DEAR EVAN HANSEN

Bill Platt     Julianne Moore     Kaitlyn Dever     Amy Adams     Nik Dodani     Danny Pino 

            The first song, “On the outside always looking in”, captures the nerdiness of its main character Evan, appealingly rendered by Ben Platt.  Your heart aches for him when he wants to express himself, but the words just won’t come out.  He seems to be without a friend in the world, except maybe one who denies it, saying he and Evan are only “family friends.”  Evan is attracted to a girl named Zoe (Dever), who is hopelessly beyond him and he is briefly bullied by her brother who absconds with a print-out of Evan’s and never gives it back.

            The page is found still in his pocket by his parents after his suicide, which sets up a whole chain of events in which people “see what they want to see.”  In his desperation, Evan—with the best of intentions (another theme of the film)—tries to explain the note to the parents, but not wanting to distress them further, goes along with their assumption that the note was written by Connor, their son, whom they would like to believe that Evan was their son’s only friend.

            “Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive”, said Shakespeare.  The film brilliantly demonstrates this human effort, even given Evan’s best of intentions. 

            It’s something of a surprise (and a creative insertion of the filmmakers) when Evan bursts into song whenever he is in straits to explain himself.  In song, the words come, and he is able to convey his thoughts eloquently.  There is one hitch—his efforts to please the listener and tell them what they want to hear—is going to get him into a heap of trouble.  Trouble that, in the end, makes the whole comedy a life learning experience for him.

            There are many clever layers in this story, one being that when Evan tells Zoe in song what her brother Connor said about her, he is actually describing all his own memories and impressions of her.  Another is the (slightly creepy) process where Connor’s family becomes so attached to Evan he becomes a surrogate son, a replacement for the one they lost.

            Where all the characters except Evan’s mother (Moore) (whom the filmmakers wisely always keep grounded) get caught up in the delusion, the filmmakers (writer Steven Levenson and director Stephen Chbosky) keep their sensibilities as an anchor, the most important being the underlying messages of substance they wish to convey.

            The actors are exceedingly well cast (except for my usual complaint of having older actors play high school students), and along with Platt, Julienne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever, Amy Adams, Nik Dodani, and Danny Pino are excellent.

            Dear Evan Hansen should appeal to a broad audience:  the younger set who may be experiencing loneliness and not feeling a part of the group, parents of teenagers, and those of us who have observed family dynamics similar to those shown in the film.  

            One implication in the film troubled me, which was that it’s “normal” for teenagers to be taking psychotropic medication.  One character was reassuring another about how “everybody” is taking it but hiding the fact.  I looked online and found one study showing that 23.3% of undergraduate students are taking prescribed psychiatric medication (https://www.browndailyherald.com/2018/04/26/23-percent-students-prescribed-mental-health-medication/).  The statistic for high school students is likely to be smaller; nevertheless, I wonder if we are becoming a society where individuals think they cannot manage life without chemical help.

 

To all the lonely people in the world, Hear! Hear!  This is a film that brilliantly shows us that there may be a lot of strength and character underneath the “withdrawn” or nerdy person.

 

Grade:  B                                          By Donna R. Copeland

 

HILLBILLY ELEGY

Owen Asztalos     Gabriel Basso     Amy Adams     Glenn Close     Freida Pinto     Haley Bennett

     After a ride touring the horrors of addiction combined with credulousness, Ron Howard has made me feel as if I’d been there.  One watches this like a child in the drama, pulled in, but helpless to do anything about what is going on onscreen.  

     The main character, J.D. (Asztalos as the younger and Ballo as the older) is looking back on his life as a small boy growing up in the hills of Kentucky into a family strong on loyalty and responsibility toward one another, but susceptible to addictions.  Based on the memoir of the real J.D. Vance, it is indeed an elegy to the people who brought him up—some of whom have passed on.  It shows how strong family connections can be—especially if family has been its primary value—when this has been drilled into a child throughout.  The film likewise shows the sense of guilt that is a strain running through it.

