"Funny Pages" -- Movie Review

This weekend at Lincoln Center, I attended the opening night of the comedy “Funny Pages”, written and directed by Owen Kline. 

Synopsis

When an aspiring comic book artist loses his mentor, will he be able to find a replacement in an unexpected way? 

Story

At the age of 17, Robert (Daniel Zolghadri) is considering dropping out of high school and not bothering going to college, despite his parents’ behest.  Instead, he wants to attend art school so that he may pursue his dream of becoming an underground comic book artist in the spirit of R. Crumb.  His mentor is a current high school teacher who is so encouraging he suggests Robert skip art school altogether and send his drawing samples to Mad Magazine.  Unfortunately, Robert loses his teacher in a tragic freak accident.  It is at this point that Robert begins to spiral; he gets in trouble with the police and becomes increasingly detached from his parents. 

Appearing before the judge, his court-assigned Public Defender is able to get Robert released without any fine or jail time.  Once freed, he decides to move out of his parents’ house in Princeton, New Jersey and rend space in a small house in the more precarious town of Trenton; in order to pay for it, he supplements his income from his job as a clerk at a comic book shop by working as an administrative aid to the Public Defender who represented him in court.  It is here that he meets Wallace (Matt Maher), an oddball who is another client of the Public Defender due to an unusual incident at a pharmacy.  Wallace, it turns out, used to work at a comic book publisher; Robert sees this as an opportunity to have someone with industry experience advise him.

Despite the fact that Robert showers Wallace with attention and admiration, Wallace reacts with the hostility and suspicion that befits his unbalanced personality which likely got him in his legal entanglements in the first place.   Relentless, Robert decides to bribe Wallace with food and money:  if he agrees to come over to his parents’ house for Christmas Day breakfast, Robert will pay Wallace a “consulting fee” to give him feedback and career direction.  When Robert and Wallace are interrupted with a surprise visit from Robert’s friend Miles (Miles Emanuel), things go awry and chaos ensues.  Once everything is over, what will happen to Robert’s career hopes?

Review

If you are looking for a movie where you can’t find yourself rooting for any of the characters because you find them obnoxious and repulsive, then “Funny Pages” is absolutely right up your alley.  Actually, that might not be entirely accurate; the only two people in this film that could be considered worthy of our attention are Robert’s beset parents (expertly portrayed with the proper sense of annoyance by Maria Dizzia and Josh Pais); understandably, these two have completely run out of patience with their ungrateful and self-absorbed adolescent son, even though they have clearly provided him with a rather privileged life. 

As far as technical aspects are concerned, the film was shot on super 16 millimeter film; at this screening, it was shown in a 35 millimeter print.  This, as it turns out was a good choice because it appropriately lacks a certain visual slickness that might come from shooting with digital cameras; as a result, you have a look and feel of a story that could just as easily have occurred in either the 1970’s or 1980’s.  From a screenplay perspective, aside from the choice of not giving his protagonist many redeeming features, it is also interesting that it seems as though every decision that Robert makes is a bad one – but this may not be due to his immaturity so much as the filmmaker’s desire to move the story along.   

Following the screening, there was an interview with director Owen Kline and the star of “Funny Pages”, Daniel Zolghadri.  Kline said that he loved underground comic books when he was in high school, which is partly where this story originates.  He mentioned that his Jungian therapist characterized him as a monomaniac – something which he believes is an accurate description.  Kline feels many of the characters in “Funny Pages” are similarly imbued with this same characteristic.  Zolghadri said that they shot different versions of the ending where his character of Robert had various emotional reactions to the events that had preceded.      

"My Old School" -- Movie Review

 

This week at Lincoln Center, I attended an advance screening of the new documentary, “My Old School”, starring Alan Cumming. 

Synopsis

When a mysterious young man suddenly shows up at a high school, he excels in all of his classes – but is he really who he claims to be?

Story

In the mid-1990’s, the Bearsden Academy, a secondary school near Glasgow, Scotland, accepted one of its more unusual students – a young man named Brandon Lee, a strange looking individual who appears to be a bit older than most of his classmates.  Regardless, Brandon made quite an impression on his fellow students and teachers alike.  Other students were a little suspicious of him because he had the same name as Bruce Lee’s son – an actor who had recently died as a result of an accident on the set of a movie he was shooting.  But once this Brandon Lee convinced everyone that he was no relation, he was accepted by everyone else.

