Almost Famous: An Elegy of the Rock Age

Almost Famous

Almost Famous: An Elegy of the Rock Age

Movie name: Almost Famous

Movie duration: 2:41:29

Director: Cameron Crowe

Starring: Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand

Why you watch the movie: Like music, like rock, and have heard of it in the previous Oscar winners list

Notes for reading: The length is long, there are spoilers, be careful

A movie about rock and roll that lasts more than 160 minutes. I have always believed that the lively rock and roll era of the last century has ceased to exist, because the so-called rock and roll is not only about talent and art, shouting and ideals , but also contains a deep sense of belonging to that generation of lost people who entrust their souls to the word rock and roll after being broken. trust that I don't feel in today's increasingly commercial rock. I'm glad to see such a film that isn't about listening to music or showing personal growth, but more of a self-directed and self-directed director Cameron Crowe who really explores the The complex "rock spirit" and, most importantly, left rock lovers the most authentic

"Crazy".

What kind of story is this?

A boy became a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine and followed the band Stillwater on a journey of self-discovery with poisonous alcohol, laughter and tears, life-and-death confrontation and the collapse of faith.

Narrative : Narratively speaking, this movie is not very friendly to the audience: the first is that unless you have a certain understanding of the rock industry, it is difficult to really feel what the movie is trying to express. For example, when the camera focuses on those rock stars who are illogical and even have some so-called "pain of youth" when they ask questions from reporters, their seemingly childish and boring actions that are not in line with ordinary people's sobriety, and those who are fans or fanatical fans Trying to get close to her favorite band members in various ways, and Penny, as a fan, always emphasizes the fact that she has "retired". These kinds of plot details will leave a completely ignorant impression to audiences who have not been exposed to rock. But if the bewilderment and madness of this generation of rockers is to be understood, there may be a second problem: nearly three hours of time to tell a story with so many details is too long. When I first saw the film, the few barrages featured many of these words: "boring," "so slow," "why is it so long," etc., with Cameron Crowe The daily handling of the ups and downs and conflicts of the plot seems to make those information and feelings that should be deeply left in Guan Zhong's heart slowly fade away between the wandering of the progress bar. For this, I want to justify the name of "Almost Famous" : the plot itself is not trivial, but full of contradictions and conflicts between rich, multi-angle and multi-characters, including the modern conflict between the protagonist William's sister and mother The conflict intensified by the collision of new ideas and old stereotyped values, William's incomprehension and infatuation with Penny, a fan who seems to have "lost himself" because of love, and William's relationship with Stillwater guitarist Russell due to his love for Penny. The hidden contradictions arising from the conflict between Ni's feelings, exploited plots and values, and the estrangement between Russell and the rest of the band led by lead singer Jeffrey due to the gap in depth of thought, have always been Throughout the movie, from big and small quarrels, topics that can’t be discussed in one place, and finally when the plane almost died, all the contradictions collided here. This series of contradictions and conflicts are intertwined and orderly and layered. layer advance.

Another thing I really appreciate about the script is that its narrative is memorized - this helps this lengthy film to keep the audience watching while dealing with its fragmented and somewhat repetitive plot. Interests and thoughts can be traced back to the point. For this movie, I think its memory point is the seemingly inconspicuous element - the plane . The first time this element appeared was the career chosen after William's sister and her mother broke up and chose to fly away alone: ​​flight attendant. After leaving, she planted the seeds of love for rock and roll for William, so when the fifteen-year-old William also embarked on his own journey, the element of "airplane" appeared again, but it appeared in the mature and beautiful rock and roll " "Old Fan" said:

The captain has turned on the no-smoking sign, please put out the cigarettes, put the backs of your chairs upright, and put away the dining table. "

