Monday Monologue: "The Perfect Servant"

Editor's Note: I am pleased to announce that Andrew Kendall of Encore's World has joined "Team Experience". Here is his first post, looking back on a truly fine performance in Best Picture nominated Gosford Park (2000) - Nathaniel R

I would not say that finding a monologue (or monologue adjacent) scenes for Monday Monologues is an impossibility, although it can get somewhat difficult when so many films seems to revel in single sentence conversations and the like. Finding a monologue in an ensemble film, though, is particularly daunting. For with ensemble films, at least in theory, no one character takes precedence and as far as ensembles of the last three decades are concerned I would rank Gosford Park near the top. Maggie Smith, Clive Owen, Emily Watson, Bob Balaban, Kristin Scott Thomas, and even Ryan Philippe all battle for my top honours depending on the scene even as the “resolution” of the film rests on a scene between two of the quieter characters of the film.

More often than not cinematic monologues tend to take on the role of a confessional – the character is bursting over with something, a secret, a regret, a plan – and it needs to be expelled. [more]

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Mad Men @ the Movies: The Age of Aquarius

Hi all, this is Deborah filling in for Nathaniel for our mutual favorite TV show. It figures that while I'm filling in there are no explicit movie references. However, I think I can keep you engaged with some juicy Broadway and implicit movie references.

Linda Cardellini guest stars on Mad Men

Episode 6.03, The Collaborators, is directed by Jon Hamm to dirty perfection. Make no mistake, this is a very dirty episode, concerned with adultery, broken promises, and things not being what they seem. 

We open with a party at the Campbell home; Pete is offering tickets to "Hair" to two neighbors. It’s a flirtatious conversation, Pete tells the ladies that hair is full of drugs, foul language, and “simulated sex acts.” Flirting is not the subtle art of yore in 1968, we say “sex acts” right out in public! (Spoilers ahead.)

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Jurassic Memory (Feat. Tilda Swinton)

What did you see over the weekend? Sadly I didn't catch a movie (a rarity!) outside of festival screeners. I know you're probably over Jurassic Park (1993) which we discussed last week at length. I mean it's 20 years old plus fading in its second weekend of rerelease, but I have one more Jurassic Memory to share if you'll indulge me.

You may have noticed that I didn't announce my "Best Shot" so I thought I'd draw you a little Movie Diary in order to do so. Better late than never. I bet you're dying to know how Tilda Swinton's Orlando fits into a Jurassic Park comic. 

Secret Messages: Map

This was almost a first and last (this is also a movie's first shot) but instead it's a secret message.

Who marked that map up? But more importantly why is it secret? The correct answer is seven words long. 

Second clue: The camera pans left and will eventually reveal the protagonist.

Reader Spotlight: Lucio in Argentina

We're getting to know The Film Experience community. Today we're talking to Lucio in Argentina.

When did you start reading TFE?

LUCIO: I started reading in early 2004 after I began to get crazy about the Academy Awards, so I looked up for some sites in order to help me to predict them. I remember reading about the Shohreh vs. Renée battle here. I was glad when Renée finally won the Oscar but my relationship with the website became closer over the years. 

Your three favorite actresses

LUCIO: Meryl Streep: She can do anything, no matter what. Kate Winslet: she is a great dramatic actress. Made me cry in The Reader, smile in Eternal Sunshine and think in Revolutionary Road; Nicole Kidman: The Hours… probably the Best Performance by an Actress in History. “Always the years between us, always the love…always the hours”. Brilliant!

How often do you go to the movies?

I try to watch every single nominated movie. So I think thirty or forty a year. The movies here in Argentina arrive with a little delay, but they get here in time for Oscar night. 

Have you ever dated or broken up with someone because of the movies?

My partner and I met two years ago…and he didn’t know a thing about movies. Since he’s been with me, I think we've watched my complete wall of DVDs together and all the Oscar-nominated films each year and we watch the Oscars together. He has started to get a critical eye and now he and I can cry together with The Reader and I’m so happy about that. So now I have a movie fan boyfriend.

You've trained him well! Since you're such an Oscar nut, take one Oscar away from regift it.

Take away Jennifer Hudson's Supporting Actress Oscar and give it to Adriana Barraza for Babel.

Okay something less Oscary. Your first movie memory?

When I was probably 6 years old, my mother, my sister and I went to the cinema to watch Beethoven. I love dogs so the movie was great for me!  We were in the front row and our necks suffered a lot that whole week.

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