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8A - Monday, January 23, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
8A - Monday, January 23, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
FILM REVIEW
Soderbergh slips up
FiLM REVIEW
Biopic carried by Streep
Star-studded
'Haywire' trods
along without a plot
By ADITI MISHRA
Daily Arts Writer
Actors seem to share a mag-
netic connection with Steven
Soderbergh ("Contagion")
these days -
oh wait, they
always have.
From "Ocean's
Eleven" in 2001
to last year's At Quality16
"Contagion," and Rave
everyone,
from Brad Pitt Relativity Media
("Moneyball")
to the venerable Kate Winslet
("Carnage"), has flocked to work
with Soderbergh in films flood-
ed with A-list actors. And that's
probably because he tends to
deliver. The snappy scripts, mys-
terious cinematography and cool
soundtracks that have come to
define Soderbergh's films almost
always pay off at the box office
and beyond.
That is, of course, almost
always. Not this time. It's painful
and pitiful to admit "Haywire"
lacks the style and elegance of a
Soderbergh feature - so much so
that even Michael Douglas ("Wall
Street: Money Never Sleeps"),
Ewan McGregor ("Begin-
ners") and Hollywood's newest
obsession Michael Fassbender
("Shame") couldn't make this film
the slightest bit intriguing. Nei-
ther could the mystery and antici-
pation surrounding the casting of
MMA fighter Gina Carano in the
lead role. Yeah, the girl had some
great action sequences that she no
doubt orchestrated. But looking
past the fight scenes and Carano
herself, the movie really has noth-
ingsubstantial to offer.
At a closer glance, the prob-
lem with "Haywire" is quite
"This is howI tell people I care."
simple: It lacks a plot. And that's
truly disappointing because
Soderbergh's ventures usually
have a lot more than just star-
studded casts - they're also
identified by those little myste-
rious twists that make his films
so captivating to watch. More
disappointing is that this film
had so much potential for some
smartly placed twists and turns.
In spite of its ridiculously
large and supremely talented
cast, "Haywire" revolves around
Carano's character Mallory. It's
a tad bit ironic, seeing as Carano
is the least talented actor (but
she's not an actress, so can we
blame her?). Mallory gets caught
up in her employer's "mysteri-
ous" plot to kill her and is forced
to make a hasty escape. She's
sent on a mission to rescue a
kidnapped journalist in Barce-
lona, but little does she know
that it's all a scheme to convict
her of other people's crimes.
At this point, you might ask for
the motives behind such a devi-
ous conspiracy. But in this film,
there are none. Except money,
maybe, but that's definitely not a
compelling premise on which to
base a two-and-a-half hour film.
The rest of the film has Mal-
lory hunting down those who
wronged her, leading to the
untimely death of almost all of
the film's remaining characters.
McGregor, Fassbender, Douglas
and Channing Tatum ("Dear
John") apparently agreed to
play some of the most insignifi-
cant characters of their careers
- a testament to the power of
Soderbergh's credibility (which
might, after this film, come
under a little bit of scrutiny). To
say the talents of such big names
were wasted would be an under-
statement.
At the end of the day, Soder-
bergh only had eyes for Carano.
Her daring moves were the sole
reason that half the audience
didn't walk out of the cinema.
But Soderbergh should have
realized that she isn't enough to
drive a film. There was action,
but no story. Why were the bad
guys after Mallory? Why did
they conspire against their best
agent? These were the questions
the voice in the trailer asked, but
the film failed to answer.
"Haywire" had neither the
special effects of an action film
nor the story of a thriller. Ulti-
mately, it was a mediocre attempt
at an "Ocean's"-meets-"Bourne"
enterprise that did nothing for
anybody involved. It's at this
point that Mallory's most cheesy
and annoyingly unforgettable
line comes to mind: "You better
run." From this film, definitely.
ByAKSHAY SETH
Daily Arts Writer
Can impersonation be so good
that it bends the line separating
fact and fiction? So brutally hon-
est that it incites
more questions
than it attempts
to answer? As The Iron
Meryl Streep Lady
("Doubt") con-
firms in "The At Qualityl6
Iron Lady," and Rave
we really can
be brought to The Weinstein
question what Company
we know - or
think we know - to be fact.
No doubt about it: Meryl Streep
is freaking awesome. But no mat-
ter how well-executed the por-
trayal of its protagonist, "The
Iron Lady" is a dull and scattered
affair. Director Phyllida Lloyd
("Mama Mia"), in an attempt to
create a balanced depiction of
Margaret Thatcher, spends too
much time focusing on the incon-
sequential aspects of the former
Prime Minister's life. We get too
much about the husband and chil-
dren Thatcher left behind and
virtually nothing concerning the
polarizing political policies she
put in place as the first female
leader of Great Britain.
And it's unfortunate, because
the same gender stigmas Thatch-
er challenged with her appoint-
ment are painfully apparent in
this movie. The telling of a male
leader's story wouldn't require
ceaseless commentary about his
shortcomings as a father and hus-
band. Nor would it breeze over the
better part of said leader's politi-
cal undertakings via a meaning-
less montage sequence.
But in "The Iron Lady," that's
exactly what happens, leaving the
audience with a typical rags-to-
riches story of a grocer's daughter
going off to college, and eventu-
ally, tentatively dipping her foot
into the political arena.
01
"lve switched to contacts."
The film is a tedious, boiler- character never shows up, and all
plate biopic that takes itself too we're left with is Lloyd's agoniz-
seriously and struggles to hold ingly deliberate style of direction.
on to our attention as it stumbles The constantly moving cam-
across the finish line. The most era and changing line of vision
frustrating part is that it wouldn't seem intriguing at first but begin
have been completely meaning- looking more and more forced as
less if Lloyd and screenwriter Abi the film progresses. By the time
Morgan ("Shame") spent some we get to the last few scenes, the
time adding life to Thatcher's sur- dialogue feels suffocated - a con-
roundings. sequence of heavy-handed direc-
tion that doesn't allow the script
a chance to flow naturally. And
M argaret once the end credits roll, we end
up feelingsad for two reasons: for
Thatcher's life the seven perfectly good dollars
we'll never get back again, and for
without its the Oscar-worthy performance by
Streep that goes to utter waste in
spark. the hands of an average director
and an unexceptional script.
Undoubtedly, Streep's por-
trayal will leave a lasting impact
If there was a character other on anyone who watches this film
than Thatcher's dead husband and has some recollection of how
(Jim Broadbent, "Harry Potter galvanizing a figure Margaret
and the Deathly Hallows") - Thatcher really was. Unfortu-
whose ghost shows up from time nately, the discerning character
to time to offer sage advice - that analysis we've come to expect
had been thoughtfully developed, from Streep isn't enough to make
the film could've gone in a dif- this film anything more than a
ferent direction. Sadly, such a dreary symbol of mediocrity.
in
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