"Lamb" -- Movie Review

 

This week, I streamed a screening from A24 of the new horror mystery, “Lamb”, starring Noomi Rapace. 

Synopsis

When childless farmers adopt a newborn lamb and raise it as a human child, what price must they pay for defying nature?

Story

Maria and her husband Ingvar (Rapace and Hilmir Snær Guðnason) own a farm in a remote, mountainous region of rural Iceland.  Without children, they spend their time and attention caring for their flock of sheep.  Except for the occasional roar of their tractor or the bleating of the sheep, it’s incredibly quiet there.  No deliveries, no visitors, nothing.  Yet the couple seem quite content with their life – at least ostensibly.  The weather there is frequently chilly and damp and gray, it can tend to be downright depressing.  These are people of strong spirit, so there are no complaints. 

Occasionally, Maria must play the role of midwife when one of the sheep is pregnant.  One day during a peculiarly difficult birthing process, an unexpected event occurs:  the baby that is born has both human and sheep body parts.  It has the head of a lamb but the rest of the body is that of a baby human in form.  Both Maria and Ingvar are at a loss because they’ve never seen anything like this before.  Maria decides to bring the newborn into their house and proceeds to bottle feed the baby.  After a while of caring for it, they begin to bond.  Ingvar doesn’t interfere – instead, he buys into his wife’s fantasy and also takes on the role of father to this lamb – a girl they name Ada.

Eventually, they are paid a visit by Ingvar’s brother, Petur (Björn Hlynur Haraldsson) under some rather suspicious circumstances.  Petur is nothing less than shocked to find his brother and sister-in-law caring for Ada as if it was a normal situation.  He tries to snap them out of whatever spell they are in, but they shut him down completely.  Soon, Petur decides to play along, if for no other reason than he needs a place to stay for a while.  Not long after, he manages to ruin the arrangement when he tries to come on to Maria; realizing he’s overstayed his welcome, she drops him off where he can catch a bus into town, giving him some money.  But upon her return, how will Maria deal with the horrifying discovery at the farm?

Review

If you think that a movie about a pair of Icelandic shepherds wouldn’t be appropriate Halloween fare, guess again.  “Lamb” is an unusually spooky film with plenty of unexpected twists and turns.  The theme of “Lamb” appears to be something along the lines of, “if you mess with nature then ultimately, nature will get its revenge on you”.  “Lamb” is an unusual motion picture in many ways but also because it feels like it’s multi-genre – science fiction, horror and folklore all wrapped up into a single story.  For that alone, it deserves kudos for the unique blending of genres – something that’s rarely seen because it’s difficult to pull off, especially when you consider that this is a first-time feature film director.

One thing that’s noticeably problematic about “Lamb” is the fact that it is excruciatingly slowly paced.  This is of particular issue in the beginning because the movie takes its own sweet time getting started and you begin to wonder where it’s going or even if you’re watching a documentary about shepherds.  One the plus side, doing this is very filmic in the sense that it is all visual and there is precious little in the way of dialog.  That said, the setup isn’t terribly foreboding; there’s nothing to indicate that this rustic setting will turn deadly or that these farmers are bad people who do something worth being punished. 

The mountainous Icelandic countryside is beautiful and shot with both admiration and respect.  Depending on how you feel about such things, you may or may not be envious of where the couple lives – after all, there’s so much in the way of empty land around them they have no neighbors.  You get the sense that a trip into town to shop for some essentials would be a major excursion that they would not make often because it would be so time consuming.  Perhaps in that regard, their isolation is part of their undoing; it takes the brother-in-law’s visit to shock them back into reality and even then, their desperation for a child overrides that concern.  

"Parallel Mothers" -- Movie Review

 

On the closing night of The 59^th New York Film Festival, I attended the North American Premiere of the new drama by Pedro Almodóvar, “Parallel Mothers”, starring Penélope Cruz. 

Synopsis

When two women give birth to a baby on the same day, their lives continue to intertwine in many mysterious and unexpected ways.  

Story

Janis (Cruz) is photographing Arturo (Israel Elejalde) for a magazine.  After the shoot, Janis engages Arturo, a forensic anthropologist, to investigate something of a personal nature.  Many of the people from the small town where she was raised know of a mass grave site where many victims of the Spanish Civil War are buried – one of them is a relative of hers and she would like the bodies exhumed.  As they spend increasing time together to discuss the project, the two become romantically involved.  The result is that Janis is pregnant with Arturo’s baby – a pleasant surprise for Janis because as she is nearing 40, she has long yearned to be a mother.      

