8A - Monday, February 4, 2013

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.cam

8A - Monday, February 4, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

FILM REVIEW
Elegant'Rust and Bone'
By ADITI MISHRA
Daily Arts Writer

Simply put, "Rust and Bone" is
a touching, poetic story of people
who've been dealt a bad hand in
life. There's
no build-up B+
to a climax,
no twists and Rustand
turns and no Bone
jaw-dropping
end -this could At State
be the story Theater
of any- of our
lives, but what Sony
makes this film
so endearing is
that we'd all like our stories to be
told in such a tasteful way.
Stephanie (Marion Cottilard,
"Inception"), a marine-life train-
er, gets into an accident when a
whale knocks down a stage dur-
ing a show, causing her to lose
both legs to the very job she loves.
Meanwhile, Alain (Matthias
Schoenaerts,"Bullhead"), a man
between jobs, moves to his sis-
ter's home with his five-year-old
son to start a new life in southern
France. Stephanie and Alain, hav-
ing met at a bar before her acci-
dent, become unlikely friends as
Alain helps Stephanie out of her
inhibitions and encourages her to
turn a new leaf. But his own life is
far from perfect - built-up anger
causes Alain to partake in street
fighting for money and fun, tear-
ing him apart from his son.
Stephanie and Alain are two
adults growingup into their new
lives. They're figuring out who
they are together, finding out
what they want to do and dis-
covering their passions all over
again. They screw up aplenty,
but they help each other back on
their feet - literally and meta-
phorically. Built around a purely
human foundation of insecuri-
ties, friendship, sexual attraction,
confusion and depression, "Rust
and Bone" is hard to watch with-
out shedding a tear or two.
Despite having an ordinary

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"This one's going on Instagram."

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"You're my favorite dildo."
'30, Rock' signs 0off
with style and. skill

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director Jacques Audiard's film brings him under the spot-
'rophet") innocent vision light west of the Atlantic Ocean.
the actors' performances Director Jacques Audiard's
this film a captivating and ("A Prophet") film, based loose-
erking watch. Ever since ly on the short stories of Craig
orld discovered her talents Davidson, succeeds because of
a Vie en Rose, Cotillard Audiard ability t bringthese
elivered one flawless per- tales together to make some-
nce after another, tackling thing poignant and rooted in
busters like "Inception" and reality. While the film wanders
er indie films like "Rust and without a clear point of view,
'with equal ease. She hasn't the wanderlust acts in its favor,
ed anywhere, and this film even when the .film becomes
exception. There's no doubt as befuddled as its characters.
Cotillard's was one of the The film takes its time with the
powerful performances story, and features close-ups and
ed by the Oscars this year. soundtracks that are masterfully
the film itself wasn't able executed to evoke an emotional
ner a Best Foreign Feature response. No stranger to mak-
nation. ing heartfelt movies, Audiard
transforms "Rust and -Bone" 's
ordinary story into something
journey of extraordinary by extracting
great performances and using
lf-discovery his camera to its optimal poten-
tial.
This film's audacity lies in its
simplicity. "Rust and Bone" is a
aking of performanc- story about loss, suffering, hap-
d be a crime to overlook piness and recovery - an overall
ard's Belgian co-star imperfect movie about messed-
maerts in one of the best up people. But the imperfection
mances of his career. is almost poetic, as the film's
dy one of Europe's most message is as plain as the cliche:
ts faces, here's hoping this Nobody's perfect.

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A fitting farewell
for Liz Lemon
and the gang
By KAYLA UPADHYAYA
ManagingArtsEditor
"30 Rock" could have eas-
ily ended things with "A Goon's
Deed in a Weary World." Equal
parts hilari-
ous and sen- A+
timental, the
Jan. 24 episode 30Rock
ushered in Liz
Lemon's (Tina Series Finale
Fey) new TGS- Review
free life with NBC
the arrival of
her adopted
children, who turn out to be tiny
versions of Tracy Jordan (Tracy
Morgan) and Jenna Maroney
(Jane Krakowski), the real kids
Liz has been raising for the past
seven years. Kenneth the Page
becomes Kenneth the President
of NBC, a fitting fate for the
character, especially since it was
once prophesied: In the show's
very first season, Jack remarks
that, in the end, he'll either be
the one working for Kenneth or
dead by his hand. Everything
about "A Goon's Deed" screams
finality in the best way possible.
But this is Liz Lemon, damnit
- even great isn't good enough.
So, we get an additional two-
part finale that somehow out-,
performs its prelude.
One of the Dalai Lama's rules
for living is that you have to
learn the rules to know how to
break them. No other show lives
by this principle quite as superb-
ly as "30 Rock," which bends the
rules all the time. But it'sbecause
the cast and crew have mastered
all the rules of comedy that they
can break them to huge success.
With larger-than-life characters
and truly wacko plotlines, Fey
made the madcap mainstream,
changing the entire equation for
what makes great television.
"30 Rock" rejects the notion
that every sitcom needs a will-
they-won't-they couple, instead
building a workplace relation-

