Category Archives: Drama

Driveways

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Driveways                           4 ½ stars

We lost another Hollywood legend last year in Brian Dennehy, but not before he gave us a fine, understated performance in the short drama, Driveways, directed by Andrew Ahn. This personal, soft spoken movie starts with single mom Kathy (Hong Chau from Watchmen and the crippled immigrant woman from the disappointing Downsizing) and her introverted eight-year-old son, Cody (Lucas Jaye) arriving at the home of her deceased sister in order to clean it out and prepare it for sale, only to discover that the sister was a hoarder. Next door there is a quiet elderly widower, Del (Dennehy), a Korean War veteran who sits on his porch much of the day. Del notices the new activity at the house and engages in short conversations with the boy. Before long the two become more connected as Del teaches Cody to mow the lawn and introduces mother and son to his fellow veterans at the VFW. Through a sparing use of dialogue and some quiet intimate scenes we see two loners who communicate and support each other. The movie was released only weeks after Dennehy passed away and it gives us an excellent performance by the guy who played Willy Loman and John Wayne Gacy. Hong Chau also is effective as the overwhelmed mother, Kathy. Look for more good roles for this actress.  Driveways is an hour, and 23 minutes long and is available on Netflix.

The Shrouds

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The Shrouds       4 stars

David Cronenberg is well known for his mind-bending grotesque horror movies. Who can forget his 1980’s and 1990’s horror movies, The Fly, Scanners, Crash or eXistenZ? Then, three years ago, there was Crimes of the Future that concerned mutations of human organs. Now he is out with The Shrouds, a movie that goes in a multitude of directions as only the mind of Cronenberg can do. It presents a very personal view on how we are affected by the death of a loved one but also delves into the world of international espionage. In The Shrouds we meet Karsh (Vincent Cassel of Ocean’s Twelve and A Dangerous Method), an entrepreneur who makes industrial films, who is on a date. They have gone to a restaurant that he owns that happens to be next to a cemetery he has a close interest in. His deceased wife Becca, who died of a slowly progressing cancer is buried there but this is no ordinary cemetery. Karsh is an investor in an enterprise called Grave Tech, a company that provides a way for the grieving to stay close to their deceased loved ones. Using some advanced technology, the body is wrapped in a metallic shroud that can project a 3D image of the decaying corpse onto a digital screen on the tombstone. With an app on their smartphone the grieving party can access a view of the departed as they slowly rot, certainly a morbid concept. Karsh allows his date to have a peek at his wife who has been dead for several years. (There is not a second date.) While examining the images, Karsh notices several odd-looking growths appearing on his wife’s bones that he theorizes may have been caused by the cancer. Shortly after, several of the graves are vandalized including that of Becca’s, with the culprit sending a video of the crime to Karsh. Other people close to Karsh include his wife’s sister, Terry (Diane Kruger of Inglourious Basterds and Troy), who has a fascination with conspiracy theories to the point that they are a sexual turn-on, Terry’s ex-husband Maury (Guy Pearce of The Hurt Locker and L. A. Confidential) who helped Karsh with some of the technical aspects of this business and Soo-Min (Sandrine Holt), the blind wife of a dying Hungarian oligarch who is interested in acquiring a cemetery plot. Karsh can’t get over losing Becca (also played by Diane Kruger). She appears to him in dreams with her body becoming more mutilated after each cancer surgery causing body parts to be removed and stitches and staples to be put in place. (The term “body horror” comes very much to mind, a common theme with Cronenberg.) Karsh even has an assistant in the form of an AI avatar, (created by Maury) on his phone who can make arrangements for him. Her name is Hunny, and she looks very much like Becca. (She is also played by Diane Kruger.) The movie becomes a playground for conspiracy theorists as Karsh considers the many possibilities that might explain these strange events. Could the Chinese, who built the shrouds be hacking into the graves in an effort to develop an elaborate surveillance system for spying? Could some environmental terrorist group that doesn’t believe in burying bodies be responsible for the vandalism? Could Becca’s cancer doctor be somehow responsible for the growths on her bones? And what about all the other graves that were vandalized? Were they all patients of the same doctor? And then there are the Russians. How are they involved? Or maybe Maury knows more than he says, since he helped create the technology? It seems there is no end to the possibilities. I found it all very intriguing, but more than anything, the movie is about grief and how its effects can stay with us throughout our lives. Horror fans really should check this one out, especially those who enjoy Cronenberg’s films. And those who enjoy conspiracy thrillers should not miss it.

