Two Lovers (2008 film)

Inspired by Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s short story White Nights, Two Lovers is the story of a man who returns home to New York City as he finds himself engaged to a woman when he falls for a neighbor. Directed by James Gray and screenplay by Gray and Richard Menello, the film is an unusual romantic triangle where a man finds himself falling for a beautiful woman but also wants to be a good man to his fiancé. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Elias Koteas, Moni Moshonov, and Isabella Rossellini. Two Lovers is a rapturous and intoxicating film from James Gray.

The film revolves around a troubled man who finds himself in a love triangle with a beautiful neighbor he’s fallen for and a woman whose father wants to buy his parents’ laundromat business. It’s a film that plays into a man dealing with not just in love with two different women but also the fact that he’s still reeling from heartbreak as he is unsure of what to do. The film’s screenplay by James Gray and Richard Menello opens with Leonard Kraditor (Joaquin Phoenix) walking near a creek on his way home as he thinks about his former fiancée who broke up with him as he jumps off a bridge in a suicide attempt. He is saved but still has to return home unaware that his parents are having a meeting with the people who are going to buy their laundromat as they’re bringing in their daughter Sandra Cohen (Vinessa Shaw) who is fascinated by Leonard. During this time he’s dealing with his family’s business being bought, he meets a neighbor in Michelle Rausch (Gwyneth Paltrow) as they hang out and such as he’s unaware of how troubled she is.

Throughout the course of the script, Leonard is being pulled into two spectrums as he is often leaning towards Michelle because they both share emotional and mental troubles as Leonard is still coping with a break-up as it forced him to move back to his parents. Yet, his time with Michelle would often lead to a lot of questions than answers as she is having an affair with a married law partner in Ronald Blatt (Elias Koteas) that is becoming tumultuous. It’s a relationship that is problematic yet Leonard does find himself courting Sandra who is a more grounded person and very kind but also doesn’t want to make him uncomfortable as it relates to his previous break-up. Plus, her parents like him and his parents like her a lot where they attend family events and such as he feels more relaxed around her. Still, he is enamored with Michelle who wants his help as it relates to her relationship with Ronald with Leonard’s mother Ruth (Isabella Rossellini) watching from afar.

Gray’s direction is low-key as it doesn’t emphasize too much on style in favor of aiming for an intimate story of a man torn between two women. Shot mainly on the Brighton Beach area in Brooklyn in New York City with some of the films shot on New York City, the film does play into this environment that is largely working-class but also a world that is also vibrant. Gray would use some wide shots for some of the locations including some scenes on the apartment rooftop in a few conversation scenes between Leonard and Michelle that is presented on an entire take in one shot with a few more to follow in medium shots and close-ups. Yet, much of Grey’s approach of the film is to shoot it in many rooms and apartments as well as real locations around Brooklyn to play into this world these characters live in but also one that is prospering as far as Leonard’s father Reuben (Moni Moshonov) is concerned knowing that his family laundromat is going to be a part of something big with Leonard having something to fall back on since his aspirations as a photographer hasn’t gone anywhere.

Gray’s direction also play into the idea of longing since Leonard and Michelle live in the same build but across from each other’s window as it adds intrigue to their relationship whenever they talk on the phone as Ruth is supposedly hearing the conversation though she isn’t seen. Gray’s direction also play into this temptation where Leonard is attending a Bar Mitzvah for Sandra’s brother as he spends all of his time there but gets a call from Michelle whom he sees later as Gray would make the choice of having Michelle and Sandra never meet each other though the latter does know about the former due to conversations with Leonard. The film’s climax relates to Leonard’s decision about his future and his love life as it would play into the idea of safety in Sandra or to risk it all with Michelle. Overall, Gray crafts a tender yet intoxicating film about a man torn between two women he is in love with.

Cinematographer Joaquin Baca-Asay does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography as it emphasizes on mood for its usage of sepia-based lighting for many of its interiors and scenes set at night along with more blue-grey colors for a few daytime exteriors including a scene at a restaurant with Leonard and Sandra. Editor John Axelrad does excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward to play into the drama with a few rhythmic cuts to play into some of the film’s emotional moments. Production designer Happy Masse, with art directors Marc Benacerraf and Pete Zumba plus set decorator Carol Silverman, does fantastic work with the look of the apartment that Leonard’s family lives including his messy room as well as the apartment that Michelle lives in.

Costume designer Michael Clancy does nice work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward for its Christmas holiday setting with the exception of a few stylish clothes that Michelle wears as well as a New Year’s Eve dress that Ruth wears. Sound designer Douglas Murray does superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of a few party scenes as well as the sparse and quiet sounds for some of the scenes at the apartment rooftop. Music supervisor Dana Sano does terrific work in assembling the film’s soundtrack as it include some classical pieces for the film’s score as well as a mixture of hip-hop, opera, and jazz music to play into the world that the characters are in.

The casting by Douglas Aibel is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Anne Joyce as Leonard’s former fiancée in a dream sequence and in picture, Iain J. Bopp as Sandra’s little brother David, Samantha Ivers and Jeannie Serrales as a couple of Michelle’s friends, Julie Budd as Sandra’s mother Carol, and Bob Ari as Sandra’s father Michael who would make an offer to Leonard about his future at his company. Elias Koteas is terrific as Ronald as Michelle’s married lover who is concerned about her well-being as he asks Leonard to keep an eye on her. Moni Moshonov is superb as Leonard’s father Reuben as a man that is trying to uphold his deal in this merger as well as ensure that his son would not have to worry about his future.

Isabella Rossellini is fantastic as Leonard’s mother Ruth who is concerned about her son’s well-being as she is also wondering what is going on as she seems to know about his affair with Michelle as it’s a very low-key yet mesmerizing performance. Vinessa Shaw is amazing as Sandra Cohen as a woman whose father is buying Leonard’s family business as they start off as friends and eventually lovers as she is a woman that is kind and understanding but also someone who is willing to help him. Gwyneth Paltrow is brilliant as Michelle Rausch as a woman who lives in the same apartment as Leonard as she is someone who is charming and fascinating but also troubled due to her love of drugs and alcohol to cope with her own emotional troubles. Finally, there’s Joaquin Phoenix in an incredible performance as Leonard Kraditor as a man still reeling from heartbreak as he finds himself falling for two women as he deals with the decision he’s in but also the prospect of his own future as it’s a restrained and charismatic performance Phoenix.

Two Lovers is a phenomenal film from James Gray that features great performances from Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, and Isabella Rossellini. Along with its supporting cast, gorgeous locations, riveting story, and beautiful visuals, it is a romantic film that doesn’t play by the rules as well explore the idea of security and heartbreak in a romance. In the end, Two Lovers is a sensational film from James Gray.

James Gray Films: Little Odessa - The Yards - We Own the Night - The Immigrant (2013 film) - The Lost City of Z – Ad Astra – The Auteurs #67: James Gray

© thevoid99 2018

Incredibles 2/Bao

Written and directed by Brad Bird, Incredibles 2 is a sequel to the 2004 film about a family of superheroes who come out of hiding to fight supervillains as they deal with trying to win back the support of the public for past mistakes as well as deal with a secret supervillain. The film is an exploration of family dynamics as a family cope with trying to rehabilitate their image as well as maintain their life as a family. Featuring the voices of Holly Hunter, Craig T. Nelson, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Vowell, Catherine Keener, Bob Odenkirk, Sophia Bush, Brad Bird, Michael Bird, Huck Milner, Jonathan Banks, Phil LaMarr, and Isabella Rossellini. Incredibles 2 is a riveting and exciting film from Brad Bird.

Bao

Directed by Domee Shi, Bao is the story of a Chinese mother who deals with loneliness following the departure of her son to college as a dumpling she created comes to life. It’s a film with a simple premise that plays into a woman’s sense of loss and longing as it play into the idea of a child growing and what a mother would often expect. All of which is told in a simple yet calm manner through its rich animation as well as being accompanied by Teddy Chu’s understated yet rapturous score that rely on traditional Chinese string music and woodwinds. It is truly a spectacular short film that is moving as well as being engaging and funny.

