Movie Review Monica

Monica (2023) 

Directed by Andrea Pallaoro 

Written by Andrea Pallaoro 

Starring Trace Lysette, Emily Browning, Patricia Clarkson, Adriana Barraza, Joshua Close 

Release Date May 12th, 2023 

Published May 12th, 2023 

Monica is a quiet, thoughtful, and quite brilliant film about grief and the strange pull parents have on children, no matter the distance. It doesn't matter if the distance is measured in miles or time, the inherent desire to connect with parents is a universal feeling, regardless of your background. In the case of Monica (Trace Lysette), the distance is physical, it's measured in decades of time, and it's embedded in bitter sadness and grief. Monica has been estranged from her mother, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson) for nearly 20 years. The last thing Monica's mother said to her, at a bus station in Ohio was "I can no longer be your mother." 

Now, Eugenia is dying and having been found by her brother, Paul (Josh Close), and his wife, Laura (Emily Browning), that pull I wrote about earlier surfaces for Monica. Despite the rightful bitterness and remarkable hurt, Monica cannot resist the pull of seeing her mother again before she passes away. The question of a reconciliation looms but carries more weight in this case. Eugenia is suffering from brain cancer, her mind is slipping, especially when she refuses her medication. It's been nearly 20 years and she may not recognize Monica. 

Of course, time and Eugenia's illness aren't the only reasons why she might not recognize Monica. When the two last saw each other, Monica was at the beginning of transitioning. 20 years later, Monica is indeed a different person. The layers of this story are remarkable as now Monica may have to decide if she will tell her mother that she is her child, the child Eugenia abandoned at a crucial moment in her life. It's heavy stuff but in the brilliantly subtle hands of writer-director Andrea Pallaoro and star Trace Lysette, the fraught emotions are played only on Monica's face as she takes in the huge emotions at play inside her and around her. 

Find my full length review at Humans.Media 

Movie Review She Said

She Said (2022) 

Directed by Maria Schrader 

Written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz 

Starring Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson 

Release Date November 18th, 2022 

Published November 23rd, 2022 

She Said takes cues from All the Presidents Men and Spotlight and turns a spotlight on the abuses that led to the #MeToo social media movement. The film stars Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan as New York Times journalists Jodi Kanter and Megan Twohey who spent several months crossing the country, conducting interviews and uncovering information about Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, a criminal, rapist, creep who is currently in jail for the crimes he committed. 

It's important to say that Weinstein is a convicted criminal as there are people who attempt to minimize what he did and brush away criticism of powerful men by hand waving sexual harassment as being a product of the time it was committed. It's a bizarre bit of mental gymnastics but there are numerous media figures who are willing to stand up for the Harvey Weinstein's of the world and excuse their behavior because these powerful men didn't know what they were doing was a crime. I

In the years before the Women's Rights movement and the increased representation of women in the workplace and in the halls of power, it was commonplace for powerful men to abuse women, to make demands of women sexually, and to go even further than that in forcing themselves onto unwilling women. By the logic of Harvey defenders, men of a certain age should be forgiven for their behavior because that's just how they grew up. Pro tip, if you think this way, you're part of the problem, you're wrong and please stay away from women. 

Part of the strength of She Said is how the movie demonstrates what these reporters were up against. They were battling not one villain, though Weinstein is undoubtedly a villain who occupies a large space in this story. No, they were battling an entire mindset. They were up against a culture that, at the time, treated terms like Casting Couch as a punchline. Women have been degraded for years by people who thought it was funny that a woman had been 'riding the casting couch' to get where they are. 

The behavior of Harvey Weinstein, aside from when it rose to the level of actual criminal behavior, was treated as normal. Asking a woman for a massage, asking women to remove their clothes, asking women to watch him take a shower, these actions were normalized and convincing the world that these behaviors were more than just wrong, they were worthy of punishment, was a massive boulder that these reporters were pushing up a steep hill. 

Then there were those who eagerly blamed the victims of people like Harvey Weinstein. She Said benefits from the use of names we recognize such as Rose McGowan, a victim of Harvey Weinstein who was degraded for speaking out when her assault actually happened. Here is a question for you, what made you think Rose McGowan wasn't telling the truth when she spoke about Harvey Weinstein assaulting her? What about her made her any less credible than any other person alleging an abuse of power? 

If you are planning a rebuttal to my question in the comments then ask yourself this, why do you know any of what you think you know about Rose McGowan? Why are you so invested in the idea that she may not be telling the truth? Why does it matter to you? You aren't Harvey Weinstein, you aren't his defense attorney. If you're wanting to turn this around and make this about me, ask yourself why you are so eager to argue about something with someone who also has no vested interest in what happened? Before you write your rebuttal, truly examine your life and perhaps consider moving on. 

Click here for my full length review at Geeks.Media. 

Movie Review Vicky Christina Barcelona

Vicky Christina Barcelona 

Directed by Woody Allen 

Written by Woody Allen 

Starring Scarlett Johannson, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem, Patricia Clarkson, Penelope Cruz 

Release Date August 15th, 2008 

Published November 23rd, 2022

Let's address the Woody Allen in the room. Vicki Christina Barcelona was written and directed by a man who has credibly been accused of abuse. It's inescapable that Allen's abuses and his poor response to very public allegations, colors his work. As a critic reviewing a Woody Allen movie in 2022 I have to make a determination. I must decide if I am viewing the art or the artist and how much the artist is reflected in the work. Woody Allen is particularly complicated in this way as his films have all tended to be very personal, reflective of his life experiences and relationships with women. 

