Cursed Again

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If the legend of the Poland Curse still means anything, MCN's David Poland may have stuck a shiv into Mark Romanek's Never Let Me Go (Fox Searchlight, 9.15) by calling it "a masterpiece...a film we'll be discussing, frame by frame, in schools, 20 years from now." He also praises it as "smart and demanding and emotional and rigorous and profoundly artful. It is more than 'a good story well told' [but] humanity on a screen. And it trusts us, as thinking, feeling adults, to do the work."

I say this as someone who (a) is looking forward to seeing and possibly loving (really) Never Let Me Go -- I really have no argument or bone to pick, and yet (b) someone who has noticed time and again that early unbridled Poland enthusiasm = "uh-oh, your movie is fucked."

I say this as someone who has also seemed to curse films -- commercially, that is -- with love and enthusiasm. I was afraid all along that all my ecstatic Greenberg postings earlier this year might somehow seal its fate as a box-office dud. I once wrote that my love for Alexander Payne's Election was probably a guarantee that it would do poorly with general audiences. But the Poland Curse is different. I know it sounds cynical, but I consider it an absolute red flag whenever he calls any film a "masterpiece."

Past Poland Curse victims: Rachel Getting Married (which Poland called "the best American film of the last 15 years"), Munich, Dreamgirls, Phantom of the Opera, Quills, Finding Forrester and the Reverse Poland Curse trio of The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, Zodiac and There Will Be Blood (all of which Poland panned as "the trilogy of Critical Onanism," and therefore provided an awards-season headwind).

Plot-thickener: Time's Richard Corliss has called Never Let Me Go "a superb, poignant film about love unto death."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on September 4, 2010 at 8:34 AM

comment #1

Josh says ...

Ah, yes, I remember the headwind of awards for Zodiac and Jesse James. So many nominations!

Seriously, I understand your point and am equally concerned. I even remember Poland saying that Jim Carrey was a lock for Best Supporting Actor for Lemony Snicket. I like that movie a lot, but that may be his most ridiculous statement of all. At least the other movies he's cursed have, pre-release, been thought to be Oscar contenders.

Posted by Josh at September 4, 2010 9:09 AM

comment #2

Hunter Tremayne says ...

I hope there's no VARIETY curse as well, because their review is up, and they're head-over-heels in love with it.

Posted by Hunter Tremayne at September 4, 2010 9:11 AM

comment #3

LarryGopnik says ...

Um, MUNICH got nominated for Best Picture and made almost $50 million domestic (and $130 worldwide).

ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES... made under $4 million ($15 worldwide) and got no awards love besides a Supporting Actor nod for Affleck.

I say this as someone who prefers the latter film, but... color me a little confused.

Posted by LarryGopnik at September 4, 2010 9:12 AM

comment #4

PastePotPete says ...

Looking at the list of Poland Curse movies, is it really so much a curse as it is him arrogantly championing somewhat subpar(for Oscar) movies?

I mean I like a couple of movies on that list, like Munich and Quills, but they weren't even close to being the best movies in their years.

Posted by PastePotPete at September 4, 2010 9:15 AM

comment #5

Jeffrey Wells says ...

History has rendered its verdict on Munich. Box-office response means nothing (and has always meant nothing in terms of determining a film'sn ultimate worth). The fog is out of everyone's eyes with the advantage of hindsight. It came in with a big fat Time magazine cover proclaiming "masterpiece" and a resultant Oscar headwind, and it soon sputtered out and died in the awards game.

History has rendered its verdict on The Assassination of Jesse James, and its cinematic value has steadily increased, I feel, since its financially muted theatrical exposure. The Bluray release, especially, has underlined its classic visual splendor.

http://www.amazon.com/Assassination-Jesse-Coward-Robert-Blu-ray/dp/B0010V60XE/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1283618614&sr=1-2

Posted by Jeffrey Wells at September 4, 2010 9:23 AM

comment #6

mrksltsky says ...

Dude, the ULTIMATE Poland curse was "Phantom of the Opera."

"It's very scary to go out on the tightrope alone... and I don't really like to make declarative statements in the heat of a still developing Oscar season... but here I go...

The only movie that can keep The Phantom of The Opera from winning Best Picture is The Aviator."

Classic.

