I can't seem to think of anything remotely original or at all feasible--nothing that wouldn't require copious amounts of research. Everything I come up with sounds trite, to me, or over-complicated.
The DGA Award for feature film went to Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire. That film is unstoppable right now--with the momentum it has, it'll probably win big at the Oscars in three weeks, too. It's definitely one of my favorite movies this year. I'd say that I liked The Wrestler more, though.
Both films have marvelously simple plots. The Wrestler's premise is so basic: a washed-up, aging wrestler comes to terms with his mortality and the emptiness of his life outside of the ring after suffering a heart attack. Even Slumdog isn't that complicated--a young man from Mumbai survives several tragic events and finally hits a lucky streak, finding himself in contention for twenty million rupees during his search for his childhood sweetheart. Neither film really had any shocking twists or highly suspenseful points. Their endings were not unexpected.
Both are delivered beautifully, and people are loving them. Slumdog is #34 of IMDb's Top 250 right now, and The Wrestler is #47. There are great films that are complex. But sometimes a simple story well told is better, even if it's an old one.
On a completely separate note, I just finished reading The Great Gatsby. I forgot how things ended between Jordan and Nick. They have a strained conversation on the phone, don't talk for a while, then she tells him she's engaged and tells him he shook her up, the way he treated her. Then she reminds him about a conversation they once had:
"You said a bad driver was only safe until she met another bad driver? Well, I met another bad driver, didn't I? I mean it was careless of me to make such a wrong guess. I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride."
"I'm thirty," I said. "I'm five years too old to lie to myself and call it honor."
Maybe another day I'll have something to say about that. Right now it just stands out in my mind.
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Now playing: John Mayer covering "Bold as Love" live in concert on his Where the Light Is DVD
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