Aahhh, Iñarritu. One of the most notable non-US filmmakers of the twenty-first century, Iñarritu used a similar template for his films during the 2000s, each to varying degrees of success. However, his two most recent outings have been a couple of the most notable films of the 2010s, and represent a greater leap in his overall body of work. While I look forward to his next project (can't believe it's been almost a half-decade since The Revenant), I've decided to take a look at his filmography to date and examine why some of his films work better than others.
*Muttering* Did I really have to eat that bison liver?
6. Biutiful (2.5)
Not exactly a film that is my cup of tea, though I don't dislike it. I just feel that it indulges in too much misery and stays on that note throughout the film. My other main problem is that I could never get involved into the main story, for reasons that escape me. I honestly don't think Bardem is bad in this film, as I would consider him to be decent at least in the first half, but as the film goes on, his performance never finds the variation needed to truly stick out.
5. 21 Grams (2.5)
A film I think is a liiiiiiiitle better than the aforementioned, mainly because it has more interesting performances here (Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Melissa Leo), yet the structure of the film somehow makes it harder to truly connect with. Also, the film does feel oddly distant at times, yet at other times, the film does hit the marks it's attempting. Overall, a film that doesn't completely work for me, yet it is not completely without merit.
4. Babel (3)
Iñarritu really likes this structure, doesn't he? Anyways, Babel follows a shooting accident gone wrong in Morocco and how it affects several people in different countries (Morocco itself, the United States, and Japan). I find the film to be decent as a whole, and though it could've reached bigger heights with stronger writing for several of the characters, it's one I honestly don't mind much. Brad Pitt & Cate Blanchett are good anchors for their section of the film, and Adriana Barraza delivers the best performance of the film as a housekeeper trying do right by both of the families she's a part of. I've never connected much with the Japan section of the film, as it does feel somewhat wedged in, but overall, I suppose it's ok.
Don't worry, I'll get to this later, but...damn that's gorgeous.
3. Amores Perros (4/4.5)
Iñarritu's debut film, and the one of his hyperlink narratives that I feel works better than his later ones. The film follows three different stories and how a car accident affects their lives. The first story I think is solid as a whole, as Gael Garcia Bernal gives a good performance as a young guy who will do whatever it takes to run off with his brother's wife.
The second story is about a model involved in the car accident whose live is impacted severely and has to adjust to life afterwards. While I do think it is solid acted, it didn't *quite* hit me as the other two stories did, though I would still call technically call it good.
My favorite of the three stories, however, is the third one, as it is about El Chivo (Emilio Echevarria) who is in the middle of it all in regards to the car accident and how it affects him, as he is someone who is of course on the fringes of society. The main reason I like the story is that it Iñarritu allows the film to have a bit of dark comedy here, which prevents the film from being one-note throughout its' entire runtime. Echevarria gives the best performance in the entire film here, as a homeless man who curiously loves to live on the outskirts of civilization, yet is still seeking redemption for his past mistakes.
2. The Revenant (4/4.5)
Aahhhhhh...The Revenant. I'll start off with the positives for the film. The film it must be said is very well-crafted, with Iñarritu collaborator Emmanuel Lubezki delivering some of his best work behind the camera. The film is loaded with great shots of nature, and I have particular affection for the way the battle/adventure scenes are staged, as they avoid the "shaky cam" technique that is so popular these days. Special mention here would go to the opening battle scenes, as Iñarritu & Lubezki know how to put you right in the middle of the action and grant it a visceral feel, without losing you in the middle of the chaos. The production design, while minimal in terms of actual sets, is also remarkable.
The performances themselves are very-good-to-great, with Will Poulter as one of the films' moral centers in Jim Bridger, Domnhall Gleeson as expedition leader Andrew Henry, and Forrest Goodluck as Hugh Glass's son. The rest of the ensemble is also good in more limited roles, but of course the two stars of the show are the ones whose names are on the poster.
