GOLD

Matthew McConaughey     Edgar Ramirez     Bryce Dallas Howard     Corey Stoll     Stacy Keach     Bruce Greenwood     Toby Kebbell    

         Paunchy, bald, and with a huge beer belly, McConaughey is practically unrecognizable as a prospector in Gold.  Stemming from a dream he had one night, Kenny Wells, an employee of Washoe Mining Corporation, is convinced there is gold in Indonesia.  He does some research, then flies over to contact geologist Mike Acosta (Ramirez), who has previously found gold there.  Wells is a fast-talking salesman type, and finally convinces Acosta to join him in prospecting a new location that Acosta knows about.

          After scrambling for money from investors, the two start their operation, only to run into major problems with worker dissatisfaction, malaria, and Indonesian government interference.  Ramirez has to step in more than once to rescue the operation.  At one point, investor company Brown Thomas offers a strategic alliance, but cocky Wells refuses.  He is so confident, he boasts, “The last card you turn over is the only one that matters”; he is sure he will turn over the winning card.  At times during the film, it seems like this is a prophecy; at other times, it’s also a prophecy.

          Gold does a really fine job of illustrating the old story about the ups and downs of investing in commodities.  When Washoe makes it onto the New York Stock Exchange, it looks like Wells and Ramirez have it made.  One of the themes throughout is that it’s always important to have a back-up plan, and across time, this becomes readily apparent to all the major investors, particularly Wells. 

         Ambiguity is another running theme:  Who are the good/bad guys?  Is this turn of events a good or bad thing?  Will what is found be valuable or worthless?  Can the Sukarno government connection be trusted?  Questions such as these keep the suspense going, particularly since the script calls for swings back and forth.  It’s never predictable how things are going to turn out, and even at the very end, viewers will have questions.

          McConaughey is a well known gifted actor with 50 awards and 67 nominations, and he is up to his best in Gold—as repulsive as his character often is.  I admire the “hunk’s” willingness not only to be cast as this kind of figure, but to gain 50 pounds and look bald for it as well.  Ramirez is a fine match for him, often coming across as the stronger figure, the rescuer of the McConaughey character.  Supporting actors are strong, although Howard’s character is not prominent; but Kebbell as the FBI agent questioning Wells, Keach and Stoll as canny investors, and Greenwood as a spoiler enrich the production.

          The experience of screenwriters Patrick Massett and John Zinman has primarily been in television, and this factor may underlie my sense that it comes across as a bit contrived, despite the high level of suspense maintained throughout.  Stephen Gaghan’s excellent direction mostly overcomes this drawback, but still implausibilities or at least questions of “How can that work?” remain.  Especially in the last scenes of the film.

Will this dreamer survive the prospecting ups and downs?

Grade:  B                                       By Donna R. Copeland

TRUTH

Cate Blanchett   Robert Redford   Topher Grace   Dennis Quaid   Elizabeth Moss   Bruce Greenwood   Stacy Keach

          This Truth does need to be told to remind us of the importance of solid investigative journalism at a time when so much news has become infotainment.  The film is based on a book written by its lead character Mary Mapes (Blanchett) entitled Truth and Duty:  The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power.  It gives Mapes’ account of a story she researched and produced on television’s “60 Minutes”, which questions President Bush’s service in the Air National Guard.  The first half of the film shows the painstaking efforts made by the CBS team to fact check their data to assure its veracity.  They sincerely think they are doing the best job they can as journalists.  Little do they realize the power of those who have competing interests in squashing such a newscast.  

          The coincidence of the story being aired during a Presidential election turns out to be meaningful.  Needless to say, it creates a firestorm of controversy.  Dan Rather (Redford), CBS’ news anchor reporting the story, is criticized, but nothing like the vitriolic attacks on Mapes, his producer.  Was it at least partly because she was a woman?  She had a reputation for aggressively going after stories, but initially CBS patted her on the back for this.  The film does a good job in showing that some of the things she is criticized for actually make her a good reporter. 

       But when CBS’ parent company, Viacom, enters the picture and begins to exert a strong arm over CBS—because of a competing interest—the writing is on the wall.  Rather sees it.  He bends to the forces and goes out gracefully.  Rather and Mapes are the best of friends/colleagues, but with very different personalities and backgrounds.  Having been abused by her father and well supported by her husband, she cannot resist a final major defense of the story (against her lawyer’s advice to mollify a committee stacked against her), which is not in her own self-interest.  But that’s a hero for you.

        Blanchett is clearly a star in this production—as she is in so many—by capturing the essence of the Mapes figure and empathically rendering it.  Her co-star Redford—while he does not physically resemble the newscaster—easily conveys the essence of Rather.  The actors’ chemistry onscreen is a valid reproduction of the deep connection between Rather and Mapes. 

        This is a film that will not receive its due primarily for political reasons, I think.  But it is well told even-handedly by writer/director James Vanderbilt (The Amazing Spiderman, 2012, 2014; Zodiac) and the actors. 

I am glad this account of Dan Rather’s undoing is being told, although it is a sad story.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

NEBRASKA

Bruce Dern     Will Forte     June Squibb     Bob Odenkirk     Stacy Keach

     Nebraska is a wonderful picture about old age—literally in black and white.  Black and white is apt, not only because of its photographic clarity, but also because it sometimes shows the grayness and bleakness that is frequently a part of old age.  As father and son go driving through the bare snowy landscape of Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska, it metaphorically captures what Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) is experiencing in the senescence of his life, and something he is fighting against as mightily as he can.

     Woody has a dream that he just cannot let go of; he is convinced when he receives a notice in the mail that he has “won” a million dollars, he fails to read the fine print that says he will actually be entered into a contest for the prize if he buys certain magazines.  No amount of reasoning or reading the paper aloud on the part of his family will convince him, and after he takes off walking toward Lincoln, his son David (Will Forte) compassionately offers to drive him on the assumption that when Woody is told “officially” he has not won, his father will be convinced.  Besides, his son sees it as an opportunity to have some quality time with his dad, who was not an attentive father to his sons.

     The road trip has many adventures, some of which are very trying, and others even more trying.  They end up stopping in the family’s old hometown, where they visit relatives, and Woody’s wife Kate (June Squibb) and other son Ross (Bob Odenkirk) join them.  Then they get to find out all the debts they suddenly “owe”, once Woody spills the beans that he is now a millionaire.  When they finally make it to Lincoln to the prize offices, Woody is indeed given the truth, but the adventures are still not over.  The ending is classic Alexander Payne:  bittersweet but satisfying.

     Payne is a master of characterizations that seem familiar to all of us; we are convinced we have met them before in our own lives.  Moreover, he has a sixth sense about casting where the actors fit into the characters hand-in-glove.  Bruce Dern—an unlikely choice at first glance—perfectly captures Woody’s agedness, from his “Huh?!” to every question posed to his wild-eyed look of surprise when someone stops him from walking to Lincoln.  This is especially noteworthy because the actor himself is still so sharp minded.  On a Charlie Rose interview, his memory was keen, and his wit very quick.

     The other main characters are also extremely well cast.  Will Forte’s performance is probably the best of his career as an actor; he is a perfect foil for Bruce Dern’s character, who can be trying.  Forte as one of his sons conveys patience, compassion and love with complete genuineness.  June Squibb is a standout for her cheekiness in playing Dern’s wife, and her stating plainly what is going on in situations where others are hemming and hawing or playing a con game.  Bob Odenkirk as Dern’s other son, and Stacy Keach, one of his old partners, are both great supports.

Nebraska is sure to capture some Oscar nominations, so you won’t want to miss it.

Grade:  A                                                By:  Donna R. Copeland