George Clooney is the most politically active filmmaker among Hollywood's countless stars, participating in various political activities and expressing his political opinions. Similarly, his own enthusiasm for politics is also reflected to a certain extent in the films he directs. The background of the story of "Murder in Lost Town" is set in an ordinary town somewhere in the United States after the end of World War II. From the opening part of the film, one or two can be seen, cheerful and relaxing music, smiling people, peaceful and peaceful home, It is definitely the first choice to live and work in peace and contentment, attracting many foreigners to settle here. Such a good environment is a true portrayal of a certain aspect of that era.
The period from 1945 to 1957 in the last century was the golden age of the post-war economy in the United States. In the past ten years, Wall Street experienced the longest bull market in history. The long-term stability and prosperity of the financial market quickly created a large number of emerging middle classes. crowd. The American people are eager to get rid of the shadow of the Great Depression decades ago, and they are also happy to enjoy the fruits of the wartime economy in a special period. In a word, there is no end to the good days. Life is too short, so why worry about the future?
But a good economic trend does not mean that social problems will be solved at the same time. Racial discrimination, a major historical ailment, was still commonplace in the society at that time, far less enlightened than it is now. In "Murder in the Town", I want to take a good look at the content. Although the town is good, it has one characteristic. It is a pure white gathering area. Everyone gets along well. If there are differences, it may be the difference in religious beliefs. For example, they also believe in Christianity. Be polite. But seeing black people who usually appear as servants or servants at most, they are also openly like white people, wearing fashionable clothes, flipping through the newly published family life magazines, driving brand-new cars, and moving into beautiful houses. When , became their own neighbors, most of the white residents of the lost town were so surprised that their jaws dropped to the ground.
Gardner didn't care about that, even though the new black neighbor was right next to his house, he was ordinary, lived a prosperous life, worked for a big company, was the vice president of finance, and was a successful man. Unfortunately for his family, his wife Rose was paralyzed in the lower half of her body due to a car accident, and she could only walk in a wheelchair for the rest of her life; her son Nicky was quite sensible and didn't need to worry about it. His wife, Ross, and a twin sister, Margaret, are Gardner's sister-in-law. They are not young or lonely. From time to time, they come to Gardner's house for dinner together, which is quite enjoyable. Sisters Ross and Margaret also have an older brother named Mickey, who is a tall, fat man who takes good care of the Gardner family, especially his little nephew Nicky. It seems that Gardner's life is not perfect, but there is nothing wrong with it, what more can I ask for?
An accidental burglary broke the peaceful life of the Gardner family. Two gangsters stunned Gardner, Ross, Nicky and Margaret with gauze soaked in anesthesia over their mouths and noses. It led to Ross's death, and it also shattered the myth that there was never a crime in Mystery Town. The white people, who were already dissatisfied with the black people's stay, began to have emotional outbursts. They united and agreed that the root cause of the misfortune suffered by the Gardner family came from a black family. Nicky was the first to have contact with Andy, a black child. There is more doom that spreads to other households, creating more danger. Although Nicky was young, he observed things very carefully. He noticed that the thugs gave his mother Rose at least double the dose of anesthetic. He also accidentally discovered that the conversation between father Gardner and aunt Margaret became more and more serious. It's getting more and more ambiguous, and it seems to be hiding something from him. Life is still the same, but the taste inside is getting worse and worse.
The film has a total of 104 minutes. The first 60 minutes seem quite dull and boring. On the one hand, the rhythm is slow. On the other hand, if you don’t know much about the social background and living environment of the 1950s in the United States, you may not be able to see it. What an interesting setting. The actors' performances are also bleak. In order to play ordinary people, big names such as Matt Damon and Julianne Moore are also extremely restrained and completely subordinate to the needs of the story. What's more, director George Clooney is making a lot of foreshadowing for the story, and he hasn't forgotten to tie the burden. There are a lot of contents that flash by in front of the camera, which seem to be meaningless. The audience has a first impression, which also makes the film with black humor in the first half of the film very uninspiring.
And the climax of the film, the key person who breaks everything that seems to be done step by step, is Roger, an insurance company claims investigator. This character with the appearance of Latino descent has a cunning temperament different from that of the residents of the lost town. It only takes a few minutes for Roger to reveal Margaret's footsteps through dialogue alone, allowing the story to begin to delve into the real secrets behind it, and into the fast lane of a two-line narrative, one being Nikki-related, the other. One line is about Andy, a black kid, suddenly picking up speed, all the way to the end. The second half of the film is mainly about shaking the baggage. If you have been patient and watched carefully before, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that many inadvertently paved details come in handy in the latter part, completing the self-consistency of black humor and letting the laughs surface naturally.
The story of the film is very interesting, as expected from the hands of the Coen brothers, but it is a little too slow. Director George Clooney's intentions in laying the groundwork for the story are worthy of recognition, but the uneven layout of the top light and the sudden acceleration of the rhythm caused During the viewing process, if you want to fully feel the black humor conveyed by the film, you need to pay more attention to details and patience, which has a certain threshold for the audience. The director and the screenwriter agreed, and made a lot of irony about the ignorance and incitement of the people in the mainstream society. They lashed out at racial discrimination. The surprise was to tear off the fig leaf of the self-proclaimed civilized society. People get a glimpse of the hypocrisy and greed behind the fig leaf, revealing the ugly side of human nature.
