NOVEMBER 16, 2016
Taipei. Shanghai. Beijing. New York. Los Angeles.
If you live in one of these five cities, you have had the chance this week to see two-time Oscar-winning director Ang Lee’s new film “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” in the way it was meant to be shown. Lee, who memorably broke through the narrative possibilities of 3D in his Oscar-winning work for “Life of Pi” (2012), promised yet another breakthrough for “Billy Lynn.”
Not only is the film in 3D (Lee’s forte) and in 4K HD resolution (currently highest-definition of imagery for TVs), but Lee announced that he had at last developed a visual breakthrough in film speed. OK, we’re going to get a little film geeky here, but don’t worry, it’ll be over in a second.
The movies that we’re used to seeing in a theater are projected at 24 frames of film per second that gives you that movie “look.” In 2012, while Lee was reaping prizes for his 3D work on “Life of Pi,” Peter Jackson was experimenting on film speed at the same time for “The Hobbit” which was shot at twice the normal frames-per-second (fps) rate — 48 fps. The results for Jackson were at best mixed, with many viewers feeling that they got the same experience as watching a high-def TV at home.
With “Billy Lynn,” Lee has shot the movie at 5 times the normal film speed — 120 frames per second. I am fortunate enough to live near one of the five theaters worldwide that are playing this version — the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles — and watched it in a relatively empty theater. Bottom line: is it worth all the technological hoopla?
Let’s just say, if you’re planning to buy a plane ticket to one of these five cities to see it, save your money.
Not that the visuals are bad, but if “The Hobbit” looked like what you’d see on a high-def TV, “Billy Lynn’s” imagery is what you would get from a 4K TV at a high-end sports bar. Worse, the look doesn’t serve the story well. For an intimate view of a soldier primed for a potential breakdown, the camera should draw you into the character, but all of the technological razzmatazz ironically pushes you away, keeping you at arm’s length from Billy’s plight.
So when “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” opens in conventional theaters across the country this Friday, what can audiences expect?
Not a very good movie, I’m afraid. The time is 2004, and the American public is beginning to sour on the Iraq War. At the same time, footage emerges of a firefight in Iraq where Army specialist Billy Lynn (Joe Alwyn) risks his own life to push his wounded sergeant (Vin Diesel) out of the enemy line of fire. Bingo. It’s just what the war hawks needed. With Billy’s actions, he and his squad (now branded as Bravo Squad) suddenly become symbols of national heroism and are brought back to America to go onto a promotional tour that culminates in the halftime show at the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day football game.
There are threads of storylines here. Amidst Billy’s buddies’ horsing around at the stadium, Bravo Squad’s P.R. guy (Chris Tucker) is trying to get a movie deal about their heroic actions with Hilary Swank (!!??!!) interested in playing Billy. Meanwhile, Billy’s liberal sister Kathryn (Kristen Stewart), convinced he’s suffering from PTSD, tries to talk him out of redeploying back to Iraq. Plus Billy begins to fall madly in love with a Christian Dallas Cowboys cheerleader (Makenzie Leigh). And that’s about it.
The dopey script (harsh, I know, but accurate) by Jean-Christophe Castelli makes the least of these plot threads with the most obvious dialogue and most contrived characters that I’ve seen in some time. Worse, Castelli’s screenplay seems to have dumbed down Lee’s usually sharp directing efforts. Remember, this is the guy who directed such landmark works as “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Brokeback Mountain” and “Life of Pi,” and now he’s reduced to this. For example, directly cutting from a blast of fireworks at the stadium to a deadly explosion in Iraq is so obvious that it would likely garner you a D+ at film school.
What helps to salvage “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,” however, are a few good performances. In particular, Garrett Hedlund, the leader of Bravo Squad, demonstrates an air of authority that keeps the film afloat for long stretches. And Stewart, whom I dismissed during her “Twilight” years, is becoming one of my favorite new actresses, between her expressive performances in last year’s “Clouds of Sils Maria,” this summer’s “Café Society” and now here. And Diesel, another actor whom I once ignored, delivers a surprisingly empathetic performance as the squad’s sergeant.
One unusual bit of casting was that of the role of Norm Oglesby, the owner of the Cowboys and potential producer of the Bravo Squad movie. Oglesby is written as a Texas cartoon, kind of a football version of Foghorn Leghorn. Instead of casting that role to type, however, Lee turned to Steve Martin of all people, to place a more realistic spin on the character. It doesn’t quite work, but it’s certainly more interesting than the cliché that was on the page.
Of course, the film lives or dies on the performance of Alwyn as Billy, and that’s where it dies. Cast as Billy just two days after leaving drama school, simply said, Alwyn is just not ready to carry a movie yet. It’s not so much a lack of craft, but it’s a lack of charisma. When he’s in a scene with another actor, your eye goes to Hedlund, for example, or to Stewart, not to him. This is not to say he won’t be a good actor, but he needs a lot more seasoning to be able to pull of a role like this.
I have to hand it to Lee — he’s fearless in wanting to make breakthroughs in new technology. If only he had paid as much attention to the quality of the script as he did to the technology.
GRADE: C