Does his status as an accused, very likely real, abuser mean that his art must be shunned? Can we still view the work of Woody Allen and admire it even as we condemn him as a human being? I'd like to believe so but I am not of the authority to make that decision for everyone. I have to accept that if I choose to write about the work of Woody Allen and I find elements that I appreciate, I must accept that someone will take that as some kind of tacit endorsement of Allen. I don't endorse anything about Woody Allen the man but I understand where you are coming from dear reader. 

Why have I decided to engage with the work of Woody Allen now? Because I think Rebecca Hall is incredible in Vicki Cristina Barcelona and it was her breakthrough performance. She became a mainstay among those who love great acting after this performance. And since my podcast is going to be talking about Rebecca Hall's most recent, incredible performance, Vicki Cristina Barcelona was, for me, an unavoidable corollary. 

Rebecca Hall stars in Vicky Cristina Barcelona as Vicky, a grad student who accompanies her best friend, Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) on a trip to Spain. It's a getaway for the summer but it is also a working getaway for Vicky. Vicky is working on a masters in Catalan Culture and Spain is home to a portion of that culture which has a worldwide spread. Vicky hopes to explore the art and history while Cristina, an actress, is searching for an identity and looking to have fun. 

Vicky can be fun but she's also engaged to be married to Doug (Chris Messina), a steady, stable, investment banker back in New York. The engagement and her academic pursuits limits Vicky's idea of fun. Restless Cristina, on the other hand, has nothing holding her back. Thus, when a sexy Spanish artist named Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) approaches them out of the blue and invites them on an overnight plane trip to a small Spanish tourist town, Cristina says yes immediately and Vicky begrudgingly tags along. 

To his credit, I guess, Juan Antonio is remarkably straight forward about his intentions. He is asking both Cristina and Vicky on this trip to show them a good time, enjoy great food, and to have sex. The sex can be one on one or all together, he's not picky. Cristina is charmed by Juan Antonio's bluntness while Vicky at least feigns being put off by the artists come on. Where the movie goes from here is a rather unique journey as each of these three people is forced to confront their conception of themselves, their identity, and their desire. 

As a writer, Woody Allen has a knack for painting his characters into corners and forcing them to confront their situation and determine a way out. Allen lets not one of these characters off the hook easily. All three will be forced to confront themselves in ways that feel true to each. The internal conflicts find physical expression in art, sex, and the everyday decisions these characters make regarding one day to the next, to the future. 

The construction of the plot is nearly flawless as Allen deploys his supporting character brilliantly to highlight the conflicts of our trio of leads. National treasure Patricia Clarkson may have a limited role but she works to provide a complication to Vicky's story that is perfectly timed. Chris Messina's character, Doug, may be merely functional in the plot but Messina infuses the character with life and he's used brilliantly as an example of Vicky's fork in the road. 

Click here for my full length review at Geeks.Media. 

Movie Review: Whatever Works

Whatever Works (2009) 

Directed Woody Allen 

Written by Woody Allen 

Starring Larry David, Ed Begley Jr, Patricia Clarkson, Michael McKean, Evan Rachel Wood, Henry Cavill

Release Date June 19th, 2009 

Published October 30th, 2009 

It seems Woody Allen has grown sensitive to the attacks on his ego over the years. As Allen has progressed in years he has taken himself off the screen moving to only direct his features. It comes from the criticism of the late nineties and early in this decade that Allen had outgrown his persona.

Despite removing himself from the screen Allan continues to write for himself and hire other actors to play different versions of himself. The latest example is Larry David in Whatever Works. Never once do you not hear Woody kvetching through David's performance as a cantankerous genius.

As Boris Yelnikoff a genius in decline Larry David stars in Whatever Works. He's a real piece of work Boris. With his hatred of all human beings and inability to contain his disdain, Boris finds himself alone and happy in his Brooklyn solitude. That changes one night when a homeless girl named Melodie begs him for some food and a place to stay for a night. He insults her incessantly but enjoys how she takes it all in stride.

Eventually, Boris and Melodie have lived together for over a month and he can't help but admit to having taken a shine to her and she is in love with him. The relationship is clearly doomed from the start but for a year they find a little happy routine. The natural complication arrives when Melodie's mother (Patricia Clarkson) tracks her down.

Mortified that her daughter has taken up with Boris, of all people, she sets about finding a more suitable man for her daughter. Along the way, mom gives up her southern, right wing bible thumping for some lower Manhattan bohemianism with one of Boris's few friends.

Whether mom finds a man for Melodie and what complications Melodie's dad (Ed Begley Jr.) brings to the story I will leave you to discover. These plot maneuvers are not mysterious really, they just are as indeed the movie just is. The title "Whatever Works" is the working thesis of the whole picture.

David as Boris states it directly to the camera in one of Allen's odder choices. Boris, being a genius, see's more than everyone else and thus can see us, the audience, watching the story unfold. Thus, he takes occasion to speak directly to us and explain that life is meaningless aside from the little pleasures you can find to give you momentary pleasure.

As Jason Biggs was a younger Woody in Anything Else and Kenneth Branagh was Woody in Celebrity and even Will Ferrell was a version of Woody in Melinda and Melinda, Larry David plays not Boris Yelnikoff in Whatever Works but Woody Allen. It's not merely the talking to the audience, ala Woody in Annie Hall, it is in his every mannerism and line of dialogue.

Sensitive to claims of vanity Woody cast Larry David as Boris instead of himself. This is merely an observation and not a criticism as David is quite effective as a Woody surrogate. It is easy to buy David as a nihilistic, world hating intellectual. His own Curb Your Enthusiasm is little more than Woody unscripted with a little more West Coast than East Coast sensibility.

The truly interesting thing about David's performance is how it is the only really effective thing in the movie. When David isn't onscreen Whatever Works becomes rather boring. Evan Rachel Wood is a nice young actress but her role in Whatever Works only really works when bouncing off of David's cantankerous insults.

In scenes where she is courted by younger men or dealing with her mother, we can't help wonder what Boris is up to and what interesting, offensive, observation he could offer to give the scene some life. It's to Larry David's credit that he isn't completely swallowed by being Woody 2.0 and offers a very effective surrogate performance.

Whatever Works doesn't quite work because the world away from Boris is so ludicrous. When Boris is offscreen Allen gets busy with lame potshots at red state America that are beneath him. He's smarter than the obvious jabs he loads onto the caricatured southerners played by Clarkson and Begley.

The jabs work when they come from the caustic voice of Boris but when Allen gets these characters alone nothing works and the movie collapses waiting for David to get back on screen. Surprisingly, Boris is gone for much of the late second and early third act. The movie flounders without him and Whatever Works doesn't work.

Movie Review: Cairo Time

Cairo Time (2010) 

Directed by Ruba Nadda

Written by Ruba Nadda

Starring Patricia Clarkson, Alexander Siddig

Release Date August 6th, 2010 

Published October 10th 

Each year there are a raft of adult romances that fly under the radar and land on DVD mostly unnoticed. Here's hoping Cairo Time starring the radiant Patricia Clarkson doesn't meet that same fate. A smart, subtle and sublime romance set against the exotic backgrounds of Cairo, Cairo Time is that rare movie that doesn't mind a little quiet contemplation a some terrific coffee talk to go with it's romantic longing.

Juliette (Clarkson) is an empty nester who, with her last child having just left home, can now visit her husband while he work in international aid. Mark (Tom McCamus) has worked in the Middle East through much of his marriage, currently in the troubled West Bank in the midst of the fight over Israeli settlements.

Juliette arrives in Cairo as Mark is trapped in the West Bank, cut off by an Israeli embargo. For now she is met by Mark's long time aide Tareq (Alexander Siddig) with whom she strikes an immediate chemistry. At the airport they meet one of Tareq's old flames, Yasmeen (Amina Annabi) and while Tareq seems flustered, the memories actually bond him with Juliette.

These two lonely people, longing for others find comfort in one another and end up spending more than expected time together. Meanwhile, Juliette, when not bonding with Tareq, takes in the sights of Cairo and her touristy ignorance provides further context for her isolation and loneliness. These scenes also help to establish the lush locations of Cairo which has rarely looked so romantic and yet forbidding.

Writer-Director Ruba Nadda has worked for the past five years, since the release of her well received debut feature Sabah, to craft Cairo Time. The time was well spent as she has created a gorgeous and moving romance for thinking adults. Patricia Clarkson is her usual compelling self, witty, sexy and elegant while co-star Alexander Siddig matches Clarkson smolder for smolder.

Ruba Nadda wrote the role of Tareq for Siddig and after years of being type cast as oil barons and or potential terrorist threats, Siddig settles comfortably into the role romantic hero. Siddig and Clarkson's forbidden romance in a forbidden land gives Siddig the opportunity to play elements of his personality he all to rarely gets to play.

Cairo Time is gauzy and laconic but in it's laid back chimera it plays as a warm and comfortable adult romance. I could watch Patricia Clarkson give Alexander Siddig simmering glances all day. These two amazing actors are a wonderful match with Ruba Nadda's excellent dialogue and gorgeous, exotic locales. Cairo Time should have had a chance to charm you at the box office, let it charm you now on DVD.

Movie Review: Easy A

Easy A (2010) 

Directed by Will Gluck

Written by Bert V. Royal 

Starring Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Stanley Tucci, Aly Mischalka, Patricia Clarkson

Release Date Septeber 17th, 2010 

Published September 16th, 2010

There is a shortage of witty repartee at the movies these days. Thus, when wit is on display in such wonderful fashion as it is in the teen comedy “Easy A” it must be celebrated. Written by first time screenwriter Bert V. Royal, Easy A may at times get a little too cute for its own good but the witty passages help us ease past that which is a little too precious.

Easy A stars Emma Stone as Olive, a typically verbose movie creature whose above it all manner works only because you believe she is indeed above it all. Olive has quick, incisive wit that finds the joke fast but never sacrifices the really good thesaurus words. Get used to Olive's high minded verbiage because she is our narrator for this story which plays out as a flashback during an odd but eventually sensible web-cast.

Olive is anonymous within her school until one mistaken conversation with her best friend Rhiannon (Aly Mischalka) is overheard by the school busybody Marianne (Amanda Bynes) and blows up into a massive, school wide scandal in moments thanks to the wonders of social media.

In an effort to shake off a weekend with her best pal and her parents without hurt feelings, Olive invented a date with a college boy. The following Monday Rhiannon accuses Olive of giving up her V-card, the aforementioned overheard conversation that is then blown up. All might have been dismissed as quickly as it exploded, as often happens in our fast paced social media world, but Olive kind of likes being a tramp, at least people know her now.

They know her alright, even more so after she agrees to use her new tramp status to help out Brandon a gay teen who seeks one straight conquest to alleviate the brutal treatment he gets from those who assumed he was/is gay. Olive's good deed soon becomes an industry of helping nerds, geeks and dweebs in need of a social upgrade in exchange mostly for pricey gift cards. Naturally, Olive's actions are not without consequence but it's rather unique the way said consequence rises and falls and then rises again in unexpected ways.

From time to time Olive’s incisive wit is a little too on the nose and things get a little too Juno-esque in Easy A but those moments are thankfully few. Most of Easy A is a tart mix of sexy and smart with witty dialogue that spills forth from terrific characters especially Emma Stone and the sensational duo of Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as Olive’s parents.

As Stone digs deep into Bert Royal’s exceptional dialogue, Tucci and Clarkson join in the fun bringing life and energy to roles that are more often than not cast as clueless, put upon and foolish. The scenes between Olive and her mom and or dad, are the best scenes in Easy A for their sheer loving, comic energy.

Also good is Penn Badgley an actor who has never impressed me until now. Playing the school mascot, who happens to also be Olive’s original school crush, Badgley matches Olive’s hyper intelligent wit word for fast pitched, jokey word. Till now Badgley has been little more than eye candy on TV’s Gossip Girl, with “Easy A” he shows real chops.

“Easy A: is a strong showcase for all involved from director Will Gluck, who needed the boost after the atrocious comedy “Fired Up,” to newcomer Bert V. Royal who could not have asked for better debut feature and especially for star Emma Stone who, whether “Easy A” is big box office or not, firmly establishes herself as a first rate leading lady, heir to the Drew Barrymore throne of the cool, hot chick.

Witty, sexy, funny and exceptionally well cast, Easy A is a terrific teen comedy that, though the bar was exceedingly low, raises the expectations of the moribund genre of teen sex comedies. “Easy A” references a number of John Hughes classics along the way and is the rare modern teen comedy to have earned the right to make those references.

Movie Review: All the King's Men

All the King's Men (2006) 

Directed by Steven Zaillian

Written by Steven Zaillian 

Starring Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson, Jackie Earl Haley

Release Date September 22nd, 2006

Published September 22nd, 2006 

In late 1930's Louisiana writer Robert Penn Warren fell under the spell of the charismatic, larger than life Governor, Huey P. Long. Long's passionate, man of the people rhetoric, his complicated almost amoral lifestyle and his tragic death, were all the inspiration Warren needed to write his masterpiece novel All The Kings Men.

The book won the Pulitzer Prize and was adapted to the big screen in 1949 where it went on to win Best Picture. More than 50 years later All The Kings Men has once again been adapted to the big screen and while it features a fiery performance from Sean Penn, the film is a catastrophic failure. Made with the intention of winning an Oscar, the film could be a parody of the corruption of its own creation with Sean Penn's Willie Stark character standing in for greedy producers eager for awards glory.

Willie Stark (Sean Penn) was a true man of the people. His first foray into politics was fighting to make sure the local school was built by the best contractors with the best materials and not by friends of the local politicians in his small corner of Louisiana. When his fight failed his career as a politician seemed to have ended with it but when the school collapsed and four kids were killed, Willie Stark went from down on his luck salesman to crusader for truth and justuce and soon a potential candidate for Governor.

Reporter Jack Burden (Jude Law) was among the first to see Willie's man of the people earnestness and be struck by the rarity of an honest politician. He first met Willie during the fight for the school but became forever entwined with Willie after the school collapse and the beginning of Willie's improbable run for Governor.

Willie's political education began on that first run for governor when he finds that he is merely a patsy candidate meant to divide the electorate and help a more prominent candidate win office. His disillusionment turns to determination and by the time of the next election Willie knows how this corrupt game is played and sweeps into office a conquering hero of incorruptibility.

Of course, Willie was quite corrupt by this time and once in office with the mandate of his people his corruption comes to full flower. Jack Burden, having given up journalism, joins Willie's staff as a top political fire fighter and while he is hurt by Willie's fall from grace, he is merely a witness. That begins to change when politics calls for Jack to use his influence on an old friend of his family, Judge Irwin (Anthony Hopkins). Willie needs Judge Irwin on his side to avoid impeachment and it falls to Jack to find dirt on the man he once considered a father figure.

Jack's conflicting loyalty to Willie and to Judge Irwin is the thrust of the final act of All The Kings Men a surprisingly lackluster drama from writer-director Steven Zaillian. With pretensions of greatness, Zaillian crafts All The Kings Men as if just making the movie were enough to warrant huzzahs all around. The film is so full of its own value that James Horner's score is like a thundering Greek chorus of 'see how important we all are' hyperbole.

The problems with All The Kings Men extend from Zaillian's lackadaisical direction to the cast of all stars who are often just not suited for the material. The most glaring example is Jude Law who, as Jack Burden the movie's narrator and dramatic center, struggles with keeping his natural good looks and charm out of the role of a burnout cynic and struggles, far more mightily, with a brutal Louisiana drawl. Law's Jack Burden is a cypher, milling about the movie searching for a purpose beyond merely providing exposition.

Jack is the audience's eyes and ears and yet he seems to miss so much. As Willie Stark is becoming more and more corrupt we want to see the smoky back rooms and the shady deals. Instead we are stuck with Jack and his dull subplot involving old friends played by Kate Winslet, also poorly cast as a Louisiana aristocrat, and Mark Ruffalo. Though the subplot becomes important late in the film, its relevance early on is poorly established and distracting.

