Film stuff by Mark

Divergent

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Mark DuPré

The franchise that is Divergent will most likely be remembered for giving Shailene Woodley her first lead role. Many comparisons have been made with The Hunger Games films, as both feature a strong young woman played by an upcoming actress with great talent, and deal with a (really, must I use this word again?) dystopian society that eats young people for breakfast.

The main problem I had with Divergent is that I am not a teenage girl, and this is a film squarely aimed at young females. It’s such a set of clichés that if it were not acted so well, and directed as well, it would be laughable. A young woman doesn’t quite fit into society, which puts people into categories (cliques) that are rigid and unforgiving. But our heroine doesn’t fit into a category; she’s bigger and broader and encompasses more than these narrow groups would confine her to. She’s strong AND smart AND giving, which is a threat to the social order (read: high school).

She makes her choice of which group to “belong” to, and overcomes many an obstacle to b-a-r-e-l-y make it into the higher echelons. Of course she has to connect with her inner (and outer) strength to do so, and she pushes herself to her limits. At first, the dark and hunky leader of the group seems to be antagonistic, but after a while, romance blossoms. Of course, he is the perfect high school dream—a strong and authoritative leader with a soft side who happens to be better looking than the girl (why am I thinking of Steve Lawrence and Edie Gorme here?).

The film keeps its focus on the emotional moments with shots that tend to linger over significant moments, and direction that has the main characters pause just a little longer than makes any sense before 1) getting up or 2) moving into an action they’ve clearly already made up their mind about doing. (Seriously, your name just got called; you knew it was coming; just stand up already! And you knew you were going to put your old clothes into the fire–just drop them in and stop taking so long!)

The camerawork is also tighter than many a YA action film, the better to keep the focus on the faces and the various tight relationships. And then there is the music that enters with “dramatic” tones at moments that remind one of the creepy organ music that accompanies certain horror movie moments. OK, we get it. This is a big, hairy moment. But we knew that before the music told us how to feel about it.

The saving grace here, as often is in modern YA and superhero films, is the complete dedication of the actors to their roles. Woodley is probably a better fit for her role than Jennifer Lawrence is as Katniss in The Hunger Games, but both suffer from the same problem of not looking tough enough for their roles. Woodley in particular looks too weak all the way through, without the internal fire and external power her chosen group of colleagues possesses. Her action scenes are triumphs of editing rather than showing us what a fighter she has become.

But as Lawrence first gained attention in A Winter’s Bone before becoming a phenomenon in the first Hunger Games, Woodley was the best thing in The Descendants, and announced with that performance that a significant new young talent had emerged. As a “divergent,” she is supposed to carry an array of skills, talents and emotions, and Woodley delivers. She knows how to be alone in a crowd (touchingly) and can fill her eyes up, believably, at just the right time. This is a career that will be exciting to watch.

Theo James is a good, strong balance to Woodley as her antagonist, coach, and then love interest. His is a tough role to pull of with conviction (it would be easy to overplay), but he plays rough and tough, and then tender, with equal ease. He doesn’t show Woodley’s talent, but doesn’t have to, as the film rests on her young shoulders, not his.

Like many other current action-filled films, it’s too long by 20 minutes, choosing to play things out rather fully rather than moving things along at a faster clip. It’s all of a piece with the pace of the rest of the film, though, which could easily have benefited by a greater level of energy throughout. But this is a film about the challenges of growing up female in a society that doesn’t accept or understand you, and the emphasis is on the emotional journey, which can’t be rushed.

That strong emphasis, for those wondering, is what makes it so different, and less enjoyable, than The Hunger Games films. Those films resonate with socio-political commentary in ways Divergent could but doesn’t. The Hunger Games also has outrageous colors and actions and performances that don’t belong in the one-note world of Divergent. Those are bigger films, and less focused on the emotions of its central character.

But one doesn’t have to compare it to appreciate it or not like it. It’s a well-acted coming-of-age story that would connect most strongly with the young and female. The rest of us can enjoy the action and/or the acting, and be grateful that its talented young star will no longer be a hidden treasure.

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Divergent, Jennifer Lawrence, Katniss, Shailene Woodley, The Hunger Games, Theo James | Leave a comment

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Mark DuPré

Wes Anderson is an acquired taste, and not one that I’d acquired until this film. I have nothing against a self-conscious formalism, but Anderson’s formula seemed too studied, too precious, and occasionally twee for my taste. Every director has the right to create his or her own world; it’s just that I didn’t enjoy my trips to those worlds.

The Grand Budapest Hotel shows the director at perhaps the height of his powers, stirring up a confection that not only delights the eye and ear, but has something of substance underneath the patterns. Moonlight Kingdom was touching at times, but the characters, the casting and the performances didn’t quite mesh. They do here.

