movies that stay with you

once in a while, you see a film (yeah, film) that doesn't fade away with the credits.

i've recently seen two such examples of cinematography. the first (and i can here shannon laughing) is the fall. i can't even start to explain the effect this film had on me. not since amelie (remember that?) and the darjeeling limited have i been so awed. and i wanted to immediately watch it again. the little girl is so natural, i'm not even sure there was a script for her. it keeps you emotionally involved, and, even though there's a short freaky part that's more of an unconscious hallucination, it has a good ending. i want to watch it over and over. and so should you. by the way, it stars lee pace.

this second selection is a slightly odd choice for me. i saw trailers for this film and was intrigued. it came and went in my mind, and i would wonder about it, namelessly, once in a while. until tuesday night. elizabeth and shannon came over and brought miss pettigrew lives for a day and charlie bartlett. (by the way, miss pettigrew is also one of those wonderful films. lee pace. a must see.)

charlie bartlett is about a high school boy (anton yelchin, star trek's chekov) who, although terribly sweet, is constantly getting kicked out of prep schools. his mother is never mad at him. he starts public school. gets beat up. tries out for a play. sees a shrink. is prescribed ritalin. which makes him hyper.

from there, the plot takes off. charlie starts counselling kids in the boys restroom. taking their problems to different shrinks. getting drugs prescribed to him. which he then sells to the kids who need them. he makes the bully who beat him up his business partner. gets involved with the principal's (robert downey, jr.) daughter. it has a lot of language - particularly from bully and sidekick. but it was thought provoking. and i can't shake the enchanting performance given by yelchin. nor how much downey, jr. has grown on me. can't wait to see holmes.