2021 Cannes Marathon: The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)

 

(Winner of the Palm Dog Award to Einstein at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival)

Written and directed by Noah Baumbach, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) is the story of a group of adult siblings who cope with their failings as they continue to live in the shadow of their famous father. The film is an exploration into family dysfunction as siblings all reunite to celebrate their father despite their own issues as they deal with the many faults of their father. Starring Dustin Hoffman, Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Elizabeth Marvel, Grace Van Patten, Adam Driver, Candice Bergen, Judd Hirsch, Rebecca Miller, and Emma Thompson. The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) is a witty yet riveting film from Noah Baumbach.

The film follows the lives of a family whose patriarch is a famous sculptor in the twilight years of his life while his fame and modest success has managed to overshadow his three children who all cope with their own disappointment towards themselves and not living up to his fame. It’s a film that takes a simple premise of family dysfunction as three adult siblings cope with their own lives as they all have to tend to their father who is starting to go through health issues but also unruly behavior in the way he reacts toward certain things. Noah Baumbach’s screenplay has a structure that does focus on these three siblings but also one of the sibling’s kids who has just entered college as it showcase not just trying to cope with the family patriarch but also themselves. The eldest in Danny (Adam Sandler) had just split up from his wife as he’s in New York City taking his 18-year old daughter Eliza to Bard where she is planning to study film while Danny is moving in with his father in Harold Meyerowitz (Dustin Hoffman) and hippy stepmother Maureen (Emma Thompson).

Also at the home is his younger sister Jean (Elizabeth Marvel) who is spending time to help out her father following an injury he suffered involving the dog while Maureen often goes away for seminars only to come back drunk. Danny and Jean are upset to learn that Maureen is planning to sell the family home as well as some of Harold’s art work with their younger half-brother Matthew (Ben Stiller) handling all of the finances. The unemployed Danny and Jean agree to create a retrospective at the Bard for Harold following an event for Harold’s old friend L.J. Shapiro (Judd Hirsch) where Danny reunited with his childhood friend in Shapiro’s daughter Loretta (Rebecca Miller). Yet, that event would prompt some issues from Harold who is jealous towards Shaprio’s success claiming that Shapiro is mediocre compared to himself. The section on Matthew who visits New York City from Los Angeles where he is starting his own accounting business deals with the fact that his own success doesn’t really impress his father as it also causes resentment from his half-siblings whom he is convinced are damaged because of their father. When Harold becomes ill due to the injuries he had sustained some time earlier, the siblings and Eliza deal with the possibility of his impending death as the script also showcase dialogue where Baumbach often have characters talking over one another as it play into the dysfunction of themselves and relationship with one another.

Baumbach’s direction does have some style yet much of his compositions are straightforward as much of the film is shot on location in New York City as well as areas upstate with Sarah Lawrence College playing the role of Bard. Baumbach does use wide shots that do play into some of the locations but much of his compositions emphasize on close-ups and medium shots to play into the interaction between the characters in the film. Notably as there are these elements that feel loose such as the first scene of Danny trying to find an open parking spot as he and Eliza are about to meet Harold as Baumbach also play into some of the awkwardness that is happening that includes some of the strange cuisine that Maureen has created. Baumbach’s approach to humor doesn’t play into these sexually-provocative student films that Eliza has created for her film class but also in the way the siblings react to a situation involving their father such as a scene of Matthew trying to go after a man who had mistakenly taken Harold’s coat.

Baumbach also plays into these moments of tension as it relates to Matthew’s absentee presence as it showcases a man who is still dealing with the fact that he has issues with his dad while his mother Julia (Candice Bergen) who was Harold’s third wife feels guilty over the way she treated Danny and Jean. The scenes in the second half as it relates to Harold being hospitalized and the idea of him dying does come into play where Jean does reveal a harrowing story of what happened to her as a teenager in relation to a friend of Harold a long time ago. It is followed by a moment of comical bonding for Danny and Matthew yet it would be followed by the two going to their father’s retrospective with Jean and Eliza as it showcases the pain that their father caused towards them. The film’s chapters emphasize on Danny, Matthew, Harold’s health, Jean’s story, and a final chapter on Harold’s fate but also the future that is Eliza. Yet, its ending is about these three siblings as they try to cope with their father’s shadow and how they would break out of it. Overall, Baumbach crafts a funny yet somber film about a family coping with the disappointments of their lives and the emotional chaos laid upon them from their father.

Cinematographer Robbie Ryan does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography to capture the autumn-like season of New York City and areas upstate including Massachusetts for the scenes at the hospital while maintaining some low-key lights for some of the interior scenes at night. Editor Jennifer Lame does excellent work with the editing as its usage of jump-cuts help play into some of the film’s emotionally-intense scenes along with some stylish cuts for Eliza’s student films. Production designer Gerald Sullivan, with set decorator Kris Moran and art director Nicolas Locke, does fantastic work with the look of the home that Harold and Maureen have in the city as well as Maureen’s country home upstate as it is filled with all sorts of things including the former’s art work. Costume designer Joseph G. Aulisi does amazing work with the costumes from some of the clothes that Eliza wears to the strange and hippie clothing of Maureen.

