Sound of Metal (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): As he loses his hearing

Posted on December 9, 2020 by kaist455

“Sound of Metal”, which had a premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in last September but was belatedly released on Amazon Prime early in this month due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, is an extraordinary drama film full of empathy and understanding. As closely observing its musician hero’s sudden physical disability, the movie lets us immerse in his confused and frustrated state of mind, and it surely helps that the movie is firmly anchored by one of the best performances of this year.

The movie opens with the latest public performance of Ruben Stone (Riz Ahmed), a drummer who has worked and lived with his partner/girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke) for years. Although their duo heavy metal band is not that popular in their underground music field, they have been mostly happy together as passionately throwing themselves into their music for years, and they are currently going through a small tour at present. As moving from one spot to another by their recreational vehicle which also functions as their current home, they support each other a lot with loving care and affection, and they are also eagerly waiting for the release of their next album.

And then something happens to Ruben on one day. He suddenly finds himself not being able to hear sounds and voices that well, and he manages to hide this from Lou while going through their tour schedule as usual, but then there comes a point where he cannot possibly go on with his pretense. When he is recommended to go to a specialist, he starts to fear the worst, and, unfortunately, his fear turns out to be right. After going through a series of tests on his hearing ability, the specialist notifies to Ruben that his hearing ability has been considerably deteriorated for some unknown reason, and he also warns to Ruben that this status will only get worse if Ruben does not do anything for slowing down what has been already started on him with no possibility of recovery.

Understandably quite shocked and devastated, Ruben keeps performing with Lou as if nothing serious happened, and then he comes to realize how futile that is. Through its effective sound design, the movie occasionally makes Ruben’s loss of hearing quite palpable to our ears, and we come to empathize more with his mounting fear and disorientation. No matter how much he clings to his denial, things are indeed getting worse for him, and Lou soon notices something odd about his performance.

In the end, Ruben has no choice but to reveal his loss of hearing to Lou, and, because of his addiction problem in the past, Lou becomes worried about the possibility of her boyfriend getting off the wagon due to the stress from his loss of hearing. Ruben, who has incidentally been sober for 4 years, admits that he cannot help but get quite nervous and agitated, but he needs a special kind of narcotics anonymous group meeting considering his current condition, and that is certainly not something he can easily find.

Fortunately, thanks to some efforts from his current narcotics anonymous sponsor, Ruben and his girlfriend are informed that there is a suitable place for him. It is a small private facility for deaf recovering addicts, and it also happens to be not so far from their current location. Although Ruben is reluctant even after meeting Joe (Paul Raci), a deaf Vietnam War veteran and recovering addict who is in the charge of this facility, Lou believes that he really needs to stay there for a while – especially after witnessing how unstable and volatile her boyfriend has become due to his increasingly difficult struggle with his loss of hearing.

Once Lou makes her point very clear to Ruben and then leaves, Ruben has no choice but to check into the facility, and the movie calmly observes how he struggles to get accustomed to his current condition as well as his new environment. He initially feels isolated as he cannot communicate with his fellow deaf recovering addicts via sign language, but, under Joe’s benevolent guidance, he slowly gets used to his new circumstance in addition to learning sign language. As time goes by, he feels more comfortable with his loss of hearing, and he also finds that his musical skills are still useful during several scenes which will probably remind you of those similar scenes in “Children of a Lesser God” (1986).

However, Ruben is also conflicted about whether he can continue to live with his hearing disability, and the screenplay by director Darius Marder and his co-writer/composer Abraham Marder, which is based on the story by Darius Marder and co-executive producer Derek Cianfrance, wisely recognizes the complex aspects of his situation as maintaining its non-judgmental attitude. It looks like Ruben may regain his hearing ability to some degree via cochlear implant, but, not so surprisingly, there is a price to pay besides that expensive medical fee, and Ruben belatedly comes to realize what he unwisely discarded without much thought.

Although its epilogue part is a little too long, the movie is still supported well by the strong performance from Riz Ahmed, who has been one of the most interesting new actors during last several years since he attracted my attention for the first time via his darkly comic performance in British black comedy film “Four Lions” (2010). Instead of merely externalizing his character’s thoughts and feelings, Ahmed ably internalizes them via small details and nuances to be conveyed by his expressive face, and that is why a few big emotional moments from him are quite effective.

The other main performers in the film are also solid on the whole. While Olivia Cooke is convincing in her scenes with Ahmed, Paul Raci, who is incidentally a prominent figure in the deaf community as a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), effortlessly exudes his character’s hard-earned wisdom and understanding, and Lauren Ridloff and many other deaf main cast members in the film bring considerable authenticity and realism to the story.

Thanks to its sensitive and thoughtful storytelling, “Sound of Metal”, which is Marder’s first feature film, does not end up becoming something sappy or sentimental, and you will not easily forget Ahmed’s powerful performance in the film. Although nothing is certain for his character even at the end of the story, his silent face speaks volumes to us without seemingly signifying anything, and you will come to reflect more on his character’s emotional journey.

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The Nest (2020) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): From one nest to another

Posted on December 9, 2020 by kaist455

“The Nest” unsettles us step by step in its calm but unnerving examination of a family being deteriorated under the toxic delusion of its untrustworthy patriarch. He keeps trying reaching for any big financial break, but it only becomes more apparent to us that he is mired in a grim situation way over his head while not recognizing it at all, and his family cannot look away from that anymore as sensing more of the mounting troubles he and they are going to face in one way or another.

At the beginning, the movie, which is set in the 1980s, observes their seemingly happy family life in a suburban area near New York City. While her British husband Rory (Jude Law) has worked as a trader in the city, Allison works a horseback riding coach at a nearby ranch, and we later watch them having a little nice dinner at their home along with their two children Benjamin (Charlie Shotwell) and Samantha (Oona Roche).

