MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN

Edward Norton     Willem Dafoe     Gugu Mbitha-Raw     Bruce Willis     Alec Baldwin

Dallas Roberts     Leslie Mann     Bobby Cannavale     Michael Kenneth Williams     Cherry Jones

     Picture New York City in the 1950’s with a gumshoe detective following clues to weed out the killer of his life-long mentor.  Or at least picture one of the detective films you’ve seen—or heard on the radio—from that time (e.g., Mr. Keen, Tracer of lost persons; Dragnet), with the smokiness of the rooms, the seediness of the neighborhoods, and the persistence of a committed private detective.  That’s the movie Edward Norton has written (based on Jonathan Lethen’s novel), produced, directed, and starred in, in Motherless Brooklyn.  Norton and his cinematographer Dick Pope capture this period’s mood and effluence of city corruption that ends up being a crime thriller, complete with car chases, goons, and the pressure of rescuing an endangered damsel.

     The extra intriguing twist to this story is that the main character Lionel Essrog (what a name!), played spot on by Norton, has Tourette’s Syndrome (a disorder involving involuntary tics and utterances).  It’s not really relevant or essential to the story, but adds a touch of color.  Lionel works in a private detective agency headed by his lifelong mentor Frank Minna (Willis).  From the time Frank took pity on and rescued Lionel from bullies in a boy’s home, he has continued to protect him.

     But Frank is also mysterious about jobs he’s working on, giving Lionel and the others only sketchy details about it, but explicit instructions about how to keep an eye out and what to do if…  The movie begins with just such a job, during which Frank is killed.  What ensues is Lionel following the slim clues he’s been given or picked up to find the killer.

     This leads him into major city politics and Frank’s role in it; Moses Randolph (Baldwin), who seems to be in charge of major city “improvements”; a homeless man (Dafoe); activist    Gabby Horowitz (Jones); and a mysterious “black woman” Laura Rose (Mbitha-Raw).

     The novel—and consequently the film—seem to be at least loosely based on true historical events in the 1950’s, documented in a 2018 film, Citizen Jane:  Battle for the City, when Robert Moses, a city planner, began to dismantle city neighborhoods to construct freeways and bridges through them without regard for the people affected.  That is what is happening in this film, but it’s put into a drama that is exciting and will pull at the heartstrings.  

     This is a fun movie for those who can get into period dramas from not too long ago and follow leads and cues the detective Lionel chases—all while explaining his “brain problem.”  The cast is superb (what a juxtaposition of Baldwin’s Moses Randolph and his “Saturday Night Live” Trump impersonations), with Norton capturing the Tourette-plagued Lionel, Mbitha-Raw as an attractive, accomplished woman with a dark history, Willem Dafoe as the mysterious homeless man with a significant background, Bobby Cannavale as a compromised man, and Leslie Mann, Michael K. Williams, and Cherry Jones all providing star-quality performances.

A cloak and dagger story harking back to the 1950s with the added twist of a detective with Tourette’s, but possessing a formidable memory.

Grade:  B                                                By Donna R. Copeland

FRAMING JOHN DELOREAN

Alec Baldwin     Morena Baccarin     Josh Charles

     This is a fascinating documentary about perhaps the most famous wannabe carmaker in history, John Delorean.  Well, he was able to produce some cars, but when he thought he was hitting it big, most of the Deloreans being produced had major flaws.  Couple that with sudden competition from Japan’s Volkswagens (and the trend toward smaller cars) and a major change in British government (enter Margaret Thatcher) when he had taken his company to Ireland, he is in a tight spot.  

     It’s a tale of a golden boy destined to be the head of General Motors, the major car company of the time.  He moves up rapidly from a simple engineer, taking calculated risks like producing and marketing the Pontiac GTO, (aka, “muscle car”), which other GM executives thought would never sell.  It did, big time.  Now, GM is in a dilemma; Delorean is GM’s biggest moneymaker for the company, but the elders cannot condone his lifestyle (party boy).  There is a move to oust him from GM, and when one of his planned speeches gets leaked to the public, he is let go.  However, Delorean being who he is, turns the fracas into a hero win for himself.

     It gives Delorean the opportunity to go off on his own, taking one of GM’s foremost engineers, Bill Collins, with him, and forming the Delorean Motor Car Company. It’s when Delorean starts having financing troubles that he begins to cut corners and abandon any ethical principles he had before.  He makes a deal that involves a new engineer, Colin Chapman (edging out Collins) and a shady financing company, and decides to locate his company in Belfast, Ireland.  

     Once again, time pressures were on to build the factory, hire workers, and turn out a quality product.  But although the company was able to turn out thousands of DMC-12s, the cars had major flaws.  Moreover, there were other concerns related to a change in UK government (enter conservative Margaret Thatcher) that would not grant them the government concessions they had been promised before and were counting on. 

     Delorean’s desperation coinciding with President Ronald Reagan’s war on drugs is epitomized in his being arrested for drug trafficking, a deal set up by U.S. agents, but he is not convicted by a jury which objects to the government’s interventions.  Delorean does not escape home free; other charges will be filed about his financial shenanigans. 

     This is a story about a rising star with all the promise to succeed big time, but events partly of his own doing and partly having to do with an international economy, thwart his fondest dreams.  

     The decision of documentary filmmakers to insert actors into a documentary is puzzling.  For instance, the efforts in showing the make-up necessary to convert Baldwin into the visage of Delorean is interesting, but turns out to be more of a distraction and beside the point than a help, because there is so much archival footage available.  I can see more the usefulness of having Morena Baccarini portray Delorean’s wife, Cristina Ferrare, because we need to see the beauty that must have captivated Delorean and caused him to divorce his first wife, but this addition is not really necessary either.

     In sum, Framing John Delorean is an interesting foray into an examination of his personality and the inside and outside forces that determined his ultimate fate.

An examination of a man who could be king but for human flaws.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

BLACKKKLANSMAN

John David Washington     Adam Driver     Laura Harrier     Ryan Eggold     Topher Grace

Ryan Eggold     Jasper Paakkonen     Paul Walter Hauser     Harry Belafonte     Alec Baldwin

     Spike Lee has given us a chilling, eloquent picture about race relations in America, based on an autobiographical account by Ron Stallworth, a former police officer in Colorado Springs, Colorado, who led an undercover operation to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970’s.  It plays like a suspense-filled thriller, with the viewer sweating through many scenes where it is uncertain whether cover will be blown and whether characters will be killed.

     Ron Stallworth (adeptly played by Washington) is the first black police officer in Colorado Springs; to be a policeman was always his dream—particularly if he could be an undercover agent.  His first assignment is as a records clerk, which he loathes; then the opportunity comes to cover a speech by a controversial figure at a local campus, Stokely Carmichael, who has changed his name to Kwami Ture, a name that sticks in the throats of the law enforcement community.  Ron does such a good job, he is assigned to the intelligence service when he comes up with a plan to go undercover in the just-forming Ku Klux Klan in Colorado Springs.  

     After answering an ad for recruiting members for the local KKK by telephone, he convinces his police captain to send in a white police officer, Flip Zimmerman (Driver), to pose as “Ron Stallworth” and learn what the Klan is up to in the area. Stallworth actually calls David Duke (Grace), “Grand Wizard” of the Klan, to expedite his membership card. Duke is so impressed with Stallworth, he goes to Colorado to induct him personally into the Klan.

     In addition to the tension surrounding the undercover operation and maintaining anonymity, there is also conflict in the romantic relationship Ron has rather naively formed with one of the black protestors, Patrice (Harrier), who looks exactly like Angela Davis, and who is constantly trying to find out who he really is. There is also the Klansman Felix (spookily played by Paakonen) who is suspicious of Flip, (he thinks he has spotted him as a Jew) and performs tests of his identity and commitment. We’re also on edge, waiting to see if any of the threats picked up by the police department and the FBI(?) will come to fruition.

     BlacKkKlansman will most likely come to be considered as Spike Lee’s best film so far.  It won the Gran Prix at Cannes this year, and Lee received a standing ovation at its premier.       This seems well deserved in consideration of the overall production including screenplay, direction, actors, music, and cinematography—and its topical relevance.  One of the jewels is the juxtaposition of a Klan meeting showing a disgusting racist film and a black protest meeting, in which an account delivered by Harry Belefonte tells about the horrific mistreatment of a black child.

     As stunning as the film is, it is long; and there are a few scenes that could have been shortened, and one at the end that could have been cut altogether; it’s a telephone call informing a major character about the law enforcement subterfuge.  Perhaps this actually occurred (I have not read Stallworth’s book), but it looks more like the filmmakers simply wanted to vent their spleen.

BlacKkKlansman is a meritorious addition to the films that are making statements about us that we should take seriously.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT

Tom Cruise     Henry Cavill     Ving Rhames     Simon Pegg     Rebecca Ferguson

Sean Harris     Angela Bassett     Vanessa Kirby     Michelle Monaghan     Alec Baldwin

     Apparent impossibilities is a running theme in Mission Impossible movies, and this one just about maxes out on them: Careening car chases on busy city streets, a glass and wall smashing brawl in a brilliantly lit men’s room leaving blood everywhere, reverberating near-miss gun shots (although many make their mark, of course), shifting identities (friends turn out to be foes and vice versa—who’s to trust?), multiple players with agendas of their own, complex nuclear bomb dismantlement, and literal cliff hangers make this an exciting, nail-biter of a story.

     Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is given the assignment of sabotaging a plutonium deal that is likely to end up as a nuclear weapon in the wrong hands.  He smarts at CIA head Erica Sloan’s (Bassett) last-minute instruction that one of her agents, Walker (Cavill), accompany him on the mission. Hunt gets a sample of Walker’s rashness and ineptness early on in the mission, and it takes all his patience to stomach him, especially when he seems not to have any inkling that Hunt has rescued him early on in a dive out of an airplane at high altitude.

     Never mind.  They get right to the business of identifying the parties involved in the plutonium trade, which is more complicated than they imagined.  They will encounter men with ideals to change the world order [Dr. Nils Debruuk (Kristopher Joner) and Solomon Lane (Harrison)]; British Ilsa Faust (Ferguson), perhaps of MI6 and well known to Hunt, who is mystified when she appears on the scene; and periodic reappearances of Sloan and Hunley (Baldwin).  In the process, accusations and proofs of loyalty abound.  

     Cruise is up to the role as always in his rendition of the Hunt persona and in his continuing bravery in doing as many of his own stunts as possible.  (He suffered an ankle injury during the filming.)  But the number of times he is hanging onto a ledge gets to be almost humorous.  It’s hard to see Henry Cavill (of Superman fame) play the role of thoughtless agent and possibly something worse, a bit of miscasting, since he is not always able to achieve the sinister threat of such a character.  Rhames and Pegg not only contribute fine supporting performances as Hunt’s loyal team; they finely and convincingly execute welcome comedic lines when the going gets tense.  Other supporting actors (Ferguson, Harris, Bassett, Kirby, Baldwin, and Monaghan) perform admirably in their roles, although scenes between Hunt and Monaghan’s character are unnecessary and way too saccharine.

     There are so many chases and characters to follow in this breakneck-paced action movie, the viewer can easily lose track, but the main thrusts come through, and you can count on getting the main points by the end.  Sprinkled in here and there are clever little motifs that bring chuckles (for example:  In tense moments a character will ask, “How…?”  The reply:  “I’ll figure it out.”)  At any rate, director Christopher McQuarrie (Mission Impossible:  Rogue Nation) seems to have maintained the series’ good reputation, and perhaps may even have improved on it.  

Be prepared for hair-raising ride—literal and metaphorical--in this action thriller.

Grade:  A-                                    By Donna R. Copeland

PARIS CAN WAIT

Diane Lane     Arnaud Viard     Alec Baldwin

      Warning!  After you see this film, make sure you’re able to go to the finest French restaurant you can to prolong the sensorial mood you will be in for as long as possible.  This is a film that Lost in Translation should have been (my apologies, Sofia, but I could never understand two people staying in their hotel rooms the entire time they are in exotic Tokyo).  Paris Can Wait is a two-day road trip through Provence on the way to Paris.  It’s a sensual journey with a charming, complimenting, gastronomic guide and wine connoisseur.  As an aside, I am puzzled by the cinematographer’s decision to film the lush French landscape in a washed out color palette. 

