NOMADLAND and the Search for Meaning

A major achievement by writer/director Chloé Zhao with a thoroughly arresting performance by Frances McDormand, Nomadland is an affecting film that leaves a strong, emotional response.

Beginning in 2011 in Nevada and traversing the Midwest, a middle aged woman, Fern, leads a solitary existence living in her camper like others who follow this nomadic way of life.  It’s a life of struggle and getting by with meager resources. Her world consists of bonding with those she meets along the way while taking whatever menial jobs are available and staying at various camps and lots where she can.  Her cross country travels become a physical and contemplative venture in search of meaning and her own truths.

Unfolding in a series of episodic vignettes (like a Terrence Malick narrative), the film explores the world of transients living off the grid. Each has a story and reason for being in this circumstance.  Many are victims of a poor economy; some have suffered the loss of a loved one. Comparable to the Depression era dustbowl, it’s a whole subculture community where there are no heroes or villains but rather survivors helping one another and hoping for a better future.  

McDormand is completely authentic as Fern, a proud woman, searching for her identity, who reconnects with her past as she takes stock of an open ended life and whose personal journey becomes our journey, though one filled with pain and regret. David Strathairn lends strong support as a fellow traveler, but the predominantly unknown cast contributes to the film’s realism.

With its moody score and beautifully shot, unfiltered landscape, the film’s power is in its honesty and deceptive simplicity.  It’s really about the small moments that add up to create texture for this film, one of the year’s best.   

**** of **** stars (on Hulu)

The Microcosm of MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

 

Playwright August Wilson (Fences) is getting another film adaptation with Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, thanks to producers like Denzel Washington (and Broadway director George C. Wolfe) and the result is a mesmerizing acting ensemble highlighted by its two stars at the height of their power.

Blues singer Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) is a legend in the South in 1927, and when she heads north to a recording studio to cut a new record with her band, conflicts ignite as her traditional, musical arrangements stubbornly clash against newer styles amid changing times.  Between recording sessions, the musicians ruminate on life, racism, hope, and regrets. Among them is a brash, energetic trumpeter, Levee (Chadwick Boseman), with dreams of making it big with his new ideas much to the amusement of his fellow players.  But his facade belies a dark, traumatic past that emerges unexpectedly and threatens his world.

This is a view of the black experience of that period, and though it can’t quite shake its theatrical origins, this never distracts from its splendid cast especially the two leads.  Davis, who completely transforms her appearance and voice (she did some singing too), wholly embodies the gifted singer; her headstrong diva is something to behold. Boseman has a choice role and makes the most of it, exuding bravado, joy, pain, and vengeance. At a brisk 94 minutes, this well paced narrative is that rare instance where a film could actually have been longer to feature more of the pair.   

It is unfortunate that this was the final showcase for the late Boseman and what would have been a glorious chapter in his ascending career. Savor this performance and the great Davis, and know that Oscar looks kindly at such bravura.

**** of **** stars  (on Netflix)

The World Was Watching THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

 

A detailed dramatization of incendiary events leading to the infamous Democratic Convention of 1968 and its aftermath, The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a compelling film with a stellar ensemble led by writer/director Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network).

In the summer of 1968, the country is mired in an escalating Vietnam War with mounting casualties, and with the shocking assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy, a Presidential election looms. Disparate groups led by, among others, Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne), Bobby Seale, Jerry Rubin, and Abbie Hoffman (a standout Sacha Baron Cohen), plan to descend on Chicago to oppose the war on the ‘eve’ of the Democratic National Convention. However, Mayor Daley amasses heavily armed police, and the stage is set for an explosive confrontation and ensuing trial that captures the nation’s attention.

Sorkin’s excellent screenplay, which has the challenging task of depicting an array of different personalities with similar yet self-serving agendas, has its moments of wit and drama as it raises questions of free speech, racism, and a nation undergoing a seismic change.  Despite cursory sketches of each participant, what is revealing is how the film portrays them as intent on non-violent protests yet branded as radical revolutionaries by law enforcement who employ questionable tactics.  The lengthy trial is shown to be an imperfect judicial proceeding filled with bias, missteps, and outright political maneuvering.  With parallels to current headlines, this is the sort of film Oliver Stone could have made.

To distill the notorious events into a feature film (rather than a miniseries) is an impressive feat especially with its large, talented cast (also including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mark Rylance, and Frank Langella). It’s a fascinating chronicle and one of the year’s best films.

**** of **** stars       (on Netflix)

The Grand Thespian

 

Actor Christopher Plummer passes away at 91 after a long career on stage, television and movies.  

