“Vice”– Movie Review

This week, I attended an advance screening of writer-director Adam McKay’s “Vice”, a biographical drama about former vice president Dick Cheney, starring Christian Bale and Amy Adams.

Synopsis

When a rudderless young man rises to the level of Vice President of The United States, how will his ambition influence his various life choices?

Story

In the early 1960’s, no one would have had a clue that a young Dick Cheney would ever turn into one of the most powerful (and dangerous) men in America.  Working at various blue collar jobs in Wyoming, he briefly looked like he had a future – but when he flunked out of an Ivy League college, all hope was abandoned.  After work, he spends his nights drinking, gambling, fighting and getting arrested (either for fighting or drunk driving). Eventually, his wife Lynne (Amy Adams) has finally had her fill and reads her husband the riot act:  either straighten up and be responsible or she will leave him.

Through some connections, Dick is able to secure a political internship in Washington, D.C.  He ultimately winds up working for Donald Rumsfeld (Steve Carell), a conservative Republican who winds up deeply influencing Dick’s way of maneuvering the various pitfalls of The Capital.  Despite various setbacks over the years, Dick is able to climb the ladder and continue to gain better positions with greater responsibility – among them, working in The Nixon, Ford and Bush41 Administrations.  Before long, he runs for Congress in the Republican Party and wins a seat in The House Of Representatives as Wyoming’s only House Member.

While working for Halliburton, an international oil field services corporation, Dick gets an offer that’s difficult to refuse:  George W. Bush (Sam Rockwell), the Republican candidate for President in 2000, offers him the Vice President spot on the ticket.  Although Dick was loyal to W’s father, he takes a dim view of the son. Initially, Dick has little interest in taking a position that has very little power – and besides, why work for an allegedly-reformed party boy like W, who doesn’t exactly have the best of reputations?  But it occurs to Dick that he can easily manipulate W and negotiate his own terms for his unique vision of the office of Veep. When Bush wins in a controversial election, can Dick wrest power from him?

Review

Much has been made of the physical transformation Christian Bale underwent in order to play this role.  It’s true – he really does look like the subject of “Vice”. However, if you’re relying just on the make-up department to do your acting for you, then you’re really not acting much, if at all.  Fortunately, this is not the case with Bale’s Cheney; he really does become the person so much, it’s scary (well, it helps that Cheney is scary to begin with). In early scenes, we see Bale as a younger version of Cheney when he first married Lynne; even then, where Bale is wearing little if any make-up, we see and hear him speaking exactly how the real Cheney would.  It’s an impressive performance.

Bale’s performance is not the lone reason to see “Vice”.  What makes this movie such a compelling watch is the writing and direction by Adam McKay; at various times it is  clever, funny and dark-themed. A particularly humorous moment occurs when McKay attempts to trick viewers into thinking the film has ended prematurely.  Whatever the opposite of a hagiography is, that’s pretty much how you would characterize “Vice”. As much as McKay makes Cheney look like a monster, he also finds a way to humanize him by means of his family.  Cheney comes across as devoted to his wife and daughters, especially Mary, who famously came out as a lesbian.

Another thing to look out for in “Vice” is the performance by cast members other than Bale.  Specifically, there is Sam Rockwell as the ne’er-do-well-turned-POTUS George W. Bush. Rockwell, like Bale, totally transforms – not just visually but also in terms of his voice and speech patterns.  When the two are in a scene together, it’s truly a marvel to watch both of these gifted actors give a clinic on their craft. Amy Adams, who appears in a substantial portion of the film as Cheney’s wife Lynne, does yeoman's work holding her own as someone who can stand up to Cheney and effectively get through to him.

“On The Basis Of Sex”– Movie Review

This week, I attended a New York Times advance screening of the new biographical drama about Ruth Bader Ginsberg, “On The Basis Of Sex”, starring Felicity Jones and Armie Hammer.

Synopsis

When a young lawyer must try a major case, will the visibility cement her career or cause it to be ruined?

Story

In the 1950’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Jones) was one of only nine women who managed to earn a spot in Harvard Law School.  Despite facing a considerable amount of chauvinism, she persisted and was able to not only attend her own classes, but also, those of her husband Martin (Hammer) when he fell ill to testicular cancer.  Upon realizing that Martin may at some point relapse, Ruth left Harvard to return to New York City, where she completed her degree at Columbia University.  Despondent over the direction her career took when none of the top law firms hired her, she reluctantly took a teaching position. 

While teaching, Ruth learns that this gives her an advantage:  she can take on any case she desires.  If she had gone to work for a major law firm, they would likely assign her a case – one which she might have considerably less passion.  Soon, she becomes aware of a case of a man denied a tax deduction simply because of his gender.  Since Ruth’s greatest concern was to defend people who have been shown discrimination because of their gender, this was certainly something she felt was her bailiwick.  There was one problem, however:  this case was also focused on tax law.  As a result, she would clearly need her husband Martin, a tax lawyer, to assist her. 

Soon, Ruth gets some support when her case is backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is run by her long-time friend, Mel Wulf (Justin Theroux).  With the help of Mel, Martin and a support system of various mentors and like-minded attorneys, Ruth diligently prepares to argue her case before the 10 Circuit Court, where she must present before three judges.  Still relatively inexperienced, everyone wonders whether or not Ruth will be able to stand up to the pressure of a case which is gaining notoriety around the nation.  Can she show that this man is denied his tax deduction on the basis of sex or will she be laughed out of court?   

Review

Without a doubt, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is an icon and a cultural heroine of the modern age – and you don’t necessarily have to be either a woman or a liberal in order to be stunned by the accomplishments in Mrs. Ginsburg’s personal and professional life.  Although “On The Basis Of Sex” has a powerful emotional impact with its ending, it is not able to elevate a film that is done in from the start – largely due to its casting.  How Jones and Hammer could remotely be considered the right actors to portray this legendary couple is enigmatic, to put it mildly.    

The screenplay, which was apparently written by Ginsburg’s nephew, does a decent job of showing how the ambition of this couple impacted their family life – likely something to which few people would have had such an authentic insight.  It falters in the sense of creating a mood that is realistic; all too often in scene after scene, it becomes an eye-rolling exercise in reductionism.  Ultimately, one gets the sense that despite the staggering accomplishments of this woman, we are watching something that is more accurately characterized as a hagiography, not a biography.   

Following the screening, there was an interview with the filmmakers.  Jones said that the key to understanding how RBG became who she is today was by understanding her background – specifically, the decisions she made throughout life and the societal forces which determined how she was raised.  She added that much of the story of this movie is actually that of the family and what they were able to achieve together – especially when it appeared as though the entire world was against them.    Director Mimi Leder said to her, the story is about how change happens – a constant pushing open the doors, but not in an angry way.  For the full interview, please refer to the video clip below. 

“Transit”– Movie Review

This week, I attended the opening night for the retrospective of German filmmaker Christian Petzold at The Film Society of Lincoln Center , screening his latest drama, “Transit”.  

Synopsis

When a man assumes a stranger’s identity to escape the Nazis, he becomes involved with the man’s wife – but will she remain if she learns he’s stolen her husband’s identity?

Story

Georg (Franz Rogowski) is one of the lucky ones.   Despite being a German refugee who fled to France to escape the Nazis, he now finds himself endangered once again.  The Nazis have just reached Paris and begin rounding up people suspected of being Jewish.  Needing money, Georg accepts an offer to deliver some letters to a fellow German named Weidel – a writer also staying in Paris until it’s safe to return home.  But upon arriving at Weidel’s apartment, Georg finds the man has committed suicide.  Curious and seeing a sample of the man’s work, he takes the manuscript and some other papers before leaving. 

Later, Georg goes through the papers and finds they include documents that will allow him to not only leave Paris, but to leave France altogether.  Determined to escape the Nazis, Georg heads to Marseille, where he awaits passage on an ocean liner.  While there, he runs into a woman named Marie (Paula Beer), who is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her husband – who just so happens to be Weidel.  As Georg becomes romantically involved with Marie, he cannot bring himself to tell Marie her husband is dead – or for that matter, that he has assumed the man’s identity.

The Nazis start moving in on Marseille as the date for Georg’s cruise draws near.  Marie is conflicted – as much as she wants to save herself, she can’t leave when there’s a chance that her husband may suddenly show up.  At this point, Georg gets an idea:  he’ll have the consulate update his papers so Marie can join him onboard.  It seems like an excellent plan until Georg suddenly learns a friend of Marie’s is also trying to flee the Nazis but can only manage a dangerous climb across the mountains.  Can Georg arrange for all three of them to board the ship before all of France falls to the Nazis?   

Review

“Transit” the movie is based on “Transit” the 1944 era novel by Anna Seghers – a story very reminiscent of the classic “Casablanca”.  Unless you are familiar with this book, it’s hard to know how close the film is to its source material.  Having said that, “Transit” the movie is rather difficult to watch – although perhaps frustrating would a better word to describe the experience.  Although it’s never explicitly stated one way or the other, the story obviously takes place during the time of the second world war – but you would never know it by the clothes, cars or other things that might be considered a giveaway.   

It doesn’t end there.  Other items that cause “Transit” to suffer are the sudden and unexpected use of a narrator and the time spent with certain ancillary characters.  With respect to the use of the narrator, it’s a rather curious device introduced in an unusual manner; he is unknown to us until much later and while on some level he knows Georg, we discover his familiarity with him is superficial.  Regarding the extraneous characters, it would appear that so much time is spent on them because it was difficult to flesh out the relationship with Marie.  Spending more time with Marie would have given the audience the opportunity to have more of an emotional investment in their romance.   

Following the screening, there was an interview with director Christian Petzold, who said the book on which his movie is based is considered a must-read in Germany, even though it may be less familiar elsewhere.  The novel was recommended to him by a friend who later passed away and caused him to temporarily halt work on his adaptation.  In his interpretation, Petzold was not interested in making a period piece; although the story clearly takes place during World War II, he didn’t want any visual clues (such as the clothing or the cars) to suggest it was in that time.  To Petzold, the title “Transit” has multiple meanings – the transportation out of France as well as the fluidity of time travel.