I’m on a crazy-people movie kick

I don’t know what it is, but this week I’ve been watching nothing but movies about crazy people, from the slightly off-kilter down to the real sickos. The week started with Sunset Boulevard, an oldtime classic and a truly brilliant satire of fading Hollywood glamour. That one stars an aging actress who’s convinced she can revive her career with her old friend Cecil B. deMille…and she’s willing to go to any lengths to get what she wants.

After that I got a free ticket to Caché, the truly disturbing and surreal look at a modern French family that starts receiving videotapes from someone appearing to be monitoring their house. The tension was pretty electric and there’s one scene I don’t think I’ll ever forget — without giving anything anyway, it’s the single most shocking and brutal scene I’ve ever witnessed on film.

After that, I decided to have another viewing of the strangely fascinating Se7en. This is really a terrifically put together movie with a real literary backbone and an original premise. The killings are incredibly creepy and remain so upon multiple viewings. Even after seeing Se7en a few times, the perfection of the ending still gets me. And I love any movie that quotes Milton and references Dante and the Canterbury Tales.

As if that wasn’t enough, I finally re-viewed Girl, Interrupted again today. It doesn’t live up to the first time I saw it, when I found this One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest for girls quite haunting and electric. It’s good but parts seemed a little trite. Angelina Jolie carries her sociopath character quite well, though. All in all, it’s been a crazy week, and I mean that in more ways than one.