By: Henry J. Fromage –
This week I finally got some theatrical releases in, including an Oscar contender or maybe even two.
483. See How They Run
It was surprised to see that a film starring Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan as a grizzled detective and greenhorn police officer solving a murder on the set of infamously unfilmed Agatha Christine play The Mousetrap (it’s not allowed to be until it finishes its theatrical run, which… it hasn’t since the 1950s) didn’t play a major film festival. After watching, I can see why- it’s a rather minor comedy, but one that does a good job maintaining its mystery and is never less than perfectly pleasant. Three Beers.
484. Tár
Todd Field’s first film in 16 years just demonstrates why its such a loss to the world of film that his always interesting-sounding projects have such a problem getting financed. Here he delivers a knotty, unsettling, complex portrait of a woman at the pinnacle of her profession but about to have a lifetime of misdeeds catch up with her. He and the absolutely staggering Cate Blanchett, who may be doing career-best work here as insane as that is to proclaim over her past work, deliver a new angle on the Me Too conversation while almost creating empathy for the perpetrator. It’s one you’ll be chewing over for weeks. A Toast.
485. Blonde
I’m very torn about this film. On one hand, it’s an almost three hour slog through the absolute misery that Joyce Carol Oates and Andrew Dominik clearly feel Marilyn Monroe’s life was. On the other hand, it features a superb performance from Ana de Armas and some undeniably stunning recreations and filmmaking techniques from Dominik. If only those had been put in service of a film with a modicum of mercy for its subject or its audience. Four Beers.
486. Refuge
This short documentary tells the inspiring story of a white nationalist leader who learns to let go of his hate when he encounters a Muslim doctor and an immigrant community near where he lives in rural Georgia. It’s a simple story of real people in less than ideal circumstances learning to see each other as people just like them in spite of the prejudices it would be easier to cling to. A Toast.
487. The Stranger
This Palestinian film is about a doctor from the Golan Heights who is drinking himself to ruin until he encounters a Syrian refugee at the other side of a border fence and decides to help him. This is a very atmospheric, beautifully shot, but honestly slow in parts arthouse drama that is worth a watch if you run across it. Three Beers.
488. Don’t Worry Darling
As entertainingly juicy as it is, ignore all of the gossip around the making of this film- it doesn’t show up in the results at all. Taken on its own merits, it’s a beautifully designed and well-acted (Pugh, as always, and Wilde is pretty great herself) dystopian thriller with a twist that is trippy enough and themes that are better developed than they get credit for. Harry Styles, I’m sad to report, does bring things down a bit- he’s not transparently bad, but an actor with more charisma and natural ambiguity could have really made the film sing. Three Beers.
489. Amsterdam
I’m sad to report that this film is somewhat less than a sum of its parts when all of its parts of such obviously high quality. Christian Bale delivers a surprisingly great comedic performance and everyone else in the superbly stacked cast is good, but David O. Russell lets things get loose and shaggy which drags the film out a bit. Read up on the true story that inspired the film afterwards- it’s a fascinating one. Three Beers.