Les Misérables

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Les Misérables                  4 stars

There is no Jean Valjean or Cosette or extravagant musical numbers in this movie. Les Misérables is the directorial debut of French-Malian director Ladj Ly. It is a crime thriller drama depicting the extreme racial tensions of the Paris suburbs in which it is set. The town, Montfermiel, is the same place as the events of Victor Hugo’s novel. The strife of the characters also mirrors that of the 19th century book. The movie follows an elite police squad of the SCU who call themselves the Smack Combat Unit. Their job is to keep some sense of order in the mostly black, Muslim neighborhood of high density housing and street shops. Stephane is the new guy who is being introduced to the job, while Chris and Gwada are the experienced hands. An incident occurs involving some of the local teens and the unit must investigate to keep the matter from escalating. When the unit is confronted by a gang of teens, a decision by one of the police causes the situation to spiral out of control, setting the powder keg on fire. The movie is a realistic portrayal of the problems France has been facing with the young, poor, mainly African population and police who sometimes use repressive tactics. It is somewhat based on the riots that occurred around Paris in 2005 where thousands of vehicles were burned. Most of the acting is done by locals who previously had no acting experience. The movie shows several acts of violence by the characters and does not pretend to have any solutions to the problems. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language film as France’s submission.

The Nest

The Nest                              4 stars

Sean Durkin, the director who brought us Martha Marcy May Marlene in 2011 has returned to the director’s chair to make the slow burning domestic thriller, The Nest. Englishman Rory (Jude Law of The Talented Mr. Ripley and The New Pope) is a successful commodities trader in 1980’s New York, has a great family and is living in an expensive house. His American wife Allison (Carrie Coon of Fargo, The Leftovers and Gone Girl) is a horse trainer and is now in her second marriage. Between them they have two children. Rory suddenly announces that there is an opportunity for him back in London at his old company so they should all move to England, an idea that Allison is not very happy with. Soon the family is in England living in a centuries old mansion that is in need of some work. (We are told that Led Zeppelin once stayed here, so there’s that.) The mansion is expansive, yet empty and seems to serve as a symbolic character for extravagance. The dining room table is so massive we are told that few houses could ever accommodate it. Carrie Coon effectively conveys mistrust toward Rory with her eyes and secretly hides a stash of cash as if anticipating what is to come. Soon enough things start to go sour as Rory’s skills as a dealmaker don’t measure up to his ambitions and he finds that he is running short of cash and has to beg Allison for help. Allison and the two children have little to connect to in this foreign country. The movie is memorable for the slow building tension between the two lead characters and for showing the cost of the desire to appear rich. In a memorable scene Rory talks with a cabdriver and when asked what he does he responds, “I pretend to be rich.” Then when asked what it is he wants, he says, “I don’t know”. The movie shows us a family that is headed for ruin, but ultimately leaves us with a feeling that there is at least a chance at redemption, if only they would take it. The best performance has to go to Carrie Coon, who conveys feeling with a look and body movements without saying a word.

Sorry We Missed You

Sorry We Missed You                      3 stars

Sorry We Missed You is last year’s crusade film showing the perils of the working class in Britain by Ken Loach, who must be the hardest working director that you’ve never heard of. Loach has a long history of empathizing with working people in his movies going back to the sixties. In this film we follow Ricky and Abbie, a couple struggling to get by with their two children in a rented apartment. Ricky has been working odd jobs since the crash of 2008 and thinks he has found an opportunity as an entrepreneur operating as an independent delivery driver of parcels. He is lured in by the prospect of being his own boss and making his own decisions as opposed to working as an employee at a large business. He is told that he won’t work for his boss, but with him. He won’t receive wages, but fees since he is his own boss. Of course he will have to buy his own delivery van, so Abbie will have to sell her car that she needs for her job as an in home care person. She can just take the bus instead. And he is expected to meet a delivery schedule that is near impossible as he deals with traffic, ungrateful customers and fourteen hour-work days. The supervisor turns out to be a first class asshole who only cares about the bottom line and has no sympathy for what the workers or contractors are going through in their personal lives. The movie is an indictment of the gig economy that has become more prevalent in the last decade. It’s a way of reducing the income and benefits of the working poor while also placing all the risk on the workers. From the beginning the viewer knows what is coming as circumstances get progressively worse for this family as they struggle to work the long hours, raise their children and suffer setbacks not of their own making. There isn’t much plot other than that, so there is not a lot of drama to the story. It really feels more like a documentary that doesn’t have a satisfactory ending, but it certainly makes its point.

Queen & Slim

Queen & Slim                     4 stars

Queen & Slim, released in 2019 may have been prophetic concerning the racial justice protest movement of the summer of 2020. The film, by director Melina Matsoukas follows the young black couple on a journey across the south being hunted by police. Slim, a Costco worker is portrayed by Daniel Kaluuya who is currently starring as Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah and who received an Oscar nomination for the horror movie Get Out. Queen, a strong woman who stands up for herself is played by newcomer Jodie Turner-Smith. The pair start the movie on a first date when they are stopped by a white police officer for failing to use a turn signal. When Queen, a defense attorney questions the officer’s reasons for the stop, the situation escalates with Queen getting shot and the officer dead in a clear case of self-defense. The couple are then on the run for the remainder of the film seeking help from sympathizing individuals along the way. However, due to the release of a video they become famous and become folk heroes to many throughout the country. In many ways the movie could be described as a black version of Bonnie and Clyde or even Thelma and Louise. As the pair struggle with the difficulties of coming up with a plan and get to know each other, the audience comes to sympathize with their situation and roots for them to survive. There are also notable performances by Bokeem Woodbine and Chloe Sevigny. The film is hard to classify as it starts as a rom-com, but transforms into a horror story, then into a road trip romance. It is supported by a superb hip-hop score featuring new artists. Kaluuya and Turner-Smith are the real stars here and we can be sure to see more good work and awards for Daniel Kaluuya.

Joker

Joker                                     4 ½ stars

I finally got around to seeing Joker from 2019, the movie where the iconic villain gets his star treatment instead of sharing the screen with Batman. Undoubtedly most movie viewers have seen this film by now so I don’t need to go into the story much. Director Todd Phillips has fashioned not so much an action movie but a character study that explores how Arthur Fleck went from mentally ill loner to violent master criminal prior to becoming the arch nemesis of Batman. The dark mood of the film is created by the score and an expertly depiction of the early eighties in gritty city scenes. And of course the movie wouldn’t be possible without the acting skills of Joaquin Phoenix as the tormented Arthur. Phillips commented on how flexible Phoenix was in changing his approach in each take of filming. He certainly deserves his Best Actor Academy Award for the role. I was not far into the movie before I saw the similarities to Taxi Driver, the Robert DeNiro crime drama of the seventies. Much of the inspiration of Joker had to come from the Scorsese film. DeNiro himself makes an appearance as a famous late night talk show host on a TV set that is a dead ringer for Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show of the eighties. Though it is a dark movie, Joker belongs on the list of best pictures of the year.

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy            4 ½ stars

It’s 2025 and Bridget Jones, the confused and lovesick English woman is back for a fourth installment of the series that audiences love. It was back in 2001 when we first met Bridget starring Renee Zellweger in the title role, when she was trying to manage relationships with two different men: Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant). Now in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, only available by streaming, Bridget finds herself single with two children after husband Mark died four years earlier. Bridget, the widow, has gotten back into TV production work and is successful and has surrounded herself with supportive friends. Some of them are encouraging her to get back on the market, as she should not be alone at this point in her life. Her charming and bumbling behavior is still there as she is constantly second guessing her own decisions (such as hiring a new nanny who looks like he could be a fashion model). Then she meets Roxster (Leo Woodall), a young man of 29 who is some sort of tree trimmer, under very amusing circumstances. Bridget decides to pursue the relationship, claiming she is 35 when it is obvious to all that she is over 50. She meets him for a date that immediately leads to sex, (of course) with all the amusing scenes and sexual references that are familiar to audiences of the earlier movies. The comedy necessarily sets a more serious tone than the previous editions since this is a woman dealing with the grief of losing a husband as well as being a single mother. So, there is a lot of emotion on display including an appearance by Daniel due to a scary health issue, who we have not seen since 2004. Nevertheless, there are still plenty genuine rom-com moments such as when Bridget has to be rescued from trying to climb a tree by the tree man. The movie manages to keep its comedic energy that we remember from the previous films while reminding us that Bridget is moving on and learning to deal with the things that life throws at her. Be sure to stick around through the credits as a few film clips from the earlier Bridget Jones movies are shown, including that memorable fight between Mark and Daniel.

