Tag: Romance

“God’s Own Country” (2017) starring Josh O’Connor, Alec Secareanu, Gemma Jones, & Ian Hart

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Are you looking for a man in drama, 6’2”, blue eyes, and unconventional looks? After seeing British actor Josh O’Connor in Challengers (2024), I started to look into his earlier work. Wow, I fell (even more) in love w/ his acting! The actor (now 34 y.o.) is from Cheltenham in Gloucestershire (southern England). However, when 1st time feature writer/director (Francis Lee) watched his audition tape for Johnny (w/ a V convincing accent), he assumed O’Connor was from Yorkshire (northern England). O’Connor’s mother is from Yorkshire, though he said she doesn’t have that specific accent. Lee said: “he is one of those rare actors who is a real shape-shifter.” This movie was inspired by Lee’s own experiences of growing up/working on his family farm; he is also an openly gay man. To prepare for their roles, the two lead actors lived/worked on a farm for 2 weeks (prior to filming). All scenes w/ the animals are real; the movie was shot chronologically on location at a working farm near Lee’s childhood home. Georghe (Alec Secareanu) was inspired by a Romanian immigrant who Lee met some years ago and that man’s experiences of racism while working in the UK. Lee (who insisted that a Romanian was needed for this role) flew 3 actors in from Bucharest to London to screentest w/ O’Connor.

Johnny Saxby (O’Connor- then 26 y.o.) is a young man in his early 20s responsible for the running of his family’s small farm. His grandmother, Deidre (Gemma Jones), takes care of their humble house. Johnny’s father, Martin (Ian Hart), has gone through serious health issues, so decides to take on a hired hand. Though he doesn’t speak much (repressing his thoughts and emotions), it’s obvious that Johnny resents his father’s decision. Unlike Johnny, who projects a cold/forbidding demeanor, Georghe is a warm presence in the small household. He carries himself w/ quiet dignity and humility, as well as being a capable farmhand; this impresses Martin and Deidre. When the two men have to go off alone to a secluded area to look after the sheep, tensions boil over in unexpected ways!

There is a LOT of talk re: toxic masculinity, male loneliness, and racism/prejudice (faced by migrant workers) today; this film delves into such topics (yet NOT in a heavy-handed/Hollywood manner). The weight of responsibilities has made Johnny bitter, angry, and a (possible) alcoholic. While his old schoolmates attend college and hang out in pubs, Johnny spends time w/ cows, sheep, and random hookups. As an outsider to this land, Georghe sees the (natural) beauty and appreciates it. There are a few scenes in this film which MAY put off sensitive viewers; as many viewers have pointed out, it’s BOTH gritty and lovely (in its own way). Lee and his cinematographer (Joshua James Richards) worked for 4 mos, planning every shot before production. O’Connor won Best Actor for his work at the 2017 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA).

[1] Like Brokeback, this is a genre-defying, coming of age, drama-rich love story.

[2] All in all, next to downplaying the overly popular romantic view on running a farm, this movie also does a good job of introducing a fresh take on gay relationships.

[3] Before I knew it I was in Yorkshire. The silence was deafening, emotions unspoken. Then, Josh O’Connor – a miraculous actor – I didn’t know who the actor was and that helped enormously to get sucked into his world – exterior and interior – and to live his experience fully. Alec Secareanu produces the perfect emotional blow. Roughness and tenderness in a stunning, totally believable performance that, I know will live in my mind forever.

[4] Absolutely stunning film that is now right up there among my all-time favourites. It’s sensual and romantic; and raw and ugly at the same time which is actually quite an accomplishment. The partnership between O’Connor and Secareanu is incredibly effective; the magnificent Ian Hart made me cry and Gemma Jones is amazing as well.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

Spoiler-Free Reviews: Summer 2024

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Civil War

Don’t watch it- to be brief! I saw this (on VOD) b/c I loved writer/director Alex Garland’s earlier movie- Ex Machina. Woo boy, it this a (disappointing) departure! The dialogue (aside from one tense/interesting scene) is predictable, the characters (played by Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, etc.) have V little development, and there is almost no plot. The setting is a dystopian future, though NOT too far from our present. Garland is a Brit, so perhaps doesn’t have the broadest view of the US and its politics; I think he was given TOO much freedom w/ this movie.

Inside Out 2

This is a good time for ALL ages; I think kids who are 10+ would understand the story (centered on the changes that become when we enter our teens). I went to see this sequel w/ a handful of gal pals (incl. a therapist/former social worker) at Alamo Drafthouse (Arlington). We saw a LOT of parents w/ elementary school age kids. Some of my friend’s clients related to it, so she was eager to see it also. There are a few new voice talents, incl. Maya Hawke (who plays Anxiety).

A Quiet Place: Day One

I went to see this at my local theater during 2nd wk it was out. I’m a fan of the 1st movie in this cinematic universe; the 2nd one wasn’t V memorable. Here, we see that Lupita N’yongo is FAB (as some of y’all already know); this sequel will also make you appreciate (British up-and-comer) Joseph Quinn. The actor (who burst onto the scene in Stranger Things) is having quite the year; he’ll be seen as an emperor in Gladiator II and is currently filming Marvel’s Fantastic Four. There is NOT much dialogue after the 1st act, BUT the actors do a LOT w/ their eyes and facial expressions. Also, cat owners will be pleased by the (fine) feline acting!

Twisters

Do you like Glen Powell and/or (another British up-and-comer) Daisy Edgar-Jones? Were you a fan of the (original) movie- Twister– and enjoy SFX? Then, I recommend this movie to you. Otherwise, I don’t think you’ll care too much. Most of the characters (many who are fresh faces) are drawn w/ a broad brush. Some commented that Anthony Ramos’ hairstyle and (toned down) charisma didn’t work for them, though they liked his previous work. The new Superman actor, David Corenswet, plays a one-note character. The directing (by Lee Isaac Chung) is quite good; this will put the (indie) Korean-American veteran director in the mainstream.

Two Films of Luca Guadagnino: “I Am Love” (2009) & “A Bigger Splash” (2015)

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I Am Love (2009) starring Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, & Edoardo Gabbriellini

Emma (Tilda Swinton) left Russia to live with her husband in Italy. Now a member of a powerful industrial family, she is the respected mother of three, but feels unfulfilled. One day, Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini), a talented chef and her son’s friend, makes her senses kindle. -Synopsis

After watching Challengers this Spring, I decided to look up films that Luca Guadagnino directed in the past. For most (American) viewers, he became one to watch w/ I Am Love; Swinton has worked w/ him on many projects. This is a domestic drama w/ fine food, timeless fashion, and romance. The story is set in (modern-day) Milan, yet the visual style reminded me of a bygone era. The title is taken from the aria La mamma morta, part of the 1896 opera Andrea Chénier by Umberto Giordano; music is a major element here. Swinton learned both Italian and Russian for the part- wow! Swinton’s IRL daughter (Honor Swinton Byrne) played Emma as a child. As the idealistic heir of the biz, Flavio Parenti does a fine job (and looks gorgeous). Fans of Adam Driver (like me) will recognize Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher; they acted together in Hungry Hearts (2014). Here she plays Elisabetta, the artistic daughter of the (buttoned-up) Recchi family.

[1] Who is Mr. Guadagnino, the director? Where does he come from? He seems incredibly sure of himself. Costumes, interiors, landscapes are a visual feast. The score is also a very bold touch.

[2] While I was moved by much of the visual beauty of the film and the idea of breaking with tradition and listening to the voices within, I was infrequently emotionally involved with the characters and I Am Love felt distant and often contrived.

[3] Throughout the movie, it seemed that the food acted as a metaphor: Emma was starting to taste a whole side of her existence about which she’d never known.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

A Bigger Splash (2015) starring Ralph Fiennes, Dakota Johnson, Matthias Schoenaerts, & Tilda Swinton

The lives of a high-profile couple, a famous rock star (Tilda Swinton) and a filmmaker (Matthias Schoenaerts), vacationing and recovering on the idyllic sun-drenched and remote Italian island of Pantelleria, are disrupted by the unexpected visit of an old friend (Ralph Fiennes) and his daughter (Dakota Johnson), creating a whirlwind of jealousy, passion, and- ultimately- danger for everyone involved. —Synopsis (Fox Searchlight)