Special effects supervisor Jeff Brink and visual effects supervisor Andrew Lim do terrific work on some of the film’s minimal effects that mainly is featured in some of Eliza’s student films. Sound editor Paul Hsu does superb work with the sound in some of the sound effects that are created for Eliza’s student films but also in being straightforward of the way a gathering sounds like or how things sound in a location such as Matthew talking to his son on the phone while at a gas station. The film’s music by Randy Newman is wonderful with its low-key yet piano-based score that plays into some of the film’s melancholia with some string-based pieces in some of the dramatic moments while Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham provide some offbeat music pieces for Eliza’s student films. Music supervisor George Drakoulias creates a fun soundtrack that features music from Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force, Cameo, Prefab Sprouts, and a few classical pieces and some original songs written by Adam Sandler and Noah Baumbach.

The casting by Douglas Aibel and Francine Maisler is incredible as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Sigourney Weaver as herself at Shapiro’s retrospective, Josh Hamilton as a friend of Loretta at the Shapiro retrospective, Danny Flaherty as Eliza’s boyfriend Marcus, Sakina Jeffrey as Dr. Malina Soni who watches over Harold, Gayle Rankin as the nurse Pam that also watches over Harold, Jerry Matz as an old friend of Harold in Paul whom Jean dislikes, Mickey Sumner as an attendee of Harold’s retrospective at Bard that Matthew becomes attracted to, Matthew Shear as Matthew’s colleague Gabe who tries to help out in handling Harold’s financial situations, and Adam Driver in a terrific one-scene performance as a client of Matthew’s in Randy who trying to get his dream apartment made despite the lack of finances he has. Candice Bergen is fantastic in her one-scene appearance as Matthew’s mother and Harold’s third wife Julia who hadn’t seen Harold in years while laments over the way she treated Danny and Jean feeling she only made things worse for them.

Judd Hirsch is excellent as L.J. Shapiro who is an old friend of Harold who is the embodiment of what Harold could’ve been if he wasn’t much of a prick yet Hirsch is someone who often praises Harold and his work feeling that Harold should’ve gotten more recognition. Rebecca Miller is brilliant as Shapiro’s daughter Loretta who is also an old childhood friend of Danny as the two reminisce about their childhood and being the children of artists as it prompts Danny into wanting to renew a relationship with her. Emma Thompson is amazing as Harold’s fourth wife Maureen as an alcoholic artist who often wears hippie-like clothing and cooks strange feasts as she is someone who believes she has a lot in handling Harold’s financial and health situations despite the fact that she’s kind of a flake though she does mean well.

Grace Van Patten is incredible as Eliza Meyerowitz as Danny’s daughter who is about to go to Bard to study film as she creates these sexually-provocative student films while lamenting over the idea of she can make it as an artist like her grandfather. Elizabeth Marvel is remarkable as Jean Meyerowitz as a woman who works for Xerox as she never showed any ambition while spending much of her time taking care of her father while eventually sharing a secret when she was a teenager that would shock her brothers and becoming a muse for Eliza. Dustin Hoffman is marvelous as Harold Meyerowitz as moderately-successful artist who laments over his lack of major success but also has this attitude where he thinks he’s better than many yet he is a fucking prick when it comes to his kids where he does make them feel terrible as it is one of Hoffman’s great performances.

Ben Stiller is great as Matthew Meyerowitz as the youngest of Harold’s three kids and half-sibling to Jean and Danny as someone who has found success through business and accounting while dealing with the fact that his success doesn’t mean much to his father and often brings a lot of insecurities towards his siblings whom he felt never had the chance to connect with. Finally, there’s Adam Sandler in a phenomenal performance as Danny Meyerowitz as the eldest of the three siblings as an unemployed man that was once a gifted musician but quit due to his insecurities as he copes with an unresolved limp and trying to take of his father as well as the lack of connection he has with his siblings as it is a somber yet charming performance from Sandler.

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) is a sensational film from Noah Baumbach. Featuring a great ensemble cast with standout performances from Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Marvel, Grace Van Patten, and Emma Thompson, insightful and witty observation on family dysfunction and art, gorgeous visuals, and a terrific music score from Randy Newman. It is a rich and compelling film that explores family dysfunction as well as the idea of a family who are dealing with man’s legacy who is filled with complications and their own shortcomings but also themselves as they try to find ways to be together. In the end, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) is a spectacular film from Noah Baumbach.

Noah Baumbach Films: Kicking and Screaming (1995 film) - Highball - Mr. Jealousy - The Squid & the Whale - Margot at the Wedding - Greenberg - Frances Ha - While We're Young - Mistress America - De Palma - Marriage Story - (White Noise (2022 film)) - The Auteurs #41: Noah Baumbach

© thevoid99 2021

Maggie's Plan

Written and directed by Rebecca Miller from a story by Karen Rinaldi, Maggie’s Plan is the story of a woman who falls in love with a married man only for things go wrong years later as she schemes to get him back to his ex-wife. The film is a romantic comedy of sorts as it plays into a woman who put herself into a situation only to find herself in serious trouble as she becomes part of a messy love triangle. Starring Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Travis Fimmel, Wallace Shawn, and Julianne Moore. Maggie’s Plan is a witty and whimsical film from Rebecca Miller.

The film follows a young woman who meets a writer as they fall in love despite the fact that he’s married to a college professor as they would later marry and have a child only for the marriage to lose its luster where the woman believes her husband is hung up on his ex-wife. It’s a film that explores a woman’s desire to wanting to become a mother only for her plans to just have a child without any emotional attachments to the father only for things to not exactly go her way. Rebecca Miller’s screenplay follows the titular protagonist (Greta Gerwig) who works at the New School in New York City where she’s the director of business development and outreach for the art and design students as she would meet another person at the school in John Harding (Ethan Hawke) over a bill where they have somewhat similar last names as Maggie’s surname is Hardin. Learning that Harding is working on a novelist and married to the famed writer Georgette Norgaard (Julianne Moore) who tenures at Columbia University.

Maggie and Harding befriend one another due to the former’s interest towards the latter’s novel as they suddenly begin an affair where the story moves three years later where they have a daughter named Lily (Ida Rohatyn). Yet, things become complicated as their relationship has hit a funk where Harding would help his ex-wife over business deals with Maggie watching over her teenage stepdaughter Justine (Mina Sundwall) and stepson Paul (Jackson Frazer). Maggie is convinced her relationship with Harding is going to end in divorce where she meets Norgaard about the idea of her getting back with Harding. It all play into Maggie’s need to control the situations as well as reclaim some idea of individuality as she often had to cancel meetings in her job and do all of the things that a mother does with Harding often too consumed with his own work and such. Norgaard is reluctant at first about Maggie’s plan as she’s still got issues with Maggie over her affair with Harding but also realizes that she still has feelings for her ex-husband.

Miller’s direction is straightforward in terms of the compositions and setting as it is shot largely in New York City during the winter as well as locations at upstate New York as Quebec. While there are some wide shots in some scenes, much of Miller’s direction rely on close-ups and medium shots as it relates to the characters interacting with one another. Even in scenes that are lightly comical as it relates to Maggie being with her friends including a man named Guy (Travis Fimmel) whom she originally wanted to impregnate her by donating his sperm. It’s among the lightly-comical moments that include the night Maggie tries to use Guy’s sperm to impregnate herself where Harding has rung the intercom to meet her as it would play into some silliness. 

The scenes that showcases Harding’s marriage to Norgaard display that air of inequality where Norgaard is presented as someone that might seem pretentious yet she is revealed to be someone that is an intellectual but with a chip on her shoulder. In the film’s third act, it does become dramatic as it relates to Maggie and Harding yet would have an air of humor in the growing friendship between Maggie and Norgaard as Miller would show the two having common ground as well as create something together that would benefit everyone. Overall, Miller crafts a charming and enjoyable film about a woman’s scheme to get her husband back with his ex-wife that would eventually cause chaos in her own life.

Cinematographer Sam Levy does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it is largely straightforward for its exterior look including the scenes set in Quebec that includes its low-key lighting for the interior scenes at night. Editor Sabine Hoffman does terrific work with the editing as it is straightforward with a few jump-cuts and montages with the latter playing into Maggie’s relationship with Harding early in the film. Production designer Alexandra Schiller, with set decorator Kendall Anderson and art director Brian Goodwin, does fantastic work with the look of the apartments the characters live in from the posh-look of Norgaard to the more Bohemian look of Maggie when she lives with Harding.

Costume designer Malgosia Turzanska does nice work with the costumes as it has a sense of style from the colorful look of Maggie to the more posh look of Norgaard. Sound editor Marlena Grzaslewicz does superb work with the sound in capturing the atmosphere of the hotel in Quebec to the exteriors of New York City. The film’s music by Michael Rohatyn is wonderful for its low-key score that mixes folk and indie music to play into the world of New York City while music supervisor Adam Horowitz provide a mix of music from reggae to rock.

The casting by Cindy Tolan is great as it feature some notable small roles from Wallace Shawn as a Q&A interviewer for Norgaard and Harding early in the film, Kathleen Hanna as a singer at an inn in Quebec, Ida Rohatyn as John and Maggie’s daughter Lily, Jackson Frazer as John and Georgette’s son Paul, and Mina Sundwall as John and Georgette’s teenage daughter Justine who is wondering why her dad is eating with her mom. Bill Hader and Maya Rudolph are superb in their respective roles as Tony and Felicia as friends of Maggie who have a family of their own as they’re concerned about her scheme with Tony being uncomfortable with the situation. Travis Fimmel is terrific as Guy as a friend of Maggie who makes and sells pickles as she wants him to donate his sperm to her only for things to not happen. Ethan Hawke is excellent as John Harding as a college professor for the New School that is trying to create a novel yet often neglects his parental duties and still has feelings for Georgette unaware of what he’s doing to Maggie.

Julianne Moore is incredible as Georgette Norgaard as a Danish intellectual/writer who is also a professor at Columbia University as she has some resentment and anger towards her ex-husband yet still has feelings for him where she would go along with Maggie’s plan only to befriend Maggie as it’s a charming performance from Moore. Finally, there’s Greta Gerwig in a remarkable performance as Maggie Hardin as a director for the New School who is eager to have a child where things don’t go as planned as she tries to take control of the situation in getting her husband back with his ex-wife only to realize her faults and accept about the way things are.

