Thursday Movie Picks: Interview

For the 16th week of 2019 as part of Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks. We focus on the subject of interviews as it play into characters telling stories to another as well as getting a chance to know or discover about something or one’s self. Here are my three picks:

1. Velvet Goldmine

Todd Haynes’ glam-rock story about the rise and fall of a glam rock icon and his eventual disappearance from the public eye as the film is mainly about a journalist dealing with his past as he interviews various people who knew this glam rock singer. There’s several flashbacks and nods to the world of 1970s glam rock with Christian Bale playing the journalist who was a young fan at that time as he later deals with what he saw and its aftermath. It’s a flawed film but certainly an entertaining one for those who loved the world of 1970s glam rock.

2. The Fog of War

Errol Morris’ 2003 film has him talking to former Secretary of Defense chief Robert S. McNamara who served that position under the presidency of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. It’s a film that has McNamara talking about the Vietnam War and the lessons that needed to be learn as it also play into many things that become much more prevalent about the dangers of war. McNamara isn’t afraid to say things that people wouldn’t want to hear but also showcases some of uneasy decisions one had to make as it is one of the finest documentary films of the 21st Century so far.

3. Stories We Tell

Sarah Polley’s personal film about her own family has talking to many people about her mother but also questions about who she is and the idea that the man who raised her might not be her biological father. It’s a film that is an unconventional documentary but a touching one as it has Polley questioning a lot about herself but also talk to siblings and longtime family friends about her late mother as it adds a lot into a woman discovering her identity as well as uncover some family secrets.

© thevoid99 2019

The Passion of Anna

(In Memory of Bibi Andersson (1935-2019))

Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, En passion (The Passion of Anna) is the story of a reclusive man who falls for mysterious yet grief-stricken woman after breaking up with a lover and dealing with the dissolution of his marriage. The third film in a thematic trilogy that of violence, isolation, and self-hatred in ordinary lives, the film is an exploration of an affair that would eventually turn into chaos. Starring Liv Ullmann, Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson, Erland Josephson, Erik Hell, and Sigge Furst. En passion is a riveting yet haunting film from Ingmar Bergman.

Set in a remote island in Sweden, the film follows a man who is living alone following a divorce and dissolution of other relationships where his meeting with this grief-stricken woman would mark some unexpected change in his life as well as deal with some demons. It’s a film that play into a man who is living alone despite having a few friends as he meets this woman who is coping with the loss of her husband and son in a car accident as he gets to know her while being aware that something strange is happening around him and his friends. Ingmar Bergman’s script doesn’t have much plot as it’s more about this remote life in this island as it mainly follows the character of Andreas Winkelman (Max von Sydow) who is first seen repairing the roof in his house where this woman named Anna (Liv Ullmann) asks if she could make a phone call.

He would meet her again at a dinner with friends Eva (Bibi Andersson) and her husband Elis (Erland Josephson) as sees Anna as a woman that stands for the idea of truth. Andreas would deal with the growing schism in Elis and Eva’s marriage leading to a brief tryst with the latter and revelations about what is happening around them that includes Anna’s presence as someone who is passionate about faith. When Andreas starts a relationship with Anna, it goes well at first but things start to become questionable as the film also feature subplots relating to acts of cruelty against animals where Andreas saves a dachshund from being hanged. It would play into Andreas’ feelings about the world and whether Anna could really cope with these harsh realities.

Bergman’s direction does have some elements of style though much of his approach to compositions are straightforward. Shot on the Swedish island of Faro, Bergman would use the location to represent a world that is falling apart by these cruel events as well as this air of fervor and madness over some of these incidents. Bergman’s usage of the wide shots doesn’t just pertain to the locations but also in some intimate moments in some of the homes as it play into the growing discord between Eva and Elis as well as Andreas’ relationship with Anna late in the film. The usage of close-ups and medium shots as well as these precise compositions that are part of Bergman’s visual style add to the drama as well as this growing disconnect with reality. Notably in a black-and-white sequence where Anna dreams about being in despair and unable to help out as it relates to an execution. It’s a strange yet chilling sequence that matches up with the events of when the film was being made where Andreas and Anna watch television that relates to the turmoil of the late 1960s.

The direction also feature brief interludes as the actors playing the principle characters each comment on the characters they’re playing as it adds to this discussion of faith, isolation, passion, and dissolution. Even as it play into Andreas’ brief tryst with Eva who confesses her own issues with Elis while Andreas later copes with the barrage of animal cruelty around him as he would help neighbors bury the dead animals. The film’s climax doesn’t just play into Andreas’ frustrations with the world but also the violence that surrounds him as he starts to become unhinged by Anna’s passionate rhetoric about faith as it raises questions about everything she believes in. Overall, Bergman crafts a gripping yet evocative film about a man’s relationship with a grief-stricken yet passionate woman.

Cinematographer Sven Nykvist does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its gorgeous usage of color and lighting for some of the interiors as well as some natural lighting for the exteriors as well as a stark black-and-white look for Anna’s dream sequence. Editor Siv Lundgren does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward in terms of its approach to drama as it help play into some long shots with a few rhythmic cuts and montages that also add to the sense of discomfort looming throughout the film.

Production designer P.A. Lundgren does brilliant work with the look of the homes of the characters including some of the farms nearby Andreas’ home. Costume designer Mago does nice work with the costumes as it has some style into what Eva wears though it is mainly filled by sweaters and winter-like clothing. The sound work of Lennart Engholm is fantastic for capturing the natural elements of the film’s locations as well as the loud sounds of sirens and terror from the television that to the sense of despair in the film.

The film’s terrific cast feature some notable small roles from Marianne Karlbeck, Barbro Hiort af Ornas, Brita Oberg, Malin Ek, and Britta Brunius as women that Andreas and Anna would meet in their dreams, producer Lars-Owe Carlberg as a police officer, Sigge Furst as a neighbor named Verner, and Erik Hell in a superb small role as the farmer Johan Andersson as a man who is targeted by locals believing he is the one that is killing all of the animals. Erland Josephson is excellent as Elis Vergerus as a photographer who is trying to capture real emotions as he copes with his failing marriage but also his fascination towards Anna.

