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.
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.
A Singing Good Time
October 12, 2012
Pitch Perfect (2012).
D: Jason Moore. DP: Julio Macat. W: Kay Cannon (Based on the book by Mickey Rapkin.) Starring: Anna Kendrick/Skylar Astin/Ben Platt/Brittany Snow/Anna Camp/Rebel Wilson/Adam DeVine/Alexis Knapp/Ester Dean/Hana Mae Lee/Elizabeth Banks/John Michael Higgins/Freddie Stroma/John Benjamin Hickey/Christopher Mintz-Plasse/Jacob Wysocki.
For those of you unaware of the acapella sensation finally sweeping our country, let me be the first to congratulate you on the rocky cave that you have built and are living in. Let’s hope it is cozy, for your sake. If you have been paying attention, whether it’s Fox’s obnoxious television series Glee or NBC’s underrated competition show The Sing Off or your basic college experience 101, then you are primed for Universal’s Pitch Perfect.
Bright, quick-paced, and embracing moments of sheer crazed college fun, Pitch Perfect is right on the mark. Yes it has moments that steal a bit from last year’s Bridesmaids, but in the end I can promise you that you won’t care. The film was helmed by female television writer (GASP), Kay Cannon, and directed by television director, Jason Moore. This team was in clear command of the pace of their story, while also allowing their characters to breathe and establish themselves.
Anna Kendrick, known from her work in the Twilight films, 2011’s 50/50, and 2010’s Up in the Air, takes on the lead role of Beca. Craving a Los Angeles’ music adventure rather than college, Kendrick’s Beca reluctantly enrolls at the college that also employs her father. Encouraged and somewhat forced to become more involved in school, Kendrick ends up auditioning for the all girls college acapella group. In sad disarray, the Barton Bellas act like a mini sorority (mostly the negative aspects of those organizations). However, thankfully, Kendrick is quirky and normal enough to be compelling and threads the film together effortlessly. Anna Camp and Brittany Snow do well supporting Kendrick in their roles as the Bellas leaders. Both have decent voices, and lets remember not everyone on an acapella team has to be a Kelly Clarkson.
However, the star of the Bellas ends up being Rebel Wilson. Embracing her true Aussie status, Wilson pulls back at the right moments and lets loose when it’s needed. Her singing moments specifically stand out. Balancing out the Bellas are the all boys team, The Treblemakers. I know, I love the names too. Leading the pack is some dude named Bumper (Adam DeVine), whose as annoying as his name implies. Thankfully, Broadway’s Spring Awakening alum, Skylar Astin steps in as a new member and “friend who wants more” interest for Kendrick. Astin’s Jesse has a tremendous voice and is written well enough not to feel flat against all the pop of the film.
Stealing some scenes is producer Elizabeth Banks and her co-host John Michael Higgins. Acting as journalists covering all the acapella competitions, the two have some of the most memorable lines and clearly embrace the fun and humor of the film. Between this pair and the music, no one will be able to leave the theater without a grin on their face. And that is just what Pitch Perfect aims to do. It lightens your load, without pretending to do anything else.
100% Not to be Missed
October 3, 2011
50/50 (2011).
D: Jonathan Levine. DP: Terry Stacey. W: Will Reiser. Starring: Joseph Gordan-Levitt/Seth Rogen/Anna Kendrick/Bryce Dallas Howard/Angelica Houston/Serge Houde/Matt Fewer/Philip Baker Hall.
Having seen this film in an early screening over a month ago now, I have given myself some time to ruminate on it. Not only to critique its cinematic value, but also its wider message and challenge of tackling the role of cancer in young peoples lives.
Overall, 50/50 is a success. Based on screenwriter Will Reiser’s own battle with cancer, the film follows Adam (Joseph Gordan-Levitt) diagnosis and treatment with the disease and the evolution of his self and relationships. Reiser gives us a young man whose so cautious he won’t cross the street without the correct light and almost pathologically naive about the state of the fire between him and his girlfriend. Luckily, Gordan-Levitt is the right amount of charming, disarming, and real here to never allow the script to feel overly sentimental or silly. Gordan-Levitt (I’ve been a fan for years) gives the film all the right colors, stages and tantrums involved with growing up and in his case, facing his own mortality.
Gordan-Levitt is nicely supported by Seth Rogen who plays his best friend Kyle. Although I would love to see Rogen out of these dopey roles for good, he does his part to bring an honesty to his role of someone trying to deal with the possibility of a loss in their life and still being a friend when that person is sick. Reiser’s script helps him here and their relationship, Gordan-Levit’s parents involvement is very small, takes forefront, and rightly so as they have excellent chemistry. Bryce Dallas Howard opens up 50/50 as Gordan-Levitt’s “devoted” girlfriend. Sexy and quirky she is fine here, though ultimately the female role of the film is in Anna Kendrick.
Kendrick, who I have not been sold on yet, plays Gordan-Levitt’s therapist who, of course, ends up being a graduate student working on her thesis. Their scenes together work well on so many levels as not only an entertaining portrayal of someone new to therapy, but the dynamics of any relationship when agism and sexual tension are evident. Kendrick is very likable here and allows the audience to simaltanouesly root for Gordan-Levitt’s Adam, while also coming to grips with the dire possiblity that he may lose his battle with this disease.
I can only hope that Summit Entertainment does well enough to get people into the seats to see this film. I think its high time for the average movie goer to support smaller well made stories and realize that seeking out these movies will hopefully help then eventually to be the norm for all. And it will be hard for anyone sitting through 50/50 not to laugh, cry and feel the overwhelming duty we have to cancer patients to help them fight this disease any way we can.