For example, those street passers-by who were well-dressed and who spoke out in favor of racial integration during TV interviews insisted against black people living in the community, on the grounds that black people needed more and better education to be worthy of living next to them. Most of the residents of the Lost Town have an arrogant attitude of white supremacy, they are unwilling to communicate with black families, and they do not want to understand the current situation of black families. What's more, they will make things difficult for black people in public, and they will gather together, like savages, to contain and isolate black families, use all means to interfere with the normal life of black families, and even launch attacks, and use them in black families. The Confederate flag of the American Civil War period is displayed in front of the door. This kind of evil deeds that rely on more people to bully others and use discrimination to secretly exchange concepts as justifiable reasons, in the current social environment, it also has a strong reflective effect. We all understand that often in the face of powerful discrimination, it is selectively forgotten by people.
The tragedy of the Gardner family was also caused by the undercurrents behind the peaceful life. In order to avoid moral condemnation and legal investigation, everyone chose extreme means in order to achieve their goals. In the good era of "everyone has a job and everyone has a meal", it is not possible to prevent some people from taking risks for windfall wealth. In the face of huge wealth, whether it is a bus driver, an insurance claims investigator, or a high-ranking enterprise No matter what, they are all trying to maximize their own interests, and they all think that they have the upper hand and control the initiative, but because of various accidents, they have evolved into a life and death drama where the mantis catches the cicada and the oriole. Ironically.
The timing of the accident that broke the situation seems to be accidental, but because of the previous foreshadowing, it became inevitable. All the plots are closely interlocked and closely matched. From the perspective of appreciating the screenwriter, "Murder in Lost Town" can be described as a masterpiece. These dark humorous banter paragraphs are concentrated in the last half hour, which makes me sigh that this surprise is a bit hard-won. If I didn't hold my breath before, I'm afraid the belated joy will be weakened. The final ending is handled very cleverly and has a strong symbolic meaning. There is new hope in life. It will continue tenaciously and tenaciously, and the discrimination that hinders it will eventually fade away. The right choice.
Director George Clooney is so fond of the style of the 1950s, and he has done a lot to restore the characteristics of the times. The scenes, costumes, props, makeup, speech and behavior are reproduced one by one according to the reality of that era, and the music does not. Forgot to match the popular tunes of the time. The scale of the film is not large, and the behind-the-scenes aspects of the production are quite rigorous and conscientious, which helps a lot in the narrative.
The actors also entered that era collectively, and it seemed that there was no sense of disobedience. Maybe it was because of the needs of the story. Everyone’s performances were a little too restrained and down-to-earth, with very few exaggerated performances, and they fully integrated themselves into the kind of “happiness”. families are all alike" state. Don't worry about Matt Damon and Julianne Moore, the characters, while seemingly bland, are certainly well-played, with an emphasis on the details. Gardner played by Matt Damon is honest and honest and Margaret played by Julianne Moore is gentle and beautiful. . Of course, Julianne Moore also played Ross, and through computer special effects, she appeared at the same time as her two sisters, Margaret, which showed her acting skills. Sister Ross was half-paralyzed, her face was pale, and her speech was weak, and her sister Margaret was weak. The complexion is ruddy and more energetic. The differences in these details allow me to distinguish the characteristics of the twin sisters at a glance. In addition to the help of makeup and clothing, Julianne Moore's performance also played a big role. Noah Jupe, who plays Nicky, has been very popular in recent years. The little boy is good-looking and often has the opportunity to cooperate with masters. The upward trend is obvious. The role in this film is not light, and the performance is good enough, which is commendable.
In addition, it must be mentioned that Roger, an insurance company investigator played by Oscar Isaac, rushed into the story with a slick and sophisticated character, like a catfish being put into a fish pond, breaking the calm in the fish pond and activating the main Role. Although Luo Jie didn't play for a long time, his importance is the most important part of the whole film. If he does not act well, he will not be able to bring about changes in the main characters, and the changes between the story and the characters may be untenable. So in my opinion, Isaac's successful completion of his mission is the finishing touch of the whole film.
"Keep the clouds open and see the moonlight", "Murder in Lost Town" can only be known by watching the full movie to know what the real fun is. From the viewing experience, such a slow heat is indeed a bit inconsiderate, but it also confirms the same patience. It is an indispensable element of watching movies. I want to highly recommend "Murder in Lost Town" to all my friends who like the Coen brothers. Although the directors are not the two of them, they are quite exciting in terms of the level of screenwriters. It is a highlight to break through the pretense of hypocrisy and greed. It is very rare to introduce it in China. There's no reason to miss it on the big screen. I also want to recommend this movie to my friends who like dark humor movies. George Clooney's direction is not perfect. The content of the movie is basically qualified and quite satisfactory. watch videos.
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