Theodore Twombly is a semi-depressed, certainly withdrawn writer who spends most of his time alone in his apartment. He has been separated from his wife for almost a year but still suffers, wondering what he did wrong. When Theodore purchases a new highly advanced operation system that has the ability to evolve, things begin to get better for him. He has a companion in this OS, named Samantha, and soon enough he begins to fall in love. Spike Jonze Her is a bold and incredibly unique romantic comedy that accomplishes nearly everything one could hope for from this type of film. Her is certainly an astute social commentary on society's growing reliance on technology but the film's true accomplishment is its dissection of love and companionship. Through Theodore the film captures nearly every up and down associated with love from the jealousy or fear one feels after falling for someone, to the self-depreciation and depression which can consume ones soul after a relationship is dissolved. Theodore is an incredibly well-written character in that regard with Joaquin Phoenix giving a performance reaffirming that he is one of the most talented actors working today. Her is a film bursting from the seams with thematic elements that encourage intelligent discussion but to the film's credit it never once feels overstuffed or muddled. The ever growing disconnect between human connection is certainly a major commentary in Her, illustrated by the small amount of instances where we see two humans actually interacting. Hell, even Theodore's job as a writer of handwritten letters is the epitome of a society relying on technology to help them show their emotions. Another aspect of Her which I found fascinating is the emotional connection vs. physical connection debate, with the film illustrating how both are important but love is truly derived from companionship more than attraction. From a technical standpoint, Her is an extremely well-crafted film with stylish cinematography that enhances the film but never distracts. My favorite directorial decision in the entire film may have been the first time Samantha and Theodore are intimate, with Jonze having the screen go completely black for a matter of minutes, putting the viewer into Samantha's shoes while simultaneously illustrating how much more important the emotional connection is than the physical one. It may sound like hyper-bole but for me Spike Jonze's Her is a life-affirming type of film that captures humanities yearning for affection and companionship while simultaneously shouting to the rooftops: Do what makes you happy and screw everyone else. 9/10
0 Comments
Caterina, a 12-year-old girl, lives in a run-down Sardinian neighborhood with her poverty-stricken family. Her father is a worthless and selfish and her brothers are hostile, leaving Caterina’s mother to work long hours to support their large family. Caterina spends most of her time with her best friend Luna, escaping the frantic apartment she shares with her other siblings. While Caterina is certainly a well-adjusted girl, sex and violence are presented as everyday aspects of life in this poor area of Cagliari. There have been many films dealing with a similar subject matter as Salvatore Mereu’s Pretty Butterflies but I’m not sure any of them have every been this personal in approach. The is a film more about character and setting than plot, with a free-wheeling narrative that provides a vivid portrait of a day in the life of Caterina. Evocative and Gritty, Pretty Butterflies is entirely from the point-of-view of the incredibly street smart and perceptive Caterina. Pretty Butterflies frequently breaks the fourth-wall, with Caterina talking directly into the camera with great effect. This type of approach doesn’t always work but in Pretty Butterflies it makes the audience feel more than just a spectator, putting the viewer into this world with Caterina. While lots of films in this gritty setting are much more doom and gloom, Pretty Butterflies is refreshingly alive, showing how Caterina and Luna’s street smarts help them navigate this threatening environment. In a way this film is more a celebration of life, even with the troubles and dangers which exist, with our young girl protagonists exuding exuberance and finding the whimsical aspects of life even in somewhat suspect situations. Salvatore Mereu’s Pretty Butterflies captures a youthful perspective in such a refreshing way, showing that even in harsh environments the beautiful aspects of life can shine through. 8.5/10 Llewyn Davis, a young folk singer, couch surfs through the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961, desperate to make a name for himself. It's the middle of another unforgiving winter and with guitar and tow, Llewyn tries desperately to make it as a musician, even against what seem to be insurmountable obstacles, some of which are from his own making. Ethan & Joel Coen's Inside Llewyn Davis is a film very much about the artistic struggle. This isn't so much a film about plot but mood and character, as we witness in Llewyn a man who constantly seems to be going nowhere. There are so many small moments throughout Inside Llewyn Davis that quietly, and not so quietly, capture the wear and tear this lifestyle has on a person. It's a constant slog and the Coen brothers have created a film that really makes the audience feel this hardship. This is definitely not a feel good movie but the Coen's unique brand of humor is still prevalent throughout Inside Llewyn Davis perfectly giving the audience a breather from the struggle. A beautifully crafted film, Inside Llewyn Davis' use of a shades of gray aesthetic perfectly fits this film, capturing this beaten down man who just can't seem to get to where he wants to be. A film that subverts mainstream expectations through and through, the ending of Inside Llewyn Davis is particularly fascinating, as if the Coen's are suggesting that Llewyn Davis' hardship is circular and never-ending, or maybe this is simply his point-of-view. There is no doubt that this is a deeply personal film for the Coen brothers and honestly I was surprised I didn't connect with it more on an emotional level. That being said, there is no denying Inside Llewyn Davis is a well-crafted study of human struggle. 