Regardless of the films many flaws Sean Penn is electrifying in All The Kings Men. His fiery passion explodes in fits of righteous rage that are at times inspiring and lamentable. As he was on the rise Willie Stark's outrage made him seem as if he indeed could end corruption in all government. However, once elected and educated in how the gears of politics turn, Willie's inflammatory rhetoric became cover for his own corruption. This is the one effective element of an otherwise disappointing melodrama.

All The Kings Men boasts a cast of respected actors and Oscar winners, including writer-director Zaillian himself, yet somehow all the starpower on the screen and behind the scenes never manages to turn the movie into anything more than an extravagant demonstration of how much a studio will pay to win an Oscar. All The Kings Men is like a machine crafted to win awards with little regard to whether it was deserving of any honor.

Sean Penn is passionate to the point of almost eating the scenery but his fiery oratory skills are the only reason to see All The Kings Men an otherwise lifeless excercise in failure. Remakes are often mere reflections of the original and this new version of All The Kings Men is a perfect example of reflected glory. The movie takes the shine of the respected work of writer Robert Penn Warren and the Oscar winning 1949 film and simply mirrors it.

The cache of the original glory and an all star cast cannot hide the slapdash quality of Steven Zaillian's All The Kings Men, a movie machine cynically crafted for critical applause.

Movie Review: The Woods

The Woods (2006)

Directed by Lucky McKee

Written by David Ross

Starring Agnes Bruckner, Patricia Clarkson, Bruce Campbell, Rachel Nichols

Release Date September 26th, 2006 

Published December 29th, 2006 

Lucky McKee's debut feature May should have made him a star director. With rave reviews from Roger Ebert, Ainitcoolnews and several other high profile outlets the film had killer buzz and somehow never made it past a couple hundred theaters. The botched release of May did no favors for McKee's follow-up a boarding school set creepfest called The Woods.

Havng been completed in 2004, the film was shelved when M. Night Shyamalan briefly considered the title The Woods for his own film which later changed to The Village. The Woods ended up temporarily without a studio home until MGM snapped it up. Then the film was lost in that company's collapse. Two years later the film is now found dumped unceremoniously on DVD and another brilliant example of talent of Lucky McKee goes unnoticed.

Agnes Bruckner (Blue Car) stars in The Woods as Heather a troubled teen who finds herself being dumped into a creepy all girls school after she nearly burned her house down. The Falburn Academy is located in the middle of a forest that has a creepy legend attached to it. It is alleged that some years ago three girls were found in that forest and taken to the school. There; the girls were suspected of being witches and were subjected to horrible taunting.

Somehow, after escaping back into the woods, the three girls turned their classmates into their co-conspirators and returned to the school late one night to murder the headmistress with an axe. Even before hearing this legend; poor Heather has seen this story play out in her dreams. Heather isn't the only one hearing voices; her bitchy rival Samantha (Rachel Nichols) and her only friend Alice (Emma Campbell) hear them as well.

All of this is somehow tied to the creepy faculty lead by headmistress Ms. Traverse (Patricia Clarkson). The headmistress pulls Heather and two other scholarship students out of class often to work privately. These private lessons often lead to inexplicable supernatural occurances all of which are somehow linked to the legend of the woods that surround the school.

The story of The Woods is rather convoluted and often misunderstood. Working from a script by David Ross, director Lucky McKee seems far more interested in his directorial toys than with telling a creepy compelling story. The difference between the Lucky McKee of May and the Lucky McKee of The Woods is this time McKee did not write the script. First time screenwriter David Ross has a good sketch of a horror movie idea but it never comes together.

This may be why McKee throws himself so much into the technique of filmmaking and ignores some story aspects. There are gaping holes in this plot and occasions when the younger actresses, Agnes Bruckner especially, seem lost. That is as much McKee's fault as Ross's

There is no denying that McKee's direction is first rate. The look he achieves for the film, with the help of cinematographer John R. Leonetti, eerily evokes the 60's and 70's work of Dario Argento and Roman Polanski. Pay close attention to the clever and creepy way McKee uses sound in The Woods. Listen to how certain effects are used, how footfalls are occasionally louder than need be, the way wind and rustling leaves so deftly mix with the film score. Sound design is an underappreciated art but in the hands of a master like Lucky McKee it certainly gets its due.

Kudos to Lucky McKee for hiring Bruce Campbell to play Heather's father. Just when you think its only a cameo, McKee brings the greatest B-movie actor alive back into the action late in the film. If only he had access to a chainsaw; I might have found fanboy nirvana.

The one actor who thrives in The Woods is Patricia Clarkson whose perfectly measured gentility never boils over into cackling villain overkill. Clarkson's headmistress is far more intriguing for being serene and eerie and that is just how Clarkson plays it. The oscar nominee brings gravitas to an otherwise B-movie cast and her presence raises the level of the actors around her.

The Woods is a rare example of how great direction can be a form of popcorn entertainment. For fans of the techniques of filmmaking a movie like The Woods is as enjoyable as any average good movie. Lucky McKee's little filmmaking touches, his use of sound, his evocative visuals, his numerous homages to genre veterans, all of these things are so clever and entertaining that I can forgive the rather mundane story he's telling.

Not nearly the masterpiece that was May, The Woods is an example of the talent and potential of Lucky McKee. He should probably stick to self generated material from now on in order to keep himself interested in all aspects of filmmaking. His storytelling in The Woods suffers mostly for lack of attention as much as not having great material to work from.

Flawed but still quite engaging, I am recommending The Woods but be sure to see May first. That way you will have a full understanding of just how talented Lucky McKee really is.

Movie Review: Dogville

Dogville (2004) 

Directed by Lars Von Trier

Written by Lars Von Trier

Starring Nicole Kidman, Stellan Skarsgard, Lauren Bacall, Paul Bettany, Chloe Sevigny, Patricia Clarkson

Release Date April 23rd, 2004

Published March 25th, 2004 

Director Lars Von Trier received a lot of positive notice for his film Dancer in the Dark, but what really stuck with him was the negative notice. Specifically, Von Trier bristled at criticism that he did not understand America well enough to set his film there. In response, Von Trier began work on what he calls his America trilogy. The first of the trilogy is called Dogville, which observes America's morals and values from a European perspective. A powerful, if not entirely accurate, indictment of American moral hypocrisy.

Nicole Kidman stars as Grace, a woman on the run from gangsters and the law who finds herself in the tiny hamlet of Dogville somewhere in the Rocky mountains. With the help of a local named Thomas Edison Jr. (Paul Bettany) Grace avoids the gangsters by hiding in a mine shaft. Tom diverts the gangsters but he has ulterior motives for helping this stranger.

Thomas is Dogville's self appointed philosopher and teacher. He holds monthly meetings at the town’s church where he pontificates to the town’s 15 residents on morals and ethics. When Grace arrives Tom sees an opportunity to put his teachings to the test and see if the townspeople live up to the ideals he has attempted to instill. Grace is unaware of Tom's motives and sees only his kindness; the two form an immediate bond. Despite his underlying intentions, Tom's feelings for Grace are real and for a time we think there could be a happy ending for the two.

Tom's plan for Grace and the town is for Grace to hide out under the town's protection. In exchange, Grace will work for each of the town’s residents one hour of each day. For Grace, it's a hideout. For Tom, it's a social experiment--a test of the town's kindness and caring. It begins as Tom would hope, with the town taking to Grace. (It helps that Grace is, in turn, a hard worker.) However, as Grace's predicament is slowly revealed the town slowly turns and Tom's experiment takes a sad and dangerous turn.

Oscar nominees Chloe Sevigny, Lauren Bacall and Patricia Clarkson head up the supporting cast with Philip Baker Hall and Jeremy Davies. The soul of the film however is the noble but badly damaged Chuck played by Stellan Skarsgard. Chuck stands in for all of America's failed dreams, stuck in a loveless marriage and a job that is more of an obligation Chuck takes his rage out on whoever is nearest to him. When that rage is turned on Grace it begins the films ugly turn. Skarsgard is invaluable; his pained expression conveys the broken back of the American working class of the depression era.

Von Trier's first of three American allegories is a searing look at the morals and values that this country was built upon, and the level of hypocritical betrayal of those values on the part of many Americans. It's a cynical point of view, but one that is shared by a number of Mr. Von Trier's European brethren. As a patriot and a partisan, I find some of what Von Trier has to say about American values a little unfair but take it with a grain of salt because, in Europe, Von Trier's views may not be a minority opinion.

Stylistically speaking, Dogville is an amazing break from conventional filmmaking; an experiment on par with Von Trier's invention of Dogme filmmaking back in 1995. The set standing in for the Rocky Mountain hamlet is merely a barren soundstage with chalk outlines where homes should be. The only sets are an elevated stage that serves as Grace's home, a small storefront window, and a bell tower that hangs from the ceiling.

Von Trier cribbed the visual style from the filmed plays he grew up watching in his native Denmark. Like a great stage play, the action is in the words. This is a terrific screenplay with powerful, intellectual ideas. Ideas about morality, values, religious hypocrisy, and old world justice. It's the best thing Von Trier has written since Breaking The Waves. At nearly three hours, the film clips by at a surprisingly strong pace. The script is so powerful that you barely notice the passage of time.

This a rare and unique film. A challenging look at how a foreigner has viewed our country's cultural history. A film that holds a funhouse mirror up to our past, our politics and our culture, it's not an entirely accurate or fair vision but is valid in its own way as an opposing view. If the two remaining films in Von Trier's America trilogy, Manderlay and Washington, are as powerful as Dogvilleis, then we are really in for something amazing.

Movie Review: Far From Heaven

Far From Heaven (2002)

Directed by Todd Haynes 

Written by Todd Haynes

Starring Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, Patricia Clarkson, Viola Davis, George Clooney

Release Date November 8th, 2002

Published December 24th, 2002

The 1950s is bathed in that Donna Reed/Leave It To Beaver sheen that seems, to irony, impenetrable. The earnestness and honesty of the times is anathema to our current state of affairs. Not that I would prefer the constricted fifties to our open society, rather, I'm merely illustrating the differences that are in conflict in Todd Haynes 50s era drama Far From Heaven, which attempts to openly comment on modern social issues while maintaining the earnestness of its time period. It is a balancing act that ends up in mixed results at best.

Inspired by the works of fifties era hauteur Douglas Sirk, Far From Heaven is a domestic drama that casts Julianne Moore as mother and housewife Catherine Whitaker. Living in the perfect suburb with her perfect children, home and lifestyle, Catherine is the Donna Reed-like ideal 50s woman. Perfect to the point that she and her husband are cast as the perfect couple in an advertisement for her husband's TV manufacturing company. So perfect that a local reporter profiles her as the womanly ideal.

However, cracks are beginning to show. Catherine's husband Frank continually arrives home later and later from work. Then, as Catherine waits for Frank to arrive home to escort her to a party, she is called to the police station to bail him out. She never questions why Frank was in jail; he claims the officer mistook him for the real criminal. The cracks become a huge gaping hole when Catherine decides to deliver dinner to a late working Frank and finds him in flagrante delicto with another man.

Rather than risk her perfect life, Catherine is very forgiving of Frank, escorting him to a psychiatrist where he hopes to be cured of his "affliction." So how does Catherine deal with her emotions? Rather than confide in her closest friend, played by Patricia Clarkson, she takes solace in the kind ear of her new gardener a black man named Raymond Deagen. The attraction isn't overtly sexual; at first, it is friendly and supportive and, slowly, an undercurrent of passion develops that both are fearful of exploring. Especially after a neighbor begins gossiping about the relationship.

Writer-director Todd Haynes is extremely faithful to his period and anyone who has flipped past Turner Classic Movies will recognize from the title sequence, the score by Elmer Bernstein, all the way to the closing credits, the look of the 50s dramas that were actually made in the 1950s. It is really remarkable but also troublesome. Haynes is so successful in his homage that it almost becomes comical, a parody.

The film deals with serious issues in the same ways that the movies that influenced it did, but far more overtly. Films of the 50s couldn't portray overtly homosexual characters or interracial romances, so commentaries on those topics were done through complicated metaphors that are still being discovered today. It is here that Haynes' freedom to portray these issues openly betrays him. Far From Heaven doesn't have the benefit of the mystery of metaphor that was invoked by the films that influenced it.

Julianne Moore gives a fine performance but, at times, only her natural warmth and audience credibility save the character from drifting into Stepford Wife-like parody. Dennis Quaid, as her closeted husband, has an easier time with his role, which has a natural conflict that allows him to be human from beginning to end (whereas Moore's character is at first required to be a Donna Reed clone and then gradually becomes a realistic character.) Haysbert has the difficult task of being saintly from beginning to end, at times taking on an almost beatific air. How a character in his situation could so naively wander from scene to scene without conflict is rather unbelievable.

Todd Haynes shows maturity and savvy that are quite remarkable; he has a very bright future ahead of him. Haynes will do especially well if he maintains his team of art director Peter Rogness, cinematographer Edward Lachman and production designer Mark Friedberg, who bathe every scene in the film in beautiful colors. The look of the film is remarkable for its clarity and will look truly amazing on DVD.

Far From Heaven is a good movie, but it is also a movie that cannot transcend its scenery. The 50s setting is a blessing and a curse. A blessing for the palate it provides for the production design, a curse for the faithfulness and attention to detail it seems to require, that cause the film to seem like almost a parody of itself.

Movie Review Lars and the Real Girl

Lars and the Real Girl (2007) 

Directed by Craig Gillespie

Written by Nancy Oliver

Starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Scheider, Kelli Garner, Patricia Clarkson

Release Date October 12th, 2007 

Published November 8th, 2007

“They’re not real so they last forever, isn’t that neat?” 

I want to start this essay by stating how much I adore the movie Lars and the Real Girl. This article is going to be hyper-critical of the movie and I don’t want anyone thinking that I feel the movie is bad or poorly made. Rather, I think it is a memorable, entertaining and moving work made by people of great empathy and care. On a specific level, regarding the character of Lars, it is a wonderfully told story. That said, I do have some issues with the movie that I feel are valid. 

Lars and the Real Girl centers on Lars, a lonely man who struggles with deep insecurities. When Lars’ sister-in-law, Karin, becomes pregnant, Lars becomes even more withdrawn and unusual than before. His idea to cope with his latest bout of insecurity is to purchase a sex doll, but not for sex. In Lars’ mind, Bianca, the doll, is a real woman who has come to stay while on a missionary trip. Lars gives Bianca a full backstory and a life of her own and even has her stay at his brother Gus's house rather than with him in order to maintain propriety as he sees it. 

As is revealed through dialogue, when Lars was born, his mother died while giving birth. This has bred into Lars a fear of pregnancy as expressed in his awkward and fearful interactions with Karin. Furthermore, Lars’ father was withdrawn and depressed as Lars grew up and he eventually took his own life. This created a sense in Lars of the impermanence of life and deeply set his fears and insecurities regarding losing people he cares about. 

Are you sensing a pattern? Lars and the Real Girl appears to have an origin story for every one of Lars’ insecurities. When Lars acts out and buys Bianca and then settles into the delusion that Bianca is a real person with a real life and a voice that he can hear and converse with, the movie has an answer as to why and sets about showing off a solution to Lars’ many problems. That solution involves everyone in Lars’ life and the town in which he lives, going along with his delusion that Bianca is real 

And it works, eventually, Lars begins to enact Bianca’s death, a death that is symbolic and cathartic, a necessary step toward his recovery and re-emergence into a more normal life. It’s not simple, per se, the movie doesn’t take shortcuts. Rather, my issue is how neat it all is. I’m not a professional psychologist but even I know that what Lars is going through is a dissociative state that he can and likely will overcome with a symbolic gesture and a little help. 

