speed of dark

photo from Vanity Fair
I know what you might be thinking: advertisements for AMC's Mad Men are everywhere. But it really is a show that lives up to its hype. Last night's season two premiere would probably have been tough to watch for anyone who didn't watch all of last season. There was very little explanation for most of what happened last season, since the show tends to peel off its layers slowly, exposing just a little at a time. This season's opener is no exception, leaving new viewers a little bit in the dark and those familiar with the show with only a little peek out of the door. The anticipation kills (as does the billowing clouds of cigarrette smoke and free flowing hard liquor).

Although the show features very little music, choosing silence over background music that seems to be ever-present in television dramas, forcing the viewer to truly watch the characters and note their idiosyncrasies, not to mention the incredible attention to detail of the set and costume designers. It also doesn't hurt that these characters are played by impossibly attractive actors and actresses.

There are other writers who have delved much greater into the hidden meanings and minute details than I have, and they are fascinating to read. I suggest the following sites especially:

Basket of Kisses | Television Without Pity | AV Club | AMC

The song that plays over the opening credits, "A Beautiful Mine" by RJD2 sticks in my head and follows me throughout the day.

Watch the video for the opening credits:


...and then watch the scene in the finale of season 1 that made me cry (poor Harry!):


COPYRIGHTED CONTENT HAS BEEN REMOVED

RJD2: a beautiful mine[buy]
bob dylan: don't think twice it's alright [buy]
(this song closes out the final episode of season one)

buy the DVD | buy the soundtrack

Mr. Folkie and I finally saw the movie Juno weekend before last. It is certainly very cute and a must-see, and now it has won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. I do love little arthouse films like this, and I think it's fantastic that the stuffy Oscars are finally getting around to giving them the recognition they deserve. Ellen Page is excellent as the title character, whose speaking style reminds me of a couple of young women I know and love.

Like Atonement, which won the Oscar for soundtrack and was the subject of another Time Travel post, Juno's soundtrack is also a major character in the film, with a mixture of new compositions from folkish Kimya Dawson mixed with a variety of known alternative artists from Belle and Sebastian to the Velvet Underground. While the Dawson tracks are as cute as a June-bug, in my opinion their off-the-cuff quality tends to not stand up to repeated listening away from the movie visual.

In contrast, the other tracks, really well-chosen to fit nicely with both Dawson's and with the film's themes, show that real quality counts. The one we both came home lusting for was the short song "Dearest" by Buddy Holly. Anyone who has only heard the big hits like "Peggy Sue" and "Everyday" and the slicked-up, over-dubbed string things like "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" might be surprised by the wonderful simplicity of Holly alone with his guitar. I think I'll have to do a Time Travel post on Holly one of these days.

Today's offering is a few of those other songs from the Juno Soundtrack.

Barry Louis Polisar: All I Want Is You (opening credits)
also found on My Brother Thinks He's a Banana and Other Provocative Songs (1977) [Buy]

Belle and Sebastian: Piazza, New York Catcher
also found on Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003) [Buy]

Buddy Holly: Dearest
also found on 20 Love Songs (1982) and other compilations I don't have time to look up today.

And let me remind you that last June (Time Travel Tuesday: La Vie En Rose) I predicted a Best Actress award for Marion Cotillard, and the movie certainly deserved the Best Make-up award it received too.

I only occasionally mention movies or books here, but I saw a movie last weekend that fits the Time Travel theme because it bounces back and forth in time, beginning around 1935 and ending up about forty years later. Atonement may not appeal to those who don't like British period films, but anyone who sticks with it will be rewarded by a gripping story. I think when awards get handed out, this movie will be in line for some.

In the center of the plot are two sisters, the older one, Cecilia, played by Keira Knightley, living in upper-class comfort in the English countryside before Germany's invasion of France. If you've only seen Knightley play second banana to Johnny Depp in those pirate movies, it may surprise you to see how good she is when she has better material. The younger sister, Briony, is played at various ages by three excellent actresses, the last being the redoubtable Vanessa Redgrave.

Briony, who judges herself a serious writer even at 13, is blessed with an imagination beyond her years but not the experience or understanding to match it. She is so focused on what she thinks is a dangerous relationship between her sister and their housekeeper's handsome and upwardly-mobile son Robbie (James McAvoy) that she misses completely the deception her slightly older cousin Lola is peddling. Briony's misinterpretation of two crucial scenes between Cecilia and Robbie, puts all three of them on a path into a nightmarish future none could have imagined. Briony spends the rest of the movie trying to atone for her disastrous mistake.

Two Corona typewriters are also characters in the film. One of them is the intrument of a message, containing a shocking word, that was never meant to be sent or read. The strident tapping of the other, Briony's, provides a staccato percussion track driving the visual storyline and echoing characters' purposeful footsteps.

Dario Marianelli: Briony from the Atonement soundtrack [Buy] [iTunes]

The following songs are not in the soundtrack, but if you have seen the movie, you'll understand why I chose them.

Kaki King: Doing the Wrong Thing from Legs to Make Us Longer (2004) [Amazon] [iTunes]

Burial: Forgive from Burial (2006) [Amazon] [iTunes] [eMusic]

Japancakes: Theme For a Film from Belmondo: Bliss Out V.19 (2002) [Amazon] [iTunes]

See the full cast of characters, photos, and a review at the Internet Movie Database for Atonement, but avoid any spoilers before you've seen the film, especially the Wikipedia article on this movie.