Film Fest 919 Diary: Pt. 3
Aside from Roma, the most talked about movie of the festival seems to have been Green Book. It’s not a surprise; the movie already won the audience award at the Toronto Film Festival just a few short weeks ago. It’s based on a true story, as all good Oscar hopefuls must, of an Italian-American bouncer (Viggo Mortensen) in search of a temporary job while the club he works at is under repair.
The options though are scarce. He can make some bucks off challenging people to hot-dog eating contests at the local grease joint, or there’s always the neighborhood…um…goodfellas (wink), who are more than happy to have some extra muscle around. Neither option sounds good.
Luckily, fate intervenes as Mortensen’s character is suggested for a unique driving job. What might that job entail you ask? Escorting an accomplished black musician (Mahershala Ali) on a two-month concert tour through the deep south. The fact that Mortensen’s character can throw a guy across the room for misbehaving is a bonus should trouble to arise.
And so, the men embark on the long journey, creating a kind of reverse Driving Miss Daisy dynamic. Mortensen is overweight, slobbish, but full of mischevious humor. Ali, on the other hand, is calm and poised, carrying himself with an elegant confidence. Over the trip, the two bicker, face racial prejudices, and ultimately form a lasting friendship that brings each out of their comfort zones.
It’s the kind of movie that would have won Best Picture in 1988, which makes it almost baffling to see in 2018. In a moment when a film such as Get Out can tackle themes of race in a dense, complex, and entertaining thriller, a movie such as Green Book feels outdated.
However, it’s whose perspective we see the story through that feels like the most significant missed opportunity. Mortensen is undoubtedly lovable in his role, but Ali has the far more interesting character. His conflictions deal with a void in identity, too white to be black but still treated as less than human in the wealthy white venues for which he performs. He’s seemingly distanced himself from black radio artists such as Little Richard and Aretha Franklin, as well as scoffs at the idea of eating fried chicken.
Whether or not you interpret those instances as Ali’s character at war with black stereotypes, at risk of losing a connection to black culture entirely is up to you. But, it offers up an interesting direction the movie could have leaned into that would have felt far newer than the white guy who overcomes his prejudice by seeing through the eyes of his black friend. We’ve gotten that plot dozens of time before.
Still, it’s not hard to see why this movie is such as crowd pleaser. Mortensen and Ali are incredible actors, and the film sings when both of them play off each other, such as the moment where Ali provides some eloquent prose to Mortensen’s love letters home. For many at my screening, the charm of this movie was enough to win them over. I’m still searching for my feelings, though I imagine there will be a more complicated conversation about Green Book once awards season kicks around.
When most viewers were mentioning Green Book as the movie that just made them feel good with its light, lovable energy, I thought of another film. To me, The Old Man & the Gun is the most pleasantly charming movie of 2018, and I’m willing to fight to the death to defend that point…ok, that seems a little off-brand for this movie. We can grab a slice of pie and a cup of coffee to talk about it.
The movie comes at an exciting point in the careers of two individuals. It’s the latest theatrical film by David Lowery, a filmmaker who I’ve become won over by in the last year. Lowery makes movies that are like folk songs. They are rugged, yet tender. You feel as though they’re based on tall tales passed down from one generation to the next.
His first couple films showcased a mastery in aesthetic but failed to connect me to their central characters. Nevertheless, it is impressive the way Lowrey evokes mid-70s Malick and Altman in Ain’t Them Bodies Saints or live-action Disney movies from the same era in Pete’s Dragon. After working in the mouse house, Lowery unveiled his most impressive work yet. The picture, A Ghost Story, was finally the film that won me over. It’s patience-testing for sure, but also one of the most thoughtful, haunting, and original American movies in recent years.
The Old Man & the Gun is an undeniably more commercial, less challenging movie than A Ghost Story but its beauty comes precisely from the fact it wants to be nothing more than a good time. It’s a total movie-star vehicle for Robert Redford, a man who is himself at an interesting point in his career.
Redford recently announced that this would be his final on-screen performance. Maybe that’s true. I for one am always dubious when an actor makes those comments. Does anyone ever truly retire? Still, if this is to be Redford’s last ride into the sunset, it’s one hell of a one to go out on. For an entire older generation that grew up on his movies, this is an amalgamation of everything Redford has done and a reminder of what made him such an endearing movie-star. For a younger generation, it’s the opening of a door to an entire body of work and memorable performances.
Even at 82-years-old Redford still strides into the room with the same confidence, infectious smile, and lovable twinkle in his eyes he’s had over the last four-plus decades. In The Old Man & the Gun, he plays Forest Tucker, a real-life bank-robber who was pulling heists and escaping from prisons well into his 70s. The tag-line for the film says its “mostly true,” a playful way of telling us this is more about the myth of Tucker than a factual biography.
That’s part of what lends the movie its charm. The Tucker we meet here is more of a whimsical folk-hero. He isn’t violent and robs only because…well, it’s fun! For him, he’s not making a living by stealing money; he’s simply living. Redford fits this role like a pair of well-worn jeans. He’s comfortable, whether he’s holding up a bank teller or wooing Sissy Spacek, who’s terrific here in her own right.
The film boasts a plethora of notable talent, including Tom Waits and Danny Glover as the other members of Tucker’s crew, as well as Casy Affleck as the mustached detective looking to whip the cuffs on him. However, when it’s all said and done, this is Redford’s picture. It’s as care-free and relaxed as he seems to be, giving 90 minutes of pure movie-going bliss.
If The Old Man & the Gun was the festivals ultimate feel-good movie, 22 July was easily it’s most devastating and painful to sit through. However, maybe a film about terrorism and a nation grappling with far-right hatred shouldn’t be a walk in the park. I knew it would be intense, possibly upsetting but a new film from Paul Greengrass was reason enough to check it out.
