SERENITY

Matthew McConaughey     Anne  Hathaway     Diane Lane     Djmon Hounsou

Jason Clarke     Jeremy Strong     Rafael Sayegh

     The complexity of the plot in Serenity (which is far from serene) hypes up the excitement and intrigue, and keeps you guessing throughout.  The theme of “What is real?” gives it an added boost in depth as the viewer is forced to ask the question over and over in terms of the plot, but also in terms of each of the characters and their minds—along with ethical questions that will arise.  It is the talented work of Writer/Director Steven Knight who has given us previous—sometimes quiet—thrillers, as in Dirty Pretty Things, Eastern Promises, andLocke, that stay on one’s mind after leaving the theater.

     The story starts out as a simple tale about a fisherman who seems to be suffering from PTSD following his medal-earning service in Iraq, which he is self-treating with alcohol.  He is gruff and single-minded, seems to have no inkling about human management and relationships, and is compulsive about finding a certain tuna in the ocean that he has named “Justice” (which, like everything else in the film smolders with symbolic meaning).  

     Baker Dill (McConaughey)—not his real name, of course—is shown to run rough-shod over employees such as loyal Duke (Hounsou) and clients, every incident of which always gets spread through the town of Plymouth, where “everybody knows everything.”  And they do seem to know; the instance something happens everybody knows about it, even deals made supposedly in secret. There’s only one bar in town, which is part of the explanation, and a certain cat owner named Constance (Lane) has a perfect view of the dock from where all boats go to sea, but word also seems to travel mysteriously.

     Some may get turned off by the occult references in the film, but, to me, that only adds to its intrigue.  It’s done so subtly (and some kinds of supernatural events have been accepted in some circles), and for substantive reasons (as in a father connecting with his son), I could easily accept it as part of the story. Besides, the ending is so ambiguous in terms of what really happened, it’s one of those delightful films where you can pick the ending you favor.  Either it’s a fantasy of someone’s mind, or it’s a realistic account of what happened.  The capper for these thoughts is Baker’s comment about a telephone call he’s just had:  “I didn’t have enough coins to get in that conversation” [about what was real]. 

     McConaughey is in his usual form, capturing a character central to the plot of a movie. Here again, he confirms his status as a top-notch actor.  His movies vary considerably in quality, but in Serenity, he has chosen a role within a plot that is both complex and airtight.  The rest of the cast measures up to the task of characters who are presented as strong and convincing:  Anne Hathaway as the somewhat mysterious element of Baker’s/John’s past whose presence unnerves him; Djmon Hounsou as the one Baker asks to be his conscience, but intermittently dismisses; Jason Clarke as a thoroughly reprehensible husband; Jeremy Strong as an ambiguous figure offering an ambiguous bargain; Diane Lane as an important grounding connection for Baker; and finally, young Rafael Sayegh as Patrick, an elusive game-inventor-player who may or may not be real.

A delightful and thrilling exploration into reality/fantasy possibilities and the questioning of the rules of the game.

Grade:  A                        By Donna R. Copeland

MARK FELT: THE MAN WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE

Liam Neeson     Diane Lane     Marton Csokas     Josh Lucas     Michael C. Hall   

 Bruce Greenwood     Tony Goldwyn     Tom Sizemore     Julian Morris

     FBI agent Mark Felt was profoundly disturbed by his knowledge of the White House’s involvement in the 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, and felt impelled by his conscience to do something about it anonymously.  He had been an agent for 30 years, and was completely devoted to its principles and solicitous of its integrity.  When J. Edgar Hoover died unexpectedly, there was a shake-up in leadership, and because President Nixon and his staff wished to have more control over the agency, they chose to pass over Felt, the #2 man with a spotless reputation, and put in the director’s place L. Patrick Gray, who would be more of an ally to them.

    This was a period of time when the FBI and the White House engaged in a number of clandestine activities such as bugging the offices of political rivals, activist groups, or just anyone it considered suspicious.  One of Hoover’s agents, Bill Sullivan, was especially skilled in these nefarious activities, and when the White House realized he could be useful even after Hoover had already dismissed him, the White House appointed him head of its own intelligence office.

    Soon after this film begins and Felt (Neeson) is passed over for the directorship in favor of Gray (Csokas), Sullivan (Sizemore) is appointed to the White House.  Felt sees this as very bad news, knowing that it would compromise the independence of the FBI.  In fact, the White House was successful in pressuring Gray to suspend the FBI’s investigation of White House involvement in the Watergate break-in.  As he witnesses the increasing erosion of democratic government, Felt begins to use what power he has to expose what is happening through the media.  He was able to keep his actions secret for 30 years.

