Category Archives: Drama

The Brutalist

The Brutalist       5 stars

Brady Corbet’s (The Childhood of a Leader) The Brutalist is a three-and-a-half-hour epic tale about a Hungarian Jewish architect who escapes post-war Europe, makes his way to the US and pursues the American dream, but in the process is nearly consumed by forces around him. The movie is told on a grand scale over a period of decades using some astonishingly large set pieces. The story is so grand it has a feeling on par with The Godfather movies. Adrien Brody (The Pianist) is Lázsló Tóth, an accomplished architect who arrives in New York on a ship shortly after the end of the war. Nobody knows of his work there, so he gets a job with his cousin in Philadelphia working as a carpenter. The cousin (Alessandro Nivola), who is also Hungarian has assimilated to American society and is accepted by the locals. Fortunately, the business finds a wealthy client in the form of the son of a rich industrialist who hires the company to build a library in the mansion of the father as a surprise. But unfortunately, the man, Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce (Mary Queen of Scots, The King’s Speech)) is not at all pleased with what he believes to be a mess of the project, kicking them out without pay and leaving Tóth with nothing. It is only much later that Van Buren learns of Tóth’s accomplishments in Europe, tracks him down seeking to make amends. Lázsló has had to resort to shoveling coal by this time. Van Buren, who has fabulous wealth, has a dream to build a multipurpose community center for his town and wants to hire Tóth to design it and help to realize his dream. This job is an incredible opportunity, but it of course comes with a price; that is, being a virtual slave to Van Buren with few options. As the great project takes shape, we get to see what it is like to tackle such a huge construction job. Cost overruns happen forcing compromises in design that has a dramatic effect on poor Lázsló. We get a close-up view of the whole construction process and what it is like to be one of the workers on such a job. I don’t know what it took to build the sets for this movie, but it must have taken years. Lázsló is blessed though as having this job afforded him the chance to bring his wife, Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) and young niece, Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy), who have been stuck in Hungary to America to join him. All of this so far is the set up to what the movie is all about. Tóth’s work is a great opportunity for him, but he comes to realize that his employer, Van Buren, has little respect for his foreign and Jewish background and only seeks to exploit him for what services he can provide. Van Buren is all too willing to cast him aside at the first sign of difficulty and the contempt extends to Tóth’s family as well. In the final scenes this rich man makes it all too clear what his thoughts are toward these foreigners. Being so long and expensive, this movie is about a lot of things. It feels like it is really several movies. Besides the plight of the working man, it concerns the place of Jewish people in America and of course the effect of the holocaust. The story is entirely fictional but is meant to reflect the immigrant experience of many in coming to America. The score is amazing, contributing to the feel of the film. A great deal of the credit in making this a great movie must go to Adrien Brody in his portrayal of the emotionally devastated Tóth (parallelling his performance in The Pianist). I feel like the Best Actor Academy Award is a near guarantee for this actor. This movie is best seen on the large screen, so take it in when you can. (There is a fifteen-minute intermission which you will need.)

Another Round

Another Round                 4 stars

This year’s Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Film comes from Denmark in the form of Another Round by director Thomas Vinterberg and stars Mads Mikkelsen who is Denmark’s most recognized actor. Martin is a high school teacher in Copenhagen who seems to have everything, a wife and family and a good job teaching history to his students. But there is something missing so he joins in a plan with three of his fellow teachers at the school to start an experiment where the four agree to steadily drink on the job on the theory that maintaining a blood alcohol level of 0.05% will improve their performance in their daily life. The rules are no drinking after 8:00 pm or on the weekends. So you are probably thinking what could possibly go wrong with such a plan? Apparently nothing, that is until one of their group challenges them to take things up a level and increase the alcohol intake. What starts out as a comedy takes a dark turn into a serious drama when each one finds out the price of such behavior to their professional and social lives. Much of the success of the movie belongs to Mikkelsen’s Martin who can express a wide range of emotion. (See his earlier work in After the Wedding, A Royal Affair and At Eternity’s Gate) Many of his scenes must have been improvised to great success. This collaboration of writers, director and actors takes a silly premise and makes it into an emotional, dramatic story about what is important in life.