One day, Rory suddenly suggests to his wife that they and their kids should move to England. According to him, there have not been enough opportunities for his business career, and he believes that he and his family will be more affluent once he begins to work at a trading company in London where he once worked some time ago. Although she does not like moving to a new place after changing their residences no less than three times during last 10 years, Allison supports her husband’s decision, and their kids go along with that without much complaint.

Once Rory and Allison arrive in England along with their children and a horse bought for her, it looks like everything will work out well for his family as well as him. While he does not have much money now, Rory rents a big country manor in Surrey just because he thinks he will soon succeed as much as he hopes, and he also makes sure that his family look as affluent as possible. For example, he sends his children to expensive private schools, and he also begins the construction of a big stable for his wife outside the manor.

At his workplace, Rory is warmly welcomed by his old boss, and he and his wife later attend a party full of rich dudes on whom he is determined to make a good impression. It seems that all he has to do is persuading his old boss to accept a certain big, lucrative deal planned by him from the very beginning, which will surely change the trading company a lot in addition to making him much richer than before.

However, we also come to notice how fragile and unstable Rory and his family’s status is. While he keeps promising to his wife that there will soon be lots of money rolling into their hands, his family remain stuck in their new residence without much change or progress, and then there finally comes an inevitable moment when Allison belatedly comes to learn of how bad their financial situation really is.

What follows next is pretty much like watching a ship slowly and fatefully sinking below the waterline, and director/writer Sean Durkin steadily maintains the level of tension under the surface while subtly conveying to us the desperation and frustration surrounding the family in the film. Rory tries to maintain the status quo by any means necessary, but a series of pathetic attempts of his only remind us again of his delusional irresponsibility. During a brief scene involved with his estranged mother, it is implied to us that his hunger for wealth and respectability is originated from his unhappy childhood, and his mother still clearly sees through him no matter how much he tries to hide himself behind his superficial confidence.

In case of Rory’s family, we see more of how much Allison and her children have been fed up with him. Especially after one devastating incident, Allison becomes more tired of her husband’s empty promises, and that leads to a bitter and angry argument between them at one point later in the story. Not oblivious to what is going on between their parents at all, Samantha and Benjamin have to deal with each own pain and resentment, and we are not so surprised when Samantha decides to do something quite wild and rebellious along with local kids at the manor.

Durkin’s competent storytelling continues to hold our attention to the end, and his two lead performers are fabulous as a couple slowly imploding behind their cracking façade. Jude Law, who is no stranger to banally confident characters, is superb especially during a little personal moment when his character reveals his overwhelming desperation to a stranger, and Carrie Coon, a wonderful actress who needs more recognition in my humble opinion, is an equal acting match for her co-star during several key scenes between them. As the two other family members in the film, Charlie Shotwell and Oona Roche hold well each own small spot around Law and Coon, and the other supporting performers including Michael Culkin, Ann Reid, and Adeel Akhtar are also solid in their respective roles.

Overall, “The Nest”, which is incidentally Durkin’s second feature film after his remarkable debut feature film “Martha Marcy May Marlene” (2011), is a dark but undeniably compelling family drama, and its deliberately ambiguous final scene will linger on your mind for a while. Regardless of whatever will happen next to them, their problem is fully exposed and recognized at last, and that is a good start, isn’t it?

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Black Bear (2020) ☆☆☆(3/4): A sharp and vicious comedy of two interconnected tales

Posted on December 8, 2020 by kaist455

“Black Bear” is a sharp and vicious comedy film which actively confronts you with a matter of fiction and reality. While the first half is an increasingly tense chamber drama of desire, jealousy, and manipulation amidst three believable characters, the second half cheerfully reconstructs the elements of the first half via one bumpy filmmaking process, and it is alternatively amusing and disturbing to watch how these two parts resonate with each other somewhere between fiction and reality.

The first part begins with the arrival of one young woman in a lake house located somewhere in some remote forest area. Her name is Allison (Aubrey Plaza), we come to gather that she has been pursuing a filmmaking career since she gave up her acting career some time ago. She comes to the lake house because she needs a quiet place where she can concentrate on writing the screenplay for her movie, and it looks like she finds a right place when she is casually greeted by Gabe (Christopher Abbott), who is the owner of the lake house.

Right after Gabe takes her to his lake house, he introduces Allison to his pregnant wife Blair (Sarah Gadon), and Allison slowly gets accustomed to the quiet and isolated environment surrounding the lake house. She can always rest at the lakeside whenever she is not focusing on writing her screenplay, and Gabe and Blair seem to be ideal hosts for her besides being a good couple.

However, the mood gradually becomes unnerving and uncomfortable as these three characters have a dinner and then a drinking time in the following evening. While everyone enjoys their dinner cooked and prepared by Gabe, we sense a growing tension among them as they subsequently talk and drink in the living room. It slowly turns out that Gabe was not totally honest with Allison at the beginning, and Blair becomes quite suspicious of what is being exchanged between her husband and Allison, who usually agrees to whatever Gabe says.

Allison emphasizes that she is not actually serious in her responses to Gabe, but we cannot help but wonder whether she is really honest about that, and Aubrey Plaza, who has been mainly known for her sardonic supporting turn in TV sitcom series “Parks and Recreation”, is effective in dangling her performance between several different possibilities. Is Allison actually aware of her emotional effects on Gabe and Blair? If so, is she simply toying with them or is she definitely interested in getting closer to Gabe?