This sentence was supposed to be the working language of the flight attendant on the plane, but now it appeared at the party where Penny took William to find Russell to pursue his love. Penny made a joke in a slightly drunk state to get everyone's attention. From this sentence, the relationship between the main characters began to change: the affection between Penny and Russell, William's deep love, the imagination of the future and the hidden loss and the firm determination to pursue the self Wait, starting from Penny's words, the whole plot began to "take off" following the footsteps of William, who flew far away. After a series of wonderful, quarrel, betrayal, use, collapse, life and death occurred, and it was after we finally gnawed down the outline of the story, the element of "airplane" appeared again at the right time, unifying the chaotic thoughts— —It was on the plane that almost fell due to the wind and rain on the return journey. Everyone opened their hearts to the cruel and unexpected fact of life and death. Everyone except Penny said loudly in the small and turbulent space. Regrets or those unspoken truths, those truths contain all kinds of sharp-edged attitudes in the intricate character relationships, so all the chaotic conflicts have been connected and ended, pushing the plot to the real The climax shows how the wave set off in the act of "going far away" swallows up or polishes the perseverance of people's hearts. The last time the plane element appeared was that everything was really calm for Penny, she could put down and look at everything calmly and then stepped on the plane, softly repeating the phrase jokingly accompanied by the voice of the stewardess on the radio: "Airplane" Chang has turned on the no-smoking sign, please put out the cigarettes, put your chairs back upright, and put the dining table away.” Her restrained state was in sharp contrast to the situation in her mouth before, but it also Let this wild plane have an intriguing tension during departure and return.

Real and subtle . This is my most intuitive feeling after the three-hour-long plot left an imprint in my mind, as if it should be like this at the end of the rock era, as if there is a piece of my love that is completed by my cognition Expectation is filled in a very aesthetic way . Such a real crazy portrayal, a real rich character portrayal, is largely due to the following elements:

1. Director : This film is able to present a logical and realistic story so vividly that it has an inseparable connection with director Cameron Crowe. Self-directed, autobiographical, and William's similar life trajectory (who also worked as a reporter for Rolling Stone and felt the atmosphere of rock and roll's gradual vanity), these have become the decisive factors for Cameron to express his true attitude. In the plot of the whole movie, we can clearly feel that Cameron has deliberately done something close to the truth - the so-called truth, that is, restoration and retention, without too much exaggeration or cover-up. He preserves the conversations that modern people might find pointless and illogical, the drug-drinking plots and sexual desires of rock musicians, and the frivolous quarrels: for example, the bandmates who are smitten with each other on a custom T-shirt. A spat that occurs due to the conspicuousness of the members. He kept a lot of details that had no significant effect on the progress of the plot without color, but after the presentation and accumulation of these details, he quietly expressed his deep sadness and irony for the change of the original intention of the rock industry, as well as his feelings for Keep cherishing yourself, and finally leave people a warm pondering space with an ordinary and gentle ending. Such a shadow exists in almost every one of his works. For example, the protagonist in "Elizabethtown" encounters setbacks in his ordinary and beautiful life, and finally finds himself in the strange world of Elizabethtown after almost giving up his life, and "Vanilla" The once graceful protagonist in "Sky" has deep doubts about his self-worth after being disfigured and traumatized by love. After going through twists and turns, he chooses to take off his mask and explore his true self. We can find that in Cameron's works directed, a large number of There is the theme of "seeking oneself", and this is also a process that every individual in life must go through. Perhaps influenced by his personal experience, Cameron likes to focus on the transformation of his personal spiritual level. He chooses the stories that are closest to life and perspective and tells them in the most ordinary way, to restore a kind of common sense that everyone can share to a certain extent. true love. But "Almost Famous" is better than his other two films because "Almost Famous", on the basis of self-reflection and an environment, is more responsive to an era, a form, and a change , A kind of value has been reflected.

In addition, there is a common detail in Cameron's films, which is that he likes to use some printed photos to use his narrative in the shots of the film. This is in the above-mentioned three Cameron films and His other films have been involved, but in "Vanilla Sky" and "Elizabethtown", the photo is more used as a key to open memories to unfold an emotional display or a narrative of a past event. In "Almost Famous", William went out as a reporter with the Stillwater band, taking pictures of people and things along the way. The photos became a record of his memory, a blockade of the emotions contained, so that this The fifteen-year-old boy also had something to dig and became a more and more real existence.