     Young J.D. lives with his mother Bev (Adams) and older sister Lindsay (Bennett), with Grandma (Close) ever present.  He’s a bit clumsy, and this can trigger a crisis with his mother who is usually on a fine edge.  Susceptible to stress, she might take out after anyone, with no thought of the consequences.  Earlier in life, J.D. has been able to count on Grandma to rescue him from his mother’s rages, and later, his older sister Lindsay (read parent-child), who has become Bev’s primary responsibility.

     Through all this, with some luck and some of his Grandma’s guidance, J.D. has managed to make it to law school.  It’s a completely different world than he’s been used to (Uh…what fork do I use among three on the table?!), and he has some sense about the cloistered world of the Ivy League and how he doesn’t fit in.

     Luck often plays a role in success stories, and here one piece of luck is in J.D.’s romantic relationship with Usha (Pinto), a woman of Indian descent who has all the empathy and good sense lacking in his early life.  Intuitively, he grasps how different and how healing she can be, worrying that his troubles will drive her off.  As you watch this film, their interactions will serve as flight into reasonableness away from the cacophony of J.D.’s circumstances. 

     Ron Howard has established himself as a film director who can empathize with all kinds of people with major problems (e.g., A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man) and here he sheds light on not only the ethos of “hillbilly” families, but also the plague of addiction that has hit them so hard—opioids.  They are vulnerable because without the essential skills of parenting, open communication, and reasoning, families are unable to cope with the thrill of the moment, peer pressure, and economic need that prey upon them.  It’s a tale that needs to be told dramatically to get the point across.

     Glenn Close is her usual wonder to behold, almost unrecognizable here as a wizened old woman who has done the best she can, considering her life story. She conveys crusty warmth and encouragement, somehow getting through to the hapless J.D.  Because of the role she plays—despite how well she does it—Amy Adams is not so sympathetic, although seeing her in the grip of addiction makes one more empathic with those currently in its throes.  Gabriel Basso, Freida Pinto, and Haley Bennett round out a well-chosen cast to tell this poignant story.

 

Hard to watch, but a beautifully composed film that is eloquent in its depiction of the effect of drugs on an entire family through generations.

 

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

 

JUSTICE LEAGUE

Gal Gadot   Robin Wright   Jason Momoa   Amy Adams   Ben Affleck   Ezra Miller   Henry Cavill

Joe Morton   Diane Lane   Billy Crudup   J. K. Simmons   Ciaran Hinds   Jeremy Irons   Jesse Eisenberg   Ray Fisher

     Oh, my, my!  Superman is dead, and the planet is threatened by a terrible force, Steppenwolf (Hinds), who only needs to get three “Mother Boxes” to communicate with one another and the world is his.  (There are more references to ‘mother’ in this action film than all the rest put together.  Hmmm…).  Steppenwolf has started by sidelining the Amazons and Atlantis, and now he is after Planet Earth.

     There is the possibility of bringing Superman back from the dead with scientific and super-hero means, and Batman (Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gadot) have a little argument about the merits of attempting such a feat.  She sees it as risky, but he convinces her that it may be the only option.  He also knows that it will take teamwork, so has been recruiting a team to counteract the threat.  Along with Wonder Woman, he manages to get The Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Momoa), and a Cyborg (Fisher) created by Dr. Silas Stone (Morton), with Alfred Pennyworth (Irons) at central control.  All finally agree to attempt the resurrection of Superman, who is clearly essential for success.

     What follows is the usual formula of an action hero film:  Fight, fight, dialog, fight, fight—always ending up with a fist fight, of course, despite all the fancy gadgets and powers of the players.  The special effects are impressive, as is often the case in these films (production design is by Patrick Tatopoulos (Godzilla, Stargate, Dark City), but the dialog is not of the same caliber.  There are few/no surprising twists and turns, so its primary value is in entertainment, and that’s if you like action hero films.

     A star-studded cast makes this film more interesting, particularly with a larger role given to Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, who is grooming herself to be a leader.  Bruce Wayne (Batman) appears to be flagging a bit and is feeling a bit guilty about his role in Superman’s demise, so maybe the new pairing could be Superman and Wonder Woman.  Along with Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck, Ezra Miller, Ciaran Hinds, and Ray Fisher give their characters depth and watchability.

     Director Zach Snyder and his writers (including Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon) have delivered a mildly entertaining, watchable film, but one that is indistinguishable from most of the genre.

