Following all that Aim'est, there was an urgent need to get back to the reality of real life dramas, sourness & bitterness etc. What to pick? How about The American [IMDB; cinemagia; en.wikipedia]?
Is it a George Clooney classic?
I say yes - it's about life: Sour + Bitter + sometimes Sweet. I've always had that feeling in what I call George Clooney classics, e.g. Good Night and Good Luck [IMDB], Syriana [IMDB], Michael Clayton [IMDB], Burn After Reading [IMDB]. Note: although I haven't watched Up in the Air [IMDB] I suspect it falls in the same category, given the synopsis and trailer.
Do you know Clooney's voice? You know, that voice of Clooney that seems serious, but says in-between words I'm gonna trick you sooner or later or at least do it my way not yours. Besides the titles above, his voice sends the same message in Fantastic Mr. Fox [review: Liviu] or Ocean's 11-12-13 series... Well, here it seems only sad but still we get the I'm gonna do it my way not yours.
The story?
You know, it's that type of story that when leaving the theater you feel both relaxed and rather tired at the same time.
Cool things Clooney does during the movie:
- gathering stuff for the weapon, assembling the parts, testing it
- putting in a sad & stressed face all the time
- charming the 3 female (2 for sure, 1 just during the picnic after testing the weapon) characters with his sad face
- shooting the bad guys and killing them quick and smart, nothing hero & fancy-like
- dying at the end
Bonus: Clooney charms and/or interacts with 3 beautiful women: Irina Björklund [google image search], Thekla Reuten [google image search] and Violante Placido [google image search]. He's good!
Does it feel sad? Does it get close to an European-like movie?
Indeed, overall the movie seems sort of sad.
Yes, it is kind of European-like: Clooney gets close to that style (with the sadness and sex/nudity scenes), but he does not cross the limit - very smart of him, 'cause otherwise he would have received a bad review from me-the-almighty-irrelevant-critic that I am :D...
However, I must emphasize that you need to have the taste for such movies, since otherwise you might just think of it as a bad, boring & sad movie. It's really smart and profound actually, but you need to understand it.
... any good laughs?
Oh yes, of course. Many very good laughs. Beware they're very subtle, very different from the Hollywood style of producing laughter, i.e. they're subtly hidden - again, you must have the taste for such things... I totally enjoyed these subtle funny & ironic moments.
Clooney for Oscar?
Nominee? Well, yes, certainly. He does a great part.
Winner? I'd like that, yes. He's very good here.
Probably the committee would point out that this is clearly the type of parts he does very well (e.g. in Syriana and Michael Clayton it's roughly the same sadness coming out), therefore they might hesitate to award him - hey, they may want from an actor to have had several various great parts (and I don't think they count the Ocean's 11-12-13 series or his voice in Fantastic Mr. Fox) in order to award him/her, so I can't blame them if they refuse him the privilege of winning.
Conclusions
The American - a George Clooney classic, on the sourness & bitterness & sweetness of life; worth watching, indeed.
So, yes, see you at the next Clooney-classic!
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