Lovely & Amazing

Written and directed by Nicole Holofcener, Lovely & Amazing is the story of a family of women and a child as they each deal with all sorts of insecurities as they deal age, body image, and other issues. The film is an exploration of the lives of three different women and a pre-teen African-American child as they all try to figure out their place in the world. Starring Brenda Blethyn, Catherine Keener, Emily Mortimer, Raven Goodwin, James LeGros, Clark Gregg, Jake Gyllenhaal, Dermont Mulroney, Aunjanue Ellis, and Michael Nouri. Lovely & Amazing is a poignant yet heartbreaking comedy-drama from Nicole Holofcener.

Jane Marks (Brenda Blethyn) is a middle-aged woman is set to have plastic surgery in hopes to look younger. While her adult daughters Michelle (Catherine Keener) and Elizabeth (Emily Mortimer) aren’t fond of the idea as is their adopted pre-teen African-American sister Annie (Raven Goodwin). They all are hoping for the best as Jane falls for her surgeon Dr. Crane (Michael Nouri) during the procedure. Michelle meanwhile, is dealing with issues with her artistic pursuits as it’s not bringing income to her family as she is at odds with her husband Bill (Clark Gregg). For the aspiring actress Elizabeth, she is still dealing with her physical insecurities as a photo shoot for her was a disaster for her while her relationship with boyfriend Paul (James LeGros).

With Jane wants the overweight and troublesome Annie to find a positive African-American role model in a swimming coach in Lorraine (Aunjanue Ellis). Annie has a hard time dealing with the fact that she’s an African-American while her older sisters try to help her out as she would often play with Michelle’s daughter Maddy (Ashlyn Rose). Unable to get money for her art, Michelle takes a job working at a one-hour photo shop as she befriends its 17-year old manager Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal). Elizabeth’s acting career is starting to take off as she gains an audition with film star Kevin McCabe (Dermont Mulroney) which didn’t go well though McCabe thought she was good as they later went out for dinner.

When Jane’s surgery leaves her in a coma, the sisters all try to deal with what’s happening as Michelle embarks on a fling with Jordan while Annie starts to act out. With the premiere of Elizabeth’s new movie is happening, the sisters attend as they would all face their own problems about themselves and their mother.

The film is about four different women in different age groups and situations as they all try to come to terms with who they all are. With each hoping to make something of themselves, they would also face the certain realities of their own situations as it becomes harder for them to deal with. In reality, the film is a character study of sorts as well as displaying the kind of insecurities that women go through. For some, it’s a physical insecurity. For others, it something much more as Nicole Holofcener delve into these issues without going into a heavy-handed route by letting the audience figure out these characters.

For Jane, she’s a woman who is already a mother to two adult women as she is hoping to look and feel young in the surgery. What happens would force her to endure something unexpected as she also tries to flirt with her surgeon. For the eldest daughter Michelle, she is a woman who feels like her marriage is on the outs due to her unkind husband as she is also a kid of sorts who likes to watch cartoons and eat cereals with her daughter. Elizabeth is a woman with a nice figure but feels very insecure about herself as she would often take in stray dogs while her boyfriend becomes very uninterested. In the young Annie, she is a young African-American child living with a White family as she has a hard time dealing with her own racial identity while she just acts out and is becoming overweight.

The script allows Holofcener to figure these people out as they all want something to identify with while Michelle and Elizabeth each engage into different affairs due to their unhappy love life. Yet, the men they would be with for these affairs are very different individuals who appreciate who they are although they’re clearly not the right kind of guys to be with. Still, Holofcener does make them complex enough to be interesting men while maintaining her focus on the women as they try to figure themselves out.

Holofcener’s direction is truly engaging in the way she presents the film although many of the shots and compositions are pretty straightforward. Despite that lack of style, Holofcener does make up for it by being very up-front on the film’s dramatic moments while knowing when to put humor in a few scenes. One notable scene that is very confrontational involves a fully-nude Elizabeth asking Kevin McCabe what is wrong with her body. McCabe would be reluctantly honest as it is one of the most uncomfortable moments ever presented on film. It’s a moment in the film where nudity is allowed to help tell a story rather than just be a sex scene or an excuse just to have nudity.

Other moments of Holofcener’s direction involves the Annie character as this young girl is definitely lost in her identity as Holofcener presents these subtle moments where she pretends to play dead while swimming in a pool. Holofcener presents Annie as a lost child who is unsure about who she is as she would be quite up-front about everything as she curses and likes to eat a lot of food. There’s a scene where she and Michelle have a moment as Annie asks if she likes her straightened hair. Michelle reveals her answer in a direct yet calm manner as she understands what Annie is going through without really saying more. It’s these little moments of drama and humor that makes the film so much more than just a typical comedy-drama as Holofcener creates a very broad yet heartwarming film.

Cinematographer Harold Bosmajian does an excellent job with the film’s low-key digital photography that is a bit grainy but very entrancing for its simple look. Notably in the nighttime interiors where it doesn’t need lots of light while maintaining a sense of mood for the dramatic moments of the film. Editor Robert Frazer does a nice job with the editing by playing it a bit straight while utilizing a few jump-cuts and rhythmic cuts for some of the intensity of the film’s dramatic moments. Production designer Devorah Herbert and art director Missy Parker do some terrific work in creating the set piece such as the homemade artwork that Michelle makes as well as the look of Jane’s clean, spacious home.

Costume designer Vanessa Vogel does a very good job with the costumes as a lot of it is quite casual for the men and women while it also includes some designer stuff that Elizabeth wears including the sheer dress she wears in the opening scene. Sound editor Kelly Oxford does some fine work in the sound editing from the intimacy of some of the locations that occur to the raucous atmosphere of the pool hall where Lorraine runs the swimming school. The music by Craig Richey is quite remarkable for its keyboard-driven score with folk-driven pieces to play up the drama that occurs in the film. Music supervisor Amy Rosen creates a soundtrack that is very low-key as it includes a lot of indie acts like Pillbox, Josh Rouse, Elwood, and Bleu.

The casting by Jeanne McCarthy is remarkable for the ensemble that is created as it includes small but notable performances from Christine Mourad as Elizabeth’s agent Cindy, Ashlynn Rose as Bill and Michelle’s daughter Maddy, Dreya Webber as Michelle’s friend Donna, James LeGros as Elizabeth’s cynical and disinterested boyfriend Paul, and Clark Gregg as Michelle’s smarmy and unsupportive husband Bill. Other noteworthy supporting roles include Michael Nouri as Jane’s attractive surgeon Dr. Crane, Dermont Mulroney as big-time film star Kevin McCabe, Aunjunae Ellis as Annie’s kind but concerned swimming coach Lorraine, and Jake Gyllenhaal as Michelle’s teenage photo-shop manager Jordan whom she would have a brief affair with.

Raven Goodwin is superb as the young African-American child Annie who is confused by her identity while acting out as she deals with her mother’s surgery as it’s a very raw yet charming performance for the young actress. Brenda Blethyn is excellent as the humorous and excited Jane who is hoping to look and feel young while trying to help her daughters with their own situations. Emily Mortimer is great as the insecure Elizabeth who is trying to get an acting career going while dealing with her own physical flaws as Mortimer delivers one of her most vulnerable moments by going full-on nude in front of a guy as it’s a truly confrontational yet unsettling performance from the British actress. Finally, there’s Catherine Keener in a brilliant performance as Michelle who tries to find success as an artist while dealing with a failing marriage as she also has to help out her other sisters as it’s a witty yet touching performance from Keener.

Lovely & Amazing is a spectacular yet smart film from Nicole Holofcener. Featuring an amazing ensemble cast led by Catherine Keener, Emily Mortimer, Brenda Blethyn, and Raven Goodwin. It’s a film that doesn’t stray into conventions about women and their own issues about their physicality, age, and identity while it’s also one that is quite strong. Even if the characters are flawed but real enough for people to be engaged by. Lovely & Amazing is a rich and poignant drama that is told with a sense of wit and realism better than its creator Nicole Holofcener.

Nicole Holofcener Films: Walking & Talking - Friends with Money - Please Give - Enough Said - The Auteurs #22: Nicole Holofcener

© thevoid99 2012

Atonement

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com at 1/20/08.

In 2005, an unknown director named Joe Wright brought another film adaptation of the beloved Jane Austen novel Pride & Prejudice to the big screen. With an all-star cast led by Keira Knightley, the film became an unexpected hit for the young director as Knightley herself received an Oscar nomination for her role as Elizabeth Bennett. Following the film's success, Wright's next plan was to adapt the beloved Ian McEwan about a love affair torn apart by a lie from a young girl who is trying to figure out her sins. The novel known as Atonement was a hit with critics and book readers as Wright chose to expand his ambitions into a huge film adaptation of McEwan's beloved novel.

Directed by Joe Wright with an adapted script by Christopher Hampton, Atonement tells the story of a young rich girl and the son of a housekeeper who fall in love only to be torn apart by a misinterpreted accusation of the girl's young sister. Following this supposed crime, the lovers try to come together during World War II while the young girl is trying to figure out her sins and the truth itself. Reuniting with Keira Knightley, Joe Wright takes a huge leap in making a film that is grander and more harrowing than his previous film. Also starring James McAvoy, Brenda Blethyn, Harriet Waller, Juno Temple, Patrick Kennedy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Danny Mays, with film director Anthony Minghella, and in the role of Briony, Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai, and Vanessa Redgrave. Atonement is a rich, powerful study of sin and its effects from director Joe Wright.

It's the late 1930s as a young girl named Briony Tallis (Saorise Ronan) is completing a play she hopes to show when her eldest brother Leon (Patrick Kennedy) is set to return. Meanwhile, everyone is getting prepared as Briony wants to rehearse the play with her young cousins including Lola (Juno Temple) and twins Jackson and Pierrette (Charlie & Felix von Simson). Later that day, Briony talks to her older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) about the housekeeper's son Robbie (James McAvoy) who is set to go to medical school with help from Cecilia's father. During a botched rehearsal for Briony's play, Briony sees a moment between Cecilia and Robbie that led to Cecilia jumping into a garden-infested fountain.