Bibi Andersson is amazing as Eva Vergerus as Elis’ wife who feels neglected and unimportant leading to a brief tryst with Andreas where she later copes with the effects of the affair. Max von Sydow is brilliant as Andreas Winkelman as a loner who is dealing with divorce and dissolution of his relationships as he’s trying to keep things to himself only to have a brief affair with Eva and later be in a relationship with Anna that later brings trouble and many questions about Anna. Finally, there’s Liv Ullmann in a phenomenal performance as Anna Fromm as a grief-stricken woman with a passionate rhetoric for faith who is a woman seeking truth as she’s troubled by her surroundings as well as the world in general leading to many questions if she really believes in what she’s saying.

En passion is a tremendous film from Ingmar Bergman. Featuring a great cast, Sven Nykvist’s gorgeous cinematography, a provocative premise, and its engrossing themes on passion, violence, humanity, and alienation. It’s a film that doesn’t provide any easy answers about human nature and their own faults as well as how one’s beliefs can distort their view on reality. In the end, En passion is a spectacular film from Ingmar Bergman.

Ingmar Bergman Films: (Crisis) - (It Rains on Our Love) - (A Ship to India) - (Music of Darkness) - (Port of Call) - (Prison) - (Thirst (1949 film)) - (To Joy) - (This Can’t Happen Here) - (Summer Interlude) – Secrets of Women - Summer with Monika - Sawdust and Tinsel - A Lesson in Love - Dreams (1955 film) - Smiles of a Summer Night - The Seventh Seal - (Mr. Sleeman is Coming) – Wild Strawberries - (The Venetian) - (Brink of Life) - (Rabies) - The Magician (1958 film) - The Virgin Spring - The Devil's Eye - Through a Glass Darkly - Winter Light - The Silence (1963 film) - All These Women - Persona - (Stimulantia-Daniel) – Hour of the Wolf - (Shame (1968 film)) - (The Rite) - (The Touch) – Cries & Whispers - Scenes from a Marriage - (The Magic Flute) - (Face to Face) - (The Serpent’s Egg) – Autumn Sonata - From the Life of the Marionettes - Fanny & Alexander - (After the Rehearsal) - (The Blessed Ones) - (In the Presence of a Clown) - (The Image Makers) – Saraband

© thevoid99 2019

It's Kind of a Funny Story

Based on the novel by Ned Vizzini, It’s Kind of a Funny Story is about a teenage boy who checks into a hospital following an attempted suicide jump where he is hospitalized for depression as he meet other individuals struggling with their own mental illnesses. Written for the screen and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the film is an exploration of a teenage boy dealing with the pressures of society and his own shortcomings as he would try to understand himself as well as those suffering from anxieties. Starring Keir Gilchrist, Emma Roberts, Lauren Graham, Jim Gaffigan, Jeremy Davies, Zoe Kravitz, Thomas Mann, Aasif Mandvi, Bernard White, Laverne Cox, Viola Davis, and Zach Galifianakis. It’s Kind of a Funny Story is a witty and engrossing film from Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.

With the pressure to succeed both in school and in life just before it’s really about to start, the film is about a teenage boy who checks into a hospital following a suicide attempt where he would stay for nearly a week as he meets various people with similar struggles as well as other forms of mental illness. It’s a film that explores the anxieties of a sixteen-year old kid where he would meet people around his age who also deal with problems as well as adults who are also coping with some form of illness. The film’s screenplay by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck is told mainly by its protagonist Craig Gilner (Keir Gilchrist) who attends a prestigious high school in Brooklyn as he’s due to finish an application for a prestigious summer school as his father George (Jim Gaffigan) expects him to do so while he is also in the shadow of his friend Aaron Fitzcarraldo (Thomas Mann) who is dating his longtime crush Nia (Zoe Kravitz). After imagining the idea of jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge where he would think about how his family would think, it would force Gilner to check into a hospital thinking he would stay for a short period of time.

Yet, the stay would be for a week for observation and therapy where Gilner meets an adult patient in Bobby (Zach Galifianakis) who is dealing with his own issues as well as trying to get a home to stay after he gets discharged. Gilner would also befriend another teenage patient in Noelle (Emma Roberts) as all of the teenage patients are staying at the adult ward due to renovations for the teenage ward. Noelle is there for self-harm as Gilner deals with the fact that he’s got a lot going for him but the pressure to succeed eventually got to him where he is able to gain sympathy from the other patients and the hospital’s therapist Dr. Minerva (Viola Davis) who is aware of his troubled thoughts.

The direction of Boden and Fleck is largely straightforward in terms of its compositions and setting while it does have some stylistic elements in the film as it relates to the drawings that Gilner would create. Shot on location in Brooklyn as well as parts of New York City, Boden and Fleck would use some wide shots but maintain an intimacy into the hospital setting such as its hallways, rooms, and common rooms for patients to socialize at. The usage of close-ups and medium shots as well as stylish moments of fantasy help play into the film’s quirky and offbeat tone while Boden and Fleck would know when to keep the film grounded in reality. Even in the group therapy sessions, simple conversations between Gilner, Bobby, and Noelle, and other moments where Gilner has to deal with elements of reality including small meetings with his family.

With Boden also serving as the film’s editor, she and Fleck would also create some stylish montages that play into the anxieties in Gilner’s life as well as some surreal sequences about the idea of what his future might be. Much of Boden’s editing would have some stylistic flair in the montages and in some jump-cuts that include a dream sequence of Gilner and other patients playing Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie. With the aid of animation director Brian Drucker, the animated backgrounds would play into this idea of fantasy but also hope for Gilner. The sense of realism does occur for its third act but there is also this element of hope as it relates to the time Gilner spent as well as realize that there’s nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to depression and mental illness. Overall, Boden and Fleck craft a touching and heartfelt film about a teenage boy seeking help at hospital where he learns about those that are also in need of help.

Cinematographer Andrij Parekh does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it is largely straightforward for many of the interior scenes at the hospital and at Gilner’s school while there’s some low-key lighting for a few interior/exterior scenes set at night. Production designer Beth Mickle, with set decorator Carrie Stewart and art director Michael Ahern, does fantastic work with the look of the rooms, common rooms, and hallways at the hospital as well as the homes of Gilner’s family and friends. Costume designers Kurt and Bart do nice work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward with the exception of the glam-inspired costumes for the fantasy sequence.

