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eastern promises


NESK

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who else has seen this? i just got back from it. i thought it was really exceptional. i liked a history of violence but i think i like this one more. vincent cassel is becoming my favorite actor, and vigo is so next level in this film. the plot moves slow and for an action thriller, there isnt much action. but when the blood comes its fucking insane. mad ambiguous homoeroticism all over this one, too. which makes it a likely sufu favorite.

comments?

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yeah, im not sure cronenbergs style gels well with mainstream audiences and i think alot of people will see the trailer and think its going to be an easily digestible gangster movie. but of course, cronenberg is a craftsman and likes him some complexity. i totally sympathize with anyone who is let down by it or even feels ripped off. this is not an easy film to get into. but for those who can handle it, its really amazing.

i think vigo might have topped christain bale's performance as patrick bateman in this one. he switches from detached to maniacal in seconds without making it seem forced or implausable. i was really blown away by him in this film.

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yeah, im not sure cronenbergs style gels well with mainstream audiences and i think alot of people will see the trailer and think its going to be an easily digestible gangster movie. but of course, cronenberg is a craftsman and likes him some complexity. i totally sympathize with anyone who is let down by it or even feels ripped off. this is not an easy film to get into. but for those who can handle it, its really amazing.

i don't think this (along with a history of violence) are layered enough to be 'complex' especially when compared to everything else in his filmography ie dead ringers. even something as conventional as dead zone is much more deep than this. i didn't find it hard to digest at all; i feel he had to dumb down a lot of things for eastern promises (prison tattoos, prostitution). however i must say a large reason i love cronenberg is also for his use of makeup fx, which was largely appreciated here. vigos performance was ok (i thought cassell was much better), but the bad accent ruins it for me. but then again i didn't think bale in american psycho was very groundbreaking either. funny what you say about mainstream audiences considering this has an 8.1 rating on imdb, while none of his other films even come close (a history of violence is his 2nd highest rated with 7.6...).

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the pacing of his films and his endings are what i would call complex. he doesnt really provide the kind of closure that most movies with this wide of a release do. he kind of leaves things ambiguous and allows the audience to imagine what might happen after. thats a huge risk to take on a film this big because alot of assholes will walk out of the theatre going "thats it?". also, the way he paces the story and the distances between kills will dissapoint people who only relate to lowest common denominator action. theres only 3 scenes that i remember with any killing, the barber shop, the graveyard and the bathouse. the preveiw makes it look like a bloodfest, but cronenberg knows how to make you wait for it and then when it does happen you really feel it. contrast that with a film like 300 where people are dying every 42 seconds and you become desensitized to it within the first 5 mintutes. the level of storytelling is just way better. i excuse a bad russian accent because i think al russian accents sound silly. vigo played this role like a master and you never knew if he was good or bad, and even in the end (spoiler alert) you kinda get the feeling that he enjoys the work he does as much as hes supposed to be a good guy. hes kind of stuck in what hes created for himself and he seems content with it.

also, the sex scene with the hooker was really well done. for a ganster movie, sex and mysogyny is usually glamorized. and the gratutiousness of this scene didnt make it sexy at all, it made it more exploitive. theres just way mroe thought going into every scene than youd expect from a movie that is getting as much publicity as this film. even going into it, i was expected it to be all hype about graphic violence and nudity. the bathhouse seen is already infamous. and it didnt really need to be complex to satisfy my expectation. i would have been happy with the eye stabbing and the saggy balls. but i was pleasantly suprised to get a rich, dense film with a moving story.

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also mass, i didnt intend to imply that because you didnt enjoy it, youre somehow pedestrian or lacking in intellect. theres alot of supposedly brillaint movies i think are weak. i was just making a case for why i think its a polarizing films. wasnt tryign to place you in either extreme of that situation.

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I thought it was pretty good, the one major fighting scene was incredible, and while at first I was a little put off by where it stopped, I realized that for the whole plot to flush itself out would take hours more or an unrealistic wrap up ending.

I've only seen Cassel in this and in Ocean's Twelve, what other films that he starred in did you guys enjoy?

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la haine was his breakthrough and my favorite roll of his that ive seen so far. and he was really intense in irreversible. the movies he gets involved with makes me wonder if hes even that great an actor. i think anyone would shine in those films. oceans twelve was bitchass though.

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What could have been a great movie ended up a barely passable one because the author sacrificed ambiguity for the sake of plot twist and easy categorization. I liked the tattoos I guess...

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

just saw it, plus points for how raw cronenberg continues to be (sex scene, naked fight scene ... i didn't laugh, just thought it was intense and really added to the realness of film) . . . ending was lacking , pandered to a more mainstream crowd "oooo they adopt the baby!!" we didn't need to see the cute little package at the end.

where was the "twist", i thought what was happening throughout was pretty clear.

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just saw it, plus points for how raw cronenberg continues to be (sex scene, naked fight scene ... i didn't laugh, just thought it was intense and really added to the realness of film) . . . ending was lacking , pandered to a more mainstream crowd "oooo they adopt the baby!!" we didn't need to see the cute little package at the end.

where was the "twist", i thought what was happening throughout was pretty clear.

aggreed, ending could have been improved upon

but all in all, excelllent movie

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also, the sex scene with the hooker was really well done. for a ganster movie, sex and mysogyny is usually glamorized. and the gratutiousness of this scene didnt make it sexy at all, it made it more exploitive. theres just way mroe thought going into every scene than youd expect from a movie that is getting as much publicity as this film. even going into it, i was expected it to be all hype about graphic violence and nudity. the bathhouse seen is already infamous. and it didnt really need to be complex to satisfy my expectation. i would have been happy with the eye stabbing and the saggy balls. but i was pleasantly suprised to get a rich, dense film with a moving story.

Sex scene is well done? I have been trying to duplicate it but I think its physically not possible unless you have long arms. If both were standing, it still can be done. The scenes in Lust, Caution seems easier.

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it would have been cooler if the plot focused more on his role as an undercover rather than the whole baby thing. It seems like it was left open for a sequal tho.

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Just watched it last night.

I enjoyed it...though I have problems with the ending as well.

Ambiguity doesn't bother me (hell, two of my favorite movies are Bela Tarr's Satantango and Werkmeister Harmonies) but it did feel a bit truncated to me, and I recall having a similar experience with American History X when I finally saw it a few months ago. My girlfriend remarked that it would be interesting to see Cronenberg tackle some HBO style serial work. He might really shine with the time that would allow him to flesh out his stories.

If I remember correctly, History of Violence was adapted from a graphic novel. Eastern Promises has a similar look and feel, and though I'm by no means too familiar with the directors work in general, I'm interested and impresssed by the way he draws depth out of what can often be quite a slick and polished surface.

I found myself really interested in the characters by films end, and though the violence was extremely brutal, it was well placed and didn't leave me feeling numb or cheap.

I'm gonna have to watch this and History of Violence again....

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I found myself really interested in the characters by films end, and though the violence was extremely brutal, it was well placed and didn't leave me feeling numb or cheap.

the way he handles the kills is the best part, i think. he forces you to feel them. every time someone dies its on par with the girl in the end of full metal jacket.

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I enjoyed eastern promises. The acting was superb, the shower fight scene, and Kirill/Nikolai's relationship, how Kirill is attracted to Nikolai, and how he in turn uses this to his advantage to manipulate Kirill. I also like how Naomi Watts wasn't used as some sort of sex symbol, although she does have a perfect ass in those jeans. However, I thought the whole diary thing was a bit tiring and could have been replaced with something a bit more interesting. Some of the conversation between Naomi Watts and her Aunt/Uncle seemed a bit strained and awkward also. It's also great when you hear in interviews, special features, etc, that sometimes after shooting when Viggo would head into a restaurant or bar while still dressed up, people were actually afraid of him and would become quiet and/or get up and leave. I'd love to see Cronenberg to do another big budget film, but in the style of some of his old works, The Fly, Scanners, etc. That would be great.

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Since many of you saw both 'Easter Promises' and 'History of Violence' I suggest you look into other Cronenberg movies. He is one of my favorite modern directors and since I was young I always wanted to meet him. I had the chance few years ago and I was really star struck which almost never happens to me. I guess I often identify with some of his characters and I'm quite fond of his style. I don't think his films are masterpieces but they are my secret pleasures. Definitely check out 'Crash' (not the shitty one that won the oscars), 'Dead Ringers' and 'M. Butterfly' (both with excellent Jeremy Irons), 'Videodrome', 'The Dead Zone' and the classic 'The Fly'.

Also the Uncle from 'Eastern Promises' is a good family friend and I had dinner and drinks with him multiple times.

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