Blog Assignment #2
After readying “Against Interpretation” by Susan Sontag, it seemed to me that she’s against interpretation but pro criticism. She believes that the idea of people trying to interpret or derive hidden messages in work of art by others seems very deceitful as the person doing the interpretation is taking the credit of the original author/creator. Anytime you interpret someone’s work, you’re going off their work of art and stealing a fraction of the credit which belongs to the original creator of the material. Therefore, after carefully reading a review by Roger Ebert of the film “Single Man” (2009) Tom Ford, one can truly comprehend what Sontag is trying to say. The review does achieve Sontag’s definition of “successful criticism” in the beginning portion of it as it describes the movie plot and gives a little background information on both the movie and movie characters, and the director. However, it loses its ground once the review leads to its main argument that Tom Ford tried to portray himself through the primary character, George, in the movie. To a certain extent he did, maybe the feeling of losing a loved one, or the fashion choice of George, but then you have got to realize George is not openly gay as Tom Ford is nor is Ford suicidal, or displayed any sort of behavior that might possibly lead one to believe he is.
If concentrating on the form of the film like Sontag suggests, I would probably take the time to point out the settings and the cinematography. The setting (at least in George’s house) is very parallel with George’s fashion and thinking. It’s all very neatly organized and repetitive, in other words the same locations are used to show that George is a very strict person and lives a life of routine. The cinematography aspect of the movie that sticks out is the constant saturation and de-saturation in the middle of the film to show the mood, and outlook of George on life. It shows how at times he experiences joy which is quick to leave just so his depression can set back in. Also does a nice job showing how he makes his last moment of joy last, by dying in the middle of his moment.
I am not sure what review you were looking at exactly, but it seems to be a pretty typical one. Most of the ones I have read about movies do follow the typical structure of giving a synopsis, some criticism about the acting, and then they proceed to give their own meaning of what the real hidden message is. I think. I also agree with you in that these types of reviews tend to lose themselves as they progress; going from successful criticism to diminishing absurd interpretations. I do not really think that Tom Ford was trying to portray himself through George; the only thing they have in common is that they are homosexual. In my opinion, it’s like saying that all directors are trying to portray themselves through the heterosexual characters.
ReplyDeleteI thought the cinematography was amazing. I had never encountered a film where the saturation of the shot would change so many times during a scene. I thought it was a really useful and an interesting effective way of showing the mood of the character; it was easy to distinguish his happy moments from the depressing ones. Something I wanted to add to your discussion was his use of black and white images. I thought it was interesting that he only used it a few times. In my opinion he did so in the key scenes of the movie, such as the one when he and his partner are laying on the rocks having a conversation about their love. This definitely brought attention to what was happening and how these shots contributed to the mood of the movie.
The main idea I got from acclaimed film critic Roger Ebert’s review of the film a single man was an attempt at analyzing the story and emotions behind the movie. I do not believe Ebert was attempting to analyze the “Form” of the movie. He was more interested in giving a rough plot synopsis and character backgrounds. He does give his own personal view of how each character feels and how each one interacts with the other, but I agree with Ahmad, there is very little focus on the form of the film in the article, but I would have to agree with Ebert when he claims that Ford is expressing a certain part of himself through the character of George. It is true, Tom Ford is openly gay, but this was not necessarily always the case. Ford may have very well been in a situation similar to George’s in the past, living his life “in the closet”. Is Tom Ford not suicidal? We cannot assume this, because we have no way of knowing for certain, and he may have been in such a state of mind in the past. The settings truly do reflect George’s state of mind, and the emptiness of the house more than anything, reflect the emptiness within George’s life after the passing of his lover.
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