Aloft
Indie drama which screened in competition at Berlin, about a desperate mother (Jennifer Connelly) who turns to a faith healer to cure her terminally ill son, and also about her traumatized other son (Cillian Murphy) who tracks her down 20 years later in the Canadian Arctic. Peruvian filmmaker Claudia Llosa previously helmed Oscar-nominee The Milk of Sorrow. Great performance by Murphy. Lovely naturalistic cinematography by Nicolas Bolduc (Enemy, War Witch), who captures the desolate beauty of the northern Canadian landscape — and brings so much drama and tension to a most stressful walk across a frozen lake at night. Beneath the weirdness of the narrative circumstances, though, this is no more than a glacially paced and largely uninteresting story.
Grade: C
Animals
Drama about Jude and Bobbie, two addicts in love who live in their car and spend their days conning people to get money to buy drugs. Authentic, unflinching storytelling from David Dastmalchian (who plays Jude and also wrote the screenplay, inspired by his real-life experience as a recovering heroin addict) and first-time feature director Collin Schiffli. Excellent performance as well by Kim Shaw, whose Bobbie is a bundle of raw nerves — a woman occasionally saddened by the desperate lengths she must resort to to get her fix but nevertheless determined, a woman unable to see the tragedy in her simplistic and childlike dreams for the future. Fascinating thematic conceit of developing the film's title by splicing in footage of wild animals to serve as scene transitions — though I'm not sure this is ultimately as insightful as it was surely intended to be. Not “enjoyable” exactly (with this topic!) but a satisfying and affecting film, even if it never does quite enough to stand out significantly from other addiction dramas.
Grade: B
Every Secret Thing
Procedural mystery about two 18-year-old girls in small-town New York who recently got out of prison for murdering a baby when they were children, who become the prime suspects when a toddler goes missing. Lots of great actressing (though Nate Parker and Common also have prominent roles) — Elizabeth Banks as a haunted detective, Diane Lane as a free-spirited mom out of her depth, Dakota Fanning as a broken ex-con from an ultra-low-class family. Best in show, however, goes to relative unknown Danielle Macdonald as the adult version of Lane’s daughter, a self-described “fat and lonely” misfit who insists she has been a victim of the justice system and dreams of reality TV stardom. Welcome burst of female filmmaking — narrative-feature debut from documentarian Amy Berg (Deliver Us from Evil, West of Memphis); wonderfully atypical screenplay by Nicole Holofcener (Lovely & Amazing, Please Give); the great Frances McDormand also a first-time producer here. Storytelling gets rather messy when twists are revealed and mystery is solved via inelegant information dump, but this is dark and engaging cinema.
Grade: B-
Far from the Madding Crowd
Two hours of eye candy, in terms of both the film’s design elements and its male casting. Cinematography by Charlotte Bruus Christensen is painterly — vibrant colour palette, stunning use of natural light, breathtaking compositions. Jaw-dropping costumes by the late Janet Patterson. Immersive, detailed production design by Kave Quinn. Would be entirely worth watching for visual pleasures alone, but storytelling and performances also rewarding. Carey Mulligan a radiant movie star in gorgeous Victorian dresses. Thomas Hardy typically wrote about modern women rising above their 19th-century gender roles — and Mulligan so good at locating this tension in her Bathsheba Everdene, who understands her expected function as a beautiful object of men’s desire but who also works hard to succeed as a shrewd businesswoman not afraid to get her hands dirty. Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts incredibly massive, manly, earnest. Tom Sturridge, so sensual and romantic a month earlier in Effie Gray, is here so self-serving and cruel — impressive range in portraying two charming but vastly different men within the same era and genre. Storytelling feels rushed sometimes (which is hard to avoid when adapting a Victorian novel into a two-hour film), but Danish director Thomas Vinterberg (Festen, The Hunt) has nevertheless made a gorgeous, emotionally affecting, and memorable film.
Grade: B
5 Flights Up
Charming romantic comedy starring Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman as a married couple trying to sell the Brooklyn apartment they’ve lived in together for 40 years, all while their elderly dog is in the hospital for surgery and a suspected terrorist is on the loose in New York. Slight storytelling, but many small pleasures to treasure — the real, lived-in performances by both leads, who convey decades of love and companionship; a deep understanding of the twisted hilarity of open houses, where strangers wander through your home and comment on it while you watch; the glorious Jackie Hoffman as an impossible-to-impress open house visitor. Cynthia Nixon hilarious as Keaton and Freeman’s aggressive niece/realtor. Director Richard Loncraine (Richard III, HBO’s The Special Relationship) manages to transform what might sound like dry subject matter into something genuinely sweet and heartfelt.
Grade: B
Gerontophilia
Romantic drama about an 18-year-old boy, Lake (Pier-Gabriel Lajoie), who gets a job at a seniors’ assisted-living facility and falls in love with an elderly resident (Walter Borden). Not nearly as shocking as you'd expect based on this subject matter — director Bruce LaBruce, whose previous films have been sexually explicit provocations, has made a remarkably mature and heartfelt exploration of taboo/non-traditional desire. Borden, a celebrated Canadian stage actor, terrific as a weary old man astounded by his reawakened hope and thoughts for the future (and he’s also so great at playing different degrees of being medicated). First-time actor Lajoie exceptionally good-looking but rather wooden. Once you get past the Big Controversial Topic, the love story here is ultimately pretty damn mundane and underdeveloped — though I will say that it’s refreshing that the homosexuality is treated as a total non-issue; other characters’ objections to this relationship are based purely on the extreme age difference. I also would have wanted to see more of Lake's dysfunctional home life and his relationship with his loving but alcoholic mess of a mother (Marie-Hélène Thibault), which is not fleshed out enough to be relevant. Film hits us over the head with its message, paralleling Lake's forbidden new romance with his girlfriend’s list of feminist radicals, which feels condescending. Flawed, but fascinating.
Grade: C+
Good Kill
Ethan Hawke as a Major in the U.S. Air Force engaging in drone warfare in the Middle East from the comfort of a bunker outside Las Vegas, slowly losing himself in PTSD and alcoholism as he begins to question whether he’s doing more harm than good. January Jones (AMC’s Mad Men) as his concerned wife who doesn’t get why her husband’s top-secret military job is destroying him, since it’s just a short drive from home. Writer/director Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, screenwriter of The Truman Show) succeeds most with his screenplay here, displaying an insightful understanding of how war trauma can still take its toll on a soldier even without being “over there” and even with an otherwise normal work schedule and suburban family life. Terrific performance by Hawke, whose haunted eyes will stay with you long after the credits roll. Flawed domestic storytelling, however — deterioration of Hawke’s marriage follows the expected step-by-step trajectory and features the requisite clichéd dialogue from every other film about deteriorating marriages. But it’s an eye-opening and important depiction of a type of war experience that I don’t think we’ve ever seen before.
Grade: B-
Heaven Knows What
Oof. This one crushed me. A brutally frank look at the life of a young, homeless heroin addict living in New York. Star Arielle Holmes essentially playing herself, as this screenplay is based on stories from her actual life — she reportedly got (and stayed) clean once hired to star in this film. And, man, the authenticity and naturalism she brings to this is staggering; film’s success rests entirely on her and she carries it like a pro. Her expressive, open face a conduit for every nuance of emotion, painful uncertainty, and degree of intoxication. Such confidence — a major (and unlikely) new star in the making! Cast of total unknowns, except for Caleb Landry Jones (whom you’ll recognize from everywhere), all so completely immersed in these characters that you’ll be forgiven for thinking this is a documentary. Filmmaker brothers Benny and Josh Safdie (Daddy Longlegs) on their way to being a very big deal. Gorgeous cinematography by Sean Price Williams, all uncomfortable close-ups and handheld vérité, until every so often there’s a cinematic flourish that makes you gasp. And that music! (Unnervingly, heart-poundingly perfect.) The tragedy of wasted lives, of hopelessness, of humanity at its most compromised — emotionally overwhelming.
Grade: B+
I'll See You in My Dreams
Indie dramedy starring Blythe Danner as a retired teacher and widow who, following the death of her dog, chooses to break out of her routines and rediscover passion and love. Danner (best known perhaps for the Meet the Parents series) gives one of the best performances of the year — and in her first lead role, at age 72! — effortlessly conveying the complex inner life of a woman long-resigned to a future without hope or excitement who suddenly realizes that she needs more. Not especially ambitious formally or thematically, but lovely and heartfelt. Danner has excellent chemistry with every scene partner — the trio of best girlfriends (Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place, June Squibb) she enjoys boozy game nights with, Sam Elliott as her love interest, Martin Starr as the much-younger pool boy she begins an intimate friendship with who reawakens her passion for music. Director/co-writer Brett Haley a promising, thoughtful storyteller, taking a very familiar story in a few surprising directions, though he can afford to develop a tad more style.
Grade: B
Maggie
Dramatically inert zombie “thriller” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the father of a teenage girl (Academy Award nominee Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine) who contracts the zombifying infection that’s spreading through the world. This is a world where the transition from first infection to full-on zombie mode is excruciatingly slow, taking weeks or months for the victim to succumb. Zombification here is treated as a sort of terminal illness. As such, writer John Scott 3 and director Henry Hobson (both of whom are making their feature debuts) are less interested in scary zombie action than in depicting the experience of becoming a zombie, the emotional process one would go through knowing that one’s life and humanity are slowly draining away and being powerless to stop it. I’m making this sound so much better than it is, though. Impossibly, this is a zombie film where nothing happens. It’s people sitting around and emotionally contemplating their fates. The emotion, in fact, is cranked to 300% throughout the film — like the world’s most boring soap opera. It’s clear that the filmmakers are reaching very hard for the indie art-house aesthetic, from the cinematography (dim lighting, desaturated colours, handheld shakiness) to the glacial pacing to the existential subject matter, but their goals are undercut by the film’s non-existent character development and dreadful dullness. Schwarzenegger, though, is surprisingly pretty great, maybe the most internal and human performance he’s ever given.