He won an Emmy Award as the tragic banker in The Moneychangers miniseries and an Oscar for Beginners when he was at 82, the oldest winner.  With two Tonys, he was one of the few actors with a trifecta in acting awards.

He was equally adept at playing heroic figures (Triple Cross) and juicy villains (Dreamscape, The Silent Partner). He played a Shakespeare quoting Klingon with gusto in Star Trek VI: the Undiscovered Country. 

A consummate character actor, he featured in such recent roles as The Insider, A Beautiful Mind, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Syriana, National Treasure, All the Money in the World, Disney's Up, and Knives Out. But his most famous role as Captain VonTrapp in The Sound of Music will be what he is forever remembered. 

Arguably busier in recent years than ever, he never stopped working- the true thespian to the end.

A Consumate Actor

 

Actor Hal Holbrook has passed at 95. This talent of stage, screen and TV was Oscar nominated, won five Emmys of 12 nominations, and won a Tony Award for a lifetime signature role as Mark Twain. Although he had a successful career in such popular films as All the Presidents Men, Magnum Force, Creepshow, Wall Street, The Firm, Lincoln, and Into the Wild, he dominated the 1970s TV landscape with memorable roles including Pueblo, That Certain Summer, and Sandberg's Lincoln. A consumate actor.

The Impenetrable TENET

 

Director/Writer Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk) challenges his audience with Tenet, a mind bending, ambitious, and at times overwhelming adventure. It melds two distinct genres, spy and science fiction into a dazzling display of imagination.

Beginning with a terrorist attack at a crowded concert venue, the ‘Protagonist’ (John David Washington) is drawn into a desperate mission to seek the source of a mysterious, potentially world altering paradox called ‘inversion’. With a special agent (Robert Pattinson), the trail leads to a ruthless, powerful Russian (Kenneth Branagh at his villainous best) and his estranged wife (Elizabeth Debicki). As the stakes rise astronomically, the threat of world annihilation becomes real unless the agents can somehow intervene.

The control of one’s destiny and the bond between parent and child are recurring themes in Nolan’s films where his characters are at the center of extraordinary, transformative events. Further, he has always been fascinated with fragmenting and scrambling linear narrative (like Momento). The film’s plot device is an intricate concept (even more convoluted than his great Inception) like pieces of a very complicated puzzle that slowly come together. Though confusing at times, the best thing is to just go with it (and watch it again). A miniseries could have been a better format.

With his excellent cast (Michael Caine, makes another appearance), Nolan devises some wonderfully elaborate set pieces including an airport heist and a couple of wild chases with an added dimension unlike anything you’ve seen.  He is obviously exercising his affinity for James Bond films.

This is moviemaking on a superior level with its sweeping scope of locations and production value.  If only the plot was a bit easier to follow.  I give Nolan credit for sheer audaciousness in aiming high and just missing the mark.

***1/2 of **** stars (for Nolan fans)

An Actress for Her Times

 Actress Cicely Tyson has passed at 96. She was a pioneering black actress during the Civil Rights movement choosing dignified roles and refusing exploitation films which likely cost her film roles while waiting for her moment which was Sounder and an Oscar nomination. A flurry of projects came including Roots, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, and more recently The Help. She won a Tony Award and three Emmy Awards among 16 nominations.  In 2018 she received an honorary Oscar. Her many accomplishments off stage and screen were just as impressive. Ever hear of The Dance Theater of Harlem? Yes, she helped in its founding. With her memoir just published, she was active until the end.

Remember Me

Actress Cloris Leachman passed at 94. This veteran of film and TV acted from early beginnings like the memorable opening woman on the run in Kiss Me Deadly in 1955. She was the mother of a monstrous boy in Twilight Zone in 1961's episode It's a Good Life. She won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in The Last Picture Show in 1971. She was the nosy landlord in The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spinoff Phyllis. She was nominated 22 times for an Emmy Award and won a record setting eight times! And who could forget her turns in several Mel Brooks films especially as the Frau in Young Frankenstein? She even appeared in Dancing with the Stars not long ago. As one of her characters memorably said, "Remember Me."

I AM WOMAN and the Musical Feminist

 

This factual drama is an interesting take on singer Helen Reddy, whose female anthem, I Am Woman, forms the basis of the similarly titled film. As one of the recent spate of music biopics, it depicts an icon who tapped into an important time in our culture.

In the late 1960s, aspiring singer Helen Reddy (Tilda Cobham-Hervey), an Australian, comes to America with her young daughter to launch a singing career only to face skepticism, sexism, and indifference to her style of songs as Beatlemania takes hold. Befriending a music agent, Jeff Wald (Evan Peters), she begins with small nightclubs in New York City and moves to Los Angeles with Wald where record labels like Capitol Records beckon.  Motivated to write her own songs that feature her own ‘voice’, she represents a new kind of pop music that not only takes the charts by storm in the 1970s, but speaks to a growing, nationwide chorus of women’s equal rights. However, family tensions come to a head as drugs and financial ruin threaten everything.