Maggie’s Plan is a marvelous film from Rebecca Miller that features great performances from Greta Gerwig and Julianne Moore. Along with its supporting cast and a witty story of a complicated love triangle, it’s a film that manages to bring something new to the romantic-comedy genre while being a woman’s film in its exploration for them to find their place in the world. In the end, Maggie’s Plan is a brilliant film from Rebecca Miller.

Rebecca Miller Films: (Angela (1995 film)) – Personal Velocity: Three Portraits - The Ballad of Jack and Rose - The Private Lives of Pippa Lee - Arthur Miller: Writer

© thevoid99 2018

Arthur Miller: Writer

Directed by Rebecca Miller, Arthur Miller: Writer is a documentary film about the life of the famed playwright through many archival interviews and rare home movies shot by Miller’s daughter Rebecca. The film explores Miller’s life as well as his marriages to different women including Marilyn Monroe and photographer Inge Morath who is Rebecca’s mother as well as look into their family life. The result is a compelling and evocative film from Rebecca Miller.

Considered one of the great playwrights of the 20th Century, Arthur Miller was a figure that made an impact on American culture with his plays during the post-war era of the 20th Century. While it may have brought him fame and fortune, he also deal with scrutiny over supposed ties with communists during the Red Scare as well as being in a very publicized marriage to actress Marilyn Monroe from 1956 to 1961. For much of his time being famous and revered by many, Miller remained a man who was quite humble due to his upbringing as he would also choose to live much of his life in his home in Connecticut with his family doing all sorts of things. During this time in the 1980s to the early 2000s, Miller was filmed by his daughter Rebecca for interviews about his life that include conversations with his two siblings and his third wife Inge Morath.

The film is told in six chapters as it relates to Miller’s early life, his success with his plays, his three marriages including his second to Monroe, the Red Scare where he was accused of being a communist, and the period in the 1970s and 1980s where he felt out of place with the world of plays. Yet, much of the footage of Miller being interviewed is filmed by Rebecca who would appear in the camera as she also talks to her uncle Kermit and the actress Joan Copeland who is Rebecca’s aunt. Also interviewed in the film through more recent periods just years after her father’s death in 2005 are Rebecca’s older half-brother Robert, playwright Tony Kushner, and filmmaker Mike Nichols just before his death in 2014 as they’re filmed by Miller and cinematographer Ellen Kuras. Another half-sibling interviewed is Jane who does an audio interview as she and Robert talk about their father’s first marriage to their mother Mary Slattery and some of the regrets their father had over their dissolution.

Robert also talked about the time his father was married to Monroe where she was good to Robert and Jane but they both knew how fragile Monroe was as a person. It was during the production of The Misfits that starred Monroe and was written by Miller is where Miller first met the German-born photographer Morath who would later become his third wife though they only began a relationship just after Miller and Monroe had officially split. Rebecca would make mention of her younger brother Daniel who was born with Down syndrome as she doesn’t have him filmed nor use any photographs of him out of respect for his privacy as she also mentions that she never had the chance to film her father about Daniel whom he and Inge rarely talked about. Yet, Rebecca would also have her father talk about his falling out with filmmaker Elia Kazan over Kazan testifying to congress during the Red Scare as he felt Kazan had been pressured to name names in order to maintain his career. While Miller admitted to having interest in Marxism, he ended up not going along with it as he felt the whole Red Scare was about people becoming liberal against a very conservative period in American history which is partially why he wrote The Crucible.

Much of Rebecca Miller’s direction is straightforward with a lot of the home movies that she cultivated including the interviews and home movies she filmed from the 1980s to the 2000s that include a few she shot with cinematographer Ellen Kuras. Editor David Bartner would cultivate a lot of the home footage including the rare home movies shot by Arthur Miller himself as well as news footage of Miller during the late 1940s to the 2000s including footage of his plays and film contributions. Sound designer Ruy Garcia would compile all of the audio including rare audio interviews with Miller and his daughter Jane as well as audio from others about Miller’s life including his troubling period in the 1970s where he felt out of place from the world as he admitted having no clue about the counterculture as he preferred to follow his own muse. The film’s soundtrack largely consists of jazz music as it play into the world that Miller was including bits of rock as it relates to the late 1960s.

Arthur Miller: Writer is a marvelous film from Rebecca Miller. Not only is it a fascinating portrait of a revered man by his daughter but also a film that allows the man to be seen as someone who is human that has a broad view of the world. Even as it’s a film that allows Miller to show her father as someone that loved life no matter how bad things can be and the mistakes he’s made as a person. In the end, Arthur Miller: Writer is a remarkable film from Rebecca Miller.

Rebecca Miller Films: (Angela (1995 film)) – Personal Velocity: Three Portraits - The Ballad of Jack and Rose - The Private Lives of Pippa Lee - Maggie’s Plan

© thevoid99 2018

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

Written and directed by Rebecca Miller, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee is the story of a housewife whose perfect life starts to unravel by her memories of the past as she would befriend a man dealing with his own issues. The film explores the life of a woman as she tries to come to terms with her past as her seemingly perfect marriage and life starts to wind down. Starring Robin Wright, Alan Arkin, Maria Bello, Keanu Reeves, Monica Bellucci, Blake Lively, Julianne Moore, Zoe Kazan, Ryan McDonald, and Winona Ryder. The Private Lives of Pippa Lee is an engaging although messy film from Rebecca Miller.

