4 months in, 2008 has only yielded a couple of artistic gems — and most of us can’t see either one of them yet. Opening two weeks ago was Alexandra, (“a film of startling originality and beauty”). This quietly luminous story of a Chechnyan grandmother’s visit to her grandson’s army camp is showing in a single theater nationwide. This week there’s another Spring highlight getting near unanimous rave reviews — one you won’t be seeing unless you live near one of the 4 theaters showing Tom McCarthy’s “The Visitor.”
“This eloquent, unassuming movie evokes the miraculousness of finding a sense of place.” — Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com
“A heartfelt human drama that sneaks up and floors you…Tom McCarthy is already that rare talent who can work in miniature to reveal major truths.” — Peter Traver, Rolling Stone
“Best movie I’ve seen so far this year? Hands down, it’s Tom McCarthy’s superb The Visitor, which turns Richard Jenkins, one of the best character actors in the business, into a full-fledged star.” — Lou Lumenick, New York Post
“This audaciously issues-loaded indie drama works, improbably and entirely, on account of the marvelous, often familiar-looking, rarely starring character actor Richard Jenkins and his perfect performance as a stodgy, widowed economics professor.” — Lisa Swarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
“It is one of the year’s most intriguing dramas, with a quartet of powerful performances.” — Claudia Puig, USA Today
With a score of 80 on Metacritic, and 88% overall on RT (100% positive among the RT “Top Critics”) The Visitor is among the most highly praised films of the new year. It sounds like it has all the elements of a warm-hearted “crowd-pleaser” too, as soon as the right crowd gets to see it. Of course you can’t please everybody, and this week the critic who’s not pleased is Scott Foundas, whose smug review revolves around what he dismissively calls “liberal guilt.” (Funny how some people think liberals are supposed to feel guilty about social problems exacerbated by conservatism — but that’s a subject for another discussion… hey! like the topic below!)
Ryan. Every critic in the country seems to be losing their jobs, and if The Village Voice, which still features some of the finest writing on film in the country, is considered non-alternative because it was (tragically) gobbled up a few years ago by New Media (or whatever the company is called), then I guess the New York Press is the only alternative paper in the country. As for the “Top Critics” label in Rotten Tomatoes, it’s not something that’s assigned to critics based on who they are but what publication they are writing for. You will note that the same critic is sometimes considered “Top Critics” but sometimes not, and if Foundas’s review was credited to the Village Voice, and not one of its flagships, then he would have been considered a “Top Critic” for this particular review. But…ugh!…I hate talking about Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes scores. It’s so useless, just as it is debating the semantics of what shilling means. I would much rather have an intelligent conversation about, yes, liberal guilt. Or how there are certain movies made every year about the lives of non-whites that are made by whites and seem to be most embraced by a priviledged white elite (BLOOD DIAMOND comes immediately to mind). Happens with all movies, and it’s been happening since the beginning of cinema. All movies appeal to our biases, it’s just that some movies do so more cravenly, and at very selfish expenses. I’m not arguing with you: Your a cool cat, and our politics are the same as mine, and though there’s nothing wrong with feeling guilty about social injustice, political and artistic rectitude acted out because of such guilt is of a lesser, more condescending kind than the one that is put into action by anger. Anger, unlike guilt, is nothing to be ashamed of. I don’t know about you, but I would want someone fighting for my rights because they are angry because of what I don’t have and not because they feel guilty because they have what I don’t. When more people understand that distinct difference, we’ll not only make progress as a multicultural nation but we’ll also stop embracing bad movies like THE VISITOR or UNDER THE SAME MOON.
Shilling would involve some kind of financial compensation, rico, and let me assure you I’m not getting a dime for featuring The Visitor.
I highlight the positive reviews here, and I highlight the Scott Foundas negative review in the following post. Foundas is in the minority in his appraisal of this movie, and I point that out. I also think I have a right — and maybe an obligation — to have an opinion of my own. If I agree with some critics and disagree with others, then I’m gonna say so.
The Village Voice is hardly a very fine example of “alternative press.” It’s part of a nationwide conglomerate of local “city” papers, and has become increasingly homogenized. The Voice was once a brilliant and consistently daring publication. In the past 10 or 15 years it’s gone steadily downhill. I’m don’t see any reason to be shy about saying so.
True, Metacritic features big name critics, and it’s almost surprising that they even include The Village Voice among their more distinguished reviews.
You might notice that Andrew Sarris, legendary film critic for The Voice for decades, is a “Top Critic” on Rotten Tomatoes (Sarris writes for the New York Observer now). Scott Foundas doesn’t make the “Top Critics” cut. He’s in the lower ranks at RT. Is that because of the relative prestige of his publication, or the standards of his writing? Who knows.
I see a trend recently with Foundas trouncing movies with a “liberal” slant. He can deny it all he wants, and you’re welcome to take his side. But when a critic subtitles his review “Preachy liberal guilt dwarfs any good intentions” then it’s pretty hard to overlook where he’s coming from.
ok, so Foundas thinks the movie plays on cheap liberal sentiment. That’s fine. The majority of more reputable critics didn’t think so, and my pointed intention was to highlight that discrepancy.
If you have any tips on how I can make a buck off my attitude, rico, please let me know. Meanwhile, check the definition of “shilling” before tossing it around so loosely, ok?
(“Shilling” is what the Fox News Network does when their New York critic calls Fox production Horton Hears a Who, “One of the best animated features of all time!”)
Finally, rico, you say we all feel liberal guilt? Not me. I absolve myself of liberal guilt by avoiding voting for Republicans, and trying to point out right-wing hipocrisy every chance I get. I don’t feel guilty about social injustice conservatives cause. I feel angry.
I understand the willingness to highlight movies that are getting near-universal acclaim, but all of this is beginning to feel uncomfortably like shilling. And when we begin to highlight only positive notices while panning anyone who doesn’t like a movie you haven’t even seen, it becomes extra sketchy. Where is any semblance of objectivity here? This knee-jerk attack toward anyone who may write for the alternative press (except perhaps for Stephanie Z.) is just irritating. What next? “This film has gotten 100% approval from the Top Critics whose first names begin with P and end in R.” What an ugly way to trivialize opinion and spin anything into a classic. Also, your latest attack on Foundas seems to hinge on a willful misreading. The problem is not that “liberal guilt” SHOULD be felt but that it’s felt at all. We all feel it, and some movies try to wring it from us more cheaply than others, so let’s not pretend that we don’t. The point is, we should be privy to the way movies try to shamelessly play us.
I love Jenkins as an actor, and Foundas’ pan only further cements my enthusiasm for it.
Jenkins has been fun to watch for a long time and The Station Agent was incredible. After reading a few reviews, I can’t wait to see this film.
As a long time Jenkins fan this is can only be good. But of course, it being an indie, him being a little actor and this being april… well lets not get our hopes up high.
I know nothing about this movie. Have read no reviews. I won’t read reviews until AFTER I see the movie…..and I can’t wait to see it.