Patricia Arquette, Kelly Bundy... and The Persuader, the British school of direction

Rating: 6/10 (28 October 2015)

The British school of direction. I suppose few of you out there go for Director's Commentaries, so few of you would know about The Persuader employed by Tony Scott. Before I continue, the man is dead, I'm hesitant to throw stones at somebody who is no longer with us, but I only found that out a little while ago. But as for what Tony fondly refers to as the British school of direction, smacking his leading lady through the face to get her to sufficiently emote for two scenes in this movie (the romantic 'billboard' scene where Clarence finds her softly weeping outside on the roof, and the one where she thinks Clarence is dead)... Isn't it just too damn much that the movie that is notorious for its violence against women (the James Ganfolfini Virgil beating up Alabama scene is surely the cinematographic zenith of just exactly this, and IF THERE IS SOMETHING OUTDOING THIS, KINDLY DON'T BRING IT TO MY ATTENTION, I DON'T WANT TO SEE IT) had a director that slapped an (in basically his own words) innocent kid with a child-like quality through the face? To get her all teary- eyed after a grueling shooting schedule when she wasn't able to project herself as the script required... Believe me, I do understand. I just find it absolutely appalling. Hell, is this what they did on PARTY OF FIVE? Imagine if that was what they did on weepy old PARTY OT FIVE!
As for the movie, I find it overrated. Everybody's so damn pleased, it is such a beloved classic. To me it seems that as long as you satisfy people's need for on-screen violence (which this one does in spades!), it is just hunky-dory, everybody is so peachy- keen on it, nobody's complaining, the reviews are favorable EVEN THOUGH THE EFFING THING FAILS TO MAKE ANY EFFING SENSE! I could point out that I find obnoxious Virgil's comment re the first time you kill, how difficult that is, to be what-I-accept-to-be the truth. Yet killing doesn't affect Clarence, he takes to it like a duck to water, he is therefore a natural born killer (ha! No pun intended) yet he is supposed to be a sweet comic book store Average Joe, Oh For Crying Out Loud I Rest My Case, I won't go on this any further (my tea is getting cold), the script is torn between a madman genius's schizophrenic bipolar conflicted mind's disparate working.
From the start, especially there in the movie theater, Patricia reminded me of Christina Applegate (Kelly Bundy in MARRIED WITH CHILDREN) and I'm pretty sure the two are interchangeable :)