Denis Villeneuve Week continues with the director’s first feature-length English-language film, Polytechnique (though the film was actually produced in both English and French, I will be reviewing the English film; Blu Ray editions contain both versions, if you’re sufficiently interested). The film is a realistic, formalist reproduction of the events of December 6, 1989, which would come to be known as the École Polytechnique Massacre (aka the Montreal Massacre). Villeneuve treats the subject with the utmost respect, and delivers a stark and beautiful rejection of all doctrines of hate. The trailer below offers a powerful sample of this great film:
Drama
Denis Villeneuve Week – Day 1: “Maelstrom” (Canada, 2000)
Welcome to Denis Villeneuve Week here on Plot and Theme! I have been fascinated by Denis Villeneuve (pronounced, Deh-NEE Vill-NEV) for about the last six months, when Jake Gyllenhaal’s recent resurgence led me to Enemy. Since then, I have devoured everything Villeneuve, and truly believe he is one of the best directors working today – especially if you’re into something a little darker. In celebration of Sicario, which enters wide release on October 2nd and has hooked me since I saw this trailer, I have chosen to review all of Villeneuve’s previous features. We start with a truly weird one: Maelström.
The Intimidating, Slow Burn of “Black Mass”
The threat of physical violence is omnipresent in Scott Cooper’s muted crime drama, Black Mass. The narrative focuses on the Faustian bargain between FBI agent John Connolly and his childhood friend and mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger. As both men climb the ranks of their respective worlds, Connolly’s craft is subterfuge and deception; Bulger’s is intimidation and brute force. Though the card house tumbles eventually, neither the fall nor the resolution are the crux of this story. We may have come for the crime drama, but Cooper’s film strength is in the contemplation of Connolly’s misplaced loyalty towards Bulger, which the gangster wantonly exploits.
Classic Review Friday –George Clooney’s “Good Night, and Good Luck.” (2005)
Precisely every 23 minutes, the standard length of a half-hour of broadcast network television, Good Night, and Good Luck. is interrupted by a jazz song. This instills George Clooney’s Red Scare historical drama with a distinctly episodic feel, mirroring the drama that unfolds on screen. The story follows newscaster Edward R. Murrow as he and others at CBS confront Senator Joseph McCarthy at the height of his anti-communist witch hunts. Shot in color but corrected to black-and-white, the film returns us to another time where paranoia ruled the nation, and where men capable of capitalizing on it rose to national prominence by fanning the fear. It also offers a biting condemnation of media outlets in general, and especially the corporate nature of television broadcasts.
Classic Review Friday – Scott Hicks’ “Shine” (1996)
Scott Hicks’ Shine is a brilliant film about the damage that can be done by a traumatic experience during childhood – whether a single devastating event or a prolonged poisonous relationship. The film tells the true story of David Helfgott and his struggle to celebrate his love of music despite the stifling instruction of his father Peter Helfgott, a Holocaust survivor intent on preserving the integrity of his family by all means possible. And as the desires of father and son square off, the result alternates between tragic and overwhelmingly uplifting.
“Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter” Discovers the Joy of Living
The Zeller Brothers (David and Nathan) have clearly drawn a great deal of professional and artistic inspiration from the Coen Brothers in the creation of the pleasantly melancholic Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter. In response to the modern world surrounding her, Kumiko (Rinko Kikuchi of Babel and Pacific Rim fame) seeks something more rewarding than the doldrums of her everyday life. She finds her solace in her pet rabbit Bunzo and an old beaten up VHS copy of the Coen Bros. magnificent film Fargo, and believes that the film actually is based on a true story, as the title card to Fargo suggests. To unearth the treasure, Kumiko embarks on a quixotic adventure to escape from the greyness and isolation of her everyday life.
Classic Review Friday – Miloš Forman’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975)
Very few films are capable of eliciting the full spectrum of human emotions, but one of them is Miloš Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. At times, we celebrate the joy of defiance as Randall P. McMurphy triumphs over Nurse Ratched. Other times, we feel frustration at the stifling institutional control. We even seethe with absolute anger. And ultimately, we weep at the tragedy inherent with the tethering of an individualist soul to an uncomprehending authority.
Classic Review Friday – Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation” (2003)
A sensual ennui permeates Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, imploring spectators from young adulthood through old age to respond to the budding relationship between Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) as the two navigate a foreign language, city, and feelings. At its heart, this is a film about confronting your insecurities and reveling in the warm feeling of a new romance and friendship. The hustling, neon beehive of Tokyo acts as the perfect setting for such a story, as the hyperactive assault on the senses that we see on the surface belies the quiet torture of that directionless feeling.
First Trailer for “Trumbo” Displays Adept Acting and Portends Oscar Glory
A few months ago, I wanted to write a news piece about some casting announcements for the new film Trumbo, but I held off. Now, the first trailer for the McCarthy-era film about the blacklisting of the titanic Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (played by Bryan Cranston) has been released, and it looks like we’ve got one of our first serious Oscar contenders. Have a look:
Classic Review Friday – Todd Field’s “In the Bedroom” (2001)
Todd Field’s In the Bedroom is a masterful exploration of how individuals cope with tragedy, both in their own mind and in the context of an established romantic relationship. The film is set in a quiet Maine community and glamorizes nothing, instead being comfortable with creating a realistic but vivid world, harsh edges and all. … Read more