2. Acting : Actress Kate Hudson , who played "retired" but still passionate rock fan Penny Lane , earned her Oscar nomination for "Almost Famous" for Best Supporting Actress . If this is just a glamorous and charming female character with a little fanaticism and restraint, then I think that just adding some tone treatment on the lines, the slight madness and insanity of the limbs and the whole state, this is very good for a female character. It's not a very challenging and landmark role for the naturally beautiful blonde actor; but as the plot deepens and the role of Penny is more thoroughly understood, I really appreciate the amazingness of Kate Hudson The point - as a blonde, she shows not only the old-fashioned madness and madness of Courtney Love who relies heavily on emotional catharsis in rock , but also the purity and authenticity like a muse . For these two points that are very complicated and contradictory and can easily be handled as pure drama, Kate Hudson is very good at using movements and expressions to make this dramatic character "real".

The first is the movement . Generally speaking, whether it is the pace of walking or the action on weekdays, Kate Hudson has adopted an extremely lively and agile treatment, with casual arm swings and light footsteps leaving footprints everywhere, showing Penny At the same time, it also gives people a feeling of being unpredictable and unable to grasp. This is especially evident when Penny competes with William for the photo of her and Russell on the bus, from bending over the seat to grab it, to flexibly stepping on the edge of the chairs on both sides, jumping down and running, and then leaping to the side I bent my knees on the seat of the man, grabbed the photo and looked at it for a few seconds and immediately used those few fingers to bounce the photo away. The whole process requires both coherence and emotion. It can be said to be very challenging, and the whole process It is not difficult to see the essence of Kate's conception and handling of the small details that are less than five seconds in the film, which are easy to overlook but can reflect the image of Penny's character. Kate Hudson habitually moves her back, neck, and head back slightly in a comfortable posture every time she utters some words that she expects to get a reply from the other party, which can also reflect that the image of Penny has changed from The emotional expression on the body is the kind of slightly crazy state that is extremely rich.

Another point is the expression , which makes me feel that Kate is a natural performing artist: she can make a variety of micro-expressions in a short period of time with the coordination of the five senses, and the connection is very smooth and natural, with the words. Changes are small or large. One of the scenes that really amazes me is when William is sitting alone in a chair and Russell and Penny put their heads close to his eyes to accompany him to lobby Cleveland, the camera focuses on Kate's facial expression, her mouth It was some echoes and repetitions of Russell's persuasive words in a low and hoarse voice. From the expectation conveyed in her deliberately wide eyes when she appeared on the first day of the new year, a quick pursed smile followed by a very fast and firm "Come to Cleveland", to seeing William's reluctance, After several changes in the corners of the mouth and eyebrows, he began to wink, his lips were very deliberately smiling, or he pursed his lips and repeated the word for the second time.

Come on—K—Lee—F—Lan—Come on—

And for the third time, he took the lead in opening his pupils wide, his mouth exaggeratedly open, and even with the gesture of a witch casting a spell to make a further "hospitality" invitation. And when these three invitations ended with William's shouting resistance, the enthusiastic exaggerated and bewildering expression did not immediately change into a diametrically opposite emotion, but was extremely flexible in a kind of extremely Penny's almost shameful expression. The form frowned slightly, and after blinking a few times, it gradually deepened the degree of frowning, the frequency of eye blinking, and this "distress of being rejected"; when Russell mentioned "rock and roll holy land" like this The words, her previous expression slowly relaxed to a normal state, and then revealed a simple smile, with William's helpless silent compromise in the end, her eyes narrowed slightly, and her lips twitched playfully. The series of details caused by emotion and plot substitution in this minute can never be completed through precise design, but Kate's devotion to this role and her ability to express improvisational micro-expressions are extremely admirable.

