The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 15, 1999, Page Page 3, Image 3
EVENTS
'The Watts Prophets." Three mi
sician/poets perform works inspire
by the Watts riots of the 1960s. 7:3
p.m., Sunday, Roger Cente
Tickets: $15 adults, $8 student!
Friday, January 15, 1999
Dirraru
n
h C
Sound J
Ont of four stars
by Marcus Amaker
Senior Writer
Ani DiFranco - up up up up up up
It's fitting that Ani DiFranco is pictured
on a street corner on the cover of
her new album, up
up up up up up.
DiFranco
on the
streets of New I
York with nothing
but an BjjMH
acoustic guitar |
before she start- |?|
ed her own label, I IfL
Righteous Babe
Records, at the HRhHRPpT ^
age of 19.
was the |ttri|^^KV|
spirit of her first
two albums and
the passion be- pll
hind up up up up fill
up up.
Though musically
this new CD is far removed from anything
she's ever done, up up up up up
up finds DiFranco focusing more on political
issues, much like she did on her
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_ Lights,
i Camera,
i?i Reaction
" i ' i '
Out of four stars ****
"Shakespeare in Love"
Starring; Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow,
Geoffrey Rush, Ben Affleck and
Judi Dench. Written by Tom Stoppard.
Directed by John Madden.
Young playwright Will Shakespeare
(Fiennes) struggles with his latest work
until he meets Viola (Paltrow), a great
fan of his plays who has dreams of becoming
an actress. Because women
weren't allowed to act on stage at that
time (female roles were played by boys),
Viola dresses as a boy and successfully
auditions for the part of Romeo. Soon
she and Will are caught in a forbidden
romance that provides rich inspiration
for his play, "Romeo and Juliet."
by Rob Lindsey
Gamecock Critic
"Shakespeare in Love" is, quite conceivably,
the best movie of the year.
Director Madden and writer Stoppard
? along with their incredibly
11 i i 1 _*i _ J 1 i
excellent cast ? use siy wit ana Dauay
humor, tender love and simple lust, the
harsh realities of Elizabethan England
and the fantasy life of the theater, juxtaposing
each for each masterfully 1
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first two albums, Ant DiFranco (1991)
and Not So Soft (1992).
DiFranco enthusiasts will find this
comiorting, as some 01 ner nara-core
fans were a little disappointed by the
lyrical direction of Dilate (1996) and
last year's critically acclaimed Little
Plastic Castle.
Both of those albums, as good as
they were, seem to focus less and less
on the issues that made DiFranco an
icon and one of the most admired independent
artists of our generation.
Debates on the Internet about the
"old" Ani vs. the "new" Ani fueled the
idea that her days of singing about politics
were over.
Even DiFranco addressed this issue
in a little interlude on the live double
album Living in Clip.
However, up
between America s
upper and lower classes and how money
ties into each.
On a sparse track called "Trickle
Down," she sings about people who live
iy 'Shake
Joseph Hennes stars as William Shak
in Love," which some critics have dub
throughout to create an almost tangible
feeling of time and place.
Stoppard, writer of "Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern Are Dead," proves
his extensive knowledge of Shakespearean
verse. His characters at times
even seem to lapse into the familiar
iambic pentameter of the great bard
himself. The film actually takes on many
characteristics (gender confusion, mistaken
identity, issues of class and starcrossed
love) of Shakespeare's plays.
Because the action of the film takes
place early in Shakespeare's career,
Stoppard perhaps suggests, by introHurinp
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that gave Shakespeare much of his
inspiration.
Young Shakespeare (Fiennes), suffering
from writer's block in the absence
of a definite muse, begins writing a play
Nl
hi
The G*
politics
in a town that is "not the kind of place
that money people go."
The album's opener, an amazing
song called "Tis of Thee," tackles issues
of racism with lyrics like "they dragged
his black ass down to the station / and
said, OK, the streets are safe now / all
your pretty white children can come
out."
Not all of up up up up up up is
gloom and doom, though.
There are many moments which
sound as if Ani is having fun with these
songs, as she does when she's performing
on stage.
This is evident in a weird little
11?1 ? A ?1 I? 1" A 10
uitty ^aiicu ruuu aiiu tut: j.ominute
jam at the end of the album
called "Hat Shaped Hat."
"Hat Shaped Hat" is a lot of fun,
much in the same spirit as the live performances
of "The Diner" from Living
in Clip.
That song, as with many of the other
songs on up up up up up up, are more
band-oriented than Dilate ox Little Plastic
Castle.
Instead of Ani doing all of the instruments,
she has enlisted the help of
Jason Mercer on bass, long-time collaborator
Andy Stochansky on drums
and Julie Wolf on keyboards and background
vocals.
The result is one of Ani's most vital
records in a long time, sounding a lot
like an updated version oiNot A Pretty
Girl.
Over the past eight years, Ani's career
can be looked upon as the platform
many independent artists should look
up to. Up up up up up up elevates that
platform even higher.
speare ir
Special to The (.amecock
;espeare in Miramax's "Shakespeare
bed "the best movie of the year."
titled "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's
Daughter" (you can see where this is
going). Upon meeting Viola (Paltrow),
the young poet is able to complete his
masterpiece, "Romeo and Juliet."
Just as those star-crossed lovers
of the play, the love story between Will
and Viola is powerful, tender and tragic.
All of the film's performances are
superb (notable among the supporting
cast are Dench as the queen and
Rush as the clownish owner of The Rose
theater), and the direction is snappy
and quite good.
Both heartbreaking and inspiring,
"Shakespeare in Love" is an intelligent,
passionate, humorous film. Not only
one of the best of the year, one of the
best I've ever seen.
tw donors
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WE NEED YOU!
earn up to
>215 per
month!
mrs out of your week
Duld earn you $65!
) children, hemophiliacs
id heart patients who
ive products made from
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Ttw Quality Source
NABI BioMedical Center
5 Assembly St., Columbia SC 29201
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Ani DiFranco
1 Love' on
by Emilie Greene b]
Gamecock Critic G;
Finally, after a year of film disap- ni
pointments, "Shakespeare in Love" has ye
proved that excellent movies are still
possible. My faith in excellent writing "E
and acting has been restored. vi<
Paltrow has already demonstrated W
she can act ? and speak with a con- sp
vincing British accent ? in such films bli
as "Emma" and "Sliding Doors." "Shakespeare
in Love," though, is her best per- pa
formance to date. As Viola, who dis- sp
guises herself as a boy to join a company N <
of actors, Paltrow is radiant. Her pas- in:
sion for the stage, poetry and Shake- th
speare is utterly appealing. pit
As wonderful as she is, though, her ar
performance would be nothing without
Joseph Fiennes, the actor who plays an
young Shakespeare. The chemistry be- sp
tween the two is palpable, and in each
scene, Fiennes proves he has unquestionably
made the character of ^ 1
Shakespeare his own.
This year, Fiennes also created the
character of Lord Robert in "Elizabeth," \
suggesting that he's a talented actor I
who is here to stay. I
The supporting cast is just as im- |
fJlCOOl.VC J.VU.011, xyciiv^li, X XI til |
and even Affleck are all outstanding.
Stoppard's script is both hilarious ,
and heartbreaking, and it's completely
accessible even to those who might
not know or like Shakespeare. Any au- 1
dience member should appreciate it.
With the possible exception of the Ital- [fl
ian film, "Life is Beautiful," "Shakespeare
in Love" is the most clever, funI
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P.
CAROLir
SI
Fi
\
music
As part of our recru
have the opportunity to
students a great first im
University!
If you or your organ
join us for Outreach, pk
Matthews in Undergradi
(777-4070). You'll be *
10 WEEKS $75*'
?25 Huger St. Columbia, SC
4A OUTI
Want to help welcon
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Here's a golden
Beginning January 1
Admissions sponsors Ca
Tuesday night from 5:11
Lieber College on the H<
have pizza and soft drinl
Special to The Gamecock
e of yea:
i Rob Fleming
imecock Critic
est and most touching movie of the
ar.
The commonly retold story of
!omeo and Juliet" was brought to the
swer through a different perspective,
e actually get to follow William Shakeeare
(Fiennes) through his writer's *
ock.
The film brilliantly displays a
irallel between the events in Shakeeare's
life and the events in his play.
3t only do the occurrences give him
spiration for "Romeo and Juliet," but
e film foreshadows future master
jces of the playwright ("Twelfth Night'"
id "Hamlet").
The performances given by Paltrow
id Fiennes are phenomenal. As Shakeeare,
Fiennes shines, showing us the
/ \ ^ At h I e
TE OF THE PAY
jnny But No; rejected greeting
cards from Hallmark.
ittp//www.shoebox.com/
funny/funny.asp
Page 3
1
by Chris Richter
Staff Writer
lerrence Maiick is the o.u.
Salinger of the motion picture industry.
After making two of the landmark
films of the 70s, he disappeared'
for 20 years. Last year marked his
return with the critically acclaimed
World War II epic "The Thin Red ?
* Line," opening nationwide today.
The video pick of this week is Malick's
1973 debut film, "Badlands,"
starring Martin Sheen and Sissy
Spacek. Sheen plays Kit, a 25-yearold
James Dean look-alike loser who
falls for Holly (Spacek), a 15-yearold,
baton-twirling schoolgirl.
After the murder of Holly's father,
the two go on the run. The film follows
the couple as they flee from the
law, encountering and provoking violence
along-the way.
"Badlands" belongs to the same
"young lovers on the lam" genre as
films such as "Bonnie and Clyde" and
"Natural Born Killers." However, it
is a much quieter, more subdued film.
This is, in part, because of Holly's
narration, which has a poetic innocence,
as if she were reading
from her diaiy. Kit is the violent half
of the relationship, killing coldly and
matter-of-factly.
This is a quiet film that has much
to say. It has nothing to do with bank
robbery or the pursuit of celebrity but
r _ x 1 xl 1 _x_* !_
iocuses msteau on me reiauonsnip
between the two main characters and
the conflict and harmony that arise
from it.
r's best
personality of a man we really only
know for his words.
Paltrow also gives one of the best
performances of her career as "Lady
Viola." Her character is so wonderfully
enchanting, it's easy to see why
Shakespeare is moved to write words
of such power and meaning. After seeing
the chemistry between Paltrow and
Fiennes, other "Romeo and Juliet"
knock-offs seem childish. (You have a
long way to go, Mr. DiCaprio and Ms.
Danes.)
The supporting cast of Rush, Affleck,
Wilkinson, Callow and Staunton
gives a witty aspect to the story. The
screenplay does a magnificent job of
portraying Shakespeare as the brilliant
Doet he is. The dialogue is fast and
Ks Tor you.
itment team, you
give prospective
ipression of the
ization would like to
>ase telephone Molly
jate Admissions
dad you did!
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clever, and it portrays beautifully the
language that Shakespeare was most
famous for: the language of love.
nTTrrrnri
H1 I i
J I I* 11 1 n *1 i
tic C I u b j
t Membership
4 MONTHS $120 \
TuWyVfjrTtTfiTfil
In kWn * I u I *] I kl*m
(803)256-9001 j
I WM ? ? Ml ? Hi Mi MBi
REACH
ie newly accepted
arolina family?
i opportunity!
9, Undergraduate
irolina Outreach each
> until 7:00 PM at
irseshoe. We'll also