Cruella

Cruella                  4 ½ stars

Disney films make their return to the theaters with an origin story of that most iconic Disney villain, the evil and chic Cruella de Vil. The live action comedy crime movie stars Academy Award winner Emma Stone as young street urchin Estella who through tragedy must live on the streets of 1970’s London with her young thief friends Jasper (Joel Fry of Yesterday) and Horace (a funny as always Paul Walter Hauser). The incredibly smart and ambitious Estella’s greatest desire is to break into the world of high fashion. Somehow she snares a low level job working at the House of Baroness where she gains the attention of owner and CEO Baroness von Hellman (played by two time Academy Award winner Emma Thompson) and is promoted to dress designer to turn out very eye catching designs for the London elite. An additional star of the film is the amazing dresses that appear throughout. Is it too early to predict the winner of the Best Costumes Oscar? Of course, we finally arrive at the appearance of Cruella with her signature white and black hair and learn how she came to be with her evil intentions and especially her motivation for going after dalmatians for their skin. The best Disney movies feature some of the most evil villains imagined and that title must go to the Baroness who is a true psychopath as played by the brilliant Thompson. She delivers some great lines (“Gratitude is for losers.”) and is rarely taken off her game as she treats people with contempt including her own employees. Cruella is aided greatly by a sound track featuring classic rock songs of the sixties and seventies that are well placed throughout the movie (The Zombies’ Time of the Season). I had to do a second take on the dogs in the film to realize they are some of the best CGI creatures I have seen. With Cruella and the earlier release of the Disney Maleficent movies we seem to be having a new trend of classic villains getting their own star treatment and with it a more complete picture of their life stories.

The Father

The Father          4 ½ stars

In The Father, an aging man suffering from dementia is portrayed by Anthony Hopkins, in a role that is said to be especially written for him. Anthony is being watched after by his daughter Anne (Academy Award winner Olivia Colman) who has moved him into her flat in London, and is faced with the difficulty of finding a caregiver who can tolerate Anthony’s behavior and insistence that he doesn’t require help. There have been films about family caring for a person with dementia before, like Amour in 2012 and Still Alice starring Julianne Moore in 2014. (Another new movie, Supernova, deals with the subject but I haven’t seen it.) Those movies were mainly focused on the people doing the caregiving and not so much the person with the disorder; whereas Florian Zeller’s The Father strives to show us the pain and disorientation that Anthony is going through. Zeller does this by sequencing scenes such that time is an unknown quantity, by making subtle changes in the color and furnishings of the flat, and by using scenes that may be a hallucination to Anthony making things all the more confusing to him. His goal is to make the viewer share in the discomfort and fear one must face when they can no longer make sense of their surroundings. He goes so far as to have some actors change their roles within the film, causing a more disorienting feeling. Hopkins is masterful in the role as the intelligent man who can be charming one minute and then cut a person down in the next. I have no doubt that he deserved the Best Actor Academy Award he received. Even in his eighties he shows why he is considered one of the best. (Hopkins was asleep at home when the Best Actor award was announced and released a recorded acceptance speech the next day.) Colman, who may be Britain’s finest actress is also brilliant as the daughter who is trying to cope, but sometimes is about to break down at what she sees.  The other actors too are among England’s finest including Rufus Sewell, Mark Gatiss and Olivia Williams. The film gives us a realistic conclusion of Anthony’s decaying mind, thankfully without being sensational. It has a deep emotional impact in its short hour and 37 minute running time.

