The Apartment

Directed by Billy Wilder and written by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond, The Apartment is the story of an ambitious office worker who begrudgingly lets his bosses use his apartment for their extramarital affairs where he ends up falling for one of his bosses mistresses. The film is an exploration into ambition and morality where a man deals with the way he tries to move up through things he didn’t like doing while falling for a woman who deals with her affairs with one of his bosses. Starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray. The Apartment is a witty yet grand film from Billy Wilder.

The film is essentially an exploration into the life of an insurance office worker named C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) who hopes to climb up the ladder in becoming an executive. Yet, his loyalty and hard work isn’t enough where he reluctantly lets his managers use his apartment for their affairs which gets the attention of their boss Jeff Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray) who asks Baxter if he can use his apartment for his own extramarital affair. Sheldrake’s mistress turns out to be an elevator operator named Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine) whom Baxter has feelings for where he later finds out about the affair which upsets him. Yet, Fran learns during the Christmas party on that same day that she is just another of Sheldrake’s revolving door of mistresses as she is hurt where she and the lonely Baxter bond over their loneliness and the humiliation they endure.

The film’s screenplay is in some ways a character study but also a love story of sorts between Baxter and Kubelik as they’re just people dealing with working in an insurance office. Baxter is just a man who just wants to make it in that world but he often endures moments of humiliation as his superiors call him “Buddy-boy” and sometimes call when they’re not scheduled to be at the apartment. Baxter would be outside of his apartment so he wouldn’t interfere as he would return to find his place a mess and lots of hairpins and such laying around in the couch and such. Adding to this humiliation is his feelings for Kubelik whom he thinks is a nice woman yet she, regretfully, stood him up on a date where he tries to forget about it until the office Christmas party where the broken hand mirror he found in his apartment belonged to Kubelik. It’s a moment that just adds to his own loneliness and despair yet it is balanced by Kubelik’s own revelation about Sheldrake.

Kubelik is just as interesting as Baxter as she’s a woman who later admits to falling for the wrong guy as she has this secret affair with Sheldrake whom she doesn’t see often. Yet, she becomes more uncertain that he will leave his wife where she is intrigued by Baxter but is in love with Sheldrake. The Christmas party scene is one of the key important moments in the film not just because of what Baxter discovers but also what Fran discovers from Sheldrake’s secretary Miss Olsen (Edie Adams) at the party that leaves Fran hurt and humiliated. The film’s second half becomes about Baxter and Kubelik dealing with the hurt and humiliation that both had endured as they deal with the things they’ve done where it would play to some growth in their characters as well as the fact that they could become a couple. Still, Baxter tries to protect himself and Kubelik from others including his neighbor Dr. Dreyfuss (Jack Kruschen) who has been suspicious about what goes on at Baxter’s apartment. Yet, it would take some events and such that would finally make Baxter stand up for himself and do what he feels is right for himself and Kubelik.

Billy Wilder’s direction is very mesmerizing for the way he explores the world of corporate offices where he uses the widescreen format and wide shots to get a sense of what goes on while putting in the middle of that shot is Baxter though he’s seen among the hordes of people in their desks. The use of dolly and tracking shots allows Wilder to create a world that is very go-go-go and busy but also quite raucous at times such as the Christmas party sequence where there’s a lot of fun that goes on and Wilder also knows where to put key important characters in the frame to help advance the story and such. Even as he creates some intimate moments in the offices such as the scene between Baxter and Kubelik where he discovers who that broken mirror belongs to. It’s among these very intense dramatic moments while Wilder also infuses a lot of melancholia to these moments to showcase the humiliation that Baxter and Kubelik both endure.

While there are some moments of humor in the film that includes Baxter’s superiors acting silly on their way to the apartment with their mistresses along with moments of how Baxter reacts to his situation. There is also a mixture of melancholia in some of the comedic moments that Baxter endures such as the scene where he’s at a bar drowning his sorrows with another woman. Yet, Wilder maintains that sense of loneliness that occurs in the story as he makes Baxter’s apartment as a key character in the story where it’s a place that represents his own lonely persona. Things liven up a bit once Kubelik stays there briefly following a very intense moment that plays into the growing bond she would have with Baxter. Even as he would maintain control about what he should do with his life and his apartment as well as what he wants for Kubelik who is stuck in her love for Sheldrake as well as her bad luck with men. Overall, Wilder creates a very engaging yet triumphant film about loneliness, humility, and overcoming all of that.

