Ellen Foster (TV movie)

Based on Kaye Gibbons’ novel, Ellen Foster is the story of a young girl who is shifted from one home to another due to the death of her mother and the abuse she suffers from her father. Directed by John Erman and teleplay by Maria Nation and William Hanley, the TV movie revolves around a girl trying to find a home and someone to care for her as Jena Malone plays the titular character. Also starring Julie Harris, Ted Levine, Glynnis O’Connor, Zeljko Ivanek, Bill Nunn, Amanda Peet, and Timothy Olyphant. Ellen Foster is a harrowing yet heartfelt melodrama from John Erman.

Ellen is a young 10-year old child living in the South during the 1970s as she lives poorly with an alcoholic father Bill Hammond (Ted Levine) and her ailing mother Charlotte (Glynnis O’Connor), who is suffering from rheumatic flu. After Charlotte’s death, Ellen remains at home living by the money she gets from her uncle to pay bills and food that she can get. Though she was invited to stay at the holiday at the home of her friend Starletta (Allison Jones) and her parents (Bill Nunn and Lynne Moody), they couldn’t adopt her. While her father remains gone for days and her well-meaning aunts looking after her, she remains alone as her father eventually returns to beat her as her art teacher Julia Hobbs (Amanda Peet) notices.

Living temporarily with Julia and her husband Roy (Timothy Olyphant) before the court figures out what to do, Ellen seems to enjoy her new family life until her father arrives outside her school leading to a court case on who would get custody. Though the judge was sympathetic to Ellen’s plight, Ellen is forced to live with her grandmother Lenora Nelson (Julie Harris) whom Ellen never really liked. Despite being cared for by Lenora’s maid and dealing with her grandmother, Ellen was able to have a home until Lenora suffers a stroke. Ellen is once again shifted to another home as she’s given to the care of her aunt Nadine (Debra Monk). Ellen, once again, feels unloved as she’s forced to deal with her bratty cousin Dora (Kimberly J. Brown). Realizing that her only salvation could be in a woman (Kate Burton) that is a foster parent, Ellen wonders if she will ever be taken by a family who loves her.

The TV movie is about a young girl whose broken family life has her shifted from one home to another where she finds herself lost and seeking for someone to care for her. While there’s a few people in young Hobbs couple, an African-American family, and an ideal foster mother that cares for this young girl. This young girl is forced to be shifted to homes to people in her family that don’t really care about her while others might consider her to be a burden which includes her flighty aunt Betsy (Barbara Garrick). Throughout this journey in trying to find some home and family that will take care of her, she eventually change her last name from Hammond to Foster to exemplify what she had just gone through.

While the teleplay does dwell into heavy melodrama because of the girl’s plight along with a few characters that are essentially stereotypes due to its 1970s Southern setting. The script does succeed in exploring the plight of what this young girl through as it’s told largely in her perspective with some voice-over narration that reflects what she’s going through. Yet, Ellen is a child that just wants to be loved and earn her keep as she is forced to contend with superficial aunts and a very spiteful grandmother. Even worse is the law that complicates things as she wants to be with the people that will care for her who aren’t able to due to the law or to their own circumstances.

John Erman’s direction definitely has a few stylistic flairs though he keeps things very straightforward to what is expected in a TV melodrama. Erman does know how to shoot intimate moments or to set a mood while having his camera focused on Ellen in the situations she’s dealing with. While the melodrama is expected to be very sentimental and at times, heavy-handed, it some how manages to go way into that due to what the protagonist is going through. Overall, Erman’s work is stellar as he does create a very engaging drama.

Cinematographer Brian West does a nice job with the photography from the darker world of Ellen‘s original home to more low-key yet colorful shots for the homes that she goes into to exemplify the different homes she encounters. Editor Bill Blunden does a very good job with the editing to maintain a leisured pace with a few dissolves and straight cuts to keep the film going.

Production designer Fred Harpman and set decorator Lin MacDonald do some excellent work to create the look for the different homes that Ellen encounters from the posh home of her grandmother to the more natural yet carefree environment of the Hobbs. Costume designer Linda Matheson does a wonderful job with the costumes to help develop the batch of clothes that Ellen wears in her journey from casual, dirty clothes to more cleaner and fuller dresses late in the film. Sound editor Joseph Melody does a fine job with the sound work to capture some of the intimate moments as well as some of the livelier moments involving multiple characters. The music by John Morris is pretty good for some of the orchestral arrangements though at times, it gets a bit sappy and saccharine with the addition of the harmonica in the score.

The casting by Stuart Aikins, Olivia Harris, and Phyllis Huffman is brilliant as the ensemble cast that is created definitely gives the TV movie more than what is expected in the genre. Performances from Zeljko Ivanek as a school doctor, Kate Burton as the kindly foster mother Abigail, Bill Nunn and Lynne Moody as Starletta’s very caring parents, Allison Jones as Ellen’s best friend Starletta, Kimberly J. Brown as Ellen’s bratty cousin Dora, and Glynnis O’Connor as Ellen’s ailing yet loving mother are all really good. Other roles include Ted Levine as Ellen’s abusive father along with Debra Monk and Barbara Garrick as Ellen’s superficial though caring aunts are notable standouts along with some very lively yet fun performances from Timothy Olyphant and Amanda Peet as a young couple who temporarily take Ellen in.

Julie Harris is excellent as Ellen’s grandmother Lenora who is very spiteful towards her as she believes that her daughter’s death is due to the environment she chose and for bringing Ellen into the world. Finally, there’s Jena Malone in a truly outstanding performance as the titular character. Malone’s performance is definitely the heart and soul of the film as she has to endure a lot of anguish and torment for what she’s going through as her character just wants someone to care for her. It’s a performance that truly exemplifies why Malone was so revered in her early years as a child star as she continues to be one of the most interesting actresses working today.

Ellen Foster is a very good TV movie by John Erman that features a remarkable performance from Jena Malone. While it’s a film that does play by the rules of what is expected in a TV melodrama, there are elements that does give the movie something more to exemplify what this young girl goes through. In the end, Ellen Foster is an engaging TV movie that brings a very compelling tale of child abuse and abandonment.

© thevoid99 2011

Shutter Island

After finally nabbing an Oscar for Best Director for his 2006 remake of the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs entitled The Departed. Martin Scorsese was now part of a group of great directors who won the Oscar after trying to get the award several times. Scorsese took a break from feature films to direct a concert film for the Rolling Stones entitled Shine a Light in 2008 while producing various other projects including a restoration of the 1949 Powell-Pressburger classic The Red Shoes. In 2010, Scorsese returned to the big screen for a psychological thriller entitled Shutter Island.

Based on Dennis Lehane’s novel, Shutter Island tells the story of two U.S. marshals investigating a mental hospital where a patient has vanished. Upon the investigation, one of the marshals is haunted by the images of his dead wife as he believes her killer is in the island. Directed by Martin Scorsese with a script by Laeta Kalogridis along with additional work by Steven Knight. The film marks Scorsese’s fourth collaboration with actor Leonardo DiCaprio as they create a thriller that is both visually fascinating and intriguing in its story. Also starring Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Williams, Ben Kingsley, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer, Elias Koteas, Jackie Earle Haley, Ted Levine, John Carroll Lynch, and Max von Sydow. Shutter Island is an intriguing yet haunting film from Martin Scorsese and company.

It’s 1954 as two U.S. marshals named Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) are going to Shutter Island to investigate the disappearance of a patient at a mental hospital known as Ashecliffe. Accompanied by deputy warden McPherson (John Carroll Lynch), the duo meets Dr. John Cawley (Ben Kingsley) who explains about the patient named Rachel Solando (Emily Mortimer) who had disappeared. Solando was brought in after drowning her three kids as Daniels and Aule try to interview staff members along with some patients. When Daniels want to know more by going to Cawley’s colleague Dr. Jeremiah Naehring (Max von Sydow) for more information. Daniels is rebuffed as he is troubled by headaches that feature flashbacks of his period in war along with the images of his dead wife Dolores (Michelle Williams).

With Daniels and Aule continuing their investigation during a stormy day at the island, Daniels reveals his motive to why he’s really at the island believing that a man named Andrew Laeddis (Elias Koteas) is at the island. Daniels believes that Laeddis was responsible for his wife’s death through arson as Daniels is also convinced of some experiments going on. With the two continuing their investigation, Rachel Solando has been found and is safe though the interrogation with Solando proves to be strange. With Daniels more troubled by his migraines and appearances of his wife along with Laeddis, Daniels goes on the search for more about Ashecliffe. In the aftermath of a bad storm where patients are out of the hospital, Daniels goes into the fortress where the most dangerous prisoners are held.

Daniels suddenly meets a man named George Noyce (Jackie Earle Haley) whom Daniels had tried to help. Realizing that Noyce had given him clues about the mysterious lighthouse, Daniels along with Aule try to find a path to the lighthouse where the two got separated. Aule disappears while Daniels meets a mysterious woman (Patricia Clarkson) at a cave who reveals more about the secrets of the island. With Daniels being picked up by the hospital’s warden (Ted Levine), Daniels confronts Dr. Cawley about what is going on as he decides to go to the lighthouse where he finds a shocking discovery.

The film is about a man trying to uncover mysteries about his wife’s death as well as the island where they’re keeping her killer who is possibly being part of a strange experiment. Yet, that’s the film’s plot in a nutshell but in the mind of Martin Scorsese. It’s anything but simple as it’s a film that is really a puzzle of sorts of what is really going on in the island and the people in the island. No character is who they say they are with a few exceptions. It’s all because there is something at the island that no one wants to explain right until the third act where there’s a twist involved.

Screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis creates a wonderful script that builds on the suspense of the story along with the back-and-forth movements of the story where Teddy Daniels is having flashbacks or strange dreams. The flashbacks and dreams play up to the film’s surreal style as it would unveil clues to what’s going on. The characters are also very interesting as Daniels’ partner Chuck acts as a foil of sorts but also a conscience who wants to be at Daniels’ side with everything that is happening. Dr. Cawley might seem like an antagonist since he’s always evading questions along with Dr. Naehring. All of the minor characters Daniels would interact along with the visions of Dolores would eventually lead to the twist.

The twist would definitely change all perspectives of what everyone just saw the first time around. When it is seen again for the second time, more clues are unveiled along with pieces of dialogue and how they’re presented. Overall, it’s a wonderful screenplay by Laeta Kalogridis.

Then, there’s the direction of Martin Scorsese which is truly powerful and engaging in its imagery. Taking an old-school approach to the directing, Scorsese goes for eerie zoom shots along with dolly tracks to create a mood for the film. Even as he creates wide shots for an idea of the island and its dark feel where something doesn’t seem right. Scorsese also goes for an intimate setting for some of the film’s interrogation and conversation pieces where he goes for simplicity in the presentation.

For some of the film’s broader scenes at the island, Scorsese uses some visual effects which are rich in its look. For the most part, they all look great except for one scene where Daniels is talking with the warden on the jeep as the background looks very fake. For many of the film’s fantasy sequences, Scorsese creates a look that is artificial and dream-like while playing up to the surrealism of the film. When it comes time for the twist, Scorsese makes sure that the dialogue that people heard early along with objects including the bandage in Teddy’s head early in the film mean something. Plus, Scorsese also allows a chance to put in a few references in objects such as the red shoes worn by the little girl (Ruby Jerins) as a reference to the Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger film The Red Shoes. Despite a few flaws, it is a wonderfully stunning yet eerie film from Martin Scorsese.

Cinematographer Robert Richardson does a fantastic job with the film’s eerie yet colorful cinematography. Richardson’s work definitely plays to the film’s chilling mood with lots of dark colors to match the rainy scenes in the exteriors. Even in the prison where the lights are very stylish and moody to build up to the film’s suspense. Richardson’s photography is truly one of the film’s technical highlights for the way it brings atmosphere to the film.

Longtime Scorsese collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker does an excellent job with the film’s editing. Schoonmaker creates dazzling cuts to play with the film’s rhythm and build on its suspense. Even as she utilizes a few jump-cuts for rhythm while playing to the conversation scenes in cutting from one actor to another. Even in the transitions as Schoonmaker’s cutting is truly some of her best work in her career as an editor.

Production designer Dante Ferretti, along with set decorator Francesca Lo Schiavo and supervising art director Robert Guerra, does a fabulous job with the look of Ashecliffe hospital from its old-school wall filled with bricks including the decayed lighthouse. The look of the prison inside the hospital is eerie as it looks old and almost in ruins to help play up the film’s eerie tone. Costume designer Sandy Powell does a phenomenal job with the costumes from the clothes that Daniels and Aule wear early in the film to the suits that Dr. Cawley wears. Even in the colorful dresses that Dolores wears that plays true to the style of the 1950s.

Visual effects supervisor Rob Legato does a very good job with the visual effects from the lush look of the island in exteriors during the rainy season to the look of the flashback sequences where the effects play up to the Daniels‘ own troubled mind. Sound editors Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty do some brilliant work in the sound from the feel of the storm along with the stark yet near-silent tone of the prison that Daniels investigate.

Music supervisor Robbie Robertson creates an amazing soundtrack that is filled with an array of eerie classical pieces that plays to the film’s suspense. Featuring classical pieces from Gustav Mahler, John Cage, Krzysztof Penderecki, Ingram Marshall, and Gyorgy Ligeti. The soundtrack also includes pieces from 1950s music like Kay Starr, Dinah Washington, Max Richter along with an ambient track from Brian Eno. The soundtrack is an excellent collection that plays well with what the film needed for its tone.

The casting by Ellen Lewis is superb as every actor in the film really hits the right notes. Notable small roles include Robin Bartlett as a patient Daniels and Aule interrogate, Ruby Jerrins as a mysterious little girl in Teddy’s dreams, Elias Koteas as the crazed Andrew Laeddis, and Ted Levine as sly warden who talks to Teddy about the island. Other small but memorable roles include Emily Mortimer as the troubled Rachel Solando, John Carroll Lynch as deputy warden McPherson, Jackie Earle Haley as the crazed George Noyce, and Max von Sydow as the calm but mysterious Dr. Naehring. Patricia Clarkson is excellent in a small role as mysterious woman in a cave who warns Daniels about Shutter Island and its lighthouse.

Michelle Williams is radiant as Dolores, Teddy’s deceased wife who appears in Teddy’s dreams and other visions as she guides him to unlock the mysteries of the island. Williams brings a sense of grace but also darkness of a character that isn’t even alive as she and DiCaprio have wonderful chemistry. Ben Kingsley is superb as Dr. Crawley, a mysterious doctor who reluctantly helps Teddy with the investigation while holding something back about what is going on. Mark Ruffalo is phenomenal as Chuck Aule, Teddy’s partner who helps in the investigation as Ruffalo plays the sidekick as well as conscience of sorts for Teddy. Even as help brings in some clues to the mysteries while being the guy to calm everyone down.

Leonardo DiCaprio is in top form as Teddy Daniels. DiCaprio brings a eerie quality to his performance as a troubled man trying to investigate a disappearance while hoping to expose the hospital for its experiments. There is a grittiness to DiCaprio’s performance as he’s someone worn down and disturbed by his own nightmares along with images of his wife appearing. While it may not top some of his previous collaborations with Martin Scorsese, DiCaprio does create a compelling yet engaging performance as Teddy Daniels.

Shutter Island is an excellent yet entrancing film from Martin Scorsese. While it may not top his recent films like The Aviator or The Departed along with other classic Scorsese films. It is still a remarkable achievement from a master like Scorsese who can still pull off some amazing tricks. Even as fans will be able to enjoy in what he can do with a suspense thriller that is presented with a lot of style. Featuring a great cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, it’s a film that is like a great puzzle that when seeing it for the second time. It becomes more intriguing as Shutter Island is another wonderful achievement from Martin Scorsese.

Martin Scorsese Films: (Who’s That Knocking on My Door?) - Boxcar Bertha - (Mean Streets) - Italianamerican - Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore - Taxi Driver - New York, New York - American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince - (The Last Waltz) - Raging Bull - The King of Comedy - After Hours - (The Color of Money) - The Last Temptation of Christ - New York Stories-Life Lessons - Goodfellas - Cape Fear - The Age of Innocence - (Casino) - (Kundun) - Bringing Out the Dead - Gangs of New York - (The Aviator) - No Direction Home - The Departed - Shine a Light - George Harrison: Living in the Material World - Hugo - The Wolf of Wall Street - (The Fifty Year Argument) - Silence (2016 film) - (The Irishman) - Killers of the Flower Moon - (An Afternoon with SCTV)

© thevoid99 2011