Category Archives: Drama

Wuthering Heights

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Wuthering Heights          2 stars

Director Emerald Fennell gives us a very different take on the gothic novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte by casting two of the hottest stars working in Hollywood today in the leading roles. I have never seen any of the many previous adaptations of the novel nor have I read the book. I only know that it has a reputation as a tragic love story. But I doubt that Bronte envisioned her story to be nearly as steamy as portrayed on the screen here. Previously, Fennell, the actor turned director brought us Promising Young Woman and Saltburn, two movies that combine revenge themes with sex and she continues that theme in Wuthering Heights. This movie has a lot of sex. And I mean a lot of sex! And it’s not just the two main characters either. Even the opening scene is very suggestive of what is to come. In the beginning we meet Catherine (Charlotte Mellington) as a twelve-year-old living with her father (Martin Clunes of Shakespeare in Love and Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?) in a large, isolated, but decaying house in the countryside called Wuthering Heights. Living with them is another girl, Nelly, who serves as a companion for Catherine, but also as a servant. They have other servants too, so they’re not exactly poor. One day, father brings a young boy home with him as he couldn’t stand seeing him wandering the streets with no one to care for him. Catherine takes to him immediately, calling him Heathcliff (Owen Cooper of Adolescence), the name of her dead brother. But Father thinks nothing of beating and whipping Heathcliff when he doesn’t live up to expectations. We flash forward several years and find Catherine (Margot Robbie of Barbie and The Wolf of Wall Street) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi of Frankenstein and Saltburn), now in their thirties and still living with her father along with a grown Nelly (Hong Chau). Things have changed and now they are quite poor, the father having gambled away his money. Catherine and Heathcliff (represented as two of the most perfect specimens of humans) now look at each other quite differently and you can see that things will soon take a turn. When a new neighbor moves to the area (five miles away), Catherine investigates and meets Mr. Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif), who is fabulously wealthy, has an enormous estate, and very stylish clothes, carriages and servants. There is also a young woman, Isabella, living with him who we never find out exactly how they are related. Naturally, since Catherine is poor, she must marry Edgar for the benefit of the family even though she is madly in love with Heathcliff. And this is where things go awry and jealousy takes over all sense of right and wrong. Both Catherine and Heathcliff make it their purpose to get revenge on each other for their circumstances but still end up meeting secretly repeatedly for sessions of mad sex. And they do it a lot, with most of it in the rain it seems. There is plenty of ill will and jealousy spread around between them and every other character as well. In fact, I would say that there is not a single character in the movie with redeeming qualities. Everyone wants to cause harm to someone or even themselves. The contrast between the two families is greatly exaggerated, showing Edgar’s extravagant wealth and Catherine’s beautiful clothes and jewels versus the dirty unkept look of the Wuthering Heights house. Not only is the selfish nature of the characters disturbing, all the rain and the fog make everything about the film depressing. I suppose that that’s what Fennell was going for, but I couldn’t enjoy it. I can’t say if that’s what Bronte’s original novel is like. (Perhaps it was, but without all the sex.) I will point out that most of the music was written and performed by Charlie XCX so it has that going for it.

The Goldfinch

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The Goldfinch    2 ½ stars

The Goldfinch is the film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning book of the same name about Theodore, a boy who suffers through the death of his mother in a terrorist attack on the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  There is a lot to pack in to this story in two and a half hours, but the story unfolds very slowly before certain secrets are revealed.  The film has several time jumps as the story goes from the time the boy is a teenager being cared for by his mother’s saintly friend (Nicole Kidman) and his uncaring father (Luke Wilson) and then to Theodore as a young man (Ansel Elgort) working with an antiques dealer (Jeffrey Wright).  The movie takes an extremely long time for the story to come together and it hits us again and again with its symbolism such as the red headed girl Theo is fascinated with.  If you watch this one don’t do it too late at night or it may put you to sleep long before reaching the end.

Judy

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Judy       4 ½ stars

The highly anticipated biopic Judy features Renee Zellweger as the doomed singer-actress Judy Garland in her final months before she died.  This is truly a showcase of Zellweger’s talents as she clearly captures the decline of the health and stature of one of America’s greatest talents.  Those who remember Garland from the sixties will find Zellweger’s approach to the role as remarkable as she is engulfed by the character.  I am so glad that the story was not the usual biopic piece that covers a performer’s entire career, but rather only focuses on a brief period of Garland’s life, that being the London tour she went on in 1969 only six months before she died of a barbiturate overdose.  This allows us to see what feels like a complete story that doesn’t jump over large periods of time.  It also allows the supporting characters to have parts that blend in with the story.  There are flashbacks to Garland’s early years as a child star under the control of the studio headed by Louis B. Mayer.  These scenes are meant to show how she had no childhood as her personal life blends into her onscreen performances including how she was given amphetamines to keep her energy up.  The movie is not all tragedy though as the viewer will be delighted to see her with adoring fans and to see a moving rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow near the end of the movie.  A near certainty is that Renee Zellweger will be expected to take home the Best Actress Academy Award next year.

