Written, directed, and co-edited by Coralie Fargeat, The Substance is the story of a former Hollywood film star who turns 50 as her career starts to fade until she goes to the black market to get a drug that will make her a younger version of herself. The film is an exploration of aging and body image where a woman deals with a fading career as an aerobics instructor on TV where she takes a drug to become a different person only for things to go wrong. Starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid. The Substance is a monstrous and exhilarating film by Coralie Fargeat.
The film revolves around a former Hollywood starlet whose aerobics TV show is abruptly cancelled as she had turned 50 where she is given a mysterious flash drive about a black-market drug known as the Substance that would allow her to become a younger and better version of herself but with some rules. It is a film that explores many themes including aging, body imagery, and the male gaze towards the women they exploit. Coralie Fargeat’s screenplay does have a straightforward narrative where it explores the world of Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) as she was this celebrated figure with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that has been treated with indifference despite the popularity of her aerobics show. Its cancellation is abrupt because she just turned 50 as its producer Harvey (Dennis Quaid) made the decision in the hopes he can get someone younger to drive up ratings. After a car accident, a nurse (Robin Greer) gives Sparkle a flash drive about this drug known as the Substance where she is intrigued by it while also following its specific instructions.
Upon using the Substance, its activator can only be used once where Sparkle’s body becomes unconscious while her new body in Sue (Margaret Qualley) can be conscious but only for seven days as they would have to switch places with no exceptions with balance being key to its success. Sue would get the attention of Harvey following an audition as she would get her own fitness show where ratings go through the roof as she would crave more fame and fortune. Thus, she would break the rules of using the substance which would cause parts of Sparkle’s body to age rapidly. Fargeat’s script doesn’t have a lot of dialogue throughout the film other than moments where events in the second and third act where Sparkle starts to mentally unravel over her physical state as she becomes resentful towards Sue for breaking the balance of their usage of the Substance. For Sue, she becomes annoyed with Sparkle’s own behavior antics that threatens her career as things start to get out of control.
Fargeat’s direction is stylish in every sense of the word in how the film opens with the Substance serum injected into an egg that splits into two and then cuts to Sparkle getting a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Shot on various locations in France with Cote d’Azur being the exterior double for Los Angeles and interiors shot in studios in Paris. Fargeat creates a film that is set in a hyperactive world where it is about giant billboards, flashing cameras, how many people are seeing you, and everything that comes with fame. Fargeat emphasizes on extreme close-ups and medium shots to play into this manic world of celebrity culture as well as the fact that women are often exploited for reasons beyond their control. Fargeat doesn’t hold back when it comes to the male gaze in scenes where Sue is hosting her show with a lot of close-ups of her ass and cleavage being a key part where sex sells. While Sparkle is a beautiful woman for her age, she is not what Harvey wants where there are scenes of her fully-naked where the flaws of her body come into play as it play into Sparkle’s desire to use the Substance. There are wide shots to play into the growing sense of disconnect that happens for Sparkle as she tries to distance herself from Sue.
Editing with Jerome Eltabet and Valentin Feron, Fargeat emphasize on different editing styles such as the overly-stylized fast-cutting common with Hollywood films to play into the chaotic world of celebrity culture. Yet, Fargeat would know when to slow things down as it relates to Sparkle’s own declining physical and mental state where she would also use tracking shots for both her and Sue walking down the hall towards the bathroom. Even as the camera would show them walking from their point of view where it is presented in a hand-held style as if both women would get sick during their time in using the Substance. The second half is where the body horror comes as it doesn’t just play into Sue’s disregard for the rules of using the Substance but its effect on Sparkle where parts of her body would age. Even as there is a moment where Sparkle’s own abuse of her own body would start to affect Sue in a scene where she finds something in her body as it plays into this conflict between the two women.
The film’s third act is where the body horror is intensified as it plays into the fallacies of beauty and fame with Sparkle wanting to end it all just as Sue is about to host a big New Year’s Eve special on TV. What would happen afterward would play into the desperation of wanting to be beautiful and the eventual result is shocking. Shocking would be an understatement to describe the film’s climax as it goes beyond the parameters expected in body horror where Fargeat goes all out and then some. Overall, Fargeat crafts a horrifying and provocative film about an aging starlet taking a mysterious substance where she creates a young woman who shares her consciousness.
Cinematographer Benjamin Kracun does brilliant work with the film’s vibrant and colorful cinematography for many of the daytime interior/exterior scenes as well as the scenes in the bathroom along with some stylish lighting for the interior/exterior scenes at night. Production designer Stanislas Reydellet, along with supervising art director Gladys Garot plus set decorators Cecilia Blom, Marion De Villechabrolle, and construction manager Jacques Oursin, does amazing work with the look of the condo that Sparkle lives in as well as the studio hallway where Sue would work at and the office that Harvey works at in all its awful grandeur. Costume designer Emmanuelle Youchnovski does excellent work with the costumes in the revealing fitness clothing that Sue wears for her show as well as the yellow coat that both women share. Special effects makeup designer Pierre Olivier Persin does phenomenal work with the makeup as it is the highlight of the film in the prosthetics breasts of Sue as well as the aging makeup for Sparkle due to the unbalanced effects of the Substance as it is a highlight of the film.
Special effects supervisors Pierre Hugueny and Jean Miel, along with visual effects supervisor Bryan Jones, do terrific work with the visual effects for some set-dressing in scenes outside of the condo as well as other visual elements that play into the horror of the film. Sound designers Valerie Deloof and Victor Fleurant do superb work with the sound in the way Harvey eats shrimp in the most disgusting of ways as well as some of the sparse sound textures in the film that play into the sense of horror and suspense. The film’s music by Benjamin Stefanski, in his Raffertie pseudonym, is incredible for its warbling electronic score that has elements of pulsating sounds and textures to play into Sue’s world but also some somber pieces that play into the horror and anguish that Sparkle goes through while music supervisor Guillaume Baurez creates a soundtrack that is filled with some electronic pieces from Holy Fuck with Lucia Tacchetti, Romanger, Earl Gregory, Thomas Kuralti, and a couple of score pieces by Richard Strauss and Bernard Herrmann.
The casting by Laure Cochener and Lea Moszkowicz is fantastic as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Vincent Colombe as one of Harvey’s executives, Yann Bean as the voice of the Substance, Hugo Diego Garcia as a lover of Sue that appears in the third act, Oscar Lesage as another lover of Sue who is a biker, Tom Morton as a doctor who examines Sparkle early in the film, Robin Greer as a young male nurse that would give Sparkle the flash drive for the Substance, Gore Abrams as a neighbor of Sue/Sparkle, Edward Hamilton Clark as a former classmate of Sparkle that she bumps into whom she almost goes on a date with, and Christian Ericksen as a mysterious old man Sparkle meets at a diner. Dennis Quaid is great as the TV producer Harvey as Quaid goes all out as a man who is the most despicable person in the world. A man that eats large shrimp in the most disgusting of ways that makes all the body horror seem tame in comparison while he is an absolute misogynistic asshole that anyone who comes across with would want to punch him in the face.
Margaret Qualley is phenomenal as Sue as the younger version of Sparkle that comes out of Sparkle’s body where Qualley displays a great sense of physicality into her performance as someone that is fit as well as being able to do the kind of fitness that a fitness model needs to do. There is also a complexity in her personality in the way she presents herself publicly as well as dealing with what Sparkle has done to herself, showcasing a dark edge that would be her own undoing. Finally, there’s Demi Moore in a performance for the ages as Elisabeth Sparkle as a former actress/TV fitness personality who had just turned 50 and lost her job as she copes with aging and not knowing what to do next. Moore brings a lot of wit to her performance once her character starts to age as there is a physicality and a dark edge into her performance where Moore goes all out and then some as it is really the performance of her career.
The Substance is an outstanding film by Coralie Fargeat that features a tremendous leading performance from Demi Moore as well as a great supporting performance from Margaret Qualley. Along with its study of aging, vibrant visuals, a hypnotic music soundtrack, discomforting sound effects, and the incredible special makeup effects that pushes the idea of what body horror could be. It is a film that doesn’t hold back in terms of its exploration of an industry that exploits women and the pressures to be beautiful as well as the effect on those who are forced to retire when they still have much to offer. In the end, The Substance is a magnificent film by Coralie Fargeat.
Written, co-edited, and directed by Coralie Fargeat, Revenge is the story of a woman who goes on a journey for revenge after she was left for dead by her boyfriend’s friends during a vacation gone wrong. The film is a simple revenge story as it plays into a woman whose planned vacation goes wrong prompting her to go on a hunt on her own while the men who raped her are on a hunting trip of their own. Starring Matilda Lutz, Kevin Janssens, Vincent Colombe, and Guillaume Bouchede. Revenge is a bloody and unforgiving film by Coralie Fargeat.
