Logan Lucky

Directed, shot, and edited by Steven Soderbergh and written by Rebecca Blunt, Logan Lucky is the story of a trio of siblings who try to end their family’s streak of bad luck and underachievement by robbing the Charlotte Motor Speedway and hope they don’t get caught by the FBI. The film marks a return from Soderbergh following a four-year break from films as he returns to a genre that has brought him success and mixing it with humor. Starring Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Riley Keough, Katie Holmes, Hilary Swank, Sebastian Stan, Katherine Waterston, Seth McFarlane, Jack Quaid, Brian Gleeson, Dwight Yoakam, and Daniel Craig. Logan Lucky is an exhilarating and whimsical film from Steven Soderbergh.

The film follows two brothers whose lives haven’t gone well as they conspire with their younger sister about stealing money at the Charlotte Motor Speedway with the help of an incarcerated safecracker they know. It’s a film with a simple premise with some complexities and intrigue yet it is about a family trying to change their fortunes and hope to give themselves a better life. Yet, they know they can’t do it by themselves as it’s not just this safecracker they need but also his brothers who aren’t very smart but are dependable. Rebecca Blunt’s screenplay does follow a simple three-act structure as the first act is about the Logan family with the eldest in Jimmy (Channing Tatum) was once a promising football star until his right knee gave out as he works in construction and wanting to be a good dad to his daughter Sadie (Farah Mackenzie) whom he has shared custody with his ex-wife Bobbie Jo Chapman (Katie Holmes).

Yet, he would be laid off due to insurance liabilities relating to his knee as it add to his growing misfortunes that would include his younger brother Clyde (Adam Driver) who lost part of his left arm in the Iraq War and is wearing a prosthetic while working as a bartender. The first act doesn’t just play into the Logans’ misfortune and Jimmy’s motivation to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway but also wanting to change it as he knows what to do, where to steal, and when as they recruit their younger sister Mellie (Riley Keough), the incarcerated safecracker Joe Bang (Daniel Craig), and Bang’s younger brothers Sam (Brian Gleeson) and Fish (Jack Quaid). The second act isn’t just about the heist but also how Joe and Clyde, who would put himself in prison to help Joe, break out and later get back in to serve their sentences but there are also complications as it relates the day of the heist forcing Jimmy to change plans. The third act is about its aftermath where the no-nonsense FBI agent Sarah Grayson (Hilary Swank) come in and figure what is going on as she would prove to be a match for all involved.

Steven Soderbergh’s direction is definitely stylish in some respects in terms of some of the compositions and set pieces he creates yet much of it is still straightforward as it play into the simple world of a trio of unfortunate siblings. Shot on various locations in North Carolina as well as Charlotte including the Charlotte Motor Speedway and parts of the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Soderbergh does use the locations to play into this world of the American South as it is set mainly in the border between West Virginia and North Carolina where Jimmy did some of his construction work in the latter though he lives in the former. Soderbergh would emphasize on a simple approach to the compositions such as the opening scene of Jimmy fixing his truck while talking to Sadie about a John Denver song. It’s among these moments where Soderbergh can bring so much by doing so little which would also include a key scene of Sadie doing her pageant performance as the simplicity of the shots are captivating in establishing what is happening but also would serve as a key motivation for the few involved in that scene.

Also serving as cinematographer and editor in respective pseudonyms as Peter Andrews and Mary Ann Bernard, Soderbergh’s approach to the visuals as there are some stylistic approach to lighting for some of the interiors and scenes at night whether it’s the usage of dark-yellowish colors or something natural for some scenes set in the daytime. Soderbergh’s editing does have style such as this usage of dissolves in a montage for some characters during the third act but also in some stylish cuts as it play into the heist and its aftermath. The heist sequence has elements of comedy but also intrigue into the attention to detail of what is going on and how they get the money but there’s also some twists and turns along the way such as what is happening at the prison Joe and Clyde are serving at. Soderbergh would also infuse bits of comedy as it relates to a snobbish British businessman in Max Chaliban (Seth MacFarlane) who would rile up the Logan brothers but also put himself into some serious shit. All of which play into two sets of siblings trying to pull off a heist without having the authorities wonder who it is. Overall, Soderbergh crafts as mesmerizing and fun film about a trio of siblings trying to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway to end their family curse.

Production designer Howard Cummings, with set decorators Barbara Munch plus art directors Eric R. Johnson and Rob Simons, does brilliant work with the look of the homes that some of the characters live in as well as the interior of the tube system inside the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Costume designer Ellen Mirojnick does fantastic work with the costumes from the dresses that Sadie wears for her pageant as well as some of the stylish clothing that Mellie wears. Visual effects supervisors Christina Mitrotti and Lesley Robson-Foster do terrific work with the visual effects as it relates to Clyde without his prosthetic as well as a few set dressing scenes. Sound designer Larry Blake does excellent work with the sound as it play into the way the tube system sounds from the inside as well as the scenes at the race track. The film’s music by David Holmes is amazing for its electronic-jazz score that has a lot of energy in the way it play into the suspense and humor with some blues and rock in the mix while music supervisor Season Kent provides a fun soundtrack of blues, rock, and country from artists and acts like Bo Diddley, John Denver, the Groundhogs, Lord John Sutch, John Fahey, LeAnn Rimes, Dr. John, and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

The casting by Carmen Cuba is great as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from real NASCAR racers Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch as state troopers, Jon Eyez as an inmate friend of Joe in Naaman, Kyle Larson as a limo driver, LeAnn Rimes as herself singing America the Beautiful, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano as security guards, the trio of Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip, and Mike Joy as themselves commentating the race, Charles Halford as a friend of the Logans in Earl, Macon Blair as Grayson’s partner, Jim O’Heir as Jimmy’s boss early in the film who reluctantly lays him off, David Denman as Bobbie Jo’s husband Moody Chapman, Boden and Sutton Johnston in their respective roles as Moody’s sons Dylan and Levi, Ann Mahoney as a woman working security named Gleema, and Sebastian Stan in a terrific small role as NASCAR racer Dayton White who tries to live a healthy lifestyle despite working for Chaliban.

Katherine Waterston is fantastic in a small role as a former classmate of Jimmy in Sylvia who runs a mobile clinic where she gives Jimmy a tetanus shot. Dwight Yoakam is superb as Warden Burns as a prison warden who tries to uphold some order during a prison riot that lead to Joe and Clyde’s brief escape. Jack Quaid and Brian Gleeson are hilarious in their respective roles as Joe’s dim-witted brothers Fish and Sam as two guys who aren’t smart but are still guys who can get the job done. Katie Holmes is wonderful as Bobbie Jo Chapman as Jimmy’s ex-wife who is still bitter about Jimmy’s shortcomings as she is also concerned about her daughter’s performance at the pageant. Farrah Mackenzie is brilliant as Sadie as Jimmy and Bobbie Jo’s daughter who is entering a beauty pageant as she turns to her Aunt Mellie for help while wondering what song to sing at the pageant. Hilary Swank is excellent as Sarah Grayson as a no-nonsense FBI agent who arrives in the film’s third act as she knows something is up but is also aware that whoever stole the money are a lot smarter than anyone realizes.

Seth MacFarlane is a joy to watch as Max Chaliban as a pretentious businessman from Britain with awful hair and a mustache who insults the Logan brothers as well as try to get his racer to drink his awful energy drink as he is just fun to watch. Riley Keough is amazing as Mellie Logan as a hairdresser who doesn’t believe in the family curse but is aware that the family hasn’t done great as she helps her brothers with the robbery in her own way while being there for her niece Sadie for the upcoming pageant. Daniel Craig is incredible as Joe Bang as a safecracker who is doing time in prison that knows how to open safes while Craig is given the chance to be funny and charming as he is a joy to watch. Adam Driver is marvelous as Clyde Logan as a former Iraq War veteran with a prosthetic left arm who also works as a bartender where he is reluctant to be part of the bank robbery as he had gotten arrested before as a kid yet is hoping to reverse the family curse. Finally, there’s Channing Tatum in a remarkable performance as Jimmy Logan as a former football star turned construction worker who decides to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway in the hope to change his family fortunes but also give his daughter a chance for a future as it is a low-key but charismatic performance from Tatum.

Logan Lucky is a phenomenal film from Steven Soderbergh. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, a killer music soundtrack, and a witty take on the caper/heist film. The film is definitely one of Soderbergh’s most entertaining films but also one that is full of engaging characters and moment that are full of heart and joy. In the end, Logan Lucky is a spectacular film from Steven Soderbergh.

Steven Soderbergh Films: sex, lies, & videotape - Kafka - King of the Hill - The Underneath - Gray’s Anatomy - Schizopolis - Out of Sight - The Limey - Erin Brockovich - Traffic - Ocean's Eleven - Full Frontal - Solaris (2002 film) - Eros-Equilibrium - Ocean’s Twelve - Bubble - The Good German - Ocean’s Thirteen - Che - The Girlfriend Experience - The Informant! - And Everything is Going Fine - Contagion - Haywire - Magic Mike - Side Effects - Behind the Candelabra - (Unsane) – (High Flying Bird)

The Auteurs #39: Steven Soderbergh: Part 1 - Part 2

© thevoid99 2018

Million Dollar Baby

Based on the short stories Rope Burns by Jerry Boyd in his F.X. Toole pseudonym, Million Dollar Baby is the story of a boxing trainer who reluctantly trains a young woman to become a top boxer with the help of a friend as she seeks her dream to fight. Directed and starring Clint Eastwood and screenplay by Paul Haggis, the film is an unconventional boxing film in which a gym owner/trainer deals with setbacks as well as his own demons while finding some redemption in the young woman he would train. Also starring Hilary Swank, Jay Baruchel, Anthony Mackie, Michael Pena, Brian F. O’Byrne, Margo Martindale, and Morgan Freeman. Million Dollar Baby is a rich yet enthralling film from Clint Eastwood.

