Monday, April 23, 2012

1718 - Friends With Money

Another rematch for visual style inside of a talky film.  This one is shot pretty conventionally and simply, but works nicely because of it.  Nicole Holofcener isn't aiming to wow us with the visuals as much as she is with the story.  It's a cast filled of actresses that I love and they're all playing vastly unlikeable people, but their chemistry and commitment to the characters make it work somehow.  If you haven't seen it, the film is about a woman, Aniston, who is surrounded by friends far more well off than she is.  In a way the film is an argument against being wealthy as a way to solve all of your problems.  Most of the characters here are wealthy and still messed up regardless.  Their view on the world is skewed and somewhat terrible.  They believe they're instilled to whatever they want because they want it, and so why shouldn't they have it.  Sadly I think only Catherine Keener's character comes around in the end, whereas our "hero" Aniston appears to have found a way to get into the rich person's club, and we question if she's at all sincere about the way she's gotten in…
This is by no means a film for everyone.  The characters are not the kind of people you want to hang out with, and you might spend a great deal of the film wanting to bitch-slap them.  I believe that's the intent, and so I think for that this film is a success - even if it means that a lot of people would rather spend time watching a movie with characters they don't want to slap around.

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