Brandon had quite a story.  He was Canadian and his mother was an opera singer; as such, she home-schooled him as he accompanied her whenever she toured.  His father was dean at a university in London; since he never saw him much, he was closer to his mother.  Tragically, Brandon’s mother died in an automobile accident, in which he was seriously injured.  With his grandmother living on the outskirts of Glasgow, it was decided that he would live with her and attend Bearsden.  Before long, his father passed away also, so his grandmother was all the family he had left in the world. 

Despite the sad background, Brandon had good fortune at school.  In addition to getting good grades and awing his teachers, he soon became somewhat popular with the student body.  Most of his friends were those who were ignored by others – a young man of African descent who hung out at Brandon’s place after school and others who might be considered social outcasts.  All of this would suddenly come to an end when he made the decision to join some young women on vacation one semester; when he got into trouble, his friends quickly found out about the dark secret that Brandon had been keeping all the while.  When the truth came out, will he be able to stay in school?

Review

“My Old School” is definitely one oddball movie – but one that is nonetheless quite fascinating; it’s a story too good to be true, made all the more intriguing by the fact that it actually did happen.   Although characterized as either a documentary or documentary-drama, it might very well fall into a hybrid genre of “quasi-documentary”.  Regardless of what you call it, there’s an excellent chance that you’ll be hanging on through every moment.  So why is Alan Cumming in this film?  Good question – basically, although this is a story about Brandon Lee, the man who went by that name was reluctant to actually appear in the motion picture – instead, Cumming lip-synchs to his audio recordings.     

What raises the weirdness level of this documentary – not that it was all that necessary – is that the filmmaker uses a combination of animation, interviews (with former classmates) and television news footage, as well as clips from some home movies; this last bit mostly came from Brandon’s appearance in a school production of the musical “South Pacific”.  The inclusion of the animation is somewhat off-putting because you’re not quite sure if you’re supposed to be taking all of this seriously; it adds a somewhat comic element to the story which can at times feel ill-placed.  This can make the viewer wonder whether it’s a fictional story. 

In an interview with director and former classmate Jono McLeod (which can be streamed here), he claims that he was forced to use the animation because the pandemic hit when he was shooting the movie; initially, he was inspired by watching “Wandavision” and decided he wanted it to look like MTV’s old show “Daria”.  The animation was done from storyboards the director had originally made.  When he approached Cumming about this unusual role, the actor immediately accepted because he loved the challenge of embodying a real person whom he’d never met.  Cumming was only needed to shoot for about a day and a half for his limited contribution.    

"Good Luck to You, Leo Grande" -- Movie Review

 

This week at Film At Lincoln Center, I attended a screening of the new comedy-drama “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”, starring Emma Thompson. 

Synopsis

When a widow hires a professional escort to experience a sexual awakening late in life, can they find a deeper connection?

Story

Nancy (Thompson) was faithfully married for over 30 years before her husband died.  Together, they raised a son and a daughter, both of whom became responsible adults.  While the couple may have kept their “until death do us part pledge”, she found the whole experience deeply unsatisfying and unfulfilling.  This is largely because as a religious education teacher, she had little sexual experience prior to her marriage and her late husband didn’t really know – or care – about how to fulfill his wife’s needs.  Now that she’s all alone, Nancy is trying to make up for quite a bit of lost time.  This is why she’s hired Leo Grande. 

Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack) is what you might consider an independent contractor.  Or perhaps a leisure consultant.  To some, he may be a therapist of some sort. Professional consort, if you prefer.  In any event, Nancy hires this young man in order to give her the best sexual experience of her life.  Since she feels that she’s missed out on so much, Nancy believes that she must now take advantage of her freedom to make up for quite a bit of lost time.  Leo is more than happy to oblige – for a price, of course.  After all, he’s an entrepreneur with a business to run.  He sells a service for which many gladly pay.   

Over time, Nancy hires Leo for his extraordinary professional services; the teacher now finds herself to be the student.  But she suddenly finds herself wanting more.  Who is this unusual young man and how did he wind up in this line of work?  As a way to draw him out, Nancy reveals to him quite a bit of intimate personal information; while she hopes he will reciprocate, he only shares so much and is careful not to provide too much that would compromise his situation.  Eventually, it becomes clear to Leo that Nancy is expecting much more from him than he can give.  When he refuses to have any more sessions with her, will Nancy still be looking for her first ever orgasm?

