The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, March 25, 2013 - 7A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, March 25, 2013 - 7A
The rewards of
reading
No narrative in 'Stoker'
here's something inher-
ently solitary and all-
encompassing in a book.
You go to the movies to
indulge in over-buttered pop-
corn and
whispered
exchanges
with the
gaggle of
people who
tagged along
because "that
one scene ANNA
with that girl SADCKsiAYA
from 'Prin-
cess Diaries'
looks brutal." And then there's
the rest of the theater, each
couple of seats their own cos-
mos, trying to stay unaware of
neighbors across the row.
TV can be lonely, especially
if it's a Saturday night and the
rest of your housemates are
at a house party while you
decided to stay in because it's
almost April and going outside
is depressingly freezing. So, it's
off to Netflix and its collection
of shows. And then it's probably
a bit of texting or Snapchatting
your friends to let them know
you're warm and have "Gossip
Girl" reruns on.
There's no texting and read-
ing. There's no turning away
from the pages to have a quick
discussion about the main
character's hair. Delving into a
book means being taken to its
universe, one where you leave
everyone else you know behind.
And when the book is fin-
ished, it's like coming back from
the dead - resurfacing, only to
find six hours have gone by and
the world is different. It's dark
out, and there are no lights on
except for the little book light,
and somehow, no one has both-
ered to make dinner.
Reading requires a specific
patience: It might take a while
to pick the story up, introduce
all the characters and dra-
matize the plot. It might take
centuries for the protagonist to
get to the bottom of an evil plot.
Authors of series are the best
marketing strategists, leaving
you hanging with just enough
information to keep you from
perpetually sobbing. Patience is
such a slutty virtue, and books
tease the persistence of many
readers.
Comparing TV, film and
reading is sort of unnecessary.
Because what's the point of hav-
ing a winner? There's nothing a
book can do to provide the same
level of sensory overload as an
IMAX 3-D movie experience.
There's nothing a TV show can
do to seamlessly weave each
storyline and episode into an
hour-long episode the way a
500-page novel can. But there's
nothing to stop anyone from
indulging in all three.
Movies, TV, books and music
are art - different styles, dif-
ferent formats, but all essen-
tially made with the purpose of
entertainment. I don't want to
argue against all other forms of
media, insisting that literature
is the only safe route towards
becoming properly cultured.
In a culture with high-speed
Internet, that seems impracti-
cal.
But there's something nov-
els offer that no other type of
entertainment can, and that's
the total engulfment of your
life into another. Since reading
relies so heavily on the reader
to create the sounds, the smells
and the people in another
world, it becomes your own cre-
ation. It's paralyzing; watching
people read for hours at a time
is unimaginably boring.
It's unfortunately less com-
mon to find people with their
noses in a book, and even less so
for pleasure than off a syllabus.
You can truly
lose yourself in
the universe of
a book.
Chapter-by-chapter read-
ing is pretty common for the
assigned-reading few who
actually complete the assign-
ment. But it's dull, and lacks
imagination - getting ripped
from its universe every 70 pages
doesn't help. Who has time to
read a full novel, though? Who
has time to sit through endless
page-turning?
It's about a delicate balance.
It's about quality over quan-
tity. And when you finally find
enough time to dedicate, the
novel better be rewarding and
satisfying - it should change
your world. Rather than cut-
ting out reading, it's time to sift
through the mediocre writing
and focus on the truly worth-
while.
Just like picking a TV series
or a movie, choosing a book
can take a while. It might not
mesh with your style; the writ-
ing could be too leaden for
the Saturday you've set aside
for reading. So continue your
search! Because there are truly
remarkable experiences waiting
for you on the other side of book
covers.
Sadovskaya has her nose in
a book. To get her attention,
e-mail asado@umich.edu.
Park's psychosexual
thriller lacks
humanity
By MATT EASTON
Daily Arts Writer
"Stoker" disorients. After the
first opening segments - drifting
memories and fragments of nois-
es - one might
beseechingly
reach out an
arm for support, Stoker
or for a tangible
detail to provide AtState
some basis for Fox Searchlight
understanding.
But alas, this
would be a fruitless task. "Stoker"
brushes aside coherence of narra-
tive and stability in favor of flour-
ishes of the camera and a sense of
the eerie. The moments of clarity,
while few and far between, prove
that "Stoker" could've been one of
the movies of the year, but ulti-
mately, the clutter overwhelms.
In a word, "Stoker" tries. The
script, penned by Wentworth
Miller ("Prison Break"), strives
to intrigue with a story (actually,
story might be too coherent for
"Stoker"; it's more of an idea) of
incestuous, erotic murderthemes.
India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska,
"Lawless") loses her father in a
tragic accident; she's moody and
strange. Her mother (Nicole Kid-
man, "The Paperboy") seems to
get over the death quickly; creepy,
charming Uncle Charlie (Mat-
thew Goode, "Watchmen") moves
in with the two after "traveling
the world." What follows is a lot
of hinting at menace. There's ten-
sion, but it ultimately adds up to
the movie pleasuring itself.
"Just let me braid your hair."
Miller attempts the provoca-
tive, but his dialogue and meta-
phors move between utterly
obvious and horribly clunky.
As Charlie "hunts," a TV in the
background shows a nature pro-
gram on eagles in which they
"kill their own family" to ensure
their own survival. Hints like
this don't only induce groans of
"duh," but they also thrust the
audience out of the movie. It
becomes apparent that someone
wrote this film.
