Black Bear (2020)
Country: US
Technical: col/1.66:1 104m
Director: Lawrence Michael Levine
Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott, Sarah Gadon
Synopsis:
A female film director on sabbatical rents a lakeside lodge from an expectant couple, and unintentionally causes havoc with their relationship; a male director uses the lodge to film the same scenario, but turning the tables on the two women.
Review:
As with other movie diptychs (Lost Highway, Psycho), the relationship of the second half to the first raises questions: in this case, is the first half inspiration for the second, in which the pain-in-the-ass actress attempts to backseat direct the movie, but is out-manoeuvred by her husband? (Except he wasn't her husband.) And what of the bears that close both stories? Or is the key discussion on feminism the crux of the matter? Allison's slip in the first story is an emotional one, rooted also in a flaw in her character; whereas Gabe's means to the same end in the second story is that of a devious stratagem, and for nothing more than a movie. In the end Levine's film is a meditation on both the creative process and gender roles, but unfortunately only the first half really sustains interest. Is there also a comment on the part played in it by wine (in vino veritas?), contrasted with the whisky chugging, coffee spilling, diarrhoea and vomit obsessed second half?
Country: US
Technical: col/1.66:1 104m
Director: Lawrence Michael Levine
Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott, Sarah Gadon
Synopsis:
A female film director on sabbatical rents a lakeside lodge from an expectant couple, and unintentionally causes havoc with their relationship; a male director uses the lodge to film the same scenario, but turning the tables on the two women.
Review:
As with other movie diptychs (Lost Highway, Psycho), the relationship of the second half to the first raises questions: in this case, is the first half inspiration for the second, in which the pain-in-the-ass actress attempts to backseat direct the movie, but is out-manoeuvred by her husband? (Except he wasn't her husband.) And what of the bears that close both stories? Or is the key discussion on feminism the crux of the matter? Allison's slip in the first story is an emotional one, rooted also in a flaw in her character; whereas Gabe's means to the same end in the second story is that of a devious stratagem, and for nothing more than a movie. In the end Levine's film is a meditation on both the creative process and gender roles, but unfortunately only the first half really sustains interest. Is there also a comment on the part played in it by wine (in vino veritas?), contrasted with the whisky chugging, coffee spilling, diarrhoea and vomit obsessed second half?
Country: US
Technical: col/1.66:1 104m
Director: Lawrence Michael Levine
Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott, Sarah Gadon
Synopsis:
A female film director on sabbatical rents a lakeside lodge from an expectant couple, and unintentionally causes havoc with their relationship; a male director uses the lodge to film the same scenario, but turning the tables on the two women.
Review:
As with other movie diptychs (Lost Highway, Psycho), the relationship of the second half to the first raises questions: in this case, is the first half inspiration for the second, in which the pain-in-the-ass actress attempts to backseat direct the movie, but is out-manoeuvred by her husband? (Except he wasn't her husband.) And what of the bears that close both stories? Or is the key discussion on feminism the crux of the matter? Allison's slip in the first story is an emotional one, rooted also in a flaw in her character; whereas Gabe's means to the same end in the second story is that of a devious stratagem, and for nothing more than a movie. In the end Levine's film is a meditation on both the creative process and gender roles, but unfortunately only the first half really sustains interest. Is there also a comment on the part played in it by wine (in vino veritas?), contrasted with the whisky chugging, coffee spilling, diarrhoea and vomit obsessed second half?