The film is the story of an American woman who goes to a remote villa in the Moroccan desert with her married boyfriend only to be raped and left for dead by her boyfriend and his friends who embark on a hunting trip only to realize that she is not dead and wants to kill them. It is a film with a simple premise that explores the idea of vengeance, yet it is in its setting and the dynamic between male and female is what makes the story different from typical revenge stories. Notably as writer Coralie Fargeat does explore the male gaze and how their dismissive view on this young woman, they meet would be their undoing. Although the young woman in Jen (Matilda Lutz) is an American woman who believes her boyfriend Richard (Kevin Janssens) would give her all the things she wants. A night of partying, raped by one of his friends, chased, and then be left for dead would force her to face a darker reality in an environment that is foreign to her. Even as she is someone who must go by her own survival instincts as well as a tiny bag of peyote that Richard had to go on a journey for vengeance.
Fargeat’s direction is stylish in the way she emphasizes on different visual traits to play into this journey of revenge with elements of surrealism as well as playing to the male gaze. Shot on location in Morocco with its deserts being a key location for the film, Fargeat utilizes wide and medium shots to get a scope into the vast space of where these characters are. She also uses close-ups and extreme close-ups to play into the sense of dread and exploitation as the first act plays into Jen being this object of desire for Richard as well as his friends Stan (Vincent Colombe) and Dimitri (Guillaume Bouchede) where the former dances with Jen and later rape her the next morning after she refuses his advances. Richard would come home to learn about what happened only to make her keep quiet about everything until she threatened to tell his wife about what happened is when things escalated badly where she would be chased through the desert and then pushed off a cliff by Richard.
Fargeat’s direction early on has this kinetic style that would also be reflected in the editing where she and co-editors Bruno Safar and Jerome Eltabet would use fast-cuts and offbeat rhythmic cuts to play into a chaotic style that would be prevalent in a sequence involving the peyote that Jen would have possession of. Fargeat would also emphasize a graphic approach to the violence as blood is a major detail in the film in the fact that Jen’s torso lands onto a tree branch that she would have to pull out. There are also these intense extreme close-ups of wounds on body as Fargeat goes into some excruciating detail into the severity of these wounds. The violence is also unforgiving in its overall presentation where Fargeat would slow things down visually to include long and intricate tracking shots which is a direct contrast to the way the film is presented early on. Particularly in the editing where it allows shot to linger for more than a few seconds into minutes to add to the suspense. The film’s climax where Fargeat has this young woman go on this mission for revenge as it is about the man who fucked her over and left her for dead. Overall, Fargeat crafts an unsettling yet enthralling revenge film about a woman who goes on a hunt of her own.
Cinematographer Robrecht Heyvaert does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its vibrant usage of colored shades and mood for the daytime exterior scenes in the desert and at the villa to the usage of available light and fire for the exterior scenes at night in the desert. Costume designer Elisabeth Bornaut does excellent work with the costumes in the stylish clothing Jen would have early in the film including her pink-star earrings with the clothes that the men wear. Special makeup effects artists Pierre Emmanuel Kass and Laetitia Quillery do incredible work with the makeup effects in the way body wounds are presented in graphic detail including scenes involving gore as it is a highlight of the film.
Sound designers Jerome Faurel, Alain Feat, and Eric Mauer do superb work with the sound as it play into the natural sound of the locations as well as the sound effects that play into some of the body horror in the film. The film’s music by Robin Coudert, in his ROB alias, does amazing work with the film’s soundtrack with its eerie and pulsating electronic music score that play into the suspense and terror while music supervisors Stephanie Sfeir, Clement Souchier, and Jeanne Trellu create a soundtrack that include elements of pop and electronic music including pieces from Brodski and Clive Hicks.
The casting by Martin Rougier is wonderful as it feature a voice appearance from Barbara Gateau as the voice of Richard’s wife and Jean-Louis Tribes as the helicopter pilot who drops Richard and Jen off at the villa in the film’s opening scene. Guillaume Bouchede is fantastic as Dimitri as fat slob who is a skilled hunter despite his boorish appearance. Vincent Colombe is excellent as Stan as a hunter and close friend of Richard who flirts with Jen and later rape her where he is shocked over the aftermath only to get himself into some serious trouble. Kevin Janssens is brilliant as Richard as this rich married man who is the embodiment of the male chauvinism where he is this alpha male that has fucked with the wrong woman. Finally, there’s Matilda Lutz in a phenomenal performance as Jen as this young woman who is on a vacation thinking she is there for a good time until she is raped, assaulted, and left for dead. Lutz brings a physicality as a woman who is out of her comfort zone in a desolate environment but with limited survival skills that prove to be useful where she turns into this stone-cold killer who walks barefoot and a peyote hangover. It is truly a breakout performance for the young actress.
Revenge is a spectacular film by Coralie Fargeat that features a great performance from Matilda Lutz. Along with its supporting cast, vibrant visuals, a mesmerizing film soundtrack, uncompromising approach to violence, and a simple yet gripping take on vengeance. This is a film that takes a simple premise and adds a visceral approach to the subject of revenge as it plays into the many fallacies of chauvinism. In the end, Revenge is a tremendous film by Coralie Fargeat.
Directed by Justine Triet and written by Triet and Arthur Harari, Anatomie d’une chute (Anatomy of a Fall) is the story of writer who is accused of murdering her husband who had died in a fall with their blind son being forced to testify in court in what he might have discovered. The film is a drama in which explores a murder but also the events of a marriage that is crumbling with a writer being forced to defend herself and her family. Starring Sandra Huller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado-Graner, Antoine Reinartz, Samuel Theis, Jehnny Beth, Saadia Bentaieb, Camille Rutherford, Anne Rotger, and Sophie Fillieres. Anatomie d’une chute is a gripping and ravishing film by Justine Triet.
The film is about a blind boy who finds his father dead after falling off from his house where questions arise into whether it was an accident, a suicide, or was he killed by his wife following an argument? It is a film that explores a man’s death with his wife and son trying to understand what happened while the wife gets questioned about the events preceding his death. The film’s screenplay by Justine Triet and Arthur Harari does use a simple plot about a man’s death yet it explores a lot more such as a marriage, a man’s mental illness and failures, an accident that would blind their son, and other things leading to a trial where this woman is being questioned into whether she killed her husband. There is also questions about who she is as a writer and her approach to creating her stories as a form of autofiction where a lot of things are unveiled. All these questions about the death of Samuel Maleski (Samuel Theis) would lead to a trial with his wife Sandra Voyter (Sandra Huller) being the main suspect and their son Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner) also having to testify about what he remembered that day.
Triet’s direction is straightforward in terms of its overall presentation as it is shot on locations near the French Alps with Grenoble being a key location in the film including the courtroom scenes and a few shots in Paris. Much of Triet’s direction is intimate in its overall presentation in its usage of close-ups and medium shots where it opens with Sandra talking to a student in Zoe (Camille Rutherford) for an interview where Sandra is more interested in Zoe while Daniel tends to the family dog Snoop (Messi) as he would later go on a walk with Snoop outside. Sometime after Zoe had left Daniel took Snoop for a walk, is when they returned home to find Samuel dead as did Sandra who had woken up from a nap. The film’s first act is not just about Samuel’s death but also Sandra being a suspect for murder as she confers with her lawyer Vincent Renzi (Swan Arlaud) who asks questions on what to do while she and Daniel must cope with police officers and investigators looking into the house to figure out what happened. Daniel would remember something about that day as it adds more complications for Sandra as she is then indicted for killing her husband.
The film’s second act shifts the film to a year later where the trial happens as a lot of things are unveiled including audio recordings at the home including an argument the day before Samuel’s death. Daniel, accompanied by a court-order monitor in Marge (Jehnny Beth), would listen while also having to imagine what might have happened with the prosecutor (Antoine Reinartz) suggesting motives into Sandra killing Samuel. There are some unique wide and medium shots in the courtroom where Triet puts a lot of diligence in the courtroom of what is happening in the foreground and who is watching in the background. Even in a scene where Daniel testifies as the camera pans back and forth towards Vincent and the prosecutor in a game of dominance between the two attorneys. The film’s third act does not just relate to revelations about Sandra’s work as a writer but also Samuel’s failures where Sandra admits to borrowing one of his ideas for her book, but she gave him credit. It is really about Daniel in his search for answers as it relates to an event that happened months ago where he does an experiment to figure out what happened.
Even though Daniel could not see, he could imagine things with his mind as he is forced to figure out his father’s mental state. It is a moment in the film where a boy must comprehend the chaos of his parents’ marriage as well as the guilt that his father had in playing an indirect role in Daniel becoming blind because of an accident. While the trial would put a strain into Daniel’s relationship with his mother, the third act does give him a sense of purpose to understand the truth but also his own interpretation of what happened on the day his father died. Overall, Triet crafts a somber yet rapturous film about the death of a man with his wife and son trying to make sense of what happened.
Cinematographer Simon Beaufils does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography as it is straightforward with its usage of natural lighting for the daytime exterior scenes and the usage of available light for the exterior scenes at night including low-key lighting for the nighttime interior scenes. Editor Laurent Senechal does excellent work with the editing where it has a few montage bits as well as some unique rhythmic cuts to play into the suspense and drama. Production designer Emmanuelle Duplay and set decorator Cecile Deleu do amazing work with the look of the home that Sandra and Daniel live in as well as the courtroom in how big it is. Costume designer Isabelle Pannetier does fantastic work with the costumes as they are casual apart from a suit that Sandra wears during her trial.
Visual effects supervisors Nikolas d’Andrade and Niranjan Sivguruthan do terrific work with the film’s visual effects as it relates to computer re-enactment bits shown at the trial. Sound editors Fanny Martin and Jeanne Delplancq do superb work with the sound in capturing the way music sounds from afar and up-close as well as other sparse moments in the film. Music supervisor Thibault Deboaisne does wonderful work in assembling the film’s soundtrack as it features classical piano pieces by Frederic Chopin as well as an instrumental cover of 50 Cent’s P.I.M.P. by Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band which serves as a key moment in the film.
The casting by Cynthia Arra does marvelous work with the casting as it feature some notable small roles from Sophie Fillieres as Daniel’s godmother Monica, Anne Rotger as the judge in the trial, Saadia Bentaieb as Vincent’s paralegal Noub, Camille Rutherford as the student Zoe that was interviewing Sandra in the film’s first scene, and Messi as Daniel’s pet dog Snoop who would play a key part into Daniel’s investigation about his father. Samuel Theis is superb as Sandra’s husband Samuel Maleski as the man who would be found dead as he is seen through flashbacks as a troubled man that tried to be a writer and failed as he often blames it on Sandra while consumed with guilt in playing an indirect role into Daniel’s blindness. Jehnny Beth is fantastic as Marge Berger as this court-appointed caretaker for Daniel as she helps observe Daniel’s behavior while also trying to understand what he is dealing with in relation to his father’s death.
Antoine Reinartz is excellent as the prosecutor who is convinced that Sandra killed Samuel while also analyzing her work as a writer and providing ideas that Sandra did more than just kill Samuel. Swann Arlaud is brilliant as Sandra’s lawyer Vincent Renzi as a man who is defending Sandra while also trying to figure out legal maneuvers in helping her where he would also find himself coming close to a romantic relationship with her. Milo Machado-Graner is phenomenal as Daniel Maleski as a blind boy who would be the one to find his father’s body as he copes with not just his father’s death but also trying to understand what happened. It is a performance filled with intrigue and heartbreak where a boy is trying to understand as well as gather up memories of his life with his dad. Finally, there’s Sandra Huller in a sensational performance as Sandra Voyter as a writer who is troubled by her husband’s death as well as becoming a suspect as she is forced to reflect on the chaos of her marriage which would lead a strain on her relationship with her son.
Anatomie d’une chute is an outstanding film by Justine Triet that features great performances from Sandra Huller and Milo Machado-Graner. Along with its supporting ensemble cast, vibrant visuals, and a compelling story about death and things people could not understand. It is a suspense-drama that is intricate in its exploration of relationships as well as a woman and her son trying to deal with the chaos over what had happened. In the end, Anatomie d’une chute is a magnificent film by Justine Triet.
We are days away from the upcoming U.S. elections and honestly, it is the scariest day of the year. Notably as this country is a mess where inflation has really been kicking everyone in the ass and there is a lot of uncertainty in what will happen after the election. Even though there are 2 candidates that are both unappealing. Yes, Kamala Harris is the more reasonable of the two candidates, but will she continue to do things like Joe Biden? There are things with Biden’s administration that I do not like as he is someone that lacks the balls to get anything done. I do not think Harris will make things that much better though she is the better option of the two. Still, that is not enough to go out there and vote as I do not believe in democracy. Voting is a fucking waste of time.
It is bad enough that I am getting mail from my local election board to get me to vote as I either would tear it to pieces or use it to wipe my ass. It is another thing when I must hear it from my sister telling my mother on the importance of voting as I am like “oh fuck off with that bullshit.” I had two terrible experiences with voting and why would I waste my time going somewhere knowing that my vote does not matter when it is the electoral college that ends up making the decision in the end. Then there is the aftermath of what happens when Harris might get elected leading to MAGA crowd going into a riot or create another insurrection. Do we want to go through that again and become a bigger laughing stock around the world?
I am fucking tired of all this shit and all these political ads. I do not care for politics because it is bullshit. Personally, I would love to see Dookie Tank and his new bitch JD Vance be sent to pound-me-in-the-ass prison with Poo Doody, Harvey Weinstein, and R. Kelly where they can share a cell and fuck each other to their deaths. I would also love to see many of Dookie Tank’s celebrity supporters like Cunt Hogan be deleted from existence.
In the month of October, I saw a total of 21 films in 11 first-timers and 10 re-watches with six of these first-timers being films directed/co-directed by women as part of the 52 Films by Women pledge. A slight improvement of last month as a highlight of the month has been my Blind Spot film in Rebecca. Here are the top 10 first-timers that I saw for October 2024:
James Gunn’s debut short film is a two-minute and forty-five second that serves as public service announcement on the dangers of buying a hamster. Made with associates of Gunn when he was working for Troma Entertainment at the time. It is a hilarious short that highlights a boy buying a hamster while a woman in a bikini tells him to not buy it as a lot of insane shit happens. It is a fun short as well as something fans of James Gunn should seek out as he is going to be a future Auteurs subject next year.
The Art of Filmmaking
WARNING: ANYONE THAT HAS EPILEPSY SHOULD NOT WATCH THIS FOR THE SAKE OF THEIR HEALTH.
This 15-minute short film that served as a precursor to Lux Aeterna is a film essay of sorts that has Noe creating montages of silent films by Cecil B. DeMille with King of Kings being the dominant footage used in the film. The film features odd narration by Noe as it serves as a form of hypnosis while the images would flicker with aspect ratios changing throughout the entirety of the short. It is not a film for everyone, and it fits in with what Noe was doing for Lux Aeterna. The last thing I would want to do is be responsible for someone having a fit or get someone to watch something and then die.
The Miu Miu Affair
The 28th short film as part of the Women’s Tales short film series from the Miu Miu brand from Prada is from Argentine filmmaker Laura Citarella is about a famous model who does a shoot in this small Argentine town and then suddenly disappears. A police chief, a detective, and a clairvoyant go on with the case while the clues they find turn out to be some Miu Miu clothing as it is a short that is full of fun and joy. Notably as Citarella allow these ordinary women wear some of these expensive and fashionable clothing where it gives them a new spark to their lives. Even as the film plays into elements of the absurd as it is one of the best entries in the short film series.
Reality+
The first of two short films by Coralie Fargeat that I watched as her recent film The Substance will be available exclusively on MUBI on Halloween as I hope to watch that before the year ends. Before I watch that film before the year ends and her first film Revenge, there is a short that she did in 2014 that is currently being shown on MUBI as it relates to a man who gets a microchip installed in the back of neck where he gets to become a much more attractive man, but it only lasts for 12 hours. This 22-minute short is full of wit as well as elements of body horror as it plays into the fallacies of fantasy. Even as this man would meet a beautiful woman unaware of what she really looks like though the film’s ending can be described as sweet.
The Telegram
The second short film of Fargeat that I saw that is available on Vimeo is from 2003 as it is a simpler short than her follow-up. This 12-minute short by Fargeat is about two women in a small French town during World War II awaiting a telegram about the fate of their sons. A postman would arrive with a limp right foot as the air of suspense is key to what is happening in whether he would stop at one of their houses or someone else as it works in its ending.
Monster
This short film by Jennifer Kent that served as a prototype for the film that she would make in The Babadook is this 10-minute short film as it plays into a mother dealing with her young son who claims that his doll has become a monster. It is a 10-minute short film that is shot in black-and-white as it has some style as well as this element of suspense and horror.
How the ‘Dook Stole Christmas
This little animated short by Kent is just this hilarious one-minute clip of the Babadook destroying Christmas. It is a short film worth watching for anyone that loves The Babadook.
Agatha All Along (episodes 4-7)
The show so far has been excellent as I love the different styles each episode has brought in while the sixth episode that explores the identity of the teen is so far the best one. Notably as it does reveal what was obvious as it relates to the character of Wiccan/Billy Maximoff and his motivations for going into the Witches Road. The most recent episode gave Pattie LuPone not just one of the best performances of her career, but also a performance that deserves accolades. Still, there are two more episodes left in the series as far as there is a lot of intrigue as well as more about what Agatha is after and what does Rio want.
Blackhat (Director’s Cut)
I did add a few paragraphs in my original review of the film so for anyone that has not seen what I added. It is in the link below as part of the top 10 re-watches as I will say that the director’s cut that Michael Mann released in 2016 is a vast improvement over its theatrical version. Notably as it shifted some sequences from the theatrical cut as well as add a key scene that has bits of humor while also adding more weight to what is at stake. The pacing is much better than the theatrical version as it is the version to see as I am glad that I purchased the Blu-Ray from Arrow which is a must-have for fans of Mann.
Well, that is all for October. Next month, I will focus on films that came out this year as well as related films from certain filmmakers as I do hope to see Anora in the theaters as I do not really have much interest in what else is coming out. Instead, I will focus on films that are available on the streaming services I have including The Substance as well as David Lean’s Summertime as I have just started work on the Auteurs essay on him. As for my Blind Spots, it is likely I will watch Berlin Alexanderplatz on and off for the rest of the year with Senso also being watched for this month or next month. After one of those films is finished, I will make a proper announcement for the films that I will watch for next year’s edition of the Blind Spot Series.
Before I bid adieu and go watch some horror, I want to express my condolences to the following who passed away this month. Among them are Teri Garr, Paul Morrissey, Liam Payne of One Direction, Lily Li, David Harris, Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead, DJ Clark Kent, TV writer Jeri Taylor, Gary Indiana, Jack Jones, Christine Boisson, cinematographer Dick Pope, Michael Newman from the show Baywatch, baseball player Rudy May, Mitzi Gaynor, Ollie Olsen, Cissy Houston, Nicholas Pryor, and El Toro himself Fernando Valenzuela. The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series for him. For Fernando! Until then, this thevoid99 signing off and L.A. This is for you from a Braves fan…
Based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca is the story of a woman who falls in love and marries a widowed aristocrat as he takes her to his mansion where she is haunted by the presence of his late wife. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock and screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood and Joan Harrison and adapted by Philip MacDonald and Michael Hogan, the film is the exploration of a woman who finds herself in a new world as she copes with her husband’s grief over his late wife as well as the presence of his late wife whose shadow looms large over the mansion. Starring Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, George Sanders, Judith Anderson, Gladys Cooper, Nigel Bruce, Reginald Denny, C. Aubrey Smith, Florence Bates, Leo G. Carroll, Leonard Carey, Edward Fielding, and Philip Winter. Rebecca is an evocative and rapturous film from Alfred Hitchcock.
The film follows a woman who meets and marries a widow aristocrat only to be haunted by the presence of his late wife who looms an immense shadow over his estate. It is a film that does not just explore a woman inhabiting the new role of a wife but also to become the mistress of an estate where she deals with the stories and presence of her husband’s late wife. The film’s screenplay starts off in a reflective narrative where the voice of an un-named woman (Joan Fontaine) talks about how she met George Fortescue Maximilian “Maxim” de Winter (Laurence Olivier) while she was working as a companion to the wealthy Mrs. Van Hopper (Florence Bates) during a vacation in Monte Carlo. She sees him looking down at a cliff as if he is to jump off as she says something to him as he would stop as they would later meet again at a hotel lobby. The two begin a relationship and then marry where he takes her to his estate known as Manderley which is run by its housekeeper Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson) who takes a dislike towards the new Mrs. de Winter.
The script does not just feature some stylish dialogue but also intrigue into those who talk about Maxim’s late wife Rebecca as his sister Beatrice (Gladys Cooper) and his estate manager Frank Crawley (Nigel Bruce) are both vague in wanting to talk about her knowing that anything about her would upset him. Even as Mrs. de Winter deals with some of the mysteries of the home including a small cottage on the beach as well as a room that belonged to Rebecca. Mrs. de Winter would notice something in the room as well as an unexpected visitor in Rebecca’s cousin in Jack Favell (George Sanders) whom Maxim hates. Things would start to unravel with Maxim becoming angrier while Mrs. de Winter becomes troubled by the comparisons of Maxim’s late wife where revelations would emerge about what happened on the night she died.
Alfred Hitchcock’s direction is stylish in its presentation from the opening sequence of him panning the camera around an estate that is now in ruins as it sets up the tone of what to expect through Mrs. de Winter’s narration in that opening scene. Shot on various locations in California including Big Sur and the Culver Studios in Hollywood for many of its interiors. Hitchcock would use wide shots for some of these exterior locations including scenes set on the beach including the opening shot of the house that was shot at the studio. Hitchcock’s direction also has some unique compositions in the way he shoots scenes in Manderley as it is a character in the film. Even as he would have these interior wide and medium shots that highlights the space of the room including an office where Mrs. de Winter converses with Crawley about Rebecca where it is shot in close-ups and medium shot, and it then moves back to a wide shot. It is among the many visual ideas that Hitchcock would imbue into the film.
Then there is the titular character as there is not a single picture of her nor any flashbacks as it relates to her as she is this unseen presence whose shadow looms large over everyone and the world they inhabit. There is also a lot of allusions as it relates to Rebecca’s relationship towards both her cousin Favell and Mrs. Danvers with the former implying an incestuous relationship while the latter is considered taboo during the time of its production in the late 1930s/early 1940s. There is sexual tension that occurs though it is very subtle due to the production code of those times where Mrs. Danvers tries to get Mrs. de Winter to wear Rebecca’s clothes and such to create discord between Maxim and his new wife. The film’s third act does have Maxim reveal to his wife about Rebecca and their marriage following a discovery that makes Maxim uneasy. Even as Favell and Mrs. Danvers it would bring ruin to Maxim and his new wife being ousted though there are many complications that would be unveiled leading to an ending that is grand. Overall, Hitchcock crafts a riveting and mesmerizing film about a woman who marries a man whose late wife casts a large shadow over their lives.
Cinematographer George Barnes does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography in creating unique lighting for the daytime interior scenes as well as the scenes at night for the scenes at Manderley. Editors Hal C. Kern and James E. Newcom do excellent work with the editing in creating rhythmic cuts to play into the suspense as well as some montages to play into Maxim and Mrs. de Winter’s growing relationship in Monte Carlo. Production designer Joseph B. Platt, with set decorator Howard Bristol and art director Lyle Wheeler, does incredible work with the look of Manderley in its many interior settings with the shape of a room as well as its dining hall and the mystery that is Rebecca’s bedroom. Costume designer Irene does fantastic work with the design of the clothes including a costume that Mrs. de Winter would wear for the costume ball.
The special effects work of Jack Cosgrove is terrific for some of the visuals that include blurry images as well as backdrops for some scenes where characters are walking or driving. The sound work of Jack Noyes and Arthur Johns is superb for the sound effects that are created as well as the atmosphere of a location to help build up its suspense. The film’s music by Franz Waxman is brilliant for its soaring orchestral score that plays into the suspense and drama as it helps heighten the tension as well as some small moments to help build up the suspense.
The film’s wonderful ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Forrester Harvey as an innkeeper who appears in the third act, Philip Winter as the Manderley servant Robert, Edward Fielding as the head Manderley butler Frith whom Mrs. de Winter likes, Lumsden Hare as the boat builder Mr. Tabbs, Leonard Carey as a hermit named Ben who stays at Rebecca’s cottage, Leo G. Carroll in a one-scene performance as a doctor who saw Rebecca the day she died, Melville Cooper as a coroner late in the film, and Florence Bates in an excellent performance as Mrs. de Winter’s employer in Mrs. Edyth Van Hopper who appears in the film’s Monte Carlo sequences as she always has something to say as she is a total delight to watch. Gladys Cooper and Nigel Bruce are superb in their respective roles as Maxim’s sister Beatrice and her husband Major Giles Lacey with the former as someone who knew Rebecca though she admits that there’s things about Rebecca’s relationship with her brother that didn’t feel right while the latter is a comic relief who takes a liking towards the new Mrs. de Winter.
C. Aubrey Smith is fantastic as Colonel Julyan, this police authority figure who comes in during the film’s third act where he investigates what has happened while trying to make sense of why Maxim is being targeted. Reginald Denney is brilliant as Frank Crawley as the estate manager of Manderley and a friend of Maxim who knew Rebecca during her marriage to Maxim while vague about wanting to talk about her. George Sanders is amazing as Jack Favell as Rebecca’s cousin as he is this charming yet devilish figure that only appears in a few scenes as he is someone that has his own motives to create discord for Maxim and Mrs. de Winter. Judith Anderson is tremendous as Mrs. Danvers as the housekeeper of Manderley as she is this woman that is cold towards the new Mrs. de Winter as she is someone who loved Rebecca as she would also create chaos in Maxim’s marriage to his new wife as an act of devotion towards her late mistress.
Finally, there’s the duo of Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine in great performances in their respective roles as Maxim and Mrs. de Winter where Olivier displays a man in anguish as someone who is consumed with guilt and grief over the loss of his first wife while is desperate to hold on to his new life with his new wife. Fontaine brings a livelier performance as a woman who is excited in the new life she has given but is troubled by the shadow of Maxim’s late wife. Even as she then deals with the stories of Rebecca and tries to understand everything that had happened with Maxim where she and Olivier have great rapport in the way two people deal with a ghostly presence who tries to destroy their happiness.
Rebecca is a spectacular film by Alfred Hitchcock that features phenomenal leading performances from Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine as well as an outstanding supporting performance from Judith Anderson. Along with its ensemble cast, thrilling music score, entrancing visuals, and its study of loss. It is a film that explores a couple dealing with the presence of a man’s late wife as well as secrets about this woman that is never seen in the film’s entirety. In the end, Rebecca is a sensational film by Alfred Hitchcock.
Alfred Hitchcock Films: (Number 13) - (The Pleasure Garden) - (The Blackguard) - (The Mountain Eagle) - (The Lodger) - (A Story of the London Fog) - (The Ring) - (Downhill) - (The Farmer’s Wife) - (Easy Virtue) - (Champagne) - (The Manxman) - (Blackmail) - (Juno and the Paycock) - (Murder!) - (The Skin Game) - (Mary) - (Lord Camber’s Ladies) - (Rich and Strange) - (Number Seventeen) - (Waltzes from Vienna) - (The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934 film)) – The 39 Steps - (Secret Agent) - (Sabotage) - (Young and Innocent) – The Lady Vanishes (1938 film) - (Jamaica Inn) – (Foreign Correspondent) – (Mr. & Mrs. Smith) – Suspicion (1941 film) - (Saboteur) – (Shadow of a Doubt) – Lifeboat - Bon Voyage - (Spellbound) – (Notorious) – (The Paradine Cage) – Rope - (Under Capricorn) – (Stage Fright) – Strangers on a Train - I Confess - Dial M for Murder - Rear Window - To Catch a Thief - (The Trouble with Harry) – The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 film) - (The Wrong Man) – Vertigo - North by Northwest - Psycho - The Birds - Marnie - (Torn Curtain) – (Topaz) – (Frenzy) – (Family Plot)
Written and directed by Jennifer Kent, The Nightingale is the story of an Irish convict who goes on a journey for revenge following the death of her family in colonial Tasmania where she is aided by Aboriginal Tasmanian tracker who also wants revenge against the British colonists. The film is a psychological thriller set in the early 19th Century as it plays into a woman who lost everything as well as being gang-raped by these colonial soldiers as she and this man trek through the rugged wilderness of Tasmania. Starring Aisling Franciosi, Sam Claflin, Baykali Ganambarr, Damon Herriman, Harry Greenwood, Ewen Leslie, Charlie Shotwell, Michael Sheasby, and Magnolia Maymuru. The Nightingale is an unflinching and visceral film by Jennifer Kent.
Set in 1825 Tasmania just before the Black War between the British and Tasmanian Aboriginals, the film revolves around an Irish woman who treks through the Tasmanian wilderness with an Aboriginal Tasmanian tracker on a journey for revenge after being gang-raped and forced to watch her husband and infant daughter killed by two British soldiers and a British officer. It is a revenge film, but it is really a study on the horrors of colonialism with this Irish convict and a Tasmanian Aboriginal dealing with what was lost under the rule of Britain. Jennifer Kent’s screenplay is straightforward in its narrative, yet it is filled with this study of colonial rule and how two people are ravaged by the horrors of colonialism as they also endure loss of the most extreme. The film’s protagonist Clare (Aisling Franciosi) is an Irish convict who is hoping to be freed by a colonial detachment leader in Lieutenant Hawkins (Sam Claflin) so she can have a life of her own with her husband Aidan (Michael Sheasby) and their infant daughter. Yet, Lt. Hawkins is more interested in keeping so he can rape her and use her as property to assert his authority.
When a superior officer arrives to inspect Lt. Hawkins’ post, he chooses to not give him a recommendation where Lt. Hawkins and a couple of his officers decide to gang-rape Clare in front of Aidan where dark events occur leaving Clare alive. Lt. Hawkins and his officers flee their post to travel to Launceston with an Aboriginal guide, two servants, and a young boy who is eager to help them. Clare takes her husband’s horse while a fellow convict suggests she should take an Aboriginal guide of her own where reluctantly accompanying her is Billy (Baykali Ganambarr) who knows how to get to Launceston. During their journey, the two would encounter the wilderness as well as their own prejudices towards one another as Billy despises white people and their ways but they would eventually find a common cause in their hatred for the British. Especially as they are both people who have been exploited and tortured by colonialism, where Clare and Billy each have their own thirst for vengeance. Still, they cope with not just loss but also the horror of a world that is unforgiving.
Kent’s direction is entrancing in its visuals as it is shot on location in Tasmania while it is presented in a 1:37:1 aspect ratio to create an intimacy in its look. While there are several wide shots of the film to capture the scope of the locations including the Tasmanian wilderness as it is a character of its own. Kent also grounds the film in her usage of close-ups and medium shots to play into the sense of terror that Clare would go through as Kent also creates compositions that play into what is happening in the foreground with events happening in the background. Notably during the gang-rape scene where Kent does not hold back on the violence though she does not show anything sexually explicit in what is happening to Clare but rather her face and the horror with which she is dealing. The aftermath is just as disturbing of a woman who had just lost everything where Kent’s close-ups says a lot into what this woman has endured. When the film moves into the woods, there is something uneasy about its surroundings where it feels like Hell on Earth. Hung Aboriginals on tree branches. Old couples killed in cabins. Kent does not shy away from the horrors of colonialism where Clare and Billy would bond over their encounters of these atrocities as no one is safe.
Kent also plays into the sadism of Lt. Hawkins where he is just as cruel to those who are loyal to him while he would also do things that are inhumane. One of his officers would kidnap an Aboriginal woman (Magnolia Maymuru) as she would later be raped by that officer and Lt. Hawkins with their Aboriginal guide having to look away. Lt. Hawkins and his entourage would also encounter the wilderness at its most unforgiving, that include Aboriginal tribes who want them dead for all the right reasons. The film’s third act has a calmness though the sense of loss and trauma still looms with both Billy and Clare coping with violence up close but also a rare form of kindness. Still, Kent displays this great sense of inhumanity that Billy and Clare still encounter as it relates to Lt. Hawkins as he is the embodiment of inhumanity as well as the many fallacies of colonialism. Overall, Kent crafts an unsettling and monstrous film about an Irish woman and an Aboriginal Tasmanian going on a dark journey through the Tasmanian wilderness on a quest for revenge.
Cinematographer Radek Ladczuk does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of fire and available light for the interior/exterior scenes at night as well as the usage of natural lighting for the scenes set in the daytime. Editor Simon Njoo does excellent work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts for a few scenes as well as rhythmic cuts to play into the action and suspense. Production designer Alex Holmes, with set decorator Christian Petersen and art director Sophie Nash, does brilliant work with the look of station post that Lt. Hawkins and his men lived in as well as some of the homes that Clare and Billy encounter along with the town of Launceston. Costume designer Margot Wilson does fantastic work with the green dress that Clare wears for her singing performance early in the film along with ragged clothing she would wear as well as a coat that Billy would get at a house.
Hair/makeup designer Nikki Gooley does brilliant work with the look of the characters including some of the warpaint that the Aboriginal tribes wear during a key battle scene in the film. Special effects supervisor Dan Oliver and visual effects supervisor Marty Pepper do superb work with the visual effects for a few surreal moments in the film including a weird dream scene after Clare was knocked out only to then wake up. Sound designer Robert Mackenzie does phenomenal work with the sound in capturing not just the atmosphere of the location with sounds of animals and nature but also in the way gunfire can sound from afar or up-close as it is a major highlight of the film. The film’s music by Jed Kurzel is wonderful for its low-key orchestral score that only appears sparingly as it has elements of folk music instrumentation while music supervisor Andrew Kotako creates a rich music soundtrack that features folk and traditional-based music in some of the Irish songs that Clare sings and the war cries of Billy.
