The Phoenician Scheme

 

Written and directed by Wes Anderson from a story by Anderson and Roman Coppola, The Phoenician Scheme is the story of a wealthy businessman who names his only daughter as his sole heir as they deal with rival businessmen and other forces wanting to take over. The film is an ensemble comedy-drama that follows a man who built his empire who installs his nun daughter to become his heir. Starring Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson, Hope Davis, Mathieu Almaric, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Rupert Friend, and Benedict Cumberbatch. The Phoenician Scheme is a whimsical and heartfelt film by Wes Anderson.

Set in the 1950s, the film follows a wealthy industrialist who has named his only daughter as his sole heir as the two along with a tutor traveling around the fictional European country of Phoenicia to deal with various investors over money, he skimmed over to salvage a project that he hopes would help Phoenicia. It is a film that explores a man who had been through many near-death experiences involving plane crashes and assassination attempts on his life where he decides to bring his eldest child into the fold even though she is about to become a nun as she is reluctant to take part in his criminal activities. Wes Anderson’s screenplay has a narrative that is straightforward with some strange yet surreal sequences that involves its protagonist Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) often visiting the afterlife following every near-death experience. These events forces him to name his estranged daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton) as his sole heir as he has 10 other sons who are all adolescent and unable to help Korda in his schemes. Joining them on this trip through Phoenicia is a Norwegian entomologist in Bjorn (Michael Cera) whom Korda hired as a tutor in his own increasing interest in insects.

The script also has a unique structure into the group of people that Korda has to meet to cover his losses that includes a consortium led by two American brothers in Leland (Tom Hanks) and Reagan (Bryan Cranston), the heir to Phoenicia in Prince Farouk (Riz Ahmed), a French nightclub owner in Marseille Bob (Mathieu Almaric), an American investor in Marty (Jeffrey Wright), Korda’s second-cousin Hilda (Scarlett Johansson), and his half-brother Uncle Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch) whom Korda believes killed Liesl’s mother many years ago. Korda would endure a series of challenges and events upon his journey as it would play into a character arc of his own as a man that is constantly dealing with assassins trying to kill him and other things while he gets to know Liesl. Liesl would have an arc of her own while also revealing her own quirks such as the fact that she carries a dagger and smokes with a pipe. Notably as she gains a view of the world though remains committed to her faith and becoming a nun. Bjorn is a character that is full of intrigue as he is fascinated by Liesl while he is also ambiguous in the things he talks about while often surrounds himself with insects as they fascinate him. The film also has a subplot relating to a government agent led by Excaliber (Rupert Friend) who is tailing Korda and his activities in the hope of disrupting everything for Korda.

Anderson’s direction is entrancing as it does play into his stylish usage of symmetrical compositions and diligence to everything he captures on film. Shot on location at the Babelsberg Studio in Germany and in a 1:48:1 aspect ratio format that is an unconventional presentation that is atypical with a lot of films. Anderson does maintain some unique compositions in some of the wide shots he creates to play into the fictional country of Phoenicia as it is a country between Europe and the Middle East. Anderson does maintain some stylish framing in the way he puts his actors in a medium shot or a close-up along with some intricate tracking shots where characters would move from one room to another. Anderson’s presentation of the scenes set in the afterlife are shot in black-and-white as there is an element of surrealism where Korda meet some people including his first wife (Charlotte Gainsbourg), a young Liesl (Beatrice Campbell) and a few others as it plays into his own brush with death.

The film also plays into the ideas of faith as it relates to Liesl who often prays during her journey while the sequence in which Korda meets with Bob at his nightclub that is being robbed by Communist revolutionaries led by Sergio (Richard Ayoade) as Korda, Liesl, and Bjorn would meet them again as they are all Atheists. There is a humorous take in how Anderson presents Atheism as it would help play in both Korda and Liesl’s character arcs as it relates to faith. Notably the former whose encounters with the afterlife through his near-death experiences forces him to contend with his own existence. The film’s climax relates to the final meetings with those he counted upon to help him save the project as well as confront Uncle Nubar who is the last investor who is also ambiguous into answering Liesl’s own questions about her mother. It would be followed by a ridiculous fight scene as well as other outlandish things followed by an epilogue that plays into the fate of Phoenicia, its project, and those close to Korda. Overall, Anderson crafts an evocative and enchanting film about a business tycoon trying to make amends with his estranged empire to save his criminal empire.

Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its stylish usage of lighting for interior scenes in the day and night as well as in the way some of the exterior scenes are lit including scenes at night such as a scene inside a crashed airplane with the usage of lamps and available light. Editor Barney Pilling, with additional work from Andrew Weisblum, does excellent work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts, slow-motion shots, and other stylish cuts to play into the suspense, action, and humor also knowing when to have shots linger on for around a minute. Production designer Adam Stockhausen, with set decorator Anna Pinnock plus art directors Marc Bitz, Neneh Lucia, Anja Muller, Esther Schreiner, and Mariana Vasconcellos, does brilliant work with the look of the Korda estate, the unfinished train tunnel, and other places including interiors of the planes that Korda flies in as it is a highlight of the film. Costume designer Milena Canonero does amazing work with the costumes in the design of the suits that Korda and Bjorn wears as well as the nun outfit that Liesl wears and the clothes of some of the other characters including the sweatpants and shoes that Leland and Reagan wear.

Hair/makeup designer Heike Merker and prosthetics designer Mark Coulier do terrific work with the look of the characters in the hairstyles that Liesl and Bjorn have as well as the big beard that Uncle Nubar has. Special effects supervisor Gerd Nefzer, along with visual effects supervisors Craig Crawford and Steve Murgatroyd, does fantastic work with the look of some of the models and miniatures used in the film along with a few bits of visual effects as set dressing. Sound editors Wayne Lemmer and Christopher Scarabosio do superb work with the sound in the way planes sound from the inside as well as the sounds of certain objects including weapons. The film’s music by Alexandre Desplat is wonderful for its low-key piano-based orchestral score that plays into the suspense and drama with some soft percussive and a low-key string arrangement to play into some dangerous scenes. Music supervisor Randall Poster cultivated a soundtrack that features classical music pieces from Igor Stravinsky, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Modest Mussorgsky as well as music from Gene Krupa and Dizzy Gillespie.

The film’s casting by Douglas Aibel is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Beatrice Campbell as a young Liesl, Donald Sumpter as a chairman that Excaliber works for, Alex Jennings as Korda’s butler, Jason Watkins as Korda’s attorney, Stephen Park as Korda’s pilot, and in the roles of Korda’s 10 adolescent sons in Edward Hyland, Ogden Dawson, Kit Rakusen, Milo James, Hector Bateman-Harden, Benjamin Lake, Gunes Taner, Gabriel Ryan, Mohamad Momo Ramadan, and Jonathan Wirtz. Other notable small roles as figures of people that Korda sees in the afterlife include Charlotte Gainsbourg as Korda’s first wife, Willem Dafoe as an attorney in Knave, F. Murray Abraham as a prophet, and Bill Murray as God. Hope Davis is fantastic as the Mother Superior who arrives in the film’s third function as Liesl’s mentor who learns about Liesl’s journey as well as getting to know Korda where she decides to join him in his own scheme for the good of Phoenicia.

Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston are superb in their respective roles as the brothers Leland and Reagan as two American investors who are upset over their own financial loss as they would settle this dispute through a game of horse where Hanks and Cranston display their skills in the game. Riz Ahmed and Richard Ayoade are excellent in their respective roles as the Phoenician heir Prince Farouk and the guerilla leader Sergio with the former being an investor who believes that Korda will do good while the latter is a Communist revolutionary who decides to join Korda in the film’s third act in dealing with enemies of Korda. Rupert Friend and Mathieu Almaric are brilliant in their respective roles as the bureaucratic Excaliber and the nightclub owner Marseille Bob with the former being a government agent trying to disrupt Korda’s activities and the latter being another investor who has issues with what Korda wants only for his encounter with Sergio changes everything.

