'King Kong' opens with Al Johnson's, 'Sitting On Top Of The World'. It serves as a foreshadowing for what's to come, but also a remark on the moment in time the story is set. We're dropped in the middle of New York in the 30's - a hustling, bustling part of the country, during the depression, when many were impoverished. This often gave false hope to many young starving families. The foreshadowing is also a huge wink to the audience. It's a very self-aware movie riddled with juicy Easter eggs.
Within the first 5 minutes, we meet Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) and learn everything we need to know about her through some clever editing and dialogue. We already feel like we've gone through a big event in her life with her by the time we cut to the next main character. In the following scenes, we meet Carl Denham (Jack Black) - a determined film-maker, justifying the investment for his grand opus to some suits.
The juxtaposition between these two scenes is delightfully well-played out by Peter Jackson's direction. Ann's a performer in the theatre - desperately trying to bring a smile to a bare minimum audience. Only to fail because of the depression that's scourging the nation. Such sad and sorry moments for a character who should be pulling our grin from ear to ear. As for Carl, he performs for the execs with a stern delivery - also desperate, but in this case to sell his vision. What should stereotypically play as a dramatic moment for the aspiring film-maker ends up being riddled with real comedy; humour In the way he's ridiculed and looked down upon by the money men.
And that's not to say that comedy isn't present throughout the film - Jackson's crammed multiple genres into this gem to lasting effect. It goes to show how quick and implicit Jackson can be with his emotional pull, while still keeping us fixated on the core elements of his story. And at the root of that story is a relationship of love and pain - with a beast that's more human than monster.
Peter Jackson could do no wrong after his 'Lord Of The Rings' trilogy took the box office by surprise, and this passion project that made over $500 million at the box office went to show lightning could strike more than once (or three times for that matter). If you like visual effects, stories like beauty and the beast and foreboding moments that feel larger than life, 'King Kong' is 3 hours of full-throttle adventure - with a fantastic tale to boot.
Within the first 5 minutes, we meet Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) and learn everything we need to know about her through some clever editing and dialogue. We already feel like we've gone through a big event in her life with her by the time we cut to the next main character. In the following scenes, we meet Carl Denham (Jack Black) - a determined film-maker, justifying the investment for his grand opus to some suits.
The juxtaposition between these two scenes is delightfully well-played out by Peter Jackson's direction. Ann's a performer in the theatre - desperately trying to bring a smile to a bare minimum audience. Only to fail because of the depression that's scourging the nation. Such sad and sorry moments for a character who should be pulling our grin from ear to ear. As for Carl, he performs for the execs with a stern delivery - also desperate, but in this case to sell his vision. What should stereotypically play as a dramatic moment for the aspiring film-maker ends up being riddled with real comedy; humour In the way he's ridiculed and looked down upon by the money men.
And that's not to say that comedy isn't present throughout the film - Jackson's crammed multiple genres into this gem to lasting effect. It goes to show how quick and implicit Jackson can be with his emotional pull, while still keeping us fixated on the core elements of his story. And at the root of that story is a relationship of love and pain - with a beast that's more human than monster.
Peter Jackson could do no wrong after his 'Lord Of The Rings' trilogy took the box office by surprise, and this passion project that made over $500 million at the box office went to show lightning could strike more than once (or three times for that matter). If you like visual effects, stories like beauty and the beast and foreboding moments that feel larger than life, 'King Kong' is 3 hours of full-throttle adventure - with a fantastic tale to boot.
Comments
Post a Comment