(Winner of the Cannes Soundtrack Award to Daniel Lopatin at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival)
The film revolves around a robbery that gets botched where a mentally-disabled man is arrested and captured forcing his older brother to find ways to get him out of jail as he spends much of time getting money and such to get him out while being on the run himself. It is a film with a simple premise as it explore a criminal trying to do what he can to get his brother out of jail knowing that his brother is unable to deal with prison due to the fact that he’s mentally-disabled. The film’s screenplay Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein is largely straightforward as it follows Constantin “Connie” Nikas (Robert Pattinson) accompanying his younger yet mentally-disabled brother Nick (Buddy Safdie) for a bank robbery as the two wear masks and carry guns as they seemed to have succeed unaware that a dye pack is in the bag as it exploded leaving Connie and Nick on the run where the latter is arrested and later gets into a fight during his jail stay.
The rest of the film has Connie trying to get money to get his brother out as he asks his girlfriend Corey (Jennifer Jason Leigh) for $10,000 to get him out of jail but things get complicated as a bail bondsman revealed that Nick has been sent to a hospital following a beating. Connie decides to take matter into his own hands and things start to get more troubling as it puts him into a series of misadventures that included a Sprite bottle filled with LSD and other things along the way with a number of individuals involved.
The direction of Josh and Benny Safdie is riveting in terms of its sense of realism as well as the fact that it is shot on location in New York City with the borough of Queens being the prominent location. While there are some wide shots including aerial shots of these locations, much of the direction from the Safdies is grounded as the first shot is presented with close-ups where Nick is in a session with a psychiatrist (Peter Verby). There is this element of cinema verite that the Safdies go for in the action in their usage of close-ups and medium shots such as the bank robbery scene where it is all about notes and wit as there is no violence that happens. There are also scenes set at the infamous New York prison Riker’s Island that does give the film a sense of realism as if it was shot at Riker’s Island where Nick gets into a fight and beaten up badly. The direction also this energy in the way Connie would do to get his brother out as the hospital scene in the second act in which he sneaks in to try and get Nick out is filled with suspense but there is also an encounter with a guy he meets in Ray (Buddy Duress) who would have this dizzying montage about his own day as it is filled with a lot of misadventure.
Since the film uses its locations as characters in the film such as a scene at night at the Adventureland amusement park in Long Island. The Safdies also create this air of tension in which Connie had to use his own street smarts to get out of a situation but also realize that he can’t trust certain people. Even as this small Sprite bottle filled with LSD that is worth money becomes something he needs to get his brother out but there are also these revelations in the third act of what Connie had done as he’s also a fugitive with TV news reporting about what he and Nick did. Still, the Safdies do explore this air of danger into the world of crime and what this man had to do to help his brother knowing that they screwed up as he felt responsible for what had happened. Overall, the Safdies craft an intense and high-octane film about a criminal trying to get his mentally-disabled brother out of jail.
Cinematographer Sean Price Williams does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of natural light for some exterior scenes in the day as well as available and bits of light for the exterior scenes at night as well as the usage of neon lights for the nighttime interior scenes. Editors Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein do amazing work with the editing with its stylish usage of jump-cuts as well as the montage sequence involving Ray as well as other cuts to help establish what is happening without going too long or too short. Production designer Sam Lisenco, with set decorator Audrey Turner and art director Patrick Duncan, does fantastic work with the look of some of the places that Connie goes to whether it’s a home from an old lady or a place where he stole some keys from someone. Costume designers Miyako Bellizzi and Mordechai Rubinstein do terrific work with the costumes from the coats that Connie and Nick wear as well as some of the casual street clothes they wear as it adds that sense of grittiness into their look.
Special makeup effects designer Toby Sells and hair/makeup artist Anouck Sullivan do excellent work with the look of a character while Sullivan does a lot of the look for Connie including his dyed blonde hair in the film’s second half. Visual effects supervisor Adam Teninbaum does nice work with a few of the film’s visual effects as it relates mainly to Ray’s montage sequence as well as bits of set dressing in some locations. Sound designer Ryan M. Price does superb work with the film’s sound in the way overlapping conversations sound in a prison as well as the way police sirens sound from afar as it helps add to the film’s suspense. The film’s music by Daniel Lopatin, in his Oneohtrix Point Never pseudonym, is incredible for its brooding and gripping electronic music score that often helps play up the sense of drama and suspense along with a few ambient bits while Lopatin also creates a closing song with Iggy Pop as well as cultivating the film’s soundtrack that includes pieces from Frankie Ruiz, Mosley & Johnson, and Nike Boi.
