Brian De Palma: Mission: Impossible

Though not nearly as deconstructive as De Palma's '80s pastiche and travesty, Mission: Impossible feels like a classical, identifiably "'90s," art-for-art's-sake blockbuster, a bit of formal excess that uses the implausibility of the original TV series as an excuse to make no sense whatsoever. Unburdened from the need for logic, the film unfolds as an incessant series of double-crosses, grandiose setpieces and classical techniques. That coherent aesthetic propels the film long after its narrative becomes a mire of betrayal and intrigue.

Sent to intercept a diplomat selling U.S. secrets, the Impossible Missions Force team led by Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), stakes out an embassy with precision planning. But just as everything seems to be going perfectly, tiny cracks begin to form, and in short order sabotage leaves the entire team dead save for Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), who looks mighty suspicious when superiors inform him that they are hunting a mole in the organization. Betrayed by the true traitor and now suspected of treason by his bosses, Ethan has no choice but to flee and clear his name. These betrayals, real and imagined, are but the first in a film where the dead return and mirrored shots always reveal different perspectives.

Bitter Moon

My review for Roman Polanski's seldom-discussed but masterful shaggy dog story, Bitter Moon, is now live at Cinelogue. A foray deep into Polanski's sexual proclivities, Bitter Moon is equal parts Audition and Certified Copy, a film that explores the games couples play with each other but also the extremes of sexual lust and submission. Featuring a hilariously typecast Hugh Grant and Kristin Scott Thomas as a quintessentially British couple looking to spice up their sagging relationship, Bitter Moon gives them more than they wished for in the form of Oscar and Mimi (inspired performances by Peter Coyote and Polanski's wife Emmanuelle Seigner), and soon we plunge deep into twisted reminiscences of bondage, S&M and cruelty. Like the best Polanski films, it is both playful and uncompromising, slapstick and nihilistic.

So, please read my review of this challenging, vexing yet transfixing film over at Cinelogue.

Note: This was originally intended to be a contribution to Tom Hyland's Roman Polanski blogathon. Sadly, school got in the way and I did not even begin to write this piece until after it had concluded. Contributions to this blogathon can be viewed here.