Jeffrey Wright and Scarlett Johansson are amazing in their respective roles as the American investor Marty and Cousin Hilda with the former being an investor who is also upset over what Korda wants while the latter is Korda’s second cousin who is unsure about wanting to marry Korda to save his business as she is also trying to handle things for herself. Benedict Cumberbatch is great as Uncle Nubar as Korda’s half-brother who is also an investor yet remains mysterious in his own dealings while is also unwilling to answer questions about the death of Liesl’s mother. Michael Cera is incredible as Bjorn as a Norwegian entomologist who is hired as a tutor for Korda while also being an administrative assistant where he is full of humor and intrigue as he is also someone that is fascinated by Liesl.

Mia Threapleton is tremendous in a break-out performance as Liesl as Korda’s estranged daughter who is becoming a nun as she is reluctant to join her father on a trip through Phoenicia where she gets to see many wonders of the world while also being someone who smokes a pipe and carries a dagger where she has quirks of her own like her father. Finally, there is Benicio del Toro in a phenomenal performance as Zsa-Zsa Korda as a business tycoon who has created schemes to swindle people out of money where he is ruthless in his pursuits until a series of near-death experiences forces him to make some changes in saving a project for the country of Phoenicia where he gains some insights about the ways of the world. It is a witty performance from del Toro who brings a lot of complexities of a man with irredeemable qualities, yet he puts in things that would make him redeemable during his journey as he also has some amazing low-key chemistry with Threapleton.

The Phoenician Scheme is a sensational film by Wes Anderson that features a great leading performance from Benicio del Toro and a major discovery in Mia Threapleton. Along with its ensemble cast, dazzling visuals, a sumptuous music soundtrack, and a story of redemption and meaning amidst bad decisions and near-death experiences. The film is an offbeat yet compelling film that does mark a newfound maturity from Anderson in its exploration of family dysfunction as well as characters trying to find redemption from their bad habits. In the end, The Phoenician Scheme is a phenomenal film by Wes Anderson.

Wes Anderson Films: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Hotel Chevalier - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - Moonrise Kingdom - Castello Cavalcanti - The Grand Budapest Hotel - Isle of Dogs - The French Dispatch - Asteroid City - The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - The Swan - The Rat Catcher - Poison (2023 short) - The Auteurs #8: Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson Film Soundtracks: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Seu Jorge-The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - (Moonrise Kingdom) – (The Grand Budapest Hotel) – (Isle of Dogs) – (The French Dispatch) – (Asteroid City) – (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar) – (The Phoenician Scheme)

© thevoid99 2023

Asteroid City

 

Written and directed by Wes Anderson from a story by Anderson and Roman Coppola, Asteroid City is the story of a convention set in a fictional desert town where the event is being disrupted by events that would change the world. Set in the 1950s, the film is an exploration where a group people attending this event for kids with parents attending as they deal with what might be happening. Starring Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan, Sophia Lillis, Grace Edwards, and Jeff Goldblum. Asteroid City is a whimsical yet exhilarating film from Wes Anderson.

Set in a desert town near the California-Nevada border in the 1950s, the film revolves around a group of people attending a three-day convention for Junior Stargazers where five of its cadets are to receive awards as well as a special scholarship when an alien arrives and everything goes wrong. It is a film that explores a group of people that includes a grieving photographer with a family of four, his cantankerous father-in-law, a film star with her daughter, a school teacher with a group of young students, parents with their kids attending the event, and a singing cowboy as they all are part of this convention held by a war general and an astronomer. Yet, the story is essentially being told by a TV host (Bryan Cranston) who reveals that the story is being created a troubled playwright who goes through many difficulties in creating the play with a womanizing play director and other actors.

Wes Anderson’s screenplay that is based on a story he created with Roman Coppola as it explores a man trying to create this story of loss and uncertainty in a desert town where its visitors end up staying in due to their encounter with the alien as it serves as an allegory of the events of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019-2021. The story is interspersed with playwright Conrad Earp (Edward Norton) trying to create his play as he has issues with some of his actors while dealing with its director Schubert Green (Adrien Brody) who is going through his own issues. The script plays into Earp’s trying to stage this play and find meaning while the story within the story showcase many characters not only deal with being in quarantine by the government following their encounter with the alien with the war photographer Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman) dealing with grief over the death of his wife but also in trying to tell his kids about it as he finds companionship in the film star Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson) who is also going through her own issues as well as continuously playing troubled and abused women when her gift is comedy.

Anderson’s direction definitely bears a lot of the visual styles he’s known for with his unique approach to tracking shots, camera movements, striking compositions, and other things that he’s known for. Yet, there is also this theatrical element he brings to play into this idea of theater as it plays into the Earp storyline as it also include some unique camera angles as many of those scenes are shot in black-and-white and in a 1:33:1 aspect ratio while much of the film is shot in color in a 2:39:1 aspect ratio. Shot on location in Spain with the town of Chinchon being its nearby location, Anderson creates a world that is quite offbeat where the locations are reminiscent of the American westerns by John Ford yet they’re infused with bits of sci-fi as it play into the inventions the five young kids have created as well as the encounter with the alien as some of the visual effects are a combination of stop-motion animation, miniatures, and other practical effects including a roadrunner that Steenbeck’s three daughters keep meeting.

For a film that blends a lot of genres, Anderson was able to balance it while maintaining a sense of humor where he also manages to make fun of his own visual style in his approach to wide and medium shots. Even in the tight close-ups he’s created that play into some of the emotional moments of the characters as well as medium shots in the way Anderson captures conversations between Steenbeck and Campbell in their respective homes. Anderson would also maintain a different approach in his direction that is looser for the scenes involving Earp and his world as it has this sense of theatricality in the way scenes are presented as well as the usage of wide shots as it all plays into Earp trying to find meaning in his story and what he wanted to say despite frustrating his actors in the project. Especially as the ending plays into Steenbeck’s journey through loss and his own issues where realizes what he must do for his family. In the end, Anderson crafts an intoxicating and riveting film about a troubled playwright who creates a story about a Junior Stargazers convention being disrupted by a visiting alien.

Cinematographer Robert Yeoman does incredible work with the black-and-white look of the Earp scenes that has some unique lighting approaches to the rooms while the scenes on the city are shown with vibrant colors to play into the look of the 1950s. Editor Barney Pilling, with additional editing by Andrew Weisblum, does brilliant work with the editing as it has elements of style as it play into the film’s comedic tone with some rhythmic cuts but also with some cuts that add to the drama and suspense without deviating into conventional methods like fast-cuts. Production designer Adam Stockhausen with supervising art director Stephane Cressend plus set decorators Kris Moran, Sonia Nolla, and Gabriel Picola, does amazing work with the look of the city with its houses, its diner, the science observatory, other buildings and a partially-built highway ramp that remains unfinished along with the look of Earp’s home and the stage sets around him. Costume designer Milena Canonero does excellent work with the costumes in the stylish clothes many of the people at Asteroid City wear that are colorful to the more refined look for the scenes from Earp’s perspective.

Hair/makeup designer Julie Dartnell does fantastic work with the look of Midge in her black hairdo as well as Steenbeck’s beard and other facial props that he wears as his acting persona. Special effects supervisor Pau Costa and special effects designer Carlos Laguna, along with visual effects supervisor Tim Ledbury, do terrific work with the visual effects in the design of the alien and the little road runner that has this element of stop-motion animation, practical effects, and miniatures as it is a highlight of the film. Sound editors Wayne Lemmer and Christopher Scarabosio do superb work with the sound in some of the sound effects created for the scenes at Asteroid City as well as the sounds of atomic bomb sites far from the city as well as the sparse sounds in the Earp scenes.

The film’s music by Alexandre Desplat is phenomenal for its melodic-based orchestral score that has this element of sci-fi and drama with its rich string arrangements, piano riffs, woodwinds, and other instrumentation that adds to the film’s charm. Music supervisor Randall Poster creates a fun soundtrack that largely consists of country/western music from the 1950s with music from Johnny Duncan and the Blue Grass Boys, Slim Whitman, Les Baxter, Bob Willis and His Texas Playboys, Tex Ritter, Bill Monroe, Burl Ives, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Eddy Arnold, Bing Crosby, Les Paul and Mary Ford, The Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group with Nancy Whiskey, a classical piece from Johann Pachelbel, and a couple of original songs from Jarvis Cocker and Richard Hawley as the soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal.

The casting by Douglas Aibel is tremendous as it is a large ensemble that includes appearances from Rita Wilson as the mother of one of the Junior Stargazer’s friends, Seu Jorge and Jarvis Cocker as a couple of cowboy musicians, Bob Balaban as an executive for a corporation, Fisher Stevens as a detective investigating the alien encounter, the trio of Ella Faris, Grace Faris, and Willan Farris as Steenbeck’s daughters, and Tony Revolori as General Gibson’s aide-de-camp for the scenes set in Asteroid City. Other notable small roles for the scenes set in the stage and rehearsals include Hong Chau as Schubert’s estranged wife Polly Green who is divorcing him, Willem Dafoe as the revered acting teacher Saltzburg Keitel who holds a seminar with Earp and Schubert, Jeff Goldblum as an actor playing the alien for the play, and Margot Robbie in a small yet crucial dual role as the picture of Steenbeck’s late wife and the actress who was supposed to play her as she appears late in the film in a memorable scene.

The quintet of Aristou Meehan, Ethan Josh Lee, Sophia Lillis, Grace Edwards, and Jake Ryan are superb in their respective roles as the Junior Stargazer awardees in Clifford Kellogg, Ricky Cho, Shelly Borden, Dinah Campbell, and Woodrow Steenbeck as the young kids who all invent something with Kellogg is eager to do dares to the annoyance of his father while Cho is a young kid who has issues with the authority following their encounter with the alien. Lillis’ performance as Borden showcases a young girl who has humor but is also someone that wants to unify everyone while Edwards’ performance as Campbell is more subdued as someone who copes in being in her mother’s shadow though she knows her mother cares about her. Ryan’s performance as Steenbeck and as an understudy in the Earp sequences who tries to get an actress back in the show, is terrific in showcasing a young man coping with loss but also the encounter with the alien where he deals with a lot of questions while has fallen for Dinah.

Hope Davis, Liev Schreiber, and Stephen Park are fantastic in their respective roles as Sandy Borden, J.J. Kellogg, and Roger Cho as the parents who deal with not just being quarantined in the town as well as raising genius kids while Steve Carell is excellent as the motel manager of Asteroid City who finds ways to make some money as well as hoping to sell land for anyone that is interested. Rupert Friend and Maya Hawke are brilliant in their respective roles as the singing cowboy Montana and the schoolteacher June Douglas as two people who become interested in one another while they both play actors in the Earp sequences where the former sports a British accent. Tilda Swinton, Matt Dillon, and Jeffrey Wright are amazing in their respective roles as the scientist Dr. Hickenlooper, the mechanic, and General Grif Gibson with Swinton being a scientist trying to make sense of things while she finds hope in Steenbeck and the Junior Stargazers.

Dillon’s performance as the mechanic is low-key yet memorable as someone who does what he can to fix things but also make art through cars while Wright’s performance as General Gibson is restrained as someone that is trying to maintain order despite the chaos he’s dealing with. The trio of Bryan Cranston, Adrien Brody, and Edward Norton are incredible in their respective roles as the TV announcer, play director Schubert Green, and the playwright Conrad Earp with Cranston being this humorous TV announcer who sort of serves as the film’s narrator while Brody brings a lot of charisma as Green as this director trying to make sense of the play while dealing with his own personal issues. Norton’s performance as Earp is a real standout as someone who is trying to create a great play while also having issues with actors and others over its content as he also deals with his own reputation.

Finally, there’s the trio of Tom Hanks, Jason Schwartzman, and Scarlett Johansson in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as Augie’s father-in-law Stanley Zak, the widowed war photographer Augie Steenbeck/actor Jones Hall, and the film star Midge Campbell/actress Mercedes Ford. Hanks brings a lot of wit to his character as a man who hates Augie as well as dealing with loss and being quarantined in Asteroid City. Schwartzman’s performance as Augie is restrained in showcasing a man coping with loss while his performance as the actor Hall shows a man who is frustrated with Earp’s writing as well as trying to figure out what his character needs to do. Johansson’s performance as Campbell as this movie star who often plays abused women where she often wears makeup to get in character as she is someone who feels stifled as she wants to do comedy while Johansson’s performance as Ford as this actress who has issues with Earp until an understudy convinces her to return to the show as it is one of Johansson’s finest performances.

Asteroid City is a sensational film from Wes Anderson. Featuring a great ensemble cast, dazzling visuals, its offbeat narrative that explores art and loss in a unique world, and a witty music soundtrack. The film has a lot of things expected from Anderson but also showcases him dealing with a world where they have no control in its situation with an artist struggling to find ideas in an ever-changing world. In the end, Asteroid City is a spectacular film from Wes Anderson.

Wes Anderson Films: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Hotel Chevalier - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - Moonrise Kingdom - Castello Cavalcanti - The Grand Budapest Hotel - Isle of Dogs - The French Dispatch - The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - The Swan - The Rat Catcher - Poison - The Phoenician Scheme - The Auteurs #8: Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson Film Soundtracks: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Seu Jorge-The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - (Moonrise Kingdom) – (The Grand Budapest Hotel) – (Isle of Dogs) – (The French Dispatch) – (Asteroid City)

© thevoid99 2023

Isle of Dogs

Directed by Wes Anderson and screenplay by Anderson from a story by Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Kunichi Nomura, Isle of Dogs is the story of a young boy in a futuristic, dystopian-Japan who travels to an island where dogs are living in exile due to an illness outbreak. The film is Anderson’s second stop-motion animated feature as it plays into a boy’s search for his dog where a group of dogs decide to help the boy as well as deal with being in exile because of a leader who hates dogs as the story is narrated by Courtney B. Vance. Featuring the voice cast of Bryan Cranston, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Koyu Rankin, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Scarlett Johansson, Ken Watanabe, Fisher Stevens, Yoko Ono, Harvey Keitel, Liev Schreiber, Bob Balaban, Tilda Swinton, Frank Wood, and F. Murray Abraham. Isle of Dogs is a majestic and adventurous film from Wes Anderson.

Following a mandate to ban dogs from a Japanese by its mayor claiming that dogs are spreading diseases as they’re consumed by a mysterious illness, the film revolves around a young boy who travels to an island of trash to find his dog. It’s a film with a simple story as it explores conspiracy theories and paranoia from the perspective of humans while the dogs are dealing with hunger, an on-going flu, and the horrific environment they live in. Wes Anderson’s screenplay opens with a prologue of a legend about the arrival of dogs in Japan and how it lead to this conflict between man vs. dog until a boy came to the aid of dogs and would make them man’s best friend. It’s a story that would be replayed in this futuristic version of Japan where a mayor who hates dogs decides to create something to get the public to have dogs banned as it is told in four parts by an unseen narrator. Yet, the main narrative involves the mayor’s nephew Atari (Koyu Rankin) wanting to retrieve his dog Spots (Liev Schreiber) whom he got just after Atari had been injured in a train crash that killed his parents.

The need to retrieve Spots would have Atari land on this island filled with trash that was also the former site of a factory and amusement park where he would meet five dogs in Chief (Bryan Cranston), Boss (Bill Murray), Rex (Edward Norton), King (Bob Balaban), and Duke (Jeff Goldblum) where four of the dogs would help Atari find Spots but Chief is reluctant as he’s a stray dog that hasn’t known any loyalty to a master as he’s known to bite. Yet, the dogs would deal with a rescue team that has robotic dogs to attack where Chief decides to help Atari as it would play into this development between dog and boy, respectively, as it would also lead to some revelations to the former while giving the latter a sense of hope. The film also has subplots as it relates to students wanting to go against the mayor led by American foreign exchange student Tracy Walker (Greta Gerwig) who believes there’s a conspiracy happening involving the mayor and his cohorts where they are also attempting to shut down a scientist in Professor Watanabe (Akira Ito) from creating a cure for the dogs.

Anderson’s direction is definitely intoxicating for the way he uses Japanese art and its architecture to create a world that is futuristic in some ways but also harkens to the tradition of the past. With the help of animation director Mark Waring, Anderson creates a film that does play into his visual sensibilities in terms of his precise compositions, camera movements, and offbeat humor. Yet, he would also utilize broad visuals to play into this world as the island of trash is desolate but also wild with rumors of cannibalistic dogs who eat other dogs. There are also these elements where Anderson uses satire as it relates to the rule and rhetoric of Mayor Kobayashi (Kunichi Nomura) that has similarities to current events in the world in how dogs are being treated as they’re sent to this island of trash with more plans to get rid of them altogether. Especially as Kobayashi has a henchman in Major Domo (Akira Takayama) who is trying to create more chaos where a lot of the visuals play into elements of suspense and drama.

Anderson’s direction also has these tender moments as it relates to the developing relationship between Chief and Atari as it has bits of humor and drama with Chief carrying a secret of his own about his life as a stray dog when the subject of favorite foods emerge during a conversation with the other dogs. Many of the dialogue between the dogs are in English while the humans, with the exception of Tracy and a few translators, are in Japanese. It allows audience to see a world that is unique while unsettling at times as it plays into this growing tension for truth with the people in this Japanese city being told false things while Tracy is trying to reveal the truth with Atari making plans to return to the city with the dogs in the hope that the truth will come out. Overall, Anderson crafts a mesmerizing and exhilarating film about a boy who travels to an island of trash to find his dog.

Cinematographer Tristan Oliver does excellent work with the film’s cinematography in the way many of the backgrounds are lit as well as the presentation of some of the interior settings in day and night in terms of the lighting. Editors Andrew Weisblum, Ralph Foster, and Edward Busch do brilliant work with the editing as it has elements of jump cuts and other stylish cut to play into the action and suspense as well as some of the drama. Production designers Paul Harrod and Adam Stockhausen, with art director Curt Enderle, do incredible work with the look of the city in all of its grand detail as it is a major highlight of the film as well as how it would look in the day and night as is the island of trash with its decayed buildings and other places in the island.

Visual effects supervisors Lev Kolobov and Tim Ledbury do fantastic work with the visual effects as it is mainly bits of set dressing including scenes shown on a TV screen for the characters to watch as it help play into the stop-motion animated look. Sound editors Wayne Lemmer and Christopher Scarabosio do superb work with the sound in some of the sound effects involving the drones and robotic dogs as well as in some of the locations the characters are in. The film’s music by Alexandre Desplat is amazing for its usage of Japanese percussion and string music to help play into the drama and suspense as it’s another major highlight of the film while music supervisor Randall Poster provides a soundtrack that include a few score pieces of films by Akira Kurosawa and a song by The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band that play for some of the adventure scenes.

The casting by Douglas Aibel and Kunichi Nomura is incredible as it features some small yet notable voice roles from co-writer Nomura as Mayor Kobayashi in all of his grandiose persona as well as Yoko Ono as Professor Watanabe’s assistant, Ken Watanabe as a head surgeon who helped Atari following the train crash, Fisher Stevens as a dog named Scraps whom Spots meet as he would tell him about cannibal dogs, Kara Hayward as a female dog named Peppermint, Anjelica Huston as a mute dog, Frank Wood as translator machine, Yojiro Noda as a news anchor, Nijiro Murakami as a school newspaper editor, Akira Ito as Professor Watanabe as a scientist who wants to disprove Kobayashi’s claims while wanting to create a cure for the dogs, and Akira Takayama as Kobayashi’s right-hand man Major Domo who would help Kobayashi in creating the anti-dog propaganda.

Liev Schreiber is terrific as Atari’s dog Spots who had been assigned to look after Atari following a near-fatal train crash while Harvey Keitel is superb as Gondo as a dog who leads a group of his own. F. Murray Abraham and Tilda Swinton are fantastic in their respective roles as Jupiter and Oracle as the former is a dog that helps the other dogs in finding Spots by showing them the way while the latter is a dog that claims to see the future as he’s really more into TV. Frances McDormand is excellent as Interpreter Nelson who would reveal the things that Kobayashi is saying while Greta Gerwig is wonderful as Tracy Walker as an American foreign exchange student who helps lead a student revolt against Kobayashi. Scarlett Johansson is brilliant as Nutmeg as a show-dog that convinces Chief to help Atari as she sees Atari as someone that can find the goodness in Chief.

The quartet of Bob Balaban, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, and Edward Norton in their respective roles as King, Duke, Boss, and Rex are brilliant as the four dogs who have been treated well by their masters as they’re willing to help Atari find Spots while dealing with Chief’s reluctance. Koyu Rankin is remarkable as Atari as Kobayashi’s nephew who is eager to find his dog as he endures injuries and heartache as he is determined to get his dog back while befriending the other dogs including Chief. Finally, there’s Bryan Cranston in a phenomenal performance as Chief as a stray dog who has endured being captured and in a lot of fights who is reluctant to help Atari due to his own mistrusts towards humans where he later finds a sense of trust as well as a role that is far more important than himself.

Isle of Dogs is a tremendous film from Wes Anderson. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, top-notch stop-motion animation, amazing set designs, and a thrilling score by Alexandre Desplat. The film is an exciting yet compelling adventure film that takes a simple concept and inject some real-life allegories about the world as it all plays for a boy’s love for his dog. In the end, Isle of Dogs is a spectacular film from Wes Anderson.

Wes Anderson Films: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Hotel Chevalier - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - Moonrise Kingdom - Castello Cavalcanti - The Grand Budapest Hotel - The French Dispatch - Asteroid City - The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - The Swan - The Rat Catcher - Poison - The Phoenician Scheme - The Auteurs #8: Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson Film Soundtracks: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Seu Jorge-The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - (Moonrise Kingdom) – (The Grand Budapest Hotel) – (Isle of Dogs)

© thevoid99 2018

Little Miss Sunshine

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/4/06 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Directed by Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris and written by Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine is the story of a family who go on a road trip to take their young daughter to a beauty pageant as it includes a drug-addicted grandfather, a suicidal gay uncle, and a son who hasn't spoken in months. The film is a unique road film of sorts that explores a family and their dysfunctions as they all deal with setbacks while getting a young girl to a beauty pageant in California. Starring Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Arkin. Little Miss Sunshine is a phenomenal film from Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris.

The film is a simple story about a family from Albuquerque, New Mexico who go on a road trip to California that a young girl named Olive (Abigail Breslin) can compete in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. Yet, not everyone is on board as Olive's father Richard (Greg Kinnear) is trying to score for a book deal for an idea he has as a motivational speaker. Adding to the chaos is Richard's stepson Dwayne (Paul Dano) who hasn't spoken in nine months in a vow of silence as he's obsessed with the work of Nietzsche while Richard's brother-in-law Frank (Steve Carell) is recovering from a suicide attempt due to a break-up with his boyfriend who left him for his rival. It would take Richard's wife Sheryl (Toni Collette) and Richard's father Edwin (Alan Arkin) to rally the family to go on this trip where a lot of major setbacks involving the family ensue. Much of it would play into the idea of failure that is prevalent around them where upon their arrival to California for Olive's pageant, some of the family fear that Olive will endure the same kind of humiliation and devastation they had been through.

Michael Ardnt's script takes it time to explore many of the dysfunction of the family as Edwin is a heroin addict who got kicked out of his retirement home as he would be the one teaching Olive how to dance for the upcoming pageant. Ardnt's approach to the script does have a lot of tropes and conventions that is expected in a road film but adds a lot of layers into the idea that a family might face failure and the whole trip would've been for nothing. Even as characters like Frank and Dwayne are individuals who are on the brink of depression as the latter is hoping to become a pilot by going into this act of silence. Adding to the tension is Richard as he has this theory about being a winner yet his thoughts would rub the family the wrong way as it would play into Olive's insecurities until her grandfather has this great monologue about what being a loser really means and says that Olive is none of those things because at least she's trying. Much of Richard's ideas would be ironic as he would put his own family finances and such into great danger as the third act is about Olive at the pageant. It's a moment in the film where it tests the sense of hopelessness of the family and what they might face as Olive is clearly the underdog against a bunch of young, sexualized girls in the pageant.

Directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris help create that spontaneity of the road film by adding a lot of situations like a family pushing the van while running after it to get in or the repeated honks of it. They also give each character something to do while dealing with their own situations as when they together, it works. When it comes to the comedy, it's very natural and often deadpan from the likes of Carrell and Dano who play the more miserable personalities dealing with their own situations. Then when the third act comes for the world of young little beauty pageants. It shows a world that can be very discomforting, even with the recent event concerning the Jon Benet murder 10 years ago. Still, Dayton & Faris don't exactly make fun of it nor take it totally serious as they show what it is and how people react to it. Overall, they created a wonderfully funny, heartfelt film that brings in a lot of caring moments and huge laughs.

Helping out Dayton/Faris in their visual presentation is cinematographer Tim Suhrstedt whose color schemes of yellow highlight the American Southwest of its vast deserts while the interiors have some nice, grainy shades of blue as the film is wonderfully shot to convey the vastness of the road. Production designer Kalina Ivanov along with art director Alan E. Muraoka and set decorator Melissa M. Lavender do great job in capturing the realism of the dysfunctional family home while doing a great job on the design of the pageant in all of its cheesy glory. Costume designer Nancy Steiner does great work in presenting the bland clothing of the adults with the exception of Alan Arkin's character while giving Paul Dano some cool t-shirts to wear while the real standout in the clothing goes to Abigail Breslin from the headbands, the boots, and everything including her costume.

Editor Pamela Martin does some great work in the editing playing to the rhythm of a road film with some jump cuts and perspective cutting to convey what the characters feeling while giving time for a specific scene. Sound editor Stephen P. Robinson and mixer Steven Morrow also do great work in conveying the humor of the film, particularly the honking of the van-bus which makes everything funny. Composer Mychael Danna along with the group Devotchka create a whimsical, offbeat score that also includes music by Sulfjan Steven and some beauty pageant music that is cheesy with the exception of an 80s funk classic.

Finally, there's the film's great cast that includes some funny small performances from Geoff Meed as a biker, Dean Norris as a state trooper, Robert J. Connor as the pageant host, Mary Lynn Rajskub as a pageant official, Julio Oscar Mechoso as a mechanic, and the incomparable Beth Grant in a very funny performance as a pageant official. Other notable minor roles from Bryan Cranston as Richard's agent, Stan Grossman and Justin Shilton as Frank's ex-boyfriend Josh are excellent in their brief appearances to convey the problems for the respective characters of Richard and Frank.

Of the main cast, no one conveys the showiness of comedy better than Alan Arkin as the grandfather. Arkin brings all of the troubling and discomforting innuendos of a drug-addict grandfather who says all the wrong things that disturbs the family while being very supportive of Olive as he teaches her to dance as Arkin brings all the right humor. Paul Dano gives probably his best performance to date as the moody Dwayne where in the film's first half, Dano brings a lot of humor with the things he writes in a notepad while not saying anything. When Dano breaks down, he channels a lot of angst while he has great chemistry with Steve Carell.

Steve Carell proves his comedic genius by going into minimalism as he plays a moody, quiet suicidal professor who brings a lot of funny moments by doing so little and not saying much. Carell, like Bill Murray who was considered for the role, proves that showiness doesn't have to be the only way to be funny as Carell brings a lot of depth to a character who is going through a lot of troubles and frustration as its one of his best performances. Greg Kinnear also proves his brilliance as an actor in comedy and drama as a man filled with irony as someone who talks about winning but is really a total loser. Kinnear brings a lot of struggle and depth to a man who tries his best for his family but ends up saying the wrong things and tries to find ways to do right as Kinnear proves himself to be a very versatile actor.

If Dano and Carell brings misery, Arkin brings misogyny, and Kinnear brings a straightforwardness, Toni Collette is the glue that brings everyone together. The Australian actress who knows how to pull off an American accent is great as the maternal figure of the family who tries to get everyone back on their feet while dealing with frustration of their dysfunctions. Collette also shines in being the normal one of the family as she stands out with her comedic talents and drama as she brings out another great performance. If Collette is the glue that keeps the cast together, it's the young Abigail Breslin who is the heart of the movie. Breslin steals the show as the optimistic Olive whose chance to compete for a beauty pageant comes true. Breslin brings a lot of depth to a young girl wanting to have her family on her side despite their dysfunctions while dealing with her own physical features as it's the family that supports her. Breslin is the real breakthrough as she proves her worth in every scene, especially her dance in the competition as she knocks everyone dead.

Little Miss Sunshine is a phenomenal film from Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris as it features a great cast, an amazing script, and strong themes about family. It's a film that is very accessible to families while not being afraid to say crass language and such that is controversial. Yet, it plays true to what families go through and not matter the obstacles they face. They always come together to beat the odds. In the end, Little Miss Sunshine is a tremendous film from Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris.

Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris Films: Ruby Sparks - Battle of the Sexes (2017 film)

© thevoid99 2014

Argo

Based on the book The Master of Disguise by Tony Mendez and Joshuah Bearman’s article The Great Escape, Argo is the story of a CIA operative who leads a rescue of six American diplomats who are hiding at the home of a Canadian ambassador during the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Directed by Ben Affleck and screenplay by Chris Terrio, the film is about how a CIA operative, a Hollywood makeup artist, and a film producer create a fake movie in order to use it as a disguise to get Americans out of Iran during a tumultuous period. Starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and John Goodman. Argo is a thrilling yet engaging film from Ben Affleck.

Set during the Iranian Revolution of 1979 where the people of Iran took over the American embassy and held many Americans hostage for 444 days. The film is about six American diplomats who were able to escape during the fall of the embassy where they hid at the home of the Canadian ambassador. It would take the actions of a CIA operative in Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) who decides to create a fake movie with help of a famed makeup artist John Chambers (John Goodman) and film producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin). There, Mendez would create a ruse so that he would get the six Americans out of the country though they’re aware that they’re under surveillance from the Iranian government. It’s a film that plays into this true story that is known as Canadian Caper though there are things that screenwriter Chris Terrio does to play with some of the true events in order to make the story more dramatic.

Despite some of the dramatic liberties that was taken to tell the story, Terrio does manage to make the screenplay not just be some suspense film about getting six Americans out of Iran by having them pretend to be a Canadian film crew. There’s also some humor about how Mendez goes into Hollywood to try and find a story to sell to the Iranian government as if it would be a movie that the country would approve. They would find it in the form of a cheesy sci-fi adventure called Argo where the film’s title would have a certain punch line that is often said “Argo fuck yourself”. It’s among one of the highlights of the film that helps balance a lot of the suspense and intrigue that goes on where the narrative has a straightforward structure where it moves back-and-forth to Mendez’ time in Istanbul and Iran as well as what is happening in Washington D.C.

The script doesn’t just succeed in its narrative and approach to suspense but also in the characters themselves as Tony Mendez is this CIA operative who knows a lot more than some of his superiors about how to get people out as he is also someone with a wife and son whom he doesn’t see often but always talks to. When he presents his ideas to his superiors, they’re skeptical but realize there’s very little options as the people he’s trying to get out of the country are also wary of Mendez’s idea. Even as there’s people in the American embassy trying to find pictures of the missing six through hordes of shredded paper while there’s an Iranian maid named Sahar (Sheila Vand) who is suspicious about them as she works for the Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor (Victor Garber). Still, it all plays to the fact that these Americans have to pretend to be Canadians and play that part before the Iranian government find out about their true identities.

Ben Affleck’s direction is quite straightforward for much of the presentation though he opens the film with a comic-book like presentation about Iran’s troubled history with the U.S. that led to the 1979 Iranian Revolution with a mixture of old news footage and pictures of these times. Notably as he also mixes footage of the embassy takeover on that day with what is happening inside as it becomes chaotic as the film then shifts into Mendez coming into the picture when the CIA is running out of options as Affleck maintains something is quite engaging intense where the camera is constantly moving in its tracking and handheld shots to present the CIA in panic mode as they’re trying to figure things out. Affleck does lighten things up for the scenes in Hollywood where he isn’t afraid to add humor and silliness to the story while he creates a very strange montage where it showcases the uprising in Iran with actors reading the script to the fake sci-fi story.

While much of the film is shot in Los Angeles with portions shot in Washington DC and in Istanbul as some of the locations in Los Angeles and Istanbul play the role of Tehran, Iran. Affleck does create some shot-for-shot recreations of some of the events that took place during the Iranian Revolution of 1979 where some of those images are terrifying. Notably as Affleck maintains an air of chills and claustrophobia to a scene where he and the American diplomats step outside to pretend to be the film crew where they nearly get into trouble. It adds to the suspense as well as the scenes that goes on in the American embassy where there’s other hostages as well as moments such as the failed Operation Eagle Claw mission that would complicate things until Mendez makes the decision that would impact everything. Overall, Affleck creates a very gripping yet powerful film about the Canadian Caper story.

Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto does amazing work with the film‘s cinematography where it has an air of grain to create something real but also to add some style in some of the locations such as the scenes in Iran to play up that sense of terror. Editor William Goldenberg does brilliant work with the film‘s editing with its use of montages as well as rhythmic cuts to play into the film‘s suspense and terror as well as some of its humorous moments. Production designer Sharon Seymour, with set decorator Jan Pascale and art director Peter Borck, do fantastic work with the set pieces from the look of the embassy and the Canadian ambassador‘s home as well as the look of 1979 Tehran in its air of unrest.

Costume designer Jacqueline West does excellent work with the costumes where it‘s mostly low-key and casual to play up the look of late 1970s while creating some silly costumes for the film‘s sci-fi convention scene. Visual effects supervisors Lubo Hristov and Don Lee do terrific work with some of the visual look in the way Tehran looked from afar as well as some minimal background moments. Sound editors Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn do superb work with the sound such as the film‘s embassy riot scene as well as the sense of terror that occurs with its sound of helicopters and angry crowds to play into that air of unrest. The film’s music by Alexandre Desplat is phenomenal for its orchestral-driven score to play into the film‘s suspense and drama while infusing it with some Middle Eastern vocal music and such while the film‘s soundtrack by music supervisor Linda Cohen features a lot of the music of that period from acts like the Rolling Stones, Dire Straits, Van Halen, and Led Zeppelin.

The casting by Lora Kennedy is just great for the cast that is assembled as it features some small appearances from Taylor Schilling as Tony’s wife Christine, Page Leong as Ken Taylor’s wife, Adrienne Barbeau as Siegel’s ex-wife, Chris Messina as the CIA official Malinov, Zeljko Ivanek as one of Mendez’s superiors in Robert Pender, Sheila Vand as the Taylors’ maid Sahar, Richard Kind as a Hollywood producer, Kyle Chandler as White House Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan, Bob Gunton as Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, and Philip Baker Hall as the CIA head Stansfield Turner. Bryan Cranston is superb as Tony’s main superior Jack O’Donnell who helps ensure the secrecy of the mission as well as be his contact at home. Victor Garber is excellent as Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor who keeps the six Americans at his house while figuring out how to be quietly involved without causing troubles with the Iranians.

In the roles of the six American hostages, there’s Tate Donovan as Robert Anders, Rory Cochrane as Lee Schatz, Scoot McNairy and Kerry Bishe as Joe and Cathy Stafford, and Christopher Denham and Clea DuVall as Mark and Cora Lijek as they all give fantastic performances as six Americans living in terror. Alan Arkin is brilliant as the very engaging producer Lester Siegel who always knows how to talk bullshit to people in order to get what he wants as helps out Mendez. John Goodman is marvelous as the legendary makeup artist John Chambers who helps Mendez get the project started as it’s a performance full of humor and bravado. Finally, there’s Ben Affleck in a remarkable performance as Tony Mendez as a CIA operative who is keen on making sure that he gets the Americans out of Iran while dealing with the chaos in the country as well as the fact that he is also putting his ass on the line as well.

Argo is an incredible film from Ben Affleck about the Canadian Caper rescue. Thanks to a great ensemble cast that includes Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and John Goodman as well a captivating story about what happened. It is a film that is certainly a small piece of American history that is well-told while giving some credit to what the Canadians did despite some skimming over some details in the true accounts of what happened. In the end, Argo is an extraordinary film from Ben Affleck.

Ben Affleck Films: (Gone Baby Gone) - The Town - (Live By Night) - Air (2023 film)

© thevoid99 2013

Drive (2011 film)

Based on a novel by James Sallis, Drive is the story of a Hollywood stunt driver who works as a getaway driver at night. When he meets and falls for a young woman, his life starts to get into trouble when he gets involved for a robbery that goes wrong as he seeks answers on what is really going on. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and an adapted screenplay by Hossein Amini, the film is an ode to the dark films of Los Angeles of the 1980s as well as the car films of the 1970s. Starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman, Oscar Issac, Christina Hendricks, and Albert Brooks. Drive is a hypnotic yet hard-boiled film from Nicolas Winding Refn.

An unnamed driver (Ryan Gosling) works as a Hollywood driving stuntman and mechanic by day while his occasional night job is being a driver for robbers for about five minutes. With help from his friend Shannon (Bryan Cranston) who sets up the jobs, the driver doesn’t say much other than do his job. The driver’s life is a quiet one as he runs into his neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son Benicio as they meet up every once in a while at their building. The driver starts to befriend Irene and Benicia (Kaden Leos) as they begin to enjoy each other’s company while Shannon introduces the driver to a mob boss named Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks) and his partner Nino (Ron Perlman). Bernie wants the driver to drive his stock car for riches with the driver asking little in return.

When Irene’s husband Standard (Oscar Issac) is released from jail, the driver meets Standard as things seem fine until he finds Standard lying in a hallway beaten. Realizing that Standard is in trouble due to some money he still owes and Benicio being threatened, the driver is asked by Standard to take a job. The driver reluctantly does so as he meets Standard’s boss Cook (James Biberi) for instructions as the driver takes Standard and a woman named Blanche (Christina Hendricks) to rob a pawn shop. Things seem to go well until another car appears as everything falls apart. When the driver learns that it’s a set-up, he wants answers as he figures out that the money stolen belongs to someone else. With Irene and Benicio in danger, the driver decides to confront the people who are behind everything.

The film is about a quiet yet very professional driver who has a job and just does without any questions or answers. When he is asked to take part of a robbery to help someone, he unknowingly gets involved into something much bigger that threatens the life he lives in as well as the woman and child he cares for. The premise that screenwriter Hossein Amini creates is pretty simple yet the stakes and everything that the unnamed driver has to go to is very big. While he has a guy that sets up things for him, it’s only about money but when it doesn’t just involve money. It becomes much more complicated when it involves the mob and other sordid criminals as it’s only the driver becomes the target.

The script has elements of films like Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samourai in the way the driver is portrayed. He is this stoic, observant man that does something and keeps his mouth shut. Yet, unlike Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver and Jef Costello in Le Samourai, the driver is a much more accessible person that doesn’t say a lot and keeps things simple. He doesn’t seem like the threatening individual but when provoked, all hell breaks loose. The driver is a very complex character as Amini creates a character that is very interesting in the way he does things. He always wears gloves when he’s driving while on the job, he has a watch with a timer as if he is a cab driver with the meter running and his time is very precious and limited. Amini’s script works to create a character as provocative as the driver while others such as Irene, Shannon, and Bernie are just as interesting.

Irene is just a young mother who also craves something simple as she finds solace in the driver though the return of her husband makes her a bit uneasy due to his criminal past. While Standard isn’t a bad guy and is a good father, he’s just someone that Irene wants to believe that he’s still good but knows something isn’t going to go right. Shannon is a character that is someone that just wants to set-up the job and get his cut while hoping for good things as he has a long-term relationship with Bernie. Bernie is a mob boss that also has a simple way of things as he doesn’t want complications as he has a similar idea of doing things like the driver. When things go wrong, Bernie becomes a monster that no one expects. The script Amini creates is amazing for its study and the suspense that is made for a film like this as there’s a great balance of human drama and unsettling chills for its crime elements.

The direction of Nicolas Winding Refn is very evocative for the way he presents the film in such grand style. Taking ode from the films of 1980s Los Angeles films like William Friedkin’s To Live and Die in L.A. and Paul Schrader‘s American Gigolo, Refn creates something is very entrancing and seductive to stylistic element of the film. There are a lot of aerial shots of the city that makes it truly out of this world where it’s about finding the right location to hide in and give the film a look that is indescribably haunting. There’s a lot of scenes shot at night to play up the visual style of the film while some of the daytime scenes are very straightforward.

Refn’s approach to the fast-car scenes and some of the violent moments are very stylized with the latter being very brutal and almost nihilistic. The car chases and fast-car scenes are presented in a style that is sort of reminiscent of Hollywood blockbuster films but Refn allows the audience to know what’s going while maintaining a certain rhythm to the film. Refn’s direction also has scenes where he plays things much simpler in terms of how he frames things while bringing something that is elegant before something bad is to happen. Refn is always engaged by what is happening as he doesn’t pull punches nor does he underplay anything. The overall presentation and emphasis on style that Refn needed for a film like this is truly the work of a filmmaker that can bring something to the table and make it fresh to a genre like the car-driven crime film.

Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel does a phenomenal job with the film’s stylish photography that adds to the eerie look of the film. From the many exterior nighttime scenes of Los Angeles filled with an array of lights from the locations and helicopters of the film. Sigel also plays up the style for some of the nighttime interiors including the elevators as well as a slightly-colorful look to the daytime interior and exterior settings, with the exception of a small scene in a ravine, as it’s definitely one of the film’s technical highlights. Editor Matthew Newman does a great job with the film’s stylized editing with the use of fast-paced jump-cuts for the driving scenes to dissolves for more dreamier montages in the film.

Production designer Beth Mickle, with set decorator Lisa K. Sessions & art director Christopher Tandon, do some nice work on some of the set pieces created such as Shannon‘s garage, the apartments that the driver and Irene live in, and the pizza place owned by Nino. Costume designer Erin Benach does a very good job with the costumes from the casual clothes many of the characters wear to the sliver jacket with a scorpion on the back that the driver wears. Sound editors Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis do an amazing job with the sound work to capture the sound of cars and various other things in the varied locations that is presented in the film.

The film’s score by Cliff Martinez is a real highlight of the film for its brooding yet atmospheric electronic score. Featuring more intense, pulsating pieces to exotic, ambient cuts, Martinez’s score serves as a chilling accompaniment to the world of the driver. The soundtrack features various electronic-driven pieces from Desire, the Chromatics, College featuring Electric Youth, Kavinsky featuring CSS & Lovefoxx, and Riz Ortolani with Katyna Ranieri that adds to the 80s vibe that Refn wants for the film as the overall score and soundtrack is truly mesmerizing.

The casting by Mindy Marin is superb for the ensemble that is created that includes small appearances from Russ Tamblyn as a doctor, James Biberi as the small-time crime boss Cook, and Jeff Wolfe as a henchman of Bernie. Other notable small but memorable appearances include Christina Hendricks as a fellow criminal, Oscar Issac as Irene’s troubled husband Standard, and Kaden Leos as Irene’s son Benicio. Ron Perlman is excellent as the more brash yet violent Nino while Bryan Cranston is great as the driver’s friend Shannon who tries to help the driver when things start to go wrong.

Albert Brooks is phenomenal as Bernie Rose, a mob boss who wants the driver to be his number one guy only to find out that things are going his way where Brooks show a side of him that is very unsettling as it’s definitely a surprising performance from the comic actor. Carey Mulligan is wonderful as Irene, a young waitress and mother who finds comfort in the presence of the driver as she deals with her husband’s return and the chaos that surrounds her. Finally, there’s Ryan Gosling in a tour-de-force performance as the unnamed driver. Gosling brings a real cool yet nearly-silent performance as a quiet man who does things in a simple yet disciplined manner. Gosling allows himself to be a badass without really doing but speak in a calm but confrontational manner. When the character gets pushed, Gosling becomes a total badass that no one should fuck with. It’s definitely a performance that is truly spectacular as it truly adds to Ryan Gosling’s great reputation for putting out amazing performances in film.

Drive is an outstanding film from Nicolas Winding Refn featuring a haunting yet exhilarating performance from Ryan Gosling. Armed with a great ensemble cast that includes Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, and Albert Brooks plus amazing technical work and Cliff Martinez’s hypnotic score. It’s a film that is extremely intoxicating to look at as well as being tough and giving a new spin to the professional hitman/driver sub-genre. While it’s a more mainstream film from Refn, it is a film that is still edgy for the way he gives the film a presentation that is definitely one-of-a-kind. In the end, Drive is a flat-out intense yet mesmerizing film from Nicolas Winding Refn.

Nicolas Winding Refn Films: Pusher - Bleeder - Fear X - Pusher II - Pusher 3 - Bronson - Valhalla Rising - Only God Forgives - The Neon Demon - The Auteurs #12: Nicolas Winding Refn

Drive OST

© thevoid99 2011

Contagion

Directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Scott Z. Burns, Contagion is the story of a world threatened by a mysterious virus as panic ensues while doctors try to find the cure. The film is a harrowing thriller with multiple storylines as doctors race to create a cure while ordinary people are panicking as a blogger tries to create chaos through allegations of corruption. Starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, Sanaa Lathan, Elliot Gould, and Kate Winslet. Contagion is a chilling yet hypnotic thriller from Steven Soderbergh.

Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) returns to Minneapolis feeling ill from a business trip at Hong Kong. Suddenly feeling ill and having a seizure, her husband Mitch (Matt Damon) takes her to the hospital where something bad happens as she and her son (Griffin Kane) are hit with a deadly virus. While Mitch is revealed to be immune with his daughter Jory (Anna Jacoby-Heron) arriving, more news about the disease that Beth received has reached the CDC in Atlanta. CDC head Dr. Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) asks his colleague in Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) to investigate what happened in Minneapolis as news about mysterious deaths in Asia and Europe have emerged. Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard) is asked by the World Health Organization in Switzerland to investigate what happens as she goes to Hong Kong for answers.

Back in Atlanta, Dr. Cheever and Dr. Ally Hextal (Jennifer Ehle) try to figure out what does the disease do as Hextal goes to Dr. Ian Sussman (Elliott Gould) for some help. Yet, Dr. Sussman is dealing with the presence of a blogger named Alan Krumweide (Jude Law) who is demanding some answers while believing that there is something going on. When Rear Admiral Lyle Haggerty (Bryan Cranston) asks Cheever to not expose anything more, Hextal reluctantly asks Sussman to stop with his research only for him to find a breakthrough. Realizing that the virus is more complicated and a vaccine would take a lot of time, panic is starting to ensue. Dr. Mears meanwhile, continues to investigate as things start to go wrong while telling Mitch and Jory to stay home thinking that the disease could be much worse.