Pippa Lee (Robin Wright) is the housewife of publisher Herb Lee (Alan Arkin) as they had just moved to a small town in Connecticut as they celebrate with friend Sam Shapiro (Mike Binder) and his wife Sandra (Winona Ryder). Just as Pippa seems to enjoy her role as a housewife taking care of Herb, things start to unravel by the messes she sees in her home thinking Herb caused all of it. Instead, Pippa traces back to her life as a child where her mother Suky (Maria Bello) was a crazed woman with a troubled amphetamine addiction that eventually took its toll by the time the teenaged Pippa (Blake Lively) decided to leave home. Living with her lesbian aunt Trish (Robin Weigter), she briefly becomes a model for Trish’s photographer girlfriend Kat (Julianne Moore) that featured Pippa in racy positions.

After being kicked out by Trish, Pippa would wander around New York City for a few years until she attends a party with some friends where she would meet Herb. Though Herb is married to a beautiful Italian woman named Gigi (Monica Bellucci), the two hit it off as Pippa finds someone in Herb she can be loyal to as they would later have two kids. Years later as the two live a comfortable life, Pippa’s persona starts to unravel after discovering who has been making a mess in her home. Meanwhile, her neighbor’s son Chris (Keanu Reeves) has just move in as the two become friends as he wonders about her behavior. Realizing she’s starting to have a nervous breakdown, Pippa decides to take control only to discover that not everything around her is going well at all.

The film is an exploration of a woman recalling her past just as her life as a helpful housewife starts to come undone through secrets and the fear that she might become her mother. Throughout her journey, this woman would endure the troubled chaos of her neurotic mother as well as trying to find a place where she can feel like she’s at home. Though things seem fine once she meets this much older gentleman, a breakdown gives in as she finds a friend in a man that has his own problems with the world. It’s a story that is engrossing in the exploration of a woman who would later unravel by the events of her past. It’s just that Rebecca Miller draws it out too much to the point that the story becomes a total mess.

Miller’s approach to the screenplay, that is based on her own book, is creating a narrative that moves back and forth that features a reflective narration told through Pippa’s perspective. While the narrative device is effective, it tends to linger too long on the segments of Pippa’s past where Pippa is trying to figure out what happens. While there’s a lot of interesting moments, the moments where Miller tries to infuse humor in these stories feels forced and out-of-place with the story. The segment of Pippa in the present time is a bit more interesting in the way Miller tries to figure out how she’s breaking down while making some discoveries about herself and her life as a friend of hers is also starting to unravel. It’s an intriguing story but doesn’t do enough to create a narrative that isn’t all over the place.

Miller’s direction is pretty stylish in the way she presents a lot of the film’s different period settings. Notably the scenes in the 1960s and 1970s to explore the young Pippa’s life as there’s a sense of style where things feel a bit exaggerated and quirky. By the time the story moves into the 1980s, style is still evident but becomes more restrained once Pippa’s life starts to become less crazy as she would become an adult. The compositions become more straightforward and also claustrophobic as it’s Miller wanting to emphasize the world where Pippa starts to lose control. A lot of it works though there’s scenes of fantasy where it doesn’t fit in with that portion of the film. Despite some wonderful moments in underplaying the drama and framing the actors to play out what’s happening. Miller’s film unfortunately falls short due to its emphasis to its uneven story and its attempts to draw out this woman’s trouble life into something grander.

Cinematographer Declan Quinn does excellent work with the film‘s very vibrant and colorful cinematography for the scenes in the 1960s and 1970s while utilizing more straightforward palettes for the scenes of the 1980s and present scenes despite the exaggerated fantasy scenes in the present segment. Editor Sabine Hoffman does superb work with the editing to play with the film‘s structure and create unique montages for Kat‘s photo material that the young Pippa takes part of. Production designer Michael Shaw and set decorator Cherish Magennis do great work with the set pieces created to emphasize the different places and periods that Pippa would encounter to play up her evolution.

Costume designer Jennifer von Mayrhauser does a wonderful job with the costumes that also plays up the different periods for Pippa in her evolution from more stylish clothes of the 70s and 80s to more casual clothes in the present. Sound editor Sarah Gaines does nice work with the sound to play up the party scenes that Pippa explores early to the more sparse intimacy of her time with Chris. The film’s music score by Michael Rohatyn is a pretty good for its low-key string orchestra and somber pieces to play up the drama in the film. Music supervisor Linda Cohen creates a soundtrack that is a mixture of music from pop and folk along with cuts by Dusty Springfield, Lucinda Williams, and a couple of ambient pieces from Brian Eno.

The casting by Cindy Tolan is terrific for the ensemble that is created as it would include small roles from Ryan McDonald and Zoe Kazan as Herb and Pippa’s adult children in Ben and Grace, respectively, along with Shirley Knight as Chris’ mother Dot, Robin Weigert as Pippa’s aunt Trish, Julianne Moore as Trish’s photographer girlfriend Kat, and Madeline McNulty as the 7-year old Pippa. Other notable small roles include Mike Binder as Herb’s writer friend Sam who has feelings for Pippa as well as Monica Bellucci as Herb’s vibrant Italian wife Gigi. Maria Bello is alright as Pippa’s mother Suky in the way she expresses a woman who is at the grips of addiction though Bello tends to overact some of the film’s emotional moments by going over the top. Winona Ryder is very good as Sam’s wife Sandra who is trying to deal with her failing marriage as she starts to break down and go to Pippa for help.