Issues of pacing and tone are a challenge for every director. Here, Anderson conquers both brilliantly with a film that clips along at a lively and lovely rhythm and keeps its tone throughout, with only a couple of egregious exceptions. Keeping the tone and moving things along without a bump is akin to the work of Erich Benn, the man who kept the last generation amazed on the Ed Sullivan show by keeping all those plates spinning on the ends of the long rods. Perhaps no other director could keep things this real and this outrageous at the same time.

The story is a memory of a memory, which provides the room for the archness we find in the entire affair. It’s set just far enough in the past, in a place that recalls the black-and-white kingdoms inhabited by Maurice Chevalier in the musicals of the early 1930s, which sets the actions at another remove from reality. This leaves Anderson free to create his own domain, which not only includes his geometric cinematic style, but a style of acting as expressionistic as the actors in Germany’s 1919 The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Instead of being edgy and angsty as in that film, though, the acting here is gently heightened, clipped and alternately supercilious and campily violent. It’s unreal, and wittily amusing throughout. There are occasional big laughs, many of which are quick takes or inside jokes, but mostly there are many smaller ones—a delight in this day of loud and obnoxious humor.

The casting is about as good as possible. Some roles are funny; Willem Dafoe and Harvey Keitel play satirized versions of their personae to great comic effect. Jeff Goldblum’s quirks are put to great use with his character. To say that relative newcomer Tony Revolori as Zero more than holds against all the other pros (F. Murray Abraham, Jude Law, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Broday, Bill Murray, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, Edward Norton and others) is to do his performance a disservice. He nails the part in a tightrope walk between the grounded and the ridiculous.

The acting star of the film, though, is the actual star of the film. The biggest part belongs to Ralph Fiennes, who creates a character for the ages in his M. Gustave. It’s an Oscar-deserving turn that I can only hope will even be nominated. His character is funny, sad, of another time and place, sexually ambiguous, and positively preposterous. Yet he is sympathetic and full of pathos at the same time. He floats above the floor, above the fray, and above any and all circumstances. There have been cinematic characters similar to M. Gustave, but none exactly like him. Fiennes’ performance alone is worth the price of admission.

What isn’t worth the price of admission are Anderson’s moments of excess in the areas of—how cliché—sex and violence. After creating a heightened world with thinner air and loftier sentiments than our own, Anderson introduces an act of violence that is jarring and crude. It doesn’t stretch the film; it momentarily breaks it.

After a couple of quick takes earlier in the film that were unnecessarily sexual but happily brief, Anderson introduces a pornographic painting (drawing?) that the camera lingers on far more than is necessary or comfortable. It’s distracting in the worst way, and nearly shatters the house-of-cards construction that he’s so painstakingly created up to that point. The latter puts the film out of the viewing of all children and many adults I know. Anderson has used Gustave’s character and occasional crude-but-funny expressions to let us know that there is an adult sensitivity at work here, and they worked to add depth and humor to this rarified world. The crudeness he introduces does him and the film a disservice.

Those jarring moments aside, The Grand Budapest Hotel is probably Anderson’s most mature work. You care about the characters at the same time and to the same degree that you admire the cinematic architecture. The look, the performances, the casting, the pace, the tone—they all work together in a filmic soufflé that never falls. I may become a fan after all.

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Adrien Broday, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, F. Murray Abraham, Harvey Keitel, Jason Schwartzman, Jeff Goldblum, Jude Law, Mathieu Amalric, Ralph Fiennes, Saoirse Ronan, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Tony Revolori, Wes Anderson, Willem Defoe | Leave a comment

Frozen

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Mark DuPré

Better Late Than Never…

Frozen

Finally saw Frozen—apparently after every child in America and half the adults. Not much needs to be added to the adulation. Songs are great if not a little bubble gum at moments. It’s consistently funny (while not every comic moment hits squarely), and paced nearly perfectly. It’s a treat for the eyes and is probably among the most beautifully rendered of Disney creations.

The voicing of characters is excellent across the board. Kristin Bell and Adele Dazeem, I mean Idina Menzel, are solid. Bell is crystal clear vocally, and as expressive as they come. Menzel has a raised fist in her voice as well as a teardrop, and is ideal for this combination of acting and song. Her voice tends to be breathy and full of vibrato at the ends of her lines, almost as if she is biting them off at the ends. But that is her style, and it works for this character.

The best character is Olaf the snowman, voiced by Josh Gad, who (deservedly) won the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production. It’s a supporting character, but one that adds depth, humor and color to the film. His number “In Summer,” while not the one that little girls are singing all over America, is possibly the highlight of the film.

