I love learning new facts. I am especially pleased when I learn something new that I can use to great advantage later. Today I learned the word "kegel." Now, I am familiar with what "kegel exercises" are, but was never aware there was an exact term. Since I have not been a part of a pregnancy class, I may have never discovered it. As fate would have it, however, I am now enlightened. And I love it. "Kegelling" should be the new "scissoring." I've also learned, via the interweb, that there are kegel exercises for men. Eventually, with enough exercise, you can hang towels from your genitals and if you're persistent, drill holes and pound nails into things like cheese or soft-wood trees, such as the ever popular conifer family. I thought these skills all came naturally. Hence, my ignorance.
Anyhow, the moral of that story is to teach you all, my darling readers, all several of you that is, something new as today's kegelling was an inspiration. The title for my blog today is a very popular saying, and in no way am I referencing the Thornton Wilder play. Do you know what the saying means or where it came from? Originally, "by the skin of one's teeth" came from the Geneva Bible, and is supposed to indicate a narrow escape from a disaster. For example, "Being hungover, I avoided today's sermon by the skin of my teeth." See. You try it. Obviously, someone/thing (I didn't care to find the exact point of reference-yawn) was attempting a sense of humor in the Bible as we don't have skin on our teeth. Even those poor thalidomide babies didn't have that. And finally, we're getting to the subject of today's assessment, two films that prominently feature teeth.
The Proposition, a 2005 film from Australia, brings together an interesting amalgamation of talents to tell an intriguing story of the 1860's Outback. Above all, it has to feature the most realistic orthodontia in a Western film to date. Guy Pearce stars as Charlie Burns, a man given a proposition, or, rather, an ultimatum by the rural town's local authority, Captain Stanley, played effectively by Ray Winstone. Pearce's proposition is to hunt down and kill his older brother or his younger brother will be hanged. Come to find, an unspecified amount of time before the narrative begins, we learn that all three of the Burns brothers raped and killed a pregnant woman who happened to be best friends with Winstone's wife, played by the quiet and potently melancholy Emily Watson. John Hurt also pops up as a strange little character--interesting how he always manages to get paid to portray alcoholics---or is that just worked in with his presence? I love John Hurt, don't get me wrong, he takes part in a ton of films I love and respect, both in quality and subject matter.
Anyhow, the moral of that story is to teach you all, my darling readers, all several of you that is, something new as today's kegelling was an inspiration. The title for my blog today is a very popular saying, and in no way am I referencing the Thornton Wilder play. Do you know what the saying means or where it came from? Originally, "by the skin of one's teeth" came from the Geneva Bible, and is supposed to indicate a narrow escape from a disaster. For example, "Being hungover, I avoided today's sermon by the skin of my teeth." See. You try it. Obviously, someone/thing (I didn't care to find the exact point of reference-yawn) was attempting a sense of humor in the Bible as we don't have skin on our teeth. Even those poor thalidomide babies didn't have that. And finally, we're getting to the subject of today's assessment, two films that prominently feature teeth.
The Proposition, a 2005 film from Australia, brings together an interesting amalgamation of talents to tell an intriguing story of the 1860's Outback. Above all, it has to feature the most realistic orthodontia in a Western film to date. Guy Pearce stars as Charlie Burns, a man given a proposition, or, rather, an ultimatum by the rural town's local authority, Captain Stanley, played effectively by Ray Winstone. Pearce's proposition is to hunt down and kill his older brother or his younger brother will be hanged. Come to find, an unspecified amount of time before the narrative begins, we learn that all three of the Burns brothers raped and killed a pregnant woman who happened to be best friends with Winstone's wife, played by the quiet and potently melancholy Emily Watson. John Hurt also pops up as a strange little character--interesting how he always manages to get paid to portray alcoholics---or is that just worked in with his presence? I love John Hurt, don't get me wrong, he takes part in a ton of films I love and respect, both in quality and subject matter.
Back to the story, Guy Pearce is so mild mannered and his younger brother so weak and pitiful it's hard to imagine them raping a pregnant woman---but they did, complicating those usual warm and fuzzy feelings people seem to have when watching Guy Pearce. Danny Huston, as the extremely psychotic older brother is both unnerving and believable. I have always found Danny Huston to be slightly pompous and repugnant as he often portrays seedy individuals, like in Birth (2004). Interestingly, Huston used to be married to Virginia Madsen, and his sister, of course, is Anjelica.