7.75/10 Richard Karlsen, a privileged 18 year old, has everything a young man could ask for. Living in South Dublin at his parents beach-side house, Richard is enjoying his last summer with his friends before heading to the University in the fall. A golden-boy type figure, Richard is certainly the alpha-male of his friends and they intend on spending the summer to the fullest. All this changes over one summer night when Richard does something that could change his life forever, shattering his own life and the people's lives around them. Lenny Abrahmason's What Richard Did is a devastating and emotionally exhaustive portrait about a boy who must face the reality that his life is never going to be what we expected. What Richard Did is a pensive film which really wants to get into the headspace of its protagonist, attempting to understand the regret, sadness, and life-crushing consequence of a young man who accidentially murdered another young man in a drunken brawl. The reserved quality of What Richard Did is probably its most endearing strength, capturing how even a relatively common act can instantly change everything. The actual fight which leaves Conner murdered is shown in a very reserved, quiet way, highlighting how something so sudden and seemingly trivial can alter an entire life. This isn't a film with lofty intentions, but rather a film that successfully captures Richard's every layer from scared child to suave ladies man. In a society that depicts acts of violence such as fights in such a nonchalant way, Lenny Abrahamson's What Richard Did is a devastating reminder of how quickly something as common as a love-triangle quarrel can alter one's plans. 7.25/10 Reha Erdem's Jin opens capturing the lush woodlands of the region, showcasing the tranquility of nature that is abruptly interrupted by the explosions and gunfire of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict. Jin, a 17-year-old girl, is a Kurdish guerrilla fighter in the conflict, stationed in the mountains. Jin doesn't have any desire to participate in this war, only wishing to run far away and seek refuge elsewhere. Much of Reha Erdem's Jin is a quiet and meditative experience, as we follow this young Girl journey across the countryside. Traveling alone, Jin routinely finds herself harassed by the local men, fighting like an animal to preserve her innocence. Through her journey nearly every person Jin comes across is greedy or violent, with Jin finding solace in the tranquility of nature. Nature is this calming presence throughout this film, with Jin forming a bond with the animals around her. Nature provides Jin a type of protection that humanity doesn't, but unfortunately this doesn't last. The connection with nature and humanity is a major theme throughout Reha Erdem's Jin, with the film arguing that humanity is much more violent and selfish than nature at its most brutal. Nature represents a place of calm and tranquility for Jin, representing this youthful innocence which she is fighting to maintain. Jin is one of those films that showcases what cinema is all about - a visual experience. The cinematography is absolutely stunning, with very little dialogue or conventional plot the film relies heavily on visual story-telling. Nature is Jin's escape, representing her innocence but the violence of humanity routinely comes into this tranquil world in abrupt ways. This calmness and silence of the natural terrain makes the violent outbursts in Jin incredibly startling and all the more intense when they happen. This gives Jin a great sense of unease and uncertainty throughout its running time, creating an effective and tragic tale of human conflict. 8.25/10 Living in a small town where the the industrial mill employs the majority of the population Russell and his brother Rodney live a tough life. Russell works at the town mill, slaving away at a dead-end blue collar job only to return home to care for his terminally ill father, whose health shortcomings could be attributed to his own work at the mill. Rodney is much more unstable, with no interest in following his father and older brother's footsteps. When Rodney returns home from the Iraq war he begins to participate in street fights for cash, soon enough finding himself in business with a ruthless backwoods crime leader. When Rodney goes missing the police fail to provide much support, leading Russell to take matters into his own hands and seek justice. Scott Cooper's Out of the Furnace is a well-crafted and well-acted portrait of blue-collar America which is as tough and dirty as the people who live this life. Cooper's film paints a pretty hopeless situation for these impoverished blue-collar individuals capturing how little options they actually have in life. Members of these communities have really three choices in life, the town mill, the army, or jail. Out of the Furnace captures this tough life with grace and subtlety never intent on reaching towards sentimentality but rather integrity of this portrayal. This is a film about two brothers with little options, and even though they are very different men in principle, Cooper argues they are actually similar men stuck in the same life circumstances. Cooper uses a good amount of juxtaposition between the two brothers, to capture this with great effect. While Out of the Furnance is a tight narrative it does suffer from a few silly plot points that are either hard to believe, unnecessary or silly. The love triangle aspect of the film is quite frankly distracting and unnecessary. I understand the need to show Russell has lost everything, including the woman he loves, but making her new lover the town's sheriff just felt a little lazy from a writing standpoint, too cleanly setting up for what ensues later in the narrative. In fact, the writing is probably the weakest link of Out of the Furnace, with the more thriller story aspects also feeling rushed and even outlandish at points. Overall, Out of the Furnace is an enjoyable portrait of a blue collar family, capturing the machoism and inevitability which envelopes this lifestyle. 7.75/10 After his daughter is arrested and told she is going back to jail, 86 year-old Irving Zisman is tasked to take his grandson Billy to his father in North Carolina. The young Bill is impressionable and on this wild roadtrip Irving exposes young Billy to people, place and situations that any 8 year old should be ready to handle. Jeff Tremaine's Jackass presents: Bad Grandpa delivers the same lowbrow humor one would expect from the Jackass franchise but what sets it apart is the narrative structure. Bad Grandpa uses this narrative as a framework for its various sketches, delivering a lot of new life to a quite frankly tired formula. Bad Grandpa is certainly funny but it's the film's surprising amount of poignant moments centered around child neglect and the need for a father figure. These moments make you actually care and root for Irving which just feels strange considering this is a Jackass movie. Jeff Tremaine's Bad Grandpa is not quite as funny and outrageous as the Jackass films before it but it's the closest thing to a real film, not feeling like a string of sketches slapped together for laughs. 