RICHARD JEWELL

Olivia Wilde     Sam Rockwell     Paul Walter Hauser     Jon Hamm     Kathy Bates

     This is a horror story, but it’s actually a dramatized account of what happened to the security guard who recognized the possibility of a bomb being in an abandoned backpack at the 1996 Olympics Games in Atlanta, Georgia.  After being called a hero for three days, the FBI got a tip from a local college president about a security guard he had fired. It’s unbelievable that such an elite group would place so much confidence in it, but they apparently did, and Richard Jewell (Hauser) was relentlessly pursued for almost three months, not only by the FBI, but as well by media outlets competing with one another to get the biggest scoop, and in such a hurry, they did not check their sources as they were supposed to.  The film focuses on one over-ambitious reporter (Wilde) who had unethically obtained a leak from one of the agents and wrote a front-page article identifying Jewell as the prime FBI suspect.

     The script by Billy Ray, based on a Vanity Fair article by Marie Brenner, follows the true story closely and is taut and suspense-laden, but also carries with it humorous (not derisive, but sympathetic) portrayals of Jewell and his mother Bobi (Bates).  They are a Southern middle-class mother and son who live together in a neat apartment.  He has aspirations to be a police officer, but has a habit of taking his job too seriously, following the letter of the law (of which he is well informed by his own reading), without an understanding of practical/political considerations. He’s not taken seriously by local enforcement, but to their credit, when he points out a suspicious backpack, they indulge him, only to find that there is indeed a bomb inside.  The area is evacuated as quickly as possible, which does save lives when the bomb explodes.

     Along with the fine script, the actors are superb.  Hauser gives such a realistic portrayal of Jewell, the viewer is drawn in immediately with his combination of folksy charm, innocence, and commitment.  Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Way Way Back, Fosse/Verdon) is one of my favorite actors; he always nails whatever character he is portraying, and here he is a complex Southern lawyer with anti-authoritarian attitudes, just the right person to defend a social outcast with principals.  Kathy Bates plays Jewell’s soulful, devoted mother with just the right touches of dedication and commitment to make it believable that Richard is her progeny.  

     In his 50-year career, Clint Eastwood is a phenomenon in entertainment spanning television and movies in different roles of actor, director, producer, and even composer.   His films are generally well received, especially Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven, Bird, and Mystic River.  His most recent films in 2018 (15:17 to Paris and The Mule) were largely panned, but it is likely that Richard Jewell will represent a comeback to his usual solid form.  It may be over the top in some places, but seems to adhere closely to Marie Brenner’s magazine article.

A story about how self-serving machinations of the FBI and media outlets can ruin an innocent man’s reputation and torture him and his family for months.

Grade:  B+                    By Donna R. Copeland

BOOKSMART

Beanie Feldstein     Kaitlin Dever     Billie Lourde     Jessica Williams

Lisa Kudrow     Will Forte     Jason Sudeikis

     Take a peek at the generation coming up, just graduating from high school and finally developing perspective on where they’ve been and where they’re going.  Booksmart is something of a nerdy girl’s dream; one who is smart in book learning, but panicked to realize the night before high school graduation that she hasn’t lived.  She’s developed a slightly condescending attitude toward her classmates through the years, not realizing that some of them have been achieving just as much (i.e., headed for Harvard, Yale, etc.), but have been having fun and developing relationships all along.  She wants to salvage her life and is determined, even if she has only one night to do it. 

     The movie is meant to be a lighthearted window into the current younger generation (those of means, at least) with lifestyles that are self-indulgent, but not heartless.  Although there are scenes where the two main figures—the “nerds”—are characterized in unkind stereotypical ways, minds are changed when the girls loosen up and begin to mix with their classmates on a more even footing.  Some of this might be a little “pie-in-the sky” wishful thinking (most people with deep-seated impressions are not ordinarily so forgiving of those who are “different”), but it’s a good model for younger audiences to see how people can come together in permissive circumstances.

     Beanie Feldstein as Molly and Kaitlin Dever as Amy hold their own as starring characters who are confronted with a whole new world right in their hometown before they take off for Botswana or wherever—parts unknown.  They show the girls sparring, arguing, and coalescing, solidifying a friendship that will last forever.  Feldstein in particular sensitively conveys subtle changes in her character that develop as she gains insight.

     New director/accomplished actress Olivia Wilde is backed up by an all-female writing team (Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Katie Silberman) in portraying diversity in an appealing light.  Tolerance is paramount here in going against your usual prejudices about intelligence, gender, and race—um…maybe not so much, class.  But there is a forgiving attitude throughout—especially with the hilarious Lisa Kudrow and Will Forte as Amy’s parents, but also other characters who change and forgive as they get more information. (Have you ever forgiven someone who vomited on you?)

     Music by Dan Nakamura and cinematography by Jason McCormick do their job of integrating elements of the film together into a meaningful whole.

A great date night movie for the young at heart—with substance.

Grade:  B                                   By Donna R. Copeland

LIFE ITSELF

Oscar Isaac     Olivia Wilde     Annette Benning     Samuel L. Jackson

Mandy Patinkin     Jean Smart     Antonio Banderas

Laia Costa     Sergio Peris-Mencheta    Adrian Monner    Alex Monner    Olivia Cooke

     “Life itself is an unreliable narrator”, states this film in so many ways so many times, it becomes the major theme, with the corollary, “Life will always surprise you”.  So life is an unreliable narrator because we never know what is going to happen next.  What may seem like tragedy and death can be deceptive, particularly if one has the fortitude to pick oneself up and continue on.  So life itself can sometimes trick us.  

     That these philosophical “underpinnings” to the narrative are bounteously entertaining and thought provoking becomes the surprise of this well conceived, well told film.  When initial reviews I read were negative in light of the stunning cast, I wondered how so many fine actors signed on to do it.  Now that I’ve seen Life Itself, I can well understand; when they read the script, they “got it.”  What I understand less is how a thoughtful, philosophically minded viewer could miss the gold within it—and maybe those who are turned off by it simply miss—or do not care for—the point.

     The story shows how life’s “accidents” may be fateful, and actually may bind people together in surprising ways.  I especially liked how it reflects the good intentions of people in general and how they (most of us) are unaware of the long-term consequences.  In Dan Fogelman’s fine script and direction, Life Itself views the long-term picture within a family, even though each generation’s story is sufficient for a whole movie—which is what we are most accustomed to in contemporary times.

     But here, we first have Will (Isaac) and Abby (Wilde) in a romantic relationship. He vows that, “I will love you however you’re best equipped to handle it.”  How generous is that?  They have a girl-child named Dylan (because Abby is obsessed with Bob Dylan's Time out of Mind album).  Life happens, and we switch to another time and place to Isabel (Costa) and Javier (Peris-Mencheta), who have a son, Rodrigo (Adrian and Alex Monner), and a special uncle, Mr. Saccione (Banderas). How life goes full circle will keep you suspended and entertained if you are willing to be puzzled, and then pick yourself up and continue to the end of the film.

     The strong cast paired with a substantive story that goes beyond the superficial and looks at generations of families across time is the kind of production that keeps me going to movies.  This is a film I will make sure to see again at least once to have the advantage of hindsight, and a chance to reflect further on its truths.  Every single actor fits perfectly in his/her role in an infectious and appealing manner.  Music by Federico Jusid is integral, and itself very entertaining.

See this for the delightfully pictured romantic relationships, but for a full experience, keep in mind its philosophical undercurrents.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

LOVE THE COOPERS

Alan Arkin   Diane Keaton   John Goodman   Marisa Tomei   June Squibb

                                        Olivia Wilde   Amanda Seyfried   Anthony Mackie   Ed Helms   Jake Lacy

          And you probably will end up loving the Coopers in a film that many will see as a perfect holiday movie.  Although don’t expect to be immersed in warm fuzzy feelings throughout; this is a family that can throw barbs and “gotchas” with hardly a twitch of an eyebrow.  They all seem to have some gene that eventually and invariably alienates the person they’re talking to.  The script reads a bit like Little Miss Sunshine in its mixture of bittersweet, tender, and outright comedy.  The difference is that in Love the Coopers there’s a lot more bitterness in tone, especially in the beginning when everyone seems to be writhing with unhappiness—or maybe it’s just anxiety about the upcoming get-together.

         The drama mainly centers around couples—not necessarily the expected pairings.  The paterfamilias (Arkin) is alone in his old age, but has made a solid friendship with a young waitress at the local diner (Seyfried).  His daughter Charlotte (Keaton) has been married to Sam (Goodman) for 40 years, but it looks like the parting of the ways for them.  Their current issue is whether or not to announce their separation at the family celebration.  Son Hank (Helms) is going through a divorce, and he is not in good shape at all.  His other daughter Emma (Tomei) is alone not by choice, except maybe it has something to do with her not being able to form a bond with anyone and tending to feel sorry for herself in being alone.  We’re introduced to Charlotte’s and Sam’s daughter Eleanor (Wilde) in the airport where she has bumped into Joe (Lacy) who is headed out to report to duty.  Present at the Christmas celebration are also a number of grandchildren who are as quick-witted and verbal as their elders.

          Certain interchanges between characters in the drama really entertained and sparked my interest.  One was Eleanor and Joe doing a complex, often contradictory, mating dance that epitomizes budding relationships today.  Liberal meets conservative, but somehow, after many fits and starts, they find more common ground than conflict.  Another was that between Emma and the policeman (Anthony Mackie) who arrests her for shoplifting.  Being a life coach, she starts out asking him about himself, but when it ends up, he is giving her valuable advice.  They end up helping each other, and he is to be admired for insisting on appropriate boundaries. 

        The depiction of Sam’s and Charlotte’s relationship is not terribly interesting—it’s rather hackneyed—and although these are fine actors, I found myself yawning and fidgeting during their interchanges.  The best ones (Eleanor and Joe; Emma and Officer Williams) entertain us and make us think, and therein lies the best of this movie.

A soulful family Christmas with meaningful observations on mating.

Grade:  B                                                            By Donna R. Copeland