The casting by Nikki Barrett is tremendous as it feature some notable small roles from Maya and Addison Christie as Clare and Aidan’s infant baby, Ewen Leslie as the officer Goodwin who refuses to give Lt. Hawkins a recommendation, Magnolia Maymuru as an Aboriginal woman in Lowanna whom Lt. Hawkins and one of his soldiers would take prisoner and rape her, Charlie Jampijinpa Brown as Lt. Hawkins’ Aboriginal guide Uncle Charlie, Charlie Shotwell as a young boy named Eddie who becomes part of Lt. Hawkins’ entourage as he hopes to win him over, Harry Greenwood as one of Lt. Greenwood’s officers in Ensign Jago who is reluctant to do anything for Lt. Hawkins, Damon Herriman as another of Lt. Hawkins’ officer in Sgt. Ruse who is eager to please Lt. Hawkins while also engaging in deplorable behavior, and Michael Sheasby in a superb performance as Clare’s husband Aidan who tries to reason with Lt. Hawkins in releasing Clare so that they can be free.
Sam Claflin is phenomenal as Lt. Hawkins as this monstrous figure that has no problems being abusive towards anyone he encounters while he also feels entitled to having a certain status. Claflin gives a performance that is truly ferocious in the way he treats people as if he is the reflection of inhumanity and the cruelty of colonialism. Baykali Ganambarr is great as Mangana aka Billy as this Aboriginal Tasmanian guide who reluctantly helps Clare in finding Lt. Hawkins as he is someone that has legitimate hatred for white people including the British where he would befriend Clare realizing her own hatred for the British. It is a performance filled with nuances of a man that is trying to hold on to his identity and culture while lamenting everything he had lost. Finally, there’s Aisling Franciosi in a breakout performance as Clare as this young Irish woman that loses everything including her husband and infant daughter where she goes on a journey for revenge. It is a performance that demands a lot of physical and emotional anguish where Franciosi just goes all out while not being afraid to be vulnerable in her reaction to loss as it is a performance for the ages.
The Nightingale is an outstanding film from Jennifer Kent that features a trio of great performances from Aisling Franciosi, Baykali Ganambarr, and Sam Claflin. Along with its ravishing visuals, uncompromising approach to violence, and its ugly depiction of colonialism at its most cruel. It is a film that is not for the faint of heart while it is also a film that goes beyond the parameters of what is expected in a psychological horror film. In the end, The Nightingale is a magnificent film by Jennifer Kent.
After two decades of filmmaking and TV, Mann was offered many projects to helm yet it was a script about the life of boxing legend Muhammad Ali that intrigued Mann as a bio-pic on the boxer had been in the works since 1992 by producer Paul Ardaji as it went through years of developmental hell with Gregory Allen Howard writing an initial draft on the script that focused on Ali’s life from the age of 12 to the age of 40 and his relationship with his father that was meant to be produced by Jon Peters. The script got the attention of actor Will Smith who found the idea to be a big break from him starring in big-budgeted summer blockbuster films as the 1999 Barry Sonnenfeld film Wild Wild West was a massive flop. Sonnenfeld was among those offered the project as was Ron Howard and Spike Lee, yet Smith felt that Mann should direct the film as he also looked at another script written by Stephen J. Rivele and Chris Wilkinson had as it would be re-written by The Insider co-screenwriter Eric Roth who would simplify the story as it would focus on Ali’s life from his win against Sonny Liston in 1964 as he changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali right up to his 1974 win in Zaire against George Foreman at the legendary Rumble at the Jungle fight.
With Mann officially attached to direct and Smith starring in the film as Ali, Mann would go into great lengths to ensure that Ali’s story would be filled with events that are important in the man’s life such as his 1971 fight with Joe Frazier, joining the Nation of Islam in 1964 where he befriended Malcolm X, his relationships with women, and other thing that culminated with winning the world championship for the second time in 1974 at Rumble in the Jungle. Mann also took the time with Roth to make sure that nothing goes to waste in the story they needed to tell with Smith spending time gaining pounds to play Ali along with learning about Islam and dialect training. Apart from editor William Goldenberg, sound editor Gregory King, and music composers Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke, Mann would work with a group of new collaborators for the film as Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki was tasked to be the film’s cinematographer as both he and Mann began to have interest with the emergence of digital photography in film.
The film’s ensemble cast would include Jamie Foxx as Ali’s assistant trainer/friend Drew Bundini Brown, Ron Silver as Ali’s trainer Angelo Dundee, Mario Van Peebles as Malcolm X, Barry Shabaka Henley as Ali’s manager Herbert Muhammad, Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith as one of Ali’s lovers, and Jon Voight as Howard Cosell. Shooting officially began in January of 2001 with a $105 million budget that included a $20 million salary for Smith as Mann shot the film on various locations with Mozambique serving as both Ghana and Zaire since neither country were suitable for what Mann wanted. Mann also wanted to provide a sense of realism into the fighting as well as playing into the many conflicts that Ali was facing at that time where he was stripped of the world heavyweight championship because of his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War. Mann’s usage of digital photography for some scenes in the film gave Mann some new ideas of what he wanted to do visually as he felt there were some constraints in shooting on film. His experimentation with Lubezki saw the many possibilities that Mann could do with digital photography as it would allow him to give him new ideas in the stories he wanted to tell.
The film was released on Christmas Day in 2001 to high anticipation as the film did receive stellar reviews though there was criticism towards how Ali is presented as well as the choices in relation to the narrative. Commercially, the film was released on the same day the first part of Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Lord of the Rings in The Fellowship of the Ring came out. The film only made $88 million against its final budget at around $107-118 million as the film’s distributor Columbia Pictures lost money on its release. Despite the polarizing reaction, the film did receive two Oscar nominations for Best Actor to Smith and Best Supporting Actor to Jon Voight while Mann would re-cut the film several times as he expanded the film’s 157-minute theatrical cut to a 165-minute cut for its 2004 DVD release and then a 152-minute version in 2017 a year after Ali’s death.
Lucky Star
Mann’s fascination with digital cinema led him to create a commercial for Mercedes while developing his next project. Mann created the commercial as if it would be a feature film starring Benicio del Toro and Ana Cristina shot on location in Los Angeles as a man being chased by the LAPD. The commercial was typical of Mann’s visual style as it was shot at night as the commercial aired only in Britain.
While trying to find his next project, Mann was approached about directing a project that had been through developmental for years with various filmmakers and stars attached to this project from a screenplay by Australian writer Stuart Beattie. The script revolved around a cab driver who gets a hitman as a passenger as he reluctantly accompanies the hitman to various stops to kill his many targets as the night becomes more intense. The script was a hot property with filmmaker/producer Frank Darabont attached to the production while he would remain an executive producer on the project. Filmmakers like Mimi Leder and Fernando Meirelles attached only to drop out during the developmental stages. Several actors were attached to the project including Russell Crowe who told Mann about the script as Mann agreed to direct the film with Crowe originally going to star in the role as the hitman Vincent only for countless delays forcing him to drop out. Mann would then approach Tom Cruise for the part of Vincent as he agreed to do the role while the role of the cab driver Max Durocher was more difficult to find.
Beattie suggested that Robert de Niro should play the role but studio heads at Dreamworks said no wanting someone younger as Cuba Gooding Jr. and Adam Sandler were approached but the latter was unavailable due to working on another film project while the former felt he would be miscast. Mann went to Jamie Foxx for the role of Max after having a fruitful collaboration together on Ali with Jada Pinkett Smith as a potential love interest for Max in Annie as she had also been in Ali along with Foxx and Barry Shabaka Henley who would be a jazz musician Max and Vincent would meet. Val Kilmer was attached to the role of a detective in Fanning but dropped out to star in Oliver Stone’s film Alexander as Mark Ruffalo would be cast as Fanning while the ensemble would also include Javier Bardem as a Mexican drug lord and Jason Statham in a cameo appearance in the film’s first scene with rumors believing that he was playing Frank Martin from the Transporter franchise.
Production began in 2003 as Mann would work an entirely new crew that included cinematographer Paul Cameron who would shoot the film for three weeks as Mann wanted to shoot much of the film on digital as he used the Viper FilmStream High-Definition Camera for its production. Due to creative differences, Cameron was fired from the film as he would be replaced by the Australian-South African cinematographer Dion Bebe who had recently been collaborating with Jane Campion and shot Chicago for Rob Marshall. Bebe’s work gave Mann a lot of ideas of what he wanted to digitally as the film was shot on location in Los Angeles where Mann was able to get everything he needed to shoot as it reminded him of his early work in documentary film as they would on available light and everything else apart from a nightclub scene that was shot on 35mm. Mann would also maintain this sense of improvisation during the making of the film as it added to the manic tone of the film as it would also reflect in the film’s editing as well as in some of the music choices where Mann worked with James Newton Howard for the film’s score while also mixing an array of different music to play into the atmosphere of Los Angeles.