    With all the secret machinations and intrigue going on in so many areas of the government during the time, this story should keep you on the edge of your seat.  It doesn’t.  Moreover, the story is not well told in the sense that characters are introduced without any explanation as to why they are, so by the end it’s not clear who is who, how they got to be where they were, or any of the intense emotions they must have been experiencing.  The only emotion in evidence is in a side story inappropriately inserted about Mark Felt’s missing daughter. 

    Neeson and the other main characters—Marton Csokas, Josh Lucas, Tom Sizemore—play their roles well; it is the script that lets them down.  Another example is Diane Lane, a fine actress who plays Felt’s wife.  We see brief glimpses of her and can tell she is very unhappy, but little about their marriage and family is elucidated, except, of course, about the daughter, which is still sketchy and seems only an excuse for the filmmakers to introduce some affect into a rather plodding script.

    Director Peter Landesman adapted the screenplay from Mark Felt’s book, which I have not read, but wonder if it is as dry as the film.  I wish I had come away from it with a good understanding of what happened, relate it to present-day events, and feel inspired by Mark Felt’s adherence to principles at not inconsiderable cost to himself.

This film will not give you a clear picture of the events surrounding the Watergate scandal.

Grade:  D                                    By Donna R. Copeland

PARIS CAN WAIT

Diane Lane     Arnaud Viard     Alec Baldwin

      Warning!  After you see this film, make sure you’re able to go to the finest French restaurant you can to prolong the sensorial mood you will be in for as long as possible.  This is a film that Lost in Translation should have been (my apologies, Sofia, but I could never understand two people staying in their hotel rooms the entire time they are in exotic Tokyo).  Paris Can Wait is a two-day road trip through Provence on the way to Paris.  It’s a sensual journey with a charming, complimenting, gastronomic guide and wine connoisseur.  As an aside, I am puzzled by the cinematographer’s decision to film the lush French landscape in a washed out color palette. 

      On this filmic journey, you must identify with Anne (Lane) in the story to savor all the delights.  Jacques (Viard), a colleague of Anne’s husband Michael (Baldwin), offers to drive her to Paris when she is advised not to fly because of a cold; Michael is on his way to Budapest.  So Michael goes on to his meeting in Budapest, and it’s decided that Anne will rejoin him in Paris, their final destination in Europe.  “You’ll be there by dinnertime”, says Michael.

      What follows is enchanting.  Jacques is playful and flirtatious, which takes Cleveland-born Anne aback.  As soon as they drive off, he says, “Let’s pretend we don’t know where we’re going.”  The rest of the trip—which takes 2½ days—is indulgent in ways she has never experienced before.  It’s a fine advertisement for French men, because Jacques is just as respectful of Anne as he is flirtatious and playful.  His compliments are genuinely framed in her abilities (in photography, in fixing a car), as well as her appearance.

      And this is more than a sexually teasing romp.  During their time together, Anne and Jacques go beyond gourmet delights, as they make their way through Provence and visit ancient landmarks, Lumier and textile museums, a fresh market, and elegant hotels.  He contrasts the French and Americans with pronouncements like, “In France, our happiest memories are around the table” and “Americans always have to have a reason” rather than simply enjoying some of life’s simple pleasures.  There are emotional self-revelations from each that create empathy between them for their losses in life. 

      They do reach Paris, but true to the title, it can wait while Anne and Jacques savor their time together in a French Garden of Eden with its unique blend of history, art, architecture, gastronomy, and landscape. 

      Writer/director Eleanor Coppola (married to the notable Francis Ford) introduced the film in Austin, which I attended at the SXSW Film Festival, and indicated that it is autobiographically based.  After telling her friend about the trip she had made, the friend advised Eleanor to make a film about it.  Her background was in the documentary genre (impressively, the award-winning Hearts of Darkness:  A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, which she co-directed), but when she was searching for a director for this film, Francis asked, “Why don’t you direct it?”  It is an impressive work of art and makes you wonder if/why Eleanor kept her lamp hidden all these years.

     Eleanor and her casting director, Constance Demontoy, deserve praise for securing Diane Lane and Arnaud Viard for the starring roles.  Their chemistry is palpable, and both are appealing in such a way that we get the impression the actors are playing themselves, really honorable people with joie de vivre. 

If you wish you could go to France, but can’t, Paris Can Wait is a perfect vicarious substitute.

Grade:  A                                                By Donna R. Copeland

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

Ben Affleck   Henry Cavill   Amy Adams   Jesse Eisenberg   Diane Lane  

Laurence Fishburne   Jeremy Irons   Holly Hunter   Gal Gadot

          It’s a common human failing to mistake proximity for causality, and that is how the action in Batman v Superman begins.  Superman (Cavill) has been present in or associated with tragic events in Metropolis, so he is being regarded by some as a pariah, taking the law too much into his own hands and needing some oversight.  Senator Finch (Hunter) feels so strongly about it, she heads up a committee to investigate Superman.