Blake Lively is really good as the young Pippa as a young woman trying to deal with her troubled life while finding solace in Herb. Keanu Reeves is superb as the very quiet Chris who becomes Pippa’s friend by helping her deal with her impending breakdown. Alan Arkin is excellent as Pippa’s husband Herb who tries to deal with her unraveling while is shown to be a very tender man who cares for Pippa in her evolution. Finally, there’s Robin Wright as the adult Pippa Lee as Wright gives an entrancing performance as a woman seemingly lost in her troubled state. Notably as Wright starts off as this calm and kind woman who slowly starts to lose herself as she tries to come to terms with everything around her.

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee is a decent but very uneven film from Rebecca Miller despite a great lead performance from Robin Wright. Despite an interesting premise and a superb supporting cast, it’s a film that falls flat due to a script that tries to do a lot and leave very little. Particularly as its exploration of a woman unraveling could’ve been very interesting but gets lost due to its over-stylized approach to the story. In the end, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee is a disappointing film from Rebecca Miller.

Rebecca Miller Films: (Angela) - Personal Velocity: Three Portraits - The Ballad of Jack & Rose - Maggie's Plan - Arthur Miller: Writer

© thevoid99 2012

Personal Velocity: Three Portraits

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 10/12/04 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Written and directed by Rebecca Miller, that is based on her novel, Personal Velocity: Three Portraits is the story of three different women in three different parts of their lives as they each explore their own idea of womanhood. Narrated by John Ventimiglia, the film explores these three different stories that each follow three different women struggling to find their roles in life. Starring Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey, and Fairuza Balk in the three stories along with Ron Liebman, Leo Fitzpatrick, Seth Gilliam, Wallace Shawn, and Patti D'Arbanville. Personal Velocity: Three Portraits is an exhilarating yet mesmerizing film from Rebecca Miller.

Delia (Kyra Sedgwick) is a housewife to her abusive husband Kurt (David Warshofsky) while raising three kids in John (Nick Clubber), May (Nicole Murphy), and Claire (Sarah Morf). Though Delia's life was an extraordinary one as a teenager where she had the reputation of controlling her sexuality while living with her hippie father (Brian Tarantina). All of that changed when she married Kurt as their marriage turned sour as he would start to abuse her. Deciding to leave Kurt and take the children with her, they drive around upstate New York to seek shelter as Delia reconnects with her old friend Fay (Mara Hobel). Despite getting a job as a waitress and gaining the attraction of the cook's son Mylert (Leo Fitzpatrick), Delia still tries to deal with her new role as well as her relationship with Kurt.

Greta (Parker Posey) is a cookbook editor who is asked by her editor (Mr. Gelb) Wallace Shawn) to edit an upcoming novel for acclaimed writer Thavi (Joel de la Fuente) as Greta sees this as a big moment for her to be successful. The new job has Greta hoping to gain the approval of her big-shot attorney father Avram Herskovitz (Ron Liebman) whom she had a testy relationship with. Attending a party with her husband/New York Times editor Lee (Tim Guinee) and their freind Oscar (Josh Phillip Weinstein), Oscar is surprised by her news though Greta becomes confused by this new success. Notably as she has feelings for Thavi, that reminds her about an affair she had with a guy named Max (Ben Shankman), while pondering if she can succeed on her own terms.

Paula (Fairuza Balk) has just witnessed a murder of a Norwegian man she just met as she flees from that and her own tumultuous relationship with Vincent (Seth Gilliam). Driving towards upstate New York, she picks up a young runaway named Kevin (Lou Taylor Pucci) as she stops at the home of her mother Celia (Patti D'Abranville) whom she hadn't seen in years. Still reeling from the way that relationship got fractured, Paula recalls what happened when she ran away from home and later met Vincent as Celia makes an attempt to reconnect. After calling Vincent, Paula feels lost as she also tries to deal with this young runaway she's starting to care for.

While episodic films in recent years haven't been done lately and sometimes, there would be stories that would end up overshadowing one another or everything else in the movie. Miller however, managed to figure out everything since all three stories are different yet are filled with similar themes and character backgrounds while a subplot involving the murder Paula was involved is actually heard in TV or radio in the stories of Delia and Greta. Miller as a writer manages to find a narrative where all three stories can come together without any sense of inconsistency or even in its non-linear approaches to the stories of its protagonists.

The directing style Miller presented isn&'t just fascinating in its digital photography but there would be use of stop-motion camera frame shots, slow, fast-motion styles, and how everything moves with just a small camera. It's a film that has its own style while remaining true to Miller's carefully structured screenplay. Helping Miller with that vision is cinematographer Ellen Kuras who brings a dreamy, video-transfer style in night scenes involving Delia's road trip away from Kurt while presenting different tones for each characters. While Paula's story has a bit of a grainy, dreamy feel, Greta has a more polished yet still digital video style with wonderful camera framework while Delia's story is set in a more monochrome like style. The credit really goes to Miller and Kuras for presenting a movie that has a distinctive visual look.

