“Downsizing”– Movie Review

This week, I attended a New York Times Film Club screening of the new science-fiction comedy, “Downsizing”, starring Matt Damon. 

Synopsis

When a man decides to undergo a procedure to shrink himself in order to lead a better life, can he resurrect his life after he discovers he’s made a bad choice?

Story

Paul (Damon) and his wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig) decide to seize on an opportunity to improve their standing in a most unusual way:  they will be shrunken down to a size of five inches in order to save their money and save the planet.  They rationalize their decision by being sold on the idea that since they will be taking up less space, spending less money and consuming fewer goods overall, they will be doing something noble – something ecologically sound given the impending dangers of climate change.  All around, a win-win for everyone, right?

Of course, the plan goes awry when Paul, after undergoing the irreversible procedure himself, discovers that Audrey got cold feet in the end and backed out.  She chooses to go back to her regular life while Paul has to move forward in his miniature state; eventually, they divorce, leaving Paul alone to live in a village full of other people who have similarly been reduced in size.  Depressed, lonely and without friends, he feels he’s made the worst decision of his life and now must deal with his choice.  This wasn’t the way things were supposed to go at all. 

Paul’s crazy neighbor Dusan (Christoph Waltz) winds up introducing him to Ngoc (Hong Chau), an infamous Vietnamese political refugee who was shrunken down and escaped her country by fitting inside an electronics box that was shipped to America.  Dusan offers Paul an opportunity to travel to Norway to visit the original colony where the first “downsized” people live – he agrees, but Ngoc insinuates herself into the trip, against their wishes.  While there, the villagers inform them that they’re heading off to an underground world they’ve created to escape the imminent destruction of the planet – with polar ice caps breaking off, increased amounts of methane are released in the air.  The townspeople invite Paul to join them, but since he has developed a romantic relationship with Ngoc, this would mean leaving her.  Will Paul abandon the woman he loves in order to fulfill a greater destiny to re-populate the planet?  

Review

Keeping in mind the saying, “Go big or go home”, “Downsizing” should have gone home.  It is hard to remember a more disappointing movie by Alexander Payne.  After so many terrific films to his credit, fans must begin to wonder if he’s just too erratic; Payne’s motion pictures seem to lack consistency in their quality.  In fact, perhaps the only consistency is his fascination with his home of Nebraska.  What may be the heart of the problem here is the fact that “Downsizing” can’t decide whether it wants to be a comedy or a science-fiction story, so it tries to fob itself off as both and fails miserably. 

The movie is a little over two hours long, but it feels much longer due to the fact that it is all over the place.  There are so many stories and characters, it’s easy to get confused.  The audience should be able to grasp the main thrust of the story and become emotionally invested in it in order for the film to work.  Too many times, however, you find you’re asking yourself, “Exactly what is the story here that I’m supposed to be following?”.  While attempting to be a fable about climate change and its impact on humans, it ultimately winds up being nothing more than patronizing in its pedagogy. 

“Downsizing” is a largely depressing story, so it begs the question as to why it was given a holiday release.  Being preached to about the effects of climate change is not exactly the material that forms a good basis for a comedy, much less a source for Christmas cheer.  It hardly fills you with good will toward men; the opposite, in fact – it reminds you just how truly lousy humankind is.  This is either the feel-bad movie of the year or the feel-confused movie of the year – it’s unclear as to which.  And maybe that’s because the film itself lacks clarity.   

“Molly’s Game”– Movie Review

This week, I attended a New York Times Film Club screening of the new biographical drama, “Molly’s Game”, starring Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba and Kevin Costner.

Synopsis

When a woman becomes wealthy by organizing high stakes poker games, will she be forced to do prison time because of her ties to organized crime?

Story

From her childhood in Colorado, Molly Bloom had a number of challenges to overcome before she could become an Olympic-class skier.  First, she had a severe case of scoliosis which required long surgery to correct.  For another thing, in Larry (Costner), she had a rather strict and demanding father.  All of this combined to make her tough both physically and mentally.  By the time she grew up, Molly (Chastain) saw that all those years of practice and sacrifice paid off by being able to compete for a spot on the United States Olympic Team.  But there was one more challenge for her to overcome:  during a competition, she sustains a freak accident which not only disqualifies her but also leaves her badly injured, effectively ending her career as an athlete.

Without the career for which she had spent all of her life to that point in a state of constant training, Molly now had to figure out how to move forward.  An incredibly bright and studious young woman, she could get into law school.  But she put that on hold and took a job for a man who had her organize his weekly high-stakes poker games with rich and famous participants.  Being a quick study and naturally intelligent, Molly became knowledgeable not only in the game itself, but also proficient as the superintendent of these games.  Eventually, she realizes she doesn’t need her boss – she can put together these games herself and pocket all of the money.

But she proves a little too successful, causing her to be arrested by the FBI.  Not only are they after her for the gambling, but also for the fact that by coordinating these games, she came into contact with members of organized crime which The Bureau is trying to nail.  In deep trouble, she hires Charlie Jaffey (Elba) as her lawyer to represent her in court and defend her against the FBI.  Molly insists that she was unaware of the players’ connections to the Russian Mob, but when incriminating evidence appears to pile up, can even a skilled attorney like Jaffey get her out of trouble?

Review

“Molly’s Game” is a true story, based on the book by Bloom.  The movie is written and directed by Aaron Sorkin; while watching it, you could probably figure out that it’s a Sorkin script by virtue of how much dialog it has.  Sorkin has a reputation for writing excessively talky screenplays, and he continues in that tradition.  Whether or not people will reject it – as they did with his other biographical drama, “Steve Jobs” – remains to be seen, but if you don’t know what to expect when you buy a ticket to a film he wrote, then shame on you. 

This is also Sorkin’s directorial debut; while he shows a good deal of promise as a visual storyteller (surprising, given his proclivity for dialog-heavy scripts), he does seem to make some rookie mistakes.  One of those – and arguably, the most glaring – is an early scene of Bloom’s first meeting with Jaffey.  While in his spacious office, they have a long and (guess what?) talky scene; instead of trying to break it up with secondary action (i.e., editing so as to cut between the two actors using different shot sizes), he chooses primary action (having the actors move around the room and/or each other).  This results in some awkward moments.  Thankfully, he didn’t opt for tertiary movement (physically moving the camera during the shot) because as we all know, only Scorsese can successfully pull off that one. 

As far as the acting is concerned, Chastain’s performance is seamless; you genuinely believe she is Bloom, a brilliant ex-athlete who proves to be too clever for her own good.  But stealing the movie from her is Elba as her attorney.  Elba’s earnest, stalwart lawyer Jaffey is at times quite funny; it’s difficult to know for certain, but one gets the impression while watching Elba’s performance that this was an acting choice on his part.  If so, it was a good one, because this is a heavy movie desperately in need of comic relief.  Perhaps the only negative about “Molly’s Game” is its length (over two hours), but this can be easily forgiven; a story this complex is difficult to tell in two hours or less.

“The Greatest Showman”– Movie Review

This week, I attended a New York Times Film Club screening of the new musical, “The Greatest Showman”, starring Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams and Zac Efron.

Synopsis

When P.T. Barnum attains great success as a circus master, will he lose both his business and his family when it all goes to his head?

Story

In the 19th century, the childhood of Phineas T. Barnum was not an easy one; his mother passed and he was put to work early, assisting his father, a tailor.  Being poor, he greatly envied those with financial resources – his yearning for wealth only grew when he was orphaned after his father’s death.  But when Barnum became a man (Jackman), he married Charity (Williams), his childhood girlfriend, who herself came from a family of means.  Together, they went on one of life’s great adventures, where she blessed him with two daughters.  Life would not remain so blissful. 

After losing his bookkeeping job when his employer was forced to shut its doors, Barnum cons a bank into loaning him some money so that he could start his own business:  a wax museum.  Once the museum fails to get enough visitors to sustain itself, Barnum gets an idea:  add some live acts to appear before an audience.  He then sets out to hire all sorts of interesting and curious looking people:  midgets, giants, morbidly obese, bearded women, etc.  He even hires performers like jugglers, magicians and acrobats.  The idea works and Barnum’s “circus” becomes simultaneously famous and infamous.

Rising through the ranks of high society, Barnum engages Carlyle (Efron), an aimless young man from a wealthy family, to be his partner.  Carlyle handles things from a business standpoint and arranges for Barnum and his troupe to meet the Queen of England.  It is there he meets Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson), a beautiful young singer who’s the toast of Europe.  Barnum decides he will introduce her to America by taking Lind on a tour of the country.  But things get out of hand when she fails at an attempted romantic entanglement with Barnum, causing both to abandon the tour and lose money.  Returning to New York, Barnum finds himself bankrupt and without a business as his circus has burned down.  With Charity threatening to leave him, will Barnum be able to regain his career and family before it’s too late? 

Review

Is “The Greatest Showman” a family movie?  It might depend on your definition of the term “family movie”.  If by “family movie” you mean something you could take your kids to and not feel the least bit squeamish or embarrassed having done so, then the answer is yes. If by “family movie” you mean something that your children might like, then the answer is maybe.  If by “family movie” you mean something that both the parents and spawn would enjoy equally, then a most unambiguous no is the answer.  It’s about as squeaky clean as a film about adultery could possibly be.

Seeing the movie “The Greatest Showman” is very much like seeing an actual Broadway musical.  Depending on your general feelings toward Broadway musicals, that could either be a very good thing or a very bad thing.  The film is definitely a spectacle, whatever that may mean to you.  Be forewarned that if you are in the least bit annoyed by the fact that characters can barely have three lines of dialog before they start bursting into a song and dance number, then perhaps this motion picture is not for you.  It is almost enough to make you feel sorry for the actors and actresses on screen.

In the event that you do not fit into any of the above categories, there might be one entry point to this movie where it could be appreciated on some level:  politics.  If you look at the popularity of Barnum as being an allegory for The Trump Phenomenon, then the symbolism is stark.  During his time, the general public liked Barnum because they found him entertaining.  He exploited vulnerable people to the enjoyment of many and to his own enrichment.  Sure, he hoodwinked everyone, but not only were they fully aware of it, they liked it very much.  Barnum = Trump?  Perhaps it’s a less outrageous comparison than you may think.

 

“Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool”– Movie Review

This week, I attended a New York Times Film Club screening of the new biographical drama, “Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool”, starring Annette Bening. 

Synopsis

When Gloria Grahame looks up an old flame, is it to rekindle their romance or to save her life?

Story

In 1979, Peter Turner (Jamie Bell) was a young Englishman who aspired to an acting career.  Living in a boarding house, he soon discovered that one of the other residents was Gloria Grahame (Bening), a once-famous American actress who is now long passed her prime.  With her career hitting the skids, she is now finding movie roles few and far between; as a result, Grahame is trying to kick-start her career by appearing in stage plays abroad.  When she meets Peter, her attention turns to snaring this much-younger man and they begin a very passionate affair.

When her time in England ends, Peter visits Grahame in America; the romance continues and he decides to put his acting career on hold just to be with her.  Although things pick up where they left off, Peter eventually begins to question his decision as Grahame slowly reveals her true self, albeit not necessarily by her own doing.  Grahame’s family reveals to him that she has a background of pursuing younger men.  Also, Peter sees her behavior as erratic when she instigates arguments with him and eventually forces him to return to England. 

A couple of years later, Grahame is back in England herself and Peter becomes aware of her return.  Going to visit her, she tells him that she’s sick and wants to live with Peter’s family so they can take care of her.  But after she moves in with his parents, Peter uncovers the truth:  Grahame was so unwell that she was hospitalized and left against medical advice.  It turns out that despite her attempts to trivialize her malady, she was quite ill – the doctor informs Peter that Grahame is dying from cancer.  Can Peter help to get Grahame the treatment she so desperately needs or is it now too late?

Review

Watching “Film Stars … “, it’s easy to feel a little disconcerted.  For one thing, despite the fact that Annette Bening is portraying the late actress, the filmmakers use the actual likeness of Grahame at various points throughout the movie.  When still photographs of Gloria Grahame are shown on screen, they depict Grahame herself – not airbrushed pictures of Bening (or a younger look-alike) made up to look like her.  Also, there are video clips shown; one of Grahame in an old movie (“Naked Alibi”) and the other a televised clip of her accepting an Academy Award (for “The Bad And The Beautiful” in 1953).  In both cases, once again, it is Grahame and not a simulated version with Bening as Grahame’s younger version. 

Why was this done?  It’s not an unreasonable question.  Perhaps the answer comes down to money.  It might be that the film’s budget could more easily accommodate paying for the rights to the clips than to re-enact them with Bening (who likely would’ve had to be shot carefully so as to appear younger).  But the problem with this choice is that it can easily throw the viewer out of the “reality” of the story it’s trying to tell; you have to wind up mentally re-adjusting your view and realizing what transpired (“What just happened here and why was it done that way?”). 

While “Film Stars … “ isn’t awful, it’s little technical details like that which tend to distract the viewer and detract from the movie.  Another example would be its soundtrack.  Elvis Costello fans might appreciate the use of his songs, but putting that aside for the moment, the songs by various artists are not necessarily judiciously used.  Once you start becoming aware of the music and when it’s being utilized in a scene, then you suddenly realize that you’re not involved in the story.  That’s too bad.  Because the story “Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool” is trying to tell is rather unique. 

“I, Tonya”– Movie Review

This week, I attended a New York Times Film Club screening of the new biographical drama, “I, Tonya”, starring Margot Robbie and Allison Janney. 

Synopsis

When Olympic skater Tonya Harding becomes embroiled in a scandal, what impact will this have on both her personal and professional life?

Story

Growing up in Portland, Oregon, little Tonya Harding is something of a skating prodigy.  At only four years old, she wins her first competition, somewhat pushed into it by her soulless mother, LaVona (Janney), who keeps her daughter under her thumb her entire life.  As her skating pursuits extend over the years, the teenage Harding (Robbie) grows to be a young woman defiant of her imperious mother.  This defiance culminates when she leaves home to marry the only boyfriend she’s ever had, Jeff Gillooly (Sebastian Stan), a rudderless young man who has few ambitions and arguably less education.

Tonya’s reputation in the skating community only grows when she becomes known as the only American female skater who has successfully accomplished the triple axel feat.  Now considered among the elite, talk begins of Olympic competition in 1992.  While she succeeds in making the team, she fails to bring home the gold medal.  Meanwhile, all of this focus on her skating combined with an ever-expanding ego causes her marriage to suffer.  She and Jeff are physically abusive to each other and eventually, they separate when she finally has had enough.

With her life in tatters, Tonya learns that she may have another opportunity to compete:  instead of waiting four years for the Winter Olympics, the IOC decides the next one will be in 1994.  This provides chance to reconnect with her childhood trainer and prepare for another competition.  But one thing stands in the way:  her main American threat is Nancy Kerrigan, a young woman who is more palatable to the skating community.  Now back with Jeff, they learn of death threats that may be coming from Kerrigan’s camp to play games with Tonya mentally.  When Jeff’s friend Shawn (Paul Walter Hauser) hires a couple of goons to take care of the matter, things soon get out of hand – but will Tonya still be able to participate in the Olympics or will involvement in this stunt ruin her career?

Review

Oy, Tonya!  For those of us that are old enough to remember this too-good-to-be-true story about the soap opera that was Tonya Harding and company, it is something of a guilty pleasure to take a stroll down memory lane with “I, Tonya”.  Prior to 1994, few of us knew that the world of women’s professional skating was a full-contact sport.  Or maybe blood sport would be more accurate.  Such a genteel activity suddenly took on the verisimilitude of professional wrestling.  If this had been written as purely a work of fiction, no one would believe it because it was so utterly ridiculous.

With respect to the performances in this movie, the depth and breadth of Robbie’s acting skills are remarkable (she is also a co-producer of “I, Tonya”).  This often-glamorous actress truly comes across as the trailer trash the film’s subject truly is; while Robbie is a true beauty, the make-up artist successfully manages to transform her to look disturbingly heinous, possibly bordering on monstrous.  As good as Robbie is (and she’s great), Janney is that much better.  It’s foolish to try to predict acting nominations, but it would be a travesty if Janney was completely overlooked.  Yes, she’s just that awesome.

Technically, “I, Tonya” also gets high grades.  The movie is shot documentary-style, with interviews of the people involved many years after the fact (more accurately, interviews with the characters who are portrayed by the film’s actors).  This gives the motion picture something of a “Rashomon Effect” in the sense that each of the characters remembers things through the filter of their own reality.  Additionally, the camera is well-positioned in the skating scenes; rather than shooting it wide, we are actually on the ice with Harding, nearly giving the feeling that we are skating along side her.  One minor criticism is the too-frequent use of popular music from that era; it’s so intrusive (and at times, too on-the-nose) that you notice it and maybe even cringe a little.