Month: February 2023

“Harriet” (2019) starring Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr, & Janelle Monae

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The extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery and transformation into one of America’s greatest heroes, whose courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history. -Synopsis

Be free or die. -A tagline for the film

This is the 1st feature film to be made about the life of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman (birth name: Arabella Minto); you can watch it on HBO Max. Producer Debra Martin Chase chose Cynthia Erivo for the lead b/c of her impressive career so far: Tony, Grammy and Emmy for The Color Purple musical on Broadway. There was controversy in casting a British woman for such an iconic American role; director/co-writer Kasi Lemmons (a Black American woman/former actress) explained that the film represented African-Americans: writers, production designer, composer, and hair/makeup.

Harriet is shown more as a “superhero,” than a real woman; this was the choice of the filmmakers. This movie is sadly disappointing (given the V important subject), though Erivo does a fine job w/ what she as given. The dialogue doesn’t really pop and the delivery (at times) is heavy-handed. Yes, Harriet really did experience visions, as a result of a childhood head injury. Many historians claim that this is likely due to a head injury she received in her youth. It is nice to look at, though there was NOT a big budget. There is some tension/suspense in Tubman’s escape (from a plantation in Dorchester Co, MD) and various rescue missions. There is a narrow range of Tubman’s life shown and there are several jumps in years at a time. One astute viewer noted that “Tubman’s work on women’s suffrage was only a footnote and arguments around what actions the abolitionist movement should take were greatly reduced.” There is no mention of John Brown, BUT Fredrick Douglass has a brief cameo. For the sensitive viewers out there, this is a much less violent portrayal than seen in 12 Years a Slave.

Some actors are highlighted, though others (incl. veterans w/ gravitas) don’t get much screen time. I wanted to see more of Clarke Peters and Vanessa Bell Calloway; they play the Ross’ (Harriet’s parents). A few of Harriet’s family members were free, BUT most others are enslaved. Harriet’s 1st husband, John (Zachary Momo), was a free Black man. Vondie Curtis-Hall (also Lemmons’ husband) does a good job as Rev. Green. Leslie Odom Jr. is bright/charming as William Still, though I doubt this role was a challenge for him. Marie Buchanon (played by singer/actress Janelle Monae) was created for the movie; she is a sympathetic friend to Harrier, but quite modern. I don’t know how plausible it’d have been for a young/Black/unmarried woman to own a boarding house in Philly.

Harriet: [to Gideon, at gunpoint] You’ll die right here. On a frozen, blood-soaked battlefield, the moans of a generation of young men in your ears, dying in agony around you, for a lost cause. For a vile and wicked idea! For the sin of slavery! Can you hear them? God don’t mean people to own people, Gideon! Our time is near!

Unfortunately, we also see the in-over-his-head “actor” Joe Alwyn (also a Brit); I don’t know how he keeps getting roles! He plays Gideon Brodess, the slaveowner who grew up w/ (and maybe has a sort of obsession) w/ Harriet. Is it just about money (slaves were property), or is there something else going on? Perhaps worst of all (noted by several critics/casual viewers), is the cartoonish (Black) slavecatcher w/ the unfortunate name of Bigger Long (Omar Dorsey)- yikes!

[1] I attend a HBCU and have read, and studied, Harriet Tubman’s life. I don’t even know where to begin. There is no account of her ever standing with Union soldiers and pointing a gun. There are so many errors and what I saw on the screen was complete fiction.

[2] The scripting is insultingly lowbrow, almost patronizing. The acting talent has a good record in other productions, but in this film is unrealized due to the other problems. There are quite a few ahistoric, frankly false, events in this film which are not needed and make the film more a less than credible hagiography, as opposed to the plenty sufficient bravery, courage and strength of Tubman herself.

The film is not a total loss, but Tubman deserves better, much better, as do contemporary audiences.

[3] This is a standard biopic of anti-slavery heroine Harriet Tubman. It’s a serious take. The tone is singular which leaves the movie rather flat. I’m not calling for some broad jokes to inject silly humor or grotesque violence to horrify. The constant uninspired narrative can take a toll on the tension. The movie could push the intensity of the escapes. There are emotional power points, but they always seem a little melodramatic.

[4] If you want to see a REAL MOVIE on Harriet Tubman, look at the Cicely Tyson version: A Woman Called Moses.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

“Someone to Watch Over Me” (1987) starring Tom Berenger, Mimi Rogers, & Lorraine Bracco

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He’s a streetwise cop who just made detective. She’s a stunning sophisticate who just saw a murder. A killer is the only thing they had in common. Until tonight. -Tagline

The film takes its title from the 1926 Gershwin song of the same name- Someone to Watch Over Me– which is heard in 3 separate renditions. They are by Sting (start of film), Roberta Flack (over the end credits), and Gene Simmons w/ Richard Wyands, Doug Watkins and J.C. Heard (from original 1961 version). This movie was often compared (during its initial release) w/ Fatal Attraction (1987), the then recent Adrian Lyne thriller. On Amazon Prime, I happened upon this movie categorized w/ erotic thrillers; as one astute viewer noted, this is more of a romantic thriller and throwback to classic noirs. This is director Ridley Scott’s 3rd feature (after Blade Runner and Legend) and the 1st one set in the modern period w/ contemporary characters. This movie deals w/ the issue of social class. I think class differences are V noticeable when one lives/works in NYC.

I’ve never played a cop before. I liked the character because even though he is the hero of the story, he has negative qualities and makes some big mistakes. I always find that interesting, a character with a dilemma to face, confronting his personal morality. -Berenger on his role

I wanted somebody who was fiercely independent and an interesting humorous character. It had to be someone who was the antithesis of Claire and yet someone who was equivalent to her. I think Lorraine fulfills those requirements very well. -Scott on casting Bracco

I didn’t want the character to be unreachable or so separated from reality because she lives in a $3 million apartment in New York. That in itself can be thought of as being pretty unsympathetic. It’s a very delicate role to play. The character has everything. Yet she has to show vulnerability and at the same time demonstrate sensibility and normalcy within her rarefied environment. I found that in Mimi. -Scott on casting Rogers

Tom Berenger (who’d appeared in 2 fine films- Platoon and The Big Chill) plays Mike Keegan, a 30-something cop/family man just promoted to detective. Sharon Stone screen tested for the role of socialite/write, Claire Gregory, which went to Mimi Rogers. Years later, Rogers auditioned for psychologist/murder suspect, Catherine Tramell, in Basic Instinct (1992), which went to Stone. The breakout star of this movie is 33 y.o. Lorraine Bracco (who has a real NYC accent); wife/mom Ellie Keegan is one of her earliest roles. She brings something authentic and fresh in her work, so that you don’t see the acting. Veteran theater/TV actor Jerry Orbach (a few yrs before his iconic Law & Order detective role) plays Mike’s boss, Lt. Garber. Mike’s (recently divorced) best pal is played by Daniel Hugh Kelly; he’s a cop enjoying his return to singlehood. Andreas Katsulas plays Joey Venza, a powerful/physically intimidating gangster.

There’s a very delicate balance of sympathy between the society woman and the wife. If [Tom] Berenger’s character is simply attracted to a beautiful woman, sympathy starts to weigh against him. I wanted to create that dilemma in the central character’s mind by giving him a very strong home life and a very strong wife. I wanted his attraction to Claire to be more than sexual. I wanted it to be cerebral to be everything. [Mike] Keegan is facing a very difficult question that has nothing to do with bank balance or other external forces. It’s a choice between women. Proper casting was crucial to creating this balance and making it work. -Scott on the love triangle

Ridley Scott is the most visual director I’ve ever worked with. He doesn’t neglect the actors, in fact, we’re very well taken care of. But he is fascinating to watch. He actually paints with light and with lenses and with angles, and it’s a very unique process. It becomes an element of the story because Ridley creates such a strong mood with his visuals. -Rogers on working w/ Scott

I always like seeing NYC in the movies. However, the nightclub scenes (opening) were shot aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA; the murder scene was filmed in the ship’s pool area. We see famed NYC places, such as Bergdorf Goodman (dept. store) and the Guggenheim Museum. Exteriors for Mike and Ellie’s house were shot in Long Island City (LIC) in Queens. Other locations incl. the Harbor View Restaurant on Old Fulton St, Central Park, the former police HQ on Centre Street, the subway, and the streets of the Upper East Side (UES).

[1] A highly stylized crime thriller that also manages to work as a tale of adulterous romance in addition to an effective parable of the culture clashes that are apparent between the upper and lower classes.

[2] …it is Lorraine Bracco who steals the picture as Berenger’s feisty wife. Long before she was best known as Tony Soprano’s psychiatrist, Bracco brought to the screen the ultimate portrayal of the modern wife and mother – loving but fierce, tough but compassionate, and not afraid to slap some sense into the man who has done her wrong.

[3] The direction of Ridley Scott is tight and perfect, as usual, using different angles camera and magnificent photography and shadows in the night, to express the differences between the two worlds. There is one specific scene that I love, when Mike is sat with his face half illuminated in the hall of Claire’s apartment, totally confused and with his feelings divided.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

#Oscars: “Elvis” (2022) starring Austin Butler & Tom Hanks

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The life of American music icon Elvis Presley, from his childhood to becoming a rock and movie star in the 1950s while maintaining a complex relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. -Synopsis

While Aussie director Baz Luhrmann was going over auditions, incl. Austin Butler’s audition for Elvis Presley, Denzel Washington called the director to recommend Butler. Washington and Butler had co-starred in the Broadway play The Iceman Cometh. Washington told Luhrmann (who he’d never met): “You’re in for a surprise when you see the work ethic of this young man.” Butler stated that one of the aspects about Elvis that stood out to him was that he lost his mother at a young age, too. Butler also lost his mother at age 23, just as Elvis had. Butler took tap dancing and swing dancing classes to perfect the dance moves. Though his hair was dyed dark brown, and he wore dark brown or jet black wigs in some scenes, Butler is a natural blonde. Elvis was also a natural blonde. Butler and Elvis are 16th cousins twice removed; Elvis’ father (Vernon) and Austin’s mother (Lori) share a common ancestry- wow! Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Harry Styles also auditioned and screen-tested for the lead. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Rufus Sewell were cast as the parents before the production was shut down (due to COVID-19); 6 mos. later, both dropped out when productions resumed due to scheduling conflicts. This past SUN, Butler (who has an Oscar nom) won Leading Actor across the pond at BAFTA.

[sees an excited girl at Elvis’s first performance]

Col. Parker: [narrates] Now, I don’t know nothing about music. But I could see in that girl’s eyes, he was a taste of forbidden fruit. She could have eaten him alive!

Elvis ended up dethroning Top Gun: Maverick at the box office last Summer. This is the 1st big-screen (theatrical) biographical film about Elvis; it was made for $85M and shot (over a year) entirely in Queensland. Australia. The real “Colonel” Tom Parker was born on June 26, 1909, in The Netherlands as Andreas “Dries” van Kuijk. At age 19, he entered the US illegally. After a few mos, he enlisted in the Army and took the name Tom Parker; he thus forfeited his Dutch citizenship (becoming a stateless person). In reality, he spoke w/ a Southern American accent. At one point in the film, re: money issues, Parker comments that Elvis loved to spend on “hillbillies.” Elvis was generous to a fault (though it isn’t depicted here).

Elvis: If I can’t move, I can’t sing.

Elvis did NOT live up to it’s hype when I saw it recently (on HBOMax). Luhrmann’s direction failed to draw me in, though I’ve liked some of his previous movies. Butler does a fine job in ALL the musical numbers, BUT doesn’t seem to feel the weight of the heavier scenes. I think he has potential- he’s V young still. Parker is basically a caricature (w/ no redeeming qualities) here; IF you’re a big fan of Hanks, then you’ll be greatly disappointed. The opening 30-40 mins come across as messy/chaotic. Scenes somehow felt drawn out and fleeting at the same time. There is little time give to Priscilla, Elvis’ fellow musicians/peers, his friends, and other supporting characters. Some critics (incl. Black Americans) commented that race and civil rights issues were dealt w/ in a simplistic manner. We do see some up-and-coming/young actors: Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog), Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things), and Kevin Harrison, Jr. (who plays B.B. King). Luhrmann is (oddly) more interested in Parker than Elvis; the iconic pop star remains mostly a mystery. The dialogue is nothing special- perhaps most disappointing of all!

[1] While of course he is a central character in the Elvis Presley story, I felt telling the story through such an unsympathetic character was unnecessary, and I found Tom Hanks Dutch accent and his prosthetic nose a little irritating at times.

[2]. The film feels almost like a bad fever dream, arbitrarily switching from scene to scene with little to no connection. Too much attention is put in Parker/Hanks, when he’s not narrating he’s the focus of every scene he’s in.

