2008-03-16

It was Sunday! We had a movie day, watching three movies altogether. After Morning Offering, we popped Feast of Love into the player. Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear were both very good as protagonists in a nesting series of love stories, stories of gain and loss, love and betrayal. The screenplay was quirky and fresh, though flawed. Like some of Robert Benton’s other work, the feeling of the piece was more important than the story line or the possibility of final solutions for the players. It was an engaging piece.

Our second film was We Own the Night. Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg played brothers, sons of policeman Robert Duvall. The story line revolved around family and corruption. I kept falling asleep throughout this film, lulled by the constant violence. The production had a quality which reminded me of The Deerstalker, a weight and a sadness woven into the atmosphere. I admired the players without admiring the play.

We took time out to bathe and then to make love and rest for a while in the afterglow before coming down to dinner and our third film. Things We Lost in the Fire was a star turn for Benecio del Toro. Halle Berry and David Duchovny also acquitted themselves well in a family drama. The real star of this piece was the cinematographer, whose filming was luminous throughout. Nevertheless it was a frustrating film to watch, with an uneven screenplay and muddy energy.

I offered the prayer at the Gaia Meditation tonight.