Category: 1990s

Two Movie Reviews

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Michael Clayton (2007)

This thriller is a vehicle for George Clooney, though it has terrific performances from Sydney Pollack, Tilda Swinton, and Tom Wilkinson.  The boy who plays Henry, Michael’s young son, does a fine job as well.  Unlike many child actors, he is natural, likeable, and believable.   Clooney almost disappears into the role of a self-loathing and disappointed lawyer, Michael Collins.  But Michael is not your typical lawyer- he’s labled a “fixer.”  To put it bluntly, he’s helped a lot of wealthy clients cover up misdeeds.  (I’m not going to give away many details.) 

  

When a close friend, litigator Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), becomes unhinged during a deposition in Milwaukee, the firm sends in Michael.  (Arthur was defending UNorth, a huge corporation embroiled in a class-action lawsuit, for the firm of Kenner, Bach, and Odeen.)  But Arthur (the heart of this movie) will not be controlled- he’s had an epiphany and wants to do the right thing.  He refuses to be “an accomplice” in a cover-up. 

Sydney Pollack (in his last role) is pitch-perfect as one of the founding partners of the firm, Marty Bach.  Is he a villain, or just trying to represent his client?  You will have to decide.

            

The villain in this film is Oscar winner Tilda Swinton, who takes on the role of Karen Crowder, the top attorney for UNorth.  She is the opposite of Michael Collins-  she stands up very straight and doesn’t doubt/regret her decisions.  Karen will go to extremes to protect UNorth and her boss/mentor.  Her suits are likened to “armor” by director Tony Gilroy. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465538/

 

The Full Monty (1997)

I think this comedy is a fitting one for our tough economic times.  The Full Monty is a hilarious, touching, and well-acted British film (that I wanted to see for a long time)!  It centers on a group of unemployed steel workers in Sheffield, an industrial city in Northern England.  (It may take some time to get accustomed to their accents and slang.  You can turn on subtitles, if needed.) 

The main character, nicknamed Gaz (Robert Carlyle), has lost his job, wife, and is about to lose custody of his adolescent son, Nathan.  Gaz can’t cover the child support, so he hatches a drastic plan to earn some fast money.  If the foreign male dancers/strippers (Chippendales) can make big bucks off the Sheffield ladies, then why can’t local blokes?  Nathan isn’t sure this will work, but he goes along to help his dad.

Gaz is (reluctantly) joined by his best mate Dave (Mark Addy), an overweight, self-conscious, yet sweet man who feels unworthy of his wife.  Eventually, Gaz and Mark find a few more down-on-their-luck men to join their endeavor.  The guys pester their former supervisor Gerald (Tom Wilkinson) to teach them to dance.  At first, the upwardly-mobile Gerald doesn’t want to help the men.  But he relents when he sees their desperation.  (And he’s jobless, too.)     

Along the way, this misfit bunch have to overcome clumsiness, improve body-image, and summon up loads of courage.  From their eyes and expressions, we see that they are not doing this “as a lark” (for fun), but for survival.  They rent out a local pub for a one-night performance.  Will the ladies buy tickets to see ordinary guys?  Will the guys be able to go “the full monty?”   

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119164/

 

“Onegin” (1999)

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I bought this DVD because I heard Toby Stephens played a good role in it; I had never seen it before last week.  This film is very smart, subtle, touching, and thought-provoking.  It is based on the novel by Alexander Pushkin.  It was directed by Martha Fiennes (Ralph’s sister) and has some creative/unusual shots.  The cinematography is simple gorgeous, as are the locations, sets and costumes (which make the actors stand up straighter and creates elegant lines).

Eugene Onegin (Fiennes) is a wealthy playboy from St. Petersburg, Russia.  He is bored with his urban life: costly mistress, social obligations, and frivolous friends.  Onegin inherits a huge country estate after his elderly uncle dies, and he ventures out of the city to have a look at the place.

Onegin, the brooding/pessimistic aristocrat, makes friends with Lensky (Toby Stephens), an optimistic/energetic/naive country gent with dreams of becoming a poet.  Though the men are polar opposites, they are both well-educated and neighbors.  Lensky has long been in love with Olga (Lena Headey), a conventional girl who dreams of city life.  But Olga’s younger sister Tatyana (Liv Tyler) is the girl who intrigues Onegin.

It is soon obvious that the impressionable Tatyana has fallen in love with Onegin, or in love with who she thinks he is.  She borrows books from his library, and expresses modern opinions (much to the changrin of her widowed mother).  One night, Tatyana pores out her heart in a letter to Onegin, unable to keep her feelings boxed up (as social convention dictates).  How will the seemingly cool-headed Onegin react?  Can he return her feelings?  Watch to find out!

Ralph Fiennes, an internal actor, quickly disappears into his role of the dissatisfied Onegin.  Toby Stephens provides a refreshing counterbalance to Onegin.  Liv Tyler gives a terrific performance, proving that some actors don’t need to study for years to create fine characters.  They just have the “it” factor!