The plot follows the tried and true narrative of radio airplay and luck to create a hit song. The film draws parallels between Reddy’s career and the Women’s Movement as many of her hit songs bracket key plot points including the question ‘if a woman can have a life and a career’. These issues and her personal relationships could have been developed a bit more for dramatic impact.

Cobham-Hervey is fine as the pop star and, with an aura of authenticity, does her own singing instead of dubbing in Reddy’s vocals. Though not on par with similar films as Bohemian Rhapsody, the film will resonate with fans who remember the pop sensation and her influence.

*** of **** stars (for Reddy enthusiasts)

The Man Behind the Front

Screenwriter Walter Bernstein passed away at 101. This Oscar nominated veteran was blacklisted in Hollywood from 1950 til 1958 when Director Sidney Lumet hired him. In the meantime he worked under other writers who were 'fronts' and dramatized in The Front. He wrote Fail Safe, Yanks, and Semi-Tough and had a hand uncredited in films like the original western The Magnificent Seven. Up til his passing, he was an instructor for screenwriting.

 

Talk Show Legend King Passes.

Master talk show host Larry King passed at 87 due to Covid related issues. His 63 year career was highlighted by over 25 years on CNN. No one conducted an interview like King. This clip shows how, as a young radio interviewer in 1963, he was able to secure Frank Sinatra, the biggest star in the world at that time. I have never forgotten it because it is just cool. Adieu Larry.

A Moment in History in ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

 

‘Inspired by actual events’, One Night in Miami, a fascinating imagining of a fateful meeting among four pivotal figures at a critical moment in history (adapted by Kemp Powers from his play), is compelling cinema and one of the best films of the year.

One evening in February, 1964, in Miami, Florida, four icons meet in a seedy hotel to celebrate Cassius Clay’s (Eli Goree) stunning, boxing triumph. Clay (soon to be Muhammad Ali), full of bravado, is joined by Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), the football great on the cusp of a career change, Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), a hugely popular singer, and activist Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir) of the Nation of Islam on the brink of starting a new movement with huge implications.  As they ruminate on life and their respective accomplishments, each realizes the power they wield to not only effect change in civil rights, but also leads to some hard truths and realizations that will change their lives forever.

The conceit of these personalities converging is almost too good to be true, but it did happen. Whether events transpired as dramatized is not as important as providing insight into each character as the film successfully conveys real, humanized celebrities with aspirations and fears. The ensemble excels at personifying their real life counterparts, looking and sounding like them with Odom a standout, singing like the real Cooke.

Though set primarily in a hotel room which belies its theatrical origins, the film does reenact and give new perspective to key moments in their lives.  Ironically their conversations chronicle themes amid a tense political backdrop that resonate to this day.

For her feature directorial debut, actress Regina King signals her cinematic future as a multiple threat.

**** of **** stars 

MANK and the Art of Imitating Life

The classic film, Citizen Kane, is the source for Mank, a fascinating back story of its screenwriter, Herman J. Mankiewicz, and how, despite personal struggles, a legendary, Oscar winning script was born.

In 1940, RKO Studios gives theater wunderkind, 24 year old Orson Welles, complete artistic freedom to do his first motion picture, and he enlists gifted scribe Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) to write a screenplay.  Through a series of flashbacks, Mankiewicz’s experiences with powerful, publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst (Charles Dance) inform his screenplay which includes Hearst’s mistress, actress Marion Davies (Amanda Seyfried), as his protégé who befriends ‘Mank’ as his friends call him. Struggling with alcoholism and witnessing an abuse of power by Hearst and MGM heads Louis B. Meyer and Irving Thalberg, Mank feels compelled to speak out despite calls to shelve his controversial, incriminating script even if it risks relationships and his career.

With its snappy, often satirical dialogue, the film, written by the late Jack Fincher (director David Fincher’s father), is filled with real life figures and events like the Depression, and with its parallels to the current political climate, it’s the sort of Hollywood revisionist treatise that the great Billy Wilder would have applauded. For Fincher (The Social Network), this must have been a labor of love, and it shows in the strong acting and tight narrative abetted by gorgeous black and white photography.  In retrospect, it certainly gives deeper meaning and appreciation to Welles’ masterpiece.

This loving tribute to a complex, talented writer is a feast particularly for true cinephiles and those curious about the purported origins of the iconic film.  Oldman is outstanding; his performance and the film are the sort of work that the Oscars love.

**** of **** stars (for movie purists)