"Cold Calculation" is worth watching for fans of Oscar Isaac. And not only

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The screenwriter "Taxi Driver" has questions about the film. But she also has many advantages.

On September 23, the drama Cold Settlement with Oscar Isaac will be released in Russia. Paul Schroeder, Martin Scorsese's friend, screenwriter for Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and The Last Temptation of Christ, was responsible for the script and production. He also worked extensively as a director, including creating a free remake of the 1951 Diary of a Country Priest, directed by Robert Bresson. By the way, this picture - "A Shepherd's Diary" - was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Even at the dawn of his career, Schroeder found his hero, moving from one plot to another. This is a loner with sexual problems, who does not even try to become a part of the world around him, but in the name of good decides on a radical act. Such were the taxi driver Travis Bickle, the fighter Jake la Motta, the shepherd Ernst Toller. And the central character from Cold Settlement just fits perfectly into this gallery of images.

Dazzling Oscar Isaac and his inferior colleagues

Former military man William Tell (Oscar Isaac) served time for crimes he committed in Iraq. After leaving prison, the hero becomes a blackjack player. He moves from one city to another, staying in inexpensive motels, and is not interested in big money. Once Tell's talent is noticed by the gambling agent La Linda (Tiffany Haddish), and gradually their business relationship develops into a romantic one. Around the same time, a young man named Kirk (Tye Sheridan) comes out on William, who dreams of revenge on his former commander Gordo (Willem Dafoe).

Oscar Isaac, with his textured facial features and heavy, piercing gaze, seems to have been made to play in a Paul Schroeder film. Plus, the hero came up with a rich backstory, making the guard of the infamous Abu Ghraib prison, which existed in reality. By the way, before going to the film, you should read about the torture that the prisoners were subjected to. This will greatly enrich your understanding of the context.

But the characters of La Linda and Kirk, as if in a hurry, were sketched out with the most common features. These characters came out to be offensively flat. There is no chemistry between them and the hero of Oscar Isaac, although according to the plot it should be. Because of this, the film is not entirely comfortable to watch: as if you are eating a half-baked dish. In addition, both Haddish and Sheridan are inferior to Isaac in acting and do not even have such crazy charisma as he does.

Controversial drama and unanswered questions

The trailer might give the impression that poker is the central theme of the film. But in reality, gambling is only a background here. Schroeder is much more worried about the trauma inflicted on the whole country by the events of September 11 and the invasion of Iraq.

The idea is great, but at the same time there are problems with the drama in the picture. For example, Isaac's hero wraps white sheets in the furniture in the motels where he stops. But it is not entirely clear what this means. Is he trying to recreate the prison setting? Do hotels seem unhygienic to him? Or does the hero just not want to leave a trace?

This technique can be mistaken for deliberate understatement. But for some reason it looks rather an insufficiently thought out detail. The same applies to the main characterization of the hero: William is a gambler, but what does this fact have to do with his past? As if the character had come up with a beautiful wrapper, but forgot to somehow justify its content.

At the same time, some of the solutions are very successful, as, for example, scenes with chanting "USA!" players. Such shots immediately acquire a double meaning, one has only to imagine the split in American society after the photo from Abu Ghraib.

Sterile frame space and nightmarish flashbacks

On top of all these rough edges, the film is extremely sterile. The frame is empty, but not at all like in the paintings of Edward Hopper, where lonely people yearn in a meager environment. In Cold Calculation, the space around the heroes is mostly lifeless. It is not interesting to study it.

At the same time, it is curious that the action takes place as if out of time. Only from cars and gadgets can you guess when events unfold. This move makes the movie look good old-fashioned.

What really worked out were the flashback scenes from Abu Ghraib. Despite the limited budget that did not allow to recreate the atmosphere of a real prison, Schroeder was able to visualize the nightmare that remained in the character's memory. The episode is filmed in one long shot, and the wide-angle effect with specific distortion creates a truly surreal world.

Cold Calculation shows that not every good screenwriter can be a good director. Paul Schroeder seems to lack a visual flair, which, for example, is the same Martin Scorsese. But Oscar Isaac's dazzling performance is what this movie is worth going for.