Moments between the fam-
ily at the dinner table also strain
credibility. It makes sense that
the tension and unhinged nature
of Uncle Charlie might make
small talk difficult - but it's
hard not to wonder, "Have these
people ever said normal things
outside of the context of poorly
shielding underlying motives
and emotional/sexual turmoil?"
Probably not, because the char-
acters in "Stoker" don't embody
human emotions.
Despite all this, "Stoker" com-
pels in small ways and begins to
find some solid ground toward
the final act. Details of Uncle
Charlie are squirmy in all the
right ways, and Goode plays the
character with occasional depth.
His long belt (and the leather
slide of him slipping it off his
pants) is legitimately frightening,
and the piano scene that Goode
shares with Wasikowska is slimy
and wonderful and gross - it's an
uncomfortable (and erotic) dis-
play that shows how good "Stok-
er" can be.
Director Chan-wook Park
("Oldboy") stifles the early
scenes, but eventually gives the
film more space and sets up some
awesome moments. The colors
he adds accentuate the overall
mood, and some of his transitions
show real ingenuity. Park was
obviously playing with the film,
tryingnew things. In a sense, this
defines "Stoker," but it may have
been refreshing to havea steadier
hand control the movie, espe-
cially because the foundation of
"Stoker" is already so creaky.
Family, what it means and
what it makes us - this is the
main idea behind "Stoker." The
climax centers on that question,
and at the height of the film's
tension, a mad-eyed Kidman
whispers: "You were supposed
to love me, weren't you?" It's a
heartbreaking appeal, one that
nearly salvages "Stoker," almost
convinces us that some humanity
exists amid the miasma of men-
ace and confusion that inundates
the rest of the movie. But one line
can't lift an entire narrative -
"Stoker" proves that.
STAYING IN ANN
ARBOR THIS
SUMMER?
LOOKING FOR
SOMETHING
AWESOME TO DO?
JOIN THE DAILY ARTS SUMMER
STAFF!
.
E-mail arts@michigandaily.com to
request an application.
T V R EVIEW
A&E takes a well-aimed stab
at 'Psycho' origins with 'Bates'
By KELLY ETZ repressed sensuality make up While the series manages depth, or else have been better
Daily Arts Writer the formidable Mrs. Bates, to craft the beginnings of a off with a two-hour special or
while a truly white-knuckled believably grim backstory for mini-series. Limitations aside,
After Alfred Hitchcock rape scene humanizes her. The the famed killer, A&E will the original mama's boy is in
ruined showers for everyone subsequent wild stabbing is have to work harder to create fine form.
with one iconic vindicated, even gratifying.
scene, Norman B+ It certainly proves the series
Bates became isn't afraid of a little blood-
a household Bates shed to go along with all that
name. Now intrigue.
A&E fancifully Despite the spurts of
imagines the Mondays at action, the premiere coasts
beginning of 10 p.m. on the ever-present tension
the "Psycho" surrounding mother and son.
legacy in the A&E Every interaction is just shy
new prequel of too-far; the pair are a little
series, "Bates Motel." too close in every way. Each
The pilot begins with Nor- touch is oddly and eroti-
man (Freddie Highmore, cally charged, while a heart-
"Charlie and the Chocolate Fac- to-heart over dumping the
tory") finding his father dead in body is a nice foreshadowing
the garage, leaving the 17-year- of horror to come. Norma's
old in an eerie co-dependence obvious jealousy, paired with
with his overreaching mother, Norman's not-quite-oblivious
Norma (Vera Farmiga, "Up in attitude, manages to keep the
the Air"). Wanting a fresh start, pace from becoming stale.
the two pack up for the not-so- For a series destined to I-
pleasantville of White Pine Bay end in only one way (unless
and the infamous house on the the series rewrites history A
hill. la "Inglourious Basterds"),
"Bates Motel" needs to do
more than subtly play with
A whole new the reasons behind Norman's
eventual neurosis. While the
meaning for the interchange between Farmi-
ga and Highmore is superb,
term 'mama's it won't hold an entire series
together. The end of the pilot S
boy' seems to move in this direc-
tion, panning over an immo-
bilized figure, ankle-cuffed
in a concrete room. White
Teenage Norman is a deadly Pine Bay gets more "Twin
cocktail of hormones and bud- Peaks"-esque with every
ding psychosis beneath an passing minute.
innocuous baby face. Quot- Shrouded in a patina of the
ing "Jane Eyre" and stealing antique - from Peter Pan col-
glimpses at a creepily salacious lars to record players - the
book of drawings, the younger premiere feels ageless, keep-
Bates is true North for every ing viewers off-balance and JIMMYJHN.COM
female in town - the well- adrift. The in-and-out set-
meaning guidance counselor, ting distances the series from
the popular clique, loner Emma the original film, despite the
and, of course, the center of his numerous references - stow-
world: his mother. ing a body in a shower, Nor- A Y FA F
It's almost fitting, then, man's black and white film L IV E K Y !
that Farmiga's Norma steals fetish, hinting at the even-
every scene. Richly drawn and tual highway bypass - and
shrewdly acted, the ultimate prevents the premiere from
mother is fearsome indeed. becoming merely homage to
Anger, wit and buckets of Hitchcock.