Life (2015)

Life: Directed by Anton Corbijn. With Robert Pattinson, Peter Lucas, Lauren Gallagher, Kendal Rae. A photographer for LIFE Magazine is assigned to shoot pictures of James Dean.

“u0026quot;Life (2015)u0026quot; is the fourth film directed by notorious Dutch photographer and director Anton Corbijn, in which we get a look into the life of James Dean. Corbijn proves to be an accomplished director since the release of his debut and gritty masterpiece u0026quot;Control (2007)u0026quot;. A film that set the bar so high it became hard to satisfy his newly found fan-base. After his escapades with the thriller genre he returns to the genre he became known for, a biopic. And this time our favorite u0026quot;Rebelu0026quot; gets the u0026quot;Corbijn- treatmentu0026quot;, or so we hope. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs the title suggests the story revolves around Dennis Stock, a photographer for the magazine u0026quot;Lifeu0026quot;, who gets the assignment to shoot rising and rebellious Hollywood actor James Dean, before the release of his first headlining film u0026quot;East of Eden (1955)u0026quot;. A friendship develops between both gentleman and the pair travel to L.A., New York and Indiana to get those precious shots Stock is longing for. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDeHaan rather gives us his own interpretation of James Dean. The resemblance between portraying and portrayed actor is marginal. Stock on the other hand is portrayed by Pattison who gives a dull performance although the concept of his role feels dull on its own, something we canu0026#39;t blame Pattinson for directly. Stocku0026#39;s assignment and private life should feel like a struggle though this is poorly translated into the script. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThroughout the movie there are sparks of chemistry between both but in the end itu0026#39;s sad to see that this chemistry is absent for most of the film. Itu0026#39;s because of these aspects this period drama sometimes feels like itu0026#39;s sleepwalking throughout its own story, which is a shame considering the fact that u0026quot;Lifeu0026quot; can be considered as almost a personal film for Corbijn. You might expect that a photographer making a film about photography would create something more lively than the overall boring u0026quot;Lifeu0026quot;. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMaybe Corbijn made us spoiled little brats, we expect too much from the director that gave us u0026quot;Controlu0026quot;, while you canu0026#39;t blame an audience for expecting something more daring than u0026quot;Lifeu0026quot;. James Dean was not only a fascinating character, he also possessed a complexity towards his sexual identity, something the film largely ignores. In conclusion there are some pleasing touches, such as the beautiful cinematography or a refreshing cameo by Ben Kingsley, but in the end this film becomes a frustrating experience for Corbijn fans.”