DEAR EVAN HANSEN

Bill Platt     Julianne Moore     Kaitlyn Dever     Amy Adams     Nik Dodani     Danny Pino 

            The first song, “On the outside always looking in”, captures the nerdiness of its main character Evan, appealingly rendered by Ben Platt.  Your heart aches for him when he wants to express himself, but the words just won’t come out.  He seems to be without a friend in the world, except maybe one who denies it, saying he and Evan are only “family friends.”  Evan is attracted to a girl named Zoe (Dever), who is hopelessly beyond him and he is briefly bullied by her brother who absconds with a print-out of Evan’s and never gives it back.

            The page is found still in his pocket by his parents after his suicide, which sets up a whole chain of events in which people “see what they want to see.”  In his desperation, Evan—with the best of intentions (another theme of the film)—tries to explain the note to the parents, but not wanting to distress them further, goes along with their assumption that the note was written by Connor, their son, whom they would like to believe that Evan was their son’s only friend.

            “Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive”, said Shakespeare.  The film brilliantly demonstrates this human effort, even given Evan’s best of intentions. 

            It’s something of a surprise (and a creative insertion of the filmmakers) when Evan bursts into song whenever he is in straits to explain himself.  In song, the words come, and he is able to convey his thoughts eloquently.  There is one hitch—his efforts to please the listener and tell them what they want to hear—is going to get him into a heap of trouble.  Trouble that, in the end, makes the whole comedy a life learning experience for him.

            There are many clever layers in this story, one being that when Evan tells Zoe in song what her brother Connor said about her, he is actually describing all his own memories and impressions of her.  Another is the (slightly creepy) process where Connor’s family becomes so attached to Evan he becomes a surrogate son, a replacement for the one they lost.

            Where all the characters except Evan’s mother (Moore) (whom the filmmakers wisely always keep grounded) get caught up in the delusion, the filmmakers (writer Steven Levenson and director Stephen Chbosky) keep their sensibilities as an anchor, the most important being the underlying messages of substance they wish to convey.

            The actors are exceedingly well cast (except for my usual complaint of having older actors play high school students), and along with Platt, Julienne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever, Amy Adams, Nik Dodani, and Danny Pino are excellent.

            Dear Evan Hansen should appeal to a broad audience:  the younger set who may be experiencing loneliness and not feeling a part of the group, parents of teenagers, and those of us who have observed family dynamics similar to those shown in the film.  

            One implication in the film troubled me, which was that it’s “normal” for teenagers to be taking psychotropic medication.  One character was reassuring another about how “everybody” is taking it but hiding the fact.  I looked online and found one study showing that 23.3% of undergraduate students are taking prescribed psychiatric medication (https://www.browndailyherald.com/2018/04/26/23-percent-students-prescribed-mental-health-medication/).  The statistic for high school students is likely to be smaller; nevertheless, I wonder if we are becoming a society where individuals think they cannot manage life without chemical help.

 

To all the lonely people in the world, Hear! Hear!  This is a film that brilliantly shows us that there may be a lot of strength and character underneath the “withdrawn” or nerdy person.

 

Grade:  B                                          By Donna R. Copeland

 

THE GLORIAS

Alicia Vikander    Julianne Moore    Timothy Hutton    Lulu Wilson    Ryan Kiera Armstrong

Janelle Monae     Bette Midler     Lorraine Tousaint

     “You will do what you want to do with your life.”  Words so aptly spoken to Gloria Steinem by a wise doctor getting a solemn promise from her.  This film of Gloria Steinem’s life—drawn from her memoir, My Life on the Road--constitutes one of the more artistic renditions of a famous person’s life.  Julie Taymor, writer/director/producer, is as interested in portraying the essence of the woman as she is in presenting factual information.  Toward that end, she flips back and forth in time, showing Gloria as a younger child, an older child, a young woman, and a fully developed activist for human rights.  During the film, these different “Glorias” talk to one another, illustrating how we carry our different ages and memories along with us throughout our life span.  So the film moves back and forth in time—which usually annoys me—but the way it is shown here makes sense.

     Taymor shows Gloria growing up in a family of modest means, the child adoring her fantasy-loving father (Timothy Hutton), who follows his own dreams, leaving her and her older sister—but primarily Gloria—to assume responsibility for a mentally disturbed mother.  This woman, despite her weaknesses, saw to it that her daughter was able to attend the renowned Smith College from where she graduated with honors.

