Down In The Bunker
March 24, 2016
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016).
D: Dan Trachtenberg. DP: Jeff Cutter. W: Josh Campbell, Matthew Stuecken, and Damien Chazelle. Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead/John Goodman/John Gallagher Jr.
I will admit I am negligent when it comes to the horror genre. However, I would not classify 10 Cloverfield Lane or its tangential predecessor, 2008’s Cloverfield, as horror, more as thriller with a splash of extraterrestrial destruction sauce. Regardless of the genre debate, go and see it.
10 Cloverfield Lane is tangential to Cloverfield as it appears to be happening within the same attack on earth. So Cloverfield is set in Manhattan and this new film is set in rural Louisiana. With a nice shot of the New Orleans Crescent City Connection to open the film we aren’t given any dialogue until after Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) crashes her car en route to somewhere after leaving her fiancé. She awakens with her hurt leg chained to a wall to discover she is a bunker built by Howard (John Goodman). Nothing more, no spoilers here!
Once again yes it’s a thriller genre film (often deemed something like a B-film), but 10 Cloverfield Lane is also a piece of great scene study. With only three actors in a small-ish space the world must live and breath within its characters. Much like last year’s Room, little backstory is given so the dynamics must be played out in the trio. Trust and reveal see-saw their way into a gripping film that rarely needs to use music or effects to build suspense. Tight close-ups are well balanced and there is an excellent placement of music that builds ironic humor without camp.
Lead Mary Elizabeth Winstead has been steadily working, but she stole my heart in James Ponsoldt’s 2012 Smashed. A film about an alcoholic couple who breaks up when one partner tries to get clean. Here she is a naturally believable spunk who is a perfect balance of think on her feet smart both physically and mentality. Given that the audience has hardly any backstory on her you immediately must join her for her ride as she unravels the bunker and questions Goodman’s Howard. Goodman’s open demeanor and physical presence are never over done, a nice change from his warm loud goofs he usually plays. Emmet, played by HBO’s The Newsroom‘s John Gallagher Jr., rounds out the group really well.
The fundamental structural difference between these Cloverfield films is that the first was built on what is now termed: found footage. Shot as if the characters were filming from their own camera with breaks in story and scenes to mimic their home video experience. In Cloverfield this is effective as it gives the disaster/invasion film a new and visceral audience experience. For obvious reasons this would not work with 10 Cloverfield Lane, but also despite the name the film’s focus is rooted on human to human destruction within a “safe” environment rather than running from the big bad. Or is it?
A Heavy Load
November 15, 2012
Flight (2012).
D: Robert Zemeckis. W: John Gatins. DP: Don Burgess. Starring: Denzel Washington/Bruce Greenwood/Don Cheadle/Brian Geraghty/Kelly Reilly/John Goodman/Nadine Velasquez/Melissa Leo/James Badge Dale.
Amidst James Bond, vampires and hobbits a few films this season will claw their way into the box office and people’s memories. It is difficult to say if Flight will be among them, but it’s never too late for a surprise.
Having toyed with the script for over a decade, screenwriter John Gatins is clearly at his most interesting mark yet. Gatins other work, 2001’s Summer Catch, 2005’s Coach Carter & Dreamer, and 2011’s Real Steel, seem to have a clear inspiration message. And although he has also doctored other scripts along the way, Gatins’ Flight is a testament to his research and personal connection to his story. The age old saying is to always write what you know and Flight succeeds because of this well rooted honesty.
Gatins work also succeeds as it was put in experienced hands with Robert Zemeckis directing and Denzel Washington taking on the lead. Washington’s age and trademark gravitas gives added weight to his characters internal and external struggles. His performance pulsates with varying degrees of intoxication and his likability forces you to be conflicted about his character throughout the film. Washington is supported from all ends by stellar actors, with Kelly Reilly leading the charge as Nicole, an addict he chance meets in the hospital. Their relationship however, never pulls focus, but rather their meeting is one of the best scenes in the film.
The first thirty minutes of the film are tense, yet spectacular as the plane crash is simultaneously brilliant and terrifying. Yet thankfully it is not the whole film. At its core, Flight explores the power of addiction to shape our lives and make choices while deluding us into believing that these choices are of our own making. And just as dynamic as the crash, the conflict within Washington’s Whip makes the film memorable and ultimately enjoyable.
Lastly, as was similar with Lawless earlier in the year, its previews do the film a disservice. Coming off as conventional and too glossy, Flight will probably surprise many purely because it is not the film advertised. All I can hope is that it will work in the films favor and get a wider audience to see something less candy coated.
Hopping Aboard the Affleck Train (or Plane?)
November 1, 2012
Argo (2012).
D: Ben Affleck. W: Chris Terrio. DP: Rodrigo Prieto. Starring: Ben Affleck/Bryan Cranston/John Goodman/Alan Arkin/Victor Garber/Tate Donovan/Clea DuVall/Scoot McNairy/Rory Cochrane/Kyle Chandler/Chris Messina/Kerry Bishe. (NOTE: Script based on Joshuah Bearman’s article “Escape from Tehran.”)
Already a festival and critical darling before its wide release, Argo marks actor/writer Ben Affleck’s third directorial effort. 2007’s Gone Baby Gone and 2010’s The Town were not only successful, but also affirmed Affleck’s good taste in adaptable material. Argo is no exception. Keeping with his theme of interpreting strong established material, Affleck ups the anti in tackling a real life rescue mission.
Argo, of course, refers to a fake science fiction movie the CIA operative, Tony Mendez (Affleck), fake produced and scouted for as a guise while actually shepherding American diplomatic hostages out of Iran in 1980. In conjunction with the Canadian government, Affleck’s Mendez created an elaborate farce to get in and out of the country. Luckily this farce makes for a great story. Taking the lead (on and off camera), Affleck deftly balances the tense danger of Iran and the hostages with the second hand tension in the CIA offices and Hollywood production offices of Argo.
Affleck might have learned a few things from his 2009 acting turn in State of Play, but we’ll never know. His film actually succeeds where that one failed. Not only is the premise much more succulent, but there is so much tension from start to finish you hardly breathe until it’s over. Familiar experiences like customs crossings become dangerous mind fields of fear and most audiences will end up forgetting that they already know the outcome. Thankfully some light moments with the brilliant John Goodman and Alan Arkin as Hollywood archetypes allow you to laugh (even if one joke is redone about three times too much).
This balance between two parts of the world also visually allows Argo to explore how information is circulated and lives that exist on the same planet can be so disconnected. Victor Garber, as the Canadian Ambassador in Iran, acts as this bridge between worlds and helps ground the group dynamic of his hostages. In the modern age of technology it is easy to buy into the compulsive use of the internet and cell phones. But let’s not forget there was an age before that! The hostage group, all masterly handled by the actors, effortlessly allows the film to remain personal and engaging. Affleck helps this engagement by using close-ups and tight shots that bring out the suffocation and fear of the hostages.
One of the few pitfalls of Argo is that Affleck gives himself a bit too many glamour/tortured Daddy moments. Understandably Affleck’s acting presence helps get his movies made. However, in this scenario he should have concentrated a bit less on these moments as the true story lies in the action of his character and his intelligent thinking on his feet. This does not ruin the film, but certainty detracted from its mood and rhythm. Thankfully, the man can grow a decade appropriate beard as well.