Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Stephen Daldry, 2011)

“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” is a deeply flawed film: over-sentimental, with a haphazardly changing tone, and an annoying voiceover. Yet, I cannot help but consider it one of the best films of the year. Led by the extraordinary young actor Thomas Horn, the film captures the misery of the 9/11 tragedy and crafts an incredibly sad, yet equally heartfelt and hopeful work. Based on Jonathan Safron Foer’s novel [previously reviewed], Stephen Daldry’s film tells the story of Oskar Schell, who sets out on a mission throughout New York to find the lock for a mysterious key his dead father—a victim of the September 11 attacks—left behind.

The film’s imperfections only further its impact. Like Oskar’s youthful grief, the film is often reckless, yet emotionally powerful. Daldry’s claustrophobic close-ups and visceral array of unusual angles perfectly frame the film, and bolster superb supporting performances by Sandra Bullock, Max Von Sydow, and Viola Davis. I do not expect everyone to like this film, and can definitely understand why people call it emotionally manipulative. However, I believe that films do not need to be perfect, but like every artform, should seek to transcend the cognitive and resonate emotionally in the audience. “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” made me cry.

Highly Recommended (A-)

The Help (Tate Taylor, 2011)

Tate Taylor’s “The Help” is often condescending and emotionally manipulative. However, despite its use of cinematic gimmicks to control the audience’s tears and laughter, it is not a bad movie. The film narrates the lives of a series of black maids in Jackson, Mississippi and race relations in the South in the early 1960s. When Skeeter, a progressive white woman, returns to Jackson after college, she sets out to write a book about the lives and tribulations of these maids. The book and their stories become entrenched in the Civil Rights movement.

The movie delivers two hours of enjoyable superficial pensiveness about race relations, effectively doing exactly what is expected of it, though nothing else. You will not regret watching “The Help,” but you will have forgotten most of it after a week. The ensemble cast, however, rises beyond the film’s limitations and features some of the best performances of the year, particularly from Viola Davis and the up-and-coming Jessica Chastain. Despite the screenplay’s one-dimensional, stereotypical characterizations—for example, the sassy, witty maid played by the charismatic Octavia Spencer—the performances are quite nuanced and, unlike the film’s emotional manipulation, truthful.

Ambivalent (B-)