Incredibles 2

The film picks up where the previous film left off where the Parr family find themselves fighting a supervillain in the Underminer (John Ratzenberger) as they succeed in saving the city but the damage that was created accidentally by the Incredibles left the family in trouble as superheroes are still forbidden by law. It’s a film that is about the Incredibles trying to get back in the game with the help of a telecommunications tycoon who wants to get superheroes back in the world seeing that they can still make the world safer. Yet, it would lead to a change in dynamics as Helen Parr/Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) is chosen to be the representative to bring superheroes back into public eye while Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) stays at the family’s new home to watch over the kids as he deals with being a full-time father and not doing superhero work. Brad Bird’s screenplay doesn’t just play into Bob’s struggle with raising three children including the baby Jack-Jack who is starting to gain multiple superpowers. It’s also the fact that Helen was chosen instead of him as he’s forced to realize that he isn’t the right choice due to the damages he accidentally causes in trying to save everyone.

Bob’s arc is the most interesting aspect of the film where he is seen out of his comfort zone as he tries to help Dash (Huck Milner) with his math homework and to not get into trouble while Violet (Sarah Vowell) is dealing with growing pains as it would relate to the fact that her crush Tony Rydinger (Michael Bird) doesn’t know who she is due to the fact that his memory was erased over the Underminer incident. It’s where the kids realize how much they miss their mother as Helen is doing work for Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk) who is willing to help the superheroes get their jobs back as he felt the superhero ban was unjust due to the fact that his father was killed by a robber. Helping Helen in her new work is Winston’s sister Evelyn (Catherine Keener) who would create some new technology as she feels underappreciated for her work as she and Helen bond as the latter is trying to discover of the identity of this mysterious villain known as the Screenslaver. The Screenslaver is an unusual antagonist whose intent is to control everyone and is against superheroes wanting to return in order to stabilize the status quo.

Bird’s direction is definitely grand in terms of the world that the Parrs are in as it does start off with this battle with the Underminer as they’re aided by longtime family friend Lucius Best/Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) in stopping his machine from wreaking havoc. It is a massive set piece that play into the strengths of the family but also for the fact that Dash and Violet are still new in the superhero game as they have to watch over Jack-Jack while their parents and Frozone stop the Underminer. Bird’s usage of the wide shots play into the scope of these action set pieces as it include this intense scene of Helen trying to stop a train from going out of control as its engineer was unknowingly controlled by the Screenslaver. It’s a sequence that play into Bird’s approach to action including this massive climax as it relates to the Screenslaver and its power on everyone which feature some unique hypnotic lighting where Bird and animation director Travis Hathaway use it as a way for Screenslaver’s desire for control.

Bird’s direction for Bob’s arc is more intimate with its medium shots and some close-ups as it play into his struggle in trying to keep up with Jack-Jack’s growing powers that include a comical sequence of Jack-Jack fighting with a raccoon. The sequence of Bob taking Jack-Jack to Edna Mode (Brad Bird) is also comical for how Edna reacts to Jack-Jack as someone she believes can inspire her to create better costumes while being upset that Helen is given a new one without her consent. Bird also knows when to create these small moments as it relates to Bob trying to understand Violet’s growing pains as well as finding his footing as a dad where he can be himself and Mr. Incredible. It all play into the idea of the family dynamic as Helen’s time away from her family has her needing them once she deals with the Screenslaver whose plans for control is at great risk prompting the Incredibles, Frozone, and other superheroes to go out there and fight for the good of the world. Overall, Bird crafts an exhilarating yet engrossing film about a family of superheroes trying to get back in the game as well as balance their lives as themselves.

Cinematographer Mahyar Abousaeedi does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography in creating moods and shading for many of the animated sequences as well as things look at night and in the day. Editor Stephen Schaffer does amazing work with the editing as it help play into the intensity and craziness of the action scenes through some fast cutting as well as slowing things down in straightforward cuts for the dramatic and comedic scenes. Production designer Ralph Eggleston and art director Josh Holtsclaw do fantastic work with the look of the city as well as the new home of the Parrs as well as the office building that the Deavors live in Sound designer Ren Klyce and co-sound editor Coya Elliott do superb work with the sound in creating some effects for some of the weapons, Jack-Jack’s voice based on archives from the previous film, and superpowers as well as the effects in Screenslaver’s images. The film’s music by Michael Giacchino is great for its jazzy score with elements of horns, strings, and percussions as it help play into the air of excitement as well as some smooth and heavy pieces for the suspenseful moments as it’s a highlight of the film.

The voice casting by Natalie Lyon and Kevin Reher is wonderful as it include some notable small roles from John Ratzenberger as the Underminer, Kimberly Adair Clark as Lucius’ wife Honey, Bill Wise as the mysterious Screenslaver, Paul Eiding as an aging superhero named Reflux, Phil LaMarr in dual roles as the superheroes Krushauser and Helectrix, Michael Bird as Violet’s crush Tony Rydinger, Jonathan Banks as the Parrs’ old government friend Rick Dicker who tries to help them while dealing with the loss of his job, and Sophia Bush as a young superheroine named Voyd who idolizes Elastigirl as she can get objects to disappear and reappear through different dimensional voids. Brad Bird is fantastic in the voice role of Edna Mode as the fashion designer who creates superhero costumes as she helps Bob deal with Jack-Jack whom she sees as a muse while creating a tracking device to anticipate his growing powers. Isabella Rossellini is terrific in a small but memorable voice role as the Ambassador as a foreign official who is eager to get them back in service while befriending Elastigirl.

Bob Odenkirk is superb as Winston Deavor as a telecommunications mogul who wants to help Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, and Frozone get back into the game in the hopes of bringing superheroes back into the world as he’s also a hardcore fan of the superheroes. Catherine Keener is brilliant as Evelyn Deavor as Winston’s older sister who is a tech genius and creates all of the gadgets yet feels underappreciated for her work while at least getting some compliments from Elastigirl. Huck Milner is excellent as Dash Parr as the boy with super-speed who is trying to be a good kid despite being a troublemaker as well as trying to solve math problems. Sarah Vowell is amazing as Violet Parr as a teenage girl who can turn invisible and create force-fields as she starts to deal with growing pains as well as uncertainty in wanting to be a superhero.

Samuel L. Jackson is remarkable as Lucius Best/Frozone as a superhero with the ability to create ice and freeze things who is first recruited Deavor into getting the superheroes back on the job while he also helps Bob deal with Jack-Jack’s growing powers. Craig T. Nelson is marvelous as Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible as a hero of great strength who deals with sitting at home to watch over the kids as he laments his own bruised ego and shortcomings as a father forcing him to find his balance. Finally, there’s Holly Hunter in a phenomenal performance as Helen Parr/Elastigirl as a heroine with the ability to stretch her body parts into anything as someone who is given the chance to bring heroes back into the public eye while dealing with the mysterious foe in the Screenslaver as she suspects that something isn’t right.

Incredibles 2 is a film that definitely lives up to its incredible namesake thanks in part to Brad Bird’s sprawling vision as well as a spectacular voice cast. Along with its gorgeous visuals, Michael Giacchino’s thrilling score, and a mixture of genres that blend together to create something entertaining and compelling. It’s a film that manages to provide so much in the idea of what a superhero film can be as well as showcase the life outside of a superhero that is trying to find that balance in being both a hero and a regular person. In the end, Incredibles 2 is a sensational film from Brad Bird and Pixar.

Pixar Films: Toy Story - A Bug's Life - Toy Story 2 - (Monsters Inc.) – (Finding Nemo) – The Incredibles - Cars - Ratatouille - WALL-E - Up - Toy Story 3 - Cars 2 - Brave - Monsters University - Inside Out - The Good Dinosaur - (Finding Dory) – (Cars 3) – Coco – Toy Story 4 - (Onward) - Soul (2020 film) - (Luca (2021 film)) - Turning Red - (Lightyear) - (Elemental (2023 film)) - Inside Out 2 - (Elio) – (Toy Story 5)

© thevoid99 2018

Joy (2015 film)

Written and directed by David O. Russell from a story by Russell and Annie Mumolo, Joy is a loosely-based bio-pic about the life of Joy Mangano as a woman who would become a self-made millionaire and run her own empire despite the dysfunctional presence of her family. The film is a look into a woman who comes from a troubled family forcing her to do things by herself as she would gain fame through a series of inventions as Mangano is played by Jennifer Lawrence. Also starring Edgar Ramirez, Virginia Madsen, Diane Ladd, Isabella Rossellini, Bradley Cooper, Elisabeth Rohm, and Robert de Niro. Joy is a compelling though messy film from David O. Russell.

Set in 1990 upstate New York, the film revolves around a mother of two children who shares her house with her grandmother and mother while working for Eastern Airlines as a booking clerk with her ex-husband living in the basement. Yet, Joy Mangano’s life is about lost potential who had dreams to create things when she was a kid but the dysfunctional life of her family which included her father Rudy (Robert de Niro) moving in to her home after a break-up where he would share the basement with Joy’s ex-husband Tony (Edgar Ramirez). When Rudy gets a new girlfriend in the rich Italian widow Trudy (Isabella Rossellini) and she invites Joy and Joy’s older half-sister Peggy (Elisabeth Rohm) to the boat. Joy gets an idea while cleaning spilled wine on the boat as it would be the start of an empire as well as tapping into the lost hopes and dreams she had when she was a child.

David O. Russell’s screenplay is partially told through the perspective of Joy’s grandmother Mimi (Diane Ladd) as someone who had seen Joy’s potential when she was a child and then be destroyed when her family was torn apart by divorce with Rudy going to someone else while Joy’s mother Terri (Virginia Madsen) spends much of her life in her room watching soap operas to escape from the harshness of reality. The script is often messy and can be over-the-top in its usage of flashbacks in the first act where Joy looks back at her marriage to Tony including their wedding reception in which her father embarrasses her. Joy is definitely at the center of the film as someone that is dealing with the fact that her life hasn’t gone well as she often has to deal with Peggy’s comments while Rudy often makes cynical comments though he means well. Tony is at least supportive as he would become one of the few that really believes that Joy can succeed through the invention of the Miracle Mop. Yet, would face challenges including from those who claimed to have a patent over the creation of the mop while Joy would find an outlet to sell her mop through the emergence of QVC.

Russell’s direction does have elements of style as it play into the setting and time period of the 1980s and early 1990s while much of his compositions are straightforward. Shot on location in and around Boston, Massachusetts with additional locations at Wilmington, Massachusetts, Russell would create a film that is set largely in the winter to play into the look of upstate New York where the characters live in which include the garage that Rudy owns which is managed by Peggy. There are some wide shots of the locations including scenes at the QVC studio that include this telethon studio that turns around for a different set. Yet, Russell would maintain an intimacy as it relates to the family drama where it can be overwhelming at times due to the number of people arguing over Joy in the usage of close-ups and medium shots. The film’s second act would loosen up as it relates to Tony taking Joy to a studio where she would be introduced to QVC and an executive in Neil Walker (Bradley Cooper).

The fact that the script is told partially from Mimi’s perspective does make the film tonally uneven as it would also affect the film’s pacing leading to its third act where it is about some of the business problems caused by Joy’s family over these people involved in parts manufacturing. Especially as Joy knew she had to pay certain amount of royalties to a man who created a patent for this mop as she would be forced to take control of her empire by herself with only a few such as Tony to be the ones to really support her. Her action to confront these men who are trying to ruin her would show what she has to do as it relates to the questions that Trudy has asked about what is a person willing to do to succeed. Overall, Russell crafts a fascinating though flawed film about a woman who finds her lost potential in creating things and later build an empire.

Cinematographer Linus Sandgren does excellent work with the cinematography with the look of the daytime exteriors with the usage of natural lights while going for something low-key and low for the interior scenes at night. Editors Alan Baumgarten, Jay Cassidy, Tom Cross, and Christopher Tellefsen do nice work with the editing as it is stylized in some parts while it is mainly straightforward to play into the drama. Production designer Judy Becker, with set decorators Gary Alioto and Heather Loeffler plus art director Peter Rogness, does brilliant work with the look of the sets at the QVC building as well as the home where Joy and her family live in plus the garage her father owns. Costume designer Michael Wilkinson does fantastic work with the costumes as it play into something that looks casual in some parts but mainly play into the look of the late 80s/early 90s.

Visual effects supervisors Trent Claus and Gregory D. Liegey do terrific work with the visual effects as it is mainly set dressing for the look of the different places that Joy and other characters go to. Sound designers Jason King and Jay Nierenberg, with sound editor John Ross, do superb work with the sound as it play into the chaos inside Joy’s home as well as the scenes at various gatherings and at the QVC studio. The film’s music by West Dylan Thordson and David Campbell is wonderful for its mixture of orchestral music with bits of rock in parts of the film while music supervisor Susan Jacobs provides a soundtrack that mixes Latin music, pop, rock, and jazz to play into the different worlds that Joy encounters.

The casting by Lindsay Graham and Mary Vernieu is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Donna Mills and Susan Lucci as soap opera actresses, Drena de Niro as a QVC saleswoman in Cindy, Jimmy Jean-Louis as a Haitian repairman in Toussaint whom Terri falls for, Madison Wolfe as the young Peggy, Emily Nunez as the young Jackie, Isabella Crovetti-Cramp as the young Joy, Aundera and Gia Gadsy as Joy/Tony’s daughter Cristy, Tomas and Zeke Elizondo as Joy/Tony’s son Tommy, and Melissa River in a wonderful performance as her late real-life mother Joan Rivers who sells things for QVC as it’s so dead-on. Dascha Polanco is superb as Joy’s best friend Jackie who helps her out with some of the business aspects in selling the mop as well as one of the few who really believes in her product. Virginia Madsen is fantastic as Joy’s mother Terri as a woman who had lost a lot of hope in reality by spending much of her time watching soap operas until she would fall for a repairman and bring some encouragement to Joy.

Isabella Rossellini is excellent as Trudy as an Italian widow who becomes Rudy’s new girlfriend as a woman who isn’t sure about Joy’s new idea as she reluctantly gives her the money only to find a way to get it back. Elisabeth Rohm is brilliant as Joy’s overachieving half-sister Peggy as someone who constantly belittles Joy to prove that she is superior and would end up causing financial trouble for Joy against Joy’s will. Diane Ladd is amazing as Joy’s grandmother Mimi as a woman who is Joy’s greatest supporter as someone who is also a dreamer and had seen a lot of the struggles the family has endured. Edgar Ramirez is incredible as Joy’s ex-husband Tony as a failed musician that doesn’t like Joy’s father very much as he would be the one to get Joy to meet with QVC and be one of her true supporters in her ideas. Bradley Cooper is terrific in a small role as Neil Walker as a QVC executive who sees what Joy has created and decides to help her sell the Miracle Mop in the hope that it would make money.

Robert de Niro is remarkable as Joy’s father Rudy as a man who means well but often embarrasses Joy while often favoring his daughter as it’s a flawed but fun performance from de Niro. Finally, there’s Jennifer Lawrence in a phenomenal performance as the titular character as a mother of two children with an ex-husband that is dealing with her life believing she’s failed until she came up with another idea as it is one of Lawrence’s finest performances.

Joy is a stellar though flawed film from David O. Russell that features an incredible leading performance from Jennifer Lawrence. Along with its supporting cast, cool score, and an engaging story that is very messy in its structure and tone. It’s a film that has a fascinating look into the life of Joy Mangano though it tends to overwhelm itself with all of the family drama and wanting to be this study into the cutthroat world of business. In the end, Joy is a very good film from David O. Russell.

David O. Russell Films: Spanking the Monkey – Flirting with Disaster – Three Kings - I Heart Huckabees – The Fighter - Silver Linings Playbook - American Hustle - Accidental Love - The Auteurs #70: David O. Russell

© thevoid99 2017

Enemy (2013 film)

Based on the novel The Double by Jose Saramago, Enemy is the story of a man who learns that he has a double who looks a lot like him as his life begins to unravel. Directed by Denis Villeneuve and screenplay by Javier Gullon, the film is a study of identity and a man coping with the idea of having a double. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Melanie Laurent, Sarah Gadon, and Isabella Rossellini. Enemy is a provocative yet eerie film from Denis Villeneuve.

