THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS

Liam Neeson     James Franco     Tim Blake Nelson     Tom Waits     Zoe Kazan     Grainger Hines

Harry Melling     Brendan Gleeson     Jonjo O’Neill     Chelcie Ross     Tyne Daly     Saul Rubinek

      Ethan and Joel Coen have chosen to produce a western anthology containing six stories for their latest film.  Most of the main characters in each are loners, and there is at least one death in every story, but there are surprises in every one, particularly for the victims.  Characteristic of the Coens as well, humor—even if it’s sick—pops up from time to time. The music by Carter Burwell and cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel increase the artistic quality of the western stories significantly.

     In the first story titled “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”, Tim Blake Nelson is Scruggs, a singing cowboy, who receives a dare everywhere he goes.  He’s a sharp shooter who can even hit his target looking backward through a handheld mirror—which doesn’t exactly jive with his crooning talents.

     In “Near Algodones”, Cowboy (Franco) looks up to see an isolated bank in Tucumcari, New Mexico, thinking it will be an easy target, especially with only one old man as a single teller.

     In “Meal Ticket”, Impresario (Neeson) carries a paraplegic “Thespian orator” (Melling) through western towns to deliver poems and addresses based on the Bible and Abraham Lincoln’s speeches to the local townspeople.  The two support themselves by taking up collections at the end of each performance.  Then, the impresario discovers that a chicken might be just as entertaining.

     The next two stories are the best.  In “All Gold Canyon”, Tom Waits is a prospector panning for gold.  He mumbles constantly—either to his horse or to a deity, or someone else, not sure which—but after panning doggedly for gold, he finds a mother lode.  But…someone has been following him all this time and sees what he has discovered.

      In “The Gal Who Got Rattled”, Alice (Kazan) and her brother are in a wagon train headed for Oregon, where he has a business opportunity and the hope that his partner will want to marry Alice.  Unexpected events occur, which means that Alice is on her own and must make decisions for herself.

     Finally, in “The Mortal Remains” five travelers are in a stagecoach headed for Ft. Morgan.  It’s a motley group: Two bounty hunters, a French gambler, the wife of a minister, and a trapper.  They have rather tedious arguments about humankind (“There are two types, hale and frail”, “No, there are the upright and the sinners”). The trapper says he has only one kind, the dead, “but they’re different…” he allows.  The fears of death among three in the group are readily apparent when it’s time to stop, and the “bounty” of the bounty hunters is carried out in a bag and inside and up the stairs.  They have to force themselves to go inside.   

     The “surprised by death” theme is one thing that connects all the stories, except for the last one in which we’re left with not being sure whether or not the three passengers have something to fear.  At any rate, death is on their minds.  And, by the way, the Coen meanings/points/connections between the stories are not obvious in the least.  

More quirky, thoughtful, humorous tales from the Coen brothers.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE DISASTER ARTIST

James Franco     Seth Rogen     Dave Franco     Josh Hutcherson     Alison Brie     Zac Efron

      What a quintessential James Franco production!  Is there anyone else who could take a cult film like The Room, duplicate parts of it, and then make it his own?  Beyond that, it rings so many bells as you watch it, beginning with its star, Tommy Wiseau (J. Franco), an oddball character who makes you smile and turn away at the same time.  A clown-like figure, he lives in his own world, and has enough resources that he can pull everyone around him into his reality, and is genuinely hurt when they start backing off.  It’s a bit sad, too, that everyone stays with him so long as they’re getting a paycheck.  But he retains one loyal friend.

     The story is about the making of a film called “The Room”, which is written, directed, produced, and acted in by Tommy.  (Keep in mind, The Room is an actual film that tanked, but later became a cult classic.)  This story is based on a memoir written by one of the film’s protagonists, Greg Sistero.  So The Disaster Artist is a bit about Gregg (D. Franco), who is an aspiring actor who lives with his mother.  He manages to strike up a conversation with a classmate he admires in his acting class, hoping to get his advice.  Tommy surprises him by instantly taking a liking to him and inviting him to room together in Los Angeles where he has an apartment.  Neither has much luck in scoring roles, so Tommy decides he’ll write his own script, casting the two of them as characters.

     The rest of the story is about the freewheeling production of the movie, with Tommy being the most unpredictable factor.  It remains a mystery as to how he has the money to finance the film, or even where he is from or how old he is.  In addition to James and his brother Dave, the cast includes Seth Rogen, Josh Hutcherson, Alison Brie, Zac Efron, Kristen Bell, Megan Mulally, and others, with cameos by Brian Cranston, Adam Scott, and Judd Apatow. 

