Thanks to the holiday break and the recent inclement weather, I have had a lot of time to watch movies, many of which I loved. For this post, I’ll be discussing the movies Precious [IMC DVD 306.877 P923 2010], The Wrestler [IMC DVD 796.812 W945 2009], Anvil! The Story of Anvil [IMC DVD 782.4216 A637 2009], and There Will Be Blood [IMC DVD 622.338 T398 2008]. All of these movies centered around a theme of never giving up, whether it be giving up on your dreams, your passion, or yourself. Having just begun the New Year, I felt like this was a theme which would resonate with many of us.
“Let’s be brave enough to dream, big, huge, embarrassingly impossible dreams.” –Melody Ross
Many people might remember the movie Precious from the Oscars in 2010, where it was nominated for 6 Awards, and ended up winning two of those. Precious follows the story of Precious who is emotionally and verbally abused by her mother, and has been raped by her father, resulting in her second pregnancy. She is offered the opportunity to attend an alternative school, where her life begins to change with the support of her new teacher. While this movie deals with heavy topics, the breakthrough that Precious goes through and how her life changes is well worth the film journey.
The next two movies, The Wrestler and Anvil! The Story of Anvil, tell the stories of two individuals who refuse to give up on their dream. The Wrestler follows the story of Randy “The Ram” Robinson, who is a wrestler now past his prime. He works a warehouse job to get by, but wrestling is his passion. However, health problems force him to retire, after which he tries to foster better relationships with a stripper and his daughter. I was impressed by this movie, which so eloquently tells this story. With Darren Aronofsky as the director, much of the movie was filmed with close face shots, requiring strong acting from all of the characters.
Anvil! The Story of Anvil is a documentary which details the rise and fall of the heavy metal band Anvil. This Canadian band has influenced many bands we know today, including Megadeath, Slayer, Anthrax, and Metallica. Steve “Lips” Kudlow is the vocalist of the band and has kept them together for over thirty years, hoping that they will be rediscovered and become famous once again. This movie attempts to discover why Anvil never succeeded the way many other bands did at that time. Throughout the documentary, you see Lips continue to follow his dream, swimming through a sea of rejection and mismanagement. You can’t help but root for them to succeed, which is part of the charm of this movie.
The final movie, There Will Be Blood, features Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Planview, an oilman who has dreams of becoming wealthy. His quest becomes increasingly ruthless as he refuses to let anyone get in his way, including his own son. I loved how authentic this movie felt, and the soundtrack that went with it matched it perfectly in its oddity and feeling of impending disaster. In addition, the cinematography and acting is extremely well done.
The IMC is now featuring an Organized Crime DVD display, so come by and check out a movie! As always, follow along with your own film journey at https://letterboxd.com/peterstanley/list/1001-movies-you-must-see-before-you-die/.
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