ANONYMOUS, WEEKEND, MARTHA MARCY MAY etc, Rum Diary, Toast, In Time and BEN-HUR!

Lots of openings this week, and I saw some interesting film festival and oldie/goodie stuff, too.

At the screening for ANONYMOUS, a fictionalized story claiming that perhaps Shakespeare really didn't write all those great plays and poems, but was merely a ghost writer, there was energetic applause at the end, but walking out I heard a lot of disgusted people loudly complaining that this whole movie was a total fake because this version of the story is just not true......Well, I really don't care either way, but I have to say that ANONYMOUS the movie makes for a compelling argument for the Oxfordians, who think that the real writer was Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford. Here Shakespeare is portrayed as a rather carefree hair brained actor, just a pawn to keep the public and royal courts from realizing that Edward was the brilliant writer--since his station in life disapproved of life in the arts. In fact, artist themselves (even the brilliant Ben Johnson)come off as rather lowly creatures in this production. The cast is quite compelling, especially Queen Elizabeth, played at different ages by mother/daughter actors Vanessa Redgrave and Joelly Richardson. (I kept wondering at how much alike they appeared to be and it wasn't until the end credits that I realized who the younger actress was.) Rhys Ifans shines as the older Edward, and Rafe Spall as Shakespeare, David Thewlis and Derek Jacobi all shine in supporting roles. The film, directed by disaster film specialist Roland Emmerich, who made such popular entertainments as STARGATE, INDEPENDENCE DAY, GODZILLA, DAY AFTER TOMORROW, 10000 BC, and 2012, is slickly and entertainingly presented, with terrific costumes, set designs and special effects, music and cinematography. I enjoyed this intelligent film immensely. GRADE--------- A-

You can call it a poor man's BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2007), mainly due to the simple production values, and a few "party/barroom" scenes where the poor sound system and strong Scottish accents made it difficult to understand, but there is a lot of truth and honesty in the central relationship between two lower class men who meet for a sexual tryst on a Friday night, and end up spending the WEEKEND together in spite of themselves. The actors are very good, and they create an intimate and compelling reason to make you want these two to be together. One is leaving town soon for several years, the other is afraid of commitment. The complexity of their situation with family and co-workers is intriguingly portrayed, and it is encouraging to see a film about gay romance built on reality and promise rather than on prejudice and tragedy. GRADE--------B+

The awkward title aside, MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE creates a dreamy, intense, fascinating world where Martha is trying to break from her several years spent in a restrictive cult where women are subservient to men, always sexually available to the leaders, and taught to steal for a likelihood. When she runs away, she stays with her estranged sister who doesn't understand what has happened to her. The film effectively cuts between life in the cult, compared to the freedom of living in relative wealth. The film is anchored by a very strong performance by newcomer Elizabeth Olsen, younger sister to the Olsen twins of notorious fame (Mary-Kate and Ashley) but she is very good--one of those career break-out moments. Quite haunting. GRADE---------B+

TOAST is a light weight quirky British comedy/drama about the true life childhood of celebrity cook Nigel Slater and his competitive (cooking) nature towards his new step-mother played by Helena Bonham-Carter. It is an entertaining, odd, at times mean-spirited affair, but I enjoyed watching it. GRADE--------B

The new science fiction film IN TIME starts off with intriguing ideas--a society where time to live is the only currency---everything is charged against your time on earth, which is limited to 25 years, unless you earn or steal or inherit more time. Transportation, food, clothes, sex--all are paid for out of your time allotment, which looks like a giant digital clock under the skin of your forearm. Time can be added or subtracted with just the touch of your hands, or an electric device. When the hero (Justin Timberlake), who lives day to day in the slums, is given 100 years from a stranger, he becomes hunted by the Timekeeper, and escapes to the rich part of town where things cost a large amount of time. He attracts the attention of a young rich girl (Amanda Seyfried), but then they start living like time stealing criminals on the run, with the girl's father, the Timekeepers, and a group of British (?) hooligans who steal time, all after them. There is a lot (and I mean A LOT) of running by most of the characters, and after the first hour the film really loses steam and becomes a standard chase thriller. Large holes in the plot, logic and the continuity nearly destroy the cleverness of the situation. GRADE-------C+

On the shelf for quite a while, the film inspired by Hunter S. Thompson's last published novel finally hits the screens, starring Johnny Depp, who also appeared as Thompson in FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (1998). Unfortunately, the trailer for the film contains the only scenes of interest and humor. If your idea of watching a drunken man (or in many cases, men) stumble around Puerto Rico doing stupid things, then THE RUM DIARY is for you. Depp is dull, and the film is tedious and with nauseatingly hand held camera work becomes annoying to watch. GRADE-------D+

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I saw several entries at the Lesbian and Gay Film Festival last week.

The best was a BBC production which possibly will show up on Masterpiece Theatre this year. It is based on a Sarah Waters novel called NIGHT WATCH and is set mostly during WWII, but it does flashback in time from 1947 to 1943 to 1941 and then back. If there is a fault it would be that the film really plunges forth with a lot of plot, so that if you close your eyes for a minute you will miss a lot of composition. You really need to stay alert, but it is engrossing as you slowly discover what each of these characters (about 8 or 9 major characters) mean to each other. There are several lesbian characters, and also a gay male character, whose lives have all been affected by love, loss and the war. It is a classy drama (with some nudity) and strong BBC production values. GRADE------B+

I've really appreciated the films of Israeli director Etyan Fox, whose earlier films have included the love story between two Jewish men while serving in the military forces called YOSSI & JAGGER (2002), WALK ON WATER (2004) a thriller about a young Mossad agent searching for an old Nazi through his relationship with the Nazi's adult grandchildren, and THE BUBBLE (2006) about contemporary life of three young best friends in Tel Viv, the gay man falls for a Palestinian with dangerous political results. His newest film is actually a television mini-series in four parts which has been edited together to make a lenghty (nearly 3 hour) film, about a 10 year old boy whose mother disappears and he spends the next 15 years searching for her. She loved the music of 1970's pop star Tzvika Pick, so his music is sung (and sung and sung and sung) in nearly every scene, much like GLEE but without much variety, and the boy grows up to be a popular drag performer named after a song called MARY LOU--which is the name of this film. Well done and very slick. GRADE----------B

Filmed in Seattle, mostly in and around the U of W, comes this ambitious fantasy/drama called JUDAS KISS. The 35 year old protagonist goes back to his Alma mater to judge a film contest, only to discover an alternative reality that has one contestant with his name and film called JUDAS KISS, which he made as a senior. It turns out that that is his younger self, and now he has the ability to correct the unfair outcome 15 years ago that affected (and nearly ruined) his life. There's also a running joke that "he really fucked himself" (both literally and figuratively)which isn't given the attention it deserves. The heart is on the sleeve of these filmmakers, and the production values are not bad, but the script just doesn't have the sharpness it needs. GRADE-------C
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The wonderful, updated CINERAMA THEATRE in Seattle followed up a 70MM festival with a week showing of the newly digitalized version of BEN-HUR (1959) and it looked and sounded great on that giant screen. Most people just remember the amazing 20 minute chariot race that comes about three quarters way into this epic 4 hour film (with intermission) but this classy William Wyler production features a great movie star and Oscar winning performance by Charlton Heston (and supporting actor Hugh Griffith) and won all its Oscars (a still record 11 wins now shared with TITANIC) except for script which that year went to ROOM AT THE TOP. Curious. (Only other multiple winner that year was 3 wins for DIARY OF ANNE FRANK--best supp. actress Shelly Winters, best B/W art and set direction, and best B/W cinematography. AND this was the year that had nominations for SOME LIKE IT HOT, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, NUN'S STORY, PORGY AND BESS, ANATOMY OF A MURDER, PILLOW TALK and a personal favorite IMITATION OF LIFE.) The film remains for me a spiritual, moving experience, where cinematically, EVERYTHING works very well. Even the pokey beginning where all the characters are introduced seem especially important. It remains firmly entrenched as one of my favorite TOP FIVE FILMS of all time. GRADE-----A

A DVD viewing of A SERIOUS MAN (2007) confirms that this carefully constructed, personal film by the Coen brothers deserves every laugh, chuckle and epiphany that comes from repeated viewings. GRADE--------A

Finally caught up with the interesting and thoughtful documentary on cinematography which features lots of scenes from classic movies called VISIONS OF LIGHT (1992). Produced by the AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE, this is a pleasure for any film buff. GRADE------B

Featuring John Garfield and Claude Rains, THEY MADE ME A CRIMINAL (1939) was directed in a rather restrained fashion by Busby Berkeley. Garfield plays a struggling boxer who gets drunk and thinks he's killed a reporter. He flees out west and hooks up with May Robson and the Dead End Kids. Minor but watchable, and a bit predictable. GRADE-------C+

VANCOUVER INTL FILM FEST, SILENT SOULS, LORD JIM in 70MM!

Opening this week at SIFF Cinema, SILENT SOULS is a heavy going Russian film about a man mourning for his dead wife as he and a friend take a road trip to dispose of her body. I guess that many things that happen along the way are "tradition" like decorating her pubic hair with colorful strings, sleeping with whores as a way of exercizing her memory, and burning her body on a beach. The film also show flashbacks as he bathes her with vodka, and has violent sex with her. I kept half wondering why she had died--she is much younger than he--and the possibility arises that he may have had a hand in her death. At times poetic and hypnotic, at other times tedious with nervously hand-held camera work, this is just for those who have are truly interested. GRADE----------B-

The chance to see the rarely screened LORD JIM (1965) in all it's 70MM glory was presented by the CINERAMA THEATRE last Tuesday night only, and it is an impressive visual treat with an intellectual, adventurous story line, based on the novel by Joseph Conrad. Peter O'Toole, fresh from his LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) role, which also is being featured at the Cinerama this past week, has the most arresting vivid blue eyes that I can recall. Perhaps Paul Newman's eyes can come close to that. The supporting cast manages to steal the film, especially Curt Jurgens, Eli Wallach and an evil, droll James Mason--great bad guys all. The finale is shrouded in metaphysical intellectualism, obscuring the emotional connection you might have had for the characters, and I wasn't completely sure just who, exactly, is on that boat in the final shot, so the ending is disappointingly muted. Perhaps that's why the film rarely gets shown anymore, but physically, especially on the great big Cinerama screen, it looked and sounded terrific. GRADE----------B

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I spent a 5 day weekend in Vancouver for VIFF, the Vancouver International Film Festival, and managed to see 9 films, which I will write about in greater length later when and if they are released. Most of them seem likely candidates for some sort of art house run.

Top of the heap was an odd, intense sex drama called SLEEPING BEAUTY, an Australian film featuring Emily Browning as a college student who becomes an "escort" for older men who want to watch her sleep. The film is rather divisive, and caused some in the audience to fidget and laugh inappropriately, but it is beautifully done, with fearless actors and is bound to cause a stir when it is released. GRADE-----A-

The French-Canadian film that is a big box office hit in Canada is the comedy drama STARBUCKS, about a driftless, irresponsible 40 year old man who suddenly realizes that his girlfriend is pregnant, and at the same time is hit with a lawsuit from scores of young people who want to know who their biological father is. It seems that 20 years ago he made A LOT of donations to a sperm bank, and was quite fertile. This is such a great, smart, clever comedy that you keep wondering why filmmakers in the US can't come up with something like this. Instead they buy the rights and do a dumbed down remake. GRADE-------B+

THE BRITISH GUIDE TO SHOWING OFF is a sharp, creative documentary on artist Andrew Logan, who along with his partner, puts on an extravagant, outrageous show called THE ALTERNATIVE MISS WORLD every couple of years. (He can't afford it more than that.) Some of the participants/fans of this glam/queer/fashion/extravaganza have included Derek Jarman, David Hockney, Andy Warhol, Brian Eno and Billy Connolly, to name just a few. GRADE-----------B

The Russian film ELENA was advertised as a moral thriller, but it's more like a character study. Elena's husband is quite wealthy (their house is intriguingly Russian chic) but he refuses to pay for her slacker grandson to go to college. The film is fascinating in that you rarely see wealthy Russians portrayed in film, and there is some tension with the plotting--she makes some questionable choices to reach her goal. GRADE--------B


The Australian film HERE I AM follows a young aboriginal woman just out of prison, trying to go straight and win back custody of her child from her angry mother. It is familiar stuff, except that the film works as an ethno-centric primer into the lives of urban aboriginals in the big city. GRADE--------B

Another clever French comedy called MY PIECE of the PIE has a middle-aged divorced woman losing her job when financiers close down the plant she works at. In desperation she takes a job as a domestic, for a rich.....financier, who....well, you can figure this out quickly, but the film is smart, and doesn't go to the places you think it might. My biggest complaint---the ending is unfocused and surprising, but in the wrong way. Perhaps a US remake could improve on that! GRADE------B

From the same team that made RUMBA (2008) and ICEBERG (2005) comes the stylishly similar film THE FAIRY, a Belgium/Brench co-production. There is not a log of dialogue, but mostly uncynical physical comedy much like Jacques Tati with a bit of Charlie Chaplin thrown in. Very creative, but you need to be in the right mood. GRADE-------B-

MY LITTLE PRINCESS, a French film based on the true story that inspired Louis Malle's PRETTY BABY (1974) stars the great Isabelle Huppert as the bohemian artist and photographer who exploits her daughter's 11 year old body for the sake of money and fame by filming her in adult sexual positions. The film is written and directed by Eva Ionesco, whose story this is, and could have benefited from some edgy distance. GRADE----------B-

Set in 1943 during Nazi occupation of Poland, IN DARKNESS tells the story of Jews hiding from the Nazis' in the underground sewers of Lvov, with the help of some Poles. It is a good story to tell. Unfortunately, the director Agnieszka Holland chooses to film the story in near total darkness--this being sewers after all--with only the occasional light of some very strong and long lasting flashlights to light the way, so that we cannot see the faces very well of the actors (although we see a lot of close-ups of rats crawling over bodies), and then she decides to film with busy hand held action, so that even if one could see the faces, they are so blurred and dizzingly in motion that it makes you sick. So, along with the usual Nazi atrocities, like looting, shooting, death, gas chambers, torture, etc., this film is MISERABLE to watch. GRADE----------C

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A new film has opened at one theatre this week--TRESPASS---featuring Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman. I just watched the trailor and it looks exactly like the Spanish film I wrote about 3 weeks ago called KIDNAPPED. You've been warned.

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The one DVD film I saw last week was THE KILLERS (1964)--a remake of the same titled film from a couple weeks ago, this one with Lee Marvin, and also featuring Angie Dickenson and John Casavettes. Based on a Hemingway story, this version was made for TV but was deemed too violent and released in theatres instead. Marvin is quite creepy, and has a great final scene. Ronald Regan played the baddie (quite well) in his final film role, and there were quite a few different twists than the original to keep you on your toes. GRADE---------B