The Pillow Book – 7/10

Has anyone in the history of cinema ever had this much naked screen time before? I don’t see how that would be possible. I mean, type in “Pillow Book” on Yahoo or Google images and you pretty much get 95% naked Ewan McGregor pictures.

I guess I should talk about the actual film? Probably so. I gotta say, I didn’t know what to make of it while I was watching it, or even for the next few hours or days after it was over. Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I like it. I could easily see this one moving up to an 8 in the future. I’ll have to watch it again at the next EMM (that’s my new shorthand for Ewan McGregor Marathon because I keep having to type out Ewan McGregor Marathon, and this is such a wonderful example right here of typing more for an abbreviation than you would have if you had just typed out the full thing… because you have to explain the abbreviation because most people, the layperson if you will, probably won’t get the abbreviation without said explanation).

Take a breath… and on we go…

The cinematography was ridiculously unusual, as was the editing. It was unusual to the point of being hard to watch in parts, but the story kept it moving and kept me interested, because if there’s one thing I can say for this movie, the story was anything but ordinary. I have never seen anything like this in pacing, style, or plot. It was new and unique and kind of amazing in a way.

The only downside is also the main positive side of the film. Because it’s so different, it almost doesn’t feel like a real movie, which is a hindrance only in the getting used to it. I think now that I know what to expect, I could enjoy the film more for its individual style and original concepts. The acting was as fantastic as I could have hoped, and the visuals were odd, vaguely disturbing at times, and generally fascinating, as was the whole story and ending especially. EM, what a fantastic performance, really. I thought he was great, but so was the main girl. And really everyone else in the film.

So check it out, but like I said, it’s incredibly unusual and odd, so don’t expect an easy to watch film with a bunch of naked EM running around. Well, at least don’t expect the first half of that sentence…

~ by annemarieparade on April 23, 2008.