Pass the Popcorn: Movies from where I Sit

I like message movies, from "China Syndrome" to "Missing" to "Lions for Lambs".  I'm a big fan of Michael Moore, and I am on the lookout for educating myself the easy way, being quite lazy.  Of course, I don't usually buy these movies, because once is enough, though I own the three movies above plus a couple of Moore's.  But a several years ago I picked up a movie I hadn't heard of, "Red Dust", solely because Edjofor Chitewel and Hilary Swank were in it.  I was very pleasantly surprised.  Swank plays a South African woman who left as a teenager for New York and has never been back until now, when as a lawyer she has been asked to participate in the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  She was poor white trash as a child and was imprisoned overnight as a teenager for being caught dating a Black.  Her bitterness is deep and wide, and she hates the emotions coming back by returning.  Though she doesn't state it, you can see she is hoping to bring justice to her boyfriend who was killed in jail and some closure to herself as well.  Chitewel plays a political prisoner, who after his torture and release (and the death of his best friend before his eyes while they are in jail) has also left the country but returns to help his friend's parents find the body of their son.  His return brings flashbacks, and he has no faith in the Commission or justice at all.

The film is honest, and the ending has some closure but is disturbing as well.  Watching, I felt ambivalence about the Commission, as it grants pardon to those who confess, and thus they never face prison.  And yet, the process is clearly healing to many, and at least gets some of the atrocities into the light of day.  Swank and Chitewel are terrific, as is the rest of the cast, and the sense of place evoked is powerful.  Whatever you think at the end, you understand the purpose and function of the Commission much better, and the people there come alive and are unforgettable.  It's quite a lovely film.

Pass the Popcorn: Movies from where I Sit

My husband and I have been disagreeing about "Zero Dark Thirty" for a year now.  He thinks its a great film and Jessica Chastain should have won for her role as Maya.  I believe the film is excellent technically, but not great, and Chastain should have won for "Tree of Life" but not this role.  I was curious as to what we'd both think seeing it again.  The acting is flawless, but I'm a fan of Jennifer Lawrence, so I don't  begrudge her the Oscar last year.  I do love Chastain's mobile, expressive face.  And she is a great beauty, unlike Lawrence.  The other cast members are terrific, and it gave me quite a pang to see James Gandofini in it.  Mark Strong is a stand out and Chris Pratt and others very distinctive, despite uniforms and dark lighting.

I admire Kathryn Bigelow as a director, and in both this film and "The Hurt Locker" she handles volatile material by focusing on the effect of huge issues on one lone individual.  That's a good plan.  It worked perfectly in "Hurt Locker", and you come out thinking of what combat does to alter the psyche of a the soldier, and make him unfit for civilian life.  He/She is thrown back into regular life, but traumatized and unsupported.  It was a very compassionate film.

But "Zero" is more complicated.  It caters to our anger and revenge impulses, and focuses on the suffering of a CIA operative, instead of on the people epicted who are tortured, or the soldiers who carry out the CIA's commands.  My guess is Bigelow had a better film before Bin Laden was killed, and since much of the film had already been shot, she had a hybrid on her hands and lost control of whatever she originally wanted to say.  So the movie is a "Rocky" story now, about how a female bested the guys and her tenacity led to the kill.  It is Maya's singlemindedness that gets her the guy, and it is also her tragedy.  You can tell she thinks she has paid tribute to all the people in the towers, but you don't necessarily see it her way.  Or the government's way.  Is the tragedy that she has been led astray by patriotism?  And what did the kill accomplish?  It was simple eye for an eye Biblical stuff.

Some of us can't get on this ride and go all the way to the end.  We can see the downside to killing what you know and then facing what you don't know.  The terrorists have learned from this kill, not just us.  And then the torture.  The film definitely shows torture as being beneficial, though most experts in real life do not agree.  It becomes an advocate for black ops and hidden torture sites and unbelievable cruelty, which makes it hard to distinguish us from them.  So the film loses some of its intelligence, and makes basic human rights expendible in the face of OUR suffering. 

What Bigelow wanted to say doesn't matter.  The images are too strong.  And like a "Silence of the Lambs" you don't want this film in anyone's consciousness, because it's likely to fester and breed only cruelty.  So for me, "Zero" is a brilliant failure.  And I hope Chastain gets another chance at a nomination.  She's a keeper.

