You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone: Blue Jasmine and Side Effects (Motifs in Cinema 2013: Economics and Money)

This is the long-awaited final entry into my series about money, and also my entry into Encore's World of TV and Film's blogathon "Motifs in Cinema", where I've obviously chosen the "Economics and Money" motif. Here's a little more info here: Motifs in Cinema is a discourse across film blogs, assessing the way in which various thematic elements have been used in the 2013 cinematic landscape. How does a common theme vary in use from a comedy to a drama? Are filmmakers working from a similar canvas when they assess the issue of death or the dynamics of revenge? Like most things, a film begins with an idea – Motifs in Cinema assesses how various themes emanating from a single idea change when utilized by varying artists.

Also in the series about money: We Might Be Hollow, But We're Brave: Spring Breakers and The Bling Ring (young girls and money) and Baby, You're a Rich Man: The Wolf of Wall Street and Pain & Gain (men and money). And for those wondering why I haven't/am not going to cover The Great Gatsby in this 'series', unbelievably I've had enough of incessantly making a case for talking about it and that's all about old money and stuff so yeah. There's a bit of spoilerage here for Side Effects, but y'all should have seen it by now.

I'm a big "past" person - always looking back at things and internally crying that they are no more. Alas, I don't think I have such a problem with the past as Jasmine French does in Blue Jasmine and Emily Taylor in Side Effects. Why? They used to have money. And they miss it now it's gone.

We Might Be Hollow, But We're Brave: Spring Breakers and The Bling Ring (and Lorde)

But every song's like: Gold teeth, Grey Goose, Tripping in the bathroom, Bloodstains, Ball gowns, Trashing the hotel roomWe don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams
But everybody's like: Crystal, Maybach, Diamonds on your timepiece, Jet planes, Islands, Tigers on a gold leashWe don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair

Why the hook from Lorde's uber-phenomenonal song, Royals? It isn't just that I'm madly in love with the girl who makes me feel largely inadequate as someone in a school year ahead of her (damn you talent god for not making me musical), but because Royals became somewhat of an anthem for the NZ teenager, and somehow the rest of the world caught on. I mean, last week (or last year, whatever), I bought a copy of Vogue Magazine, purely because it had Jessica Chastain on the cover, and I was confused by how there were 65 pages of advertisements before the actual magazine started, and one of the options for a Christmas gift were $490 place-card name holders. Like, it was a big deal that I spent $25 on buying my Mum The Heat for Christmas. But hey, this is a reality for some people - and that reality is something that has been touched upon by many films in 2013 that I've unofficially called the "Look at My Shit New Wave". Falling under the umbrella of this slice of history that we'll no doubt be studying in a few years is The Wolf of Wall Street, Side Effects, Blue Jasmine, Pain & Gain, The Great Gatsby and The Bling Ring and Spring Breakers, which I'll be focusing on in this post. I'm told that films like American Hustle and The Counselor could fall under this umbrella, but I haven't had a chance to see them yet.

It is kinda funny how Lorde's music became big in 2013, defining teenagerdom, when we had The Bling Ring and Spring Breakers to define teenagerdom in film (bar The Spectacular Now, which paints a different, if equally true picture). The funny thing is that several songs off Lorde's album, particularly 'White Teeth Teens' and 'Tennis Court' wouldn't be out of place if they were to headline the soundtracks of those two films. They both depict the obsessive nature of teenagers, and how they dream of projecting a better life filled with diamonds on their timepieces and tigers on gold leashes. However, where The Bling Ring has already privileged teens wanting more, Spring Breakers has empty teenagers left broke and bored by their studies trying to achieve the kind of life the kids of The Bling Ring already have.

Making the Case for Elizabeth Debicki + Blogathon Entries

Yes, I know there were 10,000 better films that came out in 2013, but truth is, I've only seen around 30 2013 films (I wish I was joking), and by far, the one that stuck was The Great Gatsby. As is documented here, I don't really like the film all that much as an adaptation, but I liked it enough to see it six times since June. Reason? This flawless lady right here:

Yes, the marvellous debut actress Elizabeth Debicki is cruelly underused in the film. They cut out her all important final scene (but the deleted scene does exist, and she is flawless, so we'll pretend that it is still a part of the film). Of all the actors in the film, she has her character so incredibly aligned with F. Scott Fitzgerald's description. In fact, the part where Jordan is described is pretty much my favourite example of Fitzgerald's writing (apart from the amazing final lines), and to see Debicki pull off those few moments so flawlessly ensured that I would love the film.

Debicki just fits so perfectly into the time period, with her look and her voice, shedding off the feelings of imitations that plagued Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgerton. I'd be happy if we had a whole film of just her and her poor driving skills, lies about leaving the car roof down and her adventures through golfing. Unfortunately, we didn't get that, but one can only imagine what kind of talent Debicki would have brought to the table. Her vibrance is something that I look forward to seeing in the future.

But one can't forget: Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby. He's (supposed to be) getting buzz for The Wolf of Wall Street, and the Best Actor race is damn over-crowded this year, so any chance of him getting proper recognition for his work as Gatsby is slim. Alas, he fits Gatsby like a glove, perfectly portraying Gatsby's fantastical dreams and self-built delusions. Would have been interesting to see how he'd have fared if the film was released closer to awards season (probably not well, knowing his track record).

Other mentions, from the handful of films I've seen:

The Place Beyond the Pines - Best Supporting Actor, Bradley Cooper
He may have a bit more traction with American Hustle, but out of the fine ensemble - which does include a brilliant Ryan Gosling - Bradley Cooper really proved his worth here. It is hard to put my finger on exactly what it is that he does so well here, but he just brings such a vulnerability to someone reluctantly put at hero status. Speaking of...

Catching Fire - Best Actress, Jennifer Lawrence
...another person reluctantly put at hero status. And also another person who has a better chance with American Hustle. But Jennifer is wonderful in this film, navigating the tricky business of being Katniss Everdeen with more fluidity than she showed in the first film. She truly does make this teen franchise one of a high calibre.

The Past - Best Actress, Berenice Bejo
Why isn't this getting more love? Sure, Bejo won the Cannes award for Best Actress, and rightly so, but the love seemed to stop there. She plays one hell of a character, and is probably one of the "strong female characters" that actually deserves that paper thin title. She's flawed, frustrating and ferocious, and definitely a far cry from the preppy Peppy Miller from The Artist. Due credit should also go to Asghar Farhadi for another thrilling screenplay that uses words as weapons.

Side Effects - Best Actress, Rooney Mara
This film, though released very early in the year, is still one of my absolute favourites. It is so twisted, evoking this Hitchcockian feel that many modern thrillers lack. One of my favourite things about this film was the chilling performance by Rooney Mara, who played one of the more twisted and complicated characters of the year with surprising ease. If Lisbeth Salander had be terrified of Mara, then Side Effects definitely gave me another reason.

Spring Breakers - Best Cinematography
For one thing, and one thing only: the pink skies that light up some of the scenes in the film. Makes a grimy gangster flick as slick as a Terrence Malick film. Spring Breakers deserves points for being the most colourful, most out there film of the year, but I'm pinning my hopes on a cinematography nomination, because this film was an unsettling feast for the eyes.

Entries into the blogathon:

Mette has some love for Spring Breakers and the categories it should be nominated in. Which includes Best Nail Polish.

Josh makes the case for everything, with an outsider for every category at the Oscars. How I'd love for Before Midnight to get a Best Picture nom!

Brittani makes the case for The East, a movie which I'm still desperate to see. ILY, Brit Marling!

While Gravity is sure to get a lot of love, one person who will probably come out awards season without any recognition is George Clooney. Sati tells us why he should be up there with the party.

Andy has a case to make for Stoker, and the several categories it should be nominated in (a big yes for a Nicole Kidman nom).

And Nikhat went beyond the call of duty and had three cases to make: a case for comedy, a case for Tye Sheridan in Mud, and a case for Greta Gerwig in Frances Ha. Considering I've seen all of the films she's made a case for, major hearts for all of them.

There were only a few entries, so if you wanna get your entry in, tweet at me (@SteveeTaylor) or email it to me (steveetaylor[@]hotmail.co.nz). For now, who is an outsider that you're most rooting for?