NOVITIATE

Margaret Qualley     Melisso Leo     Julianne Nicholson     Dianna Agron     Denis O’Hare

      If you feel like you’ve sacrificed too much in your life, go see Novitiate and you’ll probably feel better by thinking you didn’t have it so bad.  (This excludes, of course, those who have been abused.)  Unless you are a Catholic since the before the ‘60’s, you may be surprised (as I was) at the stringencies young nuns had to experience in going through their training.  They’re required to efface themselves in every way one can imagine, following strict rules for every second of the day, and suppressing most of their human emotional experience.  I hope this has changed in the meantime.

     Young Cathleen (Qualley) seems perfectly suited for it, even though her family is not religious, but she is enrolled in a Catholic school, and after her father abandons the family, Christ seems like an ideal husband to her.  Where her sister novitiates struggle with ambivalence, she remains confident until…

     A parallel theme of the film about the novitiates is that of the Mother Superior (Leo), a woman who has been a nun for 40 years, and revels in her status as head of the convent.  She keeps very strict rules, and appears to take a bit of pleasure in the degradation of those who commit even slight infractions.  Decisions are easy for her in her black-and-white world; either there has been a sin that needs to be punished or—well, there is little of anything else, except actions that bore her, in which case, small penances are required.

     But Mother Superior is having a difficult time right alongside her novitiates; Vaticon II is being handed down by Pope John XXiii, in which major changes are decreed, such as that priests must face their congregation during the liturgy, there will be increased religious tolerance, nuns will be able to dress as they wish, etc.  Mother Superior resists these changes for three years, not letting anyone in her convent know about them, and believing until the end that they will not come to place.  When they do, she is devastated.

     This is a film about disillusionment—Cathleen’s early on, the Mother Superior’s, and several of the novitiates and those training them, but it’s also about change, and how adaptable people are in accommodating to it.  It’s understandable that someone who has achieved her identity in a specific system and then gets continually reinforced for it will resist any change in the order.  It’s also understandable that someone who buys into a system sincerely, then finds out that forces beyond her control go against it presents a major dilemma for her.  This is the beauty of the film; that it dramatizes real human dilemmas that come about as a result of decisions made, sometimes early in life.  And it doesn’t necessarily take a stand one way or another; it leaves that decision up to the viewer. 

     The focal point here is Margaret Qualley as Sister Catherine, the young woman trying to find answers to life through a system that promises hope.  It helps, of course, that she is gorgeous, but she is able to back that up with solid acting skills that convey the agony/puzzlement/irritation/naïveté of her character.  Beneath her Mother Superior garb, Melissa Leo proves herself once again a superior actor whose face tells all.  A nod should be given as well to Julianne Nicholson, who plays Catherine’s clueless mother who never gives up on her, even though she understands so little about how her actions brought her to this point with her daughter. 

     I congratulate Margaret Betts, writer/director, for her feature film debut.  Her awards at the Sundance Film Festival (Special Jury Prize, Grand Jury Prize) do not surprise in the interesting/educational/suspenseful script and direction of the film that moves at an ideal pace and utilizes the talents of the actors to the fullest extent.

This film about religious belief lets the viewer decide about issues.

Grade:  B+                                    By Donna R. Copeland 

THE MOST HATED WOMAN IN AMERICA

Melissa Leo     Josh Lucas     Adam Scott     Brandon Mychal Smith     Vincent Kartheiser

Juno Temple     Peter Fonda     Sally Kirkland     Rory Cochrane     Alex Frost

     Hatred in America; it seems to be a running theme in its history.  It spans across racial/cultural (blacks and Native Americans), religious (witch trials), and political (Communism) realms from its earliest days.  This is a dramatization of one of those instances against an atheist, Madelyn Murray O’Hair, (Leo) that occurred in the 1990’s.  It should be said at the outset that most people saw the woman as difficult—and the film shows this very well. We see Madelyn first as a young woman living at home in a contentious relationship with her Baptist father.  Each would try to out-curse the other in expressing their antipathy toward the other.  We only see this when she is already grown, so do not know what circumstances brought her to such a rebellious attitude toward religion.

     She was apparently difficult to handle from childhood, and when the film opens to a family meal, we learn that she has had an illegitimate child and is pregnant with another.  Her explanation is that the fathers abandoned her, reaffirming her low opinion of men in general.  On the other hand, she appears to be devoted to her children, albeit in rather controlling and demanding ways, which comes back to haunt her later. 

     As O’Hair continues to fight for her children’s rights at school (their Constitutional right of free speech and religious freedom), she is successful in getting laws passed to that effect, but this is at great cost to her and her children.  Hatred is expressed toward them for years, including death threats, so when they go missing in 1995, no one seems to care.  Moreover, the police and some of Madelyn’s acquaintances are suspicious that she is simply repeating earlier stunts of purposely disappearing and turning up later. 

     This time is different, though, because, reasons her live-in assistant Roy Collier, her door is not locked, her dogs are left untended, her passports are found in a drawer, and breakfast is still on the table.  At this time, O’Hair has moved to San Antonio, Texas, and established the American Atheist Center, another move that brought more ill will from the predominantly Christian community. 

    When a local reporter, Jack Ferguson, hears about the situation, he contacts Billy, O’Hair’s estranged son, and Roy.  When he is persistent with his editor in getting permission to pursue the story and gather relevant data, he finds that rather than hatred, the motivation to kidnap O’Hair, her younger son, and granddaughter who lived with her, is greed, someone like David Waters wanting a share of donations to the Center.

     The film, written and directed by Tommy O’Haver, is an objective account of a significant, colorful figure in America’s history who garners little approbation for her political efforts, despite their far-reaching implications and the substance of which, the majority of contemporary Americans would ascribe to.  Although the film is a timely resurfacing of the issues, it may not garner much support for  O’Hair herself, partly because of the current religio-political divide, but in part simply because of her abrasive personality. The production could have been improved by giving us more insight into how she developed her atheistic beliefs early on in her life.

     In sum,The Most Hated Woman in America is a timely and helpful account of the woman behind two important landmarks in American history that reinforce our basic human rights.  Melissa Leo is up to her standard fine performance, along with an excellent supporting cast, particularly Josh Hartnett, Adam Scott, and Brandon Mychal Smith.

A timely reminder of how two of our basic rights were guaranteed by the untiring efforts of a complex, divisive figure in American history.

Grade:  B+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

SNOWDEN

Joseph Gordon-Levitt   Shailene Woodley   Rhys Ifans   Nicholas Cage   Tom Wilkinson   Melisso Leo   Zachary Quinto

           Oliver Stone and his co-writer Kieran Fitzgerald present a close-up look at the man who successfully blew the whistle on the U.S. Government for what he terms “running a dragnet on the whole world” by “tracking every cell phone.”  He says that terrorism is really an excuse for acquiring economic and social control for the supremacy of the U.S. Government.  We learn that there is a wide network of surveillance that encompasses the whole world, including friendly allies and virtually everyone in our own country.

     Who is Edward Snowden?  In the process of hearing about his life and his accomplishments, our respect for him grows.  He is articulate in expressing his observations, was a star player in his advancement through government posts by virtue of his intelligence and hard work, and regarded as one who is conscientious, questioning, and honorable in his values.  He made numerous attempts to give service to his country, but each time he encountered evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the NSA and CIA, it was a challenge to his conscience.  He tried to express his concerns to his mentor, Corbin O’Brian, the deputy head of the NSA, but was given rationalizations for the government’s going against the Constitution.  Finally, at great sacrifice of his personal life, he decided he needed to let the American people know what was going on.