Just two comments to make that haven’t already been written about in the waves of deserved praise for the film. One is a defect. When Elsa (Menzel) sings “Let it Go” and releases her concerns about how guarded she had to be in the past and how she doesn’t need to, this young woman who has never had any relationship with a young man suddenly loosens her hair (no problem) and starts do a slinky Marilyn Monroe walk, getting quite sexy and wiggling her hips, as if she were momentarily following Miley Cyrus’s example of growing-up-equals-displaying-sexuality. It seemed out of place and was a poor example of what letting go should really mean.

This misstep was more than balanced, however, by the best theme in the film, and that is the foolishness of finding true love on the day you meet someone. When Anna (Bell) spends one day with Hans (Santino Fontana)—in the hothouse environment of a party, no less—they sing a classic Disney duet and decide they are perfect for one another and should get married. Happily for common sense and the film, Elsa—albeit in a bad mood—forbids it. When Anna goes off to find Elsa later, the film does a blessed about-face. Kristof (Jonathan Groff) keeps questioning her decision to marry a guy she just met—in a conversation that he keeps steering back to her crazy decision. It’s funny and a great breath of fresh air. The rest of the film undoes the fantasy of the duet, and shows the silliness of thinking that true love can be discovered in a one-day experience, no matter how perfect for one another they first appeared. Far more than the joy in Frozen, and one that will be balancing the romantic folly of earlier Disney films for years to come.

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Adele Dazeem, Frozen, Idina Menzel, In Summer, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Kristen Bell, Let it Go, Santino Fontana | Leave a comment

Four Quick Takes–The Lego Movie, Her, 20 Feet from Stardom, Enough Said

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Mark DuPré

Four Quick Takes

I recently saw four films, all which I can recommend, though with a reservation here and there. Two won Oscars; one might.

The Lego Movie

Exhausting and non-stop. But clever and full of adult humor as well. The first 10 minutes or so contain some of the most amusing and biting social commentary seen in a mainline film. Wish it had continued in that vein.

Great for kids, and worth it for adults who don’t mind the overstimulation. This one is popular for a reason.

Her

One of the best films of the year, I caught this right before Oscar night, thanks to the indulgence of best friend Clint Morgan. Wrongly called quirky, it is original in the best sense. This is the one that takes place in the near future, and has our hero falling in love with his Operating System. The script is pointed, witty and touching.

Replacing the female voice already recorded by Samantha Morton with Scarlett Johansson’s vocal work was a stroke of genius. Perhaps it’s because she has such a husky and expressive voice; perhaps it’s because it’s easy to visualize the famous beauty; perhaps both.

Joaquin Phoenix is still an underrated actor, and gives a performance of depth and subtlety. In any other year, he would have been nominated for Best Actor. He displays a sweetness and vulnerability that hasn’t been on display for a long time. His performance alone is worth the price of admission.

The look of the film, clearly on a budget, looks great and is worthy of study. The set design and cinematography work in harmony to give the film its unique look and feel. Well worth the time for those who can go with its central concept.

Warning to some: there are phone sex scenes.

20 Feet from Stardom

This recent Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature was probably not the best of the nominations, but it was the feel-good film of the bunch. Its topic is terrific—those underrated and overlooked back-up singers who did more famous recording than you ever knew. Many surprises throughout (those folks sang that song, or that harmony?) and a great filmic attempt to get some history straight. Plus it’s a treasure trove of great music and wonderful performers.

Enough Said

Finally got to see the film that saw Julia Louis-Dreyfus make her move to feature films, and the next-to-last film of legendary TV actor James Gandolfini. It’s the rare intelligent romantic comedy with dark overtones. The hook is that Julia’s character begins a friendship with a new female acquaintance while at the same time starting to date a man she met at a party. Turns out the new beau is the new friend’s ex.

The new friend, played by fine actor Catherine Keener, is really more of a construct than a fleshed-out person. Keener tries her best, but really, her character is more of a physical embodiment of the doubts that Julia’s character has as she begins a new and tentative relationship with a very different kind of man than she thought she might connect with. Keener’s character is more of an ideal, and a rather precious, ethereal one at that. It doesn’t hurt the film that much, but opportunities are missed.

The film hangs on what is happily the most developed aspect of it—the new romantic relationship budding between the two leads. Louis-Dreyfus handles her comic moments with more subtlety than we might expect from someone who has cut her teeth on television, and she is able to hold conflicting emotions in suspension on her face and behind her eyes with great skill. Gandolfini’s success in creating a real, gentle, sweet person reminds us of his talents and of our loss.

