I just saw Ed Burns new movie NEWLYWEDS tonight at 92Y in NYC and must say I was impressed with the film, and his short talkback. The film is honest, dramatic, funny, and romantic. It runs the gamut of all these things. I found myself laughing more at this film then many others and feeling compelled in the scenes that he wanted me to. I enjoyed the arc of the story and the growth of the characters and it might make me think about my own decisions in life.
The movie is not without technical problems, the film had some iffy sound in some areas, however it was generally good, they did have a boom operator. Also the camera work had some very beautiful moments (two shots in particular are gorgeous) but many things felt slightly rushed (as was his intention) and he uses lots of jump-cuts similar to his film SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK which at first is disengaging to me but I was able to suspend disbelief.
My main technical problem would be the walking/follow/leading shots done with the 5D I can see it’s rolling shutter and it is slightly annoying to me, but in all fairness it looked better then BLACK SWAN’s walking shots.
Because my other technical specialty is acting I must say overall the acting was very good, some actors who I have seen before Ed Burns and Caitlin Fitzgerald did very strong jobs and I really enjoyed their work along with the supporting cast or ensemble.
Overall I would recommend watching it, not sure if it will change your life, but it will hopefully make you feel something, plus you will be supporting some artists.
What I enjoyed after, was hearing Ed Burns talk about the future, and talk about how 17 films at SUNDANCE this year were partially funded by crowd-source means (kickstarter, indiegogo). How the camera is becoming as mighty as the pen.
He said this year, this year in particular is the first year people are making movies to make movies. Like a painter paints to paint or a musician composes to compose, digital technology has made it easier to break down the barriers and allow filmmaking to be completely democratic. His example was: If painters only painted to please an audience we would have lost out on great works of Art, and now like other forms of Art, movies are being made just to make movies.
I just wanted to share that smidgen of advice or hope with the people here. And hope it is a means to encourage you to make the project you want to make.
I also understand a follow up argument is many painters were commissioned to paint etc, but I wanted to be a romantic for a tad longer.