The Moment

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The Moment     4 stars

For the first Sundance movie to be seen by me after the festival, I found The Moment now showing in theaters and starring Charlie XCX. This mockumentary about the British pop singer has her playing a fictionalized version of herself during the summer of 2024. It seems to be modeled after the Rob Reiner Spinal Tap movies that mocked the behind-the-scenes events around rock music. The Moment does this for pop music and for a much younger audience. It starts with the release of the star’s hit album and her desire to extend the “brat” summer indefinitely as she prepares to go on tour. The “mockumentary” camera follows her and her crew, her friends, her manager and the record label executives as they plan for the opening concert and the rehearsals. Key figures in the process are Charlie XCX’s artistic director Celeste (Hailey Gates) and a documentary director, Johannes (Alexander Skarsgard), filming the fictional meetings and the preparations for the tour. Much like This is Spinal Tap, the film captures some of the ludicrous aspects of the entertainment industry and shows how the egos of the various parties interfere with the project, including rather passive aggressive behavior on the part of the big shots. Included is a ridiculous plan to market “brat” credit cards to a subculture of LGTBQ+ fans that includes free tickets to her concert. Charlie XCX reserves some of the ridicule for herself as she tries to control the project while at the same time sabotaging it. Skarsgard is excellent as the two-faced film director who is shown as both cooperating in the creative process but is also power hungry as he questions the choices made by others. The behavior of the creative talent is the most amusing aspect as they try to stay on the good side of Charlie XCX, while trying to get their own way at the same time. And like in This is Spinal Tap, when things fall apart, they do whatever it takes to put the blame on someone else. While The Moment was not nearly as funny as the Spinal Tap movies, I frequently found myself laughing out loud.

The Secret Agent

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The Secret Agent             5 stars

A favorite genre of mine is the political thriller and if you share this feeling, you should not miss Kleber Mendonca Filho’s extraordinary movie The Secret Agent. The setting is 1977 southern Brazil, a time of extreme authoritarianism and oppression that feels appropriate for today. Early on we meet Marcelo (Wagner Moura of Civil War and Dope Thief) who is driving a bright yellow VW Beetle through desolate country and stops at an isolated gas station to buy gas. There is a dead body that has been lying on the ground for days with the attendant explaining that he tried to rob the place and got what he deserved. They are still waiting for the police, but the police have their hands full as Carnivale is in full swing. (It is mentioned that there have been 91 deaths reported during Carnivale so far.) When police car does show up, they are only interested in trying to shake down Marcelo for some cash. This movie packs a lot in its 2-hour, 41-minute runtime. There are corrupt cops that engage in killings and disposal of bodies (and body parts), a loose knit organization that protects people in trouble by hiding them and giving them new identities, discoveries of body parts inside the stomachs of sharks, a corrupt businessman who will let no one stand in the way of his greed, a pair of professional hitmen and a mysterious dismembered “hairy leg” that attacks people in a park. What I really like about the movie is the way the story is told. The characters are introduced slowly, and we don’t get much background to start with. Marcelo finds a room to stay, in a house belonging to an old woman who seems to have a lot of connections. He has a young son who is staying with the boy’s grandparents. Other characters are introduced, such as the corrupt police chief, but we don’t know how they are related to Marcelo. Eventually, we learn more using flashbacks and learn that Marcelo was a researcher at a company with government funding. The pacing starts out very slowly, but builds as the characters are developed and the relationships become clearer. Finally, the tension rises to a fever pitch as the paths of the characters finally cross. But that is not enough. The director has added scenes at the end that take place decades later that deliver the message that time does not heal all wounds. This is the way a good thriller is supposed to be made. A nice tough is seeing how communication was done in the age before cell phones and the internet. Everything was land lines and telegrams. There is little doubt about why The Secret Agent was nominated for the Best Picture, Best Actor, Casting and Best International Feature Film Academy Awards this year. Filho has made many other well received films, but as they are from Brazil, I have not heard about them before. He is getting some major recognition this year.

