#philip baker hall
I want you to see that my reasons for doing this are not selfish, only this: I’d hope that you would do the same for me.
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“Just because you can’t prove it, doesn’t mean it’s not true”
Conversations about David Fincher always seem to follow the same pattern: “Fight Club’s good, isn’t it? Yeah, but Se7en’s probably better. You’re probably right, there, mate. What did you think of Alien3, by the way? I think it’s underrated, but it’s not exactly The Social Network, is it?”
And that’s it. There may be the occasional mention of The Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonorPanic Room, but no one ever mentions The GameorZodiac. While the first of these is certainly forgettable alongside many of Fincher’s other, more significant, films, the latter has been all but forgotten among the director’s extensive back-catalogue, which is strange considering that Zodiac is almost certainly his greatest achievement to date.
Based on the real-life serial killings in San Francisco of the late 60’s and 70’s, Zodiaclooks at the various attempts to solve the case by the police, the press, and a cartoonist who likes puzzles. As the years go by and the case remains unsolved, those involved in the investigation quietly, and obsessively, continue their search for the Zodiac killer.
In comparison to Fincher’s other films, Zodiac is certainly an anomaly – it’s not extravagant in the way a film like Fight Club was, and does more with the art of cinema than any film Fincher has ever made. Like Antonioni’s L’Avventura,Fincher and screenwriter James Vanderbilt have crafted a story in which the central narrative drive, in the case of L’Avventura this is the mystery of the woman’s disappearance, and in Zodiac it’s the mystery of the serial killer’s identity, disappears into the background. In Zodiac, the significance of solving the case is pushed to the back while Fincher examines how the case affects the lives of those embroiled in it.
This kind of storytelling is an incredibly rare thing, and to see David Fincher make a film like this, so elegant and subtle, and such a departure from his usual bombastic approach to filmmaking, only solidifies his status as one of the great American filmmakers working today.
The thing is, Zodiac will never be remembered as fondly as, say, Fight CluborSe7en, because it doesn’t have the same swagger or pomposity that won David Fincher legions of adoring fan(boy)s in the first place, which is a crying shame. What Zodiac does have, however, is one of the great stories of our time, as well as one of the most interesting uses of narrative form since L’Avventura. It’s also Fincher’s best film to date.
The phrase “criminally underrated” doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Hard Eight
Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
USA, 1996Watched on 1st March 2014
First viewing
This was Paul Thomas Anderson’s first feature film, and while the performances are good and much of PTA’s distinctive visual style is already present, the actual story wasn’t as compelling as most of his others. Not bad, but not great.
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Rest in peace, Philip Baker Hall (1931-2022).
No matter how big or small the role was, Phillip Baker Hall was guaranteed to give the standout performance.
This man was able to provide “Seinfeld” with one of it’s most cartoonish side characters, carry the entirety of “Secret Honor” by himself and give one of the greatest performances of all time in my favorite film, “Magnolia”.
He was a true larger-than-life talent who I’m definitely going to miss.
