Drama

The Tender Bar

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Tender Bar
  • IMDb: link

Adapted from the memoir of J. R. Moehringer, The Tender Bar is a comfortable warm sweater wrapping up the childhood and college life of JR (played by Tye Sheridan and Daniel Ranieri) and his colorful family, most notably his Uncle Charlie (Ben Affleck) in whose bar he learned as much about life as four years at Yale.

Directed by George Clooney, The Tender Bar isn’t great drama, nor outrageous comedy, but it’s a light and breezy look at a young man’s life who would be raised by his mother (Lily Rabe), in the often-overflowing home of his grandfather (Christopher Lloyd), and his uncle who would instill in him a love of books leading to his eventual profession. With solid performances and some witty narration by Ron Livingston as an older, and perhaps wiser, version of JR, The Tender Bar doesn’t ask much of the audience other than to enjoy a good story.

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The Nowhere Inn

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Nowhere Inn
  • IMDb: link

The Nowhere Inn has one of my favorite opening scenes of the year as American musician Annie “St. Vincent” Clark, playing herself, is being driven by a confused limousine driver (Ezra Buzzington) with no idea who his latest passenger is, or why she’s famous, only to stop in the middle of a desolate highway and disappear. Seeds of the larger themes of the film are planted here, even if it never reaches the same heights.

The film’s plot involves Annie hiring her friend Carrie, also playing herself, to make a documentary about the band which the pair hope will help both of them reach wider audiences. What Carrie soon discovers, however, is life on the road isn’t all that interesting off-stage for the band. Carrie’s attempts to find an interesting hook for the story and Annie drastically changing her behavior slowly devolve into a situation where neither Carrie nor Annie can differentiate what is actually real.

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The Last Duel

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Last Duel
  • IMDb: link

The Last Duel offers a medieval he-said/she-said/he-said tale based on the true events involving Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon), his wife Marguerite (Jodie Comer), and Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) who is accused of raping her. Events leading up to and after the rape are shown from each of the three characters’ perspectives including the trial of Marguerite and the eventual duel between the two men who may or may not have been friends at one point depending on whose account you believe.

Each reciting covers many of the same events, offering more context to their character’s actions and the perspective of themselves and Marguerite who under the laws of the time was Jean’s property damaged by Jacques. Let’s just say it wasn’t the best time to be a woman. Nor does the script look fondly on nobility (Ben Affleck) or royalty (Alex Lawther). It’s as much an indictment of the time period as on the events that occurred.

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The Tragedy of Macbeth

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Tragedy of Macbeth
  • IMDb: link

Joel Coen‘s take on William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a stylish affair with minimal but visually stunning sets and striking cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel that boils down the five-act play to 105-minute black-and-white cinematic experience. The story is Shakespeare’s, but Coen and Delbonnel’s presentation sets a standard for Macbeth which will likely lead it into both homes and classrooms for decades to come.

Denzel Washington stars as the Scottish Lord and Frances McDormand his ambitious wife, convinced by a witchy prophecy (Kathryn Hunter) that Macbeth will become the next King of Scotland. What follows is one of the most famous tragedies in literature which Coen takes care to pare down while still keeping to both the text and texture of Shakespeare’s work. It’s a terrific play presented by a talented group both behind and in front of the camera leading to one of the best films of the year.

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House of Gucci

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: House of Gucci
  • IMDb: link

House of Gucci is one of the sillier movies of 2021. Taken from true events of the Gucci family, with some obvious embellishment for effect by screenwriters Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna, it struggles when it needs its more dramatic moments to hit home. With a tone more to parody winking at the camera, and characters who feel ratcheted up to 11, we’re left with an amusing, but largely empty, experience.

The film follows the ups and downs of Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) and Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) after their marriage. We witness how their relationship changes both of them as the reluctant member of the Gucci family is drawn back into the family business. If there’s a point to director Ridley Scott‘s film it might be that despite their troubles and the eventual misery they caused each other, Patrizia and Maurizio appear to have been made for each other.

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