Dissecting Ayelet's filmography

Ayelet came to my attention upon the release of Angels & Demons. Thank goodness I skipped on the opportunity to catch The DaVinci code in theatres. Seeing the tediously tiresome DC first may have deterred me from experiencing A&D - and therefore losing out on finding my now favorite actress.

I've now seen 12 of Ayelet's movies. Out of the 12 films there is only 1 film that I wish Ayelet could remove from her filmography.
On a 1 to 10 scale, 10 of course being the highest, Ayelet has four movies that I have personally rated a 9. Two movies I have personally rated an 8. One movie was given a 7 rating, and one movie a 6. One movie was rated a 5, two were given a 4 and one movie an unfortunate 2. So, overall, Ayelet has a pretty solid film resume.' A film resume' Ayelet and all of her fans can be quite proud of.

Anyway, I'll provide my viewpoint on all of her movies that I have seen commencing with Angels & Demons.

ANGELS & DEMONS

Overall Rating = 9
Story: 9
Acting:9
Direction:9
Visuals:10

This is my kind of movie and thus far my favorite of 2009. From the moment I saw the trailer, I knew I was there and on opening day no less - which surprised me greatly being as though I had absolutely no interest in The DaVinci Code. But after seeing A&D I did pick up TDC (what a horribly boring and insipid film). But Ron Howard is my favorite director and is allowed to have a bomb of a movie or two. My other favorites from Mr Howard are The Missing and Frost Nixon, I think this man is a great story teller.
This movie did just what an audience member can ask for, entertain. From the great Hans Zimmer score to the extremely accurate sets built in LA. This movie has intrigue, drama, wonderfully directed and has a fantastic cast. I will admit, I've never been a huge fan of Tom Hanks, as a matter of fact, I tend to avoid his movies, but I do like him as Robert Langdon and anxiously await the next installmant, The Lost Symbol.
Ewan McGregor gave my favorite performance in the film and gave what I believe is his best performance to date. He was excellent as the Carmerlengo.
What I didn't expect was to discover my new favorite actress. After watching the movie, I then read some of the reviews and was surprised to read that the actress that portrayed Vittoria Vetra was not Italian but Israeli. She simply nailed the part and added just the right touch to a female characterization. Many times the female lead comes on too strong, for example Rachel McAdams in State of Play. Another female character that did not possess a believable quality and for me became more of a distraction was Audrey Tatou in The DaVinci Code. Ayelet didn't have that problem, Ron Howard let her play with the character and I think she found just the right tone.
The only gripe I have with the movie is of course the helicopter scene. But I can even overlook that, fantastic movie.

ADAM RESURECTED

Overall rating = 4
Story:2
Acting:8
Direction:2
Visuals:8


There are times wherein you can blame the failure of a film on the acting. There are times wherein you can blame the failure of a film on the marketing and then there are times you can blame the failure of a film on the direction. And in this case the failure of the film can solely be placed on the director, Paul Schrader.
I just could not connect with this film, it's far too fragmented and too disjointed. Novels and books can get away with a disjointed feel because in the end there are enough print pages to tie it all together. I think in film there has to be some kind of continuity or pacing otherwise it comes off as a two hour continous show of vignettes. In this case, bizarre vignettes-

This movie is of course based on the book Adam Resurrected by Yoram Kaniuk, so Schrader obviously didn't want to deter too far from the novel. So, I can't really blame the failure of the story on the director. I didn't like the story in the book, so failing to enjoy the movie came as no surprise. This doesn't always happen though, I disliked other books such as Notes on a Scandal and Angels & Demons, and absolutely loved the movie.

As for the acting, I do not find Jeff Goldblum too engaging as an actor, seems to me he is always playing variations of himself. I think he did a good job here but he just seems to fail at losing himself in his portrayals. Paul Schrader insisted upon casting Goldblum which I think was another colossal mistake on his part. Willam Dafoe, as Commandant Klein was a hoot, more screen time from Mr Dafoe would have certainly improved this film. Derek Jacobi and especially Hana Laszlo were fantastic.
Now to the only reason why I watched this bizarre film and read the bizarre book, Ayelet. Yet another role where she disappears into the character and is able to knock out another fantastic performance. This is the first movie wherein I've seen her play a total bitchy character and again she nailed it perfectly. She was funny, she was cold and one of the best parts of this outlandish film - that is until the disturbing sex scene with Goldblum. Paul Scharder describes this scene as smart, original and bold. I describe the scene as disturbing, unsettling and distasteful. The last thing I want to see... is my favorite actress on all fours barking like a dog. Yes, the book is bizarre but really now - that scene didn't have to be so in-your-face, it really was too much. I had to shut the film off after seeing that scene it just bothered me so much. Once the DVD came out I listened to the Schraders commentary and was pleased to hear that many others had a problem with the two scenes reflecting Ayelet in a dog type characterization. Schrader continues to state in his commentary and I paraphrase "that Ayelet is thought of as a screen goddess in Israel and they had a problem with seeing her like that in those scenes." Damn right!!!

