BELFAST

 Jamie Dornan     Caitriona Balfe     Jude Hill

Ciaran Hinds     Judi Dench     Lewis McAskin

            This new film admirably directed by Kenneth Branagh is notable for its black and white screen (cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos, who also filmed Locke) and poignant events going on in Belfast in 1969, the beginning of Northern Ireland’s 30-year “Troubles.”  Highlighting a typical family living in the region, the film depicts torn loyalties and dilemmas about what citizens could/should do.  

            Most of the drama centers around young Buddy (Hill) whom everyone knows and cries out to as he walks down the street.  We see much of the drama through his most expressive eyes.  His father works out of town and is gone for periodic stretches, so it is up to the wife/mother (Balfe) to hold the family together, albeit with the loving (sometimes humorous) support of grandparents played by Ciaran Hinds and Judi Dench.  Who wouldn’t love those grandparents(!), particularly given that they have a warranted skeptical view of the world they live in.  

            The big dilemma posed for the family is whether to remain in Belfast where both parents’ families have lived since the parents were toddlers, where everyone in their neighborhood knows them and looks out for the kids, or whether to move to London where their standard of living would be much improved.  This was apparently a common issue for so many in Northern Ireland during that time.  The film captures well the violence in the area and threats to residents to join one side or the other.

            Branagh’s direction is expert and sure with the overall tone of the picture, the cast, and the decision to go with a black and white view, both visually and metaphorically.  Jude Hill as the young son appears to be destined for great things in his ability to express naturally so much of what Buddy was experiencing.  I liked in this movie that children are depicted in a way most of us would recognize—thoughtful but still child-like.  The actors playing the adults—Caitriona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Ciaran Hinds, and Judi Dench—are quintessential performers who will always capture our interest.  They’re entertaining to watch in whatever roles they play.

            It was also great to see a movie that is less than two hours long.  Certain events could have been extended to draw out the emotional impact (as so many filmmakers do nowadays), but I appreciated the meaningful brevity in this instance.  

 

The “Troubles” in Ireland are portrayed in a skilled rendition of what happened to individuals and families caught up in the conflict.

 

Grade:  A                              By Donna R. Copeland

ALL IS TRUE

Kenneth Branagh     Judi Dench     Ian McKellen     Kathryn Wilder     Jack Colgrave Hirst

     Not so much rings true (I don’t think) in this fantasy written by Ben Elton and directed by Kenneth Branagh—also its star—but it is interesting.  All is True deals with the period immediately following the fire that destroyed the Globe Theatre, primary venue for William Shakespeare’s plays. Immediately after, Shakespeare retired and never wrote any more.  

     The film shows Shakespeare (played by Branagh) returning home and planting a garden, although, admittedly, he was not very good at it.  In settling back in with his wife and two daughters—one of whom is married—Shakespeare is presented as being glad to be home, devoted to his family, and still grieving the loss of his son Hamnet at age 11.  In this drama, Hamnet’s twin, Judith (Wilder) reveals her own story of how the child died. 

     Most of the drama delves into the hypothesized dynamics of the Shakespeare family, in which William’s wife Anne (Judi Dench in predictably fine form) voices her resentment about his extended absences and other affections he has expressed in his poems.  She is cranky, but mostly forgiving.  His daughter Judith (Wilder) echoes her mother, but her complaints have an additional edge; she is convinced that her father values his dead son over his daughters, particularly her.  The Shakespeares’ daughter Susanna is married to a Puritanical physician, and it’s implied that he takes a self-righteous, accusatory stance on most issues.  The movie shows Judith eventually marrying after she and her father resolve their conflicts, although it is not under the best of circumstances.  All is True suggests that both daughters were involved in local scandals.

     I found the film rather strange in its presumed knowledge of history and its attempts to be currently relevant.  For example, the film clearly conveys its respect for Shakespeare, but it also comes down hard on male privilege and upper class self-entitlements, as well as absent fathers out to make their mark on the world.

     Not being a Shakespearean scholar, I was constantly wondering how much the film is based on historical fact.  Elton and Branagh include any number of hypothetical interactions and events that may veer far from the truth, however plausible they might be.  In this respect, I’m opposed to dramatic liberties taken by filmmakers who seem to go off on their own tangents, simply to entertain/thrill audiences.  On the other hand, if the screenwriter is a real scholar, and makes educated guesses about, say, how it was for Shakespeare to “come home”, I’m a bit more forgiving.

     At any rate, for aficionados of the period and Shakespeare, the film is likely to be entertaining.  For those not particularly interested in historical details and atmosphere, you can skip it.

An unusual look at William Shakespeare and imagining his life in retirement.

Grade:  B-                                    By Donna R. Copeland

RED JOAN

Judi Dench     Sophie Cookson     Stephen Campbell Moore     

Tom Hughes     Tereza Srbova     Ben Miles

     Red Joan is loosely based on the life of a British woman (Melita Norwood) who became a spy for the Russians in the 1930’s, and ultimately handed them critical information about the British atomic weapons project.  Her actions were not revealed publicly until the 1990’s, when she was 80, and the government decided not to prosecute because of her age.

     The movie takes considerable liberties in adapting the story to the screen (Lindsay Shapero) showing, for instance, Joan (the younger played by Cookson and the older by Dench) being a student at Cambridge University, becoming involved with Communist sympathizers, and falling in love with Leo (Hughes), a German who becomes a spy for the Russians.  Leo disappears from time to time without explanation or communication, and she rebuffs his attempts to get her to give up the nature of the project she is working on (as a physicist in the British scientific weapons project, a counterpart to the U.S. Manhattan Project) numerous times, knowing she would be liable for treason after she had signed the oath required by the Official Secrets Act.

            Director Trevor Nunn and screenwriter Shapero for some reason guided the story more like a soap opera plot, emphasizing Joan’s susceptibility to Leo, and cloaking it in a rationale that is actually different from the historical account.  Here, Joan’s infractions are attributed to her anti-war stance; she is horrified by the bombing of Japan and is convinced that if all the major powers had access to the atomic bomb, it would result in a détente—which the movie implies actually happened.  (The real “Joan”, Melita Norwood, stated her rationale as "I did what I did, not to make money, but to help prevent the defeat of a new system which had, at great cost, given ordinary people food and fares which they could afford, a good education and a health service" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melita_Norwood).

     As part of the plot, Joan’s relationship with scientist Max Davis (Moore), who hires her as a secretary/scientist, gives the filmmakers an opportunity to show the discounting of women in important positions, but also another romantic twist to the story.

     The movie can be faulted for making such a radical departure from actual people and events.  It calls into question filmmakers’ claims of authenticity when they purport to base their story on historical events and then alter significant relationships and events.

     As it stands, the film is effective in eliciting sympathy for Joan, her claims of patriotism, her susceptibility to a charmer, and her rationale for doing what she did.  I just don’t know how much it actually jives with the real story.  I am much more interested in knowing more about the real story of a most reluctant spy than in a made-up story of a romance.

Judi Dench and Sophie Cookson play a reluctant spy at different ages, and while interesting, Red Joan fails to capture the true story on which the film is based.

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

Kenneth Branagh     Penelope Cruz     Willem Dafoe     Judi Dench     Johnny Depp     Michelle Pfeiffer

Daisy Ridley     Leslie Odom, Jr.     Josh Gad     Derek Jacobi     Olivia Colman

            Murder on the Orient Express should be an exciting, engaging, production of a beloved author’s work (Agatha Christie).  Kenneth Branagh, more acclaimed as an actor than a director, fills both roles here, but is not exemplary in either, and perhaps the script (Michael Green) bears some of the responsibility.  A good detective story subtly plants clues, explicates the detective’s reasoning process, and guides the reader along in the story.  But the story here comes across as too convoluted to make sense.  I found a number of problems in this production, foremost being Branagh as Poirot, a role stamped in my mind as a David Suchet character.  Although Branagh attempts to convey the preciseness and impressive deductive abilities of Poirot, these simply do not come across clearly; they’re too English (rather than Belgian), and rather than a neat mustache, Branagh sports what looks like a gray rag across his upper lip. 

            Many of the first scenes on the inside of the train are hazy, dark and difficult to discern what is taking place, despite the work of talented production designer, Jim Clay, and cinematographer, Haris Zambarloukos. 

            The fault cannot be in the stars; the cast for this film being a large group of highly accomplished actors, including Branagh, along with Penelope Cruz, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Willem Dafoe, Leslie Odom, Jr., Josh Gad, Daisy Ridley, and Olivia Colman.  Johnny Depp is on the screen only briefly, but plays his role well.

            The plot adheres loosely to the novel, in which a group of passengers board the Orient Express in Istanbul bound for numerous European stations along the way; but the train derails in a storm, and the passengers are stranded until repairs can be made.  During this time, a murder is committed, and with Poirot on board, he is called upon to solve the case, despite his being on holiday.  Earlier, he had been approached by the victim, asking for his protection, because the man was convinced that someone was out to kill him.  The man wants to prevent a murder (his) before it happens.  Poirot refuses for reasons he states very clearly.  When the murder does take place, Poirot must solve the crime, which is the only intriguing part of this film, but delivered in a way that is hard to follow with the flurry of names and historical events.

This film seems to be a big miss for an Agatha Christie story.

Grade:  D+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

VICTORIA & ABDUL

Judi Dench     Ali Farzal     Michael Gambon     Tim Piggot-Smith     Eddie Izzard     Olivia Williams

     Victoria and Abdul is sumptuously filmed under the fine direction of Stephen Frears, with cinematographer Danny Cohen.  Alan MacDonald (production design), Sara Finlay and Adam Squires (art direction) give us the opportunity to live for a time in royal luxury and splendor against the backdrop of the lush English countryside.  But all of this beauty is offset, sadly, by the rancor and prejudice shown to Abdul (Ali Farzal) by the Queen’s staff and relatives. Abdul was an Indian commoner who had become a favorite of Queen Victoria when she requested two Indian men be brought to her to be her servants.  It appears that she was curious about another culture and thought that, as Empress of India at the time, she needed to know something about it.  She and Abdul seemed to hit it off right away, and he began to instruct her in Urdu and the Koran and “anything else he could think of” (in her words).  This elevated him from wait staff to being her “munshi” (teacher), and during the 15 years of their acquaintance, she continued to promote him and give him honors.

     Queen Victoria was much more enamored by her husband Albert than her children, and because of her regal responsibilities, he became the primary parent to their nine children.  Because his German background placed an emphasis on discipline and education, he tried valiantly to instill those values in his children, especially his oldest son and heir to the throne, “Bertie”, Prince of Wales, who would become Edward VII.  Unfortunately for him, Bertie was very different from his older sister Vickie who absorbed her father’s teachings like a sponge; he was so oppositional he appeared to be a dullard, which is how he is portrayed in the film.

     Since the Queen had delegated responsibility for the children to her husband, they were not especially devoted to her.  So when Abdul appeared on the scene and was so attentive and worshipful, her maternal instincts were kindled, and he became a favorite, much to the consternation of those around her who had been schooled in proper English society and held disdain for brown-skinned people in British colonies. 

     This account—“based on a true story…mostly”—of an interesting period late in Queen Victoria’s long reign, is interesting in its illustration of the power of the Queen—even in her old age—her egalitarianism despite the culture around her, a picture of how fawning and self-serving people close to her had become, and how race/class/religious prejudice was so prominent in Victorian England.  It asks us once again, “How long will discrimination against colored people and lower socio-economic classes continue?  Because it’s still all around us today.

     Judi Dench is again her own inimitable, consummate portrayer of a real person.  She shines, as always, and Ali Farzal as Abdul, is an able foil.  We become rapt in their relationship, and although there are countless others in all the scenes, they fade in comparison to our fascination with the solid, rather unconventional, friendship. 

     Although I found most of the film to be top-notch quality, there were times when the film seemed to lapse into parody or a farce when I wanted it to maintain its seriousness and depth.  

A successful period film that exposes the underside of what period films typically convey.

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 SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL

--> Judi Dench     Maggie Smith     Bill Nighy     Dev Patel

-->

The name of The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is apt in that it is second best to the first production.  It’s not clear to me why this one was made; it is so similar to the other one in terms of the humor, the colorful setting, and the kinds of fixes the characters have to solve.  It’s a bit like hearing a good joke the second time. 

In the first Marigold Hotel, Sonny (Patel) is the young and naïve but totally committed Indian who is trying to get the hotel in operation and recruit senior citizens from England to take residence there.  A group of them do arrive, and connections (and one disconnection) among the characters develop, and their exploration of the Indian sights and culture entertain us nicely. 

Now, the hotel is running and reasonably well managed by Sonny and his co-owner, the crusty but sharp Muriel (Smith).  The two make a trip to America to get financing to acquire an additional hotel and apply to be a part of a franchise.  When they return, they must deal with a few glitches—such as a romantic and business rivalry that Sonny has to deal with.  But most of the story involves the coupling of the characters.  Sonny and his fiancé have set a date for their wedding.  Evelyn (Dench) and Douglas (Nighy) seem to be hitting it off, and when Douglas’ ex, Jean (Penelope Wilton), suddenly appears for a visit, we’re treated to her caustic attempts at humor.  One of the single women is in a dilemma trying to make up her mind between two suitors, and another is holding a lovelorn at bay as she plays the field for a while longer. 

Two somewhat mysterious guests appear and assumptions are made as to who one of them (Richard Gere) actually is, but he immediately begins pursuing Sonny’s mother.  It’s almost like everyone has to be paired up by the end of the show, even though Gere’s character seems entirely extraneous.

The British actors, particularly Dench, Smith, Nighy, and Wilton shine as usual, and are able to elevate the dialog and make their scenes sparkle.  Patel is skilled at playing a range of emotions and deliver his hard sells with rapid fire, and the interactions between him and his fiancé reflect common pre-marital tensions.  The wedding party thrown later is really beautiful and radiates the colorful Indian culture.

John Madden’s direction, the music by Thomas Newman, and cinematography by Ben Smithard are all well executed and contribute to the beauty and entertaining nature of the picture.  I enjoyed the first one much more because it was fresh and new.  While this is still good, it is like a second visit to the same story.

Literally, a second-best production.

Grade:  C            By Donna R. Copeland  

PHILOMENA

Judi Dench     Steve Coogan     Sophie Kennedy Clark

Mare Winningham     Barbara Jefford     Ruth McCabe

  

     Philomena is a detective story, in a way, that involves Philomena (Judi Dench) trying to find the son whose birth she has kept secret for 50 years, and whom she was forced to give up when she became pregnant at a young age.  But it is also about religious faith, the ethics of journalism, aging, and forgiveness.  When she decides to tell her secret, Philomena is an old woman, and by chance, her path crosses that of a journalist (Steve Coogan) who needs a job.  Human-interest stories are far from what he wants to do, but he has no choice.  So the two become partners in trying to locate the son.

     As the story unfolds, we find out more and more about Philomena’s life as well as her son’s.  The journey takes them from Ireland to the U.S., where they stay longer than they intended because the story keeps pulling them along.  The story, which is based on real people and real events (The Lost Child of Philomena by Martin Sixsmith) is the strongest part of the film, along with the two actors, Dench and Coogan.  They have that wonderful chemistry, where they clash and bounce off one another and then have moments of deep compassion and understanding.  Steve Coogan wrote the screenplay with Jeff Pope, and it is truly a work of art in its depiction of life and people in a fascinating reality. 

     Stephen Frears, the director, has films of high quality to his credit, some of which have become hits, and I think this one will be very popular as well if it receives wide distribution.  Philomena combines intrigue, humor, strong emotional pulls, and life experiences that most people can identify with and relate to.  Moreover, it probes a bit into religious beliefs and practices that will evoke strong differences of opinion, just as it does between Philomena and Martin.  In the end, viewers will likely side with either Philomena on the side of forgiveness or Martin on the side of outrage, but in any case, are very likely to leave the theater feeling very moved and upbeat. 

This story is based on real people and real events.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland