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INTACT (Josh P. of Chicago, IL)
Written and Directed by Jonathan Nolan
Based on the 2001 Film “Intacto”
Produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan
Production Design by Nathan Crowley
Cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto
Music by Elliot Goldenthal
Edited by Lee Smith
Main Cast
Don Cheadle (Arnold Sawyer)
Dominic Cooper (Jerry Trekland)
Naomi Watts (Laura Holland)
Frank Grillo (Anthony Markam)
John Hurt (Jameson)
Amber Tamblyn (Bethany)
Tagline: “Press your luck.”
Synopsis: At the Caballo de Mar casino in Buenos Aires, hundreds come nightly to congregate and spend vast amounts of money at the tables. However, beneath its surface lives a seedy underbelly where a different sort of gambling takes place. Among a select few is the ability to gamble not with money, but with pure luck alone. It is an entity that can be stolen from others by touch and manipulated for one’s own gain. A man known only as Jameson (John Hurt), an Englishman whose luck has been fortunate ever since surviving a Nazi concentration camp in his youth, runs this show along with his protégé Arnold Sawyer (Don Cheadle), a survivor of the Japanese earthquake. One evening, Sawyer decides to leave his current employment in favor of building his own casino. The result is Jameson removing the powers from the person he mentored, casting him out to the cold world without any power at luck.
Sawyer plots a revenge against Jameson, but the only way he can is to find a companion with the same power he used to possess. For three years, he has searched for this person and has failed. That is until he comes across the path of Jerry Trekland (Dominic Cooper), a confidence man who was the sole survivor of a grisly airplane crash. Sawyer has the notion this is the right man, and sets into motion a series of tests for him to complete that will lead him back to the Caballo de Mar, where Trekland can also win back the luck that was stolen from his girlfriend (Amber Tamblyn).
There is one element in their quest that is unforeseen: Detective Laura Holland (Naomi Watts), who is the one assigned to investigate and arrest Trekland. She follows the trail to find him while also carrying a secret of her own. Holland also is a person who has the gift, but after surviving a car accident that left her husband and child dead, she carries much of the guilt with her. She employs it in her quest, following a race car driver (Frank Grillo) who takes her to one event that crosses paths with Sawyer and Trekland, and while discovering their mystery she tries to solve the crisis that has consumed her own life. All of these characters move throughout the chess board to the final climactic act of true emotional reveal.
Awards Campaign: The 2001 Spanish film Intacto, directed by Jaun Carlos Fresnadillo, is a moody sci-fi thriller that indulges on a deliberate pace, intellectual mind games and layered storytelling. It is no wonder why this type of material attracted the likes of the Nolan brothers. Under the tutelage of his brother, who has already taken the route of remaking a foreign thriller, Jonathan Nolan makes his directorial debut and he indulges in a style that is very similar to his brother’s. Nolan accomplishes the task of director quite well: having a good sense of how to balance the tightly wound suspense with the intimate emotional moments. He pays tribute to Christopher Nolan, but doesn’t mimic him. There are no grand action chases or grand, complex puzzle pieces to put together. There exists a story with an intriguing premise with rich characters to move around the board, and Jonathan Nolan does a remarkable job at tracing theses elements, all of them also present in his rich and intellectual screenplay.
The cast, all around, fires on all cylinders and add to the joy of discovering the film. Cheadle successfully captures a man who has faced horror but has also been corrupted by greed and desperation. He fully embodies the emotional turmoil he has suffered through while also maintaining a sense of control and command in every scene. Conversely, Cooper sells a sly and charming demeanor to a man that is inherently sloppy in his life. He does show a few quaint emotional moments, particularly as he tries to save his fiancée even as he sacrifices elements of himself. Watts also finds herself delivering quite a bit of emotion in her role, servicing the most emotional guilt of all the characters. She presents a strong willed determination to see the case through, but also lets her past find ways to compromise her every move. Every decision is still worth its weight in emotional gold.
Of all the members of the ensemble though, the standout is most assuredly Hurt. He has an interesting role to play: he does have the villain of the piece, which enables any actor to play with the character in fun and intriguing ways. At the same time, Hurt is also able to convey the incredible amount of sadness of this man, having survived one of the greatest atrocities of all time. When he recalls the events in the death camp that would eventually lead to his escape and new found luck, there is a race of emotions that Hurt subtly conveys on his weary face. The brilliance of his performance is that he can showcase Jameson’s vulnerability but also show the steely nature that makes him a menacing, cold and calculated creature to deal with. He has the most interesting character in the film, and Hurt excels greatly at playing him.
When you add the detailed, noirish production design from Nathan Crowley, the tight editing from master cutter Lee Smith, the gorgeous mix of bleak and vibrant visuals shot by Rodrigo Prieto, the moody and tranquil score by Elliot Goldenthal and the showcase of vast Argentinean locations to the already impressive mix of Nolan’s competent hand as writer-director and the cast’s amazing talents, it all adds up to a clever film that is well worth the time to explore.
