Daniel J. Stasiewski, A&E Editor The Behrend Beacon The Screen Visions Film Series Director Holley discusses humorous and haunting cloning film The Snowflake Crusade' review by Daniel J. Stasiewski a&e editor To date, big-budget sci-fi films like "The 6th Day" and "Star Wars: Episode H" are the only mainstream pictures that have attempted to tackle the social and political repercussions of cloning. Unlike Megan Holley's low-budget feature "The Snowflake Crusade," these studio films see clones as über- warriors, not human experiments. Holley's film doesn't have clone-on clone shoot-outs or light saber duels. Instead, "The Snowflake Crusade" re lies on its quick, sardonic humor and dark political undertones. The creation of the film's contemporary-future world makes every scene visually en thralling. And that's without any space craft blowing-up. In the future, the DNA of the world's elite will be used for exclusive cloning purposes, insuring proper genetic specimens are used to create superior clones. In theory, the idea works, but it's only a matter of time until one of the clones turns out like Clive (Scott Mackenzie). Clive was produced from the DNA Eastwood's 'River' a modern masterpiece review by Daniel J. Stasiewski a&e editor As the credits rolled on "Mystic River," a stag gering sensation of emotional exlmstion engulfed my _mind and body. _ I .was ,posritive. +l' wen a Cin ematic miracle+, a rare story told artfully and emo tionally. I was sure I'd just seen a classic. "Mystic River" is a dark and tragic crime drama directed by Clint Eastwood, whose directorial tri umph "Unforgiven" told an old West tale of ven geance and justice. This film isn't too far off. But what Eastwood does here is masterfully meld the basic idea of revenge with an epic drama of infi nite passion and grievous salvation. It's a tragic story with unsympathetic characters and a meticu lous narrative that is as unforgettable as it is pow erful. The film begins when the three central charac ters are children. They do what most kids did in the '7os before Cartoon Network and Playstation; they play outside. Jimmy gets bored and looks to get into some trouble, but all he does is write his name in wet cement. Sean joins in the fun, but when Dave begins to write his name, a man pre tending to be a cop reprimands the boys for defac ing municipal property and takes Dave away. He's molested for four days until he escapes. Dave (Tim Robbins) grows up to have a family, and spends his time playing ball his son. He car ries himself like a beaten man, walking with his shoulders sagging and head down, his distant eyes always far from his Boston neighborhood. His pals Jimmy (Sean Penn) and Sean (Kevin Bacon) went in different directions, so the trio isn't as close as they were when they were kids. Sean became a homicide detective for the Massachusetts State Police and Jimmy spent some time in prison for robbery. Jimmy is a reformed thug who still looks like a mob boss but prefers the straight life of a neighbor hood convenience store owner. That is until his oldest daughter is murdered. Sean and his partner (Laurence Fishburne) are called to investigate and the three friends reunite under dire circumstances. Jimmy gradually slips back into his criminal past to find his daughter's killer, while Sean looks into the girl's relationships. Dave, whose mind is slip ping in and out of sanity, doesn't mention his mys terious violent encounter on the night Jimmy's daughter was murdered. His wife Celeste's (Marcia Gay Harden) knowledge of the bloody evening makes her suspicious of her husband, especially when he becomes a suspect. Laura Linney is also in this film, playing Sean Penn's unassuming wife. She's on screen for no more than 15 minutes, but her performance is a riv eting portrayal of devotion and ambition. Now, imagine what the other players offer during the entire runtime. Sean Penn is fantastic, giving quite possibly the best performance of his career. He portrays his character with the brutality expected of an ex-con and the heartbreaking sincerity of devoted father. Penn knows his character is almost unlikable, but he forces the audience to still care about him and his hunger for revenge. Likewise, Robbins plays a character with an of a Nobel Prize-winning bio-engineer and has lived his life in the shadow of his "pre-me." In his youth, the troubled clone turned to drug use and petty theft to fulfill his urge to destroy his predecessor's image and create a unique personality, but his actions only resulted in jail time and trips to psy chiatric hospitals. When his most recent mental ward home needs to create room for more patients, Clive is sent to a halfway house were he is set up with a job at Debtcon, the second-largest debt con solidation firm in the country. His boss is insincerely supportive, hiding his corporate agenda behind the "creating better people" motto. Clive spends his time emptying trash cans and refilling toilet papers, like all clones of super intelligent geneticists should. Clive still clings onto his mischie vous ways until he meets Marigold (Leisha Hailey), a narcoleptic telemarketer at Debtcon. Clive and Marigold form a strong bond, enjoy ing each other's eccentricities and mak ing prank calls to celebrities. They even steal a bunny together. Just when Clive starts to forget about his old hab Sean Penn consoles Marcia Gay Harden in "Mystic River." emotional burden that would crush any man. His performance isn't as overtly dramatic as Penn's, but Robbins' quiet anguish with an occasional burst of mental instability guides the picture to its tragic end. Bacon and Harden also give performances un like anything they've done before, treating the com plex and intense character with the respect and pas sion they deserve. But the performances do not over shadow a film whose director is as visionary as he is famous. Eastwood constructs a film with the heart and mind of a true enthusiast. He wrote the film's haunt ing score and seems completely immersed in the film's classical creation. His production mirrors the dark thematic stories of the '7os and contains the production values of a film from Hollywood's golden age. His style is simple and effective, al lowing the modern story to interweave itself in the classic filmmaking processes. I could throw com parisons out all day -- "Traffic" or "Shawshank Re demption" or "Schindler's List" or "American Beauty" or even "Babe" -- but my point is made by simply saying "Mystic River" is a modern master piece. Even as I write this I know there are going to be dissenters who write off "Mystic River" as a simple cop flick with a rather predictable twist. But be lieving this film is just another police drama is like viewing "Silence of the Lambs" as an episode of "NYPD Blue." If the twist is your complaint, then you missed the point. "Mystic River" is truly mas terful and entirely unforgettable. And I loved ev ery moment. ininn out of 4 stars urrently showing at Tins fI:V-,::, ..l':''' l '...