Category Archives: Drama

The Apprentice

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The Apprentice                 4 stars

The 2024 movie The Apprentice by director Ali Abassi tells the story of a young real estate investor in New York City who is mentored by a well-known, vicious attorney from whom he learns valuable lessons about how to become a killer in the real estate world and destroy those who would stand in his way. The apprentice is of course Donald J. Trump, 45th and 47th President of the United States and the mentor is Roy Cohn, the notorious New York attorney who began his career in the McCarthy era. Having read six books about this POTUS and seen the documentary Where’s My Roy Cohn, I didn’t learn a lot of new things about Donald Trump but admired Abbasi’s crafting of the story of the rise of this monster of American politics. As the movie begins, we see young Donald (Sebastian Stan of A Different Man and I, Tonya) performing the menial job of collecting rent from disadvantaged tenants of his father’s housing projects, threatening them with eviction for non-payment. Then he happens to meet Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong of Succession) at a gathering of worshippers and other criminal scum. Cohn sees potential in the young man and agrees to help him fight off an anti-discrimination lawsuit from the feds at no cost. He wants to keep Trump as a friend. It is from Cohn that Donald learns his three rules of success: 1. Always attack your enemies. 2. The truth is what I say the truth is. And 3. In defeat always claim victory. (We all know that Trump has put these rules to use throughout his career.) He emphasizes the importance of patriotism and defending democracy to Trump, but in Cohn’s mind democracy means low taxes for corporations and cutting social programs for the disadvantaged. Strong is effective at portraying Cohn’s brash and aggressive style as he threatens a federal attorney with photos of homosexual behavior and keeps a stash of secret recordings of incriminating behavior on public officials. As the film progresses, the bad behavior we are familiar with transfers to Trump. In one telling scene after Donald meets fashion model Ivana (Maria Bakalova (who made a name for herself in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm)), he proposes marriage but asks that she sign a prenup that states she must return all gifts if they separate. After an argument in the street he relents and agrees to remove the clause and Ivana agrees to accept the ring. When a stranger observes the interaction and shouts “Congratulations” to Trump, his response is “Fuck Off!”. When Trump’s brother Freddy passes away from alcoholism and Ivana offers sympathy to her husband, he rebukes her and shuts her out. He is incapable of soothing his crying baby son. When Ivana gives Donald a book that could reenergize their sex life, his response is to beat and rape her. (This is based on an account given by Ivana Trump that she later retracted.) When under pressure from rising debt, Trump tries to get his father, Fred Trump (Martin Donovan), who suffers from dementia to sign away control of the Trump properties. We see Donald expand his real estate empire in New York and Atlantic City maintaining his relationship with Cohn; that is until he learns that Cohn is sick, possibly from AIDS. Then Trump, who values loyalty won’t honor any favors toward his former attorney friend. In the end he tries to make up with Cohn by giving him a lavish birthday party at Mar-a-Lago, but afterwards the germaphobe Trump has the room fumigated. Ultimately, Cohn passed away from AIDS. Ali Abassi previously made a movie called Holy Spider, about a serial-killer in Iran. In The Apprentice he pulls no punches in portraying two of the greatest monsters of the present era. Both Stan and Strong command attention to the screen through their performances of these despicable men. And both were rewarded with Academy Award nominations in what could be called an American horror story. See it if you dare.

Eighth Grade

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Eighth Grade      4 ½ stars

Yet another movie I heard about at Sundance was Eighth Grade, a realistic portrayal of what it is like for teenagers in middle school now.  The movie follows a few days in the life of Kayla, a thirteen year old facing the end of eighth grade, a girl who seemingly has few friends, is awkward, yet has hopes for her future as a high schooler.  The movie is made by the performance of young Elsie Fisher, who plays the role in a honest way.  Other movies have tried to tackle this subject but are typically either comedies or deal wish much more serious subjects like suicide or drug use.  This film seems so real it could almost be a documentary.  The director, Bo Burnham appears to be an unknown up to now.  Josh Hamilton as the father also is notable as he shows that he is truly concerned about his daughter’s well being, but is frustrated by how hard it is to communicate with her.  Like any film today dealing with social habits of teenagers there is a great deal of time devoted to the use of social media, something that is permanently with us I am afraid.  The film is only an hour and a half long. I urge you to see it if you get the chance.

Roman J. Israel, Esq.

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Roman J. Israel, Esq.                        3 stars

Roman J. Israel, Esq. features a wonderful performance by Denzel Washington in a movie that had great potential but falls short in the writing department.  Washington stars as Roman, an idealistic lawyer who is the junior partner in a criminal defense practice when the well-known senior partner is suddenly incapacitated by a heart attack.  Roman may be very talented in how well he knows the law, but suffers from a lack of social skills, like someone who has Asperger’s syndrome.  He gets the chance to work for a first rate lawyer played by Colin Farrell, but takes some convincing before taking on a new role.  I found that I felt for the character who has his flaws but ultimately wants to do the right thing.  The story seemed to wander for a while before it finally turns into a thriller that won’t end well for somebody.  The writer and director, Dan Gilroy could have worked out a more interesting plot before starting the production.  At least two of his earlier works, Nightcrawler and The Bourne Legacy were must more compelling.  The film is also notable for a nice performance by Carmen Ejogo as Maya, a dedicated social activist.  We’ve seen her before in It Comes at Night, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Selma.  Denzel Washington received a well deserved Oscar nomination for this role.  Let’s hope he does even better on his next outing.

Makikiraan Po (Let Us Through, Dear Ancestors)

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Makikiraan Po (Let Us Through, Dear Ancestors)                 3 stars

My last film at The Chicago International Film Festival was the anti-colonial drama Makikiraan Po (Let Us Through, Dear Ancestors), by Filipino director Lav Diaz. The movie is set in 1617 Philippines, when imperial Spain was colonizing the Philippines by using the church to convert the indigenous people. Diaz is praised by many critics, but I have to say this is not my style of movie. At three hours in length, it is apparently one of Diaz’s shorter movies. (He previously made a nine-hour long movie called Death in the Land of Encantos.) In the movie a Spanish priest named Padre Enciso is ruling the local natives and converting them from their pagan religion to Catholicism. The men are being forced to build his grand church in the jungle, which has led to the deaths of many of them. Enciso takes advantage of the resulting widows, convincing them to have sex with him. Thus, he has many offspring of mixed race. One of the men he has fathered is Dungwen who now has his own family. Enciso needs a shipment of marble to be moved to the village as part of his church construction project, so he forces Dungwen to be part of the crew that will make this journey. (Never mind, that Dungwen needs to care for his family.) He and the other men are assured that wealth and land will be theirs upon completion of the mission. So, the crew of native men sets off on the mission to move the marble through the jungle that is occupied by dangerous marauders. We hear more of Dungwen’s story during the journey. At the same time at the village, Enciso has the local medicine woman named Babayeng Indimatandog imprisoned for practicing the native pagan religion, though she has many followers. The drama plays out in both settings, ultimately leading to tragedy for most of those involved. The film is done entirely in black and white and uses a narrow aspect ratio that is close to a square picture. All the scenes are done as static shots, often with the actors placed at some distance from the cameras. There is plenty of dialogue, but the movie seemed to be ponderously slow to me. Although the story centers around the building of a church, the church itself never appears on screen. It is just discussed by the characters. At one point in the story there is a massacre of the natives, only none of that action appears on screen. The audience is left to deduce what happened by seeing the aftermath and discussion by the characters. My suspicion is that the film’s budget wouldn’t allow for such sets or scenes, but maybe there is another explanation. I found that this story of oppression of indigenous people by a colonial power and the resulting tragedy is gripping and needs to be told, but Diaz’s style is not something I could enjoy.