Special effects makeup artist Michael Marino does terrific work with the makeup for the fantasy sequence as well as the look of the scars that Noelle is sporting on her body. Visual effects supervisor Anthony Luigi Santoro does brilliant work with the visual effects in bringing the animation to life as well as be used as an element of hope in the real world. Sound editor Paul Hsu does superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of the hospital and some of the sparse sounds that are made throughout the film. The film’s music by Broken Social Scene is wonderful for its indie-folk approach with melodic guitars and offbeat rhythms while music supervisor Andrea von Foerster provide a mixture of different musical genres from indie, punk, rock, hip-hop, and pop as it includes some songs by Broken Social Scene as well as the xx, Drum, Queen and David Bowie, the Damned, the Wowz, Pink Mountaintops, White Hinterland, Kurtis Blow, the Tom Robinson Band, Pharoah Sanders, Method Man and Redman, Common, Rachid Taha, and Black Sabbath.

The casting by Cindy Tolan is amazing as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from novelist Ned Vizzini as the hospital’s music teacher, Laverne Cox as a transgender patient, Ethan Herschenfeld as a Hasidic Jewish patient named Solomon, Mary Birdsong as Bobby’s ex-wife, Aasif Mandvi as Dr. Mahmoud who would be the first to analyze Gilner’s problems, Matthew Maher and Adrian Martinez as a couple of adult patients in their respective roles as Humble and Johnny, Morgan Murphy as a young patient in Joanie, Dana DeVestern as Gilner’s young sister Alissa, Bernard White as an Egyptian patient named Muqtada, and Jeremy Davies as a hospital monitor named Smitty who watches over everyone as he makes sure everyone is fine.

Thomas Mann and Zoe Kravitz are terrific in their respective roles as Gilner’s friends Aaron Fitzcarraldo and Nia with Mann as an overachiever who always get what he wants and Kravitz as Gilner’s crush who becomes interested in him during his time at the hospital. Lauren Graham and Jim Gaffigan are fantastic in their respective roles as Gilner’s parents in Lynn and George with the former being more concerned about her son’s well-being while the latter is hoping his son will get better and get back on track unaware of the pressure he’s putting towards his son. Viola Davis is excellent as Dr. Minerva as the hospital’s therapist who analyzes Gilner as well as be someone who is understanding and willing to listen as it’s a low-key yet somber performance from Davis.

Emma Roberts is brilliant as Noelle as a teenage patient with issues of self-harm as someone who is intrigued by Gilner as well as being also witty and aware of her own situation. Zach Galifianakis is incredible as Bobby as an adult patient who is going through issues of his own but also offers a lot of wisdom to Gilner about life as well as the fact that things do get more complicated in adulthood but there’s also hope. Finally, there’s Keir Gilchrist in a remarkable performance as Craig Gilner as a teenage boy with a lot going for him as he copes with the pressure to succeed as well as a lot of the anxieties where he learns how to cope as well as not be afraid of seeking help.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story is a marvelous film from Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Featuring a great ensemble cast, a superb music soundtrack, touching study of mental illness and depression, and the desire for hope in a complicated world. It’s a film that manages to showcase a young man trying to deal with his own anxieties and demands of the world where he finds solace through people who are also going through similar struggles. In the end, It’s Kind of a Funny Story is an exhilaratingly rich film from Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.

Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck Films: Half Nelson - Sugar (2008 film) - Mississippi Grind – Captain Marvel - The Auteurs #71: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck

© thevoid99 2019

Secrets of Women

Based on a story by Gun Grut, Kvinnors vantan (Secrets of Women or Waiting Women) is the story of a group of sisters-in-law who each tell each other stories about their husbands as they’re all set to return home during a summer holiday. Written for the screen and directed by Ingmar Bergman, the film is a reflective look into a group of women who all talk about their relationships as well as reveal about some of the drawbacks of marriage. Starring Anita Bjork, Eva Dahlbeck, Maj-Britt Nilsson, Birger Malmsten, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Karl-Arne Holmsten, Jarl Kulle, Aino Taube, and Hakan Westergren. Kvinnors vantan is a witty yet engaging film from Ingmar Bergman.

Four sisters-in-law are at their family summer home waiting for their respective husbands to arrive as three of them talk about their marriage in some revealing stories about certain aspects of their lives. It’s a film whose simple premise that is sort of told in a reflective narrative as these women are waiting for their husbands to arrive as they’re with the kids and others as they tell their stories to a young woman who is interested as she also has a lover she’s waiting for. Ingmar Bergman’s screenplay follows a simple structure where three of the five women in the living room tell their respective stories on their marriages.

The first story from Rakel (Anita Bjork) has her recalling an affair with a friend in Kaj (Jarl Kulle) while she is married to Eugen (Karl-Arne Holmsten) as it relates to his reaction about the affair. The second story from Marta (Maj-Britt Nilsson) is about how she met Eugen’s younger brother Martin (Birger Malmsten) that lead to a pregnancy while recalling the time she was about to give birth to their child without him present. The third and final story from Karin (Eva Dahlbeck) is about her marriage Fredrik (Gunnar Bjornstrand) on a night where they get stuck in an elevator that has them revealing so much to each other. It is told to Marta’s younger sister Maj (Gerd Andersson) who is hoping to run away with her lover Henrik (Bjorn Bjelfvenstam).

Bergman’s direction definitely has some elements of style in some of the compositions that he creates yet he maintains that air of intimacy into the direction as it is focused on a group of women telling stories to one another. Shot mainly in parts of Stockholm and Paris as well as the Swedish countryside where the main bulk of the story takes place. There are a few wide shots in some of the locations as well as this lavish scene at the Parisian night club that Marta goes to where she meets Martin that include shots of topless women. Much of Bergman’s direction emphasizes on close-ups and medium shots with the few wide shots used for stylistic reasons as the intimacy play into how characters are shot inside a room or inside an apartment.

There are also these moments where Bergman would have the camera linger on for a few minutes knowing when not to cut as it adds to the conversations and dramatic moments in the film with Karin’s story about being in an elevator with Fredrik being the funniest segment of them all. The rest of the film is dramatic with Rakel being the most serious of the three yet Bergman does keep an air of intrigue into the drama as well as raise questions into why the fourth sister-in-law in Annette (Aino Taube) hasn’t told her story. Overall, Bergman crafts an engrossing yet compelling film about a group of women waiting for their husbands to arrive at the summer home.

Cinematographer Gunnar Fischer does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography with the usage of shadows and light for the scenes inside the elevator, the Parisian nightclub, and in some exterior scenes as it is one of the film’s highlights. Editor Oscar Rosander does excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward with a few stylish bits in rhythmic cuts for the humor and drama as well as some stylish superimposed dissolves for a montage scene in Marta’s story. Production designer Nils Svenwall does fantastic work with the look of the Parisian nightclub interiors as well as the look of the homes of the characters including the room where the women talk about their marriages.

Costume designer Barbro Sorman does terrific work with the dresses and clothes that the women wear that each play into their personalities. The sound work of Sven Hansen is superb for its natural approach to the sound as well as some of the raucous atmosphere of the clubs and the sound effects in the elevator. The film’s music by Erik Nordgren is wonderful for its orchestral score that include some woodwind-based pieces as well as some lush strings to play into the drama as well as bombastic music for the Parisian club scene.

The film’s incredible cast feature some notable small roles from Aino Taube as the fourth wife Annette who doesn’t have much to say, Hakan Westergren as Annette’s husband Paul who is eldest brother of the family, Bjorn Bjelfvenstam as Annette and Paul’s son Henrik who is also Maj’s lover, Gerd Andersson as Marta’s younger sister Maj who listens to the stories of her sister and her other sisters-in-law, and Jarl Kulle in a terrific performance as Rakel’s lover Kaj who is also a friend of her husband as he would play into some of the emotional waters of their marriage. Karl-Arne Holmsten is superb as Rakel’s husband Eugen as a man who is fragile as he would have a hard time coping with the flaws of his marriage to Rakel. Birger Malmsten is fantastic as Martin Lobelius as an artist who would meet and fall for Marta only to get her pregnant as he wouldn’t know about the existence of her child as well as cope with his own issues in being part of a revered family.

Gunnar Bjornstrand is excellent as Karin’s husband Fredrik as a man who always like to look at his best as he deals with his own shortcomings and neglect towards Karin once they get trapped in an elevator. Maj-Britt Nilsson is brilliant as Marta as a young woman married to Martin as she deals with how they met and how their relationship took a drastic turn due to their affair and what she had to deal with by herself. Eva Dahlbeck is amazing as Karin as Fredrik’s wife who reveals about secrets she has been keeping from her husband while trying to find ways to relate to him again despite the flaws in their marriage. Finally, there’s Anita Bjork in a radiant performance as Rakel as a woman in an affair with a longtime friend as she deals with its complications as well as the emotional chaos it would bring into her marriage.

Kvinnors vantan is a remarkable film from Ingmar Bergman. Featuring a great cast, a captivating script, gorgeous visuals, and themes of love, marriage, temptation, and desire. It’s a film that follow three stories of relationships told by three sisters-in-law as they wait for their husbands to arrive at the family summer home. In the end, Kvinnors vantan is a marvelous film from Ingmar Bergman.

Ingmar Bergman Films: (Crisis) - (It Rains on Our Love) - (A Ship to India) - (Music of Darkness) - (Port of Call) - (Prison) - (Thirst (1949 film)) - (To Joy) - (This Can’t Happen Here) - (Summer Interlude) - Summer with Monika - Sawdust and Tinsel - A Lesson in Love - Dreams (1955 film) - Smiles of a Summer Night - The Seventh Seal - (Mr. Sleeman is Coming) – Wild Strawberries - (The Venetian) - (Brink of Life) - (Rabies) - The Magician (1958 film) - The Virgin Spring - The Devil's Eye - Through a Glass Darkly - Winter Light - The Silence (1963 film) - All These Women - Persona - (Stimulantia-Daniel) – Hour of the Wolf - (Shame (1968 film)) - (The Rite) - The Passion of Anna - (The Touch) – Cries & Whispers - Scenes from a Marriage - (The Magic Flute) - (Face to Face) - (The Serpent’s Egg) – Autumn Sonata - From the Life of the Marionettes - Fanny & Alexander - (After the Rehearsal) - (The Blessed Ones) - (In the Presence of a Clown) - (The Image Makers) – Saraband

© thevoid99 2019

Thursday Movie Picks: Let's Start at the End

For the 15th week of 2019 as part of Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks. We go to movies where they start at the end as it play into the idea of structure where a film has a beginning, a middle, and an end but in the words of Jean-Luc Godard, it doesn’t have to be in that order. That is true as the ending also lead to a beginning or to serve as a form of narrative that helps the story return to its end. Here are my three picks:

1. Citizen Kane

Orson Welles’ landmark debut film is a triumph in cinema as it opens with this sense of intrigue into what is this man saying towards the end of his life. Rosebud. What is Rosebud? That is the big question that looms over the film as it explores the life of a tycoon who would rise greatly and then fall as it is told in a reflective narrative. It is an exploration of a man wanting to be loved and be great as it add to the intrigue of the story as Rosebud is really more of the path that Charles Foster Kane took but what he lost on the way to this journey of greatness and failure.

2. Mildred Pierce

Michael Curtiz’s adaptation of James M. Cain’s novel opens with the titular character being questioned for the murder of a man as she would then tell her story. It’s a film that explores a woman trying to raise her family during the Great Depression and make something of herself only to endure tragedy as well as heartbreak and betrayal. It’s one of the finest films of the era of 1940s film noir as well as a study of a woman trying to survive and please her ungrateful daughter.

3. Saving Private Ryan

The film opens and ends in the late 1990s where an old man is in Normandy’s war memorial as he sees a gravestone where he thinks about the soldiers who fought at Omaha Beach on D-Day and later would travel through Nazi Germany-occupied France to find him. It’s an unusual way to start a film but Steven Spielberg’s World War II tale remains one of the finest films of the 20th Century as it also a standard bearer of what a war film should be. Its ending goes back to the late 1990s and who this old man is as it is about honor and duty as it is a great way to open and end a film.

© thevoid99 2019

Tully (2018 film)

Directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody, Tully is the story of a mother of three children who is overwhelmed by her maternal duties where she gains a nanny who would help as well as become her new friend. The film is an exploration of motherhood who is about to have another child as she is forced to accept the idea of needing help as she would end up gaining more. Starring Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Mark Duplass, and Ron Livingston. Tully is a charming and heartfelt film from Jason Reitman.

The film follows a mother who becomes overwhelmed with her maternal duties after the birth of her child as she hires a night-nanny from the advice of her brother as the nanny would eventually make things better. It’s a film with a simple premise as it’s more of a study of a woman who has an unplanned third pregnancy as already being a parent of two adolescents is becoming stressful. Diablo Cody’s screenplay follows the life of Marlo Moreau (Charlize Theron) who is seen heavily pregnant and dealing with her two older kids with husband Drew (Ron Livingston) who is working and does what he can to help out. Marlo’s wealthy brother Craig (Mark Duplass) who wants to help his sister out by giving her a number for a night-nanny as he has one for his kids though Drew believes it isn’t a good idea due to money issues.

It is at a moment of desperation where the film’s titular character (Mackenzie Davis) arrives as she would be this beacon of light for Marlo as the two also become friends. While Cody’s script doesn’t have much plot for much of the film’s second and third act, it does provide these moments that allows Marlo to find some joy again as a mother but also bring back some spark into her romantic time with Drew. The film also feature these elements of dreams as it relates to Marlo often dreaming underwater images as it adds to this sense of freedom that she is craving for.

Jason Reitman’s direction is largely simple in its approach to compositions as it doesn’t bear much style throughout the film. Shot largely on location in Vancouver as a New York City suburb with one major sequence in the third act shot in New York City. Reitman doesn’t go for a lot of wide shots in the film in favor of presenting an intimacy to showcase a housewife/mother struggling to take care of three kids as her son is dealing with behavioral issues that might suggest some form of autism. Reitman’s direction does have some stylistic moments such as a scene in a car that is presented in one take that plays into Marlo’s own frustrations and exhaustion as the camera is inside the car. The scenes with Tully are light-hearted in its approach to drama as Reitman chooses to use close-ups and medium shots to play into this growing friendship between Marlo and Tully.

The film would feature these brief moments of surrealism as it relates to the dreams that Marlo is having as it relates to a mermaid swimming underwater as it would be referenced during the course of the film. Even as it would play more into Marlo’s psyche during the third act as well as this air of surrealism as well as the realism into what Marlo is dealing with as a mother. Particularly as Drew is not around enough or is oblivious to what is happening as he’s only met Tully once as it adds to the intrigue of the story as it relates to Marlo’s own state early in the film. Overall, Reitman crafts a riveting and somber film about a mother of three kids who receives help and a jolt of life from a mysterious night-nanny.

Cinematographer Eric Steelberg does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it’s largely straightforward with its greyish look for some of the daytime exteriors as well as low-key lights for the interior scenes at night at Marlo’s home. Editor Stefan Grube does brilliant work with the editing as it includes some montages of Marlo’s daily routine and a scene where Marlo and Tully drive towards Brooklyn while listening to Cyndi Lauper while much of the editing is largely straightforward with some rhythmic cuts. Production designer Anastasia Masaro, with set decorators Louise Roper and Karin Wiesel Holmes plus art directors Craig Humphries and Maki Takenouchi, does fantastic work with the look of the home that Marlo and Drew live with the kids as the home that Craig lives in. Costume designer Aiesha Li does terrific work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward to play into the ragged look of Marlo as well as a somewhat-youthful look of Tully.

Special makeup effects supervisor Nicholas Podbrey does nice work with the look of some of the prosthetics that Marlo has during her pregnancy as well as a few mysterious things in the film. Visual effects supervisor Dave Morley does superb work with the visual effects as it relates to the dream that Marlo would have. Sound editors Perry Robertson and Scott Sanders do amazing work with the sound in capturing the sparse and low-key sounds at Marlo’s home as well as some raucous scenes at a few parties and clubs that Marlo and Tully would go to.

The film’s music by Rob Simonsen does wonderful work with the music with its mixture of ambient and indie-electric folk based guitars to play into some of the drama while music supervisor Tricia Halloran creates a wide array of music that features many artists/acts from different genres such as the Velvet Underground, Cyndi Lauper, the Bill Evans Trio, the Spinanes, A Tribe Called Quest, the Jayhawks, Ronnie Foster, Rufus Wainwright, Beulahbelle, Janine the Machine, Shannon and the Clams, Last Legion, Girl Band, and Hamilton Leithauser with Rostam Batmanglij.

The film’s incredible cast feature some notable small roles from Gameela Wright as a school principal, Stormy Ent as a young night-nanny working for Craig in Shasta, Maddie Dixon-Poirier and Bella Star Choy as Craig’s daughters, Colleen Wheeler as Dr. Smythe who is worried about Marlo’s health, Elaine Tan as Craig’s wife Elyse, and the duo of Lia Frankland and Asher Miles Fallica in their respective role as Drew and Marlo’s kids in Sarah and Jonah with the former being the oldest who is trying to find her own identity while being critical of herself while the latter is a young boy struggling with behavioral issues as he screams and kicks only to later find some form of solace. Mark Duplass is superb as Marlo’s brother Craig as a wealthy man who is offering to help out as he would give Marlo a number to get herself a night-nanny where he also expresses concern that Drew doesn’t like him.

Ron Livingston is excellent as Marlo’s husband Drew as a husband who is often away for work as he tries to help out focusing mainly on Sarah while is often unaware of what is going on at times where he would escape by playing video games. Mackenzie Davis is amazing as the titular character as a young night-nanny who helps Marlo out with the new baby as well as to get her to relax as she is also this offbeat and lively individual who helps bring out the best in Marlo while also being very coy about herself. Finally, there’s Charlize Theron in a phenomenal performance as Marlo Moreau as a 40-something mother of three who just gave birth to a newborn baby girl as she is tired from her maternal duties where Theron displays that anguish and weariness mothers go through but also display a determination and liveliness as it’s one of Theron’s finest performances to date.

Tully is a sensational film from Jason Reitman that features great performances from Charlize Theron and Mackenzie Davis. Along with its supporting cast, superb music soundtrack, and engrossing themes about the struggles of motherhood thanks in part to Diablo Cody’s thoughtful screenplay. It’s a film that explores a woman trying to be a good mom as she deals with the overwhelming duties of motherhood where she would get help from a mysterious yet kind young woman. In the end, Tully is a phenomenal film from Jason Reitman.

Jason Reitman Films: Thank You for Smoking - Juno - Up in the Air - Young Adult - Labor Day - (Men, Women, & Children) – The Front Runner - Ghostbusters: Afterlife - The Auteurs #30: Jason Reitman

© thevoid99 2019

David Bowie: Finding Fame

Directed by Francis Whately, David Bowie: Finding Fame is a documentary film about the early years in the career of David Bowie from the time he would change his name to events and early moments of success that would kick-start an illustrious career. The third and final film in a trilogy of documentaries by Whatley, the film would feature rare and archival footage of Bowie in his early years trying to make it as a pop star while trying to find his own voice that would make him the beloved icon of music. The result is an engrossing and evocative film from Francis Whately about the early years of one of popular music’s most enduring artists.

The film chronicles the early years of the career of David Bowie from 1965 to 1971 having been in several failed bands and a solo career under his real surname in Jones where he would be called Davie Jones until another British singer with a similar name became a pop star before him. Through archival audio and TV interviews from Bowie as well as interviews from several colleagues and friends including music producers Tony Visconti and Mike Vernon, musicians Mick “Woody” Woodmansey, John Cambridge, John “Hutch” Hutchinson, Mark Plati, Gail Ann Dorsey, Carlos Alomar, Mike Garson, Earl Slick, and Rick Wakeman who all bring insight into Bowie’s music of those early years.

Along with interviews from other musicians who played in some of the early bands Bowie was in as well as those who knew him personally like Geoffrey MacKormick, George Underwood, and famed mime/choreographer Lindsay Kemp (whom the film is dedicated to) in one of his final interviews as well as Bowie’s cousin Kristina Amadeus and former girlfriends in Dana Gillespie and Hermione Farthingale. The film also touches upon Bowie’s early life in Brixton and Bromley that would shape a lot of the music he would create early on including a key moment where Amadeus enters the old Jones family home in Bromley as she would talk about Bowie’s parents and their troubled family life often due to histories of mental illness including Bowie’s half-brother Terry who would suffer from schizophrenia as he would inspire a few songs Bowie would create.

Francis Whately’s direction utilizes a lot of archival and rare audio including a widely-rare audio of a BBC audition Bowie did with one of the bands he was in the Lower Third as band members Phil Lancaster and Denis Taylor talk about the audition where the former reads a review of the audition. It’s one of the film’s comical moments where Lancaster looks at this old piece of paper that claims that Bowie as a singer is someone that lacks personality which amuses Lancaster who is aware that the BBC figures on that audition clearly missed the boat of what this young singer would become. Much of the interviews that Whately and cinematographers Louis Caulfield and Richard Numeroff would show are straightforward with Amadeus’ scene at the old Jones’ family home in Bromley being a major highlight as it must be a big surprise that the current owners of that home couldn’t believe they’re living in the childhood home of one of Britain’s great treasures.

Editor Ged Murphy would help Whately compile many archival footage including archival interviews from one of Bowie’s early managers Ken Pitt and music producer Gus Dudgeon from the early 1990s as well as interview footage from Mick Ronson from a related Bowie documentary that’s about Bowie’s collaboration with Ronson. The archival footage that includes remastered footage of the rarely-seen promotional film Love You Til’ Tuesday as well as footage of Bowie’s collaboration with Lindsay Kemp and some of Bowie’s early TV appearances. Sound re-recording mixer Greg Gettens would also compile some rare audio including an audio clip of Bowie’s performance at the Glastonbury Festival in 1971 where he played at dawn to an audience of a few hundred people that would include work-in-progress versions of songs he would later create in his 1972 breakthrough album Hunky Dory and then perform those songs 29 years to a massive audience at Glastonbury where he was the headliner in what some consider to be his most legendary performance.

Hermione Farthingale is among one of the most interesting individuals interviewed in the film as she was considered the first love of Bowie’s life as she revealed a lot about their relationship and collaboration as a multimedia trio known as Feathers with John Hutchinson. Even as she talked about their break-up and events afterwards as she wouldn’t see him during the time he would become famous until 2013 which was the last time they saw each other. The film also play into the many influences Bowie had at the time including the Velvet Underground where longtime collaborator Carlos Alomar reveal similarities to a song by the Velvet Underground with an early single by Bowie in The Laughing Gnome. Another music piece that is unveiled relates to the song The London Boys as it’s considered to be one of Bowie’s early gems as he would re-record it in 2000 for the unreleased Toy album as it features a rarely-seen clip of Bowie performing the song for 2000 BBC performance with the musicians he was playing at the time playing to the re-recording of the song in a studio.

David Bowie: Finding Fame is a sensational film from Francis Whately. It’s a film that explore Bowie trying to find himself in his attempts to be famous where he would get his first taste of success with Space Oddity and continuously search to stand out. The film is a rich documentary that serves as a fitting end to a trilogy of documentaries that explore the music and life of David Bowie told by the man himself as well as those who knew him. In the end, David Bowie: Finding Fame is an incredible film from Francis Whately.

Related: Cracked Actor - David Bowie: Five Years - David Bowie: The Last Five Years

© thevoid99 2019

Magnet of Doom

Based on the novel by Georges Simenon, L’Aine des Ferchaux (An Honorable Young Man aka Magnet of Doom) is the story of a young boxer who is hired by a banker to travel with him to New York to collect money as they later go on the run from authorities and other forces. Written for the screen and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, the film plays into a man trying to find work only to get himself into a much bigger scheme that becomes far more troublesome. Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Vanel, Michele Mercier, and Stefania Sandrelli. L’Aine des Ferchaux is a riveting and provocative film from Jean-Pierre Melville.

Following a disappointing end to a once-promising career as a boxer, a man tries to find a job where he is hired by a mysterious banker to travel with him to New York City from Paris to collect money he has in the hopes he can evade family and others while ruling his criminal empire from afar. It’s a film that play into a man that is desperate to have a job where he is asked to accompany a banker with a criminal past to get money that he owes to other partners including family. Jean-Pierre Melville’s screenplay has a unique structure where its first act is set in Paris where the boxer Michel Maudet (Jean-Paul Belmondo) has lost a fight and is now trying to find work where he would sell used clothes and such to get money for himself and his girlfriend. Answering an ad on the paper, Maudet would meet Dieudonne Ferchaux (Charles Vanel) who is dealing with a bank that is failing and people wanting their money back as he knows that he has money in New York City and Caracas, Venezuela.

The second act partially takes place in New York City where Maudet and Ferchaux learn that the latter’s account in the U.S. is on hold due to his criminal background as FBI agents are hoping to extradite him back to France who are also after him. This would lead into a road trip through America towards the South as the two men would encounter their surroundings as well as get to know more about each other which play into their different personalities as Ferchaux just wants to hide while Maudet wants to see America. The film’s third act is set in Louisiana where the two go into hiding at a home which add to the growing tension of different needs and wants between the two as well as Ferchaux trying to protect all he had left.

Melville’s direction does bear elements of style yet much of his direction is straightforward in terms of the compositions he creates. Shot mainly in Paris and studios in Paris with many of the exterior locations in America are shot on those actual locations. Melville would use wide shots to get a look at the locations as well as a few scenes inside a room yet much of it has him shot scenes in a medium shot or in a close-up to observe the relationship between Maudet and Ferchaux. Notably in their first meeting at the latter’s mansion that includes the finest things a rich man can have including beautiful women as it establishes the world that Ferchaux lives in as it’s spacious and having all of these great antiques in a room. Melville’s direction captures so much detail as it play into a world that Maudet wants to be in but knows he has to make some sacrifices to be part of the world. When the film moves to America, it does become a somewhat different film in tone yet Melville does maintain this air of uncertainty in a low-key approach as it play into the dramatic suspense.

Melville’s direction does have a looseness in its approach to capturing the beauty of the American locations that include national parks and such as well as New Orleans where much of the film’s third act takes place. The film’s second act has Melville play into what is at stake where Maudet is aware that trouble is brewing where he is willing to listen to what these FBI agents want but also is sort of protective of Ferchaux. Still, Ferchaux becomes unruly and demanding as Maudet wants to have some freedom of his own where Melville showcases parts of New Orleans as well as a bar/restaurant that he goes to own by a man named Jeff (Todd Martin) who speaks French as he and an associate in Suska (E.F. Medard) have some interest towards Ferchaux that would play into this climax where Maudet either has to be there for Ferchaux or go out on his own. Overall, Melville crafts an evocative and gripping film about a former boxer accompanying a corrupt banker to America to collect money and hide from authorities.

Cinematographer Henri Dacae does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography as it has some vibrant colors for some of the film’s interiors including low-key lights for the house Maudet and Ferchaux lived in Louisiana as well the colorful exteriors for some of the locations in America. Editors Monique Bonnot and Claire Durand do excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward with some rhythmic cuts to play into the drama and some of the film’s suspense. Production designer Daniel Gueret does fantastic work with the look of the interiors of Ferchaux’s home as well as the house in Louisiana in its decayed state and the bar owned by Jeff.

The sound work of Jean Gaudlet and Victor Revelli is superb for its natural approach to sound in the way music is presented in a jukebox or the atmosphere of a certain location. The film’s music by Georges Delerue is incredible for its mixture of whimsical score pieces that play into the world of America as well as somber orchestral piano pieces that play into the sense of the unknown while its music soundtrack a mixture of rock n’ roll and Frank Sinatra which Maudet prefers.

The film’s terrific cast feature some notable small roles and appearances from Todd Martin as a bar/restaurant owner named Jeff who converses with Maudet occasionally to find out about Ferchaux, E.F. Medard as Jeff’s friend Suska, Andres Certes as Ferchaux’s brother Emile who wants his brother to pay him back, Michele Mercier as a French dancer named Lou that Maudet meets in New Orleans, Malvina Silberberg as Maudet’s Parisian girlfriend Lina whom he doesn’t reveal anything to her about his job, and Stefania Sandrelli in a wonderful appearance as an American hitchhiker named Angie that Maudet spends some time with on the road.

Charles Vanel is marvelous as Dieudonne Ferchaux as a corrupt banker with a criminal past that is eager to retrieve money he had saved up to escape from people whom he owes money to hoping to get out of America and go to South America where he later deals with illness and the growing indifference from Maudet. Finally, there’s Jean-Paul Belmondo in a remarkable performance as Michel Maudet as a former paratrooper/boxer whose career in the latter ended disappointingly as he takes a job to accompany Ferchaux unaware of the dangers and demands he has to endure where he tries to find his own freedom as well as realize the importance of the money that Ferchaux is trying to hold on to.

L’Aine des Ferchaux is an incredible film from Jean-Pierre Melville that features great performances from Jean-Paul Belmondo and Charles Vanel. Along with its locations, unusual story, George Delerue’s rapturous score, and gorgeous visuals, the film is a compelling story of a man traveling to America to accompany a man to retrieve money only to be watched by authorities wanting that man and his money. In the end, L’Aine des Ferchaux is a sensational film from Jean-Pierre Melville.

Jean-Pierre Melville: 24 Hours in the Life of a Clown – Le silence de la mer - Les enfants terribles - (Quand tu liras cette letter) - Bob le flambeur - (Two Men in Manhattan) – (Leon Morin, Priest) – (Le Doulos) – Les deuxieme souffle - Le Samourai - Army of Shadows – Le cercle rouge - (Un flic)

© thevoid99 2019

Thursday Movie Picks: Unrecognizable Actor Transformations

For the 14th week of 2019 as part of Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks. We venture into unrecognizable actor transformations where part of the job of an actor is to become someone else. Sometimes, actors would take things too far to be that character which play into some of the awful aspects of method acting where it just reeks vanity so that actors try to be taken seriously. Then there are those performances that do merit consideration and push the art of what acting is and should be. Here are my three picks:

1. Peter Sellers-Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Playing not one but three roles in Stanley Kubrick’s Cold War satire, Sellers’ performances as the titular character, Royal Air Force officer Colonel Mandrake, and American president Merkin Muffley displays the talents of one of cinema’s great actors. Each performance that Sellers does in the film display different personalities where President Muffley is kind of meek yet is approached in a straightforward manner while Colonel Mandrake is Sellers at his most restrained as a man of morality and intelligence who copes with a situation gone awry. In the titular character, it is Sellers that is extremely hilarious as this mad scientist that says some of the funniest things as well as being darkly comical.

2. Robert de Niro-Raging Bull

In the role of Jake La Motta in Martin Scorsese’s bio-pic about the middleweight boxer, Robert de Niro’s performance is definitely one of his great achievements yet how he would approach that performance is astonishing. Having to put on muscles and weigh at around 145 pounds to play La Motta in his prime and as a boxer, de Niro displayed the man at his toughest and most brutal in and out of the ring. The production was on hold for four months where De Niro went to Northern Italy on an eating binge to 70 pounds to play the older and washed-up La Motta is a testament to show how committed de Niro and Scorsese wanted to bring some authenticity to the story.

3. Christian Bale-The Machinist

Actors would gain weight to play a major role but Christian Bale would up the ante by losing more than 62 pounds and reducing his body mass to 120 pounds for this psychological thriller about a man whose insomnia and paranoia gets the best of him. It’s a shocking performance that shows the commitment Bale is willing to bring into a role as well as his body at great risk to create a performance that is unforgettable. Even as he was willing to re-define the term to suffer for one’s art.

© thevoid99 2019

Madeleine (1950 film)

Directed by David Lean and written by Stanley Haynes and Nicholas Phipps, Madeleine is based on the true story of Madeleine Smith who was from a wealthy family in Glasgow, Scotland who was accused of killing her lover in 1857. The film is a trial drama that explores the life of a woman whose affair with a Frenchman lead to his death and questions about lifestyle and such as she is portrayed by Ann Todd. Also starring Ivan Desny, Leslie Banks, and Norman Wooland. Madeleine is a riveting and compelling film from David Lean.

The film revolves around the true story of Madeleine Smith who is accused of poisoning her French lover as it lead to many questions about his death with people wondering about their affair and the scandal it would’ve brought to her social status. It’s a film that explores a woman hiding this affair from her family and fiancé as it would later become troubling and complicated. The film’s screenplay by Stanley Haynes and Nicholas Phipps, with the latter providing the dialogue, has a straightforward structure as the first act is about Smith’s affair with Emile L’Angelier (Ivan Desny) as it’s a secret affair that her father James (Leslie Banks) doesn’t know of fearing that he might disapprove of the relationship. James believes that another society gentleman in William Minnoch (Norman Wooland) is more suitable as he does offer security and kindness. The second act revolves around L’Angelier’s intentions and Smith’s attempt to break off the affair with its third act being the trial into whether or not Smith did poison L’Angelier.

David Lean’s direction does bear elements of style though much of his direction is straightforward as it opens with the exact location in Glasgow, Scotland where Smith lived nearly a century ago where the story took place. Shot largely at Pinewood Studios in London with some shots at Edinburgh, Lean does use a few wide shots for some of the locations as well as a lavish sequence of Smith and L’Angelier watching locals dancing to a traditional Scottish number which would cut to a medium shot of Smith and L’Angelier mimic the dancing. The usage of medium shots and close-ups give Lean a lot of coverage into the interior settings with the latter being used to focus on a piece of clothing or a character’s face such as Smith who is dealing with confusion about her love for L’Angelier and her increasing interest in Minnoch. Even as it would add to the drama and the growing dissolution between Smith and L’Angelier.

Lean’s direction also play into the ambiguity of how Smith is trying to handle her situation that would lead to the third act where she’s on trial. The trial scenes also have these usage of flashbacks from the testimonies of those who know Smith and wonder if she’s capable of doing something terrifying. Lean would use some long shots for some of the monologues in the trial scene as well as some shots of people at the trial. The film’s climax is about its verdict as well as its aftermath that ends up raising more questions than answers. At the center of it is Smith as a woman who was torn between two lovers but also a lifestyle that’s given her so much as it add to the emotional stakes of the film. Overall, Lean crafts a mesmerizing yet chilling film about a woman’s troubled affair with a Frenchman that leads to his death and troubling aftermath.

Cinematographer Guy Green does excellent work with the film’s black-and-white photography as its usage of shadows and lights to help provide some of the drama as well as some of the film’s darker moments. Editors Clive Donner and Geoffrey Foot do amazing work with the editing as it help play into the dramatic suspense as well as scenes in the trial to play into the emotional elements of the film. Costume designer Margaret Furse does brilliant work with the period costumes from the lavish dresses that Smith wears to the suits that the men wore in those times.

Hair stylist Biddy Chrystal does nice work with the hairstyle of Smith in her different looks to play into her persona as this prestigious society woman. Sound mixers Stanley Lambourne and Gordon K. McCallum do superb work with the sound as it help play into some of the suspense including a sequence of L’Angelier returning to his apartment as well as sparse sounds of objects at Smith’s home. The film’s music by William Alwyn is wonderful for its lush and rich orchestral score that has elements of bombast in the strings but also in somber moments that play into the drama.

The film’s terrific cast feature some notable small roles from Patricia Raine as Smith’s youngest sister Bessie, Susan Stranks as Smith’s younger sister Janet, Andre Morrel as Smith’s defense attorney, Barry Jones as the prosecutor, David Horne as the judge, Edward Chapman as a doctor, Jean Cadell as a concerned landlord for L’Angelier, Barbara Everest as Smith’s mother, Elizabeth Sellars as the Smiths’ maid Christina who is suspicious about Madeleine’s meetings with L’Angelier, and Eugene Deckers as a friend of L’Angelier in Thuau who would uncover some belongings that would raise questions about L’Angelier’s relationship with Smith. Leslie Banks is fantastic as Smith’s father who is a man of great importance as he wants what is best for his daughter while becoming uneased about the crimes she has committed.

Norman Wooland is excellent as William Minnoch as a society gentleman whom Smith’s father believes is an ideal man where he is kind and willing to listen to Smith as well as be someone who genuinely cares about her. Ivan Desny is brilliant as Emile L’Angelier as a Frenchman living in Glasgow who charms and woos Smith as they become lovers as he’s hoping to make their affair public which brings some complications due to his desire to rise up in the world of society as well as wanting to meet Smith’s father. Finally, there’s Ann Todd in an incredible performance as the titular character as this society woman who is torn between two different men while wanting to maintain her role in upper-class society where Todd displays that sense of quiet ambiguity and anguish as a woman that has put herself into a situation that could mean doom for her.

Madeleine is a marvelous film from David Lean that features a great performance from Ann Todd in the titular role. Along with its supporting cast, captivating story of status and desires, and dazzling technical work, it’s a film that explore a woman caught in an affair that becomes troubled just as it would risk her own lifestyle and later put her into a scandal involving murder and deceit. In the end, Madeleine is a remarkable film from David Lean.

David Lean Films: In Which We Serve - This Happy Breed – Blithe Spirit - Brief Encounter - Great Expectations (1946 film) - Oliver Twist (1948 film) - The Passionate Friends - The Sound Barrier - Hobson's Choice - Summertime (1955 film) – The Bridge on the River Kwai - Lawrence of Arabia - Doctor Zhivago - Ryan's Daughter - (Lost and Found: The Story of Cook’s Anchor) – A Passage to India - (The Auteurs #74: David Lean)

© thevoid99 2019