Scenes From a Marriage

       Scenes From a Marriage was director Ingmar Bergman’s 1973 six part mini-series with so much ruthless emotion that it has the ability make us question the components of modern day love. Bergman lets the viewer study the finest details of a single relationship in such a way that the intensity between the couple can be the plot of the story. With performances that are so realistic because of their depth facial expressions and their accurate tones of frustration, the audience can identify with Marianne (played by Liv Ullmann) and Johan (Erland Josephson) as the two go through the dissatisfaction of each other and the weariness of heartbreak.

       Within the chapters of Scenes From a Marriage, there is hardly any background noise or enough visuals to keep the mind engaged, which is perfect for the direct manner of the story. In fact, much of the episodes take place within two rooms of Johan and Marianne’s home. It is events in chapter three, called Paula, that the claustrophobic feeling between those walls plays a significant part when a crucial secret is revealed and Marianne’s view of love collapses on her.

       During the first scene of Paula, Johan returns home a day early from a trip and is greeted by Marianne with a warm hug as she offers to make him a sandwich. While the two of them are eating, Marianne casually discusses about being on a diet and how she does not understand why humans deny themselves gratification of food if it makes them happy. She looks upon Johan with eyes full of love like she cannot wait to grow old with him. Johan eats a few bites of his sandwich and stares down at his plate in shame as he discloses to Marianne that he has been having an affair.

       She does not react, as if she is unable to understand what her husband of ten years has just told her. Johan continues by adding that he is leaving for Paris with Paula for four to six months. Marianne finally responds, not with the anticipated anger or resentment, but with an act of desperation. The viewer can understand when she is asking questions about Paula that she not only wants to sympathize with Johan, but also Marianne wants to connect with him once more because she does not want to be abandoned.

       The sense of desperation is sharpened as Marianne pleads with Johan to spend one last night “as hers” in their bed. She tightly holds him after they fail to make love and Marianne finally acknowledges her heavy sorrow by crying against her husband. When Johan leaves the next morning, she finds herself in need to reach out to someone who will listen to what happened. Marianne discovers through her friend that numerous people knew about Johan’s affair and she at last shows anger by yelling through the phone and slamming it down.

        The viewer gets to see the frustration she has towards herself for not even suspecting her husband’s infidelity. With Johan gone and with nobody to speak with, Marianne discovers the meaning of loneliness. Scenes From a Marriage is worth watching because it begs us as a modern society to ask, what does it mean to love?

The Driver

       Walter Hill was both writer and director of the 1978 movie named The Driver. But do not let the simple title fool you into thinking, “Oh, it’s just going to be another corny 70’s picture that couldn’t stand the test of time.” The Driver is filled with action packed scenes that probably inspired a whole generation of abstract film making.

       Strong, violent violin music sets the tone of the atmosphere, which is joined by the squeal of tires as the sports car swerves around the street corner. The camera then focuses on The Driver (played by Ryan O’ Neal) who is calm and observant as a blue and white cop car chases after them with the sirens blasting. The two robbers in the backseat appear to be nervous and are constantly looking through the back window while O’ Neal is calculating his next move to get rid of each cop car that tries to catch him. It is after The Driver makes seven police cars crash and he disposes of the getaway vehicle in a dump yard that the viewer is convinced that O’ Neal’s character is the best in the business.

       Besides the fact there are no actual names in this movie, the abstract aspect shows through more when the detective, played by Bruce Dern, is introduced as the most unpleasant and talkative character in the film. During a police line up, Dern comes off as a dirty cop as he almost threatens The Player while she “could not” properly identify the driver and O’ Neal is free to go. The Detective somehow meets O’ Neal in a dark, secluded bar and tells him that he will catch the “cowboy that has never been caught” before he pours coffee on The Driver’s lap. This is the only time the viewer sees O’ Neal lose his temper and almost punches Dern.

       The Detective may seem as though he admires The Driver, but only because if he catches him, the detective’s reputation becomes higher. Dern is obsessed with the “cowboy desperado” and uses an illegal scheme in which he blackmails three captured burglars by giving them a choice of a 10 year sentence or hire The Driver for a set-up bank robbery. Needless to say, O’ Neal falls for the trap and after a few double-crosses, he is involved in the final car chase where he is trying to stop the man who stole his money from the locker. The Driver’s skills are put to the ultimate test as he drives an old, red pick-up truck against a tiger-stripped 70s sports car.

      Of course O’ Neal was able to crash the sports car by hiding from it in a warehouse and dodging at the car from the entrance way. Only in the movies can a car flip over and crash at high speeds into a hole and the bad guys walk out. The end surprises me because O’ Neal is about to be arrested, but the suitcase has no money inside. In this modern day world where comic book heroes dominate the theaters, movie goers hardly ever see the “bad guy” get away with their actions. Overall, The Driver is a movie worth watching and Hollywood should take it’s ending as an example.

One Republic

       With the help of the popular rapper-producer Timbaland, in November 2007 a soft rock band from the state of Colorado named One Republic released their debut album Dreaming Out Loud. If this band did not have a big-named producer backing them up, One Republic would have failed miserably. This album is lacking originality and the simplicity formula was used for a guaranteed hit record.

       One Republic consists of a typical lead singer that plays the piano and also the guitar (like we haven‘t seen that one before), a couple of other guitar players, a bass guitarist, and of course a guy who plays drums. There’s nothing wrong the band set up because all that should matter is the music, which is were the band fell to the deep end of mediocre. Anybody could sample each of the thirteen songs on One Republic’s album and not find a single one that stands out.

       Stopping on the seventh song named Tyrant, you are greeted with a smooth, mellow harmony that is then joined by an emotionless voice that hardly raises above the volume of the piano until the chorus about halfway through the song. That’s when the lead singer decides to actually use his vocal cords which sounds like a high pitched moan and starts to repeat the phrase “It feels so real from the outside.” And as if the guitar player was acting as an annoying little brother, the cords are almost to the point of shrilling as they blend together with the singer’s voice. Together they sound as though they are having a whining contest, each trying to win attention from anybody who will pay attention.

       Another song of One Republic is Apologize, which begins with yet another smooth melody, only this time a violin and cello are playing with people clapping. The singer uses his about-to-cry-voice, but then applies some emotion into the chorus. It would be a compliment if only you could understand what he was singing. You could clearly hear the stretched out phrase “It’s too late…” before the vocalist uses his high pitched tone to over emphasize the syllables of the next couple of words. Checking on the lyrics will reveal he says, “It’s too late to apologize.” Go figure. The name of the song is called Apologize.        

 

       If anybody does or could understand the lyrics, you will notice that they are semi-religious, which is just plain creepy if you place the lyrics randomly in a song about your love life. Observe from the song Mercy: “Angel of Mercy/ how did you move me?/ Why am I on my feet again?/ And I see you/ Whoa Whoa Whoa/ I feel you/ Whoa Whoa Whoa/ I‘m so lost in you.” Sadly, Dreaming Out Loud would put anybody to sleep after thirteen mildly intoxicating songs.