Tangles

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Tangles                 4 ½ stars

I continued my viewing of new movies at The Chicago International Film Festival with the animated movie, Tangles, by director Leah Nelson. It is based on an illustrated memoir by Sarah Leavitt in which she tells her personal story of dealing with her mother’s Alzheimer’s disease. The images are done as hand drawings in black and white that gives the movie a dark tone, but the story does include plenty of humor in dealing with this troubling subject. There have been plenty of dramas about Alzheimer’s showing the challenges that loved ones go through in caring for the stricken family member. Those that come to mind are The Father, Still Alice, The Notebook and Away from Her. Tangles uses a lighter approach than these earlier films but has plenty of serious moments. In the story Sarah (Abbi Jacobson) is in her early twenties and just starting a career as an illustrator for a gay weekly in San Francisco, where her boss (Wanda Sykes of The New Adventures of Old Christine) has noticed her dark, sexual drawings. She has just met Donimo (Samira Wiley of Orange Is the New Black), another lesbian with whom she is starting to form a relationship when she takes a trip back home to visit her family. There she finds that her mom (Julia Louis-Dreyfus of Seinfeld and Veep) is behaving in erratic ways and is unusually irritable. She suspects that something is wrong with her, but her father (Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad) and other family members are not as alarmed by her behavior. Soon Sarah finds herself making more trips back home to care for her mom until the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is made and the family must deal with her condition. All the while Sarah is putting her job and relationship with Donimo on hold. Her frequent visits continue over the years as mom’s condition deteriorates. Through the use of animation Sarah’s feelings of dread and guilt are imaginatively expressed, something not possible in conventional dramas. Scenes connected to the Mexican holiday The Day of the Dead are especially vivid. Other cast members include Seth Rogan, Beanie Feldstein, Sarah Silverman and Bowen Yang. The subject of Alzheimer’s is a tough one to watch in a movie, but I highly recommend Tangles. It would be especially moving for those who have experienced such situations in life. The movie is expected to be in theaters in January.

Wonder

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Wonder                               4 stars

For a different turn I saw the very family friendly movie Wonder, starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Jacob Tremblay as August, “Auggie”, a ten year old boy whose facial deformities have kept him at home away from schools with other children.  His parents have decided it’s time for him to enter fifth grade at a mainstream school and get acquainted with the real world.  Of course things don’t always go well for little Auggie and he has to face the expected share of bullying before things start to turn around for him and he makes a few friends.  His knowledge and high marks in science aid him in his quest for acceptance.  Of course by the end of the film he will be accepted as a hero in many people’s lives.  This is certainly a safe film for the family and is helped by the usual good performances of Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson as the understanding parents.  Based on a best-selling book, Wonder is one of the better feel good movies of last year.

I’ll Be Gone in June

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I’ll Be Gone in June          3 ½ stars

One more film showing at The Chicago International Film Festival was I’ll Be Gone in June from first time feature film director Katharina Rivilis. The film premiered at Cannes and is produced by Wim Wenders, the highly regarded German filmmaker known for The Buena Vista Social Club. The subject is that all too common character of American comedies, the visiting foreign exchange student. In this case we are not dealing with a comedy and the student is 17-year-old Franny (Naomi Cosma), from a small town in Germany. Franny was assigned to Las Cruces, New Mexico by lottery for a year and is paired with a highly religious, conservative foster family. She experiences culture shock with her host family who don’t approve of her more secular background. She disapproves of Franny speaking German to a fellow German student and of her revealing clothing. Inexplicably, the parents leave Franny and two other girls in the parking lot of a casino while they are inside gambling for hours. The story is complicated by the fact that it is set in 2001, with the terrorist attacks of 9/11 occurring near the outset of Franny’s stay. Thus, while the country is going through the shock of the attack, Franny feels even more like an outsider, experiencing the talk of revenge and seeing the increased security of check points. But she is here for a year and soon finds a good social group to hang out with. The movie wouldn’t be complete without a love interest, and this is provided by Elliot, a depressed musician who is suspected by some of being a drug user. The pair hang out occasionally and become close, but we can see the coming clash between someone with a bright future and another who will be sentenced to a life devoid of opportunity. There are many beautiful scenes featuring the mountainous and desert landscape of New Mexico. The camera work is quite good. The director draws on her own experiences as a German exchange student, being in New Mexico at the time of the 9/11 attacks. While engaging and thoughtful, there was a lot packed into the more than two hours of running time. The film could have easily been shorter without losing much value.

I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming

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I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming         4 stars

At this year’s Chicago International Film Festival, I took in a most unusual war time drama. German director Isabelle Stever’s I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming tells us the LGTBQ story of Olya and Oleh who are in a long-term transgender relationship. This story happens to be set during the opening months of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the suburbs of Kyiv. Not only does the young couple have to live in the shadow of war, but they also have to deal with the transphobia of their fellow countrymen. Ukrainian screenwriter Anna Melikova set out to write about what happens when one partner in a lesbian relationship decides to transition into a man. (In the movie it is Oleh who becomes a trans-man.) But then the invasion happened, so she decided to write these events into the screenplay. The couple and Olya’s parents find they must evacuate their home due to the threat of the invading Russian army at the same time that Olya is feeling resentment toward Oleh because she now must be in a heterosexual relationship. When the couple reaches the border and tries to flee the country to go to Germany, they are prevented from crossing since able bodied men may not leave and must serve in the military. As they ponder their situation things get worse when it is reported what the Russians did in their town of Bucha. The movie is one of only a handful of dramatic productions set in the tragedy of the Ukraine war. Plus, it makes viewers aware of the challenges of being LGBTQ in a culture unsympathetic to their issues. The movie is filmed in a very static fashion with still cameras and shots at indirect angles from the subjects, making it appear like we are peering into their world. Amazingly, the director who does not speak Ukrainian was able to pull off this feat. I recommend I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming especially if you haven’t seen a dramatic portrayal of transgender people before.

Operation Finale

Operation Finale                               3 ½ stars

Operation Finale is the newly released film by director Chris Weitz that tells the true story of the capture of Adolf Eichmann, the mastermind of the final solution by Nazi Germany, the killing of the Jewish population in Europe during World War II.  Eichmann had fled to Argentina after the war along with many other German Nazis where he started a new life with a new Spanish name and family.  The agents of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency have been tirelessly hunting down these former Nazis since the war and in 1960 believe they may have located the long sought after Eichmann in Buenos Aires.  Eichmann, masterfully portrayed by Ben Kingsley maintains that eternal defense that he was merely “following orders” and was but “a cog in a machine”.  Oscar Isaac is Malkin, one of the agents of Mossad who manages to connect with the captured Eichmann in the many conversations with him as the agents are awaiting their opportunity to smuggle him out of the country back to Israel where he is to stand trial.  Isaac does his usual creditable acting performance as the Israeli agent.  Most of the movie focusses on the time that the Israelis have Eichmann in captivity where they attempt to get him to confess his role in the killing of the Jews.  Only in the first part of the movie do we see how the agents find and suspect they may have found the elusive Eichmann.  This part of the film seems unconvincing to me as they seem to have only the thinnest of evidence that they have found the right man.  (Early in the film we see Malkin involved in the killing of a man mistakenly thought to be Eichmann.)  Also, there are flashbacks to scenes of mass killings during the war that are shown as memories of what happened that may or may not be accurate.  What is interesting is Kingsley’s portrayal of the way Eichmann goes from admitting little of his involvement to outright pride of what he accomplished in the face of his captors.  By the end of the film there is no doubt that the agents have found a true psychopath who embodies the phrase “the banality of evil”.  Director Chris Weitz has had a hit and miss career as director, giving us hits About a Boy and A Better Life, while also delivering disappointments like The Golden Compass and the Twilight Saga: New Moon.  Operation Finale was good but not the greatest of his work.

The Breadwinner

The Breadwinner                             4 ½ stars

The Breadwinner has to be one of the most enthralling and fascinating animated films I have seen in quite a while.  It takes us into the world of Afghanistan during the time when the Taliban have taken control while focusing on one eleven year old girl and her family.  We live through the suffering that this family goes through as the young self-righteous soldiers of the Taliban inflict unimaginable cruelty on those who cannot defend themselves.  Parvana’s father is forced into prison for nothing more than matter of factly addressing a soldier.  When the family is left with no male adults the women are beaten for the crime of walking alone in public trying to buy food.  Parvana then cuts her hair and passes as a boy to go on a quest to free her father from jail.  The story is aided by the stories Parvana tells about a young man trying to save his village by confronting the monsters that have stolen their seeds for crops.  The movie is done with very expressive and colorful animation and treats its characters as very real and believable.  The Breadwinner is suitable for adults and children, though perhaps not for the very young because of the acts of cruelty portrayed.  The Breadwinner is done by the same studio that made The Secret of Kells and The Song of the Sea, two of the best animated films of the last several years.