A clip from Onegin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvr-iemGsyE

More about the movie:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119079/

About the book Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Onegin

Two GREAT Mamet films

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The Spanish Prisoner (1997)

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This film has an air of mystery and tension throughout.  Pay attention to the little moments and the props to figure out all that’s going on!  Joe Ross (Campbell Scott, son of renowed actors Colleen Dewhurst & George C. Scott) is a plain-spoken, well-mannered company man who’s flown down to a (fictional) Caribbean island called St. Estephe.  Why?  Because it’s his reward for  inventing a formula (inside a red leathbound ledger).  This secret formula, his boss Mr. Klein (Ben Gazzara) says, must be safeguarded from the wrong hands.  Joe is glad to have a little vacation (along w/ spending money and posh clothes), but anxious about the promotion/money he has yet to receive for his hard work.

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In St. Estephe, Joe and his friend/co-worker, a lawyer named George Lang (Ricky Jay), meet a young, pretty and chatty secretary named Susan Ricci (Rebecca Pidgeon, Mamet’s wife and a singer).  Susan has been working on the island (also w/ Mr. Klein’s company) for a month.  Susan is pleasantly surprised by Joe’s gentlemanly ways; she develops a crush on him.

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Joe also meets a mysterious, suave older man named Jimmy Dell (Steve Martin).  Joe is impressed by Jimmy’s stories, and a promise of friendship when he returns to NYC.  (We sense that Joe has a streak of ambition underneath his unassuming demeanor.)  Jimmy is either a millionaire businessman or a master con man.  Watch to find out!

 

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David Mamet’s dialogue will sound unnatural if you’re not used to it; his work is meant for the stage.  He’s very good at showing how men talk to and relate to other men.  (Another director who does this well is Barry Levinson.)  The actors Mamet uses are top-notch, even when scenes are a bit too stagey.

 

The Winslow Boy (1999)

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This terrific film (inspired by real events in early 1900s England) reveals deep meaning by being subtle and gentle.  It’s a character-driven family drama with a hint of romance.  It takes us back to a time when a man’s word was taken as truth, even if the man was a young boy (like title character Ronald Winslow).

 

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The Winslows are a comfortable middle-class family in London; they’ve all gathered together before Christmas.  Aging patriarch/banker Arthur Winslow (Nigel Hawthorne) presides over the family with a gentle voice and easygoing nature.  Grace (Jemma Jones) is the sensitive , yet strong, matriarch.

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Oldest child Catherine (close to 30) is a whip smart, independant-minded suffragette.   She’s supported in her cause by the family (unusual for that time).  Cate’s engaged at the start of the film.

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The baby of the family, 13 y.o. Ronnie (Guy Edwards), attends a prestigious boarding school- the Royal Naval Academy.  But he’s hastily expelled for (supposedly) stealing a postal order.   His father believes him when Ronnie declares he’s innocent, and a historic legal battle ensues.

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The Winslow case is discussed on the street and in the press; public support for the boy is strong.  But the court case goes badly until the family expend their influence/money to hire Sir Robert Morton (Jeremy Northam), the noted lawyer/member of the House of Commons.  He and Cate are attracted to each other from their first meeting, but their politics may keep them apart.  (Sir Robert is a staunch conservative.)

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Sir Robert, a restrained man from a high sphere of society, grows to admire the ordinary family.  Mr. Winslow won’t give up the case, even when his health worsens.  Cate regularly comes to court (the Ladies’ Gallery) to watch the proceedings.  What sacrifices will the Winslows make to support Ronnie?  Will he be found innocent?

NOTE: The DVD I bought has a commentary track w/ Mamet, Pidgeon, Hawthorne, and Northam.  It’s informative and fun!

 

Related Links:

About writer/director/ David Mamet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Mamet

About Campbell Scott (currently on USA’s Royal Pains)

The Campbell Scott Compendium: a fan site

http://cscompanion.tripod.com/

Rebecca Pidgeon’s Official Web Site

 http://www.rebeccapidgeon.com/

“Jungle Fever” (1991)

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This is my favorite Spike Lee film (aside from Malcolm X); I’ve seen it several times.  Lee’s premise for making this film: romantic relationships between blacks and whites are (sometimes) based more on curiosity than love.   He didn’t make the central couple (black architect Flipper Purefoy and Italian American temp Angie Tucci) very interesting, Roger Ebert said in his TV review.  However, the people in the communities they come from are VERY well done, he complimented.  I agree with Ebert b/c I wanted to know more re: the lesser characters! 

Flipper (Wesley Snipes) lives in a Harlem brownstone w/ his statuesque biracial wife Dru, a buyer for Nordstrom (Lonette McKee) and young daughter.  In the opener, he seems to have a loving relationship w/ Dru and his little girl (who he walks to school in the mornings).  A source of stress is his job- he’s the only black architect in his firm. 

