Krish R

With Matt Damon in front of the camera and George Cloony behind, i expected more serious stuff. Perhaps the idea was a gentle peeling back of the cosmetics of the idyllic 50s to reveal the pits and spots beneath ; and to remind that living the American dream was not without the accompanying nightmares. The narrative did however grip me till the end. Perhaps the disturbing nature of the plot will prevent me from reaching out for the movie for a second viewing as i normally would for a George-Damon movie. Oscar Isaac was however a delightful relief.😊

I loved the film. The casting was brilliant. Chadwik Boseman was a blast. Was also happy to see Dan Akroyd after a long time. I must confess that i had not been a 'soul searcher' during my initial years of music listening in the 80s, here in India. Listened more of C&W, and Pop groups of the time. That was also the time of a whole lot of new rock-groups. I was aware of Aretha Franklin and James Brown but did not collect any of their music. I was ( and still am) a great fan of Tom Jones and perhaps his singing style had the elements and energy of soul wrapped in the pop style of the times. But after seeing this movie i was blown away by the kind of conviction that JB had about his passion. I can imagine the rage he must have been amongst his fans at that time. Thanks to YouTube, i am catching up with the genre and i can very easily realise, why the genre has been so named. Passion is something deeply buried in every human and is not something that can be acquired with training. However, the *beautiful ecosystem of the music industry of that time* allowed the discovery and nourishment of such geniuses as JB. The soul of American music is to me beyond doubt Black Music. It takes the white man's language and embellishes it in a way that no white man ever can. I love biopics and this movie intensifies this love.

Whatever may be the circumstances of one's life; whatever may be one's perception of right and wrong; human life - beyond the basic biology- is a slow accumulation of experiences. These experiences help us make sense of what we were yesterday, what we are today and what we really could be in our lifetime. And how the utter simplicity of the unique human emotion of 'caring' , could actually be so much fun. That is what Irma la douce tells us. With great character sketches, deft direction and down to earth acting, the messages get into our heads, through our heart.