Written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Swiss Army Man is the story of a man stranded on an island where he finds a corpse that he would use to help him do things while being a companion as he longs to return home. The film is an unconventional comedy-adventure film that has a man dealing with his situation as he tries to find a way to return home as well as stay alive despite his own suicide attempt. Starring Paul Dano, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Daniel Radcliffe. Swiss Army Man is an offbeat yet thrilling film from Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.
The film is a simple premise about a man stranded on an island as he tries to kill himself only to find a dead body who would get him back to land though they get lost in a forest on their way back to civilization. While it doesn’t have much of a plot as the body does come to life and brings a sense of companionship to this man who was stranded on an island. The screenplay by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert does follow the situation that Hank Thompson (Paul Dano) is in as he’s stranded on an island trying to reach for help as he’s at his most desperate while longing to be with this woman named Sarah (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) whom he’s been fond of from afar. Upon finding his dead body named Manny (Daniel Radcliffe), he realizes that Manny possesses some special powers that include farts that can get him to place as well as the ability to help him create things or be used as a weapon. Yet, he would become fond of Manny as Hank would also tell him about things of the world and such as their relationship would become complex as they reach towards civilization.
The direction of Kwan and Scheinert is filled with some quirky moments yet it also has elements that are adventurous with elements of surrealism given the film’s premise. Shot largely on location in California at the town of San Pedro and some scenes at Humboldt County, the film does start off with images of trash with messages for help as it would then show Hank attempting to hang himself as he contemplates his own loneliness and inability to reach out to Sarah whom he doesn’t know much except through the pictures on his phone. There are some wide and medium shots in the direction as it play into the scenes at the woods that include these intricate yet weird scenes of recreation of civilization that includes a bus ride so that Hank can give Manny an idea of civilization.
The direction of Kwan and Scheinert would also have some close-ups to play into Hank and Manny’s interaction as well as these scenes where the latter is trying to understand the idea of humanity as well as the idea of love. Even as he would see a magazine with half-naked woman or a picture of Sarah as he would get an erection which is used as a compass. The direction also play into this idea of fantasy vs. reality as it relates to Hank and his own faults as it relates to Sarah as someone he wants to be with making Manny believe that she’s his soul mate. Yet, the emergence of reality for both Hank and Manny would come to ahead in the third act once they do reach civilization but also deal with the realities of nature and Hank’s own troubles with reality which brings some revelation to Manny on the way he sees things. Overall, Kwan and Scheinert craft a whimsical yet heartfelt film about a man who befriends a dead body and uses it to get him back into civilization.
Cinematographer Larkin Seiple does excellent work with the film’s cinematography in its usage of vibrant colors to play into the look of the forests as well as some scenes in the beach for the scenes in day and night. Editor Matthew Hannam does brilliant work with the editing as its stylish usage of jump-cuts and montages help play into some of the emotional aspects of the film as well as some of the humorous moments. Production designer Jason Kisvarday, with set decorator Kelsi Ephraim and art director David Duarte, does fantastic work with the look of the homes that Hank and Manny built in the woods to play up Hank’s idea of a world that Manny could be in. Costume designer Stephani Lewis does nice work with the costumes from the ragged clothes than Hank wears to the ruined suit of Manny as well as the clothes they wear for their fantasy scenes.
Makeup artist Leslie Devlin does amazing work with the look of Manny in his decayed state as well as the moments where he’s being used as an object. Visual effects supervisor Alvin Cruz does terrific work with some of the film’s minimal visual effects as it is largely based on scenes relating to Manny’s powerful farts as well as the things he does with his body. Sound editor Brent Kiser and sound designer Andrew Twite do superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of the locations as well as some of the sounds that Manny makes when he’s first trying to talk or when he’s being used as an object. The film’s music by Andy Hull and Robert McDowell is wonderful for its low-key yet choral-based score that relies on organic musical instruments and vocals to play into some of the dramatic moments of the film while music supervisor Lauren Mikus provide a soundtrack that include contributions Hull and McDowell’s band Manchester Orchestra, a traditional music piece, and the theme of Jurassic Park by John Williams.
The casting by Nina Henninger does incredible work with the casting as it include some notable small roles from music composer Andy Hull as a news cameraman, filmmaker Shane Carruth as a coroner late in the film, Richard Gross as Hank’s dad who appears late in the film, Antonia Ribero as a young girl named Crissie, Timothy Eulich as the young girl’s father, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead in a fantastic small performance as Sarah as the object of Hank’s affection whom he carries pictures of her in his phone as he hopes to win her over as well as being Manny’s object of affection. Paul Dano is great as Hank Thompson as a young man stranded on an island as he copes with the disappointment in his life as well as being lonely as he struggles to get back into civilization as well as bring some meaning to his life and win Sarah’s affections. Finally, there’s Daniel Radcliffe in a sensational performance as Manny as a rotting corpse who comes to life and does things while trying to understand the ideas of life as it a physical yet endearing performance from Radcliffe who isn’t afraid to be an object also one that isn’t afraid to be funny and display emotion as it’s Radcliffe at his best.
Swiss Army Man is a phenomenal film from Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert that features great performances from Daniel Radcliffe and Paul Dano. Along with its weird and surreal premise, gorgeous visuals, and a hypnotic music score, the film is definitely a strange yet enchanting film about what a man will do to live but also find companionship through a farting corpse that comes to life. In the end, Swiss Army Man is an extraordinarily rich and witty film from Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.
© thevoid99 2018
Written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino, Youth is the story of two old men who travel to a holiday spa in Switzerland as they reflect on their life as they also cope with aging and their longing to be youthful as they meet other people young and old. The film is a study on the ideas of youth, aging, and the struggle about what to do with the time that is left in one’s life. Starring Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano, and Jane Fonda. Youth is a ravishing yet evocative film from Paolo Sorrentino.
Set in Swiss Alps in a holiday spa, the film follows two men who are vacationing there as they cope with what is ahead as one of them is a famed composer trying to enjoy retirement while his friend is a filmmaker eager to make one more film and get a big-time actress to star in it. During their time, the two discuss things they can and can’t remember as well as the fact that they’re in their final years unsure of when death will arrive. Especially as the two also have children who are married to each other where something unexpected happens as they would also meet various characters in the course of their vacation. Paolo Sorrentino’s screenplay doesn’t just explore the ideas of youth, aging, life, and death but also the struggle for identity and meaning in the world. Even as these two men try to see if they still matter or have already contributed to the world and be forced to realize they have nothing to prove anymore.
The composer Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine) and the filmmaker Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel) both try to deal with their roles in life as the former copes with the task of performing a concert for Queen Elizabeth II and her husband for the latter’s birthday while the latter is trying to make a film which he believes will be his greatest work. During the course of their stay, they befriend an actor named Jimmy (Paul Dano) who is doing research for a role while Fred is accompanied by his daughter Lena (Rachel Weisz) who just went through a life-changing event making her stay at the spa much longer. Around the same time, Fred and Mick also encounter many eccentrics during their stay as they also comment on their past as well as their own faults as men where Fred admits to not being a good father to Lena as well as the fact that he wasn’t faithful to his wife where he copes with the fact that he couldn’t do his greatest piece without her.
Sorrentino’s direction is gorgeous for the way he presents this world of tranquility and peace that is like paradise. Shot largely on location in Flims, Switzerland at the Waldhaus Flims hotel with some shots at the Hotel Schatzalp in Davos and additional scenes set in Rome and Venice. Sorrentino creates some unique compositions to play into something that is idyllic in terms of where the elderly would go to relax as well as the fact that it’s a place for those in their prime as well as the young. Sorrentino’s usage of wide shots play into the look as well as some of the intimate moments that involve many of the residents at the spa where they’re shot in groups. The intimacy would also be used in the close-ups and medium shots as Sorrentino knows where to frame the actors or create something that is adds a lot to this air of tranquility and calm as these residents are given the chance to relax but also do some activities and listen to music.
The direction also has moments that are quite surreal as it play into this air of fantasy that some of the characters embark on. These sequences not only are dream-like but also play into some of the fear some of the characters endure but also moments that play into their sense of desire. Even as they are these odd moments that do make sense as well as showcase that feeling of existence where it would be overshadowed by the harshness of reality. Notably in a sequence in the third act which relates to the lives of Fred and Mick as the former is still carrying some form of grief and regret while the latter would face heartbreak of the worst kind. All of which these two men would be forced to carry for the remainder of their lives. Overall, Sorrentino creates an enchanting yet rapturous film about two old friends going on a holiday in the Swiss Alps coping with the remaining moments of their lives.
