Sunday, October 25, 2009

Endgame

I watched Endgame tonight. I am not a political person, so I really appreciated the wonderful intro by David Tennant. It was not just wonderful because DT looked very nice and was speaking in his home accent. The intro was minimal, no frills, it gave a backdrop of context for the piece.
It was a difficult story to translate to film, a lot of "table talk" scenes, but there were some very solid performances from the cast. The camera points of view added visual interest to the piece, giving impressions of justified paranoia, that the characters (especially Michael Young played by Johnny Lee Miller)were being watched- which they were. At one moment, the camera shifted focus from Mandela to the bars of his cell, highlighting his incarceration. Perhaps because of my lack of connection to the situation or the documentary feel of many scenes, but I did have trouble feeling engaged and involved in the story and the characters. That always happens to me when watching Masterpiece Contemporary. Last year The Last Enemy left me feeling much the same. I don't know if it's me or the filming styles or the script, but I can't get emotionally involved with their series'. *Sigh*

Beforehand I was watching Nature, it was their program about the wild Stallions, beautiful creatures. There were previews for some upcoming programs after the show, their new Frontline "Close to Home" about the recession is cleverly filmed in a hair salon. Everyone opens up about their problems when their hair is being washed. Maybe because it's comforting, because our parents always washed and combed our hair as children.
I love PBS. Just wanted to share that.

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