Carnage

[ggen]

I saw the flick Carnage several evenings ago. What a hoot! I don't watch much comedy as I find much of it quite vulgar, juvenile, and poorly written imo. This was a well written and smart piece. Without spoling I'll give you the setup.
Imagine 2 sets of parents meeting about the behavior of their sons. These couples are trying very hard to 'be polite' and stay in bounds of the 'status quo'. All four of their very different personalities begin to clash and their true natures emerge. Halarious and highly recommended! Starring: Kate Winslet, Jodi Foster, Christoph Waltz (sp) and 1 other actor.

 

[Z...]

Excellent showcase of human nature, but I am not sure if I would agree its hilarious. Trust Roman Polanski to make a movie like this.

 

[ggen]

Excellent showcase of human nature, but I am not sure if I would agree its hilarious. Trust Roman Polanski to make a movie like this.

I asked myself why I thoughts it was halarious...I'm not sure. If I'm being honest with myself, I find it a very true depiction about the reality of humans around us. What is funny about that? I get your point. Thanks for commenting.

 

[Z...]

I always liked Polanski's movies - I first saw his Fearles Vampire Killers as a kid and was greatly impressed by it. He has a penchant for the dark side of human psyche and perhaps this is because his life ( at least the bits I know) reads pathological.

Tenant was one of those movies which leaves you frustrated because you are not sure if the character was mad or there really was a conspiracy around him, then Bitter moon which was excellent display of feeding dynamic and toxic narcissism.Although his movies have completely different atmosphere the underlying note reminds me of Claude Chabrol, the grand master of Film Noire.

 

[knowledge_of_self]

I saw this movie the other night and didn't know how to feel about it in the end. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either. It was interesting to watch, but I wouldn't call it hilarious either. It was funny in a really sad/ironic way - I guess sort of like a dark comedy? The movie basically just shows what happens when people let emotions/programs completely take over in a very feeding dynamic sort of way. The last Polanski movie I watched was Ghost Writer with Ewan McGregor and I liked that movie much better than this one - though they were completely different styles/genre.

 

[loreta]

I just saw this movie and really I am very, extremely disappointed. I think it is a very boring movie about... boring people. I am very surprised: I love all the movies by Polanski but this one seems to me the movie of a boring director. All this anger to what? It is just that? Just an expression, void, of anger? Or about how couples are angry between them. And how stupid are people when they drink and open themselves? But what is really telling us Mr. Polanski? Maybe he is telling us how boring and how stupid we are, with a little contempt. Characters that are not very cute, created by actors that are not so good. Judy Foster is not, under my humble point of vue, very good in this movie. Maybe I lost something? I don't know. But the Polanski of Rosemary's Baby and Fearless vampire killer is not there anymore.

By the way: the movie The Tenant has to be seen in the context of what Polanski lived when he was living in France. In fact, the Tenant is very critical about French, how racist they are. He did the same with Frantic. But those two movies are very good. ;)

 

[Mal7]

I did like this movie. I found it interesting to approach it by thinking about the different characters and asking what is ethical? Who is good? The movie makes these questions complicated. The woman with the social conscience who was concerned about always doing the right thing, was the only one of the four adult characters who started physically hitting another character. Does the high-powered lawyer, who in his work life helps pharmaceutical companies make money from dangerous drugs, also have a good side? He ís actually quite nice when he talks to the other man's mother in the hospital on the phone, or he is more honest about seeing and living with the amount of "carnage" in the world? Can our ideas of romantic love between couples just be a facade covering over other dynamics of such relationships?

 

[Ennio]

I saw Carnage performed a few years ago on stage when it was called 'Gods of Carnage' and liked it for some of the same reasons you mention, Mal7. It compels you to ask questions about the characters' values - and there are no easy answers. At the same time, it doesn't 'beat you over the head with a stick' as it is pretty entertaining. While I didn't think it was hilarious per se, I do not think the playwrite intended this story to not be funny (if not droll). And I think that that is part of the art of it too - to be made to feel both uncomfortable and amused at the same time, and compelled to examine your own reactions to who the characters are and how they're behaving.

This story reminded me of Edward Albee's 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' in more ways than one. Highly recommended: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who's_Afraid_of_Virginia_Woolf%3F