It's been my experience that most people have no idea how film critics do what they do, and the general public probably assumes critics' opinions are carved in stone rather than written in a material more amenable to revision. When I started as a critic in the late 1990s, I probably would have held a similar view about the endurance of the first impressions captured in an initial review. A verdict has been rendered, and that settles that. The need to assert authority on a subject can manifest in the form of more definitive statements, especially as a nascent critic and young adult.
As I've accumulated experience, I've come to realize how much I don't know and how works of art can transform depending on a variety of factors. My mood, age, fellow audience members, life circumstances, and foreknowledge, among a number of other things, can have a greater impact on how I evaluate a film than I may realize or want to admit as a measured, independent-minded person. I'm not suggesting no review is fixed or that altering one's opinions mean they were objectively wrong before. Rather, in developing our judgments critics should strive to account for the elements that become the filter through which we see what is on the screen. A negative review that becomes positive upon reconsideration, or vice versa, isn't a sign of critical failure or inconsistency but is indicative of the willingness to engage with the film at whenever the moment in time with it occurs.
The main focus of episode 18 of FILMBOUND is YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE, the new film from writer-director Lynne Ramsay. I enjoyed this dive into a grimy underworld--if enjoyed is the proper word for such an emotionally tough work--and left feeling as though perhaps I needed to reassess her previous feature, the 2011 drama WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN. I had a strong negative reaction to that film, and while I don't have any reason to distrust those feelings, I am also curious if I approached it from the wrong angle.
This happens occasionally. After being thoroughly surprised by how much I liked THE NEON DEMON, I questioned if my first assessment of Nicolas Winding Refn's ONLY GOD FORGIVES, which I thought was excruciating, needed to be challenged. Maybe it's merely my auteurist inclinations, a prescriptive framework that wishes to integrate and resolve the unfavored works with the favored.
Setting aside everything above, revisiting a film doesn't usually result in drastic reappraisals for me. Although I have made dramatic flips, it's more typical for me to feel mild shifts in degrees of enthusiasm than huge swings.
The discussion topic on this episode is an attempt to identify who are the biggest new movie stars to emerge in about the last twenty years and what even defines a star in today's Hollywood. I'm satisfied with the top two or three performers I name, but after that the task gets exponentially harder. I proposed the topic based on a prior conversation with my co-host in which he asserted that Chris Pratt belonged in that elite group, which I disagreed with. Maybe I convinced Paul otherwise because he didn't end up naming Pratt, and the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY star didn't even get mentioned on the podcast. My main reason for denying Pratt a spot among the biggest new movie stars is that he has yet to transcend franchise film roles. In the contemporary industry, that quality is probably the biggest factor in determining who is new to the A list.
A listener who has already heard this episode suggested Bradley Cooper, who neither of us brought up. As with a lot of the other names we kicked around, he probably merits consideration, but is he that big of a star? I'm not sure. In the time since recording this episode, I thought of a couple actors neither of us mentioned but probably should have: Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg. Notice that it's harder to identify the big stars since a little before the turn of the century than it would seem. In terms of social media fan intensity, Kristen Stewart would surely be fighting for a place as the biggest star of today, but that rabid support hasn't translated to robust box office totals for her non-TWILIGHT films. Are the stars just smaller but more numerous these days?
Upcoming episodes:
-May 30: AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR and our recommendations segment
-June 6: TULLY and a discussion about sequels, cinematic universes, and crossovers we'd like to see
-June 13: LIFE OF THE PARTY and our recommendations segment
-June 20: DEADPOOL 2 and a to be determined discussion
-June 27: SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY and our recommendations segment
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