Categories
Film/TV Movie Reviews

Movie Review: Ewan McGregor in Perfect Sense

Warning: Spoilers Abound

4 out of 5 stars

Yet another movie that I wouldn’t know existed if it weren’t for the amazing, VideoETA.com. You see VideoETA is a great resource for finding out both theatrical and home release dates of movies. Often while checking to find the date of a film I know about I discover hidden gems. These are often films that had a limited or direct to DVD release.

That was the case with Perfect Sense, also known as The Last Word. It is a perfect case of this, as the film was released in only 1 theater for 1 week. It was directed by David Mackenzie and written by Kim Fupz Aakeson. It was shot and set in Glasgow.

If you only saw the film’s cover you may just go in thinking that it’s a standard romantic drama but it’s so much more. This 2011 drama is the most disturbing movie that I’ve seen this year.

Ewan McGregor in Perfect Sense, screencap by Mary Miracle
Eva Green in Perfect Sense, screencap by Mary Miracle

The movie is about a horrifying disease that individually steals humans’ senses. As the film progresses, we gradually see and feel the characters lose their senses of smell, taste, sound, and finally sight. It’s implied that they will eventually lose touch as well.

Although the movie shows how this would affect large populations of people in various countries (most likely using stock footage of actual riots, etc, which is also incredibly disturbing) it mainly focuses on how this would affect us as individuals.

The movie focuses on Michael (Ewan McGregor), a chef with intimacy issues, and Susan (Eva Green), a scientist who is sick of men mistreating her.

Eva Green in Perfect Sense, screencap by Mary Miracle

Despite her annoyance at the interruption of a phone call, Susan first meets Michael when he bums a cigarette from her. Their meet-cute takes place easily since he is a chef at a restaurant right across the alley from her apartment.

Ewan McGregor and Eva Green in Perfect Sense, screencap by Mary Miracle

Despite her initial reticence at getting involved with a player, Susan decides to dine one night after hours with Michael. This is during the beginning of their loss of senses. This causes a very close connection between them as they simultaneously lose their sense of smell.

Perfect Sense, screencaps by Mary Miracle

As they lose more and more senses they rely on and fall for each other. This is incredibly romantic and seductive. They let down their defenses and tell each other things they’ve never told another soul because they can feel everything ending and need something honest.

Ewan McGregor and Eva Green in Perfect Sense, screencap by Mary Miracle

Want to go dancing?”
“Sure”
“Get drunk?”
“Sure”
“smoke cigarettes?”
“Always”

Despite the interspersed footage of riots and the horror of the situation, including the fact that as someone who has been studying this epidemic from the beginning, Susan admits that no one really knows what will happen next, for a while things are going better than normal for the characters. Why? LOVE, of course.

Perfect Sense, screencap by Mary Miracle
Perfect Sense, screencap by Mary Miracle

Unfortunately, before the loss of each sense, humans experience a heightened sense or emotion. So before the loss of hearing they become very angry and violent. This is when Michael scares and drives away Susan after yelling terrible things at her and then wrecking his own home.

This causes them to be apart during the horror of losing their hearing. However, they both try their best to enjoy life as they can. Michael eventually goes back to work and Susan learns to love her sister’s family (instead of just being jealous of them).

Ewan McGregor and Eva Green in Perfect Sense, screencap by Mary Miracle

“…and if there had been anybody left to see them, then they would look like normal lovers, caressing each others’ faces, bodies close together, eyes closed, oblivious to the world around them…”

With the impending loss of sight, our lovers realize how important love and being with those you love is. So they reunite as the darkness closes in.

Ewen Bremner (Spud in Trainspotting!) and Ewan McGregor in Perfect Sense, screencap by Mary Miracle

In addition to love overcoming the worst, we are also repeatedly presented with the idea that life goes on and humans learn to adapt. This is often shown to great effect at the restaurant where Michael works. For instance, when people lose their sense of smell, which is tied to taste, the chefs decide that they must increase the spiciness of the dishes to really give the customers flavor. Later as taste goes dining out is more about texture and feeling special as you spend time with a loved one and are waited on.

Perfect Sense is most definitely not an easy film to watch. In fact, you may cry. However, it’s incredibly touching, interesting, and innovative. It is a must-watch!

Note: I think this is an amazing movie. I just reserve 5 stars for movies with rewatchability. That rarely includes dramas, especially ones this heavy. I can’t see me watching this over and over.

Categories
Books

Book Review: American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee

3.5 out of 5

American Rose
A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee
by Karen Abbot
published by Random House
released on December 28, 2010 (hardcover) and March 13, 2012 (paperback)
provided by NetGalley

“America was flying high in the Roaring Twenties. Then, almost overnight, the Great Depression brought it crashing down. When the dust settled, people were primed for a star who could distract them from reality. Enter Gypsy Rose Lee, a strutting, bawdy, erudite stripper who possessed a gift for delivering exactly what America needed. 