Cinematographer Luca Bigazzi does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography from the usage of its natural and colorful look for many of its daytime exteriors the usage of lights and moods for many of the scenes set at night. Editor Cristiano Travaglioli does nice work with the editing as it has some stylish rhythmic cuts to play into the offbeat moments while much of it is straightforward. Production designer Ludovica Ferrario, with set decorator Noel Godfrey and art directors Daniel Newton and Marion Schramm, does amazing work with the look of the rooms the residents live in as well as some of the design of the rooms and places they would go to. Costume designer Carlo Poggioli does excellent work with the different array of clothes of the many residents who are at the spa as well as the look of the actress that Mick wants to work with.
Hair/wig designer Aldo Signoretti and makeup designer Maurizio Silvi do fantastic work with the look of the actress that Mick wants to work with in her diva-esque persona as well as the look for Mick‘s own surreal moment. Visual effects supervisor Andrew Morley does terrific work with some of the visual effects as it play into the elements of surrealism that the characters would encounter or dream about. Sound editor Dario Calvari does superb work with the sound in playing up that sense of tranquility as well as the layer of sounds that Fred would hear in a surrealistic moment. The film’s music by David Lang is wonderful for its mixture of somber folk with elements of orchestral flourishes that play into the serenity of the locations as it would also feature additional contributions by Mark Kozelek who appears in the film as himself in creating some songs that are performed including Fred‘s famed composition that is sung in the final credits by the soprano singer Sumi Jo.
The casting by Shaheen Baig, Laura Rosenthal, and Anna Maria Sambucco is great as it feature some notable small roles from the British pop vocalist Paloma Faith as herself, Ed Stoppard as Lena‘s husband/Mick‘s son, Alex MacQueen as an emissary for Queen Elizabeth II, Ian Keir Attard as the emissary‘s assistant, Madalina Diana Ghena as Miss Universe, and Roly Serrano as an overweight and ailing version of the famed futbol icon Diego Maradona. In the roles of the screenwriters who work with Mick on his story, there’s Tom Lipinski, Chloe Pirrie, Alex Beckett, Nate Dern, and Mark Gessner as these different writers who provide Mick different ideas as well as try to come up with the ending as they‘re all fun to watch. Luna Mijovic is wonderful as a young masseuse that Fred befriends while Robert Seethaler is superb as a mountain climbing instruction that Lena takes interest in. In a small but crucial role as the diva-esque actress Brenda Morel, Jane Fonda is incredible as this longtime collaborator of Mick who makes this appearance as she represents some of the harshness of reality that Mick faces where she just owns that scene.
Paul Dano is excellent as Jimmy Tree as a young actor who befriends Fred and Mick where he shares their frustration with their work as he’s famously known for playing a robot where he hopes to find a role that could give him more. Rachel Weisz is amazing as Lena as Fred’s daughter who is also his assistant as she makes an unexpected return to the retreat where she copes with some of the bitter aspects of her relationship with her father. Harvey Keitel is phenomenal as Mick Boyle as a filmmaker eager to try and create one final film that would define his legacy while dealing with aspects of his life along with his friendship with Fred. Finally, there’s Michael Caine in a remarkable performance as Fred Ballinger as this music composer trying to retire as he is dealing with the demands of his former career in doing a concert for Queen Elizabeth II and write a memoir while dealing with his own faults as a man, a father, and as a husband where he also recalls things he can and can’t remember.
Youth is a spectacular film from Paolo Sorrentino that features brilliant performances from Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano, and Jane Fonda. Along with memorable performances from the rest of its ensemble cast, gorgeous visuals, strong themes on life and death, and superb music. It’s a film that explores many of the ideas about getting old as well as the idea of capturing some element of youth in an old age. In the end, Youth is a tremendous film from Paolo Sorrentino.
Paolo Sorrentino Films: (One Man Up) - (The Consequences of Love) - (The Family Friend) - (Il Divo) - (This Must Be the Place) - (The Great Beauty)
© thevoid99 2016
Directed by Bill Polhad and screenplay by Oren Moverman and Michael Alan Lerner from a story by Lerner, Love & Mercy is the story of the Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson told in two parallel narrative that focuses on Wilson in the mid-1960s where he was considered an eccentric but gifted music genius and in the late 1980s as a shell of his former self under the abusive of his therapist until a Cadillac saleswoman saves him. The film is an unconventional bio-pic that explores Wilson’s rise and descent into madness and mental illness and later be saved when he is at his most vulnerable as Paul Dano and John Cusack play the role of Wilson in the 60s and 80s, respectively,. Also starring Elizabeth Banks and Paul Giamatti. Love & Mercy is ravishing and touching film from Bill Polhad.
The name Brian Wilson isn’t just synonymous with not music that would stand for eons but a man who was gifted yet troubled where he would succumb to mental illness and depression only to re-emerge a survivor and an icon. The film is about not just Wilson’s time in the mid-1960s where he would create the landmark album Pet Sounds as well as his attempts to make the album Smile. It’s also about the man 20 years later as he is under the control of therapist until he falls for a Cadillac saleswoman in Melinda Ledbetter (Elizabeth Banks) who would later become his savior. All of which is told in a parallel, back-and-forth narrative style that reflects on Wilson’s mental descent in the 1960s as well as emerging out of that dark cloud of abuse and confusion in the 1980s.
The film’s screenplay by Oren Moverman and Michael Alan Lerner create this narrative that plays into the highs and lows that Wilson would endure as a co-founder of the surf rock band the Beach Boys who were considered the American rivals to the Beatles in terms of creating top-notch pop songs. The film does give a brief insight into the Beach Boys’ rise where the bulk of the 1960s narrative begins with Wilson’s breakdown in an airplane that would ultimately keep him out of the road. Being grounded, Wilson would find a sanctuary at the studio where he would have all of the time in the world to create songs at his own pace while would wait for the band to return from touring to contribute vocals. That strand in the narrative shows not just the exuberance that Wilson had but also the emergence of his mental descent which was due to a lot of things such as drugs as well as his strained relationship with his father Murry (Bill Camp). The script also reveals the tension between Wilson and the band that ultimately led to the shelving of Smile.
The 1980s narrative which would inter-cut with the 60s narrative shows Wilson as a middle-aged man where it begins with him looking for a car to buy where he would meet Ledbetter who has no clue the man she was talking to is Brian Wilson. Yet, she somehow finds herself going out with Wilson, despite the presence of his therapist Dr. Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti), where she gets to know the man and see someone who is a good person but also in need of help. Especially as he had been disconnected from his family including two daughters, his ex-wife, his mother, and his band that includes his brother Carl and cousin Mike Love under Landy’s supervision as Ledbetter gets to know more of the real Wilson but also observe what Landy does. One key scene involves Ledbetter coming to Wilson’s home to bring food where she hears Landy screaming at a heavily-medicated Wilson during a songwriting session as Ledbetter learns from Wilson’s maid Gloria (Diana Maria Riviera) about the extent of Landy’s abuse. It’s a key sequence in the film that would have Ledbetter take a stand no matter what kind of dirt Landy could dig up on her. Though there are a few dramatic liberties that Moverman and Lerner do for dramatic reasons, they don’t stray too far from the real story nor do anything to exaggerate things other than show a very fragile man in need of saving.
Bill Polhad’s direction definitely has an air of style as it play into not just the world Brian Wilson was in but also in somewhat Hellish-existence he was living in under Dr. Landy’s abuse. Due to the film’s complex narrative, Polhad definitely aims for different visual styles as it relates to tone of the times as well as Wilson’s own state of mind. The 1960s narrative definitely owes a lot to style in terms of its usage of different film stock which help play into the Beach Boys rise and Wilson coming into his own as a producer and songwriter. Many of the compositions are quite simple in its usage of close-ups and medium shots where it would play into what Wilson is doing as he hears ideas in his head that would unfortunately morph into voices of doubt from his father and cousin Mike (Jake Abel). There is a bit of usage in the hand-held cameras yet Polhad prefers to keep things simple while also create elements that play into Wilson’s encounter with psychedelic drugs that were helpful at first only to turn on him towards his mental descent. The 1980s narrative has Polhad go for something much simpler but also with a look that is a bit more polished as it play into a world that is sort of modern but one that Wilson seems detached from.
While many of the compositions are a bit more detached in some aspects as it relates to Wilson’s mental state, it does play into a man trying to get back into the world through Ledbetter. One sequence in which Ledbetter spends the night with Wilson has this unique tracking shot where Wilson becomes paranoid that someone is watching as he begs Ledbetter to leave but still be with him as it is a heartbreaking scene that shows how scared Wilson is. Another sequence in the film’s third act is this strange montage that has the older Wilson confront his past in flashbacks and hallucinations as it relates to the voices in his head where the two Wilsons do see each other as it play into what he lost and what he could gain. Overall, Polhad crafts a mesmerizing and riveting film about the life of Brian Wilson through all of its trials and tribulations in two different time periods.
Cinematographer Robert Yeomen does amazing work with the film‘s cinematography from the way many of the Californian location exteriors look to play into that sunny environment that inspired the music of the Beach Boys to some of the lush interiors inside the recording studios and the look of Wilson‘s two homes in the 80s that has this very lovely but unsettling look. Editor Dino Jonsater does brilliant work with the editing as it does play into the film‘s unique narrative style with its smooth transition cuts as well as some stylish montages and other cutting styles to play into some of the exuberance and dark moments in the film. Production designer Keith P. Cunningham, along with art directors Andrew Max Cahn and Luke Freeborn and set decorator Maggie Martin, does fantastic work with the home Wilson had in the 60s with its piano on top of a sandbox and the recording studios as well as the homes he had in the 1980s that are very sparse but also empty. Costume designer Danny Glicker does wonderful work with the costumes from the look of the 1960s clothes that many wear to the more casual look of the 1980s with the exception of the clothes that Ledbetter wore.
Makeup effects designer Tony Gardner does nice work with the look of some of the characters in the way they evolved in the 1960s as well as the comical yet terrifying look of Dr. Landy. Visual effects supervisor Luke T. DiTommaso does terrific work with some of the film‘s visual effects as it relates to Wilson‘s first acid trip that play into his desire for a new sound and some of its purity as well as a flashback sequence that relates to the story about how his father damaged his right ear. Sound designer Eugene Gearty and sound editor Nicholas Renbeck do excellent work with the sound in the way Wilson would hear things including a dinner sequence that would scare him as well as the more sparse moments during the scenes in the 80s where Wilson tries to deal with his mental state. The film’s music by Atticus Ross is incredible as it is largely a mixture of ambient sound textures as well as a collage of the music of the Beach Boys as their music is prominently featured along with a new song by Brian Wilson and other music that is played on the film from Dusty Springfield, the Moody Blues, Kenny G, and Heart.
The casting by Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee is great as it features some notable small roles from Oliver Polhad as the adolescent Brian Wilson in the flashback sequence, Morgan Phillips as Dr. Landy’s son Evan who watches over Wilson and Ledbetter during a boat trip, Erik Eidem as one of Wilson’s caretakers in Doug who becomes concerned of Dr. Landy’s treatment of Wilson, Joanna Going as Wilson’s mother Audree in the film’s flashbacks, and Diana Maria Riviera in a terrific role as Wilson’s maid Gloria who would help Ledbetter in saving Wilson. Other noteworthy small roles as members of the Wrecking Crew session players in Teresa Cowles as bassist Carole Kaye, Gary Griffin as keyboardist Al de Lory, and Johnny Sneed as drummer Hal Blaine along with Mark Linett as engineer Chuck Britz, Jeff Meacham as Pet Sounds lyricist Tony Asher, and Mark Schneider as Smile lyricist Van Dyke Parks as they play into the people who are in awe of Wilson’s gift as an artist.
Nick Gehlfuss and Graham Rogers are terrific in their respective roles as Beach Boys members Bruce Johnston and Al Jardine who both express a bit of reservation into what Wilson is doing. Bill Camp is excellent as Wilson’s father Murry who isn’t keen on what his son doing feeling it is straying from the formula as well as being this domineering figure that would continuously haunt Wilson for much of his life. Brett Davern is superb as Wilson’s younger brother Carl as one of the few who likes what his brother is doing while becoming concerned for his mental state of mind. Kenny Wormald is fantastic as Wilson’s youngest brother Dennis who likes what Wilson is doing while having a few reservations about its commercial prospects. Erin Darke is wonderful as Wilson’s first wife Marilyn who expresses concern about her husband’s mental state as well as trying to form the family that he would unfortunately become estranged to.
Jake Abel is amazing as Wilson’s cousin/Beach Boys vocalist Mike Love who expresses concern of not just what Wilson is doing musically but also for the fact that Wilson is straying from what made their music so popular. Paul Giamatti is marvelous as Dr. Eugene Landy as Wilson’s therapist during the 1980s who is trying to take care of him but his methods become abusive where he would even try to threaten Ledbetter as it’s a monstrous performance. Elizabeth Banks is phenomenal as Melinda Ledbetter as the woman who would become Wilson’s second wife as this former model-turned Cadillac saleswoman who befriends Wilson only to fall for him where she would also be the person that would save him and get back in touch with what was good in the world.
Finally, there’s John Cusack and Paul Dano in outstanding performances as Brian Wilson where both men provide unique aspects to the man. As the middle-aged Wilson in the 1980s, Cusack displays that sense of confusion and anguish into a man lost in a haze of medication as well as trying to find some good despite the paranoia he carries as it relates to Landy. As the young Wilson in the 1960s, Dano provides the exuberance to someone who realizes the power of his creativity as well as an innocence that he would eventually lose due to drugs and demons. Both Cusack and Dano create something that allows so many layers to the Brian Wilson myth but also ground it with a humanity and fragility that nearly destroyed the man.
Love & Mercy is an incredible from Bill Polhad that features the amazing dual performances of John Cusack and Paul Dano as Brian Wilson. Featuring an inventive narrative by screenwriters Michael Alan Lerner and Oren Moverman, a ravishing score by Atticus Ross, and Elizabeth Banks’ graceful performance as Melinda Ledbetter-Wilson. It’s a film that doesn’t play by the rules of the bio-pic genre while creating a unique study of a man/artist struggling with demons and his desire to create great music. In the end, Love & Mercy is a magnificent film from Bill Polhad.
© thevoid99 2016
Directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Aaron Guzikowski, Prisoners is the story of two girls who had been abducted as a father and a detective both go on the search to find the girls. The film is an exploration into abduction as a man of the law tries to do things right while a father becomes obsessed with his search. Starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Terrence Howard, Maria Bello, Viola Davis, Paul Dano, and Melissa Leo. Prisoners is a gripping yet eerie suspense-drama from Denis Villeneuve.
Set during the Thanksgiving holidays in a small town in Pennsylvania, the film is about two girls who have been abducted as one of their fathers goes into a frantic search to find them while a detective does the same as the latter delve into many clues about abductions in the town. It all plays into two men who are both trying to find two girls as they suspect a young man with a RV truck but when evidence proves to have little results. It would force Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) to take the law into his own hands which would cause a lot of problems and obsessions for Dover. Even as Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) begins to notice Dover’s troubled behavior as he is taking on the case with great care as he goes even deeper into dark secrets as it relates to many abductions in the town.
The film’s screenplay by Aaron Guzikowski explores what men will go through to find two girls who had been abducted on Thanksgiving Day as it plays into this search where Keller Dover and friend Franklin Birch (Terrence Howard) do whatever to find their daughters who were just going to Dover’s house on that day and were supposed to return. Instead, something goes wrong where Keller’s son Ralph (Dylan Minnette) reveals that he saw a RV truck nearby where the girls were playing nearby as Detective Loki manages to arrest the owner in a mentally-challenged young man named Alex (Paul Dano). Though Loki believes that Alex is innocent yet wants to keep an eye on him, it only angers Dover whose obsession with finding his daughter has him kidnapping Alex and torture him in his father’s old home as Franklin and his wife Nancy (Viola Davis) both realize what Dover is doing. For Franklin and Nancy, it makes them uneasy while Dover’s wife Grace (Maria Bello) has fallen apart to the point that she thinks her daughter is dead and blames herself.
The diverging paths that Dover and Loki take showcases what these two men would do as Dover basically suspects Alex due to comments or the fact that he was singing a variation of Jingle Bells which only triggers Dover’s rage as he would descend into alcoholism. While Detective Loki is the more practical of the two men, he would lose himself in the case as several false leads and troubling clues only get him in trouble as a man he suspects in Bob Taylor (David Dastmalchian) would only lead him to different paths. Loki would also question a pastor in Father Dunn (Len Cariou) who would also have some very strange answers that doesn’t just relate to the case but also in the town’s dark history concerning abductions.
Denis Villeneuve’s direction is very entrancing for the way he explores life in this small town in Pennsylvania that looks like every other town in America. Especially as it’s set during the Thanksgiving/Xmas holiday period where there isn’t a lot of sunshine but a lot of gray skies with bits of rain and snow to set the mood of the film. It’s quite grimy in its look as it starts off very calm until the drama kicks in where Dover and Franklin embark into their own search with no result which leads to Detective Loki who is called in as he was eating all by himself in a Chinese restaurant on Thanksgiving. The interrogation scenes are very intimate yet some of the drama that plays into the search and Dover’s own troubled descent does drag the film a bit where it has a sense of what is going to happen.
Things do pick up in the second act once it becomes clear of how far Dover will go to find answers much to the disgust of Franklin and Nancy as the direction becomes much tighter in terms of its suspense. Especially in the room that Alex would be in as Dover’s own form of torture to get answers where Villeneuve’s use of close-ups and medium shots come into play. Even in scenes relating to Loki’s own investigation where the use of recorded video footage in the interrogation scenes showcase how Loki can be in control or sometimes lose control. Things do come to ahead in its third act where it plays to the lost sense of obsession that looms in Dover and Loki trying to be the one person to make things right. Overall, Villeneuve creates a very terrifying yet powerful film about two men and their obsession to find two little girls who have been abducted.
Cinematographer Roger Deakins does phenomenal work with the film‘s cinematography as it has a very naturalistic look for many of its daytime interior/exterior scenes while the usage of lights and candles for scenes at night are truly exquisite to play into the dark mood of the film. Editors Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach do excellent work with the editing to create some unique rhythms to play into the suspense and drama as it often has this slow burn to play into the mystery over what happened to the girls. Production designer Patricia Vermette, with set decorator Frank Galline and art director Paul D. Kelly, does amazing work with the look of the homes the characters live in as well as the home that Dover‘s father lived in that he would use to torture Alex. Costume designer Renee April does nice work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual to play into the look and seasonal setting of the film.
The makeup work of Donald Mowat and Pamela Westmore is brilliant for the beat-up look that Alex would sport after the abusive torture that Dover would give him as well as the look of his aunt Holly (Melissa Leo). Visual effects supervisor Phillip Feiner does terrific work with the film‘s minimal visual effects for the look of snowfall in a few scenes to play up as set-dressing. Sound editor Robert Alan Murray and sound designer Tom Ozanich do superb work with the sound to play into the sense of terror such as Alex‘s screams inside Dover‘s torture chamber as well as some eerie scenes set at home. The film’s music by Johan Johannsson is fantastic for its haunting score that is a mixture of low-key orchestral music and piano pieces with some ambient textures to set the dark mood while music supervisor Deva Anderson brings in a soundtrack filled with music by Radiohead, Ocean, and other traditional pieces.
The casting by Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee is great as it features notable small roles from Wayne Duvall as Detective Loki’s superior Captain O’Malley, Len Cariou as Father Dunn, Zoe Soul as Franklin and Nancy’s teenage daughter, Kyla Drew Simmons as Franklin and Nancy’s adolescent daughter who is abducted, Erin Gerasimovich as Drover’s daughter Anna who is also abducted, David Dastmalchian as a person Loki suspects in the film’s second act, and Dylan Minnette as Dover’s teenage son Ralph who watches over his mother while seeing his father begin to fall apart. Melissa Leo is terrific as Alex’s aunt Holly who claims that her nephew is innocent as she becomes a key player in the film’s third act. Paul Dano is excellent as Alex as a young man who is suspected of abducting the girls as he is captured and tortured by Dover.
Maria Bello is wonderful as Dover’s wife Grace as a woman ravaged by her daughter’s disappearance as she becomes lost in grief while Viola Davis is superb as Nancy Birch who discovers what Dover is doing as she tries to find reason as well as find her daughter. Terrence Howard is fantastic as Franklin Birch as a father who is coping with his own loss as he discovers what Dover is doing as he becomes anguished with wanting justice but also wanting to do things in the right way. Jake Gyllenhaal is incredible as Detective Loki as this detective who is trying to find the two girls any way he can while dealing with Dover’s insistence to find them as Gyllenhaal brings a sense of determination and care into his character as someone who is trying to do what is right. Finally, there’s Hugh Jackman in a remarkable performance as Keller Dover as this man who is obsessed with finding his daughter as he begins to suspect Alex as he descends into madness and nearly loses himself into what is important as it’s a very dark role from Jackman.
Prisoners is a fantastic film from Denis Villeneuve that features phenomenal performances from Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. While it’s a film with some flaws, it is still compelling in exploring how far men will go to retrieve someone that they care for as well as someone whose job is to find that person and deal with the consequences. In the end, Prisoners is a marvelous film from Denis Villeneuve.
Denis Villeneuve Films: August 32nd on Earth - Maelstrom - Polytechnique - Incendies - Enemy (2013 film) - Sicario - Arrival - Blade Runner 2049 - The Auteurs #68: Denis Villeneuve
© thevoid99 2014
Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/4/06 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.
Directed by Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris and written by Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine is the story of a family who go on a road trip to take their young daughter to a beauty pageant as it includes a drug-addicted grandfather, a suicidal gay uncle, and a son who hasn't spoken in months. The film is a unique road film of sorts that explores a family and their dysfunctions as they all deal with setbacks while getting a young girl to a beauty pageant in California. Starring Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Arkin. Little Miss Sunshine is a phenomenal film from Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris.
The film is a simple story about a family from Albuquerque, New Mexico who go on a road trip to California that a young girl named Olive (Abigail Breslin) can compete in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. Yet, not everyone is on board as Olive's father Richard (Greg Kinnear) is trying to score for a book deal for an idea he has as a motivational speaker. Adding to the chaos is Richard's stepson Dwayne (Paul Dano) who hasn't spoken in nine months in a vow of silence as he's obsessed with the work of Nietzsche while Richard's brother-in-law Frank (Steve Carell) is recovering from a suicide attempt due to a break-up with his boyfriend who left him for his rival. It would take Richard's wife Sheryl (Toni Collette) and Richard's father Edwin (Alan Arkin) to rally the family to go on this trip where a lot of major setbacks involving the family ensue. Much of it would play into the idea of failure that is prevalent around them where upon their arrival to California for Olive's pageant, some of the family fear that Olive will endure the same kind of humiliation and devastation they had been through.
Michael Ardnt's script takes it time to explore many of the dysfunction of the family as Edwin is a heroin addict who got kicked out of his retirement home as he would be the one teaching Olive how to dance for the upcoming pageant. Ardnt's approach to the script does have a lot of tropes and conventions that is expected in a road film but adds a lot of layers into the idea that a family might face failure and the whole trip would've been for nothing. Even as characters like Frank and Dwayne are individuals who are on the brink of depression as the latter is hoping to become a pilot by going into this act of silence. Adding to the tension is Richard as he has this theory about being a winner yet his thoughts would rub the family the wrong way as it would play into Olive's insecurities until her grandfather has this great monologue about what being a loser really means and says that Olive is none of those things because at least she's trying. Much of Richard's ideas would be ironic as he would put his own family finances and such into great danger as the third act is about Olive at the pageant. It's a moment in the film where it tests the sense of hopelessness of the family and what they might face as Olive is clearly the underdog against a bunch of young, sexualized girls in the pageant.
Directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris help create that spontaneity of the road film by adding a lot of situations like a family pushing the van while running after it to get in or the repeated honks of it. They also give each character something to do while dealing with their own situations as when they together, it works. When it comes to the comedy, it's very natural and often deadpan from the likes of Carrell and Dano who play the more miserable personalities dealing with their own situations. Then when the third act comes for the world of young little beauty pageants. It shows a world that can be very discomforting, even with the recent event concerning the Jon Benet murder 10 years ago. Still, Dayton & Faris don't exactly make fun of it nor take it totally serious as they show what it is and how people react to it. Overall, they created a wonderfully funny, heartfelt film that brings in a lot of caring moments and huge laughs.
Helping out Dayton/Faris in their visual presentation is cinematographer Tim Suhrstedt whose color schemes of yellow highlight the American Southwest of its vast deserts while the interiors have some nice, grainy shades of blue as the film is wonderfully shot to convey the vastness of the road. Production designer Kalina Ivanov along with art director Alan E. Muraoka and set decorator Melissa M. Lavender do great job in capturing the realism of the dysfunctional family home while doing a great job on the design of the pageant in all of its cheesy glory. Costume designer Nancy Steiner does great work in presenting the bland clothing of the adults with the exception of Alan Arkin's character while giving Paul Dano some cool t-shirts to wear while the real standout in the clothing goes to Abigail Breslin from the headbands, the boots, and everything including her costume.
Editor Pamela Martin does some great work in the editing playing to the rhythm of a road film with some jump cuts and perspective cutting to convey what the characters feeling while giving time for a specific scene. Sound editor Stephen P. Robinson and mixer Steven Morrow also do great work in conveying the humor of the film, particularly the honking of the van-bus which makes everything funny. Composer Mychael Danna along with the group Devotchka create a whimsical, offbeat score that also includes music by Sulfjan Steven and some beauty pageant music that is cheesy with the exception of an 80s funk classic.
Finally, there's the film's great cast that includes some funny small performances from Geoff Meed as a biker, Dean Norris as a state trooper, Robert J. Connor as the pageant host, Mary Lynn Rajskub as a pageant official, Julio Oscar Mechoso as a mechanic, and the incomparable Beth Grant in a very funny performance as a pageant official. Other notable minor roles from Bryan Cranston as Richard's agent, Stan Grossman and Justin Shilton as Frank's ex-boyfriend Josh are excellent in their brief appearances to convey the problems for the respective characters of Richard and Frank.
Of the main cast, no one conveys the showiness of comedy better than Alan Arkin as the grandfather. Arkin brings all of the troubling and discomforting innuendos of a drug-addict grandfather who says all the wrong things that disturbs the family while being very supportive of Olive as he teaches her to dance as Arkin brings all the right humor. Paul Dano gives probably his best performance to date as the moody Dwayne where in the film's first half, Dano brings a lot of humor with the things he writes in a notepad while not saying anything. When Dano breaks down, he channels a lot of angst while he has great chemistry with Steve Carell.
Steve Carell proves his comedic genius by going into minimalism as he plays a moody, quiet suicidal professor who brings a lot of funny moments by doing so little and not saying much. Carell, like Bill Murray who was considered for the role, proves that showiness doesn't have to be the only way to be funny as Carell brings a lot of depth to a character who is going through a lot of troubles and frustration as its one of his best performances. Greg Kinnear also proves his brilliance as an actor in comedy and drama as a man filled with irony as someone who talks about winning but is really a total loser. Kinnear brings a lot of struggle and depth to a man who tries his best for his family but ends up saying the wrong things and tries to find ways to do right as Kinnear proves himself to be a very versatile actor.
If Dano and Carell brings misery, Arkin brings misogyny, and Kinnear brings a straightforwardness, Toni Collette is the glue that brings everyone together. The Australian actress who knows how to pull off an American accent is great as the maternal figure of the family who tries to get everyone back on their feet while dealing with frustration of their dysfunctions. Collette also shines in being the normal one of the family as she stands out with her comedic talents and drama as she brings out another great performance. If Collette is the glue that keeps the cast together, it's the young Abigail Breslin who is the heart of the movie. Breslin steals the show as the optimistic Olive whose chance to compete for a beauty pageant comes true. Breslin brings a lot of depth to a young girl wanting to have her family on her side despite their dysfunctions while dealing with her own physical features as it's the family that supports her. Breslin is the real breakthrough as she proves her worth in every scene, especially her dance in the competition as she knocks everyone dead.
Little Miss Sunshine is a phenomenal film from Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris as it features a great cast, an amazing script, and strong themes about family. It's a film that is very accessible to families while not being afraid to say crass language and such that is controversial. Yet, it plays true to what families go through and not matter the obstacles they face. They always come together to beat the odds. In the end, Little Miss Sunshine is a tremendous film from Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris.
Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris Films: Ruby Sparks - Battle of the Sexes (2017 film)
© thevoid99 2014
Written and directed by So Yong Kim, For Ellen is the story of a musician who deals with a custody battle for his daughter as well as his life as traveling musician. The film is an intimate portrait into the life of a young man trying to see his daughter while wondering if he is a good father. Starring Paul Dano, Jon Heder, Jena Malone, Shaylena Mandigo, Margarita Levieva, and Dakota Johnson. For Ellen is a touching yet harrowing film from So Yong Kim.
The film is a simple story about a traveling musician who arrives at a small town to finalize his divorce from his ex-wife as the documents he is to sign would have him lose custody of his daughter whom he doesn’t see. The film explores a young man trying to deal with everything he’s losing in his family life while he’s reaching a bottom over the fact that he is going to see his daughter even less since he and his ex-wife don’t get along. Though his lawyer tries to help, Joby Taylor (Paul Dano) realizes that he’s in a no-win scenario though he is able to get a chance to see his daughter. So Yong Kim’s screenplay is very minimalist as the first half explores Joby’s issues as he’s dealing with custody case and other things while the second half is about him spending time with his daughter but also realizes that she might not need him since her mother is going to marry someone.
Yong Kim’s direction is very simple as she goes for a lot of intimate shots and compositions while making things feel very real with bits of movement through the hand-held camera. A lot of it includes a lot of silent scenes where Joby deals with his situation as he’s also going through issues with his band and the fact that he’s losing something much more. While it’s a style that tends to drag a bit at times, it does play into the sense of loss that Joby is feeling as the film’s second half does pick things up a bit once he spends time with his daughter Ellen (Shaylena Mandigo) whom he gets to know while realizing that her life is going to change and such. Notably as Yong Kim’s direction creates some key moments that are heartbreaking to explore what Joby is losing. Overall, Yong Kim creates a very compelling yet tender film about a father dealing with the fact that he’s never going to see his daughter again.
Cinematographer Reed Morano does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography as it‘s mostly natural for much of the film‘s exterior settings though he aims for low-key lights and such for interior/exterior scenes at night. Editors Bradley Gray Rust and So Yong Kim do nice work with the editing as it‘s mostly straightforward with not a lot of cuts to convey Joby‘s emotions. Production designer Ryan Warren Smith does fine work with the minimal set pieces such as the home of his lawyer and the motel room that Joby stays in. Sound designers Ian Stynes and Geoff Vincent do terrific work with the sound to capture the atmosphere of the locations including some scenes at the bar and at the mall. The film’s music by Johan Johannsson is fantastic for its low-key ambient score to play into Joby‘s despair while music supervisor Rachel Fox creates a soundtrack that largely consists of hard rock and heavy metal as well as other types of music from acts like Whitesnake, the National, and the Beastie Boys.
The casting by Sig De Miguel and Stephen Vincent is superb as it features a mostly small ensemble that includes appearances from Dakota Johnson as a woman Joby meets a bar, Margarita Levieva as Joby’s bitter ex-wife Claire, and Jena Malone as Joby’s girlfriend Susan who appears very late in the film. Jon Heder is terrific as Joby’s lawyer Fred who is handling his case and just trying to figure out what Joby is going to do. Shaylena Mandigo is amazing as Joby’s daughter Ellen who is just very natural and low-key as a young girl who is just meeting her father while figuring out why he isn’t around much. Finally, there’s Paul Dano in a brilliant performance as Joby as a musician dealing with a custody battle where he realizes how much he’s going to lose as well as the fact that things in his music career isn’t going well as Dano brings an anguish that is just captivating to watch.
For Ellen is a stellar film from So Yong Kim that features a mesmerizing performance from Paul Dano. Though it’s minimalist approach won’t be for everyone, it is still an engaging film for the way it explores a young man dealing with his actions and what he is losing as he tries to fight to be with his daughter. In the end, For Ellen is an enchanting film from So Yong Kim.
So Yong Kim Films: (In Between Days) - Treeless Mountain
© thevoid99 2013
Based on the autobiography by Solomon Northup, 12 Years a Slave is the true story of Northup’s life where he was a free black man living in the North until he is kidnapped in Washington, D.C. where he is sold as a slave as he endures hardships for 12 years. Directed by Steve McQueen and screenplay by John Ridley, the film is an exploration into a man who endures the worst kind of cruelty towards humanity as he deals with the world of slavery as Northup is played by Chiwetel Ejiofor. Also starring Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Sarah Paulson, Alfre Woodard, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael K. Williams, Scott McNairy, and Brad Pitt. 12 Years a Slave is a harrowing yet visceral film from Steve McQueen.
The film is this simple story about a man named Solomon Northup who lived a decent life in Saratoga, New York in 1841 where he is asked by two men to play for a show in Washington, D.C. where he accepts the offer until he wakes up in chains as he’s sold to slavery where he endures cruelty under different masters for 12 years. It’s a film that explores a man who had this very good life in the North where he finds himself in a world that is very different in the South where blacks are treated as a form of property by their masters. The 12-year journey that Northup encounters where he’s called Platt, he doesn’t just see the cruelty of slavery but also how dangerous he is as he’s a man that is educated where slaves tell him to keep his head down and just do your work so there won’t be anymore trouble. Still, he just couldn’t comprehend the atrocities that he sees and endures in the 12 years of being a slave.
John Ridley’s screenplay definitely explores the 12 years of Northup’s life where its first scene is Northup as a slave cutting down sugar canes for another master as he then reflects on the life he had. Much of the film’s first half showcases bits of Northup’s life as a free man while revealing how he had been tricked by two men (Scoot McNairy and Taran Killam) into doing a show for them where he wakes up the next morning in chains. Ridley’s script is largely told from Northup’s perspective as he watches the world he’s in as he has to see a woman named Eliza (Adepero Oduye) be separated from her children as they’re also sold to slavery. Northup’s encounter with slavery has him endure the supervision of different masters where the first is this Baptist preacher in William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch) who is much kinder to his slave though he’s unaware of the cruelty that his slave overseer in John Tibeats (Paul Dano) who always undermine things and treats Northup with disdain.
While Northup would also work briefly under the supervision of Judge Turner (Bryan Batt) during a seasonal break, Northup would endure the worst under Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender). Epps is this very unique individual whom Ford describes as a man who is willing to break slaves to the core as he has a very sick fascination with the slave Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o) whom he seduces much to the chagrin of his wife (Sarah Paulson) who loathes Patsey. It all plays to Northup dealing with Epps as well as the harsh conditions he endure as a slave picking cotton where if he picked less than the day before. He will get whipped as it’s just one of the many punishments he has to deal with yet clings to some sense of hope as he desperately tries to write a letter to his family and friends in the North but the presence of Epps has him feel uneasy. The film’s third act doesn’t just play into Northup’s sense of hopelessness but also the things he has to do where he does find some hope in a Canadian carpenter named Samuel Bass (Brad Pitt) who learns about Northup’s situation as he would be a key proponent into Northup getting his freedom.
Steve McQueen’s direction is very evocative in the way he presents a world that is beautiful but has this air of ugliness that is prominent throughout for the fact that it’s a film about slavery. A lot of McQueen’s direction is filled with these intoxicating images that mixes beauty and horror while knowing how to put an actor in a frame or to use a close-up to express something by doing very little. Shot on location in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana, McQueen’s portrait of the American South is very seductive in its beauty yet has this sense of harshness where it’s a place where a slave’s attempt to runaway is more treacherous where Northup would attempt that only to see what will happen as he would never do it again.
There’s also some intimate moments in McQueen’s direction such as the scene of Northup being chained inside a prison cell where it’s very dark with little light to showcase the horror that is to come. Even as McQueen doesn’t shy away from the brutality of the whippings and such where there’s some very chilling scenes that includes one of the most brutal sequences of whipping where it’s the sound of a whip hitting flesh that is the most unsettling. McQueen’s framing and some of the long shots he creates are just a marvel to watch in not just some of the drama that plays out but also some of the sense of terror that occurs. Though there are bits of humor in the film, it’s only just small bits as it plays into the drama and turmoil that Solomon Northup endures as the film’s ending is an absolute tearjerker. Overall, McQueen creates a very exhilarating yet haunting film about a man who endures the cruelty of slavery.
Cinematographer Sean Bobbitt does some amazing work with the film‘s photography from the look of the Louisiana swamp landscapes and scenes set in the forest with its use of natural lights to some of the shadings and lighting schemes he uses for some of the film‘s interiors as well as the scenes set at night. Editor Joe Walker does brilliant work with the editing with its use of jump-cuts, rhythmic cuts, and dissolves to play into that sense of horror and drama that Northup endures. Production designer Adam Stockhausen, with set decorator Alice Baker and art director David Stein, does fantastic work with the set pieces from the plantations that Northup works at to the look of the homes and places that Northup lived before his capture.
Costume designer Patricia Norris does superb work with the costumes from the dresses the mistresses wear as well as the suits that the men wear as well as the rags the slaves have to wear. Sound editors Ryan Collins and Robert Jackson do excellent work with the sound work from the way dialogue is meshed in certain scenes to some sound effects that occur in the film such as the whippings and such to play into the sense of power in those moments. The film’s music by Hans Zimmer is phenomenal for its mixture of low-key orchestral music to some tremendous pieces that mixes some haunting percussions and string arrangements that play into the terror that occurs in the film.
The casting by Francine Maisler is incredible for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small appearances from Quvenzhane Wallis and Cameron Zeigler as Northup’s children, Kelsey Scott as Northup’s wife Anne, Michael K. Williams as slave Northup meets early in the film, Garret Dillahunt as a drunkard who works with Northup picking Cotton, Dwight Henry as a slave Northup befriends in Uncle Dwight, Bryan Batt as the fair-minded slave master Judge Turner who would get Northup a job at a party, Liza J. Bennett as Ford’s wife, Chris Chalk as a slave Northup meets who tells him to not act too smart, and J.D. Evermore as Ford’s overseer Chapin who is forced to watch the action of Tibeats.
Other noteworthy performances include Scoot McNairy and Taran Killam as the two men who would trick and drug Northup into a job that would lead to his enslavement while Alfre Woodard is wonderful as a plantation mistress whom Patsey likes to drink tea with. Paul Giamatti is terrific as the slave trader Theophilius Freeman who does things to sell the slaves and presents them in the most cruel ways. Adepero Oduye is superb as the slave Eliza who deals with being separated from her children as she reminds Northup of the cruelty he has to face as a slave. Paul Dano is excellent as the slave master John Tibeats who sings a very horrific song while feeling threatened by Northup for being someone who can speak his mind and please Ford. Brad Pitt is amazing in a small yet cruel role as Samuel Bass who works with Northup during his time with Epps as he learns about his plight.
Sarah Paulson is brilliant as Mrs. Epps as a woman who loathes Patsey as she treats her with the worst kind of cruelty as she someone who proves to be just as extreme as her husband. Benedict Cumberbatch is marvelous as the kind William Ford who is intrigued by Northup as he gives him a violin while dealing with the cruelty of Tibeats as he makes an uneasy decision about giving Northup up. Lupita Nyong’o is tremendous as Patsey as this young slave woman who becomes this object of desire for Epps as she faces some of the most horrific moments a slave has to endure as it’s a performance that is just unforgettable to watch.
Michael Fassbender is remarkable as the cruel yet twisted plantation owner Edwin Epps who is a man that is just extreme in the way he treats his slaves as well as having this sick desire towards Patsey. There’s also this very haunting presence that Fassbender presents as a man who could probably kill someone as well as being ignorant about his ideas of the world. Finally, there’s Chiwetel Ejiofor in an outstanding performance as Solomon Northup. Ejiofor brings a sense of grounding to a man who faces a world that is different from the one he had lived in as he tries not to do anything yet is aware of how much of a threat he is. There’s also that sense of sadness and determination in Ejiofor’s performance to display a man who deals with not just loss but also the hopelessness of not being able to return home as it’s really a performance for the ages.
12 Years a Slave is a magnificent film from Steve McQueen that features a tour-de-force performance from Chiwetel Ejiofor. Along with a great supporting cast and some amazing technical work from cinematographer Sean Bobbit and music composer Hans Zimmer. It’s a film that explores not just the horrific atrocity of slavery but also from the perspective of a free black man who is captured and endures this horror for 12 years as it’s told by McQueen and screenwriter John Ridley at its most visceral. In the end, 12 Years a Slave is a massively astonishing film from Steve McQueen.
Steve McQueen Films: Hunger - Shame - Widows (2018 film) - The Auteurs #52: Steve McQueen
© thevoid99 2013
Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 11/26/06 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.
Based on the book by Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation is a multi-layered film that explores the world of the fast food industry through the perspectives of different people from fast-food workers, a corporate executive, and a group of Mexican immigrants. Directed by Richard Linklater and written by Linklater and Schlosser, the film takes Schlosser's non-fiction book into a dramatic context to showcase a dark world of the industry that is about profit no matter at the cost. Starring longtime Linklater regular Ethan Hawke along with Greg Kinnear, Patricia Arquette, Ashley Johnson, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Wilmer Valderrama, Ana Claudia Talancon, Lou Taylor Pucci, Paul Dano, Mitch Baker, Luis Guzman, Bobby Cannavale, Esai Morales, Kris Kristofferson, Avril Lavigne, and Bruce Willis. Fast Food Nation is a harrowing, insightful film that uncovers the dark side of the fast food industry.
The film revolves around three different storylines that plays into the world of the fast food industry as marketing executive named Don Anderson (Greg Kinnear) goes to Cody, Colorado to investigate rumors about manure in the meat as he gets a tour of the UMP slaughterhouse and later meets a local rancher in Rudy Martin (Kris Kristofferson) where he and his maid (Raquel Giva) reveal the dark secrets about the UMP slaughterhouse. The other storyline revolves around a group of Mexican immigrants in Raul (Wilmer Valderrama), his girlfriend Sylvia (Catalina Sandino Moreno), and their friend Coco (Ana Claudia Talancon) who arrive to Cody with the help of Benny (Luis Guzman) as Raul and Coco work at the UMP slaughterhouse where Coco has an affair with its plant manager Mike (Bobby Cannavale). The third story line plays into a fast food employee named Amber (Ashley Johnson) who becomes uncomfortable about working at Mickey's as advice from her uncle Pete (Ethan Hawke) has her trying to rebel against corporations with help of an activist named Paco (Lou Taylor Pucci). Eventually, the three storylines would have some resolutions though they don't really crisscross with one another but would unveil a lot of troubling cynicism that plays into the fast food industry.
What Richard Linklater and Eric Schlosser reveal is very complex where it goes to the treatment of immigrants to what goes on behind the food that consumers are eating. While the film isn't perfect, it reveals a lot, even to some graphic detail of how the meat is made from cattle where the objective is to make the audience think while being uncomfortable at the same time. While Linklater takes a documentary-like approach to the film in his observant direction, the approach he and Schlosser takes is in the form of a docu-drama where three different stories are told. While the stories do intertwine with everything, the script is a bit uneven at times though wonderfully structured with the first act being the arrival of the immigrants and Anderson's investigation with the second going further to what Anderson discovers and Sylvia's moral judgement. Then comes the third act that does make things a bit uneasy with Amber joining a revolutionary group and the grim reality Sylvia has to face.
Despite the flaws with the script, Linklater's direction remains strong in how he observes the behaviors while finding a bit of humor in the workplace. While Linklater isn't exactly trying to make audiences think twice about eating fast food but he does raise question of where the food is coming from. More importantly, he reveals more of the corporate cover-ups in which Anderson is forced to think about his job and livelihood to the point that he goes into some moral judgement. The story of the immigrants is handled with realism as well as cynicism about the how untrue the American dream is where Sylvia is the observant character of the film where she tries to do honest work while realizing a lot of the bad things that goes on at the UMP plant. It's by far the most compelling story of the film while the Amber story is a bit weak though Linklater reveals the cynicism that comes afterwards where the film's ending is very bleak.
Helping Linklater in his visual presentation is longtime cinematographer Lee Daniel whose grainy, cinema verite style gives the film a documentary like feel to convey the atmosphere from the polished look of the Californian offices of Mickey to the vast, open spaces and claustrophobic worlds of Cody, Colorado. Longtime editor Sandra Adair does some wonderful cutting on shifting through the segments while making them intertwine with story while giving the pacing a leisurely feel in its 116-minute running time. Production designer Bruce Curtis and art director Joaquin A. Morin did excellent work on the design and look of the Mickey's franchise while costume designer Kari Perkins also does a great job in the look of the Mickey's uniform. Sound editors Michael J. Benavente and Tricia Linklater also do excellent work on creating the atmosphere of the surroundings the characters are in. Friends of Daniel Martinez create a varied mix of music filled with acoustic, Mexican-style music and droning, atmospheric rock to convey the sense of bleakness in the film.
The film's cast is diverse with a lot of actors that include such noted small performances from Mitch Baker, Frank Ertl, Raquel Giva, Armando Hernandez, Hugo Perez, Aaron Himelstein, and Cherami Leigh. Minor roles from the likes of Lou Taylor Pucci, Paul Dano, Esai Morales, and Luis Guzman are excellent. One minor performance that comes across as very annoying is Avril Lavigne as a college protester which is very grating and over-the-top. Another performance that doesn't work is Wilmer Valderrama who whenever he tries to talk, he ends up putting the same kind of Fez that people often sees in his role as Fez in That's 70s Show. Valderrama is not an actor and the casting people should've gotten someone else. Ana Claudia Talancon is excellent as the naive, flirtatious Coco who descends to the world of drugs while Bobby Cannavale is great as the evil, manipulative supervisor. Kris Kristofferson is wonderful as the gruff, cautious rancher who reveals a lot of the dark secrets behind the UMP slaughterhouse while Bruce Willis is great in the one scene he's in as the cynical, corporate supervisor who tells Don Anderson the way the world works.
Patricia Arquette is excellent in her small role as Amber's fun, caring mother who is unaware of what her town is becoming. Ethan Hawke is great in his small role as Amber's radical, political uncle who reveals what happens to local business when they're taken over by corporations. Ashley Johnson is great as Amber who realizes the dark side of the fast food industry and tries to become a revolutionary only to see the grim realities that comes with them. Greg Kinnear gives another fine performance following this year's Little Miss Sunshine as a corporate executive who faces some truths and is forced to go into a moral dilemma that would cost his livelihood while thinking about the customers he's marketing towards. Catalina Sandino Moreno, who is known for her debut performance in Maria Full of Grace, proves that her Oscar nomination was no fluke as she gives the most chilling and moralistic performance of the film. Moreno's proves to be the most heartbreaking in how she tries to do an honest day's work, dealing with the way things are to the people she knows, and how she is forced to face the grim reality that is America. It's really an amazingly powerful performance from the young actress.
While not as entertaining or accessible as Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me or as fulfilling as the other films Richard Linklater did, Fast Food Nation is still a strong, engaging portrait of the American fast food industry. While fans of Linklater will enjoy the dialogue-driven conversations and cinema verite approach, some audiences might be disgusted in some of the graphic imagery as well as some of the things the film is talking about. While it will raise more question about the industry and how it takes care of its customers, it's likely whether or not it will keep people away from fast food or be aware of the changes in the corporate world. Still, Fast Food Nation succeeds in what it aims to do as it's one of the year's most politically-engaging films.
Richard Linklater Films: It’s Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books - Slacker - Dazed & Confused - Before Sunrise - subUrbia - The Newton Boys - Waking Life - Tape - School of Rock - Before Sunset - Bad News Bears (2005 film) - A Scanner Darkly - Me and Orson Welles - Bernie (2011 film) - Before Midnight - Boyhood - Everybody Want Some! - The Auteurs #57: Richard Linklater Pt. 1 - Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2013
Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 10/18/09 w/ Additional Edits.
Based on the children's picture book by Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are is the story of a young boy who is sent to his room where he lets his imagination roam with the wild creatures he encounters. Directed by Spike Jonze and screenplay by Jonze and Dave Eggers, the film is look into the world of imagination from the eyes of a young child as it takes Sendak's book to a much broader world. Starring Max Records, Catherine Keener and Mark Ruffalo along with a voice cast that includes Chris Cooper, Michael Berry Jr., Forest Whitaker, Lauren Ambrose, Catherine O'Hara, Paul Dano, and James Gandolfini. Where the Wild Things Are is a sprawling yet and enthralling film from Spike Jonze.
Max (Max Records) is a young boy who is trying to deal with his parents separation while his older sister Claire (Pepita Emmerichs) is more interested being with her friends. Max is also trying to deal with his own wild imagination where he wears a costume while roaming around everywhere. One night as his mom (Catherine Keener) has invited her boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo) for dinner, Max's wild behavior causes mayhem as he runs away from home and finds a sailboat. The boat takes him across the sea to an island where wild creatures live as one of them named Carol (voice of James Gandolfini) is smashing homes. Around him are Ira (voice of Forest Whitaker), his wife Judith (voice of Catherine O'Hara), a bird-like creature named Douglas (voice of Chris Cooper), a silent bull (voice of Michael Berry Jr.), and a goat named Alexander (voice of Paul Dano).
