Additional Screenshots from The Oxford Murders

The Oxford Murders

I have been dreading writing this post for several weeks now, but I am forcing myself to write it now and get it over with. This is the movie I had been looking forward to watching with great anticipation since 2007 when I heard about it's future release, but the viewing experience I had while watching it was one of the biggest letdowns I have had in a while.
I love the murder mystery/thriller genre, having grown up watching movies and programs with that particular theme. The program, Mystery my family's personal favorite weekly show, hosted by Dianna Rigg was a huge influence on me and we hardly missed any episodes. I was definitely a fan of mystery movies and shows which featured the likes of Sherlock Holmes, Inspector Morse, Brother Cadfael, Hercule Poirot, etc. So, therefore, having such a love for this genre, I couldn't help but get excited about the idea of Elijah playing a smart Oxford student and mathematics whiz, who teams up with his idolized hero and professor (played by John Hurt), to solve a series of supposedly gruesome murders by using mathematics and logic. It sounded like the promising premise of a terrific movie, but it was not to be.
The cast is indeed a good one with some big names, and it is seemed that they had all shared a similar desire to work with director Alex de la Iglesia because of his previous work, which promised a great opportunity for them to work with him. Unfortunately, this film has definitely hurt their careers more so than help, and some, I am sure, are quite embarrassed over their involvement. I really hate to give an Elijah movie a really hard time, but this movie does not warrent much in the way of praise.

The movie was wince and cringe inducing and incredibly difficult to sit through due to the movie's pacing (or lack thereof), editing, dialogue, and screen writing.
It felt as if I was not watching the whole movie, but bits and pieces of a really chopped up and edited version of the original film. It jumped around so abruptly without warning between scenes and locations that it felt like huge gaps were missing that might have explained the sudden plot changes. It was very badly paced and the character development was non-existent.

The movie immediately began with Elijah's character arriving in Oxford and we don't really have any clue as to who his character is or why he is there in the first place. The one point the film had no trouble establishing was Elijah's obsession and worship of the philosopher, mathematician, and professor (John Hurt). This fascination and adoration of John Hurt's character totally went over my head because there seemed to be nothing worth that kind of admiration in his character, a mean, overbearing, self-important man with an ego larger than his head. The long and agonizingly over-intellectualized speech that John Hurt gives to a room full of Oxford students at one point in the film went on way too long and lost me in it's monotony.

So, Martin has been in Oxford for no more than two days when the lady he has been staying with is murdered and is discovered by Wood and Hurt. It had been very obvious that the mother and daughter (Julie Cox) had a real hatred for each other and it seems that the daughter should be the prime suspect for the murder, but she is let off the hook almost immediately after she provides an alibi.

Less than two days later, Julie Cox's character is hitting on Elijah and expressing her love and attraction to him and admitting her hatred of her mother in a very awkward scene that still makes me laugh. The two of them have met barely a few days earlier and she is telling him how much she loves him, and in an earlier scene, she expresses her jealousy over his meeting another girl (Leonor Watling) practically a day after he got to Oxford.

As much as I adore Elijah, he was really miscast as the playboy Oxford genius. It was difficult for me to really believe that he had the incredible sex appeal that could score him two gorgeous babe's at once. It was just a little laughable.

I will not go into the plot in this post like I normally do because the plot of the story was all over the place, and I don't think I could straighten it out enough to be understood. I will point out some really disturbing and mind boggling scenes that are still not making sense to me. Let's just dub this section:
The Top 5 Most Ridiculous Moments Found on Film!
1. A scene between Elijah and insane, jealous, Oxford student named Podorov who thinks that Hurt's character stole his mathematics discovery: Podorov obviously loathes Elijah, but in one scene they are drinking together and they are in an argument when Podorov jumps up and starts drunkenly running around on the mess hall tables. Elijah hops up too and proceeds to pull him down, taking him outside where Podorov continues to flip out and consequently hit Elijah. Elijah pursues him and they tousle about. The next thing you know, Elijah can be seen carrying the unconscious Podorov into his room. My question is what point in the movie they had become such goods friends and drinking buddies?

2. Elijah and Hurt are in an argument about logic, or whatever, as they are walking down the street. Suddenly, Elijah trips and falls into a construction area after saying "I trust my eyes" very adamantly to Hurt, and he continues to lay in a pile of gravel as he carries on the conversation without missing a beat.

3. The infamous Spaghetti scene with Leonora (naked in a cooking apron) is one of the most ridiculous of the scenes listed here. After some frolicking with Elijah, Leonor has fixed some spaghetti and she brings Elijah a plate of it. Elijah puts a handful of spaghetti on Leonor's ample chest and proceeds to eat it with his bare hands as they laugh and giggle. Don't ask me what purpose the scene has within the scheme of the movie...I haven't actually been able to discover the scheme of the movie yet either.