Flipper (Wesley Snipes) & Angie (Annabella Sciorra)

Flipper is visibly upset when his former secretary (a black woman) is replaced by a white temp, Angie (Annabella Sciorra).  “I specifically asked for a woman of color!”  Flipper exclaims to one of his bosses (played by Tim Robbins).  Even though things start out awkward, Flipper and Angie have a good working relationship.  They often work late, share takeout, and get to know each other.  One night, Flipper catches Angie admiring his dark skin.  She says “it’s beautiful.”  Though he has NEVER cheated on his wife, they begin an affair (right on the drafting table)! 

Gator (Sam Jackson) & Viv (Halle Berry)

Flipper eventually confesses to his best pal/upstairs neighbor Cyrus (played by Lee himself) that though he considers himself “a strong black man,” he was “curious about what it would be like” to be with a white woman.  As they are talking, Flipper’s older brother Gator (Samuel L. Jackson) and his girlfriend Viv (a very young and unglamorous Halle Berry) approach.  It’s obvious that Gator is a long-time crack addict, as is his “new lady.”  (Sam Jackson said that his OWN drug addiction in the ’80s helped him portray Gator in a VERY realistic manner.  Producers thought Jackson was a REAL crack addict when he did his screen test, so he had to come in AGAIN to explain it was just acting.)

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Lucinda Purefoy (Ruby Dee) can’t refuse giving her addict son money when he comes around, no matter how hard she tries.  Gator invents lame excuses to get a few bucks out of her whenever his father is not around.  The father, a VERY religious man called The Good Reverend Doctor (Ossie Davis) has cast Gator out “like the Devil.”  (I REALLY felt for the mother and her dilemna; if she didn’t give Gator money, he’d surely go out and steal it.)
Paulie (John Turturro) ponders his future

My favorite character is candy shop/newsstand manager Paulie Carbone (John Turturro).  He’s a hardworking/unassuming guy who dated Angie since high school (“b/c he’s from the neighborhood.”)  His overbearing/widower father (Anthony Quinn) has retired from the shop, but micro-manages everything his son does.  Paulie has a crush on Lauren, a young black executive who comes to the store for papers each morning.  She sees him as a friend, and encourages him to apply to Brooklyn College.  The unemployed/Italian American/racist local guys who frequent his store think of all this as a joke.  Paulie is an outsider in his environment, and you wonder if he can get the life he wants.         

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On one date, Angie asks Flipper “So what are we doing here?”  I think they’re taking a break from their everyday lives.  But their actions have consequences- Dru (along w/ her girlfriends) is VERY upset by her husband’s betrayal.  Angie’s father reacts w/ shocking violence.  After the famous girl-talk session (about color, dating, black  men, etc.), Dru quietly tells her pals: “It really doesn’t matter what color she is- my man is gone.”   

The main characters in Jungle Fever feel unappreciated, I noticed during this viewing.   Angie works all day, then cooks her for father and brothers w/o complain.  Paulie has put his dreams on hold to look after his father and the shop.  Flipper doesn’t get the promotion, so he resigns from his job.  Lee (who grew up in Bensonhurst when it had a large community of working-class Italian Americans) shows us that two people are NOT the only ones involved in a realtionship.  Personal relationships include family, friends, and (sometimes) the community-at-large.  Everyone has SOMETHING to say about Flipper and Angie’s affair, including an angry young waitress at a soul food restaurant (Queen Latifah in a brief, yet memorable, role). 

Three “Outside the Box” Movies: Oleanna, Millions, and Melinda & Melinda

EmmaLeave a comment

Oleanna (1994)

A play by David Mamet as a film
A play by David Mamet as a film

This intense, smart, thought-provoking, and perhaps controversial,  film centers on just 2 people: John (William H. Macy), a middle-aged college professor who struggles to understand (and be understood by) one his undergrad students, Carol (Debra Eisenstadt).  It takes time to get into it b/c David Mamet’s speech is NOT your everyday movie dialogue.  This movie will bring up a LOT of issues (depending on what YOU make of it)… and make every viewer think!  (IMHO, one of the key themes is the danger of being TOO politically correct.)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110722/

Millions (2004)

A film directed by Danny Boyle
A film directed by Danny Boyle

This is an eccentric, fun, and original film.  It’s shot in beautiful locations w/ a great group of UK actors, including many kids.

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Damien, who recently lost his mother, is an ADORABLE, sensitive, and bright boy living in suburban Ireland w/ his dad and older bro.  He has a great knowledge of saints and martyrs, and imagines them as part of his everyday life.  When a large bag of money falls on his playhouse, Damien thinks it’s a gift from God.

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Damien sets about giving his share to the poor (using various methods), while his brother Anthony spends his half like there’s no tomorrow.

Melinda and Melinda (2005)

A film directed by Woody Allen
A film film directed by Woody Allen

This film is actually split into 2- a comedy (which features Will Farrell as a neurotic character actor) and a tragedy (where Chewitel Ejiofor plays a charming composer).  Manhattan looks beautiful in the hands of Woody Allen- of course!

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Melinda (petite/blonde/Australian Radha Mitchell) is the center of both stories.  She does a GOOD job of portraying 2 different women w/ a range of emotions/issues.

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