Finally, I talk about my favorite Kate's performance: after William and Penny's conflict, Penny learned from William that she was being used by her beloved Russell. Kate's expression changed from squinting and smiling to William, Full of sighs and regrets for his innocence and honesty, in an instant, after a turning back, it turned into eyes full of hurt and pure fear, and after bowing his head, there were silent tears left, but pure sadness. It didn't last a few seconds, from pursing lips to smiling, grinning, and thinking of the "to ask" question after a few seconds:

What kind of beer is it (for me)?

After such an absurd and helpless question, it sounded like a more relieved and happy smile, and in her eyes, well-controlled teardrops were clearly visible and slowly flowing, which made this complicated and persistent Penny's love and self-mockery. It's vividly portrayed, and it doesn't feel blunt or unnatural at all. She truly lived her body and her mind in the soul of this complicated girl.

On the other hand, the interpretation of other characters is not as amazing as Kate. For example, the actor of William Miller, Trick Fugit, can clearly feel the traces of his performance and the design of his action and expression during the performance, but because of his 15-year-old character setting, it is a little dull. The treatment also appears reasonable, and also constitutes a very real sense .

3. Cinematography : The cinematographer for this film is John Toll , a cinematographer who has worked with director Cameron Crowe many times. The cinematography of the film itself isn't particularly impressive, but there are a few impressive shots that make the overall expression of the film much better.

First of all, still the aforementioned Penny shedding tears after learning that she was used by her beloved, a few close-ups: when Penny was still in a state of arguing with William, her face was completely in a state of backlight , Somehow hints at the fact that Penny is kept in the dark, wrapping the complexities of the world with enthusiasm; until what she thinks is "love" is exposed as a cheap exploited relationship, her face and neck The outline is only slightly outlined by the sunlight, forming the effect of side backlighting , and her facial features are still in the shadows. This treatment allows her to slowly shed tears to a certain extent, which is similar to Kate's interpretation of this role In the same way, she is trying to suppress the bitterness of sadness with her usual casualness, and this form of lighting helps to express such a helpless and tenacious emotion. In addition, the tones of the whole picture are mainly warm light, yellow and green, the background blur effect, and the actors' blond hair and white dresses make the picture full of a deified beauty .

Another amazing lighting scene is the scene of arguing in an airplane accident. The light in the entire cabin is extremely dim. In order to express the effect of lightning, they chose a cool white bright light when shooting from the actors who were seated. The bottom and side of the cast are played, and the lights are on and off, and the positions are slightly changed and alternated, so that the cool white lines or light flicker on the actor's side face, under the forehead, face and neck, constructing a real thunder and lightning. The scene further enhances the dangerous atmosphere, making this quarrel before life and death more visually impactful and thus affecting emotional impact.

4. Sound (original soundtrack music) : I don’t know if there is an intention to de-label rock music . Many of the original sound OSTs in this movie are not the roaring and noisy style in traditional perception, but quiet and direct hits. Spiritual, and even more inclined to other styles or alternative rock. For example, The Beach Boys' "Feel Flows" is an interlude of psychedelic rock. The soft singing in the hazy bubbles, the ballad-like melody, the cheerful and orderly drums, the blurred and melodious wind bonus, the gentle The combination of chords and dreamy synthesizer sound effects completely breaks the "rock" in the eyes of ordinary people; and such an episode greatly promotes the direction of this crazy story, just in a kind of antithesis. Another interpretation of romantic feelings makes the confused teenager, the band with human nature and the woman who is frustrated or looking forward to have more uncertainty and helplessness to follow the trend of the road to more cities in the future . Some other rock-themed music films, such as "School of Rock", also focus on personal growth and self-exploration, but its original soundtrack shows the same style of louder, more cheerful, and more popular rock music from beginning to end (similar to Pop Rock style), of course, this is partly related to the fact that it was adapted from a stage play, because there is a need to bring the atmosphere on the scene, but the presentation of such rock music in the film has become a tool to show personal talent, Purely a talent. But in "Almost Famous," rock in its various styles, soft or with a storyline, becomes an expression of an idea itself : in rock we entrust our future; in rock we empathize with it, With confusion or loss, joy or hope; in rock, we have gains and losses, and finally find ourselves, thinking, moving forward...