Cinematographer Joseph LaShelle does brilliant work with the film‘s black-and-white photography to play into the sense of despair the protagonists endure as well as the use of lights in the offices and as well as the low-key look in Baxter‘s apartment. Editor Daniel Mandell does excellent work with the editing with its use of rhythmic cuts to play out some of the film‘s drama and humor as well as sequence where Sheldrake and Kubelik are in Baxter‘s apartment as he is in the bar drowning his sorrows. Art director Alexandre Trauner and set decorator Edward G. Boyer do fantastic work with the look of Baxter’s apartment that is very intimate and sort of a mess to represent Baxter’s loneliness while the look of the offices and places where he works is also unique to display more of his sense of isolation.

The sound work of Gordon E. Sawyer is superb for capturing some of the chaos in some of the moments in the office such as the Christmas party as well as the intimate moments in Baxter‘s apartment. The film’s music by Adolph Deutsch is amazing for its somber yet flourishing score with its mixture of orchestral and jazz music to play with some of the film’s melancholia while the soundtrack consists an array of music from jazz, classical, and pop.

The film’s cast is just splendid for the ensemble that is created as it includes some notable small roles from Joyce Jameson as the woman Baxter meets at the bar after the Christmas party, Johnny Seven as Kubelik’s brother-in-law, Hal Smith as the drunk Santa Claus in the bar, Naomi Stevens as Dr. Dreyfuss’ wife, Hope Holiday as Baxter’s suspicious landlord, and Joan Shawlee as one of the mistresses of Baxter’s superiors. In the roles of Baxter’s four superiors, there’s David Lewis, Ray Walston, Willard Waterman, and David White as they each give very funny performances as men who take advantage of Baxter’s generosity in order to have fun with their mistresses. Jack Kruschen is excellent as Dr. Dreyfuss as a neighbor of Baxter who is suspicious about what goes on in Baxter's apartment as he also tells Baxter to grow up and be a man.

Edie Adams is wonderful as Sheldrake’s secretary Miss Olsen who accidentally reveals to Kubelik about Sheldrake’s previous affairs at the Christmas party as she would also play a part in trying to bring Sheldrake down over his affairs with other women. Fred MacMurray is great as Jeff Sheldrake as a man who likes to maintain control over his affairs as he is also someone who is a bit cruel to the way he treats Kubelik as he is also quite slimy towards Baxter as it’s definitely one of his finest performances.

Finally, there’s the duo of Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine in astonishing performances in their respective roles of C.C. Baxter and Fran Kubelik. MacLaine brings this presence that is very upbeat and playful in the way she interacts with Baxter early on though there’s a fragility to her that is just compelling as she deals with heartbreak and disappointment. Lemmon is very funny in some of his reactions but also has this melancholia that is just endearing where he has this physicality that is just amazing to watch in the way he deals with humility as well as his actions for what he’s doing. Lemmon and MacLaine have this chemistry that is just undeniable in the way they make each other laugh or bond over the pain they deal with in their loneliness as they are some of the best highlights of the film.

The Apartment is a magnificent film from Billy Wilder that includes incredible performances from Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. The film is truly an engaging and thoughtful piece on the world of loneliness and ambition that plays into the troubled morality of two people lost in their own chaos as they bond through that pain. It’s also one of the most charming and touching romantic comedies that strays from convention with characters that audiences can root for. In the end, The Apartment is an outstanding film from Billy Wilder.

Billy Wilder Films: (Mauvaise Graine) - (The Major and the Minor) - (Five Graves to Cairo) - Double Indemnity - The Lost Weekend - (The Emperor Waltz) - (A Foreign Affair) - Sunset Boulevard - Ace in the Hole - Stalag 17 - (Sabrina) - (The Seven Year Itch) - (The Spirit of St. Louis) - (Love in the Afternoon) - (Witness for the Prosecution) - Some Like It Hot - (One, Two, Three) - (Irma La Douce) - (Kiss Me, Stupid) - (The Fortune Cookie) - (The Private Lives of Sherlock Holmes) - (Avanti!) - (The Front Page) - (Fedora) - (Buddy Buddy)

© thevoid99 2013

Some Like It Hot

Directed by Billy Wilder and screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond from a story by Robert Theoren and Michael Logan, Some Like It Hot is the story of two male jazz musicians who witness the St. Valentine’s Massacre in 1929 as they pretend to be women to hide from the mob as part of an all-female band. A remake of a French film from 1935, the film explores men discovering what it means to be a women while hiding from the mob as well as the sexual interplay between men and women where one of them falls for a singer. Starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe, George Raft, and Joe E. Brown. Some Like It Hot is a whimsical yet exhilarating film from Billy Wilder.

