| Tuesday, October 22, 2013 Movie Review: Oscar inevitable for ‘lnev1table Defeat' August Lysy STAFF WRITER Among the streets of Brooklyn, while their mothers prostitute their bodies to fund their next fix, two young kids, Mister and Pete, must fend for themselves. Alone but for their friendship, Mister and Pete struggle each day for food and safety as they flee the intimidating—and inevitable—prospect of be— ing placed' 1n the prison of New York’s circuit of child services. This is the essence of director George Tillman Ir.s (“Men of Honor,” “Barbershop”) poignant film “The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete.” Taking an issue of contemporary im— portance, screenwriter Michael Starrbury has crafted a compelling and deeply-moving film that gives an unpretentious and sincere look at a cycle of neglect—both personal and famil— ial—that daily undermines the generations of our future. Though at times I found myself sud- denly conscious of the somewhat mediocre pace of the script; yet strangely, I accepted it and found myself captivated by the impressive charisma of the two main characters Mister Movie Review: (Skylan Brooks) and Pete (Ethan Dizon). In this regard, Brooks and Dizon deliver the best child performances I have ever seen in a film: truthfully understated and all the more affec- tive because of it. What further renders this film re- markable is its uncompromising tone. The moderate pacing reflects the reality of the sto- ry: a journey, not an adventure; the principle difference being that the events reflect their mundane life and do not attempt to impress us with any epic tinge. Yet, far from being tedious, the pro- fundity of the film’s events, what makes them so compelling, lies in their life and death stakes: Mister and Pete do not battle fantastic monsters—they struggle against the crushing momentum of social forces beyond their com— prehension. And this is something all viewers can relate to. In sum, “The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete” is captivating because it ap- peals to our universal need for love in a com— monly hostile world; unlike many social-con- scious films, it appeals to our hearts, not our socio-economic status. The honest humility of this story has made the American canon of film all the more better. Not-so subtle ‘Don Jon' August Lysy STAFF WRITER At one point in “Mere Christianity,” CS. Lewis asks the reader to imagine a scene completely foreign to our cultural experience: a strip-tease. Not a strip-tease of human flesh, however, but a strip—tease of mutton-chop; the slow and erotic removal of a sheet covering a plate of steaming-hot mutton. What would we think of those people, Lewis asks the reader? Surely, their instinct for food has gone awry. lust so—he relates—has our sex instinct. The metaphor is similar to, but not altogether fitting to be entirely imposed on, Ioseph Gordon-Levitt’s “Don Ion” (his full- length feature directorial debut.) Though Gordon-Levitt (who also wrote the film) has a similar message, his absurdist take is less sub~ tle and his message is focused more on sexual aberration in pornography addiction, per se, rather than sex-addiction as sexual aberration of human culture 'at large. This last point certainly does not aim to discredit Gordon-Levin’s product. On the contrary, “Don Ion” is incredibly refreshing in its style and voice; a welcomed departure from the Hollywood mold. Dealing with a typically taboo subject (i.e. pornography addiction), Gordon-Levitt tackles the subject courageous- ly and does not yield or pull any punches so as to fit the experience with our socially-puritani— cal posture towards it. Through its visually and psychologically-jarring lens, “Don Ion” shows us how pornography is a means to control, es- sentially an avoidance of the true vulnerability at the heart of any intimate relationship. The film’s progress (a bit meander- ing at times) is marked by the rapid display of lively—colored photos and video clips depicting the icons and sexual acts of Don’s (Gordon- Levitt) worship. These montages are not ex- plicitly pornographic, but they are not at all doctored—merely cropped—so the audience itself is forced to confront the very thing which . holds Don in an iron vice of habit, the demon with the two backs, if you will. The conclusion, as I alluded, is posi- tive (albeit, to me, in a somewhat mediocre way) and comes about through Don’s interac— tions with Esther, played by Julianne Moore— who, playing to her usual character, nicely captures the tragic depression of a woman who has lost all she loved. In each other they both find someone whom they can lose themselves in sexually—which sounds to me like a stilted, sexual compromise just slightly better than anonymous sex with strangers or getting lost in pornography, not the true human intimacy upon which relationships are formed, but small steps. In sum, Gordon-Levitt brings a fresh vision and voice to the screen. Though he leaves unfinished some plot strands (e.g. family, religion) and juggles awkwardly with thematic devices that bring some discordance to the film’s vision as a whole, Gordon—Levitt shows a lot of promise with “Don Jon” and will hopefully continue to shock, challenge, and entertain us for years in the future. Editor’s Note: This is the second of two TechNews movie reviews on “Don Ion.” [nevi twig-lei mfwt ai N/Iisters. ; ,nvawaaex ‘v Image courtesy of wattpad.com Titififii‘ rename MID 'fitfiEfifli .3! 3133393 'mamvm' ,1 ~ gflRBGN Image courtesy of imdb.com