The Matter of Cinema!

As you may know, if you happened to read a previous post of  mine, I loved Martin Scorcese's new movie. It has created some controversy. Some people were turned off by the movie, turned off by the people in it, and criticized Scorcese for spending 3 hours telling Jordan Belfort's story in vivid, and exhausting detail.

I was surprised when one of my writer friends actually said she was "boycotting" the movie, sight unseen, and attacked Scorcese for making it.  To me that seems so counter to the whole creative endeavor. I mean, I can understand not going to see a film, but to criticize it without actually seeing it, seems indefensible.  I mean, hell, I don't go to see any Sandra Bullock movies, she sort of makes my skin crawl, but I don't feel like I have any right to actually speak about her movies since I haven't actually sat through any of them.

And well, I am convinced that "The Wolf of Wall Street" is a great film. But I don't really think I need to try to convince anyone one way or the other. See it, or don't see it. Do I think Belfort is admirable? No. Do I think he is an interesting, compelling character? Yes. Do I think the three hours were well spent? Absolutely.

Scorcese wrote an "open letter" to his daughter about the "future of film."  It's worth reading. Loved this…

"You have to be absolutely dedicated to the work, you have to give everything of yourself, and you have to protect the spark of connection that drove you to make the picture in the first place. You have to protect it with your life. In the past, because making movies was so expensive, we had to protect against exhaustion and compromise. In the future, you’ll have to steel yourself against something else: the temptation to go with the flow, and allow the movie to drift and float away.

This isn’t just a matter of cinema. There are no shortcuts to anything. I’m not saying that everything has to be difficult. I’m saying that the voice that sparks you is your voice – that’s the inner light, as the Quakers put it.

That’s you. That’s the truth." - Martin Scorcese