After this tricky situation among these three characters is inevitably resolved via the ending which I will let you discover for yourself, the movie moves onto a different circumstance where its three characters are rearranged in the same background. This time, Gabe is a movie director, and Allison is his actress wife while Blair is an actress who is going to perform in front of the camera along with Allison. In contrast to the sense of isolation hovering around the first half, the second half is filled with not only these three characters but also a bunch of crew members, and we are served with a small funny running gag popping here and there on the set as everyone is busily preparing for the last scene to shoot, which is also the most important part of the film.

As playing a wife suspecting her husband’s infidelity, Allison is supposed to express lots of anger and jealousy in front of the camera, and she is willing to do her best, but her husband decides to do something very manipulative for pushing his wife further. He frequently behaves as if he is having an affair with Blair, and Blair is quite willing to be his accomplice. All they need to do is showing fake signs of intimacy from time to time, and Gabe also pressures and bullies his wife a lot whenever he can.

Thanks to Gabe and Blair’s nasty tactics, Allison becomes very unstable and neurotic as the shooting of that key scene is about to begin, and what happens next is not so far from the climactic part of John Cassavetes’ “Opening Night” (1977). Like Gena Rowlands’ volatile stage actress character in that film, Allison is not that well in her mind to say the least, but what she eventually does in front of the camera is sort of spellbinding as wildly bouncing back and forth between fiction and reality, and this moment sometimes approaches to the realm of horror, especially when the movie observes how enthusiastically her husband monitors and captures those raw moments of acting relentlessly erupting from his wife.

Needless to say, Plaza is utterly stupendous as expanding the range of her acting talent during this part, and she is also supported well by two good main cast members surrounding her. Christopher Abbott, who has steadily advanced during last several years since his harrowing breakthrough turn in “James White” (2015), did a fine job of conveying to us the untrustworthy aspects of his role, and Sarah Gordon, a talented Canadian actress who recently appeared in Netflix film “Vampires vs. the Bronx” (2020), is equally engaging as another crucial part of the movie.

“Black Bear” is written and directed by Lawrence Michael Levine, who previously directed several feature films including “Gabi on the Roof in July” (2010) and “Wild Canaries” (2014). I have not watched his previous films, but, as far as I can see from “Black Bear”, he is a competent filmmaker who really knows how to handle mood, narrative, and performance, and I particularly appreciate how he draws a raw and uncompromising performance from Plaza. Yes, it is always entertaining to see a performer pushing the envelope on the screen, and Plaza’s considerable achievement here in this film is certainly something you should not miss.

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Ammonite (2020) ☆☆☆(3/4): A somber Victorian lesbian romance on the beach

Posted on December 8, 2020 by kaist455

Francis Lee’s new film “Ammonite” is a somber fictional romance drama between two different real-life figures in the 19th Victorian era. While it is a bit too dry, slow, and detached at times, the movie subtly and sensitively depicts the emotional undercurrents churning around its two heroines, and it is often poignant to see how their mostly suppressed romantic feelings are further fueled by that drab and repressive environment surrounding them.

If you have ever been interested in paleontology, you have probably heard about Mary Anning, a self-taught paleontologist who discovered many different important fossils for herself on the Southern English coastline of Lyme Regis during the early 19th century. Although many of her discoveries including the first correctly identified ichthyosaur skeleton led to significant changes and advances in her scientific field during that time, Anning never received any proper recognition throughout her life just because she was a woman, and she also could not be a member of Geological Society of London while many male scientists usually took credits for her considerable contributions as reflected by the opening scene of the film set in a big museum in London.

Anning’s last years in the 1840s were particularly hard and difficult due to her constantly poor economic status, and we see another dreary day of hers on the coastline of Lyme Regis during that period. Although it is quite cold, gloomy, and windy on the beach, Anning (Kate Winslet) must find any kind of fossil good enough to sell at a small shop run by her and her ailing mother Molly (Gemma Jones), and then she comes to notice something in a muddy cliff. The movie patiently observes her following hard efforts, and we can sense how willing she is to take considerable risk for earning a bit more, though the outcome of her efforts is not as satisfying as she hoped in the end.

On one day, one unexpected customer comes into Anning’s shop. That person in question is a young geologist named Roderick Murchison (James McArdle), and he is quite eager to not only buy some fossils from Anning but also observe how she works on the beach. Although she is not so interested in taking Murchison to her usual workplace, Anning eventually agrees to do that because he is willing to pay for that, and we later get a little amusing moment which clearly shows us that Anning is much more knowledgeable than her latest customer in case of locating and identifying fossils.

Murchison also brings his wife Charlotte (Saoirse Ronan) to Lyme Regis, and he wants her to join his outdoor activities, but Charlotte is not particularly willing to do that because of her fragile physical condition at present. When it subsequently turns out that Charlotte is not healthy enough to accompany him during his upcoming oversea trip, Murchison suggests that she should stay in Lyme Regis, and then he asks Anning to take care of his wife during his absence.

While understandably reluctant to take care of Charlotte, Anning accepts Murchison’s request mainly because he promises to pay more money to her for that. It looks like Charlotte needs some fresh sea air, but the brutal and gloomy climate of the coastline of Lyme Regis does not fit with her that well, and she also dislikes spending time on the beach along with Anning, who mostly concentrates on finding new fossils without saying much to Charlotte.

However, it does not take that much time for Anning and Charlotte to develop a certain mutual feeling between them. When Charlotte becomes quite ill after her disastrous attempt on sea bath, Anning nurses her with considerable care and attention, and Charlotte appreciate that a lot while becoming more affectionate to her than before. When they are alone together in Anning’s workroom at one point, something eventually sparks between them, and they instantly find themselves swept into a passion they have probably never experienced before.

I must point out that there is no evidence on what really happened between Anning and Charlotte in real life, but Lee’s screenplay did a thoughtful job of handling its story and characters while exercising some artistic liberty and imagination as required, and he also makes a small good point on female issues during the Victorian era. Having been often suppressed by their conservative society which usually disregards and discriminates women, Anning and Charlotte cannot help but feel liberated as passionately embracing each other, and Charlotte even comes to consider having her lover near her in London later in the story.

