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jekylljuice · 05-22-2008, 12:57 AM

If it worked for you, then fair enough. But just to clarify, my point was not that the notion of going back into the city to rescue a loved one in itself was unbelievable, but rather that it didn't feel particularly believable (for me) that these particular characters would do so, except as a means of further extending the story. I just didn't feel that they conveyed the necessary emotion to make such a self-sacrificing act a convincing dimension of their character, whether irrational or not. Cloverfield may have been aiming for that kind of realism, but regardless, the audience still knows that it's fiction, that these are all actors and stuntmen, and that the monster itself is CGI (for obvious reasons, it didn't even have the elbow room that the Blair Witch Project had for temporarily tantalising the audience into believing that it might be real), and so naturally the requirements for creating a successful piece of fiction and convincing the viewers to take it seriously in spite of this knowledge will still apply. We need to be able to care about the characters, and showing things quite literally from their POV, though occasionally effective, is only half the battle. We still need to get a feel of who they are and to be convinced to feel some kind of emotional affinity with them, in order to fully engage with them and to root for them every step of the way. And for me, this where the movie faltered, quite possibly as a result of the performances therein - I just didn't click with any of the cast members, who did little overall to convince me that this was anything more for them than a game of elaborate role-playing, naturally dimishing a good chunk of the potential realism along the way. As I say, if it worked for you, then that's good, but those were just my personal impressions.

Also, though I have a feeling that this wasn't exactly the point you were making, I think it's worth pointing out that Cloverfield is hardly ground-breaking in its approach to its conclusion. Admittedly it did feel somewhat refreshing when contrasted with typical Hollywood cop-out standards, but there is nonetheless a very long tradition of movies in which Spoiler Below

the protagonist(s) dies. All Quiet on the Western Front dates back to 1930, after all.

05-22-2008, 12:57 AM	#20
jekylljuice Executive Weasel Ball jekylljuice was here. Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: the 44th floor (not counting the mezzanine) Posts: 1,568	If it worked for you, then fair enough. But just to clarify, my point was not that the notion of going back into the city to rescue a loved one in itself was unbelievable, but rather that it didn't feel particularly believable (for me) that these particular characters would do so, except as a means of further extending the story. I just didn't feel that they conveyed the necessary emotion to make such a self-sacrificing act a convincing dimension of their character, whether irrational or not. Cloverfield may have been aiming for that kind of realism, but regardless, the audience still knows that it's fiction, that these are all actors and stuntmen, and that the monster itself is CGI (for obvious reasons, it didn't even have the elbow room that the Blair Witch Project had for temporarily tantalising the audience into believing that it might be real), and so naturally the requirements for creating a successful piece of fiction and convincing the viewers to take it seriously in spite of this knowledge will still apply. We need to be able to care about the characters, and showing things quite literally from their POV, though occasionally effective, is only half the battle. We still need to get a feel of who they are and to be convinced to feel some kind of emotional affinity with them, in order to fully engage with them and to root for them every step of the way. And for me, this where the movie faltered, quite possibly as a result of the performances therein - I just didn't click with any of the cast members, who did little overall to convince me that this was anything more for them than a game of elaborate role-playing, naturally dimishing a good chunk of the potential realism along the way. As I say, if it worked for you, then that's good, but those were just my personal impressions. Also, though I have a feeling that this wasn't exactly the point you were making, I think it's worth pointing out that Cloverfield is hardly ground-breaking in its approach to its conclusion. Admittedly it did feel somewhat refreshing when contrasted with typical Hollywood cop-out standards, but there is nonetheless a very long tradition of movies in which Spoiler Below the protagonist(s) dies. All Quiet on the Western Front dates back to 1930, after all. __________________ That's it, The End, But you'll get over it, My Friend. Last edited by jekylljuice; 05-22-2008 at 02:53 AM.