The streets are gloomy and damp, and the dark streets and turbid air will render the black power hidden in the normal world into the woods, and this is also the most attractive part of this movie. Unlike other gangster films, screenwriter Steven Knight made the story take place in London. London is a very typical immigrant city. In such a city, diverse cultures and languages constitute a special social form. In a seemingly peaceful place, the most cruel sins are hidden. Regardless of whether the story is true or not, the setting of this background alone allows many things to exist. These city guests from afar gather together, perhaps for profit or survival, and they have established a system of rewards and punishments exclusive to immigrants. On top of this system, a black society that is contrary to the mainstream society appears. .
"The Promise of the East" tells such a story, its cruelty is not in the death and unstoppable violence, but in the perspective of ordinary people to show the darkness behind this confusing world, this darkness In some ways, a charm, the privacy of a city. Such movies not only explore justice and evil, but also explore the secrets of a city that cannot see the light. "Eastern Promise" is not a real gangster movie. Cronenberg's focus is not on the gangster itself, but on the people who have been living under the crime, their behavior trends, mentality changes and moral standards. However, for me, the biggest feeling of this movie is that when the director is showing the cruel struggle in the gangster world, the strong emotional impact brought by the fierce contradiction will remind people of many classic gangster movies, This is also the charm of this movie.
This movie is actually a very clichéd Hollywood story, and it is a very typical commercial movie, no matter what the attributes of the movie are, the quality is always excellent. I admit that I have some preference for Cronenberg, because he is always good at using his unique lens language to show and discuss the formation, trend and the most primitive and real animal nature in human beings. This description and interpretation are no exaggeration. , some are just hearty comfort and tension brought by swords and swords. Naked and direct sex scenes, calm and real fighting scenes, these elements form a strong visual tension in Cronenberg's shots.
Unlike other cult film directors, Cronenberg rarely uses a lot of blood plasma to create a visual impact when he expresses bloody violence. What he respects is a concise violence aesthetics, in the simplicity, without excessive rendering , so the characters are not exaggerated and contrived at all. The calm and objective lens language creates the most profound and unforgettable bloody scenes. What he wants is a wonderful story, not just a scene full of violence. The precise grasp of the rhythm of the story is also the most attractive aspect of Cronenberg.
Of course, we should not attribute all the credit to the director for the success of a movie. The screenwriters and actors are also very crucial parts. The human king Aragorn in "The Lord of the Rings" was gradually forgotten by Hollywood after a short period of brilliance. When "A History of Violence" came out, people remembered that Aragorn was always there. This stern and sexy man has become a kind of benchmark in Cronenberg's films. He represents the most primitive force, the toughest life, and his performance almost perfectly interprets the kind of violence that Cronenberg wants. and grim. In A History of Violence, Aragon Viggo Mortensen has to be involved in violence and crime just by chance. In "The Promise of the East", Vigo's acting skills are more mature, and he also has a good grasp of the roles of good and evil in the film. If it is said that Cronenberg made Vigo's acting career, then Vigo has become the most perfect symbol of violence in Cronenberg's heart.
A wonderful movie does not need too many adjectives to modify it, nor does it need to be compared with any movie. Its own charm itself is an unsurpassed beauty.
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