Judging by the skill of ost insertion , the film once again achieves stunning results. The most representative is the clip of Penny ingesting quinoline and nearly dying. When she was carried to the side table and the doctor put the long tube into her mouth and below, this part should have been extremely painful and painful. , full of moans and shouts, and quickly connected to a melodious tune in the doctor's repeated "Swallow!" lines, those noisy sounds have become part of the music behind the music, and together play the movement of this story. . The transition without any sense of disobedience makes this piece lose the pain and discomfort it should contain , but instead has a certain romantic beauty , and it can be naturally switched to the next episode with a completely different emotional color. . This is a rare and wonderful treatment in today's music films, making the interlude a part of the narrative, relying on the perceptual pleasure brought by the art of hearing to affect the color of the entire clip and bring a new and subtle audio-visual experience . Many music films regard music as an independent element, and their existence is either a foil or the main body of a story. For example, many beautiful classic tracks in "La La Land" have become the narrator of a story alone. , but ignores the more subtle connections that music and film can have, allowing music to be the emotion or beauty of those lyrics itself . All of these lead to changes in our sensibility, showing the most real present moment and smearing the most real perception.

But in addition to being able to present the truth wonderfully, in the same film as "recording the real thoughts and words and deeds of people at the end of the rock age", the problem it has is extremely obvious - the role.

Role : The role of William Miller, the protagonist, has been educated by a very conservative family since he was a child. After walking with the band and flying away alone, he has experienced being used and betrayed. He has seen all kinds of unbearable things in the rock world. Always chooses to be honest, stay true to himself, and he takes great care not to lose himself. Perhaps William Miller building, itself, will be given a kind of huge change, vanity and the interests of the siege of the rock era in a kind of "pure" and a symbol of intent same place in the heart , but instead blindly to such a The emphasis on this kind of symbol makes the freshness of the character itself be diluted a lot .

First of all, for an eleven-year-old boy who had entered a rebellious period, he found that his mother decided to let him skip a grade because he felt that "the things he learned in the fifth grade were completely useless", and concealed from him that he was real and small. After age, he was teased by some biologically developed "brothers" and "sisters" of the same grade. Such a thing should have a great impact on this child's self-awareness. And it will lead him to think further about himself. But in this film, the deep impact of his family's conflict with reality I don't see in this character - except when he was eleven years old when he yelled at his mother, and when he was fifteen years old Decided to leave such a family environment and travel with the band. Then William Miller defied his advice to "don't be friends with the guys in the band, they'll take advantage of you" and his lie about being eighteen. stressing that "you are too honest a" sighs, but let this "honest" and "pure" becomes empty, stiff, false big empty , but also to the role lost flesh and blood, after emotional collapse and remodeling live sense .

But looking at another very important role: Penny Lane , it is much smoother than William. A secular but persistent beautiful fan who really loves rock and music, a girl who always talks about "retirement" but still has hope, her helpless casualness of changing her name and surname, her panic about losing herself She is such a complex and contradictory being , with a state of mind that goes with the flow, her passionate love for rock and roll that doesn't contain filth and pain . She was supposed to be as unclean as drugs, but her heart was always so deep and simple, which gave this girl who had been honed by the rock and roll world and had been ravaged by fame and sharpness a pure nature and something that people wanted to reach. magic .

This role is the muse of rock and roll. She brings her unique "crazy", all her emotional devotion to rock and roll people, and her unchanging and persistent original intention in a world that has changed in quality. She's the balance every rocker wants to keep in this tumultuous wave.

