Last weekend, I was thrilled to join The Chicks with Accents
(that’s Nikhat from Being Norma Jean; Mette from Lime Reviews and Strawberry Confessions; and Sofia from Film Flare) for an episode of their excellent Across
the Universe Podcast.
The Chicks generously let me choose the topic of
conversation, and I quickly settled on discussing our favorite films in which
women more or less lose their minds. As I say on the podcast, I promise I’m not
a masochistic son of a bitch who likes watching women suffer. I simply
appreciate the command of a great actress who can play a complex character so
well.
Pretty cool good sir, always nice to hear your thoughts on themes in films (though I do wish you had dived into that topic more instead of just listing stuff) it was interesting to say the least! Your defense of Confessions of a Shopaholic was definitely the highlight!
ReplyDeleteThanks for listening man. I get where you're coming from about discussing the topic more, rather than listing stuff. Obviously, I'm a fan of lists because it can clearly inform readers/listeners about some great movies that they may not have heard of or seen. It's like... I could write an essay about film topics instead of writing lists, but that doesn't seem as interesting to me. Hope that makes sense.
DeleteI thought Confessions of a Shopaholic was a great and unexpected pick. Never a bad idea to add a little levity to a list of such heavy handed films!
Oh I have no problem with lists (as you probably already know I'm a big fan of yours on here, and I've been known to make some lists of my own) I just thought it was a bit irksome when it was said that you guys were going to discuss the films, but it just wound up going through everyone's picks without a whole lot of discussion going on imo. No hate on the podcast or other bloggers though - all interesting picks for sure.
DeleteI gotcha man, no doubt. At any rate, I really do appreciate you listening!
DeleteGreat episode! You have such a nice voice and I loved hearing your thoughts, especially about Through the Glass Darkly, I've seen it years ago on the big screen - such beautiful cinematography - and I still remember those creepy final minutes.
ReplyDelete"What the hell is wrong with you, why did you tell me to watch that?!" - hahaha! :)
Haha thanks! Yep, I often offer disclaimers to my friends when I recommend a movie to them. Thanks so much for listening to the 'cast and for leaving such kind words here!
DeleteAwesome... I'm going to listen to that as they mentioned me in an episode when they did a piece on Sofia Coppola.
ReplyDeleteCool man. Yep, I remember them mentioning you too. Love this podcast.
DeleteThis is a terrific topic to discuss and I really enjoyed listening to this podcast. I don't know if you remember, but I love this theme on movies (and I’m not a masochistic son of a bitch who likes watching women suffer either), since the exploration of a woman's fractured psyche always offers to the viewer something extremely interesting to watch but most importantly think about. From Alfred Hitchcock and Ingmar Bergman to David Lynch and Darren Aronofsky, some of the greatest filmmakers of all time were fascinated from this plunge into the darkness that lies into the mind of a woman on the edge. I loved the way you approached this theme and I'd like to share with you my personal Top-10 of films featuring women on the verge of a nervous breakdown:
ReplyDelete1) Repulsion (1965) - Dir. by Roman Polanski
2) A Woman Under The Influence (1974) - Dir. by John Cassavetes
3) Magic Magic (2013) - Dir. by Sebastián Silva
4) Persona (1966) - Dir. by Ingmar Bergman
5) Blue Jasmine (2013) - Dir. by Woody Allen
6) Mulholland Drive (2001) - Dir. by David Lynch
7) Carrie (1976) - Dir. by Brian De Palma
8) Bug (2007) - Dir. by William Friedkin
9) Inland Empire (2006) - Dir. by David Lynch
10) Black Swan (2010) - Dir. by Darren Aronofsky
I really dig all of your choices man and I'd love to hear yout thoughts on my list.
Oh, I definitely remember that you enjoy movies of this kind as well. In fact, it was our talking about it that made me pose the topic to the ladies who run the podcast. I think you had just encouraged me to watch Magic Magic, and then I received their invitation and I thought, "Yeah, that'd be interesting to discuss."
DeleteYour list is perfect. Repulsion... man, I just rewatched that film, and it is so superb. Terrifying and magnificent. Also thrilled that A Woman Under the Influence is ranked so highly. GREAT list all around.
Holy shit, man, I feel so honored to hear that our talking inspired you to pose to the ladies a topic like that. Your conversation with them was really interesting and I loved, LOVED everything you said about "A Woman Under The Influence". It is a fascinating character study indeed and Rowlands' soul-baring peformance as Mabel will haunt me forever. I struggled a little bit between Cassavetes' film and Polanski's "Repulsion", but the latter finally prevailed, mainly because of the brilliant way the surreal, nightmarish, hallucinogenic world of Carol is presented. But yeah, I definitely love both films. So glad you liked my list. By the way, "Earrings" would top a similar list for short films. I really mean that, I was very impressed, buddy.
DeleteWow man, thanks! Very cool thing for you to say. My love for these kinds of films was the motivating factor in making Earrings. Movies like Repulsion, Blue, Cries and Whispers and Morvern Callar were huge inspirations. WAIT has some of this struggle as well, but it is far more internal. Emotionally devastating, as opposed to physically.
DeleteLooking forward to watch that, man. Can't wait for "Wait"! When do you think it will be ready?
DeleteHard to say, actually. I'm going to hit the festival circuit first, and they more or less dictate when you can release it to the public. So we shall see. But maybe I can set up a private Vimeo link and send it to you when it's done ;)
DeleteYeah man, that would be awesome. I wish you every luck with that film.
DeleteThanks again for coming on our podcast, Alex. It was bitchin' (haha beat you :P)
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I know that I'm super mature etc.
DeleteYou are! Some people aren't. For example they make noises when someone mentions Stephen in the podcast :)
DeleteThanks for having me on Nik! You ARE mature, believe me. Just a little silly... and there's certainly nothing wrong with that!
DeleteThanks for the heads up! I'm a few episodes behind, but I'll be sure to listen to this soon.
ReplyDeleteNice man! Cool that you listen to this too - I love their podcast.
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