Greengrass has become commonly known for directing two kinds of pictures; Bourne films with Matt Damon and thrillers about people surviving real-life acts of terror. You can guess which one his latest falls under. Most of us will never experience a plane highjacking, such as United 93, or being kidnapped by pirates, as in Captain Philips, but Greengrass’ films give you some sense of the panic and confusion felt by those who were there in the moment.
22 July focuses on a horrific terrorist attack that took the lives of over 70 people in Norway back in 2012. The lone perpetrator, an alt-right extremest who believed was leading a revolution, blew up a government building before heading out to an island retreat camp, where he gunned down dozens of young teenagers.
The actual attack makes up only the first 30 minutes of the film, with the rest of its run-time devoted to the stories of survivors, government officials, and lawyers, as the country looks to heal while also combating a hateful ideology at its doorsteps. At a certain point, it becomes clear that Greengrass is using the horrific incident as a vessel for which to address concerns over nationalistic, anti-immigrant resentment that seems to have bubbled up from the shadows and into the Western world’s mainstream.
The movie is more of a political, and in the case of the victims, personal drama than a nerve-inducing thriller. Maybe the greatest irony is that its most engaging section is easily the hardest to watch. Greengrass is someone who works best with kinetic movement and disorienting chaos. What most of the movie lacks is real forward momentum. Despite a strong message and cast, the section where Greengrass seems at his peak is during the attack itself.
The film is another big win for Netflix, who with a few exceptions was eager to show off its fall slate of movies hitting in the next few months. 22 July will drop sometime in late October. I imagine many who watch it won’t be able to make it past those initial 30 minutes. I don’t entirely blame them. The feeling of shellshock and anger that lingers over the rest of the movie is partially due to how unsettling the depiction of the attack is.
We’re still less than a year removed from the Parkland Shooting as if we’ve ever not been in the shadow of a mass shooting in our country’s recent years. For many, seeing the bodies of innocent young teens hit the ground after being shot in the back or cries of terror as gunfire goes off inside walls of a mess hall will be far too unsettling.
By the final night, I was eager to end my week on a film that had received glowing recommendations from every critic I talked to. What made it better was it was from one of the world’s most exciting and hilarious filmmakers, Yorgo Lanthimos. The Greek filmmaker got international attention back in 2009 with the darkly absurdist picture Dogtooth, eventually following it up with his English language debut, The Lobster, and the profoundly unsettling The Killing of a Sacred Deer last year.
His new film, The Favourite, is slightly more commercial than his previous films. It lacks the wild absurdism and stilted line delivery that usually fills his pictures but retains the director’s knack for pitch-black comedy. All of this is likely because Lanthimos didn’t write The Favourite, making it an easier pill to swallow for those new to his work.
However, the period piece comedy still is as devilishly vulgar and racy as it was howlingly funny to watch. The packed theater I was in never let up the laughs, even when the film pushes the humor to places I never thought the audience would go.
Set in the 18th Century, The Favourite follows two women (Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone) conniving against each other for the influence over Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) of England. Both Weisz and Stone are terrific as snakes in the grass, manipulating others to ensure their royal stature among the castle. You can tell how much gleeful fun each is getting at playing such slimy and vindictive human beings.
However, it’s Colman who truly steals the show. Her Queen Anne is essentially a…what’s the female word for man-child…woman-child? Sure, let’s go with that. She whines, pouts, and throw temper tantrums on the floor when she doesn’t get her way, using every muscle in her body for hilarious comedic effect.
Some have accoladed Lanthimos as a modern-day heir to Kubrick. I roll my eyes every time someone says that, no matter who the filmmaker. But, I did think a lot about Kubrick’s own Barry Lyndon while watching The Favourite. Both filmmakers have a dark sense of humor and know how to shoot lavish period pieces to feel both extravagant yet absurd.
However, Lanthimos even goes a step further. Much of The Favourite is shot on circular, fish-eyed lenses, warping the image. It’s a constant reminder of a world filled with untrustworthy characters, ever-shifting etiquette, and grotesque behavior.
After leaving the theater, I knew it was easily one of the festivals best, but the movie has only grown in admiration as it’s lingered in my mind. I indeed laughed during the screening, but the outrageous humor amidst such a prim and proper genre has only gotten funnier in days since. I had a similar feeling watching Phantom Thread last year and, like then, I’m dying to go back for seconds.
Once The Favourite was over, I realized I had time for one more film. Wildlife featured two recognizable stars and would be the second film directed by an actor that weekend. Set in Montana during the 50s, Wildlife tracks the crumbling marriage between the parents (Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal) of a young teen.
Gyllenhaal is far better here than he was in The Sisters Brothers, or at least as more to do. His character is a one-time golfer who never made it pro. The family has bounced around the country due to his need to start over after every job loss. After being laid off from the local golf course, he decides the next career move is to be a firefighter, battling a deadly blaze consuming the forest just outside town.
It’s a somewhat selfish decision and one that leaves Gyllenhaal absent for much of the film. At that point, the movie becomes Mulligan’s show, and she’s genuinely the one reason to see the movie. For the first few minutes, I was taken out by how young both her and Gyllenhaal look, especially considering they are supposed to be the parents of a 15-year-old boy. Eventually, you realize that’s deliberate.
They’re playing a couple that thrust into being parents at such a young age that they never honestly had a moment to be young or live for themselves. Mulligan’s performance, in particular, shows a woman bursting from the seams, eager to break free of her everyday life, to recapture something from her youth that she feels she was left out on.