Posted by mrksltsky at September 4, 2010 9:27 AM

comment #7

Escape Artist says ...

No, I think it's a case of Jeff continuing his anti-Poland campaign. You know, like he has a gripe against loud, rambunctious Latinos and heavy-set people of no particular ethnicity.

Truth be told, Jeff raved about Zodiac (which I consider a masterpiece) and where did that go. He's as wrong and as often as anyone else. Just like me.

Posted by Escape Artist at September 4, 2010 9:27 AM

comment #8

Markj74 says ...

Munich was terrific, apart rom the misjudged sex scene.

Posted by Markj74 at September 4, 2010 9:31 AM

comment #9

Josh says ...

Yeah, that's not how it works. No question that we could chalk Phantom and Dreamgirls up to a Poland curse, if such a thing exists. Certainly, he's still getting shit for it (and with quotes like those provided above, he ought to be).

But just because Jesse James is--I would agree--better than Munich doesn't mean he's proven wrong by it. I disagree with his opinion there, but one movie had bigger Oscar nods and it was Munich.

Posted by Josh at September 4, 2010 9:31 AM

comment #10

The Thing says ...

I agree with Paste - I enjoyed a few movies on that list, and while I didn't think they were all Best Picture quality, they certainly weren't flops, either commercially or artistically.

Maybe he's trying to get some people to go see the movie by over-hyping it.

Posted by The Thing at September 4, 2010 9:36 AM

comment #11

coxcable says ...

The Poland Curse is all about musicals. Phantom, The Producers, Dreamgirls, Nine, & Sweeney Todd were all Oscar shoe-ins site unseen.

Year after year, he hilariously refuses to learn the lesson: A good Broadway musical does not a good movie make.

This year he's got a Tyler Perry (!) stage adaptation as the shoe-in.

Posted by coxcable at September 4, 2010 10:19 AM

comment #12

bluetide says ...

It seems like Poland doesn't announce terrible films as masterpieces, he just posits deeply flawed Oscar bait as real Oscar bait.

By the way, I liked the first 3/4 of Munich, just like I rather enjoyed the first 2/3 of War of the Worlds. I actually think Munich, up until the moralizing becomes explicit, is a nice companion piece to Zodiac.

That said, I'm curious about this film. Romanek was the last great music video director before that genre withered up and died (thank God), but the trailer for this film is atrocious (please, for future reference, never include two shots of a young guy screaming in the rain in a preview).

Posted by bluetide at September 4, 2010 10:23 AM

comment #13

gogocrank10 says ...

I recognize that Jeff has kept himself at least open to the possibility that this is good, but I'm a little surprised that every piece posted on this film, with its impressive across the board pedigree, has been couched in doubt and cynicism. Not that the film will turn out to be a masterpiece, but weird that Jeff has shown such suspicion about a movie that appears the opposite of many of the things he regularly decries. Even "Salt" got a fair shake here (if you pardon the pun), and that movie was Hollywood boilerplate through and through.

Posted by gogocrank10 at September 4, 2010 10:29 AM

comment #14

K. Bowen says ...

Wait .... Jesse James, Zodiac, and There Will Be Blood .... weren't those my 1, 2, and 3 for 2007? No, not quite, No Country was No. 3.

Munich works at times, and it overworks at times. The sex-massacre intercutting remains disastrous. It was a ridiculously bad idea.

Posted by K. Bowen at September 4, 2010 10:36 AM

comment #15

kingofnails says ...

I'm inclined to agree with Poland on JESSE JAMES, which, if you ask me, goes through the motions of being a great movie (Deakins photography, Nick Cave score) without ever being terribly compelling dramatically.

Posted by kingofnails at September 4, 2010 11:27 AM

comment #16

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

Brace yourself folks, there is going to be record number of critically lauded "masterpieces" that are going to have the rest of us cinephiles scratching our heads over. This has been a pretty dismal year (and one historically atrocious summer) for narrative filmmaking. So, like a pack of emaciated wolves, the critical establishment is going declare a gourmet feast anything just the little bit different or ambitious in contrast to usual studio dreck.

In other words, next spring when you finally get around to Netflix-ing that touching, gritty story about a girl who does that thing that every critic creamed their pants over in their end of the year pieces only to find its a lackluster letdown, mark these words as to why.