          Bruce Wayne (Affleck) is also convinced Superman is a danger to society and feels honor bound to set things right.  Thus develops a fierce rivalry between the two. Wayne’s trusted technician/adviser Alfred (Irons) tries to dissuade him from taking on such a battle, but Wayne seems to be a tormented soul who frequently feels he hasn’t done enough to protect humankind. 

           Another figure on this complicated chessboard is Lex Luthor, a megalomaniac, who is seeking to extend his power in the world by absconding with precious metals and engaging in other nefarious activities.  Wayne senses he is up to no good and does some investigating at his company. 

       Shadowing in the background for much of the story until the very end when she suddenly appears as a fighter for the good is Wonder Woman (Gadot).  What brings her out is a Kryptonite monster seemingly capable of destroying anything, including Superman. 

         One should go to this film expecting that it is mostly about the CGI accompanied by deafening sound effects with repeated urban devastation, fierce battles that seem to go on forever (Batman v Superman, and both of them with Wonder Woman v the monster), and near death experiences for Lois Lane (Adams) and Martha Kent (Lane).   It is filled with a jumbling hodge-podge of scenes that make it hard to follow the storyline. 

       Remarkable to me in this rendition is the number of self doubts voiced by its two heroes, Batman and Superman, which made me wonder if perhaps their differences with one another would have been lessened if each were more confident.  But that is me in fantasy; I think Director Zack Snyder and the other filmmakers purposefully set up this struggle because they thought it would make a better story for those who favor action movies.

A CGI spectacle with hand-to-hand combat scenes going on for 40 minutes or so nonstop.

Grade:  C-                        By Donna R. Copeland

TRUMBO

Bryan Cranston   Diane Lane   Helen Mirren   Louis C.K.   John Goodman   Elle Fanning

          Dalton Trumbo was a very successful Hollywood screenwriter in the late 1940’s when he was called to answer questions about his beliefs by the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).  He refused to testify, so was sent to prison for 11 months for Contempt of Congress.  He and many others were put on a Black List by the movie studios, which refused to hire them, denying them any means of support. 

         The film Trumbo dramatizes these events with major actors in the roles of the principal players.  Bryan Cranston plays Trumbo in another one of his remarkable performances.  He truly can melt himself into a character so well you forget him, the actor.  Diane Lane plays his wife Cleo—capturing the near-saint that Cleo must have been, while easily asserting herself forcefully when she perceived a wrong.  Helen Mirren plays Hedda Hopper, an apparently conniving, devious zealot with incredible power given her occupation, a gossip columnist.  In her younger days, she was an actress and still seethes about being rejected as “too old”, but is still able to threaten studio executives with exposure of their weaknesses unless they go along with her political stance, i.e., supporting the HUAC. 

       Louis C.K. is turning out to be a gifted actor; he plays Arlen Hird, one of Trumbo’s reluctant screenwriter colleagues also called to testify.  Trumbo pulls him along by convincing him that even if they’re convicted, the case will go to a liberal Supreme Court that will defend their right of free speech, and he pays for Hird’s attorney fees.  (In a stroke of bad luck, one of the Supreme Court liberal judges dies unexpectedly, so they lose their appeal.) 

        Another star always up to his reputation is John Goodman, who plays Frank King, a Hollywood producer who just wants to churn out box office successes.  He doesn’t give a flip about political issues, so has no problem paying Trumbo to rework the terrible scripts he is given.  This is what saves Trumbo financially, and as amazing as he is in turning out scripts in record time, he has so much work he can’t do it all.  He hires his fellow blacklisted writers to help him, and thereby they survive. 

       Trumbo is an extraordinary film in showing us an important “happening” in American history, in having well known actors playing major figures (which blows your mind a little bit), and more importantly, reminding us of how critical it is for Americans to have free speech to sustain our democracy.

        Director Jay Roach is known primarily for comedies (Meet the Parents, Austin Powers), but I think he does a good job in presenting this bruising history of Hollywood and America.  It is more liberal in its presentation, but an important speech by Dalton Trumbo gives the import of the movie’s message: There was bad faith and good, honesty and dishonesty, courage and cowardice, selflessness and opportunism, wisdom and stupidity, good and bad on both sides; and almost every individual involved, no matter where he stood, combined some or all of these antithetical qualities in his own person, in his own acts (Cieply, Michael (September 11, 2007). "A Voice From the Blacklist: Documentary Lets Dalton Trumbo Speak (Through Surrogates)". New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2011.) 

An instructive piece of American history dramatized.

Grade:  B                                 By Donna R. Copeland