[3] For the first two hours it felt like I was watching the longest music video of all time. It was all over the place and extremely rushed. And what was up with the soundtrack?

[4] Firstly Austin Butler was great, he could actually be Elvis as he looked so much like him and clearly worked hard to do Elvis justice, but I didn’t really enjoy the movie, but can’t put my finger on why. The main actors did a good job, but I couldn’t really get an emotional connection with them or the story line until the very end.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

Two Films re: #MeToo: “The Assistant” (2019) & “She Said” (2022)

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The Assistant (2019) starring Julia Garner & Matthew Macfadyen

Follows one day in the life of Jane (Julia Garner), a recent college graduate/aspiring film producer, who recently landed her dream job as a junior assistant to a powerful entertainment mogul. Her day is much like any other assistant’s – making coffee, changing the paper in the copy machine, ordering lunch, arranging travel, taking phone messages, onboarding a new hire, etc. But as Jane follows her daily routine, she, and we, grow increasingly aware of the abuse that insidiously colors every aspect of her work day, an accumulation of degradations against which Jane decides to take a stand, only to discover the true depth of the system into which she has entered. -Synopsis (Bleecker Street)

We have a V toxic working environment here in this indie film- yikes! The boss (modelled on Harvey Weinstein) is a bully who can reduce Jane and his two male assistants (Jon Orsini; Noah Robbins) to shaking messes. The boss (unseen) barks on the phone at Jane, after she has had a perfectly reasonable phone convo w/ his wife. Jane is invisible to most of her coworkers; they don’t give her eye-contact (even when she’s talking to them). People barely register her presence when sharing the elevator, most notably an actor (Patrick Wilson); his real-life wife (Dagmara Domenczyk) plays a producer. If you are a sensitive viewer, don’t worry, as there is no violence depicted.

Some viewers called this “a horror movie,” BUT re: the horrors of everyday life. Jane seems to have no allies, so nowhere to turn when things get rough. She even missed her father’s recent birthday. One of the main themes is complacency, as writer/director Kitty Green noted; she is a young filmmaker who comes from the world depicted. Jane is blonde, slim, and pretty, though NOT in the obvious (Hollywood) fashion. A stream of wanna-be actresses arrive in the office. Sienna (model-turned-actress Kristine Froseth), a V young former waitress from Boise, suddenly arrives as a “new assistant.” She is put up in a fancy hotel room, which seems V problematic to Jane. After dropping this woman off, Jane goes to see the company’s HR manager, Mr. Wilcock (Matthew Macfadyen), who is no help at all!

[1] How can something appearing so mundane, everyday, lackluster be so powerful. Outstanding piece of work. Nothing happens but still so much happens. Subtlety reigns supreme.

[2] Here we have the toxic world of white men. Pointless jobs that keep the “machine” rolling, I don’t care if this job is about the movie industry or whatever; this girl’s job is reflected in a million offices around the globe in a million industries.

[3] An old Spielberg trick is to increase tension by keeping the “monster” hidden from view: cue the tanker driver from “Duel” and (for most of the film) the shark from “Jaws.” Here, the boss is felt only as a malevolent force and never seen on screen. It’s an approach that works brilliantly, focusing the emotion on the effect he has on those flamed.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

She Said (2022) starring Carey Mulligan & Zoe Kazan

Two-time Academy Award® nominee Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman, An Education) and Emmy nominee Zoe Kazan (The Plot Against America, The Big Sick) star as New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who together broke one of the most important stories in a generation- a story that shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood and impelled a shift in American culture that continues to this day. -Official Synopsis

The movie was shot in the New York Times (NYT) building and is the 1st movie ever to use the real offices. The leads, Mulligan and Kazan, had already been close friends for 14 yrs before being cast; Kazan was a bridesmaid at Mulligan’s 2012 wedding. I’ve been a fan of Mulligan for many years; she can play any type of role. I’ve seen Kazan only in a few light/comedic roles; she gets to show her serious side here (and does a fine job). Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Judith Godrèche (a French actress from The Man in the Iron Mask), who were important sources for Kantor and Twohey’s investigations into Harvey Weinstein, each play themselves in this film. Paltrow and Godrèche appear as off-camera voices on the phone, but Judd plays herself onscreen. Actress Rose McGowan also appears as an off-screen voice, but chose NOT to play herself (her voice is portrayed by Kelly McQuail). James Austin Johnson (voice of Donald Trump) was in 2021 hired into the cast of SNL mainly to play the role of Trump (after videos of his impersonation went viral).

