Downfall (2005; d. Oliver Hirschbiegel)
I’ve watched a couple of times. Always good to have a reminder of the madness of those final months, where even the most hardened monstrous men were like, “… uhm, yeah, he’s a lunatic, I’m out of here.” I always forget that this film is bookended by interviews with the real Traudl Junge, whose memoirs provided the basis for the film. In the interview, she talks about how she had excused her behavior for many years with “I was young, I had no idea what was going on, I didn’t know what Hitler was doing, I was so young …” and then one day in Munich she came across a little plaque commemorating the bravery and martyrdom of the “White Rose”, a tiny group of students protesting Hitler and the war. The students – Sophie Scholl and her brother Hans – were executed. (Wrote about these heroes here). Junge realized her youth was no excuse. Sophie Scholl was the same age as she was when she chose to follow Hitler into the bunker. This is a huge thing to admit, and it’s why I admire Junge. To own your part in it. To own fully what you were propping up and supporting. Sophie Scholl saw through the lies. You bought the lie. Own it. Props to Junge for owning it.
Wizard of Lies (2017; d. Barry Levinson)
One of the reasons the Madoff thing continues to fascinate me is the level people were willing to NOT ask questions. The sheer delusion. For decades. I am also riveted by the mere FACT of “the 17th floor”. The 17th floor was right there, and … nobody asked. Nobody even seemed to wonder. De Niro’s take on this guy seems, from what I understand at least, pretty accurate. Madoff was definitely at least a partial sociopath – the LEVEL of lying that had to occur, the level of compartmentalization, of concealing just boggles the mind. How could anyone continue like this? Well, lying is a gift some people have. They lie without shame, without overwhelming anxiety. Maybe he thought it would last forever. Why wouldn’t he believe it? He got away with it for decades. He had everyone in his pocket. And yet when he was busted, he owned up to it in almost shockingly transparent ways. He didn’t even defend himself. Yup. I did it. He took the fall, once it came. He didn’t really defend himself. Although there’s always a justification for what he did, and maybe not a concept of the “little people” he hurt, the retirement funds wiped out, stealing from synagogues, stealing from a Holocaust survivor … Who cares about the billionaires? Those people have too much money anyway. Too much power. They make things suck for the rest of us. You wanted even more? You deserve what you get. Live in your car like the rest of us schmucks. But the regular people … who didn’t know how to read financial statements … and of course had no reason to question Madoff’s operation … those people didn’t deserve it. He had the support of the SEC, etc. So De Niro captures that disarming LACK of anxiety … lack of MORAL anxiety, that is … The whole thing is fascinating.
Finishing School (1934; d. George Nicholls Jr., Wanda Tuchock)
Had never seen this one and I am in love with it. Frances Dee plays Virginia, a girl sent to a finishing school for debutantes by her snobby selfish mother (Billie Burke). The school is run by the great Beulah Bondi, a terrifying martinet determined to turn these girls into happy obedient rich housewives. The classes are like “How many cards should you leave when you go visiting?” “What is the proper way to set the table?” It’s horrible. The girls in the school are all rebels, in their way, lying their way out of things, sneaking out to go to the city and meet up with men, keeping liquor in their rooms, hidden in their shoes. Ginger Rogers is the ringleader. The girls are all friendly and welcoming to Virginia, but Virginia starts to get in real trouble. The vice closes around her. Loved this film.
The Wild Robot (2024; d. Chris Sanders)
Went with my sisters and nieces and nephews. We had such a blast. Wonderful movie. My nephew Ernie sat beside me, wiping away tears at one point. Heart-crack. We loved the specificity of the animals and their personalities. The socially anxious porcupine (he can’t make friends. He hurts people without meaning to). The OCD beaver, made fun of everyone until his skills are needed (“We suddenly take an interest in the project you’ve been working on!”). So many more! My niece loves the book series, so it was extra fun for her. It was so fun to go to the movies. IN A THEATRE.
