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Shelf Beauties
by Willie Waffle
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Babel
I went into the
movie joking that this was Brad Pitt’s Syriana,
but quickly learned it’s a
different movie than that, and might be a little better. No one needs to worry
about their politics
being offended here. It’s
all stuff that
will hit each of you right in the heart.
Babel is four stories
in one. First,
it’s about Richard (Pitt) and Susan (Cate
Blanchett) desperately seeking medical help after she is shot during a
Moroccan
vacation. Second,
we see the story of
the shooters, and why they have done what they did.
Third, we see what happens to Richard and
Susan’s children when they are left with their nanny, Amelia
(Adriana Barraza),
and she takes them to Mexico,
so she can attend her son’s wedding.
Finally, we learn about Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi)
– a young Japanese girl
in Tokyo
and
what her connection is to this whole mess, and the whole mess she is
dealing
with in her life.
Babel might feel like it takes a while to get started, but when director
Alejandro
Inarritu and writer Guillermo Arriaga turn up the tension, Babel
is one of the most dramatic, exciting
and moving films of the year. In
short,
you will be amazed at how out of hand each situation gets as the
characters
face the biggest challenges of their lives even though each day seems
to start
out innocuous enough.
Arriaga has an
amazing way of working in little details about each character as the
movie
progresses. While
it’s not the most
mindblowing dialogue you will ever hear, there is something very
attractive
about how Arriaga and Inarritu don’t try to overplay
important revelations. You
have to listen. If
you don’t get some
little point, it won’t ruin the movie for you, but, when you
pick up on what they
are trying to tell you with an offhand remark or understated fact,
it’s a
reward for the viewer. Inarritu
directs
the movie in much the same way. He
gives
the film a gritty look, sense of urgency and feeling that you as the
audience
member are actually in the room or at the place where the action is
happening,
so you just take it all in.
On top of it
all, Babel
is
an acting showcase, and it’s hard to know where to start the
praise. Pitt puts
in the best performance of his
career since 12
Monkeys as portrays the haggard, pained husband trying to
do
anything he can to save his wife.
It was
a refreshing pleasure to see him show a bit of age with the wrinkles
around his
eyes and the graying hair. Joined
together with his performance, it made him the perfect actor for the
character.
Blanchette
deserves some kudos as well, and I hope she is not overlooked. Her part might seem small
in comparison, and
lack some of the flash others do, but you can’t help but
writhe in pain right
along with her as her injuries grow more severe.
She is shockingly real as she screams,
wimpers, begs for mercy and tries to understand what has happened to
her. It’s
a text book example of making the most
out of a performance when you don’t have many lines.
It’s hard just
to stop there, but I think you will agree everyone is good.
Babel seems to
be starting a run towards
glory, but we’ll have to see if it finds an audience.
4 Waffles
(Out Of 4)
Copyright
2006 - WaffleMovies.com
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