FYC
Best Picture
Best Director: Jonathan Nolan
Best Actor: Don Cheadle
Best Actor: Dominic Cooper
Best Supporting Actor: John Hurt
Best Supporting Actress: Naomi Watts
Best Adapted Screenplay: Jonathan Nolan
Based on the 2001 Film “Intacto”
Produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan
Production Design by Nathan Crowley
Cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto
Music by Elliot Goldenthal
Edited by Lee Smith
Main Cast
Don Cheadle (Arnold Sawyer)
Dominic Cooper (Jerry Trekland)
Naomi Watts (Laura Holland)
Frank Grillo (Anthony Markam)
John Hurt (Jameson)
Amber Tamblyn (Bethany)
Tagline: “Press your luck.”
Synopsis: At the Caballo de Mar casino in Buenos Aires, hundreds come nightly to congregate and spend vast amounts of money at the tables. However, beneath its surface lives a seedy underbelly where a different sort of gambling takes place. Among a select few is the ability to gamble not with money, but with pure luck alone. It is an entity that can be stolen from others by touch and manipulated for one’s own gain. A man known only as Jameson (John Hurt), an Englishman whose luck has been fortunate ever since surviving a Nazi concentration camp in his youth, runs this show along with his protégé Arnold Sawyer (Don Cheadle), a survivor of the Japanese earthquake. One evening, Sawyer decides to leave his current employment in favor of building his own casino. The result is Jameson removing the powers from the person he mentored, casting him out to the cold world without any power at luck.
Sawyer plots a revenge against Jameson, but the only way he can is to find a companion with the same power he used to possess. For three years, he has searched for this person and has failed. That is until he comes across the path of Jerry Trekland (Dominic Cooper), a confidence man who was the sole survivor of a grisly airplane crash. Sawyer has the notion this is the right man, and sets into motion a series of tests for him to complete that will lead him back to the Caballo de Mar, where Trekland can also win back the luck that was stolen from his girlfriend (Amber Tamblyn).
There is one element in their quest that is unforeseen: Detective Laura Holland (Naomi Watts), who is the one assigned to investigate and arrest Trekland. She follows the trail to find him while also carrying a secret of her own. Holland also is a person who has the gift, but after surviving a car accident that left her husband and child dead, she carries much of the guilt with her. She employs it in her quest, following a race car driver (Frank Grillo) who takes her to one event that crosses paths with Sawyer and Trekland, and while discovering their mystery she tries to solve the crisis that has consumed her own life. All of these characters move throughout the chess board to the final climactic act of true emotional reveal.
Awards Campaign: The 2001 Spanish film Intacto, directed by Jaun Carlos Fresnadillo, is a moody sci-fi thriller that indulges on a deliberate pace, intellectual mind games and layered storytelling. It is no wonder why this type of material attracted the likes of the Nolan brothers. Under the tutelage of his brother, who has already taken the route of remaking a foreign thriller, Jonathan Nolan makes his directorial debut and he indulges in a style that is very similar to his brother’s. Nolan accomplishes the task of director quite well: having a good sense of how to balance the tightly wound suspense with the intimate emotional moments. He pays tribute to Christopher Nolan, but doesn’t mimic him. There are no grand action chases or grand, complex puzzle pieces to put together. There exists a story with an intriguing premise with rich characters to move around the board, and Jonathan Nolan does a remarkable job at tracing theses elements, all of them also present in his rich and intellectual screenplay.
The cast, all around, fires on all cylinders and add to the joy of discovering the film. Cheadle successfully captures a man who has faced horror but has also been corrupted by greed and desperation. He fully embodies the emotional turmoil he has suffered through while also maintaining a sense of control and command in every scene. Conversely, Cooper sells a sly and charming demeanor to a man that is inherently sloppy in his life. He does show a few quaint emotional moments, particularly as he tries to save his fiancée even as he sacrifices elements of himself. Watts also finds herself delivering quite a bit of emotion in her role, servicing the most emotional guilt of all the characters. She presents a strong willed determination to see the case through, but also lets her past find ways to compromise her every move. Every decision is still worth its weight in emotional gold.
Of all the members of the ensemble though, the standout is most assuredly Hurt. He has an interesting role to play: he does have the villain of the piece, which enables any actor to play with the character in fun and intriguing ways. At the same time, Hurt is also able to convey the incredible amount of sadness of this man, having survived one of the greatest atrocities of all time. When he recalls the events in the death camp that would eventually lead to his escape and new found luck, there is a race of emotions that Hurt subtly conveys on his weary face. The brilliance of his performance is that he can showcase Jameson’s vulnerability but also show the steely nature that makes him a menacing, cold and calculated creature to deal with. He has the most interesting character in the film, and Hurt excels greatly at playing him.
When you add the detailed, noirish production design from Nathan Crowley, the tight editing from master cutter Lee Smith, the gorgeous mix of bleak and vibrant visuals shot by Rodrigo Prieto, the moody and tranquil score by Elliot Goldenthal and the showcase of vast Argentinean locations to the already impressive mix of Nolan’s competent hand as writer-director and the cast’s amazing talents, it all adds up to a clever film that is well worth the time to explore.
FYC
Best Picture
Best Director: Jonathan Nolan
Best Actor: Don Cheadle
Best Actor: Dominic Cooper
Best Supporting Actor: John Hurt
Best Supporting Actress: Naomi Watts
Best Adapted Screenplay: Jonathan Nolan