The film follows a stand-up comedian who just got dumped as she meets a man during a show leading to a one-night stand that resulted in her pregnancy and her eventual decision to have an abortion. It is a film that plays into a young woman who doesn’t have a lot of things in her life figured out as she just got dumped where she does her stand-up revealing that her boyfriend has been sleeping with her friend and is leaving her for her friend. Gillian Robespierre’s screenplay is largely straightforward in its narrative as it follows Donna Stern (Jenny Slate) who does her performance where she reveals she got dumped and a friend of hers has taken her boyfriend. While lamenting over her break-up and other misfortunes as well as being unable to pay her rent, she drinks where she meets a guy named Max (Jake Lacy) where they have a one-night stand that eventually lead to her pregnancy. With all of the things in her life, Donna decides to have an abortion but she also learns that Max is a former student of her mother as it only complicates things.
Robespierre’s direction is largely straightforward as it is shot on location in New York City with much of it in and around Brooklyn and parts of Manhattan. While there are some wide shots in some of Robespierre compositions, much of the film is intimate with its usage of medium shots and close-ups as it play into Donna’s interaction with other characters including her best friend/roommate Nellie (Gaby Hoffmann) and another comedian in Joey (Gabe Liedman). Robespierre does move the camera to gather some of the conversations in the streets while much of it has her just aiming for something simple as it play into Donna’s own anxiety in whether to tell Max or not that she’s carrying his child and planning to abort it. Robespierre also knows where to put the actors in a shot as well as showcasing how they perform and the reaction of the audiences. Robespierre also play into the drama in its third act it as it relates to Max and why he is different from the men that Donna had met in her life as he is also trying to find himself. Overall, Robespierre crafts an engaging and touching film about a woman dealing with a one-night stand and her decision to have an abortion.
Cinematographer Chris Teague does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as its emphasis on low-key and autumn/winter-like colors as well as yellowish lights for some of the interior/exterior scenes at night. Editors Casey Brooks and Jacob Craycroft do terrific work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with a few rhythmic cuts to play into the humor. Production designer Sara K. White, with set decorator Ramsey Scott and art director Bridget Rafferty, does fantastic work with the set design from the book store that Donna and Nellie work at where they live above as well as the interiors of the comedy club. Costume designer Evren Catlin does nice work with the costumes as it is largely casual in the winter clothing the characters wear including a few stylish blouses that Donna wears.
The sound work of Mark Corbin is superb for its low-key yet naturalistic approach to sound in how comedy clubs sound as well as sparse moments in the film. The film’s music by Chris Bordeaux is wonderful for its low-key indie-folk score that largely features bits of folk guitars and keyboards to play into some of its light-drama while its music soundtrack features some indie, folk, and classical music with contributions from Paul Simon, Ludwig Van Beethoven, and Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
The casting by Suzanne Crowley and Jessica Kelly is amazing as it feature some notable small roles from Stephen Singer as the bookstore owner Gene, Cindy Cheung as a physician in Dr. Bernard who gives Donna advice about her pregnancy, Paul Briganti as Donna’s ex-boyfriend Ryan, Gabe Liedman as Donna and Nellie’s friend Joey who is a gay comedian, and David Cross as a comedian in Sam who is trying to flirt with Donna. Richard Kind and Polly Draper are fantastic in their respective roles as Donna’s separated parents in Jacob and Nancy Stern who both provide different advice to Donna about her life with the former being more comical and the latter being more serious. Gaby Hoffmann is excellent as Donna’s friend/roommate Nellie who is one of the few to learn about the pregnancy as well as Donna’s decision to get pregnant while observing Max.
Jake Lacy is brilliant as Max as a former student of Nancy who meets Donna at a club as it lead to a one-night stand where Lacy brings a lot of wit but also someone who is just as uncertain about his own future as a person. Finally, there’s Jenny Slate in an incredible performance as Donna Stern as a stand-up comedian who is dealing with a lot in her life such as the need to find a new place to live, rent money, and a relationship that just ended only for things to worsen by a one-night stand that lead to her pregnancy and eventual abortion. Slate brings not just a lot of low-key wit to her performance but also some light-drama that is filled with anxiety and uncertainty that has an air of realism into someone who is dealing with a major event in her life.