Although the movie unfortunately stumbles during its last act, it is at least held together by its two dependable lead actresses. While Kate Winslet is terrific as a woman who is fiercely passionate as well as independent behind her hardened façade, Saoirse Ronan ably complements her co-star with an equally sensitive performance, and the other main cast members in the film including James McArdle, Gemma Jones, Alec Secăreanu, and Fiona Shaw are also well-cast in their respective supporting roles.

Compared to the raw emotional power of Lee’s previous film “God’s Own Country” (2017), which can be regarded as a British variation of “Brokeback Mountain” (2005), “Ammonite” is more reserved and restrained, but it is mostly engaging mainly thanks to Winslet and Ronan. While it is not as passionate and compelling as Todd Haynes’ “Carol” (2015) or Céline Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” (2019), the movie distinguishes itself with enough good elements, so I recommend it to you despite some reservation.

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The 40-Year-Old Version (2020) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Meet Radha Blank

Posted on December 7, 2020 by kaist455

Netflix film “The 40-Year-Old Version”, which won the US Dramatic Competition Directing Award when it had a premiere at the Sundance Film Festival early in this year, is a witty and edgy comedy film which will definitely leave lasting impressions on you for a number of good reasons. While cheerfully bouncing along with its forthright heroine, the movie deftly generates one acerbic moment after another during its 2-hour running time, and the overall result is one of the most impressive debut works of this year.

At the beginning, the movie gradually establishes the current status of its heroine Radha (Radha Blank), a struggling African American female playwright who is soon going to have her 40th birthday. There was a time when she was regarded as one of the most promising young playwrights in New York City, but she has been mostly forgotten and overlooked at present, and the main source of her current income comes from teaching a bunch of high school students in her small acting class, who often provide some bright consolation to her via their youthful energy and uninhibited creative spirit.

Radha keeps trying to find any opportunity for her career advance, but she only finds herself disappointed and frustrated again and again. As her loyal agent/best friend, Archie (Peter Kim), who is incidentally a Korean American gay dude, is willing to try as much as he can for helping her, and he later drags Radha to a small party attended by a bunch of notable theater producers who may be interested in financing the stage performance of her latest play, but these rich folks, most of whom are incidentally Caucasian, are mostly interested in those grim African American tales of poverty and suffering. In fact, they do not give a damn about other kinds of African American tales including the one proposed by Radha, and one certain powerful producer annoys and then infuriates her a lot with his obnoxiously condescending comments on how she should change her latest work.

Radha also tries on a local independent theater company led by some notable African American male playwright, but, again, she finds herself against the wall because that playwright in question is so self-absorbed in his artistic importance. Although his theater is quite shabby besides being in the need of some repair, he remains smug and arrogant while not listening to Radha’s request at all, and that certainly leads to more frustration and exasperation for her.

Not long after that, one unlikely idea comes upon Radha. For letting out her anger and frustration, she embarks on creating a piece of improvisation rap, and that makes her feel a bit better than before. After all, she once wrote lots of rap songs during her high school years, so she seriously comes to consider beginning a rap career instead of writing more theater plays.

She happens to know a guy who may give her some help. He is a local music producer/composer nicknamed “D” (Oswin Benjamin), and all Radha needs is a sufficient amount of good marijuana to be exchanged for the background music composed and produced by him. Once the background music for that improvisation rap piece of hers is ready, she goes all the way during the following recording process, and D comes to sense something special as watching her performance.

Now you may think you know where the story is going, but the screenplay by director/writer/co-producer Radha Blank, which is partially based on her real-life experiences, does not take an easy route at all. While having a liberating sense of emotional ventilation from her raps, Radha remains unsure about what she should really do for her life and career, and we later get a cringe-inducing moment when she clumsily attempts her first public performance in front of many people. When her agent manages to get another possible opportunity for her playwright career, she becomes conflicted on whether she should make compromises for what she has yearned for years, but, to her surprise, it turns out to be pretty easy for her to accept questionable compromises demanded by her producer and director.

As steadily following her autobiographical character’s bumpy artistic/emotional journey, Blank frequently throws humorously barbed moments such as the absurd scene unfolded during the workshop process for the stage production of Radha’s latest play, and she also did a wonderful job of capturing the vivid and authentic urban atmosphere of the streets and alleys of New York City on the screen. Thanks to her cinematographer Eric Branco, many key moments in the film are gorgeously captured on the black and white in 2.35:1 ratio, and you will appreciate how Blank and Branco occasionally let colors pop on the screen for comic or dramatic effects.

While Blank firmly holds the center as the heart and soul of the film, she also generously allows the several other main cast members to shine around her strong performance. While Peter Kim steals the show as a neurotic agent who must balance himself between professionalism and friendship, the other main cast members including Oswin Benjamin and Jacob Ming-Trent are also solid on the whole, and Redd Birney is amusingly detestable in his small but crucial supporting role.

In conclusion, “The 40-Year-Old Version” is funny, refreshing, and uncompromising in terms of story and characters, and I was quite entertained by its numerous good moments in addition to admiring Blank’s confident handling of mood, narrative, and performance. I do not like making a hasty judgment on her future career, but I think she is another interesting African American filmmaker to watch, and I will look forward to watching whatever will come next from her.

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The Incredible Jessica James (2017) ☆☆☆(3/4): Thoroughly sassy Jessica

Posted on December 7, 2020 by kaist455

Netflix film “The Incredible Jessica James”, which I belatedly watched it along with other Netflix film “The 40-Year-Old Version” (2020), is funny and charming for the lively and endearing comic persona of its lead actress. Yes, this is surely another typical story of a struggling New Yorker artist, but the movie is buoyed by its lead actress’ spunky performance to considerable degree, and you may find yourself rooting for her character as often amused by a number of sweet and funny moments in the film.

Jessica Williams, who has not gotten opportunities to demonstrate more of her talent yet even at this point, plays Jessica James, a young African American female playwright who has unsuccessfully pursued her aspiration for several years since she moved from her hometown in Ohio to New York City. As reflected by one brief shot showing one wall of her small residence in Brooklyn, she has tried numerous times for drawing the attention of those local theater companies, but there have been only countless incidents of rejection, and she has to be only content with earning her meager living via teaching elementary school kids at a local children’s theater workshop.

Moreover, Jessica turns out to be going through a certain emotional difficulty at present. During the opening scene, she meets some guy at a local bar via a dating digital application, but their conversation does not go that well because of her rather aggressive attitude which barely hides her true motive behind this meeting. As a matter of fact, she recently had a breakup with her boyfriend Damon (Lakeith Stanfield), and she chose to have this date simply because she wants to pretend in front of Damon that she is quite ready to move onto whoever will come into her life after him.

Not long after miserably reminded again that she has not still totally gotten over her breakup with Damon, Jessica is recommended by her best friend Tasha (Noël Wells) to meet a guy whom Tasha recently encountered at some group meeting. Although she is not so eager at first, Jessica eventually agrees to meet that guy, and, what do you know, they find themselves feeling something mutual developing between them. At first, both Jessica and Boone (Chris O’Dowd) frankly tell each other that they are not so interested in moving onto the next possible step for them, but then they come to spend more time with each other as they talk and talk, and then Jessica ends up sleeping with him at his residence, though she insists to Tasha that nothing much happened between him and her at that night.

Anyway, Boone also has still not gotten over the end of his previous relationship, so he and Jessica come upon a good idea which may help both of them. While Boone follows the Instagram account of her ex-boyfriend instead of her, Jessica follows his ex-wife’s instead of him, and they promise to each other that they will instantly notify each other on any significant activity from her ex-boyfriend or his ex-wife.

This is certainly a familiar set-up for romantic relationship, but the screenplay by director/writer James C. Strouse does not try to push this part too hard as focusing more on its heroine’s growing doubt and frustration on her artistic career. While it looks like she finally advances a bit, Jessica feels more uncertain about where her life and career are going, and she cannot help but try too hard to stick to her principles. In a subplot involved with one of her young students from whom she sees a lot of herself in the past, she unintentionally comes to hurt that student’s feeling while forcefully attempting to inspire that student more, and that consequently puts considerable distance between her and that student.

The movie also takes a brief detour for showing more of Jessica’s life history. When she visits her hometown for attending her younger sister’s baby shower, she is wholeheartedly welcomed by her mother and stepfather, but she still feels like an oddball during her younger sister’s baby shower, and that leads to an amusingly awkward moment when she comes to blurt out some blatant feminist comments, which incidentally make others around her a little uncomfortable.

During its third act, the movie takes a few predictable plot turns as expected, and it accordingly comes to lose some of its comic momentum, but Williams’ commendable performance still holds it well. Even when her character becomes quite abrasive from time to time, Williams effortlessly exudes her natural spirit and charm, and we come to accept many of Jessica’s human flaws while frequently impressed by her vibrant life force. During several scenes at the local children’s theater workshop, we can clearly sense how sincere and passionate Jessica is about nurturing her young students’ artistic interest and talent, and Williams and a bunch of young performers are utterly spontaneous in their dynamic interactions on the screen.

In case of the other main cast members in the film, they ably support Williams on the whole. While Chris O’Dowd complements Williams as well as required, Noël Wells has a little juicy fun with her colorful supporting character, and Lakeith Stanfield, who has always been dependable since I came to notice him via his harrowing supporting turn in “Short Term 12” (2013), is also fine in his rather underdeveloped part.

Overall, “The Incredible Jessica James” may not bring anything particularly new to its genre territory, but it modestly succeeds in what it intends to do, and I guarantee you that you will not forget its sassy lead actress after watching it. In my inconsequential opinion, she deserves to be as prominent as Issa Rae or Tiffany Haddish, and I sincerely hope for more advance for her career in the future.

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And Then We Danced (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): A passionate queer dance drama set in Georgia

Posted on November 29, 2020 by kaist455

Georgian drama film “And Then We Danced” presents a familiar tale of art, passion, and love via its specific cultural subject to observe and appreciate. As calmly observing its hero’s emotional/artistic journey, the movie lets us understand more of his daunting environment which has suppressed him in more than one aspect, and we are touched to see how he eventually advances a little further thanks to a passionate romance forbidden by his conservative society.

The hero of the movie is a young traditional Georgian dancer named Merab (Levan Gelbakhiani), and the early part of the movie establishes his mundane daily life in Tbilisi bit by bit. When he is not training and studying along with other young dancers under the stern tutelage of their teacher Aleko (Nona Kakha Gogidz) at the National Georgian Ensemble, he has to work as a part-time employee at a local restaurant for earning the money for him and his family, but that is not often enough for them, and Merab frequently finds himself short of cash because of that.

Merab seems to be talented enough to become as prominent as his parents and grandmother once were, and he is surely eager to join the main ensemble someday, but his dream still seems to be out of reach at present. While his grandmother and mother sincerely support his aspiration, his divorced father, who has worked at a local market since he quit dancing a long time ago, does not have much hope on his son due to understandable reasons, and Merab’s older brother David (Giorgi Tsereteli), who is also a dancer, pays more attention to having fun and drinks although, according to Aleko, he is actually more talented than Merab.

