Hey Folks, Harry here to introduce a helluvalot of reviews from the Chicago International Film Festival and the magical keyboard of CAPONE, the almighty. He's here to tell about a lot of really fun flicks, check it all out, lots of good ones here...
I'm running on next-to-no sleep, running from film to film with no regard for human life. I can't even write a proper introduction. Here's what I saw in the first week of the 40th Chicago International Film Festival. Enjoy, you miserable...zzzzzzzz....
BEING JULIA
Set in the romping 1930s London theatre scene, BEING JULIA offers star Annette Bening a chance to do something she hasn't done in a long time on screen: be a vamp. This is the Bening I fell in love with and was scared of at the same time in VALMONT and THE GRIFTERS. She could rip you apart with a smile and once she slept with you, you were her prisoner. In this film, she is Julia, one of the most popular leading ladies on the stage, usually in plays produced by her husband (Jeremy Irons, also quite good), who is more her best friend and almost never her lover. For good lovin', Julia turns to a young, apparently innocent American fan named Tom (Shaun Evans), who turns out to be a bit of a gold-digger and a schemer. As the level of Tom's deception becomes clear, Julia plots wonderful revenge on the cad. Directed by Istvan Szabo (SUNSHINE; MEPHISTO) from a short story by W. Somerset Maugham, BEING JULIA sports a great supporting cast, including Juliet Stevenson, Bruce Greenwood, and Michael Gambon, as the vision of Julia's long-dead director and acting coach, who advises her on major life events. The film has a luscious look, sex on the brain, and a stellar performance by Bening, who made me remember why I was mildly obsessed with her for many years.
THE MACHINIST
I know others' opinions vary on this point, but I've liked or loved everything Brad Anderson has directed since NEXT STOP, WONDERLAND, the film that introduced me to the quirky charms of Hope Davis. SESSION 9 was flawed but still scared the wee-wee out of me at time, and HAPPY ACCIDENTS is a film I've seen three times now and still find fascinating, especially Vincent D'Onofrio's twitchy performance that I consider the best he's ever done (not including FULL METAL JACKET, of course). But nothing Anderson has done to date prepared me for THE MACHINIST, a film that has a look of cold blue steel (Anderson calls it gun-metal gray) and an atmosphere that walks the line between lulling into a false sense of security and erupting into some nasty violence. I thought I was prepared to see Christian Bale's Trevor Reznick. I'd read about how he dropped his weight to about 120 lbs, from 180, but when you see him...it's shocking. And the camera and lighting emphasizes every crevice and line in his skeletal form. He looks like he just walked out of a concentration camp, and I found it difficult to look at him. Reznick is a man who literally hasn't slept in a year due to some overwhelming and unnamed guilt. He starts having surreal and grotesque visions that he understand may the result of his extreme exhaustion but he can't help but react to some of them. The fact that he works in an entirely unsafe machine shot does not bode well for Reznick or his co-workers, as Reznick nods of on the job resulting in at least one nasty accident. He finds comfort in the arms of a sweet prostitute (Jennifer Jason Leigh), but his paranoid delusions push even her away. THE MACHINIST's biggest flaw is its ending. When we discover what Reznick's big mystery is, it's not that big or mysterious. But the weak ending didn't take away from the overall effect the film had on me; I didn't need the conclusion to be powerful. The whole movie is powerful. I recommend seeing the film under the same conditions I did: late at night, in danger of falling asleep, watching a film that exemplifies the hazardous of functioning under such conditions. You know that feeling you get when you're utterly tired while driving? You start to see things, you doubt your own senses. That's what this is about and that how it makes you feel. It's a scary feeling from a scary film.
