|
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind - 3.5/4
Richard Dreyfus is the pilot light that ignites the gas of this story. Dreyfus has a mania that fascinates me when he works. There is a level of committed enthusiasm he brings which would be absurd in the attempts of almost anybody else and it works in a film with the scope and imagination that Spielberg brings with him. Comparatively the choice to fix the film on this endearingly manic little family man when there's a world of unanswered questions within the first five minutes helps maintain the suspense and surprise of the journey.
I think another actor would have killed this movie before half an hour had run.
I am a huge science fiction geek and I find myself in awe of Spielberg for essentially directing a mental breakdown that has a happy ending. It's a film that admits nothing to you as a viewer by way of denying you every wish you think you have in the in-film universe.
Melinda Dillon is absolutely magic for all of the screen time she was given. In fact I think she compliments Dreyfus as an actor more than anybody I can name.
This is a tangible story about aliens and it feels like a long, warm ride in the back of mum and dad's car on a rainy night in 1989...it's relaxing, safe and comforting.
Something tells me Sodebergh did exactly the opposite for Solaris and it worked a God damn treat.
|