      On this filmic journey, you must identify with Anne (Lane) in the story to savor all the delights.  Jacques (Viard), a colleague of Anne’s husband Michael (Baldwin), offers to drive her to Paris when she is advised not to fly because of a cold; Michael is on his way to Budapest.  So Michael goes on to his meeting in Budapest, and it’s decided that Anne will rejoin him in Paris, their final destination in Europe.  “You’ll be there by dinnertime”, says Michael.

      What follows is enchanting.  Jacques is playful and flirtatious, which takes Cleveland-born Anne aback.  As soon as they drive off, he says, “Let’s pretend we don’t know where we’re going.”  The rest of the trip—which takes 2½ days—is indulgent in ways she has never experienced before.  It’s a fine advertisement for French men, because Jacques is just as respectful of Anne as he is flirtatious and playful.  His compliments are genuinely framed in her abilities (in photography, in fixing a car), as well as her appearance.

      And this is more than a sexually teasing romp.  During their time together, Anne and Jacques go beyond gourmet delights, as they make their way through Provence and visit ancient landmarks, Lumier and textile museums, a fresh market, and elegant hotels.  He contrasts the French and Americans with pronouncements like, “In France, our happiest memories are around the table” and “Americans always have to have a reason” rather than simply enjoying some of life’s simple pleasures.  There are emotional self-revelations from each that create empathy between them for their losses in life. 

      They do reach Paris, but true to the title, it can wait while Anne and Jacques savor their time together in a French Garden of Eden with its unique blend of history, art, architecture, gastronomy, and landscape. 

      Writer/director Eleanor Coppola (married to the notable Francis Ford) introduced the film in Austin, which I attended at the SXSW Film Festival, and indicated that it is autobiographically based.  After telling her friend about the trip she had made, the friend advised Eleanor to make a film about it.  Her background was in the documentary genre (impressively, the award-winning Hearts of Darkness:  A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, which she co-directed), but when she was searching for a director for this film, Francis asked, “Why don’t you direct it?”  It is an impressive work of art and makes you wonder if/why Eleanor kept her lamp hidden all these years.

     Eleanor and her casting director, Constance Demontoy, deserve praise for securing Diane Lane and Arnaud Viard for the starring roles.  Their chemistry is palpable, and both are appealing in such a way that we get the impression the actors are playing themselves, really honorable people with joie de vivre. 

If you wish you could go to France, but can’t, Paris Can Wait is a perfect vicarious substitute.

Grade:  A                                                By Donna R. Copeland

CONCUSSION

Will Smith   Gugu Mbatha-Raw   Alec Baldwin   Eddie Marsan   David Morse   Albert Brooks

          Young Dr. Bennett Omalu is from Nigeria, and from the time he was a boy he dreamed of coming to America.  He obtained medical degrees (bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery) at the University of Nigeria, obtained a residency position at Columbia University in New York, and along the way earned multiple advanced degrees and certifications, eventually ending up as a forensic pathologist.  When the story of Concussion (based on a true story) begins in 2002, Omalu (Smith) is at the Allegheny County Coroner’s Office in Pittsburgh, with the notable Dr. Cyril Wecht (Brooks) as his mentor.

              Omalu will soon gain recognition as the physician-scientist who first discovered that head injuries among professional football players have long lasting and sometimes devastating consequences.  He called the condition chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).  No small thing, because when it progresses, it eventually makes the person crazy, often driving them to suicide.

           Now, football is big business, employing hundreds of thousands of people, seeing that disadvantaged kids get an education, and making senior executives in the National Football League very rich.  The NFL will not take Omalu’s discovery lightly, and will fight circulation of the information about the damage to players like the tobacco companies fought the truth about the danger of cigarettes.  It will attempt to destroy the careers of Omalu and his mentor Wecht using every scheme the executives can think of.

           The themes of the film are very interesting and educational.  First is the dramatic story of how Omalu came to his conclusions, primarily by studying the brains of five or six players after they began developing problems.  This is not a smooth journey, and Omalu faces all kinds of objections and derision along the way, always with the backup of a strong mentor, Wecht.  Keep in mind that this drama is taking place in Pittsburgh, home of the Steelers, with one of the largest fan bases in the country.  Fans are just as vociferous in their objections to Omalu’s work as the NFL is. 

          Another enlightening theme is what the affected players go through once they develop the condition.  It’s heartbreaking to see the devastation to their minds, and consequently, the destruction of their families and finances. 

Another theme that lightens the burden of learning about a shocking condition is the romance between Omalu and his eventual wife, Prema (Mbetha-Raw) that gradually develops after his priest puts pressure on Omalu, a loner completely dedicated to his work, to take in a border who recently arrived from Nigeria.  She brings order to his home life and provides impressive support as he goes through his trials.  A touching item she brings up at one point is that his last name in Nigerian means “If you know, you must come forth and speak.”  She reminds him at a time when he is doubting the wisdom of pursuing such a controversial subject. 

         Writer-director Peter Landesman (Kill the Messenger, Parkland) is gifted in his presentation of controversial subjects, maintaining a comfortable balance of factual information and emotional experiences of the players.  He does not preach, but maintains a neutral stance in laying out material for the viewer to consider.  His storytelling is captivating.

           I would say that this could be Will Smith’s most important and well-done performance in his acting career.  He has been nominated for and won numerous awards, but he completely loses himself in this role and consistently maintains a plausible Nigerian accent throughout.  He and Mbatha-Raw (Belle, Beyond the Lights) a gifted performer as well, have good chemistry and come across as a very believable couple somewhat awed by their new love.  Supporting actors Albert Brooks, David Morse, and Alec Baldwin live up to their usual standards of quality.

A most enlightening and timely account of a troubling scientific discovery.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION

Tom Cruise     Rebecca Ferguson     Jeremy Renner     Simon Pegg    

Alec Baldwin     Ving Rhames     Sean Harris     Simon McBurney

      With a complex plot and twists and turns, Mission Impossible:  Rogue Nation does indeed appear to be impossible time after time.  As usual in this series, there are suffocating moments when you wonder how on earth (or in the air) they’ll get out of a scrape, and clearly loyal friendships become paramount.  Intrigue is heightened by a central character who keeps you guessing as to where the loyalty lies. 

      In this feature, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is part of the IMF, a U.S. secret service run by William Brandt (Renner) that is currently being threatened by CIA head Hunley (Baldwin), who believes the Syndicate IMF has been after is a figment of their imagination, particularly Hunt’s.  But because IMF is committed, they go rogue, and Hunt is aided by his old pals William Brandt (Renner), Benji Dunn (Pegg) and Luther Stickell (Rhames). 

      By the way, the movie is filled with humorous puns and references to other Missions, and in this feature, the IMF is not the only entity going rogue.  The frequent jokes and asides make the viewing fun, and offset the repeated high-wire acts (e.g., in an opera house during a performance of Puccini’s Turandot) and near escapes from fights, chases, and under-water challenges. 

      I think writer (with Drew Pearce) and director Christopher McQuarrie have successfully extended the franchise one more time, with intellectual complexity, political maneuverings, and derring-do.  The camera work of a master, Robert Elswit, increases the quality.

      Tom Cruise does his usual fine job in portraying an almost superhuman character whose hunches are infallible.  Adding an appealing, more naïve but still smart sidekick like Pegg adds another entertaining dimension.  A stunning addition is Ferguson’s Ilsa, a beautiful, intelligent, and forceful counterpart to Hunt, where there is chemistry mixed with refreshing ambiguity. 

      It’s impressive that this fifth version of the Mission Impossible series remains fresh and captivating after so many years.  McQuarrie has achieved just the right balance in all its entertaining components.

Fans of the Mission Impossible series are not likely to be disappointed.

Grade:  A-                        By Donna R. Copeland