TOMORROW WE MOVE
This one can be safety filed under the heading "Near Miss." A French/ Belgium coproduction, TOMORROW WE MOVE has one of my favorite French actresses in it. Her name is Sylvie Testud, whom I first spotted in the 1996 film BEYOND SILENCE. Although her output is impressive, I only see her in about one film per year because so few of her movies make it stateside. Those who follow French cinema may have seen her in MURDEROUS MAIDS in 2000, but she has a quality and a look that always draws me in. Here, she tests out here rarely used comedy chops, as a writer of erotic novels, who has more sexual hangups that Al Kinsey. She lives with her mother in a spacious apartment, but when the two decide they need even more space, they have an open house that seems to draw half of France through their dwelling. The film moves incredibly fast, and the overlapping, random conversations add to the controlled chaos of the proceedings. The problem with the film, however, is that a lot of what's being said isn't that interesting even if it made me laugh a time or two. Most of the actors are quite charming and funny, but the film never really does anywhere or amounts to anything. But the chorus line of weird visitors to the apartment gets old after a while, and even the lovely Testud can't save the film. Like I said, a near miss.
TRILOGY: THE WEEPING MEADOW
Three hours of relentless tragedy from master Greek filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos (ULYSSES' GAZE). There's no denying the power of the epic work from a Chicago favorite, who loves to make use of slow, exquisitely choreographed tracking shots. The film is filled with forbidden love, death, grief, natural disasters, and passionate villagers desperate for revenge. There is also gorgeous music, breath-taking scenery, and powerful acting. But WEEPING MEADOW is an endurance test, for sure. I've seen several other Angelopoulos films, so I knew what I was in for, but many of my fellow audience members dropped out by the end of the second hour. I'm excited that this is the first of a three-part series about the fate of the Greek people. Angelopoulos is a visionary movie maker who is as underappreciated as he is talented. But would it kill him to bring in a film under two hours? Talk about your Butt-Numb-a-Thon.
NOBODY KNOWS
If the name of director Kore-eda Hirokazu means anything to you, it's time to get excited. His AFTER LIFE is one of my all-time favorite films, and NOBODY KNOWS is right up there. Taking a page from the unblinking ultra-realism of Mike Leigh's early work, Hirokazu gives up the devastating story of a young, single woman named Keiko and her three children. They seem to be a happy family living in tight quarters, but never at a loss for love. The children aren't supposed to be living in the flat, so they can never leave the apartment. This means no school, no screaming, no going out on the balcony. Only the eldest child, 12-year-old Akira (Yuya Yagirs, who won Best Actor at Cannes), can go out. He's in charge while mom is at work or otherwise out. After a few weeks, mom starts to stay out later, sometimes being gone all night. Then one day, she announced that she's going to be gone for a few days, which turns into weeks. Although its never said explicitly, she's clearly off somewhere with a new man and doesn't want him to know that she has any children. At first this isn't really a problem for the kids, since Akira has been given enough money to buy food, pay bills, and take care of the rent. The bubbly mother returns but only to gather a few things for an even longer trip away that turns into full-out abandonment, as the kids' happy life turns into squaller, starvation, and neglect. What's unique about Hirokazu's approach is that he doesn't turn NOBODY KNOWS into a comment on society's evils. Instead, the film takes a softer approach, spotlighting the kindness that those who know the children show them in helping them survive. They have to do so quietly so that the landlord and social services don't step in. The film has a lot of humor but also the appropriate level of devastation. This is a film that waits until the exact right moment to deliver its most powerful blows. Hirokazu is a wonderfully economic director who gives us only what we need to understand the toll being exacted on these children. We aren't exposed to much quiet power in the world today, but NOBODY KNOWS exemplifies that approach.
