JULIET, NAKED

Rose Byrne     Ethan Hawke     Chris O’Dowd     Azhy Robertson

     What a delightful and entertaining rom-com this turned out to be!  It has smart, funny dialog, along with a lot of heart and truthfulness.  Based on a Nick Hornby novel, the screenwriting (Evgenia Peretz, Jim Taylor, and Tamara Jenkins) syncs well with Jesse Peretz’s direction, and the actors (Byrne, Hawke, O’Dowd, and Robertson) hand it to us on a silver platter.  

     The story centers around Annie (Byrne), a modest anthropologist and curator, who lives with a self-preoccupied film professor named Duncan (O’Dowd), whose music idol is a washed up singer named Tucker Crowe (Hawke).  Crowe is not only his idol, he has a school boy-like obsession with him; e.g., pictures, posters, and other Crowe memorabilia line the walls of his study at home—a little creepy, right(?), which is what we are supposed to feel.  Understandably, Annie finds this insufferable, but she tolerates it as best she can.  (She’s had a life that steered her toward patience.)  Then one day, her exasperation surfaces, and she responds to Duncan’s effusive compliments about one of Crowe’s songs on his blog with a negative review.  

     Much to her shock, of course, Tucker writes back about how much he agrees with her critique.  They have a back-and-forth online which blossoms into a friendship.  Meanwhile, Duncan has been prey to a new faculty member, succumbs to her charms, and subsequently gets kicked out of the house.  In Tucker, Annie has discovered someone who is interested in her and what she has to say, a novel experience for her. Of course, in her innocence, she regards this as a platonic friendship, but she does realize that Tucker makes her feel good about herself.

     What follows elaborates on Tucker’s history (He’s like the old woman in a shoe—he has so many children he doesn’t know what to do.) and his way-extended family, he and Annie meeting in London [him, with his lovable child Jackson (Robertson) in tow], hilarious encounters with Duncan, and working through the complex set of relationships.

     It’s clear that much thought and consideration of many current issues went into this production.  It touches on how professional women are regarded in the workplace and in their personal lives; it demonstrates how fame can lead a star down paths that have lifelong repercussions that can be both regrettable and shameful; it shows the pain and consequences for those who are in the star’s path and perhaps left behind; it gives an example of how one of those stars attempts to compensate for previous weaknesses; and shows the self-actualization one woman experiences when she finally realizes she has aspirations and choices she needs to heed.  None of this is ground-breaking, of course, but the way it all comes together is novel.

     On the surface, Juliet, Naked could be regarded as simply light entertainment—the usual.  But it doesn’t take much to scratch below the surface and glean many basic human truths within it.

I congratulate the novelist and filmmakers on their success in upgrading a genre from a “That’s nice!” to an examination of human strengths and foibles.

Grade:  B+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

MOLLY'S GAME

Jessica Chastain     Idris Elba     Kevin Costner     Michael Cera

Jeremy Strong     Chris O’Dowd      Bill Camp     Brian d’Arcy

     This is one of the few, or only, major films showing a female character who is strong, cheeky, brilliant, daring, and successful, and who chooses an honorable path regardless of the consequences.  Often, we see a film showing men in that position, but not women. 

     Molly Bloom (cunningly played by Chastain) is a cheeky woman brought up by her sports-obsessed father (Costner) to compete to the death on a ski slope; he’d had great success with her older brothers.  When she was 12 years old, after major surgery for scoliosis and doctors’ recommendation not to ski again, she went on to compete in the Olympics as part of the U.S. team.  Bad luck came in the form of a small piece of pine embedded in the ice slope, which ended her skiing career forever.

      Nevermind.  This is a woman of many talents and formidable determination.  She’s set to go to law school, but against her father’s wishes, she chooses to move to Los Angeles from Colorado and find “temporary employment” as a waitress in a nightclub and as an office assistant, just for a break.  Her employment as office assistant turns into a 24-hour a day job for Dean Keith (Strong) who runs a gambling casino in the Cobra Lounge.  Molly is nothing but smart, and quickly learns everything she can about poker; moreover, she draws up spreadsheets (something Dean has never heard of) showing the bets, wins, losses, and financial information. 

     When Dean sees how much she is making as his assistant, he tries to stiff her (as will another character later on, both planning to do an age-old con on a woman), but she is already ahead of him and opens her own place of business.  Keep in mind that all along, Molly takes great effort to see that her business is legal and above board.  She is circumspect in not indulging in many of the activities men in her position have a history of doing. 

