Aug. 10, 2002 - 4:10 am
one more nominee this evening. this film was nominated for Best Picture of 1999, along with quite a few other Oscars. it came away with Best Screenplay for John Irving and his rewrite of his novel, as well as Best Supporting actor for Michael Caine. i really really enjoyed this one. it's directed by Lasse Hallstrom who i'll be watching in the future. he also directed Chocolat (2000). and oh my god music by Rachel Portman. the always amazing composer. i can't believe she didn't win an Oscar for this one. of course she was nominated though.
this film takes place in the 40s during WWII. a very small town in Maine. there's an orphanage where Michael Caine's character is the head doctor. he mainly delivers babies and provides safe but illegal abortions so that women will not end up paying someone who doesn't know what they're doing to do it. it's a wonderful place to grow up and all the kids are very happy to be there while they wait for families to come and get them. he has also taught one of the orphans his trade. Homer Wells is almost a man, and now a flawless physician, but has never seen anything of the outside world except for one film. they watch King Kong (1933) once a week at the orphanage. he decides to go out on his own one day and see something of life. along the way he finds friendship, love, and his destiny. it's a classic John Irving tale. and you can't help but love the ingenious John Irving.
i really loved the story behind it, the acting was superb, and of course Rachel Portman's score just topped it off for me. this is a great film.
there are also a bunch of great things referenced in this film. movie references i noticed were Wuthering Heights (1939), Rebecca (1940), and of course King Kong. they also read constantly to the boys in the orphanage from Dickens' David Copperfield. excellent. and it fits so splendidly with the plot of the film itself.
i'm a little freaked out by Charlize Theron's picture on the cover of the box (seen above). she's a lot more wholesome than that picture would indicate. she also has red hair on the box, but blonde hair in the film. and she wears mostly sweaters, not party dresses like that. i think they nabbed that picture from The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) or something. it's just not right. and it freaks me out. moral here: imperfect cover art, great movie.