Guess Who?

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Why on earth a black girl with a father like Percy Jones wouldn’t inform her parents that her new boyfriend—indeed, her fiancé—is white before bringing him home is beyond me. But the opposite scenario (a white girl bringing home a black fiancé) worked well enough for the 1967 classic Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?; so why not try it again here?

Surprisingly, this film isn’t all that bad. Sure, it goes for the cheap laugh at times. It also relies a little too heavily on clichés—such as the controlling father who makes it practically impossible for his daughter’s suitor to meet his ever more ridiculous demands—and coincidences—fiancé Simon Green needs money, his future father-in-law just happens to be a loans officer. Even so, the film features a number of funny moments and several impressive performances, most notably from Bernie Mac, who radiates a delightfully dangerous intensity throughout. The female leads are also impressive, and even Ashton Kuchter isn’t all that bad as the sad sack fiancé.

Despite its levity, Guess Who? is not afraid to wade into the racial issues that made the original film so controversial. What this film seems to be saying is, as much as we try to deny it, race matters. The question is; what are we going to do about it? Pretend as if we don’t see people in terms of color, as Simon contends, or be up front about our biases and prejudices like Percy, even if it means hurting others? Obviously, neither position is healthy; and most of the film’s laughs arise from the characters’ struggle to find a balance between these two extremes.

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The Interpreter

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The Interpreter is that rare film that is not afraid to tackle adult topics in an adult manner. The fact that it does so within the confines of a highly commercial political-thriller formula makes its achievement even more amazing and delightful.

On the surface, the film is about a United Nations interpreter, Silvia Broome, who overhears a plot to kill an African dictator. Her accidental eavesdropping does not go unnoticed, and soon her life is threatened as well.

Enter Tobin Keller, the grief-stricken secret service agent assigned to protect her. (His estranged wife was just killed in a car accident.) As it turns out, Broome is bound up with grief as well, having lost most of her family to a terrorist bomb years earlier. So while the two don’t exactly hit it off at first, their sorrow soon creates a silent bond.

Grief isn’t the only thing these characters share in common. Broome and Keller also nurse a deep, unspoken desire for revenge. While Keller buries his anger in his work, Broome smothers hers with talk about how “Vengeance is a lazy form of grief.� Retribution may bring about temporary satisfaction, but in the end, it only leads to more suffering.

Noble words, but as Broome soon learns, such platitudes are easier spoken than lived out. When the opportunity for revenge presents itself, she is torn between her ideals and her desire to settle the score. This forces Keller to make his own difficult choice between finding vicarious satisfaction through Broome’s actions or helping them both come to terms with their grief once and for all.

Considering the fact that we now live in a world where terrorists fly airliners into skyscrapers, tough-talking politicians respond by promising to hunt down and kill those same terrorists, and many Christians bless the efforts of such politicians, I can’t imagine a more appropriate story for the times. As this film makes clear, the reality of violence cannot be avoided. But that does not mean we should allow it to dictate our actions. Nor should we succumb to the temptation of its efficiency by responding in kind. To put a new twist on G. K. Chesterton’s classic remark about Christianity, “Peaceful solutions to violence have not been tried and found wanting, they have been found difficult and not tried.� Or, to paraphrase Sylvia Broome, “Non-violent solutions may take longer, but the outcome is certainly worth the wait.� This film is a good reminder that perhaps we really should give peace a chance.

Part message movie, part big-budget thriller, The Interpreter is also an excellent example of how even a highly commercial film can impact hearts and minds for good, even if all you are looking for is a good night’s entertainment.

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Sin City

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"I feel traumatized, I feel embarrassed, I feel sick, I feel dirty. I've just seen Sin City, and I'm sorry."
--Excerpt from a voice recording I made on the way home from this film.

Three days later, I'm no longer sorry I saw Sin City. With Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarantino being some of my favorite writers/filmmakers, there's no way I could have missed it. But I think my comments above reflect how powerfully disturbing this film really is. I've never seen anything like it. I thought I had a strong stomach. I wanted to cheer after viewing Pulp Fiction for the first time. But even though I was a big Frank Miller fan growing up (he and Alan Moore are still two of my favorite writers), nothing I had read prepared me for this.

Sure, I knew all about the Sin City comics. Dismemberment, cannibalism, torture, murder, castration, suicide--this series has it all and then some. But there's something about seeing it up on the big screen that put me over the top. Maybe I'm not as tough as I like to believe.

That said, three days later the big question in my mind is still "Why?" Why push the limits so far? If this is the new mainstream, have we reached a new high or a new low? I know a number of people, including my fellow HJ reviewer Maurice Broaddus (whom I respect greatly) have sought to find the redemptive aspects of this film, noting how all three heroes in this function as Christ figures in their own twisted way. But it it takes more than a cross-shaped scar on your forehead to make you a Christ figure. As Peter Chattaway says in his review for Christianity Today, it's difficult to tell if the actions of Marv, Hardigan, and Dwight are actually redemptive or merely a fatalistic response to the inevitability of evil, as in "Kill or be killed." For example, Hardigan's death may buy Nancy some time--that is, it may save her from the villains who are pursuing her right now--but does he really think he can save her from Sin City itself? I don't think so. It's difficult to know if he is giving in or simply giving up.

Then there's Marv. Sure, he says the reason for his killing rampage is to avenge Goldie, a prostitute who gave him the best night of his life. He also appears to live by a strict moral code of sorts: "Before you kill someone, you have to be sure they're guilty." (Not much different than the State of California or any other state that allows capital punishment, now that I think of it.) But the amount of pleasure he derives from the blood and torture soon cast aspersions on the nobility of his quest. "It's the bad old days!" He says gleefully to his parole officer just before embarking on his unholy "crusade." Marv as a Christ figure? He's more like a bomb just itching for someone to set him off. Let's be serious: Does his death (and the numerous deaths he causes) really bring about redemption for anyone, least of all himself? I think his storyline serves better as a cautionary tale about how easily the quest for justice can turn into a hunt for vengeance. If Marv is Christ, I'll take door number two.

Dwight is a bit closer to the mark for me in that he actually tries to avoid killing anyone. He also has a nobility about him in that he risks his life to save others--particularly those whom most people in society view as the dregs: prostitutes. But even he capitulates to the "kill or be killed" fatalism in the end, helping his girlfriend mow down a group of criminals lest they upset the uneasy balance that allows the prostitutes in Old Town to conduct business independently. Even he is not pro-life.

So, let's not fool ourselves: Despite a veneer of redemption, Sin City is a film that glories in every blood-soaked moment of depravity it depicts. I'm still not sure why the film exists. To urge us not to trust authority and to think for ourselves? To showcase Rodriguez considerable artistic and technical ability? To remind us of the sinfulness and depravity at the core of every human soul? I'm for all of these things. However, this film makes me wonder at what point the desire to depict evil accurately begins to create a fascination--in the filmmakers and the audience--for the very evil they are trying to warn people against. As a case in point, three days ago I was traumatized. Three days later, I'd like to see Sin City again. Hmm... I wonder what that says about me...

—Overview
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—About this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections