Post by ronnierocketago on Dec 8, 2007 23:09:51 GMT
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977) - ****1/2
Last Thanksgiving, during this great whole family dinner, I got myself some mash potatoes when inspiration hit me. I nicely molded those taters into a flat-plateau of a mountain and then said:
"This means something. This is important!"
On November 16, 1977, moviegoers started having their CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND and exactly thirty years on, its still a really damn great movie.
There had been films before and since about aliens that murder-ed humans or peacenik extra-terrestrials that the assholic humans want to murder. But with the exception maybe of Shymalan's SIGNS, what other movie has dwelled not on the aliens themselves, but the impact of first contact upon the human psyche?
We follow three personal stories that Writer/Director Steven Spielberg uses to explore this dramatic hypothesis. Francois Truffaut is the French scientist following bizarre phenomenons occuring around the world. Finding a squad of American fighter planes in New Mexico missing for decades is only the beginning of what he believes is something monumental coming in the horizon.
Over in Indiana is Melinda Dillon, who's son is abducted by a bizarre flash of lights. The same visuals that cause family man Richard Dreyfuss to follow in hot pursuit for miles upon miles in his truck. His chase is futile, but his strive to find...well, whatever the hell it was...has only started. These people converge at Devils Tower as the biggest day in the history of humanity unfolds.
Such a bold, ambitious narrative to undertake and with the Beard coming off the heels of the unprecedented success of JAWS, he hits a homerun in spite of the hellish production deadlines and unreasonable expectations.
What makes CLOSE ENCOUNTERS works so well is the time, effort, and quality that the Beard invests on these characters, which absolutely pays off with one of the greatest cinema finales which satisfies both our emotions and cerebral. Yet without the great acting, ENCOUNTERS easily could have resulted in a thin story disguised by the still-stunning visual effects.
Dreyfuss is this movie's heart and stimuli, a joe nobody suburban dad who's mind is blown open. We believe and understand his obsession with something special out there in the skies. His family gets over quickly this UFO sighting, but he doesn't. In a lesser film, the family leaving him or even Dreyfuss would be portrayed as the bad guy for this domestic downfall. With ENCOUNTERS, we don't blame them, nor Dreyfuss for going into the space ship.
But in re-watching ENCOUNTERS, I was surprised with the other leads. Dillon, who scor-ed a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nod for her work, is extraordinary as a mother who wants to find her kid, and teams up with Dreyfuss. They find out that they're both fixated on the image of a mountain, and who knows, with their chemistry, they could have become a couple if greater fates weren't controlling their destinies.
Then there is Truffaut. Spielberg had a stroke of genius in casting the legendary New Wave filmmaker. Because of his lack of acting experience, and use of the English tongue, he gives off a sense of genuine sincerity and of amazement as the French scientist chasing these UFOs. Truely a successful combination hard to find in cinema.
Take a key moment in the film's climax with him and Dreyfuss. The scientist will go down in history as the man who orchestrated first contact with extra-terrestrials, and yet there is a look of emotion in his eyes as Dreyfuss joins these aliens on their galactic sailing.
It's a look of envy.