“Marriage Story”– Movie Review

This past week at the Centerpiece Screening of The 57th New York Film Festival, I attended the New York premiere of the new comedy-drama by Noah Baumbach, “Marriage Story”, starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver. 

Synopsis

When a married couple decides to divorce, how will they handle custody of their young son when the two live on different coasts?

Story

Nicole and Charlie  (Johansson and Driver) have long seemed to be madly in love with each other.  She was a Hollywood actress whose career was on the rise when she met Charlie, a New York City based playwright-director; when they got married, she agreed to move to New York City, where they eventually had a son, Henry (Azhy Robertson).  Together, they worked on plays at his theater company while they balanced their mutual career and family life.  For a time, all seemed well.  Until it suddenly wasn’t.  Now they are mutually resolved to end their union. 

The problem, of course, is exactly how to do this.  One matter complicating things, of course is custody of Henry.  But there’s more to this.  Nicole wants to resume her acting career, which means returning to Los Angeles.  This would be a particular hardship for Charlie, since he’s pretty dug-in in New York City.  Between his own theater company and upcoming projects, it’s unclear how they would manage joint custody of Henry when the two parents are 3,000 miles apart.  Although they initially agreed upon doing this without legal representation, Nicole winds up hiring a lawyer (Laura Dern), a successful divorce attorney who knows how to get the best deal for her client.

To his credit, Charlie is reluctant to hire his own representation, but when he sees how tough Nicole’s attorney is, he winds up hiring his own lawyer (Alan Alda), who is less expensive than a superstar like Nicole’s lawyer – and also less aggressive, too.  The wear and tear of constantly travelling coast-to-coast is finally taking its toll on Charlie.  When he experiences his lawyer as ineffective, he finally relents and hires a real pit bull (Ray Liotta), who’s plenty expensive, but should be worth every penny.  Although both parents have Henry’s best interests at heart, only one parent can prevail – but which one will it be?

Review

Over the years that this blog has been doing reviews, it has been an unmitigated pleasure to watch Noah Baumbach develop as a filmmaker (examples here).  It can now be stated without equivocation that with “Marriage Story”, Baumbach has finally come into his own.    Not only is this his best work, but quite possibly, he has accomplished the impossible:  he has made the perfect motion picture.  This is one of those rare movies that fires on all cylinders all at once and successfully accomplishes the delicate balance between comedy and tragedy. 

Baumbach has written his screenplay with great care, showing that he is a keen observer not only of human behavior but also has an ear for how people speak; the dialog never has a false note.  Additionally, the shot choices he makes never have a forced quality to them; they all seem natural and organic yet clever in his way of visually telling his story.  Not to be overlooked or understated are the performances by the entire cast; if it was possible to give an ensemble award to actors, then certainly “Marriage Story” would be worth of consideration.       

The movie is not unlike life itself in that it alternates between comedy and tragedy and sometimes is both at the same time.  It is a heartbreakingly beautiful story tenderly told about how imperfect and cruel and silly people can be and yet we plug away anyway trying to be the best person we can be, despite our various shortcomings.  This is a film that will stick with you for a while because it impeccably captures the human condition.  “Marriage Story” opens in theaters in early November, then will be released on Netflix about a month later.     

“Joker”– Movie Review

This week at the 57th New York Film Festival, I attended the New York Premiere of “Joker”, directed by Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix.

Synopsis

When an unbalanced man faces multiple misfortunes over a short period of time, what impact will he have on society when his violent impulses emerge?

 

Story

In the 1980’s, Gotham City is a wreck:  the streets reek because they’re filled with garbage, the economy is bad, people are having trouble either finding work or keeping the job they do have and crime is increasingly rampant.  For these reasons and more, it seems the perfect place for someone like Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) to make his home. Arthur, who lives with his mother, is an aspiring stand-up comedian; while he pursues his dream in comedy clubs at night, his subsistence job is to work as a party clown for different events:  birthday parties, children’s wards at hospitals, etc. 

But that’s only what Arthur deals with on the surface.  Below that is a deeply troubled man with a tendency toward violence; a brain injury causes him to burst into laughter at inappropriate moments.  When Arthur is given a handgun after he’s mugged, he takes out his frustration on some bullies on the subway, killing them. Arthur winds up suffering one challenge after another:  first, he loses his job. Then, when budget cuts in Gotham City cause him to lose his social programs like therapy and access to psychotropic and neuropsychiatric medication, his mental and emotional problems worsen.  Finally, his mother is hospitalized with a stroke.

Perhaps the only respite Arthur has at this point is watching television; he’s particularly fond of a late night talk show hosted by Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro).  When Franklin is sent a video of Arthur bombing during his stand-up routine at a comedy club, he plays it on his show in order to ridicule Arthur. Since his audience’s reaction to it is favorable, Franklin books Arthur on the show to do his material.  But by now, Arthur is in such a serious state of mental decline that he has become very dark and violent. He insists on making his appearance on the show with bizarre clown make-up on his face and wearing an odd getup. Although Franklin’s staff has reservations about letting Arthur on the air, Franklin advocates for him – but exactly what will be the upshot of this dangerous decision?           

 

Review

“Joker” is definitely not for the faint of heart – nor is it for the kids.  This is strictly for adult fans of the Batman comic books and/or movies. If you have children (or know someone who does), seeing this film will likely just serve to confuse them or give them nightmares.  Even at that, some adults might find it rather disturbing as well. That being said, “Joker” did win The Golden Lion Award for Best Film at this year’s Venice Film festival. Its star, Joaquin Phoenix, was nominated for Best Actor at that festival but did not win.  His performance in this motion picture is extraordinary – and equally as disturbing as the picture itself.

Taking a bigger picture view of “Joker”, it really seems to be about the dissolution of normal society when all normal safeguards fall by the wayside.  This is particularly seen when Gotham has budget cuts and Arthur’s therapist and medicine are denied him for an extended period of time. His mental health further degrades when major setbacks in his life occur and he becomes ill-equipped to handle them.  Ultimately, it is an indictment of society as a whole when its most vulnerable members are allowed to slip through the cracks. The people are not at fault, the causes are what are to blame instead. 

Following the screening, there was an interview with director Todd Phillips, star Joaquin Phoenix, Producer Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Production Designer Mark Friedberg and Cinematographer Lawrence Sher.  Phillips acknowledges that this is a complicated movie, but he didn’t expect the level of discourse “Joker” has received even before its official release. He found that people are commenting on it without ever having seen the film (or in some cases, committing to not even see it at all when released).  The director considers the story a character study of a villain with whom we are all familiar and is associated with mayhem and chaos. What we know about The Joker is that in the original story, he got his white face by being dunked in acid; Phillips decided that this approach would not work for his motion picture because it wasn’t terribly realistic – as a result, he decided to make The Joker a clown instead. 

“Synonyms”– Movie Review

During the opening weekend of the 57th New York Film Festival, I attended the U.S. premiere of the new French/Israeli drama, “Synonyms”. 

Synopsis

When a young man leaves his home in Israel to live in France, will he be able to successfully assimilate?

Story

Yoav (Tom Mercier) has done his duty as an Israeli citizen.  Having finished his military service, he flees his home country for France.  He is not doing this because he needs a vacation, nor is he necessarily doing it because it’s been his life’s dream.  He’s doing it in order to renounce his Israeli heritage. Completely fed up with Israel, he vows never again to speak Hebrew; from now on, he will only speak French.  So, with a French-Hebrew dictionary in hand to help him with his translations, he secures a temporary apartment in Paris where he will stay until he can find something more permanent.  This is where his problems begin.

Awaking the next morning in his empty apartment, Yoav wriggles out of his sleeping bag, leaving it – along with his backpack, clothes and wallet – in the living-room while he takes a shower.  A few minutes later, he returns to find that all of his personal items have disappeared and the front door is opened. Unclothed, he first runs down the stairs to try to find the thief; unsuccessful, he then knocks on door after door of his neighbors’ apartments plaintively seeking help.  Failing to get assistance, he returns to his apartment and slumps in the bathtub, fainting.  

Shortly thereafter, his neighbors, Emile and Caroline (Quentin Dolmaire and Louise Chevillotte) happen into Yoav’s apartment.  Finding him unconscious in the bathtub, they take him back to their place and let him rest in their bed; when he eventually awakens, Emile gives him money and some clothes in order to help get Yoav settled.  Over time, Yoav develops a friendship with this couple and they become very close. Understanding Yoav’s desire to become a Frenchman, Emile recommends something of an unorthodox solution: Yoav can acquire his much sought-after citizenship by marrying Emile’s girlfriend, Caroline.  Will Yoav take him up on this offer? And even if he does, what will this do to their friendship?   

