Spill

A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints

I spent tonight watching A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints. Oscar season is pretty far away, but I wonder what kind of attention this film will get. This film is so moving, and the performances in it are incredible. If life were fair, a couple of these actors would definitely get nominations.

I know this comparison sounds silly, but the film reminded me of a harder-edged Stand By Me. It’s a story you’ve seen before; the young kid with daddy issues grows up in a rough neighborhood, touched with tragedy. But it’s so much more than that. It’s a true relationship movie, and the father and son scenes ring so true that it’s almost hard to watch.

No question, there are Oscar-caliber performances out of Dianne Wiest and Shia LaBoeuf. I’m realizing that not a lot of people have heard of Shia — he’s a former Disney Channel kid, who starred in Holes and had a supporting role in Constantine. Hopefully this will be a breakout role for him, because I honestly think he’s the next Tom Hanks. His eyes can tell you everything you need to know about a character in seconds. He’s incredible.

Chazz Palminteri will break your heart in this movie. So will Channing Tatum, who I’d never heard of, but was wonderful. All the actors had tough roles in this film, but perhaps he had it the toughest: making the audience care about an extremely troubled kid. In a way (and I’m not being facetious here), he’s like Ben Affleck’s character in Good Will Hunting. Remember, back when you took Affleck seriously, before the whole Bennifer debacle? Remember how good he was in that movie? Channing Tatum’s Antonio is like that — immediately charming, fiercely loyal, a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, he’s also dangerously unpredictable and violent, but he, too, will break your heart.

Ain’t It Cool News has an interview with the writer/director here. It reveals important plot points, so go see the movie before you read it.

Keanu Reeves and metaphysical intervention

A bizarre thing just happened to me.

So, I’ve wanted to see The Lake House, but didn’t actually get around to seeing it in the theaters. You know, it’s the one where Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves live in the same house, only two years apart, and start a romantic correspondence through a mailbox that is not so much a mailbox, but actually more of a time portal. This plot might sound repulsive to you, but it is right up my alley. I have a soft spot for magical love destiny movies. (This is probably why I do not have a boyfriend.)

Let me take a moment to defend Keanu. Sure, he’s not what one might call Hollywood’s Most Talented Actor. However, I think he’s got this blank slate quality that makes him perfect for movies like The Matrix and The Devil’s Advocate, where a more emotive actor would have been too distracting when combined with insane special effects/Al Pacino chewing the scenery. Have I enjoyed him as a romantic lead before? Eh, not really. Sweet November was kind of bullshit. Regardless, I still had high hopes for this movie.

But I digress. This morning, I woke up with one thought in my head: today’s the day to watch The Lake House. I don’t know why it seemed so urgent, but I just really wanted to. I just moved, and I don’t belong to any video rental place around here, but there’s a Tower Records right around the corner, and so I bought the DVD. Impulse buy. I hate buying DVDs on a whim, actually, because I’m very proud of my collection and only want it to contain quality items. It was very out of character for me … like I was guided by a force larger than myself. I brought it home, set it aside, and promised myself that if I spent the rest of the day doing chores and stuff, I could watch it tonight as my reward.

Fast-forward to this evening. I turned the movie on. I was struck by a sudden urge to call a good friend of mine and tell her I was watching it. Not sure why — I’d never even discussed it with her before, but I just wanted to allow her the chance to make fun of me for buying such a clearly sappy movie. Instead, I sent her a text message, and our conversation went like this:

Me: back home?
Her: yep
Me: i’m watching the lake house
Her: are you kidding?? me TOO!!

Bear in mind, it’s not like the movie was on HBO or anything. She Netflixed it; I bought it. The forces of destiny intervened in both our lives and led us to watch the exact same movie at the exact same moment. Well, she was actually a few minutes ahead, but that doesn’t matter. In fact, it’s better, because it meant that she could tell me what happens in the future (of the movie), which is remarkably similar to how Sandra Bullock could tell Keanu about the future. This was more than coincidence. This was fate. Whoa.

And, after typing all this out, I realize that this is … not a very interesting story. But for me, this was a profound metaphysical experience, and I felt like sharing. As for the movie? Well, if you liked The Notebook, and you’re fine with Sandra and Keanu, and you’re willing to suspend all questions you might have regarding plausibility, then you might like it, too. I thought it was a great way to spend a Sunday night, and will anxiously check my mail in the future to see if fate has any other magical plans for me.