Grade: D
Results
Indie romantic comedy about a pair of personal trainers (Guy Pearce and Cobie Smulders) who each become involved in an unconventional friendship with a bored millionaire who has decided to get into shape (Kevin Corrigan). There are low-key indies and then there is this film, with its underwhelming screenplay (which offers very little conflict or storytelling and then resolves it all with a good 45 minutes left to go) and anonymous direction by “godfather of mumblecore” filmmaker Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha, Mutual Appreciation). Pearce quite good as a tanned muscle-god of a fitness entrepreneur unfulfilled in love, and Smulders shines in a most-welcome lead role (though she plays her character quite similarly to Robin from How I Met Your Mother). Corrigan, meanwhile, is wonderful — simultaneously sweet and creepy, endearing and awkward. Strangely weak editing, cutting out of scenes in mid-sentence. Interesting characters with unusual and fascinating dynamics; I really don’t think I’ve seen a film like this before. It just feels like there’s not much of a point.
Grade: C+
Slow West
Western about a Scottish teen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who ventures into the American West to find his exiled love, with the help of a mysterious outlaw (Michael Fassbender) who offers to serve as his guide. Directorial debut of John Maclean, which won him the World Cinema Dramatic prize at Sundance. A few intriguing ideas and images peppered throughout, but honestly this is thoroughly underwhelming. Smit-McPhee’s accent inconsistent. Gang of outlaws led by Ben Mendelsohn entirely one-dimensional. Climactic shoot-out contains metaphors so on-the-nose that I groaned out loud. Some “episodes” quite effective, such as Smit-McPhee’s infuriating encounter with a German wanderer played by Andrew Robertt (who gives a really sharp and memorable performance in just one brief scene). Maclean appears to be using the Western format to say something about the purity and blindingness of adolescent first love, but characters and story not developed enough to make me care. See this if you love Westerns, but don’t feel like you need to.
Grade: C
Welcome to Me
Black comedy starring Kristen Wiig as Alice, a woman with Borderline Personality Disorder who wins the lottery, goes off her meds, and buys herself her own talk show. Wiig so great in a deep and complex performance, hilariously deadpan but also exceedingly sad. Linda Cardellini also wonderful as her put-upon best friend, slowly losing patience with her friend’s self-absorption even as she understands it’s a side effect of her illness. Indeed, intelligent screenplay by Eliot Laurence never shies away from depicting the painful ramifications of Alice’s broken interpersonal skills, nor the intense loneliness of her life. Despite the outrageous premise, Wiig digs deep to create a three-dimensional woman — she is the (supremely funny) lead in a comedy, but she’s no hero; she hurts everyone she cares about, but she’s no villain. Alas, the script is filled with too many underdeveloped supporting characters — to strand Joan Cusack in a one-note role as an incredulous TV producer is bad enough, but then to hire Jennifer Jason Leigh and Loretta Devine and give them literally nothing interesting to do... a criminal waste of actressing. Superb production design by Clayton Hartley, whose revolving talk-show set is something else.
Grade: B-
Where Hope Grows
Inspirational drama about a disgraced former pro baseball player named Calvin who has become a neglectful dad and alcoholic, who finds redemption when he befriends a young man with Down syndrome who introduces him to God. Leading man Kristoffer Polaha (a TV star known for such shows as Ringer, Backstrom, and Mad Men) is handsome and likable, if rather bland. Writer/director Chris Dowling has zero concept of nuance: the young man in question works in the produce section of a supermarket, and his name is — get this — Produce. Calvin’s teenage daughter (McKaley Miller, The CW's Hart of Dixie) has an asshole boyfriend who says things like, “Do you know how many girls want to get with me? But I’m here trying to be faithful to you!” when she won’t have sex with him. Produce has no home life to speak of; the film has no interest in him at all when he’s not sharing a scene with the lead — he’s essentially this film’s version of the Magical Negro or Manic Pixie Dream Girl, that thinly written stock character who exists only to help the white male hero surmount his obstacles and embrace life. But newcomer David DeSanctis, who plays Produce, is such a remarkable find — the character is a ridiculous caricature of a person, but DeSanctis somehow finds his depth and humanity. Look, this film has the biggest heart and the best intentions, and critiquing it too harshly is like kicking a lovable but untrained puppy. The storytelling actually works well (though with no subtlety whatsoever and full of clichés), and the film even wants to be a PSA about Down syndrome — when the supermarket manager (who happens to be black) uses a derogatory term to describe Produce, Calvin reproaches him with a “We don't use the R-word, just like we don’t use the N-word!” So, despite this being saccharine and predictable and jaw-droppingly manipulative, I just don’t have it in me to penalize its grade too severely. Think of the puppy.
Grade: C+
