Lip-synching and *The Line, The Cross, and the Curve*

[nessus@mit.edu (Douglas Alan)]

In article <NESSUS.94Apr27103955@twitch.mit.edu> nessus@mit.edu
I wrote:

>   The reason MTV wouldn't play the real video for "Running Up That Hill"
>   is the same reason they wouldn't play the real video for "Rubberband
>   Girl" -- they're not lip-synced.  Kind of a lame reason, but MTV's
>   kind of a lame channel.

When I wrote the above I assumed that the "Rubberband Girl" video
wasn't lip-synched.  Since I just saw *The Line, The Cross, and the
Curve* last night at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge, Mass., I now
see that my assumption was wrong.  The reason that MTV spurned the
original "Running Up That Hill" video *really* is the lip-synching
issue.  This was told to me John Carder Bush.

The reason why MTV spurned the original "Rubberband Girl" video *is*
obvious after seeing the movie, though: It just doesn't make any sense
taken out of the context of the movie.  It doesn't even make sense in
the movie until after the scene is over.  For the whole song we see
Kate doing a dance routine with a male dancer, but Kate looks weary
and tired through the whole thing.  We find out in a little bit that
Kate's dissatisfaction with her performance is integral to the plot of
the movie, but if this section of the film were just clipped into a
video, viewers would just wonder why anyone had bothered to make a
video of a singer looking tired and weary.  Also, this is a flaw in
the movie, since on first viewing, this scene isn't very enjoyable --
you just start thinking, "well Kate isn't the performer she used to
be."  You don't have any indication that this is what you are supposed
to be thinking.

All in all, though, the movie is pretty good.  Miranda Richardson, as
always, puts in a remarkable performance.  This movie is reminiscent
of Kate's early music career: it is flawed, but with signs of
brilliance.  Kate's use of color is fantastic.  Perhaps Kate will be a
great film director some day if she wants to be.

The best scene in the movie, in my opinion, is the performance of "And
So Is Love".  Very simple, but effective.  Kate should have released
this song as a single for two reasons: (1) It would have made a much
better single than any of the songs that were released as singles
("Constellation Of The Heart" should have been the other single), and
(2) it is the only section of the film that would work when cut out of
the movie and made into a video.

|>oug
  <nessus@mit.edu>