Ring Around the Rosy
June 4, 2016
Love & Friendship (2016).
D/W: Whit Stillman. DP: Richard Van Oosterhout. Starring: Kate Beckinsale/Xavier Samuel/Morfydd Clark/Emma Greenwell/Justin Edwards/Tom Bennett/Jemma Redgrave/James Fleet/Chloe Sevigny/Stephen Fry. (Based on Jane Austen’s epistolary novel Lady Susan)
Writer and Director Whit Stillman’s newest venture, Love & Friendship, is out in theaters just in time to save us from the comic book boredom of films like X-Men: Apocalypse. Even non-Austenites will enjoy such a scintillating tale for both the eyes and ears.
Love & Friendship is based on Jane Austen’s epistolary novel, Lady Susan, that was published posthumously. Although very familiar with the Austen canon I have not read this particular work as it mostly made up of letters. Yet Stillman’s film is a self-conscious work that is aware of the Austen film adaptation history as well has heritage cinema. Working with conceits aware to him and the assumed audience, Love & Friendship introduces its cast of characters more like a play than a film, presenting each in vignette with a snarky description beneath their face. Immediately wit wins all in this palpable play of society chess.
At the center of the story is Lady Susan whose new widow status leaves her hopping houses, relying on family and friends hospitality for herself and her daughter. Kate Beckinsale stars as Lady Susan and looks the part which is not surprising since she played the lead role in Emma in a boring 1996 version for A&E on US television. Normally wooden this part suits a now older Beckinsale and her delivery of the script is a testament to Stillman. She helps to center the world around herself and covers her wickedness in a heavy head of curls. Xavier Samuel is a fine young suitor not unlike his fleshier role in 2013’s Adore. His earnestness is a bit Bingley-esq, but he eventually has enough Darcy to find his way. Morfydd Clark is an excellent Federica, Lady Susan’s daughter, and gives youth a frantic rage rather than a demure submissive role.
Stillman resists the urge to show off every home and make his film one centered on English heritage. Instead he hints at the tedious nature of rich country life in this time and focuses on the intricate verbal play of his characters and Lady Susan’s maneuvering between homes. Stirring up little pools of melodrama, her check ins with American friend Alicia Johnson (Chloe Sevingny) allows scheming to be the name of the game. Love & Friendship provides all the sleuthing of Emma, but uses a character we are never asked to like. Lady Susan is manipulative, clever, and ultimately treacherous yet Stillman thankfully never berates the audience into liking her. Rather he presents his film as fun and clever mischief to be enjoyed.
Savage Beauty
October 10, 2015
Macbeth (2015).
D: Justin Kurzel. DP: Adam Arkapaw. W: Jacob Kosoff, Todd Louiso & Michael Lesslie. Starring: Michael Fassbender/Marion Cotillard/David Thewlis/Sean Harris/Jack Reynor/Paddy Considine/Elizabeth Debicki.
Macbeth or The Scottish Play as it is referred to in theatres is one of Shakespeare’s plays rarely adapted for the screen. This new version, directed by Australian Justin Kurzel, is a ravenously intense adaption that embraces all the cinematic elements and delivers.
Shooting in the UK including the Isle of Skye the film digs its hands into the landscape of Scotland. Vast countryside and oppressive rain and cold anchor the Macbeth couple in a community built on violence and death. Surrounded by children, the film emphasizes the barrenness of the couple who is attempting to reconnect while being reminded of their lack of a legacy. The kingship they conspire to create will not be passed on. A fascinating angle for the play, this Macbeth brings new depth and scope to a work over five hundred years old.
Across the board the actors use Scottish accents with the exception of Marion Cotillard whose French accent has a hint of English, but allows her Lady Macbeth to have an otherness about her. Simply in her image Cotillard appears to represent the clash between Christianity and Paganism the play grapples with. She appears robed like the Virgin Mary yet in other sequences looks more like a witch upon the heath. Macbeth, played by Michael Fassbender, and his lady have an estranged chemistry that is both lustful and complex. Fassbender’s Macbeth is a P.T.S.D. warrior here whose mad fits are deftly handled. Macbeth demands you to listen closely and never relax.
Australian cinematographer Adam Arkapaw relies on a few too many close ups between the couple. Although this builds intensity and intimacy it does not allow some of the verse to breathe. Yet fifteenth century Scotland looks as dirty, cold and exhausting as one might imagine. The mists seem to rise and bring the weird sisters out from the land. The landscape itself absorbs Macbeth and the bodies of his victims into its earth. A thrilling adaption, Macbeth leaves out the famous ‘double, double toil and trouble’ scene among others. But what is lost we gain in a beautiful film that begs a steady ear from its audience. I cannot wait to see what Kurzel does next, dare I ask “when shall we three meet again, in thunder, lighting or in rain?”
This is For All the Girls When They Have Grown
August 21, 2015
The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015).
D/W: Marielle Heller. DP: Brandon Trost. Starring: Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgard, Kristen Wiig, Christopher Meloni, Abby Wait, Madeleine Waters, Austin Lyon, Margarita Leveiva. Based on Phoebe Gloeckner’s 2002 novel The Diary of a Teenage Girl: An Account in Words and Pictures.
Another Sundance darling is making its transatlantic appearance in cinemas. The Diary of a Teenage Girl is not to be missed. Writer and director Marielle Heller first adapted Gloeckner’s novel into a stage play. A self declared labor of love, Heller handles the material deftly and presents a first feature that is nuanced, complex and hybrid, like its source material.
The film follows Minnie, played by British newcomer Bel Powley, as she handles being fifteen and losing her virginity to her mom’s boyfriend Monroe (Alexander Skarsgard). Telling her story into microphone set into a tape deck, she recounts her experiences while the film takes us forward with the events that transpire through the affair. Minnie is a budding cartoonist like Gloeckner, and the film incorporates animation and drawings like the novel. These sequences and additions work seamlessly and help visualize a story told through Minnie’s eyes.
Thankfully, The Diary of a Teenage Girl deals with its subject and illegal underage affair deftly and tenderly. Powley is able to play a spunky fifteen whose body language literally straddles the world of children and adulthood. Her voice-over avoids sugary saturation and rather fluctuates with the intensities of first sexual experiences. Skarsgard handles Monroe well, not letting the relationship sink into predator land. Rather Skarsgard, who’s best performance yet is 2012’s What Maise Knew, gives sexuality and life to a man clearly at odds with himself. He is matched well with Kristen Wiig as Minnie’s mom. More a figure and sometimes an event than an active parent, Wiig’s vain Charlotte balances the adolescent wanderings of her daughter. She seems to not have grown up yet either.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl is set in 1976 San Francisco, which provides a specific moment in American history with drugs, fashion, and more. The film has a terrific sense of place, and Jonah Markowitz’s production design is layered and alive. The use of color is fabulous; it’s hard to forget the crushed velvet mustard colored blanket on Monroe’s bed. For a first time costume director, who is Heller’s sister-in-law, Carmen Grande is on point without pastiche. The look of the film is topical, not a bad moment for its marketing.
Here in the UK, the film is rated 18 and over. A fascinating contradiction to the fact it is told by a fifteen year old. Somehow ‘strong sex,’ which is listed as the only reason for the rating, prevents teenagers from actually seeing the film; whereas violence is nearly thrown at children in films rated PG. Compared to typical teen genre films, The Diary of a Teenage Girl actually works towards communicating the complexities of any teenage experience, especially a sexual one. (I think Perks of Being a Wallflower handled this well too). Certain things are universal yes, but certain films deal with characters, not archetypes, who make mistakes like we all do–blood stains and all.
Love in the Country
May 22, 2015
Far From the Madding Crowd (2015).
D: Thomas Vinterberg. DP: Charlotte Bruus Christensen. W: David Nicholls. Starring: Carey Mulligan/Matthias Schoenaerts/Michael Sheen/Tom Sturridge/Juno Temple/Jessica Barden/Bradley Hall. (Based on Thomas Hardy’s novel of the same name)
Heading into summer we are hit with a barrage of huge films, from budget to scope to locale. Thankfully smaller gems can pop up between these colossal projects and hit you right where you need it to. Far From the Madding Crowd does just that, flaws and all.
David Nicholls adapts Thomas Hardy’s monthly serialized novel that was then published in novel form in 1874. A novelist and screenwriter himself, Nicholls has adapted two of his own novels into films, Starter for Ten and One Day. I do not know which is more stressful, adapting your own work or that of a great writer like Hardy. Nonetheless, Nicholls is deft here at condensing the novel’s time and cutting out smaller tangents that the film logistically cannot tackle. Following the rise of Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) as she comes to fortune in her own right in 1870 rural England. A small voice over in the beginning of the film lends voice to Bathsheba’s acknowledgement of her independence despite her time, a moment she is never given in the third person written novel.
As I write this review I am listening to Craig Armstrong’s score, is there higher praise for a film composer? A frequent Baz Luhrman collaborator, Armstrong’s score is just the right augmentation for what is on screen. His use of violins is exquisite while its solos matching the tumultuous heroine of the film. Juggling three suitors while asserting her own responsibilities as mistress, Bathsheba has no easy task. Mulligan is the right amount of rural beauty here, a beauty routinely mentioned and harped in the novel. The faults of the film don’t lie with her or two of her suitors.
Michael Sheen’s neighbor farm master Boldwood is the most stirring performance in the film. Tasked with the most layered of men, his balance of desperation and practicality brings Boldwood out into the forefront of the film. Not to be outmatched is Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts whose quite physicality as farmer Gabriel Oak does the novel and the heroine justice. Not much can be said for Tom Sturridge who gets the sillier lover part, but he does manage to bring compassion to his love for little Fanny Robbin played by Juno Temple. Temple is long overdue for a massive film lead.
Janet Patterson, an Australian costume designer who has been Oscar nominated four times, brings tremendous skill in her expertise of the 19th century. Responsible for films such as 1996’s The Portrait of a Lady, Patterson clearly illustrates the connection between garments and a ladies’ status. In this rural life Bathsheba stands out, but not too far and the farm itself appears effortlessly dressed as it should.
Unfortunately, the film is shot rather inconsistently. Brilliant stretches of farmland are captured with amazing sequences of Bathsheba riding. However the rhythm of the film is lost many times, maybe through miscommunications between cinematographer and director. Specifically, a pivotal forest sequence although at times beautiful is shot so strangely and edited so similarly to the meadow sequence of Twilight (yes I am gasping too) it nearly ruins the mood. Other persnickety flaws exists to do with accents and story changes, but overall Far From the Madding Crowd is a worthy adaptation.
A Story in Song
April 24, 2015
The Last 5 Years (2015).
D/W: Richard LaGravenese. DP: Steve Meizler. Music & Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. Starring: Anna Kendrick & Jeremy Jordan.
Only in one cinema here in London, I sadly ventured into the most touristy area of the city to sit down for The Last 5 Years. Only for the musical enthusiast, the film is an adaptation of the 2002 Off-Broadway musical with music and lyrics by Tony winning Jason Robert Brown. Not a rock musical rather the film is a tour of the truly integrated musical number as there isn’t much else.
The Last 5 Years is essentially a story in song. With very minimal dialogue, mostly limited to phone calls and the like, the film seamlessly moves from one number to the next. Opening with Cathy (Anna Kendrick) sitting in her New York apartment looking at a letter her husband has left her saying he has taken a bag and left. Thus the film begins with a goodbye to a dead marriage and takes the audience through the last five years of the relationship.
The film is an impressive vocal two handler with the leads essentially alone or only performing to each other for the majority of the musical. In this world song is everything, it is the mundane, it is story-telling, it is romance, and it is also inner turmoil spilling into the frame. Kendrick’s Cathy is a believable wanna-be actress who doesn’t quite believe herself and feels caught in the wheels of life. Her range fits the songs with require a lot of breath control something she must have used to prep for her role in last year’s Into the Woods. Broadway actor, Jeremy Jordan jumps into the role of Jamie with a lot of swish and is able to move Jamie through many chapters of change as he sells a book to Random House. The couple have good chemistry which allows the music to sustain the emotional intensity of the lyrics and neither pulls focus from the other. I am sure a Disney animated franchise is in their futures.
Richard LaGravenese’s last directorial effort was the Southern and lavish young adult adaption Beautiful Creatures. A consistent working writer as well he does not seem to have any specific connection to the Broadway world except through some off-off Broadway experience as an actor when he was younger. That being said The Last 5 Years could not have been tackled by someone not in love with capturing the essence of song as emotional expression. The use of long takes is used many times to capture Kendrick and Jordan who sang most of the songs live. This is clear from the film and adds an intimate layer to the performances despite the cinematic crippling of visceral live performance. Here it is not a gimmick (um, Les Miserables) rather the film is one long stream of breath and sound of emotion.
My only slight gripe is that you never truly see the couple fall in love. There is the song “Shiksa Goddess” where Jamie exudes his happiness at finding Cathy or “I Can Do Better Than That” about Cathy’s dreams not being of the suburbs and with child. However, Cathy sort of appears into Jamie’s life and maybe the rom-com cinematic conditioning I have is asking me, where did they meet? Where’s our getting to know you number? But in the end it doesn’t really matter. The Last 5 Years is right for the right fan in so many other ways.
Time to GET READING!
April 17, 2015
Here is the trailer for the new film Every Secret Thing, based on Laura Lippman’s novel, starring Dakota Fanning, Diane Lane and Elizabeth Banks. Looking for a summer reading recommendation from me? Here it is!
Every Secret Thing
A Gentlemanly Disguise
January 30, 2015
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015).
D: Matthew Vaughn. DP: George Richmond. W: Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn. Starring: Colin Firth/Samuel L. Jackson/Mark Strong/Taron Egerton/Michael Caine/Sofia Boutella/Mark Hamill/Sophie Cookson/Jack Davenport.
What if the only English spy wasn’t a famous Mr. Bond? The new film Kingsman: The Secret Service answers just that with its own brand of suit wearing and umbrella fashioning gentleman of violence. These groomed benefactors of the aristocracy must find a new replacement for a fallen member and one of their own looks into his past to recruit a street London kid for his exclusive club.
The film’s graphic novel origins are evident with quick swinging camera work that emulates pages of action. Almost every action or fight sequence has an element of slow motion, Matrix-like moments. This is rather fabulous in sequences with Gazelle (Sofia Boutella) whose legs from below the knee are fighting apparatuses. Director Matthew Vaughn, known for Stardust, Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class, is clearly in his element here, but it maybe a bit too much.
Kingsman generously steals, references, and over uses the Bond series to create its style and humor. There are many moments that work, but about halfway through the film the winks become tiresome. A lot of the humor is UK based, these overstated Bond references are probably to help the film internationally. Sadly the use of women in the film harkens back to many a Bond film. There is the woman sidekick as weapon, woman as spy prize, and fellow woman spy, who of course needs help from her comrade to overcome her fears. Why can’t there just be one who kicks ass all on her own? The final sequence with a locked up princess is particularly regrettable.
What makes Kingsman ultimately entertaining is Colin Firth as Galahad (all the Kingsman sport aliases from King Arthur). It can be such fun to see an actor clearly having fun and this part, so against type for Firth, is exactly that. Still cutting in a great suit, his Galahad is plenty panache and substance, generously taking in rough and tumble Eggsy, played by newcomer Taaron Egerton. Egerton holds his own against Firth and other English actors like Michael Caine and Mark Strong. Even Samuel L. Jackson as a sort of Google tyrant is delicious here, much better than he was in Robocop.
Thematically the technological threat of Kingsman is topical, Ex Machina deals with similar issues of privacy and tech sharing or stealing. However, the issues are lost in this sort of package, which addresses the violence more than anything. I would commend Vaughn for never shying away from showing the reality of violence, killing characters and allowing others to show grief. All of this is alive in Kingsman, along with an incredible firework-esq sequence near the end. Ultimately, it could have done more, and we shall see if Vaughn bothers with the sequel as he tends to abandon his projects after one go.
The Right Amount of Yes
January 22, 2015
Wild (2014).
D: Jean-Marc Vallée. W: Nick Hornby. DP: Yves Bélanger. Starring: Reese Witherspoon/Laura Dern/Gaby Hoffman/Thomas Sadoski/Keene McRae/Michiel Huisman/Kevin Rankin. (Based on Cheryl Strayed’s memoir of the same name)
Setting out on the Pacific Crest Trail in 1995, beginning at Mojave and ending at the Bridge of the Gods, writer Cheryl Strayed attempted to literally walk the pain out of her life. This tremendous feat resulted in not only a new life, but a successful memoir and now a film.
Producing Wild under her Pacific Standard banner, Reese Witherspoon steps deftly into a role and world she championed through buying its source material. Witherspoon is a great balance of blonde Americana and twenties wayward whose grief over her mother’s death wrecks her life. She plays Strayed with the right amount of sugar you can imagine works to hide the grit inside. You can clearly see why this woman renamed herself Strayed.
Having read Strayed’s memoir I can say that Wild embraces its visceral quality into a cathartic and captivating film. All adaptations are difficult, but this one provides specific challenges as for the majority of the book Strayed is alone and grappling with her own fears and memories. Nick Hornby, in his first screenplay since 2009’s An Education, tackles this with aplomb. He is able to balance flashbacks, voiceover, inner monologue, and dialogue while synthesizing fellow hikers and trails into compelling elements that don’t merely feel like plot mile markers. Kudos must be given to the sound, music and editorial departments in blending music, voices, and sounds to generate meaning with and without images.
What was fearless about Cheryl’s journey was not only hiking this trail, but also going it alone as a woman. Witherspoon is mostly on her own here as well, though Laura Dern deftly supports her in her mother flashbacks scenes. Michiel Huisman is a delicious choice for Jonathan and is a nice contrast to Thomas Sadoski’s Paul. Gaby Hoffman, in a much deserved career resurgence also surfaces as one of Strayed’s friends. To be fair, she still has my heart from the Veronica Mars Movie.
Director Jean-Marc Vallée, known for Dallas Buyer’s Club, keeps this tight, reminding the audience that the story lies mostly in Strayed’s head not in the expansive landscape. Her hunger, thirst, and pain is on Witherspoon’s body yes, but is complimented by a camera without conventionality. Cinematographer, Yves Bélanger, evokes both his past films (his other being 2012’s Laurence Anyways) and is able to handle all the differently leveled moments in the script. Wild is genuinely not to be missed either in book or screen form. It remind you that even a little bravery goes a long way.
Singing Sondheim with Success
January 11, 2015
Into the Woods (2014).
D: Rob Marshall. W: James Lapine. DP: Dion Beebe. Starring: Meryl Streep/Emily Blunt/James Corden/Johnny Depp/Anna Kendrick/Chris Pine/Lilla Crawford/Tracey Ullman/Daniel Huttlestone/Christine Baranski/Billy Magnussen/Mackenzie Mauzy/Lucy Punch/Tammy Blanchard. (Based on Stephen Sondheim’s 1987 musical of the same name)
The musical genre has been struggling for a comeback for the last decade. Since 2002’s Oscar winning Chicago, filmmakers and studios have been chasing that same success. Yes 2008’s Mamma Mia made the big bucks, but 2012’s Les Miserables dragged us through three hours of labor and drama. Into the Woods joins a difficult cannon, but I am happy to say it does its Broadway mother justice.
Director Rob Marshall, responsible for both 2009’s Nine and Chicago, is clearly in his element here. Cinematographer Dion Beebe (Edge of Tomorrow) is at his aid again, they worked on both previous musicals together. The pair give space to their actors and thankfully, do not let the camera linger on reaction shots. The entire film has a fantastic sense of space and gives magic to its story without abandoning all realism.
There is definitely a bit of Disney gloss happening here. With a PG rating it is implied that the darker elements of the musical would be toned down, especially with the implications of the Wolf’s song, ‘Hello Little Girl.’ However, Johnny Depp is delicious as The Wolf and the Rat Pack vibe the song is given is simply pure fun. The deaths are also moved off screen and certain story lines are nipped and tucked to clearly fit this ratings margin. By no means is Into the Woods a disappointment for it, but it does change the overall palette of the project, especially the humor. Mostly this is aggravating as regardless, the film to me, is still for adults.
There is also some merging of characters, omissions of songs, and the on stage narrator now is serviced through the Baker’s (James Corden) voiceover. Luckily this voiceover does not inhibit the pacing of the film, though one or two times it feels repetitive. Despite all that Into the Woods pulls stellar performances out of the entire ensemble. The standouts are of course Meryl Streep’s Witch whose costumes (supremely done by Colleen Atwood) and make up merely enhance a fun, dynamic delivery. Chris Pine as Cinderella’s Prince oozes glorious giggle inducing charm with his duet with Rapuzel’s Prince (Billy Magnussen) a highlight, as it is in the show. I am very sad the reprise was cut. The youngsters Lilla Crawford and Daniel Huttlestone are excellent and hold their own with big solos. Emily Blunt’s Baker’s wife is great opposite Corden and Anna Kendrick does well as Cinderella, singing in a very difficult key. Lucy Punch steals a huge laugh as one of Cinderella’s step sisters, still waiting for someone to give her a bigger shot.
Into the Woods is overall an enjoyable addition to the musical genre. The first half is definitely stronger than the second, as it is in the show, but James Lapine adapts his work well. Stephen Sondheim’s music and lyrics actually works well on screen as his walk and sings balance the big numbers with character development. And what happens after ‘ever after’ is so on trend right now its ridiculous. But as a musical lover I couldn’t stop smiling and that is a beautiful thing.