Watched: Mr. & Mrs. Smith
- A few moments’ reflection, and I’m only now realising: the plot in this film paper-thin. Not that it matters - I didn’t watch this for an intrigue that kept me guessing at every turn - but it’s alarming how good it is at hiding that fact.
- It mostly hides it by means of two very good actors with mesmerising chemistry. I actually whimpered when she punched him in the face. Yes. That punch. I’m trash. Don’t look at me.
- Same with the riding crop and okay let’s move on to the
- Soundtrack! The one thing that threw me out of this, weirdly enough, was the music - a sort of Catch-Me-If-You-Can-infused latin suite that never quite felt in sync with the beats of the film. Might just be me, though. I’ve learned to be a bit of a soundtrack snob over the years.
- Parts of this film feel like deliberate nods to Tyler Durden (beyond, you know, Brad Pitt) - the garish yellow sunglasses, Brad Pitt’s hair, and the fact that Pitt has a similarly anarchic attitude for most of the film. Obviously, that gets subverted, but still - it’s weird to see this five (or is it six) years after Fight Club came out.
- One final thing: I can’t help but watch this and think that it’s a decent example of why the Bechdel test is a rough model at best. Because, despite the whole sociopathic-killer-couple thing, Angelina Jolie’s character is so aspirational and never not an equal footing in this film. Yes, there’s the initial cat-and-mouse nonsense, but by an hour in you never get the feeling that one is consistently more competent in the other. They’re basically the ultimate power couple, despite the fact that I’m fairly sure the film doesn’t feature a scene where two women talk about something other than a man. Honestly, in a film like this, with such a tight focus, I’m not sure it matters.
- This was really fun. Everyone I know has already seen it. So I’d recommend it, but I probably don’t need to.