Zola

Zola                        4 stars

Back in 2015 there was a tweet thread that went viral on the internet written by a stripper named Zola giving a real time account of a wild ride of her and her “friend” through harrowing experiences in Florida. The thread created quite a sensation but for those of us not addicted to Twitter, the movie Zola by director Janicza Bravo is here to tell us of this ride through hell. The story follows the exploits of Zola (Taylor Paige), a young black stripper and Stefani (Riley Keough), the white girl she meets at a restaurant who insists they will be friends, and convinces Zola to take a trip to Tampa, Florida to make some money performing at a strip club. (If the premise turns you off, you should probably pass on this one.) The driver on this journey is X, Stefani’s “roommate” while Derrek, Stefani’s boyfriend is also along for the ride. The adventure is all fun and games for a while until things turn much more sinister for the two young women. Without going into detail it is up to Zola, the only sensible one in the bunch to protect Stefani from the chaos and major crimes. All the while, Zola is writing an account of the experience on her smart phone which of course goes viral. The movie is both a comedy and a cautionary drama/thriller about a situation getting out of control. If you liked Spring Breakers and Hustlers you will likely be entertained by Zola. Be forewarned that there are scenes involving strong language, sexual scenes and nudity, so the film is not for everyone. The performances by the two lead actresses are what really makes the movie entertaining.

Dream Horse

Dream Horse                     4 stars

Dream Horse is a very traditional British feel good comedy about a middle aged Welsh couple living in a poor village who take on the task of raising a thoroughbred race horse. Toni Collette stars as Jan who used to raise prize winning livestock, but now breaks out of her dull routine and buys a mare on a whim. Since she and her arthritic ridden husband Brian can’t afford this venture on their own, they form a syndicate with some of the townsfolk and the result is a promising young horse to be named Dream Alliance. What follows are all the cliches you would expect in an underdog horse racing movie: the struggle of the training, the exciting first race with the heart-pounding stretch run, the moments of doubt and tragedy and ultimate triumph. Of course it all works to perfection in the film based on a real life story from Wales. Collette can do no wrong in her role as Jan. (For a different kind of role for Toni Collette see the horror movie Hereditary.) Damian Lewis plays a sharp local accountant who joins the syndicate having previously put his family in peril with a gambling problem. The story was actually previously told in a documentary from a few years ago called Dark Horse. I missed that one, but this film was a pleasure to watch.

Queen Bees

Queen Bees                       2 ½ stars

The newly released Queen Bees is a light likeable comedy for the older crowd staring Ellen Burstyn (of Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore) as Helen, an older widow who finds herself temporarily forced into an upscale retirement community called Pine Grove where there is plenty of company and activities for the aging residents. Among the widows there is a group of women who rule the community called the Queen Bees or as they say in the movie, they “are like mean girls with medical alert bracelets”. These “girls” are played by TV and movie legends Jane Curtin, Loretta Divine and Ann-Margret, quite a collection of talent. Helen is only here ”temporarily” and has to make the best of the situation, joining the ladies in the bridge club though things don’t go well at first. Any lightweight comedy has to have a love interest and this responsibility is filled by Dan, played by James Caan (of Godfather and Misery fame) an older gentleman who has recently moved into Pine Grove as well. Since Helen and Dan share an interest in flowers it becomes obvious where this is headed. The movie plays like many romantic comedies with friendships formed, tense moments, misunderstandings, the occasional tragedy and the expected happy resolutions. The movie is completely predictable, but with such a fine collection of older actors it is hard to see how things could go badly. There is even a young man who plays Helen’s perfect grandson who shares her interest in quotes by writers and is always looking out for her. Queen Bees is very appropriate for the grandmother crowd or a family outing to the movies.

