WHITE BOY RICK

Matthew McConaughey    Jennifer Jason Leigh     Richie Merritt     Bel Powley

Rory Cochrane     Eddie Marsan     Bruce Dern     Piper Laurie     Brian Tyree Henry

     

     Recipe for disaster:  A lower middle class family living in Detroit in the ‘80s near a predominantly African-American section of town; FBI agents who are aware that the father is dealing guns illegally (although they’re not pursuing him) and that the son is developing friendships with the drug dealers in the black community, recruit Rick (Merritt) to become an informant for them.  

     What could go wrong?  A lot.  The trouble is, there are additional unanticipated factors and events that will complicate the picture.  The father, Richard Wershe (McConaughey), is an eternal optimist (“I’m a glass-is-half-full kind of guy”) who hasn’t done well, but sustains his dream of owning a string of video stores that will make him rich and able to take care of his kids, Rick and Dawn (Powley), and no longer need financial help from his parents.  He is good at communicating with his son about his business plan of selling guns (which he is clearly overly attached to) to get capital for his dream, but doesn’t seem to have the foggiest notion about guiding Rick or Dawn in sensible behavior and avoiding pitfalls and destructive temptations.

     So a lot goes down, with Rick getting more and more entrenched in shady dealings, Dawn making poor choices in the company she keeps, and Richard trying desperately to hold everything together.  It’s a statement about unmet needs, skimpy education, and desperate plans that have slim chances of success.  But the film also takes punches at black-white disparities in the criminal justice system, unethical practices of government agencies, and the inability of government to deal with economically ravaged cities such as Detroit in the 1980’s.  

     This is a difficult, painful film to watch from beginning to end, in its exquisite picture of flawed parenting, inadequacies in government service, seductiveness of drugs in distressed populations and the resultant crime, and the disparities in black vs. white lifestyles and communities and the criminal justice system.  The only positive element in all this mess is the example of family loyalty, which would be the primary support sustaining Rick for the rest of his life.

     White Boy Rick is a realistic picture of the 1980’s, but, unfortunately, shows that we have not made as much progress in social welfare and justice as we should have (or as I wished we would have). It could have made sharper connections between family dysfunction, social services, and the legal system, and how factors in all areas had such an impact on a young man’s life.

     The esteemed actor Matthew McConaughey clearly holds this film together in his ability to make the screen come alive when he is present, and then have this presence echo in the scenes where he is absent.  For his first film, Richie Merritt makes an impressive appearance, at home with his character and able to show a range of emotion.  Although not much more than a cameo, Bruce Dern and his brilliant blue piercing eyes gives us an extra treat.  Max Richter’s score with its doomsday tones and dramatic thrusts is a worthy accompaniment.

I realize that films like this need to be made, but they are painful to watch because of their realistic commentary about contemporary life.

Grade:  C                                By Donna R. Copeland

ANNIHILATION

Natalie Portman     Oscar Isaac     Jennifer Jason Leigh     Gina Rodriguez     Tessa Thompson

     Think about mixing the surreal and mysterious with real human drama within a glorious visual spectacle, and you can envision Annihilation.  Alex Garland has drawn on his previous experience with Ex Machina and plunged ahead with another futuristic presentation of humans confronting what may or may not be an alarming future.  He has the ability to balance the fantastic with the real so that one can buy into his dramas.  They seem otherworldly, yet something we can imagine really happening.  Part of the success of his work is in giving clues from the beginning that will inform the viewer later in trying to explain what transpires later.

     We’re first confronted with a puzzling interrogation of biologist Lena (Portman) by a military person in a hazmat suit (Benedict Wong).  He’s asking her who-what-when kinds of questions, the answer to which she says, “I don’t know” or “I can’t remember.”  She appears to be a little dense, but this is one of the nicely misleading cues that Garland does so well.  He does let us know she is a respected biologist at John Hopkins University.

     We soon see Lena’s missing husband Kane (Isaac) who appears suddenly after such a long absence she thinks he has died.  Although we learn that he has been involved in a covert operation, he doesn’t have many answers and seems very different from his old self.  But then abruptly he shows signs of a medical condition, which involves calling emergency services.

    More drama ensues, after which we see Lena volunteering to explore a new phenomenon that has occurred on earth called “the shimmer.”  Her team is led by psychologist Dr. Ventress (Leigh), and includes three other female scientists.  They will follow in the steps of other military people who have explored the region, but never came back, except for one.  This is a group of very brave women (nice to see!) who have no ties at home (“We’re all damaged goods here”), and for various reasons want to find a scientific explanation for The Shimmer, which “swallowed up” the military’s Southern Reach. 

     This is where the real adventure begins, with the expected strains on loyalty and mental balance, in confronting threats never before imagined.  It was especially gratifying to see a female character (Lena) having such deep curiosity, determination, and clear-headedness that she is able to confront whatever is before her, without becoming unhinged or allowing images from the past to distract her.

     Finally, the electrically charged ending leaves the viewer with possibilities rather than a neat package. 

This is a film not to miss for its thrills, human drama, and eloquently presented futuristic possibilities.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

LBJ

Woody Harrelson     Jennifer Jason Leigh     Bill Pullman     Richard Jenkins

Jeffrey Donovan     Michael Stahl-David     Michael Mosley

     Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36^th President of the United States is credited with furthering legislation on civil rights, gun control, wilderness preservation, Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security, aid to education, the arts, and public services.  It is clearly an impressive record achieved primarily because he was an expert in the “art of the deal”, and had an uncanny ability to know where to compromise and where to stand firm.  Yet, he is not generally regarded as a great President, and is associated more with the Viet Nam War than any social programs.  The LBJ documentary addresses this conundrum at least partially.

     Johnson was very wise, and although he smacked of narcissism, he was a brilliant strategist while he was Speaker of the House of Representatives, Vice President, and President.  He knew that after President Kennedy’s assassination, the country would be receptive to continuing a “martyr’s” agenda soon after his death.  Johnson understood the “strike while the iron is hot” element, and not only brought the country along on his plan, but some of Kennedy’s staff as well. 

     The movie begins with the Kennedys and Johnsons arriving in Dallas on the fateful day President Kennedy was shot.  Thereafter, it cuts back and forth between the events that happened there, and the political process in Washington, both before and after the assassination.  (This is another film that rejects chronological order, the purpose of which is not clear, and which seems to me to be a fad among Hollywood filmmakers, which annoys me.)

     The political process is much more interesting, primarily because we’ve seen the Dallas footage so many times.  The fascinating part of the political process portrayed here is in showing how effective Lyndon Johnson was in using compromise, negotiation, and downright arm-twisting (and “pecker” threats) to get opposing sides to work together.  Based on the film, John Kennedy was largely supportive, but his brother Robert despised Johnson and attempted to thwart him at every turn.  He doesn’t come across looking very well in this film.

     A strong point of LBJ, directed by Rob Reiner, is its honing in on Johnson’s personality—his confidence on the one hand and his insecurities on the other—and his strategic thinking.  His attitude toward Kennedy was one of respect, and some degree of awe.  “I’ve never seen a politician look that good on TV”, he comments to his devoted wife Lady Bird.  He observed that Kennedy was more a “show horse”, whereas he, Lyndon was a “work horse”, and clearly in the beginning he valued the latter more.  Across time, however, he grudgingly admired how much Kennedy’s appearance and charisma helped him achieve the popularity he had, and he held him in great respect. 

     The somewhat surprising casting has Woody Harrelson playing LBJ and Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lady Bird.  Harrelson’s Texas accent comes in handy, because despite heavy make-up, Woody doesn’t resemble LBJ that much, but his good acting skills are of considerable help in our seeing him as Johnson.  Leigh does a wonderful job portraying Lady Bird’s devotion and sage advice, and the chemistry between the two actors makes their relationship convincing.  Jeffrey Donovan as JFK and Michael Stahl-David as RFK manage the Boston accents perfectly, and capture the differing personalities of each very well.  Richard Jenkins plays Johnson’s old mentor, Senator Richard Russell, with the considerable talent he always shows, and comes across well as a Southerner who would almost rather die than give in to civil rights advocates.

     I found this movie interesting even though much of the content is not new; but it was good to be reminded of LBJ’s assets, since he could be so off-putting when he was being crude.  Unfortunately for him, a Texas accent has more often been made fun of rather than admired, and that likely worked against him as well.

The power behind a strong political figure toward whom Americans showed considerable ambivalence.

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland

GOOD TIME

Robert Pattinson     Benny Safdie     Jennifer Jason Leigh     Barkhad Abdi

            Robert Pattinson as Constantine “Connie” Nikas is the reason to see Good Time.  His performance as a poor-planning low-level crook is fascinating to watch.  This character is a great improviser, and although his (usually poor) planning doesn’t work out, he’s always got another trick up his sleeve and smooth talking to get what he wants.  He’s got enough smarts to dream up schemes—even on the spur of the moment—but not enough to work out a solid plan of execution.

            A major flaw in the script is related to the basic premise, which is, that Connie feels a great deal of responsibility for his brother Nick (Safdie), who is mentally challenged.  But the story never fills in just why Connie feels such possessiveness toward him.  He consistently tries to “rescue” Nick, but does it in ways that are unhelpful at best and dangerous at worst.  The “why” would be a much more interesting story to me, rather than watching mistake after mistake by Connie, ostensibly to rescue Nick.  Nick would be fine without him; society at its best—as it appears in this film—will take care of him responsibly.  Although, I must say that it could be that the filmmakers are making fun of psychological help in some, particularly the last one.

            Connie starts off making a mistake by having Nick be an accomplice in a bank robbery.  Nick clearly doesn’t have the wits needed to evade the police and gets arrested.  The authorities can see that he is not really responsible and provides him with help while they pursue his brother, who is scrambling to make bail for Nick.  (The bank has been clever with handing over the money, which is no longer usable.)

            What follows is a bizarre sequence of events involving an inept attempt to spring Nick from a hospital, an encounter with a grandmother and her granddaughter who will be duped, an attempt to rob an amusement park, and so on.  You’ve got the picture.  Desperation results in more and more schemes and bumbling.  The self-centeredness of Connie is illustrated in one sentence:  “Don’t be confused; it’s just going to make it worse for me.”  Said to a 16 year-old girl.

            The purpose of Good Time escapes me.  It has potential to be comedic, but only a few scenes are made laughable.  It could be about heists that go wrong, but there is nothing really clever about these heists.  It could be a drama about a dysfunctional family, but it is colorless in this respect.  The only redeeming value seems to be that justice is finally served for both Nick and Connie in the end.

Good time is not a good time at all.

Grade:  C-                        By Donna R. Copeland

ANOMALISA

Voices of:  David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan

          To watch Anomalisa, the viewer needs to be prepared to see an internal fantasy world in which we observe the inner life of a frustrated, despairing middle-aged man who feels that everyone he meets wants a part of him, and he cannot find for himself the peace and contentment he craves.  To accentuate the surreal qualities of his existence, writer/director Charlie Kaufman in collaboration with animation specialist/co-director Duke Johnson populate the film with puppets in stop-motion animation.  In bringing home a specific point, only Michael Stone (Thewlis) and Lisa (Leigh) are voiced by the actors; everyone else is voiced by Tom Noonan.  It’s helpful to know beforehand that the film references the Fregoli delusional disorder in which one imagines that everyone else is the same person, and that person is against him.  That Michael checks into the Fregoli Hotel sets up the scenario.  The experience is illustrated early on in the film when the screen turns black and all we hear is a cacophony of almost indistinguishable voices talking about the mundane. 

        Michael is a Brit now living in Los Angeles with a wife and son and is on his way to Cincinnati where he is to give an important speech.  He is an expert in customer relations and has written a book entitled, How May I Help You Help Them?  The man seated next to him on the plane, the taxi driver on the way to the hotel, and the hotel attendants all chatter in banalities to which he responds politely with gritted teeth.  Each one is indistinguishable from the other to him.  He is clearly bored, and follows a routine when he gets to his room.  Call wife who insists he talk to son, order room service, look over speech, call old girlfriend. 

        Somehow, Michael, this expert in customer relations (whose bottom half of his mask falls off in the hall at one point), inevitably manages to offend (his real bitter self and intentions are revealed) and he is ultimately left on his own, lonely and isolated.  He does manage to engage two women during the evening, and the story proceeds to show how Michael deals with personal relationships, including his life at home.  With little ability to introspect and learn, Michael continues on in his existential misery, never understanding how to the bridge the gulf that separates him from everyone.

       Anomalisa has been a critical favorite in its questions about the nature of identity and what it means to be human, to ache, to be alive.  It’s generally considered to be a comedy.  My objection to it is its pessimistic, cynical point of view and the absence of any movement of the main character out of his miserable condition.

Anomalisa, a film for Charlie Kaufman fans.

Grade:  C               By Donna R. Copeland

THE HATEFUL EIGHT

Samuel L. Jackson   Kurt Russell   Jennifer Jason Leigh   Walton Goggins   Tim Roth   Bruce Dern   Demian Bichir   Channing Tatum

          The Hateful Eight is divided into chapters.  Chapter 1 is entitled, “A Last Stage to Red Rock”, the full meanings of which are not immediately clear.  On the stagecoach is John Rich (Russell), a hangman and bounty hunter (“When The Hangman catches you, you don’t die by no bullet; you hang”) with his prey Daisy Domergue (Leigh) handcuffed to his wrist so she can’t escape.  They’re racing to Red Rock trying to beat the blizzard fast approaching behind them, and come upon Major Marquis Warren (Jackson) needing a ride because his horse perished on the trail.  As usual for him, Rich grills him like he does anyone, and if they succeed in convincing him, he turns out to be rather folksy with them.  Despite a brutal exterior (he continually batters Daisy), he is a soft touch if someone hits a certain button, but his mood can change on a dime.

          In Chapter 2, “Son of a gun”, we meet another potential rider, Chris Mannix (Goggins), soon to be the sheriff of Red Rock if he can just get there.  He manages to get a ride as well, and the group continues until they have to stop at Minnie’s Haberdashery to wait for the blizzard to pass.  This is the site of most of the action in the picture, with skirmishes between different parties.  An air of suspicion rules since this is just after the Civil War (in Wyoming) and some are southern Confederates, and some Union sympathizers.  Racial tension is high in the presence of blacks, Mexicans, and whites.  And finally, the two bounty hunters, Rich and Warren (who’s bringing in dead bodies for his reward) must always be alert to protect their bounty.

        Writer/Director Quentin Tarantino is a master of plot twists and thrills, and here he keeps us guessing and thinking a resolution is imminent through six chapters, continually springing plot twists that give new meaning to a situation.  Additional characters include an old Confederate General (Dern), a British gentleman (Roth); Bob, the caretaker of Minnie’s place (Bichir); and the Brit’s driver (Michael Madsen).  When suddenly, death visits unexpectedly, the plot turns to a mystery and deducing who the killer is. 

        Characteristic of a Tarantino movie, violence is so rampant, the viewer becomes inured to it, and after a while, someone like me stops reacting so much, especially since he often blends a bit of humor into the violence.  Or he has made you hate a character so much you get satisfaction in seeing that one get his/her due. 

        Tarantino likes to work with people from his previous films, such as Samuel L. Jackson, musician Ennio Morricone, and cinematographer Robert Richardson, editor Fred Raskin, casting director Victoria Thomas, and costume designer Courtney Hoffman.  Their excellent contributions help make his films masters of art.  Particularly notable here is Morricone’s haunting musical score and Richardson’s sweeping snow-laden landscapes and the menacingly colorful interiors that capture the drama of suspicion and violence.  Remarkably, the film was shot with the old Panavision lenses in 70MM, which is purported to be spectacular; however, unfortunately, my screening was in the current digital projection.

    Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bruce Dern, Demian Bichir, Tim Roth, Walton Goggins, and Channing Tatum are Tarantino first-timers, but they are all superb in their roles.  Russell and Leigh constitute a unique pair that plays perfectly into sado-masochistic roles.  No matter how many times she gets battered, the Leigh character yells out whatever truth comes to mind, only to get immediately knocked in the teeth—and she never learns to keep her mouth shut; nevertheless she always comes out smiling and feisty.

        I must say I did have reservations about seeing a female so despised by almost all the males (there are notable exceptions), who seemed to be acting out deep-seated hatred.  Perhaps Tarantino is aware of this in our culture and means to highlight it.  Or is this coming from something deep inside him?  I obviously don’t know.

Another significant work of the artist Quentin Tarantino, master of plot twists and thrills, always with injections of humor.

Grade:  A-                                    By Donna R. Copeland