True History of the Kelly Gang

True History of the Kelly Gang                    4 stars

Although violent in the extreme, I recommend seeing this modern telling of the story of Ned Kelly, the Irish Catholic outlaw who terrorized Australia in the late 1800’s. George Mackay of 1917 plays the violent adult Ned to perfection as we follow his very troubled life running afoul of authorities (all British) in the Australian outback. The filming of a desolate landscape contributes to the bleak outlook that director Justin Kurzel wants to convey. The varied score that includes punk rock pieces gives the movie a surrealistic feeling. This is a violent, brutal and bloody film that will put many viewers off, but it is necessary to tell what life was like for the Irish lower class under British rule. The first part of the movie shows Ned Kelly as a young boy growing up dirt poor with a drunk Irish father and a foul mouthed mother (Essie Davis of Babadook). The young Ned has encounters with cruel individuals that will form his character including Sgt. O’Neil (Charlie Hunnan) and the thief Harry Power (Russell Crowe). Crowe’s time on screen is short so it is almost criminal that he gets top casting credit while the boy playing Kelly, who is on screen much longer is barely mentioned. Other notable actors playing scoundrels are Nicolas Hoult as a British cop who teasingly alternates between being Kelly’s friend and trying to bring him down, and Marlon Williams as George King, an American who seeks to take advantage of the poor Kelly family. Thomasin McKenzie of Lost Girls and Jojo Rabbit portrays Kelly’s love and mother of his daughter. Besides the violence, there is a theme of cross dressing as the Kelly gang wears flowing dresses while committing their crimes, a practice meant to instill fear in their victims apparently originating in Ireland. None of the characters have any redeeming features, all contributing to the lawless environment they find themselves in. The film has a very violent shootout scene to end on featuring strobe lighting and a seemingly endless supply of blood. This film is not for everyone, but a good one for lovers of Westerns. I strongly advise that you see the movie with closed captions as I find much of the Australian dialect is difficult to understand.

One Night in Miami

One Night in Miami                         5 stars

There has recently been an abundance of movies concerned with the civil rights era and/or racial injustice. One that should not be missed is One Night in Miami, written by Kemp Powers and directed by Regina King in her directorial debut. The movie takes a real event, the one night meeting of four legendary black figures in February of 1964 and imagines what transpired in the Miami motel, after Cassius Clay claimed the heavy weight boxing title at the age of 22. The four, black activist Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), boxing champion Cassius Clay (to become Muhammed Ali) (Eli Goree), football star Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) and singer/song writer Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom, Jr.) have gathered at the motel presumably to celebrate Clay’s unexpected win over Sonny Liston. Malcolm X though has brought the legends together for a private affair free of alcohol and women in order to challenge the men to take stronger action in the fight for racial justice in the 1960’s movement. Each of the men is at a pivotal point in their careers and must deal with their shortcomings and face what their role will be in the coming struggle. The script was adapted from the stage play also by Powers. Each of the four lead actors gives a commanding performance, especially Ben-Adir who shows Malcolm X’s doubts about breaking with the Nation of Islam and senses that something foreboding is coming. (He is to be assassinated only one year later.) One of the first scenes with Jim Brown visiting one of his “friendly” long time white neighbors played by Beau Bridges serves to remind us of what blacks in the south were facing at the time. Regina King said that the movie was still in production at the time of the George Floyd death, making the movie even more relevant to today. She wanted to get the film released as soon as possible. Look for One Night in Miami to receive several Academy Award nominations including Best Picture.