The film is an exploration into the world of boxing but from a different spectrum as a young woman in her 30s is eager to succeed as it’s the only thing she wants to do while working part time as a waitress. In seeking the help of a gym owner/veteran trainer who often finds himself in situations where he doesn’t take chances that could’ve helped his fighters. Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) does manage to sway Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) to train her as she also gets help from Frankie’s friend Eddie “Scrap-Iron” Dupris (Morgan Freeman) who was once a great fighter only to lose his eyesight in one of his eyes. With Frankie helping Maggie to work her way to become a viable contender, Frankie also deals with the wounds in his life as it relates to the family he’s become estranged with as well as the bad decisions he’s made. Yet, the two would find something to fill the void they needed in their lives.

Paul Haggis’ screenplay does have a traditional structure where the first act is about Frankie dealing with the unanswered letters he sent towards his estranged daughter and becoming out of touch with the potential he has for his fighters. Often turning to Father Horvak (Brian F. O’Byrne) for guidance, Frankie doesn’t get the answers he needed until the presence of Maggie showing up to the gym trying to learn to fight forces him to be involved despite his own reluctance. The second act is about the growing bond between Frankie and Maggie in a father-daughter relationship of sorts as Maggie would use her success to give her family from Missouri a good home and money but instead, she gets berated for her generosity by her mother (Margo Martindale). The rejection from her mother would only strengthen Maggie’s relationship with Frankie as he would help her reach the top of the welterweight women’s division.

One aspect of the screenplay that is unique is the fact that is largely narrated by Eddie who watches everything that happens while he looks at the other fighters in Frankie’s gym into whether or not they have the potential to be any good. Eddie’s narration is key to the story where it fills in a few tidbits on the characters while talking about the art of boxing. While the film would be a boxing film for much of the film’s first two acts. It would have a major change in tone into something more dramatic for its third act.

Clint Eastwood’s direction is very low-key and intimate in the way he presents the scenes as he doesn’t go for a lot of wide shots. Instead, he keeps things simple and to the point while creating some unique compositions with medium shots and close-ups to help tell the story. Much of the drama is presented with a sense of simplicity while the boxing scenes do have a flair for style in the way the fights are choreographed and how engaging they can where it would allow the audience to root for Maggie in those fights. Even as it would have shots set outside of the ring to get the reaction from the people watching as well as Frankie watching from his corner as it has this fluidity in the way Eastwood presents the scenes.

While it is largely a drama as it would delve into elements of melodrama in its third act, Eastwood does inject some humor into the role as it is told with such subtlety that includes a scene of Frankie and Eddie talking about the latter’s socks with holes. Eastwood’s approach to balancing humor and drama does add something to the film that where it makes it more than a boxing drama as it it’s also a film about a man finding the void he lost with his own daughter as well as a woman finding the father figure she never had. Overall, Eastwood crafts a very poignant and compelling film about a man helping a young woman become a boxer.

Cinematographer Tom Stern does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography as it has this air of style with tinted-bluish colors while creating some unique lighting schemes in its shadows and such. Editor Joel Cox does brilliant work with the editing where some of it is straightforward while he plays into a lot of cutting styles for the fight scenes. Production designer Henry Bumstead, with set decorator Richard C. Goddard and art director Jack Taylor, does fantastic work with the look of the gym as it‘s a bit grimy as it plays to the world that Frankie and Eddie live in.

Costume designer Deborah Hopper does terrific work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual while creating some very lovely robes for Maggie to wear when she gets ready for a fight. Sound editors Lucy Coldsnow-Smith and Alan Robert Murray do superb work with the sound from the way punches sound to the sound of people cheering in the boxing halls. The film’s music by Clint Eastwood is amazing for its eerie yet plaintive score as it is mostly low-key with its emphasis on acoustic guitars and lush string arrangements as it includes additional pieces by Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens.

The casting by Phyllis Huffman is incredible as it features some notable small roles from Mike Colter as a fighter Frankie trained who would leave him for a shot at the title, Michael Pena as a fighter who often trains at the gym, Anthony Mackie as a brash fighter, Riki Lindhome as Maggie’s white-trash sister, and Lucia Rijker as a German fighter Maggie goes after as she is known for her brutish style. Margo Martindale is excellent as Maggie’s mother who is only more concerned about living on welfare and take whatever money she has from Maggie than supporting her. Jay Baruchel is terrific as a young wannabe fighter in Danger Barch as a kid who has a lot of enthusiasm despite his lack of talent. Brian F. O’Byrne is superb as Father Horvak as a priest who doesn’t really like Frankie yet gives him some advice on the issues he’s dealing with.

Morgan Freeman is marvelous as Eddie “Scrap-Iron” Dupris as a former boxer who watches over the gym with Frankie while being the conscious of sorts in the film as he also looks at fighters who he felt could have potential including Maggie. Hilary Swank is remarkable as Maggie Fitzgerald as a woman in her 30s who just wants to make it as a boxer and win fights while wanting to get the approval of her mother only to find a father-figure in Frankie as Swank has great rapport with Eastwood. Finally, there’s Clint Eastwood in a tremendous performance as Frankie Dunn as man dealing with many issues as he finds the spark of life in Maggie who would give him the chance to find some redemption as he becomes troubled with his own estranged relationship with his daughter.

Million Dollar Baby is a phenomenal film from Clint Eastwood that features absolutely superb performances from Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and Morgan Freeman. Not only is it a boxing film with substance but also a drama that explores a man finding a lost void in a woman who would become a daughter to him. In the end, Million Dollar Baby is a spectacular film from Clint Eastwood.

Clint Eastwood Films: (Play Misty for Me) - High Plains Drifter - (Breezy) - (The Eiger Sanction) - (The Outlaw Josey Wales) - (The Gauntlet) - (Bronco Billy) - (Firefox) - (Honkytonk Man) - Sudden Impact - Pale Rider - (Heartbreak Ridge) - (Bird) - (White Hunter Black Heart) - (The Rookie) - Unforgiven - (A Perfect World) - (The Bridges of Madison County) - (Absolute Power) - (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) - (True Crime) - (Space Cowboys) - (Blood Work) - (Mystic River) - Flags of Our Fathers - Letters from Iwo Jima - Changeling - (Gran Torino) - (Invictus) - (Hereafter) - (J. Edgar) - (Jersey Boys) - American Sniper - (Sully) - (The 15:17 to Paris) - (The Mule)

© thevoid99 2014

The Black Dahlia

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/17/06 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Based on James Ellroy's novel that is based on the 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short, The Black Dahlia is the story of two detectives who investigate the murder of an aspiring actress as it would take a mental and emotional toll on the two men as well as their relationship for a young woman as a doppelganger seduces one of them. Directed by Brian de Palma and screenplay by Josh Friedman, the film is an exploration into a mysterious murder that occurred in the late 1940s as two men become lost in the mystery of who kill this woman. Starring Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart, Scarlett Johansson, Mia Kirshner, Mike Starr, Patrick Fischler, John Kavanagh, Jemima Rooper, Fiona Shaw, Rachel Miner, Rose McGowan, and Hilary Swank. The Black Dahlia is a stylish but very underwhelming film from Brian de Palma.

After a charity fight to raise the salary of L.A. policeman, local street cop Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) and Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) become opponents for the fight publicized by Ellis Loew (Patrick Fischler) as the two later become partners in the Warrants division as Bleichert also befriends Blanchard's girlfriend Kay Lake (Scarlett Johansson). The two become successful in their work while Bleichart and Lake realize they're attracted to each other but keep their feelings intact out of respect for Blanchard. During a case to catch a child rapist where they encounter a shootout, the two find the body of a dead woman cut in half as she's revealed to be Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirshner). With news of the release of a criminal in Bobby DeWitt (Richard Brake) and the graphic nature of Short's death, Blanchard starts to unravel who wants to go after DeWitt but has to work on the Short case with Bleichert who learns a lot about Short and her aspirations to be an actress.

Bleichert's investigation leads him to clues that includes a journey into the underground lesbian bars where he meets a Short doppelganger in socialist Madeline Linscott (Hilary Swank) who later invites him to to a family dinner. Bleichert and Linscott would have an affair as he later retrieves a stag film that featured short and her friend Lorna Mertz (Jemima Rooper) which makes Blanchard more uneasy as he is later taken out of the case while an earlier case to lead to a falling out between him and Bleichert. Kay later reveals some information about Blanchard's state of mind and why he's become uneasy as things eventually get worse where Bleichert learns a deeper connection between Short and the Linscott family as he gets closer to close the case.

While the film has all of the elements of a stylish, 1940s film-noir and crime stories, it also has the style that Brian de Palma is known for when it comes to suspense considering his often ode to Alfred Hitchcock. Unfortunately, despite all of de Palma's efforts to create a fascinating, intriguing mystery. It loses its sense of direction right into the third act. While screenwriter Josh Friedman does create a faithful adaptation the Ellroy novel. What is lost is many of the psychological and character study aspect of Ellroy. Instead, the script loses some insight into the characters, the murder, and most of all, Bleichert's obsession with Short.

The changes from the book to script are unfortunate since it loses some of its suspense and the style of Ellroy's writing which weaves and entrances its audience. While the first two acts are faithful with some stuff along with major subplots and characters not making it into the film adaptation. The third act is crucial yet misses a lot on the psychological aspect of Ellroy's work where a lot of things is lost and the suspense in the book gets crammed up in too many moments. Notably the confrontation between the Linscott and Bleichert where too much goes on where in the book, Bleichert confronts the Sprague family on a series of suspenseful sequences.

The fault is really to Friedman and de Palma for wrapping things up a bit too fast while having some bizarre sequences, notably the DeWitt confrontation which in the book, is set in Tijuana, Mexico but in the film, it's in Los Angeles where it doesn't entirely work. It ends up overwhelming itself where a lot of the drama and action is forced and de Palma seems to have rushed things a bit too quickly. Still, de Palma does create some fascinating work that is reminiscent to his past films like a boxing fight scene between Bleichert and Blanchard. Some scenes are definitely borrowed from 1940s films with soft lenses on some scenes that adds style to the film. The only real falter in de Palma's directing is the ending. It feels totally false and not true to the character of Bleichert where his character in the end is forced to grow up and confront some inner demons. In the film, it wraps up to quickly with no resolve and comes out very lame. Overall, despite some strong moments in the film, de Palma loses sight of everything by the third and final act.

Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond does some wonderful work in the photography whether its some lovely, soft touches in some emotional sequences between Bleichert and Kay to some of the shading of windows that is true to the noir-style. Zsigmond's work also shines in many of the film's exterior's shot in Los Angeles while the interiors are very intimate with some great long shots from de Palma's directing as the veteran cinematographer does some fascinating work. Production designer Dante Ferretti and art directors Pier-Luigi Basile and Christopher Tandon adds a lot of flair and style to their extravagant presentation of 1940s Los Angeles including the worldly Linscott home and the lesbian bar scenes that all of the interiors were shot in Bulgaria. Costume designer Jenny Beaven also does some great work in the 1940s costume work from the suits and Fedoras that the men wear to the black clothing Kirshner and Swank wear along with the more loose, silvery, grey clothes of Johansson.

Editor Bill Pankow does some nice cutting into the film while adding some great, curtain-like cuts that owes to the old, 1940s film editing style that adds flair to the film while doing great work in not cutting on some great long shots de Palma did. Sound designer Paula Fairfield also does some great work in the sound including an earthquake scene that does add atmosphere along with the sounds of gunshots and things that adds an intensity to the film. Score composer Mark Isham plays to the world of 1940s style of jazz while the orchestral score works in conveying the emotions and intensity of the suspense. The soundtrack also includes an old Cole Porter jazz number performed by k.d. lang in a cameo appearance that is fun in one of the film's lesbian bar scenes.

The film's cast is wonderfully assembled that includes some small appearances from Rose McGowan, Kevin Dunn, Richard Brake, Troy Evans, Ian McNiece as the coroner, William Finley as the Linscott patriarch George Tilden, James Otis as Bucky's demented German father, and Scarface actor Pepe Serna in a cameo as Tomas dos Santos. Rachel Miner is good in the role of Martha Linscott but her character is underwritten since the book has more information on her. Miner isn't the only actress to suffer from the underwritten script as Jemima Rooper's Lorna Mertz is also underwritten since her character has more to hide despite a good performance from Rooper. Patrick Fischler is indeed, Ellis Loew as the publicity-driven D.A. who controls the investigation while trying to make a public thing for himself though the book had more of his plans. John Kavanagh is really good as the slimy, charming Emmett Linscott while noted character actor Mike Starr does some great work as the veteran good cop Russ Millard who unfortunately, is underused since Millard is a great character though Starr doe some great work.

In a performance that can be described as over-the-top, British actress Fiona Shaw gives a performance that goes way overboard as Ramona Linscott as she just goes all out to the point that it becomes unintentionally hilarious. Mia Kirshner delivers one of her best performances in the film's title role as she brings an innocence and sadness to Elizabeth Short as well as a troubling sexiness that is entrancing to watch. Hilary Swank continues to play interesting characters as she brings a lot of vamp in her role as the femme fatale Madeline Linscott. While the book portrayed Madeline as a more psychotic, seductive character, Swank does excellent work in playing sexy with a strange, Irish accent and a presence that is troubling. Though the performance is a bit over-the-top, it's nonetheless entertaining despite the fact it's underwritten. While Scarlett Johansson can transform herself into a true, 1940s starlet with her undeniable beauty. Her character however, suffers the most from the script since it's very underwritten in her connection with DeWitt as well as in her relationship with Bucky. Johansson still manages to be very good as the more guarded, traditional woman who loves the company of two men while often smoking a cigarette and being worrisome to everything around her.

Aaron Eckhart is really the film's best performance as the troubled Lee Blanchard. Eckhart has all of the sensitive tough guy qualities that Kay adores while his character ends up being more troubled with great reasons and a darker past beneath it. Eckhart is Lee Blanchard like the book though the script puts him in strange situations that isn't true to the character though Eckhart manages to do some fine work. Josh Hartnett isn't a great actor and never will be but he does manage to do some of his best work as Bucky Bleichert. While his narration and some of his performances, notably his scenes with the main actors are good. It's inconsistent since he often looks a bit wooden and sometimes, a bit smug including a confrontational scene between him and Johansson. It's not his best work, that goes to The Virgin Suicides, but Hartnett ends up being decent though the script fails to make his character into being far more complex and interesting.

While it has some moments that keeps it from being a disaster, The Black Dahlia is an over-stylized yet un-engaging film from Brian de Palma. While it has a good cast, great settings, look, and style, fans of the book will indeed be disappointed in what got cut and its psychological aspects of it. Fans of noir films will probably lean to the more successful and brilliant L.A. Confidential by Curtis Hanson that is also a novel by James Ellroy. In the end, while the film is entertaining and has style but lacks a lot of substance. In the end, The Black Dahlia is a very disappointing film-noir suspense film from Brian de Palma.

Brian de Palma Films: (Murder a la Mod) - (Greetings) - (The Wedding Party) - (Dionysus in ‘69) - (Hi, Mom!) - (Get to Know Your Rabbit) - Sisters - Phantom of the Paradise - Obsession - Carrie - The Fury - (Home Movies) - Dressed to Kill - Blow Out - Scarface (1983 film) - Body Double - (Wise Guys) - The Untouchables - Casualties of War - The Bonfire of the Vanities - Raising Cain - Carlito’s Way - Mission: Impossible - Snake Eyes - Mission to Mars - Femme Fatale - (Redacted) - Passion (2012 film) - (Domino (2018 film))

© thevoid99 2013

Insomnia (2002 film)

Based on the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name, Insomnia is the story of a detective who travels to a small Alaskan fishing town to investigate a murder where he deals with a mysterious writer as well as the troubling location he’s staying at. Directed by Christopher Nolan with a screenplay by Hilary Seitz, the film is an Americanized take on Erik Skoldbaejrg’s 1997 film that explores the world of madness and guilt as the latter is part of Nolan’s interests in a lot of his work. Starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Martin Donovan, Nicky Katt, Maura Tierney, Crystal Lowe, and Paul Dooley. Insomnia is a stylish yet engaging thriller from Christopher Nolan.

After the mysterious death of a 17-year-old girl named Kay Connell (Crystal Lowe), two L.A. detectives in Will Dormer (Al Pacino) and Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan) are asked by Chief Nyback (Paul Dooley) to investigate as they arrive to the small Alaskan fishing town of Nightmute. Awaiting for their arrival is Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank) who is a fan of Dormer’s work as she is eager to aid in the investigation as Dormer is dealing with issues involving internal affairs over supposedly falsifying evidence. After interrogating Kay’s boyfriend Randy Stetz (Jonathan Jackson) who claims to not know anything, Kay’s backpack is found near a shack where Dormer, Hap, Ellie, and other locals try to find out who owns the shack. Instead, a chase occurs leading Will to make a mistake that would impact everything as he eventually faces guilt over what happened as well as insomnia in a town where it’s day at the time of the season.

With Burr asked to investigate Burr’s shooting, Dormer continues to investigate as he eventually gets answers from Kay’s friend Tanya (Katherine Isabelle) about who Kay may have been seeing. Dormer discovers that it is a local writer named Walter Finch (Robin Williams) who may have been the one who killed Kay as Finch had been trying to contact him since he saw what really happened to Hap. The two eventually meet face-to-face where they conspire to frame Randy since Finch is blackmailing Dormer about what he knows based on taped conversations. While Burr is getting closer to what really happened to Hap, Dormer’s guilt and growing insomnia starts to consume him as he goes for one more confrontation with Finch.

The film is about a L.A. detective who travels to Alaska to investigate the death of a young girl only to be consumed by guilt and dealing with a girl’s killer who is trying to play a battle of wits against him. It’s a film that explores a man’s descent into madness as Hilary Seitz’s screenplay is quite faithful to the original Erik Skoldbaejrg’s 1997 film of the same name. The only major difference is that a few characters like Will Dormer and Walter Finch are given more complexity while the Ellie Burr character is expanded more from the original. Adding to Dormer’s sense of guilt is an inquiry from internal affairs about his reputation where it eventually plays to his motivation of wanting to get the person even if there’s a lack of evidence.

Christopher Nolan’s direction is definitely engaging for the way he shoots the beautiful Alaskan locations with wide shots as well as creating a mood for many of the film’s suspenseful scenes. Particularly in close-ups of the characters as well as medium shots to have two characters in a frame to set up a simple conversation or to play out an investigation. Nolan’s camera is always there to show something while repeating certain images and such to play up Dormer’s guilt and paranoia. Overall, Nolan creates a truly intriguing suspense film that plays up to what is expected in the genre.

Cinematographer Wally Pfister does excellent work with the film‘s low-colored cinematography to play up the look of the Alaskan locations as well as some amazing interiors of Dormer‘s room and other interiors to play out the mood of the film. Editor Dody Dorn does great work with the editing by creating montages to play up Dormer‘s guilt with repeated images as well as using jump-cuts to play out Dormer‘s troubled state of mind. Production designer Nathan Crowley, with set decorator Peter Lando and art director Michael Diner, does wonderful work with the look of the lodge that Dormer and Hap stay in as well as the station where everyone does the investigation.

Costume designer Tish Monaghan does good work with the clothes by keeping it casual for many of the characters. Sound editors Aaron Glascock and Curt Schulkey does nice work with the sound for the way gunshots are sound and a key scene where Dormer hears a lot of things as voices are muffled to play out his descent into madness. The film’s score by David Julyan is wonderful for its low-key yet mesmerizing orchestral score filled with heavy piano melodies and string arrangements to play out the film’s suspense.

The casting by Marci Liroff is brilliant for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable appearances from Emily Perkins as a girl speaking at Kay’s funeral, Nicky Katt and Larry Holden as a couple of local cops, Crystal Lowe as the victim Kay Connell, Paul Dooley as Chief Nyback, Katherine Isabelle as Kay’s friend Tanya, and Jonathan Jackson as Kay’s boyfriend Randy Stetz. Martin Donovan is excellent as Will’s ill-fated partner Hap who has issues with Will over a deal he wants to make with internal affairs. Maura Tierney is superb as the lodge owner Rachel who gives a very low-key performance as a woman who observes Will at the lodge. Hilary Swank is great as detective Ellie Burr who takes many of Will’s advice to be a great investigator as she uses his advice and her skills to uncover many things as it’s a very intense and lively performance from Swank.

Robin Williams is amazing as the mysterious Walter Finch where Williams is quite restrained in his role as a novelist who may have killed a young woman only to try and outwit Will Dormer over what Will had done as there’s a bit of dark charm in Williams’ performance. Finally, there’s Al Pacino in a terrific performance as Will Dormer where Pacino brings a great intensity and weariness to a man consumed by guilt as he is desperate to do what is right even if it means having to do things the wrong way. It’s one of Pacino’s finer performances of his career to display his gifts as an actor.

Insomnia is a stellar yet fascinating film from Christopher Nolan that features top-notch work from Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank. While it may not have the intense approach of the original 1997 film or the stylish mis-en-scene of Nolan’s other films. It is still a remake that works to play up what is expected in the suspense genre as well as being faithful to Erik Skoldbaejrg’s original film. In the end, Insomnia is a superb thriller from Christopher Nolan.

Christopher Nolan Films: Following - Memento - Batman Begins - The Prestige - The Dark Knight - Inception - The Dark Knight Rises - Interstellar - Dunkirk - Tenet - Oppenheimer - The Auteur #13: Christopher Nolan

Related: Insomnia (1997 film)

© thevoid99 2012

Boy's Don't Cry

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 3/12/04 with Additional Edits.

In 1998 America, homosexuality was accepted in some parts of the U.S., notably the east and west coast.  In Middle America, it was a different kind of story.  That year, a Wyoming student named Matthew Shepard was killed by a group of hooligans in Laramie, Wyoming, notably because he was gay and thus, became a martyr for gay rights.  Homophobia is a subject not many would like to go into and it’s a controversial subject that is hard to tackle.  In 1999, a film about homophobia came from the story about a young woman named Teena Brandon who disguised herself as a man in Nebraska.  Changing her name to Brandon Teena, the woman was eventually raped and killed in 1993 because of her subversive, sexual identity.  Helming that subject was a new filmmaker who wouldn’t just open more doors for other fellow female filmmakers but also would churn out one of the decade’s most powerful films to date in Kimberly Peirce’s Boys Don’t Cry.

Based on the accounts of Teena Brandon’s death, Peirce and co-screenwriter Andy Bienen takes the story of a young woman who is yearning to be different in a landscape where being different at the time was unacceptable.  With Peirce in her feature-length directorial debut, Boys Don’t Cry is probably one of the greatest features ever made by a first-time director.  Leading the pack as Teena Brandon is Hilary Swank in a tour-de-force performance that would garner the Oscar for Best Actress.  While most films about victims tend to make them into martyrs, Peirce doesn’t descend that territory by making stories of human beings at their best and worst at a time when the world wasn’t watching.  With a cast that includes Chloe Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard, Brendon Sexton Jr., Alicia Goranson, Alison Folland, Matt McGrath, and Jeanetta Arnette, Boys Don’t Cry is clearly one of the greatest yet most eerie films of the 1990s.

The film begins in 1990 as 20-year old Teena Brandon gets a haircut to look like a man with help from her friend Lonny (Matt McGrath) in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Teena decides to hit on some ladies by pretending to be a guy named Bailey and it worked when she did upsetting some guys.  Lonny doesn’t like what she does as he kicks her out of his trailer as she goes for a drink.  Teena then meets a young woman named Candace (Alicia Goranson) and her friend, an ex-convicted hooligan named John Lotter (Peter Sarsgaard) as he helped Teena in a barroom brawl.  Teena introduces himself as Brandon Teena to Candace and John as they meet with John’s pal Tom (Brendan Sexton Jr.) as they ride all the way to Falls City, Nebraska.  

Brandon wakes up as she calls Lonny, who warns her about the place, as she needed to go home for a trial due to the brawl she started.  Instead, she decides to stay after meeting Kate (Alison Folland) and John’s ex-girlfriend Lana (Chloe Sevigny).  Brandon immediately falls for Lana after she, Kate, and Candace sing karaoke as she joins them, Tom, and John for some midwestern fun on bumper skiing.  Brandon decides to live with Lana, who is a single mother with a baby, as she continues to pursue Lana as she met her one night while getting some beer in which Brandon got, along with tampons that she stole.  She meets Lana’s mother (Jeanetta Arnette) as Lana said, she hates her life but Brandon doesn’t mind, as she just wants to see her.  The next day, Brandon decides to go see Lana again as she meets up with the gang as she drinks with John for a bit as he treats her like one of the guys.  John introduces Brandon to his daughter April (Stephanie Sechrist) as Brandon takes photos of Lana and her mom, to Lana’s disgust while April accidentally wets herself on John.  

Later in the night, the gang goes for a drive as Brandon is challenged by three girls to a race in which Brandon wins but gets caught by the police as he only got a ticket.  John wasn’t happy since he was afraid that he might get convicted as he leaves everyone but Lana and Kate in the middle of the night.  Tom shows Brandon his scars that he got at prison that he and John had when they would simply cut themselves.  Tom wants Brandon to do it but he said no but Tom was just joking.  Later in the day, Brandon receives a court summon to go back to Lincoln for a trial date where he sees Lana as he tells he has to go back to see his sister.  Brandon returns to Lincoln briefly to speak to Lonny as he tells her that homos aren’t treated very well in Falls City.  Brandon skips the trial date to be with Lana as they make out.

