Hit Me With Your Best Shot : Atonement

Because this is THE moment. The moment Robbie (James McAvoy) falls deep in lust with Cecilia (Keira Knightley). That lust would lead to that filthy letter. The letter leads to that hot encounter in the library. That's what Briony (Saoirse Ronan) sees and misunderstands leading to the unravelling of all three lives.

And because Keira Knightly looks damn good wet.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot : Magic Mike

A few male strippers gather in a gym to workout and practice some new moves. A seasoned stripper teaches the new kid a few moves. They are looking at a mirror. Are they checking each others' moves or lost in a reverie of their own reflections? 

What else is happening in this shot? There's a mumbo jumbo motivational speech meant to rally up the young one. But it's all about that mirror and what they see and how they are completely lost in it.  The beauty of the bodies on display, the unsparring committment to the vanity of believing their own hype, that's what they to beleive to survive. This world in a brief few minutes.



This has been my contribution to The Film Experience's masterful series Hit Me With Your Best Shot.

Why : Because Matthew McConaughey looks fantastic and acts the hell out of the scene. Years of his sometimes charming, sometimes puzzling public persona has lead to this moment. He emerges a great character actor and a star for the ages.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Under The Skin

I'm on record saying Under the Skin (2014) is the best film of the year so far. I've seen it twice and loved it each time. The cinematography is amazing and gives the movie a unique and other worldly look. So it was hard to choose just one shot. But for The Film Experience's series "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", I had to do my best.

I chose this shot because this scene was my first indication that this movie is going places I can't anticipate. Scarlett Johansson's unidentified alien has just undressed this dead woman, whom she might have killed,  and wore her clothes. Yet she takes a moment to take her in. What is she thinking? What is she going to do next? Did she just appropriate something more from the dead woman than just her clothes by that look? The last question in particular came to me because I thought Johansson played both of these characters. In some shots the dead woman looks just like her, in others she does not. What is happening? Something so sinister and foreboding yet exciting about the silhouettes in shadow juxtaposed against the stark white background. Again what the fuck is happening?

So many questions and no answers. This will continue until the very end of the movie. And that's what makes it singular and inventive. Man I love this movie.

The Color Purple - It's All About Sofia

The Color Purple has always been about Sofia for me. She was the character who hit me the most and who stayed very vivid in my memory. If the movie is about the 2 biggest "-isms" of our time; racism and sexism, then Celie's story is all sexism and Sofia's most heartbreaking arc is about racism.

I love this shot from Sofia's first scene and introduction to the audience. Look at her. She's so full of life, love, hope, joy and most of all undeniable spirit. You know instantly that this is someone who's ready to take on the world. Even Mister's complete contempt doesn't bring her down. All of this will be chipped away from Sofia, little by little through the system, circumstances, and just because she was born who she is at the time and place she lived. Makes you want to scream at the injustice of it all. But first we get to savour the promise that lies in this shot.

"You told Harpo to beat me??!!"

Oprah Winfrey - as if there is another -is everything in this role. Watch her confront Celie in the famous "You told Harpo to beat me? " scene. In less than 2 minutes she tells her life story which is the story of all the Purple women including Miss Celie. But she also shows us her resilience and determination. It's the opposite of Celie's " I don't know how to fight, I know how to survive". Here she does what people like her do all the time; she opens Celie's eyes and leads to realize that she doesn't have to accept what's coming her way. If only knowing how to fight is enough.

And here it is; Sofia's ultimate defeat. Her giving in to Miss Millie which goes against everything we know about her. I still remember the first time I watched this, at home, on video. I broke down at Sofia's first encounter with Miss Millie's. Oh my how her spirit - the most beautiful thing about her - was broken. I cried and cried and couldn't stop even after the movie was over. Some 25 years later this memory is so vivid and alive with me. I still want to scream at the world; at that injustice.