I Carry You With Me

I Carry You with Me                        4 ½ stars

Established documentary film director Heidi Ewing (who I remember from her Oscar nominated documentary Jesus Camp) made her feature film debut with I Carry You with Me, a story that should not be missed. We get a unique treatment of two relevant issues in this movie about a young gay Mexican chef, Ivan (Armando Espitia) who meets and falls for Gerardo (Christian Vazquez), but faces a life of very limited opportunities in his home country; thus Ivan enters the U.S. illegally, finds his way to New York City where he finds life equally tough as an immigrant who speaks little English. The film is set in the nineties and shows the scorn gay men must endure in Mexico including from their own families. (Both Ivan and Gerardo are treated poorly as boys by their own fathers.) When Gerardo does finally join Ivan in New York, they must face the reality that their immigration status must prevent them from ever seeing their families again. The filming techniques used by Ewing with hand-held cameras gives us a very gritty feel of what life is like in these low income areas. The film is based on the real-life experiences of a renowned chef in New York, who is a restaurant owner, thus at about two-thirds of the way through, the movie transforms into documentary style as we follow Ivan (now about twenty years older) through his present day life that still includes Gerardo. It emphasizes how for these immigrants reaching the American dream includes a great deal of sacrifice that makes one question if it was all worth it. I Carry You with Me was featured at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and received a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Feature for Ewing earlier this year.

Judas and the Black Messiah

Judas and the Black Messiah                       5 stars

For many years I have heard the name Fred Hampton and the story of the Black Panthers but never really understood the importance of his name and what he stood for in late sixties Chicago. In Judas and the Black Messiah, Shaka King gives us his version of the story of the Black Panther Chicago chapter chairman and the FBI informant, Bill O’Neal and the ultimate murder of Hampton at the hands of the FBI and the Chicago police. Daniel Kaluuya (of Queen & Slim and Get Out) gives a career high star (and Oscar nominated) performance of Hampton with his speeches showing the rhetorical skills of the Black Panther leader and his vision of purpose of saving the downtrodden with the founding of the Rainbow Coalition. The events of the film take place only months after the Martin Luther King assassination and show that unlike King, Fred Hampton was not above seeking violence against the police. LaKeith Stanfield (of The Photograph and Sorry to Bother You) plays Bill O’Neal, who was only a teenager when the FBI picked him up impersonating an FBI agent and coerced him into joining the Black Panthers and becoming an informant on Hampton’s movements and actions. Stanfield, who also received an Oscar nomination for the film, brilliantly portrays O’Neal as the conflicted man who believes in the Panther cause while at the same time continuing with the FBI plan as he is forced by his FBI handler, Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons). The title describes the situation well as the Judas is torn by admiration and guilt while being completely helpless in freeing himself from his situation. The film gives us additional context by showing actual footage of the real O’Neal in his final 1989 interview telling of his action before he finally committed suicide. It is very illuminating that this film came out in the year following the George Floyd murder at the hands of police and the unrest that followed. It shows that some things have not really changed in fifty years. The film running time exceeds two hours and may be slow in sections, but I am very glad that it was made and that it is being seen by wide audiences.

Stillwater

Stillwater                             2 stars

Many of us remember the case of Amanda Knox, the young American woman who was held in an Italian prison for several years for the murder of her Italian roommate and was ultimately exonerated of the crime by an appeals court.  The movie Stillwater, written and directed by Tom McCarthy borrows heavily from that case, so much so that for a while I thought it really was about the case. Unfortunately, the movie only uses some elements of the Knox case, building instead a slow moving drama turned thriller about an Oklahoma father who travels to Marseilles, France to pursue a lead in the case against his daughter who has been serving a sentence for murder. The movie has outstanding performances by Matt Damon as the fish out of water American who looks more like Josh Brolin, Camille Cottin, the French mother who takes an interest in his predicament and offers her assistance, and Abigail Breslin as the imprisoned daughter. Eventually, the story takes an unlikely turn that stretches the viewer’s ability to believe the events on screen. I enjoy well written films about real life people that offer new insights into their circumstances and actions. And I enjoy thrillers that have original and unpredictable plots. This movie tries to be a blend of those two types of films and ultimately fails. I would understand how the real Amanda Knox would be very offended and frustrated by the release of this movie. Let’s hope that Tom McCarthy can return to movies like his previous successes Spotlight and The Station Agent.