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

ISLE OF DOGS

Voices of:  Bryan Cranston   Koyu Rankin   Kunishi Nomura   Edward Norton   
Bob Balaban   Bill Murray  Jeff Goldblum   Greta Gerwig   Frances McDormand   
Scarlett Johansson   Harvey Keitel   Akira Ito  F. Murray Abraham   Tilda Swinton  
 Liev Schreiber   Yoko Ono   Courtney B. Vance   Akira Takayama

     In the hands of Wes Anderson, a stop-motion animated film with mostly dogs as characters and an allegorical theme will captivate children and adults without pandering to either.  Probably by coincidence, writer-director Anderson, with the help of Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Kunichi Nomura, employ themes of topical relevance today:  government corruption, foreign influences on government, student protests, and issues related to animal research.  Additional weight comes from a case of repentance of justified charges for crime, followed by atonement.  Oh, yes, and murder and cannibalism are covered as well.

     Now, you might think from reading the above paragraph, that Isle of Dogs is entirely too serious and doesn’t sound entertaining at all.  But hold on—the action in the film is fascinating, rife with chuckling humor and imaginative sets, all accompanied by Alexandre Desplat’s wondrous score that enriches every scene.   Cinematography by Tristan Oliver and all the production and set design are remarkably artistic and enjoyable.

     The story takes place in feudal Japan, where Mayor Kobayashi (Nomura) and his cat-adoring people have decided that dogs are bad (as evidenced by dog flu, snout fever, and other symptoms) and a threat to humans, so must be banished to Trash Island (think of the environment in Wall-E); this is despite a noble scientist (Ito) announcing that a cure is imminent. 

     It turns out the mayor has a nephew who has become his ward after the child’s parents died.  Atari (Rankin) has a beloved dog named Spots (Schreiber), and even Spots has been banished.  This is too much for Atari, and in his grief and desperation (and smarts) he commandeers a small plane on his uncle’s estate and flies to Trash Island to find Spots.       That’s where many of the adventures and entertaining encounters take place.  Every dog has a personality and personal issues to deal with.  Anderson is able to insert drama in just about anything.

     Suspense is high in making us wonder whether Atari will find his dog (and there is an additional twist there), what will happen to all the dogs we’ve come to know on the island, and what will happen politically in Megasaki City.

     There is so much to process in Isle of Dogs that you are likely to want to see it again.  Noteworthy is the way the filmmakers bring home messages about justice, right, fairness, and joie de vivre without being condescending.  It’s all there for you in the experiencing of the film.

     Anderson has his favorite actors, and they are here, along with a host of others for us to admire.  I have heard that actors vie to be in an Anderson film, and it’s easy to see why.

Quintessential Wes Anderson in presentation, message(s), thoughtfulness, beauty, and fun. 

Grade:  A                                                   By Donna R. Copeland

COLLATERAL BEAUTY

Will Smith   Edward Norton   Kate Winslet   Michael Peña  

Helen Mirren   Keira Knightley   Jacob Latimore   Naomie Harris   Ann Dowd

          Whimsical movies with heart and soul make for fine holiday fare, and Collateral Beauty fits the bill, if the viewer doesn’t mind some attention given to death.  Collateral Beauty is more than whimsical; it illustrates how devastating the loss of a child can be for a parent.  Director David Frankel’s film, like Hope Springs, Marley and Me, and The Devil Wears Prada before it, makes insightful observations about the human condition in some of its variants (including issues of the three other main characters), mixed with good doses of plain humor, black humor, and pure fancy.  I found this movie hilarious at times, extremely moving to the point of tears at other times, and simply delightful, ultimately.  

         The problem at hand is that the head honcho of a business is going through an extended bereavement reaction (he stops coming to work at all), threatening the livelihood of his partner and business associates and employees.  Howard (Smith) has lost his daughter, so Whit (Norton) his partner, and colleagues Claire (Winslet) and Simon (Peña) try everything they can think of to help him function again, but nothing seems to work.  In desperation, Whit has a brilliant idea involving a private detective (Dowd) and three actors.  The actors will represent love, time, and death, the abstractions Howard has literally been writing letters to and dropping in the mailbox.

        Something like angels—but not quite—death (Mirren), love (Knightley), and time (Latimore) visit Howard at unexpected times, producing the letters he has written to them in which he claims that all have betrayed him.  The actors function something like therapists, addressing his comments like (to death) “You’re dead tissue that won’t decompose.”  And Howard reacts belligerently to all of them.  But he also lurks outside a bereavement group room, peering in the window and then walking away.   

          It’s clear that writer Allan Loeb and director David Frankel want us to think about life, time, and death in a different way; they can be serious and weighty, but just as well fanciful, truthful, and truly funny.  These are non-respecters of person; as the film points out, Whit, Claire, and Simon all have challenges, just like Howard does.            A strong cast, along with the script and direction, make this movie sing, boosted by the music of Theodore Shapiro.  A bonus is the trope of progressively falling dominoes signifying the vast reach of human connectedness.

         Collateral Beauty reminds me of Lars and the Real Girl in their sometimes serious, sometimes humorous depiction of human neuroses and the protagonists’ overcoming them with the support, understanding, and patience of family and friends.  The former is a little more absurd and artificial, especially the twist at the very end.

Not your typical Christmas tale, but warmly human and amusing.

Grade:  B                                By Donna R. Copeland