Obvious Child is a phenomenal film from Gillian Robespierre that features a great leading performance from Jenny Slate. Along with its ensemble cast, exploration on unexpected pregnancy and abortion, and its simplistic presentation. It is a film that is a study of a woman who is still trying to find herself following a break-up and a one-night stand as well as dealing with the stigma of abortion. In the end, Obvious Child is a phenomenal film from Gillian Robespierre.
Gillian Robespierre Films: (Landline) – (The Pisces)
© thevoid99 2021
Written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, You Can Count on Me is the story of a single mother who gets a visit from her younger brother who stays longer than expected as they deal with their relationship as well as other issues within their family. The film is an exploration of the relationship between siblings as well as a woman trying to deal with aspects of her life as well as help her wayward brother find a sense of direction in his life. Starring Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, Rory Culkin, Jon Tenney, J. Smith-Cameron, Amy Ryan, Josh Lucas, Gaby Hoffman, Adam LeFevre, and Matthew Broderick. You Can Count on Me is an extraordinarily rich film from Kenneth Lonergan.
Set in a small town in upstate New York, the film follows a single mother who is raising her eight-year old son while working at a bank where she learns her younger brother is coming home. Though he was supposed to stay for a day as he’s asking her for money, some troubling circumstances relating to his girlfriend forces him to stay longer as he has to do a few duties for his sister in raising his nephew. During the course of the film, the two cope with their different lifestyles as well as their own vices which would eventually affect one another. Kenneth Lonergan’s script explore the dynamic between Sammy (Laura Linney) and Terry Prescott (Mark Ruffalo) as these two siblings who both lost their parents in an accident when they were kids as it had affected them greatly. For Sammy, she would live at the home she had lived for all of her life as she would share it with her son Rudy (Rory Culkin) as she struggles with her job due to the fact that she’s working for a new manager in Brian Everett (Matthew Broderick).
When Terry writes a letter in the hope that he would stay for a day, Sammy is excited at first until she learned why Terry hadn’t contacted her for months as it relates to the fact that he’s had some bad luck and continues to drift from city to city. Though his visit was only for money, he is forced to stay longer than expected where he would bond with Rudy who keeps asking Terry about his father since Sammy never talks about him as Terry would reveal that his father isn’t someone he liked at all. While Terry is someone that admits to having no real sense of direction of what to do. Sammy’s life is in a whirlwind as she is in relationship with a man named Bob (Jon Tenney) who wants to marry her as she is unsure while she would have an affair with her boss. Terry would know about Sammy’s love life as he would be baffled when she brings the local minister (Kenneth Lonergan) to counsel him as it is a key moment early in the third act about the tension between the two over their lifestyle choices.
Lonergan’s direction is simple in terms of the compositions and setting as much of the film is shot on location at Margaretville, New York near the Catskill Mountains as fictional small towns of Scottsville and Auburn. The locations in the film is a big importance as it relates to the this sheltered world that Sammy is in and why she wants to shelter Rudy from aspects of the outside world knowing how fucked up it is. For Terry, it’s an environment that isn’t ideal for him since there isn’t much to do other than drink, play pool, or go fishing. While there are some wide shots of the locations, Lonergan goes for something that is more intimate in terms of the drama that is prominent throughout the film. Notably in some of the close-ups and medium shots as there is this one shot in the latter from the stairs in the corner of the dining room that shows where Sammy, Terry, and Rudy would be sitting if they’re eating dinner. It’s among these little details including the lunch scene where Sammy and Terry meet on the day of the latter’s arrival where there is a wide shot to show the other patrons hearing the two argue over Terry’s troubles.
