Hey folks, Harry here for a pair of reviews from our ol friend Daffodil 11. This time, Daffy is singing the praises of the latest from Curtis Hanson and Woody Allen - on two films that have had nothing but great word of mouth so far. Both of these are definitely worth checking out!
Hi Harry,
Daffodil 11 here with my first reviews since BATMAN BEGINS and HERBIE: FULLY LOADED.
I will pre-empt any additional cries of ?plant? (thanks, in part, to my chosen moniker) by saying that I have chosen only to submit reviews for your consideration for films that I love. No point wasting time & energy on telling everyone just how shit something that is truly bad actually is, because chances are you can tell from the trailer
So, you will find attached reviews for two films that I have recently really enjoyed:
IN HER SHOES
Director Curtis Hanson?s post-LA CONFIDENTIAL career has been justifiably acclaimed. While never a big fan of HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, I will gladly recognise both it and THE RIVER WILD for being fun thrillers. As for LA CONFIDENTIAL, WONDER BOYS and 8 MILE, all are incredibly diverse, proving him to be a skilled filmmaker, adept at a variety of genres and styles. IN HER SHOES shows Hanson as also being a very capable ?chick flick? maker.
The story goes: Cameron Diaz (at her sexy best) and Toni Collette (sublime) are sisters. Maggie Feller (Diaz) is hot but relies on her looks to get by, Rose Feller (Collette) is the successful lawyer who uses her job as an excuse for the lack of romance in her life.
Their Father has remarried after the death of their mother, which occurred when Maggie & Rose were children, and he now lives with their stepmother Sydelle (Candice Azzara ? a scene stealer). When Maggie is evicted from her father?s house by Sydelle, she crashes on the couch in Rose?s nicely-appointed apartment. When Rose leaves to go to work, Maggie?s moocher-instincts kick into gear as the searches the apartment, all the while trying on pairs from Rose?s extensive shoe collection (?shoes always fit,? explains the dumpy Rose) while avoiding various hints by her sister to find a job.
After a weekend interstate work trip, Rose returns to find her apartment a mess and Maggie still jobless. Losing her cool, she demands a clean-up. However, things only go from bad-to-worse before Rose finally kicks Maggie out in a rage.
With no place to go, Maggie acts on a chance and catches a train to Florida, the source of a series of old birthday cards (containing cash!), some dating back to when she and Rose were children, that she came across when searching for money in her father?s desk. Seemingly from grandparents long thought dead, Maggie cold-calls her Grandmother (Shirley MacLaine) when she arrives in Miami and very quickly finds a place to crash, complete with swimming pool and sunny weather.
Hanson?s handling of the material is a delight. The juxtaposition of the sisters? personalities, their different lots in life, Philadelphia?s dark versus Miami?s light. He sets up the scene with so mach care and attention that you quickly get a sense of who these women are and what they represent. Being unfamiliar with the source novel, I can only comment that the script rings true throughout, rarely falling slave to cliché or generic exposition. It is in fact through getting a true-sense of the characters that we are able to read so much into what is already familiar to their lives. The relationships between characters is what makes for such believable situations and reactions: Sydelle versus the Feller sisters makes for big laughs throughout, as is Maggie & Rose?s lampooning of Sydelle?s infatuation with her own daughter?s pursuits.
Diaz turns in what would have to be close to a career-best performance, winning the audience?s sympathies despite several moments where her selfishness is shown in full-flight. Collette?s throughout-film transformation recall?s her breakthrough role in MURIEL?S WEDDING. Not a moment goes by where Collette doesn?t get everything out of a scene, shifting effortlessly from comedy to drama.
However, it is MacLaine that steals the film. Deliberately allowing herself to show her age, MacLaine?s roll as Ella Hirsch is certain to garner her an Oscar nom for supporting actress, if not a win. MacLaine seems to bring a lifetime of wisdom to her role, quietly orchestrating Maggie?s shift away from leech to independent woman while also allowing the young woman?s presence to present her with new opportunities and relationships.
IN HER SHOES is almost irresistible, thanks to the skill of a filmmaker (never before have shoes be photographed so adoringly) and a very talented cast. Only it?s unabashedly ?chick-flickness? will find some avoiding it. However, even those who may not think they are in the market for something about sisterly-bonding might find themselves utterly involved in the lives of these characters.
MATCH POINT
Much has been written of the gradual decline of Woody Allen?s recent career as a director. Whatever your opinion, for my money the misses have outnumbered the hits for over a decade. Ever since the wonderful BULLETS OVER BROADWAY, I have only found myself enjoying SMALL TIME CROOKS while being repeatedly under whelmed with such fare as CELEBRITY, CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION and HOLLYWOOD ENDING. Until now.
Allen?s new film, MATCH POINT is an incredible experience.
A slow-boil take on British upper-crust society, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers stars as Chris, a tennis coach who never amounted to much on the professional circuit. Taken on by a fancy tennis club, Chris quickly becomes friends with one of the members, Tom Wilton (Matthew Goode), who hails from a very wealthy family. Chris also meets Tom?s sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer), whom he starts a relationship with, much to the delight of Chris and Chloe?s parents (Brian Cox and Penelope Wilton ? Shawn?s Mum in ?
OF THE DEAD?).
Observing that one?s place in society has a lot to do with luck in life, Chris?s opposite in the film is irresistibly presented in the form of the Nola (Scarlet Johansson), an American actress who also happens to be Tom?s girlfriend. While Chris?s life turns for the better thanks to his new relationship with Tom and Chloe, Nola is never embraced by the Wilton clan. Constantly chastised for her drinking and her career choice by Tom?s mother, Nola faces double-rejection in that her skills onstage are not in high demand.
While Chloe is infatuated with her new lover Chris, Chris only has eyes for Nola. When he finally gets his chance to be with Nola, Chris is upset to find that a short time later Nola has been dumped by Tom and has left London.
Without the temptation of Nola, Chris throws himself into his relationship with Chloe, accepting a high-powered role at her father?s company, a stunning central-London apartment as well as a walk down the isle.
However, some time later, when meeting his wife at the Tate Modern art gallery, Chris runs into Nola and arranges a rendezvous, which quickly turns into a full-blown affair, unbeknownst to Chloe or Tom.
Rhys-Meyers has long existed on the fringe of his big break, often giving great performances in ordinary films. Moving a little more into the mainstream with BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM, he has proven himself an appealing male lead, something he solidifies in MATCH POINT. The role of Chris is a dream in that so much diversity is required of the character. Rhys-Meyers handling of the role is revelatory, in that no matter what Chris does, you cannot help but be rooting for him. The first Allen male-lead that doesn?t even start to sound like Allen (thanks to the fact that his shtick would sound ridiculous coming from anyone other than an American performer), Rhys-Meyers holds the film together with an invisible strength.
Johansson, now synonymous with outstanding performances, gives another pearler here. As seductress Chloe, she again transcends her years and handles the transformation from blonde bombshell to something less appealing with aplomb.
The whole supporting cast shines in their roles of various size: Cox plays against type, instead playing a man for whom success is something best shared; Emily Mortimer?s tough role of a wife spurned due to her generosity of love and kindness is skilfully convincing while Matthew Goode?s turn as the suitor aware of his financial value is winningly suave.
Ewan Bremner and James Nesbitt also pop-up later in proceedings in a way that further reflects another similarity between MATCH POINT and SMALL TIME CROOKS, besides that film?s comparable observations on how people move up the social ladder. Where CROOKS was a comedy about status, this is a biting observation.
Allen?s new film is surprising and thrilling through-out, displaying a director at the top of his game. The change of scenery from New York to London gives Allen a freshness not seen in years, to the point where if you removed the standard black & white cast & crew credit opening as well as some of his more standard selections in soundtrack, this is unrecognisable as an Allen film, instead standing shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the best work of Hitchcock and Billy Wilder.
I hope your readers love these movies as much as I did.
D11
