It may be hard to watch due to its graphic (at times) subject matter (sex-trafficking) but there are a lot of other reasons THE WHISTLE BLOWER works so well, including crackling dynamic direction by Larysa Kondracki, a sharp probing script and a terrific lead in Rachel Weisz as a Nebraska cop who takes a job as a peace keeper in post war Bosnia only to find herself in the middle of a sex-slave/human trafficking scandal that reaches into all directions, including the United Nations. Though it is based on a possibly familiar true story, the film is riveting and very fascinating as it details the frustration and paranoia that engulfs the seemingly only "honest" person to be working for this peace keeping mission. This is the type of film that will make you want to look up more information about this scandalous affair. With Vanessa Redgrave, David Straithairn and Monica Bellucci in the cast, all very fine, this thriller will keep you awake, perhaps for days. Winner of best picture and direction at SIFF 2011. GRADE--------A-
I listened to the book tape of the popular bestseller THE HELP just one week before the film recently opened nationwide, so the book was quite fresh in my mind when I watched it last week, and I'm relieved to report that the film version captures most of the main plot points of the novel and captures the spirit and characters of the book quite nicely. The major changes are mostly minor, but I missed the extended relationship with Skeeter's political boyfriend, and her mother's illness is downplayed quite a bit. Many of the plot points have been dramatically rearranged. Especially effective is the "surprise" church meeting, now a more effective "ending." The POV is also (wisely I think) focused on Aibilene (instead of the three women which included Skeeter and Minny), the African-American maid who starts relating her experiences of working for white women, which the white liberal Skeeter wants to write about, at great danger to the other maids, since the time is the early 1960's when "Jim Crow" laws rule behavior, and civil rights is just starting to boil in Mississippi and other southern states. The casting is excellent, and the actors are very impressive, especially Aibileen portrayed in an effectively subtle manner by Viola Davis (who managed to steal DOUBT from Meryl Streep several years ago with just a couple brief scenes) and Octavia Spencer who portrays Minny, best friend to Aibilene, the good cook who's so outspoken that she is fired from many jobs. I also enjoyed the naive Celia Foote portrayed by Jessica Chastain (TREE OF LIFE)and veteran Sissy Spacek, the demented mother of the stone hearted socialite Hilly, played by Bryce Dallas Howard. Emma Stone also shines as Skeeter, another fine role for her this year---see CRAZY STUPID LOVE. Is THE HELP as great as the novel? Perhaps not, but it is still a pleasure to read and to watch. GRADE----------B+
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DVD choices this week from the library included two films starring Troy Donahue and directed by the master of soap, Delmer Daves. The first film, PARRISH (1960) is based on a soap-novel and features Troy as a golden boy who accepts work on a tobacco farm (in Connecticut !?!)) which seems to have an abundance of young single woman who all flock to him, including a sympathetic Connie Stevens as the "slut", Diane McBain as the haughty rich girl of his boss, and Sharon Hugueny as the strong minded, independent woman who resists her psychotic father's power and control. The father is played with great distinction and fascination by the great Karl Malden who takes acting honors in this potboiler. In one of her last roles--as Troy's mother, the grand Claudette Colbert really captures our interest, especially when she unexpectedly teams up with the manic Karl Malden. The ending seemed a bit underwhelming, but it is a good solid watch. GRADE---------B
Entertaining for entirely different reasons--Troy Donahue plays a struggling architect (?!) student living in Rome, who hooks up with the repressed (librarian) and virginal (though not for long!!!!) Suzanne Pleshette (in her first major role) while fighting off the advances of his ex--- nasty rich girl Angie Dickinson, in the lushly photographed ROME ADVENTURE (1962). This film is great to look at, especially the travelogue like photography which makes Italy very appealing and nearly totally void of tourists!!!!! Rossano Brazzi plays the older man who temps Pleshette, but Dickinson really steals this movie with her bad-girl lines and moves.Fun most of the time, and when Dickinson is missing, it's at least pretty. GRADE-------B
I was hoping that the low budget b/w drama about a troubled boy and his dog and the kindly priest (Cesar Romero) who takes them in, would be one of those lost undiscovered classics that slips under the shadows. It is rather unsentimental and straight-forward, and it is certainly watchable, but just barely. THE RUNAWAY (1961) still deals with the hoary notions of "all it takes is a kind word/dog/discipline/love etc" to straighten out the delinquency, and the ending is predictable. GRADE----------C+
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I haven't read the book, or listened to it dramatized, so I can't say if it's better. (The book reviews of THE HELP didn't encourage me to reading.) We loved the film THE HELP and I was happy that the film erased the disparity between the accents in the book (Ms. Magazine complained that the African American characters' dialogue are written phonetically, the White characters' not). Viola Davis is fabulous here (though in DOUBT I'd say she stole a scene from Streep, but hardly the entire film). Spencer is over the top, but pulls it off. Howard is a weakness, just too evil and the motivation not fully explored—talked about but not shown—but that's mostly a problem in the script. Spacek manages another great southern role in support of justice in America (see THE LONG WALK HOME where her rich white woman character manages NOT to overwhelm her upright African American maid played by Whoopi Goldberg in perhaps her best—and last?—dramatic role since THE COLOR PURPLE).
ReplyDeleteWe liked CRAZY STUPID LOVE too. Thanks for the recommendation.