I Cried At "King Kong"

I'm not entirely proud to say it, but I shed more than a few tears at 'King Kong'. "What?" you ask.

"I thought King Kong is an action movie with some dinosaurs?"

Yes, indeed. And it does excel in its action scenes. It's been a long time since I've been enthralled by action sequences and the part of Kong vs. T-Rex is a must watch.

But there's plenty of drama, and the film excels here too. And it's where the subtext of the story speaks volumes to me. Somehow or other I identified myself with Kong's character.

He's a loner and an outcast. People consider him a freak show and did not even try to understand him, and even use force because he just looked like he deserved it. Others view him as a savage but never attempted to look beneath that thick hide - where they will discover a gentle beast that is also capable of love, perhaps much better than the rest of us.

And when I watch the moments between Ann (Naomi Watts) and Kong, they speak their love and understanding without words. And I could feel Ann's hurt because she knows what is going to happen to Kong but is powerless to stop it. Kong, meanwhile, is a simplictic creature who only wants to be left alone to love and protect Ann.

I almost broke down during the scene where Kong picks up random blonde-haired woman to see if it's Ann. It portrayed his desperation and mine too - of our efforts to find the 'One'. And let's not even talk about the final scene - two lovers being broken apart by the rest of society who do not understand (and have no interest in doing so).

I didn't count on it, but the tears welled up when those parts came. While other people laughed at his antics, I cried knowing how their temporary moment of happiness will end.

Excellent acting all around, but Adrien Brody did not fully exert his presence. CGI work on Kong's facial expression is second to none, but his full body movements seem jerky at times. At 3 hours, it is a little long but it enabled Peter Jackson to fully carve out the characters and story. I went in the cinema without expecting much, and came out with the firm conviction that King Kong is the best film this year.

Damn I'm such a sap.