Midweek Mumble – Vale Tony Scott

For this week’s mumble, Rodney reflects on the great loss we all have felt by this weeks unexpected passing, Tony Scott.

Hard as it is to fathom, but Tony Scott is no longer with us. The British director, who’ll probably always be known as “Ridley Scott’s brother” instead of a director in his own right, killed himself earlier this week by jumping from a bridge in Los Angeles. To say it came as something of a shock is an understatement. Tony Scott never seemed to be the kind of person who’d do something like that – a statement woefully inadequate to explain the deep feelings of sadness we feel for anyone who commits suicide. As a fan of film, I’ll admit to never really being a big fan of his work, least of all his most recent output – Unstoppable, Deja Vu, Pelham 123, and Man On Fire. Even Domino annoyed me, even though I am a huge fan of Kiera Knightley. Scott’s unique visual aesthetic always seemed to annoy me, although I did recognise that the man could certainly string together an action sequence.

My personal preference for his work is, as a lot of folks seem to be indicating across the Blogosphere recently, his earlier work – Top Gun ranks as the best Tom Cruise movie of the 80′s, Crimson Tide became the zenith of his career, and Days Of Thunder….. well, it’s stupid but fun. While Tony never seemed to capture audience favor like his older brother, he did somehow manage to differentiate himself with a unique visual style that remains the single defining characteristic of his movies.

With Scott’s death come a multitude of questions, mainly centered around what would have driven him to think that jumping to his death was the best option. Some kind of terminal illness, or financial pressure are two options that have reared up since the event, although they’ve been shot down quickly by his family. Scott wrote a number of suicide letters, depending on what you read online, so I guess it’s only a matter of time before we find out at least something as to his reasoning; too little, too late for some, I’d wager.

Regardless of the outcome of any inquiry into the why’s and wherefore’s, the fact remains that we’ve lost a unique voice in the Hollywood firmament. Long after the initial grief and anger subside, as days turn to weeks and months and years, the world will still be the poorer for his absence. Thankfully, though, we’ve still got a bunch of great films bearing his trademark visual style. If there’s any solace to be taken, that is it.

About The Author – Rodney Twelftree

Aussie film fan Rodney has been writing about film, DVD and Blu-Ray since 1998, when he became Chief Reviewer at a now-defunct Adelaide-based online retailer. A fan of blockbuster and mainstream cinema, as well as dabbling in arthouse and independent forms of the industry, Rodney prefers to spend his nights and weekends in front of the television watching the latest release on Blu-Ray instead of out getting sloppy drunk like many of his friends. When he’s not out in the Front Room, Rodney can be found writing reviews for his own website www.fernbyfilms.com, helping good mate Al K Hall over at The Bar None, and dabbling in lists over at Top 10 Films.