So to our surprise, Gwyneth Paltrow had a really powerful story of sexual harassment by Harvey Weinstein and of being threatened when her first really important roles were on the line. And early on in the investigation, when almost nobody in Hollywood would talk to us, she did. And she even tried to help us find other women. But she was very scared to go on the record. And it became clear, in the course of the investigation, that Harvey Weinstein was obsessed with the question of whether or not we were speaking to Paltrow. He showed up at a party at her house early. She called us from the bathroom completely panicked. -Twohey and Kantor (in interview on NPR’s Fresh Air, SEPT: 2019)

The German actress-turned-director, Maria Schrader, recently got acclaim for the streaming series Unorthodox (Netflix) and the movie I’m Your Man (2022). It’s difficult to make this subject matter cinematic (as critics on NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast noted). There are no assaults (physical violence) depicted here, though we do see the aftermath (emotional toll). If you’re interested in journalism and liked All the President’s Men and Spotlight, then this may be of interest to you. It’s still rare to see supportive men (husbands of Twohey and Kantor) who happily share domestic duties; many working moms appreciated seeing this aspect of the movie. We learn that Twohey was dealing w/ post-partum depression after having her 1st child.

There are two actresses (well-known to those of us who love Austen/British period series/movies) who steal this movie w/ their terrific/emotional performances. In London, we meet Zelda Perkins (Samantha Morton- a Brit), who describes how a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) kept her from taking action against Weinstein’s behavior or even talking about any aspect of it to family members, friends, or even doctors (incl. therapists). IRL Perkins co-founded an organization called Can’t Buy My Silence dedicated to reducing the use/abuse of NDAs. In the coast of England in a small town, we meet Laura Madden (Jennifer Ehle- an American who primarily works in England), a mother of four young kids bravely preparing to undergo a mastectomy.

“Frank & Lola” (2016) starring Michael Shannon & Imogen Poots

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A psychosexual noir love story, set in Las Vegas and Paris, about love, obsession, sex, betrayal, revenge and, ultimately, the search for redemption. -Synopsis

Frank (Michael Shannon- in his 1st romantic leading role) works as a chef in a classy/high-end restaurant in Vegas. One night, he meets a young student who wants a career in fashion, Lola (Imogen Poots- a petite/blonde British actress). Frank’s (calm/routine) life is changed by Lola, who may NOT be as uncomplicated as she seems! I saw Shannon (6’3″ w/ large/wide-set eyes) a few yrs. ago in the indie drama 99 Homes (starring Andrew Garfield); I was impressed b/c he had such a commanding screen presence. In they stylish Nocturnal Animals, he made a fine impression as a small-town cop. Shannon is the lead in Midnight Special co-starring Adam Driver (my current fave actor). To add some (needed) lightness/comedy to the story, we have Justin Long. Rosanna Arquette has a small role as Lola’s mother. Michael Nyquist (a famed Swedish actor/fluent French speaker) has an important supporting role; he passed away in 2017. Writer/director Matthew Ross had been trying to make this film for 10 yrs prior to its release in 2016- wow! It was shot in less than one month on location in Vegas and Paris. The film was well-received at Sundance.

Beware, my Lord, of jealousy, it is the green-eyed monster that doth mock the meat it feeds on. -Iago in Othello

I was reminded of the (above) line from my fave Shakespearean tragedy while watching this movie. Like Othello and Desdemona, Frank and Lola are opposites when it comes to age, looks, and personalities. Frank is of a different generation than Lola. They don’t know much about each other before they become involved; Lola is new in town and Frank (w/ a no-nonsense attitude) says he doesn’t fall in love easily. Lola says she was attracted to Frank b/c he’s a “real man.” We realize that Frank has insecurities when it comes to romance, though he is V experienced/confident in his career.

The look (visual style) sometimes reminded me of the movies of director Michael Mann. I liked how the filmmakers shot the Vegas and Paris scenes quite differently. Most of the movie was filmed at night; Vegas is depicted as modern, steely, and cold (isolating). We see some daytime in Paris; the look is softer and warmer (more inviting). Shannon speaks some French, too. If you’re a fan of the noir genre (like me), you may like this movie. As one viewer noted: “rarely do contemporary movies go as deep into the male psyche of obsession as this one.” You can watch it on Netflix.