The direction also play into these little quirks over Brian’s disdain over things at the bank which is just silly as it play into some of the film’s humor which is subtle as well as what Sammy would do in her affair with Brian. Still, Lonergan maintains that low-key approach to the drama which include scenes in the third act as it play into Terry’s immaturity as well as Sammy’s own flaws where she would force Terry to confront his own aimlessness to cover up for her troubles. The third act is dramatically-intense as it relates to Rudy’s father where it play into why Sammy never wants Rudy to know about him and why Terry despises him. All of which forces Sammy and Terry to deal with their own differences but also realize that they can still rely on each other. Overall, Lonergan crafts a rapturous yet heartfelt film about two siblings coping with loss and themselves.
Cinematographer Stephen Kazmierski does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it is straightforward to play into the locations in the daytime but also with some low-key lighting for the scenes at night including the film’s opening scene. Editor Anne McCabe does brilliant work with the editing as it is straightforward with some jump-cuts as well as some rhythmic cuts for the drama. Production designer Michael Shaw, with set decorator Lydia Marks and art director Shawn Carroll, does fantastic work with the look of the house Sammy and Rudy live in as well as a few of the places they go to with Terry.
Costume designer Melissa Toth does nice work with the costumes as it is mainly straightforward to play into the look of the characters from the more clean clothes of Sammy when she’s working to the ragged look of Terry. Sound editor Wendy Hedin does terrific work with the sound as it play into the natural atmosphere of the locations including the chaotic sound at the bar. The film’s music by Lesley Barber is superb as it is very low-key in its folk-based score with bits of country while music supervisors Barry Cole and Christopher Covert provide music from folk and country with the latter being something Sammy listens to with the rest of the soundtrack consisting of classical pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach.
The casting by Lina Todd is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Amy Ryan and Michael Countryman as Sammy and Terry’s parents in the first scene, Haley Feiffer as Sammy and Terry’s babysitter early in the film, Whitney Vance as the young Sammy, Peter Kerwin as the young Terry, Kenneth Lonergan as the local pastor, Nina Garbiras as Brian’s pregnant wife, Kim Parker as the girlfriend of Rudy’s father, Adam LeFerve as the local sheriff who knows Sammy and Terry, Gaby Hoffman as Terry’s girlfriend at Worcester, J. Smith-Cameron as a bank secretary that Sammy tries to protect from Brian, and Josh Lucas as the man who might be Rudy’s father. Jon Tenney is superb as Bob as an old boyfriend of Sammy who is seeking to marry her unaware of the things she does as he’s just a nice guy that never did anything wrong.
Matthew Broderick is excellent as Brian Everett as the bank manager and Sammy’s boss who is annoyed by the little quirks at the bank while engaging into an affair with Sammy that becomes too intense for Sammy. Rory Culkin is brilliant as Rudy as Sammy’s eight-year old son that is trying to deal with his own adolescents and idea of who his father is where he would find a father-figure in his uncle where he would get a broad idea of the world. Mark Ruffalo is incredible as Terry Prescott as Sammy’s younger brother who drifts from place to place to find something as he finds himself back home unsure of what to do while finding a comfortable role as Rudy’s uncle where he would give his nephews an idea of the world but also make sure that the kid does have some kind of hope to carry. Finally, there’s Laura Linney in a phenomenal performance as Sammy Prescott as a bank loan manager who is raising an eight-year old son as she is dealing with all things in her life including relationships with two different men as well as dealing with her brother at home and wondering about what he will do next as she is also forced to face her own faults.
You Can Count on Me is a tremendous film from Kenneth Lonergan that features great performances from Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, and Rory Culkin. Along with its ensemble cast, gorgeous setting, and a riveting story about loss and siblings coping with their own differences. It’s a film that manages to create something that is engaging but it is also willing not to provide any easy answers into how some cope with loss or the fact that they can’t adjust to certain places or ideas in life. In the end, You Can Count on Me is a spectacular film from Kenneth Lonergan.
Kenneth Lonergan Films: Margaret (2011 film) - Manchester by the Sea
© thevoid99 2017
Based on the memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed, Wild is the story of a troubled woman who decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail to cope with loss, her divorce, and other issues as a way to reflect on her life. Directed and co-edited by Jean-Marc Vallee and screenplay by Nick Hornby, the film is a look into a woman trying to find redemption as she takes on a major challenge as it’s a dramatic take on Strayed’s real-life story with Reese Witherspoon playing the role of Cheryl Strayed. Also starring Thomas Sadoski, Michael Huisman, Gaby Hoffman, and Laura Dern. Wild is an entrancing and riveting film from Jean-Marc Vallee.
The film revolves around Cheryl Strayed’s 94-day journey in hiking the Pacific Coast Trail as she deals with the death of her mother, a divorce, and her descent into drug addiction where she tries to find herself again. It’s a film that has a simple plot yet it is more about a woman trying to take this challenge after hitting bottom in her life as she reflects not just the passing of her mother Bobbi (Laura Dern) but also the events that lead to her own troubles as she nearly killed herself through addiction. Nick Hornby’s script has a back-and-forth reflective narrative where Strayed looks back in her life as she thinks about the life she had with her mother whom she adores but also how it fell apart when she died. During the course of her journey on the trail, Strayed deal with her inexperience as well as getting some of the wrong equipment and other challenges as it seemed like she wouldn’t succeed. Still, she finds a way while also thinking about her own faults as she does get packages from her ex-husband Paul (Thomas Sadoski) during her stops on the trail.
Jean-Marc Vallee’s direction is mesmerizing not just for the fact that it was shot on location in the many spots of the Pacific Crest Trail but also create something that feels natural. Also shot in locations around California and Oregon, Vallee creates many of the flashback scenes with a sense of intimacy with its usage of close-ups and medium shots from Strayed’s time of happiness with her mother and the early years of her marriage to Paul as well as her descent into heroin addiction and promiscuous sex. The scenes set on the trail has Vallee using more wide shots to establish the locations while going for something that feels real as if the audience is along for the journey.
The usage of hand-held cameras, high and low angles as well as compositions that play into something real definitely adds some weight to what Strayed is encountering. Even as there are these moments that play into her own grief where she would see her mother or something that is symbolic. All of which play into a journey that a woman has to take in the need to move on in the next phase of her life. Overall, Vallee creates a fascinating yet evocative film about a woman taking on a personal journey to find herself again.
Cinematographer Yves Berlanger does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography from the naturalistic and colorful look of the exterior locations in the trail along with some lighting for some scenes in the cities as well as some lights for some scenes at night including naturalistic lights on the trail. Editors Jean-Marc Vallee, in his John Mac McMurphy pseudonym, and Martin Pensa do excellent work with the editing with its stylish montages for some of Strayed‘s flashbacks as well as some jump-cuts and other cuts to play into the drama. Production designer John Paino, with set decorator Robert Covelman and art director Javiera Varas, does nice work with the look of the motels and places Strayed has been in as well as her family home with her mother and some of the places on the trail.
Costume designer Melissa Bruning does terrific work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual with a lot of the look play into the period of the mid-90s which the film is set in. Visual effects supervisors Marc Cote and Jean-Francois Ferland does some fine work with the visual effects as it‘s mainly set dressing along with the design of a few animals that Strayed would encounter. Sound editors Mildred Iatrou and Ai-Ling Lee do superb work with the sound as it play into the natural elements of the locations as well as some of the textures of things that Strayed hears in the flashbacks. Music supervisor Susan Jacobs creates a fantastic soundtrack that features an array of music from Stevie Ray Vaughn, Paul McCartney & Wings, Leonard Cohen, the Shangri-Las, Free, Portishead, Billy Shaw, Lucinda Williams, the Hollies, Bruce Springsteen, Pat Methany Group, Elvis Presley, and Simon & Garfunkel.
