JUDY

Renee Zellweger     Jessie Buckley     Rufus Sewall     Michael Gambon     Finn Wittrock

     Judy Garland’s reputation for the heights of talent and performance and the depths of despair and catastrophe are all keenly represented in this docudrama, with Renee Zellweger ably capturing the starring role.  The film is strengthened by giving snapshots of the young Judy’s life being dictated by the MGM movie studio, pre-child labor laws (e.g., 18-hour days, no lunch breaks, strict diet, caps on her teeth and discs to reshape her nose), and Louis B. Mayer’s depiction of her as being unattractive, all of which affected her self-image for life.

     But she was clearly talented and had become a star by the time she was 18, earning the Academy Juvenile Award.  During the height of her career, she won Academy and Golden Globe awards for acting and Grammy awards for singing.  Behind the scenes, however, her personal and professional life seemed to pivot from one catastrophe to another, some of the studio’s and, later her own making, as the direct result of drugs and alcohol. But on top of that there was an accumulation of stresses and strains extending from childhood to the end of her life.

The movie Judy mostly focuses on the later years of when Garland was separated from her children and living in London.  It shows her being out of control much of the time with a patient “handler” (Rosalyn Wilder, played by Buckley) using every strategy she can think of to get Judy on stage.  Grieving from the separation from her children, who are with ex-husband Sidney Luft in the U.S. (custody rulings forbid their being taken out of the country), Judy throws herself into another marriage—to Mickey Deans (Wittrock).  However, that relationship is short-lived because of her disappointment in his not coming through with a promised business deal that would relieve her of concert touring and allow her to return to the U.S.

     Zellweger’s performance is noteworthy, and may signal a rousing comeback after her Oscar win in Cold Mountain (2003), which was followed by a series of insignificant roles in minor films. Here, she captures the star’s high emotionality, charm, and voice in the later years of the star’s life. Jessie Buckley as the assistant who often gets Garland on stage is the exemplar of a dogged pusher who uses a world of patience and clever strategies to manager her charge—and still show that she actually cares.  Likewise, Finn Wittrock portrays a young husband desperately trying to be a support for Judy, but ending up mystified in dealing with her dependency and rapidly fluctuating moods.  Rufus Sewell is effective as the fifth of Judy’s husbands, Sid Luft, as is Michael Gambon as the British theatrical impresario responsible for her London appearances.

     I imagine that the experience of seeing this film resembles what it must have been like for the people surrounding Judy Garland during her adult life, particularly the later years, when it is obvious how trying, even exasperating, she could be, while still showing beguiling charm.  Its strength is in Zellweger capturing so well the full range of Judy Garland’s personality and emotionality, and, above all, a voice that entertained millions all during her 45-year career.

A moving chronicle of the later years in the life of a beloved but damaged star, Judy Garland.

Grade:  A-                                    By Donna R. Copeland

PADDINGTON 2

Voice of:  Ben Wishaw      Sally Hawkins     Hugh Bonneville     Hugh Grant

Julie Walters     Jim Broadbent     Brendan Gleeson     Michael Gambon     Imelda Staunton

     This adventure centers around an antique book about London which Paddington (Wishaw) discovers in Mr. Gruber’s (Broadbent) shop, and wants to send to his Aunt Lucy, who has always longed to see London.  When Paddington learns that it is valuable, and he’s going to need lots of money to buy it, he immediately looks for work.  The barbershop doesn’t work out so well after the electric shears get the best of him, but he discovers he is an excellent window cleaner and works diligently with amazing acumen cleaning the windows of multi-story buildings.  And he gets close to being able to buy the book for his aunt.  Wherever Paddington goes, as we know from the earlier book and film, he charms everyone with his Aunt Lucy-isms (e.g., “If you look for the good in people, you’ll find it”) and helpfulness.  But this is a substantive kind of charm, illustrating so well how politeness, diligence, and seeing the good in others changes them.

     The story is not just about “nice” things, however; there is a villain named Phoenix Buchanan (knavishly played by Grant) who exploits what he hears from the innocent Paddington.  Putting that information together with what he already knows (that there is a valuable pop-up book that has been missing for years), he concludes that it could solve all his financial and professional problems.  (His magic acts have been failing and he is drowning in debts).  We get to hear about the history of the book and how it came to be, which is an interest heightening segue).

     From here, the story transforms into more of a thriller, with Paddington being accused of a crime, tried, and put in prison.  This takes all the resources of his beloved Brown family (Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville as parents), as well as friends he has made in prison, such as the grumpy cook Knuckles (Gleeson). (Paddington won him—and the other prisoners—over with his marmalade sandwiches.)  Along with his family, these newly made friends promise to exonerate him.  After seeing how well Paddington navigates the prison system, things take a turn, after which, we have some nail-biting scenes involving a prison break-out, trains, and near-drowning that make the film into a thriller.

     Paul King, director, and writer with Simon Faraday, based on Michael Bond’s story, has scored again with a Paddington story that interests and thrills viewers, along with providing thoughtful observations about humans and how we function.  They are optimally aided by musician Dario Marianelli and cinematographer Erik Wilson, along with a plethora of artists in production design, sets, costumes, and special effects.  The actors (Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville, Hugh Grant, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Brendan Gleeson, et al) bring it all to life in a way that is entertaining and thought-provoking for children and adults. 

     It’s so rewarding to see a film with so much humane, visual, aural, and technological artistry.  Would that all so-called “children’s” films were of such high quality.

Before the intense adventure, there is warmth and loving connections.  What could go wrong?

Grade:  A                                    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

KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE

Taron Egerton     Mark Strong     Julianne Moore     Colin Firth     Halle Berry

Elton John     Michael Gambon     Channing Tatum     Jeff Bridges     Bruce Greenwood     Emily Watson

     Those who really took to the first Kingsman (2014) are likely to be disappointed in the second adaptation of the Mark Millar/David Gibbons comic book (“The Secret Service”), even though the writing/directing team is the same (Matthew Vaughn, director, and co-writer Jane Goldman), as is the cinematographer (George Richmond).  Where the first film went beyond the flashy technological effects to get in social commentary about the environment, social class, compassion, cooperation, and violence, this version seems to be preoccupied with technology, staging one combat scene after another, without much else in between.  And this is two-plus hours of screen time.

     Harry Hart’s (Firth) trainee from the first film, Eggsy (Egerton), is now an agent working with Merlin (Strong) to rein in a mega drug cartel run by the ruthless Poppy (Moore), who has ambitions to addict the whole world to increase her sales, but has ready an antidote against the disastrous effects of her doctored drugs, thereby retaining a continuous client base.  She concocts a plan, essentially putting the President of the United States (Greenwood) into a bind where, no matter what he does after he signs the agreement, Poppy’s plan will go through.

     The action takes Eggsy and Merlin to Kentucky, where they meet with private intelligence operatives and discover Hart—who was thought dead—but is alive in a compromised state.  They join forces to go after Poppy, loyalties switch back and forth, and multiple battles take place.  (It’s a bit ironic that in the first film, private intelligence agencies are shown to be bad; whereas in this film, the Kingsmen have little trouble collaborating with them, although, of course, a number of suspicions are raised and tested.)

     The script seems to be the biggest problem in The Golden Circle.  It has little substance or character development so becomes, to me, like a trade show for special effects, showing unbelievable lassos, hacking capabilities, and other tools that the characters seem to have ready for any situation, and these are inserted into so many combat scenes any interesting or engaging story is submerged.  Eggsy as the fresh-faced new Kingsman agent seems ill-suited to the tasks placed before him; and although Hart is brought “back to life” to back him up, his status seems so compromised in the beginning and through most of the action, his successes veer toward the unbelievable. 

     The filmmakers can boast about the number of A-list actors in the film:  Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, Elton John, Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges, Bruce Greenwood, and Emily Watson, and they all perform really well; however, many have little screen time or impactful roles.  Tatum, Bridges, Greenwood, and Watson are only in a few scenes.  Julianne Moore, an outstanding actress, is not quite as formidable as the witch Poppy should be.  She should send chills up your spine, but although Poppy does unbelievably heinous things, it’s hard to imagine these actions coming from the character portrayed by Moore, a fault of the script and/or direction rather than her performance per se.  Elton John is a highlight in all this; he is his character and plays it to the hilt.  His persona and what he does hits the mark, about the only time in the film this happens.

This film is a puzzlement.  Although the original show runners are the same and the actors are top-notch, this version of the Kingsman productions falls far short of the original.

Grade:  C-                                                             By Donna R. Copeland