Posted by Deathtongue_Groupie at September 4, 2010 12:31 PM

comment #17

Abbey Normal says ...

I remain convinced that if Munich had been directed by some artsy European director we would all be praising the sex scene as an example of bold, ballsy filmmaking, too uncompromising for the unwashed masses to handle.

Posted by Abbey Normal at September 4, 2010 12:51 PM

comment #18

Eloi Wrath says ...

Who's that bird in the hat? She looks like someone I went to school with.

Posted by Eloi Wrath at September 4, 2010 1:12 PM

comment #19

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

But isn't that also the point, A. Normal? Had a LeConte, Dardenne or Moretti directed it, it would have actually worked?

Spielberg continues to try to be both a big blockbuster director and a more considered one, with predictable results. I think he waited too long to make the move towards serious films, coupled with the Oscar win too early in the process. He doesn't have the hunger for acceptance he once had and a man of his age isn't going to push himself without such motivation.

I know that John Huston moved in a more serious direction after hitting 50 or so, but that man had a few movies worth of personal adventures in his past (I'm mean, the guy appeared in an equestrian show in New York City - as part of the Mexican Army).

Posted by Deathtongue_Groupie at September 4, 2010 1:24 PM

comment #20

Fuzzy Dunlop says ...

Munich was great - easily the best thing Senor Spielbergo has done since Schindler's list. If not for that dumb sex scene/juxtaposition deal it would have no problems. Ciaran Hinds was great in it and I thought the suspense was really well done.

Assassination of Jesse James = over rated to me. I felt like it tried to force feed a 20th century notion (cult of celebrity and celeb-worship/stalkers) into a western. it didn't work for me. But the music and visuals sure were pretty.

Posted by Fuzzy Dunlop at September 4, 2010 2:03 PM

comment #21

Scott Mendelson says ...

First of all, Munich was and is still one of Spielberg's very best films. I'd argue that its relative failure is partially to due with Spielberg's whole 'no conventional press' routine, which allowed the hardcore right/zionists to smear the movie for a good month before it ever came out, putting the picture on the defensive. Second of all, while Phantom of the Opera was a goofy call, we can all pretty much agree that Poland's proverbial other pick, The Aviator, damn sure would have won had Million Dollar Baby not knocked everyone off their ass at the very last minute (even then, it was possibly a close vote). If we're strictly dealing with Oscars, I don't recall Zodiac or The Assassination of Jesse James etc. getting a flood of nominations

As for Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls, Lionsgate certainly thinks its a contender, as that's the only reason they would move the film into the heart of the holiday/awards season. Whether it delivers I of course cannot say, but Perry's been on a good news/bad news kick for the last few years (Family That Preys = good, Madea Goes to Jail = bad, I Can Do Bad All By Myself = good, Why Did I Get Married Too? - bad), so he's due to come up with a relative winner this time around. Say what you will about Perry, he's arguably the only mainstream filmmaker other than Clint Eastwood who still makes dramas.

Posted by Scott Mendelson at September 4, 2010 2:08 PM

comment #22

Bandito X says ...

Eloi, I think that's rising star Andrea Riseborough in the hat. Not positive but pretty sure.

Posted by Bandito X at September 4, 2010 2:31 PM

comment #23

4th grade army says ...

Munich was fantastic. No one I know dislikes that movie. Yeah, the sex scene was overwrought but, man -- remember that scene where they were to use a telephone bomb to blow up the apartment in Paris, then the little girl picks up the phone and they're running to tell the bomb maker to abort? Amazing. Very Le Care.

Posted by 4th grade army at September 4, 2010 2:37 PM

comment #24

bluefugue says ...

Munich is Spielberg's best film since Private Ryan (and probably a smarter film, overall, than that one, though lacking the massive cinematic impact of SPR's opening sequence). It's flawed, but so is Private Ryan, and so is anything Spielberg has done in forever.

Posted by bluefugue at September 4, 2010 2:53 PM

comment #25

bluefugue says ...

>remember that scene where they were to use a telephone bomb to blow up the apartment in Paris, then the little girl picks up the phone and they're running to tell the bomb maker to abort? Amazing. Very Le Care.

Or the scene where they take their revenge on the "honey trap" in her home. Brilliantly, starkly staged.