        It’s a matter of historical record—and Snowden was actually warned of this—that previous whistleblowers like Thomas Drake and Bill Binney were severely punished for trying to go through proper channels in expressing the same concerns as Snowden.  It ruined their lives and their careers because they didn’t have concrete “proof” of their allegations.  That is why Snowden did not make a formal complaint and made sure he had the proof of his allegations; and so he is charged with “stealing” classified documents.

        Snowden carefully plotted how he would proceed, which was to fly to Hong Kong, contact a documentarian, Laura Poitras (Leo) and newspaper reporters from London’s Guardian, give them his information, and trust them to analyze and publicize it at their discretion.  As we all know, his plan after that was to fly to Moscow, then Cuba, then to Ecuador for asylum; however, the U.S. withdrew his passport, and he has been in Moscow ever since 2013.

          Stone wisely inserted into the story Snowden’s personal relationship with his girlfriend Lindsay (Woodley).  This serves several purposes; namely to fill out the picture of Snowden and show his human normalcy and the significant influence of Lindsay on his life and balance the wealth of technical information the viewer must process during the film with a real love story.

         Gordon-Levitt is award-worthy in his capturing the look and essence of Snowden, and Woodley gives her character Lindsay life that shows smartness, spunk, and curiosity.  They have wonderful chemistry in showing how this couple has remained together to this day, despite countless separations and pressures.  Ifans, Cage, Leo, Wilkinson, and Quinto are incredibly good supporting actors that help elevate the quality of Snowden.

      My problem with the film is its lack of chronology.  It seems to be a fad among filmmakers today to jump around in time.  There is some sequencing of Snowden’s jobs, but seemingly at random, we go back and forth between Hong Kong, Snowden’s relationship with Lindsay, CIA operations, Geneva, Tokyo, and Oahu.  I see no reason for this, and feel jerked around.

        After the screening I attended, we were treated to a live broadcast of a conversation with Snowden (via satellite from Moscow), and the filmmakers Oliver Stone, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Shailene Woodley, hosted by Matt Zoller Seitz (Editor-in-Chief RogerEbert.com and author of The Oliver Stone Experience). 

        In this, Edward Snowden gives us further proof of his character, saying that it’s obvious that he is “the world’s worst boyfriend.”  In the film, he and Lindsay have many conflicts about his official need for secrecy, his absences, and his preoccupation with his job.  Each time it looks like they’re about to have a normal life, he gets another offer of a position he can’t turn down.  At one point he says wistfully, “Lots of people cruise happily through life; why can’t I?”  He pays tribute to Lindsay in the televised conversation, acknowledging that she is stronger than he is.

       Oliver Stone elaborated on how the film got off the ground.  He had nine visits in Moscow with Snowden before they agreed to proceed.  He pointed out how much technical information he had to process, the wariness of Snowden which made Stone wonder if he would cooperate, and the time it took for them to develop mutual trust.  Snowden said he was impressed with Stone’s complete concentration and attention to detail on a project; “He was consumed with it”, he said.

      Gordon-Levitt and Woodley touched on the challenges and fulfillment of extreme emotional scenes and the rigor of multiple takes of the material.  Woodley commented on the media’s treatment of Lindsay after the announcement of Snowden’s defection, acknowledging that the pictures of her on the Internet were one-dimensional and stereotypical, whereas she is in fact a woman of depth and talent.  Gordon-Levitt expressed the gratification he felt when Snowden’s family attended the movie’s premiere in New York and thanked him—the best feedback he has ever gotten, he says.

         Finally, Snowden addressed the question of “I don’t have anything to hide, so I don’t care if the government monitors my phone calls, e-mails, and Internet posts.”  He said that “privacy is the fountainhead of all other rights”, so we should be mindful of what it means to lose that privacy.  He urged everyone to start at the local level in advocating for it, discuss it openly with others, and unite in efforts to let the government know we are against universal surveillance without cause.

A must-see for everyone who values their freedom.

Grade:  A-                                    By Donna R. Copeland