Knight at the Movies Archives
The summer starts early with the plot packed return of Spider-Man, Paul Giamatti is a marvel in a complex indie
Spider-Man was the first blockbuster franchise that I can recall unabashedly reveling in its pronounced use of digital computer effects.  
In the first movie – way back in 2002 – it was obvious that Tobey Maguire only suited up as the character but the actual web spinning
and swinging from building to building was done by the digital version.  Maguire, unlike actors playing other superheroes, also didn’t
need to worry about having to emote while in the thick of the action.  Spider-Man, after all, wears that faceless, expressionless S&M
type mask that leaves emotions out of the equation when he swings into rescue mode.  With
Spider-Man 3 the technical glitches
have been erased.  Technology has evolved to a point where the real and computerized Spidey are seamlessly melded.  But Spider-
Man’s alter ego (the control personality, I guess), Peter Parker, is still so hopelessly thick with emotion that it’s almost a blessing
when he puts on the blank mask and leaves the angst behind.  Like the previous entries in the series,
Spider-Man 3 alternates
between the fast as lightning action sequences and the syrupy melodrama that increasingly exists apart from them.  The result is a
strange hybrid, strong on the visual pyrotechnics, weak with all the florid, tiresome motivations of the characters.

This is not altogether unexpected.  It seems inherent in all these comic book superheroes.  At some point Batman, Superman, and
the rest of their ilk all seem to go through this identity crisis; this confusion over the duality of their desire for a normal life and their
call to greatness.  For me, these personality conflicts were most tellingly addressed in
Superman 2 and Batman Returns.  Unfortunately,
of all the superhero blockbuster franchises that have sprung from comic books, Spider-Man is the one with the most stilted
characters and in this new sequel they’re given such prominence they threaten to swamp the action sequences.

Like all second sequels, the thinking goes, many, many complications need to be introduced to keep the audience engaged and
Spider-Man 3 easily outdoes its competitors.  First, there’s the duality problem for Peter which spills over into his relationship with Mary
Jane (Kirsten Dunst) as well as a predicament with Spidey getting lots of attention while MJ still struggling as an actress, gets the
reverse (she’s fired from her first big break actually).  This leads back to the love triangle that existed in the previous installments
between Peter Parker and his rich best friend, Harry (James Franco).  Also back (briefly) is Willem Dafoe as Harry’s late father and
Spider-Man’s previous archenemy, the Green Goblin.  He’s still taunting Harry for his artistic, “soft” aspirations from beyond the
grave and wants him to suit up and get on that flying surfboard already and go after Spidey.  There’s also another villain, the
Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) who may or may not have killed Peter Parker’s uncle and who is the subject of some terrific
special effects sequences.

A competitor for Parker the news photographer in the person of Topher Grace (who is given nifty blonde highlights) is still another
ingredient in the top-heavy script.  But the campiest complication involves some kind of black, gooey material that has dropped from
outer space and conveniently attaches itself to the Spider-Man costume, turning the superhero into a super jerk without a
conscience.  This also affects Peter Parker, who gets dark eye shadow, changes his hair to resemble the Cleopatra cut that Barbra
Streisand sported in the 1960s and thinks he’s now a chick magnet.  At one point, the “dark” Peter also tinkles the piano in a jazz
joint, just like Jerry Lewis as his alter ego Buddy Love in
The Nutty Professor.

The result of this messy stew of plot complications is a high carb picture that switches tone and motivation about every two minutes –
but that might just be what buzz hungry audiences are looking for.  
Spider-Man 3 is like trans fat for your brain – you know it’s
processed and phony even as you’re being taken in by its sheer size but it also tastes pretty good while you’re consuming it.  For
best results, be sure to eat lots of junk food while watching the junk food picture.

Not surprisingly, a picture scaled this large plays beautifully on the gigantic Imax screen which a second viewing proved.  But the super size also
emphasizes the long, long stretches between the action sequences and doesn't do the picture any favors.  For the nth time - Dear Hollywood
blockbuster producers: please cut down on the running time.  Spider-Man 3 is just the latest in an increasing line of blockbusters that would be
greatly improved by some judicious cutting.  
Poseidon, believe it or not, remains my favorite Imaxtacular for this very reason.

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The Hawk Is Dying couldn’t be farther from a typical Hollywood blockbuster and more challenging for an audience hungry for
both the offbeat and great acting.  Both those two items are greatly on display in writer-director Julian Goldberger’s movie which
offers Paul Giamatti a role with the depth of his career shifting part in
Sideways.

The Hawk Is Dying is tough going because it resists boundaries and its small story is filled with odd characters who defy expectations
and don’t seem to belong together.  Set in Gainesville, Florida, Giamatti plays George, an auto upholsterer who lives with his
conservative, fussy sister Precious (an alternately charming and emotionally intense
Rusty Schwimmer (who also happens to be a
friend of mine) and her 20 year-old son, Fred (the fearless actor Michael Pitt), who is autistic.  George’s passion is for capturing and
training falcons, an obsession that seems to be shared by Fred.  Several hawks captured by the two have died in captivity rather than
eat but early in the picture Fred captures another – a rare red tailed hawk.  This time George is determined to keep his bird of prey
alive.  “A bad man can’t train a hawk; only someone with simple human feeling can,” George says at one point.  But tragedy will
come into play as George again reaches for this elusive goal.

Giamatti plays a character that seems to exist in a perpetual state of anxiety, a man that doesn’t find solace anywhere – not even in
the presence of the hawk (the bird actually seems to exacerbate and mirror his inner tension).  Yet the cause of George’s unease,
his motivations in general, are so self contained that it’s hard to connect him with the other characters.  In fact, so little is explained
about any of the characters for so long that Precious might be George’s wife, Fred, his son or brother.  In fact, I misinterpreted how
the character of Betty (Michelle Williams) whose presence helps set the small plot into action, was connected to the others.  I took
her to be a bored, sullen prostitute who counted George as a long time client while the synopsis in the production notes describes
her as a psychology student interested in Fred’s affliction as potential thesis material!

I don’t think that’s a reflection on Goldberger’s writing or directing – what would seem on the surface his inability to draw three-
dimensional characters is just the opposite on reflection.  
The Hawk Is Dying is a tough, emotionally difficult film that has the rare
ability to haunt you after you’ve seen it.  It seems to exist in a dream state and that’s the potential effect that it has on a receptive
audience eager for complicated material.  The film is getting its exclusive Chicago premiere beginning this Friday at the Gene Siskel
Center.  
www.siskelfilmcenter.com
Soaring:
Spider-Man 3-The Hawk Is Dying
Expanded Edition of 5-2-07 Windy City Times Knight at the Movies Column
By Richard Knight, Jr.