Spending New Year's Day With Brad
Posted
by
Kage
| Posted on
12-20-2011 5:03 AM
Brad Pitt.
The name conjures an image of grown women reduced to giggling schoolgirls and a
seemingly never-ending web of Hollywood gossip (has he married Angie yet?), but
no one can deny that the man’s got talent. With appearances in over 65 films and television
series to date, and a career spanning over 25 years, there’s a lot more to be
said about the undisputed “Sexiest Man Alive” than just his manly good looks.
My favourite Brad-infused films are the ones that call on Mr. Pitt’s abilities
to play dark and troubled characters facing the complexities of life, or rather,
life in the grips of death.
Here are my
top 3 three favourite movies starring Brad flexing his emotional, at times
brooding (acting) muscles:
Interview with the Vampire
The year was
1994 and I was sternly warned by my babysitter ‘do NOT tell your mother I let
you watch this’. Days (and admittedly a few nightmares) later, I found myself
in deep puppy love with the character of Louis de Pointe du Lac, a soulful and
sultry young man with an old soul, too sensitive and wise to be living amongst
the bleak and bleary 18th century modern world. Louis desperately hungers for more out of
life, which ironically leads him to Lestat, a charismatic and decadent vampire
who promises a life of immortality free of pain, loneliness, hunger, disease or
any other human affliction. The film
follows Louis and Lestat as they terrorize the streets of New Orleans as
blood-sucking, soulless vampires. Yet Louis soon finds he’s not cut out for the
life of the creature he’s become, and the afflictions of his still remaining
human soul become his greatest enemy as he struggles to come to terms with eternal
life as a monster. Nearly 20 years later, this film remains among my favourites,
expertly delving into the innate human desire for immortality and control over
death.
Meet Joe Black
A lighter
take on life after death, Meet Joe Black
explores the life-affirming aspects of death through the character of death
himself as he experiences life through human eyes for the first time. Pitt
plays an angel of death, who, after arriving on Earth to deliver a soul to the
other side, strikes a deal with a man not yet ready to die: if the angel of death allows the man a few
more days to get his affairs in order, the angel can experience what it’s like
to be a human being. Ok, the premise sounds cheesy, but Pitt (as the angel of
death A.K.A. Joe Black) does a great job at exploring human emotion and
experience at its most basic (i.e. tasting peanut butter for the first time –
cute!). What we take for granted, Pitt experiences through the eyes of one who
is new to it all, aware that he has a very short and finite time on earth. The
film is light-hearted yet slightly dark, and will definitely get you thinking
about your own life and what you would do in Brad’s (oops, I mean Death’s)
shoes.
Fight Club
Ok, so
Brad’s character Tyler Durden doesn’t really fit into the brooding, sensitive
soul category. However, when it comes to
his view on life, he definitely doesn’t put much stock in the materialistic
world, believing rather that there’s much to be learned through pain,
misfortune and mayhem. Durden is, of all
unlikely things, a soap salesman, who meets a depressed business man on a
flight. Durden takes himself to bestow his life’s philosophy on his new friend,
challenging him to a fight. The young business man and Durden bond through
violence, eventually creating an underground club that provides a sort of “support
group” to participants. Pitt’s character has a twisted and morbid outlook on
life, with the main message being that the only way to evolve and truly know
happiness is to hit rock bottom first. This film is cited as one of the most
controversial and talked-about films of its time, with a surprise ending that
you won’t see coming. Not to be missed!
You can
check out these three films, as well as other fantastic Pitt-filled titles
including Seven and Twelve Monkeys, on the New Years with Brad Marathon on DUSK –
all day long on New Year’s Day. Ring in
a new year with an entire day jammed-packed full of films that showcase some of
the best of Brad Pitt’s work – and with the hangover you’re likely to have, a
little eye candy won’t hurt either. Cheers!
More posts by this Author: