06 Feb 05
I read an article in the paper recently that there was no history of exploring male friendship in cinema, citing the storm and bluster of films such as Top Gun as examples of the kind of competitiveness that infuses male relationships on the screen. Maybe, but for an example of real male friendship, look no further than Sideways.
The latest film from the director of Election and About Schmidt, Alexander Payne, is about Milo (Paul Giamatti) and Jack (Thomas Hayden Church), on a week’s holiday in Californian wine country to celebrate Jack’s impending marriage. Milo, wine connoisseur currently on depression medication, is still grappling with his divorce of two years ago, and Jack, slightly has-been TV and commercial voice-over actor, is determined to get laid (as many times as possible) before he gets married. In between drinking a lot of wine, they meet Stephanie (Sandra Oh) and Maya (Virginia Madsen).
Beyond the clichés (men only talk about sports, men don’t express their feelings for each other etc) men have friendships every bit as emotionally complex as women. It’s just we don’t often see them explored on the screen in as real a way, and with such subtlety, as this. Milo and Jack are flawed, but very real people, and there are times during the film when we don’t really like them. Milo is depressed, drinks too much, and can’t move on emotionally from his wife; and Jack is like a middle-aged man with all the enthusiasm and emotional immaturity of a kid.
There are many moments here I recognised from my own life and friendships. Payne is making great films because these people and characters are so recognisable, and like life, the situations they get into and the choices they make aren’t neat and packaged and end happily every after. We recognise life as the struggle it often is, but then are reminded of our opportunities to see and appreciate the simple beauty in the everyday. With wine, you can swig it down or you can linger over every mouthful and examine every nuance—the trick is not to drink the same way all the time.
The acting in Sideways is effortless and the chemistry between these players a delight, especially between Giametti and Madsen, whose moment together out on Stephanie’s porch was so real it made me hold my breath. Like a fine wine, there are many layers of complexity to enjoy.
Four and a half pinot noirs out of five. And remember—don’t drink and dial, kids.
Movies and TV
03 Feb 05
Graffiti, Taylor Square, Sydney.
Uncategorized
31 Jan 05
I’ve been casting a covetous eye on my girlfriend’s iPod mini, so when we dropped into our local AppleCentre this weekend (so she could get the mini’s malfunctioning battery repaired, ironically) I couldn’t resist snapping up a new iPod shuffle.
Now—mwha ha haa—the tables have turned. She thinks the shuffle is exactly what she was looking for in the first place.
Let’s face it, at AUD$149 this one’s a no-brainer. The thing is unbelievably small and light, it recharges from your USB port, you can set up playlists in iTunes for any occasion —about 120 songs worth—and despite the catchline you can play your songs in random order and in order. Like so many others, I’m hooked on random playback; you sometimes segue from one song to another in beautiful ways. Did I mention how small and light it is? Man, this is the best thing Apple’s made since the Newton (hey, I loved my Newton!)
The best thing about that visit to the AppleCentre was however, I actually found myself waiting for my girlfriend to finish looking around. Wow … and she was a PC user up until a few weeks ago.
Tech Macs
30 Jan 05
I don’t get men who were their floppy polo neck shirt collars up. I don’t get gangsta rap. I don’t get people who name Dirty Dancing as their favourite film. Or George W. Bush supporters. Or people who think the world was made in 7 days and is only 6,000 years old. I don’t get very overweight girls who wear really tight midriff tops; guys who drive around in bright yellow ‘modified’ cars playing loud doof-doof-doof music; shops that use price stickers that don’t come off; property developers; those trucks and bikes with advertising signs attached to them that drive around the city; skywriters; fundamentalist Christians; people who only read magazines and not books; people who borrow books and don’t return them; people who talk really loudly in restaurants; parents who think that ignoring their kid when it has a public tantrum is good parenting; fluffy toys on car dashboards; Oprah Winfrey; Starbucks coffee drinkers; people who don’t drink any form of alcohol just because they got pissed on Southern Comfort and threw up once when they were 15; Australian Idol; water features; greed; waiters who think being rude to you will somehow put them above you even though they would get much more respect by doing their job well; pokie machines; nightclub bouncers; people who buy a house next to a pub that’s been there for twenty years and then complain so much about the noise that the pub has to close; the bullshit sincerity of late night infomercials; and the fashion for pastel T shirts with bad graphics that look as though they all came out of the same factory. I don’t get forcing your beliefs on others. Or people who talk in cinemas.
What do you not get?
Opinions
25 Jan 05
A friend took this photo in a toy store in Tokyo recently. Actually, when you think about it, Barbie and Ken would be perfect on the Enterprise. Shame she’s a ‘red shirt’ though, they never last long …
Stuff
20 Jan 05
Evening light on the dome and spires of the Blue Mosque, Istanbul. I was in Istanbul on September 11, 2001. You can read more about this trip to Turkey at petergifford.com.
Travel Turkey
20 Jan 05
You may have already noticed, but Headless Hollow is beginning to finally develop into the blog I always wanted it to be. Finally, the Photos section is up and running, and I’ll be posting new pictures there everytime I feel like procrastinating my work (which is quite a lot). Also, look to your left and you’ll see a link to a new Freebie page chock-full of professionally designed reference sheets for your favourite boardgames. Granted, you may not play boardgames as a rule, but those of you who do are excited right now I bet!
Site News
19 Jan 05
The beach at Puerto Morelos, south of Cancun, Mexico.
Travel Mexico
18 Jan 05
Chichen Itza: the Temple of the Warriors seen from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun.
Travel Mexico
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