But even with that and all my negative comments, this still is not the film that I wish Ayelet could remove from her filmography. Frankly, I'm glad she was in it, I just wish those scenes could have been shot with a little less force and a touch of taste - for that I blame the director. This is one of those films that could have been something unique and intriguing - but that only would have happened with a different lead actor and director.

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Here is an article with Paul Shrader discussing Adam Resurrected which will be shown at this months Israeli Film Festival in New York.

Q: That was a bizarre plot twist with the nurse. I wanted to see more of that.

PS: She's fabulous. Ayelet [Zurer] is like the biggest star in Israel, but she's really famous for being vulnerable. She was the wife in Munich. So this is not really what she's good at, she's good at being soft. This was kind of a change for her. But I really felt that we had to hold onto that. Even though it doesn't make a whole lot of sense at times, but then not everything has to make sense. It makes some kind of sense.

Q: It hits all your marks. It's got a little bit of that brutal side and perverse eroticism. You must've had fun with shooting some of those scenes where she's with the dog. But it must've been tough to get it right.

PS: It was not fun for her [Zurer], she did not like that. So that was a little bit of a problem because she was doing it knowing it was the right thing to do, but she wasn't doing it because... she had to really be talked into doing this film.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-balfour/director-paul-schraders-c_b_379982.html

VANTAGE POINT (2008)

Overall Rating: 6
Story: 6
Acting: 5
Direction: 5
Visuals: 8

This film is what it is. The action genre isn't exactly my thing so I have to be as objective as possible when providing my thoughts here.
I of course failed to see this in the theatre simply because I had absolutely no desire to. I purchased the DVD after discovering the Ayelet was in this, whoops.
Anyway, I actually found myself enjoying this flick. Many films take a minute or much longer to wind up and get going. Not this one, it starts full swing immediately and as an audience member - you find yourself playing catch up. The point of view showcased from each character was also intriguing.
There were a great number of unrealistic elements in this flick, but isn't that the case in most action movies? The running chase scene and the driving chase scene seemed to go on endlessly and I felt my attention wavering both times. But once again I'm not an action movie fan, so I'm probably in the minority on feeling that way-
I really don't think that an adequate ending was provided for each of the storylines but once again in action movies I do believe the story is secondary.
As for the acting Sigourney Weaver starts this off which is why this film started with a bang - simply because she is an excellent actress and does do "action" quite well. Dennis Quaid is Dennis Quaid. I thought the performance by Forrest Whitaker was one of his worst to date, truly abysmal as was and surprisingly Zoe Saldana. As for Ayelet, she was good and as usual convincing in her characterization.
The best thing about this movie was the Special Features. Hearing the director Pete Travis state that he saw Ayelet in the movie Munich and was astonished by her performance. And because of that when casting Vantage Point Ayelet was his first and only choice.

Only Dogs Run Free aka Wild Dogs (2007)

Overall Rating: 2
Story: 0
Acting: 7
Direction: 1
Visuals: 9

I guess you can tell by the rating, I did not like this film. And yes this is the one and only film that I wish Ayelet could erase from her filmography. This film was written by Assi Dayan, a very well known actor/director. Unfortunately he is also well known for his much publicized personal demons. This film only highlights many other personal demons of his. The director, Arnon Zakdok also a well known actor.
It just bewilders me how three of the most well known and popular Israeli actors could sign on for this project. Why?

As for Lior Askenazi, Lior is a good actor but he does have limitations - this film only highlights many of his acting.
Alon Abutbul is a fantastic actor, however, in this role if this is how the director envisioned this character - it did nothing for Alon as an actor.
Ayelet and objectively speaking was the best thing about this direful film. Ayelet brings credibility to any role, her scenes were the only tolerable element. Without her this train wreck of a film isn't worth watching. As a matter of fact, even though Ayelet is in this one and as much as I like her as an actress, and I certainly feel she is one of the best working today (in or outside of Israel) this one is still a skip it.