THE WOODSMAN
My God. This may not be the best film I saw during this festival, but it may end up being my favorite. In a perfect world, Kevin Bacon could not be honored enough for his portrayal of a convicted pedophile who is released into the world after 12 years in prison. But the subject matter is going to keep many awards (and even more audience members) away from this incredibly powerful film. Bacon's character has it better than most in his shoes: he sincerely wants to overcome his urges and lead as normal a life as possible. He has a job waiting for him; he meets a sexy forklift driver (Bacon's real-life wife Kyra Sedgwick) who continues to want to see him even after she discovers his terrible secret; his mandatory therapy sessions are difficult but seem to be working; and he is able to find a decent apartment. Problem is the apartment is across the street from an elementary school, but he checks to confirm that its is slightly more than the mandatory 300-foot distance he must keep from children. But his struggle is not an easy one. A co-worker (played by rapper Eve) rats him out to the rest of the work crew Bacon works aside, and he is immediately ostracized. He's being harassed by random visits from a local cop (Mos Def). His own sister won't talk to him. And his commute to work puts him into close contact with his target victims (12-year-old girls). Bacon's performance is so brave and believable that I don't think any children should live near Kevin Bacon for a while. Sedgwick, too, is fantastic as a woman who is clearly damaged goods herself, but is also a saint (or perhaps an idiot) for putting her faith in a man so not worthy of it. There's a scene on a park bench between Bacon and a young girl who could potentially be his next victim that manages to be so terrifying with just words that I challenge anyone to find a better scene in any movie released this year. Over the years, I've asked many of you to take a chance on obscure films, to be sure, but this one has earned the right to be seen by those who care about great filmmaking. THE WOODMAN is a quiet movie that will shake you to the very core. Some will call it challenging, and they'd be right. But it is no challenge to find the powerful soul of this film.
STRAY DOGS
Taking a page from the Italian neo-realist movement, Iranian director Marziyeh Meshkini (THE DAY I BECAME A WOMAN) tells the story of two homeless children in postwar Kabul whose parents are in jail. The children spend their days scavenging bombed out buildings for wood that they sell to local for fuel to whoever will buy. At night, they sweet talk the prison guards at their mother's prison, so they can sleep in her cell and bring her food. The mother is in jail for remarrying after she believed her first husband, a Taliban member, was killed in the war. After the children are denied access to the mother's prison one cold night and they are forced to sleep outside, they device a plan to get locked up themselves so they will at least have food and shelter. Inspired by a certain Italian classic involving a bicycle and a desperate man turned thief, the children go to absurd and ultimately harmful lengths to get sent to jail. This devastating piece is handled so simply and honestly as to be difficult to watch at times. The two child actors, who are clearly first-time players, give such heart-felt performances that to not want to protect them from all of the terrible things that will clearly happen in their lives is to be heartless. STRAY DOGS wasn't my favorite film at this year's Fest, but it's the one I'll be rooting for the loudest.
UNDERTOW
I haven't been able to make a statement like this since I saw Paul Thomas Anderson's MAGNOLIA, but director David Gordon Green has yet to make a bad movie and he keeps making better films. I remember meeting Green when his first feature GEORGE WASHINGTON premiered at this festival a few years back. His direction on that film was so confident and beautiful that you just got a sense that the kid had something going on. His second film, ALL THE REAL GIRLS, told such an honest tale of the kids of working class parents, and how teenage hormones can send your mind and body every which way. Now UNDERTOW shows that Green can still stay in his comfort zone of the gritty and grimy way some American live while trying his hand at genre filmmaking. UNDERTOW is a thriller that almost begs to be compared to NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. Green spends a lot of time setting up a shaky home life for young brothers Chris and Tim (BILLY ELLIOTT's Jamie Bell and Devon Alan) and their hard-working father (Durmot Mulroney). With their mother long dead and their father a caring but stern taskmaster, Chris is restless and gets into a lot of minor trouble with the police; Tim is quiet and sickly, suffering from a stomach ailment that makes it difficult for him to eat most foods. When the father's long-lost brother (Josh Lucas in full scary-ass mode) arrive on the farm claiming to want to patch things up between them, this shakes up the dynamic around the homestead. Not surprisingly, the uncle isn't there to make the peace, and after a violent incident between the men, the boys are on the run with the uncle in hot pursuit. The second half of UNDERTOW is part chase story, part look at the surrounding communities, all of which are filled with impoverished people who run the gamut from kind and pleasant to scheming and evil. Clearly, Green is using the chase as an excuse to continue his examination into the lives of folks whose lives don't get examined all that often in film. The performances here are solid and effective. Bell does a terrific job of showing Chris's frustration at being the only brother whose capable of doing work around the property. He loves and protects his little brother, but his higher profile in the house also makes him the target of his father's anger. Lucas, who is also quite good in the recent release AROUND THE BEND, is the quintessential white trash bastard. You can almost smell the evil on his stained undershirt. But the real star of the show is director Green, who sure-handedness keeps getting better. I hope he never stops doing what he's doing. His films capture a different side of American life that you usually only see in documentaries about the country's hidden and uncounted citizens. UNDERTOW is one that's going to stick with me for a while.