     Despite James Franco’s talented acting here, this is something of a “nothing” movie that will leave many viewers cold; although, granted, many find it a hoot and have thoroughly enjoyed it.  I’m in the former camp; although I enjoyed the performances, it seems pretty senseless to me.

The remake of a cult movie that is intended to be funny, but isn’t very.

Grade:  C+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

QUEEN OF THE DESERT

Nicole Kidman   James Franco   Damian Lewis   Robert Pattinson

     Celebrated filmmaker Werner Herzog takes us on a journey with Gertrude Bell, a remarkable British woman who in the early part of the 20th Century took it upon herself to explore the Middle East on her own with a small staff.  She was a writer, archeologist, explorer, mapmaker, and political advisor to the British Empire, wielding considerable influence on how boundaries were drawn in the area following WWI.  She developed a keen interest in the Bedouin tribes of Saudi Arabia, fearlessly walking into their settlements and requesting meetings with the reigning sheiks, which was apparently always granted.  Many of these men believed that she had a better understanding of them than anyone else in the West. 

     Educated at Oxford, Bell (beautifully played by Nicole Kidman) was very intelligent, but unlike most women in that age, was determined to navigate her own life as she pleased.  She single-mindedly pursued her goals, bristling at any male attempts to rein her in.  She could easily be an inspiration to women everywhere even today. 

     It appears that Herzog as writer and director of the film needed to add very little to the script that was not based on facts gathered from Bell’s books and personal correspondence.  Her written observations of the people she met, her photography, and her varied experiences provide rich information for the screenwriter and cinematographer.  Herzog has used Cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger for many of his movies, and the man has once again proved his worth with photography that is eloquent in its palette and the camera’s curious eye in navigating the terrain outdoors in the desert, within the tribal settlements, and in the cultured drawing rooms of British aristocracy.

     I found this to be a fascinating journey, particularly in light of current conditions in the Middle East and certainly in presenting the rare woman who could navigate her way in some of the most masculine-dominant situations.  Was she just lucky?  I think not.  There were far too many risky encounters for it to be that; she was canny, honest, forthright, and a skilled negotiator in getting what she wanted, while still maintaining respect for whoever was on the other side of the negotiation.

     Kidman seems just right for the role, and her playful flirtations with Henry (Franco), a character patterned after someone else Bell was involved with, add a little fun and romance to the story.  Bell’s later involvement with British officer Wylie (Lewis) doesn’t have the same chemistry, but is still entertaining.  Her interactions with archeologist T. E. Lawrence (Pattinson) capture well their mutual cynicism about British government decisions.

     Queen of the Desert presents a necessarily abbreviated but empathic account of a phenomenal woman in the beginning of the 20^th Century who forged a path that is unique for women. Going where few or no others had dared to tread, Gertrude Bell came to know herself and what was important to her in her isolated travels in the Arabian Desert, which might seem secondary to the valuable connections she was making and information she was gathering about a mysterious culture.  In the history of women, however, it is groundbreaking.

     It could be criticized for skimping on the political information and negotiations Bell conducted, but I think that is in favor of the cinematic photographic sweep and focusing on Bell’s personality.  It’s classic Werner Herzog.

A delight to see a woman of action being so successful.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

GOAT

Ben Schnetzer     Nick Jonas     Gus Halper     Danny Flaherty   Jake Picking     James Franco

          This is an unfortunate movie in some ways; that is, because it’s so sadistic, and I believe it’s not good for people to watch/enjoy such pictures.  In addition, hazing as rough as the Phi Sigma Mu Fraternity dishes out in the film Goat is illegal in most states.  Goat is based on Brad Land’s memoir published in 2004.  Much to my surprise, however, even though “hazing has been banned by 44 states and virtually all colleges and universities”, it is still a problem on college campuses, as shown by a recent comprehensive study (http://diverseeducation.com/article/10811/ reported on by the Associated Press, “Study: Hazing Still a Problem on Campus”, March 12, 2008).  “The study found the highest rates of hazing (74 percent) among members of varsity athletic teams and fraternities and sororities (73 percent). But rates also were high for participants in club sports (64 percent) and performing arts organizations (56 percent).”