The film follows a college history professor whose dull and unfulfilling life is changed when he rents a movie which features an appearance by someone who looks exactly likes him where he tries to find out who he is and what connection they have. It’s a film that never reveals what it is about other than a man trying to find about his double prompting the double to find out more about this man. Javier Gullon’s screenplay is filled with a lot of ambiguities and ideas about identity relating to this man who learns about the idea of having someone who looks exactly like him. There are also these elements of strange symbolism as it relates to spiders as it play into the different personalities of the history professor Adam Bell (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his double in a former local actor in Anthony Claire (Jake Gyllenhaal). Adam is a quieter and more reserved individual while Anthony is more lively and outgoing as it add to this element of duality between these two when they would eventually meet. Anthony’s pregnant wife Helen (Sarah Gadon) would find out about Adam as she would meet him though he has no idea who she is which only prompts Anthony to confront this man who has been trying to find him.

Denis Villeneuve’s direction is definitely entrancing from this strange opening sequence of Adam/Anthony going into this mysterious erotic show where it is filled with symbolism and then shifts into something normal as it relates to the monotony that is Adam’s life. It’s a life that has a routine where he goes to work at a college in Toronto, goes back to his apartment, have a visit from his girlfriend Mary (Melanie Laurent), have sex with her, and then go to sleep. It’s a simple though dull routine until a colleague of Adam suggested him a movie to watch as it would change everything as Villeneuve maintains an intimacy through his compositions in the usage of close-ups and medium shots to play into the drama. The film is shot on location in Toronto as this city that very modern but also chaotic as it play into this troubling sense of duality and clashing personalities of Adam and Anthony where there is one moment in the film where a gigantic spider is walking over the city.

The direction also has Villeneuve create elements of surrealism as it relates to the references of spiders as it play into these different personalities of Adam and Anthony. There is a scene during the second act where the former turns to his mother (Isabella Rossellini) as she has no answers and could be hiding something but Villeneuve chooses to remain ambiguous throughout the film. The film’s third act is about control in what Anthony wants to do to Adam where it exhibits all of his darker traits while Adam is just trying to move on from this uneventful meeting. The sense of duality, identity, and ambiguity would loom for much of the film’s third act as well as displaying this air of surrealism which would only create more question than answers. Overall, Villeneuve creates a strange yet evocative film about a man who learns he has a double who looks exactly like him.

Cinematographer Nicolas Bolduc does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of sepia-like colors to create that sense of griminess in some of the exteriors as well as the usage of low-key lights for many of the interiors set at night. Editor Matthew Hannam does excellent work with the editing as it play into the drama as well as the suspense with its rhythmic cuts and a few jump-cuts along the way. Production designer Patrice Vermette, with set decorator Jim Lambie and art director Sean Breaugh, does fantastic work with the look of the apartments that Adam and Anthony live in as well as Adam’s classroom and the video store he goes to find more of the movies Anthony did. Costume designer Renee April does nice work with the costumes as it is mostly casual from more buttoned-down look of Adam to the looser look of Anthony.

Prosthetic designer Adrien Morot does terrific work with one of the film’s key effects which is Helen’s pregnant belly. Visual effects supervisor Vincent Poitras does superb work with the film’s minimal visual effects which is essentially bit of set dressing as well as the look of the giant spider. Sound designer Oriol Tarrago does amazing work with the sound in creating these eerie and low-key textures as it add to the suspense including in some of the film’s quieter moments. The film’s music by Daniel Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans do incredible work with the music as it’s this very ominous and discordant music as it help create this unsettling atmosphere for the film while music supervisor Velma Barkwell provides an offbeat soundtrack that features cuts by Bob Kuban and the In-Men, Jonathan Richman, and the Walker Brothers.

The casting by Deirdre Bowen is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Daryl Dinn as a video store clerk, Joshua Peace as a colleague of Adam, Tim Post as Anthony’s concierge, the trio of Misha Highstead, Megan Mane, and Alexis Ulga as the mysterious women at the erotic underground club, Kedar Brown as a security guard, and Isabella Rossellini in a fantastic performance as Adam’s mother who is shocked by the news about Anthony whom she never knew as she doesn’t want to know more about it while being very ambiguous. Melanie Laurent is excellent as Mary as Adam’s girlfriend who is taken aback by sudden changes in Adam’s behavior after seeing a film Anthony was in as she has no clue what is going on until late in the film. 

Sarah Gadon is brilliant as Helen as Anthony’s pregnant wife who would be the first to know about Adam through a phone call as she becomes troubled by the fact that Anthony has a double as she becomes concerned about Anthony’s behavior. Finally, there’s Jake Gyllenhaal in a phenomenal dual performance as Adam and Anthony where he displays an aloofness and restraint in the former as someone who is nice and sensible while he is more lively but also arrogant and aggressive where Gyllenhaal gives this very chilling performance in playing the complexity of two men discovering themselves.

Enemy is a sensational film from Denis Villeneuve that features an incredible leading performance from Jake Gyllenhaal. Along with its supporting cast, eerie sound design, haunting score, harrowing visuals, and an ambiguously offbeat story. It’s a film that doesn’t provide any kind of answer but rather a lot of intrigue where it dares the audience to ask a lot of questions as well as provide their own interpretation about identity and chaos. In the end, Enemy is a spectacular film from Denis Villeneuve.

Denis Villeneuve Films: August 32nd on Earth – Maelstrom – Polytechnique – Incendies - Prisoners (2013 film) - Sicario - Arrival (2016 film) - Blade Runner 2049 - Dune-Part One (2021 film) - Dune-Part Two - (Dune: Messiah) - The Auteurs #68: Denis Villeneuve

© thevoid99 2017

The Impostors

Written, directed and co-starring Stanley Tucci, The Impostors is the story of two struggling actors who accidentally stow away on a cruise to run from an egomaniacal actor while meeting with an array of offbeat passengers and crew members. The film is a farcical comedy where it involves many people who pretend to be someone else while dealing the need to act in order to save themselves. Also starring Oliver Platt, Alfred Molina, Lili Taylor, Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, Steve Buscemi, Michael Emerson, Billy Connolly, Dana Ivey, Allison Janney, Richard Jenkins, Tony Shalhoub, and Isabella Rosselini. The Impostors is a rip-roaring and exhilarating film from Stanley Tucci.

Set during the Great Depression in New York City, the film revolves around the misadventure of two struggling actors who receive tickets to a show starring an egomaniacal actor where they insult him at a bar only to go on the run and find themselves as stowaways on a cruise ship. It’s a film that play into two men who are trying to make it as actors but upon learning they’re on a cruise ship where they pretend to be stewards. Stanley Tucci’s screenplay is quite loose where it plays into these misadventures of Maurice (Oliver Platt) and Arthur (Stanley Tucci) to them trying to get food as they’re unemployed as well as what goes on in the ship as they encounter a series of offbeat passenger and crew members. Among them is a deposed queen (Isabella Rosselini), a heartbroken singer (Steve Buscemi), a once-rich-turned poor widow (Dana Ivey) with her grieving daughter (Hope Davis), a possibly gay tennis pro (Billy Connolly), and other oddball characters. Adding to the turmoil is the fact that the famed but arrogant actor Jeremy Burtom (Alfred Molina) is also on the ship.

Tucci’s direction is definitely stylish starting with an opening credits sequence where Maurice and Arthur cause trouble as a way to avoid paying for coffee and food as it’s presented like a silent movie. Then it becomes partially straightforward with elements of slapstick comedy where some of it is shot partially in New York City while much of it is shot on a soundstage for the scenes set on the cruise ship. While Tucci would create some amazing compositions with the wide and medium shots, much of it presented loosely where he allows his actors to just create performances that are exaggerated. While it does help to tell the story, there is an element where it feels self-indulgent at times but Tucci wants to create something where the actors are there to have fun and allow themselves to over-act at times. Overall, Tucci creates a silly yet extremely fun film about two actors who stowaway on a cruise and try to find a way to solve problems through the power of acting.

Cinematographer Ken Kelsch does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the colorful and sunny look of the daytime New York City exteriors to the look of the many interiors on the cruise ship as well as some of its exteriors. Editor Suzy Elmiger does brilliant work with the editing as its usage of jump-cuts and other rhythmic cuts play into its humor and lively tone. Production designer Andrew Jackness, with set decorator Catherine Davis and art director Chris Shriver does amazing work with the look of the cruise ship with its exteriors as well as some of the interiors of the rooms and ballroom in the ship. Costume designer Juliet Polcsa does fantastic work with the design of the clothes from the clothes of the men including the lavish look of Burtom and the dresses that the women wear.

Hair stylists Victor DeNicola and Carla White do nice work with the hairstyles the women wore in those times along with some of the wigs that some of the characters wear. Sound editor Robert Hein does terrific work with the sound in the way some of the sound effects are presented as well as the sparse moment in the play scene. The film’s music by Gary DeMichele is wonderful for its ragtime/jazz-based score that played into the period of the times while music supervisor Margot Core creates a soundtrack that play into that period including some old music in French as it relates to the destination of where the ship is going to.

The casting by Ellen Lewis is incredible for the ensemble that is created as it feature some notable small roles from David Lipman as a baker Arthur harasses and gives Maurice tickets to a show, Matt Malloy as a fellow actor that Maurice and Arthur knows who had been humiliated by Burtom, Lewis J. Stadlen as a band leader, Elizabeth Bracco as an entertainment director for the cruise, Allan Corduner as the ship’s captain, Michael Emerson as Burtom’s assistant, Teagle F. Bougere as a sheik who has a fondness for a certain French song, Matt McGrath as an Italian detective named Marco who is afraid to kill as he has feelings for one of the ship’s directors in Lily, and Woody Allen in an un-credited yet funny performance as a neurotic stage director Maurice and Arthur audition for. Richard Jenkins and Allison Janney are superb in their respective roles as the con artists Johnny and Maxine as Americans who pretend to be French as they both try to woo Mrs. Essendine and the sheik. Tony Shalhoub is stellar as the ship’s first mate Voltri as a man who runs the ship but also has some very dark motives of his own.

Dana Ivey is wonderful as the widowed Mrs. Essendine who is upset that her late husband didn’t leave her a cent while Hope Davis is terrific as her daughter Emily who grieves for her father and acts melancholy until she notices the heartbroken singer. Isabella Rossellini is fantastic as the veiled queen who laments over being deposed and not want to be seen as she is fun to watch while Campbell Scott is hilarious as the German cruise director Meistrich who has a thing for Lily where he is just a hoot. Billy Connolly is excellent as the tennis pro Sparks who definitely bear some homosexual tendencies as he is fond of Maurice while Steve Buscemi is amazing as the suicidal and heartbroken singer Happy Franks. 

Lili Taylor is brilliant as a cruise director in Lily who befriends Maurice and Arthur as she tries to help them hide as well as deal with Meistrich. Alfred Molina is phenomenal as the egomaniacal actor Jeremy Burtom as a man who is quite full of himself and isn’t aware that he’s just a hack. Finally, there’s the duo of Stanley Tucci and Oliver Platt in remarkable performances in their respective roles as Arthur and Maurice as two unemployed struggling actors trying to get work where an awkward moment with Burtom leads them to accidentally stow away on a cruise where they do whatever they can to hide as they use their acting skills to save them.

The Impostors is a sensational film from Stanley Tucci. Featuring a great cast, amazing set pieces, lively music, and a willingness to just let loose and have fun. It’s a film that is aware that it’s being indulgent while giving the actors a chance to just act out and be funny. In the end, The Impostors is a spectacular film from Stanley Tucci.

Stanley Tucci Films: (Big Night) - (Joe Gould’s Secret) - (Blind Date (2007 film))

© thevoid99 2016

Chicken with Plums

Based on the graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, Poulet aux prunes (Chicken with Plums) is the story about the final days of a violinist as he recalls his life and the love that he lost. Written for the screen and directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Parronaud, the film is a look into the life of a musician whose passion for music has him being conflicted with the realities of his own life as he continually thinks about the woman he loved and lost. Starring Mathieu Almaric, Edouard Baer, Maria de Medeiros, Golshifteh Farahani, Eric Caravaca, Chiara Mastroianni, Jamel Debbouze, and Isabella Rossellini. Poulet aux prunes is a ravishing yet heartfelt film from Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Parronaud.

The film is this visually-imaginative tale about the life of Nasser Ali Khan (Mathieu Almaric) in the eight final days of his life as he is a man eager to find the right violin to replace the one his wife Faranguisse (Maria de Medeiros) had destroyed out of anger. After some trials and tribulations where he traveled all the way to find the right one, it becomes clear that his journey had been unfulfilling as he spends these last eight days wanting to die and thinking about his life. Notably as he thinks about the love of his life in Iran (Golshifteh Farahani) whom he had fallen in love with when he was a young man but circumstances kept them apart forcing him to channel his pain through his playing where they wouldn’t see each other for more than 20 years.

The screenplay by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Parronaud takes Satrapi’s story about this man who is really her uncle as he had led a life that was quite adventurous but also troubled due to the heartbreak he endures as well as how his life turned out. Yet, the narrative isn’t told in a conventional manner as it sort of moves back-and-forth to those eight final days to the life that Nasser Ali had as a child to an adult. The material about Nasser Ali’s life is also told in an unconventional manner by showing parts of his life in a non-linear manner as it relates to his relationship with his mother (Isabella Rossellini) and his younger brother Abdi (Eric Caravaca). There’s also moments in the story where Nasser Ali thinks about his children when they become adults where his daughter Lili (Chiara Mastroianni) would endure her own troubles while his son Cyrus (Christian Friedel) conforms to the mediocre life in America. Though Nasser Ali wasn’t the perfect father, he was at least there for his kids as it would involve their more uptight mother.

The film’s direction is definitely full of imagination in the way they recreate 1958 Tehran and the years before that as it has a wonderful sense of style where a lot of its dramatic moments are straightforward but are filled with very mesmerizing shots. Some of the more stranger moments involves lots of bizarre visual effects and makeup work to play up the sense of fantasy that Nasser Ali had lived in as it includes moments of death and other strange sequences. Some of which involved animated sequences where it plays to the story about Azrael, the Angel of Death (Edouard Baer) during a meeting with Nasser Ali. There are also moments where reality clashes with surrealism in a scene where Nasser Ali meets a strange man about the ideas of death. It all plays into this journey of loss as the overall result is a fascinating yet enchanting tale in the life of a man by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Parronaud.

Cinematographer Christopher Beaucarne does amazing work with the film‘s colorful photography from the look of 1958 Tehran with some of its lighting schemes to the more entrancing shading for some of the film’s interior scenes. Editor Stephane Roche does brilliant work with the editing in creating some montages to play up Nasser Ali‘s love life with Iran to some of the more comical moments involving the life of the adult Cyrus. Production designer Udo Kramer and set decorator Bernhard Henrich do fantastic work with the set pieces from the look of 1958 Tehran and some of the strange set pieces involving Nasser Ali’s life and his family.

Costume designer Madeline Fontaine does wonderful work with the period costumes from the suits that Nasser Ali wears to the colorful dresses of the women in Nasser Ali‘s life. Makeup supervisor Nathalie Tissier does terrific work with some of the makeup from the look of Azrael to the look of Iran in the years of her life. Visual effects supervisor Damien Stumpf does excellent work with some of the backdrops of Tehran of the times to some of the stranger moments to play up the idea of soul and faith. Sound designer Yves Renard and sound editor David Vranken do superb work with the sound to create some sound effects to the intimate moments involving his family. The film’s music by Olivier Bernet is exquisite for its mixture of classical music to more traditional Iranian music to play up the sense of melancholia in the film while music supervisor Elisse Luguren provides some of the classical pieces that Nasser Ali plays.

The casting by Anja Dihrberg does phenomenal work with the ensemble as it features appearances from Mathis Bour and Enna Balland in their respective roles as the young Cyrus and Lili, Julia Goldstern as the adult Cyrus’ wife, Chiara Mastroianni as the mysterious adult Lili, Christian Friedel as the dim-witted adult version of Cyrus, Serge Avedikian as Iran’s father, and Isabella Rossellini in a wonderful performance as Nasser Ali’s mother. Jamel Debbouze is excellent in a dual performance as an antiques dealer and a mysterious homeless man while Edouard Baer is terrific as the very chilling Azrael. Eric Caravaca is superb as Nasser Ali’s younger brother Abdi who always care for him while dealing with the decision he’s making in his life.

Maria de Medeiros is brilliant as Nasser Ali’s very proper but uptight wife Faranguisse as a woman who doesn’t understand what it’s like to be with an artist while being unaware of how much pain he has endured in his life. Golshifteh Farahani is fantastic as Iran as a woman who falls for Nasser Ali only to be forced to leave him as she would also endure the kind of pain of what she loses. Finally, there’s Mathieu Almaric in a remarkable performance as Nasser Ali Khan as a man who is a gifted violinist that is adored by everyone but hides the pain of his loss as he becomes more lost in his final days as he looks back as it’s one of Almaric’s finest performances.

Poulet aux prunes is a dazzling and imaginative film from Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Parronaud that features a brilliant performance from Mathieu Almaric. It’s a film that is filled with amazing images and a heartfelt story about the life of a musician that is told with an element of fantasy and drama. Especially as it carries something very personal as it is about Satrapi’s uncle. In the end, Poulet aux prunes is a sensational film from Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Parronaud.

Marjane Satrapi Films: Persepolis - The Voices (2014 film) - (Gang of the Jota) - (Radioactive (2019 film)

© thevoid99 2013

Roger Dodger

Written and directed by Dylan Kidd, Roger Dodger is the story of a womanizing businessman who takes his visiting 16-year old nephew on a night on the town to meet women. There, the man tries to teach his nephew the ways to get laid and be a ladies man. Starring Campbell Scott, Jesse Eisenberg, Elizabeth Berkley, Jennifer Beals, and Isabella Rossellini. Roger Dodger is a witty yet engrossing comedy from Dylan Kidd.

Roger Swanson is a cynical and chauvinistic advertising copywriter who had just been dumped by his own boss Joyce (Isabella Rossellini). Needing to hang around in bars to tell women all of the things they’re doing with the wrong men, Roger is looking to score. Then on a workday where Joyce is having a party as he is uninvited, Roger’s 16-year old nephew Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) makes an unexpected visit as he arrived for an interview with Columbia University. The two chat as Roger decides to take the socially-awkward Nick on a night on the town to show the way to win the heart of a woman and score. After a few pointers, the two arrive at a bar where they meet two beautiful women in Andrea (Elizabeth Berkley) and Sophie (Jennifer Beals). Though Roger tries to help Nick score with the two ladies, Nick’s shy persona manages to win them over despite Roger’s aggressive behavior.

Later that night, Roger decides to crash Joyce’s party to give Nick another shot to score. There, Nick meets Joyce’s drunk secretary Donna (Mina Badie) while Roger hopes to get some revenge on Joyce after learning that is friend Donovan (Ben Shenkman) is going out with her. Though Nick takes a chance to score with Donna, he couldn’t leaving Roger upset over the night as Nick desperate pleads for one more shot. What would happen have Roger question about what he’s doing for his young nephew.

The film is essentially the tale of a man teaching his young nephew how to score with women only to get a few lessons about what kind of man he really is. It’s a plot that is quite simple as writer/director Dylan Kidd explores a man who is essentially a scorned prick that has very cynical views about women and the way he treats them. When he’s dumped by his much older yet more experienced woman who treats Roger the same way he treats women. This would lead him to find a way to exact revenge while helping out his young nephew in the ways of winning this woman over. Though there’s a lot about Roger that is un-likeable, he is still an interesting character who is trying to navigate the world of winning a woman over while telling them that they should go for a guy like him instead of the usual sleaze balls that are all over New York City.

With his nephew on board, Roger would show him how to win a girl over through confidence and a coolness though it is a bit much to the more awkward Nick. What happens is that Nick’s awkwardness and honesty manages to win over some older ladies while he also does something that his uncle is able to do. He acts like a gentleman in the most surprising way much to his uncle’s chagrin although it’s all about trying to get laid. Kidd’s screenplay is very loose in its storytelling as it’s driven by lots of dialogue that is quite engaging about the way men try to win over a woman. He also creates character that are very unique and flawed while finding a way for Roger to show that he isn’t a total prick late in the film. After all, he is an uncle who realizes he is responsible for this young kid that is way over his head in his quest to get laid.

Kidd’s direction is very engaging in its cinema verite style as he always has the camera on something. Shot on location in New York City and with a hand-held camera, Kidd goes for a style that is entrancing where he is often shooting from afar for a few scenes. Some of it is to create the kind of atmosphere that is New York City as a man takes this young teen to a world where it’s go-go-go. With these entrancing shots and amazing close-ups, Kidd definitely creates a film that is very smart but also engrossing for its compelling story of a man teaching a teen how to score.

Cinematographer Joaquin Baca-Asay does excellent work with the wonderful look of the NYC nightlife for its gorgeous exterior settings to more low-key yet atmospheric touches for the interior scenes. Editor Andy Keir does a fantastic job with the editing to play up the swift rhythm of the conversations at the bar to the methodical pacing for Roger to help teach Nick in the ways to woo a woman. Production designer Stephanie Beatrice, along with set decorator Brenna Griffin and art director Dina Varano, does nice work with the set pieces created such as Joyce‘s lavish apartment and its lobby to the more simple look of Roger in his home apartment.

Costume designer Amy Wescott does very good work with the costumes from the stylish dresses the women wear to the more casual look of Nick. Sound recordist Theresa Radka does terrific work with the sound to capture the raucous world of the NYC nightlife in its parties, bars, and some of exterior parts of the city. The film’s score by Craig Wedren is superb for its low-key electronic-jazz score that features pieces co-written with former Nine Inch Nails keyboardist Lee Mars to play up the energy of the NYC nightlife.

The casting by Laylee Olfat and Marcia Turner is brilliant for the array of actors that is cast for this film. Among the small but notable appearances for the film, there’s Morena Baccarin as a woman in the bar Roger tries to warn, Courtney Simon as Nick’s mother, Chris Stack as a co-worker of Roger‘s, Mina Badie as Joyce’s secretary whom Nick meets at a party, and Ben Shenkman as a friend of Roger who would end up being Joyce’s new boyfriend. Isabella Rossellini is wonderful as Roger’s boss/ex-girlfriend Joyce who treats Roger in a similar way in the way he treats women only to torment him with her wisdom. Elizabeth Berkley and Jennifer Beals are great in their respective roles as Andrea and Sophie who are wowed by Nick’s awkwardness as well as his honesty.

Campbell Scott is amazing as the smarmy Roger who tries to score with women with his thoughts on life and everything else while teaching his young nephew in how to win a woman. It’s a very charismatic and broad performance from Scott as he definitely rises up to the challenge and more for this part. Finally, there’s Jesse Eisenberg in a true breakthrough performance as Nick. Bringing a real sense of low-key humor to his awkward character, there’s an innocence to Eisenberg’s performance as this young kid who has no clue on how to woo a woman while doing things in the most surprising manner. It is definitely one of the great performance for any newcomer as it’s definitely the start of a tremendous career for Eisenberg.

Roger Dodger is an extraordinary comedy from Dylan Kidd that features top-notch performances from Campbell Scott and Jesse Eisenberg. Along with a wonderful supporting female cast that features Elizabeth Berkley, Jennifer Beals, and Isabella Rossellini. It’s a film that allows audience to see how a man tries to navigate his nephew into scoring with them. In the end, Roger Dodger is a smart and entertaining film from Dylan Kidd.

© thevoid99 2012

The Saddest Music in the World

Directed by Guy Maddin and written with George Toles based on a script by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Saddest Music in the World tells the story of a beer magnet who creates a contest to find the saddest music in the world during the Great Depression. A comic musical that is presented in the style of early 20th Century cinema of silent films, it is a film where Maddin brings an old cinematic style back to the 21st Century. Starring Isabella Rossellini, Mark McKinney, David Fox, Ross McMillan, and Maria de Medeiros. The Saddest Music in the World is a cosmic yet enriching film from Guy Maddin.

It’s 1933 during the Great Depression in Winnipeg as a beer baroness named Lady Port-Hunley (Isabella Rossellini) holds a contest to find the saddest music in the world. The prize is $25,000 as she hopes to get people to buy her beer once Prohibition ends as joining the competition is a failed American producer named Chester Kent (Mark McKinney) who hopes to win with help from his amnesiac girlfriend Narcissa (Maria de Medeiros). Also entering the contest is Kent’s father Fydor (David Fox) who plans to represent Canada as he is carrying the guilt over what happened to Port-Hunley’s legs as she was once Chester’s lover. Even as Chester has been seeing Port-Hunley hoping to get back in her good graces by charming her.

Also entering the contest is Chester’s older brother Roderick (Ross McMillan) who is to represent Serbia as he is still in mourning over the loss of his son as well as his wife’s disappearance. Roderick is happy to see his father though neither are very happy to see Chester who often serves as the brunt of their own issues. Chester gloats about the idea of winning as the Kents compete with Chester and Roderick playing different styles of music. Chester with lavish productions and Roderick playing his cello as they teach the finals while Chester buys out the countries he’s beaten. Yet, Roderick is haunted by Narcissa’s presence as she sings on Chester’s performances while Fydor creates glass legs filled with beer for the baroness in hopes for her forgiveness.

Roderick presents the legs to the baroness as she is overjoyed but it only furthers the wedge between the brothers. Even as Roderick hopes to win even more not just for himself but for everything he had lost.

The film is about a contest to find the saddest music in the world prompting three men from the same family to compete for the money. Yet, two of the family members have more honorable reasons to win while the youngest brother is more interested to wipe his debts and win back the baroness for selfish reasons. The film begins with Chester meeting a strange medicine man (Louis Negin) who casts a strange premonition about Chester’s fate. Yet, Chester scoffs this premonition as he continues to be this happy yet arrogant man that wants to win money while juggling two women at the same time.

The screenplay by Guy Maddin and George Toles is truly mystical in its setting while creating lively characters with elements of satires about these contests. Yet, it’s in Maddin’s direction that gives the story something far more imaginative than what the script could suggest. Since Maddin presents the film in a period of 1920s/1930s style of cinema with grainy film stock as if it’s making a film in the 1930s. There is something to the look of it that is truly out of this world as Maddin even creates something that is dream-like to the film with a lot of black-and-white and some color shots. Setting it in his home of Winnipeg adds a more personal feel as the compositions and shots he creates is very engaging. Overall, Maddin creates what is definitely a dazzling film to watch.

Cinematographer Luc Montpellier does a phenomenal job with the film‘s cinematography by taking in different film stocks from Super 8mm, 16mm, and 35mm to create a film that is dream-like. While the majority of the film is shot in black-and-white, some of it is presented in grainy color where some parts of the film is shot like a home movie. Editor David Wharnsby does an incredible job with the editing in creating a stylish approach by using jump-cuts to play up with the music and for some of the dramatic moments of the film.

Production designer Matthew Davies, along with set decorator Stephen Arndt and art director Rejean Labrie, does a spectacular job with the creation of 1930s Winnipeg along with the look of the contest and the beer pool Costume designer Meg McMillan does a fabulous job with the costumes from the black clothes that Roderick wears to the lavish look of the baroness along with her beer-glass legs that is the highlight of the costumes. Sound designer David Rose and sound editor David McCallum do a great job with the sound work to by capturing the energy of the contests along with the sounds that is more in tune with what films sounded like back in that period.

The film’s music by Christopher Dedrick is superb for its melodramatic orchestral music that is mixed in with upbeat pieces that is true to that period of the Depression. The rest of the music soundtrack that supervised by Brenda Blake features show tunes from Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II to play up the lavishness of Chester’s performances along with a classical piece from Frederic Chopin for Roderick‘s piece.

The casting by John Buchan is brilliant as the film features memorable small roles from Jeff Sutton and Graeme Valentin as the young Chester and Roderick, respectively, along with Claude Dorge and Talia Pura as the broadcasters commenting on the contest. Other notable small roles include Louis Negin as the medicine man and Darcy Fehr as the baroness’ lover Teddy. David Fox is excellent as Fydor Kent, the recovering-alcoholic father haunted by his own actions as he hopes to win the baroness’ forgiveness while helping out Roderick with his own issues. Ross McMillan is superb as Roderick Kent, a musician still dealing with his son’s death as he is haunted by the presence of Narcissa while becoming determined to defeat his arrogant younger brother.

Maria de Medeiros is wonderful as Narcissa, an amnesiac who has a gorgeous voice while wondering about the Kent brothers as she becomes interested in Roderick. Mark McKinney is great as Chester Kent, the arrogant brother with lavish ideas as McKinney brings a winning smile throughout the film as he creates a character that is un-likeable yet very charming. Finally, there’s Isabella Rossellini in a fantastic performance as Lady Port-Hunley, the beer baroness with no legs as she holds a contest while dealing with the Kents. Rossellini’s performance recalls some of bits of her legendary mother Ingrid Bergman in look as there is also a wonderful sense of radiance to her complex yet larger-than-life character.

The Saddest Music in the World is a magnificent film from Guy Maddin that features amazing imagery and ambitious ideas that is topped by a wonderful ensemble led by Isabella Rossellini. Audiences who are new to Maddin will find this film as a wonderful place to start where they even get to see how he takes old 20th Century film style and make it vital again in the 21st Century. In the end, The Saddest Music in the World is a dazzling yet spectacular film from Guy Maddin.

Guy Maddin Films: (Tales of the Gimli Hospital) - (Archangel) - (Careful) - (Twilight of the Ice Nymphs) - (Dracula, Pages from a Virgin’s Diary) - (Cowards Bend the Knee) - (Brand Upon the Brain!) - My Winnipeg

© thevoid99 2011

Wild at Heart

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 10/8/07.

1986's Blue Velvet helped broke David Lynch into the mainstream as he won accolades as well as detractors. After years of trying to attain full creative control and freedom while working with major distributors, Lynch was finally able to do what he wanted. In 1989, Lynch helped create one of the most popular TV shows of the late 80s and early 90s called Twin Peaks that helped him attain more mainstream attention. When Twin Peaks reached a peak in 1990, so was anticipation for Lynch's fifth feature film that was based on Barry Gifford's novel about an ex-con and his girlfriend try to evade her mother while going on a journey leading them into a dark underworld. The film, from that novel, was called Wild at Heart.

Written for the screen and directed by David Lynch, Wild at Heart is an evocative, strange love story that pushes a couple, head over heels, into extremes that would shake their love life. Part road film, part suspense, part drama, and part romance, the film typified the surreal, dark style that David Lynch is known for while delving into new territory that pushed his cinematic style. Starring Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe, Crispin Glover, Diane Ladd, Isabella Rossellini, and Harry Dean Stanton. Wild at Heart is a dreamy, harrowing, and surreal film from David Lynch.

After killing a man in self-defense, Sailor Ripley (Nicolas Cage) is released after 22 months in prison as his beloved Lula Fortune (Laura Dern) waits for him. Not happy about Sailor's release is Lula's mother Marietta (Diane Ladd) who was hoping to rid of the man. Hiring a private detective named Johnnie Farragut (Harry Dean Stanton), she hopes that Johnnie will find Lula. Unfortunately, Marietta has another plan that involves Sailor's former employer named Santos (J.E. Freeman), who wants to put a hit on Sailor on the condition that a hit on Johnnie is in the works as well.

On their destination towards California, they stop at a heavy metal club while staying in motels as they talk about their demons and various confessions. Sailor understands why the man who tried to kill him wanted him dead. He is also aware of Marietta's motives that involved the death of Lula’s father. During a stop to New Orleans, Lula talks about her cousin Dell (Crispin Glover) and his own quirky faults while Sailor talks about a woman he'd been with during his days working for Santos. Realizing the danger that Johnnie is in, Marietta flies to New Orleans to try and give him a warning. Unfortunately, she doesn't as Santos sends a message to Mr. Reindeer (William Shepard Morgan) who sends one of his famed hit people including Juana Durango (Grace Zabriskie) on the job.

