2004 05 MAY RAG - RAG Magazine

THE TERMINALTom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley TucciDirected by: Steven SpielbergDreamworks Pictures, PG-13THE NOTEBOOKRachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Joan AllenDirected by: Nick CassavetesNew Line Cinema, PG-13Ok, I have officially decided that Tom Hanks can play any acting part required of him, andto absolute perfection. I’m telling you, this guy is the real deal. Yes, I know, he’s won twoOscars (for Forrest Gump and Philadelphia) and been nominated for five, and he’s beenreally, really good for a long, long time. However, every time I hear of a new Hanks filmcoming down the pike, I always get this impending sense that no one could truly havethis type of cinematic success, and for such an extensive period. Eventually, everyactor makes a bad movie, right? Well, thankfully, I was wrong, again.As Viktor Navorski, Hanks strikes both comedy and drama gold as a Krakozian citizenwho lands on America soil just as his native country is being taken over in a coup.Navorski’s plight is set into motion when he’s informed (in English, a language he doesnot understand) that his passport is no longer valid, so he cannot return to his homeland;yet he’s forbidden to leave JFK airport and enter America. “America is closed,” he’s told,repeatedly. That leaves everyone –Viktor, the Director of Customs, the State Department,airport security- in a troublesome quandary: what do they do with him, now? Thepreposterous answer is that Viktor must “wait” in the International Lounge until somehow, some way, some one within the government is able to help him. Well, that call nevercomes and therein lies the simplistic yet fascinating plot of The Terminal (hence the title).Under the direction of Nick Cassavetes, Nicholas Sparks’ 1996 bestseller, The Notebook,enjoys a beautiful transition from page to screen. First, as an elderly man (JamesGarner) reads a tragic love story from within the pages of a notebook to an Alzheimer’safflictedconfidante (Gena Rowlands). And secondly, when its passionate and poisedcharacters emote off the screen with the help of the immensely talented lead actors,Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, Gosling and McAdams play star-crossed lovers,Noah and Allie, who meet and fall madly-in-love in 1932 North Carolina. Gosling’s Noahis a poor southern boy, smitten with Allie, the daughter of a prominent businessman anddomineering mother. Our young-and-in-love duo are only allowed to embark on a mereportion of their idyllic summer, before their heartbreaking separation occurs. In an effortto assure Allie marries into a well-to-do, aristocratic family, her parents force her toleave the state with them. Now alone and miserable, Noah enlists in the war. Yes, itsfoundation may be rather cliché, but the film’s subsequent plot and Gosling and McAdamscareer-making performances are far from it. The cinematography is simply breathtakingand the film’s casting is impeccable. Joan Allen (Allie’s authoritarian mother) nails everyscene she’s in, an underused Sam Shepard (Noah’s empathetic dad) showcases arugged, beaten-down man, newcomer Heather Wahlquist creates an indelible image injust a few poignant frames, and a brief James Marsden proves he’s more-than capableof handling complex roles. As the parallel characters that frame the movie, Garner andRowlands’ roles initially appear to be the weakest of the group; yet they more-thanmake-up-for-itby the time we all collectively reach the last chapter of this heartwrenchingjourney.Director Spielberg (in all his “I love lights and windows glory”) joins Hanks on a journeythat will have the viewer smirking, laughing, crying, and holding their breath from themoment they meet Viktor (and his can of peanuts), until the moment his image fades fromour eyes. Catherine Zeta-Jones costars as Amelia, an emotionally needy flight attendant,who keeps “running into” Viktor at the most bizarre times and for the most poignant of reasons. Zeta-Jones presence is magical, and herchemistry with Hanks is overwhelmingly palpable, for you truly get the feeling that something “really big” is always about to happenbetween the two of them. So much so, that you will not be able to decide what you want to happen first: for Viktor and Amelia to fall-inloveor for Viktor to be permitted to leave the terminal. The supporting cast of Stanley Tucci, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, Kumar Pallana, andBarry Shabaka Henley (each involved in their own engaging parallel storylines) are also at the top of their game, and it’s blatantly obviousthat Hanks needs these actors to provide their characters with the utmost of sincerity in order to make his character click with theaudience. I draw a blank when I try to cite a movie that was able to give an audience both hysterical and tear-jerking antics at that sametime, and with such bravado! The Terminal is a smart and stirring anecdote of a humble human being with a heart of gold; it also cleverlyredefines the definitions of love and integrity as you thought you knew them.