Monday, January 6, 2020

2019 - IN REVIEW: BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT


DOMINO

As much as it pains me to say it, there was no greater cinematic disappointment this year than Brian De Palma's latest film “Domino”. It certainly wasn't the worst film that I saw in 2019, but what made it so disappointing was the missed opportunity, the what it could have been. The shooting of the film was filled with problems due largely to Dutch producers incorrectly claiming they had the funds to make the film, and then clamouring on a daily basis to find the cash to keep the production going. De Palma himself stated that the making of “Domino” was one of the most unpleasant of his entire career, largely due to being stuck inside hotel rooms waiting, instead of being able to shoot the film he wanted and agreed to make. Out of the proposed one hundred day shoot, De Palma and his crew were only able to shoot on thirty of those days until the project was shut down. Amazingly from what little they had shot, they were able to make a movie that could be released to the public. While the resulting 89 minute film that ended up being released was “De Palma's cut”, make no mistake that the end result is NOT the film that De Palma had initially envisioned when signing on to the project.

Now going into watching “Domino” I was aware of all the above, so surely that tempered my expectations a little? Well yes, that is true, however Brian De Palma is my favourite director (tied with Martin Scorsese and David Lynch) working today and sadly the length in between each of his features is getting longer and longer (between “Domino” and his previous film, “Passion”, was a wait of seven years). Not to mention that this great director will turn eighty later this year, so there is a real fear that each new film could be his last, so even though I knew “Domino” was going to have problems, I could not help but get excited about a new film from Brian De Palma. While my expectations had been lowered, what raised them again was when the webmaster from “De Palma a la Mod” posted an early positive review of “Domino”. I thought this is a guy who knows and loves De Palma so there was a fair chance his opinion would reflect my own, so I once again went into “Domino” with high expectations. At the end of the day, it is not one of Brian De Palma's greatest films, but it also isn't the total disaster it could've (and let's face it, probably should've) been. In saying that, my initial viewing of the film was not a good one. Whilst I loved the opening rooftop chase, the rest of the film I hated. Once I finished it, I actually messaged one of my friends and told them that the film was a piece of shit! However, with my expectations now gone, my second viewing of “Domino” was a much, much better experience. I found a lot more to like about it and ended up enjoying it a fair bit. Pino Donaggio's score is very good and atmospheric, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau gives a good performance as Christian, the film's protagonist, and the aforementioned rooftop chase is almost classic De Palma. Much has been made about two other set pieces; the slow-motion ending and the “red carpet” scene, and while I agree that they are highlights of “this” film, I still think that they both could've been better handled, so am not as gung-ho about them as others. Sadly, where the film falls down is in the main story itself which moves by very quickly to the point that it feels like a cliffs note version (for obvious reasons), and as lovely as Carice Van Houten is, her character has nothing to do and is no doubt a victim of the revised shooting schedule of the film's making. Speaking of the story, “Domino” is about a cop from Copenhagen who stumbles upon a terrorist cell and must attempt to track them down before they fulfil a planned attack. What is interesting is that De Palma focuses a lot on the way the terrorists film and edit their propaganda videos and the way they are then presented to the public to sell their message and image.

While I can now sit down and watch “Domino” and enjoy it for what it is, make no mistake that it is a crushing disappointment compared to what should have been. When comparing this new film to one of the De Palma classics, such as “Dressed to Kill” or “Blow Out”, there really is no comparison as “Domino” pales to them. However there is enough in the film to see that Brian De Palma still has it, and that is the film we should have got had the potential to be so much greater, which is ultimately the most disappointing aspect of the whole thing. Especially in a year when another of the ageing “Brat Pack”, Martin Scorsese, delivered one of his best film's with “The Irishman”, it was sad to see his contemporary at the other end of the scale with “Domino”. Yes, I can enjoy the film, but it is still my biggest disappointment of 2019, and I just hope that it is not the film that Brian De Palma bows out on. I hope this great director, like Scorsese, can give his fans one more classic. He certainly still has the ability, it is just whether or not he is given the opportunity to do so.

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