OUTING RILEY
So what has the first Project Greenlight winner Pete Jones been up to since STOLEN SUMMER crash landed in theatres a couple years back? Among other things, he wrote and directed a much better and more adult film that might have actually been worthy of winning a Greenlight-like competition. OUTING RILEY is an edgy comedy about a tight-knit Irish Catholic family of four brothers (one is a priest) and one sister, who could probably kick the asses of the other four. The brothers often talk quite frankly and perversely about women, including Bobby (played by Jones), who is nervously in the closet about his gay lifestyle, despite being in a committed, long-term relationship with another man. Bobby eventually comes out to his brothers (his sister already knows) and all hell breaks loose. As much as Jones has written a likeable coming-out tale, we've seen this story a dozen times before (well, some of us have). What separates OUTING RILEY from many other similar films on the subject is the family dynamic between the brothers. The jokes are disgusting, fast flying, and extremely funny. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the dialogue in the family scenes was improvised; it feels very natural and free flowing, and adds a level of authenticity to the film. You may recognized a few familiar faces in smaller roles, like Jeff Garlin from "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and Michael McDonald from "Mad TV," but most of the roles are played by Chicago-area unknowns who do a great job striking a nice balance between the humor and the drama that settles in once Bobby's secret is out in the open. The best scene in the film is when Bobby's boyfriend agrees to meet secretly with two of the brothers at Chicago's very own The Wiener Circle just to see if they can all get along. None of the men miss the opportunity to make jokes about the meeting place. It's a terrific scene. I think Jones would be the first to say that the weakest part of the film is his acting. Fortunately, he's got a terrific supporting cast to cover up what he lacks as a performer. He's not terrible, but he probably should have looked a little harder for another actor to play the part. Still, the film is full of raunchy laughs and a sweet if predictable story.
KONTROLL
The Chicago Film Fest's top prize this year went to Hungary's KONTROLL, an absolutely mind-blowing experience from director Nimrod Antal. A group of men who inspect tickets on the underground trains to make sure people aren't sneaking on the trains are put to the test when a mysterious serial killer starts pushing people in front of trains. Some of the inspectors wear Nazi-esque uniforms and run roughshod over the metro passengers, while other (our heroes, for instance) take a more humane approach to their civil service jobs. The troubled character Bulcsu is at times a suspect in the crimes, but he's also a romantic lead as a beautiful woman in a teddy bear costume keeps running into him on the trains. But spending all his time underground, away from the sun takes its toll on Bulcsu as his nightmarish journey through the darkened tunnels under Budapest makes him doubt his own sanity. Eerie, throbbing music punctuates every moment in this phenomenal movie that is weird without being confusing, eccentric without getting on your nerves, and stylized without overshadowing its truly unique story. The best part of KONTROLL is that I could never predict what crazed path it would take me down. I was genuinely nervous wondering what would happen next. KONTROLL is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.
FINDING NEVERLAND
Just before the Festival began, I was talking to Harry about this film. And while we were both in agreement that any Johnny Depp film is worth getting excited about, the sap-filled trailer for FINDING NEVERLAND looked so wimpy that I really wasn't that interested in seeing the movie. I knew I would, but I could not generate any enthusiasm about doing do. Now I've seen the film, and the moral of this story is: just trust that Johnny Depp will never, ever let you down.
