Movie Monday: Hancock and I, Witness

For the last of my CGI marathon, I saw Hancock. Will Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman all interact in this CGI super-hero super fest. And, I liked it.

Oh, I know you can drive a truck through all the plot holes and the extensive product placement lends itself to a great drinking game. But for its genre, it was fast-paced and short, poignant and wackily over the top. It was made to make money (Oh, the horror! Movies made to make money.) but there was enough care in the script, enough good acting by the principals, enough quiet time from the over the top CGI that I liked it; I really liked it.

First, the acting. Smith toned down the swagger of I, Robot (another personal favorite.) His scene in the restaurant where he is explaining his past: I must have been some bastard for no one to claim me,* is right on. It’s also reminiscent of the scene in I, Robot where Smith explains his hatred of robots: She was somebody’s child also. He could have saved her.* This may be the extent of Smith’s acting range but, hey, no one’s asking for a Shakespearean performance here.

Theron played a muted role for most of the movie. Her face and her eyes do the expressing and do it very well. All the clues are there that she and Smith have a history together and nothing shows it better than watching her eyes fill with tears when Smith talks of his past in the restaurant.

But the real gem is Jason Bateman. Jason Bateman! I have only faint memory of this name in relation to a TV show. I would have always put him in the Ashton Kutcher range. I was wrong. Bateman, while not a superhero is this movie, is super important to the plot. His is a role that played wrongly would sink the film. He’s an idealistic PR man (that’s an oxymoron) who tries to convince potential clients to give away their products. And, he means it. When Theron says about him to Smith: He’s a good man.* She means it. There is never a wrong note with Bateman; whether he’s trying to rehabilitate Hancock’s image or reacting to the truth of Hancock and Mary’s relationship. Until the end, when he does become a hero, he plays a trusting, good man with all the right nuances to make you believe and care.

I was thinking about the ending of this movie. (And yes, you must accept a lot of screwy "superhero in the real world illogic" but you can do that painlessly in this movie.) It could have gone bittersweet or dreadfully sad. I won’t give the ending away ( that's for the 5 people in the world who missed this movie when it came out in ‘08) but I think it’s appropriate. After all this is a superhero movie not some French auteur flick.

And then there’s I, Witness with Jeff Daniels, James Spader. It’s from 2003 so it’s only available on TV, movie rental, or DVD. (Is there a DVD?) It takes place in Mexico where a human rights activist (Daniels) is observing an attempt to unionize a factory. He gets more than he bargained for when 27 people plus two American boys are found shot to death. The movie veers all over the place. Are the multinational corporations the guilty party here? The police? The U.S. government? A deus ex machina ending occurs which saves the movie from complete bleakness but also leaves the taste of corn (like Capra-corn; you can look that one up) in your mouth, which is very unsatisfying.

I’m coupling this movie with Hancock because both Smith and Daniels play superheros in such opposite ways for while Daniels has no super powers he faces the same corrupt world as Hancock but with fewer defenses. Like Smith, he is trying to do good. However, unlike Smith, has no super hero defense. A bullet will kill him.

While Hancock regales you will CGIs; I, Witness peppers you will unanswered questions such as: Does the "little guy" really have a chance against power? Does the honest man suppress his desire to do good if his family is at risk? Is all power corrupting?

In many ways, I find I, Witness more troubling than Hancock. You can walk away from Hancock and chalk it up to an enjoyable diversion. You can't walk away from I, Witness in spite of the contrivances which dilute the plot and theme. This is where we all live. It's never a happy thought to know you exist on a darkling plain.

*These are not the actual quotes. Those, I can't remember.