Monday, October 1, 2018

THE WEEKLY RECAP: September 24 - 30




Anomalisa (2015)

Directed by Duke Johnson & Charlie Kaufman

* * * ½

Confined in a mid-life crisis of sorts, middle-aged and melancholy-stricken Michael Stone (David Thewlis) wanders a life of inertia where everybody is essentially the same person (Tom Noonan voices Everybody Else – a credited character). A celebrated author on self-help books (specifically dealing with the betterment of customer service work), he has just landed in Cincinnati for a conference on his new book. At his hotel, a ray of hopeful light appears when he meets Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a young woman who has insecurities of her own, but a beautiful enough voice that Michael cannot resist.  

Yet again, Charlie Kaufman delivers, but that shouldn’t be news for anyone. Anomalisa exhibit’s Kaufman’s stab at animation – stop motion animation, specifically, and it’s absolutely exquisite. The animation is absolutely seamless, and you feel like you’re watching these objects move naturally. But the substance matters equally as much, and there is no disappointment here either. It is a tender portrait of mid-life inertia that would make a great double-feature with Lost in Translation. What makes it work most is the beautiful voice work – Thewlis is terrific as usual, Leigh is perfect as the insecure flower waiting to blossom, and Noonan, with a somewhat androgynous voice, fits Everybody Else quite well. Oh, and prepare the tissues for a tearjerking acapella rendition of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”.

Kaufman has one of the most singular and distinctive voices in contemporary cinema; from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to Synecdoche, New York, each work of his is always an original juggling act that is imaginative, funny, heartbreaking, touching, poignant, and deeply profound. Anomalisa is no exception to this trend, but I must admit that it’s not quite as strong as his prior works. While I enjoyed what we got, it could have gone a lot further with its material – it’s not that it feels incomplete or unfinished, but the depth of the material covered makes it feel more like a 90-minute short film. I digress, though; it may not be as effective as his prior works, but that’s not saying much – in the end, it’s still Kaufman, and there’s no going wrong with him.


First Reformed (2017)

Directed by Paul Schrader)

* * * *

46-year-old Ernst Toller (Ethan Hawke) is the reverend of the First Reformed Church, a place of Christian worship approaching its 250th anniversary. A former military chaplain, he is a troubled man; physically ailing, as well as coping with the death of his son, killed in the injustice of the Iraq War. He is approached one day by Mary (Amanda Seyfried), who is deeply concerned about her brother Michael (Philip Ettinger), a radical environmentalist. Toller counsels Michael, but discovers he cannot bring comfort to Michael’s worries for earth’s future. At this point, Toller begins to question what it really means to be a man of God, and how it is possible to bring hope into a world tearing itself apart.

The 21st Century has now brought two of the most breathtaking films on the subject of faith I’ve ever seen; first, there was Lee Chang-dong’s Secret Sunshine; ten years later, Paul Schrader brings us First Reformed. This is most definitely a work from Schrader, being the story of a man faced with an internal crisis that veers toward harmful externalization. Thus, this is a stomach-churningly tense slow-burn of a film, but how remarkable that it achieves this with a minimal quality, taking many cues from Ingmar Bergman and Robert Bresson (many will be reminded of Winter Light and Diary of a Country Priest). Shots rarely move, letting the inner tension and despair build and build, and the cold color palette bolsters this. The borderline lack of a score really amplifies things. On the subject of the score, phenomenal work (if all-too brief) from Lustmord, the master of dark ambience.

Ethan Hawke is certainly looking toward a Best Actor nomination – it’s one of those roles that relies more on gestures and mannerisms rather than dialogue and actions. You can see his desperation to keep his strength all throughout the film. I also hope to see a Best Original Screenplay nomination, considering just how piercing some of the dialogue was – the first conversation between Toller and Michael is beyond bone-chilling. At the time I’m writing this, I’m still processing First Reformed, but I cannot say a single bad thing about it. It is a bona fide masterpiece, and I am happy to report has made its way into my top five films of this decade.


Interiors (1978)

Directed by Woody Allen

* * * *

It is a time of crisis in the family. Arthur (E.G. Marshall) announces that he wants to separate from his wife, Eve (Geraldine Page). With this being such an unexpected turn of events, all who is left to make sense of the broken pieces are their three daughters, all of which have problems of their own. Reneta (Diane Keaton), a poet, is married to an insecure author whose work isn’t receiving the glowing acclaim he so deeply desires; Flyn (Kristin Griffith) is an actress, currently away to work on a production – she seems to be completely oblivious to the family tragedy at hand; and Joey (Mary Beth Hurt), who is directionless and has much pent-up resentment for her mother.

It is well known that Ingmar Bergman is one of Woody Allen’s biggest influences. All of Allen’s adoration of the seminal Swede resonates throughout Interiors, Allen’s first dramatic film: Shots linger on, precise and particular in its minimal movements, always inviting the viewer to ponder the drama in front of them while the sound is so quiet its almost screaming – I was particularly reminded of Cries and Whispers, which I think is Bergman’s best film, with its claustrophobic setting and focus on the relationship between sisters. All that said, not once does Interiors over-indulge as a Bergman tribute, as it is still a confident and striking voyeurism of the frail last legs of a collapsing family. The film is almost exclusively shot indoors with bland walls and décor, always making everything more vulnerable and tension-tightening, but none of this would work without the terrific performances – kudos to Mary Beth Hurt, especially.

However, also like Bergman, Interiors feels a bit more like a play than a movie from time to time – even as a huge fan of Bergman, this is a style I could never fully appreciate. It becomes somewhat difficult to follow everything that’s going on since there is so much dialogue to take in at once. All of this finds its way into Interiors, but I’m not going to fault it for that, and I look forward to my next viewing of Interiors. Besides, this is a film that is not so much about what is said but instead exhibiting meaningless dialogue that only exists to deny the avalanche of emotion steadily making its way to fruition. It does in Interiors, and it makes for a piercing finale. Bergman would be proud.

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