4. In this space, I must make room for the VERY tiresome scene that is John Hurt's long, egotistical and embittered speech to an auditorium filled with aspiring students. I find it particularly funny because I just want to know what happened in his life to make him so hateful.
5. Last but not least, the chuckle/cringe inducing scene where Julie Cox is expressing her love to Elijah within two days of knowing him. I thought it was extremely soap opera like, and the least believable scene in the movie...Although none of them really were...
6. I am actually adding a sixth ridiculous scene because I just couldn't get it out of my mind. I actually found it quite disturbing and not funny...It is right after Elijah and Leonor have first met and she has beaten him at racquetball and they fall onto the floor next to each other panting hard. They are laying there laughing and eyeng each other and Elijah (still panting) starts oggling her boobs with his huge eyes, then he looks back at her face with this hungry expression...I was shuddering at how gross it was!


Unfortunately, this was one of the first Elijah movies I have asked my boyfriend, Jeremy, to sit down and watch with me and he agreed to humor me. In fact, it had been Jeremy who acquired the movie for me since he knew how much I was anticipating it. I hope I have not driven him away from watching more Elijah Wood movies with me because of the experience.
I asked him to answer a few of my questions about the movie so that I could post some of his thoughts in this review to get another person's perspective on the film. Jeremy runs his own music and movies blog over at Moon in the Gutter, along with a great "all things 70's" site called Harry Moseby Confidential, and also a tribute site for Nastassja Kinski called Nostalgia Kinky.

My Oxford Murders Questionnaire answered by Moon in the Gutter's Jeremy Richey:

1. Overall, what did you think of this movie, and how would you rate it?

I looked up 'daft' in the dictionary and it had 'senseless', 'stupid' and 'foolish' listed, and according to Wikipedia 'daft' is also a British slang term for 'silly'. So I would say that I found this film extremely daft.

2. What were two of the worst moments in the film?

The scene where Elijah fell on the sidewalk while talking to John Hurt and just continued the conversation was priceless and the infamous spaghetti scene was something I will never forget...although I would like to.

3. What was the best moment (or redeeming quality) in the film?

I quite liked some of Elijah's clothes and the moment when the closing credits began brought a smile to my face.

4. Funniest moment (if any)?

Well the two worst moments above were pretty funny but I would say the scene where Julie Cox expresses her undying love for Elijah just like a day after she met him was particularly chuckle inducing.

5. Describe the movie in one sentence?

Asinine.

6. How would you describe Elijah's performance?

There wasn't really a performance to give. He's a terrific actor as is John Hurt, Leonor Watling and Dominique Pinon but the script was so terribly written that it would have been impossible for any of them to give anything resembling a good performance.

7. Who was your favorite character?

I wanted to kill John Hurt's character so it wouldn't be him and I can't abide the wasting of pasta so Leonor is out as well. I would say that my favorite was 'student (uncredited)' played by someone named Glyn Angell although I couldn't tell you where exactly they appeared in the film nor would I want to re watch it again to find out.

8. What would you have done differently if it had been your film and you were directing?

Had I been stupid enough to sign on with this script I would have shut down production immediately or I would have turned it into a full blown comedy.

9. Anything else you want to say---

I'm still wondering if this monster will ever get a release stateside. I suspect it will eventually come out on DVD here and no doubt someone will try and turn it into some sort of cult classic. I'm not having it, this film was atrocious.

The fault of this film does not lie with incompetent actors (because the cast is quite competent when given a good script), but with the director and editors who were unable to use the marvelous cast to their advantage because the script was doomed from the start.

I was also expecting (and kind of hoping) to see more gore and grizzly murder footage, but that was depressingly absent in an overly talky and boringly intellectualized film that really misses the mark.
If you still wish to see this movie, I hope it is a much better viewing experience for any brave enough to sit through it.
The one positive thing that I got out of the film was the very strong desire to hunt down and re-watch every episode of Inspector Morse, and to rediscover the magic that was the great detective teamwork of Detective Chief Inspector Morse and his faithful sidekick, Lewis. At least John Thaw (Morse) knew how to bring out the more likable and sympathetic sides of an antagonistic, sour, and intellectual snobby character. His is an Oxford tale worth watching.

More Screen Captures from Paris Je T'aime

Paris, Je T'aime: Stories of Love. From the City of Love

This past weekend, after picking up Paris Je T'aime at the video store for about five dollars, I sat down to watch it for a second time with my boyfriend and a visiting friend. I remembered really liking the film when I first watched it during Christmas vacation, but as I watched it again, I started re-discovering what I had loved about the movie the first time around. The concept of a bunch of different directors making short films to combine into one feature was a great idea to me, but a difficult idea all the same for them to pull off, which they did very successfully. The really astounding thing is that all of the stories (one extremely bizzare one being the exception) played very well alongside of each other. It is amazing how well these short films do not clash since they each have independant stories and characters who have no other connection between the shorts except that of the city of Paris, where they live in or are visiting.