FUGITIVE PIECES 2007

Overall Rating: 7
Story: 8
Acting: 6
Direction: 6
Visuals: 8

Now we are going on a string of fantastic movies in this section of Ayelet's filmography.
One would expect this movie to be very heavy and a hard drama to watch. But surprisingly it was a very easy and enjoyable movie mainly due to the great story. Loved the flashbacks to Jacob as a boy and the flashbacks of Jacob and his first wife Alex. Now the flashbacks of Jacob as a boy with his family, all of those scenes were a bit too melodramatic for me but they were brief, thankfully. Robbie Kay who portrayed Jacob as a boy was excellent as was Stephen Dillane who portrayed Jacob as an adult.
I did enjoy the character of Alex, these scenes changed the complexion of the film. Only thing that would have made the scenes better would have been a different actress cast for this role. Rosamund Pike who played the character of Alex is only a mediocre actress at best. There are several scenes that needed depth - depth that she just does not possess.
As for Ayelet, I will say I think she stumbled in her first few scenes. Ayelet portrayed Michaela who becomes Jacobs second wife. She does have plenty of scene time but most of it is just close up shots. Close ups of her watching Jacob, listening to Jacob or reacting to one of Jacobs many dissertations. So how could she grasp the feel and tone of the character when she doesn't have any lines. For that I have to knock the director who recognized that he had a great actress but just failed to utilize her properly. A few lines would have made the love at first sight for Jacob and Michaela a bit more believable. But once they arrive in Greece, all that is forgotten and the love is very palatable.
I had a few gripes about this film but overall this was a very good movie and a movie Ayelet should be very proud of.

MUNICH (2005)

Overall Rating: 8
Story: 8
Acting: 9
Direction: 8
Visuals: 8


I remember when the trailer of this film came out, I just couldn't wait to see this. This is an intriguing yet extremely tragic part of Olympic history. But unfortunately I also remember leaving the theatre extremely disappointed. Once the DVD was released, I again watched this flick and was able to take in all that I had missed upon my initial viewing. For me this film definitely took a repeat viewing to actually appreciate and realize what a fine film this truly is. I do believe Steven Spielberg is far better at the "action" elements of films rather than the "storytelling" elements. But since this film is based upon actual events, the story is pretty much laid out for him, it's mainly about tying it all together.

As for the acting, I don't know if Eric Bana would have come to the mind of many directors. Bana is very hit or miss type of actor; thankfully in this film, he was definitely a hit. Geoffrey Rush and Ciaran Hinds two fine actors that would bring additional credibility to any film.
Hands off to Mr Spielberg for recruiting two of the best female actresses Israel has to offer, Gila Almagor, also known as "The first lady of cinema." Gila portrays Bana's mother and does a fine and convincing job.
Munich was Ayelet first international role. I believe it was her award winning film Nina's Tragedies which brought Ayelet to Spielberg's attention. To say that Ayelet was astonishing in her brief time on screen would be a complete understatement. This role to which catapulted her to international attention and thus far a very successful international career.
Munich of course is a very controversial film for many. And Ayelet was involved in one of the more controversial scenes. The scene in which Bana's character is visualing the airport massacre while he is having sex with his wife. What an extraordinary job by these two. Whatever you felt during the scene, be it disgust, contempt, empathy or fear - this scene made you feel. And isn't that what filmmaking is about?

BETIPUL (2005)

Overall Rating: 9
Story: 9
Acting: 10
Directing: 10
Visuals: 8


BeTipul is the original and Israeli version of HBO"s In Treatment. This is actually not a motion picture but a television series; one of Israel's most popular, ever. I've included it in Ayelet's filmography basically due to her outstanding and incredible performance.

Kudo's to the writer and producers of BeTipul for convincing Ayelet to accept the role of Na'ama Lerner. Fresh off of a maturnity leave and still carrying a majority of her baby weight (which many other actresses would not do) Ayelet returns and pulls off one of her greatest performances to date. It's going to be hard to find anything negative to say about BeTipul and Ayelet's performance. Ayelet won the Best Actress award and the show won for Best Drama.
The only negative thing I can think of to say - Season 1, does not have English subtitles.

Anyway, Ayelet is joined by fellow well known actors Lior Ashkenazi, Assi Dayan, Gila Almagor amongst other notables. This drama aired five nights a week similar to a soap opera. And guess who kicks the series off on Monday nights? Yep, Israel's best import, Ayelet.
What she does with this character is unbelievable. Every emotion you can think of is exhibited in this character sometimes in one thirty minute episode. When you have a show wherein it's basically two characters reciting dialogue with a majority of close up shots, good direction is imperative. The necessary key though- is to have actors with the ability to keep you glued to your televison screen, BeTipul accomplishes just that. I understand why Ayelet was first up, you become hooked after watching her episodes. All of the other actors and their storylines are great but can't hold a candle to anything she is able to do with the character Na'ama. The writer knew what he had which is why Na'ama goes on such a tremendous journey and takes the audience with her. And the scenes with Ayelet and Lior sizzle.
This is definitely a must see.