Based on the novel of the same name by American writer Ben Fountain, the film is set on Thanksgiving Day in 2004, and tells the story of Billy Lynn, a young soldier who participated in the Iraq War, following his company to the White House as their place. The final stop on the starting point's domestic glory tour was Dallas, where he was a guest at a football game and participated in a halftime show.
The film gained a lot of attention for its first use of 120 frames per second. From the effect point of view, the visual experience it provides is indeed unique. Even viewers who are not too impressed with The Hobbit's 48 frames per second effect can feel the huge visual impact and outstanding three-dimensional depth of field from the first second. The footage shot at 120 frames per second contains an astonishing amount of information, and at first you may even be a little dizzy due to the large amount of visual information changing during the camera movement. But the brain adapts quickly, and after that, the focus can go back to the film itself.
The film takes the company's experience on the day of the football game as the narrative thread, in which Billy's memories of two time points in the war front and home visits are combined. The audience follows Billy's point of view all the time, experiencing the eccentricities of real-world capital and entertainment, and their minds fly to the front line and home countless times—or at least it should. At least Billy, who is wearing a camouflage uniform in the trailer, stands in the colorful world of fireworks and dances, recalling the sharpness of the battlefield and the warmth and warmth of the family, the delicate and rich possibilities in this huge conflict, and the sensual people can shed tears just thinking about it.
After watching the film, the sound field is indeed bright and dazzling, but the memory is not so traumatic. After the folded content is unfolded, it turns out that it is not as good as we imagined.
It is not easy to tell a story line with flesh and blood, and balancing multiple timelines requires more effort or a little talent, which is basically absent from the screenwriters of this film. The main line is the most inked, but the sloppy and deliberate, unprovoked violent conflicts and random romantic encounters, as well as Billy's sudden righteous words are confusing. The plots and character relationships in the two memory lines also mostly pass by, and the dialogue is either dry or routine. No matter the gags in the comrades-in-arms' luxury cars or the undercurrent conflicts at the family table, it seems that the plots of countless stories are interpreted in the way of countless films, and the effect is almost as natural as the completion of the task.
A battlefield scene that has repeatedly become the center of conversation, the wartime atmosphere in Iraq is seldom tense due to the hasty passage. The plot of an important comrade-in-arms did not bring the expected impact-Vin Diesel is very good, but I haven't had a chance to know him yet. How do you feel about losing him? What was supposed to be the climax of the frontline clashes ended with the visual stimulation of blood flowing out at 120 frames per second.
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The characters have no hierarchy, the segments do not create emotional impact, and the whole fails to successfully shape the theme, so the film has no fulcrum. "It's not your story anymore, Billy, this is America's story." By the end of the film, we can tell what the story is, but it's hard to really appreciate the power it contains. As the original author said, "Human experience is complex, confusing, multi-layered, ambiguous and open-ended." Such an experience is nowhere to be found in the film.
The young newcomer in this film, British actor Joe Alwyn who plays Billy, is just plain under the watch of the leading scenes and countless close-ups. The well-known Kristen Stewart is not successful, after all, there are only so many scenes, and the plot is only so thin. On the other hand, Harvey, the Texas tycoon played by Steve Martin, a subtle expression change is enough to show the hypocrisy. A close-up of facial movements at 120 frames per second might be worth a look.
Back to technology. After the first few premieres, many blamed the film's lack of satisfaction on the 120-frame-per-second shooting choice. I don't think there is any need to rush out the technology. After all, new technologies are always criticized when they first appear. How a technology can mature to serve the film always takes a long search and numerous failures to arrive at. In this attempt, the characteristics of the technology and the content of the film were to some extent stripped, so it was not successful. But there is no doubt that a new experience means new possibilities, and the first step is just the beginning of an exploration and progress - at this level, the significance of "Billy Lynn" may be greater than its good. bad itself.
Ang Lee has never been a technology pioneer, but this time he tried. We remember his richness and delicacy, and we inevitably expect more. There are good and bad works, but the foundation of people will not easily change. He's sincere, humble, and wants to make better movies. And because of this Ang Lee, no matter what the success or failure of the moment, we will always have reason to look forward to his next work.
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