Review

The frenetic nature of “Synonyms” may accurately portray the personality of its protagonist Yoav, but it can prove somewhat tiresome for the viewer.  Not to mention obnoxious. While Mercier gives an impressive performance insofar as his physicality is concerned (he certainly doesn’t mind being naked in front of the camera), he comes across as too unusual a character to garner much in the way of sympathy or compassion when life seems to smack him down at every opportunity.  It’s not that you don’t root for Yoav or hope for him to fail, it’s that you wind up completely giving up on Yoav and don’t root for him at all.      

There were technical problems with “Synonyms” as well – or at least in the copy shown at this screening.  This had to do with the English subtitles. First of all, the subtitles are in white, which can be frustrating for the viewer; when the subtitles appear over a light background, they can be hard (if not impossible) to read.  A better choice would have been to either display the subtitles in yellow or to place a dark outline around each letter in the subtitle to facilitate reading. The other problem was that they periodically appeared to be out of synch.   For example, a character would say a line, the subtitle would appear, then he would say his next line and the same subtitle would display again. 

Following the screening, there was an interview with director Nadav Lapid.  Lapid admitted that “Synonyms” is semi-autobiographical; a citizen of Israel, he spent two and a half years living in Paris as a younger man, which is where he acquired his appreciation for filmmaking.  After initially completing his obligatory military service, Lapid remained in Tel Aviv, where he began to write novels. Over time, he felt incapacitated by Israel and eventually fled to France only to find himself surrounded by some very bad people.  Discovering filmmaking, he decided that this was the most essential way to express himself.  

“Pain And Glory”– Movie Review

On the opening weekend at the 57th New York Film Festival, I attended the New York premiere of the latest drama by Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, “Pain And Glory”, starring Antonio Banderas.

Synopsis

When an aging film director is in physical and mental decline, he reflects on his life and prepares for whatever future remains.

 

Story

It has been a while since director Salvador Mallo (Banderas) has made a film.  With age and declining health, his spark of creativity appears to have been extinguished.  Although he has done some writing, it’s nothing that he feels comfortable with expanding into a long-form screenplay.  Falling into despair, he recalls his modest upbringing and his close relationship with his mother (Penélope Cruz); despite being poor, he was happy as a child with a simple life where he excelled in his studies as well as being a singer in the church choir.  Tutoring an illiterate young man, he considers a career as a teacher.

Mallo gets some good news – or at least something which most directors would consider good news:  One of his best films from decades ago has been restored and new screenings are scheduled; he and the star, Alberto Crespo (Asier Etxeandia), have been scheduled to attend one of the screenings in order to do a question and answer session with the audience.  This proves problematic for Mallo since he and Crespo had a falling out after the movie’s release regarding Mallo’s dislike of Crespo’s performance in the motion picture. In order to appear at the screening, the two men must negotiate a truce.  

When Mallo develops a chronic cough, he is particularly concerned since his coughs sound as though he is choking, even though he’s not trying to swallow any food.  This has been an ongoing problem which he has been diligently ignoring, hoping it would disappear on its own. Eventually, his long-time agent and friend takes him to see a doctor, who recommends further tests; at this point, the agent is now worried that the diagnosis might be some form of throat cancer.  Once Mallo gets the results of his tests, how will this impact his remaining time on earth? 

Review

There are a number of filmmakers who, at some point in their career, attempt to make a movie that is either autobiographical or semi-autobiographical (last year’s “Roma” would be a good example).  Apparently, Pedro Almodóvar feels as though his own time has come for this. While an interesting and entertaining film, it does at times come across as a little self-indulgent. The so-called “tortured artist” thing has been done so many times and when it is clearly a mirror image of its creator, then even more self-indulgent.  No doubt, Almodóvar’s name should be included among the best of contemporary directors, just don’t ask people to feel too sorry for you.

At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Banderas won the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Mallo.  After seeing this movie, it is clear why. He does a brilliant job of playing this aging character with various physical and psychological maladies, which drives him to self-medication.   Another reason why Banderas’ acting is award-worthy is due to the fact that he is playing a gay man who has a scene where he has to passionately kiss a former lover of his. Since it’s fairly well-known that Banderas is straight, you would have to be an incredible actor to successfully play this in a realistic fashion. 

