The film revolves around a family who deal with the death of their secretive and reclusive grandmother as they later cope with mysterious things around them that would be followed by tragedy and other strange events. It is a film that explore a family trying to deal with not just loss but also strange things such as the behavior of a few as well as some things relating to their grandmother. Ari Aster’s screenplay is more of a study of this family with its matriarch in the miniatures artist Annie Graham (Toni Collette) coping with the death of her mother as she is trying to understand about her mother while there’s some things that are happening as it relates to her children in the 16-year old Peter (Alex Wolff) and her 13-year old daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro). Even as the latter exhibits odd behavior and is always drawn to different things forcing Annie to have Peter take her to party full of kids his age where he spends a lot of time just flirting with a classmate and smoke weed where things go wrong. Even as it would add tension into Annie and Peter’s relationship with Annie’s husband/Peter and Charlie’s father Steve (Gabriel Byrne) trying to mediate.
The script doesn’t just play into grief and family dysfunction but also this air of mystery as it play into Annie’s search for answers where she meets a grief support group member in Joan (Ann Dowd) who helps her in trying to get some answers. Yet, problems would emerge with Peter becoming withdrawn and having nightmares that include a dream relating to Annie’s own issues with sleepwalking that includes an incident where she, Peter, and Charlie were covered in paint thinner from head-to-toe as she tried to light a match. It play into Annie’s own journey relating to her mother as well as things in her mother’s life that are shocking and probably is being passed on to her and her children.
Aster’s direction is definitely stylish in terms of his compositions and the way he captures a family coming apart by their grandmother’s secret past. Shot on locations in areas at Summit County, Utah as well as the town of Sandy, Utah. Aster play into not just these locations as it is something different that stray from convention but also play into some of the things that would happen such as a scene of Peter driving at night on a dirt road. Aster’s wide and medium shots have all of these striking compositions that are mesmerizing in the way the camera is positioned as well as how they would move in some tracking shots. The film’s opening shot is an example of the shot as it is shot inside a room and it then focuses on a house in the room as it zooms into the room and then Steve walks in to wake up Peter. It is among these unique compositions including matching compositions of the house shown in the day and then a cut into night and vice versa. There are some close-ups as it play into not just the horror but also the drama and suspense including scenes where Peter deals with trauma but also this growing fear into what his mother has discovered.
The film does also feature things relating to nightmares and other mysterious things relating to ghosts and cult rituals that do come into play as well as this need to connect with the dead. Notably in a scene where Joan asks Annie to do a séance where the latter is skeptical until something happens as she decides to have one at her house with her family but it only leads to complication and questions. Even in the third act where Steve, who is the most skeptical, makes some discoveries of his own where he realizes something isn’t right but he’s also wondering if Annie has gone crazy. Yet, it is Peter who would try and discover what is happening as well as why his sister had been acting odd as it relates to their grandmother. Overall, Aster crafts a riveting yet intensely-frightening film about a woman trying to uncover her own mother’s dark secrets and its effect on her family.
Cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of natural lighting for some of the daytime interior/exterior scenes as well as the usage of candles for the séance sequences and other stylish lighting for scenes set at night. Editors Jennifer Lame and Lucian Johnston do amazing work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts, match-cuts, and other stylish cutting to play into the drama and suspense as well as knowing when to not cut for shots to linger for more than 30 seconds. Production designer Grace Yun, with set decorator Brian Lives and art director Richard T. Olson, does excellent work with the look of the Graham family house from the look of the rooms as well as the interiors of Joan’s apartment and Charlie’s treehouse outside of the main Graham family home. Costume designer Olga Mill does nice work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward with the exception of the funeral clothes the family wears early in the film as well as some hippie-like clothing that Joan wears.
The makeup work of Chris Hanson and Abigail Steele is terrific for the look of a few characters as it relates to some of the horror they deal with. Visual effects supervisors Eran Dinur, Chris Haney, and Lucien Harriot does fantastic work with the visual effects as it relates to some of the ghostly elements in the film along with some effects that help play into the horror. Sound editor Lewis Goldstein does superb work with the sound as it help maintain a mood in how it play into the suspense and horror as well as some of the sparse sounds that include the tongue clicks that Charlie makes. The film’s music by Colin Stetson is incredible for its ambient-based score that features elements of orchestral, dark ambient, and classical touches that play into some of the drama and suspense as it is a major highlight of the film while music supervisor Joe Rudge cultivates a soundtrack that features not just a classical piece by Georg Philipp Teleman but also music from Cam Smith featuring Thrillah, B.o.b., Modeselektor, Flatbush Zombies, K Theory, and Judy Collins covering Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now.
