Hey folks, Harry here with the uberspecial WonderGuy... WonderGuy is no ordinary run of the mill beer swilling plaid wearing guy.... why... HE'S WONDERGUY... and as part of his wonderduties, he's felt wonderobliged to fill in all you wonderfolks, with his wonderreport from the 25th TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL...
Hello festival followers,
Many of these films have already been reviewed, here's another opinion to mull over.
The Contender
I read an early review about this movie a couple of months ago. From that point on, I was eagerly awaiting my opportunity to see this film. I love politics. Movies like Mr. Smith goes to Washington, All the President's Men, The American President generate within myself a feeling of excitement unlike almost any other movie. I wanted soo much from this movie. To a large extent Rod Lurrie's film delivered. When the Vice President of the USA suffers a lethal heart attack, the President selects a female Senator as his replacement and his swan song. Political uproar ensues when a vengeful Republican, who happens to be Chair of the Judiciary Committee, attempts to destroy the Senator's life during her confirmation hearing. The Contender offers a strong story about a woman assuming a position of great power without compromising her personal values and her rights to privacy. It offers some phenomenal acting by Joan Allen who has had me as a true believer of her talent back in the days of Tucker and Searching for Bobby Fisher; Sam Elliott, who proves that he is more than a mustache in a Western; Jeff Bridges, who excels at playing the likable big shot; Christian Slater, who shows us that he has re-awakened from his slumber; and what will most likely be the best supporting actor performance of the year by Gary Oldman whom I believe is and actually always was Shelly Runyan. Also, it offers precise and skilled direction by Rod Lurrie. My problem with this movie (though of no fault to those who made it) was that it wasn't the West Wing. When this movie gets its wide release, Americans will head directly into an election and the West Wing will have its season premiere- that's a lot of politics! I love the West Wing, you can say that I'm a very dedicated fan. Because of this affection, I feel that I already have a fictionalized White House, that by watching these new faces in the same building is in someway betraying my fondness of Aaron Sorkin's cast. I know that I'll be one of the few people with this gripe, but nevertheless, it made me feel somewhat uneasy, especially in the beginning of the film. What drew me away from the West Wing comparisons were Joan Allen and Gary Oldman. These two actors show that they are two of the best currently working at their craft. Some funny notes about the film is a nod to "the Dude" in an early scene where we first see Senator Hanson (Allen) meet the President. This story is unabashedly left wing (especially in some of the speeches) It does not try to play both fields. Hopefully all will look beyond the content of the story to its context. If this is accomplished, the movie will to able to be appreciated for what it is, a great film.
You Can Count on Me
I went into this movie at the last minute. I had been wandering around the Varsity theaters, trying to kill time before another movie when a celestial angel waved her hand which held a ticket for a movie I hadn't heard much about. My religious epiphany ended when the angel ripped off her plastic wings and demanded that I fork over some cash. I did so and watched the old wench descend into her dark crevice. I knew that this movie had done well at Sundance, that it had Matthew Broderick in it and that its director was a first timer. I entered the film (somewhat late) and saw, sitting a couple of bodies down from my empty seat, Joel Schumacher. This man has no idea what a bad movie is, I'm in for a treat. Well, as it turns out, I received one. This film turned into one of my more favored ones. The story revolves around the relationship of a sister (played very well by Laura Linney) and her brother (played by Mark Ruffalo who stole the show as Terry) and how neither have found the peace that they are searching for. Their constant seems to be each other, yet at the same time they know that they are still not meant to live together. The one looks to the other for support and vice versa, whether it be financial, emotional, etc... The sister is well grounded in her small town and has a life that consists of a child, a job and a meaningless relationship with a local nice guy. The brother is a wanderer who returns home to his sister at first seeking money, and then love as he decides to stick around for a while. I loved Terry's grasp of life and how he sees it as unadulterated. I love how director Ken Lonergan develops the relationship of uncle and little nephew. At first they seem foreign and unwelcome to each other, and then we see how Terry sees perhaps himself in his nephew and pulls him out of his glass house to see the world for what it is. Though his actions are misguided (there's a great part of the film where he sneaks the kid to a pool hall and they play doubles), his intentions are noble. He wants to be honest with this kid, to treat him as a man. In the meantime, his sister Sammy deals with her troubled relationships and her inability to take them seriously. Both brother and sister are with faults, both are their own separate person, different in belief and ideologies- but they will always be there for one another, to count on one another. Matthew Broderick is great as the tight-ass bank manager. He requested the part after reading his friend Lonergan's script.
Luzhin Defence
I was not looking overly forward to seeing this film, and after I had seen it, was not far away from my initial sentiment. Marleen Gorris (Antonia's Line) directed this story about an eccentric chess genius, abandoned by parents and guardian as a grown-up child, who finds love at the World Chess Championship in a woman who has a history of caring for damaged goods. The movie, based on the Vladimir Nabokov novel, was slow throughout and at many points dragged its storylines. Much of the action during the chess competitions is not shown but implied and too often interrupted by Luzhin's voyages into his solo world of chess strategy. Emily Watson is good as Luzhin's love interest Natalia, but I had trouble believing that she could understand and love the torment that existed in Luzhin's mind. John Turturro plays the lead, Luzhin, and does a good job. However, he is not the type to carry a picture with this kind of role. I still consider him a brilliant actor (he was fantastic in Cradle Will Rock), but he just wasn't dynamic enough to carry this character, or the story for that matter.
Pollock
I opted to see this film over Pacino's Chinese Coffee not because of the fact that it is Ed Harris' directorial debut, but because of my fondness for Jackson Pollock's work. Black and White is a great work of modern art. It's one that is simple yet has soo much to say. I was looking forward to learning why Pollock adopted the technique of dripping. For this anticipation I felt somewhat let down. I wanted to know what Pollock was thinking when he saw his first drip on the wooden floor, not just see an intense facial reaction. Prior to the screening, Ed harris spoke a little of his efforts to make the picture. You could tell that he had put much labor into this movie. He was passionate about the subject matter, about the writer and her screenplay and about the performances of his actors. All in all this was a good movie. As reported on this site and echoed at the screening, it has been picked up and will most likely be distributed to the bigger US cities. I compare this movie to other artist bios as Wilde (Oscar Wilde), Love is the Devil (Francis Bacon) and Surviving Picasso and feel that it has come up short. Although I believe it to be on par with the latter of these three films, it lacks the depth of Wilde and Love... Devil. However good Ed Harris is, I will always stand by my claim that Stephen Fry was robbed of the Oscar for his portrayal of Wilde. Derek Jacobi was equally brilliant in his portrayal of Bacon. All artists depicted in each of the above-mentioned films must contend with their demons. With these two acting roles, plus with Anthony Hopkins as Picasso, Harris had some gigantic shoes to fill. It seemed to me that Pollock's torment was a little too tame. Now I can't punish Ed Harris or the screen writer for that. It's not their fault that Pollock didn't do as many fucked up things as some of these other artists. That's why I feel that this movie is better compared to Surviving Picasso. Both are love stories, one about a man, his work and his woman, the other about the same things. Pollock was married for 15 years to Lee Krasner (Marcia Gay Harden), a woman that took early notice of his talent and introduced him to his success. This is the best of Harden's work that I have seen, but that is not saying much on my part because I have not seen much of what she has done. Harris is very good as Pollock, this is a role that has taken up much of his time and his dedication shows. Harris' real life wife, Amy Madigan, plays Peggy Guggenheim. Though I did not at first see her in this role, I pleasantly enjoyed the performance. Other notable names appearing in Pollock are Jeffrey Tambor, Val Kilmer and Jennifer Connelly; each have little screen time but were are fun to watch. This is a good film and will no doubt sustain the demand of the fine arts community who are hungry for more films like Wilde, Love is the Devil and Surviving Picasso to play in their theaters.
See you reel soon,
Wonderguy
