BOMBSHELL

Charlize Theron     Nicole Kidman     Margot Robbie     John Lithgow     Connie Britton

Kate McKinnon     Allison Janney     Mark Duplass     Malcolm McDowell

     For years now, Fox News, created by Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes has been a driving force in American politics.  Ailes had been a Republican activist before affiliating with Fox News, facilitating the elections of Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush to the Presidency of the United States.  As a side note, he was instrumental in getting Rudy Guiliani elected mayor of New York City, and of significant note, he was an adviser to the 2016 Trump campaign for President.  Bombshell takes up the Ailes story toward the end of an impressive/infamous career when he appears to be the most powerful (and feared) executive at the Fox media network.

     It’s easy to see how powerful men become so secure in their place, they imagine they’re invulnerable.  Ailes is not the first (and perhaps not the last) to go down that road.  

     In the film, we are taken on a tour by Megyn Kelly (Theron), news anchor, of the Fox News administration and broadcasters, noting that Ailes and Murdoch are signified by the floors of their offices.  “Floor 2 wants to see you.”  “You’re asked to come to the 8^thfloor.”  The next person we meet is Gretchen Carlson (Kidman) of the popular show, “Fox and Friends.”  We see her attempting to counter Fox’s “legs” image of women and help them achieve more respect for themselves and other women.  But not only does she get in Ailes’ crosshairs, she takes on Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican debates by baiting him on his treatment of women.  This is anathema to Ailes, a Trump supporter, and he fires Carlson.

     After that, we witness Carlson’s decision to file a suit against Ailes, her attempts to get women in the Fox organization to come forward, all of this putting Megyn Kelly in a dilemma.  Does she step up with her own story, or maintain her cushy place in broadcast television where she is adored?

     Charles Randolph’s script and Jay Roach’s direction seem to be an even-handed approach to a combustible issue, because facts are on their side.  Ailes’ telling quotes (recorded by Carlson) are sprinkled throughout, giving full evidence to the suit against him. For example:  “To get ahead, you’ve got to give a little head.” “I’m discreet, though unforgiving (when you betray me).”  “You have to prove your loyalty to me.”  But Ailes’ most awesome and ironic exclamation is, “These women are trying to f--- me!”

     It would have been more informative for Bombshell to have elucidated the backstory of Ailes in his activist roles before becoming a Fox News executive and his relationship with Murdoch and his sons, who clearly disapprove of him.  Is that next for a whole new production?

     Noteworthy for their performances in this film are Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly, Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson, and John Lithgow as Roger Ailes.  These are all powerful performances at their best. Giving staccato emphases are Connie Britton as Ailes’ loyal wife, Allison Janney as his lawyer, and Mark Duplass as Megyn’s supportive husband, Douglas.  

If you want to see beautiful women in effective, provocative roles, this is a movie to see.

Grade:  B+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE MUSTANG

Matthias Schoenaerts     Bruce Dern     Gideon Adlon     Connie Britton     Jason Mitchell     Josh Stewart

     This is Director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre’s first feature film, co-written with Mona Fastvold and Brock Norman Brock.  She has had a long acting career (including being in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), and after she became interested in animal therapy for prisoners, she visited prisons and attended film laboratories at Sundance for advice and consultation in making the film.  This was not only to understand the process of the therapy, but also to see first-hand actual prisoners who are incarcerated.

     Cinematography by Ruben Impers (Beautiful Boy) is impressive right away in landscape shots of wild mustang horses on the prairie being herded by a helicopter into prison corrals where they will be tamed by prisoners.  It’s meant to be a dual process of both the horse and the prisoner learning how to contain negative emotions and express positive ones.  The latter is demonstrated so beautifully in one tender moment between Roman Coleman (Schoenaerts) and his horse Marcus after numerous out-of-control scenes.

     When we first meet Roman he is almost entirely non-communicative; he’s been in prison 12 years, in and out of isolation, and after some sessions with the psychologist (Britton), he is assigned to an “outdoor maintenance program”—literally shoveling horse s---.  Advocating for himself is completely foreign to him.  While working at that job, he keeps noticing a mustang kicking against the enclosure it’s in (no doubt expressing what he himself feels), he walks over and begins to bond with the horse.  When the chief trainer (Dern) observes this (he’s already had a few hostile encounters with Roman), he decides that this man and this horse are meant to be a pair, and suddenly Roman is in animal therapy.

     Parallel story lines help maintain fascination and suspense in the prison setting related to one of the trainers (Henry played by Mitchell), an affable black man who is successful in undercutting some of Roman’s hostility with gentle teasing, and Roman’s roommate, Dan (Stewart).  These are woven together well with the main story line, adding depth and scope to the tale.

     I liked pacing in The Mustang in giving the viewer time to get to know the characters and absorb the import of it, but revving up the tension and excitement from time to time, keeping you on the edge of your seat.  It is also a film that can be instructive in showing the commonalities between humans and animals and demonstrating the effectiveness of rehabilitative therapy training/for both. One tiny drawback that I saw was the filmmakers not showing the inevitable pain prisoners experience when they must inevitably part.  This is shown to some extent, but not as much as (to me) it is warranted.

An uplifting and inspiring film for just about everyone, with a powerful performance by Schoenaerts.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

BEATRIZ AT DINNER

Salma Hayek     Chloe Sevigny     John Lithgow     Connie Britton     Amy Landecker     Jay Duplass     Dave Warshofsky

     Still waters run deep, and Beatriz (Hayek) is a fascinating combination of a diffident but fearless woman whose passions burst out in full force when she is outraged.  After a turbulent childhood in Mexico and losing her family, she has devoted her life to the healing arts, working in a cancer center.  She is revered by the mother of one of her teenage patients who is alive and well, and Cathy (Britton) continues to have her come to her elegant home for massages after her daughter has gone to college.  Cathy is very gracious, and when Beatriz can’t start her car one day after an appointment, she urges the therapist to stay for dinner.  Her husband, Grant (Warshofsky), thinks this is not a good idea for a business dinner, but accedes to her wishes.

     What no one realizes is that the evening will be a huge, head-on clash of values and cultures.  When the evening starts, it’s a little awkward, with the society women showing their squeamishness about a medical condition and treating it as a gossip item (off-putting for someone working at a cancer center), and incredulous about Beatriz having a pet goat (“Did she say ‘goat’?), but all are trying very hard to be understanding and politically correct. 

Unfortunately for the evening, one of the guests, Doug (Lithgow), pushes every button in Beatriz’ psyche.  He is dominating, condescending (asks Beatriz to bring him another drink after mistaking her for one of the help, probes her status as an immigrant), boastful about his riches, and openly advocates going for whatever is best for oneself.  He is a businessman to the core, and to h--- with anyone (protesters, regulators, environmentalists) standing in his way.  He has and will handle them all.  This doesn’t sit well with someone who lost her family and her whole town in Mexico when American developers came with empty promises of jobs and wrecked the village and its environment. 

   One of the things I loved about this story is a humble person being fearless in circumstances where she is among very wealthy people.  The art of the creative team of writer (Mike White) and director (Miguel Arteta) here is in taking a neutral stance between two deeply divided sides.  We don’t just have empathy for the immigrant health care worker filled with compassion, whose life has been so difficult, we also come away with some understanding and identification with the privileged guests and hosts as well.  They’re clearly shown to be trying to do the politically correct thing, and trying to understand what Beatriz stands for and is advocating.  [This excludes Doug, whom I saw as a big blow-hard with little capacity for appreciation of anything beyond his self-interest.  The most he can do is shake his head in reaction to Beatriz.  Despite her confrontation and a tender touch (massaging his tense shoulders, did impress him), nothing she says ever really gets through to him.]

     In all this seriousness, there is great comedy.  It is the best of comedy, that which has substance underlying it.  We chuckle at the words of both Beatriz and Doug; they have a ring of truthfulness in their absurdity.  And the ending of the film is truly creative in its loyalty to the gist of the story, its grounding in reality, and its surprise.

   Salma Hayek does a bravura performance, with her intense focusing eyes, her engagement with the other characters with different emotional valences, and her range of states of being—at home, meditating, doing therapy, friendliness, encountering strangeness, and experiencing outrage.  Supporting actors add to the colorful mix of personalities, and the experienced, talented Lithgow is especially good in counterpoint to Hayek.

     Cinematographer Wyatt Garfield follows the story visually to enhance every scene, then he goes into wonderful artistry when he shows a flock of white birds suddenly flying out over a waterway enclosed with greenery and when he gives us an image onscreen of what Beatriz is visualizing when she is fantasizing/meditating toward the end.

An artful film about a clash of cultures and values, but with much appreciated humor.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

AMERICAN ULTRA

--> Jesse Eisenberg   Kristen Stewart   Topher Grace   Connie Britton   John Leguizamo   Tony Hale

           We meet Mike (Eisenberg) and Phoebe (Stewart) when they’re at the airport waiting to board their plane for a vacation in Hawaii.  That is, we meet Phoebe waiting intently; Mike is in the men’s room in the midst of a panic attack.  It’s clear he’s a bit of a wuss and a stoner, but Phoebe is incredibly patient with him until they get back home and the trip has been aborted.  Then he begins to fray on her nerves.  Without knowing much about the film beforehand, one would think this is going to be a love story in which he learns to step up to the plate.

          But soon after, mysterious (dangerous) things begin to happen.  A strange older woman comes into the cash and carry store where he works, and seems to be giving him a warning, but it’s all gobbledy gook to him, and he just thinks she’s strange and needs to go—which she does, leaving behind the soup and drink she had picked up to buy.  Then he sees two men messing with his car, and he goes out to run them off, but they have guns and his life is in danger. 

           Obviously, there is more to this than a simple love story; it involves the CIA’s secret operations and revelations about Mike’s own past, as well as others’.  It’s a bit disorienting to notice that he often seems clueless, but somehow he knows how to handle himself in a fight, and has background knowledge about things he has no recollection learning.  Through it all he is resistant to take action except when he is threatened, and uppermost in his mind is getting to go back home with Phoebe.

           As the revelations keep coming, and his life is threatened more and more, he learns something about Phoebe that makes him question even her and her motives.  And you really wonder whether this man is going to survive at all.

           But Eisenberg, who has received high marks in a number of hits (The End of the Tour, The Social Network, Zombieland, The Squid and the Whale) is a wonder in pulling off his character in American Ultra.  At times, addled, neurotic, and clumsy, he still is able to make Phoebe laugh at his humor (he even draws cartoons) and see him as the kindest person alive.  And then you the viewer watch him in combat, and go “Whoa!”

           Stewart is impressing most viewers with her talent recently (namely in Clouds of Sils Maria and Still Alice), and she is just as good here, merging into a more and more complex role as the story proceeds.  She is essential in helping us see Mike’s character.

           Smaller, but critical roles are played by Connie Britton, Topher Grace (ah, how you’ll love to hate him!), John Leguizamo (as a colorful paranoid drug dealer with good intentions), Walter Goggins (who ever heard of a bad guy who breaks out in peals of laughter?), and Bill Pullman (who gives an ugly twist to government insurgence.

          Although this film directed by Nima Nourizadeh is clearly meant to be a fun caper—which it is!—it does make serious statements about the U.S. government and its recent history of overstepping boundaries and keeping tabs on American citizens.  So with the spoof, maybe we need to keep a vigilant eye on its workings.

Surprises keep unraveling in this “love story” within an action film.

Grade:  B                        By Donna R. Copeland