The casting by Jessica Kelly is wonderful as it features some notable small roles from Ari Aster as Annie’s agent, Mallory Bechtel as a classmate of Peter in Bridget whom he’s fallen for, and Kathleen Chalfant in an un-credited appearance as Annie’s mother Ellen Taper Leigh who is seen mainly in pictures as a mysterious woman with a dark secret. Ann Dowd is fantastic as Joan as a woman that Annie meets in a grief support group who is also dealing with loss while making a discovery that would help Annie in dealing with grief though her motives are suspicious. Milly Shapiro is excellent as Charlie as a 13-year old tomboy who is exhibiting odd behavior following her grandmother’s death as she brings a lot of concern to her parents and her older brother Peter as it relates to how close she was to her grandmother.
Gabriel Byrne is brilliant as Annie’s husband/Peter and Charlie’s father Steve Graham as a psychologist who is trying to calm things down while is baffled by what Annie is doing as well as dealing with a mystery relating to his mother-in-law’s grave. Alex Wolff is amazing as Peter as Annie and Steve’s 16-year old son who doesn’t just deal with the strange things around him but also his own brush with tragedy as he later becomes troubled by things around him that relates to some of the mysterious events around as it also include some amazing physical work that he does. Finally, there’s Toni Collette in an outstanding performance as Annie Graham as a miniatures artist who is trying to understand the loss of her mother as well as other things where Collette doesn’t just bring some moments of calm into her performance but also this manic sense of dread and fear that seeps into her character as it is truly a career-defining performance for Collette.
Hereditary is a tremendous film from Ari Aster that features a phenomenal leading performance from Toni Collette. Along with its ensemble cast, ravishing visuals, an eerie music soundtrack, and its study of family secrets and dark secrets inherited by the previous generation. It is a film that isn’t just this intense horror film but also the study of a family coming apart by generational secrets and what they might’ve inherited. In the end, Hereditary is a magnificent film from Ari Aster.
Ari Aster Films: Midsommar – Beau is Afraid
© thevoid99 2022
Based on the book Boston Strong by Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge, Patriots Day is the story about the 2013 bombing during the Boston Marathon and the subsequent manhunt to find the bombers. Directed by Peter Berg and screenplay by Berg, Matt Cook, and Josh Zetumer from a story by Berg, Cook, Eric Johnson, and Paul Tamasy, the film is a dramatic re-telling of the marathon bombing that killed three people and wounded several others as it would be followed by a manhunt on those that planned the bombing. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Kevin Bacon, J.K. Simmons, John Goodman, and Michelle Monaghan. Patriots Day is a riveting and intense film from Peter Berg.
On April 15, 2013, the annual Boston Marathon was held as it is a big event that brings people from around the world as well as the people from the city to run a marathon with locals cheering for those at the marathon. Yet, it was a dark day in the city when two bombs were exploded that killed three people and injuring hundreds more with some losing limbs and such. The film is about the 100-plus hours that occurred before the marathon and the manhunt for the two men that committed the acts of terror in the city with multiple storylines happening as it relates to those involved in these events. The film’s screenplay by Peter Berg, Matt Cook, and Josh Zetumer largely follows Sgt. Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg) who is tasked with welcoming the racers at the finishing line to finish up his own suspension from the Boston Police Department.
Yet, he would be among those that would witness the bombing and go on the search to find the terrorists. The film does begin the day before the marathon as it relates to not just Sgt. Saunders trying to regain his trust with his superiors but also the lives of ordinary people who would be part of not just the marathon but also the manhunt including the two terrorists in Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (Alex Wolff) and his older brother Tamerlan (Themo Melikidze). The narrative would shift into the events of the day with a few subplots involving those who would have scary encounters with the Tsarnaev brothers though the script does a clunky job in introducing and establishing these small characters early in the film. Still, the script does play into the investigation led by Richard DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon) of the FBI in collaboration with Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis (John Goodman) as it uses surveillance footage and such to find the identity of the terrorists as well as take part in the eventual manhunt that would occur in the nearby town of Watertown.
