2001 and the Talented HAL 9000; 2000 and the Talented Mr. Ripley; "Kind Hearts and Coronets," Afterthoughts

In the midst of writing last night's entry, I was also watching Kubrick's 2001 on TCM. Amazing how undated it looks. It has been awhile seen I'd seen it, so some things I'd forgotten. I'd definitely forgotten that the ape segment went on as long as it did. And I did notice a goof in the flight to the space station. A pen is floating in weightlessness but as it turns the liquid inside can be seen to flow "downward," which I don't think would happen.

There are also some curious anachronisms involving logos. The most noticeable is the telephone logo at the space station when the scientist makes the phone call. It the old bell-shaped one that would have been around when the movie was made. And I think the logo for the shuttle was for Pan America which is no longer around. Odd that nobody thought about the fact these logos, or companies for that matter, might not be in existence in 2001. Of course, on the other hand, Kubrick was playing with recognizable icons.

When I first saw the movie, the idea of HAL being possessive of Dr. Dave never occurred to me. But I noticed last night how HAL comes across as downright prissy. And certainly he has "human" emotions when threatened because he kills four of the crew members. So I don't think it is too farfetched to see homoerotic undertones to the relationship with Dave. I'd also forgotten Dave's skimpy exercise shorts. Knowing what a control freak Kurbrick was, you realize that nothing was there by chance, so this adds weight to my argument.

Although a great movie, the ending drives me crazy. I know that Clarke and Kurbrick were indicating the next evolutionary jump from human to star-child or something, but it seems to go on forever. I would have preferred a more mundane ending. But then I'm not a world famous movie director.

Some friends and I went to see "Mr Ripley" this afternoon. At the least, it is very impressive. And certainly contains some fine performances by Matt Damon and Jude Law. About an hour ago, I read the reviews and comments at IMDB. And I can see how you can quibble about a number of issues including how Matt portrays Ripley. Obviously, some were hoping for Matt to play Ripley with more direct menace. In this rendering, Matt's Ripley is more an opportunist than an evil conniver. Although by the end, he is certainly willing to wipe out a threat.

Ripley seems so non-threatening, and the other characters such cads that you begin to hope he'll get away with it. Somewhere I've heard the phrase "magnetic villain" and that is very appropriate for Ripley.

I also thought of the British comedy "Kind Hearts and Coronets," in which the hero bumps off about a dozen relatives that stand between him and an earldom or such. As in Ripley, the characters are such nit wits that their demise hardly bothers you. (BTW all the relatives are played by Alec Guiness. One of the relatives is a suffragette who is going up in a hot air balloon to drop pamphlets over Buckingham Place. The hero shoots down the balloon and says, "I shot an arrow into the air, she fell to earth in Berkley Square.")

Several of the reviews I read mentioned the "great" performance by the actor playing Freddy. And that may be true for I certainly felt him to be a total twit. (He was such a twit that I think I would have murdered him first.)

The homoerotic attraction between Ripley and Dickie, Matt and Jude, is definitely played up. You know that Dickie realizes that Ripley worships him. But relationships don't mean a lot to Dickie.

Anyway, both Matt and Jude have momentary frontal nude shots and longer rear shots. The first, of Jude rising from the tub, establishes Ripley's physical interest in Dickie. And I think the second of Matt, also rising from the tub, done have Dickie is dead, mirrors the first. As though we're being told that Ripley has now managed to do everything that Dickie did. Of course, if both scenes were there only to arouse my prurient interest, I wouldn't argue. Fine with me! (I going to start an organization to promote the use of more shower and tub scenes in media.)

Although over two hours, I never found myself bored. In the last hour, every time Matt meets a character, I kept trying to remember if he was supposed to be Ripley or Dickie. After the movie as I waiting in the lobby for my friends, I heard someone call my name, And for a few nanoseconds, I tried to remember if I was supposed to me or someone else.

As I watched Ripley, I kept thinking about how all of us are capable of conning one another. Maybe it is a survival imperative, whether you are HAL or Ripley. The only distinction may be the degree to which you are willing to go. You may shift the way you deal with different people to such an extent that each person may know a different you.

But there is also a flipside to this. What if you are the person conned? What then? Several years ago, I was in a situation involving so many lies that I had no idea what the truth was. In retrospect, I came to realize that everything may have been a lie; there was no way to know. Thank goodness, I finally terminated ALL contact. But I felt so stupid not to have seen through more.

Now for another angle. There may be times when you enjoy being conned. Maybe it gives your life some type of perverse meaning. At least you are being recognized as a person.

Well it's time to end tonight's exciting chapter of my life. I think I'll whip out the phone book, and look for some long lost RICH relatives. Or at least some, I can con into thinking I'm their long lost POOR nephew.

PAX!