Following the screening, there was an interview with director Pedro Almodóvar and star Antonio Banderas.  Almodóvar confessed that while the movie is based on his own life experience, it is intermingled with some fiction.  Banderas said that he found the rehearsal period with the director to be extremely helpful; he mentioned that a few years back, he had a heart attack and that informed his performance for the scenes with the character’s own health issues.  Prior to the screening, Almodóvar introduced the film as well as his actor; by way of introducing Banderas, he said, “If I am Scorsese, [Banderas] is my De Niro”. 

“The Irishman”–Movie Review

On the opening day of the 57th New York Film Festival, I attended the World Premiere of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman”, starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci.

Synopsis

When a mob hitman is tasked with taking out Jimmy Hoffa, can he do the job despite being the man’s close friend?

Story

At this point in his life, the elderly Frank Sheeran (De Niro) must live in a nursing home.  Reminiscing about his remarkable life, this World War II veteran admits that he made a successful career for himself as a hitman for Italian gangsters (despite the fact that Frank himself is Irish).  Following a chance meeting with mobster Russell Bufalino (Pesci), Frank is hired by him to do various unsavory jobs.  Although Frank is able to earn a decent living for his family as a truck driver, he certainly doesn’t mind making some extra money on the side.       

After proving himself to be reliable, Russell gives Frank more and bigger jobs with even greater responsibility.  Eventually, Frank is making more money working for Russell than he is in his truck driving job alone, so life is pretty good.  Or so it seems.  Another major turning point in his career occurs when Russell introduces him to the leader of the Teamsters union, Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino).  Frank is quite familiar with Hoffa – this union leader is a very famous man throughout the United States.  Hoffa wants to hire Frank because, as he put it, “I heard you paint houses” (code for being a professional hitman). 

Russell loans out Frank to Hoffa, who hires him to do some work, taking care of some folks trying to impede Hoffa’s progress.  Over the course of their working relationship, Frank winds up spending a great deal of time with Hoffa and they become close friends.  Hoffa places a great deal of trust in Frank because he feels it’s been earned.  But as famous and successful as Hoffa is, his gruff manner rubs many people the wrong way and he ends up making enemies.  When Hoffa serves time in prison for committing fraud, he loses his spot as Teamsters leader.  Once he is pardoned, he leaves prison thinking he’ll be able to return to his old job.  The only problem with this is that the mob doesn’t want him to have his old job back.  Since Hoffa refuses to fall in line, Russell must have Frank do a hit on him.  But can Frank murder one of his closest friends?      

Review

Stories like these are so deep in Scorsese’s wheelhouse that you feel from the very first moment that the director is so confident and comfortable with it that you immediately surrender yourself to him.  He then goes on to prove that your trust was well-founded because he is such an expert at telling complex, expansive tales.  If you are a Scorsese fan, you will not be disappointed in “The Irishman”, which is a far better title for a movie than the title of the book on which it is based (“I Hear You Paint Houses”).  Scorsese doesn’t look like he’s slowing down at all; instead, if anything, “The Irishman” reinforces that he’s still at the top of his game.

Where the movie may become a bit of a challenge is when it introduces so many characters that at some point it becomes difficult to keep track of who a few of them are or their relationship to Frank.  That minor quibble aside, at no point does “The Irishman” ever turn into a slog (although at three and a half hours, you’ll be forgiven if you start fidgeting in your seat).  With the suspense, action, violence and yes, humor, the story provides constant forward momentum.  This will long be considered one of Scorsese’s many masterpieces in his extensive oeuvre, and deservedly so.  From the opening scene where the camera winds through Frank’s nursing home while a pop music hit from the 1950’s plays in the background until the last shot of him alone in his wheelchair, you feel like you’ve been taken on a long and winding but deeply rewarding journey.

While the film’s protagonist is De Niro’s character (Frank), it is Pacino who steals the show as Hoffa.  He is so over the top, it seems as though Scorsese gave him free rein to chew up the scenery in every scene.  The humor dispersed throughout the movie was welcome.  One running gag is that whenever a character is introduced, a graphic pops up telling you how and when he met his demise.  Much has been mentioned about the CGI process that was used for the aging or “un-aging” process for certain characters.  Yes, you become aware of it early on, but you wind up getting so involved in the story that you eventually overlook it altogether.          

