. I’m not sure which of those two things is more insultingly irrational.
The point here is not merely to pontificate, though I do love doing so. The point is that when you watch Barry Lyndon, your mind should be ordering your emotions into ecstasy. So the main character failed to grab your heart—who gives a rabbit’s foot?! Your head should be telling you that this is one of the most beautiful things man ever created. If you want to legitimately argue (I’ll split my infinitives when I want to split them, thank you very much) about the merits of Barry Lyndon, I’ll listen. You’re probably wrong, but I’ll listen. If you argue based on some nebulous, “emotional” impact, all I can say is that Slumdog Millionaire is thirteen dollars on Amazon. Enjoy.
Up Next: You Can't Screw This Pooch
~Right Thumb~
You have to understand that even someone as curmudgeonly as myself referred to this movie as "cinematographic crack," with each shot being either as fantastic or more fantastic than the one before it.
ReplyDeleteBut Slumdog? Not that bad of a movie. You have to remember it was going up against largely garbage. The only other nominated movie that should have beaten it was Frost / Nixon.
Unless, of course, you want me to go into the travesty of the Dark Knight being overlooked in the Best Picture category.
I saw this movie when it first came out and not since but now I have to revisit it. I remember that I liked it best of all of SK's movies.(Sorry, SMP) Now I can't sleep until I find out about that Pooch...
ReplyDeleteWere I not so dead tired from writing a lecture on the Exodus today (hey, kids, listen up! the parting of the freakin' Red Sea is really freakin' exciting!), I would certainly take you on regarding your distinction between the intellect and the heart, and the priority of the former. Its problematic on many levels, not the least of which is the distinction itself. What I will say is that your description of the movie seems awfully emotional (I know, I know...I missed your point)
ReplyDeleteThat said, its another movie I haven't seen.
I refer to the head and heart here as "intellect" and "emotions", respectively, as they have come to commonly mean in this context. And, no, you should not be making decisions with your feelings. Making decisions with your feelings is responsible for literally everything wrong in the world.
ReplyDeleteLiterally. Everything.
That isn't to say feelings can't often inform your intellect or tug your intellect in the right direction, but they should never have the final say.