Swinton plays Marianne Lane, a British rock star (similar to Bowie) on an extended vacay on an island of Italy. Paul De Smedt (Matthias Schoenaerts) is her quiet/chill bf of several yrs. The happy couple is forced to host Marianne’s music producer/ex-bf, Harry Hawkes (Ralph Fiennes), when he drops in w/o warning. Adding to the disruption, Harry brought along a much younger/American woman, Penelope (Dakota Johnson), who turns out to be his daughter! As Marianne has recently injured her vocal cords, she speaks V little (and almost in a whisper). Harry (never at a loss for words) takes over the villa’s kitchen, invites his friends over, and does a (hilarious) dance! We start to wonder: What is his motivation to be here?

If you enjoyed The White Lotus, I think you may also like this film (which is a blend of comedy, drama, and mystery). The (natural) way that Guadagnino deals w/ nudity, sensuality, and intimate relationships is rare (esp. for those who don’t see a LOT of European films)! As one viewer wrote: “Guadagnino is a remarkable filmmaker with a retro eye and a futuristic sensibility.” There is a small side plot involving young men (refugees from North Africa); this felt superfluous to some viewers. At a Q&A session for this film, Guadagnino (now 52 y.o.) explained that his mother is Algerian (raised in Morocco) and a Muslim! However, when she married the director’s father, she was estranged from her family.

[1] The quartet core together concocts a palpable interplay between each of them, Ralph Fiennes is the MVP simply because he is all over the place and wondrous to behold under a fully liberated context, and at the same time his performance knowingly triggers a tint of abstruseness which belies the nature of every human soul…

[2] A Bigger Splash is a character development masterclass by Guadagnino. Over the first hour, the film gives everything to build up the intricacies of each character’s attributes so that every subsequent variation and elaboration feels exhilarating. This is a film about people and relationships; how different associations can sometimes coalesce, yet at other times grate, how secrets and history must awkwardly co-exist with the fantasies of perfection.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

“Fearless” (1993) starring Jeff Bridges, Isabella Rossellini, & Rosie Perez

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After surviving a plane crash, a San Fran-based architect, Max Klein (Jeff Bridges), emerges a changed man. He’s unable to connect to his life w/ his wife Laura (Isabella Rossellini) and young son. Max feels like a god- nothing can hurt him! About 3 mos. later, psychologist Bill Perlman (John Turturro) convinces Max to meet w/ another survivor, Carla Rodrigo (Rosie Perez- who got an Oscar nom), who is racked w/ grief and guilt after losing her baby son in the crash. Carla’s husband, Manny, is played by a young Benicio del Toro. Max’s business partner/friend, Jeff, is played by John de Lancie (best known for Star Trek: TNG).

Dr. Perlman: He and your wife are the only survivors I can’t reach. She won’t talk and he won’t admit the crash was bad.

Manny: Is that right? He says it was good?

Dr. Perlman: Says it was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Hero (1992) was based around a similar subject matter and released a year before Fearless; about half a dozen cast/crew worked on both movies. The plane crash here was inspired by a real event from 1989.The source novel by Rafael Yglesias was published in 1993; Yglesias wrote the screenplay (which was his 1st one). Fearless may NOT an easy film to watch, esp. for those who lived through 9/11. This made me V emotional (I cried 3x), though the directing (by Peter Weir) is done in an unsentimental way. The music enhanced the movie V well.

Dr. Perlman: She won’t talk. Very Catholic. Old World, you know. Full of guilt, shame.

Max: I’m full of guilt and shame. How is that Old World?

This is a character-based drama w/ strong acting from the leads and supporting cast. Max is heroic (and called so in the media), BUT he is also a victim. Bridges (charming, relatable, yet troubled) and Perez (who has to carry a LOT of heaviness) have terrific chemistry together! As she a woman of color then relatively new to Hollywood, the studio was unsure re: Perez; Bridges and Weir both wanted her and pushed to get her hired (as she noted).

[1] This is deep introspective film making, as relevant as ever, with great performances from some truly great actors.

[2] Peter Weir is unique in his ability to convey the niceties of life with authenticity. Jeff Bridges is the master of the theatrical understatement.

