Todd Haynes

congrats on finally tying the knot!

I get my boxing terms mixed. xpost

Throw those dreary vows away, they bore me!

I like the idea that Haynes is focusing on us (the audience) as avid consumers of lurid tabloid stories, and turning the narrative and whatever truth there might be about it back on us, to what our reactions to this movie might reflect about us

Throw those dreary vows away, they bore me!

― stephen miller is not your friend (Eric H.), Monday, December 18, 2023 8:49 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

lol

The general atmosphere here is very Macbeth-ish.

We've seen you like this before. Is it over or is it just beginning?

thought joe actor/character was really good. the put down of 'this is what grown ups do' was one of the most off handedly condescendingly mean thing I've seen in a movie in a while. the graduation dress shopping scene with the daughter's reaction to the 'your brave to wear that dress and show off your upper arms' volley from the mum was great/chilling. never got a handle on who gracie was throughout the whole thing. hopefully that was the point.

the music cues kept making me think of 'invitation to love'

the put down of 'this is what grown ups do' was one of the most off handedly condescendingly mean thing I've seen in a movie in a while

Yeah, this one got a gasp from me

Portman nailed the delivery.

This latest “controversy” is really killing any remaining goodwill I have toward … well discourse in general tbh

this. a24 not contacting the last remaining brother of the von erichs until after the iron claw was made…the aaliyah story a younger zendaya turned down…it should be an ethical requirement to request an individual’s permission for a biopic or “inspired story,” based on THEM. https://t.co/56QqnSQ7kI

— kristen (not crystal) yellowjackets shish-kabob 🍡 (@lordesbbqribs) January 4, 2024

give me a fucking break here lol pic.twitter.com/rhW0HmvyQk

— alice (@modlssss) January 4, 2024

I think artists should be able to write about whomever they want…but I also think if they’re based on a real person, there should be a sincere effort to understand that person and give them a fair shake…kind of a theme of this movie iirc

joe was clearly the character the story was most sympathetic to imo, fwiw

Right. I'm not myself feeling sympathetic.

He may be the inspiration but it's not a biography. It would be extremely misguided to even mistake it as one, just as it would be to think Charles Foster Kane is supposed to be a biographical depiction of William Randolph Hearst. Public figures inspire countless fictional characters. The plot may involve adapting a controversial event into a TV show, but it's still doing so within the realm of fiction.

I don't know why so much of the audience nowadays has trouble grappling with the concept of fiction - it's like when they mistake any film, book or song as being some kind of coded memoir. Is it reality TV warping their understanding of such things?

And thanks to its mixture of tones it winds up fair to all the principals? We understand without sympathizing.

I can understand the guy's feelings, sure, but that's just how stories work. Stagger Lee would like a word.

sensible and justified for this dude to see it the way he sees it

sensible and justified for haynes et al to proceed with their creative project without involving him

"If they had reached out to me, we could have worked together on a masterpiece"

i do like his delusions of grandeur though

Indeed, this movie could've been up there with The Amy Fischer Story. Instead, it's merely Haynes' best movie since Safe (the Village Voice poll's best movie of the '90s).

It's funny how in the movie the people the story is based on are involved but not in the actual production of the movie where that happens

This movie is so exquisitely awkward

Yeah, between this and Showing Up it was a good year for awkward.

Showing Up is awkward, and is a remarkable film about a small local community of people (an arts community in Portland OR) trying to navigate the world, with all of the frustrations and divided feelings that come with it. It is my favorite movie so far from this year.

May December is also a favorite film this year, but it seems very slippery and knowing and almost conniving, and is almost the opposite of awkward to me, although there are some moments in it that are cringy