The film is a simple story about two penniless jazz musicians who accidentally witness the St. Valentine’s Massacre in 1929 Chicago as they have to hide from the mob. Upon hearing that there’s a job in Florida though it’s for an all-girl band, the two men dress up as women so they can hide from the mob and get paid while one of them falls for a singer while the other finds himself the object of affection for a millionaire. It’s a film that has a simple premise yet features a lot of aspects about the roles of men and women where Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon) are just two men looking for work as musicians so they can pay off their debts. By dressing up as women to hide from the mob and get some money, they are able to have some fun in Florida while Joe falls for the singer Sugar (Marilyn Monroe) who laments over her choices in getting the wrong men.

The film’s screenplay does have a unique structure where the first act is about Joe and Jerry trying to find work as they unknowingly witness the St. Valentine’s Massacre. Since they are now big targets for the mobster known as Spats Colombo (George Raft), they try to figure out what to do as the only job that is available is only for women. With Joe as Josephine and Jerry as Daphne, the two dress up where a lot of hilarity ensues as well as the fact that part of the second act takes place in a train with a bevy of beautiful women including Sugar. Sugar is definitely one of the most interesting characters in the film as she is someone who knows she isn’t the brightest girl in the bunch as she likes to drink and have fun. Yet, she is also someone who just wants to find the right man as she had been with too many bad men where Joe finds himself listening to her as a woman.

The second half, which is set in Florida, is very lively where Jerry as Daphne seems to enjoy himself as a woman playing with Sugar and the girls while Joe decides to pretend to be a millionaire as if he is the ideal man for Sugar. Yet, Jerry has to deal with a millionaire named Osgood Fielding III (Joe E. Brown) who is just smitten by Daphne where something strange happens. All of which plays into the idea that Jerry might go along with what Osgood offers despite the fact that Jerry is really a guy. Still, the presence of Spats and the mob would occur in the third act where both men have to make some hard decisions in order to stay alive while still pretending to be women.

The direction of Billy Wilder is definitely exciting through and through where it opens with a chase scene between the police and the mob where the latter is smuggling liquor for a party that is happening that also introduces Joe and Jerry who are playing at the party. It starts off as sort of straightforward with some humor for the ordeal that Joe and Jerry are dealing with as two penniless musicians needing work until they encounter the St. Valentine’s Massacre. Cold, needing work, and in need to hide from the mob, Wilder ups the humor from the moment he presents Josephine and Daphne as these two men pretending women are having a hard time wearing heels and be believable as women which helps the humor. Notably in the way they react to Sugar and her sex appeal where Wilder does use that sex appeal to enhance the humor but also play into the way men react towards women.

Through some gorgeous compositions in the train and in the scenes set in Florida, Wilder creates something that is a comedy but also infuse it with a bit of suspense and drama but also make it a film about the ideas of men and women. Notably as Joe is known for being a gambler and womanizer who manages to grow by being a woman and getting to know Sugar. Jerry’s encounter with Osgood has him thinking about what he needs where Osgood offers a lot to Jerry as Daphne despite the fact that Osgood doesn’t know that Daphne is really a man. More encounters with mob does lead into a sequence that mixes suspense and humor where Wilder maintains that comic energy right to the end where he creates one of the film’s most perfect endings. Overall, Wilder creates a very entertaining and thrilling film about two men posing as women where they learn to become better men as women.

Cinematographer Charles Lang does amazing work with the film‘s black-and-white photography from the low-key yet dark look for the scenes set in Chicago to the mixture of lighting styles in the train scenes that would later play into the beauty of Florida as it‘s definitely one of the film‘s technical highlights. Editor Arthur P. Schmidt does excellent work with the editing with its use of rhythmic cuts to play into the film‘s humor and suspense as well as some unique transitions in a scene where both Joe and Jerry go on their respective dates. Art director Ted Haworth and set decorator Edward G. Boyle do superb work with the set pieces such as the look of the train cars as well as the Florida hotel the characters are in for the film‘s second half.

The costume work of Orry-Kelly is fantastic for the look of the dresses that Sugar wears to play into her beauty. The sound work of Fred Lau is terrific for some of the sound work that occurs in the St. Valentine‘s Massacre scene as well as some of the moments in the beach where Daphne plays with Sugar and the girls. The film’s music by Adolph Deustch is a wonderful mixture of somber orchestral pieces and lively jazz cuts while the film also features some songs sung by Marilyn Monroe that really adds to the sense of entertainment as well as to help to tell the story.

The casting by Phil Benjamin is brilliant for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable appearances from Mike Mazurki and Harry Wilson as a couple of Spats’ henchmen, Al Breneman as a bellboy who tries to woo Josephine, George E. Stone as Spats’ rival mobster Toothpick Charlie, and Nehemiah Persoff as the mob leader Little Bonaparte. Other noteworthy yet memorable small performances include Dave Barry as the band manager Beinstock, Joan Shawlee as the bandleader Sweet Sue, and Pat O’Brien as the police detective tailing Spats. George Raft is excellent as the mobster Spats who tries to regain control of his turf after a raid only to deal with the fact that Joe and Jerry had witnessed his attack on Toothpick Charlie as he tries to find them. Joe E. Brown is amazing as Osgood Fielding III as this very sweet millionaire who tries to woo Daphne as he gives her all sorts of gifts where Brown has some of the best moments that includes the word “zowie”.

Finally, there’s the trio of Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe as they give very remarkable performances. Monroe brings a sense of energy and charm to her role as the very dim-witted but fun Sugar as this woman just trying to find the right man as she is someone full of hope but is also very vulnerable that just adds depth to Monroe’s performance which is one of her best. Lemmon is great in the dual role of Jerry/Daphne as a man who is frustrated by what is happening as he later finds joy having fun with women while giving in to the idea of being married to a man for security and such. Curtis is phenomenal in a trio of role as Joe, Josephine, and the fake millionaire Shell Oil Jr. where Curtis adds a lot of humor and energy to his performances as the three characters while also displaying some growth and understanding as a man who is in love and just wanting to do what is right despite the trouble he’s facing.

Some Like It Hot is an outstanding film from Billy Wilder that features fantastic performances from Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe. The film is truly one of the funniest films ever made as it’s a comedy that still holds up after being released more than half a century. It’s full of moments that are very memorable as well as some great one-liners and antics that manages to still entertain. In the end, Some Like It Hot is a spectacular film from Billy Wilder.

Billy Wilder Films: (Mauvaise Graine) - (The Major and the Minor) - (Five Graves to Cairo) - Double Indemnity - The Lost Weekend - (The Emperor Waltz) - (A Foreign Affair) - Sunset Boulevard - Ace in the Hole - Stalag 17 - (Sabrina) - (The Seven Year Itch) - (The Spirit of St. Louis) - (Love in the Afternoon) - (Witness for the Prosecution) - The Apartment - (One, Two, Three) - (Irma La Douce) - (Kiss Me, Stupid) - (The Fortune Cookie) - (The Private Lives of Sherlock Holmes) - (Avanti!) - (The Front Page) - (Fedora) - (Buddy Buddy)

© thevoid99 2013

Short Cuts

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 3/23/07 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Based on the nine short stories and a poem by Raymond Carver, Short Cuts is a multi-layered story involving 22 characters dealing with their lives in the course of a few days in California. Directed by Robert Altman and screenplay by Altman and Frank Barhydt, the film is an ensemble piece that explores the lives of various people some of whom are connected and those that aren't. With an all-star cast that includes Lily Tomlin, Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Julianne Moore, Buck Henry, Peter Gallagher, Fred Ward, Anne Archer, Chris Penn, Robert Downey Jr., Huey Lewis, Jack Lemmon, Lyle Lovett, Andie MacDowell, Madeleine Stowe, Bruce Davison, Frances McDormand, Tom Waits, Annie Ross, Lori Singer, Lili Taylor, Dirk Blocker, Zane Cassidy, and Jarrett Lennon. Short Cuts is a sprawling yet exuberant film from Robert Altman.

Stormy Weathers (Peter Gallagher) is a helicopter pilot who is dropping off pesticides all over the suburban home and valleys in California while Dr. Ralph Wyman (Matthew Modine) and his wife/artist Marian (Julianne Moore) are watching a string quartet that features the cellist Zoe (Lori Singer) with their friends Stuart (Fred Ward) and Claire Kane (Anne Archer). Zoe's mother Tess Trainer (Annie Ross) is a nightclub jazz singer where Bill (Robert Downey Jr.) and Honey Bush (Lili Taylor) are watching the show. Honey's mother Doreen (Lily Tomlin) is a diner waitress who gets a visit from her limo driver husband Earl (Tom Waits) while Howard Finnigan (Bruce Davison) is making a report about the pesticide drops while his wife Ann (Andie MacDowell) and their son Casey (Zane Cassidy) watch him on TV. Meanwhile, an angry cop named Gene Shepard (Tim Robbins) leaves his wife Sherri (Madeleine Stowe) claiming he's going to a meeting when he's really having an affair with a realtor named Betty (Frances McDormand) whose ex-husband is Stormy who had just called their son Chad (Jarrett Lennon) about Betty's birthday.

With Finnigans planning a birthday party for Casey, a pool cleaner named Jerry Kaiser (Chris Penn) arrives to clean the pool while getting a call to clean Tess' pool. Stuart goes on a fishing trip with Vern Miller (Huey Lewis) and Gordon Johnson (Buck Henry) where they make a chilling discovery at the river where they're fishing at. Tired by Earl's drunk appearances, Doreen leaves in a huff where she accidentally hits Casey with her car only for Casey to recover quickly where he walks back home. After returning home from the bakery, Ann finds her son in a state of shock unaware of what's happened to him as she takes him to the hospital where Dr. Wyman checks up on him. With Howard also at the hospital to hear about Casey, he gets an unexpected visit from his estranged father Paul (Jack Lemmon) who makes a startling confession about his own infidelities. Earl goes to the jazz club to see Tess singing as she is dealing with her own issues with Zoe who is in a state of depression.

Jerry and his wife Lois (Jennifer Jason Leigh) goes on a trip with Bill and Honey as Jerry is having issues with Lois while Sherri visits her sister Marian where they talk about infidelity where Sherri learns about Marian and Ralph's marital problems. After a tense visit from Stormy, Betty tells Gene that she's going out for the weekend with her son though Gene thinks she's lying where he later spies on her. On the day of the Wymans' barbeque party where Stuart and Claire attend unaware of Ralph and Marian's issues. With everyone upset and unhappy about their lives, everyone would come together in a moment of clarity as well as deal with tragedy.

Whereas most ensemble features, especially as ambitious as this one, tend to connect characters with one another and at times, tend to be contrived. For this film, Altman chooses to throw away the idea of a plot and just let a story or some scene tell itself. Definitely inspired by the works of Raymond Carver, Short Cuts is a film that doesn't have a lot of themes or any sense of morality or judgement. The whole film is really about people, ordinary people living their life through the disappointments, the daily struggles, and frustrations of what goes on. The characters are people that audiences can relate to in every way and form. It's the many characters that drive the film's stories and how each group of characters relate to another group. It's all done in the Altman spirit of improvisation, overlapping dialogue, and intertwining moments that allows the audience to get to know the characters and the situations.

While some audiences might find some of the stories and characters' situation hard to follow, the payoff over what happens is fulfilling. From the story of Jerry being neglected by his wife to the story of a disgruntled baker being left with an expensive cake. Neglect is a small theme from a booze-drinking jazz singer who is unaware of her daughter's depression to a phone-sex operator not wanting to talk dirty to her husband. The characters of Tess and Lois aren't totally bad since Lois is trying to make money for her family while Tess is just depressed over environment. Infidelity is another issue whether it's Marian and Ralph in a very high-octane emotional scene, Gene's cheating and his awful lies that often entertain his wife, and the heartbreaking confession from Paul Finnigan telling his son what happened. All of these scenes through the script that Altman co-wrote and his direction is very observant. Even in some of the film's intense, emotional moments where Altman moves his camera to convey something that is powerful and not taking it too close to capture this emotional moment.

Cinematographer Walt Lloyd does an excellent job in capturing Los Angeles with his intimate, sprawling photography while making several scenes in the film's interior settings to be intimate and observant. Altman's late editor Geraldine Peroni does an amazing job in shifting the differing stories from one to another and connecting characters to another without making it too confusing. It's also very rhythmic to the energy and style of the film. Production designer Stephen Altman and art director Jerry Fleming do an excellent job in creating the look of the homes of the different characters and the personalities to represent each group. Costume designer John Hay also plays to the different atmosphere of the characters in the costumes from the hippie-like clothing of Honey Bush to the posh look that Marian wears. Sound editor Eliza Paley also goes for atmosphere in the film's opening sequences the sounds of helicopters flying over Los Angeles and in the places where people get together. Music composer Mark Isham brings a melodic, jazz driven score to play to the character of Tess while also doing some subtle, orchestral score work to convey the film's drama.

Finally, there's the film's huge ensemble cast. Included in the cast are some small yet memorable performances from comedian Charles Rocket, Michael Beach and Andi Chapman as a couple who asks Honey Bush to watch over her house, Susie Cusack and Deborah Falconer as a couple of bicyclists, Margery Bond, and Nashville actor Robert DoQui. Jarrett Lennon is excellent as the Captain Planet-obsessed Chad Weathers and Zane Cassidy is great as Casey Finnigan. Lyle Lovett is wonderful as the disgruntled baker Bitkower while 80s pop singer Huey Lewis and writer Buck Henry are great as the fishing buddies Vern and Gordon, respectively.

Robert Downey Jr. is funny as the quirky, horny Bill Bush with Lily Taylor as the eccentric yet concerned Honey, who seems troubled by her own relationship towards her stepfather. Jennifer Jason Leigh is excellent as the phone-sex operator Lois who tries to maintain her family's security with the late Chris Penn giving a great performance as the neglected, sexually-frustrated Jerry.

Penn's Footloose co-star Lori Singer is great as the depressed, neglected Zoe who channels all of her emotions through her cello playing. Annie Ross is wonderful as the drunk jazz singer whose drinking is caused by her hatred for her dead husband while being unkind towards her daughter. Andie MacDowell is excellent in her role as Ann Finnigan whose life is in chaos over her son's life hanging by a thread and the strange phone calls she's getting. Bruce Davison is also excellent as Howard Finnigan whose misguided anger over his son's accident leads him into trouble while having to face his own demons.

The late yet legendary Jack Lemmon gives an amazing, scene-stealing performance as Paul Finnigan with a heartbreaking performance in which he tells his son about his infidelity and the anticipation of meeting his grandson for the first time. Anne Archer is wonderful as the loving wife Claire who is in shock over her husband's reaction towards a dead body while Fred Ward is great as Stuart who is unsure of what to do in seeing a dead body. Matthew Modine is excellent as the conservative yet consumed Dr. Ralph Wyman whose work and home life has been in conflict.

Julianne Moore delivers a knock-out performance as Marian Wyman who is forced to reveal her own dark secret to her husband in a very powerful scene that also required her to do it in very naked way. It's a great performance from Moore. Madeleine Stowe is funny as Marian's sister Sherri who is amused by her husband's lies and awareness that he cheats on her knowing it'll get the best of him. Tim Robbins is excellent as the mean, cheating Gene Shepard who is forced to question his own infidelity which starts to go nowhere.

Frances McDormand gives a fine yet angst-ridden performance as a woman whose affairs start to crumble with the appearance of her ex-husband as McDormand shows the kind of selfishness and loneliness her character brings. Peter Gallagher is very funny as Stormy Weathers who learns of his ex-wife's affairs and decides to take some funny actions towards it. Singer Tom Waits is wonderfully touching as the verbally-abusive alcoholic Earl whose own life has taken a turn while trying to deal with his marriage. Lily Tomlin is great as Doreen whose own life is in a change of direction after an incident that forces her to re-examine things while dealing with her own tumultuous life with Earl.

Short Cuts is a magnificent film from Robert Altman. Armed with a spectacular array of actors and ideas about family and doing what is right. While it's a big film with lots of characters and storylines, it's a film that does lose itself in the sense of chaos that is prevalent in the film while it is also a showcase for the actors. In the end, Short Cuts is a towering achievement from Robert Altman.

Robert Altman Films: (The Delinquents) - (The James Dean Story) - Countdown (1968 film) - (That Cold Day in the Park) - M.A.S.H. - Brewster McCloud - McCabe & Mrs. Miller - (Images) - The Long Goodbye - Thieves Like Us - California Split - Nashville - Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson - 3 Women - (A Wedding) - (Quintet) - (A Perfect Couple) - (HealtH) - Popeye - (Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean) - (Streamers) - (Secret Honor) - (O.C. and Stiggs) - Fool for Love - (Beyond Therapy) - (Aria-Les Boreades) - (Tanner ‘88) - (Vincent & Theo) - The Player - Pret-a-Porter - (Kansas City) - (The Gingerbread Man) - Cookie’s Fortune - Dr. T & the Women - Gosford Park - The Company (2003 film) - (Tanner on Tanner) - A Prairie Home Companion

© thevoid99 2013

2012 Cannes Marathon: Missing (1982 film)

(Winner of the Palme D’or & Best Actor Prize to Jack Lemmon at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival)

Based on Thomas Hauer’s book, Missing is the story of a man and his daughter-in-law trying to American journalist Charles Horman during 1973 coup in Chile. Directed by Costas-Gavras and screenplay by Costas-Gavras and Donald E. Stewart, the film explores the search of a man from his own wife and father as they also encounter a world ravaged by chaos following the fall of Salvador Allende. Starring Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek, Melanie Mayron, Charles Cioffi, Janice Rule, and John Shea as Charles Horman. Missing is an intense suspense-drama from Costas-Gavras.

Days after Pinochet’s coup against Salvador Allende in 1973 Chile, left-wing journalist Charles Horman and his friend Terry Simon (Melanie Mayron) has just returned from Vina del Mar as they have a scoop about what’s been happening. With Horman’s wife Beth (Sissy Spacek) living in Santiago as she is helping out other people in the city, Charles believes something is happening as he suddenly disappears. With Beth trying to find her husband, her father-in-law Ed (Jack Lemmon) arrives to help out though he believes that it’s Charles’ fault due to his own political idealism. While Ed asks some American officials in the U.S. Ambassador (Richard Venture), its consul Phil Putnam (David Clennon), and a naval captain in Ray Tower (Charles Cioffi) to help out, Beth remains unsure.

While Terry reveals what Charles was looking for and why they were at the Vina del Mar, Beth and Ed look for clues as Ed wondering what is taking so long. With Beth frustrated with the government as she and Ed talk to locals about what might’ve happened, Ed starts to believe that the Americans might be covering something up as he confronts them over what is taking so long. He and Beth decide to take matters into their own hands as they read Charles’ notes over what he found in Vina del Mar as it reveals that the man he and Terry met in a naval engineer named Andrew Babcock (Richard Bradford) might’ve played a role in the coup. After talking to one of Charles’ colleagues in David Holloway (Keith Szarabajka) who had been taken away and interrogated with another journalist in Frank Teruggi (Joe Regalbuto).

Ed and Beth continue their investigation with the help of freelance journalist Kate Newman (Janice Rule) as they reveal that Charles also met a colonel in Sean Patrick (Jerry Hardin) at Vina del Mar where they also meet Tower at a party. Ed and Beth make a discovery about what probably did happen to Charles as Ed would search for answers on his own. What happens would force Ed to confront the people he trusted with finding his son.

The film is about a man and his daughter-in-law trying to find his son during the 1973 coup of Chile where two different political views of young and old are shaken by a troubled world as they’re just wanting find out what happened to this man that has disappeared. While it’s a film that is essentially a mystery of sorts with a lot of political drama set in the mix against this backdrop, it’s a film that also raises questions about the role of the American government in this military coup that is led by Pinochet. Yet, it’s the human drama that Costas-Gavras and co-writer Donald E. Stewart, with additional contributions from John Nichols, are interested in as a father is just trying to figure out what his son and daughter-in-law were doing in Chile and why did his son suddenly disappear like that. While the government would make claims that the disappearance is staged where Charles’ wife would rebuke that it’s bullshit.

Driving the story is this tumultuous relationship between a man and his daughter-in-law where neither seems to agree with each other politically or socially yet their relationship grows once they take matters into their own hands in the investigation. Part of the film is told in flashbacks as Ed and Beth Horman is talking to people about what happened while reading some of Charles’ notes. For Ed, it gives him the chance to understand the son he often has differences with as he also learns that Charles might have done nothing wrong. This would have him and Beth questioning their own government as they also have to seek forces outside. The screenplay that Costas-Garvas and Donald. E. Stewart does play up the suspense with these flashbacks and chilling scenes where Ed and Beth have to encounter places that is brutal and have an air of death.

Costas-Gavras’ direction is truly entrancing for the way he captures a world that is en-ravaged in chaos as it is told from the perspective of its main characters. Shot on location in Mexico to avoid controversy in Chile, the film does have this very realistic portrayal of a country where people are taken away by soldiers as the camera doesn’t shy away from what Charles Horman, his father, and his wife are seeing. With a lot of startling shots as the camera moves around to capture the locations or to follow the characters as they walking towards the hallway. The direction is always making sure that is something is happening as it includes some intimate moments in the room where meetings happen.

One notable scene is a meeting where Ed questions the government as Costas-Gavras keeps the camera still to let the drama unfold in a very understated yet engaging manner. The way he lets the actors play things out while framing them in a scene is also among one of the film’s highlights. Notably in the third act where things do cool down for the film’s big revelation as Costas-Gavras doesn’t have to do a lot for the audience to side with the Hormans. He just lets the actors play out their emotions as the film’s ending reveals troubling aftermaths about what the American government didn’t want people to know. Overall, Costas-Gavras creates a truly incredible yet haunting film about a man trying to find his son with the help of his daughter-in-law.

Cinematographer Ricardo Aronovich does superb work with the film‘s cinematography from the sunny locations of the city and beaches to some of the more entrancing interior and exterior nighttime scenes to play up stark mood of the film. Editor Francoise Bonnot does excellent work with the editing to maintain a mostly straightforward approach to the editing while it includes a wonderful use of dissolves to play out Charles‘ abduction scene. Production designer Peter Jamison, with set decorator Linda Spheeris and art directors Lucero Isaac and Agustin Ituarte, does nice work with the recreation of the chaos of Santiago including the stadium and the scenes at the morgue.

Costume designer Joe I. Tompkins does very good work with the costumes from the more casual, lively clothes that Beth wears to the more business-like suits that Ed wears to differentiate their characters. Sound effects editor Michele Boehm does fantastic work with the sound from the way helicopters are heard to the array of gunfire and explosions that play out in the tense atmosphere that Beth and Ed are in. The film’s score by Vangelis is wonderful for its brooding yet intense synthesizer-driven score for some of the film’s suspense scenes as well as more low-key pieces in the film’s less-dramatic scenes.

The casting by Wally Nicita is brilliant for the ensemble that is created as it includes appearances from Richard Bradford as the naval engineer Andrew Babcock, Joe Regalbuto and Keith Szarabajka as a couple of Charles’ journalist friends, Jerry Hardin as a colonel that Charles and Terry befriends in their investigation, and Richard Venture as a U.S. ambassador who is hiding secrets that makes Ed unsure of what is happening. Janice Rule is excellent as a freelance reporter who aids Ed and Beth in uncovering Charles’ notes while Melanie Mayron is very good as Charles’ friend Terry who also gives Ed and Beth insight into what they’re trying to find. David Clennon is quite fine as a young U.S. consul who tries to hide the truth from Beth and Ed while Charles Cioffi is superb as a slimy naval captain who makes Beth uncomfortable during a stay at his home in a flashback.

John Shea is terrific as the idealistic Charles Horman who is trying to discover what is happening around him as he would end up disappearing over what he might’ve uncovered. Sissy Spacek is great as Charles’ wife Beth who is intent on trying to find her husband while aiding her father-in-law as Spacek definitely holds her own as she has some amazing chemistry with a legend like Jack Lemmon.

Lemmon’s performance in the film is truly the highlight as Lemmon displays a true sense of mastery in the art of acting. From the way he tries to impose his ideas towards his daughter-in-law to the way he reacts to the things around him as he becomes more disillusioned with his own government. The scenes where Lemmon has these intense monologues about what the U.S. government should be doing is very engaging over what Lemmon could do. The scene where he’s in a stadium as he tries to talk to his son among this group of people is heartbreaking to watch. Notably in the physicality in how he reacts to startling news as his performance is a true master class in what acting should be.

Missing is a phenomenal film from Costas-Gavras that features magnificent performances from Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek. The film is definitely one of the great suspense-dramas that allows the audience to follow a couple of people in search of a man against a period that is crucial. It’s also a film that reveals the way the American government can play a role in creating tense situations like this forcing those to question their government. In the end, Missing is a marvelous yet provocative film from Costas-Gavras.

Costas-Gavras Films: (The Sleeping Car Murders) - (Shock Troops) - Z - The Confession (1970 film) - (State of Siege) - (Special Section) - (Womanlight) - (Hanna K.) - (Family Business) - (Betrayed (1988 film)) - (Music Box) - (The Little Apocalypse) - (Mad City) - (Amen.) - (Le Couperet) - (Eden is West)

© thevoid99 2012