With her superb narrative skills and eye for detail, Karen Abbott brings to life an era of ambition, glamour, struggle, and survival. Using exclusive interviews and never-before-published material, she vividly delves into Gypsy’s world, including her intense triangle relationship with her sister, actress June Havoc, and their formidable mother, Rose, a petite but ferocious woman who literally killed to get her daughters on the stage. 

Weaving in the compelling saga of the Minskys—four scrappy brothers from New York City who would pave the way for Gypsy Rose Lee’s brand of burlesque and transform the entertainment landscape—Karen Abbott creates a rich account of a legend whose sensational tale of tragedy and triumph embodies the American Dream.”

from Penguin Random House
Gypsy Rose Lee from Isabel Santos Pilot

When I first started reading this book I hopped right on Goodreads and exclaimed how awesome it is. I had never heard of Gypsy Rose Lee before reading this book. I chose it based on the cover and a sentence about the plot. I was immediately intrigued by her life.

Gypsy Rose Lee was a famous burlesque dancer. Not only did she live an interesting life but the history of her family is also fascinating. Once I dug into the book a couple of things bugged me about it. 

The book also includes a huge amount of info on the history of burlesque including a ton of info on the Minsky Brothers of NYC. While this was cool to learn about it detracts from Gypsy’s story. During the first 100 or so pages it seems like you’ll never really get into Gypsy’s story because the author is providing the backstory on everyone else. This reminds me of the quote from the movie Wonder Boys, “even though you’re book is really beautiful…it’s very detailed. You know, with the genealogies of everyone’s horses, and the dental records…”. I would guess that the author was having difficulty editing herself but I bet that she was simply so enamored with all of the details that she felt compelled to include them. 

My other issue with the book is that it jumps around back and forth between different time periods constantly. This combined with all of the extra info makes it a confusing read, especially when you are first starting the book. I once read a review of a film that used nonlinear storytelling and it said that if your story is interesting enough (and the format isn’t a part of the plot) then it’s unnecessary to format media in this way. I tend to agree.

I wanted to mention these issues in case you also went into the book a blank slate. Plus I wanted you to know why I took away 1.5 stars. Other than those issues I found the book fantastic. I particularly enjoyed how the author included slang from that time. The author also reconstructs scenes and tried to make you feel like you were there as events were happening. I think that she did this through a combo of investigation and assumption. This doesn’t bother me but some sticklers may take issue with it.

Gypsy Rose Lee at Key West International Airport. Photo from Jeff Broadhead Collection.

Gypsy herself, is amazing. Like my favorite movie heroine Nomi Malone, Gypsy is described as being untalented. Yet she was able to find a way into the spotlight. To give you a small amount of back story on her, her mother Rose was considered the ultimate stage mother who took Gypsy (then Rose Louise Hovick) and her younger sister June Hovick (then Baby June) on the road doing vaudeville as children. June was considered extremely talented, she was a natural dancer who also put a ton of effort into becoming even better. Meanwhile, Rose Louise was considered to just be there, basically, so she just did whatever was needed in an act. Their mother, Rose, often had an unpaid bevy of young men or young women who toured with them. 

Eventually, June went off on her own. Rose and Rose Louise continued to tour during the ebbing of vaudeville and found themselves smack in the middle of burlesque. Since there was money in it they created a burlesque celebrity out of Rose Louise, aka Gypsy Rose Lee, despite her mother’s initial objections to what she considered a tawdry profession. The book deals with all of this and the complex familial relationships between Gypsy, her mother, and her sister both before and after Gypsy’s rise to fame. 

Some describe this book as racy. It definitely goes there. You learn all about the behind-the-scenes workings of burlesque. I particularly enjoyed the nuggets on how the stripteasers and vaudeville acts pulled off some of their tricks. There are also several suspicious deaths. Plus you find out about the decency crackdown in NYC that affected burlesque and a few nuggets here and there about prohibition.

The story of Gypsy’s mom, Rose is crazy, as is her family history. The changing of her daughters’ names and personal histories is also disconcerting (example-cannibalism). 

I was so intrigued by this book that I had to watch both film adaptations of the musical Gypsy that was somewhat based on her life (the next remake will star Barbra Streisand!). I also intend to read Gypsy’s autobiography in the future. 

If you are interested in burlesque, vaudeville, and Gypsy Rose Lee (and her family) you should read this book.

Note: I was able to read a galley of this book for free via NetGalley and Random House. This doesn’t affect my opinion on it.