OF A GOLDEN AGE

My best ladyfriend and I attempted to see Slumdog Millionaire on Saturday, but the 3:00 show was sold out, so we asked after Frost/Nixon, which was also sold out, and settled on unexpected third choice Doubt. This movie blew me away — it was tense and serious, slow-moving but riveting, and the actors involved were all fantastic. Phillip Seymour Hoffman steals the movie in two important scenes: one with Amy Adams in which his character defends compassion and love; and the other in which he bellows at Meryl Streep while defending himself. I’ve never seen PSH like this, with the energy turned all the way up.

Today I met my good friend and her baby for lunch near the same movie theater, and when I went over there afterward the 3:00 showing of Slumdog Millionaire was sold out again. This time Frost/Nixon was not, though it eventually got very crowded. (Isn’t it funny how we hate sitting next to each other at movies, without a one-seat buffer?) On one side of me, an adorable elderly woman fell asleep and snored, and on the other side, an obnoxious couple popped bubblegum and talked throughout the movie. That said, Frost/Nixon is a great movie too. It features many gifted character actors and no real stars (besides maybe Kevin Bacon, who’s better in this than in most of his previous work partially because his character has such restraint), and Ron Howard nimbly pumps the historical truth full of feature-film verve — these interviews are compelling stuff, and he finesses their natural storyline into a compelling arc.

Both Doubt and Frost/Nixon are what my dad might call grown-up movies. They move at a natural pace and are character-driven, with powerful, but not overpowering, climactic scenes and well-timed comic relief. Each is populated by a cast of talented, mature actors, with the possible exception of Amy Adams in Doubt, though she is perfectly cast as a wide-eyed, idealistic naif and performs her role with beautiful understatement.

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