The best lack all conviction,
(Better you have no faith)
while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
(At worst you are still full of passion and madness)
——William Butler Yeats "The Second Coming" (Yeats, "The Second Coming")
Borrowing the famous verses of the Irish poet Yeats as a preface, we will introduce the "Writing" film that I will introduce today.
American movie "The Only Living Boy in New York" (the only living boy in New York)
Type of work: plot
Main actors: Callum Turner (playing as the big boy Thomas), Kate Beckinsale (playing as the mistress Johanna), Jeff Bridges (playing as the great writer Gerald)
Story Summary: Telling the growth of Thomas, a literary and artistic youth
Release time: In theaters in the United States on August 11, 2017
A work with "form greater than content" in a typical sense! It is difficult to win the favor of audiences and film critics, and the unsatisfactory score has said everything. But what's the difference in the film? Why is it called "form is greater than content"? These kinds of questions are worthy of our in-depth discussion!
Let’s look at “form” first
Stunt one, well-known actors join
① "Underworld" series heroine Kate Beckinsale starred as the third person Johanna.
②The former 007 series male lead, veteran British handsome Pierce Brosnan starred in Thomas' adoptive father Ethan.
③ Cynthia Nixon, one of the heroines of the "Sex and the City" series, starred in Thomas' mother Judith.
④Oscar actor Jeff Bridges starred in Thomas' father WF Gerald.
This cast is absolutely exaggerated, powerful enough, and big enough.
Stunt two, chaos in poetry
When I was young, I was especially obsessed with the verses of Irish poet Yeats, romance, beauty, and ideals, which made the author full of endless reveries about life and the future.
After the prime of life, after experiencing life's ups and downs, encountering unevenness, falling into hesitation, and passing through confusion, now I re-read Yeats' text and have new insights.
In a sense, Yeats' literary works have made me grow a lot! This time, the director deliberately arranged the master's quotations at the beginning and the end, which are full of charm, artistic and caring.
Three gimmicks, video title
The title "The Only Living Boy in New York" that implies three levels of content.
① Implying the characteristics and attributes of the protagonist Thomas.
②The protagonist's father WF Gerald is based on a novel written by Thomas. (Mentioned at the end of the video)
③It coincides with the name of the song sung by Simon & Garfunkel.
Four gimmicks, golden song skewers
The soundtrack of this work is wonderful, but what is better than the BGM are the classic tracks that are interspersed in the film.
① "Blues run the game" and "the only living boy in new york" performed by Simon and Garfunkel.
②"peace piece" presented by jazz pianist Bill Evans.
③ "Perfect day" sung by the New York rock wizard Lou Reed.
④ "tonight at noon" performed by jazz composer Charles Mingus.
⑤"Visions of Johanna" sung by Bob Dylan, the legendary folk song master
...
These formal content (gimmicks) permeate the whole work, making the originally weakened storyline even paler and weaker.
Let's look at "content" again (just like "chicken ribs")
Biggest failure, weak plot
An affair, a love triangle, a mystery of life experience
The plot throws out the above three highlights, obviously not attractive enough, and too old-fashioned!
Although the screenwriter tried to go unconventional, he racked his brains to come up with unrestrained and heroic stories such as "the son fell in love with the father's lover", "the mother and the father's close friend shared the same bed and gave birth to the male protagonist". , But the audience still won't buy it!
With all due respect, if the director can focus more on describing the psychological transformation of the protagonist Thomas, how to move from ignorance to maturity (and so on) step by step, it may be more resonant with young people. It is far more real than relying solely on the abrupt and inexplicable conflicts between a few characters (and ignoring the protagonist's inner drama) to advance the plot and establish the main theme of the film. What's more, the structure of the story presented in the work now seems incompatible with the style (artistic style) of the film itself, and it is quite blunt.
Extremely disappointing!
Write at the end. 80 minutes (excluding credits at the beginning and end of the movie), the images flashed by. The director told the audience a story about "growth" in a limited time (quite "unlucky", very "dog blood"). Unfortunately, the quality is too low and it is not worthy of nostalgia.
Director ★★☆☆☆ (The performance is out of order, and the good literary film has become a golden skewer MV)
Actor ★★★★☆ (Luxury lineup, unfortunately the protagonist's acting skills still need to be polished)
Plot ★☆☆☆☆ (Nothing new, more conventional)
Visual effects ★★★☆☆ (the literary atmosphere is relatively strong, others are average)
Sound effects★★★★★ (The biggest highlight of this work, classic songs are broadcast)
Recommendation ★★☆☆☆ (You don’t need to watch the video, downloading OST is the king)
More film reviews + recommendations are first published on WeChat public account " Floyd and Helen's Journey Collection ", thank you
View more about The Only Living Boy in New York reviews
