Drama

The Favourite

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Favourite
  • IMDb: link

The Favourite movie reviewSet during the reign of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), The Favourite is a sly period dramedy focused on the rivalry between two cousins (Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone) over position and the affection of the Queen. Filled with backstabbing, political maneuvering, and deception, the story begins with the arrival of Abigail (Stone), a former lady now forced into the role of a servant. Abigail is given a position in the palace by Lady Sarah (Weisz) who underestimates just how far her cousin will go to increase her station.

Set between the two women, and also the two political factions fighting over the war in France, at the heart of the film is Anne herself. Presented as a broken woman, who may not have been all that smart to begin with, Coleman infuses her with unexpected depths as we begin to wonder just how much of the manipulation she suspects. Beautifully shot by cinematographer Robbie Ryan, the look of The Favourite offers sharp contrast to the more vile machinations under the surface (not unlike its lead characters). Although there are men present, mostly in Parliament, the script views them as largely superfluous and spends little effort to hide where the true power in England lies.

…

The FavouriteRead More »

The Favourite Read More »

The Other Side of the Wind

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Other Side of the Wind
  • IMDb: link

The Other Side of the Wind movie reviewIt may have taken an extra 40 years, but the last film from Orson Welles is finally available to be seen. While it is nearly impossible to separate the film from its history (covered in detail in the new documentary They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead), The Other Side of the Wind has the benefit of working despite this potential limitation and delivering a fitting last chapter to Welles’ career with a biting satire and visual smorgasbord finally pieced together more than three decades after the director’s death.

Never one to back away from a challenge, Welles’ The Other Side of the Wind offers a layered feast, which can be devoured all at once but is best digested over multiple viewings. The experimental project delivers one or two small missteps (most notably the horrific performance by Cathy Lucas in a, thankfully, small role) but also yields terrific results. The narrative follows the final days of an aging director struggling with his latest film while make statements about the change in Hollywood culture from the old school studio system to the rise of a New Hollywood.

…

The Other Side of the WindRead More »

The Other Side of the Wind Read More »

At Eternity’s Gate

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: At Eternity’s Gate
  • IMDb: link

At Eternity's Gate movie reviewThe latest from director Julian Schnabel takes us on a journey with Vincent van Gogh (Willem Dafoe) during the painter’s final years. Shot in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône and Auvers-sur-Oise, France, where van Gogh lived during his final years, the film offers beautiful shots of the French countryside, countless close-ups of Dafoe’s face and paintings, and a somewhat unfocused narrative on the artist’s eccentric nature, loneliness, and view of the world.

The strength of Schnabel’s film is the look and style and its more silent moments centered around van Gogh where some of the magic of the artistic’s work is shown, but when the film moves from this to longer dialogues, often oddly filmed in extreme closeups, in attempts to explain van Gogh, the sequences are more hit-and-miss. Oscar Isaac as Paul Gauguin and Rupert Friend as Vincent’s brother lead a supporting cast of those moving in and out of the artist’s troubled life. Their scenes with Dafoe, and those involving a schoolteacher and unruly students, turn out to be the best of the sequences featuring Vincent interacting with others. But at its best, At Eternity’s Gate focuses on van Gogh’s interaction with nature and art, which to him were much the same thing.

…

At Eternity’s GateRead More »

At Eternity’s Gate Read More »

Asher

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Asher
  • IMDb: link

Asher movie reviewWhile Asher doesn’t offer much in the way of surprise or suspense, there’s something magnetic about Ron Perlman as the career fixer whose age has finally started to catch up to him. Perlman captures Asher’s weary professionalism that is only ever disrupted by the chance meeting of a ballet teacher (Famke Janssen) whose life he literally falls into.

The script from first-time feature screenwriter Jay Zaretsky is pretty standard fare about an aging hitman whose life is about to get complicated by a new love and a past come back to haunt him. Perlman and Janssen help elevate the subject manner while director Michael Caton-Jones and cinematographer Denis Crossan combine to provide the film a visual style that highlights its stars and the world where Asher lives.

Filling out the story, the script throws in subplots involving Jacqueline Bisset the ballet teacher’s mother suffering from Alzheimer’s and troubles involving Richard Dreyfuss and Peter Facinelli as a honored boss and celebrity protege. Neither story offers easy answers, but, when force comes to bear, Asher will deal with all obstacles as best he can.

…

AsherRead More »

Asher Read More »

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Can You Ever Forgive Me?
  • IMDb: link

Can You Ever Forgive Me? movie reviewMelissa McCarthy stars as writer Lee Israel who resorted to forging documents from deceased authors and playwrights when her own career hit rock bottom. Can You Ever Forgive Me? has a couple of things going for it, the first being McCarthy. The dramatic role is quite a departure from McCarthy’s usual loud and obnoxious comedies. Although neither McCarthy nor the script (based on Israel’s own autobiography) can ever make the protagonist sympathetic, it is nice to see the actress take on a more serious role.

The second thing the film has going for it is Israel’s story. While forgery is quite common, hers was an unique tale showcasing the author’s hidden talent in crafting plausible fakes from literary’s best. Forgery by typewriter, however, does have a downside in that it isn’t very cinematic. Unlike movies about art forgery, Can You Ever Forgive Me? lacks great visuals to help sell the suckers (and the audience) on the con.

A common theme in films like this is the charming forger, who the audience begins to root for to succeed. That’s never an option here as McCarthy’s ball-busting portrayal is anything but sympathetic.

…

Can You Ever Forgive Me?Read More »

Can You Ever Forgive Me? Read More »