Ash Wednesday

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TITLE="http://www.frodolivesin.us"><U><IMG SRC="021ef530.jpg" border=0 width="239" height="83" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>  |    <A HREF="http://www.frodolivesin.us" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.frodolivesin.us"><U> </U></A><A HREF="http://www.frodolivesin.us" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.frodolivesin.us"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> back to  <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="RE: 35 Elijah Wood Movies"><U><B>RE: 35 Elijah Wood Movies</B></U></A><B> </B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=370 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFBF0" TEXT="#080000"> <div>   </div> <div> <I><B>Ash Wednesday</B></I><B> [R] [2002] </B></div> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="03ec86e0.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="110" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="0402cc80.jpg" border=0 width="300" height="200" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <B>More screencaps from this movie: </B><A HREF="http://www.frodolivesin.us/nonlotr/id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.frodolivesin.us/nonlotr/id48."><U><B>Sean meeting his son</B></U></A><B> and </B><A HREF="http://www.frodolivesin.us/nonlotr/id82.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.frodolivesin.us/nonlotr/id82."><U><I><B>Ash Wednesday</B></I></U></A><A HREF="http://www.frodolivesin.us/nonlotr/id82.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.frodolivesin.us/nonlotr/id82."><U><B> flashback</B></U></A></div> <div> Overall movie: <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#990000" FACE="Arial" ><B> *</B></FONT></div> <div> EJW content: One great scene (and a number of "OK" ones)<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >  </FONT></div> <div> How much you like this movie depends a lot on what you're looking for.  If you're looking for a tightly-woven plot, scintillating dialogue, high emotion, and lots of action, you might not enjoy it much.  But if you're looking for pervasive atmosphere, interesting cinematography, unusually good use of lighting, some admirable (although uneven) acting, and symbolism that verges on the surreal, this movie is one to look at.  The second group of elements takes precedence over the first; for example, if there's a choice between keeping the plot logical or strengthening the symbolism, the symbolism wins.  I enjoyed the movie a lot more after I figured that out and could stop wondering, "Now, why did he...?" or "Why didn't they...?", etc., because the movie doesn't even pretend to answer a lot of those questions.  By the way, if you <I>are </I>interested in the atmosphere, cinematography, lighting, etc., the director's commentary on the DVD is worth a listen--especially if you want to learn how these were pulled off on a <I>very </I>low budget.</div> <div> A lot of the acting is low-key (I'm tempted to say low-energy); we get to watch Ed Burns walk down the street and chew gum (occasionally at the same time!) a <I>lot</I>.   Some of the supporting characters are stereotypical, but a few of the actors are able to break out of the mold.  I thought Rosario Dawson (whose character is <I>not </I>stereotypical) was the most believable as far as level of emotion, etc., but that may even be because her character is something of an outsider in the world we're being shown, where often the last thing you want to express is what you really feel about something.   </div> <div> Elijah's best scenes are his first (which opens the movie) in which his character is in one of those situations where the most dangerous thing he could have done is show his emotions, and his last, which puts his character in an overwhelmingly emotional situation of a type Elijah hasn't acted before.  That final scene is a "duet" between him and Rosario Dawson, and--in my opinion, at least--it's hands-down the best almost-a-minute in the movie.  Elijah's other scenes aren't bad, but they do fit the more low-energy style of the movie and he spends a lot of his time being told things so that the audience knows them; this movie doesn't pay much attention to "show, don't tell," and Elijah's character is often on the listening end.</div> <div> The movie is rated R for "pervasive language and some violence."  There are some shootings, and some blood, but the violence isn't extreme.  But the word "pervasive" definitely describes the language content.  It's unusual for a character in this movie to open his or her mouth and <I>not </I>have the "f" word--or worse--come out.  Because of the wonders of DVDs, I have a suggestion for anyone who wants to see Elijah's best work in this movie but who also needs to avoid the pervasive language (or anyone who doesn't think they can sit through 99 minutes of cinematography and atmosphere without a logical plot):  Rent or borrow the DVD, watch the opening scene (it's a flashback of Elijah's character three years before the main action), use the scene access function to go to "Reunited" (chapter 22), watch Elijah and Rosario in that (maybe several times!), then eject the DVD and return it to the rental place. </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="253" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="121"><div> <I><B>Buy DVD:</B></I></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="121"><div> <I><B>Buy VHS:</B></I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 78 ><NOBR><div> <I> <iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" width="120" height="240" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?o=1&l=as1&f=ifr&t=afewworabo-20&dev-t=D68HUNXKLHS4J&p=8&asins=B00007L4KT&IS2=1&bg1=ffffff&fc1=000000&lc1=6373B5&IS2=1&lt1=_blank"><MAP NAME="boxmap-p8"><AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="14, 200, 103, 207" HREF="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" ><AREA COORDS="0,0,10000,10000" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/afewworabo-20" ></MAP><img src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/rcm/120x240.gif" width="120" height="240" border="0" 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