          After reading this, it partially answered my question as to why Director and co-writer Andrew Neel and screenwriters David Gordon Green and Mike Roberts might have wanted to adapt Brad Land’s memoir about his experience of hazing at college into film.  Perhaps it is to make the public aware that despite the efforts to get rid of hazing, it’s still a problem on many campuses.  Neel also says in an interview at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival that “I’m just interested in the darker side of who we are” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkYiMSoEuVA - Interviewer, Micah van Hove of No Film School).  And his film is about the darker side of masculinity, despite its appearance in a setting of fraternal “brotherly love.”

          Land’s memoir not only describes the brutality of the hazing, but before that, he had been approached by two strangers after a party to give them a ride.   Unfortunately, they were up to no good and beat him severely, leaving him by the side of a country road and stealing his car.  He may have experienced post-traumatic stress syndrome as a result, but his own personality of passivity and denial and family issues kept him from getting help.  Instead, he followed his older, more socially competent brother Brett to college and pledged his fraternity. 

         The film opens at a raucous fraternity party to which Brett (Jonas) talked his brother into coming, hoping that he will impress the members so they will accept Brad (Schnetzer) into their chapter.  But Brad is more of a loner and leaves the party to go home.  It is just outside the door as he is nearing his car that he is approached to give the two strangers a ride.  After he recovers, as much as he’s going to, he pledges his brother’s fraternity, and goes through the hellacious week of pledging, where he and the other pledges undergo unspeakable tortures.  The Phi Sigma Mu members are shown to be champions of masculinity, but of the kind that is uncontrollably aggressive, brutal, foul-mouthed, and sadistic. 

          Needless to say, women hardly appear in the film, and when they do, they’re pictured primarily as sex objects.  In this and in other aspects—such as Brad’s personality weaknesses and ethical dilemmas faced only by Brett and the college—the film is one-dimensional.  Hence, not much time is given to insights about or rationale against hazing.  Shock value appears to be the intent here.

A shallow and purposeless look at hazing on college campuses.

Grade:  F                        By Donna R. Copeland

EVERY THING WILL BE FINE

James Franco   Rachel McAdams   Charlotte Gainsbourg   Marie-Josee Croze

       “How are you?”  “Fine”  “How was your day?”  “Fine.”  This is how Every Thing will be Fine begins.  And it moves at a slow pace, omitting critical information (like who the characters are) for most of the film.  It is only in the last 20 minutes or so the viewer knows who people are and the story starts fitting together.  It’s divided up into three segments separated by years of time, and in each section Tomas is with a different woman.  It’s up to you to figure out the connections, and we never learn how they take place, except for the second one.

        The story begins with a scene of Tomas (Franco), a writer, scribbling on a pad when he awakens.  He emerges from a hut on a landscape blanketed with snow, chats with a small group outside briefly, letting you know he is not entirely satisfied with his progress, bums a cigarette, gets in his car and takes off.  When Sara (McAdams) calls on the phone, he appears unsettled and lights his cigarette.  In a flash, a sled with two boys comes sliding down a hill in front of the car.  He realizes he has hit something, but reacts slowly, and this is another scene in which it’s difficult to figure out what has happened.  Nothing is shown of the boy under the car, and when Tomas comes around to the front, he sees a tiny figure sitting on the ground.

       Tomas talks gently with him, reassuring him that everything will be OK and carries him on his shoulders up to the house to his mother, Kate (Gainsbourg).  We don’t hear much of what is said, but she screams and runs to the car.  The police show up, question Tomas, and reassure him it was an accident and he need not feel guilty.

       Tomas cannot take that advice, apparently, because that and his dissolving relationship with Sara spirals him down into destructive behavior.  We get glimpses of that, his conflicted relationship with an aging father, and strange periodic meetings with Kate, to whom he apologizes over and over and says that if there is ever anything he can do to call on him.  Kate’s grief is better shown in the film.  She sobs, goes to church, and tends to her son Christopher.  Tomas, on the other hand, becomes even more reticent, not even telling Sara what happened at first. 

    Every Thing will be Fine, directed by Wim Wenders with a script written by Bjorn Olaf Johannessen, has a number of problems, some of which are mentioned above.  The segment on Tomas’ father seems like a needless digression.  And I find it hard to believe that a parent would allow her children to slide down a trail that ends up on the road.  But the main problem is the lack of explanatory transitions between the three women in Tomas’ life. 

       Perhaps they are really intended to mark the progress of Tomas’ psychological status.  In the first, with Sara, he is majorly depressed even before he hits the children because of writer’s bloc and his relationship being in trouble.  Sara is shown to be very attentive to him, so it’s not entirely clear why he leaves her (and we find out it was he who left).  In the time period with Kate, he is recovering from self-destructive behaviors, and is attentive to her when she calls him to come over late at night.  He feels awkward, but allows her to put a pillow on his lap and go to sleep, and then departs early in the morning.  (They wanted to make sure Christopher did not awaken and see him there.  It’s not clear why.)  It’s also unclear whether they develop a relationship or not.  Several years transpire, and suddenly Tomas is picking up a little girl from school, and they obviously have a close connection.  Turns out she is the daughter of his current love, Ann (Croze).  In this section, he has become successful in his writing, seems well put together and calm, and is clearly devoted to Mina.

       What the film does do well is its demonstration that grief and guilt following the death of a child have a radiating effect on the immediate family, on the one responsible and on his relationships.  Another interesting phenomenon is Christopher’s almost instant transference toward Tomas during the brief interval when he carries him to the house.  Subsequently, Christopher will draw a picture of that, will read all of Tomas’ published novels, and eventually want to connect with him.  We see no father around, which may also help explain his being drawn to Tomas.

       The scenes of how Tomas deals with Christopher’s attachment to him much later on are some of the best in the film.  It shows Tomas as having made significant progress psychologically. 

       I’m unsure about where to place the responsibility for the drawbacks of Every Thing will be Fine; certainly much of it has to do with the script, its obfuscation and excruciating pace.  But certainly these tasks are also under the purview of director Wenders and the editor (Toni Froschammer). 

       On the other hand, the actors live up to their reputations.  Franco pulls off the successful, made-it older man just as well as the troubled younger man.  McAdams is only on screen for brief segments, but she is also good at portraying a supportive, concerned partner as well as an enraged rejected one years later.  Gainsbourg’s forté is her ability to portray odd, mysterious characters whom the viewer always remembers. 

       Last but not least, Alexandre Desplat’s music enhances the film throughout, as you would expect it would.

Everyhing will be fine, but it’s a long slog getting there.

Grade:  C+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

MEMORIA

Sam Dillon     Thomas Mann     James Franco

          Memoria, adapted from a James Franco short story, tells about a lonely teenage boy, Ivan (Dillon) who is teased and bullied at school, although he does have a group of about six friends he runs with.  He is socially awkward and doesn’t have much ambition, even with the encouragement of his English teacher, Mr. Wyckoff (Franco).  Ivan’s home life is troubled, and he sorely misses his dad who left the family to return to Russia.  His mother is married to a man who has no idea how to connect with Ivan and says and does all the wrong things. 

        Partly autobiographical, the story follows this group of friends who indulge in drugs, sex, smoking, and alcohol without giving it much thought.  Even though they have sense enough to designate a driver for a party night, the driver has no such commitment, which creates a major problem later on. 

     At the Q&A after the screening of Memoria at the Austin Film Festival, Franco acknowledged that his short story is based on someone he actually knew in high school who was getting into trouble for more serious infractions than the rest of the crowd.  It was only much later that Franco heard about what happened to him, and was moved to write the short story.

         One of the co-directors, Nina Ljeti, also went to high school with Franco and knew the boy in question.  The other director, Vladimir de Fortenay, and Ljeti made significant changes in the Franco story, with his endorsement.  Under their direction, the film has several strong points, particularly the opening scenes with a bridge and a figure looking out over it as if pondering whether to jump.  The scene immediately switches to a swimmer, but one in swimming trunks, leaving it ambiguous as to whether the person jumped or not.  A drawback of the film in my opinion is that we learn almost nothing about Ivan’s mother, someone who must have played a role in his current psychological state. 

        Sam Dillon and the actor playing the younger Ivan (Kaden Ecklund) interpret the role well, showing a taciturn, somewhat sulky, boy who will do the polite thing if prodded, but is basically nonaggressive, except for his military fantasies in the privacy of his bedroom.  The kid is obsessed with a father he may never see again.  He was young enough when the father left that later he has to wonder if his memories of him are actually true or are made up out of his longings.

        I believe Memoria reflects accurately the teenage scene and how adolescents of today cope with the world.  It is interesting, but does not offer much in terms of insight or a really fleshed out picture of Ivan’s world.

A fairly typical picture of contemporary teenage life.

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland