Hail, Caesar!

Written, edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, Hail, Caesar! is the story of a Hollywood fixer who tries to find a Hollywood film star who had disappeared during the production of a big Hollywood movie. The film is an exploration into 1950s American cinema as well as the world of gossip, scandals, and all sorts of shenanigans that went on in 1950s Hollywood as it is narrated by Michael Gambon. Starring George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Channing Tatum, Alden Ehrenreich, Jonah Hill, Alison Pill, and Ralph Fiennes. Hail, Caesar! is a witty and off-the-wall film from the Coen Brothers.

Set in 1950s Hollywood, the film revolves around a studio head whose job is to clean up people’s messes and make sure they’re protected by scandal where he copes with the recent disappearance of a major Hollywood star who had been abducted by a mysterious organization known as the Future. It’s a film that plays in the few days in the life of this fixer who makes sure that everything goes well as he deals with all sorts of things such as an un-wedded pregnant starlet, a cowboy film star going into costume dramas, and a job offer. The film’s screenplay by Joel and Ethan Coen doesn’t just explore the turbulent life of Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) as he tries to juggle his life in work but also a family life which he is fond of despite the demands of his job. While the character of Eddie Mannix is a real-life figure who was a fixer in real-life, the situations that he encounters do play into some of the things that go on in Hollywood. Yet, what the Coen Brothers do is create some exaggerations as well as some shenanigans.

When the actor Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) gets abducted by this mysterious group, this is where the story really begins to take shape as the script also play into a world that is changing. Not just through the emergence of television and the new ideas of films that are coming but also what is happening underneath as it relates to a growing scare that would shape 1950s America. There lies this conflict of not just the world that Mannix wants to protect but also the emergence of a new world order that threatens it. Along the way, there are these characters who part of Mannix’s world that are have this public fact that people know and love but if anything about who they really are become known could be the end of them. Even as many of them might seem like these typical film stars but either they’re smarter than they actually are or are part of something bigger.

The Coen Brothers’ direction definitely owe a lot of the Golden Age of Hollywood in not just the type of films they’re presenting where many of the stars of Capitol Pictures are in. It’s also in the way the studio system was back then where they’re sort of disconnected from the real world as a way to escape from the harsh rigors of reality. Shot on location in Hollywood, the film does play like a Hollywood film that is a bit off-kilter yet manages to be very lively and full of energy. Especially in the soundstages where filmmakers and actors do their work and not worry about anything yet not everything is going great. Especially for the starlet DeeAnna Moray (Scarlett Johansson) who is coping with the early stages of pregnancy as she has trouble being in a mermaid outfit. It’s among the many quirks and bits of humor that the Coen Brothers put in as it showcases not just how silly the world of Hollywood is as it includes the kind of films that are made including a western where its lead actor Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich) finds himself cast in a costume drama.

Many of the compositions are simple in terms of wide and medium shots as well as some close-ups where some of it play into what kind of films are being made. The Coen Brothers also play with aspect ratios where many of the films that are being made are shot in the 1:33:1 Academy aspect ratio as the widescreen format wasn’t prominent until later in the 1950s due to the advent of television. The film would also play into an intimacy into this group that Whitlock was abducted by where it also has a sense of parody into who these guys are and what they represent. Some of which would set the tone for what would come in Hollywood but not to someone like Mannix who still believes that he is doing what is right no matter what forces are coming. Overall, the Coen Brothers create a very zany yet exhilarating film about a Hollywood fixer trying to clean up some big messes amidst an ever-changing world.

Cinematographer Roger Deakins does amazing work with the film‘s cinematography from the usage of grainy black-and-white film to recreate the costume drama to the array of lighting styles for the soundstages as well as some naturalistic exterior lighting for scenes in the day. Under the Roderick Jaynes alias, the Coen Brothers do some excellent work with the editing as it plays into the editing style of the times such as dissolves and some rhythmic cuts as well as some stylish cutting that would play into the suspense. Production designer Jess Gonchor, with set decorator Nancy Haigh and supervising art director Dawn Swiderski, does fantastic work with the different array of sets created for the many films in the soundstages as well as Mannix‘s office and the home of this mysterious group known as the Future.

Costume designer Mary Zophres does brilliant work with the costumes as it doesn’t just play into the period of the early 1950s from the many dresses the women wear but also some of the clothes of the men including Doyle’s cowboy get-up and the Roman period costume that Whitlock wears. Makeup artist Julie Hewett and hair designer Cydney Cornell do terrific work with the many different hairstyle of the characters that include the look of Moray as well as the look of the many women in the film including the twin gossip columnists Mannix has to deal with. Visual effects supervisors Dan Cregan, Dan Levitan, and Dan Schrecker do nice work with the visual effects for some of the set dressing for some of the exterior scenes as well as a few old-school tricks for sequences in some of the films that are being made. Sound editor Skip Lievsay and sound designer Craig Berkey do superb work with the sound from the way many of the recordings in an editing room or in a soundstage sound like to scenes outside the studio where it plays into the chaos that Mannix is dealing with. The film’s music by Carter Burwell is delightful for the many different array of music from bombastic orchestral music for the epics to country-western music for the cowboy movie or something more snazzy for the musicals as it includes original songs written with Henry Krieger and Willie Reale.

The casting by Ellen Chenoweth is phenomenal for the mass ensemble that is created in the film as it features notable small roles from Wayne Knight as a suspicious extra, E.E. Bell as a bartender in a musical number, Clancy Brown as Whitlock’s co-star, Robert Picardo as a concerned rabbi who frets over the epic movie, Alex Karpovsky as a photographer for the Future, Natasha Bassett as a starlet Mannix deals with early in the film, Christopher Lambert as a European filmmaker that is rumored to be the father of Moran’s baby, Emily Beecham as a young actress in a costume drama, Veronica Osorio as a Carmen Miranda-actress in Carlotta Valdez that Doyle is set up with for a date, and Heather Goldenhersh in a wonderful performance as Mannix’s secretary Natalie who is Mannix’s right-hand woman of sorts. In the roles of members of the Future, there are David Krumholtz, Fisher Stevens, Fred Melamed, and Patrick Fischer while John Bluthal is terrific as a philosopher who tries to convince Whitlock to join them. In the role of the Future’s leader, Max Baker is superb as the team’s leader as someone that wants to crush Capitol Studios as well as do something that would change America.

In small but very memorable roles, there’s Alison Pill in a radiant performance as Mannix’s wife who helps him decide what to do while Jonah Hill is fantastic as a man named Joseph Silverman that is willing to help out Mannix and Moran. Channing Tatum is excellent as Burt Gurney as a musical actor that is so full of charm in the way he sings and dances while also being a bit ambiguous as it relates to activities outside of acting. Frances McDormand is hilarious as the editor C.C. Calhoun as it’s a very funny one-scene appearance where McDormand helps Mannix over the fate of a film and what should be cut. Tilda Swinton is amazing in a dual role as twin gossip columnists Thora and Thessaly Thacker as two twin sisters who hate each other as they both try to get a story from Mannix over what is happening where one is trying to bring real news while the other wants to uncover scandal.

Ralph Fiennes is brilliant as filmmaker Laurence Larentz as this man who makes prestigious costume dramas who deals with having to work with the very inexperienced Doyle under the orders of the studio. Scarlett Johansson is great as DeeAnna Moran as this Esther Williams-type of actress who deals with being pregnant as well as being unmarried having already married twice where Johansson brings a lot of humor to her role. Alden Ehrenreich is incredible as Hobie Doyle as a singing cowboy actor who is a real cowboy as he deals with being put into a costume drama where he has trouble saying lines without his Western drawl as well as being a lot smarter than people want to believe. George Clooney is marvelous as Baird Whitlock as a leading man who gets abducted by a mysterious group where he realizes what is going on as he ponders whether to be part of this group where Clooney also gets to be funny. Finally, there’s Josh Brolin in a remarkable performance as Eddie Mannix as this fixer who tries to clean up all of the messes for a film studio while dealing with the chaos of his work where he also ponders about taking on another job as it’s Brolin in one of his best performances to date.

Hail, Caesar! is a phenomenal film from the Coen Brothers. Featuring a great ensemble cast, a witty premise, and some amazing technical work. The film isn’t just a lavish tribute to 1950s American cinema but also a hilarious take on that period that includes a funny view of the growing scare in America. In the end, Hail, Caesar! is a sensational film from the Coen Brothers.

Coen Brothers Films: Blood Simple - Raising Arizona - Miller's Crossing - Barton Fink - The Hudsucker Proxy - Fargo - The Big Lebowski - O Brother, Where Art Thou? - The Man Who Wasn't There - Intolerable Cruelty - The Ladykillers - Paris Je T'aime-Tulieres -To Each His Own Cinema-World Cinema - No Country for Old Men - Burn After Reading - A Serious Man - True Grit - Inside Llewyn Davis - The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The Auteurs #9: The Coen Brothers: Part 1 - Part 2

© thevoid99 2016

Snowpiercer

Based on the graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand, and Jean-Marc Rochette, Snowpiercer is post-apocalyptic film set in an ice age where survivors are living on a train as the poor and hungry rebel against the elite as they try to take over the train. Directed by Bong Joon-Ho and screenplay by Joon-Ho and Kelly Masterson from a screen story by Joon-Ho, the film is a futuristic dystopia where class is being separated as it all takes place inside a train. Starring Tilda Swinton, Chris Evans, John Hurt, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Ewen Bremner, Alison Pill, Song Kang-ho, Go Ah-sung, and Ed Harris. Snowpiercer is a thrilling yet mesmerizing film from Bong Joon-Ho.

Set in an ice age in the middle of the 21st Century where survivors of the ice age live inside a train. The film is about a rebellion led by the poor who live on the tail-end of the train as they trek through their way to front to confront the mysterious creator of the train. It’s a film that explores not just class structures where the poor is forced to suffer and eat protein bars, unaware of its true substance, while enduring all sorts of abuse as the only person from the front they meet is the train minister Mason (Tilda Swinton). For a young man in Curtis (Chris Evans), it’s all too much for him to take as he would lead the rebellion with the help of his mentor Gilliam (John Hurt) where they free the gates designer Minsu (Song Kang-Ho) and his daughter Yona (Go Ah-sung) only to encounter all sorts of horrors of the train they’ve been living in.

The film’s screenplay does begin with bits of exposition about how the ice age had begun all due to an experiment, that was to combat global warming , suddenly went wrong and led to this dystopia where its survivors live on the train. Yet, that is only in the first few minutes as it fast-forwards 2031 where Curtis and his friends Edgar (Jamie Bell), Tanya (Octavia Spencer), and Andrew (Ewen Bremner) are planning a revolt where both Tanya and Andrew want to retrieve their respective child who had been taken by an associate of the train’s creator Wilford (Ed Harris) who is seen by Mason and the elite as a god. For Curtis, seeing friends die and children taken away as well as the horrors he had experienced has him wanting to confront Wilford as the journey he and his friends take becomes an arduous one where they see things that don’t make sense as it shows how oppressed they are.

Yet, Mason is just a spokesperson for the elusive Wilford as she is eventually taken hostage to take Curtis and his band of rebels to the train and its different compartments. Upon these encounters with the compartments, there are these strange ideas of satire in the way Wilford’s teachings are handled as it has this very offbeat approach to dark humor. A lot of it is quite absurd yet it adds that film’s approach of dystopia where everyone has to be in the train in order to survive or else endure the horrors of what is outside as the ice age is still happening. There are images of what is outside the train as it on the same track for an entire year that spans all over the world in this massive track that goes from continent to continent. All of which plays into a world where there maybe no hope yet Curtis believes the answer to that hope is at the front of the train and its engine.

Bong Joon-Ho’s direction is very chilling in the way he maintains a sense of atmosphere as it’s shot almost entirely inside a train. There are a few wide shots in the film yet much of the compositions that Joon-Ho creates are focused on medium shots and close-ups along with some unique camera angles to play into the sense of terror and suspense. At the same time, there’s an element of claustrophobia as some of the compositions are very tight as is the train compartments where the poor cluttered inside to showcase the tension that is building up. Some of which involve these very gruesome images of violence where Joon-Ho brings in a lot of shooting styles from hand-held to more controlled approaches of action and suspense while also creating some moments that is all shot in one take

There is that sense of build-up into each compartment that Curtis and his character go through as Joon-Ho creates these set pieces inside the train compartments that are very surreal as well as off-putting. Some of which is played for laughs such as this very strange scene where Curtis and his gang encounter a schoolteacher (Alison Pill) who is a very cartoonish character just like Mason in some respects. Of course, things become more dangerous and deadly where it would play into not just Curtis’ motivations into meeting Wilford but also the chance to know why he was put into these situations. Curtis’ meeting with Wilford is very climatic but also filled with a lot of revelations into Wilford’s own motivations that showcases a lot about humanity and its fallacies. Overall, Joon-Ho crafts a very intense and provocative film about a revolt inside a train in a futuristic ice age.

Cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo does amazing work with the cinematography from the grimy look and lighting in some of the compartments such as the tail end to the array of lighting styles to play into the different look of the compartments to showcase its offbeat and surrealistic tone. Editors Steve M. Choe and Changju Kim do brilliant work in the editing in creating some very unique rhythms to play into the film‘s action, drama, and dark humor along other stylish cuts from slow-motion and such to play into its action. Production designer Ondrej Nekvasil, with set decorator Beata Brendtnerova and art director Stefan Kovacik, does superb work with the design of the train compartments from the very drab and stuffy look of the tail compartment to the very different settings of the compartments to play into its offbeat tone.

Costume designer Catherine George does excellent work with the costumes from the ragged look of the poor to the more colorful and cartoonish look of the rich. Hair/makeup designer Jeremy Woodhead does nice work with the look of the Mason character in her very weird presentation from her hair and teeth that makes her more like a cartoon than a serious authority figure. The visual effects work of Kang Changbae and Eric Durst is spectacular for not just the look of the train in its exteriors but also in some of the action set pieces as well as what Earth looked like in its ice age. Sound designers Sung Rok Choi, Timothy Nielsen, and Dave Whitehead do fantastic work with the film‘s sound from the way the train sounds inside and out to the some of the atmosphere in the different train compartments. The film’s music by Marco Beltrami is wonderful for its orchestral flourishes along with some bombastic, electronic-based pieces while some of the film’s soundtrack includes a classical piece by Johann Sebastian Bach as well as a song from Cream.

