Monday, October 28, 2013

The Counselor

A few days ago, as I marveled at the needlessly difficult new film, The Counselor, I knew at least three things to be true. One, this is the most infuriating film I’m going to see all year. Two, I kind of love it. Three, many people will not. By the film’s end, I sat and listened in amusement as my fellow attendees scoffed and grumbled their way out of the theater. I smiled and wondered, has Ridley Scott just made the most divisive film of his career?

Nothing about The Counselor is easy. I can describe the plot of the movie in one sentence, but it would take me pages to try to decipher it. Essentially, the film is about an unnamed lawyer (Michael Fassbender), who, despite being an otherwise straight-laced guy, decides to make a few extra bucks by going in on a drug trafficking deal. The motives for his greed are left unknown. Perhaps it is to shower his girlfriend (Penélope Cruz) with wealth, despite the fact that she seems more than pleased with him as is. Perhaps it’s to impress himself, or pay off a debt elsewhere. We never know the root of the Counselor’s greed. Maybe because greed often speaks for itself.
For guidance on the drug deal, the Counselor consults with a handful of color characters, including his partner on the deal, Reiner (Javier Bardem), and criminal consultant, Westray (Brad Pitt). Both of these men spend the entirety of their time with the Counselor explaining how dangerous this drug deal is. Once you’re in with these cartels, you’re in for good. Fuck up once, and you’re dead. And so on. Despite these incessant warnings, the Counselor goes all in. Needless to say, it doesn’t take long for things to unravel, and, well, best to end the narrative description there.

Sounds simple enough, right? But 10 minutes into the film, I knew this flick was destined to split audiences harshly. It all comes down to the script. Cormac McCarthy’s relentlessly verbose, utterly confounding script. The plot of the movie I’ve just described is in no way spelled out for the viewer. In fact, I didn’t have much of a clue what was going on for the first half of a film. I listened intently and prayed that things would start to make sense.
If you’ve read McCarthy’s novels, you know that he writes challenging prose. His expository details are unforgiving in their length, and routinely demand the guidance of a thesaurus. His dialogue, however, is usually rather straightforward. Nearly every single word of dialogue the Coen brothers used in No Country for Old Men was taken directly from McCarthy’s source novel. In his Pulitzer Prize-winning text, “The Road,” dialogue is an afterthought to setting. My point is, McCarthy’s script for The Counselor has its characters speak in McCarthy’s famed exposition, using extended parables and metaphorical anecdotes that barely connect. If nothing else, The Counselor proves how vital a screenplay is to a film. If this film had more of a straight story, I’m sure it would be a bigger hit. But they chose a different direction, one that is clearly maddening the masses, but that I find unapologetically refreshing.

You might wonder if Michael Fassbender puts in the kind of reliable work we’ve come to expect from him. Yes, he sure does. His Counselor is a different role for him. A confident but vulnerable man. Rich but greedy. Innocent yet lost. The anti tough guy. You might wonder if Javier Bardem is as zany as he looks in the film’s trailer. Sure is. How about Cameron Diaz, is she as effective a femme fatale as the marketing materials have suggested? In my opinion, hell yeah, but many have and will disagree.
But is The Counselor perfect? No, of course not. There are several scenes in the film that, while occasionally entertaining, have nothing to do with anything. They don’t even promote solid character development. (As amusing as it is to watch Cameron Diaz literally fuck a car, and listen to Bardem puzzlingly explain the whole thing later, the scene exists solely so that The Counselor can be remembered as that film where Cameron Diaz literally fucked a car.)

I could go on, but many other reviews have had a thrilling time bashing this film to pieces, so I leave you with this: The Counselor struggles to make sense, because it wants to struggle to make sense. Whether or not you’re willing to accept that as worthy art is entirely up to you. B 

24 comments:

  1. I'll probably see this when it comes on TV as I heard how polarizing it is. Still, I'll see it if I ever get around to doing an Auteurs piece on Ridley Scott though he's nowhere near the list of the filmmakers I'm planning to do for next year or 2015.

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    1. I look forward to your review. Dare I be so bold to predict you'd like this one, but I think you would.

