6 UNDERGROUND

Ryan Reynolds     Melanie Laurent     Manuel Garcia-Rulfo     Adria Arjona     Corey Hawkins

Dave Franco     Ben Hardy

     Six characters so closeted, when someone says, “Who are you?” the answer is, “No one.” They like to see themselves as “ghosts.”  Number One (Reynolds) (they use numbers, rather than names) who essentially functions as the leader (and founder, perhaps) has strict principles to live by, which precludes forming attachments, having cell phones, or leaving any digital trace of their footprints.  (This code is bandied about from time to time, with some squirming against it, and some openly questioning it; but One always defends it.)  They’re a “Delta” force doing risky, undercover work; but unlike the Navy Seals, for instance, they are not attached to a government.  It’s part of their creed that they take orders from no one and make their decisions to take action all on their own (vigilantes).  This also means that things like “due process” and written laws of justice are not a part of their value system.  They do believe that if they see broad social injustice—such as a despotic leader exploiting his people—they have a right/duty to intervene through whatever means it takes.

     This system presents a wondrous opportunity for filmmakers (Michael Bay, director) to devise a point-by-point account of the group’s derring-do against a backdrop of luxurious settings (e.g., Florence Italy and Hong Kong), on gigantic yachts, in elegant hotels, and so on.  It’s like a James Bond film, but here you have six/seven heroes/heroines to gaze upon.  Likewise, it’s an opportunity for a macho extravaganza of destruction.  (Thank goodness, they spared Michaelangelo’s David sculpture in Florence!)  It’s the cinematographer’s (Bojan Bazelli) job to show off the visual elegance of these scenes, accompanied by Lorne Balfe’s reverberating score.

     6 Underground is a libertarian’s wet dream about heroic acts being achieved outside the strictures of authority and government.  It’s likewise a video-game-like lavish display of machismo—executed by women (thank you very much!) as well as men.  I do appreciate females being portrayed with as much authority as the males. And it even shows their superiority at times when two males can’t keep from fighting like little boys.

     As in many action films, 6 Underground is heavy on the car chases and heroics at the expense of story and character development. Maybe this was meant to be more tongue-in-cheek than I got, but, to me, Ryan Reynolds did not fit with the hard-edged character he was meant to be.  Just to look at him physically, is to see a nice and gentle guy who could pull off Deadpool beautifully.  I think a more sharp-edged—going toward the cynical—look in the actor would be more apropos in this case.

     I can say that on the one hand, 6 Underground is entertaining in places and has unexpected elements, and I always like to see the evil man get his due.  On the other hand, envisioning a vigilante force outside of law exerting its judgment (including killing) without benefit of a lawful trial makes me uneasy.  I’m also against the wanton destruction shown during much of the film, especially when cars are careening every which way and bashing into other cars, buildings, and historical sites along the streets in Florence and elsewhere. These scenes become tediously repetitious.

     Aside from Reynolds—who I think was miscast, although he is a good actor—Melanie Laurent, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Ben Hardy, Corey Hawkins, Adria Arjona and Dave Franco enrich the plot and inhabit their characters well, especially Laurent, Hardy, Hawkins, and Garcia-Rulfo.  

If you’re up to a video-game kind of movie, this will please you.  But if you have a problem with vigilantism and absurd car chases, find another film to watch.

Grade:  D+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

OPERATION FINALE

Oscar Isaac     Ben Kingsley     Melanie Laurent     Nick Kroll    

Lior Raz     Michael Aronav     Joe Alwyn     Greta Scacchi

     The title is borrowed from Nazi Adolph Eichmann’s term, the “Final Solution”, his proposal in 1942 to get rid of the Jews in Germany, which was to exterminate them, something he accomplished with staggering efficiency.  The result was the deaths of 3-4 million Jews in occupied Europe and another 2 million elsewhere.  Fast-forward to 1960, when Israeli Jews discovered where Eichmann was after his escape before the International War Crimes Tribunal was held in Nuremburg.  He had fled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he lived with his family under a pseudonym and worked in a Mercedes-Benz factory.  

     With the blessing of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, a small team of Mossad agents was dispatched to Buenos Aires to abduct Eichmann and bring him to Israel for trial.  Disagreements had to be worked out between those who were still so enraged they wanted him killed and maybe tortured on the spot.  But cooler heads argued that putting him on trial for the whole world to witness was a better plan.  

     Although the real events were laden with drama, the movie, Operation Finale, elaborates on history to increase the tension and excitement for audiences.  It could be argued that this is unnecessary, in that simply telling the story like it happened is drama enough.  For instance, I understand that in actuality Eichmann was drugged and disguised as an injured airline worker with a bandage on his head in order to fly him to Israel.

     At any rate, the film focuses on the Israeli operatives and their interactions with one another and with Eichmann, giving us background stories that make us care about them and their families and accomplices, and helps us appreciate the dangers of the operation.  The action of the story is so absorbing and exciting, that if you didn’t know the outcome—or even if you do—you will be impressed.

     Oscar Isaac as Peter, one of the Mossad agents, and Ben Kingsley as Adolph Eichmann make the two characters come alive, especially during the time they are in a safe house before their departure from Buenos Aires.  Peter is convinced that they will get more from Eichmann—specifically, a signature—by establishing rapport with him, rather than obtaining it through force and torture.  This is borne out, which pleased me, in that it has been shown that this approach is much more effective than torture.  Unfortunately, they also demonstrate torture giving captors the information they desire, which undercuts the good example.  (Whether or not these circumstances are a reflection of true events or whether they are fiction for the movie I cannot say.)  

     All of the actors are very good, and Matthew Orton’s script and Chris Weitz’s direction—along with the lesson in history, albeit a compromised one—make this a worthwhile movie to see.  The “dressing up” for film audiences doesn’t detract too much from essential historical elements, which allows me to recommend it.

A thrilling, tension-filled story that reflects enough of the historical events to make it worthwhile for all to see.  

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

BY THE SEA

Brad Pitt     Angelina Jolie     Malanie Laurent     Melvil Poupaud   Niels Arestrup

          By the Sea opens up with beautiful panoramas of the Mediterranean as a couple winds down the road in a red convertible.  They stop at a bar in Malta (she downs her glass of wine in one swallow) then make their way to an upscale hotel on the water.  It’s noticeable how silent they are—the woman barely speaks and then only when spoken to.  They unpack and rearrange the room in a way that tells you he is a writer.  The couple, Roland (Pitt) and Vanessa (Jolie), do not appear like people on a holiday, but in response to someone asking them why they’ve come, Roland answers cryptically that they just needed to get away.

         As time goes by, we can see that Roland is frustrated with his wife, but speaks lovingly of her.  He goes out every day to write (which he is having a hard time doing) and drink, and comes back in the afternoon or evening and drinks.  He has good conversations with Michel (Arestrup), the local bartender, but not really with anyone else.  Vanessa has been in the room all day, except maybe for a quick trip to town for supplies.  He comes in and chats a bit, but she says little.  He approaches her; she rejects him; and finally he says in exasperation, “Are we ever going to talk about it?”  It’s a long time before we find out what “it” is.

       The couple next door on their honeymoon, Lea (Laurent) and Francois (Poupaud), cautiously approach Roland and Vanessa about socializing—playing cards, shopping, sailing—which they accept rather tentatively.  This is odd, because we have seen that Roland and Vanessa have clearly developed a keen interest in them (I won’t tell you why or how, although it turns out to be rather a silly and unrealistic artifice),

        I would never have thought that I could be bored looking at the painterly Mediterranean seascape with blue sky, puffy white clouds, and a quaint fishing boat, but have to admit that I did get impatient in this film with so little action and so much scenery and other views of the high life.  Vanessa is always dressed and made up elegantly, as is Lea next door.  It’s obvious no one has to worry about expenses. 

       Although I enjoyed the music (Gabriel Yared) and cinematography (Christian Berger), it was not enough to sustain audience attention with so little going on.  Jolie and her editors should have cut at least a half-hour or more from the film.  The last twenty minutes actually had drama that was interesting and made the two main characters more understandable.  Too bad it came so late.

      Jolie is gorgeous in this movie—in fact, most of the characters looked like “The Beautiful People” on some TV program—and hers and Pitt’s scenes together when there is dialog and action are up to their usual quality, as are Laurent and Poupaud.  But I particularly enjoyed Niels Arestrup’s character, a kindly, thoughtful, older man grieving for his dead wife, but full of gently delivered sound advice for Roland. 

Plan to enjoy the seaside scenes; there is not much action or dialog until the last part of By the Sea.

Grade:  C                                                        By Donna R. Copeland

ALOFT

Jennifer Connelly     Cillian Murphy     Melanie Laurent

Aloft, written and directed by Peruvian filmmaker Claudia Lhosa, is a bit of a mess for the first part of the film because we get no back-story and see characters behaving incomprehensibly.  About half- to two-thirds of the way in when we have more history, the characters and their behavior make more sense.  I’ll give you some of that background—without spoilers—because I think the movie is at fault for leaving the viewer mystified for so long. 

Nana (Connelly), the main character is a healer who has had some success, but finds it important to keep her identity as such a secret from the public, partly because otherwise she would be deluged but partly because she doesn’t really want to take credit.  She has two sons, Ivan (Murphy) and Gully (Winta McGrath) who has been diagnosed with a life-threatening tumor.  Ivan is a falconer like his grandfather, and finds it important to take the bird with him wherever he goes.  Because of tragic events in his life, Ivan as a grown man is eccentric and hot-tempered, is married with a child, and falconry is his profession.  The film jumps back and forth in time, which creates more disorientation. 

           Another confusing aspect of the film is that the actor in the role of Ivan’s wife looks so much like Connelly, so it’s not always clear who the characters are.  Sometimes scenes are included that appear to be extraneous, such as Nana’s affair and a falcon getting shot.  Perhaps they have symbolic meanings, but if so, I missed it.

           At any rate, in his adult life, Ivan is approached by reporter Jannia (Laurent), working on a documentary on falcons and requests an interview with him.  When she begins to ask him questions, however, he realizes she has another agenda and he bolts from the room in anger.  As is typical of him, he has second thoughts, and gets back in touch with her, does interviews about falcons, and they make a short journey together.

           All the action takes place in the Arctic and in Canada where the picture was filmed (Manitoba), and cinematographer Nicolas Bolduc (Enemy) takes full advantage of high winds, blanketed snow, and ice-covered lakes for dramatic effect in underscoring the emotional scenes and experiences of the characters.  Panoramas of the landscape are chillingly beautiful.

           Especially in the last half of the story, Connelly (many awards for performance in A Beautiful Mind) shows again that she knows her craft and she and Murphy (a frequently nominated Irish actor) reflect very well their mother/son conflicts.  Laurent (Inglourious Basterds), a French actress likewise popular on the award circuit, provides refreshing relief from the other two characters’ neuroses and dilemmas. 

           Aloft is a quiet, thoughtful film that will not appeal to everyone; the viewer needs to enjoy and feel comfortable thinking about the dialog and understanding the characters.  It does bring up the issue of healing practices outside the medical profession as well as emotional healing, which I found interesting, along with parenting in a family with a life-threatening illness.  The picture it shows of families with a seriously ill child, the desperation they feel and the tendency to ignore the siblings, is entirely realistic.  Something rather disconcerting, perhaps, is that this mother leaves her young children alone far more often than we Americans do, especially those of today.

Quiet and thoughtful in exploring the issue of healing.

Grade:  C                                      By Donna R. Copeland