Life review: The photos of James Dean are so iconic, that to make a film about the photographer who shot them may sound interesting, when really, who cares?
Life review
It must be noted that Robert Pattinson has moved on from the Twilight phase. His A-List status can convey he can choose carefully what his next projects will be and many Pattinson fans will view his next feature just like anyone will view the next Tom Cruise flick. Unfortunately, Twilight fans will be highly disappointed with his next film, Life as the target audience are for people over the age of thirty-five.
Be that as it may, even if you are over thirty-five and want to educate yourself about an era where Hollywood was evolving to new heights, adding onto learning about a cultural icon, then the chances of enjoyment will be adequate. But only adequate is the strongest word that can suffice for a film of this expected calibre.
Life is a film where a photographer named Dennis Stock (Pattinson) is assigned to shoot pictures of James Dean (Dane DeHaan) for Life Magazine. Although the film is based on true events, with an intriguing premise, it lacks pizzazz due to the slow pace of getting somewhere. Dane DeHaan is an actor that has truly stepped up from Chronicle and Life of Beth. To be allowed to play an iconic actor like James Dean is a serious challenge as it’s the type of role that calls Oscar. Sadly a nomination will not occur as DeHaan’s take on Dean conveys a cultural icon to be lazy, unmotivated and uncertain with life. Are these the attributes that will win an Oscar? Obviously not! However, what DeHaan and Dean have in common is they both have an obscure and weird manner with a mixture of captivating charisma.
Life review
The film is a buddy movie, as it denotes the brief friendship a photographer once had with an up and coming actor that would soon be a legend. Life is set post East of Eden and pre Rebel Without a Cause. It is interesting to watch a photographer believe in a pre-famous James Dean, that Dennis Stock noticed he had a certain charm of looks and magnetism. The viewer may be engrossed to note that Dennis Stock had a good eye for a man so photogenic. Little did he know that the pictures he would take of Dean would determine this young man to be a model, actor and legend? The photos of James Dean are so iconic, that to make a film about the photographer who shot them may sound interesting, when really, who cares?
Life review
Anton Corbijn’s direction is mediocre as he captures the ambience of the 50’s to an effective standard, but fails to make his true life characters appealing. He has not directed them to entice the viewer and instead, leaves them wanting more emotion as all actors underplay their performance. Luke Davies’ screenplay is well researched on whom James Dean associated with. His breakup with Italian actress Pier Angelli, his friendship with singer Eartha Kitt and his lack of professionalism with Producer Jack L. Warner played by Ben Kingsley, may provide thought-provoking sub plots, but sadly lacks drama due to the scenes being directed subtly.
The film can be compared to 1994’s Backbeat where a female photographer fell in love with the fifth Beatle and in that process also took iconic photos that would define their early image. The same goes for Life, where a photographer and an actor are both unsure with their lives, that they use each other to work out how life overall can lead to a certain paradise. The question is which character will achieve that certain ‘paradise’ in the end? By all means, watch it to find out what James Dean was like behind the camera. But if you go in with low expectations, then you may walk out surprised… but not pleasantly!
Life review by Aly Lalji, September 2015.
Life is released in UK cinemas from Friday 27th September (UK).
blackbeanie
Sep 21, 2015 at 7:46 pm
Why do critics state Rob Pattinson’s fans will be disappointet each time a film of him is released? Teenfans grow up and he has always had a majority of adult fans who look forward to every film of him, from Cosmopolis to The Rover to Life.
On another note, I don’t see why a lack of drama has to be a bad thing. Director Corbijn has said that Life is about these 2 persons, building a relationship of which both hope it will serve their goals. It’s about ambition, about photography. That’s fine for me, I’m sure I won’t feel disappointed at all.
This critic needs a new job
Sep 22, 2015 at 2:23 am
I’m sorry, but this critic isn’t qualified to review films. He completely missed the point of the film. Corbijn wasn’t trying to make these two men “attractive” or pleasant for the audience, he was making a film about real people who weren’t necessarily pleasant or easy to be around.
The film is a true depiction of an uneasy, difficult artist (Dennis Stock), trying to promote himself and capture the elusive charm and magnetism of James Dean on film. It’s not supposed to be happy, fun and facile. Perhaps it was too deep for the critic to grasp, but every word of this review screams, “I just didn’t understand what I was watching.” That’s not the fault of the filmmaker.
Audiences under 35 should love this movie, if they have a brain. Two good actors, the 1950’s era captured so beautifully on film, fantastic jazz score, and a lot to think about when the film is over. The GQ reviewer called the film “brilliant,” saying: “Stock is sympathetic – lonely and rather desperate in LA, struggling to provide for and connect with a son he barely knows – but there’s something vampiric about him, and not in a sparkly way.
He is using Dean’s incipient stardom for his own ends, and frequently scuppers Dean’s attempts at real connection by snapping a picture. Still, he’s also dependant on the star’s whims for his hoped-for big break, and so their relationship is fraught with snapping accusations of insincerity and exploitation on both sides.
It’s Stock – the taller and frankly more handsome of the pair – who is desperately, deeply insecure, while Dean has merely reached the top of a mountain and discovered that success didn’t bring him the happiness he sought.
Corbijn, a celebrity photographer of considerable eminence when he’s not directing, is remarkably tough on his own profession here, and it’s in the uneasy tension between subject and artist, between art and commerce, where the film succeeds best. But it has a feeling for Dean’s tragedy, and the loneliness he found at the heart of his success, that is chilling, and which lingers alongside Stock’s images as the credits roll.”
guest
Sep 30, 2015 at 7:24 pm
I have never heard about references to batman or spiderman fans in reviews of Bale and Garfield’s movies.Garfields last movie 99 Homes is not for fanboys definitelly but his fanbase is never mentioned.Twilight is over it seems some journalists are so obsessed with it that they can’t move on.Twilight fan are not Robert Pattinson’s fans,they moved a long time ago.It’s 2015.
opi
Oct 12, 2015 at 8:17 am
I watched Life yesterday , the actors did a magnificent job but the movie itself lacked a lot of insight . Too bad because of the potential . Still a nice movie to relax 2 hours