52. Elizabethtown (2005) - Cameron Crowe
Elizabethtown (2005) - Cameron CroweDuring an outrageous memorial for a Southern patriarch, an unexpected romance blooms between a young woman and man. Sometimes I feel like Cameron Crowe only makes movies for me. As critics and movie audiences are very mixed on his cinematic output, I devour every last frame of anything he touches (apart from Almost Famous, which I thought was ok). Elizabethtown was my second most anticipated flick from last year (it wasn't going to be higher on the list than Batman!) but I was really worried how it was going to turn out. The movie was constantly delayed, casting changes were happening all the time, a mostly bad set of reviews were written at festivals meaning Crowe had to cut down his film and then there was the two leads..... Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. Well my worries came true on a couple of those things... Orlando Bloom really sucked in this movie, he was WAY out of his depth. I have a feeling I would have loved this movie so much more if it was a young Tom Cruise starring, the role seemed written for his acting style. Kirsten Dunst wasn't actually that bad, but still a stronger actress would have improved the flick ten fold. Still I can't get enough of Elizabethtown. I've watched it three times since it's release last October and each time the movie passes like a blur. The constant soundtrack of mega hits after mega hits that are so prelevant in Crowe movies...goes in overload here as their must be around 40 to 50 tracks used in the film. It's like nothing I've ever seen before, it's great. He creates "classic" movies that no-one bothers to make now in this cynical age. Classic stories of love and passion for life flow through every movie he touches. He truly is a modern day Billy Wilder. As usual with Crowe movies the themes and messages are very deep (Bloom is all but seconds away of commiting suicide in the most horrific of ways in the opening reel). The relationship between a father and a son is what the whole movie revolves around, and the worry that you never really know your father at all. It's also about a passion for life.... taking road trips to enjoy what a beautiful world we live in. Take a trip in your car at the weekend, drive as long as you like with your favourite records.... chill from the rush and strain of daily life. I go to see Cameron Crowe movies because they make me feel so good about life and myself. It's a classic reason for wanting to go to the cinema, but a one that is so welcomed in this day and age of the "profit" movie.