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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