With additional credit going to production designer Judy Becker for the film's look of Upstate New York and NYC and editor Sabine Hoffman for giving each story a 25-30 minute time frame. The film also has a wonderful, melancholy film score from Michael Rohatyn for giving the movie an electronic, sparkling synthesizer track that shows the women moving in their in own worlds while there's different types of music in the background including a country song that accompanies Delia's rural background.

The film's supporting cast is very spot-on with Seth Gilliam, David Warshofsky, and Tim Guinee in the respective roles of the men the women are with where Gilliam plays the frustrated boyfriend, Warshofsky as the abusive husband, and Guinee as the aloof one. Even the role of parents from Brian Tarantina, Ron Liebman, and Patti D'Arbanville are well written in the small time they're given with each, a different subtext to their performances in their failures to communicate with their children. While the film's supporting cast is small, there are some great performances from Mara Hobel, Leo Fitzpatrick, Wallace Shawn, Joel de la Fuente, Josh Phillip Weinstein, Ben Shankman, and Lou Taylor Pucci all providing strong performances that helps carry the film's story for its protagonist.

There is really no clear winner for who handled the best performance since Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey, and Fairuza Balk all bring in great, complex performances to their respective roles. Balk, who often had played more of the bad girl roles, gives her best performance to date as the clueless, generous runaway Paula with her motherly approach in her scenes with Pucci. Balk also showed a desperate dramatic range in her phone call scene with Gilliam while we see the depths of troubles and her desperation to be loved in a defiant, sympathetic performance. Sedgwick is amazing in the role of Delia as the abused housewife who has enough yet at the same time, it seems like she wants more since she's in love with her husband still. Sedgwick had the more difficult role since her character started off with a sense of power until she got married and as her story develops, we see her regaining some strength yet the physical and mental abuse from her husband is still in tact. This is truly Sedgwick's most powerful performance to date.

Parker Posey gives another great performance in the role of Greta, who is a woman desperate for acceptance from the world yet she's the one character that the most unlikable because of her affairs and desperation to be successful yet there's a sympathy for her because she's trying to win her father's acceptance. Posey had the most accessible role but she made sure it's one women could relate to while we also see a sense of self-loathing right at the end of her story. Truly, this is more of a film of how women are defining themselves in a climate where there are moments of feminism yet there's also sadness behind them. It's really a character-driven story that shows women in different climates trying to ponder their own futures with its three main actress giving spot-on performances.

Personal Velocity: Three Portraits is a marvelous yet enchanting film from Rebecca Miller. Featuring outstanding lead performances from Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey, and Fairuza Balk, it's a truly hypnotic and entrancing film thanks in part to Ellen Kuras' stylish digital photography. It's also a film that really speaks out for women's struggle to find their place in the world told in three different ideas that each share similar themes of individuality. In the end, Personal Velocity: Three Portraits is an extraordinary film from Rebecca Miller.

Rebecca Miller Films: (Angela) - The Ballad of Jack & Rose - The Private Lives of Pippa Lee - Maggie's Plan - Arthur Miller: Writer

© thevoid99 2012

The Ballad of Jack & Rose

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com 6/25/06 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

After the success of her 2002 independent masterpiece Personal Velocity, Rebecca Miller lived up to her talents as not just a director but as a writer as she is the daughter of the legendary playwright Arthur Miller. While taking a break with her real-life husband and actor Daniel Day-Lewis and their children, Miller was asked to help write the screenplay for the play Proof for director John Madden. That same time, Miller was working on a new original script which was then titled The Rose & the Snake about a reclusive father and his daughter whose isolated lifestyle changes as he finds himself dying and inviting a new girlfriend which changes their relationship. Miller then chose to re-title the film in tune with her own plot entitled The Ballad of Jack & Rose.

Written and directed by Miller, The Ballad of Jack & Rose is about a young woman's relative world of isolation is changed when she's exposed to the world outside of the island she lives with her father. With her own father dying and seeking companionship, the relationship of the father and daughter disintegrates as their own home is being threatened by progress. Starring Miller's husband Daniel Miller and young actress Camilla Belle in their respective title roles along with Catherine Keener, Paul Dano, Ryan McDonald, Susanna Thompson, Beau Bridges, Jason Lee, and Jena Malone. The Ballad of Jack & Rose is a poignant, coming-of-age story from Rebecca Miller.

Rose (Camilla Belle) is a 16-year old child who lives in an island with her hippie father Jack (Daniel Day-Lewis) as they live in complete isolation from the world. It's an ideal world for the young Rose and her father until they're faced by the destruction of nearby wetlands for a housing development project led by a contractor named Marty (Beau Bridges). The timing is worse as Jack is falling ill from heart disease as Rose couldn't bear a life without her father as Jack sails to the mainland to meet with his former girlfriend Kathleen (Catherine Keener). Kathleen agrees to move with him as she takes her two teenage sons in Thaddius (Paul Dano) and Rodney (Ryan McDonald) with her despite Rose's reluctance.

While Rose enjoys the company of Rodney, Thaddius wanders around to find adventure as Rose is uncomfortable about her father's relationship with Kathleen. After asking Rodney to cut her hair, she tries to deal with the new people at her home while a florist in Gray (Jason Lee) visits to tell Jack about what Marty is trying to do. When a friend of Rodney in Red Berry (Jena Malone) arrives to visit, Rose's interest with sex starts to increase as she saw Red and Thaddius making out. Later on, Rose asks Thaddius to sleep with her in order to get her father's attention for the changes that is happening. Jack learns what happen as he wants Thaddius out as Rose holds an old hippie party with Thaddius, Rodney, and Red that unravels with Jack's anger. Rose leaves as Jack is alone dealing with Kathleen as he realizes that his new experiment as failed. After finding Rose, Jack decides to meet with Marty where Jack would make a drastic decision that would ultimately change Rose's young life.

While the film isn't perfect due to some of the 1960s hippie ideology and how it clashes against 1980s capitalism. Rebecca Miller does create a compelling, emotional coming-of-age story about a young girl being introduced to a new world that is foreign to her while dealing with the decay of her own upbringing. While the story does seem somewhat inspired by her own relationship with her own father and playwright Arthur Miller, who died shortly after the film's premiere at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. It's also a story about a relationship between father and daughter that gets a little dangerous and nearly leans the world of incest in the way Rose cares for Jack. Particularly in the way Kathleen sees their relationship and how Rose reacts to her since Kathleen is afraid of Rose's fear of the world outside of her commune.

Miller’s structure really brings out a simple idea of revealing the life of Jack and Rose in the first act and the arrival of Kathleen and her sons in the second, and its aftermath in the third. Miller's work as a storyteller is also done very well as a director since she did nearly the entire film on location in Prince Edwards Island in Canada. Miller chooses to observe the development of not just the film's major characters but the surroundings they're in. While the film does lose some insight onto the political aspect of the film, it doesn't stray away from its main story as Miller succeeds in bringing a wonderful transcending, imaginative film.

Helping Miller in her vision is her longtime collaborator in cinematographer Ellen Kuras. Kuras' photography is filled with dreamy textures of exterior colors and interior settings filled with intimate lighting on some sequences. One scene in the party owes to the psychedelic world with images of 8mm film stock that shows the contrasting world of the 60s/70s and the 80s. Kuras' photography is truly a marvel as brings a wonderful visual scope to Miller's worldly setting. Production designer Mark Ricker does a wonderful job in creating the contrast of the intimate, worldly area of Jack and Rose in contrast to the world outside of their commune which is more mechanical and glossy. Costume designer Jennifer Von Mayrhauser also does great job in creating the clothing for the film, notably the working class style of Catherine Keener's Kathleen and the more carefree world of Camilla Belle's Rose.

Editor Sabine Hoffman does some wonderful cutting in giving the film a nice, leisurely pace while doing some fine cutting to convey the surroundings of the characters. Composer Michael Rohatyn brings a style of folk and piano style music for its score that also includes instrumental cuts of classical music and jazz guitar of Leo Kotte. Most of the film's soundtrack includes some great music with tracks from Bob Dylan, John Mayall, a lot of 60s and 70s music, and two variation of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' classic song I Put A Spell On You by Creedence Clearwater Revival and Nina Simone. Both of them are amazing to hear.

The film's casting is wonderfully inspiring since many of the actors are there to tell a story and play interesting characters. Susanna Thompson is good in her small role as Marty's wife Miriam who welcomes Jack and Rose in a crucial final scene. Noted indie actors Jason Lee and Jena Malone also create small, memorable performances in their respective role as the calm, sensitive Gray and the energetic, wild Red Berry. Ryan McDonald is excellent as the more sensitive, mature Rodney while Paul Dano brings more comedic angst to his role as the wandering Thaddius. Beau Bridges is great in a complex role as Marty, a man who might seem like a greedy businessman but is someone who can't help but be a part of progress as he plays his role in a very sensitive, restrained approach. The best supporting performance easily is Catherine Keener as Kathleen who adores Jack while understands Rose's reaction about her moving in. Keener brings a lot to the role as a woman who has a hard time raising her sons while dealing with the family problems of Jack and Rose as Keener gives a great performance.

Camilla Belle delivers a real breakthrough performance as Rose with her amazing beauty and range in the display of emotions. Belle brings a lot to the role of Rose as a young girl who doesn't understand much about the outside world while she develops from a young, idealized girl to a woman who is forced to realize that her father can't be here all the time. Belle also has great chemistry with the veteran Day-Lewis as the two are wonderful to watch. Daniel Day-Lewis is also great as Jack by giving a performance full of complexity in its physicality and range of emotions. Day-Lewis plays his role with such fraternal comfort that he is truly believable as a caring father who is filled with guilt and pain while trying to do what is right for Rose. It's a magnificent performance from an actor who has rarely given an adequate performance as he proves to be a great muse for his wife.

The Ballad of Jack & Rose is a phenomenal film from Rebecca Miller. With great work from her film crew, notably Ellen Kuras, and the cast, notably Daniel Day-Lewis, Camilla Belle, and Catherine Keener. Anyone into Miller's work will definitely enjoy this film despite a few flaws while anyone who loves Daniel Day-Lewis will see his brilliance as an actor. The film should also be noted for the talents of the young Camilla Belle who proves that she can act with an actor as brilliant as Daniel Day-Lewis. In the end, for a strong film about father/daughter relationship should check out The Ballad of Jack & Rose.

Rebecca Miller Films: (Angela) - Personal Velocity: Three Portraits - The Private Lives of Pippa Lee - Maggie's Plan - Arthur Miller: Writer

© thevoid99 2011