The casting by Jenny Jue and Johanna Ray is incredible for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small roles from Paul Lazar as the maker of the mysterious protein bars, Tomas Lemarquis as a Wilford agent known as Egg-head, Marcanthonee Reis as Tanya’s five-year old son Tim, Steve Park as an officer of Mason, Emma Levie as a strange associate of Wilford, Clark Middleton as a poor painter who makes portraits for his friends, Vlad Ivanov and Adnan Haskovic as Mason’s muscle-men, and Luke Pasqualino as the mute fighter of the rebellion known as Grey. Ewen Bremner is terrific as the angry yet resourceful Andrew while Alison Pill is very funny as the offbeat teacher who tries to teach children the ideas of Wilford.

Ed Harris is excellent in a small yet very memorable role as the mysterious Wilford as a man who runs the train as he believes that he can save the world. John Hurt is amazing as the aging rebel leader Gilliam as he would guide Curtis into leading the rebellion as he hopes to confront Wilford himself. Octavia Spencer is brilliant as Tanya as the woman of the group who aids Curtis so she can retrieve her son. Tilda Swinton is great as the train minister Mason as she is this very cartoonish and offbeat character that tries to assert authority but is really a slimy coward. Jamie Bell is superb as Curtis’ sidekick Edgar who aids him in every way while doing a few funny things yet proves to be very reliable in every situation. Go Ah-sung is fantastic as the clairvoyant Yona as this young woman who can see through the gates while being an emotional compass of sorts in the film as she deals with the different worlds she’s never encountered.

Song Kang-ho is phenomenal as the drug-addicted gate designer Namgoong Minsu as a man who can open gates while making some realizations of his own about what is happening in and out of the train. Finally, there’s Chris Evans in a remarkable performance as Curtis Everett as a rebel leader who had seen and endured so much as he decides to take charge and confront Wilford as it’s a role filled with command but also anguish over some of his decisions as it’s a truly Evans in one of his best roles to date.

Snowpiercer is an outstanding film from Bong Joon-ho. Armed with a great ensemble cast as well as captivating themes on humanity, dystopia, and class structure. It’s a film that manages to do a lot of things where it’s not just an action film with brains but it’s also quite funny at times as it hits all of the marks and more. In the end, Snowpiercer is a sensational film from Bong Joon-ho.

Bong Joon-ho Films: Barking Dogs Never Bite - Memories of Murder - The Host - Tokyo!-Shaking Tokyo - Mother - Okja - Parasite - Mickey 17 - The Auteurs #44: Bong Joon-ho

© thevoid99 2014

To Rome with Love

Written, directed, and starring Woody Allen, To Rome with Love is a multi-layered film with four different stories about people living or vacationing in Rome, Italy. Among these stories include a funeral director who unknowingly has singing talent, a man who becomes a celebrity for mysterious reasons, a couple on their honeymoon, and an architect who guides a young man into the world of love. All of which play into the fascination of the city. Also starring Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Greta Gerwig, Judy Davis, Roberto Benigni, Alison Pill, Ornella Muti, and Penelope Cruz. To Rome with Love is an interesting but very lackluster film from Woody Allen.

The film revolves around four different stories all set in the city of Rome as it plays to the desires of various people and how it can be a bit overwhelming as well as the realization that not everything is as it’s cracked up to be. One story involves a revered architect (Alec Baldwin) who meets a young man (Jesse Eisenberg) who is living in the old apartment the architect lived as a student as he observes the young man’s obsession with a neurotic actress (Ellen Page). The second story is about an American woman who meets and falls for an Italian man as they announced their engagement where the woman’s father learns that his future son-in-law’s father has a gift for singing opera. The third story revolves around an ordinary business clerk (Roberto Benigni) who suddenly becomes a celebrity as he’s baffled by his new fame. The fourth and final story is about a couple who come to Rome for their honeymoon where the bride is suddenly lost in the city forcing the groom to hire a hooker (Penelope Cruz) to pretend to be his wife for his relatives.

While Woody Allen creates a very interesting concept that revolves around these four different stories that sort of cross-cuts from one another. The result as a whole is very messy. There’s parts in some of these stories that are funny and exciting but there’s also moments where it kind of drags and such that sort of loses steam. The story about the funeral director who only sings in the shower is quite interesting as it has a lot of humor which includes Allen playing the American girl’s father but the humor loses steam late in the story. The story about the architect guiding this young man about his love life is very troubled due to the writing where it becomes unclear where the architect is real or he’s just acting as a Greek chorus.

The story about this business clerk’s sudden new fame is also funny but it gets ridiculous as it goes on where some of the humor is forced. The segment about the newlywed couple who each venture into different journeys in Rome where the groom unexpectedly has a hooker hang out with his rich relatives while the bride spends time with a film actor is definitely the best of the four. All of these all play into people being fascinated by the riches and cultures of Rome yet it would all play to the idea that not everyone can endure all of these wonders as some just prefer something much simpler.

Allen’s direction is quite unique in the way he presents Rome as he makes it a major character in the film. Yet, it starts off with a very beautiful montage of cars driving through the streets of Rome where the camera stops on this traffic policeman (Pierluigi Marchionne) who comments about the wonders of Rome. Allen does create some dazzling compositions that plays to the beauty of the city as well as some moments where he wanted to keep things naturally funny. Yet, the script’s drawbacks does drag the story where Allen has a hard time keeping up with the momentum of some of the humor where some of it feels forced and unfocused. While the segment about the funeral director who can sing opera has some very spectacular moments including the staging of his operas where sings in a shower. It doesn’t do enough to make the film more engaging than it needs to be despite some of the moments in the newlywed couple segment. Overall Allen creates a very incoherent and underwhelming film about life in Rome.

Cinematographer Darius Khondji does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography as it is filled with some gorgeous images of the city in the day and night as well as some of the nighttime interior scenes. Editor Alisa Lepselter does nice work with the editing in creating some lively montages while playing up to the film‘s unique narrative structure with some very inspired transitions. Production designer Anne Seibel, with set decorator Raffaella Giovannetti and art director Luca Trachino, does excellent work with the set pieces from the hotels and homes the characters stay at to the staging of the operas.

Costume designer Sonia Grande does terrific work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual with the exception of the red dress Cruz‘s hooker character wears. Sound editor Robert Hein does superb work with the sound to play up some of the atmosphere of the locations including the sound of the funeral director singing in the shower at his home. The film’s wonderful soundtrack is filled with a lot of different blend of music ranging from jazz, classical, opera, and some Italian pop tunes that include various renditions of Volare.

The casting by Juliet Taylor, Patricia Kerrigan DiCerto, and Beatrice Kruger is amazing for the ensemble that is created for this film as it includes some small appearances from Riccardo Scamarcio as a hotel thief who tries to rob a movie star, Ornella Muti as a famous Italian actress, Antonio Albanese as the revered actor Luca whom the newlywed bride Milly is charmed by, Cecilia Capriotti as a sexy secretary who sleeps with Leopoldo over his fame, Monica Nappo as Leopoldo’s very simple wife, Lino Guanciale as a man Jack tries to set Monica up that would fuel his jealousy, famed Roman newscaster Cristiana Palazzoni as herself, and Pierluigi Marchionne playing himself as a charming traffic policeman. In the singing funeral director segment, Fabio Armiliato is great as Giancarlo as a simple funeral director with a great tenor voice who is reluctant to become an opera singer.

Flavio Parenti is terrific as Giancarlo’s son Michelangelo as is Alison Pill as Michelangelo’s American fiancee Hayley who tries to defend her father for what he wants to do. Judy Davis is pretty good as Hayley’s mother despite the fact that her character doesn’t get to do much while Woody Allen is funny as Hayley’s father who tries to launch Giancarlo’s career much to the chagrin of Michelangelo. Alec Baldwin is excellent as the revered architect who observes Jack’s fascination with Monica while giving Jack advice on what not to do. Jesse Eisenberg is quite fine as Jack as a young architect who falls for Monica. Greta Gerwig is alright as Jack’s girlfriend Sally though is quite underused while Ellen Page has her moments as Monica though the script doesn’t allow her to make her character more interesting as she’s just this neurotic actress who is kind of a poser.

Roberto Benigni is superb as a clerk who deals with his newfound celebrity where Benigni brings a lot of humor to his role as a man baffled by this new sense of fame. Alessandro Tiberi and Alessandra Mastronardi are wonderful as the newlywed couple Antonio and Milly who both take on unexpected journeys into Rome. Finally, there’s Penelope Cruz in a remarkable performance as the prostitute Anna who pretends to be Antonio’s wife while giving him advice on love and such as it’s a very lively performance from Cruz.

To Rome with Love is a very messy and often incoherent film from Woody Allen despite the beauty of its location and some funny moments from some of its cast including Roberto Benigni and Penelope Cruz. While it is definitely a lesser film from Allen, there are moments that showcase that he still has a few things to say no matter how overbearing it can be. In the end, To Rome with Love is a disappointing film from Woody Allen.

Woody Allen Films: What's Up Tiger Lily? - Take the Money and Run - Bananas - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) - Sleeper - Love and Death - Annie Hall - Interiors - Manhattan - Stardust Memories - A Midsummer's Night Sex Comedy - Zelig - Broadway Danny Rose - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Hannah & Her Sisters - Radio Days - September - Another Woman - New York Stories: Oedipus Wrecks - Crimes & Misdemeanors - Alice - Shadows and Fog - Husbands and Wives - Manhattan Murder Mystery - Bullets Over Broadway - Don't Drink the Water - Mighty Aphrodite - Everyone Says I Love You - Deconstructing Harry - Celebrity - Sweet and Lowdown - Small Time Crooks - The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Hollywood Ending - Anything Else - Melinda & Melinda - Match Point - Scoop - Cassandra's Dream - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Whatever Works - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Midnight in Paris - Blue Jasmine - Magic in the Moonlight - Irrational Man - (Cafe Society)

The Auteurs #24: Woody Allen Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2013

Goon

Directed by Michael Dowse and written by Evan Goldberg and Jay Baruchel, Goon is the story of a somewhat dim-witted yet kind bouncer who becomes an enforcer for a minor league hockey team in Canada where he eventually faces off with one of the sport’s great legends. The film is a sports comedy that revolves around a man trying to deal with fame as well as other things as this enforcer for the game of hockey. Starring Seann William Scott, Liev Schreiber, Alison Pill, Jay Baruchel, Marc-Andre Grondin, Kim Coates, and Eugene Levy. Goon is a very funny yet off-the-wall sports comedy from Michael Dowse.

Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott) is a bouncer who loves to watch hockey fights on TV as he just learned his idol Ross “The Boss” Rhea (Liev Schreiber) has just been suspended from the NHL for slashing his opponent in the back of the head. While Doug loves to watch hockey with his friend Pat (Jay Baruchel), who hosts a local show in Massachusetts, where they attend a local game. Doug gets himself in a fight with a player from another team who had said a homosexual slur that upset Doug as his older brother Ira (David Paetkau) is gay. The fight gets a lot of attention where Doug gets to be part of the local Assassins hockey team where he becomes a local sensation.

After the team’s coach decides to send Doug to Halifax to be part of a minor league Canadian team in the Highlanders, Doug moves to Canada where he stays at the apartment of the once promising player Xavier LaFlamme (Marc-Andre Grondin) who is afraid of being hit after getting a concussion from Rhea years ago in the NHL. Hired to protect LaFlamme, Doug becomes “The Thug” where he becomes a favorite in Halifax where he is praised by most of his teammates, Pat, and Ira though Doug’s parents (Eugene Levy and Ellen David) are unsure by Doug’s new job. Doug also falls for a young woman named Eva (Alison Pill) who also loves hockey but their relationship is complicated by the fact that she has a boyfriend.

After becoming the assistant-captain for the team and the prospect of going to the playoffs, things become difficult for Doug when he LaFlamme receives another concussion in which Doug retaliated by beating up an opposing player that has him being suspended for a game. With the team set to play St. John’s Shamrocks, Doug finally meets Ross Rhea at a bar as Rhea is set to retire as a Shamrocks player as the meeting proves to be a big moment for Doug. After that meeting, Doug realizes what kind of player he must be as he later faces Rhea in a crucial game for their teams in a spot for the playoffs.

The film is essentially the story of a hockey-loving bouncer who becomes a minor league hockey player through his fighting skills where he becomes a star in the Canadian minor leagues. Yet, he later has to face his idol in a climatic game where he ponders if he should just be a goon for the rest of his career or something more. The film is based on a true story about a legendary minor league hockey player named Doug Smith who had a reputation for being a goon that likes to fight other players during games. Yet, it is about how a young man tries to find his place in the world where he doesn’t know where to fit in as he later finds his gift while meeting the man who had a great reputation for being a goon.

The screenplay that Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg creates doesn’t just explore the fanaticism of hockey but also the joy of the hockey fight. Yet, the Doug Glatt character is a well-meaning who just wants to do good things and fight for his team. Still, he is aware that he’s not a strong skater nor skilled in the game of hockey but his devotion for his team does manage to get him a lot of respect including his roommate who was once a promising player that is going through a slump of his own. In Doug’s idol Ross “The Boss” Rhea, here’s a man that has been through enough moments of the game where he has already accepted the fact that he’s a goon and sees Doug as the last man he has to face to see if he’s worthy to pass the torch to.

Michael Dowse’s direction is quite straightforward in terms of its visual presentation yet it is still engaging enough for the way it explores the fanaticism of hockey. Still, there’s an element of style to the film in the way the graphic violence of the fights are exaggerated to be not just funny but also gross. Shot largely in location in Manitoba, the film explores the world of Canadian hockey where the people are die-hard loyal fans while if they’re playing the province of Quebec. Those who leave that province for another team get the worst kind of insults in French. Dowse’s direction definitely has some unique shots and the way he presents things such as the climatic showdown between Doug and Rhea. Overall, Dowse creates a very funny and engaging comedy about the world of hockey and fans’ love for the fights.

Cinematographer Bobby Shore does wonderful work with the film‘s cinematography from the stylish lighting schemes of the film‘s nighttime exterior scenes to the more vibrant look of the scenes inside the hockey arenas. Editor Reginald Harkema does excellent work with the editing from the stylish, fast-cutting some of the film’s intense action scenes along with some more methodical cuts for some of its funny moments. Production designer Gordon Wilding, along with art director Scott Rossell and set decorators Robb Paraskevopoulos and Andrea Spakowski, does nice work with the set pieces from the look of the bars to the look of the Highlanders locker room.

Costume designer Heather Neale does good work with the costumes as a lot of it is very casual for many of the younger characters. Visual effects supervisor Darren Wall does terrific work with some of the film‘s minimal visual effects such as the images of blood flying across the arena in some of the exaggerated violent scenes. Sound designers Pierre-Jules Audet and Jean-Francois Suave do superb work with the sound to capture the chaos of the arena along with some sound effects for some of the film‘s graphic fight scenes. The film’s music by Ramachandra Borcar is quite good though not very memorable as it‘s mostly low-key with its playful piano music. Music supervisor Evan Dubinsky does create a fun soundtrack that features music from Rush, the Allman Brothers Band, Lee Brooks, Ron Braunstein, Sheriff, Bruce Cockburn, and several others from the world of indie and hip-hop.

The casting by Lucille Robitaille is amazing for the ensemble that is created as it features some memorable appearances from Nicholas Campbell as the very funny Highlanders broadcaster, Ellen David and Eugene Levy as Doug’s very conservative though well-meaning parents, David Paetkau as Doug’s older gay brother Ira, Ricky Mabe, George Tchortov, and Richard Clarkin as Doug’s teammates, and Jonathan Cherry as the team captain Marco Belchior. Kim Coates is great as the Highlanders coach Ronnie Hortense who always spouts out insults and such either to his team or to whoever they’re facing. Marc-Andre Grondin is terrific as the skilled but troubled player Xavier LaFlamme who feels resentful over Doug’s arrival forcing him to finally deal with his own fears.

Alison Pill is wonderful as the hockey-loving Eva whose one-night fling with Doug becomes a relationship as she’s very conflicted for who she is and the fact that she has a boyfriend who is very nice. Jay Baruchel is excellent as the wild hockey fan Pat who helps Doug into becoming the great goon while saying all sorts of vile things on his show. Liev Schreiber is brilliant as the veteran goon Ross “The Boss” Rhea who deals with his own persona as well as the fact that there’s a new goon in the league who is going to take his spot. Finally, there’s Seann William Scott in a marvelous performance as Doug “The Thug” Glatt as he is just a man that is very kind but also a dim-wit as he tries to do what is right for the team and be their friend while becoming aware of his flaws as Scott definitely shows his range as an actor.

Goon is a remarkable and entertaining film from Michael Dowse. Featuring a terrific ensemble cast that includes Seann William Scott, Liev Schreiber, Alison Pill, Jay Baruchel, and Kim Coates. It’s a film that definitely lives up to some of the great sport comedies as well as showing the craziness of the world of Canadian hockey. In the end, Goon is an enjoyable sports comedy from Michael Dowse.

© thevoid99 2013

Milk

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/17/09 w/ Extensive Revisions & Additional Content.

The 2008 U.S. elections saw some big changes that are coming to the country yet to the gay and lesbian community, it seemed to be another setback. Notably in California when the law known as Proposition 8 which bans gay marriages in the state was passed. For many, it was a defeat but the gay and lesbian community to rally on as they are willing to have the same rights as straight people are. Yet, it's amazing how much times has changed for homosexuals more than 30 years ago when in 1978. An openly gay man named Harvey Milk was a San Francisco city supervisor who fought for the rights of gays and lesbians. In that year, he helped defeat a proposition that would've banned gays being teachers in school. Yet, the victory would be short-lived on November 27, 1978. Harvey Milk and mayor George Moscone were assassinated by former supervisor Dan White.

Milk would be martyred as he was considered by some as a gay equivalent to Martin Luther King, Jr. in terms of fighting for the rights of people who didn't have rights. In 1984, Milk's story was told through a documentary by Rob Epstein called The Times of Harvey Milk which would win the Academy Award for Best Documentary. With Milk's story proving to be an inspiration, especially with getting the gay and lesbian community to be more political and open to the public. The time has come for Milk's story to be told once again in a feature-length bio-pic helmed by one of American cinema's great voices and openly-gay figures in Gus Van Sant for the film simply entitled Milk.

Directed by Gus Van Sant with a screenplay written by Dustin Lance Black, writer for the TV show Big Love, Milk tells the story of Harvey Milk's life as a 40 year old man with no sense of direction as he and his boyfriend moved to San Francisco. Yet, Milk would start a revolution with a few other gay men and women as he goes into politics determined to help the gay community receive their rights as human beings despite some opposition. Playing the role of Harvey Milk is Sean Penn who leads an all-star cast in this inspirational tale of a man who became an unlikely leader. Also starring James Franco, Diego Luna, Emile Hirsch, Alison Pill, Victor Garber, Denis O'Hare, and Josh Brolin as Dan White. Milk is an inspirational yet powerful film from Gus Van Sant.

After living a dreary life in New York City until meeting a young man named Scott Smith (James Franco), Harvey Milk leaves the city to move to San Francisco with Scott in 1970. Changing his look to become more in tune with the times, Milk and Smith open a camera store in the middle of the Castro district as they deal with resistance from the working class community in the area. With gays and lesbians starting to crop up in the Castro, Milk becomes an unlikely leader as he rallies protests and such over beatings. With Smith on his side, Milk takes in a group of young gay men like photographer Danny Nicoletta (Lucas Grabeel), Rick Stokes (Stephen Spinella) and Dick Pabich (Joseph Cross) as part of his team as makes an attempt to run for city supervisor in 1973. After its failed run, Milk returns to his clean-cut look for the 1975 election as his devotion to politics takes its toll on his relationship with Smith.

When a young man named Cleve Jones (Emile Hirsch) reveals what he saw in Spain involving rioting gays and drag queens, Milk asks him to join his team. Following Anita Bryant's successful anti-gay law campaign in Florida, Milk takes his political aspirations more seriously as Scott leaves as Anne Kronenberg (Alison Pill) takes over as Milk's campaign manager. With a new approach and a strategy to reach out to voters outside of the gay and lesbian community, Milk's campaign for city supervisor succeeds as he also founds a new Mexican-American boyfriend named Jack Lira (Diego Luna). After getting the job, Milk meets another newly-elected supervisor in Dan White, who is an Irish-American former firefighter who is wary of Milk's homosexuality. Though the two try to work together, Milk is unsure of White's intentions for the laws he's trying to pass as he learns about an initiative called Proposition 6 that bans gay teachers from school.

Leading this initiative is Californian senator John Briggs (Denis O'Hare) as Milk decides to challenge him to a series of debates. Though it would take some sacrifices to his own personal life as well as his issues with White, Milk would eventually defeat Briggs and his proposition giving gays a victory. Yet, Milk's success would be short-lived following Dan White's resignation over salary disputes where he would target both Milk and Mayor George Moscone (Victor Garber).

Most film bio-pics often stick to a certain formula where it often begins with the person as a child and then grow into this person or that person. This film doesn't exactly stick to the conventions of a typical film bio-pic. Instead, it's about the last years of Harvey Milk from his first meeting with Scott Smith to the huge candlelight vigil after his passing. Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black deserves a lot of credit for straying from some of the conventions of the typical film bio-pic by just focusing on the eight years of Milk's life mostly told from Milk's perspective as he's speaking to a tape recorder. It's clear from that opening of Milk talking to his tape recorder is that he's telling the story of those last eight years just before he knows he that he will be killed. Black definitely goes for a structure that is mostly told from Milk but with no voice-over narration. By the second half of the film, Dan White is introduced to get an idea of possible motives that would cause him to kill Milk.

Black doesn't offer any answers into Dan White's motives but it's clear that White is a character who is at times, a bit aloof, ignorant, and often naive while making him sympathetic over what he was going through despite the actions he would cause. The script succeeds in introducing several characters that would be important to Harvey Milk like Scott Smith, Cleve Jones, Jack Lira, and Anne Kronenberg. Though the Lira character is smaller in comparison to Milk's own relationship with Smith, it's really because Black is straying away from convention in having the audience not know a lot about Milk's relationship with Lira. He just shows that the relationship was a brief moment in Milk's life as he's often overwhelmed and distracted by his own political causes that would also drive Scott Smith away early on.

The script truly works in going for convention and going against it as Dustin Lance Black truly succeeds in creating a fascinating story. A story like this would've been more straightforward and dramatic in the hands of a director that would've been more traditional. Instead, in the hands of a revered, unconventional, and engaging director like Gus Van Sant. The film becomes something more as Van Sant goes directly for the story as well as capturing the times of 1970s San Francisco. Using lots of archival footage as well as re-creation of scenes from The Times of Harvey Milk, Van Sant creates the film as if he was doing a history report. What he does is give the audience an idea of what it was like in the 1970s for gays and lesbians just after the time of the Stonewall riots in 1969 in New York City. There was a prejudice towards them from the police as they were arriving in the Castro district while they were being vilified publicly by Anita Bryant.

In telling the story of someone like Harvey Milk, Van Sant definitely recreates the world of 1970 where he unveils Milk as just a regular guy. By the time he got tired of being oppressed by prejudice toward gays, Milk becomes an unlikely activist. Van Sant definitely uses Black's script for structure while using lots of grainy archival footage of the 1970s for an idea of the world that is Castro Street. In some of the scene's marches and protests, Van Sant takes the camera and have the audience be a member of the audience watching Milk talk and get angry over this prejudice. The direction of Van Sant doesn't go for the moody, atmospheric direction of three previous films like Elephant, Last Days, and Paranoid Park. It also doesn't go for total convention with certain shots and placement as he remains engaged into the drama. At times with the use of archival footage edited with the scenes he's re-creating, there's a romanticism of what he was trying to do.

There's times in the film where it could've gone into further, conventional territory like Milk's personal relationships with Scott Smith and Jack Lira but he does it restraint, he finds a balance to focus on Milk's political activism. There's even a scene where Milk gets a phone call from a young gay man that at first, might have been extremely stamped on in terms of dramatic structure. Yet when that individual is revisited later on, Van Sant shows what impact Milk had on one person that could've been anyone. In this film, Van Sant presents a history lesson to audiences while exploring an individual who became this unlikely martyr for gay and lesbian rights. While there's a political message about how far gays had come and what's left to fight for. Van Sant makes a film that is engaging both politically as well as inspiration about one man's fight to make a voice for a group of people who were seeking a voice in times when being who they were was sinful.

Cinematographer Harris Savides, who had Van Sant's cinematographer for several of Van Sant's recent films, does fantastic work with the look of the film. From the colorful, sunny exterior look of daytime San Francisco and the Castro area to the nighttime scenes where with low lights and such, it could be dangerous but also exciting. While Savides also goes for grainy film work with some 8mm, 16mm shots as well as grainy shots in some of the interiors. Savides does some vibrant work in a few party scenes including a church scene while capturing the moment with several shooting styles like tracking shots, steadicams to follow certain characters, and hand-held work as Savides does a superb job with the film's cinematography.

Taking over for Van Sant, who had been editing his own films recently, is Elliot Graham whose stylistic approach of meshing archival footage and the scenes that are being shot are mesmerizing. Even creating a leisurely pacing style that works instead of the methodical, elliptical pacing that Van Sant had done in recent films. Graham's editing is a highlight of the film's technical work as he helps Van Sant in creating the romantic look and feel of the film. Production designer Bill Groom with set decorator Barbara Munch and art director Charley Beal do excellent work in the recreating of 1970s San Francisco with wonderful interiors of the apartments and the camera shop that would be Milk's base. Costume designer Danny Glicker also does excellent work with the 70s style clothes and suits that Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, and Josh Brolin wears along with some great use of makeup and hair style for the actors.

Van Sant's regular sound designer Leslie Shatz does brilliant work with the location sounds and mixing in some of the interior setting. Notably one of the film's final key scenes where the sound really captures an intense, dramatic moment. Shatz's work is truly masterful in the way she creates an atmosphere in some of the party scenes along with the intensity of the marches that happens in the film. Music composer Danny Elfman does amazing work with the score in the use of some operatic music and pieces to display the drama and tone of 1970s San Francisco. With a soundtrack that includes music pieces from David Bowie, Sylvester, Sly and the Family Stone, and other disco songs. The music in the film definitely captures the times with Elfman's wonderful score underplaying the drama while paying homage to Milk's love of opera music.

The casting by Francine Maisler is spectacular in assembling several actors in various film roles with a few key cameo appearances of Milk's own personnel including Cleve Jones in a cameo while he serves a historical consultant along with photographer Danny Nicoletta providing still photos of the times and the real-life individuals that are portrayed in the film. Small performances from producer Howard Rosenman as a gay magazine magnet who has political ties along with Kelvin Yu and Jeff Koons as a couple of Milk's associates in office. Lucas Grabeel of High School Musical fame is good as photographer Danny Nicoletta while Stephen Spinella and Joseph Cross each stand out in their respective roles as Rick Stokes and Dick Pabich, who are hard-working guys who idolized Milk. Victor Garber is very good in his small role as Mayor George Moscone who finds a political ally in Milk while real-life gay actor Denis O'Hare is brilliant as Senator John Briggs who battles Milk over the Proposition 6 initiative.

Alison Pill is wonderful as Anne Kronenberg, Milk's campaign manager who shakes things up for the campaign that's often run by men as Pill truly stands out in her scenes with Sean Penn and Emile Hirsch. Diego Luna is very good as Jack Lira, Milk's 1977-1978 boyfriend who is forced to deal with Milk's increasing work in politics as he tries to get him at home while being a drunk. Though it's a small role in comparison to the other principle actors including Alison Pill, Luna does stand out in a memorable performance. Emile Hirsch is flat-out amazing as Cleve Jones, a young kid who becomes a passionate activist and organizer who is filled with energy and bravado. It's an amazing performance from Hirsch that is so full of life that he captures every moment he's in where he nearly steals the show from Sean Penn, whom he worked with in Penn's 2007 film Into the Wild.

Josh Brolin is excellent as Dan White, the man who would kill Milk and George Moscone. Brolin's performance is definitely memorable for his restraint and wonderment as a man dealing with a force like Milk while being troubled by the changes around him. It's a mesmerizing performance from Brolin, who has been getting some fantastic work in recent years as Brolin brings depth and some sympathy to a man as reviled as Dan White. James Franco delivers a fantastic performance as Scott Smith, Milk's first real boyfriend who would give Milk a change of scenery while being his early ally. When he and Milk break up, Franco continues to appear as a guy who tries to reason with Harvey as it's a brilliant performance from Franco who really proves to be a solid, impressionable actor that is a true encore to his fantastic work in the Judd Apatow-David Gordon Green collaboration Pineapple Express.

Finally, there's Sean Penn in what has to be his best film role since 1995's Dead Man Walking. Penn, who often plays dark characters in many of the film's he's been in plays a character that is truly upbeat, charming, and thoroughly engaging. In the film, Penn has a smile that warms the audience while making Harvey Milk into an accessible, open-minded, and charismatic figure that anyone would love to be with. In some of the film's political scenes, Penn truly fits in the role of a leader who can organize rallies and marches while displaying the anger of oppression with a lot of passion. In many ways, it's Penn's most accessible role since his 1982 breakthrough in Fast Times at Ridgemont High as it's a real career-defining performance from one of American cinema's great actors.

***Additional DVD Content Written on 9/1/11***

The 2009 Region 1 DVD from Focus Features presents the film in its anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 1:85:1 with 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound for English & French along with French and Spanish subtitles along with English for the hearing impaired. The DVD includes numerous special features relating to the film and its production.

The first is a 13-minute piece entitled Remembering Harvey is about Milk from the people who knew like former city supervisor Carol Ruth Silver, campaign writer Frank Robinson, photographer Daniel Nicoletta, organizer Allan Baird, Cleve Jones, and Anne Kronenberg. The little featurette discusses Milk’s impact on gay rights as well as what was it like being around him and his personality as it’s a good little piece about Milk.

The fourteen-and-a-half minute Hollywood Comes to San Francisco is about the film’s production as the producers, screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, the actors (minus Sean Penn), and the real-life people some of the actors play talk about the film and how it brought the 1970s back to the Castro district. Particularly for those who lived in San Francisco at the time giving them a sense of nostalgia while Josh Brolin talks about playing Dan White and re-living the same events that White did which is eerie. The actors talk about Van Sant’s approach to direct actors where he allows them to find the characters while a lot of the younger actors got to meet their real-life counterparts as Cleve Jones, Daniel Nicoletta, and a few others got to make cameos. For James Franco, he went to The Times of Harvey Milk director Rob Epstein for help on researching the Scott Smith role as it’s a wonderful piece about the film’s production.

The eight-minute Marching for Equality is about the re-creation of two key marching scenes with interviews with Cleve Jones and Daniel Nicoletta as they watch the re-enactments while a couple of older extras got to participate as they did many years before. They all talk about the impact of the marches and how much nostalgia it brings to those people who are still alive from that era. The last of the special features are three deleted scenes where the first has Scott comforting Harvey who has been having strange dreams while the second involves an angry Jack venting at Harvey feeling he isn‘t good enough. The third and last deleted scene is Harvey literally being a clown. While the overall DVD content is pretty good, it only scratches the surface of who Harvey Milk is as it’s a pretty good DVD for people who enjoy the film.

***End of DVD Tidbits***

Milk is truly an inspiring, powerful, vibrant, and captivating film from Gus Van Sant featuring a superb performance from Sean Penn. Thanks to a great technical team, screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, and a brilliant supporting cast that includes James Franco, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, and Alison Pill. It's a film that is mesmerizing to watch thanks to Gus Van Sant's direction and unique presentation to an important period in American history. For Gus Van Sant, this film represents another brilliant film in a collection of great films he's done as he's definitely become one of cinema's most revered directors. In Sean Penn, the film represents an actor at the top of his game while giving a performance that is amazing to watch. In the end, Milk is a film that is truly a masterpiece that is engaging in its message and story about one of the most important figures in American history.

Gus Van Sant Reviews: Mala Noche - Drugstore Cowboy - My Own Private Idaho - Even Cowgirls Get the Blues - To Die For - Good Will Hunting - Psycho (1998 film) - Finding Forrester - Gerry - Elephant - Last Days - Paranoid Park - Restless - Promised Land

The Times of Harvey Milk - The Shorts & Videos of Gus Van Sant - The Auteurs #4: Gus Van Sant

(C) thevoid99 2011

Midnight in Paris

Written and directed by Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris tells the story of a Hollywood screenwriter who goes to Paris with his fiancée as he works on his first novel. Uninspired and feeling left out by his fiancée’s family and some friends, the man suddenly is transported back in time to 1920s Paris. Allen’s first feature set entirely in Paris, the film harkens back to days when things were much different than the Paris of the 2010s. Starring Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Marion Cotillard, Kurt Fuller, Mimi Kennedy, Lea Seydoux, Adrien Brody, Kathy Bates, Alison Pill, and Carla Bruni. Midnight in Paris is a fun, exhilarating film from Woody Allen and company.

Gil (Owen Wilson) is a successful Hollywood screenwriter, who is about to marry his fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams), is trying to work on his first novel. A visit to Paris with Inez’s parents (Kurt Fuller and Mimi Kennedy) has Gil excited, Inez and her parents aren’t thrilled with the city. Gil then meets Inez’s old friend Paul (Michael Sheen) and his wife Carol (Nina Arianda) where they look at the city and sites where Paul always have some intellectual view about the sites, paintings, and various places. Gil feels threatened as Inez goes out Paul and Carol as he takes a walk around the city. When the clock struck at midnight, Gil sees a mysterious car arrive where he is taken to a party where he meets F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston) and his wife Zelda (Alison Pill) where they later introduce him to Josephine Baker (Sonia Rolland), Cole Porter (Yves Heck) and Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll).

Excited by meeting these people and the city itself, Gil wants to take Inez to this mysterious world as she doesn’t seem interested. Gil is then transported back to 1920s Paris where Hemingway introduces him to Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) who reads his manuscript while criticizing a painting by Pablo Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo). It is there that Gil meets Picasso’s current muse Adriana (Marion Cotillard) as he is wowed by his surroundings and Adriana. Gil would continue to make secret trips as during a museum trip with Inez, Paul, and Carol. Paul makes comments about the painting that Gil had saw Picasso worked on earlier where Gil manages to outwit him with the real story about the painting.

With Gil’s fascination towards the city and the past, he meets a young woman named Gabrielle (Lea Seydoux) who shares his love for Cole Porter as Gil makes more trips to 1920s Paris. When he and Adriana go on a night out, Gil meets Salvador Dali (Adrien Brody), Luis Bunuel (Adrien de Van), and Man Ray (Tom Cordier) as they offer him advice about women. With Inez’s dad getting a detective (Gad Elmaleh) to follow Gil, Gil continues to go into adventures with Adriana as he ponders about his own life and desires.

What if a person from the 2010s want to go back to a period when things were different and less complicated? That’s what Woody Allen asks in his film where a Hollywood screenwriter is dissatisfied with his own professional life as he finds comfort in the world of the 1920s. There, he gets to meet his idols and other notable figures where he learns about what to do as a writer and to follow his heart. He even seeks guidance from people from the present such as Gabrielle and a tour guide (Carla Bruni) who shares his love for Paris’ history. Yet, Allen brings a wonderful mix of humor and character study to this story as he creates something that is engaging and lively. A lot of the humor feels natural and fresh where there’s a scene where Gil gives Bunuel the idea of a film whose plotline is similar to Bunuel’s film The Exterminating Angel.

Allen’s script is filled with dazzling ideas about 1920s Paris as well as characters who have different reactions towards Paris. While Inez might not seem like an exciting character who is more interested in socializing and getting fine things for the wedding. She isn’t a total caricature as she is more fascinated by Paul, who is a pseudo-intellectual that really has no true opinions about anything. He essentially says things that he believes are based on facts and tries to make himself seem fascinating when he isn’t. The figures like F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Bunuel, Man Ray, Dali, Hemingway, Stein, and Picasso are more interesting because of the ideas they offer while some of it is played for laughs.

Allen’s direction is truly his most imaginative work as a director in many years. Allen just doesn’t go for this tourist idea of Paris but show the audience the kind of beauty it has whether it’s sunny or rainy. Whether it’s day or night, he sees things as if he’s Gil who is just enamored with Paris itself. Paris in its present time and the past is a character that is truly a joy to watch. Allen allows the camera to soak in the atmosphere of the city while creating some amazing shots and scenes that really brings something magical to this film. Overall, this is Allen at his best and certainly his most intoxicating film since his work in the 1980s.

Cinematographer Darius Khondji, along with Johanne Debas, does some amazing work with the photography from the gorgeous sunny look of Paris in the summer along with its look on a rainy day. The nighttime exteriors of Paris are also exquisite including the interiors at Stein’s home and the bars where the look is truly timeless. Khondji’s camera work is among one of the film’s technical highlights for the way he brings an old-school look to the fantasy of 1920s Paris. Editor Alisa Lepselter does some excellent work with the editing as she creates a wonderful opening montage of Paris in various locations and weather conditions. For the rest of the film, Lepselter keeps the editing straightforward along with some rhythmic cuts for some of the fun elements of the film.

Production designer Anne Siebel and set decorator Helene Dubreuil do a great job with the look of 1920s Paris that includes a wonderful merry-go-round and other objects. Notably the cars of the time that Gil rides on to the parties as the art direction is spectacular for its mixture of modern Paris and Paris of the past. Costume designer Sonia Grande does some fantastic work with the costumes from the clothes that Gil wears to the modern dresses that Inez wears. Yet, it’s the 1920s costumes such as the dresses that Zelda Fitzgerald and Adriana wear that are very lively along with the ragged look of Ernest Hemingway. Sound editor Robert Hein and mixer Jean-Marie Blondel do some wonderful work in capturing the raucous world of 1920s Paris along with atmosphere of the locations in modern Paris. The film’s music soundtrack is a wide array of music ranging from the songs of Cole Porter to 1920s jazz and rag time along with the serene music of Paris itself.

The casting by Stephane Foenkinos, Patricia Kerrigan DiCerto, and Juliet Taylor is definitely a major highlight of the film they created what is truly a superb ensemble cast. In small appearances as various famous individuals, there’s appearances from Sonia Rolland as Josephine Baker, Vincent Menjou Cortes as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Olivier Rabourdin as Paul Gauguin, David Lowe as T.S. Eliot, Tom Cordier as Man Ray, Adrien de Van as Louis Bunuel, Yves Heck as Cole Porter, and Marcial Di Fonzo Bo as Pablo Picasso. Adrien Brody is very funny as Salvador Dali who keeps talking about the tears of rhinos when giving advice to Gil about women and art. Corey Stoll is really good as Ernest Hemingway who gives Gil advice about writing and the guts anyone should take into living life to the fullest.

Other notable small performances include Carla Bruni as a tour guide who helps Gil in translating a book, Gad Elmaleh as a detective hired to see where Gil is going, and Lea Seydoux as a young woman who shares Gil’s love for Cole Porter. Tom Hiddleston is great as F. Scott Fitzgerald who helps Gil with the ideas of writing while Alison Pill is phenomenal as the lively yet melodramatic Zelda. Kathy Bates is wonderful as Gertrude Stein who helps Gil with his book while arguing with Picasso in French about his painting. Nina Arianda is very good as Paul’s wife while Kurt Fuller and Mimi Kennedy are funny as Inez’s conservative parents.

Michael Sheen is brilliant as the intellectual douche-bag Paul who always spouts ideas and supposed facts to make him seem like he’s really smart as Sheen brings a slimy wit to a character that is truly a smart-ass. Rachel McAdams is excellent as Inez, Gil’s fiancée who wants to go out to clubs unaware of Gil’s struggles to write a novel as she becomes more fascinated by Paul. Marion Cotillard is radiant as Adriana, a muse of Picasso who falls for Gil as she shows him the world of art while giving him some perspective about the 1920s. Finally, there’s Owen Wilson in what is definitely his best performance as the wannabe novelist Gil. Wilson brings a wonderful charm to a guy unsure of his life and career only to find inspiration in Paris in its past and present while being enamored by Adriana and the people she’s with. It’s definitely Wilson at his funniest and liveliest in what is truly an outstanding performance.

After a period of some excellent films, good films, OK ones, and a few bad ones in the past 20 years, Midnight in Paris is definitely Woody Allen’s best film in more than 20 years. With a great ensemble cast featuring Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, and many others. It’s a film that is very exciting, entertaining, funny, and also extremely imaginative about a man going back to 1920s Paris and meet the famous people of those times. For longtime Allen fans, this film is a truly magnificent work as it proves that he’s still got it. Even as it goes up there with some of his best work in the 70s and 80s proving that despite some uneven work over the years, he’s still got some ideas left. In the end, Midnight in Paris is a triumphant film from Woody Allen.

Woody Allen Films: What’s Up, Tiger Lily? - Take the Money and Run - Bananas - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, But Were Afraid to Ask) - Sleeper - Love & Death - Annie Hall - Interiors - Manhattan - Stardust Memories - A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy - Zelig - Broadway Danny Rose - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Hannah and Her Sisters - Radio Days - September - Another Woman - New York Stories-Oedipus Wrecks - Crimes & Misdemeanors - Alice - Shadows & Fog - Husbands & Wives - Manhattan Murder Mystery - Don't Drink the Water - Bullets Over Broadway - Mighty Aphrodite - Everyone Says I Love You - Deconstructing Harry - Celebrity - Sweet & Lowdown - Small Time Crooks - The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Hollywood Ending - Anything Else - Melinda & Melinda - Match Point - Scoop - Cassandra’s Dream - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Whatever Works - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - To Rome with Love - Blue Jasmine - Magic in the Moonlight - Irrational Man - (Cafe Society)

The Auteurs #24: Woody Allen: Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2011