Films/DVD Asylum

Is it me or has Mamet been fucking up his recent films?

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Dmitry

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I've been sort of a Mamet junkie for years, but as of late looks like actors are not really important in his grand scheme of things any longer, since they all deliver more or less the same lines in Heist, The Spanish Prisoner, Spartan. I think it all started with the House of Games and Homicide; short one-liners, like - give me this, I want that, give it to me now,etc etc. It doesn't matter if it's Val Kilmer of William H. Macy or Joe Mantegna or Gene Hackman; they're all one persona, looks like.
I haven't seen the State and Main yet. Looks like it could be fun.

Follow Ups:

not to be forgetting Glengarry Glen Ross & Things Change (nt) - geoffkait 11:43:16 12/04/04 (0)
nope
How about 97's "The Edge?" He also wrote "Ronin." - tinear 17:39:34 12/03/04 (5)
And "Wag the Dog".
Glengarry Glen Ross, from early 90s was hard to watch, but powerful.
Like all artists, he's uneven, but I think "The Winslowe Boy" shows he's still got "it."
I sure envy him his wife. What a stunning face.
- He also wrote "Ronin"... yeah... but... - Victor Khomenko 18:42:10 12/03/04 (0)
  I don't think Ronin's story is particularly worth much. It is downright trivial, common and unexiting. The direction and acting made that movie, not the story.
  You can keep his babe - she made a couple of decent songs, and she gave one or two good interviews, but man, as an "actress" she is shameful, deplorable... it was a torture to watch her.
- Mamet the director vs. Mamet the screenwriter - Dmitry 18:39:36 12/03/04 (3)
  His directorship has become rather one-dimensional as if late, imo. Too bad. Luckily his writing talent hasn't tarnished.
  Imagine if he would've directed The Edge, Malcolm X or Glengarry Glen Ross. Oy vey!
  - I think his success is because he writes intelligent - tinear 05:07:19 12/04/04 (2)
    dialogue and constructs fascinating conflicts.
    He directs film the exact same way he does theater and I don't think it works. His best films succeed in SPITE of his direction not because of it.
    - I agree (sorta). - Harmonia 10:37:08 12/04/04 (0)
      As I said below, his style works better on stage, where it can build a sustained rhythm and intensity and create its own context, than on the screen. (I've seen 3 plays on stage.)
      But I do think that it *can* work in film - House of Games, Winslowe Boy (which isn't as stylized and benefits from a stellar cast), and to a lesser extent The Spanish Prisoner and Homocide. But its a dicy balancing act at best.
      The screenplays are clever and intelligent. Didn't Mamet also write the screenplay for The Untouchables?
    - As schizophrenic as it sounds, I agree with what you said. - Dmitry 07:01:55 12/04/04 (0)
      Just finished watching Spartan. I think it's the first Mamet that is really bad film-making all-around.
The Winslowe Boy is better... - Harmonia 14:50:16 12/03/04 (1)
...much much better, than State & Main, although S&M is worth a view.
House of Games is pretty darned wonderful and The Spanish Prisoner has its moments. Homocide was a little harder for me to appreciate.
The same writing style, with staccato, repetitive (same say rhythmic) line readings is also a hallmark of Mamet's plays. It builds momentum in live performance ans is less effective onscreen IMO.
Mamet's films are uneven, but I'd still rather see them than most cineplex fodder - it's more fun for me to see an interesting film that's less than perfect than a perfectly mediocre blockbuster.
- Re: "Homicide" - rico 07:08:10 12/04/04 (0)
  "Homicide" is my favorite Mamet film. Its evocation of pure evil puts it on a level with "Chinatown".
Re: Is it me or has Mamet been fucking up his recent films? - patrickU 13:15:03 12/03/04 (2)
Yes but a small fun! But fun enough... For I watch it twice. It skrink even more.
- Which one did you watch twice? - Victor Khomenko 15:53:39 12/03/04 (1)
  The only one I could watch more than once... or one-half, as the case might be, was the House of Games... I watched it perhaps three times, by necessity.
  The Prisoner was so awful it was a complete disgrace.
  - Re: Which one did you watch twice? - patrickU 05:24:23 12/04/04 (0)
    State and Main. The Prisoner only one and 1/ 4! I was wanting to be certain. Mamet�s film lake of any kind of deeph, on first viewing they are ok but like dracula in the sun...
    The Winslow Boy just the same.
    The original one ( with Olivier ) was so MUCH better!
    Somehow it is a waisted talent.

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