The casting by Jennifer Venditti is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Eric Paykert as a bails bondsman, Rose Gregorio as Corey’s mother who doesn’t like Connie, Saida Mansoor as Connie and Nick’s grandmother who believes Connie is a bad influence on Nick, Peter Verby as Nick’s psychiatrist, Ron “Necro” Braunstein as Ray’s friend Caliph, Barkhad Abdi as an Adventureland security guard in Dash, Buddy Duress as a recently-paroled man in Ray whom Connie would find himself involved in trying to get some money and a Sprite bottle full of LSD, Taliah Lennice Webster as a 16-year old girl named Crystal who helps Connie out following an incident in the hospital as she also helps him in trying to get a few things, and Jennifer Jason Leigh in an excellent small role as Connie’s older girlfriend Corey who tries to help him bail out Nick only to realize the financial trouble she’s in.
Benny Safdie is brilliant as Nick Nikas as a mentally-disabled young man who is slow but not an imbecile as he is someone that is confused at times while also has a hard time socializing which makes him an easy target for the police as he would put himself in trouble with other prisoners. Finally, there’s Robert Pattinson in a magnificent performance as Constantin “Connie” Nikas as Nick’s older brother who is also a street-smart criminal that knows what to do but feels guilty for his action where Pattinson definitely plays someone who is a flawed person that is unlikeable at times but is also someone that at least cares about his brother and is willing to do anything to get his brother out of jail and find ways to get what he wants.
Good Time is a phenomenal film from Josh and Benny Safdie that features a great leading performance from Robert Pattinson. Along with its supporting cast, stylish visuals, gripping story, and a hypnotic music score by Daniel Lopatin. It is a crime film that explore a young man who is trying to save his brother following a botched bank robbery as he endures a series of misadventures to get money to get his brother out. In the end, Good Time is a sensational film from Josh and Benny Safdie.
Safdie Brothers Films: (The Pleasure of Being Robbed) – (Daddy Longlegs) – (Lenny Cooke) – Heaven Knows What - (Uncut Gems)
© thevoid99 2022
Based on the characters from the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep? by Philip K. Dick, Blade Runner 2049 is the sequel to the 1982 film Blade Runner by Ridley Scott as it involves a police officer who makes a chilling discovery that would lead to the end of humanity as he turns to a man who had disappeared thirty years ago who had his own experience with replicants. Directed by Denis Villeneuve and screenplay by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green from a story by Fancher, the film is a futuristic sci-fi film set in Los Angeles where a cop tries to save humanity as he also cope with what is at stake as the role of Officer K is played by Ryan Gosling with Harrison Ford reprising his role as Rick Deckard. Also starring Jared Leto, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Mackenzie Davis, Lennie James, Dave Bautista, Barkhad Abdi, Wood Harris, Carla Juri, and Robin Wright. Blade Runner 2049 is a sprawling yet intoxicating film from Denis Villeneuve.
Following a blackout just a few years after the events in 2019, an LAPD cop who hunts older replicants in order to rid of them for society where he makes a discovery that would change humanity. It’s a film that follows up what Rick Deckard had discovered years ago that eventually lead to his disappearance and what cop in Officer K is trying to find upon this discovery he made when he was trying to arrest an older replicant in Sapper Morton (Dave Bautista). In this discovery, K is dealing with what he’s found as he wonders if there is more to him than just being a cop who lives alone with a hologram AI named Joi (Ana de Armas) as his companion. The film’s screenplay by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green isn’t just about this sense of identity that K is dealing with but also in this discovery that everyone wants to know including a replicant manufacturer in Niander Wallace (Jared Leto) who sees it as the next big step into his creation.
The first act revolves around what K has discovered as he would meet with Wallace’s enforcer Luv (Sylvia Hoeks) who gives him some information about his discovery as it involves Deckard. Yet, K’s journey would lead him to try and find something as he would report to Lt. Joshi (Robin Wright) who believes that something is off as she wants K to find out what is going on but in secrecy as he’s later pursued by Luv. The second act isn’t just about what K is discovering but also more about his identity as he turns to Joi for help with that identity as it relates to a toy horse he believed he had when he was a child. Upon finding this toy horse and numbers on that horse that he also found on a tree when he was arresting Morton, it would eventually lead him to Deckard who has been in hiding. Upon meeting Deckard, K would realize what is at stake but also why Deckard had to leave as it relates to something bigger than himself as well as his own personal involvement.