     The film shows the young woman’s encounters as she makes her way in journalism—sometimes having to take time out for supporting herself by dancing—but showing her ability to withstand easy, compromising paths while being attuned to the important issues of the day (e.g., racism, labor unions, reproductive rights), and demonstrating her capacity for empathy and nurturance.  

At a time when women were discouraged from speaking their minds, Gloria asserted herself, and despite an almost debilitating fear of speaking in public, managed to overcome it to advocate for principles she felt strongly about. Although she is known primarily for her work in women’s interests, she also championed causes for blacks, farm workers, and Native Americans.  

     Taymor has fun with filmmaking when about half-way through the story, she inserts a sequence of pure fantasy, visualizing what she would like to see happen to a chauvinist interviewer who asks Gloria inappropriate questions.  (We see him spun out into space in a red cloudburst.)

     But on a more serious note, the film is timely in its release just after the death of Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who had to endure discrimination at Harvard University when she was attending as a woman.  When Harvard invited Gloria to speak there years later, she was able to scold them in a way that actually won points for her, despite her chiding the professors for claiming that rape was a very small assault and for their course list omitting any reference to women.

     The four extremely effective actors (the four Glorias, Lulu Wilson, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Alicia Vikander, and Julianne Moore) are superb, and helped along majorly by Lorraine Tousaint’s Flo Kennedy, Janelle Monae’s Dorothy Pitman Hughes, Timothy Hutton’s Leo Steinem, and Bette Midler’s Bella Abzug.

            I found The Glorias to be maximally entertaining as well as informative and inspiring in its depiction of the “notorious” Gloria Steinem. THE GLORIAS is available for purchase on Digital and Streaming exclusively on Prime Video starting September 30^th

Walk on the wild side with an endearing “rabble rouser” as you see her fight for human rights.

 

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

 

GLORIA BELL

Julianne Moore     John Turturro     Michael Cera     Alanna Ubach     Rita Wilson     Brad Garrett

     Chilean Sebastian Lelio’s films have been popular in the U.S., particularly Disobedience (2017) about a Lesbian Jewish couple and A Fantastic Woman (2018) about a transgender woman.  Gloria Bell is a remake of his earlier film, Gloria (2013) about a woman past her 40’s trying to develop a satisfying life. Played by Julianne Moore, Gloria looks for someone to share her life with.  Her two grown children, Peter (Cera) and Veronica (Ubach) are caught up in their own lives and clearly enjoy their independence.  Gloria is successful at her job in insurance, and for pleasure goes to dance clubs hoping to connect with a man.

She does connect with Arnold (Turturro) one evening, and they start an intimate relationship that is, unfortunately, punctuated with calls from his two grown daughters needing his assistance.  But to her credit, Gloria is patient and understanding and allows Arnold the space to attend to his family demands.  This is clearly a warning signal, but one she doesn’t attend to.

     When Gloria wants to introduce Arnold to her family, particularly to her son and daughter, her ex-husband and his wife are present as well.  When the Bell family gets to reminiscing and showing old pictures, it’s too much for Arnold, and he disappears.  The rest of the story is about whether Gloria and Arnold will make it as a couple.  

    It’s a “Will they or won’t they?” situation.  This has the potential to be interesting, but several factors keep it in a mundane, rather boring place.  First of all, the main character (much as I love Julianne Moore) captures little interest.  She comes across as lonely and dependent, but, worst of all, lacking any problem-solving skills.  For example, she can’t seem to keep someone else’s cat out of her apartment. I presume this was supposed to be comical, but I didn’t find the humor in it.  And there are numerous other times when her decisions make the viewer shake his/her head.  

     Secondly, the dialog and action of the story makes you hold your hand over your mouth and yawn.  When the couple of the story meet, their interchange is so stilted and uninteresting you want to leave the dance floor.  Throughout, secrets are kept unnecessarily, and it’s hard to see these people in our present-day culture.  

     I did see Lelio’s original film Gloria, and was unimpressed then; I had hopes that in this rendition Julianne Moore would change my mind about it, but it’s still a story about a repressed woman who can’t figure out how to get her needs met.  It is so unlike women of today, I couldn’t relate to it.

     Julianne Moore does accomplish her usual high level of performance, and John Turturro matches her well.  Michael Cera is striking in his ability to show discomfort in the company of an unintrusive but still annoying mother, and Alanna Ubach is wonderful as the daughter who is the antithesis of both her parents in being excited about exploring new horizons and acting upon it.

     This film is only mildly interesting, and is not likely to capture much enthusiasm among today’s audiences.

A woman’s core personality keeps her from living a life she thinks she desires.

Grade:  CBy Donna R. Copeland

BEL CANTO

Julianne Moore     Ken Watanabe     Sebastian Roch     Ryo Kase     Maria Mercedes Coroy    Christopher Lambert

     A well-known American opera singer, a wealthy Japanese businessman, and South American politics all get mixed up together in this tense drama when the singer, Roxane Cross (Moore) is invited to give a concert in an unspecified Latin American country in honor of businessman Katsumi Hosokawa (Watanabe).  They all arrive at Vice-President Ochoa’s mansion—Japanese translator Gen (Kase)—in tow, barely get settled in the ritzy hacienda, and Roxane is just beginning her concert, when they are rudely interrupted by a guerilla group aiming to kidnap President Masuda.  The problem is that the President preferred watching a telenovela at home, so he isn’t present.  In that case, the commandos say, they’ll just wait for the others to fetch him.  

     This begins a long stint of the hostages being trapped and in a panic, even if it is in an elegant mansion.  Not only are we privy to constant negotiations, but as happens in such situations, relationships begin to form.  Katsumi is an avid opera fan, particularly of Roxane, so much so that when he was invited to the country in the interest of his establishing a company there, he had the foresight (nerve?) to say he would come only if Roxane would agree to give a concert.  When the two meet, sparks fly, and he becomes fascinated by more than her art.  Another developing attraction emerges between translator Gen and one of the guerrillas, Carmen (Coroy), which is obviously risky for her.  

     My book club read Ann Patchett’s novel, Bel Canto, which we found to be an entertaining thriller, and I expected the movie to be just as appealing.  However, I found it to be lacking slightly in the thrill aspect.  Certainly the accidental killing of one of the hostages early on creates tension, and Roxane’s invitation to sing in order to calm down an escalating situation at one point is intriguing.  In addition, Moore and Watanabe are at their usual level of excellence, and the dubbing of the voice of Renee Fleming for Roxane was so good.  In addition, the romance between Gen and Carmen carries excitement and curiosity.  Yet, something was lacking.

     Somehow, in the direction of Paul Weitz and the adaptation (Weitz and Anthony Weintraub), the story loses some of the “grab” of the novel.  I would guess that focusing more on the “romances” than on the negotiations is at fault.  

Bel Canto the movie strives to match the power of the novel, but falls just a bit short.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

WONDERSTRUCK

Julianne Moore     Oakes Fegley     Millicent Simmonds     Jaden Michael

Cory Michael Smith     Tom Noonan     Michelle Williams

       Unless you’ve read Brian Selznick’s work on which Todd Haynes based this film, plan to spend a fair amount of time trying to make sense of the plot and learning who the characters are.  Screenwriter Selznick actually does capture the model in his book in telling two different stories, one about a girl in 1927 and one about a boy in 1977.  I might say from the beginning that I’m not a fan of this model of storytelling; it takes more work than simply listening and seeing the story unfold.  Nevertheless, the book’s reviews are very positive, and most readers do find the exposition charming.

     The film opens when Ben (Fegley) is having one of his nightmares, and his mother (Williams) comes in to comfort him.  The next thing we learn about Ben is that he has intense curiosity about his father, but his mother insists on withholding that information “until the right time.”  When she is never able to give it, Ben takes it upon himself to follow some clues he has about the father’s whereabouts, and proceeds to go find him.  Keep in mind that he is going to be traveling from Minnesota to New York City, and just recently became deaf, so he doesn’t know sign language or lip reading.

     Ben’s story and that of Rose’s (Simmonds) are interwoven, hers in wordless black and white pictures from the 20’s, and the other in full color taking place in the ‘70’s.   There are numerous coincidental experiences each has, but the mystery of their connection is revealed only in the very last part of the film.  Rose is growing up in Hoboken, N.J., the child of divorced parents.  Her mother is a famous stage actress (Moore) in New York, but Rose lives with her father, a very stern, unemotional doctor who scolds her frequently.  She runs away to try to find her mother, despite the fact that she, like Ben, is deaf, and is mute as well.  The absence of sound in her story reflects not only the silent movies of the time, but as well her being born deaf and, consequently, mute.

     The two young actors ably carry the bulk of the film, along with some fine help from Jaden Michael, who plays a friend Ben makes at the Museum of Natural History.  Fegley, proving his skills first in Pete’s Dragon and some other minor roles, is captivating here in his earnestness and persistence.  Millicent Simmonds is a worthy counterpart with her luminous, expressive face and eyes, playing a role about which she has had direct experience in her own deafness.  In Julianne Moore’s two roles, she expresses a sample of the range of her abilities.

     Although I do regard Todd Haynes as a highly skilled director, I found some drawbacks in this production.  In addition to the fractured story-telling, it was difficult to follow sometimes simply because the notes that characters were writing to one another were presented to the audience so rapidly one didn’t have time to read them, and/or the they were dark or obscured by another object.  To me, it was an omission not to have shown Rose’s parents or Ben’s family trying to find out where they were. 

     Wonderstruck requires a certain amount of patience to sit through it, but if the viewer is impressed with Haynes earlier pictures such as Far From Heaven and I’m Not There; and Brian Selznick’s books (Hugo and Wonderstruck), this film is likely to be entertaining. 

Two stories from the ‘20s and the ‘70s interweave to tell a story of remarkable coincidences.

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland

SUBURBICON

Matt Damon     Julianne Moore     Oscar Isaac     Noah Jupe

     Suburbicon is like round 2 of the Coen Brothers’ Blood Simple, lots of gore and misfires, and most everyone being unscrupulous and/or not very bright to the degree it makes us laugh, no matter how much gore.  In this case, at least the kid Nicky (Jupe)—whom no one ever listens to—has some smarts and ability to plan ahead. 

     Right from the beginning, the story is a bit confusing and we have to look twice at two of the characters, then we learn they’re twin sisters, and it takes a few scenes before we know who is who.  That’s a bit disorienting.  The script is good (writers, the Coens, director Clooney, Grant Heslov) in doling out key facts gradually, upping the suspense and requiring the viewer to play the role of detective.  But it also calls upon us to decipher the sociological messages contained in it.

     The horror begins when two men come into the Lodges’ home one evening and hold them hostage.   Gardner (Damon) looks terrified, but seems incapable of putting up any resistance.  Soon, he, both sisters, and Nicky are tied up and put to sleep by holding a cloth (soaked with chloroform?) over their noses.  The family situation changes after that, with Gardner’s sister-in-law Maggie (Moore) assuming more of a maternal role.

     Threats to the Lodge family continue, and we get clues as to what the source of the problem is, but simultaneously there is a curious theme of prejudice against a black family, the Meyers, who have moved into Suburbicon, right next to the Lodges.  The Lodges have no problem with this, and even encourage Nicky to make friends with their son; but the rest of Suburbicon is outraged. 

     What proceeds is the simultaneous undoing of the Lodge family and destructive rioting against the Meyers family next door.  The only sense of this juxtaposition that I can make is that it’s a contrast between culpability and innocence.  The Meyers have done nothing wrong and are being persecuted; whereas there is rampant dishonesty and cruelty in the Lodge family, extending to virtually all of Suburbicon.  In fact, the thrust of the story may be to refute the common belief that most crimes are committed by people of color; whereas, the story here is that every white person, except for the child, is corrupt in some respect.  Two families in the city suffer, but for very different reasons.

     The three main actors, Damon, Moore, and Isaac live up to their reputations as fine actors; I would give an edge to Isaac, who lights up the plot when he is on and who shows considerable power in evoking his character.  Mention should go to the child actor Noah Jupe, whose face conveys all the profound confusion, fear, and resolve Nicky is experiencing, as well as the child-like openness to new friendships. 

     Suburbicon, directed by George Clooney, may not have the look of black film noir which so many expected, but I think it points to a major problem in this country, the deterioration of values in many segments of our society and the unjust scapegoating of a minority.  Clooney has transfigured a Coen script to make it more sociologically relevant today.  Unfortunately, the message is not as clear as it should be.

A stark contrast between white-against-white crime and white-against-black crime, one more culpable than the other.

Grade:  B+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

FREEHELD

Julianne Moore   Ellen Page   Michael Shannon   Steve Carell   Josh Charles

     Freeheld is a moving account based on a true story about a gay woman’s fight for equality at the end of her life.  It’s well balanced and well told, with actors at their best.  It has a dash of humor here and there, which helps to relieve the tension created by a critical illness and treatment. 

       Laurel Hester (Moore) is an ace detective with a close, loyal partner in Dane (Shannon).  With mutual respect, they have each other’s back, and he is aware that she has to fight twice as hard to move ahead in her job because she is female.  They’ve lived in a seaside community in New Jersey all their lives and take pride in it—it also helps them to know residents of the area when they are investigating a crime.

     Laurel has a private life because she has to keep her sexual orientation quiet.  When she goes to play volleyball at a town nearby but out of state she meets Stacie (Page), who is much more “butch” than Laurel, who is blonde and still good looking at 40-ish.  Stacie is a petite, savvy mechanic who likes her motorcycle, and despite such differences in age and interests, they fall in love and Laurel buys a house for them, which Page works hard to remodel.

     They’re happy as clams until Laurel falls ill and her life is in jeopardy.  Suddenly, it’s of utmost importance for Laurel to see that Stacie be able to remain in their house, primarily because it represents their bond.  In order for this to happen, though, Stacie must be eligible to receive the benefits of her partner’s pension, and therein lies the rub.  The county leaders, the “Freeheld”, have agreed unanimously not to grant her wish.

     Enter a potential support and cause of some levity, Steve Carell as Steven Goldstein, a Jewish homosexual with political savvy and connections, although some see him as hamming it up too much.  He certainly sounds outlandish in this conservative community, but he has had experience in rallying sympathizers to a cause.  With some controls exerted by the more practical-minded Laurel and Dane, his work is efficacious.

     Director Peter Sollett and screenwriter Ron Nyswaner present a well-balanced story that could have turned maudlin or one-sided.  They seem to have retained the authenticity of the original story (apparently—as I have not read it), and the relationships, political issues and machinations largely ring true. 

     Julianne Moore is always a star in whatever role she has, and she and Ellen Page—also well talented—achieve a relationship that is warm, caring, and sexy.  Michael Shannon usually plays odd characters, but here he is like a normal guy with basically good principles, and he pulls it off well.  The same could be said for Steve Carell, a natural at buffoonery with a bite of wisdom and satire aptly placed.  I was interested in seeing Josh Charles (formerly in TV’s “The Good Wife”--although he was killed—and in various productions since) in a role he carries well—that of a political figure who wrestles with his conscience.

A good film sure to increase awareness of and sympathy for gay issues.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

MAPS TO THE STARS

Julianne Moore     Mia Wasikowska     John Cusack     Evan Bird     Robert Pattinson     Carrie Fisher

 

Maps to the Stars is something of a jumbled up mess.  We see a new arrival in town who doesn’t look like much but seems to have money to spare.  She overpays a driver waiting for a fare, and asks him if he has a map of Hollywood stars’ addresses.  He says no in a bored manner, and cites the few instances when he drove someone who was famous.  Agatha (Wasikowska) seems to have better connections, which he (Pattinson) doesn’t seem to get.  It turns out that Agatha knows Carrie Fisher (herself), who puts in a good word for her to Havana Segrand (Moore), a star desperately seeking work and needing an all-round assistant.  Havana is a bit put off by Agatha’s gloved arms covering burn scars, but hires her anyway, having no inkling about who Agatha is.

             Agatha is the estranged daughter of Havana’s “therapist” (Cusack), who with his wife is trying to keep Agatha away after she was discharged from a mental institution following an incident with fire.  They have aspirations for their son Benjie (Bird) to become a famous actor, and clearly want him to stay away from Agatha, particularly since he has just been released from rehab and his career can’t stand another scandal.

            Ah…parents have such delusions about their powers over their children.  Benjie and Agatha have always been close, and it is probably futile for anyone to think that they can be kept apart.

            David Cronenberg, the director seems to be on a quest exploring philosophical notions and the nature of human relationships (Eastern Promises, A History of Violence, Crash, The Fly).  He says, “I ask questions, but don’t have answers.  Moviemaking is a philosophical exploration.  I invite the audience to come on a journey and discover what they think and feel.”  He has also said, “I think all my movies are funny.”  I didn’t find much humor in this one that seems to be making a statement about the Hollywood culture with its single-minded quest for fame, its repudiation of boundaries and limits, and its need for soporifics to avoid pain. 

            As observed by another reviewer, it’s hard to tell if Cronenberg is kidding or serious (Matt Zoller Seitz, http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/maps-to-the-stars-2015).  The view of Hollywood as presented in Maps to the Stars will likely not be surprising to anyone, and many may see it as a plausible account.  To me, the peek shown is too narrow to make it very encompassing of the whole scene.  So the film turns out to be more sensational than an insightful perspective.

            Certainly, the actors—notably Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, Evan Bird, and Robert Pattinson—are truly fine in their portrayals.  I just wish the script by Bruce Wegner had more substance.

Go for the acting; not the story.

Grade:  C-            By Donna R. Copeland