美国国家公共电台 NPR 'On The Basis Of Sex' And 'Vice': 2 Biopics — 1 Bathed In Light, 1 Steeped In Shadow

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Two films opened today with titles that make them sound a lot sexier than they are. One is called "Vice¹" and the other "On The Basis Of Sex." What they are is biopics about a conservative vice president and a liberal Supreme² Court justice. Critic Bob Mondello says the film's differences go way beyond politics.

BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE³: You know exactly what you're getting with "On The Basis Of Sex" from the opening moment, when a very young Ruth Bader Ginsburg strides into Harvard Law School surrounded by a sea of gray, black and navy business suits. The year is 1956, and at first, she's the only person you see in heels - cinematic shorthand. Times were different then. And when the law dean hosts a dinner party for the nine Harvard women in a class of hundreds, you're encouraged to bristle⁴, as Ruth does.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ON THE BASIS OF SEX")

SAM WATERSTON: (As Erwin Griswold) Let us go around the table. And each of you ladies report who you are where, you're from and why you're occupying a place at Harvard that could have gone to a man.

MONDELLO: After she graduates, things aren't much better. New York law firms won't hire Ginsburg, so she ends up teaching law. And then her husband comes to her with a tax case he's working on that he thinks might be up her alley⁵ - and it is.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ON THE BASIS OF SEX")

FELICITY JONES: (As Ruth Bader Ginsburg) This is sex-based discrimination against a man.

ARNIE HAMMER: (As Martin Ginsburg) Poor guy.

JONES: (As Ruth Bader Ginsburg) If a federal court ruled that this law is unconstitutional, then it could become the precedent⁶ others refer to and build on. Men and women both - it could topple the whole damn system of discrimination.

MONDELLO: Director Mimi Leder's approach to the story of a genuinely remarkable⁷ woman is genuinely remarkably⁸ conventional. There are hurdles⁹ jumped, doubts overcome, inspirational music, an earnest performance by Felicity Jones and a climactic courtroom scene that "On The Basis Of Sex" treats almost as a sporting event. Can she get her argument across the finish line? On the basis of cinematic precedents¹⁰, that is never very much in question.

You'd think "Vice" about Vice President Dick Cheney would be equally unsurprising. It's not like we don't know how his story turned out. But "Vice" is by Adam McKay, the guy who made credit default swaps¹¹ cool in "The Big Short" and cut his teeth on "Saturday Night Live." And he doesn't generally give audiences what they're expecting. Take the moment when a young, intensely devoted¹² Dick Cheney - played by Christian¹³ Bale, who gained 40 pounds for the role - is interning¹⁴ for a youngish Congressman¹⁵ Donald Rumsfeld and asks his mentor¹⁶ a question.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "VICE")

CHRISTIAN BALE: (As Dick Cheney) What do we believe?

MONDELLO: Steve Carell's Rumsfeld takes in his protege.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "VICE")

STEVE CARELL: (As Donald Rumsfeld, laughing) What do we believe? Oh, that's very good. What do we believe? (Laughter).

MONDELLO: This is early on, and Bale's Cheney is nothing if not a quick study, Machiavellian¹⁷, with a wife as hungry for power as he, at least according to the narrator, who pops in occasionally to muse¹⁸ about, say, the impossibility of knowing what the Cheneys were thinking when they realized George W. Bush was going to offer him the vice presidency¹⁹.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "VICE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As narrator) You can't just snap into a Shakespearean soliloquy that dramatizes every feeling and motivation. It's just not the way the world works.

MONDELLO: It is, however, how an Adam McKay movie works.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "VICE")

BALE: (As Dick Cheney) A mere²⁰ treaty is our union.

AMY ADAMS: (As Lynne Cheney) My own blood and will are yours, to pierced be the last soldier's breastplate spilling forth²¹ its ruby²² jelly treasures.

MONDELLO: Growling²³, gruff and grumpy, Christian Bale makes the title character a lot like his Batman - basically a psychopath-turned-vigilante. Amy Adams is sharp as his Lady Macbeth.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "VICE")

ADAMS: (As Lynne Cheney) Half the room wants to be us. The other half hears us.

