Vacancy
One often under-appreciated element of the later Hollywood
films of Sir Alfred Hitchcock was his opening animated-graphic
credits. The opening sequence of ‘Psycho’ (1960),
for instance, showed a series of black and white vertical
and horizontal stripes which eventually formed themselves
into the skyline of a small nondescript American city. Always
in-conjunction with the film composer Bernard Herrmann, Hitchcock’s
graphic credits and Herrmann’s eerie, staccato music
did much to set the mood of Hitchcock’s later works.
In his extraordinary movie, ‘Vacancy’, director
Nimrod Antal successfully creates a Hitchcock-like opening
graphic credit sequence, and this instantly indicates where
the movie is ‘coming from’. Five minutes into
the movie I was sure I was watching an adaptation, or re-make,
of ‘Psycho’. Ten minutes into the film the Hitchcock
homage had been paid, and Nimrod Antal’s movie had gone
off on its own wild tangent. I really don’t want to
tell you too much about the movie, as that would spoil its
amazing suspense and tension, and I also implore you not to
read the notes on the back of the DVD cover. That would totally
give the game away! In-fact, I make it a practice now never
to read the DVD cover notes. Invariably they get things wrong,
and often reveal way too much of the plot. Destroying any
surprises the movie may offer. Sufficient to say that in the
movie ‘Vacancy’ a typical American couple find
themselves in the middle of nowhere, when their car breaks
down, and they are forced to spend the night in a creepy motel,
where something very sinister is going on. A remarkable cinematic
devise which Hitchcock introduced in ‘Psycho’
was to kill off his leading lady in the first half hour of
the movie. Janet Leigh was at the height of her popularity
when she appeared in ‘Psycho’. Leigh was unusual
casting, for she was normally associated with more lightweight
‘fluff’. When Janet came to her grisly end in
the shower scene, and secured her permanent place in the history
of cinema, the audiences at the time were absolutely shocked.
Hollywood Movie Stars of that era simply did not ‘die’.
In a subtle salute to Hitchcock, Antal also employs unusual
casting and an unusual plot development in his movie. Luke
Wilson is an emerging comedian, and ‘Vacancy’
is not the sort of movie you would expect to find him. Similarly,
Kate Beckinsale, in the past, has been normally associated
with romantic costume dramas, in which she is always the beautiful
and winsome heroine. This movie is extremely bizarre casting
for her. Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale grab their roles
by the throat, and both give outstanding performances. Director
Nimrod Antal attacks his movie with a vengeance. As he maneuvers
his movie from one horrifying climax to another, he displays
a marvelous skill at creating apprehension and anxiety through
some inventive camerawork and exciting editing. Reducing the
dialogue to its bare essentials, Antal creates a movie which
superbly explores the art of visual narration. Surprises,
and the suddenly unexpected, also provide a major component
to his cinematic style. ‘Vacancy’ is not family
entertainment, and it might not be to everyone’s taste.
To understand the movie it probably requires an appreciation
of the ‘Grand Guignol’ and contemporary ‘black
humor’. Never-the-less, Nimrod Antal’s Hitchcock-like
‘tribute’ movie will have you riveted to the edge
of your seat. And, it is not going too far to say, that Antal’s
little ‘slasher’ film is probably the most exciting
movie to come out of America so far this year.
The Four Musketeers
The first movie of Alexander Dumas’ swashbuckling novel
‘The Three Musketeers’ was produced by Thomas
Edison in 1911. Remakes occurred in 1913 and 1914, and a 1921
version was mounted especially for Douglas Fairbanks. Another
rendering occurred in 1935, and a musical-comedy version,
starring Dom Ameche and the Ritz Brothers, of all people,
appeared in 1939. Gene Kelly made a colorful aerobatic version
for MGM in 1948, however, the most successful reading of this
perennial favorite was created by Richard Lester in 1973.
An all-star cast, including Michael York, Oliver Reed, Frank
Finlay and Richard Chamberlain were to enjoy a huge success
with their film, but, a sequel, ‘The Four Musketeers’,
was not to experience the same popularity. A 1993 version,
starring Charlie Sheen, Oliver Platt, Chris O’Donnell
and Kiefer Sutherland, was to disappear without a trace. Now,
it is the turn of the French to have a stab at this timeless
classic, and I suppose they are entitled, seeing as how the
source material is a famous French novel. This new version
of the movie, ‘The Four Musketeers’, calls itself
‘a film by Pierre Aknine’, yet it reeks of a ‘made-for-TV’
ambience. The movie actually comes with built-in fade-to-black
‘commercial’ breaks. Starring Vincent Elbaz, Tcheky
Karyo and Emmanuelle Beart, plus an assortment of unknown
French actors, the movie has one eye on lucrative International
television sales. The actors’ voices have been dubbed
into English, and the new voices are lip-synced appallingly.
The voices also do not match the characteristics of the actors
they are impersonating, and their vocal range is limited.
Coming in at just on three hours, the ‘film’ is
a lot of ‘hard work’ for little entertainment
reward. Frankly, it’s not worth the effort.
High School Musical, The Concert
I don’t know why, but the movie ‘High School Musical’
was extremely popular. Now, the Disney Organization has come
up with another movie that documents a concert version of
the film. All the adolescent ‘stars’ of the movie
appear in this multi-media concert, singing their ‘greatest’
hits. I don’t know why, but all the way through the
movie I kept having nostalgic ‘flashbacks’ to
the 1950s’ TV ‘Mickey Mouse Club’ and its
own batch of cute ‘Mouseketeers’. This documentary
is just another attempt by the Disney Organization to exploit
the talents of juveniles, and their audiences. I don’t
know why, but I felt bilious throughout the movie, but, I
am sure that your teenage daughter will love it, and insist
you buy the DVD. You are warned!