There are a couple of bumps along the way. Aside from Keener’s character, there is a subplot regarding a friend of Louis-Dreyfus’ character’s daughter that doesn’t quite work. It could have, but some very bad advice to the girl and the lack of any real resolution with her character are weaknesses. There also seems a certain striving to include just enough edginess sexually to ensure a PG-13 rating. Sometimes that works well with the film’s other goals; sometimes not so much.

But watching the two leads makes the film worth watching. As I wrote about the great loss of Philip Seymour Hoffman (https://film-prof.com/2014/02/05/second-thoughts-and-two-laments-philip-seymour-hoffman-and-alone-yet-not-alone/), there is a sadness in seeing Gandolfini, especially as he was just beginning a new phase of his film career. But we have the joys of his performances up to this point, and we have years of anticipation of what we can expect from Louis-Dreyfus, one of the best female comic actors around.

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged 20 Feet from Stardom, Enough Said, Her, James Gandolfini, Joaquin Phoenix, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Philip Seymour Hoffmann, Scarlett Johansson, The Lego Movie | 1 Comment

2014 Oscar Report–First Thoughts

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Mark DuPré

The good news is that most of my personal choices won. The bad news is that while best friend Clint and I did great on our Oscar pool, another guy did better. Oh, well.

The show, as always, was too long. Part of the problem was Ellen DeGeneres. I thought she seemed a good choice as host, as last year’s host was terrible. Ellen is funny and generally not unkind, and she can think on her feet. Other than a rather cruel jab at Liza Minnelli, Ellen opened with funny and only slightly cutting remarks—a good start. Then the patter with the stars, the walking around, the pizza thing—all bad ideas. It dragged things out and wasn’t funny. Strange. My guess is she won’t be hosting next year.

The musical numbers, usually a bit of a drag, were fairly well done. They were blessedly shortened, and they didn’t turn everything into a big production number. Great choice there. Of course John Travolta’s complete bolloxing of Idina Menzel’s name in his introduction of the “Let It Go” singer will be one for the ages, a gaffe he’ll never be able to completely put behind him, and one that seemed to rock the already nervous Tony winner before she started singing.

There was supposed to be a strong theme of the Hero throughout, but instead there were some interruptive clips of movie heroes that didn’t make much sense, had less continuity, and seemed a waste of thought and effort. And the homage to The Wizard of Oz was bizarre. 1939 is generally considered the greatest movie year in history, but honoring that year would have meant honoring THE film of that year, Gone with the Wind. That’s politically incorrect right now, especially in the year of 12 Years a Slave. So let’s ignore that magnificent year and focus on just one of the films of that year. And while we’re at it, let’s get a singer with a decent voice and have her do a distracting desecration of the film’s great song, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Pink has a fine voice, but after a slightly bumpy opening of the first part of the song—rarely sung but always eagerly heard—she ruined the classic from the first line of the song proper: “Some…(breath)…where….over the rainbow.” Seriously, a breath after the first half of the first word? Then she kept up that approach throughout, taking breaths everything and crushing any meaning or lyricism out of the song. Of course, in a particularly self-congratulatory response on that most self-congratulatory night, some folks stood up. Please, Hollywood, at least you should have been counted on to resist the all-but-ubiquitous trend to provide standing O’s for everything award and every effort. Please reserve them for the rare cases of the truly deserving.

And speaking of music, having Bette Midler sing after the In Memoriam section (where the recently departed are remembered) seemed superfluous, and extended things unnecessarily. She either had a cold or is simply losing some of her voice, as she pulled out nearly every singer’s trick to keep “The Wind Beneath My Wings” going. As a performer, she was successful. As a singer, she may well be losing what was always a fascinating vocal instrument that often seemed on the verge of collapse, especially in her slower numbers. She’s clearly peaked, and only time will tell what she has left. She was as stunned as I that people gave her another standing O. (I began to think I was at the State of the Union address after a while.) But the In Memoriam sequence itself was one of the best I’ve seen.

Most everyone looked fine, and clothing was fashionable, complimentary and stayed in place. I think it was a mistake to have Kim Novak present, especially after her telling TCM interview with Robert Osborne. She’s clearly struggling, and the platform of the Oscars was an awkward mix, and unfair to her. But in general, the presentations seemed tighter and less bone-headed in their patter. I’m guessing there were better writers.