Between the Temples (2024; d. Nathan Silver)
Loved this so much! Jason Schwartzman plays a widowed rabbi, living with his two moms, who are determined to get him another woman. The rabbi can no longer sing – his trauma has removed his voice – and so this has created in him a whirlwind of crisis: what is his purpose? What is his faith? He teaches religious classes to kids. Everything is very lackluster for him. Then he meets Carla Kessler, played by the great Carol Kane, in a role she was born to play, and I am just so glad it’s happened. I have missed Carol Kane being a “player” in the older-woman-actress space. Carla is her own person, and at first their dynamic is prickly and strange. She was his music teacher when he was in elementary school. She never had a bat mitzvah (because her parents were Communists), so she starts taking his classes. Which is a very weird situation for him. Beyond this set-up, I’d rather not say more. The way it unfolds is eccentric and authentic, at times legitimately hilarious. The film is filled with character actors, real people, who look like real people (another quality I’ve missed. Everyone is so pretty now. And fake-looking with too-white teeth. Give me some fucked-up real-looking people.) There’s a dinner scene which feels like the best of Woody Allen – it was almost too much to take in at one sitting, all of the performances happening simultaneously, there was so much going on at that crazy table. As funny as the film is, its tone is more melancholy than comedic, more contemplative than extroverted. Mysteries remain intact. Not everything is explained. The whole thing rests on the chemistry between Schwartzman and Kane, which is considerable. Adored this film.
Green Border (2024; d. Agnieszka Holland)
A very difficult watch, and a must-see. Agnieszka Holland is a master and she outdoes herself here, in the three-dimensional and multi-pronged portrayal of the refugee crisis going on – for years, and still – in the no-man’s-land forest-border between Belarus and Poland. Refugees tossed back and forth between the two countries, and the situation is completely lawless. Happening with no oversight. The treatment of these people, fleeing oppression (mild word for ISIS’ “rule”), is appalling. Holland chooses one family’s journey to be representative, but she doesn’t stop there. She looks at the situation from all sides. She follows the activists (lawyers and medics), determined to give aid to the helpless people trapped in the border, legal and medical help. This is very dangerous and illegal. Holland also gives us a portrayal of a Polish man who works as a Border Guard. He thinks it is a patriotic duty until he sees what is going on. And so Green Border is also about the moral/ethical corruption of regular people engaged in containing the crisis, and how it’s not just “pressure” to put aside your fellow human feeling – but the law). This is an important film, in the truest sense of the word, and so difficult to watch I couldn’t shake it off for days afterwards. Gorgeously shot in black and white, Green Border is one of the best films of the year. (I also loved a brief scene late in the film which demonstrates the international currency of hip-hop.)
Evil Does Not Exist (2024; d. Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car was stunning and deep in its emotions, so much so that the final scene – where the subliminal dynamic between acclaimed theatre director Yūsuke (Hidetoshi Nishijima) and Misaki, his driver (Tōko Miura), bursts to the surface in devastating and cathartic ways. It was a gorgeous film, too, about the power of theatre, and not just theatre, but Chekhov. The organizing principle of Drive My Car is an international production of Uncle Vanya. Bah, it’s so good. The anticipation for Evil Does Not Exist was intense. It has a different mood entirely from Drive My Car, and there are more differences. Drive My Car was an adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s short story. Evil Does Not Exist was written by Hamaguchi. It’s the story of a small community, close-knit, dealing with the infiltration of their area by a company who has bought up land to establish a high-end “glamping” site. The townspeople are assured it will bring tourism to the area. It will be good for all! The townspeople may be semi-rural and not rich, but they are not dumb, and they are very concerned about what the influx of cityfolk will do to the fragile ecosystem of their land. There are raucous town meetings, where the condescending representatives of the glamping company are met with staunch resistance. This is also a story of a father and daughter, their sweet relationship, its closeness, seems increasingly fragile as the glamping threat intensifies. Like, the glamping is GOING to continue, whether or not the town wants it. There are no protests that will “touch” these rich people’s plans. The film is a reminder, and a painful one, that the wrong people are in charge. People who just don’t give a fuck. People like that try to ruin everything, try to create a world that reflects their materialist values. It’s all they understand. With every passing day, it disgusts me more and more. Evil Does Not Exist is ambiguous, including its title. I keep thinking about it. It’s an upsetting film.
Sons of Anarchy (2008; season 1)
I’d never seen it. I love everyone involved, and I’m stressed out and looking for a binge. So I gave it a shot. It didn’t grip me to the point that I feel the need to move on to Season 2. The whole “dad was a hippie biker and the current club has betrayed his dying wish” was a little bit dumb, and didn’t give much to grasp onto, although the moral conflict of Jax is beautifully played by Charlie Hunnam, an actor I’ve loved for a while now. Please see Last Looks (my review here). I feel like people maybe didn’t see Last Looks because Mel Gibson is in it, which, of course, is a choice I understand (but don’t share). It’s hilarious, and feels like it was made in 1975. Hunnam is so good in it as the shaggy raggedy disgraced-cop P.I., riding his bike around Hollywood trying to solve the case. In Sons of Anarchy Katey Segal crushes in her performance. If I continued to watch it would be for the sheer pleasure of watching her in action as that monstrous matriarch. Monstrous but also sympathetic, shades of Edie Falco in The Sopranos, although Gemma has more power than Carmela.
Nickel Boys (2024; d. Ramell Ross)
Ramell Ross’ directorial debut, the poetic Hale County This Morning This Evening, was one of my favorite films of 2018. An astonishingly beautiful film, a tone-poem of images and feeling. Nickel Boys is based on Colson Whitehead’s novel of the same name, which – in turn – is based on the real-life horrors experienced by boys, primarily black boys, in these “juvies”, basically schools/reformatories. Boys went into them for minor offenses, or even just minor misunderstandings, and – in some cases – never came out. In the early 90s, unmarked graves were discovered behind many of them. Boys just disappeared. I feel like the story would be well-served by a docu-series, since survivors are still out there, and their stories should be heard. Nickel Boys is told in first-person POV, meaning totally from the main character’s view point (with some twists as the film progresses). This means you don’t see anything the character doesn’t see, and his voice emerges from behind the camera. It’s like Bogart in Dark Passage. But, like Dark Passage, I didn’t feel the choice worked because – no matter what you do – a camera can’t BE a person. You don’t feel more immersed in it. You just notice the “device”, and there’s a disembodied voice coming from off-screen, which never quite creates the illusion that the voice is coming from within the camera. I feel like this might be an unpopular opinion because the subject is important. I totally think it’s important, too. I just don’t think this device served the story. The film makes you think about power. It’s like the Stanford Prison Experiment, only it’s not an experiment. The film made me realize – yet again – that humans should not be put in positions of absolute authority over other humans, without serious and detached oversight, to keep a close eye on abuses of power. Humans can’t be trusted with power over other humans, end-stop.
Saltburn (2023; d. Emerald Fennell)
Finally caught up with this. It’s very silly but entertaining. Joseph Losey did it better in The Servant. So many bodily fluids!!
Woman of the Hour (2024; d. Anna Kendrick)
Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut is excellent! It’s such a wild story! I loved her approach. The trailer doesn’t really capture what she pulls off. Woman of the Hour is very specific. It is its own thing. The tone required great control, which Kendrick shows. There’s the main story – which you can’t even believe is real – but then there’s the other story, the REAL story, which is the stifling atmosphere of sexism and misogyny at every level of the culture. I loved it. I admire her for donating all the money she made (and will make) from this to RAINN and the National Center for Victims of Crime.
Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara (2024; d. Erin Lee Carr)
This is a well-done documentary about the … years-long stalking of the popular twin-sister lesbian singer-songwriting duo. It’s not really stalking, though. It’s worse. Someone purporting to be Tegan reached out to fans, befriending them, and of course the young vulnerable fans were thrilled to hear from their hero. But things get darker. The film is very good because it’s not just about this one incident. It’s also about fan culture and its more toxic side. Like, sometimes the GOOD fans are the WORST. The over-identification with the worshipped figure, the needing them to be exactly what you want them to be, the death threats if they don’t comply, the harassment their loved ones get – like the girlfriends – these fans are vicious. I don’t know WHAT they think they’re doing. Sticking up for their idol? This is new, make no mistake. Because now things can spread, on Tumblr, Reddit, wherever. Like, I get it, Olivia Wilde might be (is) annoying, but the misogynistic vitriol flung at her – by primarily girls and women – during her thing with Harry Styles – was disgusting. Like, what exactly are you protecting? So Tegan has a normal breakup with the woman she loved. Meanwhile, she had shared about her in shows, and so – of course – fans were (overly) invested in the relationship. When the two broke up, the fans turned on the girlfriend. It’s just appalling behavior. Get a life. Get laid. Grow up. I liked how Erin Lee Carr was basically investigating what the identity of the mischief-maker. It continues to be a mystery. Clearly this doc got to me a little bit. I liked it.
Cruella (2021; d. Craig Gillespie)
Watched this with my nieces and nephew. Wow, it’s a bit much! The costumes are – deservedly – celebrated. They’re basically the whole shebang.
Magpie (2024; d. Sam Yates)
This was really good. I reviewed for Ebert.
Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare (2024; d, Lyttanya Shannon)
I was catfished from ages 12-14. I told the story once on Twitter but I never go on there anymore. My age range means I was catfished by actual letters in envelopes with stamps. This person sought me out. I sometimes wonder who I would be if that hadn’t happened to me. It could have been so much worse but major damage was done. I looked for this person, or at least I did once the internet came along. I haven’t been able to find any trace. Catfishing is now so much easier to do – you don’t have to go to the post office and buy stamps, for one. This is one of the more extreme examples of catfishing I have seen – it’s DIABOLICAL and I truly felt for this poor woman, and I think it’s really brave for her to share her story (since in general people are scornful/judgmental about the victims of catfishing). Her getting sucked in made sense to me – it was such an elaborate con – and her desire to be married and have children, and the pressure from her community to do these things – made her vulnerable. When you find out who was doing the catfishing … mind. blown.