Max goes wild around them as he tells them to be still as Carol sees him as their new king. Another wild creature named KW (voice of Lauren Ambrose) arrives to see Max become king as he declares to let things go wild. Everyone has a good time while Carol shows Max his little world that he made prompting Max to want to make a fortress and home for everyone to live in. Things go world though things start to go wrong when KW wants to invite a couple of owls to the family upsetting Carol. When Max decides to settle things with a dirt fight, everything seems to go well until the fight manages to affect a few of the participants. When the events after the fight transpire, things become problematic as Carol becomes angrier while truths about Max's true nature is revealed prompting him to make a huge decision.
Adaptations are tricky, particularly with children's story as it's about trying to be faithful to the book but also present it with a unique vision. What Spike Jonze and co-screenwriter Dave Eggers did is a mixture of both by being faithful to the book but also present in a way that is more lively. In adding dramatic elements to the story such as a boy dealing with his parents divorce, sense of feeling neglected, and acting out by running to an imaginary world. Jonze definitely brought a different take of sorts on Maurice Sendak's beloved novel which was just a simple story of a boy running into his imagination to roam with wild creatures.
The simplicity of the story is there though like the book, doesn't exactly follow a conventional plot structure in what is expected for a children's story. The first act follows Max being a wild kid, getting into trouble, and then running away to meet with the wild creatures. The second act is him becoming king and letting things run wild while the third is the fallout over a huge dirt fight. Yet, the creatures are all based on Max's own life with Alexander representing Max's sense of neglect since the goat-like creature is trying to get attention. Carol represents the angry side of Max as the others play people who Max had encounter with KW as a maternal figure of sorts with Ira as the friendly creature and Judith as the cynical one. Others like Douglas play as a conscience of sorts while Bull is the silent observer who participates in the rumpus.
Jonze and Eggers not only add personalities to the creatures but also explore the complex emotions of what Max is going through as an eight/nine-year-old boy dealing with all sorts of things. In the process, he starts out as this boy feeling neglected and angry where he has to act out into someone who realizes that life isn't so simple and it must be hard for his own mother to be attentive to him. The complexity of the film might seem a little broad for young audiences but Jonze and Eggers are aware that they can an idea of what is happening.
Jonze's direction for the film is truly stunning from the opening scene of Max running wild in his house as he hopes to make an igloo to the scenes of the island shot in Australia. The approach for this wild, free-wielding look of the film truly captures the spirit of the book in shooting the film at the forest, mountains, beaches, and deserts. Jonze also creates something that is huge as it is all about the imagination of the child from the huge wooden ball-nest that the wild things live in to the little place that Carol has created. With a lot of hand-held work in the rumpus and dirt-fight scenes to tracking shots in scenes of action. Jonze also utilized numerous special effects styles from CGI, suitmation, animatronics, puppetry, and all sorts of ideas to flesh out the story to make it as realistic as he can.
While there's actors wearing suits inside the creatures, the movements of their eyes and faces are just as spectacular where there's life to the characters while the voices add an emotive quality to them. What Jonze did overall in presenting the film with lots of wide angle, beautiful shots, and ideas that are truly from the imagination of a child is exhilarating. In bringing the book to life while making it into its own story is just amazing as Jonze creates what is possibly his best work yet along with a film that is probably become a hallmark of great film that kids could watch.
Jonze's longtime cinematographer Lance Acord does amazing work with the photography from the dark-colored look of the nighttime scenes when Max runs away from home to the colorful, bright look of the snow in that same location at the daytime. The scenes in the wood show Acord bringing lots of color and looks to capture the emotion of the film from the sunny, bright colored look of the sun and sky in the deserts along with grey, colorless look of the woods during the rumpus scenes. Even the scenes deeper in the woods with shades of darker colors play up to the dark emotions that goes on in the third act as Acord's work is truly amazing overall.
Editors Eric Zumbrunnen and James Haygood do fantastic work with the editing in providing a nice sense of rhythm for the film's action while not making things move too fast. Leisurely-paced, the film knows when to slow things down for the dramatic elements without being too slow as the editing is overall solid. Production designer K.K. Barrett along with set decorator Simon McCutcheon and supervising art director Jeffrey Thorp do brilliant work with the overall design of the places at the island from the large circular nest that the wild things live in to the tunnels, deserts, and the model place that Carol had created. Barrett's work in the design work along with sculptures and such is truly some of the best art direction ever created for a film with a lot of imagination.
Costume designer Casey Storm does an excellent job with the creation of Max's wild thing costume that looks exactly like the costume from the book along with more casual clothing for the actors to wear in the non-island scenes. Yet, the look of the creatures from the hair and makeup is fantastic in its realism. The credit really should go to the special effects team that include special effects supervisor Peter Stubbs, visual effects supervisors Daniel Jeanette, Marc Kolbe, and Chris Watts along with a team of animators. The design for the creatures are phenomenal as they all look like creatures from the book coming to life. Sound designer Ren Klyce does a phenomenal job with the sound work in the chaos of the rumpus and creatures along with the sounds of the location that is happening.
The film's score by Carter Burwell and Yeah Yeah Yeahs vocalist Karen O is a playful, intimate, yet sparse score that recalls the acoustic work of the YYYs' Show Your Bones album back in 2006. Along with contributions from Deerhunter's Bradford Cox, former YYYs touring member Imaad Wasif, The Dead Weather's Jack Lawrence and Dean Fertita, and YYY members Nick Zinner and Brian Chase. The music plays up to the spirit of Max's raucous energy along with its sense of melancholia. Notably songs like Hideaway and a cover of Daniel Johnston's Worried Shoes. Overall, it's a fantastic score and soundtrack that reflects on the spirit of the story and film while its trailer is wonderfully accompanied by a re-recorded version of Wake Up by Arcade Fire.
The casting by Justine Baddeley and Kim Davis is superb with notable appearances from Max Pfeifer, Madeleine Graves, Joshua Jay, and Ryan Corr as friends of Claire who engage in a snowball fight with Max along with Steve Mouzakis as Max's teacher. Other small roles from Pepita Emmerichs as Max's older sister Claire to a cameo appearance of sorts from Mark Ruffalo as Max's mother's boyfriend are nice to see while Catherine Keener is excellent in a brief role as Max's mother. The voice casting is truly phenomenal with Michael Berry Jr. providing the grunts of the mostly silent Bull while Chris Cooper is sort of unrecognizable as the voice of the bird-creature Douglas. Catherine O'Hara is funny as the cynical voice of Judith while Forest Whitaker is excellent as the calm voice of Ira. Paul Dano is great as the voice of Alexander, the goat wanting some attention as he also carries some pain around him.
Lauren Ambrose is wonderful as the voice of KW, the maternal figure of the wild things who is troubled by Carol's anger while being kinder and more loving towards Max. James Gandolfini is perfect as the voice of Carol from his light-hearted humor to his more angry side to show Carol's troubled personality as Gandolfini's voice brings a surprising depth to the character that no one expected from the guy who played Tony Soprano. Finally, there's Max Records in an amazing performance as Max. Records provides all of the wild and complex emotions of a young boy as he is really the heart and soul of the film as he shows surprising depth to a boy that feels neglected and sad. When he's wild, he's full of energy as he really captures the spirit of the character in the book as it's truly a mesmerizing performance from the young actor.
Where the Wild Things Are is an amazing, imaginative, and heartfelt film from Spike Jonze and company. Fans of Jonze's work will see this as not just his most ambitious but also heartfelt film as he truly captures the spirit and innocent of a child while being truly faithful to Maurice Sendak's beloved book. Fans of the book will be amazed to see the story come to life while seeing how much is kept with not much being missed. Overall, this is a film that can be described as an art film of sorts for children while adults will be amazed by its production values, wondrous cinematography, and visual effects along with its complex, melancholic story. In the end, Where the Wild Things Are is one of 2009's best films from the wonderful mind of director Spike Jonze and its creator Maurice Sendak.
Spike Jonze Films: Being John Malkovich - Adaptation - Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak - Her - My Mutant Brain
Related: The Auteurs #54: Spike Jonze - The 25 Essential Videos of Spike Jonze
© thevoid99 2013