Anyway, Merab keeps trying along with his usual dance partner Mary (Ana Javakishvili) for impressing their teacher more, and then there comes a little change into their class via Irakli (Bachi Valishvili), who belatedly participates in the class as a replacement dancer. When Irakli later demonstrates his strong and confident dance skills, he surely impresses not only Merab and other dancers but also Aleko, and we are not so surprised when he is subsequently included in the list for the upcoming audition for filling a vacant spot in the main ensemble due to the very unfortunate departure of one of its members.

Merab also happens to be included in the list, so he comes to practice more during the early morning along with Irakli, who does not mind at all honing his skills along with one of his competitors. As training more and more together, they become quite close to each other, and Irakli also becomes a good drinking buddy for David, who often takes him to the bedroom shared by him and Merab whenever they are too drunk.

Meanwhile, we gradually come to sense that Merab has felt more than mere envy and admiration toward Irakli, and cinematographer Lisabi Fridell’s camera palpably conveys that to us as frequently observing Irakli from Merab’s viewpoint. Although it seems that he does not have much problem with his homosexuality, homosexuality is not tolerated that much by his conservative society, so he has no choice but to suppress his growing attraction toward Irakli, though he cannot help himself during a few private moments such as when he sniffs a bit at Irakli’s shirts alone in a locker room.

Not so surprisingly, there eventually comes a crucial narrative point where Merab and Irakli face the emotional undercurrent swirling around them, and the movie handles the following carnal moments well with enough sensitivity and restraint. Both of them know too well that their mutual feeling can ruin their life and career forever, but they are heedlessly swept into desire and passion once their bodies click with each other, and Merab feels happier and more confident than before.

Of course, as many of you have already expected, their sexual consummation is soon followed by several doses of their harsh reality. While Merab’s private life gets messier thanks to David’s constant misdeeds, Irakli also turns out to have personal matters to deal with, which consequently make him more distant to Merab later in the story.

The screenplay by director/writer/co-editor Levan Akin, a Swedish filmmaker who has been quite familiar with the cultural background of the movie thanks to his Georgian family, loses its focus to some degree when it wildly dives into the local community of sexual minority people along with its hero during its last act, but then it soon comes to regain its narrative momentum, and then it gives us a spellbinding dance scene to remember. Thanks to the skillful job of Akin and his crew members, this moment feels thrilling and galvanizing to say the least, and it surely helps that Levan Gelbakhiani, who is engaging in his unadorned non-professional acting, is actually a professional modern dancer in real life.

Although it does not feel that provocative or daring to many of us, “And Then We Danced” faced lots of objection and controversy when it was shown at several movie theaters in Georgia in last November, and that surely reminds us that many parts of our world still do not accept or tolerate sexual minority people much. Along with its hero who comes to fully embrace and express his sexual/artistic identity, the movie takes a small but bold gesture in the end, and I sincerely wish that will open the door to more local queer stories to be presented on the screen someday.

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Antigone (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): A provocative modern adaptation of one classic tragedy

Posted on November 29, 2020 by kaist455

Canadian film “Antigone”, which won the Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film in last year, was an interesting experience for me in more than one aspect. While I sometime felt frustrated with its young heroine’s inexorable stubbornness, I came to understand more of how fiercely she is driven by her personal belief, and I came to observe her inevitable arrival point with a mix of pity and resignation.

After the brief opening shot showing its heroine under a very serious situation, the movie, which is based on the famous Greek tragedy of the same name by Sophocles, shows us how things have been fairly good for her and her dear North African immigrant family. When Antigone (Nahéma Ricci) was very young, she and her three older siblings had to leave their country along with their grandmother Méni (Rachida Oussaada) after losing both of their parents, and, so far, they have settled pretty well together in Montreal, Canada as shown from how cheerfully they share a meal together in their small but cozy residence. In addition, Antigone has been a promising high school student who surely deserves an opportunity for better life, and her family members wholeheartedly rejoice over her receiving a big scholarship for her college education,  

However, we sense a trouble right from when the camera looks at one of Antigone’s two older brothers. While he is liked by not only Antigone but also the other family members, it is pretty apparent that Polynice (Rawad El-Zein) is heavily involved in a local criminal organization of their neighborhood, and Antigone understandably has some reservation when her brother suddenly comes home with a very expensive music player set, which he claims was simply bought from somewhere at a cheap price.  

And then something really serious finally happens not long after that. While Polynice is hanging around with others including his older brother Étéocle (Hakim Brahimi), they are ambushed by police officers, who come to the scene for arresting Polynice. While the police officers try to arrest Polynice, Étéocle attempts to intervene in this situation, and that turns out to a very unwise choice, which eventually gets himself killed by one of the police officers at the scene.

While grieving a lot on Étéocle’s death during the following aftermath, Antigone and his other family members receive another bad news. Although Antigone and her family have stayed in Canada for several years, none of them has gotten citizenship yet, so Polynice, who incidentally has a long criminal record, will be soon deported back to their country. While the public opinion on the incident has been sympathetic to Étéocle’s death, it looks like there is no way to stop Polynice’s immediate deportation at all, and Antigone’s aging grandmother is certainly quite heartbroken by this cold fact.            

Because family is more important than anything else in her viewpoint, Antigone fatefully decides to do something very drastic for saving Polynice. First, she prepares a bit for looking more like Polynice, and her disguise, which is polished further by some help from her grandmother and her older sister Ismène (Nour Belkhiria), looks mostly good enough to buy enough time for letting Polynice escape from the prison and then run away to somewhere beyond the reach of the police.

Polynice successfully escapes shortly after he and Antigone switch their appearance and clothes while nobody is looking at them except their grandmother during a prison visit, but Antigone’s disguise is inevitably exposed, and the second half of the movie focuses on her stubborn stand against the legal system already ready to suppress her. She promptly pleads guilty without hesitation, but her trial turns out to be quite longer than expected, and she is also reminded again of how she has turned a blind eye to what her older brothers did behind their back.

While keep getting cornered by the system, Antigone also receives considerable help and support from several outside characters who really care about her and her case. While her public defender turns out to be more helpful than expected, her handsome boyfriend is willing to drag his politically influential father more into the situation, and her case gets a lot of public exposure as reflected by a montage sequence full of various social media activities, which amusingly function as, yes, the Greek chorus of the story.  

And there is also a subplot involved with a facility where Antigone is incarcerated along with a group of female juvenile delinquents. Although her first day at the facility is rather rough, it does not take much time for her to show more defiance and then earn admiration from her fellow jail mates, and there is a little poignant moment when they show some solidarity to her at one point later in the story.

Of course, the story eventually heads to more ordeals and heartbreaks for its young heroine as demanded, and that is where the screenplay by director/writer Sophie Deraspe, who also served as the co-editor/co-cinematographer for her film, becomes less convincing while going all the way for full-blown melodrama. The result is a bit jarring at times, but newcomer Nahéma Ricci’s unadorned but powerful lead performance firmly holds the film together, and she is utterly devastating when fate throws a big blow which almost destroys her character’s spirit and determination.           

On the whole, “Antigone” deserves to be commended for transferring its old classic tragedy well to its modern background coupled with some thought-provoking contemporary issues. I must admit that I often observed its story and characters from the distance mainly due to its adamantly fateful classic narrative without much choice, but, seriously, what can you possibly expect more from the adaptation of a Greek tragedy?

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Call (2020) ☆☆☆(3/4): Sorry, Right Number

Posted on November 29, 2020 by kaist455

South Korean film “Call”, which was initially supposed be to be released in South Korean theaters early in this year but eventually got released on Netflix two days ago, is an increasingly tense and chilling thriller film coupled with a bit of fantasy element. While it is automatically compared with other similar films such as “Frequency” (2000) in my mind during my viewing, the movie is an efficient genre piece which skillfully toys with our expectation and prediction, and it is also supported well by two different strong performances from its two lead actresses.

At first, the movie, which is based on the 2011 Puerto Rican film “The Caller”, establishes the current situation of a young woman named Seo-yeon (Park Shin-hye) in 2019. Since her father died 20 years ago, Seo-yeon has lived with her widow mother, but she and her mother are not particularly close to each other for a reason associated with her father’s death, and Seo-yeon’s feeling toward her mother is not changed much even though her mother is about to have a very risky brain surgery for removing a tumor.

Feeling bitter and lonely, Seo-yeon returns to her big family house located in some rural area, and then she happens to discover something odd about the house as staying there for a while. It turns out that there is a hidden entry behind one of the walls on the second floor of the house, and this entry leads to an underground space which is dark, shabby, and ominous to say the least. As innocently looking around this space, Seo-yeon finds an abandoned box full of personal items, and she naturally becomes curious about their owner.

In the meantime, another strange incident happens to her. Not long after Seo-yeon installs an old telephone in her bedroom, she receives a call, and it seems to be from some desperate young woman around her age. When that young woman calls again, Seo-yeong thinks it is just a prank call, but she is later unnerved to find that the address told by that young woman on the phone actually belongs to her family house.

As that young woman continues to call her, Seo-yeon gradually comes to realize something quite improbable is happening to her. That young woman is really in Seo-yeon’s family house, but her time period is 1999. Her name is Young-sook (Jeon Jong-seo), and she has lived alone with her stepmother, who was the owner of the house before Seo-yeon and her mother moved into the house shortly after her father’s death.

Although Young-sook cannot believe Seo-yeon’s words at first, she eventually comes to realize that Seo-yeon did not lie to her at all, and she and Young-sook subsequently have a series of friendly conversations during which they tell each other a lot about themselves as well as their respective time periods. At one point, Seo-yeon informs her new friend on the upcoming comeback of a certain popular local pop star, and that and a certain kind of commercial snack made me a bit nostalgic a bit.

Meanwhile, along with Seo-yeon, we get to know more of the dark and disturbing sides of Young-sook’s daily life. Because of her stepmother, she has been mostly confined in her bedroom which will incidentally become Seo-yeon’s, and her stepmother has been quite harsh and strict to her. She firmly believes that Young-sook must be cured of something by any means necessary, and Seo-yeon indirectly witnesses another bad incident between Young-sook and her stepmother at one point.

As feeling quite sympathetic to her new friend, Seo-yeon wants to help her new friend as much as she can, especially after Young-sook takes some risk for her. Thanks to Young-sook’s timely action in the past, Seo-yeon’s surrounding environment is dramatically changed as a result, and the movie becomes a bit sentimental when she experiences something she has yearned for years.

However, it later turns out that Young-sook has not been totally honest to her new friend. When she finds that Young-sook is soon going to be murdered by her stepmother, Seo-yeon hurriedly warns Young-sook on that, and that saves Young-sook’s life, but then, alas, it is revealed that Young-sook is not a merely miserable and disturbed girl at all. Aghast at the following severe consequence of her well-intentioned action, Seo-yeon tries to prevent another grave consequence, but it seems that there are not many options for her, while Young-sook is already quite ready to strike her and her life from 1999 as much as she can.

Steadily throwing dark plot turns to jolt us, the movie dexterously dials up and down the level of tension, and director/writer Lee Chung-hyun and his crew members including cinematographer Jo Young-jik and editor Yang Jin-mo, who recently got Oscar-nominated for Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” (2019), did a competent job of accumulating suspense and dread on the screen. Although Lee’s screenplay feels contrived from time to time, it handles well the dynamic development of its two main characters’ relationship along the plot, and that is one of the main reasons why the expected climactic sequence works on emotional level.

