Netflix Pick – Life
Life is exactly the kind of move the Netflix Pick is all about. Familiar actors delivering quality performances but somehow it didn’t make most people’s radar. I’ll admit from the jump that Life isn’t the most breathtaking movie you’ve ever seen, but it IS absolutely under appreciated and has a lot to offer.
Life is sort of two small biopics in one. The story follows a young photographer trying to make a name for himself. Dennis Stock (Robert Pattinson) works for National Geographic. He’s based in Hollywood but doesn’t want to be another paparazzi. He finds an intriguing up and comer. Something about this new actor speaks to Stock. James Dean (Dane DeHaan) doesn’t seem to like the Hollywood system. He doesn’t exactly ‘play ball’ but does want very much to succeed. Stock loves the young man’s odd behaviour and sees a raw honesty. He wants to capture that honesty in pictures, despite the wishes of his boss.
The title, Life, is a perfect fit for the film. Of course Life was the magazine that ultimately publishes Stock’s (now) iconic images. But the very nature of Stock’s work and the relationship between him and Dean. Stock doesn’t want the normal posed photographs of glimmer and stardom. Stock follows Dean to his rural home town. The pictures consist of Dean reading to his young family members, hanging out with livestock, and standing in front of a tractor. It shows the real man behind the legendary face we all know from Rebel Without A Cause. The realism of the photographs wasn’t exactly foreign for the time, but certainly not what celebrity photographers were known for. Not only did these amazing images make Stock’s career, but they played a big role into putting Dean on the map.
Speaking of the time period, Life really captures the 1950s. The cars, clothing, and hairstyle are almost unnoticeable when setting a movie in a time period. These elements really shouldn’t be taken for granted. The production that went into Life’s astounding. Never for a second do you see a ripple in the setting or scenery. Even an actor known so well for a single role as Pattinson is, he blends into the 1950’s and is better for it. The soundtrack goes a long way to keeping you in the spirit of the decade.
Robert Pattinson and Dane DeHaan are at the top of their game in this movie. Pattinson actually shows promise as an actor in many of his projects, the big one we don’t need to mention aside. DeHaan blew audiences away in Chronicle, his biggest break and the one that really put him on the map. DeHaan is almost unrecognizable despite the absence of anything to physically disguise himself. He carries himself so different. He may not have the same look of physique that James Dean did, but the presence is there. Joel Edgerton has a nice supporting role as Stock’s boss. This is probably the most typical ‘movie character’ role in the movie with the call back lines and being a sounding board a little heavy on exposition, but Edgerton is always fantastic anyway. Ben Kingsley makes a great turn as the head of Warner Brothers at the time, Jack Warner.
At times the plot drags a bit. It’s a character study and a biopic without fully focusing on one individual or the other. The acting is great and the world is complete. Life may not be a perfect movie but its a fantastic find and worthy of being this week’s Netflix Pick.