You could choke on the political correctness of the whole evening. An entire master’s thesis could be created out of the elements that made PC so pervasive that nothing actually stood out (nothing was needed to rock the boat—there’s a whole new boat now). But the most humorous was the group of six chosen as student filmmakers, whose work was rewarded out of hundreds of entries. When you saw the group up on stage, the optics of the diversity of the group made one wonder if their work was actually seen, or were the young filmmakers just screened according to what would look best on the Oscar stage? Unhappily, the great work of the artists who won, and the best pic of the year—12 Years a Slave—could regrettably be seen as part of the PC tapestry instead of the wonderful performances and great film they all genuinely were. When Ellen joked in the beginning about 12 Years possibly winning Best Picture, with the opposing idea of everyone being racist, it was funny and at the same time far too revelatory of the zeitgeist of the evening and the attendees.

Aside from the physical therapy obviously needed for the damage done from everyone patting themselves so hard and often on their backs, the Oscars do mean something, especially when they actually get the awards “right,” as they did this year. People need to see the new Best Picture, and maybe the awards, particularly for the top prize, might encourage more to see it. Cate Blanchett’s performance in Blue Jasmine is a work of art and a master class in acting. Winning Best Actress might call more attention to it—well deserved. Same with Matthew McConaughey’s work. We can only hope that he’ll continue to do more serious work.

Winning this award means that more attention will be paid to the work—not just in the near future, but in the distant future as well. When the choices are this sound, that’s a great thing.

Posted in Film-Related Articles | Tagged Bette Midler, Ellen DeGeneres, Idina Menzel, Liza Minnelli | Leave a comment

2014 Final Oscar Predictions

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Mark DuPré

With HUGE ASSISTANCE from knowledgeable best friend Clint Morgan

Best Picture
Should win: 12 Years a Slave
Will Win: 12 Years a Slave
Still Could Be: Gravity

Best Director
Should win: either Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave or Alfonso Cuarón for Gravity
Will Win: Alfonso Cuarón for Gravity

Best Actor
Should Win: Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club or Bruce Dern for Nebraska
Will Win: Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress
Should Win: Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine
Will Win: Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine
This is a lock.

Best Supporting Actor
Should Win: Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club or Michael Fassbender for 12 Years a Slave
Will Win: Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club
This is a lock.

Best Supporting Actress
Should Win: Lupito Nyong’o for 12 Years a Slave
Will Win: Lupito Nyong’o for 12 Years a Slave
Still Could Be: Jennifer Lawrence for American Hustle

Best Animated Film
Should Win: Frozen
Will Win: Frozen
This is a lock.

Best Original Song
Should Win: “Let It Go” from Frozen
Will Win: “Let It Go” from Frozen
This is a lock.

Cinematography
Should Win: Emmanuel Lubezki for Gravity
Will Win: Emmanuel Lubezki for Gravity
This is a lock.

Best Visual Effects
Should Win: Gravity
Will Win: Gravity
This is a lock.

Writing (Original)
Should Win: American Hustle or Her
Will Win: American Hustle (A change from previous prediction)
Still Could Win: Her

Writing (Adapted)
Should Win: John Ridley for 12 Years a Slave or Billy Ray for Captain Phillips
Will Win: John Ridley for 12 Years a Slave (A change from previous prediction.)

Foreign Language Film
Should Win: The Great Beauty (Italy)
Will Win: The Great Beauty (Italy)

Editing
Should Win: Captain Phillips
Will Win: Captain Phillips
Still Could Win: 12 Years a Slave or Gravity

Production Design
Should Win: The Great Gatsby
Will Win: The Great Gatsby
Could Win: Gravity

Costume Design
Will Win: American Hustle
Still Could Win: 12 Years a Slave or The Great Gatsby

Makeup and Hairstyling
Will Win: Dallas Buyers Club

Animated Short Film
Will Win: Get a Horse!

Documentary Short
Will Win: The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life

Live Action Short Film
Will Win: Helium

Documentary Feature
Will Win: Twenty Feet from Stardom
Might Win: The Act of Killing

Sound Mixing
Will Win: Gravity
Still Could Win: Captain Phillips or Inside Llewyn Davis

Sound Editing
Will Win: Gravity

Original Score
Will Win: Gravity

Posted in Film-Related Articles | Leave a comment

August: Osage County

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Mark DuPré

August: Osage County, a terribly named film based on the slightly less poorly named play of the same name, recalls American Hustle. It overflows with talented actors acting up a storm in a cinematic structure that can’t contain them. Except August is much less fun.

The premise is as worn as a pair of old jeans: Family crisis precipitates a forced family “reunion” of sorts, resulting in clash, revelations, and hurt feelings. In this case, it’s the unexpected death of the family patriarch. That leaves his wife, their three daughters, their various menfolk (in various states of attachment and detachment) and an aunt and uncle. Thank God for the aunt and uncle, who are pretty much the only elements of this show that hold this centrifugal display of thespian efforts together.

