Olivia Colman – People Talking

Movie Review – ‘The Favourite’ – Goodladies

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara
Cast: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult, Joe Alwyn, Mark Gatiss, James Smith, Jenny Rainsford

Three years ago I’d never even heard of Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, but ever since he transitioned to English-language films, I have been a fan of his work, starting with The Lobster, then The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and, now, The Favourite.

It’s a story of the same old story (power, money, sex), based (however loosely) on true events, but with Lanthimos’s signature dark humor and narrative drama. It inevitably draws comparisons to Barry Lyndon, which is fair, given that they’re both period pieces that take advantage of natural light, but they are distinct. For one thing, The Favourite isn’t nearly three-and-a-half hours long, and it’s much, much lower on the pretension scale; and, dare I say, as far as the acting goes, both individually and collectively, The Favourite takes that title by a mile.

Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz are absolutely brilliant in a power dynamic worthy of any great gangster film (hence the above title), Nicholas Hoult threatens to steal every scene he’s in, and the rest of the cast from stem to stern is exactly what they need to be. However, the three great ladies are truly at the center, and what’s truly impressive is the range in both their characters (thanks to the screenplay) and how they bring it out in their performances; from light fun to deep sadness to cunning ruthlessness, it’s truly a tour de force of emotion.

If I have one complaint, and I’m not sure if this was an artistic choice or purely necessity based on location shooting, but some of the interior shots appear to have been done with a fisheye lens and the visual distortion took me out of what I was watching a little bit. This is admittedly a nitpick though, as the film is generally outstanding visually, particularly in the production design, costuming, etc.

On the whole, I fairly well thoroughly enjoyed The Favourite (truth be told I’ve already seen it twice) and it will no doubt go down as one of the best films of the year. Don’t take your kids to see it, but for a grown-up audience it’s quite the experience.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Twofer Movie Review: ‘The Lobster’ and ‘High-Rise’ – Independents’ Day

Not everything that gets talked about here is action schlock. Some of it is more artsy.

The Lobster

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou
Cast: Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Jessica Barden, Olivia Colman, Ashley Jensen, Ariane Labed, Angeliki Papoulia, John C. Reilly, Léa Seydoux, Michael Smiley, Ben Whishaw, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Ewen MacIntosh

I do my best not to spoil things here, and that’s particularly true of a movie like The Lobster, because so much of the enjoyment comes from discovering how its world operates as the story progresses. There are no title cards at the beginning like Red Dawn to explain how we got here, you just figure it out on the fly.

What I can tell you, because it’s in the trailer, is that The Lobster is the story of a man who goes to a special resort to find a mate, and if he’s unsuccessful in that he will be turned into an animal he has previously chosen. In the case of our protagonist, he has chosen to be a lobster should it come to that.

I will also tell you that the world of The Lobster is one of rigidity and harsh consequences, and it is this area in particular where the movie so deftly commentates on our own society in terms of the nature of relationships.

Tonally, the movie is a dark comedy, and a rather funny one at that. Colin Farrell turns in a delightfully awkward performance, John C. Reilly is his naturally humorous self, and Rachel Weisz delivers some absolutely absurd voice-overs completely straight, which is hilarious.

It’s a bit of a long, strange trip, and it may not end the way you like, but it’s one worth taking. Check out The Lobster if you’re up for something off the beaten path.

Rating: ★★★½ (out of five)

High-Rise

Directed by Ben Wheatley
Written by Amy Jump, based on the novel by J.G. Ballard
Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, Elisabeth Moss, James Purefoy, Keeley Hawes, Reece Shearsmith, Enzo Cilenti, Sara Dee (voice)
Soundtrack: Clint Mansell

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” – Oscar Wilde

No doubt, High-Rise aspires to be great, but it’s no Brazil. Heck, it’s not even Snowpiercer.

Based on the novel by J.G. Ballard (which was, perhaps correctly, considered “unfilmable” for nearly four decades), High-Rise is chock-full of British classism, Seventies excess, and tons of actual garbage. Not having read the source material, I can’t tell you if the adaptation is too faithful, not faithful enough, or somewhere in between, but it does feel like it’s in a no-man’s-land of sort.

It’s hard to pin down exactly what High-Rise is missing, but it’s not thought-provoking enough, shocking enough, funny enough, or horrifying enough to make the impact it desires. At a certain point it becomes a bit meandering, but the core story is so simple that you never really lose track of who’s doing what and why. Perhaps it’s the fact that we’re not given anyone to truly invest in that makes High-Rise so muddled.

However, one thing I’ll give a lot of credit for is the production design. Rather than taking place in an uber-futuristic dystopia, High-Rise is set in a dystopian vision of the 1970s, which means lots and lots of period cars, costumes, hair, and carpeting. in addition to more fantastical elements like an 18th century costume party.

