Sunday, July 09, 2006

Alexander Mackendrick

I've written about him before, and have read quite a bit about him. In fact, I first became a big admirer of his when I read his book On Filmmaking—a veritable bible for me. I consider the man a filmmaking genius, and a great teacher of the craft. But somehow strangely, I never got to see any of his films; that was until now.

The Man in The White Suit is certainly a masterpiece. It is a masterpiece because it is so finely crafted, with wonderful performances, amazing editing and camera work, and outrageously exquisite sound design. It is a masterpiece because it has an incredibly tight screenplay that is at once a science fiction thriller, an ironically subtle comedy, and a rather stark commentary on the politics of economics. But most importantly, it is a masterpiece because it achieves a sophisticated directness (yeah!) in its storytelling, which has a lot to do with, while it yet belies, the fact that it is such a dense and loaded film.

Adjectives sugar coat, yet I cannot refrain from calling it delectably enjoyable. If you get hold of it, please watch it. Meanwhile, can someone point me to where I might get hold of Sweet Smell of Success please?

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