The problem isn’t the actors, though only aunt (Margo Martindale) and uncle (the inestimable Chris Cooper) produce performances that genuinely connect with one another and the rest of the family, and are the only two who seem like flesh-and-blood characters. The problem is two-fold: the script and the direction.

The script is by the Tracey Letts, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play upon which the film is based. I have no idea if the play worked on stage. But not all great playwrights (and this is not making an assumption either way on Mr. Letts) make great screenwriters. All the sound and fury is here, but it signifies chaos. We see the anger, hear the foul language, and are privy to every blood-producing zinger known to man (or woman). To what purpose, other than providing a lot of good actors with scenery-chomping opportunities? Not sure.

The direction is no help. American Hustle’s problem is that the director seemed too in love with his actors. Perhaps August director John Wells (Company Men), who is known far more for his producing and writing than his directing, was simply afraid of them. It would be understandable. To call Meryl Streep a force of nature here would be inadequate. Her character is loud, vicious, sad, awful, indomitable, and any number of other adjectives. Ms. Streep is a brilliant technician—never more visible than in the cowboy boots remembrance scene—but the character seems more a mathematical construction of all the script’s opportunities than a fully felt monster.

Julia Roberts as one of the daughters is supposed to be something of a foil to Streep’s Violet. Roberts is generally a good actress, sometimes a very good one. Here she is very good, though the seething anger is a bit much at times. There’s no way she can match Streep for vitriol, however, and it’s less of a match of equals than a contest between the Big Bad Wolf and an angry Goldilocks who shouts a lot.

Benedict Cumberbatch as “little Charlie” provides the Brit with a bit of a challenge in the accent department, but is helping to prove that this versatile actor (Sherlock, Star Trek Into Darkness, 12 Years a Slave, The Fifth Estate) is turning into a Stanley Tucci, that is, an actor who can do almost anything. His character is a delicate balancing act, and he brings it off with grace. Normally reliable Ewan McGregor seems to spend his time trying too hard to nail his American accent and creating a character that is believably paired with Roberts’ (he’s more successful there, but it still strains credibility).

As already stated, Martindale and Cooper breathe some much needed life into the proceedings, but it’s Cooper who keeps the whole enterprise’s feet on the ground. Partly it’s who his character is in this family mess, but it’s also his interpretation of the role. You watch everyone else; you believe Cooper.

Everyone else is fine to quite good. Juliette Lewis in particular brings a damaged realism to her character, and Dermot Mulroney’s character made me want to take a shower after watching the film, which is a tribute to the performance.

Yet when all is said and done—or rather, shouted and smashed—the film doesn’t add up to the sum of its parts. It seems that neither the screenwriter nor the director knew what they wanted beyond a showcase for some of our most talented actors to screech their stuff (“strut” being too mild a word) in a cinematic bouillabaisse of fine individual ingredients that each retain their flavor but never quite blend together.

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged August: Osage County, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Cooper, Dermot Mulroney, Ewan McGregor, Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci | Leave a comment

Five More Supporting Performances that Don’t Get the Attention They Deserve

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Mark DuPré

A while ago, I took a side road for a moment to pay tribute to five underrated performances:
Rhys Ifans in Notting Hill
Carey Mulligan in Bleak House
Anna Faris in Just Friends
Madame Konstantin in Notorious
Delores Gray in It’s Always Fair Weather

You can check that out at https://film-prof.com/?s=supporting

And now for five more…

Anthony Perkins in Psycho (1960).

How could that be underrated, you say? He became famous forever for that performance. Norman Bates in now an indelible film character for all time. We’ll always associate him with that role.

And that’s exactly why he doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Perkins had been nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work in Friendly Persuasion four years earlier, but lost to Anthony Quinn for Lust for Life. Perkins came in second for the 1961 Bambi Award for Best Actor-International for his work in Psycho, but that was all there was in terms of formal recognition.

Clearly the film’s subject matter and directorial brilliance have overshadowed Perkins’ work here. Next time you see the film, pay more attention to Perkins. His every movement is driven by a strong grasp of character. He was doing what Seymour Philip Hoffman did so well later, in making us see the humanity of a person who can do terrible things.

Hitchcock has been rightly praised for moving our connection with the central character by killing off the main character and shifting our attention and even our affections to someone else who will carry the film to its end. Take a second look at that pivotal scene (the sandwich eating scene in the hotel) where we begin to shift our concerns from Marion (Janet Leigh) to Norman. It’s a director’s triumph, to be sure. But it depends on an unerring performance to pull it off. Hitchcock had one here with Perkins’ work. It is a legendary performance. And it deserves more respect.