The Proposition is an excellent film, in the end being, I believe, about morality. Each character is a bit ambiguous as to whether they're truly good or truly bad---the point being maybe, that time and place was about survival of the fittest. An extremely violent film, it was written by Nick Cave, of 'Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds." I was extremely impressed, and heartily recommend this film. I realize I haven't divulged a great deal of the plot, but you should just see it yourself. Directed by John Hillcoat (The Road - 2009). And yes, with the exception of Watson, everyone appears to have something akin to skin on their teeth.
The other toothy title up for discussion is the 2007 film, Teeth. Directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein, (son of painter Roy Lichtenstein), Teeth is the type of tongue in cheek black comedy/horror film I adore. Concerning the exploits of Dawn (played marvelously by Jess Weixler), and her repressed League of Virgins-like Christian outlook on sex, we learn that Dawn possesses that horrific, mythical subject that has terrified phallic cultures since the beginning of time: the vagina dentata. In other words, a toothed vagina. Conveniently, Dawn has a mutation in her female genitals that allows her vagina to literally bite off things that poke her when she feels threatened. You know, like fingers and stuff. The film does not paint heterosexual men in a kind light at all, catapulting the film at times into what could be described as perversely uproarious. It's not so far fetched in its treatment of how men treat naive or vulnerable women. I haven't seen a gynecologist pull those tricks since The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992). All of the men in Dawn's life are most certainly despicable and deserving of their, ummm, amputations. If the director's name is familiar it's because before Teeth he appeared most notably Ang Lee's excellent film, The Wedding Banquet (1993) as Simon. Personally, I find it amusing that the director of Teeth is gay---who else could get away with a horror film based on one of academia's most argued and profound symbols attached to portrayals of female sexuality in the horror genre? Certainly not heterosexual men or lesbians. Maybe a militant feminist. I guess I could imagine Gloria Steinem helming something similarly themed. Maybe not Betty Friedan, though. I'd make an Ann Coulter joke here but maybe that would seem out of line.
Overall, if you haven't seen this film, seek it out, it's a wicked little thing. I love the scene where Dawn loses her virginity in the dark, cavernous cave---the film effectively displays numerous scenes with vaginal imagery and I believe makes one rethink using crass words like 'snatch.' So in the end, Teeth is one of the best female powered horror films I've seen in a while.
The other toothy title up for discussion is the 2007 film, Teeth. Directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein, (son of painter Roy Lichtenstein), Teeth is the type of tongue in cheek black comedy/horror film I adore. Concerning the exploits of Dawn (played marvelously by Jess Weixler), and her repressed League of Virgins-like Christian outlook on sex, we learn that Dawn possesses that horrific, mythical subject that has terrified phallic cultures since the beginning of time: the vagina dentata. In other words, a toothed vagina. Conveniently, Dawn has a mutation in her female genitals that allows her vagina to literally bite off things that poke her when she feels threatened. You know, like fingers and stuff. The film does not paint heterosexual men in a kind light at all, catapulting the film at times into what could be described as perversely uproarious. It's not so far fetched in its treatment of how men treat naive or vulnerable women. I haven't seen a gynecologist pull those tricks since The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992). All of the men in Dawn's life are most certainly despicable and deserving of their, ummm, amputations. If the director's name is familiar it's because before Teeth he appeared most notably Ang Lee's excellent film, The Wedding Banquet (1993) as Simon. Personally, I find it amusing that the director of Teeth is gay---who else could get away with a horror film based on one of academia's most argued and profound symbols attached to portrayals of female sexuality in the horror genre? Certainly not heterosexual men or lesbians. Maybe a militant feminist. I guess I could imagine Gloria Steinem helming something similarly themed. Maybe not Betty Friedan, though. I'd make an Ann Coulter joke here but maybe that would seem out of line.
Overall, if you haven't seen this film, seek it out, it's a wicked little thing. I love the scene where Dawn loses her virginity in the dark, cavernous cave---the film effectively displays numerous scenes with vaginal imagery and I believe makes one rethink using crass words like 'snatch.' So in the end, Teeth is one of the best female powered horror films I've seen in a while.
It's not often we see "thalidomide babies" referenced. You are gifted.
ReplyDelete