Leonardo Dicaprio I find gives a very-good-to-great performance as Hugh Glass. He is at first great at showing a sense of fatherhood with his son, and he shows that he's trying his best in raising someone who can eventually survive in the wilderness. Things of course do not go all that well for him later on, as Dicaprio is terrific in showing a great deal of physical pain in the films' now infamous bear attack scene, and another scene involving the selfish John Fitzgerald and his son. After those two scenes, Dicaprio does a good job in showing what motivates him to pursue his revenge for the evil act that Fitzgerald committed, as well as just trying to survive in the wilderness in general. If you haven't seen the film, I won't spoil it here, but I believe Dicaprio is great in the very last scene in the film and leave it at that.
However, the my favorite performance in the film would actually go to the man behind John Fitzgerald, Mr. Tom Hardy. I love every minute of his performance, and I think he's terrific. At the beginning of the film, Hardy establishes what type of character John Fitzgerald is, as he's someone who will protect his "pelts" no matter what, as he REALLY loves making money. He's great at detailing that everything that gets in the way of that is an inconvenience to him, while also bringing a great deal of comedy to the proceedings, which again, allows a bit of dynamic energy to the film. Hardy is also in the center of two of my favorite scenes in the film, with his "God is a squirrel" monologue, which Hardy somehow someway makes it work, and his final showdown, which may actually have my favorite line reading of the film. I still find it amusing that he received an Oscar nomination for this role, and I hope we'll get to see him get a second one some day.
With that out of the way, I would like to focus on some of the flaws of the film. My main problem with the film is that it really is longer than it should've been. I believe that cutting, even say, twenty minutes from the second act of the film would've helped in adding more urgency to Glass's quest, while still making us feel his struggle to survive in the wilderness. The actual second act of the film isn't necessarily "bad" in my view, but again, some trimming would've definitely helped.
Besides that main problem, I have a couple of others. The "dead wife" imagery of the film didn't completely work for me, and I think either a more subtle handling of it, or even completely excising those would've aided the film more, though I still don't think they're bad. Overall, I find The Revenant to be a compelling film about man vs. nature in the vein of Werner Herzog, and the good elements of the film do make up for the lesser ones to an extent.
1. Birdman (5)
With all the praise for the above two films mentioned, my favorite of Iñarritu's films to date is the one that got him his first Best Director statue and Best Picture as well, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).
Birdman is a film that I honestly find to be truly great. One of the most remembered aspect of the film, the long-take, is a gamble I find that tremendously pays off, as it adds a special kind of energy to Riggan Thomsons' (Michael Keaton) journey to being taken seriously as he attempts to stage a play of Raymond Carver's What We Talk About When We Talk About Love."
All of the technical elements of the film I think are great. The cinematography by Lubezki is great in showing the vibrancy of New York City theatre, while the outdoor shots have a vivid life to them, both during the nighttime and daytime. The production design is also quite solid, as the stage and the sets in the play themselves are also memorable. The editing for Birdman is one of the most important elements of the film, as if it wasn't on point here, the one-take technique may not have worked at all, but it does.
Iñarritu's direction is amazing here, as he balances several different tones throughout into one cohesive film, such as the bickering between Riggan & pompous theater actor Mike Shiner (Edward Norton), the serious scenes between Riggan & his drug-addled daughter Sam (Emma Stone) or even the mythical "Flight of Fancy", which still manages to be funny at the end.
The screenplay is also great and one of the films' great assets, as it crafts a fully-formed lead character in Riggan Thomson, as we see what motivates him to make a comeback, while also see his flaws and how it led them to end up where he is at the beginning of the film. Many of the other characters are distinct & memorable, as the aforementioned Sam & Mike, the harsh theatre critic Tabitha (Lindsay Duncan), and Riggans' best friend/lawyer Jake (Zack Galifianakis). I could even see them leading their own films to be honest. Past the characters, I find the film to be very funny, as there are several one-liners that I've always laughed at.
But of course, what I find to be the films' best aspect is the man at the center of it all, Michael Keaton, as he gives a great performance as the washed-out Riggan Thomson. A lot of the tones in the film are in his hands, and I think he's terrific at balancing each and every one of them. Whether it'd be the distant father & husband who's trying to reconnect, the actor who's valiantly attempting a comeback, or the guy who's battling his inner conscious in the form of the titular character, Keaton gives an amazing performance.
I could go on & on about Birdman, but I'll stop there, and it's a film I'll gladly defend against the backlash it has received since it won Best Picture.
What is your favorite Iñarritu film? Your least favorite? Answer off in the comments below.
