21 September 2005

Serenity 2005. again

so Sam already posted on Serenity and its glory. it is glorious. I would like to add, by way of providing some thoughts on the film without actually telling you anything substantive about the plot, a few things.

  • Sarah Paulson of Deadwood fame (she plays Miss Isringhausen) has a small part in Serenity, which is very cool.
  • Joss has been stolen from already—Firefly's use of the quick zoom, acknowledgement that space is, well, very quiet: silent, if you will, and his playful use of language have been seen on other (later) shows, such as Battlestar Gallactica (the new one), where the quick zoom and the quiet space take center stage, and Deadwood, of course, where cursing mingles with a rhythm of language that is, well, lyrical.
  • Joss steals from pays homage to several sci fi and western directors over the course of the film, which is very fun.

and finally, while the film is utterly brilliant, and just perfect, and amazing in all respects, I do have to voice the notion that of course, film and television are utterly different media, and Joss Whedon is best in serial formats. It has been argued that serial formats like weekly shows, or even better, daily shows (soaps) are closer to life and therefore are able, through art, to allow us insights into our lives that cannot be provided in a two hour film. I think this is true, and while some writer-directors excel at the two-hour medium, I think the smaller, more intimate, slower development of the characters and plot arc in a series offers more range and depth to someone like Joss. And, when not forced into the 40-minute, 5-minute-at-a-time-between-commercial mini story arcs each week—in other words, when one is on HBO, the movement of plot and character becomes even more interesting and rich. So. Joss needs HBO to give him a contract. Is that too much to ask?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

you're right, hbo needs to give joss a show. i need a new job.

fronesis said...

Ah, anonymous poster, you have finally given yourself away.