One of the most satisfying things in all of filmdom is watching a great director find a signature muse. These matches made in celluloid heaven yield such riches. Von Sternberg discovered and claimed Marlene Dietrich. Johns Ford and Wayne made many movies together. Scorsese had DeNiro (and now he’s trying to recapture that with DiCaprio, bless him). For a brief and glorious time greedy Julianne Moore had both PT Anderson and Todd Haynes to sing her praises. Woody Allen had Louise and then Diane and then Mia and Dianne on the side and now, possibly Scarlett Johansson. Uma Thurman, rather famously, has Quentin Tarantino wrapped around her I could go on but I should get to the point. After only two films together, David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortenson are making a strong bid for that director/muse pantheon...
[continue on to the Eastern Promises Review]
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Cronenberg + Viggo obsessed though I currently be, there are other movies opening today. Chief among them is The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford the long awaited western starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck as the title characters (and in that order). Pitt won the prize for best actor in Venice. Can he convert that into an Oscar run for Best Actor?You can also catch Into the Wild, Sean Penn's Oscarable (?) adaptation of the nonfiction bestseller. Or, if early Oscar bids aren't your cuppa --and if they aren't did you take a wrong turn getting here or something ;) --there's always Good Luck Chuck, The Jane Austen Book Club, or Milla Jovovich's Paycheck ... whichever gets you in that moviegoing mood.
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