A Trip to Italy
March 10, 2016
A Bigger Splash (2016).
D: Luca Guadagnino. DP: Yorick Le Saux. W: David Kajganich. Starring: Tilda Swinton/Ralph Fiennes/Matthias Schoenaerts/Dakota Johnson.
Loosely inspired by the 1969 film, La Piscine, Italian director Luca Guadagnino’s new film A Bigger Splash is a tense yet enjoyable experience handled well by its actors.
The film follows David Bowie esq performer Marianne Lane (Tilda Swinton) as she convalesces in Italy after vocal surgery. Shacking up with her is her younger boyfriend Paul (Matthias Schoenaerts) whose thrown when her former producer and lover Harry (Ralph Fiennes) shows up unannounced with a newly discovered adult daughter in toe. What results is an exploration of past and present and latent desire that pulses through an Italian villa and its swimming pool.
The central joy of The Bigger Splash is to see veteran Fiennes loosen up and play someone vivacious at life whether that is dancing or fucking. He cannot out due Oscar Isaac’s dancing in last year’s Ex Machina, but his character is something fresh for the actor and you can tell. Swinton’s Bowie-esq stage persona is far removed from the statuesque woman she presents in Italy. Her dead mother’s wardrobe she dons for most of the film was designed by Raf Simons the former head of Dior. Yet Swinton does a lot without speaking which gives credit to her face and body. She’s purposeful here and its memorable.
Belgian actor Schoenaerts is quickly a rising talent with studio films like The Danish Girl under his wing. He’s lithe and built like a modern Farmer Oak from Far from the Madding Crowd, but he doesn’t come across as just the favorable beef cake of the month. Dakota Johnson as Harry’s new daughter Penelope suffers as her age and Fifty Shades of Grey fame betray her. Yet she remains the most ambiguous character as her motives or gains are still hazy at the end, a testament to the story and her interpretation at least.
The film falters when it uses flashbacks to emphasize the love triangle between Paul, Marianne, and Harry. Nothing is gained by those sequences and they pull us out of gorgeous Italy, which is shot well by Yorick Le Saux. Not much is explored about Marianne’s fame, which is a nice touch as it is merely the context of the story. But a funny sequence towards the end with a detective reminds us that this life less ordinary is under a microscope.
Over and Done With
November 16, 2015
Spectre (2015).
D: Sam Mendes. DP: Hoyte Van Hoytema. W: John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade & Jez Butterworth. Starring: Daniel Craig/Christoph Waltz/Léa Seydoux/Ralph Fiennes/Ben Wishaw/Naomie Harris/Andrew Scott/Monica Bellucci/Rory Kinnear/Jesper Christensen/Dave Bautista. (NOTE: Based on Ian Fleming’s characters from his James Bond series)
Oh how the mighty do fall. The newest entrance into the James Bond cannon, Spectre, is quite literally a mess. Its theme song, title sequence, premise, script, and execution are all vastly inferior to 2012’s Skyfall. If Daniel Craig felt done with his portion of this franchise you will feel done with it as well after two and a half hours of this film.
Let’s start with the opening. The first sequence is actually strong. Dropped into the middle of Mexican festivities for the Day of the Dead our Bond (Craig) is already hot on the pursuit, no introductions needed. Yet this opening gives way to a scatterbrained title sequence that lacks any coherent theme or look even. The best visuals are of women made out of wispy smoke, but this is reminiscent of the sand and smoke of the title sequence of Quantum of Solace so not entirely new. Sam Smith’s song ‘Writing on the Wall’ is sadly made worse by the visual confusion of the credit sequence. The octopus imagery, which anyone would already be aware of from the trailer, is just too simple and by the end of the film lacks any significance. For a franchise whose theme songs and title sequence are legendary this is a major misstep.
Next we are subjected to rogue Bond on the run who quickly and superfluously seduces Monica Bellucci to gain minimal intelligence. Bond quickly learns that there are bigger forces at work that perhaps have been puppeteering his life recently. This is the first of many times the writers blatantly remind you of Craig’s bond films as a set and the time line of his character. Christoph Waltz’s villain lacks any originality as he merely serves this purpose of stringing all the films together. In other words, ‘hehe, it was me the whole time!’ Sadly Waltz becomes a caricature in this world. Some great hand to hand combat happens, but none of the action really comes from the villain. The final action act is a video game conclusion, save the princess and get out of the building in time. What a bore.
Bond is still supported by an excellently serious Ralph Fiennes as M and Naomie Harris as Money Penny. Ben Whishaw’s Q finally gets his do and breaks to the surface of the spyage with his gadgets and gizmos galore. Andrew Scott’s C is quite literally a less complex Moriarty, his character from the BBC Sherlock series. Type-casting if it ever needed a definition. Even gorgeous and brainy Madeleine Swann (Seydoux) cannot save Spectre. A character that could have been a cryptic comment on the Bond brand of misogyny gives way to Bond romance that sprouts in a matter of days. It’s so unbelievable it appears stupid rather than old fashioned. But what is bond without women who lay down for him? Maybe this character cannot work anymore.
Spectre is uninspired and slogs on so long you feel you have watched a few different films. Mendes is not coherent on a look or a story. like he was in Skyfall . Craig phones it all in and considering his publicly vented boredom with this character you wonder if the film should have been made at all. Also there is the inevitable comparison with the recent Bond homage Kingsman which narratively addresses technology and surveillance as weapons. This is simply bad timing, but really what everyone is waiting for the announcement of who the next Bond will be as Idris Elba rumors continue to spiral. I for one would love Elba as Bond, if you don’t believe me watch the BBC’s Luther. We shall have to wait and see, but maybe we all need a break anyway?
A Nostalgic Folly
May 21, 2014
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
D: Wes Anderson. W: Wes Anderson (inspired by the works of Stefan Zweig). DP: Robert D. Yeoman. Starring: Ralph Fiennes/Tony Revolori/Saoirse Ronan/Tom Wilkinson/Tilda Swinton/Jeff Goldblum/Jude Law/Adrien Brody/Willem Dafoe/Edward Norton/Bill Murray/Lea Seydoux/Jason Schwartzman/Harvey Keitel/F. Murray Abraham/Mathieu Amalric.
Another addition to the Wes Anderson canon has reached screens and his work continues to live up to its stylish expectations. The Grand Budapest Hotel is a visually lush pleasure, with as much delight and witticisms to match its look.
The film is structured around an author dispensing to the audience how he came to write a book on the Grand Budapest Hotel. Thus shifting the story back about twenty years to his stay at the same hotel and moving meeting with its current owner. The story then shifts again to this owner telling his own story of his experiences in the hotel. All three time periods, delineated by different aspect ratios, evoke different places in history, but all embrace Anderson’s sense of nostalgia. Like previous films, Anderson uses storyboard cards to cut his film into chapters, like a grand old illustrated book read by lamp light by a loved one.
The majority of The Grand Budapest Hotel follows the new lobby boy Zero (Tony Revolori) and his relationship with the eccentric and esoteric concierge, M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes). Fiennes is marvelous here, with his long fingers and impeccable brow, he somehow radiates sexual androgyny. As his character shares, “I go to bed with all my friends,” and we believe him. Fienne’s Gustave is all meticulous flare and romance, one that leads him and his lobby boy on an elaborate enjoyable caper.
The smaller bit parts of the film work well as the major storyline remains with Fiennes and Revolori. Their relationship and repertoire are a strong base for the more ridiculous moments. Revolori matches Fiennes’ sinewy quietness, slowly amalgamating the older man’s characteristics as his own. In a charming bit Revolori and his love Agatha (Saoirse Ronan with her real accent) recite their one poetry, like Fiennes’ Gustave. Making verbal magic out of lived moments. The film is full to the brim with Anderson’s usual crackpot of actors, which instead of feeling stale somehow remains fresh and even induced pure cameo chuckles from my theater. My only gripe is there is a bit too much voice-over in the beginning, anyone surprised?
Anderson fully embraces his Roald Dahl like mise en scéne. Shot entirely in Germany and Poland, the European set breathes necessary life into a story so rooted in its time and place historically. With this, his eighth feature film, Anderson’s style has become so singularly recognizable it even spawned a Saturday Night Life parody last year. Oftentimes such a stylized or unique visual aesthetic can either enthrall you or alienate you. This love/hate response I don’t find with Anderson’s films. Even when the story doesn’t interest me I somehow get charmed (to a degree) in the end. My favorites are 1998’s Rushmore and 2012’s Moonrise Kingdom, with the this new film joining them.
An Ending Worth Waiting For
July 15, 2011
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011).
D: David Yates. DP: Eduardo Serra. W: Steve Kloves. Starring: Daniel Radcliffe/Emma Watson/Rupert Grint/Alan Rickman/Ralph Fiennes/Helena Bonham Carter/Tom Felton/Maggie Smith/Jason Isaacs/Michael Gambon/Ciaran Hinds/Kelly Macdonald/John Hurt/Matthew Lewis/Bonnie Wright. (NOTE: References made to J.K Rowling books and previous Harry Potter films.)
After so many years, so many books, so many films, so much love and that little bit of magic that has kept us all enchanted, it is time to say goodbye. Goodbye and thank you to a group of films that has captured the evolution of kids into actors, collected many famous British actors in the same room, and celebrated J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world. And to every muggle who has not yet read/seen or scoffs at this series (or franchise really), for you I am deeply sorry.
But for the rest of us, it all ends here. And thankfully it’s brilliant. The film opens with a quiet, somber tone. Radcliffe’s Harry still sits on the earth where he buried his valiant elf savior, Dobby, and soon becomes resolute that now is the time for final decisions and actions. This might be my favorite opening yet, there’s no sweeping score, roaring train, or Dursleys, but it’s true, dramatic, and real. Radcliffe is his best here I think, he centers the film and grounds it in Harry’s personal struggle to live and break free from predestined choices. Kloves’ final script gives all this to him, while also letting the drama and suspense build, accentuating the surprises and fatal plot turns.
Watson’s Hermione and Grint’s Ron are great scene partners for Radcliffe, although ultimately the movie is his. His though, only to be shared and oftentimes stolen by Ralph Fiennes’ seething and slippery Lord Voldemort. Once again, Fiennes’ costume, make-up, and performance beat out any other Potter world character. From his snake slit nose to his writhing hands clutching the elder wand and down to his billowing cape, Fiennes is pure glorious evil down to the very end. And it is this ultimate battle and confrontation that pulls together the Potter world, the Death Eaters and the faithful Hogwarts students and staff. So that although the film is sometimes sad and frightening, it simply feels great to see all these characters together on screen.
Yates, who also directed Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, and Deathly Hallows Part 1 continues his solid work here. Yates and cinematographer Eduardo Serra complete the look of the last couple of films admirably, bringing the richness and darkness of the world up, such that places act as their own characters. The only faults I can give this final installment are the tiny cracks in plot or lack of development in certain relationships and characters. Specifically, Radcliffe’s relationship with Wright’s Ginny never finds much weight or romance, I guess that was all saved for Watson and Grint? Yet, audiences will find it difficult to get angry about these details, because death and darkness are so well embraced here that you are certainly too engrossed to care.
Like other successful Potter films, Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2 dares you to return to the cinema and see it all again. Its abandonment of the pretense of happiness that the other films have been forced (and to some degree needed to have as part of the story) to uphold, truly yanks you in. The film even gets its own new faces and clever tidbits. Ciaran Hinds makes an almost unrecognizable turns as Dumbledore’s brother Albus and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire‘s Kelly Macdonald marks her ground as the Grey Lady, the ghostly daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw. Lastly, this film finally lets shine awkwardly adorable Matthew Lewis’ Neville Longbottom. For Potter book lovers they may remember the irony of Harry’s fate that, in fact, Neville and Harry’s birthdays were so close to each other that the prophecy could come true with either boy. This makes Lewis’ scenes all the more poignant as he comes into his own and proves that Radcliffe’s Potters influence was just as significant with his Hogwarts’ peers than the films have time to showcase.
Although in my previous reviews of the last two Potter films I have addressed the fact that there will probably never be a film that satiates the Potter appetite, I believe Deathly Hallows Part 2 is the closest we have come. Having said that, all it does is encourage me to go home, grab the books from my bookshelf and relive the magic all over again. As that is ultimately the lasting affect of this series. It makes you love to read, love to imagine, and smile because wouldn’t we all like to believe there are wizards around our doorstep. Accio Potter book!
The End is Near…Mr. Potter
December 9, 2010
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010).
D: David Yates. DP: Eduardo Serra. W: Steve Kloves. Starring: Daniel Radcliffe/Emma Watson/Rupert Grint/Ralph Fiennes/Jason Isaacs/Bonnie Wright/Helena Bonham Carter/Alan Rickman/Tom Felton/Bill Nighy/Toby Jones/Imenda Staunton/John Hurt/Rhys Ifans. (NOTE: References made to J.K Rowling books and previous Harry Potter films)
It has been a long wait for Potter fans as last July’s release of Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince has meant a long fifteen months before Potter could be seen on screens again. Of course, this only gives fans and cynics alike enough time to go back to the novels and make their own plan for the final films, as this last novel is being split into two films.
First of all, I can say it is wonderful that this last installment will be two films. Not only because it means audiences get more Potter and Warner Brothers makes more money, but because it allows for more to be shown. Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows is fraught with action, turmoil, and decisions that affect the life and death of a lot of characters. And thankfully, splitting this novel in two (although subjecting the first to feeling a bit too transitional) benefits the story and Harry’s journey.
Harry (Radcliffe) is again directed by David Yates, who directed the last two films, and slides right back into his role as the chosen one. With a clear handle on where the story is going and what he wishes to emphasize, Yates is able to pull the audience back into Radcliffe’s world without shying away from the darker place it has become. Dumbledore’s Army a distant memory, Radcliffe’s abandonment of Hogwarts marks the first visual distinction of this film from its predecessors. And although some audiences may miss Hogwarts’ familiarity, it is clear that Radcliffe is running for his life and gathering his own intel (with the help of Watson’s Hermione of course) for his obviously ultimate confrontation with Voldemort. Also, thankfully, Radcliffe remains likable, although I wish his decision to end his relationship with Ginny (Bonnie Wright) in deference for her safety was an actual plot point as it is an illustration of his maturity.
A much larger presence in this film, Fiennes’ Voldemort continues to bask in his cloak and Oscar worthy make-up. His Voldemort is in such command that Fiennes’ is able to ground the film in a realistic sense of doom and violence. His performance is complimented by Yates’ balancing between Voldemort’s death eaters and Radcliffe’s search to destroy the remaining horcruxes. Radcliffe’s search thankfully also includes Watson who continues to hold her ground as Hermione, whose friendship with Harry and (very private?) relationship with Grint’s Ron, as always, causes her stress. The group chemistry, however, helps keep the pace of the film going. Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1 is thankfully also riddled with famous British actor bit parts that round out the Potter world. Rhys Ifans makes a delightful daddy Lovegood and even Bill Nighy steals some scenes as Rufus Scrimgouer.
For this installment Yates’ enlisted cinematographer Eduardo Serra, who like Bruno Denmonnel in the last film, is able to close the frame around his actors. There is a danger on screen that is the necessary evolution of the franchise. More successful than Denmonnel, Serra will be involved in part two and the final Potter film. Yet once all the films are done will be the true testament, as we will all be able to sit back and decide what is truly the most successful Potter film.
Yet, like I said fifteen months ago, there will never truly be one film to satiate the Rowling appetite. The books are far to engrossing, charming and need I say, magical, for any movie to really capture what a reader sees in his/her mind. But it is safe to say that with this newest film no one leaving the theaters will think Harry Potter all too innocent anymore (and thankfully not just for children).