csprague
Posts 398
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6/21/2007 3:08 PM
posted awhile ago
Wondrous Oblivion
Wondrous Oblivion Directed by Paul Morrison. Writer/director Paul Morrison, who directed the cross-cultural period drama Solomon and Gaenor, returns to similar ground, though in a lighter vein, with Wondrous Oblivion. Sam Smith stars as David Wiseman, a Jewish boy living in London in 1960 who dreams of being a world-class athlete. David is totally obsessed with cricket, and loves playing, even though he is one of the worst players at his school. His parents, Ruth ( Emily Woof of The Full Monty) and Victor ( Stanley Townsend), are struggling with the bigoted residents of their working-class neighborhood, but the neighbors get a bit more friendly to the Wisemans when Dennis ( Delroy Lindo), a Jamaican laborer, and his family move in next door. David is shocked and delighted when he realizes that Dennis and his daughter, Judy ( Leonie Elliott), are installing a cricket pitch in their backyard. Before long, and against the wishes of his worried parents, David is spending a lot of time next door, becoming very friendly with Judy, and becoming a much better cricket player. Ruth gradually warms to Dennis, but the rest of the neighborhood grows increasingly hostile. Wondrous Oblivion was presented by the Jewish Museum and the Film Society of Lincoln Center as part of the 2005 New York Jewish Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
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JScott
Posts 50
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7/15/2007 4:14 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Wondrous Oblivion
Wondrous Oblivion (Paul Morrison) is a warm and funny tale of prospering maturity. When the Samuels, an astranged Jamaican family, move in to a predominantly white working-class neighborhood sides are quickly taken and the Wiseman's - the once ignored and maligned Jewish family - are caught in the middle. Knowing what it feels like to be the odd family they are initially shocked but come to terms with their friendly neighbors. The youngest Wiseman, David (Sam Smith), has a passion for cricket and the Samuels come from a family tree, and an island full, of cricket players. Their first task is to measure out and set up a cricket pitch. The father Dennis (Delroy Lindo) and daughter Judy (Leonie Elliott) take him from cricket score keeper to superstar because of his openess towards them. David's own parents Ruth (Emily Woof) and Victor (Stanley Townsend) struggle with their son's acceptance of the Samuels and the neighborhood who wants them to push the unwelcomed vistors out. Victor is hardly home, barely knowing anything of his son's interests and work ethic while his wife only knows a life of taking care of the family and little of what being a developed adult is about. Throughout the film many people's lives are transformed by the Samuels. Passion, family, womanhood, understanding and kindness are all traits that the Wiseman's and the rest of the neighborhood will learn and embrace. The line, "you can't miss what you don't have" is echoed through this film and it is certainly the backbone to the story. Virtually everyone benefits from the family joining their community even if they are slow to react to it in the first place. Strong performances by the entire cast as well as an engaging soundtrack and great dialogue keep this film moving along. If for nothing else this film is worth watching to better understand how cricket is played. Trust me, it only takes one argument at the local bar for that bit of work to pay off. I would recommend this film to anyone. The characters' own personal obliviousness is something to see and analyze which might also help us open our own thoughts about the changing world around us. I could go into a lot more depth of the story because there is a lot to discover, but I think each person's individual interpretation is important.
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Risselada
Posts 2162
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7/17/2007 1:49 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Wondrous Oblivion
I'd never heard about this movie before getting my screener in the mail. Sometimes you end up making a lot of assumptions about a movie based on it's cover art and it's title. That was true in this case. Assumptions were made, and for better or worse, after finishing the movie they had all turned out to be correct. It looks like there is a small graphic of the cover art on Spout. You may be able to see what I mean. It's one of those "feel good" movies that are supposed to be life affirming. Oh yes, there will be lessons to learn about bigotry and what it means to be human. There will be drama, but things will be happy. You know one of those movies. But too often, such as in this case, those movies don't stand out in anyway. If you really want to make me feel affected by or care for any of the characters, give them some real quirks like real people. All the characters were pretty bland here. And as far as plot developments, there were absolutely NO surprises. Every character ended up doing exactly what you'd expect them to, I mean in the low expectations of a movie type of way. Let me also say that it is hard to find fault with this movie because it's really not pretentious. It obviously wants to explore some social issues, and it's method isn't particularly inventive or inspired, but it doesn't slap you in the face with anything too hard or make you feel terribly manipulated. Even though all of the elements are places very deliberately and it is obvious, none of them stick out in a way that is too annoying. I wonder if I would have enjoyed this movie a bit more if I had known anything about cricket. The movie never really explains what the goal of the game is or how to play. I guess they are assuming most people who would see this movie would already know since it was made in the UK where it takes place. But there were some times when I was confused about the emotion of the scene because of being so uninformed about the game. For instance there is a sequence where the main character David Wiseman (played by Sam Smith) continues to hit the ball successfully over and over and has to keep running back and forth. However all of his teammates look extremely bored or pissed off. I thought hitting the ball would be good, but now I wasn't sure. I figure it must have meant one of several things. Either hitting the ball so much like that is a bad way to play the game. Or he was doing well and the rest of his team for some reason was pissed that he was doing well or bored and didn't care about the game and just wanted it to end. Or another and also very likely possibility is that all of his teammates were just so British and proper that they couldn't expend that much emotion reacting. Another thing that makes the movie kind of bland is that all of the conflicts seem to get resolved so easily and unbelievably in the end. All of the bigoted characters who seem to have been that way for their whole lives suddenly embrace those that they had previously looked down on for the whole movie at the end. The adulterous situation between Ruth (played by Emily Woof) and Dennis (Delroy Lindo) disappears. People deeply slighted accept apologies quickly. The maladjusted kid who sucks beyond belief at cricket learns to be one of the best within a matter of weeks. People change and grow up so quick. Hey, I'm not saying that these things don't happen. They do, and when they do it's what life is all about. But it was all too easy. And there wasn't enough depth and drama to give them any real impact. If you want a pleasant movie about different types of pleasant people in a neighborhood coming together and learning to accept each other, and you know how the hell to play cricket, then you may get a little kick out of this movie. However if I had to watch to watch another movie like this any time soon, I would be getting bored real quick. Rating: 5/10
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JimBell
Posts 153
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8/7/2007 12:49 AM
posted awhile ago
Re: Wondrous Oblivion
Who is this movie for? If you are a savvy, adult cinema buff, you will probably find Wondrous Oblivion (2003/2006) boringly stereotypical. But if you are in your early teens, you may well enjoy it—I know I would have all those years ago. Wondrous Oblivion is stereotypical because it is a coming-of-age story where a boy learns all the right life lessons from an appropriate mix of people. Even though David Wiseman (Sam Smith) and his family suffer anti-Semitism in the early 60s in their South London row housing, it is not bad, and you know it will not be serious. Even though the new neighbours from Jamaica experience racism, and even though the racism turns nasty, the white neighbours pull through in the end. Even though cricket-obsessed David is hopeless on the pitch, the Jamaican father next door is an excellent coach, and David makes the private school boy’s cricket team. It’s that kind of a movie. Dennis, the father next door, is a wonderful teacher. He emphasizes inclusion, fun, and sound technique. When Dennis is teaching his daughter in the back yard and David appears for the first time in his gleaming white cricket gear, Dennis invites him, without a pause, to join them. When it immediately becomes obvious that David doesn’t have a clue how to bat or how to bowl, Dennis, with a glance at his talented daughter, Judy (Leonie Elliott), invites David for regular coaching. Instruction is simple and direct, followed by lots of practice. Sometimes the practice is high-spirited fun, as in one speeded-up scene set to wild klezmer music. Beyond being a good teacher, Dennis is a good role model. Although you might not know it from the current crop of movies, there are men out there who hold regular jobs, are good fathers, loyal husbands, and stalwarts of their community. Not perfect by any means, Dennis is still a response to the declaration that the greatest problem in America today is the lack of real fathers. But what young David learns and how he learns it do not withstand serious scrutiny. David learns that his real friends are Dennis and his daughter, Judy, and the Jamaican community, and that more wealthy white people, such as those at his school or in the North London neighbourhood where his family is going to relocate, are hypocritical, etc. This is because Dennis’s family readily accepts David and works on his weaknesses and encourages his talents, while at school the boys hypocritically change from ridiculing him when he cannot play cricket to championing him when he becomes a good batter. But there are a couple of things amiss with this scenario. First, there is nothing wrong with a bunch of 11-year old athletes telling an oblivious kid that he is not a good cricketer; and there is nothing wrong with those same boys accepting him on the team when he is a good cricketer. It is a different and important kind of friendship. Second, Dennis and Judy are not unconditional friends, either. David loses their friendship at his birthday party, and it is a dodgy situation. All the boys from the prep school cricket team have been dropped off by mothers and the boys are having a great time in the living room, when Judy knocks on the front door with a present and hopes of joining the party. David says thanks but no thanks. Who wouldn’t!? She had not right to arrive at a birthday party uninvited and expect to be asked in to join a dozen rowdy boys. Then her family closes ranks and ostracizes David as if he was a racist or a traitor. If you are a critical-thinking adult, this will bother you as yet another weakness in the movie. If you are in your early teens, you probably won’t be thinking that perspicaciously about Wondrous Oblivion, and the good acting and ready lessons will carry the day.
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JimBell
Posts 153
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8/7/2007 12:55 AM
posted awhile ago
Re: Wondrous Oblivion
Big R, The reason David's team mates are so annoyed with him hitting run after run is that they are all singles or safe hits. He was never hitting long shots or risky or innovative shots. In baseball terms, it would be like coming to bat 38 times and bunting every time. The reason David is doing this is, of course, that it is all Dennis has taught him, and all you would expect to learn in a back yard. Once you know this about David's game, you can see the significance later in the film when he starts smashing out some long hits, for he has taught himself to expand his game, make it more interesting, and take some risks (i.e., the same kind of risks you take if you are trying to hit home runs). Cheers, JIMBELL
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Risselada
Posts 2162
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8/7/2007 11:27 AM
posted awhile ago
Re: Wondrous Oblivion
So basically no points are being scored, but he's just prolonging the game? Thanks for pointing it out. Also great review of the movie. You described what I felt about it a lot better than I did in my review I think.
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JScott
Posts 50
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8/7/2007 6:06 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Wondrous Oblivion
I still enjoyed it. I can see what everyone is saying but I watch a lot of depressing films so something happy for once was a nice change of pace :) I've lent it to a few people and they enjoyed it as well. I guess it depends what you want to watch.
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Risselada
Posts 2162
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8/8/2007 12:20 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Wondrous Oblivion
 JScott: I still enjoyed it. I can see what everyone is saying but I watch a lot of depressing films so something happy for once was a nice change of pace :) I've lent it to a few people and they enjoyed it as well. I guess it depends what you want to watch.
No doubt. I certainly can recognize that it would be a good movie for a lot of people. Sometimes other people like movies that I don't for reasons that annoy me. In this case I don't mind if people go ahead and enjoy it. I just think they might also enjoy other movies of this type that I would enjoy as well if they weren't quite as trite as this one is in my eyes.
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Demndiary
Posts 14
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8/11/2007 11:59 AM
posted awhile ago
Re: Wondrous Oblivion
Demndiary's take on Wondrous Oblivion.
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moviedodd
Posts 7
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8/12/2007 6:54 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Wondrous Oblivion
Preposterous Oblivion (Review)
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