6.5/10 Sanctuary opens on the Swedish countryside with a young girl, Hella, and her father find their tranquility interrupted by the arrival of the police. The police are looking for Hella's father in connection with a murder but while he hides in the house, Hella convinces the Police he isn't home. After the police leave the two vacate the home, escaping into the vast woodland to hideout. Fredrik Edfeldt's Sanctuary is a meditative coming of age story with striking imagery that doesn't quite pull of the emotional impact it should have. The strength of the film is centered around this father-daughter relationship, each of whom still suffers deeply from the loss of their mother/wife respectively. It's almost as if they struggle to actually talk about their sadness and current situation, with their relationship tightening up as the film progresses in a completely believable way. The cinematography of Sanctuary is exceptional with Fredrik Edfeldt juxtaposing nature's beauty against the father-daughter relationship to create this new-found tranquility and freedom in the woods. There are certainly parts of dramatic impact, most notably around the father coming to terms with his past transgressions as well as the absence of a feminine figure in Hella's life but Sanctuary never quite dissects these troubled souls as much as it could have. Another interesting anecdote would be the fairytale type effect that Sanctuary develops towards the end of the film, with the lighting in particular giving the film a nice spiritual quality. Fredrik Edfeldt's Sanctuary is certainly a slower-paced meditative experience that remains very subtle in its approach, never spelling the exact circumstances out for the viewer. While the film is beautifully realized and well-acted I couldn't help but be marginally disappointed given the film's lack of emotional resonance. 7.5/10 Based around actual events, David O. Russell's American Hustle tells the story of con man Irving Rosenfeld, who along with his partner and lover, Sydney Prosser, are forced to work with wild FBI agent Richie Dimaso. After arresting Sydney on one of the teams typical loan scams, Dimaso pushes them to help him bring down bigger fish in order to advance his career. When the stakes begin to escalate, including a deal with Politicians and the Mafia, Irving and Sydney find themselves in over their head looking to find a way out. David O Russell's American Hustle is a fast-paced incredibly enjoyable film that cares more about entertaining its audience than dissecting the various themes and ideas sprinkled throughout the film. The film is loaded with interesting characters, all of which are dynamic and convincing, thanks to a host of great performances but the film never has enough time to truly capture most of them. You do feel for the characters but American Hustle could have gone deeper in exploring this high stakes game of con or be conned, a few instances notwithstanding. I wish the film also explored its themes a little more, the grayness of right vs. wrong, working class vs. privileged, etc. but I can't fault O. Russell too much for wanting to keep the film breezy. This is a very funny and enjoyable film but I did think that some of the comedic elements inadvertently hurt some of the more tense moments of the film, stripping them of some of their impact. That being said, the energy and freewheeling style of American Hustle is impressive and I would go as far as to say that this is David O. Russell's most accomplished film from a direction standpoint. Some of the decisions O. Russell makes reminded me of a mix of Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson, with style that perfectly fits the tone of the film. David O. Russell's American Hustle is a film that's a thoroughly enjoyable experience that features many great performances but their were some missed opportunities throughout that keeps it from being a truly great film. 7/10 Set in New York City, Scott McGehee & David Siegel's What Maisie Knew tells the story of Maisie, a young girl caught in the midst of her parent's custody battle. Told almost exclusively through the eyes of this young girl, What Maisie Knew is a touching and sensitive exploration of the effect dysfunction can have on young children. What Maisie Knew captures the loneliness and isolation a young child can go through in a custody battle situation, with each parent just as focused on winning custody as they are in maintaining to care for her their daughter. The film is never manipulative managing to avoid overly sentimental trappings in delivering a film that captures the wear and tear a child can feel by being consistently transplanted back and forth on nearly a daily basis. For the most part the film does a good job at never leaving Maisie's point-of-view, making much of the dysfunctional relationship between her mother and father unknown to this young child. The viewer on the other-hand can grasp the subtleties, understanding some of the driving factors behind this failed relationship. While Kramer vs. Kramer would probably be the most heralded film about a similar subject matter What Maisie Knew is much more focused on the child's point-of-view, being much more scathing towards the two parents caught up in this battle who essentially begin to neglect their child because of it. The story and execution of the narrative is what stands out the most about What Maisie Knew but the cinematography is well-realized which I could only describe as sensitive, using some soft-focus and well-composed imagery to further help transport the viewer into young Maisie's sentiment. While I'm not sure What Maisie Knew would make my end of the year list, I'm pretty surprised it hasn't shown up on more lists this year, being a extremely well-crafted film about family turmoil that is tragic, heart-warming, and not the least bit manipulative. 8.25/10 |
AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
|