This Is the Zodiac Speaking (2024; d. Phil Lott, Ari Mark)
You know I devoured this one. It basically tells us what we all probably already know, or strongly suspect, but there’s all this other detail added I never knew about, the Seawater family – yes, that’s their name! – and how this man basically rampaged through their lives. All of them are interviewed. I was particularly struck by the news reporter who tracked down Arthur Leigh Allen, and interviewed him – on camera. Lots of things I’d never seen.
Jackie (2016; d. Pablo Larraín)
Larraín uses an extremely heavy hand with his styling and music and approach – and yet somehow fails to make a point. I feel like his approach leaves the actor stranded a bit, doing too much of the heavy-lifting in a context that doesn’t really support them. I am all for unconventional biopics. I have written about this so much I won’t bore you. I like films that dig into what a person MEANS, not just what they DID. This is why I can appreciate Blonde, even if I don’t agree with the “take” on Marilyn. The film was trying to do something else, and was also trying to interrogate fame itself, and death, and artifice, and isolation. It was ambitious and I wish more biopics were. So I appreciate the idea and the attempt. I just feel that it was pretty empty.
The Goldman Case (2024; d. Cédric Kahn)
Fantastic film about the famous trial (or re-trial) of Pierre Goldman, charged with a couple of robberies as well as the cold-blooded murder of two pharmacists who happened to be there. All this happened in 1969, a crazy year in France, with all kinds of left-wing militant actions going on – and Goldman was a part of that, but also somewhat detached. If anything, he was more militant than the students shutting down their universities. He was convicted of the crime and wrote a book in prison: he admitted to the robberies but refused to admit to the murders. His book made him into a cause celebre, so much so that there was a second trial in 1974, I think. This film takes place entirely in the courtroom and – I imagine – was taken mostly from the actual transcripts. There’s almost no off-the-cuff dialogue, and no real scenes outside the courtroom. Witnesses are called. The atmosphere is raucous, the courtroom filled with his supporters, who have to be told repeatedly to be quiet. It’s gripping. Plays like a bat out of hell.
Shayda (2024; d. Noora Niasari)
Quickly risen to the list of my favorites for the year. We still have two months to go. Zar Amir Ebrahimi first came to my attention with the fantastic Holy Spider, about the true story of a Jack the Ripper type killing prostitutes in the holy city of Mashad. Here she plays an Iranian woman, living in Australia, hiding in a shelter for battered women. Her husband is abusing her and refuses to grant her a divorce. If they DO divorce, he will take their 7 or 8 year old daughter back with him to Iran. There is no way he will ever EVER let her take the child. She is totally trapped. Amazing film.
Dinner in America (2022; d. Adam Rehmeier)
I was so excited to see Dinner in America picking up steam, mostly via Tik Tok, in the two years since it was released, so much so it’s having a short theatrical re-release over the next couple of months. If it’s playing in your area, go see it! Support these little films. It is important. Dinner in America was on my Top 10 of 2022, and I felt very alone. I’d mention it and even film critics would be like, “What’s that?” I felt so gratified when the great John Waters – whose Top 10 list in Artforum is one of the most highly anticipated lists in all of film criticism – put Dinner in America on his Top 10 of 22!! Not that I need to be CONFIRMED in my love of something, but I was still thrilled! I just re-watched for the fun of it, and because of the announcement of the re-release. Here’s my review in Ebert. And I wasn’t done. I had to write about it more. “You need to take it down a notch.”
Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter (2024; d. Ryan White)
The hunger for true crime “content” (gross) is so intense right now the quality has fallen off in many of the docs I’ve seen, as well as mention the channels devoted to these stories. I appreciate when it’s a story I haven’t heard before AND when there’s art to the telling of it. I was incredibly moved by this terrible story, mainly because of the presence of Cathy Terkanian, the central figure, the grieving mother, but really the avenging angel. You don’t really need to add much to the story, because she is such a compelling figure. All you have to do is point the camera at her. They don’t add too many bells and whistles, a couple of harmless re-enactments … re-enactments can be a problem, but here they just add to the haunting mystery of what happened to this poor disappeared girl. Ryan White directed. I really admired his film Ask Dr. Ruth, which I reviewed for Ebert.
No Other Land (2024; d. Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Hamdan Balla and Rachel Szor)
Painful and angry. I reviewed for Ebert.
Thank you so much for stopping by. If you like what I do, and if you feel inclined to support my work, here’s a link to my Venmo account. And I’ve launched a Substack, Sheila Variations 2.0, if you’d like to subscribe.
Yeah, I got through the first season of Anarchy and I had to stop. Okay, gang Hamlet on bikes – got it. The Soprano’s comparison never rang true for me because that series made a regular effort to remind the audience that these mafia guys were awful people who made the world a worse place.
scott – hey!
// The Soprano’s comparison never rang true for me //
Yeah. Because the whole thing about The Sopranos is the veneer of respectability Tony achieved – and he has a legitimate business – (or “legitimate”) – and so there is a way to actually avoid looking in the mirror at what a monster you are – it’s all there in the pilot! It’s there in Sons of Anarchy too – but it doesn’t work in the same way.
A biker gang is romantic but are considered outlaws – that’s the whole appeal. So the fantasy “wouldn’t it be great if bikers could live in peaceful communes” – as an alternate reality for biker gangs … just seems like … I mean, sure? But … who cares?
lol
Katey Segal was doing some fascinating Lady Macbeth stuff but … not enough for me to stick with it.
//“You need to take it down a notch.”//
hahaha “Violate me.”
When she says “Violate me” to him – you feel his whole body say “oh my God” – I almost feel like he SAYS those words? they are soul mates. it’s like he hit the jackpot with her. and her with him.
It’s the best! AND you get your economic critique, your sociopolitical critique – it’s all there AND there’s the horny pinball-machine romance. It’s got it all!
My daughter and I loved The Wild Robot. Gentle and sweet. The painterly CGI was a marvel.
Yes, we loved it so much! My niece told me it was a good adaptation – although the movie was “sadder”. I was surprised at how sad it was – it really got to us. I also loved how the animals were adorable but also realistic. I think there’s one line thats even like: “okay tomorrow I’ll go back to chasing you and trying to eat you, but for tonight we have to work together to solve the problem” lol
Between the Temples reminded me of the age gap romance of Harold and Maud. Different filming perspectives though.
Clary – glad you saw it. yes, I thought of the same thing! You’re right – a different perspective – but it’s a reminder that chemistry is chemistry – friend chemistry, love chemistry, humor chemistry – these things really don’t have an age limit. These two just click. And maybe his experience of older women are his bossy busybody moms – someone who lives unconventionally maybe has a huge attraction for him. I also liked that it wasn’t really explained. we just can see the chemistry.
Complete shut-out for me this month O’Malley. I haven’t seen a one of these. Always like these recaps though.
Hope you’re holding up reasonably well what with. . .[gestures around at the world]. . .all this
Hey Mike. Yes. [gesture around me] what the fuck …
Doing my best. Hang in there.
the roundups at this time of year are always a lot of new movies – doing catch up for end of year lists and stuff. Have you seen anything new recently you like?
Pretty light month of October for me watching previously-unseens, I find as I glance at my notes. Pretty much just:
Nosferatu in Venice, credited to Augusto Caminito and Klaus Kinski, sort of a sequel to Herzog’s Nosferatu, but not really. Kind of a guilty feeling about it, since apparently Kinski joined the project for the opportunity to molest as many of his female costars as he could. And apart from that, not really what you would call “good”. But still strangely compelling, the kind of thing where the gaps in logic and storytelling kind of fit with the outre material.
Man on Fire, Tony Scott, for which in lieu of comments I’ll just cosign Roger Ebert’s review, which captured my reaction pretty much to the letter.
Currently halfway through season 2 of the Rings of Power, which is pretty terrible, but I’ve come this far with this turkey, I guess I’ll at least finish the season.
Oh, how could I forget about: Slow Horses season 4. That’s a chunk of what I watched last month. It’s good! Consensus seems to be it’s the weakest season yet, but they could cut out the spy/action stuff and just keep Gary Oldman talking to Kristin Scott Thomas about the effect on his digestion of his terrible diet, and I’ll watch as long as they keep cranking them out.
So many people have mentioned Slow Horses to me – I need to get onto that. It sounds very much MY THING. I love Gary Oldman!
and oh God Nosferatu – yeah. I remember renting it wayyy back when when I was heavily into Isabella Adjani and seeking out everything she did. Like, in college. I haven’t seen since then!
As you probably know we have a new Nosferatu approaching – directed by Robert Eggers, which I’m intrigued by. a couple friends went to a screening of it on Thursday night but I couldn’t go. I did go to a mid-day screening of (the four-hour-long) The Brutalist yesterday! Been dying to catch up with that one – I’ve loved Brady Corbet’s two other films. The Brutalist hasn’t even opened yet – but I missed it at NYFF.
Took me 3 years of seeing Slow Horses on my screen before I finally tried it; hooked by the 1st episode i think. The acting is so good—Oldman, Thomas, Jonathan Price, various young actors whose names I don’t know—it’s still fun when the plot gets hard to follow, as it often does for me.
Herzog’s Nosferatu, yeah that’s a creepy one. It SHOULDN’T’VE been possible to make a remake of that, that was actually worthwhile, since Murnau’s is so good but, man, Adjani and Kinski are so good, and what Herzog does with all those street scenes of Amsterdam (I think?) in the grip of the “plague”, woof. Creeptastic.
I think I had heard about Eggers’ taking a shot at Nosferatu, but I’d forgotten, so thanks for reminding me. I should probably revisit the Lighthouse, if any of my streamers have it. I know you liked it; I kinda bounced off it, the one time I saw it. My retrospective impression is that I was put off by its relentless (self-) seriousness, which I’m not saying is an accurate description of it, just that it was how it hit me. But I loved the Northman so much that I’m back on the Eggers train.
The only thing I’d add to Ebert’s take on Man on Fire is, for all that the festival of violence in the second half of the movie (a) goes on longer than I really needed, and (b) is less interesting than the first half promised,. . .still, those violent set-pieces really are very well done, so it’s still a pretty enjoyable watch. Roger doesn’t actually deny this, though he doesn’t assert it either.
Yeah I need to watch that Nosferatu again – it made a huge impression on me, and I still remember those visuals! they really were so creepy.
you know, it’s interesting, I did like The Lighthouse – I like anyone who’s bold enough now to just do somethingn kind of wild and uningratiating, stylistically, etc. But … I really can’t remember much about it now – which perhaps is not the best sign? I definitely liked The Witch better. so we shall see! I appreciated Eggers’ experimental attitude.
Brady Corbet, though … his first two films – Childhood of a Leader and Vox Lux – flattened me – he’s so young too – which is exciting: so much to look forward to. and now he does The Brutalist – it’s four hours long, and is about … brutalist architecture and Jews in a post-Holocaust world … like, it’s the most uningratiating thing possible – lol – and I absolutely LOVED it. It’s not perfect – but “perfect is the enemy of good”. I appreciate those who just go way way out there and TRY something new – like Paul Thomas Anderson did with Magnolia – or even The Master. To follow up the crowd-pleasing Boogie Nights with these much more difficult works – this is NOT what you would expect and I’m really here for those kinds of experimentations.
I needed to go look up Ebert’s review of Man on Fire – I remember going to see it in the theatre (the fact that this is a novelty now is so sad). I don’t remember much about it – except that I remember the spectacle and also Denzel’s performance.
Brady Corbet, huh, don’t know that the name has registered with me before, though “Brutalist” and “Vox Lux” seem to ring a bell. (Haven’t seen, just heard of.) IMDb says he’s 36 but from his photo he looks younger. Apparently he directed 3 episodes of the Crowded Room, which I think is apple tv, so maybe I’ll check that out. I doubt the Brutalist will make it to my remote outpost, maybe it’ll drift across my streaming transom.
Yeah I wasn’t really aware of him as an actor – although I had seen him in things – so when Childhood of a Leader came along – I just didn’t make the connection. and I assumed, wrongly, that the director MUST be European. It just didn’t compute that the movie I just watched was made by a 30 year old American. I think you’ll see what I mean if you see it.
Vox Lux seemed like it should have been a bigger deal – Sia wrote the pop songs, Scott Walker did the score – Sia and Scott Walker!! Natalie Portman is the lead and everything! I reviewed it at the time – just fell in love with it. But there’s something about his approach that is off-putting. By design. It’s mEANT to hold you at a remove, and I LIKE the off-putting-ness of it all. Vox Lux is about a pop star – who kind of fell into being a pop star (only in America) – but it’s really about … America in the late ’90s, early 2000s. The film is VERY stylized – almost as though it’s about power politics in some dying empire – which, I guess, it is.
Well worth a watch! I loved it. The Brutalist is even MORE out there on the end of the spectrum. the man just made a 4 hour movie about an architecture style. Like … I don’t know, the entire thing is so IMPRACTICAL and I love it when artists are impractical, where CLEARLY they aren’t thinking “let me make this palatable for everyone so I can make a bunch of money.” I think he definitely “over-reaches” but I appreciate it. Please over-reach. don’t just play it safe!
Thanks for this, I’ll keep an eye out for his work.
I see that Vox Lux got the deluxe treatment from RogerEbert.com: 3 reviews, including your own (2 of them as parts of festival rundowns).
Glenn Kenny says of the Brutalist that Guy Pearce “gives a career-high performance,” which must be something, since that seems to be all that Guy Pearce ever gives.
In re: Guy Pearce – I know, right?
He really is fantastic in The Brutalist – it’s an incredible role – a robber baron-ish type – with mother issues and a volatile temper. Intimate with everyone, but mercurial, maybe like a sociopath. And with this grand almost Gatsby-ish personality. he’s a real enigma. one of the best supporting performances by a man this year, I think!
I didn’t realize Glenn wrote about it – he’s one of my favorite writers on film out there – I’ll go check it out. (I’ve been avoiding all commentary on it until I saw it myself.)
I totally agree with what Glenn said ! I went with the PTA connection too – but with Magnolia. either way, PTA does keep making almost these nON crowd pleasers and I really love it from him. and it’s okay if some of it misses the mark – I’d rather that than careful perfection.
There are a couple of later plot points in The Brutalist which veered a bit into a nasty soap opera – but in general the focus was quite good throughout, with these massive chapters (literally) laying out each bit of the story – his arrival in America, his early start (he was famous back in Europe, but …), his trying to get his wife to come over (post-war chaos – she’s stuck) – and then … guy Pearce. it’s very BIG. anyway … still thinking about it!
it’s dedicated to Scott Walker – which I found moving. i forgot he did the score for Childhood of a Leader too.
I managed to see very little in Mr Kenny’s piece, since like you I’d rather read after seeing than before. Also only skimmed your comment here for same reason, sorry :-) .
Man, it strikes me there’ve been some real landmark performances in recent years. I’m thinking of Downey in Oppenheimer last year, Blanchett in Tar the year before. I see a fraction of what you do, I’m sure you could multiply examples…
yes I shouldn’t have said what I said, lol – I wasn’t thinking. No spoilers though.
Downey was so good – I was so happy to see him in a movie where he got to play a real person, with all that ambiguity!
Mia Goth is my new fave. She’s also doing stuff other people aren’t doing right now – particularly younger actresses. Have you seen the horror trilogy (not sure if you’re into horror) – X, Pearl and Maxxxine? it’s just dazzling – she reminds me of Shelley Duvall (and when Shelley just passed, Mia said in an interview that Duvall inspired her in her career – totally not surprised).
I like her because – again – she’s not trying to be ingratiating. I know I keep saying this. Like I like anti-social people – but maybe I do. I like people who seem to be playing the game their own way. Aubrey Plaza is another one. and Natasha Lyonne. they’re rough around the edges – they don’t care about being liked. It’s inspiring!
His Three Daughters is another great one this year – star “turns” by 3 great actresses – but it’s a real ensemble piece, takes place in one location – with a surprise “cameo” by one of my favorite character actors, who really gets to show his stuff. Highly recommend!!
also all the actresses I just mentioned look like real people. I love glamour girls too – but there’s something THE SAME about everyone’s looks now, particularly women – and I truly get the pressure women are under – I’m not a glamour girl but even I feel it. – but it’s nice to see character actors like Natasha Lyonne or Mia Goth in lead roles. reminds me of the 70s when suddenly character actors were leads, including romantic leads.
I’m loving this conversation – I think all the time about Vox Lux it has really stuck in my brain – the noise about The Brutalist has me very excited! I’m moved by the Scott Walker dedication. It came to town recently in a festival and I thought about seeing it but I opted in the end for The Order (a fine film) because the filmmakers were there and I just simply couldn’t do a 4-hour weeknight movie haha.
Mia Goth freaked me out so much in High Life (and in all the clips etc I’ve seen of her work with West) that even her demure Harriet Smith in Emma can’t reorient her in my head. She is a compelling presence.
No problem about spoilers, I got no problem with skimming. Plus these may not be the kinds of movies that really could be spoiled. I try to go into a movie as ignorant as possible, as sort of a “couldn’t hurt might help” thing, but I’m not fanatical about it. (Also: It’s your blog!)
I do enjoy horror, though as with anything it depends on the examples, horror more than some other things I think. I have not seen that trilogy; I know I’ve heard good things about it, quite possibly including here. I will keep an eye out. (I often don’t seek things out these days, what with the glut of stuff already available in any one streaming service, not to mention my pile of blurays. Mostly just pick from what’s already there. On the one hand, Tar, Oppenheimer, many others have in fact drifted over my transom, so it works pretty well. On the other hand I still haven’t seen the last Star Wars movie, episode IX or whatever, which apparently isn’t very good but I might as well finish the stupid thing off. But I don’t get whatever streamer that’s on.)
Natasha Lyonne: Actually, I DID seek out the first season of her accidental-detective TV show Poker Face, borrowed it from the library. Every episode as the half-way point approached I would be saying, “this is okay but not really good enough to watch a whole series when Natasha Lyonne is not on screen.” But then she would be in every scene for the second half of the episode and it’s great. Just amazing how much charisma some actors have, that they command your attention so effectively when they’re on screen.
Jessie – Hi!! that thread above is getting unwieldy (reminiscent of the old monster Supernatural threads where we had to all collectively decide to start afresh.) so I’m moving us down here.
Vox Lux! I remember you and I talking about it back then I believe – I haven’t seen it again but it too has stuck in my head.
and yeah The Brutalist – there’s an intermission!! it’s a crazy movie – it’s literally a director being like “maybe 2,000 people will want to see this and/or will get it, or even like it, but I’m okay with that because I NEED to make this.” I kind of can’t believe it exists. I’m not saying it’s a masterpiece but … it’s a big difficult imperfect ambitious work … and it’s CLEARLY personal, even though it’s about … brutalist architecture. lol It’s serious very much my kind of thing.
would be intrigued to hear your thoughts!! I would imagine Scott Walker might have done the score for this one if he were still alive – but the score here is similar to what Walker was doing in the other ones. It’s a MASSIVE score. And it feels over-weighted, top-heavy, portentous and attention-getting – similar to what PTA was doing in There Will Be Blood. I can see why some people would be very annoyed by all of this – but I just ate it up. Because I can feel how much this means to Corbet – in the same way I could feel it in his other two films.
sometimes these big stylistic stories feel empty? even though The Brutalist has a strong central character and a couple of very important supporting characters – it’s not really a “star turn” type of movie (like, say, Tar). Adrien Brody is in every scene – similar to Daniel Day Lewis in There Will be Blood (I think there’s a lot of similarities between the movies) – but it’s more about the American story than an intimate character study. (ugh,
and if you think about it, Corbet’s three films are NOT “autobiographical” – or exploring his own childhood / young boyhood with nostalgia (like Linklater’s films all are, for example) but they are exploring subjects like dictatorships, sociopathy, pop culture, the immigrant experience – and these subjects dominate our lives (whether we like it or not). We are unwilling participants in a lot of this – it’s very top-down and Corbet seems interested in that. He really excites me.
And yes, Mia Goth! In Ti West’s horror trilogy – she is (imo) putting everyone else to shame. She’s given the widest possible landscape to play in – she’s playing multiple characters in multiple environments – with three different styles altogether – including the Wizard-of-Oz inspired Pearl – and she is just so committed to this. and she understands style – she seems to have more of a history of style IN her than a lot of young actresses who seem to have no sense of style. (not fashion-wise. you get what I’m saying.).
and Emma!! yes – I think that was my first introduction to her, and she was so adorable in it – but if you think about it it’s such a broad characterization. She’s a character actress. she really understands what she is doing. I am so into her.
Mike – // what with the glut of stuff already available in any one streaming service, //
so true. It;s a problem. There’s like TOO MUCH – but then, conversely, stuff is missing – or if it’s on a platform you don’t subscribe to it’s like it doesn’t exist. I really have to keep track of things I want (or need) to see – I keep a long list. I do get screeners, particularly this time of year, so that’s a help.
Like, a movie just came out – Christmas at Miller’s Point – which Richard Brody just raved about in The New Yorker – and my friend Miriam Bale (whom I always always listen to) posted on Instagram that it was the best movie of the year. !!!! Now this was not on my radar at all – and since i’ve moved out of New York – it’s a challenge because if these movies don’t come to a theatre near me I’m screwed. But I had to add that one to the list. I’m excited.
I haven’t seen Poker Face. I fell in love with Russian Doll (more the first season than the second) – but I’ve been a fan back since Slums of Beverly Hills and But I’m a Cheerleader – she’s always been around, but it’s been so fun to watch her rise. She’s got miles on her and I appreciate that.
My daughter and I saw Memoir of a Snail, and Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point was one of the trailers shown before the movie. It looked terrible. Like “the Lifetime Channel does a National Lampoon holiday movie.” Like “garlic and peanut butter – two great tastes that don’t belong together.” So I was surprised to see some very positive comments from reviewers I trust. Maybe the trailer just did a poor job of capturing the spirit of the movie.
I haven’t seen the trailer – but the poster is definitely Mad-Magazine-esque, which is intriguing – plus a big raucous ensemble – it wasn’t really on my radar as a Must See (at least not in terms of all these end-of-year movies I have to catch up on – but Brody and Miriam clinched it. I must see it!