Elijah Wood can be seen starring in one of the movie's most unusual, but beautiful tales of love, Quartier de la Madeleine, by Vincenzo Natali (Cypher, Getting Gilliam). Also, Olga Kurylenko, one of the new Bond girls in Quantum of Solace, can be seen in this short as the sensual vampiress who falls for Elijah. I really love how odd and pleasantly surprising this film is considering the other very realistic and believable shorts it plays alongside. I find it quirky, sensual, touching and darkly romantic. The film is very dark and with a lot of blue tones, and the only splash of color is the bright red blood that flows on ocassion. There are sound effects and music, but no dialogue in the short which is another way in which it differs considerably from the rest of the film, other than the vampire theme and how dark and mysterious the look of it is. Here are some stills from the film that I found quite striking.





A neat behind the scenes fact is that Wes Craven has a cameo appearance in the film as the vampire's victim. I thought it was a delightful little film, and I think it would make a terrific feature length movie if someone ever decided to do so. I would totally go and see it if it ever got made, and the theme of a vampire love story would really be a great idea...I really would encourage anyone who has not seen Paris Je T'aime to do so, or if you just want to watch Elijah's film, just check it out on Youtube.

Here are some of my other favorite shorts from Paris Je T'aime:
Quais de Seine by Gurinder Chadha (also directed Bend it like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice), a lovely story about a young French boy who falls for a Muslim girl who shows him the true meaning of beauty.
Tuileries by the Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men, Fargo), a really funny short featuring Steve Buscemi as a shellshocked tourist not looking for trouble, but finding it in the Paris metro.
Place des Victoires by Nobuhiro Suwa (Un Couple Parfait), a beautifully touching film featuring Juliette Binoche as Suzanne, a mother who has just lost her son and is grieving. In a vision, a cowboy on horseback, played by Willem Dafoe (who I believe represents God) shows her that her son is happy and in a safe place.
Tour Eiffel by Sylvain Chomet (The Old Lady and the Pigeons, The Triplets of Belleville), a love story about two mimes who meet in jail and fall in love.
Place des Fêtes by Oliver Schmitz, a sad love story involving a guy who gets stabbed and discovers that his emergency paramedic is a girl he liked and had asked out to coffee.
Père-Lachaise by Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Red Eye), a love story involving an engaged couple and the grave of Oscar Wilde.
14ème Arrondissement by Alexander Payne (Sideways, About Schmidt), about a lonely American lady who travels to Paris not expecting to find love, but find it by falling in love with the city.
And then my favorite of all of my favorites:
Faubourg Saint-Denis by Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, The Princess and the Warrior), featuring Natalie Portman as an American actress trying to make it in Paris who falls in love with a blind Parisian boy.

Additional Screenshots from Radio Flyer

Radio Flyer

Radio Flyer
Cast
Elijah Wood as Mike
Joseph Mazzello as Bobby
Lorraine Bracco as Mary
Adam Baldwin as The King
John Heard as Daugherty

Initially, when I sat down to watch Radio Flyer, I thought I was in for a sweet and sappy flick, but what I had not expected out of the viewing was the mixed feelings I had coming away from it. The movie begins with a younger Tom Hanks playing Elijah's character, Mike, as a grown-up who is telling his two sons a story of when he was a young boy living with his younger brother, Bobby. He begins the story by telling them about how when they were young, their father left his mother and never came back. His mom, played by Lorraine Bracco, decides to move to California, so she packs up the kids, the dog and all they owned to start a new life out West. Once in California, the mom quickly meets a guy and gets married, quite unaware that he is an alcoholic with a bad temper and ill will towards the youngest son, Bobby which soon turns into abuse, and he expects the boys to address him as "the King".
Other than Tom Hank's narration, the two young leads, Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazzello, essentially carry the plot and the movie on their small shoulders, and quite adeptly at that. Elijah gives a rather good and moving performance of the older, caring brother who only wants to protect his younger brother from getting beaten up on by "The King".

Surprisingly, it is newcomer, Joseph Mazzello, as Bobby who really impresses with his portrayal of the quiet and timid young boy who has somehow been singled out by the step-dad as his scapegoat and punching bag. His heart wrenching performance had me tearing up a time or two. It's not just his convincing delivery of the lines that is so persuasive, but his eyes, which really convey true sadness and even despair at points. Bobby doesn't know why he is the only one who is suffering from all of his step father's anger, and Joseph portrays those feelings in such a haunting way. Yet he does not want his mom to know because he doesn't feel like he can mess up her life and happiness at that point.

Mike, Elijah's character, is forced to grow up quickly, at a young age because of the situation he and his brother are forced into. Even though he is not the one that "the King" prefers to beat up on, he feels responsible for Bobby's well being and he is forced to make grown-up decisions in order to protect his brother. Elijah did a great job conveying the silent anguish, anxiety, and hopelessness that Mike experiences. We can see how awful the situation is for Mike to cope with because he feels like he is the only one who can help Bobby now. Eventually, feeling there are no other options to help Bobby, Mike decides that together, they are going to transform Bobby's Radio Flyer wagon into an airplane for Bobby to escape on.

Mike had formed this idea from hearing about the local legend of the famous flight of a boy named Fisher off of a steep hill on his bike, and Mike believes that he can build a plane to make the flight from that very hill. This seems like the best idea to Mike seeing as his brother has a quiet fascination with the concept of flight.
It seems that Elijah and Joseph bonded during the filming of Radio Flyer, because it is evident through their credible performances that they are acting out the close bond of brotherhood so effortlessly it appears to be genuine.

It is apparent that they must have been as close as the two brothers seemed to be in the story, and we see this particularly in scenes where the two boys are off on adventures away from the adults.

One character of the movie that I particularly have affection for is "Shane", the boys' loyal German Shepherd. Shane is an integral part of the story and is surprisingly looked over in all of the reviews I have read about the film. To me, Shane represents what the mother should have been to the boys: protective and watchful. It is Shane who is aware of the boys' plight at all times and he is always the one to come to the rescue.

Every time we see a possible threat to the boys, it is Shane who comes forward and makes his presence known. When "the King" is beating up on Bobby, Shane is wildly trying help the boy by biting and growling at "the King". One of the most upsetting parts of the movie occurs when Mike and Bobby discover what appears to be the bloody and dead body of Shane. Shane ends up not being dead, but the fact that "the King" had tried to kill the dog, shows what a dangerous position that Bobby is in, especially when the next thing we know, Bobby is hospitalized later because of another one of "the King's" drunken beatings.

The mother, played by Lorraine Bracco, is a very warm and loving person, but when looked at more closely, she can be seen as the unintentional cause of all the trouble that befalls the boys. Not only does she marry this mysterious man that demands that the children address him as "the King", but she completely ignores his tendency to drink too much and disregards all of the warning signs that could have saved her son. As the review of the movie by the Los Angeles Times stated, Lorraine Bracco's character "falls very definitely in the ineffectual, if not criminally negligent, category", which sums up her character up very effectively. She is absent the whole day into the late hours at night working several jobs, which leaves the two young boys at home alone without any supervision, and when she is home, she completely ignores the silent, but obvious pleas for help from Bobby. During these daylight hours, the boys traipse around the surrounding hillsides exploring and playing away from the house in order to avoid any more unpleasant run-ins with "the King", which ends up being quite unavoidable.

Some of the problems I had with the film revolve around the script's decision to have the boys build an airplane out of their Radio Flyer wagon to escape the abuse of "the King". I believe that the message of the movie could very well be misconstrued. For instance, many critics have a problem with the fact that the boys are forced to figure out their own way to protect Bobby from the physical abuse instead of having the police officer or the mother act out for them. The fact alone that after Bobby is hospitalized because of "the King", the mother does not wise up and keep her kids safe and away from "the King", shows how helpless the boys are. Instead, she lets him ("the King") talk and weasel himself back into their home, claiming to be a changed person, which the boys know isn't the case.

The return of "the King" to the house and one last attempt to harm Bobby, leaves them with no other alternative but to take care of themselves. Although, the movie ends up portraying the Mom as careless and oblivious to the problems of her children, there is still one character who could have helped the boys if only they had confided in him: the local sheriff, played by John Heard.

He shows up several times in the story, obviously aware that "the King" is no good, and expresses concern for the boys. He clearly had an idea that not all was well with Mike and Bobby and he even tells them to come to him if they needed anything. To me, with this character at the boys' disposal, the need to build an aircraft should not have been entirely necessary. Another issue that had critics scoffing was the idea that the only way the boys could deal with the situation was through wish fulfillment and the escapism factor. The message seemed to be that escaping from your problems is the only way to be free of the situation. One has to take into account though that the ending of the movie, fantasy though it may be, is one that shows Bobby finally getting his wish to fly, fulfilled and he can somehow find happiness in life after such tragedy. The fact that Bobby flies away and never comes back is slightly unsatisfactory. In an odd sort of way, it sort of seems that Bobby has died, even though it is clear that he sends postcards home to mom and Mike after each stop. It still leaves an unsettling feeling in one's stomach which can't completely be explained.

Obviously this was a film that had good intentions of raising awareness for child abuse cases, (during the credits a hot line number for abuse cases was flashed on the screen) but some important parts of the script that were supposed to make it a "movie with a message" fell flat because of some of the script writer's decisions. I felt the script was strongest with the plight of the two boys and I was taking it quite seriously until the plan to build a plane was introduced. After that, it took on an air of unreality which spoiled the serious mood that had been established during the first half of the movie. Even with the issues complexities the film brought up, I still enjoyed seeing Elijah's wonderful performance, and also pleasantly surprised by the very excellent Joseph Mazello. One should watch this movie, if for nothing else, to see Elijah and Joseph's screen interaction, which is particularly heart warming!

New Posts coming soon!

Classes have had me so busy lately that I have not had time to post anything new for the past month or so. Now that finals are over I hope to begin actively posting again. My next post will be on Elijah's next movie, Radio Flyer.
I just saw a short article in the May issue of the Sight and Sound magazine that talks about Elijah's new movie The Oxford Murders by Spanish director, Alex de la Iglesia. I have been looking forward to seeing this movie for a while now, although I highly doubt that it will make it to Bowling Green's sad little theaters. In fact, Oxford Murders has been out since January in Spain, and the release date for the U.S. is unknown at this point. I will most likely have to just get the DVD if it is not released here in the U.S..

Posting Delay

I would like to apologize for the delay in another movie review. The past few weeks has been really hectic, so I have not had the opportunity to sit down and view Elijah's next movie, Radio Flyer. Ideally, I would like to post something every week, but my school work load has prevented me from my posting goal. The next review will be forthcoming, and hopefully will be insightful. For those who have been reading my blog, I would like to thank you! Keep it up!

Elijah in Paradise

Paradise

Cast
Elijah Wood....Willard Young
Melanie Griffith .... Lily Reed
Don Johnson .... Ben Reed
Thora Birch .... Billie Pike
Sheila McCarthy .... Sally Pike
Eve Gordon .... Rosemary Young


Mary Agnes Donoghue's 1991 Paradise was the first movie where Elijah was used in a leading role as the ten year old Willard Young. Having been cast alongside the likes of Melanie Griffith, Thora Birch, and Don Johnson, this was the first movie to showecase Elijah's sensetivity and depth and also allowed him to show his ability to handle the responsibility of a lead character.
The movie begins with Elijah's character, Willard, getting off of school for the summer at a prestigious looking elementary school in the city. The movie immediately establishes Willard as a smart or intelligent child who does not have many friends. The first few scenes at the school allows the audience to see the isolation and rejection that Willard feels and faces from other children his age. We can see that Willard is slightly intimidated by those around him, and as Willard heads home after school, he stops to watch some kids playing ball and gets chased from the premises. He soon finds out that his pregnant mother is sending him to a small town called Paradise to stay with her best friend, Lily Reed (Melanie Griffith's character) for the summer. Willard sees this act as his mother's way of trying to get him out of the way because she doesn't want him around. What he doesn't know is that his mother suspects that his father (who Willard is led to believe to be on sea duty) is cheating on her. In an attempt to straighten out the issues with her husband, Willard's mother sends him away to stay with the quietly sad, but sweet, Lily Reed.
Upon arrival in the sleepy little town called Paradise in the Delta shrimp-fishing area, Willard walks into a country restaurant to ask for directions to Lily's house. He is greeted by a gruff character who gives him directions and the foreboding warning that all is not well at the Reed house and that he hopes Willard's visit with Lily is a brief one. Once at Lily's house while his mother and Lily talk, Willard wanders off and meets the tomboy Billie Pike, played by a very young Thora Birch. They talk for a while and when Billie asks Willard what he wants to do, he says nothing and tells her to leave him alone until she asks him if he wants to see her older sister naked. He then consents since there is nothing better or more interesting to do. Later that same day, the brooding man from the restaurant who had given Willard directions, shows up at Lily's and Willard tells him that his mother had warned him to stay away from him because of what he had said about Lily. The man tells Willard that his mother is right, but then reveals that he lives there too, which introduces him to the audience as Ben Reed, Lily's husband. It is evident that Willard is not too pleased with the news, but he stays quiet. Although, when Willard is left alone at Lily's for the summer, he looks a little forlorn at first, but what he then sees as abandonment, eventually becomes a blessing for him and those around him.
Willard and Billie become fast friends and they spend their summer playing together and having adventures. Billie is a strong willed and independent nine year old girl who shows Willard how to be comfortable with who he is. At times, Billie pushes Willard too hard and he gets angry, but ultimately, they make up and remain friends. The two kids together make an odd pair as friends since they are total opposites, but we see how much their relationship benefits both of them and how they care for each other. Billie likes to take risks and is a bit of a show off, while on the other hand, Willard is quiet, timid, and a bit unsure.
Billie comes from a home where her sister is her half sister from one of her mother’s many relationships, and her mother is a somewhat morally loose, single mom working at the town’s restaurant. Billie has never met her father who, she has been told, is a famous roller skating performer.
One afternoon, Billie and Willard meet up, and the characteristically tomboyish Billie is decked out in white lace from head to toe as she and Willard head out to find Billie’s dad. They hop on a bus and head out of town to the roller rink where her father performs and gives lessons. Billie and Willard skate around for what seems like hours while waiting for her father to appear. Then, finally the rink is cleared of skaters so that the lessons can begin. Her father comes out and Billie skates up to him and asks him if he knows who she is. He impatiently tells her to get off the floor so that he can give lessons, and she tells him that she is his daughter and she gives her mother's name. Recognition of her mother’s name flashes across his face, but he gruffly brushes her off and ignores her and she is forced to leave. Her disappointment and hurt is obvious as she rips her lacy headband off and throws it on the ground. Willard does not know how to comfort her and instead follows her back to Paradise and to the restaurant where her mom works. Billie bursts into tears, and while her mother attempts to console her, Willard quietly slips away. Earlier in the movie, when Willard and Billie first meet, we see the show-off in Billie come out when they are up on a tall lookout tower as Billie climbs up onto the railing and walks and balances around the ledge. When she jumps down, she dares him to do the same, but a frightened Willard refuses.
During her mom’s birthday party, Billie lashes out at her mom and her boyfriend when they announce that they are going to be getting married. Billie yells “Why? You don’t even love him”, then runs off into the dark woods. Willard finds her in one of the trees and asks her why she’s so upset. Billie angrily snaps at Willard and tells him that she overheard his mom talking to Lily about his dad, and that his dad is not coming back. This upsets Willard and he runs off too. Both kids disappear during the night and all of the adults are worried and out searching for them. Billie feels guilty about what she had said to Willard, so she sets out in the middle of the night to find him. Eventually, she stops and falls asleep beside a tree and then shows up at the Reed’s the next morning where her mother greets her with relief. When they finally find Willard, he is up on the watch tower, and Ben goes up to bring him down. While Ben is on his way up the ladder, Willard climbs up on the ledge and makes his way precariously around the railing just like Billie had done. We can see that he is terrified, and it seems as if he is going to fall at any moment, but Ben makes it over to him and catches him right as Willard is about to tumble over the edge. Later, when questioned about why he tried to walk the railing, Willard tells Lily that he felt that since it scared him so much, that maybe if he did something that really scared him, nothing would scare him anymore.
Melanie Griffith's character, Lily Reed, is a very sweet, soft spoken, sensitive, and sad woman who takes Willard in for the summer. She seems to have some deep sadness she is struggling with during the beginning of the film until we find out that her's and Ben's three year baby boy had died. There is a distance and friction between Lily and Ben and is evident that there are problems in their marraige. Later we find out in a confrontation between Ben and Lily that she feels responsible for their son's death and she can't be happy because of the guilt. Towards the beginning of the movie, it seems as if Ben is just being cruel and indifferent towards her, but later we see how his efforts to be affectionate and caring are not accepted by Lily. The tragedy of the death of their baby seems to be the cause of their continuing estrangement. The pressure and sadness is too much. We see Ben gradually warm up and become more open due to Willard's presence in their home, and we see him making more of an effort to reach out to Lily with love and affection. Ben even takes Willard to work with him on his shrimping boat and it is obvious that Ben enjoys having Willard around.

Both Lily and Ben love having Willard in their home and it seems as if they want to imagine that he is their own son. Ben takes Willard fishing and opens up to him about memories and life and their conversation seems like the kind a father and son might have. Willard brings some life and light back into Ben and Lily's life through his quiet and open personality. Willard is there to help Lily with laundry and also there to fly a plane with Ben. One night when Willard gets back from his day out with Ben, he is so tired that he falls asleep before he can put his pyjamas and Lily tries to help him out. Willard puts his head in her lap and sleeps while Lily looks at him lovingly. In that moment, it shows how much Lily wants a son or even a child as we can see that she is imagining him as her son.
Even with Willard's help, Lily is not able to let go of her grief and let go and ultimately, Lily's sadness becomes too unbearable for Ben to continue living with and he makes a decision to live on his shrimping boat. Lily misses Ben terribly, but she doesn't think she could ask him to come back. Willard continues to spend time with both adults and eventually helps them realize how much they need each other and the ultimately reconcile at the end and it seems that they can finally begin anew and have a family again.
The movie is sweet and touching, but it seems to drag at times and is longer than it needs to be. The same story could have perhaps been told in a shorter, more succint manner, but the movie as a whole still works nicely and is visually quite stunning.
Elijah's performance as young Willard is definately good and touching. Perhaps my only criticism would be that the dialogue with Thora Birch during their first few scenes together seem a little labored and unnatural and he looks somewhat self conscious. But the kinks soon iron out and as the movie progresses, we can see Elijah really settling into the role and figuring out the complexities of Willard's character. Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, who were married during that time, both give strong performances and Thora Birch does a great job as the spunky Billie Pike. Elijah is still coming into his own as an actor and we can see him stretching his wings a bit in his role as Willard. As the movie progresses, Elijah becomes more and more believable and loveable in his role, and he shows how capeable he is at handling bigger roles even at such a young age.

Avalon

Elijah's small part in Internal Affairs the 1990 drama/thriller, is minimal and his only lines occur towards the beginning of the movie, after that we don't see his character again. His first real substantial acting role occurred when he was cast as the young Michael Kaye in Barry Levinson's ambitious film, Avalon in 1990. Essentially, the movie is about the Polish/Jewish immigrant Krichinsky family who have come to America to make a life for themselves.
The film begins with a family celebration during Thanksgiving where Sam Krichinsky (Armin Mueller-Stahl) is telling his grandchildren a story about his first impressions of America when he first immigrated: "I came to America in 1914 - by way of Philadelphia. That's where I got off the boat. And then I came to Baltimore. It was the most beautiful place you ever seen in your life. There were lights everywhere! What lights they had! It was a celebration of lights". Sam tells of how the Krichinsky family in America grew as he and his brothers raised money to send for more relatives.

Michael Kaye (Elijah) is a young, sensitive boy who genuinely looks up to his grandfather (Armin Mueller-Stahl) and loves to hear his stories about his experiences. Due to the semi-autobiographical nature of the film, it seems as if Michael represents Levinson as a child. Not long after the family's Thanksgiving celebrations, Michael tags along to work with his dad, Jules Kaye (Aidan Quinn) who is a salesman, and during the evening, as Michael is waiting in the car for his dad to finish a sale, he witnesses his dad getting mugged and stabbed. He is deeply disturbed by this as is the rest of the family. All is well though, and Jules returns home from the hospital and during the Christmas celebrations and is given a brand new television set. A very humurous scene in the movie occurs when the family is huddled in front of the TV set watching the endless test pattern. In fact this happens at least twice where they simply sit and gape at the still pattern as it emits its constant hum, then, later Michael (Elijah) says that the hum sounds different and he thinks something is bound to happen soon.

Levinson does not leave anything to anyone's imagination and every scene seems to be pushing its point accross somewhat forcefully, for instance a scene involving Michael and some bees. Michael and his cousin are outside the house where they are playing ball together and bouncing the ball off of the front porch steps, then cut to a view behind the steps to where an angry hive of bees are becoming disturbed, then it cuts back to the boys as they unknowingly continue to bounce the ball. The scene cuts almost endlessly back and forth from the talking woman inside at the table, back to the boys playing ball, to the bees behind the steps, back to the boys, then the woman, then the bees...It is a scene that comes across as contrived and forces a certain reaction from the audience while being overly obvious about the outcome, which is, ultimately, that Michael gets stung by a lot of bees.
Jules (Michael's father) and his cousin Izzy end up opening up a store exclusively selling television sets, then comes an impulsive move to the suburbs as Sam and Eva (Michael's grandparents) reluctantly come along and live with Jules, Ann, and Michael.
Family is always the main theme at the core of the movie, and we can see this as the film shows how the large family never misses a chance to gather for holidays, family circle time, and any other important family events. The closeness of the family in the beginning really makes the break-up and discord that occurs towards the end really tragic. Although, as we can see, there are always problems within the family core, it is sad to see all of the effort Sam had put into bringing the family closer together, completely evaporate. Gabriel, Sam's older brother is always late to the family Thanksgving dinner, and when he arrives to find out that they had gone and cut the turkey without him, he leaves in an angry and wounded state at the lack of respect shown. The discord between the brothers starts here and continues to grow out of proportion as there is a blow up at a family circle meeting and Sam declares that he will not preside over the meetings any more, and then leaves.

The relationship that Sam and Michael have is unique and we can see that they really enjoy being around each other and there are several key scenes that occur with the two interacting. One of the scenes that they have together is where Sam is wallpapering the new baby's room and Sam tells Michael that he should never have to be a wallpaper hanger like he had been upon arrival to the United States. During this scene Elijah enquires as to why Sam is moving out and we can see that Michael doesn't want him to leave. As it gets closer to the time where Jules and Ann's new baby is to be born, Sam and Eva see that it is time to leave the house and find their own place to live in order for Jules and Ann to have their own space to raise their family. Michael does not understand why his grandfather wants to leave, and there is a touching scene where Sam and Eve are leaving and Michael runs after them to hug them goodbye. Earlier on in the movie it shows Michael at school one day and he is struggling to understand the lesson on the difference between the words "may" and "can". After the teacher had explained the differences to the class, she is asked by Michael if he "can" go to the bathroom. The teacher sees this as a blatant refusal to accept the lesson, and she tells Michael that he will only be allowed to go to the bathroom if he can ask properly and tell her the difference between "may" and "can". Michael is obviously confused and asks again if "can" go to the bathroom. He is refused his request and sent out into the hall for punishment until he can tell her the difference between the words. Repeatedly, the teacher comes out in the hall to quiz him more, but Michael does not understand her point. The principal then calls Michael's house, Sam picks up and is told that Michael is having behavioral problems. Upon arriving at the school and talking with the principal, Sam is flabergasted that the teacher had made such a big deal over such a confusing concept. As Sam is walking Michael home from school, he talks with Michael about how difficult a language that English is and that it has many subtleties. In this scene Sam is relating to Michael about his own confusion with certain distinctions in the English language. In another scene, Sam takes some of the grandkids to the park to sleep outside, and as they lay on the blanket, Michael asks Sam to tell them the story about the night club that he had owned at one time.
Michael also seems to be a bit of a pyromaniac and the trouble starts when he and his cousin are in the basement looking at a completed model airplane that they decide to burn it for entertainment. They light the plane on fire on the concrete basement floor and then watch it burn up. Michael's grandma upon entering the basement, comes to the rescue and puts the flames out and tells the boys not to light things on fire in the house. The moment his grandma warns him that he could burn the house down is definately foreshadowing and one can see this almost immediately while viewing the movie. Later, after Jules and Izzy open the huge department store and they are having a huge 4th of July sale, they take Michael and his cousin to spend the day with them at the store. The boys are playing in the basement of the store and they decide to burn the model plane they have with them. This time, they have firecrackers attatched to the wings of the plane and the plane begins to explode in pops, shooting sparks out across the room surrounded with boxed merchandise covered in straw. The boys put out the spreading flames quickly and then decide to leave the basement. As the two cousins head up the stairs, one of the two says "All we need is to burn down Dad's store the day of the big sale". Later that night as the family celebrates the huge success of the sale, they receive a phonecall that the department store is burning down. Michael and his cousin think it is because they didn't put out all of the flames. Michael runs out and goes to his grandfather's house and tells him what happened with the plane. Sam tells Michael that he must tell his dad the truth so Jules is called over. Michael bravely tells Jules about what had happened and then we find out from Jules that the fire had started on the 4th floor and not the basement, so Michael is absolved of blame.
Avalon is a film that has a lot of heart and sentimentality throughout it and is not lacking in quality, but it somehow left me feeling quite unsatisfied. During the movie, one almost feels as if it is trying to hard to make certain points. It ends up being a longer movie than it should be and it seems to lack a general strong plot. It just follows the many meandering stories of the many members of the family and does not seem to have a point. Although Avalon was made with a lot of care and love, it still falls short of being perfect or great and has some obvious flaws, yet it still conveys a very intimate story that is obviously close to Levinson's heart and it does have some good points.
Elijah's performance as Michael is very convincing and impressive seeing as this is his first real role. He holds his own in every scene he appears in and seems very at ease with the concept of acting. He seems really genuine as Michael and he brings a good deal of charm to the character. His facial expressions and enthusiam in this film show the kind of potential he had to offer right from the beginning. Even next to a cast of experienced and respected actors such as Aidan Quinn, Joan Plowright, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and Elizabeth Perkins, Elijah still holds his own and convincingly conveys his character in a very professional way. His role in Avalon shows what kind of talent and potential Elijah had and I think it helped him get noticed and cast in some great roles in the future.

A Brief Introduction to Elijah

I have decided to start my posts by reviewing Elijah’s work in chronological order. I figured that since his body of work is rather large, I should start from the beginning of his career and follow it up to his most recent projects in order to do him justice.
The Bare Bones:
Elijah Jordan Wood was born January 28, 1981 in Cedar Rapids , Iowa to Warren and Debbie Wood as one of three children. At the age of 7, Elijah was enrolled in modeling school at the Avant Studios in Cedar Rapids where he early on began his career modeling and appearing in some national television commercials and small TV parts.
His brief appearance in Paula Abdul's "Forever Young Girl" music video, directed by David Fincher is what most consider to be his first big break into acting. His first big-screen appearance was a small cameo in "Back to the Future II", as a little boy playing video games in a diner.

It would not be until his breakthrough role in Barry Levinson's "Avalon" that his acting career would more or less take off, and once it did, Elijah proved himself to be more than just a short lived child star whose career fizzled when he grew out of the "cute" stage. It was evident early on that he had staying power and his talent would only grow and mature.
As it seems fitting, my next post will cover Elijah's first breakthrough performance in the movie "Avalon", a performance of which I will write about in more depth.

First Post

I am new to the whole idea of blogging, but I figured I would give it a go and create a site for my favorite actor, Elijah Wood. I hope this blog will be of interest to fans like myself, and anyone else who is interested in Elijah's work. This blog will be my attempt to show my appreciation and respect for the great talent and vision of Elijah Wood, and although I doubt any of my reviews will be extremely knowledgeable or insightful, I will approach each post respectfully. Each post will be a personal reflection of my views and opinions on his movies and projects.
My first encounter with Elijah's movies was when I saw "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" for the first time back in the Christmas of 2001. After seeing Elijah on the big screen for the first time, I became an immediate fan, and I began soaking up any of his earlier movies I could get my hands on. His ability to communicate emotions more through his eyes and facial expressions has me convinced that he would do well in silent films, as is evident through his emotionally charged, but silent performance in Vincenzo Natali's "Quartier De La Madeleine, one of the short films that appeared in "Paris Je T'aime" in 2006. His uncanny ability to convey emotion is what ultimately appealed to me about him, and I have been incredibly captivated by each of his performances.
I have discovered that more recently he has managed to stay just below the Hollywood radar and do his own thing. His talent is such that if Elijah so desired, he could be a huge star and be found in all the tabloids and in a lot of big-budget, commercially successful movies. Instead, he has chosen to remain somewhat of an enigma and work on projects that are more independant and thoughtful. I really respect his decision to not to limit himself to the mainstream film industry, and I admire his willingness to work with independant and foreign directors.
In the coming posts and reviews, this blog site will be a place to explore some of his movie and project choices and discuss his raw sensitivity and talent.
I still have some of his early movies to watch and review, so not all of my posts will be in chronological order, but will mostly be in my viewing order.
I hope that this blog will do his body of work justice. Enjoy!