Pass the Popcorn: Movies from where I Sit

I agree with the movie historian David Thompson that the greatest film actor of the twentieth century was Cary Grant.  There are so many of his early movies that I love, and he had a long shelf life.  One of my favorites is "Talk of the Town" (1942) starring Grant, Jean Arthur and Ronald Colman.  It was directed by George Stevens, and is unlike anything else he did.  It is also an unusual role for Grant, as he plays a anarchist on the lam from a factory sabotage.  Arthur is the daughter of a woman who is renting a house to a famous judge, who wants some quiet time away to work on a book.  Before he comes, Arthur finds Grant hiding in the house, and insists he leave.  It is a small town, and she has known him from school and is soft hearted when he says he's being framed.  She agrees to hide him, and Coleman shows up early and she introduces Grant to him as the gardener.  Grant and Arthur have a lot of chemistry, and we need to trust Arthur's instincts in order to believe Grant.  He becomes a member of a strange triangle.  Arthur has been hired as the judge's secretary, and Grant keeps threatening to reveal himself, while having intellectual discussions with Coleman.  Turns out there is a conspiracy going on, and the action is tense about whether Grant will be caught and hanged, or whether evidence and the chain of events can be pieced together.  Arthur turns detective, and in the meantime Coleman falls in love with her.  When he is summoned as the candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court, he wants to take her with him as his wife and partner.  She sees the opportunity, is torn, and ultimately enlists Coleman's help in finding the real culprits. 

It's fun, yet serious, about the application of the letter of the law, and both men soften from their opposite stances and move toward a middle road.  Grant regains his faith in the system and Coleman loses some of his naivete, and becomes a better judge in the process.  The ending is perfect, but I'll leave it to you to decide for yourself.

This film is both radical and patriotic, as many of the second World War films were, but this one transcends time and is as relevant today as back then.  Like Frank Capra's films, it wants to make the moviegoer think and reflect, but not too much.  The action and romance and comedy make us breeze along, until, after the movie is over, we wonder about the corruption and power of wealthy interests.  Have we really progressed?  I'm afraid not.

Pass the Popcorn: Movies from where I Sit

We are not actually able to watch DVDs right now, as one of our dogs has a cone on after surgery to his foot, and he can't go up the stairs and we are exhausted and can't find any dog free time.  But if I could - I might rewatch Mike Leigh's "Happy Go Lucky" from 2008.  It was a Golden Globe winner for best comedy picture and Sally Hawkins was up for best actress for that and the Oscar.  This is a comedy with lots of meat on it, and it has a message that you don't really see in films.  Hawkins is terrific as an eternal optimist who is not blinded by rose colored glasses; she sees the world and the people in it as they are, but is determined to look on the bright side regardless.  It is a conscious choice she makes.  You witness her sadness at situations, but she doesn't get numbed, she gets active, attempting to tease them out of their sorrow or problem solve.  She is an elementary school teacher, and this film is one of the best depictions of teaching and the heart of what is important I've ever seen.  The supporting cast is excellent, especially Eddie Marsden as the driving instructor from hell, her friend played by Alexis Zegerman, and Karina Fernandez as a loony Flaminco instructor.  It has a lovely romance, and the way she meets the guy is that he is a school psychological counselor whom she enlists to help a struggling student.  The scenes with the boy are tender and insightful. 

This film could be used to point out that life may not be a bowl of cherries, but if you eat what is in the bowl, you will feel more alive, more compassionate, and encounter an amazing assortment of characters.  Hawkins' character is grounded in her friendships, and confident enough to trust her instincts when it really matters.  Her learning about boundary setting is an important lesson for all of us and her compassion ultimately brings her many rewards.

Pass the Popcorn: Movies from where I Sit

A friend of mine who likes movies as much as I do has been weeding out her collection of DVDs, and in the process discovering she has two of some.  So she gave me a copy of "Frost/Nixon" directed by Ron Howard and made in 2009.  It was nominated for best picture, and I can see why.  The cast is amazing, and Frank Langella especially is a miracle onscreen.  It's a pity he didn't win best actor, as he brings so much layered nuancing to Nixon.  Michael Sheen is great as Frost, and the supporting cast is knockout, with Kevin Bacon playing Nixon's advisor, anxious and loyal, Oliver Platt and Sam Rockwell as advisors to Frost, Matthew MacFadden as Frost's producer and Rebecca Hall as his girlfriend.  It's so fast paced that I didn't realize it was a two hour film, and gripping as we wait to see if Nixon bests Frost or vice versa.  As a meditation on the media and politics it's educational, and as a forerunner of the direction of the American Presidency has gone since, with more and more decisions being forged by the President and his cabinet, without the knowledge of Congress, it serves as a warning.  But really, the genius is in seeing the parallels in both personalities, as well as the contrast.  The viewer watches the flaws and vulnerabilities, the vanities and prejudices, the initial lack of understanding about what was at stake and the deep need of both men for validation, which is elusive and perhaps a wound in their psyches.  I have to say that Oliver Platt is funny and so believable as a journalist who feels his reputation is at risk as well, and Sam Rockwell delightful as a guy bent on destroying Nixon who is also in awe of him and who ends up feeling sympathetic and being surprised by it. The film has a lot of humor and in no way feels like a history lesson.  It is a balanced film:  everybody has made mistakes, and nobody is seeing the whole picture, except maybe Kevin Bacon's character, who tries to head off disaster for a man he loves and admires.  His sadness is touching.  He knows too much.

Pass the Popcorn: Movies from where I Sit

There are so many Jane Austen films I'm pretty burnt out.  Most people like the Colin Firth, Jennifer Elye BBC marathon, and I adore it myself, but it's hardly fair, since the luxurious length gives us so much more of the book.  "Pride and Prejudice" is my favorite of Austen's novels, but my prize for best adaptation goes to "Persuasion" with Ciaran Hinds as Captain Wentworth and Amanda Root as Anne Eliot.  It is true to the tone and story, and is artistically perfect, with a cast that is utterly delightful, including Sofie Thompson as Anne's hypocondrical sister, Mary, and Corin Redgrave as her obnoxious dad and a lot of the greatest British character actors on hand to keep the satire fresh and meaningful, especially the delightful Fiona Shaw as Mrs. Croft, the exception of a happy wife, and the ultimate example for Anne.

The metaphor of the sea works beautifully to represent the rocky nature of courtship and marriage.  Anne's sisters are fellow victims.  Anne's heartbreak was young and advised by her godmother, but her older sister is a spinster, and her younger, Mary,  in a mismatched marriage.  By implication, Anne's parents' marriage has been a horrible mismatch, and true love seems nowhere to be found.  Along comes her young love back from the sea and now a success, and Anne's suffering includes watching everyone assume he will marry one of Mary's sister-in-laws, either Louisa or Henrietta.  Complications, confusions and breathless understanding at last make this a happy ending, but dark in so many ways.  The satire is brilliant, but what it shows us is a society of snobs, hypocrites and syncopants.  Anne is lucky, but we know in our hearts that life does not immitate fiction.

The scenes set at the seaside in Lyme and at Bath bring the seventeenth century alive.  The final view on Captain Wentworth's vessel smoothly takes us from suffocating home and hearth to the expanse and adventures of sailing the world. Women desire adventures and change of scene, and lucky Anne will have them, unlike her dear creator.

Pass the Popcorn: Movies from where I Sit

A few years ago, by accident, thumbing through the bargain DVDs at a store, I found a 1992 film of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" starring Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes.  It is worth watching alone for the young beauty of the stars.  They are gorgeous, passionate and the chemistry is terrific.  The story is faithful to the novel, and the supporting actors are all well cast.  At 106 minutes, the movie is a ride on the moor in another century, and after, you miss the world you've entered, though it is strange and mysterious.  The tone of Bronte's masterpiece is that well captured.  When you see the story on screen like this, you realize the eroticism of the characters more strongly, and also, with modern attention, the abuse that drives these people crazy.  Cathy's and Heathcliff's isolation and manipulation as children has consequences, and we see the pattern of manipulation repeated before it is finally broken in the end.  Binoche plays both Cathy Earnshaw and Catherine Linton beautifully.  Empathy for these people is garnered by careful revelation of their underlying sensitivities.  The feelings in this film are timeless and universal, and the look of the Yorkshire area and the costumes are powerful additions to a tale of young people left to grow wild and untended, who find their own garden in the wilderness but are forbidden to have the solace they desperately seek.  Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon were great in the 1930s film, but this version is more immediate and nuanced.  It would be fun to watch them one after the other and compare.