     However, the money is so good, and she takes a few risks in cutting corners.  But she is back on track toward her goal of enrolling in Harvard Law School when she is arrested by the FBI.  This brings her in contact with Charlie Jaffey (Elba), a high-priced, circumspect lawyer who doesn’t regard her as rich enough or ethical enough to warrant his law practice.

Their interactions and conversations are quintessential Aaron Sorkin—fast-paced, erudite, and funny.  Molly has to convince him to take her on as a client with drawbacks that are against his standards of practice as well as money.  That’s when the film takes on the elements of a thriller and an inspiring life story.

     Chastain brings her considerable talent to this role, most likely reinforced by the nature of the character’s challenges and struggles.  It’s another victory of brains and ethical grounding winning out over masculine pride and ego, including those of a psychologist-father, who took many years to understand how much grit she had and how much like him she was.  Chastain tackles the role as she always has in grasping all the elements that make up her complicated character.  Idris Elba is just as much master of his role, and the two of them make an excellent pair in shaping the action.

     This film should be an inspiration to women aspiring to achieve success and to men who want to understand these women in a non-stereotypical manner.

A refreshing and different take on a crime thriller.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

LOVING VINCENT

Voices of:  Douglas Booth     Chris O’Dowd     Saoirse Ronan     Eleanor Tomlinson

John Sessions     Robert Gulaczyk     Jerome Flynn     Martin Herdman

     This beautifully rendered film advances like a detective story, beginning with Vincent Van Gogh’s childhood and moving through his life and on to his death, all depicted in meticulously drawn images in brilliant colors like those used by the artist in most of his work.  It seems almost like an eerie prediction/curse when we learn that a son was stillborn before Vincent was born, and his parents chose to use the same name for their second son.  It did not help that his mother was depressed and followed an austere set of religious beliefs.  These circumstances may have set him up for his life.

Vincent did not fit into his family with generations of accomplished men.  Many were informed about art, including Theo, his brother, who supported Vincent financially throughout adulthood when he took up painting seriously in his late twenties.  According to the film, he survived only eight years after that, but left behind an impressive body of work—800 paintings.

     The film is noteworthy in several respects.  First, it traces Van Gogh’s personality and mental issues throughout his life plausibly, showing some of the important antecedents related to his distress. 

     Secondly, the story is told in the manner of a detective trying to establish the actual cause of Van Gogh’s death.  In the film, Postmaster Roulin (O’Dowd) gives his son a letter that was written by Vincent to his brother, but had never been delivered because of the death of both men.  Mr. Roulin had been a friend to both brothers, doubts that Vincent had killed himself, and felt duty-bound to see that the letter is delivered to him if he is still alive.  His son Armand (Booth) must go to Auvers-sur-Oise, France, Vincent’s last whereabouts, and uncover the mystery.  Although initially reluctant, and only wanting to indulge his father, Armand proceeds to the village and gets acquainted with everyone he can who knew Vincent:  His doctor-friend Paul Gachet (Flynn) and his daughter Marguerite (Ronan), the inn keeper and his daughter Adeline (Tomlinson) where Vincent lived, the local policeman Rigaumon (Herdman), the art supplies shop, and the local boatman.  Armand is given conflicting accounts, and he has to reason out the truth for himself—which maintains the viewer’s interest.

     Finally, images for the gorgeous animation are created by a team of 100 artists who pattern their drawings after Vincent’s artwork, primarily in the style of “The Starry Night.”  Some historical scenes are shown in black and white, reminiscent of pictures from the late 1800’s.  The music of Clint Mansell supports this work of art perfectly.

     Writer/directors Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman should be praised for coming up with this format to tell the story about a tortured artist who did not live to see his acclaim, part of which is that he is regarded as “The Father of Modern Art.”  This tragic figure only had one of his paintings sold during his lifetime.  Although he knew at some level he had the talent, he felt at a loss for convincing others.  Although I’ve heard some of this history and seen the one-of-a-kind Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, it was gratifying to be reminded of what I knew and to learn more about Vincent Van Gogh.

Loving Vincent is a fascinating way to acquire some art history.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN

Ava Green   Asa Butterfield   Samuel L. Jackson   Judi Dench   Ella Purnell

Rupert Everett   Allison Janney   Chris O’Dowd   Terence Stamp

         Jake (Butterfield) regards himself as just as ordinary kid, but his grandfather’s (Stamp) stories give a special boost to his life, informing him about other worlds and other times.  These are magical stories that he finds enchanting, but are discounted by his father (O’Dowd), a skeptical realist.  When something happens to his grandfather, Jake becomes disconsolate, and is taken to a psychiatrist (Janney).  Jake is trying to figure out what is real and what is not real, since he is apparently seeing things that aren’t really there.  His grandfather has told him stories about Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children where he himself lived for a time as a child.  And he tells Jake at one point that he (Jake) should go there.  Jake thinks this is a great idea, and although his parents are doubtful, the psychiatrist points out how it might be helpful.

          So Jake and his father, a bird watcher, head to the island off Wales.  Jake manages to get his father to go bird watching, while he goes on his own to explore the Home.  He does find it, and encounters a strange group of children (with special powers) and Miss Peregrine (Green) herself.  They seem to know who he is already and give him a warm welcome.  But just as his grandfather predicted, there are dangers afloat.  Jake is pulled into the struggle for survival, and in the process discovers things about himself that he never knew.

      The film is classical Tim Burton with its magic and enchantment, marvelous special effects, and good messages and models for children.  Samuel L. Jackson makes a fearsome ogre that is not in the novel by Random Riggs on which the film is based, but added by Burton and Jane Goldman, the screenwriter.   It’s a good addition to give the film more focus.  Judi Dench plays a warm, special grandmother type with a kind of flighty personality, and she can transform into a bird.  Green is beautiful as Miss Peregrine with her obsession with timepieces and schedules, and her transformations are awesome and inspiring. 

       The child actors are very good and convincing as well.  Asa Butterfield is fresh in his approach as a wide-eyed teenager still capable of wonder, and Ella Purnell, a friend he meets at the Home, is delightful and skillful in her special powers.  Kids in the audience should enjoy watching children with special powers do their thing—blowing oceans away, starting fire with the flick of the wrist, floating in air, having the strength of three grown men, becoming invisible, able to throw out bees from inside oneself, wrapping cords of vines around a villain, and so on. 

        I also thought the metaphor of stealing people’s eyes—especially children’s—to gain power and eternal life was a clever idea, suggesting that vision is ever-renewing and keeps one informed and up-to-date in the world. 

        This is a film for those who are drawn to fantasy and super-human powers.  It could be too frightening in places for very small children, but otherwise, I think most kids will enjoy and be inspired by it.

Enchanting in its flights of fancy from a humanizing base.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE PROGRAM

Ben Foster     Chris O’Dowd     Dustin Hoffman     Jesse Clemons

          The Program’s opening scene is stark, showing a lone cyclist in the distance huffing and puffing up a steep road in the snow-covered Alps.  Lance Armstrong, the seven-time winner of the Tour de France only to be stripped of his titles years later for doping, has a desire, a hunger, to be a winner.  Soon after, we see him playing a game with a British reporter named David Walsh (O’Dowd), with the stakes that if Walsh loses to Armstrong (Foster), he has to shave off his beard.  Upon winning, Armstrong insists that Walsh follow through, which says a lot about the characters of both men.  Walsh does shave it off, but becomes relentless in pursuing a case against Armstrong for doping.

       The Program, directed by Stephen Frears (High Fidelity, The Queen, Philomena), is based on David Walsh’s novel with a screenplay by John Hodge.  It chronicles the meteoric rise and fall of the champion after overcoming testicular cancer with brain metastases and setting up a charity, Live Strong, to help others with the disease.  His decline resounded more loudly partly because of Armstrong’s cockiness and partly because he defended himself so vociferously for so long, even sacrificing some personal and professional relationships in the process.  After he brought a suit against Walsh and his newspaper, which resulted in Walsh being fired, two of his fellow cyclists who had been friends/colleagues but whom he had dumped along the way, testified against him, issuing in the beginning of the end.

      After an investigation ended in 2012, a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency decided that Armstrong had indeed used “performance-enhancing drugs” throughout his cycling competitions and banned him from competing in any sport that followed its code.  They stripped him of his titles as well.

       And Lance Armstrong did after many years ultimately acknowledge the doping, saying, his was “a mythic, perfect story, but it wasn’t true.”

Although many of us followed the news about Lance Armstrong and the pervasiveness of doping in cycling (in a context where most of the cycling leaders kept overlooking it), Frears’ movie gives a concise and interesting account of all the events, highlighting the kind of man Armstrong is and all the factors that led up to the outcome.  Ben Foster has an uncanny physical resemblance to Armstrong, and his acting skills in portraying the man are impressive. 

The Program is a good dramatization of the life so far of Lance Armstrong, the legendary cyclist.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland