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6A - Monday, October 31, 2011
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycart
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6A - Monday, October 31, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycorri
Overdose of'Rum'
'Margin' hits the jackpot
Stellar cast can't get
past the alcohol in
Caribbean-set film
By ADITI MISHRA
Daily Arts Writer
When success eludes even the
most talented of men, the only
chance of sanity lies in a change
of scenery. For
Paul Kemp **
(Johnny Depp,
"Pirates of the The RUM
Caribbean"),
struggling writ-
er and chronic At Quality 16
alcoholic, this and Rave
change comes
in the form of FilmDistrict
Puerto Rico -
and what follows in the film is a
sweet amalgamation of every-
thing savage and seductive. Yet
the pandemonium of '60s Puerto
Rico, with its opportunistic expa-
triates, poverty-infested streets
and rum galore, yields a film too
caught up in the insanity of its
own premise to serve any sub-
stantial purpose.
Fresh from the "Pirates" series,
Depp returns to the Caribbean
with yet another intoxicating per-
formance, this time as an aspiring
journalist. But the journalist and
pirate-have one thing in common
an undisputed affection for
rumJWith two unfinished novels
and no significant career to his
name, Kemp has an unsurpris-
ing affinity for alcohol. What's
surprising is the sheer amount
consumed in the movie. From fin-
ishing 150 miniatures in his hotel
room to drinking "470 proof alco-
hol" - which apparently exists
- Kemp assures that "The Rum
Diary" lives up to its name.
Whenhe'snot drinking,Kemp's
out looking for a story that will
allow him to -be taken seriously,
as a journalist. Puerto Rico, how-
ever, has different plans. Kemp
"We're going to commandeer this motorcycle. Nautical term."
is soon tangled in a plethora of
distractions dispersed through-
out the island, like the beautiful
Chenault (Amber Heard, "Drive
Angry 3-D"). As the girlfriend of
businessman Sanderson (Aaron
Eckhart, "The Dark Knight"),
Chenault represents the elusive
blonde bombshell who captivates
every new soul in town. Heard
plays the part with ease, but her
vulnerable expressions quickly
become monotonous. Then again,
it's hard to stand out when you're
acting opposite Depp or the flaw-
less and convincingly egocentric
Eckhart.
Still, it's difficult to care for
any of the characters. Ultimately,
Puerto Rico and rum outshine the
brilliance of the actors. The script
skims the superficial end of com-
edy by offering some truly hilari-
ous moments and no context as
to why they're significant to the
plot.And the reason for this comic
relief is always the same - rum.
Kemp gets drunk, ventures into
some hostile part of Puerto Rico
and gets into trouble. When he's
not getting into trouble, he's get-
ting out of it, and we never know
why this is happening.
Kemp's discovery of injustices
being committed by Sanderson in
thesecondhalfofthe movieseems
like the light at the end of the tun-
nel. Finally, there's some reason
for his existence. Speculations
are made as to how he's going to
bring these injustices into the
spotlight. But no such thing hap-
pens. The movie ends as abruptly
as it started, and one walks out of
the theaterunfulfilled,wondering
what just happened. "The Rum
Diary" is like a roller coaster that
loses feeling just when it reaches
its peak.
It's a classic example of a film
that took so long to make that at
some point, director Bruce Rob-
inson ("Jennifer Eight") forgot
its purpose. The characters and
events drown in a sea of rum and
drugs, and even the grueling yet
enthralling streets of Puerto Rico
can't inspire the hazy premise
on which "The Rum Diary" was
based.When Depp, an actor who's
built his career on iconic charac-
ters like Edward Scissorhands
and Jack Sparrow, can't make the
audience care about Kemp, there's
obviously something wrong with
the movie.
In the end, "The Rum Diary" is
a forgettable tributeto the life and
work of Hunter S. Thompson and
leaves a lot to be desired.
By AKSHAY SETH
Daily Arts Writer
At a key moment in "Mar-
gin Call," the recent Wall Street
thriller by newcomer J.C. Chan-
dor, Paul Bet-
tany's ("Priest")
character gazes
down from Margin Call
the ceiling of
a Manhattan At the
skyscraper, tee- Michigan
tering on the
brink of suicide. Lionsgate
As he decides
whether or not to follow through,
he states, "No one really cares
whether or not we die. The only
thing that actually matters is if we
fell or if we jumped."
The movie relies heavily on
these uniquely contemplative
periods of questioning to set the
tone for its view of Wall Street.
That view, heavily grounded in
the personalities of the people
behind the scenes, is surprisingly
sympathetic to the same guys
society has learned to despise. For
the first time, audiences experi-
ence the financial crisis through
eyes of the individuals who know-
ingly engineered it.
Unlike ever before, this is a
chance to see how they justified
it to themselves when no one else
was watching. And with that per-
sonal touch, the movie gets us - it
makes us care about the charac-
ters, no matter how greedy, inse-
cure or materialistic they may be.
The plot picks up in the early
stages of the 2008 recession as
an unnamed and fictional invest-
ment firm lays off 80 percent of
its workforce. One of the many
casualties is Eric Dale (Stanley
Tucci, "Captain America: The
First Avenger"), a risk analyst who
stumbles upon aseeminglyimper-
ceptible flaw in the firm's most
profitable investment package. As
he makes his way out of the build-
ing, he hands over his unfinished
work to coworker Peter Sullivan
(Zach
with
"Be c
Aft
Sulliv
able
execu
ers, r
recorc
demis
Th
up th
ing at
w
endin
Irons
matel
stock
wise
betw
Roger
Beaut
moral
guy w
impli:
of do
into t
Th
most
ary Quinto, "Star Trek") since "Reversal of Fortune," hi
the simple parting message: character is made all the morl
areful." striking due to the portrayals b'
er some number crunching, Bettany and Spacey. The thre
'an finds out the unnotice- personalities onscreen comT
crack, ignored by countless across as the perfect counterpart
tives and senior manag- to each other: Tuld as the confit
uns deep through the firm's dent realist willing to accept the
d books, signaling certain wicked nature of his professiorn
se for the entire company. Rogers as the moralist struggling
e message gradually travels to fight apathy and Emerson as
e chain of command, start- the careerist slowly losing belief
Will Emerson (Bettany) and in decency.
Chandor's powerful script
allows for this character interact
all Street bad, tion, without which this would
just be another talky workplace
cast good. drama. Instead, it's a complex
multifaceted story carried b*
astute directing and brilliant
acting. The dialogue doesn't get
g at CEO John Tuld (Jeremy stale and never strays too far into
"Appaloosa"), who ulti- complex financial lingo, always
y sells all of the worthless managing to hold on to the audi
in order to prevent other- ence despite the lengthy nature o
unavoidable bankruptcy. In some scenes.
een is head of trading Sam At the end of the day, it's all
rs (Kevin Spacey, "American about the spectacle of watchr
:y"), who serves as the sole ing unfold the decision-making
1 voice in the entire film, the process that lead to the larges
who understands the ethical financial crisis since the Grea
cations of releasing millions Depression. Expectedly, no one
liars' worth of toxic assets in the story is particularly likable
he market. But for the 105 minutes this filn
ough Irons delivers his runs, there's never a chanceto for
scene-stealing performance get they really do have souls.
"I'm tired of these motherfucking protestors on this motherfucking Wall Street.
4
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