Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Cold Takes: The Founder

Hi internet,

Cat here. I'm not sure what the format of this series is going to be but I hope you'll stick with me as I figure it out. Today I'm just going for stream of consciousness. Light discussion of the movie but no major spoilers.

Streaming Service: You can find The Founder on Netflix.

Mood: I wasn't feeling great when I sat down to watch a movie but I didn't want to force myself to cheer up with a comedy, romantic or otherwise. And I also didn't want to have to engage with something intellectually challenging or emotionally intense. And so I settled on The Founder. For better or for worse I'm generally good at gauging what I need to program for myself in a given mood so I'll keep my eyes glued to my laptop and The Founder felt like just the thing I wanted in that moment.

Temperature: The Founder was released in December 2016 so it's not as cold of a take as some of the other movies I have planned for this series. I'd call it Lukewarm.

My thoughts on the movie evolved as I watched it. At first I was just taken in by Michael Keaton's performance and the look of the film. From the first sales pitch that opens the movie, you can instantly tell that Keaton is operating on a higher level than most as an actor. He makes the kind of smart acting choices that communicate so much about the character beyond what's in the script. For example, both he and the screenwriter are aware that this is not the story of a great man or a charismatic huckster. And so time and time again, Ray fails at bamboozling his targets. He doesn't get what he wants through charm or force of personality though a movie star like Michael Keaton should be more than capable of conveying that should the role require it. Also, this is my bias, but I enjoyed the pleasantly washed out colors at the beginning of the movie. It looked like the real world. I avoid a lot of bigger movies because I just can't stand all the orange/blue high contrast and blue filters.

My opinion shifted as the movie increasingly made more obvious directorial and visual storytelling choices and the script became more predictable and more of a Hollywood gloss came over the proceedings. When Ray meets the McDonald brothers for the first time the movie almost morphs into a commercial/documentary style that feels borderline cheap. But from that point on, things start to look more familiar. The color palette of the movie becomes more recognizable until the feeling that you've seen similar scenes in other movies is inescapable and that suspension of disbelief starts to dissipate. Cues that something notable is being communicated are very apparent. The movie tries its best not to knock you over the head but you can feel that it really wants to. It's hard to miss the introduction of Fred Turner. They play up every time Ray lies about his ideas for McDonald's or founding of the company. The contrast between his relationship with his wife and other marital relationships in the movie is very apparent. One of the more egregious choices is when Ray is tempted by both the wife of a franchisee and a scheme to cut costs with an inferior product. The scene ends with a close up shot of the powdered mix milkshake, framed so that you also get a direct look at the woman's cleavage. Her chest is slightly out of focus. See, subtle.