Berg’s direction is engaging for the way he captures a period in time told in the span of nearly five days as it begins with Sgt. Saunders on assignment where he would hurt one of his knees while getting a visit from Commissioner Davis during the assignment. Shot on various locations in and around Boston, Massachusetts with the main locations in the small towns of Quincy and the warehouse interior at Peabody. Berg does maintain a sense of momentum into what is happening such as the scene of the Tsarnaev brothers planting their homemade bombs and how a few characters would be at that location that includes a baby who was close to the bomb site but fortunately wasn’t killed. Berg’s usage of close-ups and medium shots doesn’t just play into the action but also in moments of the investigation and the manhunt that occurs in the film’s third act. There are usage of wide shots of the locations including a shot of the city just after it is being shut down so that the police and FBI try to find the Tsarnaev brothers.
For a film that is driven by suspense and action, Berg would also shoot scenes that are character driven such as a moment of Sgt. Saunders talking with a superior during the manhunt as he talks about what he encountered at the bombing and loss but also the realization of what needs to be done. Berg would also use these smaller moments that would include bits of humor as it relates to Watertown’s Sgt. Jeffrey Pugliese (J.K. Simmons) at a shoot-out against the Tsarnaev brothers as it relates to the cigar he always smoke. It does help play into what is at stake as well as the fact that FBI and local officers work together to make things right as it all plays into the climatic showdown between them and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev who would hide at an unusual place which is often expected from cowards like him. Overall, Berg creates a mesmerizing and gripping thriller about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the manhunt for the two terrorists who committed the attacks.
Cinematographer Tobias A. Schliesser does excellent work with the film’s cinematography with the usage of natural lighting for the daytime scenes along with the usage of available and low-key lights for many of the interior/exterior scenes set at night. Editors Colby Parker Jr. and Gabriel Fleming do amazing work with the editing as its usage of jump-cuts help play into the action and drama as well as some of the film’s suspenseful moments. Production designer Tom Duffield, along with set decorator Ronald R. Reiss and art director Steve Cooper, do fantastic work with the look of the home that the Tsarnaev brothers live in as well as the warehouse interior that is used as the crime scene for Commissioner Davis and DesLauriers would use. Costume designer Virginia Johnson does terrific work with the costumes as it is largely casual along with the look of the police uniforms and the clothes that Tsarnaev brothers wore that would make them identifiable.
Special makeup effects artist Julie LeShane does brilliant work with the scenes just after the bombing in the way some of the characters look in their injured and harmed state to play into the horror of what happened. Special effects supervisor Matt Kutcher and visual effects supervisors Sean Devereaux do wonderful work with the film’s visual from the bombing scene to some set-dressing in a few set pieces in the film. Sound designers Dror Mohar and Piero Mura do superb work with the sound in the way the explosions sound from afar as well as the sounds of gunfire in the manhunt scenes as well as other sparse moments in the locations and action as it is one of the film’s highlights. The film’s music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is incredible for its eerie approach to dark ambient with its usage of synthesizers and electronic instruments along with some percussions in the background to help play into the suspense and drama as it is a highlight of the film.
The casting by Sheila Jaffe and Angela Peri is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz as himself recreating his moment days after the bombing, Khandi Alexander as a no-nonsense interrogator asking Tamerlan’s wife questions, Melissa Benoist as Tamerlan’s wife Katherine Russell who gets interrogated, Christopher O’Shea and Rachel Brosnahan as the couple in their respective roles as Patrick Downes and Jessica Kensky who both were severely injured from one of the bombs, Jimmy O. Yang as Dun Meng who was carjacked by the Tsarnaev brothers and later escaped where he told Sgt. Saunders what happened to him, Vincent Curtola as Boston’s Mayor Thomas Menino, Michael Beach as Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Jake Picking as MIT Officer Sean Collier who had an unfortunate encounter with the Tsarnaev brothers, Lana Candor as a MIT student Collier wanted to go out with, and James Colby as Boston Police Superintendent William Evans who aids in the manhunt as well as the investigation.
Alex Wolff and Themo Melikidze are superb in their respective roles as Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev as the two men who planted the bombs during the marathon with Wolff being reluctant at first only to get the thrill of killing and Melikidze as the more aggressive of the two. Michelle Monaghan is fantastic as Carol Saunders as Sgt. Saunders’ wife who is also a registered nurse as she was at the marathon but unharmed as she tries to help her husband get healed up physically and emotionally. J.K. Simmons is excellent as Sgt. Jeffrey Pugliese as an officer from Watertown who would be part of the shoot-out against the Tsarnaev brothers as he is a man of great skill that would help lead his fellow officers to battle as it’s a low-key yet badass performance from Simmons.
Kevin Bacon is brilliant as Special FBI Agent Richard DesLauriers as the man in charge of the investigation of the bombings as he turns to Commissioner Davis and Sgt. Saunders for help on the location of streets as well as making decisions of what information should go public. John Goodman is amazing as Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis as the head of police who is trying to maintain morale as well as getting everyone including his officers to see what they can find as it’s a low-key but memorable performance from Goodman. Finally, there’s Mark Wahlberg in a remarkable performance as Sgt. Tommy Saunders as a suspended police officer trying to back on the force as he deals with being near one of the bomb sites as he tries to help those in need as well as take part in the manhunt to find the Tsarnaev brothers as it’s a reserved and intense performance from Wahlberg as someone who is trying do what is right as well as ensure that he can make his home safer again.
Patriots Day is a marvelous film from Peter Berg. Featuring a great cast, an engaging script, rapturous visuals, and a haunting score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. It’s a film that play into a real-life event and showcase what some people are willing to do to bring justice back to a city that was rocked by terrorism. In the end, Patriots Day is a remarkable film from Peter Berg.
Related: (null 5)
Peter Berg Films: (Very Bad Things) – (The Rundown) – (Friday Night Lights) – (The Kingdom (2007 film)) – (Hancock) – (Virtuality) – (Battleship) – (Lone Survivor) – (Deepwater Horizon) – (Mile 22)
© thevoid99 2018
Based on the graphic novel by John “Derf” Backderf, My Friend Dahmer is about the early life of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer during his time in high school and the events that would eventually shape into becoming one of the most infamous serial killers of the 20th Century. Written for the screen and directed by Marc Meyers, the film largely chronicles Dahmer’s senior year in 1977 and 1978 that would eventually lead to the moment he would commit his first murder as Disney teen pop singer/actor Ross Lynch plays the role of Dahmer while Alex Wolff plays the role of Dahmer’s classmate Derf Backderf. Also starring Anne Heche, Dallas Roberts, Tommy Nelson, and Vincent Kartheiser. My Friend Dahmer is a haunting and entrancing film from Marc Meyers.
From 1978 to 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer was infamous for killing, raping, and dismembering 17 people in the course of that period until he turned himself in only to die three years later when he was murdered in prison. Many wondered what made someone into one of the most infamous serial killers of the 20th Century as the film is about a year in the life of a young Jeffrey Dahmer just before he would commit his first murder. Marc Meyers’ screenplay is really the study of a young man who is about to become unhinged in his young life as he doesn’t just deal with being a social outcast during his senior year of high school. He would cope with growing tension between his parents, his homosexuality, his inability to fit in, and dependency on alcohol. The first scenes show Dahmer having an interest in dead animals where he puts them in jars full of acid just for the bodies to dissolve as he has an interest in bones.
Much of the film’s script doesn’t just follow Dahmer’s descent into rage and disappointment but also the events that would shape the life of a young man who would later become extremely dangerous. Even as he was forced by his father Lionel (Dallas Roberts) to stop collecting dead animals in order socialize where he would get people’s attention by pretending to have spasms to the point that one of his classmates in Derf Backderf would form a little club that would allow Dahmer to act out erratically. Eventually, the stunts that Dahmer would do eventually become troublesome with one of Derf’s friends in Neil (Tommy Nelson) becoming uncomfortable with the effects it is having on Dahmer. Derf is seen as someone who would continuously push Dahmer to act out as a way to inspire his work as an artist but he would eventually realize that something is off. Especially as he would see a glimpse into Dahmer’s family life which show Dahmer’s parents fighting and a sense of neglect towards their eldest son not knowing that he is unraveling.
Meyers’ direction is riveting in the way he captures Dahmer’s young life in the 1970s at a small suburb in Ohio where much of the film is set and shot at around these small towns of Bath and Middleburg Height. Much of Meyers’ direction is straightforward with some intoxicating imagery and compositions to play into Dahmer’s sense of detachment from the world as he prefers to be in this small shack with his collection of dead animals that would eventually be destroyed by his father. The usage of the wide and medium shots help play into that air of detachment as there aren’t many close-ups in the film as it is about Dahmer’s sense of disconnect with the social ideas of high school. There are also these eerie scenes that play into Dahmer’s secretive homosexuality where he gazes at a jogger who he sees every now and then and later meets him. There are these dark moments of humor where Dahmer would have fake spasms where it would be comical but it would also take a dark turn as it shows Dahmer unraveling little by little.
Notably as Meyers shoots a lot of the scenes at home with Dahmer’s back in front of the camera as it is clear that he’s being neglected by his parents with his mother Joyce (Anne Heche) relapsing into her own mental illness that prompts her to be unpredictable as well as be inattentive. Meyers’ direction also showcase elements of surrealism as it relates to Dahmer’s fantasy for the jogger but also this growing sense of rage that is looming with his parents being unaware of his actions. Even as the film’s final moments play into Dahmer’s isolation as well as some revelations for Derf who would get a closer look into the damage his pranks involving Dahmer would inflict. Overall, Meyers crafts an unsettling yet somber film about the makings of a future serial killer in his senior year in high school.
Cinematographer Daniel Katz does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it play into some of the natural colors of the forests and low-key lights for the scenes at night that does help create a mood in how Dahmer sees the world. Editor Jamie Kirkpatrick does terrific work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some rhythmic cuts and jump-cuts to play into some of the dark humor of Dahmer’s spasms and in some intensely-dramatic moments. Production designer Jennifer Klide and set decorator Carmen Navis do fantastic work with the look of the Dahmer family home as well as the interior of the school to play into the look of the late 1970s.
Costume designer Carla Shivener does nice work with the costumes as it play into what kids wore in the 1970s as well as some of the strange clothes that Dahmer’s mother wore. Sound editor Coll Anderson does superb work with the sound as it play into some of the quieter moments in the forest as it relates to Dahmer’s interest in dead animals as well as some scenes in the school which add to Dahmer’s descent. The film’s music by Andrew Hollander is brilliant for its eerie and somber ambient score that help play into Dahmer’s slow descent as well as some of the dramatic elements of the film while music supervisor Jonathan Leahy creates a soundtrack that largely consists of music from the 1970s including Badfinger, Stephen Bishop, Rocket from the Tombs, T. Rex, and other artists from that decade.
The casting by Stephanie Holbrook is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Liam Koeth as Dahmer’s younger brother Dave, Jack DeVillers as an early friend of Dahmer in Oliver, Tom Luce as then-Vice President Walter Mondale whom Dahmer got his classmates to meet through a phone call, Sydney Jane Meyer as Dahmer’s senior prom date, and Vincent Kartheiser in a small yet terrific performance as Dr. Matthews as the jogger that Dahmer obsesses over where Dr. Matthews examines him leading to a very uncomfortable moment. Harrison Holzer and Tommy Nelson are superb in their respective roles as Derf’s friends Mike and Neil as two classmates who encourage Dahmer to do spasms with the latter feeling remorse over the pranks they’re creating believing Dahmer is starting to unravel.
Dallas Roberts and Anne Heche are fantastic in their respective roles as Dahmer’s parents Lionel and Joyce with Roberts displaying a sense of frustration over his son’s anti-social hobbies in the hopes he can fit in while Heche provides an energetic performance as Dahmer’s mother who is becoming unhinged in her mental state as well as becoming neglectful towards her eldest son. Alex Wolff is excellent as John “Derf” Backderf as a classmate who takes an interest in Dahmer’s antics as he would start a fan club to get Dahmer to act out where he would create drawings of Dahmer only to eventually see what he’s unraveled from Dahmer. Finally, there’s Ross Lynch in what is truly a revelatory break-out performance for the young actor in the role of a young Jeffrey Dahmer. Lynch’s physicality in the way Dahmer presents himself as well as how he performs Dahmer’s spasms are chilling including the quieter moments that play into this awkwardness into his attempts to socialize as well as the rage that is building as it is truly an incredible performance from Lynch.
My Friend Dahmer is a phenomenal film from Marc Meyers that features a tremendously chilling performance from Ross Lynch. Along with its supporting cast, intense character study, an eerie music score, and haunting visuals, it is an unconventional yet ravishing portrait of a young man who would become one of the most infamous serial killers of the 20th Century. In the end, My Friend Dahmer is a sensational film from Marc Meyers.
© thevoid99 2018