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  2. One critique that I think is valid, but I haven't seen much ink spilled over, is the the film's depiction of women. Like a lot of McCarthy's work, it's attitudes toward women aren't terribly progressive. There's a clear Madonna/prostitute dynamic going on with Laura and Malkina, but interestingly I think the film may pass the Bechdel ("two women talking") Test.

    While most of the male conversations tend to revolve around women and sex, the women's conversations tend to revolve around money and power. That's particularly apparent in Laura and Malkina's poolside conversation about the engagement ring. At the end of the film, Malkina and "the Blonde" are talking about the ethics and mechanics of their deception--not the act itself. The men, who are the ones embarking on this deal, are impulsive and naive compared to their female counterparts.

    I agree that the car scene seems a bit (ha!) gratuitous, but I think it does shed light on Reiner's mental state going into the deal. It's another example of how incompetent the male characters are in this world, another red flag that The Counselor ignores in his blind quest for easy cash.

    The more I think about this film, the more interesting subtext becomes apparent. I hope this film gets the reassessment it deserves once some of the critics put their knives down and we can move on from the more sensational stuff.

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    1. I love (and agree with) what you said about McCarthy's attitudes toward women. That seems to be more or less prevalent in much of his work, including this script.

      I also agree that the car scene showed how shaken up Reiner was, but his mental state had nothing whatsoever to do with the botched heist! An amusing scene (of course), but that was just one example of things that I didn't think were entirely necessary.

      I too have enjoyed thinking of this one more and more. I'll be curious to see if it outlives the vitriol.

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    2. What I took away is that Reiner shares the car anecdote because he doesn't trust Malkina, that there's a fierceness in her that he can't understand. The Counselor even questions Reiner, but makes the same mistake of dismissing those misgivings off-hand.

      There were probably more elegant ways to communicate Reiner's doubt and willful ignorance, but the car scene definitely succeeded in bringing a lot of attention to the film.

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    3. Hell yeah, for sure. I really did love that scene, but I much preferred Bardem's retelling of the deed than the deed itself, you know?

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  3. Sounds good to me. I knew this one would split audiences, looks like a love it or hate it type film. I was worried about this film, but it looks up my alley for sure, I want to check this out.

    Seems like whenever a lot of great stars come together in a film like this people are let down or don't enjoy it, maybe too high expectations?

    I like Fassbender, Pitt, Bardem, Diaz, Cruz and company so I'll be along for this ride. Looks like it has a lot of style...

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    1. I think you'd definitely appreciate it, given what I know of your tastes. I certainly think people's expectations were too high. I think mass audiences wanted convention, which this flick certainly is not. If you see it, come back and let me know what you think!

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  4. Nice review my man. The cast was what really kept this material interesting and the slightest bit of entertaining. However, it is very messy in ways that one would expect from a collaboration between McCarthy and Scott to be. Maybe a less-stylized director would have handled this better, maybe?

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    1. Thanks Dan. I think if both McCarthy and Scott restrained themselves a little, we could've had a big hit here. But I also don't think they had no desire to restrain themselves. So, The Counselor is what we get.

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  5. "My point is, McCarthy’s script for The Counselor has its characters speak in McCarthy’s famed exposition, using extended parables and metaphorical anecdotes that barely connect." So true, though I would argue that while they don't necessarily connect the plot (if that's the word we wish to use, and maybe it isn't), they all connect to the larger themes. And that's, I think, what's most interesting here to McCarthy. Everyone's going in looking for the story and there really isn't one.

    I also think I'd agree with W.J.'s comments regarding the Cameron-Diaz-fucks-a-car scene. I mean, Cameron Diaz ends up being the one in total control, right? And at the end of that story Javier Bardem's character can't even remember WHY he told The Counselor that story! It's a red flag and he just skates over it.

    Anyway, solid review, glad to see you came down on the positive side of this one. We must maintain a united front!

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    1. Thanks man. Yeah, best to not nit pick each other's positive reviews - united we stand!

      But I do agree with you, so many people are expecting a cohesive story, and there just isn't one, which doesn't have to be a bad thing. To be clear about the car scene: I loved that scene for many reasons, but it did just feel like shock value to me. I appreciated Bardem's retelling of the act more than the act itself, you know?

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  6. Great review! I read the script a while ago and I was hoping they will go easy with the talking and develop the story and the background of the characters a little more, unfortunately it seems like they didn't. I mean I'm not sure how much of the dialogue in the opening bed scene was left in the film but that was just cringe worthy.

    Also I wish they developed Malkina a bit more, she is such an interesting character. I think the car scene was there for a purpose of showing just how odd and uninhibited she is and as a contrast to somewhat intimate relationship between Counselor and Laura - that way they showed just how strange and unfamiliar the world he is getting into is. I'm still looking forward to seeing the film, popular opinion is Pitt is awesome here and I do like him a lot.

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    1. Thanks! There is a tad too much dialogue in that opening scene, and to make matters worse, it is so obvious that the majority of the dialogue was recorded in ADR. Which is odd, given that Scott is such a technical craftsman.

      I really can't wait to read your take on this film. I think your review (whether positive or negative) will be incredible.

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  7. Glad you dug it man. I love it when a divisive film comes out, and this is a prime example. I think I like it, but I'm not sure. Maybe I need to see it again. My biggest problem was that I started to count how many times the word "counselor" was said. Needless to say, I lost count.

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    1. One of my biggest pet peeves in movies is when characters repeat the names of other characters. So I kind of thought this was a nice send-up of that, even if it wasn't intentional.

      Have you seen The Edge? I think half of Alec Baldwin's dialogue in that movie is the name "Charles." So funny.

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    2. Ha, I've seen The Edge, but I don't remember the excessive use of "Charles." I might rewatch it some time just for that.

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    3. Do it! Especially now that you know it listen for it. It's absurd. Right when I got on Twitter, I tweeted Baldwin about it, and he wrote me back something to the effect of: "I tried to say it with a different accent every time, too."

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    4. That's awesome! I'll let you know when I give it another look.

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  8. The more time that passes since I first saw this the funnier I think it is. Sure it's a crime thriller but all the way through it I was just laughing my ass off - at the end I thought it was more of a pitch-black comedy than a drama or thriller but that's just me. The two people I went to see it with had polar opposite reactions to it. With one thinking it was boring and stupid while the other thought it was really good and they were impressed with it. I would disagree with you about that car sex scene though because it was just so off-the-wall and unexpected I couldn't help but love it. I don't really know much of McCarthy's work outside of the films made from his books so I don't know how this fits in with his writing but the whole thing had a sort of surrealist kind of vibe, like it's just so out-there that it worked for me, though I do agree with you that that scene will probably be what most everyone will remember this for, which is a shame.

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    1. I think I misrepresented myself when I discussed the car scene. I LOVED that scene for all the reasons you mentioned. I love Bardem's reaction during the act, and his confused description of it after. But do I think it was necessary for the story? Nah. Hilariously amusing cinema, sure. But there's a shock factor that Scott and McCarthy are relying on there that didn't fully work for me.

      I also laughed quite a few times during this film, which is what I think everyone involved would want. I really enjoyed this one!

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  9. Felt like coming back to chat about this one with you. I finally caught it last night, I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I think I need to watch this one again. Was easy to miss some dialogue if you take a peek at your cell phone or something. Overall I was entertained, the first scene really grabbed me by the horns, let me know what kind of film I'd be experiencing.

    Very heavy on dialogue and plot, which is all fine with me, could be frustrating for others, and some of the plot / dialogue could be misjudged as confusing, but I thought it was very clever, stylish, serious and to the point.

    My fav characters were Brads, Javier and Camerons. Loved listening to Javiers stories.

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    1. You know, I actually watched the director's cut of this flick a few weeks ago, and liked it a lot more than I originally did. I think Brad Pitt in particular is really strong in it. I love when he meets up with Fassbender at the poolside hotel bar and tells him that they are both essentially fucked. The way Pitt plays that scene is terrifying, but also hilarious.

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    2. I agree about Pitt. Very strong in this.

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