Depp portrays author and playwright James M. Barrie, who finds himself on the bad end of a string of poorly received plays in turn-of-the-century England. His fast-talking producer (Dustin Hoffman) has always been able to get financing for the plays but he fears that those days are gone, especially when Barrie embarks on writing his latest work about a group of fatherless siblings who meet a never-aging boy named Peter Pan who whisks them off to a place called Neverland. The film focuses on Barrie's crumbling marriage to his wife Mary (Radha Mitchell, who worked with director Marc Forster in his powerful, pre-MONSTER'S BALL film EVERYTHING PUT TOGETHER) and his innocent friendship with a young widow named Sylvia (Kate Winslet) and her four sons. Although the love within the family (which also includes Julie Christie as Winslet's hard as nails mother-in-law) is strong, their finances and Sylvia's health are not. Barrie is so taken by the clan that he spends most of his days enjoying their company. Although Mrs. Barrie feels safe in her assumption that nothing inappropriate is going on between her husband and Sylvia, that doesn't stop the gossip mongers from creating a scandal around the relationship. Meanwhile, one of Sylvia's children, Peter (Freddie Highmore), seems dead set against the becoming friendly with Barrie, whom he feels is attempting to be his new father. Highmore (who will play opposite Depp's Willy Wonka in Tim Burton's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY) is a remarkable young actor, who conveys a sadness that goes beyond simply calling up a few tears when the time is right. His pain goes much deeper, but his desire for a father figure is stronger and eventually, he and Barrie form a special bond as Peter decides to try some writing of his own. Barrie makes no secrete that part of the reason he loves this family is that they are providing much of the inspiration for his new play "Peter Pan," and the way Forster shows the events that evolved into moment from the play is fascinating.
But wait, you ask, does the film become a huge sap-fest or not? The potential is there, but Depp and Forster keep things on the up-and-up. FINDING NEVERLAND is a film that parcels out equal parts wonder and charm with melancholy and grief. There are several tear-jerking moments here, to be sure, but Forster doesn't cheapen his work to get an emotional reaction; he earns those tears. As adventuresome and wild as Barrie can be with the children, Depp gives him an deeply honest soul. This is not one of the bizarre characters Depp has been playing lately. If anything, Barrie might be considered boring or stuffy, but he's still a gentle man capable of giving and earning much love. Even his wife realizes this after it's too late to save their marriage. After seeing FINDING NEVERLAND, I finally understand while people are saying Depp may be up for his second acting nomination. I doubt the film will be as fortunate, but Depp and Winslet would be worthy contenders. FINDING NEVERLAND is a special work that will move you many times in many ways.
PRIMER
A Sundance jury prize winner, director Shane Carruth's $7,000 slice of sci-fi mind-fuckery had me totally riveted for all of its 78 minutes. At its core, the film is about two men who belong to a group of four men, who are attempting to invent...something. There seems to be some debate at the beginning of the film about what direction the group should go in, but the two main characters branch off from the group because one seems to have...something that's never been seen before. PRIMER is a strange film filled with loads of metaphysical techno babble that will go over just about everyone's head, and I think it's supposed to. Out of each conversation, there are choice nuggets of important information we have to listen for. At first the two yuppies think they've stumbled upon a device that defies the laws of physics and energy. The potential for this technology is astonishing, they tell us. But it isn't until more testing is done that they realize they've invented a time machine, and they do what I've been waiting for someone to do in time machine movies since the dawn of cinema. After the stock market closes, they go back a few hours in time and buy or sell stocks that make they filthy rich. But this means that for a few short hours in each day, there are two versions of this pair existing in the same universe. As long as they don't muck with anything too much, nothing changes in the present day, and you see where this is going. PRIMER is a fun film. It doesn't look or sound like any science fiction film I've ever seen, and that's a great thing. These guys sound like typical low-level office workers just trying to get an edge over each other as well as the competition. They say they're working together but never miss an opportunity to cut out someone who isn't directly contributing to this project. And as the time travel gets out of control, disaster seems almost a guarantee. PRIMER is compelling as it moves at a cheetah's pace through it story. If you blink, you'll miss something. Don't order popcorn before you watch this movie; any distraction will screw up the experience. Just sit back and attempt to comprehend. Consider it a challenge with an exceptional payoff.
COMING UP: THE POLAR EXPRESS; IMAGINARY HEROES; DEAR FRANKIE; SIDEWAYS; and more.
Capone
