Feb 5, 2018
Daniel Day-Lewis is regarded
as one of Hollywood’s most
versatile and skilled character
actors. In the wake of his
recent announcement that he
is retiring from acting, the
State Theater commemorated
his
legacy
by
screening
a
series of his most celebrated
performances. The series began
with “My Left Foot” (1989)
— the movie that earned Day-
Lewis his first Oscar for his
incredibly challenging role of
Christy Brown, an artist with
cerebral palsy. In an almost
complete
role
reversal,
the
following film “The Last of the
Mohicans”
(1992)
spotlights
Day-Lewis as a hunky, tanned
leading man, the adopted son
of the Mohican tribe who
fights in the French and Indian
War, with a luxurious mass
of hair and a deeply V-necked
blouse. In the third film, “In
the Name of the Father” (1993),
Day-Lewis again proves his
talent and intrigue as an actor,
depicting the emotional turmoil
of the wrongly convicted Gerry
Conlon in the aftermath of the
IRA terrorist attack in 1974
London.
These
first
three
films
are all solid and interesting
performances by Day-Lewis,
ones that put him on the map as
a skilled and promising actor.
But it’s not until “Gangs of New
York” (2002) that Day-Lewis
embodies
the
performative
streak that becomes his legacy.
In
Scorsese’s
chaotic
and
enduring portrayal of urban
criminality
and
immigrant
factionism,
Day-Lewis
plays
the brutal but charismatic war
chief of Old New York, hovering
between flamboyant charm and
deranged bloodlust. Next in the
film series was the critically
acclaimed
Spielberg
film
“Lincoln” (2012), where Day-
Lewis becomes unrecognizable
as the titular 16th president,
wholly
embodying
Lincoln’s
voice,
mannerisms
and
magnetic presence. The series
rounded out with Paul Thomas
Anderson’s
“There
Will
Be
Blood”
(2007),
where
Day-
Lewis plays a more subdued but
power-hungry oil magnate in
the black gold frenzy of the late
19th and early 20th centuries.
Arguably his most compelling
performance,
Day-Lewis’s
seedy lust for wealth and his
indifference to being soaked in
oil is absolutely mesmerizing.
Day-Lewis’s acting career is a
collection of unbelievably taxing
and
impressive
roles,
each
demanding a deeply complex
and fully imagined person. He
is one of Hollywood’s greatest,
proving time and time again his
ability to completely embody his
role, including his immersive
method
acting
preparation
(he hunted game to prep for
“Mohicans”
and
shadowed
a butcher for “Gangs of New
York”). With heavy hearts, the
film community says goodbye to
this master of the silver screen;
Day-Lewis officially announced
his retirement from acting,
with his newest film “Phantom
Thread” as his swan song.
In “Phantom Thread,” Day-
Lewis undertakes the most
challenging and most subdued
role of his career. He plays
Reynolds Woodcock, a polished,
elegant designer of women’s
couture. He is a narcissistic
genius, wholly consumed with
himself and his own brilliance,
whose designs are worthy of
the praise. The opening scene
of the film is one of the most
captivating
and
gorgeously
done sequences in cinema —
we see Woodcock meticulously
grooming himself in a series
of simple frames that together
introduce his detail-oriented
personality, his refinement and
his quiet magnetism.
The stormy dynamic between
Woodcock and Alma (Vicky
Krieps,
“The
Colony”),
a
waitress he quickly becomes
infatuated with, is the binding
thread of the film. She becomes
his muse, living in his house
and modeling for his designs
— in many scenes she is like a
porcelain mannequin, draped
in luxurious fabric, more of a
doll than a person. But Krieps
does a brilliant job of shading
Alma with layers of nuance,
showing both her eagerness for
the trappings of Woodcock’s
world and her trepidation at the
uselessness of it all.
“Phantom Thread” is a dark,
moving drama peppered with
moments
of
subtle
hilarity
that
ring
true
to
director
Paul
Thomas
Anderson’s
unorthodox sense of humor.
Stitching the film together is
a spectacular score by Johnny
Greenwood (“There Will Be
Blood”), of Radiohead fame.
His composition is sharp and
quivering,
needle-like
and
sweepingly elegant, like the
fabric of Woodcock’s gowns.
It’s enough to make Alexandre
Desplat shake in his boots.
The costume design is also
incredible, with each scene
featuring a collection of artfully
tailored couture gowns.
“Phantom Thread” is a quietly
haunting film and a homage
to the radiance of Daniel Day-
Lewis. It is an elegant sendoff
to a man who has made his
irrevocable
mark
on
the
industry and his audiences.
The Zell Visiting Writers
Series
brings
writers
from
across the country and world to
Ann Arbor to engage with the
community
through
various
events,
including
a
public
reading, a Q&A session and
workshops. MFA students are
able to work directly with visiting
writers through direct forums
and feedback from writers about
student work. The Q&A sessions
are also open to undergrad
students. It’s a great way to share
a space with the visiting writers
and be surrounded by people who
are incredibly passionate about
their work. During these visits,
writers share their personal
experiences behind their writing
and encourage young writers by
sharing their backgrounds.
The Zell Visiting Writers
Series will kick off their first
visit of the semester with visiting
writers Jane Hirshfield and
Brit Bennett. Hirshfield has
written eight books of poetry,
earning immense praise and
numerous
awards.
Among
these awards, she has received
the
Guggenheim
Foundation
fellowship,
Rockefeller
Foundation fellowship, Academy
of American Poets Fellowship
and
National
Endowment
for the Arts fellowship. Brit
Bennett returns to Ann Arbor
after receiving her MFA at the
University to share her work,
which has been featured in
publications such as The New
Yorker and The New York Times
Magazine. During her time in
Ann Arbor, she received the
2014 Hurston/Wright Award for
College Writers and a Hopwood
Award in Graduate Short Fiction.
“The real purpose of the
visiting writers series is to bring
the
world
of
contemporary
literature to Ann Arbor, serve
the local community and also to
serve the MFA students,” said
Maya West, Assistant Director
of
the
Helen
Zell
Writers’
Program, in an interview with
The Daily. “Many undergraduate
Michigan students have a frame
of reference for sports or politics
or different kinds of celebrities.
For contemporary literature, it’s
a little more obscure. I would
love to figure out a way to explain
that.”
Many
University
students,
particularly
undergraduates,
do
not
necessarily
expose
themselves to any form of
contemporary literature beyond
what is offered in the classroom.
The Zell Visiting Writers Series
allows students to spend time
hearing from writers who are
thriving and engaged with the
impact of their literature. The
series aims to bridge the gap
between learning from classical
texts
studied
in
class
and
understanding the influence of
contemporary literature today.
“I didn’t realize until I got to
the university that the literary
world is a living, breathing
organism — not something that is
sort of on a slab for us to dissect
and study. It is something for us
to talk to and engage with,” West
said. “That can revolutionize our
understanding and experience of
all literature.”
In
academic
settings,
students might feel like the tasks
of essay writing and reading
required texts forces them to
pick apart literature in search of
its meaning. West suggests that
we engage with texts on a new
level in efforts to understand
how literature transforms, as
well as understand how it is
living among our current society.
How does the literature of
contemporary writers speak to
the pressing issues and concerns
of our world today?
“It is significant that young
people who aren’t really involved
with contemporary literature
don’t realize that literature is
a thriving, living community,”
West said. “It’s not just dead
people. It’s not just writing
essays
about
names
you’ve
vaguely heard of.”
“I’ve succeeded at everything
except my life.” Somehow, this
statement rings true for the man
who coined it, Serge Gainsbourg.
Provocative, clever, intriguing
and singular are just some of
the words that can attempt
to explain one of the most
popular and influential singer-
songwriters to ever live. They
can also be used to describe his
1971 album Histoire de Melody
Nelson, a perfect introduction to
his rich discography.
Gainsbourg
was
born
in 1928 in Paris to Jewish-
Ukranian parents, spending his
adolescence under the shadow
of
Nazi-occupied
France.
Blending a series of genres from
the traditional French chanson
to the (at the time) increasingly
popular rock and funk, he
created a style of music that
was unprecedented and unique
— accompanied by lyrics that
were clever, dark and sensual.
He eventually grew into one of
the biggest celebrities on the
French and world stage, having
highly publicized relationships
with Jane Birkin and Brigitte
Bardot, fathering actor and
musician Charlotte Gainsbourg
with the former.
Running at just less than
half an hour, Histoire de Melody
Nelson
is
a
self-contained
concept
album
in
which
Gainsbourg narrates the story
of a middle-aged man who
accidentally collides his car
with the bicycle of the teenage
Melody Nelson (“Princess of
shadows,
cursed
archangel,
Modern Amazon”) as well as
that of the ensuing romance.
The lyrics and subject matter
are
typical
Gainsbourg:
seductive yet repellent, rich
with
description
and
filled
with worldplay. Gainsbourg’s
voice, barely above a whisper
at certain points, simply glides
over the instrumentals. They
resemble spoken word narration
more often than actual singing,
and you can practically envision
Gainsbourg
sitting
in
front
of you with his trademark
disheveled look and a cigarette
in his hand. He is joined by Jane
Birkin for “Melody,” “Ballade
de Melody Nelson” and “Cargo
Culte,” who similarly pops in
and out, barely above a whisper.
Despite the lyrics playing
a large part, the album is still
a rewarding listen for non-
French
speakers.
Composer
Jean-Claude Vannier provides
a set of lush, operatic orchestral
arrangements.
“L’hôtel
particulier” features the best
example, as most of it simply
features
Gainsbourg
slowly
describing
a
mysterious
mansion (with “long endless
passages,
spiral
stairways
decorated
with
Baroque
bronzes, golden angels”) with
the backing of a bass guitar and
slightly syncopated guitar line.
However, at the end of each verse,
strings suddenly appear and
beautifully accent Gainsbourg’s
final description. The last third
of the song features only the
strings, beckoning the listener
to fill in what transpires after
Gainsbourg finishes his tale.
Histoire de Melody Nelson has
had an immeasurable impact
on both French pop music, as
well as genres such as trip-hop,
even showing up as a sample
in a De La Soul song. It as an
album as complex and filled
with contradictions as the man
himself, and a must-listen for
any fan of pop music.
Serge Gainsbourg and the
art of French folk music
WORLD MUSIC COLUMN
Zell Visiting Writers at U
BAILEY KADIAN
Daily Arts Writer
“Phantom
Thread”
Focus Features
State Theater
SAYAN GHOSH
Daily World Music Columnist
FILM REVIEW
Read more online at
michigandaily.com
‘Phantom Thread’ is final
bow for Daniel Day-Lewis
FOCUS FEATURES
SYDNEY COHEN
Daily Arts Writer
In ‘Phantom
Thread,’
Day-Lewis
undertakes the
most challenging
and most
subdued role of
his career
Day-Lewis’s
acting career
is a collection
of unbelievably
taxing and
impressive
roles, each
demanding
a deeply
complex and
fully imagined
person
FILM SPOTLIGHT
6A— Monday, January 22, 2018
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com