Monday, April 02, 2001
"Bless the Child", and Bless Us for Watching It
In the evening we watched "Bless the Child", starring Kim Basinger and Jimmy Smits, which I picked up cheap as a used DVD on the way home from my birthday peregrinations with Bill. The only reason I bought it was because Erika had worked on the film last year, and had heard from the Sound Recordist she worked with that "it sounded great" -- though that was the only great thing about it in his opinion. He was right; this dog of a film was pretty much universally panned, and I think the studio deliberately buried it when it was originally released, getting next to zero promotional coverage.
I think the only enjoyable way to watch this film is with Erika, though she said that as bad as the film was, it was worse to work on it.
Its interesting to see, as the script read well, but it seems completely botched in its execution. Kim Basinger seemed to have the same, dead-pan expression throughout the film; even after being drugged and almost killed, or after her child is kidnapped, she seemed pretty calm and collected about the whole thing, as if this sort of thing happens every day, ho hum. Showing some emotion would ruffle her hair most likely. Was surprised at how amateurishly the film seemed to be shot, as the cinematographer had some odd concepts about framing a scene. And I guess the director ought to be blamed for the absence of any developing tension in the movie, and for the way it flowed from one scene to another without any sense of pace or anticipation. The only real bright light in the film was Jimmy Smits, who was the only actor who managed to convey any sense of gravity in his role. The sound in the film did seem remarkably good, and while nobody tends to notice this sort of thing normally, the sound seemed "real"; Erika was genuinely pleased by how much location sound was used in the film.
Watching the film with Erika was the best way to see the film, as she remembered goings-on during particular scenes. Such as laughing over the fact that the Reverand's Assistant seems to be getting typecast -- he played a cop who got gruesomely killed in "Bride of Chucky", and the same thing happens to him here, though he at least manages to live through two scenes in this movie. Or finding out that the subway scenes were shot in a never-used station platform located underneath the regular platforms at Union Station. I also got a bit jealous as she described getting a little thrill at pinning a radio mike to the chest of the well-built janitor who appears in one scene. ;-)
Though she remarked at the end that "I don't feel I ever have to watch that again", Erika was still quite pleased to see her name -- spelled correctly for once -- scroll up during the end credits.
In the evening we watched "Bless the Child", starring Kim Basinger and Jimmy Smits, which I picked up cheap as a used DVD on the way home from my birthday peregrinations with Bill. The only reason I bought it was because Erika had worked on the film last year, and had heard from the Sound Recordist she worked with that "it sounded great" -- though that was the only great thing about it in his opinion. He was right; this dog of a film was pretty much universally panned, and I think the studio deliberately buried it when it was originally released, getting next to zero promotional coverage.
I think the only enjoyable way to watch this film is with Erika, though she said that as bad as the film was, it was worse to work on it.
Its interesting to see, as the script read well, but it seems completely botched in its execution. Kim Basinger seemed to have the same, dead-pan expression throughout the film; even after being drugged and almost killed, or after her child is kidnapped, she seemed pretty calm and collected about the whole thing, as if this sort of thing happens every day, ho hum. Showing some emotion would ruffle her hair most likely. Was surprised at how amateurishly the film seemed to be shot, as the cinematographer had some odd concepts about framing a scene. And I guess the director ought to be blamed for the absence of any developing tension in the movie, and for the way it flowed from one scene to another without any sense of pace or anticipation. The only real bright light in the film was Jimmy Smits, who was the only actor who managed to convey any sense of gravity in his role. The sound in the film did seem remarkably good, and while nobody tends to notice this sort of thing normally, the sound seemed "real"; Erika was genuinely pleased by how much location sound was used in the film.
Watching the film with Erika was the best way to see the film, as she remembered goings-on during particular scenes. Such as laughing over the fact that the Reverand's Assistant seems to be getting typecast -- he played a cop who got gruesomely killed in "Bride of Chucky", and the same thing happens to him here, though he at least manages to live through two scenes in this movie. Or finding out that the subway scenes were shot in a never-used station platform located underneath the regular platforms at Union Station. I also got a bit jealous as she described getting a little thrill at pinning a radio mike to the chest of the well-built janitor who appears in one scene. ;-)
Though she remarked at the end that "I don't feel I ever have to watch that again", Erika was still quite pleased to see her name -- spelled correctly for once -- scroll up during the end credits.Labels: Bless the Child, Bride of Chucky, Owen Langevin
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