The film premiered in the U.S. on August 6, 2004, to great acclaim as well as grossing more than $100 million against its $65 million budget in North America while its overall worldwide gross reached over $220 million. The film would also garner a lot of critical notices as a lot of it went to Jamie Foxx who would receive a nomination for Best Supporting Actor while also nominated for Best Actor for his performance in Taylor Hackford’s bio-pic on Ray Charles in Ray in which Foxx would win the Oscar for. The film also received an Oscar nomination for its editing by Jim Miller and Paul Rubell while other notices went to its cinematography with both Cameron and Bebe getting several award nominations including a win for Best Cinematography from the BAFTAs.
During a party for Ali back in 2001, Jamie Foxx chatted with Mann about doing a film version of the 1980s TV show that Mann had produced as Mann thought about creating a film version of the TV series. Following the success of Collateral and Foxx becoming a major player in Hollywood after his Oscar win, the two began get the project in development with Mann writing a brand-new screenplay that expands the premise of the series in which two Miami police detectives go undercover to catch a drug dealer who has been doing some drug trafficking in and out of Miami. With Foxx playing the role of Rico Tubbs and Mann retaining several collaborators from his previous films in cinematographer Dion Bebe, editors Paul Rubell and William Goldenberg, casting director Francine Maisler, set decorator Jim Erickson, and co-sound designer Elliot Koretz. Mann would get Irish actor Colin Farrell in the role of Sonny Crockett while the ensemble would include Naomie Harris, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Domenick Lombardozzi, Justin Theroux, and Barry Shabaka Henley as other characters that were from the original series.
The rest of the cast would include Gong Li as Crockett’s love interest in Isabella as well as Luis Tosar, John Ortiz, Isaach de Bankole, John Hawkes, and Ciaran Hinds. Shooting began in 2005 as it would be shot on location in Miami as well as additional locations in Uruguay, Paraguay, and the Caribbeans where Mann and Bebe agreed to shoot a large portion of the film on digital with underwater and high-speed shots were shot on 35mm film. The production would be a difficult experience for all involved not just due to Mann’s meticulous approach and need for realism. It was also due to Jamie Foxx’s behavior as he felt he was not paid the same salary as Farrell did and wanted more money while having some demands on what he wanted including a private plane and other compensations. Foxx’s antics would prove to be troubling with many though Mann would keep things intact as plans to shoot in the Dominican Republic for its ending were moved to Paraguay due to a violent encounter. Things worsened as seven days of shooting were lost due to the events of various hurricanes around Miami and the Caribbean.
The troubled production would escalate to $135 million though some claim it ballooned to $150 million due to the hurricane and other issues. Still, Mann pressed on as he was also fully aware of the audiences expecting something akin to recent films being based on TV shows like McG’s film versions of Charlie’s Angels in the early 2000s as well as Todd Phillips’ 2004 film version of Starsky & Hutch. Mann chose to not go on that route as he wanted to move away from what made the show great into something entirely different. Even with its music soundtrack as he hired music composer John Murphy and music supervisor Vicki Hiatt to create a soundtrack that was the antithesis of what made the show famous. Notably Murphy brought in a more ambient-based score with elements of electronic beats while Hiatt would help Mann to bring in a reminder of the show in a nu-metal cover of Phil Collins’ In the Air Tonight by Nonpoint for the film’s closing credits.
Released on July 20, 2006, in the U.S., the film would be released to mixed reviews as well as a decent box office where the film made only $63.5 million in North America though it would fare better worldwide with a final gross of $164 million. The mixed reaction both critically and commercially would hurt the film though the film would gain a cult following in the years following its release. Although Mann would release an expanded cut of the film a year later for DVD and the short-lived HD-DVD format from its 132-minute cut to 140-minutes and later for Blu-Ray in 2008. Mann felt the film did not live up to his expectations as he felt the ending did not satisfy him as he could not shoot at the Dominican Republic. Colin Farrell would also express disappointment for the film years after its release, feeling like it could have been better despite the growing acclaim the film would get in the years to come.
Leave Nothing NIKE commercial/Ferrari California commercials
While on a break between projects, Mann would spend some time doing a couple of commercials as one of them was for NIKE in which he would have Shawn Merriman and Steven Jackson run through players while wearing NIKE shoes. Mann would create a commercial in which the two players would run and push through other players in a game of American football while he would use a score piece from The Last of the Mohicans to add some drama to the action on the field. Another commercial Mann would make would be the California branch for Ferrari cars as Mann is an admirer of Ferrari’s cars as he agreed to do a commercial for their cars. The commercial would have two different cars driving through three different locations in California where the two cars would meet and race each other as they are driven by professional drivers as Mann put in a lot of detail into the sound design in those engines would sound.
In 2004, nonfiction writer Bryan Burroughs was set to publish a book about the birth of the FBI in relation to the pursuit of John Dillinger led by Melvin Purvis as he pitched the project to Robert de Niro as a TV mini-series. Although Burroughs was an untrained film/TV writer, he did try to write a script as the project eventually fell apart where Burroughs was given the film/TV rights back from HBO who were going to produce the project through de Niro’s Tribeca Productions company. Mann got a hold of Burroughs’ book through his own representative as he would spend years developing it while doing other projects. Yet, he would also go back to a script he had written about one of Purvis’ pursuits in Alvin Karp as it was project, he had been developing since the 1980s but never got made. Mann would hire Ronan Bennett to co-write the script with him following a failed project about Che Guevara that failed to get off the ground where it would into a two-part made by Steven Soderbergh in 2008. Bennett would write several drafts with Mann only to leave the project as Mann would get Ann Biderman to help do re-writes just before Mann was to start shooting in March of 2008.
Reuniting with cinematographer Dante Spinotti and casting director Bonnie Timmerman for the project as the latter would share casting duties with Amy Kaufman. Mann also brought in Paul Rubell to co-edit the film with Jeffrey Ford as well as Elliot Goldenthal who had worked with Mann in Heat. For the film’s ensemble cast, Johnny Depp was cast as John Dillinger with Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis and French actress Marion Cotillard is cast as Dillinger’s lover Billie Frechette as she got the part when Rob Marshall’s film version of Nine was postponed. The ensemble would include Giovanni Ribisi as Alvin Karp, Channing Tatum as Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd, Stephen Lang as Texas Ranger Charles Winstead, Billy Crudup as J. Edgar Hoover, and many others in film that would require a huge ensemble. Production began in March of 2008 in Wisconsin as Mann wanted to maintain a sense of authenticity to the locations of where Dillinger did his many exploits with additional locations in Indiana and Illinois.
The film would be among the first major Hollywood films to be shot entirely on high-definition digital photography instead of the traditional 35mm as Mann wanted something to be urgent and stylish. Mann and Spinotti also wanted to create something that was against the conventions of gangster films in terms of its realism as Mann also hired production designer Nathan Crowley who had been known for his work with British filmmaker Christopher Nolan who cited Mann as an influence. Mann wanted to use some of the locations that played into Purvis’ pursuit of Dillinger including the alley were Dillinger was killed by Winstead as they would dress it up to what it looked like back then. Mann also wanted to play into the feel of the times in terms of its music as it a way to capture the energy of that period as he, Goldenthal, and a team of music supervisors wanted to find the right piece of music that would have been played in those times.
The film made its premiere in Chicago on June 19, 2009, as it would later screen at the Los Angeles Film Festival a few days later before going wide in the U.S. on July 1, 2009. Despite going against the many blockbusters around that time, the film managed to make $97.1 million in North America with an overall worldwide gross of $214.1 million against its $100 million budget The film would also receive good reviews with some praising the film for its unconventional presentation as well as its ensemble though some criticized the film for being unconventional. Even though some of the criticism was towards its cinematography though Mann was satisfied with the film’s results.
Following a break between projects in which he teamed up with showrunner David Milch in creating the HBO series Luck that revolved around horse races and gambling where Mann shot the show’s pilot for its season premiere in early 2012. The show only lasted one season following the death of three horses as plans for the second season dropped as Mann decided to focus his attention on a new film project which he announced in February of 2013 with writer Morgan Davis Foehl as it relates to the world of cyber hacking as Mann had been intrigued by the subject matter ever since reading about the Stuxnet worm that hacked into one of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges. Mann brought in former hackers in senior editor Kevin Poulsen of Wired News and Christopher McKinlay as consultants to get a sense of realism into the world cyberterrorism and cyber security. Realizing that it is a new world that Mann had not really explored while could also become a fascinating suspense thriller. Mann decided to make the project much bigger as he would shoot the film in Los Angeles as well as Jakarta, Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
Apart from longtime casting director Bonnie Timmerman, Mann would work with an entirely new crew that included cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh who had recently shot Texas Killing Fields that was directed by Mann’s daughter Ami Canaan Mann. Mann and Dryburgh decided to shoot the film all on digital camera to maintain the sense of realism as well as to keep the budget modestly small at around $70 million. The film’s ensemble cast would be diverse as it would feature Australian actor Chris Hemsworth in the lead as hacker Nicholas Hathaway, Viola Davis, Taiwanese-American actor Leehom Wang, Taiwanese actress Tang Wei, Holt McNally, Ritchie Coster, and Yorick van Wageningen. Production began in May of 2013 on various locations where Mann wanted to give the film a worldly feel as it plays into the world of cyberterrorism and how cyberterrorists would shake the world with the press of a button.
Mann would also bring in production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas who had also worked previously with Christopher Nolan in 2010’s Inception in creating sets in Hong Kong including the nuclear reactor meltdown sequence. Mann also was aware of the complexities of the world of cyber-hacking and cyberterrorism as he went to visual effects supervisors Phil Brennan, Joe Farrell, and John Nelson in creating unique visuals that play into this 21st Century world of a digital universe and how things can destroy a nuclear powerplant or cause disruption in the stock market. Mann would hire Harry Gregson-Williams to provide the score for the film but much of Gregson-Williams’ work would not be used as Mann brought in other music including new score pieces from Atticus and Leopold Ross.
Though there were plans for a late 2014 limited release in consideration for the Oscars, Mann felt the film was not finished as he would create different versions of the film as he shifted sequences in the way he would open the film. Mann would release two different versions of the film in January of 2015 as the first theatrical version was released during one of the worst periods to release a film wide as it bombed badly at the North American box office. The film’s final tally in North America was $4.4 million against its $70 million budget as the film’s distributor Universal pulled the film from wide release after two weeks only to disappear quickly. An international cut that was released worldwide did slightly better giving the film an overall gross of $19.7 million but it did not do enough to save the film financially. Critically, the film was not well-received by many who thought the film was muddled though there were some who did like the film for its exploration of cyberterrorism. More than a year later after its theatrical release, Mann presented a new cut of the film at the Brooklyn Academy of Music as part of a career retrospective as the new version was well-received as it would be shown on the cable TV channel FX in 2017 as well as getting a home video release on Blu-Ray in November of 2023 through Arrow Video along with its two theatrical releases.
Taking a break between projects in which Mann would produce other films including Ford v Ferrari for James Mangold in 2019 and shooting the pilot for J.T. Rogers crime drama Tokyo Vice in 2022. It was working on Ford v Ferrari where Mann expressed renewed interest in making a film about Enzo Ferrari as it had been a project he had been developing since 2000 with Sydney Pollack collaborating in its development. Mann would also collaborate with writer Troy Kennedy Martin on the film as it would be based on a 1991 biography about Ferrari. Yet, the project would languish during its development as the respective deaths of Pollack in 2008 and Martin in 2009 would halt Mann’s attempts to get the film off the ground. In 2015, Mann would make another attempt on the project with some revisions of Martin’s script by Mann and David Rayfiel as Christian Bale was interested in playing Ferrari only to leave the film over weight requirements as its planned shooting start in summer of 2016 was halted for more than a year when Hugh Jackman expressed interest in playing Ferrari with Noomi Rapace as Laura Ferrari. Unfortunately, the film’s original distributor in Paramount would back out forcing Mann to put the project on hold again.
In June of 2020, STX Entertainment would pick up the project though its development would remain shaky as Jackman left the project in early 2022 as Mann eventually chose Adam Driver in the role of Enzo Ferrari with Penelope Cruz as Laura, Shailene Woodley as Ferrari’s mistress Lina Lardi. Frequent Mann collaborator in casting director Francine Maisler would help Mann in getting other actors involved in the film including Gabriel Leone, Jack O’Connell, Sarah Gadon, and Patrick Dempsey as Mann wanted the film to be set in the province of Modena where the Ferrari headquarters is. While working with a $95 million budget and a new crew that includes cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt and editor Pietro Scalia. Shooting finally began in the summer of 2022 where Mann wanted to maintain that sense of authenticity in not just its location but also creating a moment in time as it relates to Ferrari in the summer of 1957 where was on the brink of bankruptcy while also dealing with personal loss in his life. Even as Mann would place the film in a historical moment for the Ferrari brand as it relates to the Mille Miglia race that Ferrari’s team would win but with some controversy over what happened at the race.
Given Mann’s love towards Ferrari’s cars as he had shot a commercial for the car back in the late 2000s, Mann also wanted to go into detail about Enzo’s love in making cars as well as his relationship with both Laura Ferrari and Lina Lardi with the latter being the mother of Enzo’s son Piero who at the time of production is the vice chairman for Ferrari. Mann also played into the rivalry between Ferrari and Maserati with the latter being a threat to Ferrari in being the car that best represents Italy during the post-war economic boom the country was experiencing. Mann also wanted to play into Laura Ferrari’s importance in the company even though she and Enzo were estranged following the death of their son Dino the year before from muscle dystrophy. Mann also went to sound editors Tony Lamberti and Bernard Weisner as well as sound designer David Werntz to capture the realism of how the engines sounded as he and the technical advisors he hired wanted to make sure that everything felt right.
The film made its world premiere at the 2023 Venice Film Festival on August 31, 2023, where it was well-received at the festival while it would be released in the U.S. on Christmas Day of that year through its U.S. distributor Neon with STX Entertainment releasing worldwide in the next year. The film would receive excellent reviews with Penelope Cruz getting a lot of rave reviews for her performance. Despite being voted as one of the 10 best films of the year by the National Board of Review, the film was overlooked during the awards season while only grossing $43.3 million worldwide against its $95 million budget. Still, Mann considered it a success as he felt the film did better than he expected it to be both financially and to his own expectations.
Heat 2/Veteran
With many other projects either in development or in the works, there are two projects that are in the running on what Mann will do next as the first of which is a sequel to the 1995 film Heat. In 2022, Mann and writer Meg Gardiner released a novelization of the sequel that is both a prequel set in the late 1980s and a sequel with a part of the story set in the aftermath of the events in the film. It is a story filled with complexities as it plays into the lives of Neil McCauley, Vincent Hanna, and Chris Shiherlis before the events of the film and the events after where Hanna pursues Shiherlis as some of the action is set in Mexico. While the project is currently in development with Adam Driver, Austin Butler, Ana de Armas, Jeremy Allen White, and Channing Tatum attached along with Al Pacino reprising the role of Vincent Hanna even though he is in his 80s. The film would mark Mann’s first film to be shot on film since Ali as a way for Mann to replicate the look of the original film as he hopes to have it for a possible 2025 release. Another project that is in the works is a remake of Ryoo Seung-wan’s 2015 film Veteran about a police detective who pursues a corporate executive who is secretly running a crime syndicate as he is about to inherit his own corporate empire. Although the project is made with South Korea’s CJ ENM film/TV conglomerate, not much has been said about the project that remains in development though Mann hopes to make the film after he finishes Heat 2.
Unrealized Film Projects
Throughout Mann’s career, there have been many projects that never got off the ground as well as films he had been attached to only to helmed by other filmmakers such as the Howard Hughes bio-pic The Aviator that was directed by Martin Scorsese and released in 2004 though Mann was credited as a producer and won a BAFTA for Best Film as one of its producers. Still, there had been a lot of projects that he had pitched or tried to get off the ground since the 1970s such as an adaptation of Pete Hamill’s novel Dirty Laundry and a project about the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia where one of the largest productions of heroin had been created. In the 1990s, Mann was attached to helming Good Will Hunting only for the project to be directed by Gus Van Sant in 1997 while other projects included bio-pics on James Dean, Armenian arms merchant Sarkis Soghanalian, and Hollywood detective Anthony Pellicano.
During the 21st Century, Mann had tried to develop a bio-pic on Julius Caesar with Tom Hanks in the role along with stories about the Hatfield & McCoy feud from a script by Eric Roth that was to feature Brad Pitt. Other projects included stories about Cynthia Ann Parker, Tony Accardo, Billy Fiske, and arms dealer Viktor Bout as they were projects with big films stars attached to them. Yet, these were among many films that never passed the development stage as is often common in the film industry with Mann being one of many filmmakers who tried to get these films made to keep themselves working in the industry.
Having been in the film and TV industry since the early 1970s and with a few projects in development including Heat 2. There is no question about Michael Mann’s status as one of the great filmmakers working today in cinema right now as he has already made a body of work that continues to influence many. Whether it is through crime films, compelling character studies, or films about men trying to maintain control in their lives. They always have something to offer that does not match the conventions expected in Hollywood films though Mann has used the Hollywood system to make films his way through varying degrees of success. What sets him apart from other filmmakers is his emphasis on realism as lesser filmmakers prefer to rely on artificiality to get audiences engaged. That is not what Mann does as he does not just want to engage the audiences but also get them to be invested in things that is like what is happening in the real world. That is why Michael Mann is one of the best filmmakers the world of cinema has right now.