Robert Walker in Strangers on a Train (1951)

Another Hitchcock masterpiece that wouldn’t be what it is without an uncomfortable, brilliant performance at its center. 1951 was a banner year in American film, with indelible performances—especially by the men. Think of it: Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire, Bogey (Oscar winner) in The African Queen, Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun. What an embarrassment of riches! Yet Walker’s work stands proudly in that group.

Like Perkins’ work in Psycho, Walker is way ahead of his time with this character of Bruno Antony. The so-called lead in the film was the bigger star: Farley Granger. He gives a standard, nondescript, yeoman’s performance. Walker blows him and co-star Ruth Roman out of the water. He’s funny, dark, creepy, frightening, and broken all at the same time. You can’t take your eyes off of him, even when you wish you could.

When you see the film again, sit back and see how incredible modern the film feels. (https://film-prof.com/category/film-reviews/older-films/) It looks and feels like a fresh period piece, not an old movie. It’s one of Hitch’s greats, and has been woefully under-appreciated for years. The DGA was smart enough to nominate Hitchcock, but the Academy wasn’t paying attention.

Hitch’s not winning an Oscar is an Academy embarrassment. Watching Walker’s performance is a sadness, as he died the same year the film was made. What great work we missed. At least we have this one. Take another look, and be amazed at what a sensitive, brave and fresh performance he gave.

Kristen Wiig in Knocked Up (2007)

I’ve already written a serious piece about abortion and film (https://film-prof.com/2011/09/04/abortion-and-the-film-image/) that analyzed parts of this film. Now I stop to applaud Kristen Wiig in somewhere between a supporting role and a cameo.

Full disclosure: Wiig is one of our local talents (Rochester, NY), and like Taye Diggs, and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, we are happy to call this actress one of our own. For now, I call attention to the one scene where Alison (Katherine Heigl) is told/not told to lose some weight for the TV cameras. Wiig plays a higher-up to Alison at E! Television, and helps make the scene the funniest thing in a crude but funny film. She is obviously completely jealous of Alison’s looks and this new opportunity to step in front of the camera, but can’t show it. She also can’t come right out and say that Alison needs to lose weight, as that just can’t be said out loud in that business environment. It can be implied, however, and it is—hysterically.

Watch Wiig and nothing else in the scene. Using the rule of “Who else could do this?” I can’t think of anyone else that could play the scene this way, with so much going on at the same time. It’s a solid acting performance with just a hint of sketch comedy, a combination that few others could manage as well. Take any respected dramatic actress and ask them to do this. They probably couldn’t, at least not this well. Wiig is a special talent that often doesn’t get used correctly. This part, this scene—a perfect showcase for a unique set of comic gifts.

Edward G. Robinson in Double Indemnity (1944)

Double Indemnity was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including best picture, best director and best actress for Barbara Stanwyck. Criminally, perhaps the best performance in the film was ignored—Edward G. Robinson’s.

Robinson’s Barton Keyes holds this film together and is the moral center of the film, enabling the two leads (Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray) to bring the noir to this classic film noir. He’s real, painfully trusting, smart and funny—his “little man” references are perhaps the most relatable lines in the film. Without this lovely and modulated performance, this film might have gone too dark, as many of Wilder’s films threaten to do.

“Supporting” is the best word for Robinson’s work here, because he not only supported the two leads, he supported the entire atmosphere of the film. His performance prevented Wilder’s deep cynicism from pulling the film down into a totally depressing experience, and singlehandedly balanced the darkness and pessimism of the two leads’ actions with the only performance in the film that smacks of real life and fresh air. Robinson was a legend, but he was also a superior actor.

J.K. Simmons in Spider-Man (2002)

I know. Like my last of five from the last article, I’m presenting a nearly forgotten performance here at the end. Simmons is one of the busiest actors in the land, bouncing from films (Juno) to TV (“The Closer” and “Growing Up Fisher”) to commercials (Farmers Insurance). He’s a familiar face and seems a known quantity.

Again, though, try and substitute Simmons with another actor as the loud-mouthed editor J. Jonah Jameson, the one who can’t stand Spider-Man. Of course several others could have done a good job, but look what intensity, intelligence and humor he brings to a literal comic-book character. Film pulls toward the realistic, and characters as larger-than-life as Jameson can be hard to play well. Yet Simmons brings the right note of believability and exaggeration. His character is ridiculous yet relatable. He threatens to bust out of the world of the film, yet never does, even while he adds sounds and colors that bring energy and laughs to a film that could go too serious.

For contrast, take a look at his work in Juno. He’s understated, real and funny. His character is as far from Jameson as could be, yet he nails the character and helps ground the film with his paternal concern and strength.

Someday, Simmons will receive the recognition he deserves. But for now, his busy work schedule will have to suffice as it continues to attest to his talent and popularity.

Posted in Film-Related Articles | Tagged Anthony Perkins, Double Indemnity, Edward G. Robinson, Hitchcock, J.K. Simmons, Knocked Up, Kristen Wiig, Psycho, Robert Walker, Spider-Man, Strangers on a Train | 1 Comment

Second Thoughts and Two Laments: Philip Seymour Hoffman and “Alone Yet Not Alone”

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Mark DuPré

Philip Seymour Hoffman

I awoke Sunday morning happy to be a Rochesterian. Our own Renee Fleming was going to be singing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl, and we were all basking in that reflected glory. Then the news came: Philip Seymour Hoffman, another Rochesterian and our “other great artist,” was found dead.

This is a loss hard to put into words. I am in agreement with the New York Times’ A. O. Scott that PSH was our finest American actor. I know of no other better, and only Daniel Day-Lewis, in my opinion, is a better actor. (We’re talking the difference between genius and somewhere between brilliant and genius, so the distinction is thin.)

The first reactions were shock, sadness, anger—at him, at drugs, at the loss. All that could have been—all those great performances we’re going to be denied. Thoughts of River Phoenix and Heath Ledger fill my head. I easily could go on and on.

But my second thought is that at least we have some great performances to cherish. This semester, I’d already selected Capote as my film during the week focusing on acting—a happy coincidence. But there are many others as well. I could go into several of them, but I’ll just focus on one. As excellent as Joaquin Phoenix was in The Master, I think PSH’s performance was one for the ages. I will quote A. O. again: It may take the world a while to catch up with that journey into dark, uncharted zones of the American character, but once it does it will discover, in Lancaster Dodd, an archetype of corrupted idealism, entrepreneurial zeal and authentic spiritual insight.”

Hoffman had a way of digging into his characters that few other actors could approach. He went places other actors are not even aware of. His Lancaster Dodd will long be studied, when enough people take the time and the challenge to dig into the character and see what an original he was and how brilliantly brought to life by the actor. This was one of the great American performances in recent years, and with PSH’s work in Capote, may be his best. He was an American treasure, and now he’s gone.

“Alone, Yet Not Alone”

My first thoughts on the rescinding of this fine song from being Oscar nominated are that Hollywood is again showing its anti-Christian bias (which one would have to be blind or in a state of massive self-denial to not see). After its nomination, it was determined by the Academy that the song’s composer Bruce Broughton, a former governor and executive committee member of the music branch of AMPAAS at the time, had improperly contacted other branch members by e-mail solicitation for support. Since it is easy for my Christian brothers and sisters to quickly jump on a bandwagon—anti-Christian bias being so blatant among so many in Hollywood—that I had to think a while and get past any first reactions and do some digging.

I did. After taking some time, reading some more, and considering the Academy’s thinking and action, I have determined this: it is completely anti-Christian bias at work. This is the little engine of a song that apparently could. It’s a “nice” song, with a real musical structure, good words and a lovely melody line. There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that it will win—it’s a foregone conclusion that Frozen’s “Let It Go” is going to win. So it’s not like this little sweet song from an independent faith-based film is going to pose any threat to the Disney machine here. “Let It Go” is a lock, and it’s a good song. No problem there.

But if you is going to fault Broughton for simply calling attention to the presence of his song on the accredited song list of possible nominees, then you are going to have to take Shakespeare in Love’s Best Picture Oscar and give it to Saving Private Ryan, and you’re going to have to take Juliet Binoche’s Supporting Actress Oscar back and give it to Lauren Bacall. That’s just for starters, and you’re only just beginning with Harvey Weinstein. Applying the same principle to HW would take the Academy a year to get things straight if they were consistent here.

As a Christian and a film person, I’m greatly disappointed by the Academy. It’s clear that they don’t really know how to handle faith issues in mainstream Hollywood. It’s a matter of great humor and consistent disappointment with this viewer. But to go out of the way to bump this film off the list (and not even add another one they might have deemed more worthy for some reason) when nearly every other player in Hollywood is guilty of far more than informing their friends and associates about the presence of a song on a list—this is hypocrisy of the highest order. To paraphrase Mr. Knightley rebuking Emma in the Gwyneth Paltrow film of the same name, “Badly done, Academy. Badly done.”

Posted in Film-Related Articles | Tagged A.O. Scott, Alone Yet Not Alone, Bruce Broughton, Capote, Daniel Day-Lewis, Emma, Heath Ledger, Joaquin Phoenix, Juliet Binoche, Lauren Bacall, Philip Seymour Hoffmann, River Phoenix, Saving Private Ryan, Shakespeare in Love, The Master | Leave a comment

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Divergent

The Grand Budapest Hotel

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