Serious Movie Lover

A SEPARATION (2011/IN THEATERS)     This year’s Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film was awarded to an Iranian film, a first for the Oscar.  Universally admired, “A Separation” is a well acted, well scripted and well shot small film that shows us a side of Iran we seldom, if ever, hear about—that is, the real life of the middle class there and how a legal system works in concert with the Muslim religion. Written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, the film introduces us to Nader and Simin (Peyman Moadi and Leila Hatami), a married middle-class couple in Tehran, who have a sweet 11-year-old daughter, Termeh (Sarina Farhadi). Nader’s senile father also lives with them. They have agreed in principle to move abroad, where they hope Termeh’s prospects might be better. Simin is ready to leave now—in fact, she’s in a hurry, since the Visa they have been granted will expire in 40 days. Nader feels the responsibility to stay for his father’s sake and firmly decides to remain in Iran, leading Simin to file for divorce. In the opening sequence of the film, the two sit in front of a family court judge who decides that their problems do not warrant divorce and rejects Simin’s application. Disappointed, Simin (who comes across as a very modern woman, IMHO) leaves her husband and moves back in with her parents—thus, the title of the movie.  Made to choose between her parents, Termeh elects to stay with her father, hoping all the time for her mother’s return.  Nader hires Razieh, a young, pregnant and deeply religious woman from a poor suburb, to take care of his father while he works at a bank.  But the task is literally overwhelming for Razieh who, according to her religion, should not be working for a single man at all, particularly without asking her husband’s permission.  The plot thickens and eventually we meet Razieh’s hot-headed husband and find ourselves back in front of another judge, this time for criminal charges which are being filed from both sides.  I won’t spoil the story for you, but suffice it to say that the film is a brilliant illustration of good intentions gone bad. while the characters are so well-rounded that we alternately sympathize with each one and yet are terribly frustrated with all of them.  The movie is a little over two hours long but I think you will be completely absorbed by the story right up to the end. Highly recommended for foreign film lovers of all stripes.

Grade:        A

BTW:   “A Separation” has many other awards, including the Golden Bear for Best Film and the Silver Bears for Best Actress and Best Actor at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, where it was the first Iranian film to win these awards as well.  It was also nominated for a 2^nd Oscar for Best Original Screenplay—that award, of course, went to Woody Allen for “Midnight in Paris.”

PINA (2011/ In Theaters) With this film, Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire, Buena Vista Social Club) delivers a fascinating and moving 3D tribute to the late choreographer and dancer Pina Bausch.  The documentary had been planned for many years when Bausch died suddenly of cancer at the age of 68–just before filming was to start.  Wenders continued on and created his “Film for Pina Bausch” using clips of actual performances, intercut with new interpretations and moving tributes danced and spoken by members of her company.  If you, like me, are unfamiliar with the work of Pina, here are a few things to know before you buy your ticket to this film.  First, this is modern dance in the fullest sense, with a typical Germanic bent for the avant-garde.  For example, the two most famous of Pina’s works are shown:  her interpretation of the Rite of Spring (1975) performed on a stage filled with dirt, and Café Müller (1978), in which dancers stumble around the stage crashing into tables and chairs in a stark space.  Second, there is no real storyline here—Wenders was not out to tell us Pina’s story; rather, we are watching the results of her work over 40 years and more importantly her influence over the members of her company.  The modern dance performances and re-interpretations are shown to us several ways, including in the studio of today, as recorded originally, or in naturalistic settings (i.e. on the subway, in gardens, in streets, etc.).  Finally, just as a warning, there are some rather disturbing themes which emerge in the dance pieces particularly involving interactions between women and men—often with women in what appear to be highly subservient positions.  Not a film for everyone, but I found it well worth the price of admission, even with the 3D up-charge.

Grade:         A-

NOTE:  This film is up for a 2012 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature; it won that same category at the German Film Awards in 2011.

P.S.  The dance scenes in Pedro Almodovar’s Talk to Her are Pina’s.  Who knew?

ALBERT NOBBS (2011/IN THEATERS) Congratulations are in order for Glenn Close who has been working for years to create this film after playing the part of Albert Nobbs on stage in 1982.  Set in 19^th century Dublin, the movie tells the story of Albert, who works as a waiter in an upper middle-class residential hotel owned and run by Mrs. Baker (Pauline Collins). Albert is “an odd little man,” according to both hotel guests and staff, but he’s good as his job and attentive in his own way.  Little do they know just how “odd” he is—since he’s in fact not a man at all, but a woman, who has been disguised for over 30 years without detection.  Exceedingly quiet, Albert observes much and says little, but up in his room he is stashing away his tips under the floorboards.  Life seems to be moving as normal until one day when Mrs. Baker assigns him a roommate in the form of Mr. Page, a painter working in the hotel for a day or so.  Albert is petrified of being discovered but instead finds a kindred spirit in Page (a very strong Janet McTeer) and begins to dream of using his savings to buy a little shop and start a new life.  As part of that life, he’ll need a wife and so he also begins to pursue the young and high-spirited waitress Helen (Mia Wasikowska) who is already in love with the handsome “waster” Joe (Aaron Johnson) who works as the handyman for the establishment.  It’s an odd little movie with the feel of a BBC period production.   The costumes and detail are wonderful, and the performances of the ensemble cast (which includes Brendan Gleeson and Jonathan Rhys Meyers among others) are uniformly strong.  Still, it’s hard to identify with the story.  Perhaps it’s best to appreciate it as the labor of love it is for Glenn Close—she not only stars as the title character but also is one of the producers, co-wrote the screenplay, and even wrote the lyrics for “Lay Your Head Down,” sung by Sinead O’Connor during the closing credits.   You have to admire that much dedication and of course, we’ll be seeing Ms. Close at the Oscars where she is nominated for Best Actress.  Good luck to her!

Grade: B

BTW:  Janet McTeer is also up for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar and for the same award from the Independent Spirits.

ALSO:  The movie is up for a 3rd Oscar for Makeup.  To learn more about the transformation of Glenn Close into Albert Nobbs, be sure to watch the featurette at IMDB.

THE IRON LADY (2011/IN THEATERS)   The general take on this film is that Meryl Streep is fabulous and the movie is not.  I think this verdict is more or less spot-on.  Meryl Streep is truly impressive in her performance as Margaret Thatcher, showing us the up-and-coming grocer’s daughter, the tough prime minister, and the dementia-ridden older version of herself.   It’s a sad story at heart, which has chosen to focus on the memories and hallucinations of this older woman, and utilizes a series of flashbacks to give us just a brief glimpse of the rise of Mrs. Thatcher and a taste of her tough-minded politics.  Thatcher is surely one of Britain’s most remarkable individuals (whether you love or hate her politics) and movie viewers were disappointed not to learn more about her in the film. You might be reminded of this year’s J. Edgar, which also chose to focus on the person, not the history, and likewise aged its character over many years.   Directed by Phyllida Lloyd of Mama Mia fame, this film is based on a screenplay by Abi Morgan (who is also credited with the screenplay for Shame).  Jim Broadbent is cast as Margaret’s husband Denis, who was her partner in life and appears in the film as her companion/tormenter in his death.  Audiences and critics have been largely disappointed by the movie, giving it a tepid 55% Rotten Tomatoes rating.  For my part, I thought the film did a wonderful job of showing us what dementia looks like and feels like, even for very powerful and famous people.  And I’ll say it again—I was blown away by Meryl Streep’s performance.  She will have earned her Oscar.  Catch this movie just for her performance, but don’t expect to walk away as satisfied as you were with “The Queen” or “The King’s Speech.”

Grade:  A+ for Streep; B- for the film itself

P.S.  One User Reviewer at IMDB perhaps said it best:  “…one must surely agree that Mrs. Thatcher deserves to be remembered as a major political figure, not as a half-mad old lady pottering about her flat.”

P.P.S. The role of Denis Thatcher reminded me of that lovely British film, “Truly, Madly, Deeply” which features Alan Rickman as the dead husband who lovingly haunts his wife.  Check that one out when you get a minute!

MARGIN CALL (2010/DVD/STREAMING)  Early this morning first-time director/screenwriter J. C. Chandor was nominated for an Oscar for Original Screenplay for this film —talk about a big day!  Chandor and his impressive ensemble cast for the film have also already won the Robert Altman Award from the Independent Spirits and the film is up for “Best First Feature” and “Best Screenplay” from the Spirits as well. As you may know, this movie was first shown at last year’s Sundance (2011) and is presently serving as an excellent example of how releasing to VOD (Video on Demand) can not only work, but end up creating extra buzz and box-office returns for small films.  This is all good.  But does the film work as a film??    I guess I was expecting more when I finally watched it last night.  True, the movie really does feature a remarkable cast: Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci, and more.  The storyline is loosely based on Lehman Brothers and takes place over two days and one very long night.  As the film opens, an unnamed trading company has just laid off 80% of its workers.  One of those laid off is Eric Dale (Tucci) in the Risk Dept. who has been working on “something big” which he hands to his young turk Peter Sullivan (Quinto) as he exits the building.  Sullivan—a true rocket scientist who has moved to trading because the money is better—plugs a few numbers and discovers armageddon arriving in the form of over-leveraged deals coming back to roost.  Sullivan calls his boss Will Emerson (Bettany) who calls old-line ace trading manager Sam Rogers (Spacey) and together they call in next level up pretty boy Jared Cohen (Baker) along with BIG Risk Manager Sarah Robertson (Moore) and CEO John Tuld (Irons).  Around a somber meeting table at 5:00 a.m., the word comes down—unload these deals in the morning, before noon and before all the poor suckers who purchase them have time to back away.  In other words, cheat all your customers as fast as possible, and then get ready to run away.  Not a pretty picture.  How about the film?  It’s been advertised as a “financial thriller”—whatever that is!  I would say it’s slow but interesting, an interior piece that will remind you of Glengarry Glen Ross.  Watch it for the performances. But don’t get your hopes up.  And as to that Oscar?  Let’s hope it goes to someone more deserving.

Grade:             B-

A DANGEROUS METHOD (2011/IN THEATERS)   Canadian Director David Cronenberg’s new film featuring a top-notch cast (Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen and Keira Knightley) appears to be much more popular with critics than with viewers—too much “talking” many say in their comments.  The reason for this perhaps lies in the film’s source since the movie is an adaptation of Christopher Hampton’s 2002 stage play “The Talking Cure” (which itself is based on the 1993 non-fiction book by John Kerr entitled “A Most Dangerous Method:  the Story of Jung, Freud and Sabina Spielrein”). Hampton—an Oscar winner for his 1988 screen adaptation of his play Dangerous Liaisons–is credited with the screenplay for this film.  Of note, he was nominated again in 2007 for adapting Ian McEwan‘s novel Atonement.   This time around, we have Fassbender playing a young Carl Jung, living in Zurich with his wealthy wife and just getting connected with Vienna-based Mortensen as his eventual father figure Sigmund Freud.  The opening shots introduce us to the third party in this triangle—a Russian patient heading to Jung for treatment.

Michael Fassbender and Keira Knightley in character

She is Sabina Spielrein who suffers from numerous afflictions and for whom Jung recommends the new “talking cure.”  Critics (and viewers) are split on Knightly’s performance, which is certainly intense, and some have criticized her Russian accent.  But I found her portrayal to be edge-y and excellent—she is a bundle of nerves with a quick brain.  As you’ll know if you’ve seen any previews, she’s also a fan of the combination of spanking and sex.  Aha!  You knew it was a Cronenberg movie after all, right?  Jung falls for young Sabina and is also influenced by another mad patient—Otto Gross (an excellent Vincent Cassell)—who encourages him to taste all that the world has to offer.  The film moves across a number of years as Freud and Jung come together, and then apart, in their ideas of just how their new science should progress.  Mortensen has received good reviews for his performance as Freud and you can see why in the film.  He gives a nuanced and quiet, but very detailed, version of the elder statesman of psychoanalysis.  I for one really enjoyed this film and would love to see it again.  I recommend it for fans of psychology and history—the costumes and sets are very well done.  It’s unfortunate that audiences have decided to diss almost anything Keira Knightley does these days.  She gives a very strong performance here IMHO.  And frankly any chance to watch Mr. Fassbender at work is more than worth it.   Recommended for a future DVD rental.

Grade:             A-