The casting of David Rubin is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Art Alexakis of Everclear as a tattoo artist, Mo McRae as a reporter who mistakes Cheryl as a hobo, Cliff DeYoung as a man at a trail stop who helps Cheryl find the right equipment, Cathryn de Prume as a hiker who is also walking the trail that Cheryl befriends, Bobbi Lindstrom Strayed as the young Cheryl, Jason Newell as Cheryl’s alcoholic father in the flashbacks, W. Earl Brown as a construction worker who gives Cheryl a place to crash for a day, Jan Hoag as the construction worker’s wife, Ray Buckley as Cheryl’s junkie lover, and the real Cheryl Strayed as the woman who would drop Cheryl off at the beginning of the film. Other noteworthy small roles include Brian Van Holt as a park ranger who lets Cheryl get her package late in the film, Michael Huisman as a man Cheryl meets and sleeps with in Oregon during a stop late in the trail, and Kevin Rankin as a fellow hiker who is also on the trail that helps Cheryl find her way.
Gaby Hoffmann is superb as Cheryl’s friend Aimee who would be one of the few that Cheryl would contact during her trail as well as be the one to call her out in the flashbacks on her self-destructive behavior. Keene McRae is terrific as Cheryl’s younger brother Leif who is seen in flashbacks as someone who has a hard time losing his mother as he often couldn’t face it while having to do something that would add more pain to him and Cheryl. Thomas Sadoski is excellent as Cheryl’s ex-husband Paul who is seen as a bitter man that was mistreated in the flashbacks only to become someone reluctant to help Cheryl out in sending packages. Laura Dern is incredible as Cheryl’s mother Bobbi as a free-spirited woman who is the one person that Cheryl treasures more than anyone until she becomes ill as she would be a spirit to help her daughter. Finally, there’s Reese Witherspoon in a phenomenal performance as Cheryl Strayed as a troubled woman whose descent into addiction and self-destruction would force her to make a change by taking the challenge of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Witherspoon’s performance is definitely a marvel to watch in the way she struggles with her inexperience in camping but also present a physicality and drive that is key to the performance as it is one of Witherspoon’s finest achievements.
Wild is a remarkable film from Jean-Marc Vallee that features great performances from Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern. It’s a film that isn’t just about a woman taking on a major challenge but it’s also a film that explores a woman dealing with grief and disappointment as she tries to find redemption in her journey. In the end, Wild is a sensational film from Jean-Marc Vallee.
Jean-Marc Vallee Films: (Black List) - (Los Locos) - (Loser Love) - (C.R.A.Z.Y.) - The Young Victoria - (Café de Flore) - Dallas Buyers Club - Demolition (2015 film) - (Big Little Lies (TV miniseries))
© thevoid99 2016
Written, directed, and starring Woody Allen, Everyone Says I Love You is a musical about the life of an upper-class family that involves many things including an ex-husband trying to find love in Venice. The film explores many ideas involving love including an engaged couple, a man trying to find new love, and children trying to find love as it features an ensemble cast where most of them sing. Also starring Alan Alda, Goldie Hawn, Julia Roberts, Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore, Tim Roth, Natalie Portman, Gaby Hoffmann, Natasha Lyonne, Lukas Haas, and David Odgen Stiers. Everyone Says I Love You is a delightful musical-comedy from Woody Allen.
The film is a multi-narrative story about the year in the life of a family as they experience many things in the course of the film including an engagement, a young man’s interest in conservatism, young girls trying to find love, and a woman’s ex-husband tries to find love in Venice. While it’s a premise that is simple with a simple theme, it’s told in a very unique fashion that includes many musical numbers as well as it’s told from a young woman who sees her father trying to find love while being in a loving though eccentric family in upstate New York City. Woody Allen’s screenplay is quite unique as he creates a story all told in the span of the year where there’s a lot that is going on where he brings a lot of humor and some drama into the story. Even as he plays into the many storylines involving some of the characters and their experiences with love in all of its complexities.
Allen’s direction is quite lively as he aimed for something that is a bit more natural as many of his actors aren’t adept to the musicals. There, some of the dancing and singing feels more engaging and realistic while there’s moments where it is choreographed to play up a world that is more of a fantasy as it plays to that theme of love. Allen uses a lot of wide and medium shots for the musical numbers to capture the broadness of the dancing and singing while maintaining an element of style to the compositions. Even in the way he makes New York City so lively in its many seasons while shooting some scenes in Paris and Venice. Overall, Allen creates a very entertaining and lively film about love.
Cinematographer Carlo Di Palma does brilliant work with the film‘s lush cinematography from the different looks of New York City as well as the scenes set in Venice. Editor Susan E. Morse does amazing work with the editing from the use of montages to introduce on characters and their situations along with the musical numbers with its lively rhythmic cuts. Production designer Santo Loquasto, with set decorator Elaine O’Donnell and art director Tom Warren, does superb work with the set pieces from the look of the New York penthouse to some of the look of some of the locations.
Costume designer Jeffrey Kurland does wonderful work with the costumes to play up a sense of style for many of the characters including the climatic party at end of the film. Visual effects supervisor Randall Balsmeyer does nice work with the visual effects for a musical sequence involving ghosts. Sound editor Robert Hein does excellent work with the sound to play up the low-key sound of the locations. The film’s soundtrack is fabulous for its use of standards with some additional lyrics and arrangements by Dick Hyman to modernize the songs while having them to help tell the story.
The casting by Juliet Taylor is just incredible for the ensemble that is used for this film as it features appearances from violinist Itzhak Perlman as well as Isiah Whitlock Jr. as a cop, Billy Crudup as a man DJ meets, Trude Klein as the family maid Frieda, David Odgen Stier and Scotty Bloch as Holden’s parents, John Griffin as a young man Lane and Laura fall for, and Patrick Cranshaw as the grandfather of the Dandridge clan. Tim Roth is excellent as a convicted man named Charles Ferry who comes between Holden and Skylar. Natalie Portman and Gaby Hoffmann are wonderful in their respective as the siblings Laura and Lane while Lukas Haas is terrific as their conservative-obsessed older brother Scott. Natasha Lyonne is superb as DJ, the Dandridge clan’s half-sister who helps her father find love.
Edward Norton is amazing as Holden as a young man eager to marry Skylar while Drew Barrymore is a delight as Skylar as a woman who loves Holden as she’s later drawn to Charles. Alan Alda is very funny as Bob Dandridge as a man trying to deal with the chaos of his family including his son. Julia Roberts is fabulous as Von who is a woman looking for love as she meets DJ’s father Joe. Goldie Hawn is brilliant as Joe’s ex-wife Steffi Dandridge who tries to do something with her life while helping Joe out. Finally, there’s Woody Allen in a stellar performance as Joe as a man dealing with heartbreak as he finds a new love in Von while admitting he’s still in love with Steffi.
Everyone Says I Love You is an extraordinary film from Woody Allen. Armed with a great ensemble cast and a lively film soundtrack, the film is definitely one of Allen’s more underrated features as well as one of his most entertaining. Notably as it plays to the world of love in all of its ups and downs. In the end, Everyone Says I Love You is a marvelous film from Woody Allen.
Woody Allen Films: What's Up Tiger Lily? - Take the Money and Run - Bananas - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) - Sleeper - Love and Death - Annie Hall - Interiors - Manhattan - Stardust Memories - A Midsummer's Night Sex Comedy - Zelig - Broadway Danny Rose - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Hannah & Her Sisters - Radio Days - September - Another Woman - New York Stories: Oedipus Wrecks - Crimes & Misdemeanors - Alice - Shadows and Fog - Husbands and Wives - Manhattan Murder Mystery - Bullets Over Broadway - Don't Drink the Water - Mighty Aphrodite - Deconstructing Harry - Celebrity - Sweet & Lowdown - Small Time Crooks - The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Hollywood Ending - Anything Else - Melinda & Melinda - Match Point - Scoop - Cassandra’s Dream - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Whatever Works - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Midnight in Paris - To Rome with Love - Blue Jasmine - Magic in the Moonlight - Irrational Man - (Cafe Society)
The Auteurs #24: Woody Allen Pt. 1
- Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4
© thevoid99 2013