Later that day, Leon arrives with a friend named Paul Marshall (Benedict Cumberbatch) who wows Cecilia's cousins with chocolates. With Robbie invited to the dinner by Leon, Robbie's mother Grace (Brenda Blethyn) is amazed at how he’s starting to have a great future as he tries to write a letter to Cecilia about his feelings. Yet, when he sees Briony playing in the garden, he asks her to give the letter to Cecilia but then realizes he makes a mistake when Briony reads the letter that she gave to Cecilia. The night starts to become troubling when Briony catches Cecilia and Robbie having sex. Things become more complicated when Briony's behavior towards Robbie is aggressive when she is asked by her mother (Harriet Waller) to fetch the twins. When the twins aren't in their rooms, everyone goes for a search where Briony sees an incident involving Lola that changes everything.

Four years later in the beginning stages of World War II, Robbie is a soldier in Northern France as he is joined by Tommy Nettle (Danny Mays) and Frank Mays (Nonso Anozie) during a mission in France. Robbie accepted to become a soldier to avoid further jail time for a crime he didn't commit due to Briony's testimony years ago. Robbie thinks about a meeting he had with Cecilia six months before as she has become a nurse with a promise to her that he will return to her. Walking to the north beach of France with Tommy and Frank, the ill Robbie finally reaches the beaches of Dunkirk hoping to be evacuated with the rest of wounded soldiers. Meanwhile, Briony (Romola Garai) has become a nurse in training. Trying to figure out what she saw those years ago, she is trying to write a story while hoping to have contact with Cecilia through unsuccessful attempts. Briony finally understands the horrors of war where at one moment, she tries to comfort a dying French soldier named Luc (Jeremie Renier) as she tries to come to terms with her own misinterpretations.

When she finally finds Cecilia's address where three weeks before Robbie is sent to France, she meets her older sister and Robbie as she reveals what she really saw and everything. Yet, with so much bitterness towards her, Briony remains haunted until by the time she becomes 77-year olds and as a writer, Briony (Vanessa Redgrave) reveals what she wrote and the result of everything that had happened as she comes to terms of these events in her final days.

While Ian McEwan's story of sin and its effects, the film is a study of morality and how simple mistakes and misinterpretations can ruin the lives of people and such. Screenwriter Christopher Hampton and director Joe Wright creates a film about perspectives in the style of what happened and such. The first example is the broken vase scene where Cecilia dives into the fountain to retrieve a broken piece. The first scene is from Briony's young perspective and then the second is from Robbie and Cecilia's. This is a style of storytelling that is made famous by the Akira Kurosawa 1950 classic film Rashomon about a rape & murder told from four different perspectives. It's really a psychological film where Hampton and Wright are trying to get the audience to think about what they've seen and such.

The film is also a character study of sorts from the mind of Briony. Here's a young girl who saw a few things she didn't understand and then, when a crime that she witnesses turns out to go wrong. The motions in event happen as everything falls apart where this girl turned into a young woman is trying to figure out what she really saw and how she can atone herself from these incidents that she caused. Hampton's study of character and sin is really engrossing as the sadness and frustrations in both Robbie and Cecilia for their love together and how these events are forcing them to be apart. While there's an abrupt shift in that moment from Briony's life in World War II to her present time. It conveys the sense of Briony's state of mind from the previous event she just saw as she begins to think about as a 77-year old woman. The script is definitely faithful to Ian McEwan's novel in some respects while it really serves as a film that is part romance and part mystery.

Director Joe Wright whose lush, stylized approach to directing that made his feature-film debut Pride & Prejudice such a delight to watch now takes a huge step forward into crafting his style. The presentations, the compositions he creates as well as the atmosphere from the dream-like world of the Tallis estate with its gardens and ponds to the harsh, desolate world of Dunkirk beach that included an unbroken tracking shot from a steadicam that conveys the sense of horror and sadness. What is clear is that Wright is becoming more confident as a director as he takes the audience back in time to a period where things are tense and such that included such moments of horror during the war. Even Wright's dramatic presentation is more intimate as directs the actor in a theatrical approach, particularly in the Tallis estate scenes and the sequence involving Cecilia, Robbie, and the 18-year old Briony. Overall, Wright has now become a director who is on his way to fulfill his potential.

Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey does some wonderful work with his lush presentation of the Tallis exterior daytime scenes with some intimate lighting in some of the darker, interior scenes in the estate. The nighttime sequences are wonderfully colorful as it conveys the sense of emotion while the war-time scenes are wonderfully shot to convey its horror. Notably a scene where Robbie with his fellow soldiers walk into the woods to see an act of horror that has McGarvey doing some amazing work. Editor Paul Tothill does some great cutting from the use of backwards movement to the perspective cutting. Tothill's editing is truly superb to convey the sense of emotion and action that goes on. Even through the very emotional scene of Briony, Cecilia, and Robbie that has a rhythm to confirm every moment of drama that goes on.

Production designer Sarah Greenwood with art director Ian Bailie and set decorator Katie Spencer do amazing work in the posh look of the Tallis estate with all of its period look in the furniture, antiques, and such while the war-time scenes are great to convey the dirty, working-class look. Even in the ruins of the Dunkirk scenes are wonderfully built to convey the sense of horror and tragedy. Costume designer Jacqueline Durran does great work in the period-style costumes from the swimsuits Knightley and Ronan wears to the dresses that Knightley wears at night and in the wartime scenes. Durran's costumes are wonderfully exquisite to the times as even the men whether in tuxedos or in army gear are great. The sound work of Catherine Hodgson, recordist Danny Hambrook, and mixer Paul Hamblin is wonderful in capturing the atmosphere of war in the arrival of the Dunkirk scene while it's in greater use to the Tallis estate scenes in some of young Briony's writing in mix with Robbie's writing a letter to Cecilia.

The film's music consists of operatic and classical pieces by Claude Debussy and Giacomo Puccini plus wartime music by Walter Kent & Nat Burton and the prayer piece Dear Lord & Father Of Mankind by John Greenleaf Whittier and Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry are featured. Yet, the music that dominates the film is the sweeping score of Dario Marianelli. Marianelli's score is truly one of 2007's best film scores with its huge arrangements and rhythmic orchestration that includes themes of Briony that is accompanied by a typewriter-rhythm while the more romantic score is very dramatic with flourishing arrangements. The music of the Dunkirk is also sweeping and dramatic with its sense of horror and tragedy as Marianelli creates a score that truly amazing in its own.

The casting by Jina Jay is superb with wonderful small performances from Belgium actor Jeremie Renier as a wounded French soldier, Nonso Anozie as Frank Mays who walks with Robbie in the woods of Northern France, Gina McKee as Briony's head nurse Sister Drummond, Alfie Allen as servant Danny Hardman, film director Anthony Mingella as the interviewer who interviews the 77-year old Briony, Charlie & Felix von Simson as Briony's twin cousins Jackson and Pierrette, and Pride & Prejudice co-stars Peter Wight as a police inspector, and Brenda Blethyn in a great performance as Robbie's caring mother. Harriet Waller is also good as Cecilia and Briony's mother who adores Briony's talents while in shock over Robbie's actions in the crime.

Patrick Kennedy is good as Cecilia's eldest brother Leon while Benedict Cumberbatch is excellent as the charming Paul Marshall. Juno Temple is also excellent as Briony's cousin Lola who manages to become a key player in an incident as she acts a precocious young teenager. One of the film's best supporting performances is Danny Mays as Robbie's fellow soldier Tommy Nettle who brings some humor with some comments but becomes the companion who tries to comfort Robbie in the dire of times.

Keira Knightley delivers a fine performance as Cecilia, a young woman who is deeply in love with Robbie though she couldn't show her feelings publicly. When the love is gone, she is a woman desperate for him as she refuses to have contact with her sister. While it's not as good as her previous collaboration with Wright in Pride & Prejudice, Knightley is at least proving that she's more than a pretty face. James McAvoy delivers an amazing performance as Robbie, a man with ambitions to become a doctor and Cecilia's lover who is good, kind man. When he’s accused of a crime he didn't commit and becomes a soldier, McAvoy's performance is just amazing for his observation and weariness as he sells the sense of frustrations and tragedy of his character. McAvoy and Knightley display amazing chemistry in the scenes they’re in as McAvoy has the look and presence of traditional leading men that came before him.

In the roles of Briony, the trio of actresses for the role are all superb in their performances. Newcomer Saorise Ronan is amazing as the 13-year old Briony, a young girl who has a crush on Robbie and has aspirations to be a writer as she conveys the misguided innocence of a young girl. Ronan's performances in the more dramatic scenes are great for her quick-wit reaction and angst that is displayed as her performance is just unforgettable. Equally as great as well as impressive is Romola Garai as the 18-year old Briony. Garai's performance is astonishing for her sense of restraint in how she tries to come to terms with her actions while not having contact with a lot of people.

Her scene in her attempt to atone for her actions is more surprising as she completely restrains herself from the more dramatic Knightley and forceful McAvoy. It's in that scene that Garai steals the show as she is proving to be one of Britain's finest actresses. Vanessa Redgrave is brilliant in her brief role as the 77-year old Briony who is still trying to find forgiveness in her final days as Redgrave's performance is just powerful for her look and weariness.

Atonement is a rich, powerful, and haunting masterpiece from Joe Wright and company helmed by fantastic performances from Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, and the trio of Saorise Ronan, Romola Garai, and Vanessa Redgrave. While fans of the book might have some issues with the adaptation, they will at least enjoy Wright's interpretation of the book. Those who loved Pride & Prejudice will be amazed in what Wright did as a director as his next film will definitely be one to anticipate for. In the end, for a rich film that questions sin and its consequences, Atonement is the film to go see.

Joe Wright Films: Pride & Prejudice (2005 film) - The Soloist - Hanna - Anna Karenina

(C) thevoid99 2011

Pride & Prejudice (2005 film)

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 12/5/05 w/ Additional Edits.

