#10 - OLIVER STONE
Oliver Stone provided us with the definitive paean to self-realizing violence in his 1994 masterpiece, Natural Born Killers. Rife with metaphor, mayhem, and murder, the film captures the logical conclusion to the existential angst that was bound to grow out of the sterile materialism of the 1980s. Indeed, Stone even resorted to the help of musical miscreant Trent Reznor for added sonic ambiance, prominently featuring his "Something I Can Never Have" in the film's climactic scene.
In the end, Stone's film is emblematic of the ironic criticism that defined the end of the twentieth century: Natural Born Killers was simultaneously celebrated by those who saw it as a condemnation of the media's glorification of violence, and decried by those who claimed it did little more than glorify the very violence it purported to condemn. Defiant in his unwillingness to be classified and boxed into a corner, Stone instead succeeded in condemning society, all the while laughing at its unfounded sense of outrage.
Stone continued his success with the witty, gritty, sexy comedy, U-Turn. An intriguingly shameless character study, the film features daringly tenacious performances from the likes of Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte, Billy Bob Thornton, and Laurie Metcalf. It is the perennial actor's movie, as it allows the stars free reign to channel their proverbial underbellies. What results is one of the most sublime (and grossly underrated) comedies of the 1990s.
What's next for Mr. Oliver Stone? Catch his epic Alexander later this year, which promises to tell the ultimately tragic story of one of the greatest military leaders in the history of warfare.
5 Comments:
With Natural Born Killers, Stone actually strayed from the type of film that I admire him for. I prefer the vast expanses of JFK and Nixon, paranoid political bio-thrillers which span decades and feature dozens of interrelated incidents shot in different formats. Oh, well.
Also, no mention of the Tarantino connection to NBK? Have you read Killer Instinct, the book about the tumultuous making of NBK?
I haven't read that book, but I have seen the making-of documentary that comes with the DVD. Interesting stuff, all of it. I especially liked the deleted scene with Ashley Judd. Lovely. (Although I agreed with Stone that it would have made no sense to include it in light of Mickey and Mallory's encounter with the medicine man.)
I must admit, that at the time I disliked Natural Born Killers intently. I thought it actually promoted violence, and didn't put it down. It's difficult to say with film, though, because it often depends on the individual's subjective views. I might view it differently now, though, since I know more about existentialism and that sort of thing (I was still in school when Natural Born Killers came out, and all my friends loved it BECAUSE of the violence, not because they thought it said something against it.)
As for Alexander, regretably, I didn't like that too. I really felt that more could have been done with it. Although, I think the script was the problem there.
The first time I heard about Oliver Stone was two years ago. My former boss who happens to be an avid fan of Oliver Stone showed me his collection of photographs of Mr. Stone. The movies you first mentioned, I honestly didn’t like them. But ALEXANDER was excellent! Not to mention that the movie starred Farrell but the whole movie was superb!
You must watch Alexander or you will miss one-half of your life. It is like watching History unfolds in front of you.
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