Parasite

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Parasite                5 stars

The movie to see in theaters now is Parasite, the creation of Korean director Bong Joon Ho, who previously brought us The Host, Snowpiercer and Okja.  This movie does have a message about the haves and the have nots, but does so with biting wit and a story that holds our interest throughout its 130 minute run time.  We are introduced to a poor family in South Korea who are scraping by with menial jobs but are far too smart to starve.  The son learns of a wealthy family who needs a tutor for their daughter to learn English so he easily gets the job through lies and false credentials.  Before long the family of four all secure jobs with this family using lies and various deceitful schemes landing them work for which they are not qualified in this luxury home.  It doesn’t hurt that the rich couple seem to be extremely gullible willing to believe almost anything.  Just as this family of con geniuses are enjoying their newfound wealth, an unfortunate discovery is made that takes the movie through an unexpected and dark turn.  I will leave you to find out what happens at that point, but be assured you will not be bored or distracted from what lies in store for these characters.  There is plenty of suspense and action for the faithful moviegoer.  I found Parasite to be one of the best films I’ve seen this year.  I just hope that more people skip the usual Hollywood fantasy/action movies and seek it out.

Downsizing

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Downsizing         2 stars

I saw two movies recently that can be classified as social satires, one of which was very well done and the other while having great intensions falls far short.  Downsizing, from 2017 takes place in the near future when a technology is discovered that allows people to be shrunk in size to only a few inches tall.  The promise is that this will save the planet from environmental catastrophe by reducing the human footprint and allow people to live in luxury in a place called Leisure Land because their cost of living is reduced to a tiny fraction of normal.  It stars Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig as the couple willing to embark on this adventure when he becomes disillusioned with his job.  The movie has a few funny moments but loses its satiric edge as it seeks to deliver a message on the inequalities of this new world and the dangers of overconsumption.  By the end of the movie I just wanted to say: Ok I get it. There are always injustices in the world!  The movie was by director Alexander Payne who in the past has given us great movies like “Sideways” and “The Descendants”.  Something did not go well with the idea for Downsizing.

Rock Springs

Rock Springs.      4 1/2 suns

One movie getting a lot of buzz here is Rock Springs by director/ screenwriter Vera Miao. This movie is in the Midnight section that is reserved for the very weird, sometimes gory films. Rock Springs certainly fits that description as it concerns an Asian mother, her daughter and her mother-in-law who move into an isolated home in the woods only to discover that there is something monstrous hidden in the woods. I can’t say a lot about it without giving away the plot but can say it concerns a small forgotten chapter of the racist history of the US. I really liked the way the story was told in chapters from different characters’ points of view and in a non-linear fashion. It is a monster movie that ends with a hopeful message. And the special effects were very impressive.

Hot Water

Hot Water.     4 1/2 suns

Hot Water is a light drama about family relationships with humor added to deal with the tension being faced by two family members.  It is by Lebanese director Ramzi Bashour and concerns an American boy being kicked out of high school in Indiana for a violent act and his Lebanese mom who is forced to deal with the situation, leading to a road trip across the country. The mother, played by Lubna Azabal is a professor at a university and a single mom to 19-year-old Daniel (Daniel Zolghadri who is biracial) . After being kicked out of school, the only option for Daniel is to move in with his dad who lives in California.  But to do that mother and son have to travel across the country by car and meet up with dad halfway.  Thus starts the mother and son road trip bringing together the pair who rarely see eye to eye but love each other, nonetheless. Of course, dad has a history of alcohol and drug abuse, so this decision seems questionable. There is plenty of beautiful scenery on the journey and some funny adventures too, like when they meet Sasha (Dale Dickey), a friend of dad, who brings them to a geothermal hot spring in Colorado where she proceeds to go for a dip completely naked. Along the way they confront their differences and find how they really care for one another.  (We finally do meet dad and find out just how weird he is.) Another interesting touch is the way that Mom displays that she is trilingual, speaking English, Arabic and French, easily switching from one language to another. I highly recommend Hot Water, which I expect to make it into theaters.  The director, Ramzi Bashour, Zolghadri and Dale Dickey were present for Q&A. I got to talk with Zolghadri who told how he loved to see the country this way.  

Filipiñana

Filipiñana.     2 1/2 suns

Filipiñana from the Philippines was one of my least favorite films so far.  The movie is set in an exclusive country club in the Philippines and is all about the rich taking advantage of the poor and separation of the classes. We follow young Isabel who is a tee girl at the country club, (That’s a person who places the golf ball on the tee for the rich members. ) She admires the president of the club and spends much time trying to return a lost golf club to him.  The caddies at the club are exclusively women. The film puts on full display the patriarchal nature of this society and how the wealthy minority are taking advantage of the poor farmers by taking their land.  There is a hint of the violence in this country, but we never actually see it.  The movie is filled with scenes of little dialogue and static camera shots that seem to stretch on forever.  It is all about injustice but is so subtle in its approach I found it hard to detect.  Sometimes a movie can leave too much up to the imagination of the viewer.