‘, - 1 1 ::-,. :1 i•E:-..'''' . ..' . :-'' i'''.'Y'l' , ',l l o:: i - C7:01'44, Ii " - - - --- --- - • - - • --•-•-• • • ~~ ~. Friday October 24, 2003 its and detestable heritage, a blatant reminder sends him over the edge. There is something brilliant about Holley's image of the future, where postage stamps cost 98 cents and people still use rotary phones. It's the subtle things, like that or Clive's grubby "World Larger Producer of Natural Gas" T-shirt, that make Holley's film fun to watch the first time. I've seen this film at least 10 times and understand it's not the surface search for individuality that makes the film interesting. Holley does play with Clive's longing for uniqueness, using mirrors not as a tool of introspection a la Scorsese, but rather as a vision of a stranger. The sci-fi tale is almost Kubrickian. Other than that, the story of Clive and Marigold is sustained by rampant dia logue, comparable to the verbal battal ions of a Kevin Smith or Tarantino film. Mackenzie and Hailey deliver the vi brant banter with an unexpected zeal and flattering ease. Their relationship is sweet, which is a bizarre description for a haunting sci-fi film The background "Mystic River," di rected by Clint Eastwood and star- ring Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon, is litical battle, usu- Rhythms of Life Series Kicks off second season preview by Heather Peterson The Rhythms of Life Series opens its second sea son at Behrend on Wednesday with a performance by percussionist Tom Teasley. The show will feature songs from his critically ac claimed CD titled "Global Groovilization." His show is a percussive performance with West African, In dian, and Middle Eastern influences as well as some elements of jazz. Last season, was the first for this program, which is developed through the Office of Student Affairs and funded by SAF. Lydia Ramierez's "I Love America," a sitar player named Alif Laila, and muMs who is a poet and per former from the HBO series "Oz" were part of the inaugural season. Another act that was a big hit last year was a group known as Sub-Atomic Frequency Modulation Over dose. They featured an exciting show that included the use of stilts, graffiti, poetry, and digital animation. All the performances provided a look at the differ ent ways that cultures express their creativity and uniqueness through music and the arts. Due to the success of last season, Behrend will have the opportunity to experience more of these kinds of performances throughout the second season of the The purpose of the Rhythms of Life Series is to allow students, staff, and the general public to have the opportunity to experience diversity through a popu lar, familiar medium they can easily relate to. Many of the performances will have very different sounds, instruments, and mediums that are used in order to convey their purpose. Teasley's performance is the first in this year's se ries. The Washington Post has called him a "...per cussionist in the widest and most exuberant sense of the word." He has performed in many different places AaE Event Spotlight Couches and stools replace the usual tables and chairs in front of the Bruno's stage on Nov. 1 at 8 The makeover is part of the Lion Entertainment Board's month-long Coffee House Series featur ing acoustic guitarists and performance poets. This week the event kicks off with guitarist Eric Hutchinson and performance poet Kamal. Hutchinson is a 22-year-old singer/songwriter whose music has been described as "light and mis chievous folk pop from the gene pool of The Beatles, Elvis Costello, Ben Folds Five and Paul Simon" by CDBaby.com. Bruno's coffee shop will be open during both performances. Every Saturday in November features a different poet and musician, with an open-mic night set for the Nov. 22 event. To join the Coffee House Series Open-Mic Night, contact Jen Bragan at 898-6221 or visit www.clubs.psu.edu/bd/leb. For more information on Hutchinson visit www.eric-hutchinson.com Want to spotlight an event? Send suggestions for Nov. 3-9 to djs39s@psu.edu Scott Mackenzie clones around in The Snowflake Crusade." ally told through TV sets that are left on while other plot developments take place, is the film's most significant contribution to the sci-fi genre. The socio-political debate on cloning and reproductive rights could have been taken from a Philip K. Dick story, but Holley's humor is combined with the occasionally dark futuristic themes to create a science fiction film with a staff writer Monday through Nov. 2 unique vision that is rarely seen any movie today. '= 4lr it ').'i out of 4 stars on Tuesdati• at 7 pin in Reed 117. Director Megan Holley will be on hand for a post-show Q&A. Ad- mission is free Tom Teasley beats his drums in one of his groovy shows. and he usually does around 100 shows a year. Before his stop at Behrend, Teasley will visit Bethesda, Md. He will follow his Behrend show in Louisville, Ky. Teasley, who holds a master's degree in music from the Catholic University of America, incorporates many different elements into his works. He explores music from ancient time periods to today's electronic op tions. Elements from many different musical back grounds are demonstrated through the use of his vari ous percussive instruments. His setup includes bass and snare drums, hi-hats, cymbals, and a wide array of assorted percussion items. Teasley's "Global Groovilization" performance will be held in the Reed Wintergarden on Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. The snow is free and op,n to the pub lic. For more information al , out the uerformance, set up. and Teasley's extensive career, visit his Web site at www.tomteasley.com. The Rhythms of Life Performances will continue to bring diverse, cultural performances to Behrend throughout the year. LEB's Coffee House Series, Part 1 featuring guitarist Eric Hutchinson and poet Kamal behrcolls@aol.com "The Snowflake Cru sade" will he shown as part of the Screen Visions Film Series Page
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