After leaving New Orleans, Sailor and Lula continue on their journey as Lula feels haunted in seeing her mother as a witch where their blissful yet strange journey takes a dark encounter. After seeing wrecked cars and a woman (Sherilyn Fenn) walking around in her own blood, things start to fall apart. With Santos still working towards Sailor, the couple make a stop in a small town in Texas. Sailor meets Perdita Durango (Isabella Rossellini) about knowledge on a possible hit which she denied. Stopping at a nearby motel to give their car a rest, Lula finds herself ill. Sailor meets with a man named Bobby Peru (Willem Dafoe) who helps the two as he learns about Lula's illness. Realizing that he's short on cash, Sailor becomes tempted by Peru about a job, that would eventually cost him everything he holds dear.

While the film is essentially a love story, in reality. It is a love story set in a world of escapism. It's about this couple who are deeply in love with each other that everything seems to start out fine despite whatever demons they're carrying. Then when the journey starts to hit a bump, reality starts to set in and the two basically couldn't deal with it. While there's several subplots that involve the crazed mind of Marietta, the mob, Santos, and other assorted characters. Fortunately for Lynch's approach to Barry Gifford's novel, the adaptation works for Lynch's unique vision.

The direction that is filled with surreal imagery, evocative shots, images of fire, and dreamy compositions is pure Lynch. The images of fire including matches being struck are wonderful symbols to convey the passion that burns inside Sailor and Lula. The film also contains numerous references to The Wizard of Oz that included witch-like characters, mentions of the yellow brick robe, and an orb that one of the witches looks into. Overall, Lynch creates a film that's almost dreamy yet eerie where something is about to happen and it ain't going to be good. Despite all of these wonderful ideas, not everything works where at times, some of those ideas is used repeatedly that it eventually wears out. Still, Lynch's approach to storytelling, even in a love story as strange as this works in almost every level.

Cinematographer Frederick Elmes brings some amazing camera work from the color palettes and sheer imagery in the sex scenes to wonderful, dreamy exterior shots in one daytime scene along with dark, colorful lighting in the nighttime scenes. Elmes' camera work is very sharp and jaw-dropping with every image and shot that's captured on film. Editor Duwayne Dunham brings a wonderful, stylized approach to the film's pacing and scene shifting to convey the sense of horror and excitement that surrounds the film's central characters. Sound designer Randy Thom use of sound ranging from the spark of matches to the atmosphere of the road is evocative with the film's dark tone.

Production designer Patricia Norris creates a wonderful look for the film with use of real locations, hotels, and such while decorating things that aren't usually seen in a motel room or a bank. Costume designer Amy Stofsky creates a wonderful look for the costumes whether it's the array of clothes that Diane Ladd wear, the skinny dresses of Laura Dern, or the black clothes that some of the men wear. The snakeskin jacket (don't insult the jacket) was actually Nicolas Cage's until he gave it to Laura Dern at the end of shooting. Hair stylist Frida Aradottir and make-up artist Michelle Buhler also do great work for a few characters whether it's the array of hair style for Diane Ladd to the strange, dirty, gold blond hair that both Grace Zabriskie and Isabella Rossellini wear as well as their looks in make-up.

The film's music and soundtrack features a wonderful, sweeping film score from longtime Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti. The operatic-like orchestral score works to convey the dream-like, fantasy tone of the film while also bringing in some suspenseful music to convey its horror. Also from Badalamenti is elements of jazz to set the mood for some sequences in New Orleans. The rest of the soundtrack is diverse that includes a thrash metal accompaniment from the band Powermad, jazz singer Koko Taylor, old-school rock classics from Gene Vincent and Them, and some dreamy, seductive cuts from Chris Issak that included the hit song Wicked Games. The soundtrack and score is one of the film's greatest highlights that included Nicolas Cage doing some great rendition of a couple of classic songs by Elvis Presley.

The film's cast is wonderfully diverse filled with an array of characters that can almost be described as Fellini-esque or rather, Lynchian. Featuring appearances from John Lurie, Pruitt Vince Taylor, and Lynch regular Jack Nance in Texas trailer park scene along with Marvin Kaplan as Lula's Uncle Pooch, Frances Bay as Reindeer’s top madam, Calvin Lockhart as Juana's lover, and Gregg Dandridge as Bob Ray Lemon, the man who is killed in the film's opening scene by Sailor. Twin Peaks stars Sherilyn Fenn and Sheryl Lee make memorable, great appearances in the film with Fenn as an important plot point and Lee as a good witch. William Morgan Sheppard is great as the crime boss Mr. Reindeer who surrounds himself with topless women and such.

J.E. Freeman is wonderful as the crazed Santos who is a great organizer and charmer as he’s one of those bad guys who that people will love to hate. Grace Zabriskie is great in her brief appearance as Juana Durango that is just a shock to watch as her appearance is both funny and scary. Harry Dean Stanton is perfect in his role as Johnnie Farragut, a detective who loves Marietta but tries to do what is right for everyone. Though his role is brief, Crispin Glover is amazing as the crazy Cousin Dell who loves to press on torn-up sandwiches, being afraid of black gloves, and wearing cockroach-surrounded underwear.

Isabella Rossellini is wonderful in her brief appearance as Perdita Durango, sporting a dirty, blond look and a black dress, Rossellini's performance is a joy to watch as she even likes to get a little dirty. Willem Dafoe also makes a great appearance as Bobby Peru sporting some god awful teeth, saying some funny jokes, and just has this malicious grin that is fun to watch. Dafoe is truly one of the most diverse actors as he proves he can be very bad and extremely funny. Diane Ladd is brilliant in an over-the-top performance as the witch-like Marietta. Ladd's performance is wonderful to watch as if she's having a lot of fun acting with real-life daughter Laura Dern, smear lipstick all over her face, and just go overly-dramatic. It's a fantastic performance from the veteran actress.

Laura Dern is amazing in her role as Lula, this exotic sex-pot who has a wild imagination while hiding her own childhood pain. Dern brings a complexity to the character as she sports a Southern accent while grounding her beloved Sailor. Nicolas Cage is equally as great as the Elvis-like Sailor in a character that's fun to watch. Here's a guy who has swagger, charm, and is also dangerous. He loves his jacket (don't insult the jacket) and he loves his woman. Yet, he's also flawed since he doesn't make the right decisions or try to do what's right for her. The two actors have great chemistry as they exude sexuality and excitement as well as pain that's hurting them inside.

Prior to its premiere at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival, the film was getting into troubled during some poor reception at some test screenings. Then when the film premiered, in competition, at the Cannes Film Festival. It immediately received a divided response from audiences and critics and it only got worse when it surprisingly won the Palme D'or that a mix of cheers and boos happened. When it was officially released in August of that year, mixed reviews happened all over again while Lynch's notorious detractor Roger Ebert gave him another bad review.

Despite recouping its $10 million budget, the film only did OK at the box office as Lynch-mania was now starting to wain. It was also at this time that the second season of Twin Peaks started and everything went to hell as Lynch's career was starting to get into a freefall despite some acclaim for Wild at Heart and an Oscar nomination for Diane Ladd.

While not an entirely perfect film, Wild at Heart is still a wonderful, surreal, and seductive film from David Lynch and company. With a great cast led by Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe, Diane Ladd, Isabella Rossellini, Crispin Glover, Harry Dean Stanton, and J.E. Freeman. It's a film that has all of the touches that David Lynch is known for as well as his diverse group of actors. Those new to the actor should see this after watching Blue Velvet to get familiar with his filmmaking style. For anyone that wants to see a crazy road film that is filled with passion, excitement, and over-the-top scenery, Wild at Heart is the film to go see.

David Lynch Films: Eraserhead - The Elephant Man - Dune - Blue Velvet - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me - Lost Highway - The Straight Story - Mulholland Dr. - INLAND EMPIRE

The Short Films of David Lynch Pt. 1 - The Short Films of David Lynch Pt. 2 - The Music Videos of David Lynch

The Auteurs #50: David Lynch: Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

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