Hey, everyone. Capone in Chicago here, with a handful of titles that hopefully are opening today or will open soon at an art house theater in your neck of the woods. Hell, they may even occupy a single screen at your local multiplex if you’re lucky.
WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY
Hot on the heels of last year's warts-and-all WALT AND EL GRUPO, about Disney animators (and Walt himself) who traveled to South America during a strike at the company, comes this fascinating examination of the 10 year period beginning in 1984 that ushered in a new Golden Age at Disney that included the releases of THE LITTLE MERMAID, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, ALADDIN, WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT?, and THE LION KING. The idea of new Disney animated musicals was unheard of at the time, when just a year or two earlier THE CARE BEARS MOVIE was beating new Disney releases. And while the film spends plenty of time examining the wondrous process that goes into creating each new character, song and film, the most interesting aspects of WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY are the corporate wheeling and dealing that occurred between the heir apparent Roy Disney (Walt's nephew, who died recently), then-company CEO Michael Eisner and then-head of Disney's film division Jeffrey Katzenberg.
You might think this work would be all sunshine and daisies, but even more so than WALT AND EL GRUPO, this latest work is shockingly open and honest about how conflicting egos almost sank the company at its peak. Removing the politeness filters seems to be the order of the day in WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY as animators openly criticize those in charge of various aspects of the way the company was run at the time. But somehow, this pressure and tension brought about some of the finest works Disney has ever released, as well as established a proving ground for talented artists and idea sculptors (including Tim Burton and John Lasseter). Director Don Hahn (a producer during the period depicted in the film, who also serves as narrator) somehow manages to keep the flow of critical information flowing, with Eisner and Katzenberg taking the hardest hits, while Roy Disney seems to be the only one who understands that the animation department is not just a legacy but also the cornerstone on which the theme parks, merchandising, and most things Disney rest.
Some of the film's most glorious moments are the seemingly endless stream of home movies taken by those in the animation department of pitch meetings, character development pow-wows, recording sessions, and just general goofing off and theme parties around the office. I could have watched this footage for days because the creative process in an animation studio never seems to get boring, especially for the movies discussed in WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY. Some of the most interesting stuff comes from the section of the film that deals with ROGER RABBIT, during which we see Steven Spielberg be incredibly hands on in the production. But to single out one portion of the film or another is pointless, because the entire movie is thoroughly engrossing and informative. We all hear rumors about troubles on certain productions (Disney or otherwise), but it's interesting to watch many of these stories play out in such a public display of corporate foolishness and short sightedness (if there is such a word). Still, there's little denying that this period in Disney history was rich and fruitful and profitable. WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY lets us know how that happened, and how creativity beat the odds and won in the end. Disney fan or not, you have to see this film.
CHLOE
Not to put to fine a point on it, but most people will go to see Atom Egoyan's latest, CHLOE, to get their first real look at Amanda Seyfried partially naked, and my goodness would that be enough for the price of admission. But my guess is that most of you who go into the film with such noble ambitions will actually be drawn into this very clever and intimate psychological erotic thriller about suspicion, paranoia, desire and emotional deception. And did I mention that you get to see Seyfried's boobies?
Egoyan has long been one of my favorite directors since I first saw THE ADJUSTER in the early 1990s. Since then, he has managed to hypnotize me in one way or another with some of the most atmospheric and haunting films of the last 20 years, including EXOTICA, THE SWEET HEREAFTER, FELICIA’S JOURNEY, ARARAT, and ADORATION. Of all of his previous works, CHLOE bears the strongest resemblance to EXOTICA, with Julianne Moore playing Catherine, a gynecologist who is deeply suspicious that her flirtatious music professor husband David (Liam Neeson) is cheating on her. After nearly going insane with pent of jealousy, Catherine meets a stunning prostitute (Seyfried), whom she hires to hit on her husband and see if he takes the bait.
CHLOE heads off to perform her services and returns to Catherine with a juicy retelling of the events that include a picnic and the search for a quiet place for a little fooling around. What Catherine does not anticipate is that the stories about David's infidelities actually turn her on and make her remember what got her so hot and bothered about him when they first met. The other offshoot of Chloe's magnificently blunt words is that Catherine starts to find herself attracted to this master seductress as well. Seyfried has never been more polished and nakedly forceful in a role ever. This is a far cry from what she's accomplished in MAMMA MIA! or the recent DEAR JOHN, and even when she's fully dressed, her performance is absolutely mesmerizing and overflowing with sexual charisma.
Not to underplay the fine work done my Neeson or Moore--both play their parts to perfection, falling right into Chloe's finely spun web. Moore, in particular, embodies the middle-aged woman who is still quite beautiful but is also well aware of every young thing that her husband smiles at. This couple were clearly a passionate pair before they had their now-grown son (Max Thieriot), and every year pulls them just a little further apart. Moore's performances is a blend of desperation, primal lust, and a undeniable gravitational pull toward something new and terrifying.
CHLOE 's third act wraps things up perhaps a little too predictably. We have a sense early on that Egoyan may be cheating a little in what he's showing us and what he isn't, but it never seemed to completely rip me out of the gripping plot. This is a master of sensuality doing some of his best work, and I enjoyed the ride, maybe a little too much.
MOTHER
I've been genuinely shocked by the lukewarm reaction by some critics to the latest crime drama from South Korean master Bong Joon-ho, whose previous film was the fantastic monster movie THE HOST. But his latest work, Mother, is more like his eerie and stark earlier work MEMORIES OF MURDER, which also chronicled a mysterious death. Mother has more modest ambitions than either of those two films, and I think the focus on just a few main characters benefits the relatively small but bizarre plot. The set-up for MOTHER made me uneasy from the jumping-off point.
Do-joon (Won Bin) is the mentally handicapped grown son of his mother (Kim Hye-ja), an overly protective woman who would clearly go to any lengths to keep her son out of harm's way, a task made all the more difficult by the mounting evidence pointing to him as the murderer of a young girl. We see Do-joon follow the girl through the darkened alleyways of his town and even follow her into a building where he believes she has entered, but then the film cuts to the investigation, where the easily terrified man-child confesses to an act he can't even remember. While the lazy police continue to gather evidence against her son, the mother begins an investigation of her own. Kim Hye-ja is something of a superstar in South Korea, but I'm fairly certain I've never seen her before. She's a combination of manic, inconsolable protector and keen observer of those she interviews.
Much as he did in MEMORIES OF MURDER, Bong Joon-ho exhibits an interest in both small-town closed mindedness and in its secrets. He understands that a tight-knit community holds onto its affairs even if it means protecting a deviant criminal. They don't like outsiders invading, and they'll do anything to preserve their affairs. The phenomenon is deliberately frustrating to watch in MOTHER, and it might even make you angry, but it will never bore you. The performances, including those by the actors playing the police interested in closing the case as quickly and easily as possible, are all quite convincing and solid, while the mother and son go a long way to sell their relationship. I love the way the director keeps us guessing almost until the end whether the son might have actually done the things of which he is accused. MOTHER works on a smaller scale than Bong Joon-ho's previous efforts, but it's no less engaging and suspenseful.
PRODIGAL SONS
You will never see another film like PRODIGAL SONS--it's impossible. This documentary from first-time filmmaker Kimberly Reed about returning home for a class reunion in Montana is filled with more twists and turns than I can possibly relay here (not that I would want to). When we first see Reed, we're struck by her statuesque beauty, and soon we're following her back into a home and hometown she has avoided for years because she has been afraid her old friends will not accept her. You see, Kimberly had been male and extremely popular in high school. She is also thrown back into contact with her long-estranged adopted brother, who had a terrible accident years earlier that has left his brain slightly altered to the point where fits of paranoia and rage sometimes take over.
Reed believes she has set out to document what is essentially her coming-out party with her high school friends, but like any good documentarian, she lets the story head in the most interesting direction, which is toward her family. When her brother decides to look into his family bloodline, he discovers that he is a direct descendant of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth, a revelation that takes the story to some pretty bizarre places. But what's just as fascinating is that the brother seems to love the attention after years of living with Kimberly's transformation being the family's focal point.
But even the Welles connection isn't the end of the story as the brother falls deeper into a dark emotional and mental pit, with most of his anger aimed at Kimberly. There are a number of scenes in PRODIGAL SONS that are almost too painful and uncomfortable to watch, especially when the yelling and name calling begin. The film pulls back the curtain on a once-happy family that has seen its share of confusion and tragedy, and still managed to hold it together to a degree. I don't want to give too much more away, because this is a film that exists and thrives because of its small moments. Reed has fashioned a stunning debut, and if she manages to make another films as compelling about a subject she feels less passionate about, I'd be shocked, but I hope she does because PRODIGAL SONS is fantastic stuff.
-- Capone
capone@aintitcool.com
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