Personal Effects

I just finished watching Personal Effects. It came out last year and is based on a short story by Rick Moody (the Ice Storm) called Mansion on the Hill. I really enjoyed it.

The film follows Linda. She is a single mother of a deaf-mute boy named Clay. Her husband was shot and killed by his friend. She meets Walter and a courthouse. His sister was brutally raped and killed. Walter and Clay are each unsure of how to deal with their anger. Things become more complicated as Linda and Walter develop an intimate relationship while both waiting for justice after their loved ones' murders.

The performances in this film were amazing. Michelle Pfeiffer (Linda), Spencer Hudson (Clay), and Kathy Bates (Gloria, Walter's mother) were amazing, but I was especially impressed with Ashton Kutcher (Walter). Over the years, I have becomes more and more impressed with him as an actor, but this performance really blew all other performances of his away!

I would definitely recommend this film. It is definitely a must-see!

Dream Cast Thursday! Fried Green Tomatoes

This week's Dream Cast Thursday is Fried Green Tomatoes.

This was a really hard film for me to recast. The original actors are SO present in my mind. It is really hard to see any other people in the roles. The first character that I recast was Ruth Jamison. She was originally played by Mary-Louise Parker. For my adaptation, I cast Kate Beckinsale. The next character that I cast was Idgie Threadgoode. She was originally played by Mary Stuart Masterson. For my adaptation, I cast Natalie Portman. The third character that I recast was Ninny Threadgoode. She was originally played by Jessica Tandy. For my adaptation, I cast Vanessa Redgrave. The last major character is Evelyn Couch. She was originally played by Kathy Bates. I considered this for a long while. For a little while, I considered Mary Kay Place, but I ended up just not being able to recast her. There was no one that I could think of that would do this character justice.

So what do you all think? Have you seen the original? Who would be in your remake?

Cheri

I recently saw Cheri. It is based on the novels by Colette. Colette published Cheri in 1920 and The Last Cheri in 1926 (two decades before she published Gigi). Michelle Pfeiffer stars as Lea de Lonval, a Parisian courtesan. Rupert Friend stars as her lover, Cheri. It is thought by some that the character of Cheri is based on Colette's 18 year old step-son, Bertrand de Jouvenel.

I really enjoyed this film. The costumes were really wonderful and the cast was really good. Kathy Bates (Madame Peloux) was especially marvelous. She completely took over every scene that she was in. I would really recommend this film to anyone. It takes place over a period of several years, but didn't seem too long or drawn out. I feel like the writer did an amazing job of knowing what to put in and what not to. This is definitely a must-see.