But you don't have to have even minor knowledge of psychology to see that Director Craig Gillespie and writer Nancy Oliver leaning over shoulder through the movie and asking you if you understood the deeper meaning of their movie. The constant back stories every one of Lars' quirky personality traits, the source of his trauma, the grief and drama that like caused him to delusionally disassociate from the world is revealed and underlined in often heavyhanded dialogue, just to make sure that the dum-dums in the audience understood the origin story for every aspect of Lars' life. 

I'm certainly critical of this aspect of Lars and the Real Girl, I do believe the movie is overbearing in how the script occasionally looks down upon the audience. But, I do not hate this movie. In fact, I have a deep affection for Lars and the Real Girl, an affection deeply tied to Ryan Gosling's remarkable and unique performance as Lars. Gosling is incredible at portraying a traumatized and infantilized young man slowly beginning to recover but unlikely to ever be fully recovered. He's gone through too much and been stunted for so long that he will likely struggle the rest of his life. 

That fact is at the heart of Lars and the Real Girl which, though it appears to have a happy ending, it is just melancholy enough to leave you feeling a wealth of empathy for Lars, hoping he can move forward but clear in the knowledge of how deeply damaged and often low functioning he is. It's remarkable that a movie and an actor can communicate that kind of depth, even as Lars and the Real Girl tends to lean far too heavily into exposition. 

Movie Review Pieces of April

Pieces of April (2003) 

Directed Peter Hedges 

Written by Peter Hedges 

Starring Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, Derek Luke, Isaiah Whitlock, Allison Pill 

Release Date October 17th, 2003 

Published October 24th, 2003 

It's been a terrific year for first time directors. Artists such as Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen), Fernando Meirelles (City of God) and Peter Sollett (Raising Victor Vargas) made their debuts in exciting and memorable fashion. The same can be said of Peter Hedges whose debut feature Pieces of April is a guerrilla-style DV feature made with the catering budget from one days shooting on The Matrix. A visually unspectacular character piece that works because of a smart script and the acid tongue acting of Patricia Clarkson.

The title character is April Burns (Katie Holmes), the black sheep of her upstate New York family who ran away at an early age to New York City and has never looked back. After years of aimless drifting and a tenuous relationship with her family, April is finally in a stable enough situation to reconnect. With the help of her new boyfriend Bobby (Derek Luke), April has invited the family to her tiny apartment for Thanksgiving.

April's family isn't all that excited about the holiday excursion to the big city. Joy Burns (Clarkson) has little interest in reconciling with her oldest daughter of whom she claims to have no positive memories. Youngest daughter Beth (Allison Pill) can't stop complaining about the trip, her and April are far apart in years and have had no contact since April left. Timmy (John Gallagher Jr.), April's little brother, has little interest in anything outside the purview of his camera and the haze of pot smoke. April's dad Jim (Oliver Platt) is the only one in the family who has maintained any contact with April. Agreeing to go to April's for Thanksgiving seems to be entirely his effort and he holds the trip together over the loud protest of his kids and the biting wit of Joy.

There is far more to this story than a daughter trying to reconnect with her family. The impetus for the attempted reconciliation is revealed in an episodic way with a little bit of information leaked out as the focus shifts back and forth from the family road trip to April's failing attempts at cooking, including some especially humorous encounters with her neighbors. With a busted oven, April is forced to run from door to door, soliciting help from anyone who will listen. 

Finally April is aided by an African-American couple, Evette (Lillias White) and Eugene (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), who take their cooking far more seriously than April. Also helping, in a way, is Wayne (Sean Hayes) who allows April to use his oven when Evette and Eugene need to use their own for their dinner. Wayne turns out to be way too weird and flaky and April is finally helped by an elderly Asian family who don't speak English but luckily have a visiting family member who does. April's aborted attempts to explain Thanksgiving to them are funny and a few of Holmes's best scenes.

Patricia Clarkson's much praised performance is unquestionably the film’s centerpiece. Her ascorbic wit and spitefulness is explained by the fact that Joy is dying of breast cancer and that this will very likely be her last Thanksgiving. The last thing she wants to do is spend it with the daughter who has been such a painful disappointment, especially since the dinner will more than likely be another disaster to add to the list. Clarkson's performance is painful to watch as she says horrible things about April who does not deserve most of the jibes. We are forced to forgive Joy her mean spirit because she is dying and we do but it makes her jabs at April and her attitude towards all of her family all the more disheartening.

Director Peter Hedges, who received a much deserved Oscar nomination for his adapted screenplay for About A Boy, writes a story sketch for Pieces of April and then turns loose his terrific group of actors to make something of it. With a seemingly bare bones sketch of dialogue, the actors make some obvious improvisations that make the film feel real.

That effect is also brought out by the handheld DV camera and minimalist locations. The minimal lighting, ambient soundtrack, and miniscule budget are straight out of the Dogme 95 movement. While it's not nearly as accomplished as anything by Lars Von Trier and his Dogme crew, Pieces of April invokes a sort of Americanized version of Dogme. It incorporates the realities of American filmmaking that simply won't allow a filmmaker to follow the rigid Dogme rules.

Pieces of April is in spirit a Dogme film and the attempt to subvert the usual Hollywood style of filmmaking is a welcome sight. The film is also an affecting, funny family drama with terrific acting and writing that marks a terrific directorial debut for Peter Hedges. I hope that he will continue to be as interesting with a film that has a budget bigger than the cost of Peter Jackson's morning latte.