ship between Jack and Liz that,
through the years, became the
emotional centerpiece of the
series. In "Hogcock!," the first
half-hour of the finale, both
parties confront personal cri-
ses: Jack doubts he'll ever find
complete fulfillment, and Liz's
ongoing battle to balance her
personal and professional lives
reaches a tipping point as she
realizes she will never be the
Happy Stay At Home Mom.
But at the heart of the episode
rests their relationship, which is
pushed to the edge as Liz real-
izes Jack's constant tough love
means she's never satisfied,
while Jack feels its Liz's fault
that he can't find happiness in
the new CEO job. "You're just an
alcoholic with a great voice," Liz
throws at him.
The finale's Tracey Wigfield-
and-Fey-penned second half,
"Last Lunch," features a promi-
nent Lutz storyline - a choice
that's both bizarre and brilliant,
ending with what's probably the
first time Lutz has ever gotten
what he wants.
Because of a clause in Tra-
cy's contract, the team has to
reassemble to produce one last
episode of "The Girlie Show."
Wanting Jenna to express real
emotion for the first time in
front of a cam-ah-rah, Kenneth
asks her to find something that
she truly loves about TGS, some-
thing that will make her miss it
all. In the end, it's the removal
of her mirror that makes Jenna
human. "Hogcock!" and "Last.
Lunch" are full of emotionally
resonant triggers that stir fans'
hearts like the mirror does for
our mega-melodramatic, per-
petually' daydrunk top-shelf
dildo Jenna Maroney (Side note:
Where is Krakowski's Emmy?).
Whether it's finding out that
not only has Jenna never been
the victim of Mickey Rourke's
catapult, but she's never even
met the man, or watching Liz
explain to Tracy, in the strip
club where they had their very
first meeting, that they prob-
ably won't be friends when it's
all over but she'll still love him,
or hearing Jack come as close as

he'll ever come to telling Liz he
loves her (right before "figuring
it all out," which translates to his
next big idea: clear dishwashers
"so you can see what's going on
inside!"), you'll want to drink all
the throwing wine by the end.
"It okay, don'tbe cry."
Amid all the catharsis, the
finale doesn't lose the jokes,
from the rapidfire cold open to
the final moment, scored by a
reprise of Jenna's incompre-
hensible "Rural Juror" (one last
shining example of an oddball
gag only this show could ever
pull off). A one-year flashfor-
ward fabulously reveals what
observant fans have put togeth-
er through the years: Kenneth is
immortal.
But there's also a very somber
sentiment seeping through its
farewell, and not just because
Jack is pretending to plan a sui-
cide and Pete unsuccessfully
fakes his own death. "30 Rock"
has always been a champion of
meta humor, and its persistent
mockery of its own home net-
work gives way to some of its
most potent jokes (who could
ever forget "MILF Island"? Kho-
nani? "Bitch Hunter"?). And even
at its end, it continues to twist
the knife into the peacock's side.
The finale offers a truly dismal
outlook on the current state of
the TV industry, with Kenneth
handing Liz a list of TV No-No
Words, including "edgy," "com-
plex," "shows about shows,"
"woman," "high concept" and
"Justin. Bartha." The flashfor-
ward reveals Liz working on a
piece-of-shit show that conforms
in all the ways "30 Rock" didn't.
Sure, she seems to have finally
found a way to balance fam-
ily' and work, but there's some-
thing depressing about seeing
Liz sacrifice her personal voice
to follow the rules of paint-by-
the-numbers TV. Let's hope that
it's not a forecast for Fey and the
superhero cast and crew that
made "30 Rock" the most quot-'
able, notable sitcom of the past
decade.
Thank you, "30 Rock," for
giving us the best days of our
"flerm." Lemon, out!


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