ALWAYS
A film review by George Drettakis
Copyright 1990 by George Drettakis
(MINOR SPOILERS)
A wonderful film, exceptional quality plane fire-fighting
scenes, good acting throughout. Spielberg has yet to
make a film that has true lasting value, but ALWAYS
is a step in the right direction. +2 in a -4 to +4 scale.
Ever since DUEL, Spielberg has shown fascination for the mysterious and fantastic, for fire and exploding vehicles. ALWAYS is a wonderful combination of all of the above. The plane fire-fighting scenes are gripping, full of suspense, and just plain wonderfully shot. You can almost feel the heat and the smoke, the agony of the pilot fighting through the burning forest. The explosions and fire far surpass anything in DUEL, EMPIRE OF THE SUN or the latest, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE.
Of course, ALWAYS is not just about fire. Capitalizing on a clever idea from the original book, Richard Dreyfuss gives a wonderful performance of a very human, jealous, possessive ghost-soul, with a mission to inspire a young upcoming fire-fighter pilot. Holly Hunter gives a strong, powerful performance, and manages to rise above the pressing need to prove herself as a star actress that seemed to dominate her BROADCAST NEWS role. She is much more relaxed, and shifts easily from strong, angry woman, to passionate, loving and caring.
ALWAYS is funny too. Following the trend of making comedies out of tragic events (WAR OF THE ROSES), this film manages to use death and parting from your loved ones into a special kind of tear-jerking comedy. The classic Spielberg fairy-tale dimension is ever present, allowing you to feel sad and happy simultaneously, in a way that only his films do. John Goodman, one of the more gifted comic actors of today, fits perfectly into the role of buddy, loving friend, and amusing guy.
In my books, Steven Spielberg has yet to come out with a film that is of lasting value, a monument in the history of cinema. But from the time of DUEL it was obvious that he has the ability, and ALWAYS shows that he is beginning to find the way to balance his film-making to achieve this desired end. See this film, you won't regret it.
George Drettakis (416) 978 5473 Dynamic Graphics Project Internet: dret@dgp.toronto.edu Computer Systems Research Institute UUCP: ..!uunet!dgp.toronto.edu!dret University of Toronto Bitnet: dret@dgp.utoronto Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A4, CANADA EAN: dret@dgp.utoronto.cdn - if you want to shoot, shoot; dont talk .
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