Quick Flicks: Patton, Gone Baby Gone, Watership Down

I’ve watched a lot of movies in the past few months, leaving me little time to write. That will change soon, hopefully for the better, but until then I’ll at least attempt to keep up using “Quick Flicks.” All the films this time around are equally brutal, and yes, that includes Watership Down. More will be explained shortly but one thing is certain, it doesn’t follow the typical stereotype of rabbits.

Patton
It’s incredibly important to note that Patton is less about war and more about the man himself. Anyone expecting this to be the Saving Private Ryan of the 70’s is going to be sorely disappointed. One quote from Sin City comes to mind in particular when I think about the General — “Most people think Marv is crazy. He just had the rotten luck of being born in the wrong century. He’d be right at home on some ancient battlefield swinging an axe into somebody’s face. Or in a Roman arena, taking his sword to other gladiators like him.” While I don’t necessarily think Patton should be swinging an axe into somebody’s face it’s appropriate to say he was born in the wrong era. Unlike his ancestors, Patton has to deal with an uncompromising press circuit. In many ways they became his biggest enemy during World War II instead of the Axis forces.

The most bizarre thing about Patton was the man behind his portrayal, George C. Scott. I wouldn’t say he was exactly known for one role in particular but I was immediately struck seeing the same man who played General “Buck” Turgidson in Dr. Strangelove. He’s taken on an entirely different form of General here and he accels in many levels. He nails his humor and wit, but more importantly his quick bursts of outrage. All Patton wants to do is battle, he loves war - not in the typical meaning - but because it’s where he’s at peace with his actions. The film shows an unbiased view of the man’s lowest of moments (slapping a scared soldier) and highest achievements (racing and beating Montgomery to Messina.)

Gone Baby Gone
In Ben’s directorial debut he proposes at least one noteworthy question. How important is a child’s life and to what lengths would you go to protect it? It’s ultimately left for the back end of the film, which is entirely appropriate. Frankly the movie starts out pretty slow. Little is revealed about the disappearance of Amanda McCready and almost less happens. Gone Baby Gone is ultimately a story of “little occurrences” that hopefully you catch even if you don’t know quite how to arrange them all. Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck), the private investigator assigned to the case by the girl’s aunt Beatrice (Amy Madigan), is not the type of person that takes a job lightly. He has a strong opinion of right and wrong that’s put to the test in the most trying of circumstances. Patrick is assisted by his girlfriend Angie (Amy Madigan) who you learn also has a very different brand of right and wrong.

The child belongs to Helene McCready, a low life that has trouble keeping up with her drug obsession and taking care of her kid. Her connections with local drug lords leads Patrick to believe that it could have something to do with a drug deal that went sour, during which she and her boyfriend stole some money. In the end, most of what you learn doesn’t matter too terribly much. When taking that into consideration the film could have been better off by slimming down on the investigation leading nowhere and examined the character’s in more detail. Fortunately, Casey Affleck saves these low points from becoming too tedious. It’s a little drawn out but worth consideration if you’re willing to sit through a few dull spots.

Watership Down
When you first think of a talking bunny rabbit, Bugs Bunny will probably be the first thing that pops into your head. You’d be weird if it didn’t. Now just imagine if Bugs Bunny actually did get blasted away by Elmer Fud in an episode. That’s Watership Down in a nutshell. This movie is not afraid to show gore among the earth’s most friendliest of creatures. Normally films like this try to contain it’s violence so they can be seen as “kid friendly” but Watership Down leaves nothing to the wayside. Bunnies scratch, bite, and tear each other to pieces just to protect their freedom.

Director Martin Rosen later became no stranger to this sort of animated violence, he later adapted another Richard Adams novel called The Plague Dogs which is said to be even more violent than Watership Down. Certain parts of the animation, especially the beginning and ending are much more stylistic and stunning. The main body of the story however falls into a familair simplistic technique that allows for more emotion and life-like qualities. The film often draws similarities between our world and the fictional workings of Richard Adams, sometimes good but most often a little frightening. This is one animated film that has the potiental to be loved by young and old alike but it’s a little more suited for adults.