“Richard Brown: I wanted to be a writer, that’s all. I wanted to write about it all. Everything that happens in a moment. The way the flowers looked when you carried them in your arms. This towel, how it smells, how it feels, this thread. All our feelings, yours and mine. The history of it, who we once were. Everything in the world. Everything all mixed up, like it’s all mixed up now.”
When re-watching the Academy Awarding drama The Hours (2002) recently I could not think of a more eloquent way to describe why I wanted to start this blog than these beautiful lines crafted by screenwriter David Hare. Like Richard I too want to write about everything. And for me EVERYTHING is film!
Since I was a little boy, watching gothic Tim Burton movies and classic Disney animations, I have always known that there is something about the special about the film industry that just captivated my imagination for hours on end. As I grew up and my film preferences matured (however, never truly forgetting the magic of Disney or Burton for that matter), I was perplexed to find that the childhood feelings that I once thought would pass with time were still strong and only getting stronger the more I opened myself to the magic of motion pictures.
Whether watching a truth based drama (in the vain of Out of Africa, Titanic or The Social Network), an indie comedy/dramedy (including the recent examples of Little Miss Sunshine, Up in the Air or The Kids Are All Right) or a cinematic classic (Gone With the Wind, Casablanca and The Apartment springing to mind), I have always been lift in awe of the incredible creativity and love that each director, actor and screenwriter brings to their story. Their craftsmanship has always fascinated me and is something that I have always publicly wanted to appreciate and discuss (even with complete strangers).
So working on Richard’s mantra I want to write about it all. I want to write about everything films. Their stories, characters, music, settings, contexts, directors and their deeper lessons about life and what it means to be human. Alongside reviews, top 10 lists and an extensive awards season coverage, I hope to utilise this blog to dissect films from all eras in cinematic history in order to gain a truer appreciate about the film industry and why since the age of four I have never been able break its captivating spell.
The Film Dissection 