(movie recommendation)
The Counselor movie is a film made by the script of Pulitzers prize winner Cormac McCarthy. It is directed by Ridley Scottt. Movie cast (amazing!): Michael Fassbender, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz and Brad Pitt. Conclusion? This film has to be phenomenal! But… Why The Counselor has barely a passing grade on IMDb?!
The thing is somewhat simple – you have to think during the film. You can not look at it while you’re mind wanders what you will do tomorrow. “One of the worst movies I’ve ever seen”, “A great movie cast, but the film s****!” are just some of the comments. But, why? The director tried to tell a story in an unusual way. Not to reach for those classic thriller tricks where the story lost its charm (slow matrix scene, seductive stroke by Penelope and holding the camera on Brad’s look). When you realise that this is an American movie, you will understand the full meaning of Ridley’s narrative. I will repeat again, this is an American blockbuster, and it would be logical to make an “amazing” thriller that will keep the audience in the cinema suspense until the very end and then reap millions from their 117-minute catharsis. Later on, that same audience could safely come back to their retail friends and told them that they’ve seen a great action movie. You expect sex, drugs and money and you get that. But raw, artistic, unclear. What happened? It seems that’s the biggest mistake of the movie – they did not fulfill the expectations. They did not allow to be what they announced in a trailer (gunfire, car chases and drug battles).
However, a little more intelligent viewer would have to understand that if Brad Pitt plays in the film, this is no ordinary film. Brad’s have left roles of blond seducer with sleepy eyes long ago and devoted himself to acting. Yes, a serious acting where each of his roles is not a random choice but deliberately thinking “what’s next”. Perhaps an even greater impression are Penelope and Cameron. Here they are, the two Hollywood beauties that may show an inch of skin of the upper thigh. Nothing like that. Women here are not only expendable goods of perfect curves and hair (although, I have to admit, fashion is impeccable here!). But despite Armani and Paula Thomas, women are thinking. And this certainly affect both man and action in the movie. As in real life. Maybe that’s why Ridley chose Cameron. I’m not just good looking. I know how to think and make you do crazy stupid things for me.
The Counselor asks (seemingly unnecessary), what is the price of moral values and the heart? What is your price? And if you do not see something, does it not happen? But do not worry, you’re not alone; most people (if not all) would also sell their souls (it seems apparent: only souls!) for money (as well as most think this was a bad movie). The only question is where is the limit. And what the limit is, if there is any.
Will you like the movie? Probably not. It demands attention, and most people degraded their perfect concentration to the attention of fruit flies because of computers. You maybe like potentially ambiguous dialogues that most find superfluous. And if you are used to things going their own predictable way, you will not realise how bold and exciting this movie is. Because the movie shows what we often don’t want to know: queer tendencies, murder in the middle of the street that nobody writes about, and the drug cartel in which officials and politicians have fixed roles. In the end, it seems that this is a movie that got bad marks, but in several decades people are going to watch it and say: my god, what a movie! Meanwhile other Hollywood thrillers can only come and go.
