Color Me Kubrick Movie Review

Foreign films rarely seem to get a lot of publicity in the US. It’s a shame, really. The US hardly has a monopoly on movies. True, not all foreign films are all that great, but then not all American films are good either. I discovered Color Me Kubrick (2006) while rummaging around in a used DVD bin at my local Blockbuster. What drew me to it was the fact that John Malkovich looks nothing like Stanley Kubrick. I figured this was a sure indicator of a lousy film, or at best lousy casting. But I watched it anyway and I was pleasantly surprised.

Set in London in 1990’s, a balding alcoholic with an unsteady American accent introduces himself in pubs and other social setting as Stanley Kubrick. Drinks and meals are suddenly on the house or paid for by an admiring person who finds Stanley fascinating. But this man is not Stanley Kubrick. He’s an Englishman by the name of Alan Conway (John Malkovich). He has conned many people into believing that he is the reclusive American director, despite the fact that Conway is openly gay, bares no physical resemblance to Kubrick, and knows little about the director’s work. The clever conman scrounges drinks, cash, and sexual favors from an array of unsuspecting victims ranging from heavy metal bands to wine bar owner (Richard E. Grant) to a British lounge singer (Jim Davidson). All are awestruck by his alleged fame and fortune, and overlook Conway’s genuinely bizarre behavior in hopes of impressing the great director. But when he tries to fool New York Times theater critic Frank Rich (William Hootkins), Conway’s act begins to unravel.

You could call Color Me Kubrick a kind of satire of celebrity worship. The people Conway interacts with are instantly star struck and are willing to bend over backwards to impress this person who claims to be a famous movie director. Few people even bother to think that in no way does Conway resemble Kubrick. Sure, his ruse is caught by a few people, but most of the characters simply worship Conway for no reason other than he says he’s famous. We really do often give unmerited glory and honor to people of a celebrity status simply because they are famous. Color Me Kubrick kind of shows us how we get so caught up in that fanaticism that we could easily be taken advantage of. What’s scary is this movie is based on true events.

Conway’s character was brilliantly acted. Conway doesn’t seem to have any idea who Stanley Kubrick is and puts on different personas with each con job. Sometimes acting like an English gentleman, other times acting like a flamboyant Jewish stereotype. We don’t seem to see enough of Conway’s real self, which makes the character a bit difficult to relate to, but that fits into the story. No one seems to know who this man really is, and neither do we. Malkovich did a great job with all the “Kubrick” masks he wears.

One of the really neat parts of Color Me Kubrick was periodic homage to Kubrick’s films. In fact, the opening scene is a direct homage to A Clockwork Orange, in which we see the after-effects of Conway’s minor cons. Two thugs are sent to collect a bar bill that Conway has generated by impersonating Kubrick. Conway had provided the address of an elderly couple as Kubrick’s home address. Of course the elderly couple has no idea who Conway is nor do they know Stanley Kubrick. The two thugs (one wearing a bowler hat) try to force their way into the couple’s home and get arrested for causing a ruckus. This wasn’t part of Conway’s design, just a very clever artistic license taken by the director.

The movie also uses classical music pieces that were famously used in Kubrick films. Some of the songs include The Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss, as used in the docking scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey. It also used Henry Purcell’s Funeral of Queen Mary and Gioachino Rossini’s William Tell Overture as they each appear in A Clockwork Orange. The film isn’t trying to imitate Kubrick’s directing style, and the Kubrick homage isn’t terribly overt. You probably wouldn’t even recognize them if you hadn’t seen some of Kubrick’s well known films.

The movie does become repetitive since it is mostly a series of anecdotes about Conway swindling people. It still remains amusing to watch nonetheless. The film is not rated, and even though sexual themes are alluded to, there’s nothing I could see offending anyone. It does use some language, though; F-bombs are frequently used by some of the Heavy Metal band characters and a few others. I thought it was an okay movie. I’m glad I saw it. I recommend seeing it if you have seen several Kubrick films, otherwise you probably won’t appreciate it that much.

What is your favorite Stanly Kubrick film? Comment below and tell me why!

A.I. Artificial Intelligence Movie Review

As I often say, I don’t like categorizing films according to genre. It’s an oversimplified way of describing a film and it tends to undermine any movie that doesn’t have a clear cut category into which it fits. There isn’t a lot of genre blending when Sci-Fi is involved, but Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) is an unusual blend of Sci-Fi and drama. I think that’s why some people were put off by it. Generally we go to a Sci-Fi movie to see explosions, action, aliens, and special effects. A.I. does have some amazing special effects, but it’s a character-driven drama first and foremost.

 In the future, the human race reaches the point of creating realistic robots (called mechas). One of the mecha-producing companies builds David (Haley Joel Osment), the first child mecha and the first to have real feelings; particularly a never-ending love for his human “mother,” Monica (Frances O'Connor). David was meant to be a substitute son while her real son is in cryo-stasis with an incurable disease. David lives happily with Monica and her husband, until their real son returns home after a cure is discovered. Rivalry arises between the two boys and they compete for Monica’s affection. Eventually Monica decides to return David to his manufacturer to be decommissioned to prevent any further problems. But Monica has become so attached to David that she sends him out on his own to prevent his destruction. Child-like David decides that if he can find the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio (a story Monica once told him) that he can become a real boy and win back Monica’s love. With the help of Gigolo Joe (Jude Law), a male prostitute mecha on the run after being framed for murder, David sets out on a journey to earn Monica’s love again.

A.I. was originally the concept of Stanley Kubrick who later turned it over to Steven Spielberg. After Kubrick passed away, Spielberg finished the project as a tribute to his deceased friend and colleague. Kubrick is known for making bleak movies while Spielberg is known for making happier movies; both writing styles are manifest in A.I., creating some interesting thematic contrasts. We see cold, creepy mechas who look and act similar to humans, but can’t replicate genuine human behavior; compared to genuine love between family members. There is innocent child-like nature and domestic bliss, which differs from the gritty harshness of the world outside where mechas are treated with hate and mistrust by some. These contrasting elements make for an interesting and diverse setting. I think the overall theme of A.I. is that humans are unique, diverse, special, and impossible to replace.

On the one hand, David is remarkably adorable and endearing, but on the other hand there’s something disquieting about him as well. This is a different sort of character that Osment plays from his famed role in The Sixth Sense (1999), and he plays the part brilliantly. One of the subtle things that makes this character so eerie is you never see him blink; this was an aesthetic suggestion that young Osment made to Spielberg. You want to empathize with the lovable David, but we are constantly reminded that he is not real. We (and David’s “mother”) are projecting emotions onto a machine that is only able to simulate emotion, but not perfectly. In the end, I’m still not sure if this artificial being is someone I should relate to or feel sympathy for, almost like an old computer I don’t need any more. I liked the computer, but the machine and I didn’t have an emotional bond. Nevertheless, I tear up at the end A.I. every time I see it.

 A.I. Artificial Intelligence breaks away from our expectations of Sci-Fi and presents us with a drama, not an action movie. I think that divergence is off-putting to some viewers. There’s also several points in the movie where it could have ended, but kept on going. The actual ending is touching, I think. There are themes and directing styles that were influenced by both Kubrick and Spielberg, which make it fascinating to watch if you’re a film connoisseur like me. I’ve got a copy on my movie shelf next to some other favorites of mine. I think this movie would be alright for younger audiences (maybe 10+), though it may raise some awkward questions such as “What does ‘Gigolo’ mean?”


What is your favorite robot movie? It could have good robots or bad robots. Comment below and let me know!