Novelist Jane Austen has been known for creating witty and fantastic romantic novels during the 19th Century. Several of them had become films like Sense & Sensibility in 1995 by director Ang Lee that starred Emma Thompson who won an award for the film's screenplay. Another film that received great reviews in 1996 based on an Austen novel was Emma starring Gwyneth Paltrow while a year earlier, a modern day version of that novel called Clueless was also popular. Another of Austen's famous novels is Pride & Prejudice that some said was the blueprint of what would become the romantic comedy. The story of five young women living in a poor area in 18th Century England where one of the daughters rebels the idea of marriage for money while falling for an introverted but conflicted man named Darcy.

Throughout the years, there's been several versions of Pride & Prejudice on film yet in 1995, a five-hour miniseries starring Colin Firth as Darcy is often considered to be the most quintessential adaptation of Austen's novel. Recently, there's been other variations on Pride & Prejudice including the Bridget Jones films that also starred Firth as a Darcy-like character and Gurinder Chadha of Bend It Like Beckham directed a Bollywood-inspired version called Bride & Prejudice. Now a new version has emerged where this time around, to play the novel's heroine of Elizabeth Bennett, they turn to one of the hottest young actresses around in Keira Knightley to play the role of rebellious heroine.

Directed by Joe Wright with a screenplay by Deborah Moggach (with additional treatment from Austen fan Emma Thompson), Pride & Prejudice is a love story that explores class, society, and marriage for love or money. Set in 18th Century England, it's a story of how the rebellious Elizabeth Bennett decides to change those rules while dealing with the more conflicted Mr. Darcy. Also starring a large cast of British actors including Brenda Blethyn, Judi Dench, Rosamund Pike, Talulah Riley, Carey Mulligan, Tom Hollander, Simon Woods, Peter Wight, Penelope Wilton and Matthew McFayden as Mr. Darcy plus American actress Jena Malone and Canadian actor Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennett. This new film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice succeeds in bringing the Austen classic to life once again for a new generation of filmgoers.

While living in a modest farm with their own land and a small income, the Bennett family is awaiting some riches to come with Mr. Bennett destined to be gone soon. With Mrs. Bennett (Brenda Blethyn) knowing that if her five young daughters are to survive, they would have to be married to someone who is rich. For the second eldest daughter Elizabeth, it's an idea she doesn't really like. After the family is invited to a party, Elizabeth is introduced to the quiet, arrogant Mr. Darcy who is accompanied by Mr. Charles Bingley (Simon Woods) and his sister Caroline (Kelly Reilly). Elizabeth's older sister Jane (Rosamund Pike) is feeling very attracted to Mr. Bingley while Mrs. Bennett introduces the rest of the clan that includes the quiet and introverted Mary (Talulah Riley), the giddy and excitable Kitty (Carey Mulligan), and the youngest yet outgoing of the clan, Lydia (Jena Malone).

While Jane has fallen for Mr. Bingley, she is invited to meet with him more though despite being ill during her rainy trip. Elizabeth decides to meet Bingley where she finds herself not at odds with Bingley's snobbish sister but also the more prideful Mr. Darcy. Still with her sisters desire to be married, Elizabeth finds herself being courted by a young pastor named William Collins (Tom Hollander). Then during a trip to London with her sisters, Elizabeth finds herself attracted to a militia officer named Mr. Wickham (Rupert Friend) who knows Mr. Darcy despite a falling-out. After another party where she's forced to contend with Mr. Darcy and the courting of Collins, Collins proposes marriage to Elizabeth but refuses. Mrs. Bennett is upset at the situation as she tries to set up the engagement as in the end, Collins weds Elizabeth's best friend Charlotte (Claudie Blakley).

After realizing that Collins was more well-meaning while visiting Charlotte, Elizabeth joins the wedded couple to a dinner held by Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Judi Dench), who is the aunt of Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy is also at the dinner where despite his aunt's social prejudice, he becomes impressed by how Elizabeth manages to hold herself. When Elizabeth learns that Mr. Darcy tried to break the possible engagement of Jane and Mr. Bingley, she becomes very angry at him as Darcy tries to explain himself and professing his love for her. After a tiring period, Elizabeth decides to visit her relatives Mr. Gardiner (Peter Wight) and his wife (Penelope Wilton) where they visit the renovated Darcy home where Elizabeth runs into Mr. Darcy again as well as meeting his sister Georgianna (Tazmin Merchant).

While dealing with Darcy's behavior, Elizabeth decides to come to distressing news of Lydia running away to marry Wickham. Even after learning of the real nature of his falling out with Darcy, Darcy ended up giving in despite Elizabeth’s protests to the chagrin of her mother. When Elizabeth contending her feelings for Darcy and vice versa, she tries to confront herself about her own pride and prejudices about him as she tries to find way to satisfy herself and her family.

While adaptations are tricky to pull, especially a Jane Austen novel. Another issue is the many versions that came out where the most notable to rival in terms of purists is the 1995 miniseries. Still, Joe Wright along with screenwriter Deborah Moggach remain very faithful to the entire novel though its understandable that purists will be upset on what was cut. What really is surprising about the film for newcomers is the style of dialogue and the language its spoken where it is very rich within every word that gives the script a true sense of authenticity.

Even Joe Wright's directing that features epic film movements does some fantastic work with the camera movements as it focuses not on just the relationship of Darcy and Elizabeth but giving the smallest characters a moment to shine. Overall, the directing is very spot-on and proves itself to be very true to what Austen wanted. It's romantic, intelligent, deals with social issues, and it's also funny.

