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Geeks Gone
Bad: Firewall Richard Loncraine’s Firewall is a medium-tech thriller. Thankfully, one doesn’t need to be a computer expert to follow what’s being done. The premise is simple. Harrison Ford plays Jack Stanfield, security director of a mid-sized Seattle bank. A gang of thieves, whose specialties range from strong-arm to systems, take Jack’s wife and children hostage. The price of freedom is $100 million, which Jack is to skim, via computer, from the accounts of his bank’s largest depositors. Easier demanded than done. Jack’s bank is in the process of merging with a larger bank, and the equipment needed has been transferred from Seattle to Wichita. The best-laid plans of movie heists are supposed to be flawed. One doesn’t always see the flaw this early. It’s the first of many twists. To its credit, Firewall tries to keep everything character-driven, something not always seen in thrillers. Ford’s Jack is not a brawny action-hero. He acts his age, and the stress of his situation shows on him. In one scene, a punch-up with a bad guy leaves Jack wringing his hand in obvious pain. Virginia Madsen plays Jack’s wife, Beth. Middle age has been rewarding for Madsen. She has gone from negligible roles in forgettable films to the enviable position of a character actress who also looks great. As in most kidnap movies, mom spends a lot of time weeping and keeping the kids close. Still, Madsen gets her share of good scenes, interacting with the kidnappers and engaging in her own subversive tactics. Subversion, not techno-tactics, is what saves the day here. Paul Bettany plays chief thief Bill Cox. Cox is a thriller archetype, the Evil Smoothie. He’s elegant and cultivated, speaking in a soft British accent. Cox is capable of sudden violence and cool cruelty, but his dominant character trait is greed. Well, duh, you might say, but watch how Jack plays on this. Ford is his usual gruffly charming self, though he seems more willing to surrender to weakness and emotion in this film than he has in some other projects. He shows us Jack thinking and planning, with mind racing and heart pounding as he wonders, do I dare try this? Thrillers like Firewall pull us in because they put us in the hero’s place and let us ask ourselves that same question. Director Loncraine balances tension and calm, allowing the viewer scenes to rest and follow the progression of wins and losses on both sides. Computer jargon is kept to a minimum, and the technology makes contextual sense. By that, of course, I mean I don’t know whether it’s accurate or not, but it works in Seattle. Firewall has a claustrophobic
feel, with the seemingly eternal Seattle rain keeping everyone
always a little curled at the edges. Only at the end does the
sun come out, in both senses. Oh, and if you’re looking
for fireballs, head-butts, automatic weapons firefights, or memorable
catch phrases, rent Die Hard. you’re looking for fireballs, head-butts, automatic weapons
firefights, or memorable catch phrases, rent Die Hard. |
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Something
New: Smart, Sweet, and Sharp Commentary Too Something New is an unexpectedly smart romantic comedy, a nice treat at this time of year, but it would be a surprise even a few months from now, when studios aren’t dumping their junk on screens. The film treats its characters with a generous amount of respect, bringing two people together, not through pratfalls and compromised dignity, but with an intelligent look at how compatibility works, while saying some interesting things about race and compromise in love. Kenya McQueen is a brilliant, driven executive at an accounting firm. She’s about to make partner, but it’s been at the sacrifice of her personal life. Her circle of friends, a trio of black women just as successful and also unlucky in love, resolve to abandon their search for the IBM (ideal black man) and see what life brings them. For Kenya it brings Brian, a landscape architect who happens to be funny and adventurous, as well as very white and very blond. Kenya was raised in upper class black society in a flurry of cotillions and closed circles, and even when the idea of dating a white man becomes more acceptable to her, it’s still unfathomable to introduce Brian into her world. The film does suffer from a touch of PMMS – perfect movie mate syndrome. Brian is the bold bohemian who perseveres against Kenya’s rude rebuffs to save her from a life of beige safety. In most movies like this, a woman plays that role, so it’s a nice change to have a magical boyfriend here. And even though Brian puts up with more than most people would, he still has a spine, and still has a personality. He’s written as more than a magic bullet, so his moments of superhuman tolerance and flexibility can be taken in stride. Kenya is well fleshed out as well. For this film to work, her characterization could have ended at “black, successful, uptight woman,” but the script gives her so much more. Even camera angles add to her point of view. The same is true for most of the characters in this film – each person has a distinct personality, and in most cases it’s multifaceted in ways that supporting characters often aren’t. Something New has far more incisive commentary on race than a film of its genre needs. A romantic comedy could easily use the biracial couple as fodder for jokes and awkward situations and end the examination there. Something New does that aplenty, but they’re tempered with smart, well-considered conversations about race and how being a successful member of a minority group doesn’t make one immune to problems that still exist. It touches difficult subjects when it doesn’t have to, and it lets the characters function as people, not as teaching devices, when doing so. This film is a small gem in an often fluffy and disparaged genre. It manages the not insubstantial feat of making you feel good when you walk out while also giving you a sharp, perceptive tour of societal and interpersonal issues. It’s a keen bit of cultural criticism shrewdly disguised as a bit of popcorn cinema that doesn’t ignore or exploit its characters while delivering its message. It’s insightful and entertaining with a light, deft touch, making Something New one of the best things in theaters right now. Bottom line: something worth seeing. |
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