Each Day, A Film
January 25th, 2012
I note that the recent updates have been fairly short and getting shorter, so I think it's probably time to halt this catchup session before I dry up.
Sticking with the theme of films I actually hauled my posterior to the cinema to watch, though, let's talk about Once Upon A Time In Mexico.
Now, let's not fuck about; Once... is a strange movie, which comes across as just a little confused. This isn't a bad thing - it's the result of a mass of differing storylines attempting to culminate in a coup d'etat in Mexico, and in turn all these differing storylines are the result of the fact that the majority of characters within the film do get decent character development.
Now, Mexico is another film I developed a mild obsession about, because, frankly, as much as I'm a sucker for visual effects, I'm even more of a sucker for trailers. Less so now, but back in the day I could be bought and sold and sold again second hand by a decent trailer. At the same time, it came out in my post-graduation haze, where the degree I'd just finished meant nothing compared to film, film, film, and Robert Rodriguez - as previously mentioned - was a personal minor deity of the time because he was empowering; apparently you shouldn't say "I'm going to be a filmmaker", you should say "I am a filmmaker!", as if the affirmation will magically transform you.
Let's make an attempt to unpick the storyline - an attempt during which I make no apology for referring to characters by the actors' names, by the way.
Now, Johnny Depp is tasked with keeping Mexico from being either too good or too bad - in his terms, maintaining the balance, which occasionally involves shooting chefs to make a point. However, Willem DaFoe is planning a military coup against the government, aided by Eva Mendes' corrupt agent - who Johnny Depp seems to have had a prior relationship with. To combat a coup being undertaken by a sizable military force, Johnny Depp hires three musicians - one mariachi still grieving for the loss of his family, another reduced to singing for kisses, and the third a drunk in need of drying out. At the same time, Johnny Depp asks Ruben Blades to investigate the coup for no real reason other than he needs something to do and has a personal revenge to undertake.
At the same time, Danny Trejo works for - but doesn't like - Johnny Depp, instead deciding to sell Antonio Banderas out to their opponents. Whether this is before or after Johnny Depp probes Cheech Marin's corpse's anal cavity with a rubber-gloved finger then throws him into a lake is best left unworried about. Johnny Depp ends up the best blind gunfighter in Mexico, aided by a chewing-gum selling boy, the musicians thwart the coup, and almost nobody lives happily ever after.
Isn't it easy when you break it down?
Then again, if you're watching it for the plot, you're probably already not onto a winner.
When I saw this in the local cinema, I was one of twelve people, two of which were clearly only there because they received an over-65s discount, it was something to do, and they were assuming it might be like one of those fancy Spaghetti Westerns they used to like back in the day. All credit to them, however, they stayed throughout the entire experience - graphic shotgun kneecapping and all.
The film is - in Empire's words - "a custard-pie fight of a movie", which I always thought was a nice phrase; messy, annoying, but at least there's custard involved. I don't love it, but I will always have a place in my movie loving heart for the strange overplayed stylistically violent end to the Mariachi trilogy, if only for the
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