This new comedy drama TULLY from director Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody--it's their fourth film together, deals with the frustration and difficulties of child birth and infant rearing, and for the first 3/4th of running time it works beautifully, with Charlize Theron giving a heartfelt, passionate, physical performance (she gained 50 pounds for the role) as a mother near the end of her tether as her children and new infant demand more attention than she has left. TULLY is the name of a night nurse who comes to her rescue, taking care of the child at night so she can get some much needed rest. I will concede that the final 20 minutes felt like a cheat for me, although many (especially women) may find the film very satisfying, and many will find the ending a clever enough explanation for that feeling. With Ron Livingston as her loving husband, Mark Duplass as her concerned brother and Mackensie Davis as the mysterious nanny. GRADE-------B
Viewed on TV
SUNDAY IN NEW YORK 1963---Back in the day this film was released, this modest sex comedy may have seemed rather risque, although today it seems quite tame. It is saved by some charming performances by Jane Fonda who has just broken up with her fiance because he wanted sex before marriage, and Cliff Robertson as her pilot brother, who assures her he has never had sex with a woman----saving himself for marriage. She soon finds out he is a liar, and decides to throw herself at a strange man (Rod Taylor) she meets on a bus. Things get funnier during the final 45 minutes when mistaken identities and sexual innuendos start to fly--there is a bit of slapstick that also enlivens the finale. GRADE-----------B-
SIFF Screening roundup........
THE GUILTY --Denmark---Superior and economical thriller with one setting and just a few characters, yet it held the audience in a grip from the beginning. A man working in an emergency call center realizes a woman on the phone has been abducted by a violent, desperate man, possibly someone who knows the woman, and he is desperate to help this woman before it is too late for her. This was a big crowd pleaser at the screening. GRADE----------A
THE LAST SUIT--Argentina---Excellent drama about a cranky old man who wants to return a suit to an old friend so he travels from Argentina to Poland with the help of a number of people along the way. Flashbacks fill in his tragic story, changing our perception of him. A tearful audience cheered the film's ending. GRADE-----------A
MAKING THE GRADE--A happy documentary from Ireland, about piano students who work through different grades as they progress in their proficiency Students and teachers from each grade level are interviewed, and the film made me smile a lot, and want to take piano lessons again. GRADE--------B+
UNDER THE TREE---From Iceland comes a black comedy about neighbor relationships that are in steady decline due to lies and misunderstandings---it becomes very dark indeed GRADE---------B
AFTER THE WAR---French drama about a Italian revolutionist who finds the past coming back to haunt him 20 years after he shot a judge during a protest. Now he has to move to another country with his teenage daughter in tow. GRADE-------B
THE RUSSIAN FIVE---I'm not a hockey fan, but the story of five Russian players that were recruited to play on a Detroit team in an effort to win the Stanley Cup was interesting and well made. GRADE-----------B
AMERICAN ANIMALS----Four USA college students plot to steal some rare historical books from the library, but they are rather dim witted, in this leisurely, fascinating film based on a true story. GRADE-----------B
DISOBEDIENCE---Great Britain film set in Jewish neighborhood has a woman returning home for the death of her orthodox father, and reheating up an affair with a woman who has recently married their mutual male friend. Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams star. GRADE---------B
BREATH--Beautiful looking Australian film about two young teen boys who fall under the spell of an older surfer who teaches them how to surf and "live the life." It's a slow burn, subtle surf movie, but it plays like a novel, upon which it is based. GRADE------------B
SWEET COUNTRY--Effective Australian western--when an Aboriginal man rightly kills a white man, he finds himself and his wife on the run from a posse. Serious themes of righteousness, bigotry, lawlessness, prejudice and survival keep this film intense. GRADE----------B-
Following films are NOT recommended-------
GOLD SEEKERS --There are some nice scenes of urban Paraguay that are ethnocentrically interesting, but the chaotic nature of the story and all over the map acting styles leave the whole endeavor tiresome. GRADE-----------C+
THE RETURN--There are a couple powerful scenes here, but this documentary/faux fiction film about Korean adoptees who return to find their biological parents can't decided if it wants to be fiction or documentary, and many scenes feel staged and dishonest. It's too bad because it is a serious problem, where records have been lost or destroyed. GRADE---------C+
LOOKING FOR OUM KULTHUM--This German film about a film within a film about an female filmmaker trying to film the story of the legendary Egyptian diva certainly looks very smooth and pleasing (especially the art and set directions, costumes and sumptuous cinematography). but the film becomes a bit pretentious, and the final feeling is---SO WHAT? GRADE---------C+
THREE PEAKS--German film that looks lovely with scenery in the mountains, but not much happens, and it happens at a snail's pace. But the scenery was nice. Yawn. GRADE-------C
WE THE ANIMALS--Independent USA film with low budget about poor family headed by a violent father and featuring three wild, active boys, all very close in age. Unfortunately, the film is all hand held with the giggliest camera work of any film I've seen this year which makes it hard to watch. The youngest boy (age 10!?) seems to have gay tendencies, but this film is relentlessly grim, and while it shared some themes with MOONLIGHT (like growing up sensitive in a tough environment, etc)--MOONLIGHT comes across as an even greater masterwork by comparison. GRADE------C
THAT SUMMER---Home movies with poor visuals and sound tells part of the story of the Grey Gardens situation that found Big Edie and Little Edie living in squalor in a Nantucket mansion. The characters talk and talk but the result is boring, and nothing is resolved (in this film) although it was modestly interesting seeing home movie glimpses of Lee Radzwill, Jackie O, Truman Capote, Andy Warhol and several other celebrities from that early 1970's. Still, the film is a mess. GRADE--------D+
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