Two 2019 feature debuts from aspiring filmmakers that hold fast our zeitgeist by putting a female character in the dead center. Kitty Green’s THE ASSISTANT is exclusively lensed from our titular heroine’s perspective to cast a startling light on a salient social issue in the wake of the notorious Weinstein effect; meanwhile, Carlo Mirabella-Davis’ SWALLOW, doggedly builds up a reductive dissection of a young, gravid bride’s eerie disintegration, by dint of uncomfortable body horror tropes to reify her pica affliction.

Adhering to her technique developed as a documentarian, Green adopts an uncharacteristic angle to tackle her unsavory subject matter. In THE ASSISTANT, Garner plays Jane, a junior assistant in an unspecified NYC film production company, and the film takes place during her overlong working hours on a hectic Monday. We watch her being picked up by a limousine to work long before daybreak, and follow her in clerical drudgery, see the big shots from her peripheral vision and hear things only within her earshot. By doing that, Green risks narrative clarity and leaves the scandalous skinny in connotation or off-screen, consequently the film rather invites an immediate revisit to suss the implications of every casual dialogue and throwaway joke, and for better to piece together what is going on.

Green’s strategy, not audience-friendly, but totally chimes in with Jane’s grunt-level existence in the company, but felicitously, do we really need to see those sordid goings-on with our own eyes? We shall all be thankful to Green for being so considerate in her approach, because such a canker, condoned systemically by the industry and beyond is better limned as this immaterial, omnipresent force of vileness, penetrating every couch and behind every closed doors in every office and hotel room, it is everywhere therefore it must be put paid to.

Carrying the entire film on her slender shoulders, Garner exhibits strenuous stamina and restrained body language as the doormat (Jane is a sponge absorbent of the negative outpourings of the boss’ wife) and the dogsbody (she is virtually invisible in front of her superiors and other colleagues), even the two male assistants callously exploit her newness (only being there for 5 weeks), or maybe also because she is a she, and let her bear the brunt of blame and verbal abuse. Yet, in her position, she has no right to say otherwise.

Jane aspires to be a producer, and she knows all too well that she must pay her dues and turn a blind eye on the seedy matters, if she wants to make it. But on the off chance when that actually happens, she will have already become one of the silent connivers in that toxic working environment (implied by the unseen boss’s sinister motivation). Moreover, she should considered herself lucky, according to the head of Human Resources (Macfadyen), simply because “you are not his type”, it’s all so reassuring! Macfadyen has that peculiar air of faux-earnestness, mixed with veiled hubris, to express the warped normalcy as if it is the most commonplace words to utter, whereas Garner is so utterly disconcerted and anguished in her botched worm-will-turn rebel, their exchange is the crescendo of this gritty film.

Incredibly, THE ASSISTANT plays up the working place’s drabness, impersonality and functional symmetry to keep us absorbed with its coded message. However, SWALLOW is so stunning on the eye level, the young couple, Hunter and Richie Conrad (Bennett and Stowell) are gorgeous, their affluent, minimalistic upstate NYC residence with a killer view, is often filtered through prismatic hues to emphasize the magic power of money.

But what happens inside is far less majestic, Hunter, hailed from a lower class, is maladaptive to her new ascendancy as the cinderella, who has a bun in the oven and develops an anomalous appetite for inedible things (including some small sharp objects, those swallow scenes are fastidiously arranged, and not for the squeamish). Does she subconsciously want to lose the baby? and why is that? A thought never occurs to our prince charm Richie, instead, his family hires a burly minder Luay (Nakli), a Syrian immigrant, to keep an eye on her minute by minute to forestall any self-inflict harm, solely for the safety of their precious progeny.

If the plot is piled up with unmitigated clichés (cruel, senseless rich people, good-hearted immigrants, a fable of perfect family of origin, the psychological manipulation of negging and nonpology, the list goes on and on…) and Mirabella-Davis might be a lousy fabulist, what gives vitality to SWALLOW, besides Katelin Arizmendi’s stylish cinematography, is Bennett’s metamorphic performance. A frail flower distressed by her parentage (the cat will be let out of the bag later) and conjugal negligence, Bennett, who looks like a poor girl’s Jennifer Lawrence, grandly inhabits Hunter’s compulsion, disorientation and exasperation with such astonishing finesses, one cannot take eyes off her. Even when we cannot relate to Hunter’s weird condition, we are compulsively intrigued by Bennett’s nuanced delivery and delicate mannerism, hoping some deus ex machina can materialize to save her.

Eventually, Mirabella-Davis grants Hunter a touching closure (Denis O’Hare’s brilliant cameo is exactly what the doctor ordered, he can proficiently pull off a complicated emotional range in meager minutes, though on paper, the reconciliation is still a mawkish cliché) and the final shot statically looking at a lady’s room with people come and go writ large the film's emboldened stance: pro-life and pro-woman.

When all is said and done, both THE ASSISTANT and SWALLOW are promising works well wrought by their emergent creators, together, they paint a vivid picture of the wrongs (in the working place or in one’s own home) inflicted upon women by faulty, haughty, selfish men, but they are not just reproachful to the stronger sex, their artistry underlies more hope in women’s resilience, Jane might walk the plank the next day, she can at least have peace with herself and knows better of her goals, as for Hunter, starts anew and puts aside a failed marriage, together with her psychogenic malady, scrumptious comestibles are beckoning and cinderella can get stuffed!

referential entries: Darren Aronofsky’s MOTHER! (2017, 6.6/10); Cory Finley’s THOROUGHBRED (2017, 6.5/10); Leigh Whannell’s THE INVISIBLE MAN (2020, 6.9/10).

【详细】

133187269

看过龙蛇演义的小说，因为自己对国术也很有兴趣，但是看过动漫预告就知道肯定大改了。动漫开播后，明眼人都能看出两位主角性格与小说里完全不一样了。如今国漫越来越好，网文改动漫也不少，但能成功的基本都跟原著性格差不多，如此大改我是真不太看好后边的故事发展。且动漫里的打戏真的一言难尽，看得出经费不足，但龙蛇演义主打的就是动作，这些都是不能回避的问题，动漫当同人作品看看就好，太认真了也只是自寻烦恼……

和预想的有一定的差距，但整体来说还可以。跟女朋友一起看的。一开始我说不然看看肖申克之类的，她说喜欢看低俗片（我觉得并她也许没有贬低这部剧的意思 只是对于这些戏剧化较为多的片子有一定的喜好性 ）但我个人还是喜欢看一些偏重于类似于树先生之类的文艺片，在一开始还发生了争执。看到是一部新的剧集，后来我也妥协了。但是我在观影的过程中发现了一些杨树林导演能够提升画面内容的点，例如结婚那段，有很长一段一镜到底，能看出来摄影师真的技术过硬，问题可能就出在有一个很普通的编剧。 我个人也学过剧本编辑课，我私认为结婚那段，甚至后面很多地方都可以多加几个镜头，这样或许画面艺术感瞬间就能提升一个档次，当然，也不会影响整体喜剧效果。其实对于这些一镜到底的争论有很多，我个人认为 一镜到底在艺术片中表现得比较多（birdman） 相对于喜剧片运用的话，尤其是较为严肃的部分段落可以减少使用，这也是我认为这部影片和西红市、夏洛特等的开心麻花的喜剧片最大的不同之一。总之，努力突破牢笼才能使喜剧片有一个质的提升。

（个人意见 不喜勿喷）

看了4集新版的《十月初五的月光》还是忍不住要来吐槽一下。TVB最近几年炒冷饭、卖情怀真是越卖越得劲了，先不说之前的毁童年系列的《法证先锋4》、《陀枪师姐2020》人家好歹选角不会太辣眼睛吧。原版之所以叫《十月初五的月光》是因为故事背景发生在澳门的十月初五街，现在这版《十月初五的月光》，除了沿用原来的人物名称之外，直接改名叫流浮山的月光也是毫不违和，而且剧情改编后难看的要命：

一、关于人物关系：

1、原版Q姨与祝景辉相恋诞下君好，收养文初一家三口相依为命，温馨又有爱。新版Q姨与万朱莎华从姐妹变成母女，万朱莎华与孪生姐姐共同爱上祝景辉，Q姨与君好、文初成了一家三代，家庭关系大换血。

2、原版万世光与朱莎华结合，诞下沛坚、沛琪两子，新版变成一子沛坚一女沛琪，沛琪直接恋上司徒礼信，直接将原版沛琪包养伊文最终一齐堕落的故事线都CUT掉了。

3、原版全海景是个鳏夫，有一子古东是个小混混跟着金胜混日子，全海景追求Q姨多年最终散尽家财只剩下一间肉干铺也不忘初心，令人动容。新版全海景，家里有老婆的时候还天天去酒楼捧场追Q姨，恶心！

4、新版里消失掉的瞎子胡桃姨（伊文母亲）、肉干铺的顺叔、祝景辉的小姨子等，角色虽小但对剧情的发展是有画龙点睛的作用，可惜都没了。

二、关于角色问题：

1、外形方面：原版的文初（张智霖饰）浓眉大眼一脸的纯真，从文初的眼神中能看到对君好隐藏的爱意、对亲母的眷恋、对Q姨的关爱。新版的文初（胡鸿钧饰）面部棱角分明、表情呆滞、眼神空洞，妥妥的工具人主角。

人设方面：原版的文初虽然是哑巴，但头脑灵活能够运用各种机会赚钱谋生。新版的文初妥妥就是一个受气的小媳妇，做事笨笨的而且被老板克扣工资都不敢反抗。

2、原版的司徒礼信（马浚伟饰）剑眉星目谦谦君子，与文初相交从不带着同情的眼神，与君好相交相恋从开始时候的误解到后来的相恋都是带着尊重和克制，令人感到安心。新版的司徒礼信（罗天宇）虽外形也不差，但让人感觉总是那种家里有皇位要继承、心事重重的样子，不知道后面与君好相恋后，演技会不会好点。

3、原版君好（佘诗曼饰）柳眉星目，眼里透着光与希望。性格率真又带点小泼辣、刀子嘴豆腐心，对待朋友至真至诚，妥妥地一个阳光女孩的形象。新版君好（何依婷饰）缺少点磨炼和火候，外形比较柔弱，在和司徒礼信斗嘴的时候，感觉就像年轻的万珠莎华在骂人，但问题不是太大，经验不足还是能够忍受。

4、原版金胜（唐文龙饰）是个不羁的浪子形象，对生父万世光有着复杂的情感，既有怨恨也有一丝来自血缘的羁绊。爱上君好，自知不配只在默默地陪伴守候。对女友伊文自知渣，也有悔疚，不愿拖累没有继续勉强在一起。对待小弟古东，对方为钱把他的手砍了，也依然选择原谅。人设挺立体丰满的。新版金胜（郭子豪饰）活脱脱就是一个肥肿难分的中年蛊惑佬，满面的油腻和愤世妒俗。最恶心的是在女朋友伊文工作的地方公然色眯眯地看着另外一个美女的大腿，真是恶心到家了。

5、原版万朱莎华（陈曼娜饰）诡计多端、阴险恶毒，天天挂在嘴边说：“我万朱莎华就最讲道理的”但所做所却是最狠的那个。为了巩固大婆的地位，不惜陷害金胜的妈妈导致对方跳楼身亡；为了与豪门联姻，不惜以儿子沛坚的心上人海琳做要挟，要沛坚硬娶不喜欢的女人；为了掩盖儿子沛琪抢劫赌场资金的恶行，硬是颠倒是非诬陷金胜是主谋，砍杀金胜，最终两子均遭横祸自己也疯癫半生。新版万朱莎华（姚嘉妮饰）没见有多少恶毒，没见有多少心机，只有满面的不高兴，遇事就会发飙、天天就绷着个脸告诉大家老娘不好惹，完全看不出哪里精明。期待后面剧情别再和祝景辉有什么瓜葛，太狗血了！

6、原版的佩琪和伊文，一个嚣张跋扈、为求目的不择手段，一个迷失于金钱物质生活最终堕落红尘，两人在一起都是俗世表象的选择，都是毫无真心的。最终一个横死不得善终一个堕落风尘有家不敢归。可惜到了新版佩琪直接变成女生，变成刁蛮公主，连同伊文的发展线都CUT掉了，可惜了。

总之，新版真的真的真的很难看，又是一个毁经典系列，TVB你怎么能折堕成这副鬼样子！！！