This character has become the soul of the whole film. The intertwined character relationships centered on her have been sublimated and have more meaning. She is more like a free and frustrated running person, with her footprints and complex smiles. Tears wrote an elegy for the rock-and-roll era tainted by fame and fortune.

And the characters in the entire Stillwater band headed by Russell, the estrangement and contradiction between them due to differences in values, personalities, etc., their obsession with women, and the lack of logic in popular communication methods, these are all very real. A story that could happen to every band. Their roles as a collective symbolized the group of performers in all rock and roll circles of that era . And several characters have their own characteristics, each expressing a certain kind of truth-for example, a very out-of-the-circle section, a fragment of an interview between William and the bass player:

"Larry Farrow, what do you think your role is in Stillwater? What's your contribution to the band?"

"(After nodding for a few seconds) I'm the bass player."

"...Yes. What would it do to the band if you were taken out of the band?"

"Um...no bass anymore?"

This clip is often used later to make fun of the low presence of the bass player in the band, but in this film it's a conversation that I find very distressing . Such a follow bands role for so long, and do not know what has been done is what, what it means to give yourself and what you bring , in other words, as a performer rock scene, he completely To understand what the so-called rock and roll is , just know that such a career can bring him a cool shell and the foundation of supporting his family, and he doesn't even know the meaning of his life . Cameron gave such an inconspicuous character two extremely brief but deeply rooted lines, but he portrayed the lost and bewildered state of many people in the rock circle. There is a certain irony and it makes people feel that the rock era is destined to go. The fact of decay has a heart-wrenching regret.

They go crazy in rock and roll, until the joy that once needed no explanation, surging with life, became a symbol worthy of admiration and admiration.

Well, this movie retains the "madness" of that era,

What does it hold for us?

I think, maybe its values ​​are not clear. It does not intend to leave an absolute idea of ​​good or bad, but to present a fact that allows us to use reflective thinking to define the values ​​it wants to present.

Values : drinking, drug use, fifteen-year-old rebellion, all of which are not accepted in our traditional ethics. Many people mistake these things as the representative of rock and roll, thinking that they are synonymous with cool in self-catharsis, but in fact, they are not the characteristics of rock, but like rock, they are an unbearable and heavy escapism. Mould the outlet of your own soul. As for these cool labels, it's just one of the most sloppy and most reassuring misconceptions about rock.

William's sister left those records as something that changed William's life when I saw that note that read:

"Listen to Tommy with a candle burning and you will see your entire future."

When I said this, I really felt a kind of piety , a kind of piety that was willing to dedicate all the time and space of my life to that passion and freedom.

However, William and his sister wanted to escape the extremely rigid and depressing family environment created by their mother, Russell wanted to escape the ordinary and confused pain of youth, and Penny wanted to escape the mundane and boring existing social circle, so they put a lot of themselves All poured into the drums and melody in their ears, until they opened a new life for them and put on a new skin.

They decided to make rock and roll their life, but inadvertently made life overshadow rock and roll, using commercialized profit-making ideas and various selfish flaws in human nature to make rock and roll a tool of vanity, which is also rock and roll The biggest reason for the end of the era - rock and roll has become an excuse, they have all moved towards a new yearning, only those who truly love are guarding, believing, loving, and waiting.

I have always been paranoid that the rock and roll of the year is dead. Whether it is "loving music", "chasing dreams" or the more straightforward "wanting to be cool" and "survival", the reasons for rock and roll have become A kind of self-labeling, but not able to let the true rock and roll spirit stay and live in their hearts.

I had wondered if Cameron Crowe was buried in this film as a satire , but when I saw the warm ending at the end, I thought he was more of a pity and an imprint .

He wants us to remember,

The madness of life that the generation of rockers can never get back,

That pure pursuit of fresh form and life that can be humble and small.

He wants us to remember,

How did people confine the voices of those souls in the complex world of human nature,

how to compose the next dirge,

Farewell alternately in one era.

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