Review

“Leo Grande” is a pleasant but predictable comedy-drama that’s equally sex-positive, body-positive and age-positive; it also does not take a judgmental or patronizing view of sex workers.  For all of those reasons, it should be commended, but note that there are few surprises and the story goes just about the way you think it’s going to go; if you’re waiting for big twists and turns here, you’ll be sorely disappointed.  Nevertheless, it’s quite enjoyable in a way that doesn’t really demand much from the audience.  What’s also no surprise here is how absolutely excellent Emma Thompson is utterly excellent. 

One drawback to the film – and it’s a fairly obvious one – is the fact that it has the look and feel of a play.  This is because the overwhelming majority of “Leo Grand” takes place in a hotel room – in fact the same hotel room in every scene.  As a result, it clearly feels a bit claustrophobic; there are definitely attempts to open it up a bit more, but given the way the script is written, there’s really very little that the director could do to take us outside of that space.  Granted, the idea here is that the relationship between these characters only exists in that hotel room, but it feels like it could have been shot as the performance of a stage play. 

This movie had its New York Premiere recently at this year's Tribeca Film Festival; if you are interested in seeing “Leo Grande”, it is currently streaming on Hulu.  At only about an hour and a half, it doesn’t ask much of your time.  It’s entertaining but in no way challenging, so if you’re looking for something light and buoyantly entertaining, so long as you don’t go in expecting a great deal of belly laughs; it is more amusing than it is actually funny, despite the attempts by Thompson’s character to appear embarrassingly awkward sexually.  This with the older woman-younger man fantasy should find this one deeply satisfying.    

 

"Babysitter" -- Movie Review

 

On the closing weekend of the Tribeca Film Festival, I attended the New York premiere of the French-Canadian comedy, “Babysitter”.

Synopsis

When a man is forced to care for his newborn baby, what impact will it have on his family when he hires a seductive babysitter to assist him?

Story

With his partner Nadine left at home to breastfeed their newborn daughter, Cedric opts for a boys-night-out at a boxing match.  After having had too much to drink, he gets caught on-camera kissing Chantal, a television reporter there to cover the event.  Since his transgression was televised, there was no way Cedric could deny the deed – and to make matters worse, his employer saw it all and decides to suspend him from his engineering job, pending an investigation.  Nadine takes this opportunity to go back to work and leave Cedric to care for the baby – but when she realizes that she has no interest in returning to the office, she instead checks into a motel and indulges in some much-needed self-care. 

Before too long, Cedric comes to the bitter realization that he has very little in the way of paternal instincts.  Each day, he struggles to care for the little one, much to her detriment; clearly, he was not made to be a stay-at-home dad.  Seeking out a babysitter to help him at home, he hires Amy – a sexy 22-year-old with no boyfriend or family; at first, she doesn’t immediately seem much more capable of caring for the baby than he does, but that soon changes when he sees how positively his daughter responds to her.  Getting suspicious about what’s happening at home, Nadine checks-out of her motel and returns to keep an eye on both her daughter and her husband.

With some free time, Cedric decides to write a book about misogyny – and engages his journalist brother Jean-Michel to co-author it with him.  Soon, Jean-Michel moves in with them to work on the book full time.  It becomes rather evident that Amy is behaving in some rather seductive ways with the adults in the house – everyone finds it a major distraction when she decides to show up for work wearing a sexy French maid costume.  Eventually, the book gets published but Cedric is dejected when Jean-Michel gets all of the credit.  With Amy noticing that the romance is deteriorating between Cedric and Nadine, will she be able to do anything to revive their relationship?   

Review

“Babysitter” is an attempt at a crazy, sexy French romantic comedy in the “Me Too” era – unfortunately, it manages to fail on all attempts.  Crazy?  Perhaps.  But sexy?  No.  Comedy?  Absolutely not!  There are obvious stabs at being comedic by exaggerated facial reactions and so forth, but none of them work.  It’s too bad because given the premise, the filmmakers may have missed a bet here – on the other hand, it’s difficult to make fun of the “Me Too” movement without offending people who were adversely affected by it.  The movie also seems to be trying to say that the political correctness of “Me Too” may have gotten out of hand. 

This movie is an adaptation of a stage play by Catherine Léger, who is credited as the screenwriter on “Babysitter”.  Director Monia Chokri (who also appears as Cedric’s partner Nadine) saw the original stage version and decided she had to bring it to the screen.  According to the IMDB notes, Chokri opened it up a bit, changing only a few trivial items.  As Amy, Nadia Tereszkiewicz certainly does seem to have something of a “Lolita-esque” quality about her, being simultaneously alluring and innocent, while maintaining an air of mystery.  Her character compared herself to Bardot – not unfairly or inaccurately.    

The ending is also somewhat problematic – that is to say, problematic in the sense that it is puzzling.  In the last few moments of “Babysitter”, we see a gaggle of nubile young women roller skating throughout the streets of this Montreal neighborhood.  What this is supposed to mean – or allude to – remains something of a mystery.  Are we to understand that Cedric’s next temptation is soon to come?  Does it mean that these seemingly carefree teenage girls will not have to suffer under the yoke of male oppression once they come of age?  Or does it reference something else only the filmmaker understands.  Yes, maybe it’s better to go with that one. 

"Somewhere In Queens" -- Movie Review

 

On the first weekend of the Tribeca Festival, I attended the World Premiere of the new comedy “Somewhere In Queens”, the directorial debut of Ray Romano. 

Synopsis

When a father gets overly involved in his basketball star son’s athletic career, will his micromanagement destroy the family? 

Story

The Russos live in the Glendale neighborhood of Queens in New York City.  This proud Italian-American family is tightly-knit, enjoying a large family dinner every Sunday.  Leo (Romano) is especially proud of his son Matthew (Jacob Ward), who’s nicknamed “Sticks” because of his long legs.  As a senior in high school, Sticks has gained quite a reputation as a talented basketball player for his school’s less-than-stellar team.  Leo expects that Sticks will probably join him working for the family’s construction company upon graduation – but things abruptly change when he learns that Sticks has been gaining support from top college scouts.

After a few phone calls are made, one of the scouts gets Sticks a tryout at Drexel University in Philadelphia.  Leo and his wife Angela (Laurie Metcalf) take Sticks to the school for a preliminary interview with the school’s athletic director.  It is decided that if Sticks performs well at the tryout, he will be offered a scholarship.  Leo has his sights set on Sticks not only being a star basketball player for the university, but also, getting a college education – something which he never quite managed to get for himself.  But a monkey wrench is thrown into those plans when Sticks learns that his girlfriend Dani (Sadie Stanley) has dumped him.

Leo needs Sticks to succeed – in part, because he wants his son to have a better life than he’s had.  But to be honest, it’s mostly because he now finds himself living his life through his son – Leo may want this for Sticks more than Sticks himself does.  Depressed and distraught over the loss of Dani, Sticks won’t play his best at the tryout.  As a result, Leo convinces Dani to stay with Sticks just a few weeks longer until he gets the tryout behind him.  Once Sticks gets passed the tryout, Dani immediately breaks up with him – again.  But when Sticks discovers that his father coerced Dani into remaining with him just to get by the tryout, how will this impact their family?

Review

Despite having an awkwardly mawkish and melodramatic third act, “Somewhere In Queens” is a delightfully entertaining movie.  Most of the script is quite good – well-structured with humor and drama in equal measure in all of the right parts.  In his directorial debut, Romano succeeds in telling a story that is so clearly very close to his heart.  Much of the reason why the film works is because of its authenticity; if you have grown up in New York City – and especially the borough of Queens – then these people are real to you.  You know who they are even if you’ve never even met any of them. 

To be clear, while there are moments in “Somewhere In Queens” that are quite funny, it is far from being an all-out comedy.  The humorous moments are blended with the serious ones and there is hardly a false note in any of them.  In that sense, it is recognizable because it is so much like life itself.  Romano’s gift is telling a universally human story, just as he did with his successful television show, “Everybody Loves Raymond”.  In fact, if you were a fan of that show, then it is likely you will love this film because the dysfunctionality of family members is on full display all throughout. 

Ray Romano appeared for an interview after the screening.  His co-writer was one of the writers from the show “Men Of A Certain Age” and he said that it took them a long time to write the script, in part because it was interrupted by Covid.  Initially, Romano was not interested in directing the movie; eventually, his agent convinced him to direct because the story was so personal.  Casting his son was a long process; there were many callbacks over the course of a month and a half.  When the actor finally found out he got the role it was when he got a call from his agent while he was in his car working to make a Post Mates food delivery. 

 

"God's Time" -- Movie Review

 

On the opening weekend of the Tribeca Festival, I attended the World Premiere of the comedy “God’s Time”. 

Synopsis

When a pair of friends realize a mutual acquaintance might be planning something dangerous, will they be able to thwart her and maintain their bromance?

Story

Dev and Luca are best friends.  One of the things they have in common is the fact that they are both recovering drug addicts.  Together, they attend therapy meetings for fellow former drug abusers currently in recovery.  During one of the sessions, they hear a remarkable admission from Regina, one of the members.  Having broken up with her live-in boyfriend, she was forced to find a new apartment – and to add insult to injury, not only did he take her old apartment, he took her dog, as well.  Now, Regina wants revenge – she opens up during one meeting confessing that she has fantasized about shooting him. 

Understandably, both Dev and Luca are alarmed by hearing this.  Neither one of them want Regina to follow through on her insidious plan – mostly because they are both in love with her and don’t want to see her wind up in prison for murder.  So, for their own very selfish reasons, the two men set out to try to either talk Regina out of killing her ex-boyfriend or to find a way to somehow sabotage her plans.  Meanwhile, both men are trying to live out their own best life, too.  Luca is pursuing a career as an actor and seeks to schedule as many auditions as he possibly can.  Dev, on the other hand, is simply trying to avoid some stranger with whom he got into a traffic altercation. 

Eventually, Dev and Luca learn that Regina does in fact have access to a gun.  They plot to break into her apartment to take the gun away from her – but when Regina mistakes the two for burglars, she accidentally shoots Luca in the arm.  They rush Luca to the hospital for treatment – but once he is discharged, they discover that Regina’s ex-boyfriend is confronting her in the parking lot.  Although Dev and Luca try to play the role of peacemakers, anger and resentment take over when it becomes clear that the men are competing for the affections of Regina.  Can they somehow manage to overcome their differences and keep Regina from shooting her ex-boyfriend?  In the aftermath, will their friendship survive?

Review

“God’s Time” is a 2022 comedy which should not be confused with the 2015 motion picture “In God’s Time”, which is a drama, despite the fact that both derive their title from the same phrase.  The distinction in genre raises an interesting point about the film that appeared at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival because it’s a bit of a mistake to identify this as a comedy (or comedy-drama) in any notion.  Perhaps it takes its identity as a comedy from the fact that the character of Dev is written and performed in such an over-the-top manner that it might give the impression of a comedy.  In fact, it is not; it is mostly a serious drama and not all that funny, either. 

The movie seems rather schizophrenic because of this; on the one hand, the writer/director Daniel Antebi appears to want to make a film featuring a crazy character like Dev at its center, yet also wanted to tell a serious story about desperate, down-on-their luck characters.  The lighter moments that Dev attempts seem tone-deaf for the rest of the motion picture; there are two different stories here in search of a genre and when blended together, the film as a whole doesn’t work.  If “God’s Time” had focused solely on being a drama, it might have found more success.  As it is, it feels like a fable about drug addicts seen through the eyes of an addict. 

A positive note about this film is the cast; the performances are quite good and the characters give the appearance of a real chemistry.  Particularly good is newcomer Liz Caribel Sierra in the role of Regina; all at once she conveys toughness, sensitivity and sensuality to fully develop her character and make Regina feel quite authentic.  As stated, the character of Dev, as portrayed by Ben Groh, is very animated, giving one the sense that this guy is totally coked-up most of the time.  Dion Costelloe as Luca is a stark contrast to his best friend; understated, he emits an earnest nature – someone dedicated to improving his life. 

"The African Desperate" -- Movie Review

 

This weekend, I attended the closing night of the New Directors/New Films Festival and caught the World Premiere of the drama, “The African Desperate”. 

Synopsis

When a young woman completes her college studies, she intends to return home – but when she gets pressured into attending a graduation party, but when the party gets out of control, will her plans get derailed?

Story

Palace (Diamond Stingily) has just about had it at this point.  It’s 2017 and she is going for her Master Of Fine Arts degree at a college in a rural part of upstate New York.  She’s done with the school, her academic advisors and – as a city gal from Chicago – she’s especially done with the bucolic community in which she’s been stuck for far too long.  Right now, she just wants to get this whole excruciatingly annoying process over with so she can go back to Chicago as soon as possible to deal with some family matters.  Upon learning she has earned her degree, Palace goes off to be alone for some much needed “self-care”. 

As she’s relaxing before her big trip the next day, a bunch of her friends reach out to her about the graduation party scheduled for that evening where Palace had promised to DJ.  Palace insists that she’s not going, but ultimately is guilted into attending.  Once there, things go haywire rather quickly.  Aside from socializing with many folks she has come to know during her studies, Palace begins imbibing to excess and indulging in illicit narcotics offered to her by her fellow party-goers.  Before very long, Palace begins to feel the effects of the combination of all of these various substances in her body; she passes out in the parking lot before she can even get to her car. 

That night, a young man Palace knows finds her and helps her into the car to sleep it off.  The next morning, she awakens to find that he’s still there in the car and he explains to her how they wound up there.  She quickly rebuffs him when she determines that he’s merely looking for a last-minute hook-up; once she dumps him, she returns to her place to prepare for her travel home.  Unfortunately, she gets side-tracked by some of her other friends with whom she attended the party the night before.  With her train scheduled to leave before 10AM, Palace scrambles to get to the station on time.  Will Palace be too late for the train or will she make it just in time and make it back to Chicago?   

Review

Why is the lead character in “The African Desperate” studying Fine Arts?  Couldn’t the protagonist in fact be majoring in just about anything?  Well, it turns out that the answer lies in the background of the director and her star.  Both of them studied Fine Arts in college, so, they are working in a milieu in which they are both quite familiar.  One gets the impression while watching this film that it was made primarily (if not exclusively) for the director’s fellow students – in which case, it would be a rather limited audience indeed.  For those who are recent graduates (regardless of their field of study), they might find this to be a more enjoyable movie.     

Much of the second act of “The African Desperate” takes place at the graduation party; this party seemingly goes on forever (which appears to have been intentional).  While the party drags on and the lead character doesn’t give the appearance of having any fun, she merely intakes copious amounts of alcohol and drugs, rendering herself sick and ultimately incapacitated by the end of her night.  While one might think we are expected to feel for her, we wind up feeling more compassion for the people around her that have to put up with her self-centered behavior.  The audience is given opportunities to root for this character, but then they ultimately get wasted by her obnoxious behavior.

Following the screening, there was an interview with Director Martine Syms and the star of “The African Desperate” Diamond Stingily.  Syms said that the title came from someone who was talking about “the African Diaspora” when they mispronounced it as “the African Desperate”.  She figured that would be a good title because of the theme of desperation – this is the character’s last day at school so she has nothing to lose and can say or do anything she wants.  Part of her intention with the film was to play with space and time – certain scenes would either be sped up or slowed down; as an example, Palace’s one day can feel very long in the context of the movie.     

"The Innocents" -- Movie Review

This weekend, I attended the New Directors/New Films Festival, screening the Norwegian horror film “The Innocents”, written and directed by Eskil Vogt (who wrote the screenplay for the award-nominated Joachim Trier movie “The Worst Person in the World”). 

Synopsis

When a group of children discover they have supernatural powers, will they be able to overcome disaster when everything gets out of control?

Story

They may not yet know it, but Ida and Anna are in for one of the most fraught summers of their young life.  Nine-year-old Ida is somewhat resentful of her slightly older sister; Anna gets most of her parents’ attention due to the fact that she was diagnosed as autistic at the age of four.  With Anna being non-verbal, the two sisters don’t really have much of a relationship, so Ida feels especially alone.  This summer, the family is moving because the father got a new job; Ida hates this because not only is she leaving her friends behind, but also, this means that the family won’t be able to take a vacation this year. 

At their new apartment complex, most of the families seem to be away on vacation, so there aren’t too many other children around.  Ida is forced to take Anna out to the nearby playground and it is there that they make friends with two other children that will change their life forever.  Ben is a boy who is raised by his mother; they don’t seem to have a particularly good relationship.  Aisha is also in a single-parent household, but she is much closer to her mother.  Ben has the power of telekinesis, which he doesn’t mind demonstrating to his new friends.  Aisha shares with her new-found friends her own ability of telepathy. 

The more time this group spends with each other, the more refined the supernatural powers become.  For one thing, we learn that Ben has something of a cruel streak, and he uses his special powers to take revenge on others over petty grievances.  Aisha finds that she can use her abilities for more than merely entertainment purposes – she is able to warn others of impending danger.  One thing that no one expected is that Anna discovers that she has the powers both Ben and Aisha possess; as a result, she and Aisha are able to communicate with each other.  When Ben’s powers become uncontrollable and he gets into trouble, can the other children help to save themselves and others from Ben’s wrath?

Review

“The Innocents” is a tense thriller, made even more horrifying by the fact that it’s children that are causing the terror.  In only his second effort as a director, Eskil Vogt proves that his skills go far beyond that of merely a screenwriter.  Although known for his writing, he obviously has far more to offer.  Many horror films use nighttime to extract their scarier scenes, but in using children, the scariest parts are in broad daylight, including the simpleness of a playground.  Should you be able to find this either in a theater or streaming, it’s most certainly a strong recommendation, especially if you are a fan of this genre. 

Vogt seems to be able to zone in on just how frightening children can be – and children with special powers even scarier.  He successfully captures how evil kids can be at their core – evil towards each other, for sure, but evil in society in general.  It’s the little ones that we must be most wary of, Vogt seems to be advising us – going on scene after scene successfully making his case.  Those who may ostensibly seem innocent may actually be the most wicked – at least that’s what appears to be his advice to use.  You may never know who is out to get you or why.  In “The Innocents”, Vogt will have you scared of every child you encounter (at least in his movie).      

Following the screening, there was an interview with the writer/director of “The Innocents”, Eskil Vogt.  He said that his inspiration for the movie came from fatherhood; by watching his own daughter, many of his childhood memories were triggered.  Vogt made extensive use of close- ups and wide-shots in his film, but not all of them were his choice; his cinematographer recommended many of the close-ups.  In 1961, there was a motion picture of the same title and he was concerned that some people might think his was merely a remake.  Ultimately, he wound up keeping the title because he found it most appropriate – kids, after all, are in fact innocent.  

"The Cathedral" -- Movie Review

 

On the opening weekend of this year’s New Directors/New Films Festival, I attended a screening of the drama “The Cathedral”, written and directed by Ricky D’Ambrose. 

Synopsis

As a little boy comes of age, he witnesses the collapse of his entire family. 

Story

Jesse is born in the late1980’s to a couple who live on Long Island, New York.  At that point, and throughout the decades until he reaches college, there are plenty of events in the country that serve as a backdrop to his maturing process; these national upheavals can be seen in a direct comparison to the personal upheavals that occur during his early years.  As a result, young Jesse can only sit back and watch while everything in his life – and the world around him – seems to unravel and there’s not a single thing he can do to either stop or reverse any of these events.  He is forced to passively watch, unable to take action. 

As the world collapses around him, Jesse’s family, appears to be following along the same path.  The families of both his mother and father are constantly squabbling.  Jesse’s father owns a printing business, and he’s struggling to make a go of it day-to-day.  This puts immense stress on the marriage and under extreme financial constraints, the parents are fighting with alarming frequency.  Eventually, Jesse’s parents are forced to divorce; both later remarry – his mother winds up with a physician and his father with a woman from Trinidad, who scams him for $8,000 before completely dissolving their union. 

When Jesse graduates from high school and prepares for college, his father throws an elaborate party for him.   Guests include not only his own family, but also his ex-wife, her husband and her side of the family as well.  Once the uncomfortable, tension-filled party concludes, Jesse’s father gets into a fight with his ex-wife’s family.  Despite organizing this party while he was already strapped for cash, Jesse’s father ultimately must have his business file for bankruptcy when the move towards digital publishing begins.  After the death of a family member, the family must eventually reunite for the funeral.  Will they be able to put aside their differences once and for all?     

Review

“The Cathedral” is thankfully short – but it is also an intense, humorless film that tries to be deep but is instead detached; it is difficult for the audience to connect with either the story or the characters.  We are supposed to see the breakdown of the family unit through the eyes of Jesse but we lack any kind of personal connection to him because he comes across as two-dimensional.  Add to that the fact that much of the exposition is done through the use of a voice-over narrator who seems as emotionally distant as possible, almost to the point of being robotic in her pronouncements.  With much of the exposition occurring off-screen, the motion picture suffers.      

Director Ricky D’Ambrose looks to have difficulty telling a story that is so personal to him; he admits that it is somewhat based on his own family life. There are certainly character arcs -- obviously Jesse, who grows up over the course of the story.  Also, the downturn that the family takes could be considered multiple character arcs.  The problem is that the story gives the impression to not really have a resolution; it appears to have somewhat of an arbitrary ending.  If you are looking for a somewhat traditional three-act structure, there is an argument to be made that it is done through the life of Jesse – his childhood, adolescence and early adulthood when he is in college.  Unfortunately, in terms of structure of the story, there isn’t one that’s a clear narrative thread.   

Following the screening, there was an interview with writer/director Ricky D’Ambrose.  When asked about the title, D’Ambrose seemed to have a difficult time explaining this; there is a scene in the movie where Jesse is looking at a book that contains drawings of cathedrals (why a little boy of that age is doing that is something of a mystery).  At that moment, a key turning point occurred in his family.  D’Ambrose said that he likes to title his work in a way that does not immediately give the appearance of being directly related to the story itself.  He added that because of the budget, they had to work quickly; the entire shoot took about 20 days.  Because of this, he shot the entire film using a zoom lens on the camera so they didn’t have to stop and change lenses between different shots.    

"X" -- Movie Review

 

This week at the A24 Screening room, I streamed the new horror film by Ti West, “X”.

Synopsis

When a group of friends rent space to shoot an adult movie, what happens when the property owners find out what they’re up to?

Story

It’s 1979 in Houston, Texas.  Wayne (Martin Henderson), who fancies himself as something of an entrepreneur, decides he can make it big as a movie producer.  He engages his girlfriend Maxine (Mia Goth), a cocaine-addicted stripper, to join the cast of “The Farmer’s Daughters” – basically, a porn flick.  He rounds out the cast with Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow), one of the other dancers at this club along with her occasional boyfriend Jackson (Kid Cudi).  The crew includes R.J. (Owen Campbell), the camera operator and his girlfriend Lorraine (Jenna Ortega), who works the audio. 

All of them pile into Wayne’s van and head out to a remote rural area of the state; with great trepidation, they rent a cottage from a creepy elderly couple who run a boarding house.  The elderly couple are highly suspicious of this motley group, whom they assess to be a bunch of perverts – but when Wayne pays up a little extra for the rental, they quickly put their concerns aside.  Shortly thereafter, they begin shooting their movie on a shoestring budget; while some of them aspire to greater things that will result from this effort, others are merely having fun.  They try to shoot the film quickly so they can soon bid farewell to the old couple.

Surprising everyone, Lorraine announces that she’d like to shoot a scene in the movie, despite R.J.’s objections.  After she films her sex scene, R.J. is so humiliated that he decides to abandon his colleagues, taking the van and the equipment.  But before he can drive off the property, he’s stopped by the elderly wife, and that’s the end of R.J.  When the rest of the group attempt to go looking for him, that’s when the bodies start to pile up, one after another.  With this maniacal elderly couple on a killing spree, will any of the aspiring filmmakers be able to escape with their life? 

Review

If you’re looking for something new to add to your list of guilty pleasures, “X” is highly recommended.  Whether your laughs will be louder than your screams may depend on your sense of humor and tolerance for violence.  Either way, this one is a worthwhile watch.  Writer/Director Ti West does an outstanding job of putting a twist on the tried-and-true formula for the classic slasher film.  He doesn’t mock the genre so much as has fun with it and invites the audience to come along for the thrill ride – and what an enjoyable ride it is!  Just sit back and watch the cadavers fall while you munch some popcorn. 

What’s truly great about “X” is the fact that there really is no true protagonist for whom the viewer can root.  Although it is the elderly couple that are the killers, none of the aspiring "filmmakers" are especially endearing.  Pretty much everyone here deserves to die; it then becomes a question of who gets it next and how their end comes.  Who, if any, will survive?  That’s the guessing game you can play throughout the film, and one of the things that makes slasher movies like this so much fun.  Nearly every demise you anticipate will occur, but not necessarily when or how you might expect. 

The real kicker to this screening happened at the end:  there was a short (and clean) version of the adult film the group intended to make, “The Farmer’s Daughters”.  Its look and feel realistically emulates the way 1970’s porn, which only adds to the humor.  Thankfully, there’s no gore here.  Ti West plays it for laughs all the way (in case you were wondering how the finished version of the flick would turn out).  It’s quite a relief, too, because it gives viewers the opportunity to relax a bit after all the tension in “X”.  If you can find a theater where it’s playing (or a streaming service where it can be rented), it’s guaranteed to be an entertaining couple of hours.