To call this movie "odd" would be an understatement. First, I'd like to take a look at the soundtrack. At first, I thought that the sound mixer might have made a mistake and used had taken the music from a different film and used it for Ravenous... then again, it might have added an odd balance to such a disturbing and serious topic of cannibalism.
Acting here was hit-and-miss. The part of Boyd and Colqhoun were excellently displayed, as Boyd was the captain regretting his cowardice decision to play dead in the war, and Colqhoun being the mentally unstable gentleman. The acting of the rest of the crew was passable at best.
Also, something I didn't understand: If Boyd was a Captain, why were lower people like Tolfer and Cleaves simply calling him "Boyd" and not using his title, "captain"? Eh, oh well. Also, I found it hard to believe that it took the general to show up so slowly during the final scene? I don't want to pick it apart, but this really stood out to me. I had a hard time believing that the film took place in the 1840s. I just didn't really buy it.
I liked how the film brought in American Indian folklore with the Windeego. I thought that the myth was a really cool thing to revolve the film around.
Not a bad film, but I just had a hard time wrapping my head around it. Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle were standout actors here, and viewing the film was worth it just to see their performances.
I think when the others called him Boyd it was them demonstrating a lack of respect. His accolades were under question, and upon returning as the only surviving member of the search party, they lost all trust and respect for him as a man. The pacing of the general's arrive was structured in a way to stretch out dramatic effect, although even if we were to look at it rationally, the climatic fight scene only lasted a minute or two, and it wasn't like the they were in any major rush to get there so it didn't really feel like much of a stretch to see them cavalierly strolling into camp. What were some of the performances that you were so down on?
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ReplyDeleteI couldn't get into the performances of Cleves (we've discussed my disdain for Arquette), Tofler and Knox. Question: Do you think Tofler had some kind of mental disability?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if he was mentally stunted but Pvt. Toffler did have one of the best lines of the entire film: "He was licking me!"
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