THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT

 Nicholas Cage     Pedro Pascal     Tiffany Haddish     Sharon Horgan

Neil Patrick Harris     Demi Moore     David Gordon Green

            This is a curious mixing up of reality and fantasy, though mostly fantasy.  It seems that writer (with Kevin Etten) and director Tom Gormican intended to make a spoof of Nicholas Cage and his movies by weaving in and out of both in a multi-layered piece that oftentimes uncannily mirrors Cage’s own life and career.  To enmesh the plot further, Cage’s double named Nicholas Kim Coppola (the actor’s given name before he changed it) appears periodically urging him to be true to himself as an actor.  Confusing?  It’s meant to be.

            When the movie opens (after a quick scene of a kidnapping unexplained), Nicholas Cage the character is in a career slump, which he does not want to acknowledge.  Neil Patrick Harris playing his agent Richard Fink tries to get him any job he can, even those beneath him.  But the offer that most intrigues him is the one in which he will go to a super fan’s birthday party for which he’ll earn $1 million.  This makes Cage vulnerable to a major scam and provide a perfect opportunity for an action film, which the character Cage is eager/desperate for.  

            In the beginning, the film portrays Cage the actor as someone so self-involved, he cannot celebrate his teenage daughter on her birthday without directing the guests’  attention to himself.  This part of the movie is hard to watch because he is so obnoxious.  But it transitions to Javi Gutierez’s (Pascal) villa in Mallorca where Cage will be caught up in his host’s luxurious living and an intrigue that involves the CIA (Haddish).

            Bright and knowledgeable people are likely to enjoy thoroughly the references to movies (highlighted are Cage’s Guarding Tess, Moonstruck, and others) and filmmaking (Cage and Gutierez wanting to make “a character-driven adult drama”, stealing lines, going in and out of character).  The audience I was with seemed to enjoy most the usual kinds of goofiness that many people seem to love, like pratfalls, a car backed up so fast it crashes into another car, and hair-raising car chases.  So, in these senses, the film will appeal to a broad span of viewers.

            I admire the actor Nicholas Cage for agreeing to support a movie that portrays him with many of his flaws…and he acts in it, no less.  His genuineness and willingness to allow himself to be seen in such a light is unusual and reflective of his decision to change his name from Coppola to Cage early on in his career and fund numerous charitable projects through the years.

            I also admire the skill, cleverness, and humor that Tm Gormican and Kevin Etten brought to bear on such a complex, multi-layered work that is meant essentially as entertainment.  But it might be more than that in both the filmmaking world and in psychoanalytic efforts to understand the individual in the contexts of origin, development, and achievements.

            Nicholas Cage as himself is of course the penultimate of any acting career, and he does it so easily.  Pedro Pascal is a talented actor in many different kinds of roles, and he pulls off the transitions required here.  Tiffany Haddish as a CIA agent is not so convincing, but her role is meant to be comical more than real, and for that she does a good job.  

 

Nicolas Cage?  See him here in all his facets, both real and imagined.

 

Grade:  B+                            By Donna R. Copeland

MANDY

Nicholas Cage     Andrea Riseborough    Linus Roache    Ned Dennehy      Olwen Fouere     Richard Brake

     Barbarism reigns supreme in this gory tale about a horrific brutality for which Red (Cage) is determined to avenge wrongs that have destroyed his idyllic existence.  He and Mandy (Riseborough) are blissfully happy in their country abode when a pack of crazy cultists named “Black Skulls”, who get their kicks from torture and destruction, descends upon them.  Actually, their cult leader Jeremiah (Roache) considers himself a god ever since The Chemist (Brake) mixed up a drug that instantly evokes in the coterie all their burning rage and hatred.  They dress in black, ride black motorcycles, and travel at night to wreak their devastation on unsuspecting souls.

     The film contains many acts of agonizing, bloody violence which, although I’m inclined not to care for such horrors, are, paradoxically, beautifully expressed in Benjamin Loeb’s cinematography, accompanied by Johann Johannsson’s score, and realized in Hubert Pouille’s production design and Ilse Willocx’s sets.  Panos Cosmatos, writer/director, has taken a fairly simple story about revenge and displays it against a backdrop of rich colors, design, and special effects.  A bit of humor is included during a battle of chain saws (of course, the second one pulled out is much more phallic than the first one) and a scene in which Red literally squeezes a head until the eyes and brains pop out.

     There is little character or story development; Mandy is primarily a series of vicious acts that are nevertheless artfully presented.  Nicholas Cage is at his peak in showing indignant rage about his loss (yelling and sobbing uncontrollably about the senselessness of the crime while downing a full bottle of vodka) and fierce determination to hunt down the perpetrators and exact his own punishment.  In contradiction to some of his recent work (e.g., The Humanity Bureau, Inconceivable), this role proves once again his acting talent and skill.  

Mandy is for diehard horror fans who thrill to see blood-gushing wounds, severed body parts, and dreadful vengeance.

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

THE TRUST

Nicholas Cage                  Elijah Wood

     The Trust attempts to combine comedy and thrills, and partly succeeds with both.  The script by Benjamin Brewer, co-director with his brother Alex, falls a bit short in terms of flow, surprise, and suspense.  The bumbling by the two policemen involved in accessing a cache of valuable goods in Las Vegas is funny at times, but other times falls flat.  The two experienced actors, Nicholas Cage and Elijah Wood, are up to their usual level of skill, but some things written for them to do or say are just not funny. 

     Jim (Cage) is David’s (Wood) supervisor, and clumsily tries to teach the younger man a bit of police investigative instinct; but it seems he always has to give him the answer to his leading questions because David is usually at a loss.  This is a part of the script that is puzzling; when they do a “job” it’s clear that David is the one who is better at planning, although Jim does have practical sense. But there is a contradiction in David’s being characterized as slow in some places and quick-witted in others—unless the writer is trying to show that Jim’s “caginess” is actually not so smart after all, and it just takes David a while to catch on.

     Jim is the one who questions the story behind someone coming up with $200,000 cash for an accused felon’s bail.  He decides to investigate who the donor is, how he makes his living, and why he would rescue the felon.  In this, he needs David’s investigative smarts; Dave is reluctant from the get-go, but when his boss puts pressure on him, he tends to cave.  Needless to say, the pair do not intend to turn the evidence in to their department.

     The rest of the story is about what happens when they find the cache and the significant snags they encounter along the way, including having two people unexpectedly on their hands whom they have to deal with.  Although the ending is likely to be suspected by many, it does have some twists along the way that are entertaining and close to clever.

     Music by Reza Safinia is rather trite, but cinematography by Sean Porter is subtle and noteworthy in transitions and camera movement.

Trust is hard to come by in some cases.

Grade:  D+                     By Donna R. Copeland