[3] This movie definitely has flaws- the major one being that there are points when the story does not seem to be heading in any particular direction- but excellent acting, some intensely profound and uncommonly well-thought out character psychology (esp. for a Hollywood film) and the scariest/loveliest air plane crash ever dramatized makes this worth seeing.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

“Written on the Wind” (1956) starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack, & Dorothy Malone

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It was a masterpiece of suds. -Lauren Bacall, in an 2000 interview

In the Fall of 1955, a geologist working for Hadley Oil, Mitch Wayne (Rock Hudson), meets an executive secretary, Lucy Moore (Lauren Bacall), in their company’s office in NYC. He invites her to a lunch meeting at 21 Club w/ his best friend/famed playboy, Kyle Hadley (Robert Stack). Mitch and Kyle both fall hard for Lucy! Later that day, Kyle flies them all down (in his plane) to Miami; they check into a luxury hotel by the beach. Whoa, talk about love bombing! Kye shows Lucy her private suite, complete w/ glam clothes and accessories. However, none of this impresses her, so books a flight back to NYC. Kyle races to the airport, revealing his love for Lucy. They get married the next morning and travel to Acapulco; Kyle even gives up alcohol. Meanwhile, Kyle’s sister, Marylee (Dorothy Malone), is raising hell in their hometown (Hadley, TX). She loves Mitch desperately (though goes after other men), he sees Marylee as a sister.

Almost any other actor I know in the business… would have gone up to the head of the studio and said, “Hey, look, man, I’m the star – you cut this guy down or something.” But he never did. I never forgot that. -Robert Stack re: working w/ Rock Hudson

Rock gave me that sense of security whenever I worked with him. -Dorothy Malone (who won Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1956 for her role) on her bond w/ Hudson

The source novel was based on the death of tobacco heir Zachary “Smith” Reynolds. Though Humphrey Bogart (husband of Bacall) didn’t like it, many modern critics consider Written on the Wind to be director Douglas Sirk’s best. Here we have an exploration of love, betrayal, and social status. The Village Voice referred to the film as “the original Technicolor noir” (OCT 1987). Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; a native of Germany) is called “the master of melodrama;” he used bright colors in the visuals, lavish sets, and sweeping music. Without these types of movies, we perhaps wouldn’t have the soap operas of the ’80s (Dallas; Dynasty). The director and Hudson collaborated earlier on Magnificent Obsession (1954) and All that Heaven Allows (1955). Sirk stated that Kyle had homosexual leanings towards Mitch; this could NOT be mentioned (due to the Hays Code). The implication was so strong that 1956 audiences could read it either way; to today’s viewers, the subtext may be TOO obvious.

I just went and used my imagination, and I was doing DTs and madness and the six stages of drunkenness, and it was a good chance to truly prove that I could either do something pretty good or completely fall on my face. -Stack re: preparation for his role

Bacall and Hudson are an (unlikely) screen pair; she has the (rare) meek/underwritten role. Bacall later said she felt too old to play Lucy. Stack and Malone have the flashier roles; they’re undisciplined, insecure, and shameless siblings. It’s obvious that old/frail Mr. Hadley (Robert Keith) respects/depends on Mitch (unlike his son). Mitch wants to extricate himself from the (dysfunctional) Hadley family; he isn’t always strong. A clever viewer felt that the different cars reflected the personality of the characters. Kyle drives a yellow sports car- Allard J2X Le Mans- representing caution/potential danger. Marylee drives a red convertible-1955 Woodhall Wildfire Roadster- representing passion. In contrast to his flashy friends, Mitch drives a 1956 Plymouth convertible.

[1] WRITTEN ON THE WIND could be considered Sirk’s epic soap opera; indeed, it is so rife with human vulnerability and neurosis as depicted among the very rich that it is as compelling to watch as any real life domestic squabble among the rich and famous, perhaps more so.

[2] It is ironic that during the ’50s, when Douglas Sirk was at his most successful in terms of audience appeal, he was virtually ignored by the critics. He is now seen, however, as a director of formidable intellect who achieved his best work in melodrama.

[3] …the delivery is everything and the film succeeds in making the story and characters engaging. It is hard to describe well, but the story doesn’t really happen in reality, but rather in a sort of melodrama world of high emotions, and I didn’t expect it to draw me in.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews