Here we are
again with a movie I’ve never heard of – My
Beautiful Laundrette written by Hanif Kureishi. And, man, doesn’t a title
like that just get you pumped up? When I saw it on the list, I couldn’t wait to
kick back, have a beer and crush this film. And then, of course, I do a little
research and see that it’s Stephen Frears and Baby Day-Lewis, so I knew I was
in for a dramatically adult time. In the immortal words of everyone who’s
watched this movie ever, “Let’s get this party started.”
Somehow, even
though I knew nothing about this going in, it defied all my expectations. There
isn’t really a coherent plot to discuss. A kid opens a laundromat, I guess.
It’s not really a specific character study. Too many people bouncing around. It’s
this kind of mosaic of a movie. A portrait of a time and a place. And, in that
sense, it’s effective. But it’s certainly an odd movie, and one that I didn’t
really connect with on any significant level. Maybe it’s because the specific
milieu of the movie was so unfamiliar, but that’s not typically an issue for
me. I mean, part of a movie’s job is to drop you into it’s setting and whisk
you away. But here it just never happened. So I’m not a huge fan, but let’s
talk about the script.
Gotta give
credit here to Kureishi for respecting his viewers. He never spells anything
out. I had to constantly reconstruct these characters in my head. The Dad isn’t
just a drunk, he’s out of place, out of time. The uncle’s a ruthless
businessman, sure, but he’s also loyal. Even the Scarface cousin manages to have dimensions. Empathy falls from the
sky. It’s impressive. And probably best exemplified in the scene between Tanya
and her Father’s mistress when they meet at the inexplicably crowded opening of
the new laundry mat. Tanya attempts to paint her as some evil temptress, but
the movie’s smarter than that, and instead offers up a depressing slice of
life. It’s good stuff.
The two
leads are probably the least interesting characters and maybe that’s why I
can’t fully appreciate the script. Omar is a scrappy entrepreneur. Not above
screwing people over to get what he wants. But all in the service of a
laundromat. To be fair, this is a Laundromat the neighborhood is apparently
clamoring for. The one they always needed, but never knew they wanted. Powders.
Oh, and Baby Day-Lewis is…all over the place. A businessman, a lover, a punk, a
criminal. I don’t know. I do want to say that I love the English “punk”. I
don’t know how real they were/are, but all cinematic English punks seem so
squirmy and oddly acrobatic. I love it. In any case, I found myself mostly
confused by him. And this largely locks me out of the central arc. And, look, I
get how their relationship thematically mirrors the larger issues in the movie,
but if I don’t care then it doesn’t matter.
I think
this might be an example of what I’ll call, for now, the reverse-Unforgiven. I
realize it’s currently sitting at number one on my list, but I think that movie
is a good example of the filmmaking really elevating and complementing the
script. In many cases, blinding the viewer to any of its flaws. Yes, yes, we’re
here to talk about scripts, but we’re watching the movies, so I’m gonna talk
about it. Only with Laundrette, I
feel it’s the opposite. I’m not entirely sure why this movie has a punk rock,
neon, foggy vibe to it. It doesn’t seem to fit at all. I think the Frears
working today would have made an entirely different looking, possibly better
film with this exact same material.
Truth be
told, I spent a lot this movie thinking about a better, similar movie – Do the Right Thing. And I kept right on
thinking about it even as I watched that movie’s climax unfold, nearly
identically, in this film. A lot of the ideas this movie presents, Right Thing improves upon. But, as I
said earlier, that might just be my disconnect with this particular world.
These conflicts don’t resonate directly for me. I can substitute them, of
course, but that still removes them. So, while I can respect and appreciate
this script for what it does well, I can’t call it great. But…is it worse than
Crocodile Dundee? Of course, not. Don’t be ridiculous.
1.
My Beautiful Launderette
2.
Crocodile Dundee
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