Helping Wright in his visual scope is cinematographer Roman Osin who does not just amazing work in giving the film an epic look in many of the exterior scenes but also some great lighting techniques in the film's night, interior scenes. Osin's work is gorgeous in giving the film the right look. Production designer Sarah Greenwood and supervising art director Ian Bailie also do great work in getting many of the film's interiors of housing, poor and rich to look and feel right that helps set the atmosphere. Especially some of the locations and the houses that got used which are wonderfully used to a great extent. Costume designer Jacqueline Durran also deserves great commendation for her work on the costumes, especially in the ball scenes where they all look very beautiful for all the women in the film. Editor Paul Tothill also brings in some nice cutting styles and giving the film a nice pace at a bit over two-hours where it doesn't feel slow or moves to fast. Just very leisurely.

The music of the film features not just old piano tunes of the day from those times but also the piano is used very proficiently into giving the story a sense of atmosphere or as some kind of emotional outlet, notably with the character of Mary Bennett. Even the orchestral score by Dario Marianelli helps convey that atmosphere while music supervisor Nick Angel also picks the right pieces for the film, even if they're performed imperfectly. It's a wonderfully rich film score that has memorable moments but plays more into conveying the tone of the story.

Now previous castings in film versions of Pride & Prejudice has been crucial in terms of giving the right notes and style of dialogue in the film. This cast for this version of the film is well-executed in every detail. Carey Mulligan is excellent as the naive, excitable Kitty while Talulah Riley is also brilliant as the more introverted Mary who has a great scene playing a piano which she messes up only to be comforted by her father. Peter Wight and Penelope Wilton are also good as Elizabeth's well-meaning relatives as well as Tazmin Merchant in her small role as Darcy's sister and Kelly Reilly as Bingley's snobbish sister. Claudie Blakley is also wonderful in her role as Charlotte, Elizabeth's best friend who gives good reasons into marrying Mr. Collins. Rupert Friend is good as the dashing but ambiguous Wickham while Simon Woods is wonderfully funny as Bingley.

Tom Hollander is a real standout as the well-meaning but naive Mr. Collins where he brings out many of the film’s laughs in a very straight manner as he delves into that role perfectly. Judi Dench is also great with her authority-driven presence where everything she says is really offensive in terms of its social standings while wanting to maintain control in her rich world only to receive a cold dose of reality. It's a great performance by the always wonderful Judi Dench. Jena Malone is perfect in her performance as what some would call the proto-teenybopper of Lydia. Malone manages to standout in every scene she's in while stealing the show from her co-stars including at one moment, Miss Knightley (where in reality, Malone is a year older than Knightley) as she plays up to all the selfishness and energy that Lydia provides. Rosamund Pike is also brilliant in her understated, anguished performance as the eldest Jane who had a chance for love only to have it taken away. Pike really provides the sisterly companionship to Knightley as she manages to give an amazing performance.

Donald Sutherland is outstanding in his role as the soft-spoken but open-minded Mr. Bennett as he provides the comfort that every child needs with their father while maintaining his role as the head of the family. Sutherland really conveys the freedom that Elizabeth needs as he and Knightley have great scenes together as it's a great role for the longtime veteran actor who has worked with the likes of Robert Altman and Fellini. Brenda Blethyn is perfect in her role as Mrs. Bennett where she not only has great scenes with the young actresses and great chemistry with Sutherland. She really provides a lot of the comic backbone of the film with her emotional outbursts, her desire to have her daughters married, and her necessity to fit in with the upper-class. There's never a moment where Blethyn gives a bad performance as her timing in comedy is just perfect in every note.

In the role of Mr. Darcy, Matthew McFayden must've had to live up to a lot of expectations where the role was played previously by Laurence Olivier and most of all, Colin Firth. McFayden however succeeds while having great chemistry with Knightley.  Even as McFayden provides the right sense of melancholia and pride into a character that is complex and vulnerable. It's a true breakthrough performance from Matthew McFayden.

In what is definitely the best performance of career so far, Keira Knightley does an amazing job as Elizabeth Bennet. Knightley brings the angst, rebellion, torment, and stubborn side of Elizabeth Bennett in every way while making her character grow. Knightley proves herself to be a very strong, dramatic actress while dabbling in a bit of humor but using her words and her feelings to bring that character to life. It's truly her best performance in many ways since her credibility as an actress is often overshadowed by extravagant action films.

While it may not live up to previous variations of the novel, the new version of Pride & Prejudice is an excellent film thanks to Joe Wright's direction and faithfulness to the novel led by a superb cast. Fans of Keira Knightley will be glad to see the actress display her talents while being supported by the likes of Matthew McFayden, Donald Sutherland, Brenda Blethyn, Jena Malone, Rosamund Pike, Tom Hollander, and Judi Dench. Another good thing that the film will do for those who had interest in Austen will not only make those new to her work interested in her films but also the novels themselves. In the end, for a good romantic film that is needed for the holidays in a flurry of weightless fluffs, Pride & Prejudice is the film to see.

Joe Wright Films: Atonement - The Soloist - Hanna - Anna Karenina

(C) thevoid99 2011

Secrets & Lies

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 7/11/07 w/ Additional Edits.

Following 1993's controversial film Naked, Mike Leigh has created international attention for his film that explored a man's journey into London as he talks about philosophy while doing horrible things to the women around him. Despite the acclaim and international attention it brought, Leigh also courted criticism for his film. Three years later, Leigh decided to change the tone of his previous film for something more dysfunctional with his 1996 film that some considered to be one of his best. A family drama about a black woman who searches for her birth mother who is shocked to find out that she's white and very dysfunctional. The film is entitled Secrets & Lies.

Written and directed by Mike Leigh, Secrets & Lies is a drama about a family that is very dysfunctional with its mother often very despondent and sad by the drama that surrounds her. Meanwhile, she is unaware that she has another daughter who is black yet very successful and grounded. When her daughter finally traces her real parentage and finds her mother, the reaction surrounding her mother's family becomes a shock. Starring Brenda Blethyn, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Claire Rushbrook, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth Berrington, and Leigh regulars Lesley Manville and Timothy Spall. Secrets & Lies is a harrowing yet powerful masterpiece from Mike Leigh.

It's a typical day at work for Maurice Purley (Timothy Spall) who works as a photographer. Shooting weddings and other styles including modeling shots, Maurice is doing fine in his job yet he's feeling unhappy. His marriage to Monica (Phyllis Logan) is strained as she is often frustrated and nagging over things. When their niece Roxanne (Claire Rushbrook) is about to turn 21 soon, the two decide to have a family get together at their house. Though Maurice hasn't spoken to Roxanne or his sister Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn) in more than two years, he's more than welcome to the idea. Life for Cynthia however, isn't going well as she and Roxanne are not getting along with Roxanne now being angry over things while refusing to have her mother meet her new boyfriend Paul (Leo Ross). Roxanne’s lashing out and the loneliness she's suffering has caused a lot of guilt for Cynthia.

Meanwhile in another side of London, Hortense Cumberbatch (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is mourning the death of her adoptive mother. Though she lives a great live as an optometrist, Hortense knows the fact that she is adopted since her adopted parents told her as a child. After talking to a social worker (Lesley Manville), she learns on who her real mother is. Then while reading the files, she learns that Cynthia Rose Purley is white. Shocked and baffled, Hortense ponders on whether or not she should try to find out more about Cynthia. After filing through papers and everything, she learns that Cynthia is alive and well.

While taking a break for work, Maurice pays an unexpected visit to Cynthia's home. Aware of her loneliness and everything, he invites to the barbeque he's having in honor of Roxanne's birthday. He expects Roxanne and whoever she’s dating to come. After the very emotional meeting with Cynthia, Maurice ponders his own family life and how Cynthia tried the best she could to cope with their mother’s death early in their life. When Cynthia asks Roxanne about Maurice's barbeque, Roxanne refuses to come as Cynthia pleads with her to be more open. Instead, Roxanne says insulting things leaving Cynthia despondent. The timing couldn't have been worse when Cynthia suddenly receives a phone call from Hortense of all people in which, Cynthia receives the shock of her life.

After reluctantly agreeing to meet, the two wait out at a train station where they finally meet. Shocked over when the baby was born and conceived, Cynthia is full of grief over what she's done to Hortense. Learning that Hortense is doing fine and everything, the meeting becomes extremely emotional for Cynthia. Yet, it's become something rewarding considering that her relationship with Roxanne is very rocky. Cynthia calls Hortense as the two begin to meet more and more as they now bond like mother and daughter.

In a day where Maurice photographs a scarred woman (Emma Amos), Monica visits as she and Maurice's assistant named Jane (Elizabeth Berrington) discuss plans for the barbeque. The day gets stranger when a man named Stuart Christian (Ron Cook), who was once the owner of the photo studio that Maurice had bought. Returning from Australia, the despondent Christian sees what Maurice has done but isn't impressed with how he makes a living as the meeting turns bitter.

After deciding to go to her birthday party at her uncle, Roxanne brings over Paul while Cynthia calls Maurice to confirm that she's bringing a friend. The party goes smoothly at first with no incident, even as Cynthia brings Hortense to the party where things go well without incident. Though Hortense had to see how Roxanne acts towards her mother. When Cynthia becomes emotional, the secrets and lies begin to come out as Hortense finds herself in the middle of a family drama.

Considering that the film is a family drama, Mike Leigh chooses to not over-emphasize the drama or situations that would build to up emotional blow-ups in the end. Instead, his improvisational approach to his writing and direction works in building a realism of a dysfunctional family who are so disconnected that they're brought together by someone who doesn't fit in at first. Since many of the characters aren't played as caricatures, there's depth to all of the characters in the film. Leigh's improvisational style in which the actors are given the freedom to improvise and create their own lines feel universal to an audience who can understand family dysfunction.

Leigh's observant yet mesmerizing direction is at its best when he decides to capture a moment of conversation and drama. Two scenes are shown with an unbroken take in which, the actors seem very comfortable and in character where they engage in conversation of sorts. The conversations and subject matter they talk about is very real. Though there's not much humor, whenever it pops up, it's funny and natural like in any conversation.

While some might complain about the film's pacing, even at a running time of 142-minutes. It's only deliberate to build the momentum of the family's unhappiness and how much pain they're building up. Then there's Hortense, who just went through her own pain about her adopted mother's death is trying to remain strong throughout the whole thing. When she gets to know her real mother, she sees behind all of this pain she's suffering is that Cynthia is a wonderful woman despite her flaws.

Family is really the theme of the film. Leigh shows that no matter how messed up people are, when they're together. There's always someone to talk to, even in a moment of desperation or sadness. While the character of Roxanne may be described as selfish and uncaring, it's because she's got a lot of anger towards her mother about who she is and what she's hiding.

There's also Maurice, who is really the one person who, like Hortense, is very quiet about trying to handle things and try to be strong about every situation. When he's forced to see the family drama that's happening near the end, he is the one trying to settle everything where he's kind of like the glue in family. It's in Leigh's wonderful direction and approach to storytelling that makes the film a compelling yet heartbreaking family drama.

Leigh's longtime cinematographer Dick Pope brings a wonderful look to the film that looks very colorful and natural to the film's exterior shots of London as well as the interiors whether it's the bluish colors that surrounds the home of Maurice, the dark intimacy of Cynthia's home or the spacious, white look of Hortense's home. Production designer Alison Chitty helps the film's look to show the contrast whether it's the clean look of Hortense and Maurice or the decayed home and claustrophobia of Cynthia's home.

Editor Jon Gregory does excellent work with the film's editing to capture the emotion of the family drama that goes on while not cutting some of the film's dramatic conversations. Sound recordist George Richards does great work in capturing the film's sounds, notably London in all of its different sections. Music composer Andrew Dickson brings a wonderfully melancholic, yet enchanting score led by a trumpet to convey the drama and sadness surrounding each character.

The film's cast is wonderfully assembled that features Cameos from other Mike Leigh players like Peter Wight, Lucy Sheen, Ruth Sheen, Phillip Davis, and Leigh's then-wife Alison Steadman. Lesley Manville is excellent in her brief role as a sympathetic social worker who prepares Hortense for what was to come. Elizabeth Berrington is also good as Maurice's assistant Jane who is invited to the party as she tries to see how Maurice is trying to stabilize situations. Ron Cook is wonderful as a frustrated owner who is down on his luck and lashing out at Maurice claiming he doesn't know a thing about art. Leo Ross is good as Roxanne's boyfriend Paul who tries to understand her situations while being interested in meeting Cynthia. Other small roles that included Emma Amos as a scarred model and Michele Austin as Hortense's friend Dionne are good in the brief scenes they're in.

Claire Rushbrook is excellent as the angry, selfish Roxanne who despises her mother while trying to hold down a job cleaning the streets and pondering on why she is angry all the time. Phyllis Logan is also great as Monica, a housewife who is feeling frustrated with her own lifestyle as well as her own resentments towards Cynthia over stability. Timothy Spall gives probably one of his best performances as Maurice, a man who is trying to understand his own unhappiness surrounding the women in his life as he tries to comfort everyone in whatever drama they're in. Spall is in rare form as throughout almost the entire film, is very restrained and subtle as he tries to be a father of sorts to everyone including his older sister Cynthia.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste is great as Hortense, a woman in mourning who is trying to find out about her roots. When she meets Cynthia, Jean-Baptiste shows remarkable strength in a woman, who is successful and grounded, who becomes an unlikely friend for Cynthia. The film's best performance easily goes to Brenda Blethyn as the fragile, neurotic Cynthia. Blethyn gives a performance that is very raw as a woman who has lost a lot of her looks and confidence and is often alienated by everyone. When Hortense comes into her life, Blethyn shows more life and joy to her performance that is often mixed in with light-hearted humor and drama. It's an amazing performance from the actress who is often beloved by filmgoers.

When it premiered at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, the film was a surprise hit in which it won Leigh the prestigious Palme D'or while Brenda Blethyn also received the Best Actress prize. The film would also give Blethyn a Golden Globe win for Best Actress while the film itself received five Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Director and Screenplay to Leigh, Best Actress to Blethyn, and Best Supporting Actress to Marianne Jean-Baptiste. At the British Academy Awards, the film walked with three prizes including Best British Film, Best Screenplay, and another Best Actress prize to Brenda Blethyn.

The film is often considered Leigh's masterpiece as he continues to create amazing films in his unique style. Fans of Leigh work will no doubt consider this his greatest triumph although others might prefer his previous film, the very dark existential drama Naked. In the end, Secrets & Lies is a brilliant, harrowing family drama from Mike Leigh and company.

Mike Leigh Films: (Bleak Moments) - (Hard Labour) - (The Permissive Society) - (Knock for Knock) - (Nuts in May) - (Abigail's Party) - (Kiss of Death) - (Who's Who) - (Grown-Ups) - (Home Sweet Home) - (Meantime) - (Four Days in July) - (High Hopes) - Life is Sweet - Naked - Career Girls - Topsy-Turvy - All or Nothing - Vera Drake - Happy-Go-Lucky - Another Year - Mr. Turner

(C) thevoid99 2011