Denis Villeneuve’s direction is definitely grand in terms of the scale of what he is creating as it is set in 2049 Los Angeles with futuristic versions of the state of California and Las Vegas as this mixture of farm country, cities, and wastelands. Shot mainly in Budapest, Hungary with some of it shot in Iceland, Spain, and other locations, the film definitely has a unique approach to the visual presentation as it begins in this kind of desolate yet beautiful land that is a place for synthetic farming as Villeneuve’s usage of the wide shots would showcase the scope of these locations. The scenes set in Los Angeles is cramped yet vast in terms of the holographic ads and other things that play into something that is futuristic as Villeneuve would create different look and feel for certain places and locations throughout the film.
The direction also utilizes some close-ups and medium shots for some unique compositions in the way characters interact with each other as well as some of the moments in the action. Villeneuve would include bits of humor in the film but much of the film is dramatic with some suspense and action as the drama relates to K’s loneliness and the revelations about what he discovered as it add to him questioning his own identity. By the time Deckard arrives in the film, it does recall elements of the past that includes this very eerie meeting between Deckard and Wallace into what the latter could do and why he needs this discovery that K made. All of which would have K play a big part into giving Deckard something he had lost and find peace over this loss as well as give K some meaning in his life. Overall, Villeneuve creates an exhilarating and rapturous film about a blade runner trying to save humanity by uncovering a discovery that could help those as well as stop a creator from playing God.
Cinematographer Roger Deakins does phenomenal work with the film’s cinematography as it is a major highlight of the film for the way he would give various locations a different look and feel from the grey exteriors of the farming land and garbage wasteland to the usage of sepia-drenched lighting for the exteriors of Las Vegas and the array of lighting and shades for many of the film’s interior scenes. Editor Joe Walker does excellent work with the editing as it has some jump-cuts for some of the action as well as some straightforward cutting for the drama and suspense. Production designer Dennis Gassner, with set decorator Alessandra Querzola and supervising art director Paul Inglis, does brilliant work with the look of K’s apartment as well as the LAPD building and the place where the Wallace Corporation is and other aspects to make Los Angeles look really futuristic. Costume designer Renee April does fantastic work with the costumes as it does provide the characters some personalities into some of the clothing that Joi wears as well as the clothing of other characters to play into the futuristic world.
Hair supervisor Lizzie Lawson and makeup supervisor Csilla Blake-Horvath do terrific work with the look of some of the characters including a few prostitutes as well as Joi in the different personalities she takes to please K. Visual effects supervisors Pierre Buffin, Richard Clegg, Paul Lambert, Petr Marek, Viktor Muller, and John Nelson do incredible work with the visual effects from the look of the city in some parts as well as the holograms and some of the action sequences as it is top-notch work. Sound editor Mark A. Mangini and sound designer Theo Green do amazing work with the sound in creating some sound effects as well as in the way guns and the flying cars sound. The film’s music by Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch is great for its mixture of electronic bombast and ambient textures to create a score that is always engaging and help to play into the action and suspense while music supervisor Deva Anderson brings in some music that K listens to like Frank Sinatra as well as a couple of songs by Elvis Presley and variations of Tears in the Rain by Vangelis.
The casting by Zsolt Csutak, Francine Maisler, and Lucinda Syson is marvelous as it feature a couple of cameo appearances from two characters from the original film in Edward James Olmos as Deckard’s old colleague Gaff and Sean Young as the replicant Rachael with help from Loren Peta as Young’s double. Other notable small roles include Wood Harris as a cop named Harris, David Dastmalchian as a police scientist named Coco, Barkhad Abdi as a black markets analyzer in Doc Badger, Lennie James as a wasteland businessman in Mister Cotton, Hiam Abbass as a mysterious underground leader in Freysa, and Dave Bautista in a superb small role as the replicant Sapper Morton. Mackenzie Davis is terrific as a replicant prostitute named Mariette who is asked by Luv to follow K while being very discreet about her true motive while Carla Juri is wonderful in a small role as a mysterious memory designer in Dr. Ana Stelline who creates memories for replicants.
Jared Leto is fantastic as the replicants creator Niander Wallace as a man who is trying to create a new form of replicants as a way to get rid of humanity’s flaws as he believes this new discovery would be the key to what he wants. Robin Wright is excellent as Lt. Joshi as a LAPD official who orders K to find out about this discovery as well as question his own offbeat behavior as she is aware of what is at stake. Sylvia Hoeks is brilliant as Luv as Wallace’s replicant enforcer who is tasked with finding more about this discovery as she is this dangerous and powerful individual who is eager to get what she wants by any means necessary. Ana de Armas is amazing as Joi as an artificial-intelligence hologram who serves as K’s companion that tries to help him understand as well as wanting to feel alive to prove that there is more to her than just some program.
Harrison Ford’s performance as Rick Deckard is incredible as he provides this sense of a man who had seen and experienced so much in his life as he tries to cover his tracks while dealing with this newfound revelation over this discovery that he was involved in that also includes Rachael whom he mourns for. Finally, there’s Ryan Gosling in a sensational performance as K as a cop who copes with his identity upon this discovery he’s made as well as wanting to get answers as he is quite tough but also flawed as it is a very grounded and restraint performance from Gosling who brings a lot to a role of someone dealing with loneliness and himself.
Blade Runner 2049 is a magnificent film from Denis Villeneuve that features top-notch performances from Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford. Along with its great ensemble cast, gorgeous visuals courtesy of cinematographer Roger Deakins, a hypnotic score, and a compelling premise that explores the idea of identity and humanity. It’s a film that manages to be not just some sprawling sci-fi adventure film with elements of film noir, suspense, and action but also a film that says a lot about people and who they are as well as what can happen when one wants to use that power for his own reasons. In the end, Blade Runner 2049 is an outstanding film from Denis Villeneuve.
Related: Blade Runner - The Auteurs #68: Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve Films: August 32nd on Earth – Maelstrom – Polytechnique – Incendies - Prisoners (2013 film) - Enemy (2013 film) – Sicario - Arrival (2016 film) - Dune-Part One (2021 film) - Dune-Part Two - (Dune: Messiah)
© thevoid99 2017
Based on the book A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips and Stephan Tatly, Captain Phillips is the true story about a merchant freighter captain whose ship is taken hostage by Somali pirates as he tries to deal with the pirates and keep his crew safe. Directed by Paul Greengrass and screenplay by Billy Ray, the film is a look into how a man tries to maintain a peaceful situation while being captured by pirates as he is trying to keep his crew safe as Tom Hanks plays the titular role. Also starring Catherine Keener, Barkhad Abdi, David Warshofsky, Chris Mulkey, Yul Vazquez, and Corey Thompson. Captain Phillips is a gripping yet mesmerizing film from Paul Greengrass.
The film is based on a real-life incident in 2009 where Captain Richard Phillips is leading a freighter cargo ship on the coast of Somalia where he and his crew have to deal with a small band of pirates led by Muse (Barkhad Abdi). Muse and his small band of brothers do whatever to get on board where they succeed and take over the ship while Phillips tries to protect his crew and make sure no one is killed. It’s a film that plays into this real-life situation where Phillips is aware that they’re in dangerous territory as he informs his crew of the situation they have to face where it becomes very real. Even as he has to do a lot of negotiating and such to ensure his crew’s safety and give these pirates what they want without hurting anyone.
Billy Ray’s screenplay may have a traditional structure of sorts but it strays from convention where it plays into moments of real-time. The first act shows Phillips’ life at home with his wife Andrea (Catherine Keener) as well as the dreary world of these Somali pirates as they’re in need to make money in order to survive as Muse is someone who has experience in piracy. Phillips is aware of what he’s facing as he and his crew would encounter pirates in the first act where Muse’s first attempt with another boat doesn’t go well until he gets an idea to make his second attempt where he and his small crew succeed. Much of the film’s second act is about Phillips trying to ensure Muse that he’s not going cause trouble as his crew hide out where they’re not trying to make any attempts to do anything heroic or else someone gets killed.
Adding to the chaos in script is that there’s an element in the battle of wits between Muse and Phillips where there’s a bit of mutual respect for each other as Phillips knows that Muse is no fool and Muse is aware of Phillips determination to stay alive once the U.S. Navy gets involved. With Phillips captured on his own in a lifeboat with the pirates, it becomes this even bigger game where the pirates have to deal and negotiate with the Navy though it’s a showdown that doesn’t get any easier where Ray creates a bigger complexity in the script as well as reveal that there’s no such thing as heroes or villains in this story.
Paul Greengrass’ direction is very engaging for the way he presents the film as if a real-life situation is happening. Going for that cinema verite approach with hand-held cameras and close-ups, Greengrass maintains a lot of simplicity and intimacy for most of the film where it showcases life on a freighter cargo ship. Even as he creates some images to show a world where men do their job and keep themselves safe as they’re aware of the situations they might have to deal with. Once the pirates come into the story, Greengrass adds that air of suspense into the story where he keeps the camera in tact to both the little engine boats the pirates are in as well as the big ship to see how it would maneuver itself into getting away from the pirates.
The suspense definitely intensifies in its second and third act where the moments of violence are low-key but also chilling to see what a crew member will do to see if he just hides or do something knowing how tense the situation is. By the time the film moves into the lifeboat, there is this air of claustrophobia and tension that occurs while it is inter-cut with these images of the Navy trying to figure out how to create a situation and make sure they save Phillips life as even Phillips himself tries to fight his way. Even as he encounters moments where he could’ve died but the Muse character knows that if he’s killed, they all die. That sense of intensity in the suspense and the sense of something could go wrong occurs throughout the film as it leads to this very harrowing climax. Overall, Greengrass crafts a very engrossing yet captivating thriller about a ship captain’s willingness to survive against pirates.
Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd does fantastic work with the film‘s cinematography where it has this air of grain to play into something that feels real as well as using some low-key lights and such for the scenes in the lifeboat as well as the scenes inside the Naval ships. Editor Christopher Rouse does brilliant work with the editing with its use of rhythmic and methodical cuts to play into the suspense as well as the conversations between Muse and Phillips in their game of wits. Production designer Paul Kirby does superb work with the minimal set pieces from the look of the boat the pirates are in before they attempt to capture something to the interiors of the freighter and the lifeboat.
Costume designer Mark Bridges does nice work with the costumes as it’s mostly casual for the crew while the pirates ragged clothing showcase the world they come from and how desperate they are. Visual effects supervisors Richard Kidd, Charlie Noble, and Adam Rowland do terrific work with some of the film‘s minimal visual effects such as the backdrops for some of the exteriors settings. Sound editor Oliver Tarney does amazing work with the sound to play into the tense atmosphere that occurs in the ship as well as the sounds of sirens and ocean waves to play into the film‘s suspense. The film’s music by Henry Jackman is wonderful for its ominous yet enchanting orchestral score to play into the film’s suspense and drama that happens throughout the film.
The casting by Francine Maisler is marvelous for the ensemble that is created as it features some noteworthy small performances from Catherine Keener as Phillips’ wife Andrea, Yul Vasquez as a naval commander trying to negotiate Captain Phillips’ safety, Max Martini as U.S. Navy SEAL commander, Chris Mulkey as the senior crew member John Cronan, Corey Johnson as the helmsman Ken Quinn, David Warshofsky as chief engineer Mike Perry, and Michael Chernus as Phillips’ first officer Shane Murphy. Mahat M. Ali, Faysal Ahmed, and Barkhad Abdirahman are great as the three hijackers who try to maintain control while pondering about what to do with Captain Phillips. Barkhad Abdi is brilliant as the pirates leader Muse who tries to maintain some control of the situation though he is also not a fool as Abdi just has this very unique presence that makes him terrifying but also compelling as he makes the character sort of cool for the fact that he’s very determined.
Finally, there’s Tom Hanks in the titular role as it’s a performance that proves into why Hanks is one of American cinema’s great actors. Hanks has this everyman quality that allows his character to be engaging while he maintains a sense of cool in the way he handles his situation. It’s definitely a performance that shows Hanks just being calm and cool while showing that he also has an edge to him which proves that he is still one of the best actors working today.
Captain Phillips is a tremendous film from Paul Greengrass that features an incredible performance from Tom Hanks. Told in a very direct and gripping style with a cast that is solid including a major discovery in Barkhad Abdi. While it doesn’t feature anything new that Greengrass has done, it does however maintain that only he could make a film like this that is filled with suspense as well as a real-life story without sugar-coating it. In the end, Captain Phillips is a spectacular film from Paul Greengrass.
Paul Greengrass Films: (Resurrected) - (Open Fire) - (The One That Got Away) - (The Fix) - (The Theory of Flight) - Bloody Sunday - (The Bourne Supremacy) - United 93 - (The Bourne Ultimatum) - (Green Zone)
© thevoid99 2013