When the time comes, Janis finds she is sharing a hospital room with Ana (Milena Smit), a teenager who also has an unplanned pregnancy – but unlike Janis, she is distraught over having a child at this point in her life.  With Ana’s mother preoccupied with her acting career, Janis tries to take over as Ana’s support system.  The two women wind up giving birth on the same day; when they are discharged from the hospital, they exchange numbers and agree to keep in touch so they can share this unfamiliar experience with each other.  Later, when Janis decides to take a DNA test, the results report that not only is Arturo not the father of her baby but that she is not the mother, either.

After a while, Janis and Ana lose contact, but one day accidentally run into each other at a café near Janis’ home.  Ana informs Janis that she has moved out of her mother’s home – and that her baby passed away due to crib death.  Janis offers her a job as a live-in babysitter for her daughter; Ana agrees and they become close friends.  Eventually, Janis decides to have Ana take the same DNA test that she herself had previously taken.  When the shocking results come in, will Janis lose both her friendship and her child if she tells Ana the truth or will she keep it a secret?  

Review

First off, Almodovar is both an immensely gifted and prolific filmmaker and any contributions he makes to this medium deserve to be cherished.  Having said that, “Parallel Mothers” is something that’s both melodramatic and overwrought.  There are some things that really require you to suspend your disbelief in order to go along with the story.  For example, why wasn’t Ana more suspicious when Janis swabbed her mouth for the DNA test?  Real life is certainly full of coincidences.  However, there feel like too many coincidences occur in this movie to make it seem realistic.  It would also be interesting to learn why Janis was photographing a forensic anthropologist for her magazine in the first place.      

From a story structure perspective, the somewhat abrupt right turn to the excavation in the third act felt a bit awkward.  One might easily title this movie “Parallel Stories”.  It seems that Almodovar wanted to make two completely different motion pictures and struggled to find a way to shoehorn both stories into a single film.  It probably would have been better to have made two separate pictures as each story is compelling enough; both wind up getting short shrift, which is really too bad.  It may be the case that Almodovar couldn’t find a better way to sufficiently wrap up the motherhood story and sustain an entire motion picture on the political issue that is a subplot.  On a positive note, Cruz is stunning and perfect in this role. 

Following the screening, there was an interview with Almodovar, Cruz and Smit.  The director said that although he became aware of Cruz many years ago, he didn’t have too many roles for her at the time because she was too young; now that she has matured, she is the perfect age.  Almodovar added that Cruz reminded him of Sophia Loren and Anna Magnani.  Cruz said that she had wanted to work with Almodovar since she was ten years old; eventually, after she made a couple of movies, he contacted her for some work.  They have remained connected ever since.  Smit said that there is little known about the history of their country especially in terms of fascism and the Civil War and that it’s important for people of her generation to see this film.    

"C'mon, C'mon" -- Movie Review

 

During the final week of The 59^th New York Film Festival, I attended a screening of the drama “C'mon C'mon”, directed by Mike Mills, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Gaby Hoffmann

Synopsis

When a single man has to care for his nephew, will he suddenly be able to acquire the requisite parenting skills needed for a nine year old boy?

Story

Johnny (Phoenix) is finding himself in quite a bind.  As a radio journalist, he has been travelling the country conscientiously working on a project where he has been recording audio interviews with children about how they see their future.  In the midst of all this, he is contacted by his sister Viv (Gaby Hoffmann), who is in great distress:  her ex-husband is experiencing problems and she must help.  Can Johnny pitch in and watch her son Jesse (Woody Norman) while she’s out of town?  Although they are family, this is quite a bit to ask, considering the situation – Johnny hasn’t seen Woody in quite some time and they don’t really know each other terribly well.

Eventually, Johnny relents and flies out to Los Angeles to see Viv and Jesse.  Viv explains to Johnny that Jesse’s father, who has a history of mental problems, is going through something of a meltdown in his new home of Oakland and she must make sure that he is not doing harm to himself or others.  Reluctantly, Johnny agrees to stick around for a while so that he can supervise Jesse while Viv is away.  Things start out without too many problems, but eventually, Viv informs him that this looks like it’s going to take longer than she originally anticipated.  With Johnny needing to get back to work, he takes Jesse back to New York City with him, much to Viv’s consternation.   

While in New York City, things start out well between Johnny and Jesse – this boy has never been in The Big Apple before and views this whole thing as an exciting adventure.  Eventually, however, this precocious child begins to wear on his uncle’s nerves and things grow tense between the two – Jesse even occasionally seeming to run away from a panicked Johnny.  During this entire time, Johnny is simultaneously attempting to focus on his paused project while fulfilling his familial obligations to Viv and Jesse – but without any experience of actually taking care of a child, Johnny is getting on-the-job training.  Will he disappoint Viv and let down Jesse?  

Review

Are you hoping to see Joaquin Phoenix reprise his Joker performance?  If so, you’ll be sorely disappointed.  On the other hand, if you are in need of a good cry when watching a movie, then “C’mon, C’mon” may fill the bill for you.  It is certainly one of the most humanistic films you will see in a very long time.  On a micro level, the story is about how to learn to be a parent.  On a macro level, it is thematically about the importance of family in our lives – specifically, how it connects us to other people and, by extension, to the rest of humanity as a whole.  “C’mon, C’mon” will fill a void in your soul that you didn’t even realize was there.      

From the standpoint of story structure, however, there may be some areas to critique.  Early on, there is very little in the way of conflict that occurs.  It is not until well into the portion where Johnny and Jesse are in New York City that there is even a hint of tension between the two.  Why the movie is saved, however, is that once the conflict occurs, it is successfully able to sustain itself throughout the remainder of the film.  Moreover, the connection of family – however that may be defined – is what keeps the viewer engaged.  Regardless of whether the connection is sibling or parental, the theme persists. 

Following the screening, there was an interview that included director Mike Mills and star Joaquin Phoenix.  One of the more surprising statements was that Phoenix said Woody is English and that he does an American accent convincingly.  Additionally, Phoenix said, “(Woody) is my barometer for authenticity”.  What convinced them that Woody was right for the part was that during his audition, Woody ad-libbed in a way that showed intelligence about the character – “he gets it more than we do”, Phoenix added.  In his scenes with Woody, Phoenix said, “He was my guide – I would merely listen and react”.     

"The French Dispatch" -- Movie Review

 

During the middle weekend of The 59^th New York Film Festival, I attended the North American Premiere of the new Wes Anderson comedy, “The French Dispatch”, featuring so many familiar names and faces in the cast that it would take too long to list them all. 

Synopsis

The story of The French Dispatch publication in the 20^th century – how it began, its most noteworthy pieces, idiosyncratic workers and how the periodical ended. 

Story

The French Dispatch was a publication from the quaint little town of Ennui-sur-Blasé, France.  It started as a Sunday supplement for The Evening Sun – a newspaper in Liberty, Kansas.  Its founder and editor was Arthur Howitzer, Jr. (Bill Murray), a hard-nose type from a long publishing career; he was tough with his writers when he needed to be and was gentle if his writers responded more to that.  He lived by one motto:  No Crying.  Howitzer tasked the writers to provide French-related articles of interest to an American audience; the subjects varied – human interest, politics, art and gustatory delights.  What follows are some of the publications more noteworthy pieces over the years:

• ·     The Cycling Reporter:  Herbsaint Sazerac (Owen Wilson) was a cyclist who would write effusively about the town of Ennui-sur-Blasé and its denizens – or at least he thought it was effusive.  His editor, however, might disagree and frequently found his articles too dark or too negative.  Sazerac would cycle around town to find stories about locals, architecture and various cultural matters that arose from time-to-time, including the town’s history.    
• ·         J.K.L. Berenson (Tilda Swinton) was known for writing and lecturing about art; one of her most noted works for The French Dispatch was “The Concrete Masterpiece” – the story about how a prison inmate named Moses Rosenthaler (Benicio Del Toro) became a famous artist when he used Simone (Léa Seydoux), his prison guard, as his muse. 
• ·         “Revisions To A Manifesto” was written by Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand), whose particular interest was in politics.  She learned of a group of young political activists, led by chess master Zeffirelli (Timothée Chalamet) and Juliette (Lyna Khoudri) – a pair of university students who earnestly try to start a revolution (when Krementz helps Zeffirelli compose his manifesto). 
• ·         “The Private Dining Room Of The Police Commissioner”:  Roebuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright) was remembered for this article about Lieutenant Nescaffier (Stephen Park), the classically-trained chef for the town’s police commissioner; the chef was known to have specialized in something regarded as “police cooking”.  Wright was invited by the commissioner to sample the chef’s best comestible offerings in his private dining room.   

Review

With every Wes Anderson movie that comes out, you almost get the urge to say, “That was the most Wes Anderson of all Wes Anderson movies!”.  You wouldn’t be wrong if you did that.  But it’s utterly delightful to say that with, “The French Dispatch”, you’ll be declaring that yet again – if not screaming it from the rooftops.  This is pretty near perfect, leaving you anxiously awaiting what Anderson’s bottomless well of creativity will conceive for his next film – and until then, you can either go back for additional screenings of this one or stream his past motion pictures wherever you are lucky enough to find them.    

If there is any criticism of “The French Dispatch” it’s that some segments start to feel a little long.  The reason for this varies:  sometimes, the jokes fall flat, sometimes there are no jokes at all (the story tends to lag when they get a bit too serious) and in other cases, they could have just been cut down in the editing room.  But as the editor of The French Dispatch would be glad to remind you:  No Crying.  By the way, although it should go without saying, it must be mentioned that “The French Dispatch” publication never actually existed in real life; it was an invention by Wes Anderson purely for the purposes of this film.    

Following the screening, there was an interview with some of the cast members in person and others remotely, including director Wes Anderson.  Anderson provided an introduction to the movie via video because he is currently shooting his newest work in Spain – which is why he conducted the post-screening interview remotely.  He said that his idea for “The French Dispatch” came from his love of French cinema (he lives in Paris) and he put it in a literary setting due to his admiration of the pieces he read in The New Yorker magazine.  The remote interview also included Bill Murray, who was his usual hilarious self; he said, “We’re in Spain shooting a really good movie, much better than the piece of junk you just saw”.  After that, cocktails were served to the group in Spain and things started to go somewhat off the rails from there. 

"The Power Of The Dog" -- Movie Review

For the Centerpiece showing at The 59^th New York Film Festival, I attended a screening of, “The Power Of The Dog”, a western drama directed by Jane Campion and starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst. 

Synopsis

When a man’s brother marries a widow, will his suspicions of both the woman and her son cause a rift in both their family and their business?

Story

In 1925, The Burbank brothers run a successful ranching business in Montana.  George (Jesse Plemons) assumes the more executive role of running things while Phil (Cumberbatch) is more hands-on, overseeing the day-to-day activities of the ranch hands.  While George is more forward-thinking, Phil yearns for the days of his youth when Bronco, their late mentor from years ago, was around.  After wrapping up their most recent cattle drive, George brings his men to a boarding house run by Rose (Dunst), a widow who has the help of her son Pete (Kodi Smit-McPhee).  Pete is studying to someday be a physician like his late father. 

When the ranchers arrive for dinner, Phil immediately picks up on the fact that Pete is the intelligent sensitive type and makes him a laughingstock in front of the ranch hands for Pete’s lack of traditional masculinity.  Rose is deeply upset by this and when George tries to console her, a bond develops; after a brief courtship, they eventually marry.  Phil is outraged by this, especially since Rose is brought to their ranch to live.  He believes that Rose is out for their money and will ultimately hurt George.  When Pete returns from boarding school to spend the summer on the ranch, tensions only continue to rise.    

After Pete eventually learns of a dark secret Phil has hidden from everyone, Phil suddenly tries to reach out to Pete and befriend him.  Pete, however, is skeptical of Phil’s sudden change of heart because he has seen how Phil treats Rose and is concerned that Phil is trying to sabotage Rose’s marriage to George.  Phil sets out to try to mentor Pete by teaching him things like roping and horseback riding in order to make a cowboy out of him.  Is Phil sincere in his seeking friendship from Pete or is he simply trying to gaslight Pete in the same way he has been trying to gaslight Rose?    

Review

Is all masculinity toxic?  Is toxic masculinity just in the realm of straight men?  This seems to be the theme of Jane Campion’s latest effort, which is based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Savage.  Although it’s set in the west, it’s far from a typical western; although about ranchers, it’s not really your typical cowboy movie either.  Instead, it feels like something of a cross between “Brokeback Mountain” and “A Streetcar Named Desire” – both films deal to some extent with forbidden sexual desire but also “Streetcar” deals with the upending of an otherwise happy family life.      

The problem with “The Power Of The Dog” is that it’s a little too subtle for its own good.  For one thing, viewers of the film version might find themselves as a little lost unless they have either read the book before seeing the adaptation or at least researching it, especially in order to understand the ending.  In order to gain a greater understanding of its nuance, one must see the movie at least twice – it is for this reason that it might be better to watch it on Netflix rather than in the theater.  Also, while the meaning of the title is alluded to in the end, it turns out to be a biblical reference to a line in Psalm 22:20, so it’s necessary to understand its context in order to fully appreciate the meaning of the title. 

Following the screening, there was an interview with Campion and stars Cumberbatch and Dunst.  The director said that she watched quite a few westerns in order to prepare for this shoot.  For her, the movie is about yearning and what it feels like to be in love and that the character of Phil is dealing with grief over the loss of his friend.  Cumberbatch said that he viewed his character as feeling alienated and alone.  During the shoot, he remained in character the entire time and as such, didn’t talk to Dunst at all.  Cinematographer Ari Wegner was also present and she said that she spent about a year in preparation for shooting.