Brandon hangs out the ladies as John and Tom return from Omaha for a job where John learned that Lana is going out with Brandon.  John secretly is upset but wonders why Brandon is so different as Brandon’s traffic violation catches up with him as a cop named Brian (Rob Campbell) reveals his past records of violations and forgeries and goes to jail.  Candace then learns the truth as Lana frees Brandon from jail, as Brandon tries to tell her the truth about herself but Lana doesn’t care.  John then finds the truth about who Brandon is from Candace as he goes further on, as he is upset at what Brandon is.  Lana returns home as her mother and friends confront her as Brandon also shows up as she is forced to reveal herself by John and Tom.  Brian interrogates Lana and later Brandon as she is forced to reveal the beatings and rape from John and Tom later on.  Lana realizes she doesn’t care what Brandon is that would lead to tragedy.  

The story of Boys Don’t Cry is clearly in many parallels, a classic Shakespearian tragedy since it was based on the true accounts of what happened to Teena Brandon.  The screenplay by director Kimberly Peirce and co-writer Andy Bienen definitely plays up to the dramatic structure of the film without being too Hollywood or too low budget.  The film’s script strengthens up Peirce’s sprawling direction as she humanizes the characters, including villains while not making Teena Brandon into a martyr because Teena herself, is a complete screw up with her past criminal records and such.  The film’s symbolic look of fast cars, clouds, and the earth represents the world around Falls City, Idaho with an evocative, bleak look of Middle American suburbia captured perfectly by cinematographer Jim Denault.  Even Nathan Larson’s atmospheric score sets the tone for the film’s ethereal setting while the music ranging from country, soul, punk, and rock from Nathan Larson (doing the Cure’s classic Boys Don’t Cry), Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Isley Brothers, X, the Dictators, and many more plays up to the rural landscape of Nebraska. 

The genius of the film really goes to Kimberly Peirce.  While the film is mostly about the life of Teena Brandon, Pierce also examines the rural lifestyle of Middle America.  A lifestyle that is filled with recklessness and depression that almost seems inescapable.  So much for the American Dream.  Peirce proves that is false as the bleakness of Middle America is shown where people pretty much go to bars, get drunk, go into fights and such while doing mindless activities like bump skiing, chomp on whipped cream, and getting high.  Even as some of the characters want to get out, they really couldn’t since it’s also a state of mind.  Notably in Sarsgaard’s character of John Lotter, whose parenting skills are very poor as he feeds his daughter with a sip of beer that examines the sadness of Middle American suburbia.  

Finally there’s the film cast that is amazing in its smaller and leading performances.  While the roles played by Rob Campbell and Alison Folland are small but utilized excellently, the roles of Alicia Goranson, as Candace and Matt McGrath’s role of Lonny are wonderful in their performances.  Jeanetta Arnette is brilliant as Lana’s mother who just doesn’t play a surrogate mother for Brandon but for the cast while bring a complexity as a loose woman who also loves the people around her.  Brendan Sexton Jr. is excellent as Tom as he brings a bit of humanity into his performance while showing the pain he went through in prison in a scene with Hilary Swank while his character was the only one that could bring any kind of control to John.  Chloe Sevigny is spellbinding in her Oscar-nominated performance as Lana.  Sevigny not only brings an element of beauty but depth into her bleak role as a young woman desperate to get out of her tumultuous lifestyle.  This is by far one of Sevigny’s best performances.  

Then there are the film’s two greatest performances.  First is Peter Sarsgaard in a breakthrough performance as John Lotter.  Sarsgaard’s portrayal is filled with layers as he plays the character with a dose of humanity rather than some villainous stereotype.  Sarsgaard at times starts out as loveable to the people around him while he could snap just like that.  By the third act, we see the ignorance in his character that is so believable; you almost want to hate him for what he does.  The second and last notable performance is Hilary Swank as Teena Brandon.  At times, it’s hard to believe that she’s playing a woman who pretends to be a man.  Swank uses her charm and wit to seduce the audience while in the more brutal scenes in the third act; she plays up to her sympathy in pain.  Swank makes sure her character doesn’t come out a martyr as she knows Teena Brandon was a screw up and plays up to the fact that she’s a screw up.  Swank even carries great chemistry in her scenes with Sevigny, Sarsgaard, and the rest of the cast in a performance that truly garnered the Academy Award for Best Actress.

While it’s not an easy film to watch due to its graphic context and violence, Boys Don’t Cry remains a seminal masterpiece from Kimberly Peirce.  With chilling performances from Hilary Swank, Chloe Sevigny, and Peter Sarsgaard, the film plays up to the real tragic accounts of Teena Brandon without over-dramatizing the story.  Though Swank was the one remembered most about the film, the real star is Peirce with her symbolic, psychological approach in directing.  Whether or not she’ll ever surpass this film, she did make one of the best independent films of the 1990s but also a film that helped opened more doors for not just women filmmakers but also the subject of homosexuality.  In the end, Boys Don’t Cry is a brilliant, modern-day tragic story on the subject of homophobia

(C) thevoid99 2010