10-30-2021, 12:50 PM
[seen on Criterion]
I dared return to the well -- Lynn Hershman-Leeson's well -- after my disappointment with herTechnolust. Tillda Swinton is once more centerstage, this time portraying Ada Lovelace. You know, Lord Byron's daughter. Well, actually, that doesn't tell you much. Well-educated for the time, in contact with a number of intellectual luminaries of that period, she is largely credited with recognizing the programming possibilities of Babbage's "Analytical Engine" (a conceptual computer). She arguably wrote the first computer program. The ADA programming language, used by our illustrious military, is named in her honor.
But back to the movie. It takes place in the present day, which means 1997. Emma, a computer genius, finds a way to info-mine old photographs such that they turn into motion picture reels of that time (with full sound, might I add). Applying this technique to old photos of Ada Lovelace, she gets glimpses of Ada's life as she battles prejudice and sexism and likely the theft of her ideas by others, including Babbage himself.
I fell asleep during portions of this, so my judgment may be suspect. But from what I gather, the biggest action scene was maybe Ada walking across a room. As for the computer graphics used to cement the implausible idea that a photograph can be expanded to become a film of that moment, they were an embarrassment. The only thing I'm not certain of is who should be embarrassed most. Maybe me, for watching this. I have a suggestion for the director, and I'm certain she's waiting with baited breath to hear it. Take some computer science classes. Apply as much effort learning the subject as you put into trying to depict it on screen. As things stand, you're better off just saying that a comet flew over and that was what caused whatever technological marvel you need to introduce.
Timothy Leary is in this, by the way, portraying Emma's present-day mentor. Karen Black cameos once more, as Lady Byron. Other luminaries depicted include Babbage, Mary Shelley, etc.
The soundtrack is by The Residents.
All of which begs the question: How the hell does Hershman-Leeson attract so much talent?
I dared return to the well -- Lynn Hershman-Leeson's well -- after my disappointment with herTechnolust. Tillda Swinton is once more centerstage, this time portraying Ada Lovelace. You know, Lord Byron's daughter. Well, actually, that doesn't tell you much. Well-educated for the time, in contact with a number of intellectual luminaries of that period, she is largely credited with recognizing the programming possibilities of Babbage's "Analytical Engine" (a conceptual computer). She arguably wrote the first computer program. The ADA programming language, used by our illustrious military, is named in her honor.
But back to the movie. It takes place in the present day, which means 1997. Emma, a computer genius, finds a way to info-mine old photographs such that they turn into motion picture reels of that time (with full sound, might I add). Applying this technique to old photos of Ada Lovelace, she gets glimpses of Ada's life as she battles prejudice and sexism and likely the theft of her ideas by others, including Babbage himself.
I fell asleep during portions of this, so my judgment may be suspect. But from what I gather, the biggest action scene was maybe Ada walking across a room. As for the computer graphics used to cement the implausible idea that a photograph can be expanded to become a film of that moment, they were an embarrassment. The only thing I'm not certain of is who should be embarrassed most. Maybe me, for watching this. I have a suggestion for the director, and I'm certain she's waiting with baited breath to hear it. Take some computer science classes. Apply as much effort learning the subject as you put into trying to depict it on screen. As things stand, you're better off just saying that a comet flew over and that was what caused whatever technological marvel you need to introduce.
Timothy Leary is in this, by the way, portraying Emma's present-day mentor. Karen Black cameos once more, as Lady Byron. Other luminaries depicted include Babbage, Mary Shelley, etc.
The soundtrack is by The Residents.
All of which begs the question: How the hell does Hershman-Leeson attract so much talent?