The Terminal

I went into this movie expecting the most saccharine and sappy of Spielberg films. The Terminal looks, in tone and feel, similar to Catch Me If You Can, the previous Spielberg outing that I didn't particularly enjoy.

The problem is a simple one. Spielberg, while extremely talented, is one of the most sentimental directors working in Hollywood. This is evident in even his greatest works, E.T., Saving Private Ryan, and Schindler's List, where he cannot resist tugging (or, more often, jerking) at our heartstrings. Lately, though, he's been trying to prove that he's grown up and can deal with darker, more cynical issues. Thus his recent films, AI and Minority Report, are far from the innocent sci-fi world of E.T.

Annoyingly, though, his sentimental side still intrudes all the time, especially at the end. AI, for example, was a masterpiece of set design, special effects, beautiful direction and foreboding darkness. Until, that is, the horribly contrived and sugary ending. Minority Report, too, was brilliant; the showdown with Leo Crow proves Spielberg to be unparalleled when he's not distracted by his sentimental tendencies. Yet the ending takes an odd, obligatory and unnecessary turn toward the optimistic, and he again ruined an otherwise wonderful movie.

Catch Me If You Can was an interesting case, a mix of darkness and innocence, and marks the first time (in recent years) Spielberg is trying directly to make a comedy. Unfortunately, he's not very good at it; I didn't find a single funny moment in the film (though there were various witty ones). And I was strongly repelled by the "poignant" scenes (like when his father asks him in a bar, in reference to an earlier scene, "Where are you going today? Somewhere fancy?"). All in all, it was not a very tasty brew.

Which brings us back to The Terminal, another "light-hearted comedy". And, much to my surprise, it worked. The dialogue is still (as it often is in Spielberg films) stilted and forced, full of purpose and clamoring to make a point. But the comedy this time worked. This is probably more due to Tom Hanks than Spielberg's direction; Hanks turns in a performance so sympathetic, lovable and subtle that it's hard not to be constantly impressed. His comic timing is dead-on, and his physical slapstick performance is perfect as well.

The film is, appropriately, not as pretty to look at as his previous films, though it's still gorgeous. Spielberg's favorite cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski, who also worked on AI, Minority Report, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, etc., brings his usual palette of shining metallic surfaces and overpowering lights to the picture. Whereas they were distracting in Catch Me If You Can (made that movie seem bigger and less intimate that it should be), here it works to make the airport at once alien and beautiful to behold. Though his fondness for strong backlighting is starting to annoy me, there is one scene during a proposal that is so visually stunning that I let out a cry of joy (to the dismay of everyone else).

So there, I liked it. It has its flaws (especially the dialogue), but I give Spielberg another passing grade. And I can't wait when he finally, really grows up.