MONDELLO: And Sam Rockwell is a great foil as Dubya (ph).

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "VICE")

SAM ROCKWELL: (As George W. Bush) I want you to be my VP. You're the solution to my problem.

BALE: (As Dick Cheney) The vice presidency is mostly a symbolic²⁴ job.

ROCKWELL: (As George W. Bush) I can see how that wouldn't be enticing²⁵ to you.

BALE: (As Dick Cheney) However...

MONDELLO: McCay views Cheney as responsible for most of the things that are wrong with the world today, and he pursues that notion with take-no-prisoners zeal²⁶, also with considerable cleverness from the fishing lures²⁷ in the shape of Twin Towers and oil derricks that grace the final credits to the waiter who offers Cheney and other diners a menu of governmental horrors.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "VICE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) Tonight, we're offering the enemy combatant, whereby by a person is not a prisoner of war or a criminal, which means, of course, that he has absolutely no protection under the law. We're also offering an extraordinary rendition where suspects are...

MONDELLO: "Vice" is as entertainingly negative about the vice president as "On The Basis Of Sex" is blandly²⁸ positive about the future Supreme Court justice. So it's Christmas - choose your poison. I'm Bob Mondello.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 bristle   

v.（毛发）直立，气势汹汹，发怒；n.硬毛发

参考例句：

• It has a short stumpy tail covered with bristles.它粗短的尾巴上鬃毛浓密。
• He bristled with indignation at the suggestion that he was racist.有人暗示他是个种族主义者，他对此十分恼火。

5 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

6 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

7 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

8 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

9 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

10 precedents   

引用单元； 范例( precedent的名词复数 )； 先前出现的事例； 前例； 先例

参考例句：

• There is no lack of precedents in this connection. 不乏先例。
• He copied after bad precedents. 他仿效恶例。

11 swaps   

交换( swap的名词复数 )； 交换物，被掉换者

参考例句：

• He swaps his old car for a new motorcycle. 他用旧车换了一辆新摩托车。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• Swaps the anchor and end points of the current selection. 交换当前所选内容的定位点和结束点。

12 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

13 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

14 interning   

v.拘留，关押( intern的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I will spend the summer interning at a software company in Bombay. 夏季我将会在孟买的一家软件公司里实习。 来自互联网
• The young doctor is interning at the Medical Center this year. 这名年轻医生今年在医疗中心做实习医生。 来自互联网

15 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

16 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

17 machiavellian   

adj.权谋的，狡诈的

参考例句：

• A Machiavellian plot was suspected.人们怀疑背后有不可告人的阴谋。
• In this layer,Obama implied American policies that are cautious and Machiavellian.在这个层面，奥巴马含蓄地表达了美国的谨慎、权谋的（新）政策。

18 muse   

n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感

参考例句：

• His muse had deserted him,and he could no longer write.他已无灵感，不能再写作了。
• Many of the papers muse on the fate of the President.很多报纸都在揣测总统的命运。

19 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

20 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

21 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

22 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

23 growling   

n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼

参考例句：

• We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
• The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。

24 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

25 enticing   

adj.迷人的；诱人的

参考例句：

• The offer was too enticing to refuse. 这提议太有诱惑力，使人难以拒绝。
• Her neck was short but rounded and her arms plump and enticing. 她的脖子短，但浑圆可爱；两臂丰腴，也很动人。

26 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

27 lures   

吸引力，魅力（lure的复数形式）

参考例句：

• He left home because of the lures of life in the city. 他离家是由于都市生活的诱惑。
• Perhaps it is the desire for solitude or the chance of making an unexpected discovery that lures men down to the depths of the earth. 可能正是寻觅幽静的去处，或者找个猎奇的机会的欲望引诱着人们进入地球的深处。

28 blandly   

adv.温和地，殷勤地

参考例句：

• There is a class of men in Bristol monstrously prejudiced against Blandly. 布里斯托尔有那么一帮人为此恨透了布兰德利。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• \"Maybe you could get something in the stage line?\" he blandly suggested. “也许你能在戏剧这一行里找些事做，\"他和蔼地提议道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