Portfolio
MY PUBLISHED WORK
“A Japanese Bull in a China Shop”
Toshiro Mifune and the Art of Failing On-Screen
BRIGHT WALL/DARK ROOM
"I think there’s something in that, that idea of an actor’s most famous performances bleeding into the audience’s perception of their personhood. Mifune himself exists in my mind in a state of perpetual stasis, a sort of constantly shifting whirlwind of clenched fists, furrowed eyebrows, mouth set in a straight line. There is not a definitive version of him that I hold dear above all others. He is equally real to me as a shoe tycoon and a bandit, a farmer’s son and a gangster, a noble doctor and a murderous tyrant. It feels like a somewhat perverse compliment, but watching him fail is, to me, one of the great cinematic pleasures."
“As Bizarre and Erotic as Possible”: Is ‘2046’ (2004) Wong Kar-Wai’s Sci-Fi Movie?
FLIP SCREEN
"Beyond these easily quantifiable parameters – stars, crew, production – it’s difficult to explain what, exactly, 2046 is. 2046 is not Wong Kar-wai’s first attempt at a pseudo-sequel, nor his first film to weave together a series of interconnected vignettes. It’s not even his first film to dispense with traditional notions of linear chronology. Nonetheless, it gives the impression of something totally different for the Hong Kong auteur."
"Are We or Are We Not Alcoholics?": What 'Another Round' Gets Right About Alcohol
FILM CRED
"Vinterberg’s often hilarious, frequently piercing, ultimately life-affirming dark comedy brought my grandpa back to me in a rush. He is not there fully realised, of course, but I catch glimpses of him, shimmering fragments of his personhood reflected through the lens of those four lonely men giggling and play-fighting like children."
George Cukor: A 'Woman's Director?'
BRIGHT WALL/DARK ROOM
"I think that it’s important to be cautious when it comes to denigrating films which people really, genuinely adore. Immense popularity does not invalidate artistic merit, and it saddens me to see Cukor’s films analyzed with the caveat that they are studio productions. Cukor wanted his films to be seen by thousands, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. If anything, this tension—between his genuine artistry and his desire to communicate with the wider American public—makes his films all the more interesting; A Star is Born, for example, acknowledges Hollywood’s allure and beauty, and yet viciously, vehemently hates it for that very same seductiveness."
A Movie Star Doesn't Disappear
JUMPCUT ONLINE
"Stewart was a great movie star in the sense that he did not necessarily need to transform – sometimes, merely rotating the prism of public persona so that it reflects light differently is enough. In certain circles, there is the idea that because the ability to transform is not requisite in becoming a movie star, movie stars cannot act. This is a common misconception. What stars excel at is filtering roles through the lens of themselves and their persona, and enhancing the requisite qualities which they already possess."
'Fantastic Mr. Fox' and Being Different
FILM DAZE
"Adolescence is painful. Ash is so easy to warm to in part because he radiates hurt. It is common, as a teenager, to put a front up to protect yourself, but everything about Ash is raw and exposed — all his anger, sadness, and confusion bubbles up to the surface and spills over in an intensely cathartic manner. It’s something most teens simply can’t do, they’re bound by a sense of duty to refrain from such outbursts in the company of friends and family. When Ash screams “where’s MY bandit hat!?” at his nonplussed father, it’s hard not to empathise. Sure, it amounts to nothing more than a petty argument. But there are moments in adolescence when everything becomes too much, and pain that has been allowed to fester inside comes pouring out."
"Are You Scared?” “All the Time.” – Premature Transition to Adulthood in 'Au Revoir Les Enfants'
FILM DAZE
"This same sense of fear undercuts the film at large; its elliptical, fragmentary nature seems to testify to a childhood shattered by trauma, a man reflecting on his youth and recalling a combination of mundanity and horror. Petty arguments about who deserves the last biscuit jostle alongside virulent anti-Semitism – a disarming, discomfiting summation of the way in which the boys have been forced into premature adulthood."