Wonder Woman proves her worth among her fellow heroes.

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland

NOCTURNAL ANIMALS

Amy Adams   Jake Gyllenhaal   Michael Shannon   Aaron Taylor-Johnson   Armie Hammer  

Laura Linney   Andrea Riseborough   Michael Sheen   Isla Fisher

          It’s paradoxical that a designer of beautiful things can just as well create the same measure of ugliness.  Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals is stunning both for its beauty (people, art, landscapes) and its depravity (grossly obese naked dancers, disgusting images and sounds, menacing characters).  I assume that this reflects Ford’s view of the world in that he can find beauty even in ugliness. 

       After the shocking opening scenes with the credits, we are introduced to lovely, gorgeous Susan (Adams) driving through the gate to her architecturally striking home.  Eye-catching works of paintings and sculpture abound, and we soon learn that she is the owner of an art gallery.  Her equally attractive husband Hutton (Hammer) arrives, and we’re soon looking at the other side of the beauty; she is cynical and he is angry, anxious, and avoidant.  Their relationship seems strained.

          He flies back to New York for business, and Susan is left at home, alone because she let the help take the weekend off.  When she got home, she had opened a package from her ex-husband Edward (Gyllenhaal), which contained a copy of his latest novel, Nocturnal Animals.  The two had not spoken in years, so she was curious about why he had sent it.  But as she read it over the weekend, it became clear to her. 

      Most of the film thereafter jumps back and forth between Susan’s life now, with flashbacks of an earlier time when she was married to Edward, and to a movie of the novel.  The main character in the novel is Tony Hastings (Gyllenhaal as the character as well as the author) who, with his wife and daughter, are terrorized by “nocturnal animals” in the middle of the night on an isolated road on their way to Marfa, Texas.

         The novel has maximum impact on Susan, pulling up her memories and guilt about her first marriage and how she left it, and feeling threatened by Edward’s sending it to her.  Amy Adams’ performance is probably one of her best—much more impressive than in her other current release, Arrival, although she is outstanding in that as well.  The reason lies mostly in the difference between the two characters, one a scientist, the other a gallery owner with a complex history.

         The gifted actor Jake Gyllenhaal likewise pulls off a difficult challenge of portraying two different characters who have some similarities, but one is something of a pansy, whereas the other is more layered in temperament—a super nice, sensitive guy who has deeply vengeful thoughts and impulses that are terrifying.

          Reflecting Ford’s penchant for mixing up the good with the bad, the sinister character Ray (Taylor-Johnson) embodies the psychopath on the road who puts on an act of being rule-bound, polite and charming, but in reality is exceedingly cruel and twisted.  He and the policeman Carlos (Shannon) will send chills up your spine.

         Nocturnal Animals is exemplary as an art house film, one that doesn’t hold back any image, action, or state of mind, but covers a wide range of same.  That means it’s not always enjoyable or that it’s for everyone.  But Tom Ford’s script and direction, the cinematography (Seamus McGarvey), the music (Abel Korzeniowski), and the acting (Adams, Gyllenhaal, Taylor-Johnson, Shannon, Linney, and the rest of the cast) all come together to form a gripping production.

Hold onto your seats; this one is big, bad, and beautiful.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

ARRIVAL

Amy Adams     Jeremy Renner     Forest Whitaker     Michael Stuhlberg

            When Dr. Louise Banks (Adams) opens the film with musings about beginnings, endings, and time, it’s a clue about the construction of the story to follow.  And after a few scenes with Louise and her daughter, we hear about 12 alien spaceships that have landed around the world, one of which is in Montana where Louise lives.  That evening, there is a knock at the door, and Colonel Weber (Whitaker) tells her that based on her previous translation for the US government, they would like for her to translate a recording of a conversation with the aliens.  She responds that a recording is insufficient; she would need to see the speakers in person.

            So she is eventually flown with Ian Donnelly (Renner), a theoretical physicist, to the site, where they are charged with deciphering what the aliens seem to be saying.  Keep in mind that there are 11 other sites in the world where other governments are doing the same thing, in countries like China, Russia, and Pakistan.  Already, the U.S. media is firing up fears of the populace about the aliens, and the governments—including ours—are quick to worry about security and take a defensive-ready stance in case there is an invasion.  It never occurs to them that the heptapods may be contacting humanity for some other reason.

            The film makes good social commentary about fear of strangers and how quick some are to jump to conclusions based on few facts, and stand ready with finger on the trigger.  One paranoid voice (on talk-radio, for instance) can prompt domino-effect action among people and governments around the world.  Louise’s valiant attempts to reason and make scientific inquiries before taking such action is like a voice crying in the wilderness.  She holds our attention as we wait breathlessly to see how the story will turn out.

            Director Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Enemy, Prisoners, Incendies) has made previous sage commentary about human impulsivity, action with incomplete information, questionable motivations, and doggedness in searching for the truth, and this film measures up to his previous work in suspense and human dramas with which we can all identify.  The music of composer Johann Johannson enhances the drama, being eerily modern or beautifully symphonic, depending on the scene, and Bradford Young’s cinematography makes some scenes memorable purely for their composition and beauty, as when we see the upright mystical spaceship for the first time surrounded by textured clouds. 

            Amy Adams pretty much carries this film with her intense visualizations, painstaking work through problems, and emotional accessibility.  It’s too bad that her heavy breathing—meant to show anxiety perhaps?—was so predominant in such a strong figure.  She sounded like Darth Vader; whereas none of the men were heard doing this.  I am also a bit curious about Jeremy Renner’s role; so much of the time his character is just standing around or asking Louise how she is.  I think that’s a shame, both because the actor seems wasted in this characterization and because I would think a physicist would have a much more active role in hypothesizing and in advising government officials.  (You’d probably never find the current physicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson adopting such a passive role!)

             I very much enjoyed the characterization of Louise as something of a seer who could see into the future but had elected not to try to affect it in any way.  It’s the kind of acceptance that would be beneficial in many of our human struggles.

This is a different kind of action film, one that deals with universal issues with slower paced, scientific measure.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

Ben Affleck   Henry Cavill   Amy Adams   Jesse Eisenberg   Diane Lane  

Laurence Fishburne   Jeremy Irons   Holly Hunter   Gal Gadot

          It’s a common human failing to mistake proximity for causality, and that is how the action in Batman v Superman begins.  Superman (Cavill) has been present in or associated with tragic events in Metropolis, so he is being regarded by some as a pariah, taking the law too much into his own hands and needing some oversight.  Senator Finch (Hunter) feels so strongly about it, she heads up a committee to investigate Superman.

          Bruce Wayne (Affleck) is also convinced Superman is a danger to society and feels honor bound to set things right.  Thus develops a fierce rivalry between the two. Wayne’s trusted technician/adviser Alfred (Irons) tries to dissuade him from taking on such a battle, but Wayne seems to be a tormented soul who frequently feels he hasn’t done enough to protect humankind. 

           Another figure on this complicated chessboard is Lex Luthor, a megalomaniac, who is seeking to extend his power in the world by absconding with precious metals and engaging in other nefarious activities.  Wayne senses he is up to no good and does some investigating at his company. 

       Shadowing in the background for much of the story until the very end when she suddenly appears as a fighter for the good is Wonder Woman (Gadot).  What brings her out is a Kryptonite monster seemingly capable of destroying anything, including Superman. 

         One should go to this film expecting that it is mostly about the CGI accompanied by deafening sound effects with repeated urban devastation, fierce battles that seem to go on forever (Batman v Superman, and both of them with Wonder Woman v the monster), and near death experiences for Lois Lane (Adams) and Martha Kent (Lane).   It is filled with a jumbling hodge-podge of scenes that make it hard to follow the storyline. 

       Remarkable to me in this rendition is the number of self doubts voiced by its two heroes, Batman and Superman, which made me wonder if perhaps their differences with one another would have been lessened if each were more confident.  But that is me in fantasy; I think Director Zack Snyder and the other filmmakers purposefully set up this struggle because they thought it would make a better story for those who favor action movies.

A CGI spectacle with hand-to-hand combat scenes going on for 40 minutes or so nonstop.

Grade:  C-                        By Donna R. Copeland