Production Design in Narcos

This week I watched two episodes of Narcos, a Netflix original series. (I'm really bad at binge watching television.)

Narcos is about the most notorious drug dealer of all time, Pablo Escobar. Much of the story takes place in Colombia in the late 70s and early 80s, where Pablo and his team produce mountains upon mountains of cocaine to sell in other South American countries and the United States. ('narcos' = narcotics. If you didn't get that, it's cool--I didn't until at least halfway through the first episode). The story is told by Steve Murphy (played by Boyd Holbrook), a DEA agent who moves from Miami to Colombia to stop Escobar.

Pablo and his cocaine. Bffs 4 life.

Th production design in Narcos, as I would expect with any major drama series, was excellent. Scenes in episodes one and two take place in the middle of the jungle, a fancy Colombian hotel, a random street in South Beach, Miami, the airport, a plane, a bowling alley, and a ton of other places. There was so much effort put into every little detail--as it should be.

This has inspired me to get involved in this part of production for our project, which was recently retitled as Dollhouse. In class we talked about using our location to resemble a dollhouse, so I started to think about exactly what that means.

I may have had this exact dollhouse growing up, actually.

I played with dolls (Barbies, Polly Pockets, Bratz) all the time growing up. However, I think what makes dollhouses a little creepy is when all the furniture is glued down. Not all dollhouses are like this, but the ones for very young children are, so they can't pick up the tiny furniture and start eating it. Maybe glued down furniture is an element that we can play with. We want the dollhouse to reveal characteristics about our antagonist, Hannah, so very minimalist designs might be best. Perhaps we could have shots of her straightening or tidying things around the house as she talks to Vivian, our protagonist. Vivian's room, in contrast, will look like the "normal" college student's--pictures and posters on the walls, some laundry on the floor, homework sprawled across the desk.

Obviously, we don't have the money that Narcos did, but that doesn't mean we can't put a lot of effort into our production design.

"Welcome to the Layer Cake"

Before he was James Bond, Daniel Craig played a business man in "Layer Cake," a movie about the British crime underworld. The movie is directed by Matthew Vaughn ("Kick-Ass," "X-Men: First Class).

Daniel Craig's character buys, cuts, and sells coke. Although he works with gangsters, he considers himself to be a business man. He does not believe in gun use and lets his associates Morty (George Harris) and Genen (Colm Meany) work the violent side of the business. 

Although he wants to retire at a young age, the protagonist is asked by his boss, Jimmy to find the missing daughter of his associate, Eddie Temple, played by the wonderful Michael Gambon (Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies). He also needs to organize an ecstasy deal involving drugs stolen from Serbians. Soon, Craig's character gets way in over his head as he has always believed to "make a  plan and stick with it" and "to quit while you're ahead," which could be considered his two personal mottos.

The movie has a good story and it is interesting to see Craig in a role where he is not a violent character, but he has to deal with those who are. I think it is one of his best roles and it is the role that got him the position of 007. Colm Meany and Michael Gambon both give good performances too. Ben Wishaw, who plays Q in "Skyfall" gives a really good performance as the nephew of a low-level gangster. The plot is complicated as it has many layers, justifying the title "Layer Cake," which also refers to the levels in the criminal underworld. The movie has great music and is well shot and what I think is one of the most memorable endings in film.

Here is the opening monologue from the movie.

Return to Paradise

I added a new film to my favorites list yesterday that I thought I'd share with you all!

It's a little bit relevant to our next project because it is loosely based on a true story. It is extremely saddening to me if at least most of the events in the story had actually occurred in real life. It has been speculated that it was based on a story about two australian's who were hanged for drug trafficking heroine. In the movie there are three characters who while on vacation are caught with a good amount of hash. Two of the character's in question had already gone back home but one stayed behind to work on an animal saving opportunity dealing with gorillas. They catch him and through him in prison and he is sentenced to hang, never having mentioned his two other friends until it becomes clear that there is nothing else he can do to save himself from sure death. He releases their names to his lawyers. One of them goes back to the USA to find his two friends who might be able to help him get away.

The film is extremely emotional and very human. Each character is believable and is relatable. It's important to understand that things like this can happen and when traveling the world one must realize you can't just do what you do at home normally. Whether or not this happens to be true.

The film stars Vince Vaughn and Jauquin Phoenix. Both of their performances are spectacular. I would certainly see this film again. I also encourage others to watch it.

It reminded me very much of Midnight Express where an american man is caught with drugs trying to smuggle them across the sea to the US. He then is sent to a turkish prison where he is poorly treated and sometimes tortured. The chances of him getting out are very slim and are often shut down even though his family tries very hard to help him through the american embassy. The punishment is debatably unfair. I think that movie may also be based on a true story.

So a word to the wise; if you're going to a foreign country, you probably should at least know their policies and laws and also you probably should refrain from the use or carrying of illegal substances.

I added Return to Paradise to my favorites list at #92 out of now 123 films!

You can find it on Netflix!

Wilfred

This weeks post is going to be about the TV show "Wilfred starring Elijah Wood and Jason Gann. "Wilfred" follows the manic depressive Ryan Newman (Elijah Wood). In the midst of a suicide attempt, he's asked to watch over his neighbor Jenna's (Fiona Gubelman) dog Wilfred (Jason Gann). However, for some odd reason Ryan sees Wilfred as a human in a dog costume, whereas everyone else sees him as just a dog. Ryan begins to watch over Wilfred as Jenna lives her busy life, and they begin to form a friendship. Wilfred tries to help Ryan out of his depressive state, in his own twisted way (and with his own agenda).

I had first seen an ad for "Wilfred" when I was watching FX at some point over the summer, but never got a chance to watch it. I recently discovered that the first season was on Netflix, so I decided to give it a shot. Since then, I haven't been able to stop watching and have already completed the first season.

"Wilfred" is a show unlike any that I've seen on TV before. I wasn't sure exactly what it was about when I first saw the ad's for it, but I've got to say that I think the plot is ingenious and extremely creative. The character's personalities are defined so well, and the dynamic of Ryan's unsure nature and lack of confidence in himself, coupled with Wilfred's dog personality translated into a human life, is a great tag team for a TV show. It's an extremely original program. I would recommend it to anyone into the 'dark comedy' genre of programs.

Manson's Music Videos

So, I have a confession to make: I am a complete music video junkie...and my latest obsession is Marilyn Manson videos. While I realize that he might not be the most loved person in the music industry, I have immense amounts of respect for him for speaking his mind, and the combination of shocking (but most often, true) lyrics and images in his videos. His videos always manage to be incredibly interesting, often not only telling the story of the lyrics, but somehow managing to tie in commentary about current issues, and past issues that he himself has dealt with.

My personal favorite has to be, "I Don't Like The Drugs (But The Drugs Like Me)." The first time we see Manson, he is pinned up on a cross made of televisions, dressed in all white, in between shots of people with huge eyes peering out of falling-apart buildings. This is all going on while he sings the lyrics:

"Norm life baby,

We're white and oh so heater

And our sex is missionary...

Norm life baby,

We're quitters and we're sober

Our confessions will be televised..."

Next, the camera switches between Manson on the cross and the people inside, huddled around a television and learning simple words from flashcards, indicating societies isolation of children and teaching them a narrow range of subjects. This is all while these lyrics are said:

"You and I are underdosed and we're ready to fall,

Raised to be stupid, taught to be nothing at all,

We're taught to be nothing at all..."

At this point, Manson finally gets off the cross, and is being chased by headless police officers, portraying that the law has become less about what is right and wrong, and more about doing as you are told. He runs from the officers into an emergency room, complaining of a hurt arm, while he sings:

"Norm life baby,

Our God is white and unforgiving

and we're piss tested and we're praying...

Norm life baby,

I'm just a sample of a soul

made to look just like a human being..."

While he continuously talks about "norm life," the video shows flashes of different scenes, all in white. Two more verses of "norm life" later, Manson finds himself armless, trying to represent being forced to live without an essential part of himself. He runs into a Jerry Springer-ish talk show set, where looking around, he sees the madness of the entertainment industry, touching on everything from doe-eyed pageant girls being primped by their mothers to the sexualized fights that occur nowadays on "trash TV." In the midst of all of the chaos, the lyric, "Raised to be stupid, taught to be nothing at all," in sung.

As the video concludes, Manson finally "escapes" from the insanity, only to find himself wandering around aimlessly, all while still being chased by the headless officers. Law enforcement seems to be a common subject in almost every Manson video, which could be attributed to the amount of issues he has had with it in real life. Just like he has said in many interviews, at the end of the video, Manson is faced with a decision to surrender himself and face silence, or death. In the end, he chooses death over silence, and jumps off the building that he has been cornered on top of.

Once again, I realize that Marilyn Manson's music may not be everyones cup of tea, but I encourage you to at least check out some of his videos. They all hold a staggering amount of symbolism pertaining to not only the lyrics and the tone of his music, but issues that he (and many other people) are facing in everyday life. Below is the link for, "I Don't Like The Drugs (But The Drugs Like Me)," be sure to check it out!

I Don't Like The Drugs (But The Drugs Like Me)

Molly Boekenheide