In Hong Kong, Dr. Orantes makes some discoveries about how Beth contracted the disease as she wants to report it to her superiors only for her associate Sun Feng (Chin Han) to stop her because his village is in trouble and he wants to help them. During a TV interview with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Dr. Cheever tries to maintain calm only to go head-to-head with Krumweide who accuses Cheever of trying to prolong the vaccine for profit. With the world in chaos and the race to create a vaccine becoming more intense, panic spreads worldwide as millions of people start to die from this mysterious disease.

What happens when a world is thrown into chaos by an epidemic where doctors try to figure out what happened and how this disease is spread while trying to create a cure at the same time? Meanwhile, there’s ordinary people in a state of panic as they couldn’t touch each other in the risk of infection while the media tries to uncover all that is happening with a rogue blogger trying to maintain that there’s a conspiracy going on. This is what director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns create in this film where it’s about a world in panic through a strange epidemic where lives are at risks and a cure is unavailable for the time being though this rogue blogger claim that there is a cure and the government is preventing it for profit.

Burns’ multi-layered script is definitely filled with intrigue and character study as there’s a lot of stories that revolves around in this film that is all about panic. There’s the story of a man who lost his family through disease as he tries to protect his teenage daughter while a doctor from the CDC tries to help only to come head-to-head with the disease. There’s also the CDC head who is trying to do what is right as his wife (Sanaa Lathan) is in Chicago while trying to keep the world calm as he has to deal with this crazy, conspiracy-driven blogger. The Alan Krumweide character is a man trying to make it as a blogger while wanting to prove that there is a cure but what he ends up doing is cause trouble and questions about his own motives.

Other narratives such as a French doctor’s trip to Hong Kong to find the source of how the disease spread worldwide and a doctor trying to create a cure add to the sense of chaos that surrounds the film. Yet, many of these characters all go through some kind of personal change or have personal motivations to do what they do. Mitch Emhoff just wants to protect his daughter while Dr. Cheever wants to help all that he can including a janitor (John Hawkes) whom he often confers with every day at work. Burns’ script definitely plays up to the sense of fear and paranoia that surrounds the character as well as the fact that they could all die from something as drastic as this mysterious disease. Despite a few flaws for this multi-based narrative where some stories don‘t get revisited until later in the film, Burns does succeed with creating an exciting and chilling story.

Steven Soderbergh’s direction is definitely intense in terms of what he presents as it starts off calm until a montage of Beth, a Japanese businessman, a Hong Kong waiter (Tien You Chui), and an Ukranian model (Daria Strokous) starts to feel ill and succumb to the disease. The first five-ten minutes indicate that this won’t be a conventional epidemic thriller as Soderbergh chooses to play with the rhythms by maintaining a sense of dread throughout the film. Since the film takes place in various locations such as Hong Kong, Geneva, Tokyo, London, San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Atlanta. Soderbergh makes it aware that the epidemic is worldwide with various characters from around the world trying to make sense or investigate what has happened.

Throughout the film, Soderbergh does try to inject some calmer moments to give the audience a break such as the story that includes Mitch and his daughter as her boyfriend (Brian J. O’Donnell) wants to see her. Notably in the third act as the race to find a cure winds down as Soderbergh slowly tries to make things feel normal while the world remains a mess through images of trash lying on the street and empty cities being shown. The presentation of the film where Soderbergh also acts as cinematographer, in his Peter Andrews alias, has him giving the cities different looks to emphasize the state of paranoia in the world. Using some blue though darker looks for the winter scenes and yellow-sepia for some of the scenes inside like the Hong Kong and CDC interior scenes so the locations can have a different look and feel. While the overall presentation is solid despite a few flaws in the story and its multi-layered narrative, Soderbergh does create a compelling yet eerie film about the world of epidemics.

Editor Stephen Mirrone does an excellent job with the film‘s editing by creating wonderful rhythms for some of the film‘s suspenseful moments along with rhythmic cuts and smooth transitions for the audience to be aware of what story they‘re following. Production designer Howard Cummings and set decorator Cindy Carr do some great work with the art direction including the creation of empty stores and messy cities to emphasize the film‘s eerie tone. Costume designer Louise Frogley does some nice work with the costumes with a lot of the people dressing very casual while the protective suits that Dr. Hextal wears looks real to what doctors wear when handling diseases.

Sound editor Larry Blake does a fantastic job with the sound design to capture the chaos of the crowd scenes as well as the voices of reporters heard on TV to maintain the sense of fear that is prevalent in the film. The film’s score by Cliff Martinez is superb for its hypnotic yet throbbing electronic score with elements of somber piano melodies. Martinez’s score plays to the sense of dread that is played out along with the uncertainty as it helps enhance the drama without doing too much.

The casting by Carmen Cuba is brilliant for the large ensemble that is created for this film that includes small appearances from Griffin Kane as Mitch’s young stepson, Brian J. O’Donnell as Jory’s boyfriend, Tien You Chui as an ill-fated Hong Kong waiter, Josie Ho as the waiter’s sister, Daria Strokous as an Ukranian model hit with the disease, Armin Rohde as Dr. Orantes’ superior, Larry Clarke as Dr. Mears’ Minneapolis’ associate, Demerti Martin as Dr. Hexel’s associate, Enrico Colantoni as a CDC official, Monique Gabriela Curnen as a journalist friend of Krumweide, Sanaa Lathan as Dr. Cheever’s wife, Dr. Sanjay Gupta as himself, and John Hawkes as a CDC janitor whom Dr. Cheever confers with.

Other notable small performances include Chin Han as a Hong Kong medical specialist who kidnaps Dr. Orantes for his own personal reasons while Bryan Cranston is very good as Lyle Haggerty, a government official who tries to help smooth things for Dr. Cheever with the press. Elliott Gould is great in a small role as Dr. Sussman who uncovers some data about the virus while Gwyneth Paltrow is pretty good in a small but memorable performance as Beth Emhoff, the woman who contracts the deadly disease early in the film. Jennifer Ehle is superb as Dr. Hexel who tries hard to find a cure while finding out how does the disease work while newcomer Anna Jacoby-Heron is radiant as Mitch’s daughter Jory who tries to deal with her father’s protectiveness and her own isolation. Marion Cotillard is stellar as Dr. Orantes, a WHO doctor who tries to find the source of the disease only to be caught up by someone’s own personal world while Kate Winslet is wonderful as Dr. Mears who tries to deal with everything in Minneapolis as well as its outbreak in the city.

Jude Law is amazing as Alan Krumweide, a blogger who tries to uncover the conspiracy of CDC irregularities for his own gain as Law commands a fierce performance as a man causing trouble. Laurence Fishburne is excellent as Dr. Cheever, a CDC head who tries to calm things down while going through his own personal issues as well as being overwhelmed by the events that is happening. Matt Damon is fantastic as Mitch Emhoff, a man who loses his family while trying to protect his daughter from people with the disease as he tries to deal with everything around him.

Contagion is a haunting yet mesmerizing film from Steven Soderbergh led by a magnificent ensemble cast that includes Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Bryan Cranston, and Jennifer Ehle. Fans of epidemic thrillers will definitely enjoy the film for its suspense and chaotic tone of the film. For fans of Soderbergh, it’s one of his more accessible but also edgy films where he allows himself to be unconventional but also play with the conventions of a thriller. In the end, Contagion is a masterful yet terrifying film from Steven Soderbergh and company.

Steven Soderbergh Films: sex, lies, & videotape - Kafka - King of the Hill - The Underneath - Gray’s Anatomy - Schizopolis - Out of Sight - The Limey - Erin Brockovich - Traffic - Ocean’s Eleven - Full Frontal - Solaris (2002 film) - Eros-Equilibrium - Ocean’s Twelve - Bubble - The Good German - Ocean’s Thirteen - Che - The Girlfriend Experience - The Informant! - And Everything is Going Fine - Haywire - Magic Mike - Side Effects - Behind the Candelabra - Logan Lucky - (Unsane) - (High Flying Bird)

The Auteurs #39: Steven Soderbergh Pt. 1 - Pt. 2

© thevoid99 2011