Above all, the movie is held tight by a compelling duo performance from Park Shin-hye and Jeon Jong-seo. While Park Shin-hye, who was unfortunately wasted in “#Alive” (2020), demonstrates more of her acting range during several key moments in the film, Jeon Jong-seo, who has been mainly known for her haunting supporting turn in Lee Chang-dong’s “Burning” (2018), has lots of fun with her wild and unnerving role, and their convincing interactions on the screen bring a considerable amount of fresh air to the familiar genre territories of the story, which also decidedly places their characters and several other female characters above a few male characters.

On the whole, “Call” is entertaining for not only its good direction but also two terrific performances to be appreciated, and it is certainly one of better South Korean films of this year. Although it is probably more fun to watch it at a movie theater considering that some of its suspense is based a lot on what you hear from the soundtrack, I am glad that it is widely available via Netflix at least, and I recommend you to give it a chance someday.

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The Way I See It (2020) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): The way he photographed the Obama Presidency

Posted on November 28, 2020 by kaist455

Dawn Porter’s documentary film “The Way I See It” looks deep into those memorable still photographs shot during the Obama Presidency via one ordinary professional responsible for them. Yes, he was simply doing his job as required during that time, but he really did a heck of a job of recording not only many historic moments but also those admirable human qualities of Barack Obama, and many of his still photographs certainly remind us again of what an exemplary president Obama was – especially compared to that rude and deplorable scumbag who still refuses to concede to the rightful result of the 2020 US Presidential election even at this point.

At the beginning, we are introduced to Pete Souza, an acclaimed photojournalist who worked as the Chief Official White House Photographer during the Obama Presidency. Having observed how the respectable public image of the White House has been considerably tarnished by President Donald J. Trump during last few years, Souza decided to be more outspoken about his critical view on the Trump Presidency, and he surely drew lots of attention as posting many of his still photographs from the Obama Presidency on Instagram for emphasizing how bad Trump and his administration are in many aspects.

And these still photographs of Obama and others around him are quite illuminating to say the least. At one point, Souza, who was constantly required to be around the president just like his predecessors, photographed Obama being quite pensive right before making some important decision, and you can clearly sense how much he was aware of the considerable impact of his decision on the world outside. As Souza and other interviewees tell us, Obama was always open to more advises and arguments from his people before making his final decision, and it goes without saying that he is indeed a man with the right stuffs for occupying the highest political position in the world.

The documentary also focuses on Souza’s professional career before the Obama Presidency. After becoming interested in photography during his college years, Souza embarked on pursuing the career of a photojournalist, and, after going through a number of prominent newspapers and magazines such as Chicago Sun-Times and Time, he found himself getting hired as a photographer for the White House in 1987. Although he was reluctant when the job was offered to him, he did his best along with his fellow photographers in the White House anyway, and he eventually came to admire President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy a lot even while being quite critical of many mistakes and faults of the Reagan administration.

After the end of the Reagan Presidency in 1988, Souza kept working here and there during next two decades, and then there came an unexpected opportunity in 2007. Since he delivered a stunning public speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Obama quickly became a new exciting political star to watch even though he was merely a young US senator entering his first term at that time, and Souza was assigned to following and then capturing Obama on his cameras as Obama announced his candidacy for the upcoming US Presidential election. Although initially being regarded as a long shot at that time, Obama swiftly rose to the top of the competition among him and several other notable competitors including Hilary Clinton, and Souza eagerly tells us about his several still photographs which reveal to us a lot about what Obama might felt and thought during his incredible political journey.

When Souza subsequently came to work again at the White House, Obama jokingly promised to him that they would have lots of fun together during next several years, and Souza did have lots of fun as frequently being around Obama as a constant chronicler of the Obama Presidency. Besides those important moments including when Obama and his staff members were cautiously monitoring the process of a certain famous secret operation associated with the climactic part of “Zero Dark Thirty” (2012), there were also many different intimate personal moments to be captured on Souza’s cameras, and many of you surely remember well that famous still photograph of Obama generously bending over for a little African American boy to touch his head and feel something common between them. Seriously, can you possibly imagine Trump being as kind, decent, and humble as that?

Besides being a cool and intelligent leader, Obama was also quite capable of compassion and empathy like any good politician, and Souza recollects those deeply moving moments when he and his camera observed how considerate and empathetic Obama was to devastated people in the need of consolation and support. For instance, he showed constant attention to a solider struggling to recover from his serious battlefield injury after meeting him at a military hospital, and that certainly makes a big contrast to Trump’s callous apathy toward to those brave American soldiers sacrificing themselves for their country. When the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting incident happened in 2012, Obama did not hesitate to show his genuine sadness in front of the press reporters at the White House, and he also directly consoled the parents of one of the young victims in private.

As becoming more vocal about his political stance against the Trump Presidency in public, Souza started to present more of his photographs from the Obama Presidency via his frequent public presentations. Although he may never be regarded as a merely ‘apolitical’ photojournalist because of that, he does not regret at all, and he did not stop even when the situation became far worse than he and others imagined due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has been infuriatingly exacerbated further by the sheer incompetency and ignorance of the Trump administration.

In conclusion, “The Way I See It”, which happened to be released in US shortly before the 2020 US Presidential Election, is an engaging tribute to not only Obama and his presidency but also Souza’s significant contribution as a chronicler of that uplifting period at the White House. Although I still have some reservation on some of his political choices and decisions, Obama and his administration surely showed the best sides of the American society, and I sincerely hope his legacy will last quite long just like that of Reagan and many other famous American presidents, regardless of whatever will happen in US during next several years.

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