Just the other night, I watched Sam Mendes' Road To Perdition (2002). I bought myself a copy of it during my second year of college. I was inspired to buy it by an assignment I was given in my "Intro to Cinema" class where we had to write a response to the scene in the rain between Tom Hanks and Paul Newman. We had to talk about all the different cinematic techniques that were being used in the film and whatnot. From that one scene, I knew right away that I had to get my hands on the film and view it in it's entirety. When I watched it just recently, it was only the second time that I watched the film. It was a real treat to watch again, and it made me want to write up a little something about its director, Sam Mendes.
To sum it up, I am a big-time supporter of Sam Mendes. He is one of the newer directors on the scene, and he landed with a BANG, his first film being 1999's American Beauty. I'm pretty sure that the majority of film goers are familiar with this film. What a debut for Mendes! The film is fantastic, and went on to win five of its eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (Kevin Spacey). I love it whenever I am able to catch this film on television. I'm always able to watch it, and a lot of it makes me laugh out loud, especially Kevin Spacey. I haven't seen everything that Spacey has done, but I would be really impressed if I found out that his role as Lester Burnham wasn't one of the best of his career.
Mendes' second film was the above-mentioned Road To Perdition, released in 2002. As well as his debut, the critics were very happy with the film, and it went on to be nominated for six Oscars, winning the award for Best Cinematography from Conrad L. Hall, the same man who was responsible for the cinematography of American Beauty. Hall's cinematography was inspired by and based off of the paintings of Edward Hopper. It's great to see Tom Hanks in this role, since he isn't usually the type to play a gangster from the 1930's. He does a really great job, and so does actor Paul Newman who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. For a sincere gangster flick (Irish Mob, specifically), check this one out.
Jarhead (2005) is the third film directed by Mendes, and one that I always consider when considering great contemporary films. I will always have a soft spot for this film. Why? I've never been a huge fan of war films, and Jarhead is one that I've watched on numerous occasions just because I wanted to! I think the story is a really good one, and the characters are great. Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, and Jamie Foxx all do an awesome job, and I absolutely love their characters. There's always been something about the film that really resonates with me...as if Jarhead is the war film of my generation, something along those lines. Either way, it isn;t just luck that I happen to love another film directed by Mendes. He sure knows how to pick a film that he wants to direct, and he does a great job at portraying a story. I'm really shocked that Jarhead didn't receive one single Oscar nomination. Either way, I think I feel confident in saying that this is my favorite of Mendes' films thus far.
What I'm really excited about is Mendes' upcoming film, Revolutionary Road (2008). There are two main reasons why I am so overly excited for this film: 1) It's directed by Mendes, and if you haven't yet been
able to tell, I'm kinda a fan of his =]; 2) The film is brings back the magnificent pair...Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet! I couldn't be more excited about this. I've always been a big supporter of Titanic (1997), which I tend to get mocked about for reasons that I think are unjustified. I don't know, people love to hate on it, but I've always been a sucker for a great, romantic love story and I think that Titanic is exactly that. Also, I consider Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet two of my favorite actors that are currently around. I tend to enjoy everything that they are involved in, and I know that I am going to love it when I get to see them back on the big screen together in a film done by Mendes. The film will be released on December 26th, 2008. I've been looking forward to this film for a year now. In the meantime, I plan on reading the novel that the film is based off of, written by author Richard Yates ( Revolutionary Road, 1961)Please, go watch some of these films. It'll make me happy.
P.S. - I didn't know this until now, but Winslet and Mendes are actually husband and wife! They've been married since May, 2003! That makes it more interesting, don't you think?
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