Posted by bluefugue at September 4, 2010 2:54 PM

comment #26

ZacharyTF says ...

To be fair to David Poland, when he made that statement about Phantom and Aviator, no one had seen Million Dollar Baby. That movie came out of practically nowhere.

Posted by ZacharyTF at September 4, 2010 3:19 PM

comment #27

Roger in Orlando says ...

Do you folks monitor Poland's meds out there?
Seriously, this thing has merit. But "masterpiece?" It's no better than its source material, which is...frosty. Lifeless.

Posted by Roger in Orlando at September 4, 2010 5:08 PM

comment #28

DiscoNap says ...

One of the first things by Poland I ever read way back in high school was his review of Finding Forrester, which devastated him so much he could hardly eat his chinese food. I've never been able to shake the image of him as a twat since then.

Wells, you're delusional on Munich. It's a film that seems to be growing in esteem.

Posted by DiscoNap at September 4, 2010 8:15 PM

comment #29

Bob Violence says ...

Ah, yes, I remember the headwind of awards for Zodiac and Jesse James. So many nominations!

Hot Tub Time Machine

Posted by Bob Violence at September 4, 2010 8:22 PM

comment #30

Bob Violence says ...

but I could still slam it for its dumbass apologist "soul-wracking", right

Posted by Bob Violence at September 4, 2010 8:23 PM

comment #31

corey3rd says ...

Having dealt with a film school teachers conference, I can assure Dave Poland that having these numbskulls break down your film frame by frame is worse than Glenn Beck explaining art.

Posted by corey3rd at September 4, 2010 8:55 PM

comment #32

Glenn Kenny says ...

Wells, circa 1889: "History has rendered its verdict on 'Moby-Dick.' The out-of-print doorstop never recovered from the Hawthorne curse," etc., etc., etc.

Ten years isn't history, so I have to presume that when Jeff says "history" has rendered a verdict on something, what he means is that HE has rendered a verdict.

On the other hand, if I were a character in an Ishiguru novel, I'd totally try to "escape," too. Wolverines!

Posted by Glenn Kenny at September 5, 2010 7:30 AM

comment #33

Eloi Wrath says ...

Just Googled that Poland Finding Forrester review. Comedy gold.

"The rice is done... as are the shrimp. I wolfed them down, trying not to get any on my keyboard. My hunger for the food was almost as intense as the hunger for this movie... the latter probably led to the former. My stomach, like my heart, is full tonight. Here at Sam Woo's, I'll tip well with cash. Perhaps Van Sant & Co. will get their tip in gold."

Reminds me of McWee's infamous Adaptation review, in which he reveals his wife had to literally help him into the house afterwards as he so overcome with emotion.

Posted by Eloi Wrath at September 5, 2010 8:21 AM

comment #34

baboo says ...

Having been left oddly cold by Never Let Me Go, I was astonished by how passionate Mr. Poland was about it, making comparisons to the Holocaust and more when all I could see were sadly doomed yet underdeveloped characters. Judging from reactions so far, this is one highly divisive film.

Posted by baboo at September 5, 2010 9:37 AM

comment #35

bobbyperu says ...

Bluetide-

Why, exactly, is the trailer for Never Let Me Go "atrocious"?

And sorry, but the shots of the guy screaming in the rain are the best shots in the entire trailer and part of what makes me so curious about this film.

What is so atrocious about the trailer and those shots? Nothing.

Posted by bobbyperu at September 5, 2010 11:26 AM

comment #36

bluetide says ...

Bobbyperu,

I watched the trailer again and it's not particularly bad in a stately English drama kind of way.

That said, the screaming was even worse the second. It may well work wonderfully in the context of the film, but there is nothing more irritating than a trailer that hammers you over the head with "REALLY LOUD EMOTIONAL OUTBURST=DRAMA!"

The other reason the trailer is atrocious is because it gives away every major plot point from the novel. Perhaps they've changed things to give it a more upbeat ending and thus will surprise us all, but even then the fundamental secret of all the characters being organ donors is given away for nothing.

If you're interested in shots of guys screaming in the rain, I think it shouldn't be difficult to find on youtube. Or in every other overwrought, mediocre drama made in the history of film.

Posted by bluetide at September 5, 2010 12:39 PM

comment #37