Ryan McNeilA few days ago I was home sick from work. Often when I’m home on a sick day, I tend to grab a handful of DVD’s from my shelf and throw them on while I drift in and out of sleep. You’d think that I’d want stories to comfort me, make me smile, and ultimately feel better – that’s the sort of movie people usually grab when they’re not feeling well, right? Well on this particular day, I grabbed NATURAL BORN KILLERS, PULP FICTION, and KALIFORNIA. I bet you’re feeling warm and fuzzy all over just thinking about them.
This little afternoon of dvd playing (I’d say dvd watching, but I napped through half of them) is typical of my tastes. I tend to enjoy serious, darker, sometimes violent movies. I’m not a violent person, certainly not a dark person, but for some reason I like to watch these heavy movies over and over. People tease me for it – if I shrug my shoulders at the newest screwball comedy, my future sister-in-law usually says the movie isn’t serious enough for me.
I’ll admit I did feel a bit odd yesterday when Entertainment Weekly readers posted their picks for fifteen of the most violent movies they’ve seen. I own eight of these movies…five of those I’d say are amoung my all-time favorites. No really, I mean it – I’m not a violent person.
The only way I can explain it, is that after I’ve watched a movie once or twice, I tend to detach from the actual emotion of what’s happening in the story. Repeated viewings lead me to catch things I never noticed before: a great shot, a line of dialogue, plot devices, and so on. I know I love the story that’s being told, it’s just a darker story than people are used to. Some may curl up with Chicken Soup for The Soul. I go looking for my copy of Last Exit to Brooklyn. Now to be fair, there have been a handful of movies that have shaken me up, some that were just too dreary even for me, and that I don’t really want to see again (TARNATION, REDACTED, and REQUIEM FOR A DREAM come to mind). However, it takes a lot to rattle me, and it almost always has to happen in a theatre.
Weird as this sounds, I think I watch dark films for the same reason I listen to the blues. Anytime I’m feeling down, if I turn on the music of someone who’s got it worse, I start to feel better.
This weekend I’m off to see Sean Penn’s INTO THE WILD. More seriousness abounds.
What I find interesting is that they seem to focus on the most affecting violence, not necessarily the most violence. I thought films like Battle Royale, Casino or even one of The Godfather movies would have been more than enough to make this list, but instead they went with those that really crawl under your skin (thinks about the shaving scene in Pan’s Labyrinth).
I don’t go to the dark films for redemption when I’m feeling crap, but sometimes I just want to be put off-ease, so I reach for Platoon.
It’s wild which films we choose to watch in different scenarios for different reasons. I know for me, I have what I call ‘bedtime stories movies’ that I watch if I’m in insomnia mode. They are almost exclusivly action films, I have no idea why – maybe because I don’t need to pay attention to the plot. They include: The Matrix, Deep Blue Sea, Heat, Star Trek: Generations and any Harry Potter film.
So I guess I shouldn’t invite you over for my feel good double bill of “Trainspotting” and “Requiem for a Dream”?
Of the 11 on the list I have seen, it’s only “Clockwork” that actually disturbs me and that I don’t care to watch again.
I’m a sucker for crappy horror films when I am home alone and sick. 4 out of the 5 DVDs I bought this week fall into that cateogry (or all 5 do, depending on how you feel about The Devil Wears Prada). My must-see film when I’m drunk, sad, lonley, or sick is “High Fidelity.”
Of the films on the list, I’ve seen 10 and intend to see Pan’s Labyrinth (that’s right, I haven’t seen it yet. Yes, I’m a philistine).
After reading the comments from the EW writers in the sidebar, I have to quote Jeff Spicolli from Fast Times At Ridgemont High,
“Those guys are a bunch of fags!”