If you’re a hardcore fan of Ben Whealey’s films or J.G. Ballard’s books, then you’ll probably see it anyway, but, save for that, High-Rise is probably not worth your time.

Rating: ★★½ (out of five)

Quick Thoughts – Autumn Round-Up, Part 1

As usual, I’m horribly behind in my writing about what I’ve been seeing.

Let’s get right to it.

Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (2003)

I have a very special relationship with this movie.

When I was in high school, I went with a bunch of friends to see it, the only problem was that everybody was 17 except for my best friend and I who were still 16 (and the theater we went to was not one you could sneak into); so, we waited and waited until finally a nice South Asian couple came by and vouched for us so we could get in. It’s been more than 12 years and I’m still waiting to pay that favor forward, but kids today just don’t have the same taste.

Anyway, Kill Bill, like every Tarantino film, is a tribute to many movies of the past. This fact was a bit over my head as a 16-year-old, I have a bit more of an appreciation of it now, but that doesn’t really matter, because the movie is great on its own and still holds up today. The Monty Python-esque over-the-top violence, the witty dialogue, Sonny f’n Chiba, and the core story of a woman essentially back from the dead and out for revenge, it’s just cool. And, it’s got one of the best ending cliffhangers ever. What more can I say?

Rating: ★★★★½

Back to the Future Part II (1989)

For a very long time, I thought this was the best BTTF movie, probably because I was young and couldn’t yet fully appreciate the original (believe me, I learned to love it), plus, they actually go to the future!

Let’s get it straight right now. Back to the Future is one of the most perfect films ever made, and is the best of the trilogy. But, as sequels go, it’s hard to ask for more than what Part II gives us.

For one thing, it provided a comedic vision of the future date of October 21, 2015 (on which I got to see the movie theatrically, because awesome), which turned out to be somewhat prescient but mostly just hilarious. Secondly, there’s some serious movie magic involved with taking us back to certain events from the original while adding another layer on top of them. And, the movie isn’t afraid of some gravitas, as the alternate 1985 “Hell Valley” is stunningly bleak.

Add it all up, and you’ve got a tremendously fun and well-executed sequel (that still works just fine on its own).

Rating: ★★★★☆

Hot Fuzz (2007)

This is another movie I have a very special relationship with.

Back in the late Spring of 2007, my best good friend and I went to see Spider-Man 3 in IMAX on a Friday night. Needless to say, we hated it. In fact, had we not paid extra to see it on the giant screen, I think we’d have walked out. Come Saturday, we needed to cleanse our theatrical palate, and the perfect prescription was Hot Fuzz.

In addition to that fond memory, it was a part of my first ever experience at the Alamo Drafthouse [Yonkers], when I went to see the “Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy” on the premier night of The World’s End.

I love this movie so much that I made my own trailer for it (which I’d show you, but, copyright laws).

A lethally hilarious combination of buddy cop action, Agatha Christie mystery, and the English countryside, Hot Fuzz is the second feature from creative duo Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg (along with Nick Frost and a cast of British greats). Like Shaun of the Dead before it, Hot Fuzz is not a parody, but rather a comedic love letter, embracing all the tropes that come with the movies it pays tribute to, in turn become a great example of the genre itself (I put it next to Lethal Weapon and Rush Hour as the three seminal Buddy Cop movies of the past 30 years); not to mention that you can watch any Edgar Wright movie 20 times and still not pick up on all the on-screen gags.

It’s fun, it’s bloody, and it’s over-the-top in all the right ways. Check it out if you’ve not already done so.

Rating: ★★★★½

Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

I’ve only very recently been getting familiar with the film catalogue of one Mr. Brian De Palma, but I’ve come to one conclusion, and that is he is drawn to stories that start out very much grounded in reality, but by the end have gone almost completely off the rails. Carrie, Scarface, and Mission: Impossible all follow this pattern, and you better believe Phantom of the Paradise, which he wrote himself, does as well (arguably to the largest degree).

A musical at its core (songs by Paul Williams), Phantom pays homage to many classic stories, including Phantom of the Opera (duh), Faust, and The Picture of Dorian Gray, while mixing in 70s glam rock aesthetics and plenty of music business satire (which is horrifyingly brilliant).

The result is something of a wild and beautiful mess, but it’s an enjoyable enough ride that I’d recommend it to a lot of people. If nothing else, the twists and turns will keep you engaged.

Rating: ★★★½

After the screening, there was a Q&A with Gerrit Graham (on the right), who played “Beef” in Phantom, hosted by Michael Gingold of Fangoria magazine (on the left):