One note about the screening itself:  Most of the cast was present at the start of the movie; they were introduced by Scorsese who said a few words himself.  He also urged De Niro to say something, but the actor was his usual taciturn self.  Anna Paquin appears in “The Irishman” as one of Frank’s daughters (but she doesn’t have many lines).  When she was introduced, she walked onto the stage and appeared to trip over something in her high heels and in so doing, it looked like she might have twisted her ankle because she immediately started limping thereafter.  After the screening, Scorsese, De Niro et al appeared in the balcony and were greeted with a standing ovation.   

“Ad Astra”– Movie Review

This week at Lincoln Center, I attended an advance screening of the new science-fiction drama by James Gray, “Ad Astra”, starring Brad Pitt.

Synopsis

When an astronaut is sent into space to retrieve his long-lost father, can he successfully complete his mission once he learns that his father is considerably less heroic than his legend would have him believe?

Story

Roy McBride (Pitt) has spent his career as an astronaut just like his father before him, Clifford (Jones).  He has tried to live up to the valiant reputation his father left as a legacy. Unfortunately, Roy has not seen his father for decades; sent on a mission 30 years ago, he never returned and hasn’t been heard from in all of that time.  When Roy is sent out to perform routine maintenance on some equipment, there’s a horrible explosion, killing or injuring several of his colleagues. Once Roy recuperates from his own injury, his officers summon him to a secret meeting.  They believe that the electrical storm that occurred may have emanated from space -- specifically, from where Clifford was last located.

The new mission on which Roy is sent is an unusual one:  head to Mars, where the base there can send a secure message to Clifford in order to confirm not only his existence but also the reason for the storm.  However, once Roy gets there and starts trying to communicate with his father, they deem he is too emotionally connected to the project and decide to send him home.  Before he can be returned to earth, he uncovers a secret: Clifford was not the hero he was purported to be. In fact, he may have endangered his team on the mission they were on, known as The Lima Project.

A new plan is formed:  the space agency will send astronauts to Neptune, where The Lima was destined, and neutralize Clifford.  When Roy discovers this, he overpowers the crew and goes on the mission himself -- the difference being that his goal is to return his father to Earth.  After surmounting a number of challenges, Roy finally confronts Clifford on board his ship; Clifford tells Roy the whole story and it is clear that Clifford is in a compromised mental state.  But dedicated to his own job to the point of an unhealthy obsession, Clifford doesn’t want to return to Earth with Roy. Can Roy convince Clifford to come with him or will he have to punish his father for his crimes?     

Review

Sometimes, visually stunning movies don’t have much of a story to go with them; perhaps the filmmakers are hoping that you won’t notice that since you’re being wowed by the special effects.  Fortunately, such is not the case with “Ad Astra”, which may well be one of Brad Pitt’s best performances, if not his best. Good science fiction is more about humanity than it is about science and that’s where “Ad Astra” succeeds.  The human condition, human flaws and human frailties are perhaps the most essential themes of the movie. Social media has lately been buzzing about how this film is either a celebration or an indictment of toxic masculinity. To say that such an assertion is a bit of a stretch may be the understatement of the year.

“Ad Astra”, a Latin term which means “to the stars”, might best be described as “Apocalypse Now” set in outer space:  someone from the military must neutralize a fellow member of the military who has gone rogue -- but must do so without going completely off the rails himself.  It’s got a tinge of a “Star Wars” element to it in the sense that it’s son versus father -- except in this case it’s Roy versus Clifford instead of Luke versus Darth.  While there may be some dispute with respect to the comparisons, there is no disputing how well the story is crafted, although the resolution may be a little sappy. 

If you can surrender yourself to the movie and immerse yourself in its sense of reality -- that is to say, disregard the fact that you’re watching a good deal of CGI -- then it is truly splendid to behold.  While the story is somewhat slow paced, there are plenty of action sequences to prevent you from nodding off. There is a touch of Shakespeare, too, in that Pitt’s character has a number of soliloquies throughout the film -- but there is certainly justification for that.  Roy is trying to resolve certain issues in his own life -- not just the conflict with his father, but also the fact that his marriage suffered due to his dedication to his career.     

NY Film Festival 57 Schedule

My schedule is set for the 57th New York Film Festival and there are some exciting new titles that I’ll see. This year, I’ll be attending more movies than in past years (I’ll practically be living at Lincoln Center for two weeks), so I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to post a review for all of them, but I do promise that I’ll give it my best effort.  In order, here is what I’m scheduled to see:

1. Opening Night:  The world premiere of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman”. 
2. The New York premiere of Pedro Almodóvar’s latest, “Pain And Glory”, starring Antonio Banderas.
3. The U.S. premiere of a gender-blind erotic drama from Spain, “Liberté”.
4. The world premiere of “Bully.  Coward.  Victim”, a documentary about the late Roy Cohn.
5. “Synonyms”, (U.S. premiere) a film about a former Israeli soldier who tries to adapt to a new culture after moving to Paris.
6. The New York premiere of “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” – feminism in 19th century France
7. The North American premiere of “Oh Mercy!”, a murder mystery directed by Arnaud Desplechin. 
8. The New York premiere of “Joker”, which stars Joaquin Phoenix in the title role as Batman’s infamous nemesis. 
9. Centerpiece Selection:  (N.Y. premiere) director Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story”, starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver.
10. “Sibyl”, a comedy-drama from France about a psychotherapist who gets caught up in the life of one of her patients (U.S. premiere).
11. The U.S. premiere of “Wasp Network”, directed by Olivier Assayas and starring Penélope Cruz, about Cuban refugees in Miami during the 1990’s. 
12. Winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or, the South Korean “Parasite” by Bong Joon-ho will have its New York premiere. 
13. The New York premiere of the new Romanian crime drama, “The Whistlers”
14. Closing Night:  the New York premiere of Edward Norton’s “Motherless Brooklyn”, starring Norton, Alec Baldwin, Bruce Willis and Willem Dafoe. 

For us cinephiles, this is most certainly a thrilling time of year; it’s kind of like the NFL Championship and baseball’s World Series rolled into one.  While few look forward to the end of summer, many do look forward to the beginning of autumn, since it means the start of The New York Film Festival.  Please keep an eye on this blog during late September to mid-October for updates.  Until then, this trailer should give you an idea of what attendees have to look forward to:

What You Gonna Do … ? – Movie Review

Recently at Film At Lincoln Center, I attended the opening of the new documentary by Roberto Minervini , “What You Gonna Do When The World’s On Fire?”.

Synopsis

Given the current social climate, what is life like for members of the Black community in the southern portion of The United States?

Story

Ronaldo and Titus are brothers; Ronaldo, being the older of the two, is very protective of his younger brother Titus.  It’s unclear what other friends these kids have because it seems as though they only play with each other. They lack a consistent male influence in their life because their father is currently locked up.  Since nature abhors a vacuum, Ronaldo desperately tries to fill that void for Titus while still trying to balance that role with continuing to be a child himself. Unfortunately, given where they live, both boys are at risk of being shot because of the high crime and easy availability of guns.  

 

Judy is a New Orleans entrepreneur.  She owns and runs a popular bar in the neighborhood and when not working, takes care of her elderly mother.  Despite its frequent regular customers, the business is in danger of closing. A good deal of the problem can be traced to the gentrification that seems to be running rampant throughout.  Many long-time residents are being forced to move as the area becomes more upscale. Not only that, but Judy herself is feeling the pinch since her landlord is raising the rent on her bar.  With an ever-shrinking customer base, will Judy be able to make enough money to keep her establishment viable?

Crystal is an activist for Black causes.  She runs the local chapter of The New Black Panthers.  With news reports of lynchings and police shootings of Black men throughout the deep south, Crystal is understandably and justifiably disgusted.  She takes her small loyal army-like group to various protests of police headquarters and government offices, despite great risk of arrest. In addition, the group attempts to inform and educate others in the community about their reason for existing in the first place.  Racism is alive and well in this political era and it doesn’t look like it’s going to end any time soon.     

 

Review

Perhaps the most heartwarming part of “What You Gonna Do When The World’s On Fire?” is watching the relationship between the two brothers, Titus and Ronaldo; these two boys genuinely love and adore each other.  Titus truly looks up to his big brother Ronaldo and gets visibly upset when he is disappointed by him. Ronaldo, with their absentee father, assumes a role that combines both older brother and father; despite his own youth and inexperience, he does his best to mentor Titus, take care of him and look out for him.  It is one of the few bright spots in what is an otherwise grim documentary.

All of that having been said, the imperfections of the documentary are unavoidable to the point of distraction.  Presumably, the choice of shooting in black and white is to illustrate the bleakness of the situation. Although it illustrates both necessary and valuable stories to share, it doesn’t necessarily do a terribly good job of telling those stories.  There is no voice-over narration or use of on-screen titles to provide context (e.g., Who are we seeing? Where are they? What period of time has passed since the previous scene?). As a result, there is very little in the way of either shape or structure to the film.  From a narrative standpoint, it’s a bit flat

. 

Following the screening, there was an interview with Director Roberto Minervini and two of the movie’s subjects, Judy Hill and Crystal.  Minervini said that he originally set out to do a shoot about the music tradition of the Black community – specifically, his interest was the African influence on Jazz.  However, he got sidetracked when he visited Judy’s bar and wound up spending a great deal of time there. As he got a chance to meet more members of the community, he realized that there was a completely new and different story he could and should be telling.

“Where’d You Go, Bernadette”– Movie Review

This week at The New York Times Screen Times series, I attended an advance screening of the new comedy-drama, “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” starring Cate Blanchett and directed by Richard Linklater.

Synopsis

When a woman decides to go on a journey of self-discovery, will this drive her away from her family or only serve to make them closer?

 

Story

Bernadette (Blanchett) and her husband Elgie (Billy Crudup) have promised their daughter Bee (Emma Nelson) a family vacation in Antarctica before she heads off to boarding school.  But just as they start making plans, things begin to unravel for Bernadette. Miserable in an immense, dilapidated house in Seattle, she agreed to move there when Elgie got a job with Microsoft. She is no longer able to hide her disdain for the house, her obnoxious neighbors or the city itself.  Feeling trapped in an unyielding situation, Bernadette starts heavily self-medicating.

Noticing his wife’s strange behavior, Elgie tries to intercede, but Bernadette is having no part of this.  As a result, Elgie secretly hires Dr. Kurtz (Judy Greer), a therapist, whom he sees without Bernadette’s knowledge.  In his session with Dr. Kurtz, Elgie reveals a great deal about his wife, citing numerous setbacks, both personal and professional.  It turns out that Bernadette gave up a successful career as an architect in order to take care of the family and provide emotional support to her husband and daughter.  Dr. Kurtz recommends an intervention where they confront Bernadette with her unusual conduct and attempt to make the next steps to get her the help that she so desperately needs.

During the intervention, Bernadette becomes enraged when she discovers that Dr. Kurtz and Elgie both want her institutionalized.  Unwilling to relent to their wishes, Bernadette escapes. Following an extensive search, Elgie and Bee learn that Bernadette has headed to Antarctica by herself.  Determined to find her, they both head off to the continent themselves, knowing full well that Bernadette may be in something of an unstable state. Once they believe they have tracked her down, Elgie and Bee decide to confront Bernadette with the intention of convincing her to return home.  But when Bernadette is startled by her family’s presence, will their intentions drive them further apart or will they support Bernadette’s endeavor to resurrect her career?      

Review

Even if you haven’t read the novel on which the movie is based, it’s not hard to appreciate the level of difficulty adapting such a sprawling story from book to screen.  What might work on the printed page (e.g., several pages of a description of something or a rant about one thing or another) usually never translates well in a film. This is the case with “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” as it seems all over the place much of the time.  Also, while it tries to bill itself as a comedy (or, at least, a comedy-drama), it takes so many dark and serious turns that it’s quite a stretch to consider it a comedy. The film is more quirky than funny.

The characters prove a bit problematic as well.  While Bernadette is supposed to be the protagonist here, her destructive behavior makes it something of a challenge to root for her.  It is not until we are about three-quarters of an hour into the movie that the audience gets more background about Bernadette which has caused her current state of emotional distress.  Although it’s never a good idea to dump too much exposition on the viewers all at once, the problem with layering out the character’s backstory, at least in this instance, is that by the time we can appreciate her situation, the behavior we have already observed by her thus far makes it difficult to see Bernadette as a sympathetic character. 

Following the screening, there was an interview with director Richard Linklater.  Linklater said that he spent a year editing the movie; the result was a two and three-quarter hour running time.  Realizing this was too long, he went back to the editing room and cut some more. He said that his approach to editing was essentially like sculpting the film down to find its story; Linklater feels it is character-driven and the spine of the story is the relationship between the mother and the daughter.  As a result, he wound up cutting out anything that did not serve that story well. Examples of what he removed were the TED talk (it was originally much longer) and the documentary about Bernadette (more of that was actually in the first cut of the motion picture).

“Fiddler: Miracle Of Miracles”– Movie Review

This week at Film At Lincoln Center, I attended an advance screening of the new documentary, “Fiddler:  A Miracle Of Miracles”. 

Story

The background of “Fiddler On The Roof” -- how both the musical and the movie were adapted.

Synopsis

The musical “Fiddler On The Roof” originally opened on Broadway in 1964.  Amazingly, it is still performed on stage to this day. Perhaps even more amazingly, despite being about the Jewish pogrom in eastern Europe during the early 20th Century, it is performed in many different languages and by many different cultures and countries around the world.  Some of them are professional productions, others are of an amateur nature (e.g., school plays). In fact, there was once a high school production in Brooklyn that did non-traditional casting in the sense that Black and Hispanic students were cast in the roles; Jewish teachers complained, fearing that the students would use this opportunity to make fun of their religion.

When the original Broadway production opened, it starred Zero Mostel as Tevye, the patriarch and protagonist; the production was directed by Jerome Robbins, who previously worked on “West Side Story”.  Robbins was hired in part because he himself was Jewish (his real name was Rabinowitz) and because having directed “West Side Story”, he knew how to tell a story where the characters did a great deal of moving, especially dancing.  Robbins’ hiring turned out to be problematic because he didn’t get along well with Mostel. What was behind their animosity towards each other was that Mostel resented Robbins for testifying before the House Un-American Activities Committee and giving them names of people who were alleged communists. 

Early in its life, the book for the musical was titled “Tevye” because it was based on short stories about this character by author Sholem Aleichem; specifically, the inspiration was the story titled, “Tevye and His Daughters”.  As the play developed, it was later re-titled “Fiddler On The Roof”, based on a 1912 painting by Marc Chagall called “The Fiddler”. Sheldon Harnick was the composer and lyricist of the songs in “Fiddler On The Roof”; he said that if anyone ever read Aleichem’s stories, they would realize that Harnick “borrowed” many of his lyrics directly from Aleichem’s own language in the various tales about Tevye.             

Review

This passion project by director/producer Max Lewkowicz is informative for people who have enjoyed “Fiddler” in various forms over the years, even if you only have a passing familiarity with the play, movie or songs.  While it contains a great deal of talking heads combined with old footage and photographs, where you get drawn into the documentary is when Lin-Manuel Miranda appears; he manages to modernize it a bit (he appeared in a stage production as a schoolboy) and also conducts some on-screen interviews with one of the creators of the original musical.  His interest and enthusiasm can make this more palatable for younger audiences. 

One thing that’s somewhat curious is the fact that there is a writing credit.  There aren’t too many documentaries around where you will see a writing credit.  Presumably, this refers to the voice-over narration that is used in certain segments rather than the interviews themselves.  This, however, must be done after the fact – until you have thoroughly researched the subject of the documentary, you won’t know what to write or why it needs to be written.  Obviously, this differs from feature films in the sense that the writing is typically done prior to the commencement of the shooting. Depending on the time and/or budget, documentaries can sometimes develop their narration during the editing process (and are occasionally improvised rather than formally written). 

Following the screening there was an interview with the filmmakers, Lewkowicz and his co-writer Valerie Thomas.  Thomas said that the documentary began with talking to Harnik about how the musical came to be; they then started filming him about three and a half years ago because he had so much information and was a terrific storyteller.  Lewkowicz observed that the story of hatred for someone’s race/religion is sadly one that still resonates to this day, citing the recent mass shootings over the past weekend as an example.  Originally from Montreal, Lewkowicz said that his first experience with “Fiddler” was the movie version which he saw as a boy; it wasn’t until he saw the Broadway version a decade later that he had an emotional reaction to it because he is the son of a Holocaust survivor.       

IMDB