Two Someones

Every movie that we end up seeing begins with someone. Could be a writer, director, producer, a person somehow connected to the movie business. Given the number of people, pieces, and moving parts involved in the making of most films, I suspect that initial someone often struggles to see their idea or concept reflected in the end product. In some cases, especially if a film ends up being a hit, the money no doubt takes care of any lingering concerns about that disconnect.

In other cases, hit or not, that someone may decide their ideas are better served outside the movie business. Or, they might negotiate for more control with future film projects. Or, they might seek out different collaborators. Watching "I, Daniel Blake" - a 2017 film directed by Ken Loach - I was struck by the singularity of vision of this little movie. Who was the someone who began the process that culminated in this intimate masterpiece? Did that someone imagine something with no bells and whistles packing such a wallop?

Reflecting this past few weeks on the quiet intensity of "I, Daniel Blake", I've found myself returning to my last experience with a Hollywood star vehicle. There was a lot of laughter in the theater the night I saw "Book Club". To keep my inner curmudgeon from taking over, I've been reminding myself how much we need that kind of laughter these days. All the same, I've also been fantasizing about an interaction between the two someones who brought these widely disparate movies to me. Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation?