Film Review & Theme Park: Amy (2015)

© A24 | Source: knightfoundation.org/

UK; 128 min.; documentary, biography, music

Director: Asif Kapadia

Cinematography: Matt Curtis

Starring/ Interviewees: Amy Winehouse, Mitchell Winehouse, Janis Winehouse, Raye Cosbert, Nick Shymanksy, Blake Fielder-Civil, Yasiin Bey, Tyler James, Juliette Ashby, Lauren Gilbert, Pete Doherty, Blake Wood, Tony Bennet, Mark Ronson, Salaam Remi, Andrew Morris, Sam Beste, Dale Davis, Cristina Romete, Chip Somers, Shomari Dilon, 'Spiky' Phil Meynell, Monte Lipman, Lucian Grainge, Guy Moot, Darcus Beese, Nick Gatfield

I don't think I'm going to be at all famous. I don't think I could handle it. I'd probably go mad, do you know what I mean? I would go mad. – Amy Winehouse

My contribution to Women’s History Month is a little less historic and the impact of the subject will only be determined in the future. I chose to take a look at Amy, the Academy Award winning documentary about troubled soul and Soul singer Amy Winehouse. I was neither a particular fan of her music (although I can certainly appreciate her talent) nor is there any particular historical or societal significance (in the sense of activism, charity, ...) to her that would justify a citation in this category. Still, the award recognition of the documentary as well as the recognition of the quality of Amy Winehouse’s music motivated me to take a closer look.

And Amy sure deserves checking out. The Asif Kapadia documentary roughly recaps Amy’s life story from when she first got into the business at around 16 years old to her premature death in 2011. Amid background-serving childhood flashbacks the documentary takes the viewers into closed quarters of first record- and manager deals, the recording studio, and even Amy Winehouse’s vacations and escapes from reality. The audience is taken on an emotional journey that starts with the discovery of a young and headstrong talent and follows the unravelling of a depressed and overwhelmed twenty-something.

What we can take away from the portrait of this woman is that passion and talent are admirable features that are appreciated by people – no matter how troubled or young and inexperienced you are. You are also able to overcome your own demons (even if only temporarily in this case) to create something amazing. And maybe you can also draw strength from the life of Amy Winehouse, who did a lot in her 27 years of life despite continuously facing new setbacks and struggles. But most of all the inclusion of Amy in our Women’s History Month feature may serve as an eye-opener to be equally headstrong and cautious, and that asking for help doesn’t necessarily signify weakness.

Technically Amy largely uses home videos and press/ paparazzi footage as well as a large number of interviews presented as voice-overs. Friends and family must have all pitched in to provide material that really shows the woman behind the music. The interviewees are chosen in large number and with very different perspectives on Amy’s life, ranging from parents, to close friends, producers, and famous collaborators, providing a seemingly rounded picture. All too often documentaries can be manipulated by a very one-sided choice of information, but here it doesn’t seem overtly so. Kapadia created an extensive documentary (I mean two hours is really bordering on too long) that works without any artificial and plot furthering elements to provide a raw and close to honest image. Hand-held camera footage, interviews, and Amy Winehouse’s songs are enough to tell a chronological and revealing story. To me it was especially moving and slightly horrifying how deeply personal and reflecting of her current situation the lyrics of Winehouse’s popular songs really were. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to mindlessly blab along to the radio and her overplayed singles such as Rehab ever again. And that is a testament to this film. I honestly couldn’t care less about Amy Winehouse before, but now I can appreciate how much she gave to her music.

Surprisingly enough Amy holds the promise it sets out to: To provide an up close and personal look at the Amy Winehouse behind the music. As it turns out her music already is an open window to her soul, but raw and uncut footage really brings home the message. While a little too long for my taste, the length gives the movie depth and room to really track the different behind-the-scenes stages of her career. There is no overt guiding of opinion. Still you cannot help but feel for this woman and be moved by her fate – self-inflicted or not. By the end of Amy, I was feeling raw and emotional and a good bit creeped out (by her demons, I guess). In any case a well-made documentary and “a portrait of the artist as a young [wo]man”.

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Film Review & Theme Park: What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015)

© Netflix | Source: Indiewire

USA; 101 min.; documentary, biography, music

Director: Liz Garbus

Cinematography: Igor Martinovic

Interviewees: Lisa Simone Kelly, Al Shackman, Stanley Crouch, Gerrit De Bruin, Dick Gregory, Attallah Shabazz, Ilyasah Shabazz 

“It’s just a feeling. It’s just a feeling. It’s like how do you tell somebody how it feels to be in love? How are you going to tell anybody who has not been in love how it feels to be in love? You cannot do it to save your life. You can describe things but you can’t tell them. But you know it when it happens. That’s what I mean by free. I’ve had a couple of times onstage when I really felt free, and that’s something else. That’s really something else! Like, all... all... Like... like... I tell you what freedom is to me. No fear! I mean, really no fear. If I could have that half of my life... No fear.” – Nina Simone 

March is Women’s History Month, and we over here at BSP thought, why not discuss movies that celebrate the life and work of some strong, intelligent, creative and all around fascinating women. Of course, we always like to discuss these kind of movies because we simply love us some tough gals all year round. But since this special occasion deserves a shout-out, Squuls, Nata Lie and I have decided to each pick a movie dealing with a real-life woman and review it for you this month.

I chose the late musician and civil rights activist Nina Simone. Not only is she at the centre of a very recent Hollywood scandal – Zoe Saldana, the lead actress of the upcoming biopic Nina, came under fire for her performance in blackface – no, she’s also the star of this year’s Oscar-nominated documentary What Happened, Miss Simone?.

Speaking as a person who, beforehand, only knew Simone from some of her more popular songs such as “Feeling Good”, “I Put a Spell on You” or “My Baby Just Cares for Me”, it was interesting to be able to take a closer look at the woman with those enchanting, unconventional vocals and mad piano skills. I guess that, especially for a person who’s new to Simone’s biography, the documentary directed by Liz Garbus is going to be helpful in understanding what made the musician tick.

Garbus mentions Simone’s youth in a Jim-Crow-dominated North Carolina, her first piano lessons and her desire to become the first black female classical pianist playing at Carnegie Hall. She covers her rejection from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia based on racial prejudice, her jobbing at bars in Atlantic City and her big break with her debut album Little Girl Blue in 1958.

But, most importantly, the documentary wonders what made a celebrated, gifted pop star such as Simone fall into oblivion after making it big. What happened, Miss Simone? is the initial question here, and Garbus finds possible answers in Simone’s dedication to the civil rights movement and her frequent calls for violent opposition, leading to her fall from grace with white audiences and the white music industry. Furthermore, if only marginally, Garbus explores Simone’s struggle with bipolar disorder, a condition that led to heavy mood swings and destructive behaviour, alienating her closest friends and, above all, her young daughter Lisa Simone Kelly.

The documentary mixes new interviews, for example with Lisa, Simone’s dear friends Al Shackman and Gerrit De Bruin or the two Malcolm X daughters Attallah and Ilyasah Shabazz, with rich archive footage from Simone’s abusive husband Andrew Stroud or civil rights activists such as Lorraine Hansberry, Martin Luther King Jr., Stokley Carmichael and Malcolm X. Last but not least, Simone’s presence in the film is created with the use of engaging concert scenes, photographs, insightful interview footage and personal notes from her diary. All the pieces taken together manage to create a beautifully complex image of Nina Simone as a strong, yet lost soul. A dedicated activist, an eruptive force. Smart and reflective, yet very emotional and physical. A masochistic woman in love with her violent husband. A sadistic mother, but also a good mother. A troubled mind shaken by disease. A misanthrope. A woman in touch with her heritage and in love with her people. Most importantly, a genius musician.

Just like this year’s Oscar-winning documentary feature Amy about the late British singer Amy Winehouse, What Happened, Miss Simone? draws a link between different stages in Simone’s life and her songs. The 1959 hit single "I Loves You, Porgy" is focused on when the film deals with Simone’s rise to fame. “I Put a Spell on You” is incorporated to describe her ambivalent relationship with her husband. “Mississippi, Goddam” accompanies her frustration with racial injustices and “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” celebrates her love of herself and her fellow African Americans. While this mode of narrative becomes slightly predictable after a while, it is still realised so skilfully that it never has an exhausting effect. It rather goes to show how much of Simone’s soul seems to be entangled in her songs and thus gives a possible reason why her performances always feel so real and true.

Partly produced by Lisa Simone Kelly, it is refreshing to see how openly this documentary deals with the musician’s more unpleasant aspects: her moodiness, her psychological cruelty, her illness. Still, Simone Kelly is also far from condemning her mother for her actions. Director Garbus is given the possibility to approach Nina Simone from different angles which turns What Happened, Miss Simone? into an intriguing viewing experience. Granted that there’s certainly room for a more in-depth exploration here and there, this documentary still does a beautiful job painting the portrait of a complex woman and the time she lived in.

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Film Review: Spotlight (2015)

© Open Road Films | Source: churchmilitant.com

USA; 128 min.; drama, biography, history

Director: Tom McCarthy

Writing: Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer; based on a series of articles by The Boston Globe Spotlight team

Cinematography: Masanobu Takayanagi

Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci

"If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse them." - Mitchell Garabedian

While summer is a time for flashy, light movies the darker part of the year comes along more subtle and, well, deep. Whether or not it’s that our attention span is actually shorter during the hot months or whether we are conditioned that way by film studios, the fact remains that heavily plot-based movies are more likely to hit us in winter. One of those films is Spotlight, a promising Academy Award prospect, which truly deserves to be – wait for the bad pun – in the spotlight.

Tom McCarthy’s 2015 motion picture is based on the true story and articles of the 2003 Pulitzer-Prize-winning Spotlight team of The Boston Globe. It provides an in-depth look at the investigation into a grand-scale child molestation scandal within the Catholic Church at the beginning of the new millennium. In a deeply Catholic city such as Boston, this is an even bigger scandal and – as it turns out – much harder to unravel. While there had been reports of isolated incidents before, it is the impulse given by an outsider, new editor Marty Baron (Live Schreiber), which starts a systemic investigation of this problem. So the Spotlight team starts to turn over every rock available – putting in hours at the archives, tracking down witnesses, filing law suits to get access to hidden data – all with significant hindrance and harassment by the local archdiocese. While more and more people come forward (victims, lawyers, private investigators), it also becomes more and more apparent that this is not only a cover-up by the church, but by the whole devoutly Catholic community. Spotlight shows the struggle of a newspaper editorial team to fulfill its duty of informing the reluctant public of their home base, while trying to discretely hold their competitors in the dark. Their thorough research is rewarded with a detailed series of articles that not only document and uncover one of the biggest religious scandals of recent times, but move many people to come forward and finally shed the cloak of secrecy.

Many a movie of the 2015-2016 season comes along with breathtaking visual features, be it action-packed special effects or breathtaking, wide-angle scenic shots. If that’s your thing, Spotlight is not for you. There is no visual spectacle to be found here. Instead there are small, fluorescent-lit rooms, hectic tracking shots of a character trying to meet one deadline or the other, and close-up personal shots that reflect interview situations and in-depth conversations. As I said earlier, Spotlight is all about the story: the shots complement it, the subtle yet nervous score underlines it, and the cast’s performances highlight it. And really, it does not disappoint. There is a scandal that is socially relevant and even more shockingly: true. It is a problem we all have heard of and that in its deceit and inappropriateness is appalling to most of us. It shakes our very foundation of who we can trust and what is good in the world. 

Luckily enough, Spotlight also has a team of morally righteous investigators, who stop at nothing (no personal failures, religious beliefs, old friends and connections) to uncover the truth. As a spectator you can really feel their effort. The movie does a brilliant job at intriguing its audience, inviting us to make guesses about different characters’ loyalties, and grasping the perceived urgency and danger of the situation. While in some parts the conspiracy aspect might seem a little exaggerated and the cover-up on a slightly too grand scale, simply because it’s too awful to be true, I find that it only serves the purpose of highlighting the audacity of the system. Also, if you regard the number of incidents and people involved by the real Spotlight team, it kind of puts things into perspective. Tom McCarthy and his team did an excellent job in trusting the material they had and not making a graphic action flick out of it, but rather a gripping and deep biographical and social thriller.

Apart from the story, it really is the cast that makes Spotlight stand out. It’s not for nothing that the actors took home the SAG Award for Best Ensemble Cast (the equivalent to Best Picture at the Oscars) this year. Everyone, and I mean everyone, on screen in this film does an excellent job of being true to their roles, but it is the main cast that really brings home the story. Mark Ruffalo plays Mike Rezendes, a Boston journalist of Portuguese decent. His portrayal reflects a stop-at-nothing mentality that makes this assignment not a job, but a personal vendetta as well. His desperation is palpable. Walter “Robby” Robinson (Michael Keaton), another Boston native, is the chief editor of the Spotlight team at The Boston Globe. He went to Catholic school and knows many of the high-ups involved in the scandal. Keaton’s portrayal shows that Robinson is determined to unravel this system of abuse, but is also deeply shocked and ashamed by his own failure to detect a scandal of this scale on his home turf. Rachel McAdams impersonates Sacha Pfeiffer, the only female member of the team. She is close to her grandmother, a devout Catholic, and it hits her hard to have to shatter her grandmother’s beliefs. McAdams does a great job at portraying both the relentless journalist and the compassionate granddaughter. On the one hand, I can’t shake the notion that, because she is a woman, she was given more private and emotional and less tough, investigative screen time. On the other hand, McAdams has one of the most gripping scenes of the movie when her character directly confronts a retired priest about allegations against him. Martin Baron (Live Schreiber) is the new chief editor of The Boston Globe. Born in Florida and of Jewish faith, he is the true outsider that gets the investigation going. His devotion to good journalism and difficulty at getting to know how things are run in Boston are well portrayed. John Slattery is Ben Bradlee Jr., a reluctant believer in the story. As supervisor to the Spotlight team, he is not central to the actual investigation, but Slattery manages to make his unwillingness to believe in the scandal leave a constant air of suspicion against him in the audience’s minds. Matt Caroll (Brian d’Arcy James) is the member of the group with the most personal fear involved. The actor portrays the urgency of a father to protect his and his neighbors’ kids from known perpetrators in their street. Finally, the always amazing Stanley Tucci plays Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney of child abuse victims. Tucci’s portrayal is slightly eccentric as per usual, but mellows down to a sincere and fiercely protective personality when talking to the victims. In most cases a big cast has some standout performances, but in the case of Spotlight the star is the ensemble.

Tom McCarthy’s 2015 feature film Spotlight comes along as a visually humble and seemingly understated motion picture. Yet, the seeming simplicity of the movie in reality is a brilliant testament to confidence in a story that is socially relevant and emotionally gripping. There is no need for any flashy extras when you have plot, performers, and audio-visuals all moving in sync to make a thrilling and highly relevant contribution, not only to this year’s award season, but to motion picture history in general.

Rating:  

Film Review: Trumbo (2015)

© Entertainment One | Source: Hitfix

USA; 124 min.; drama, biography, period

Director: Jay Roach

Writing: John McNamara; based on the biography Dalton Trumbo by Bruce Cook

Cinematography: Jim Denault

Cast: Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis C.K., Michael Stuhlbarg, Elle Fanning, Alan Tudyk, David James Elliott, Dean O’Gorman, Stephen Root, John Goodman

“Friends? What friends? Who the hell has the luxury of friends? I’ve got allies and enemies. There’s no room for anything else.” – Dalton Trumbo

The early Cold War period is not only the time in which the USA fought the Soviet Union in a proxy war far away in Korea. It is also the time in which they heavily prosecuted their own people right at home. Men and women who were suspected of favouring socialist views and communist doctrines found themselves indicted, imprisoned, shamed, blacklisted, sometimes even deported. McCarthyism scarred lives, destroyed careers and endangered one of the pinnacles of modern democracy: the freedom of speech.

Jay Roach’s biopic Trumbo tells the story of one of those men who suffered under a regime dominated by oppression and the Red Scare. In the film, Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston), a celebrated Hollywood script writer, is under scrutiny for his passionate support of organised labour and his membership in the Communist Party of the USA. When summoned in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee and questioned about his political views, Trumbo refuses to answer and, in 1947, is convicted for contempt of Congress. Blacklisted after an eleven-month prison term, he has a hard time finding work and keeping his family afloat. Yet, continues to try.

Let me state right away, Trumbo is definitely flawed. Attempting to depict both a significant historical era and the personal struggle of a talented writer and dedicated family man, the film hardly moves beyond the surface. We see a man up against a tyrannical regime, we see a father working his butt off trying to earn money for his wife (Diane Lane) and three children (Elle Fanning, amongst others), we see a man facing betrayal by the hand of a very good friend. There’s a pretty basic formula at work here, guiding us through cornerstones of Trumbo’s life story, channelling some soapy drama, teary eyes and tenacious defiance while doing so. The characters fall rather flat, and an effort to explain McCarthyism rests on pointing out that everybody is plainly hysterical and nuts. Not to say that this isn’t true at its core, but a more in-depth look at the machinery behind this malicious political agenda would have been nice and could have helped to elevate the film out of triviality.

Despite the overly simplistic approach, however, I can’t claim that I didn’t enjoy Trumbo. While its triviality prevents the film from really gaining ground, it also offers a rather engaging 101 on the McCarthy era and its influence on Hollywood. The reason why I say ‘engaging’ is that I found myself perfectly intrigued by the way in which the film brings the classic movie industry of the 1940s, 50s and 60s to life. The set and costume design is lovely. Characters such as John Wayne (David James Elliott) and Kirk Douglas (Dean O’Gorman) appear. The use of fictional as well as actual radio and movie footage gives the whole thing a documentary style and evokes Hollywood greatness. For example, the voices of Lucille Ball and Gregory Peck are featured, and scenes from Roman Holiday (1953) and Spartacus (1960) incorporated. Combined with the at times vivid editing, the film boasts a rich and energetic atmosphere that is fun to watch.

Besides, the cast manages to move beyond the platitudes of the script and deliver memorable performances. Cranston’s Oscar-nominated portrayal of Trumbo carries the film through a bumpy script. He brings a loveable, slightly neurotic charm to the character, presents wit and passion with ease and has me invested in his journey from start to finish. Helen Mirren shines as fancy-hat-wearing, gossip-spreading Hedda Hopper. A character that could have easily been a mere evil-minded broad becomes a complex, classy, quick-witted evil-minded broad in her capable hands. She spices up the screen every time she’s on it. Furthermore, John Goodman delivers a fun stint as foul-mouthed B-movie producer Frank King, Louis C.K. adds some dry humour as fellow blacklisted screen writer Arlen Hird, and Michael Stuhlbarg steals the show as (apparently historically inaccurate) treacherous actor Edward G. Robinson.

Story- and character-wise Trumbo keeps things very much on the lighter side. It’s thanks to the atmospheric execution, dedicated cast and witty one-liners that the film makes for engaging and entertaining popcorn cinema after all. Trivial it may be, but never incomprehensible or alienating. In the end, Dalton Trumbo and his spirit of defiance against a ramshackle political system resonate strongly.


Rating: 

Film Review: Straight Outta Compton (2015)

© Universal Pictures | Source: cbscw44.files.wordpress.com

USA; 147 min.; biography, drama, history, music

Director: F. Gary Gray

Writing: Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff

Cinematography: Matthew Libatique

Cast: O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Paul Giamatti, Neil Brown Jr., Aldis Hodge, Marlon Yates Jr., R. Marcos Taylor

Ice Cube: Yo, Dre.
Dr. Dre: What up?
Ice Cube: I got something to say.

As usual at the beginning of a new year it’s time to look back on the previous 12 months in film and honor the past year’s stand-outs. This is the task today’s manifold award shows and juries have taken on and should do to their best abilities. But, not for the first time, the most prestigious Academy Awards have left doubt about their selection of honorees. Amidst the #OscarsSoWhite uproar, I am taking a look back at one of last summer’s strongest performers at the box office:

Straight Outta Compton is the (auto-) biographical enactment of the rise, fall, and legacy of Californian hip hop group N.W.A. In 1986 four young guys from Compton, California set out to turn the frustration about their lives and opportunities into something creative. As west-coast pioneers of gangsta-rap their rise to fame and fortune is glorious and disapproval by the stiff, bourgeois society only contributes to their notoriety. But when money gets involved things get tricky. Various people want to ride the money train and friendships are lost. Straight Outta Compton shows the estrangement of the group, their individual endeavors and ultimate reconciliation at the deathbed of founding member Eazy-E (this story’s real, guys, so no spoiler alert needed).

The F. Gary Gray pic does a good job of setting the scene and creating an atmosphere. Police radio calls and news reports recreate the atmosphere of civil unrest in Reagan-era America. As an important back note to the development of N.W.A, these state-of-the-union testimonies introduce the sharp reality of the protagonists’ lives. Drugs, unemployment, early fatherhood, guns, and unjustified police brutality are the norm here. Dark shots and sharp flashing lights are a means of establishing a gritty and authentic picture. Yet stereotypical shots of “ghetto life”, of cruising and posing are not omitted either… When things escalate, camera movement and cuts accelerate and frames get up close and personal. As the group rises to fame, shots become more and more total, summiting in shots of bright stages and packed concert halls reflecting the grandeur of N.W.A’s success. There are parties and excesses to no end, but these flashy enactments are always cut against small-scale, closed-off shots of conversations, hinting that there’s always something deeper going on behind the shiny façade. While the movie is not free of clichéd depictions of sex and violence (as there may well have been in these circles), in general it does a good job of pulling you into the action, so that by the end of the movie (yes, guys, you were in fact watching a movie) you feel like you have been on that journey with the group.

And the group is exactly what this movie is about and what makes it so special. The dynamics between Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), DJ Yella (Neill Brown Jr.), and MC Ren (Aldis Hodge) coming up together from nothing to the top of the business are refreshing and uplifting. When difficulties arise, you feel like you have been cheated, too, and then you feel almost sappily happy when the group reconciles at last. But hold up! – not all is brilliant and authentic here… As this is a biography you know there are some real people involved. When you then look at the producers (Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and the widow of Eazy-E among them) you know that these people are trying to create, legitimize, and manifest their legacy here in unblemished form. Who the main protagonists are is then also a given, but the way they try to stylize themselves is a bit too much at times: Eazy-E as the entrepreneur, Ice Cube as the poet and independent thinker, who stood up for his rights, and Dr. Dre as the musical genius with nothing but the advancement of his arts on his mind. A bit too neat if you ask me… Taking their depicted fostering of Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur, as well as a montage of real-life achievements after the end of the events depicted in the movie into consideration, it’s all a bit too much. Yeah, they did great things for hip hop, but the movie also sugarcoats or omits other, more violent and controversial aspects of their way to the top. And while Ice Cube, Dre and Eazy-E probably were the most successful of the bunch, I wonder how the rest of their crew feels about Compton.

The movie does a great job of depicting the main players in the form of casting, though. First of all hats off to employing a group of young and relatively unknown actors that none the less do a great job of portraying their characters. Their performances and looks fit to a tee and stop just short of mimicry. O’Shea Jackson Jr. had the slightly unfair advantage of studying his character up close and personal, as well as sharing his genes. Hence he has the attitude and can do the facial expressions and line delivery of his father almost like the man himself. Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre can do both: portray the sensitive, exuberant creative genius and the ruthless, quick-tempered nature of a man determined to make his way up. Coming back to those Oscar nominations from the beginning, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E might have deserved a nod for best supporting actor. In his portrayal he shows the whole range from childish joy, when his friends forgive his past selfishness, to economic strategist, calculating thug, and a man sick and dying of an illness he saw as unmanly and humiliating. Mitchell gives a performance you can believe and that despite the extreme nature of events is never over the top. The group’s manager Jerry Heller is prominently portrayed by Paul Giamatti. As always he does a brilliant job of playing a cunning and egoistic psychopath that in its ruthlessness and scheming gives me the creeps. Neill Brown Jr. and Aldis Hodge give solid performances, but since their characters remain mere props for the story, so do they.

The strongest part of the movie is – who would have thought – the music. As the sole reason to why this motion picture was ever even made, N.W.A’s legacy looms over Compton. Yet, this isn’t a suffocating or strangling fact at all, but opens the door to a fresh way of storytelling. Events in the movie don’t have to be reflected or commented on in stifling monologues, but get put into rhymes that reflect the feelings of a whole generation. These extremely explicit, yet hauntingly honest lyrics and their passionate delivery serve to set the tone and ground the events in history like no other device. Elaborating on the genesis of staple tracks such as “Fuck tha Police” are some of the film’s most captivating moments. The movie features a mix of the actors’ own versions and N.W.A’s original recordings. Fans, as an added bonus, get remastered versions of once genre forming tracks. Songs that influenced the artists as well as an original score by Joseph Trapanese round off the soundtrack. Shame that this incorporation of “historic” tracks led to a snub in the original motion picture score category.

Straight Outta Compton was one of 2015’s smash hits – and no wonder: great shots, real emotions, and brilliantly true music left no movie-goer unmoved. This is no straight out street-life picture, nor is it your standard artsy music film, but it does have a good bit of both. Yet, it seems, this is not the kind of mix the Academy goes for. Although I haven’t watched all best picture contenders of this year yet, Straight Outta Compton would not have gotten my vote either. To me there is a little too much legacy building and glorifying of events at hand and not enough critical reflection on people’s extreme behavior and its consequences.  Nonetheless Compton is quality entertainment: its 147 minutes are diverting, you get to hang out with some cool dudes, and share their exciting journey. An amazing cast, that is nominated for a SAG award for best ensemble and should have received a nomination, if that category existed at the Oscars, delivers real performances. Compton recreates an era of societal problems and civic unrest that seems a little too close to our reality today. A widening gap between rich and poor and escalating police brutality make you feel like it’s not only the Compton guys that have been through all that, but that you could be a part of the story, too.

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Film Review: The Revenant (2015)

© 20th Century Fox | Source: The Hollywood News

USA; 156 min.; drama, adventure, biography

Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Writing: Mark L. Smith, Alejandro G. Iñárritu; based on the novel The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge by Michael Punke

Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Forrest Goodluck, Melaw Nakehk’o 

“As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight. You breathe. Keep breathing.” – Hugh Glass

The Revenant won three major awards at the Golden Globes last Sunday: Best Actor, Best Director and Best Motion Picture. And although we can almost safely say that Leonardo DiCaprio will also grab his first Oscar at the end of February – I repeat, Leonardo DiCaprio will most probably finally be given his first Oscar – the overall success at the Globes was kind of unexpected. Up against Spotlight and Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant came out on top of two critical darlings, and while I personally hold the other two films in higher regard than Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s survival drama, I still think that The Revenant is a masterly crafted, visceral movie experience worthy of praise and recognition.    

Loosely based on the real life of fur trapper Hugh Glass, here played by DiCaprio, the film is set somewhere in the US American wilderness during the cold, merciless winter of 1823. When Glass is severely wounded in a bear mauling, the rogue and spiteful John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) kills Glass’ son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck), who is also part of the hunting party, and leaves the father behind to die in the wild. Glass, however, manages to survive and embarks on an arduous quest in order to seek revenge.

The Revenant is, first and foremost, a cinematographic masterpiece. DP Emmanuel Lubezki, who already shot the hell out of The New World (2005), The Tree of Life (2011) or last year’s Birdman, uses mostly gloomy natural light and long, lingering takes. He has the camera move freely among the characters, allowing the viewer to immerse in the activities of the trappers and, at the same time, creating a tense atmosphere of unease because one can never be sure what is about to approach from any angle of the screen. Paired with an impeccable use of sound, the visuals bring the breathtaking beauty as well as the uncertainties and dangers of nature to life.

Cleverly marketed as a gruesome spectacle of epic proportions before the film was even released, the bear mauling scene really is a highlight. It’s raw, brutal and appears frighteningly real. Without a doubt, a grand feat for the CGI department and, again, the cinematography. In general, ruthlessness and brutality are constant companions in The Revenant, with the film depicting human nature at its most visceral and savage, but without ever exploiting the fate of its characters. Here, brutality isn’t included for the mere thrill, the mere sensation of it. It’s much more an integral part of the story.

While the plot follows a sometimes all-too conventional pattern of a classic revenge tale and is occasionally slowed down by some redundant moments and, for my taste, overly artsy dream sequences, it’s the underlying themes that I thoroughly enjoy. Iñárritu has us question the difference between human and animal nature, and how humans, with all their drives, ambitions and flaws influence their environment. Instinct and reason, are under scrutiny here, and Iñárritu, despite telling a tale of survival and determination, presents a rather sinister, yet fascinating outlook on humanity.

Much has already been said about DiCaprio’s dedicated performance. Crawling through the freezing cold snow, eating raw animal organs, fighting bears and humans alike, growing a beard from his ever young baby face – he’s done it all. I’m glad to finally see him gain so much recognition for his work because, well, it’s about time, damn it! However, while there’s nothing wrong with his portrayal in The Revenant, I believe that this particular performance is more about crossing physical boundaries than good ol’ character acting. It’s in the nature of this story that Glass spends more time trying to stay alive than acting out a range of subtle emotions. This film doesn’t ask for moments in which DiCaprio transforms mentally (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, 1993), hits us with unexpected fragility (Blood Diamond, 2006) or has his character live in constant fear of detection (The Departed, 2006). This film is about physical survival under excruciating circumstances, and DiCaprio gives it his all.

Tom Hardy, as the antagonist, is allowed more room to subtly flesh out his character. And do you know why he succeeds? Because he’s Tom Hardy. Period. It’s quite a task to bring some humanity to a character that is, right from the start, set out to be an evil, intimidating, bullying, selfish little motherfucker. And while Hardy portrays all these qualities with ease, he’s also able to endow Fitzgerald with an emotional back story that’s intriguing to watch. Hardy can do intense like nobody else in this business at the moment, and together with DiCaprio’s restrained and brooding Glass the two create an onscreen dynamic that is a joy to behold.

The Revenant certainly is long. Its unspectacular story arch sometimes even feels long. But still the film succeeds in delivering ambitious themes and a gripping character dynamic in the most beautiful, grim and captivating visuals. I felt haunted by its impact days after I’ve seen it, and I actually can’t wait to go back to this icy, dim place and rewatch Glass’ struggle with nature and mankind. You know what I also can’t wait to see? DiCaprio winning an Oscar. But don’t fret, it won’t be long now, Leo. It won’t be long.

Rating: 

Film Review: The Danish Girl (2015)

© Universal Pictures | Source: Vogue

UK, Germany, USA; 119 min.; biography, drama

Director: Tom Hooper

Writing: Lucinda Coxon, based on the novel of the same name by David Ebershoff

Cinematography: Danny Cohen

Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Ben Whishaw, Matthias Schoenaerts, Amber Heard, Sebastian Koch

“I think Lili's thoughts, I dream her dreams. She was always there.” -- Einar Wegener

In his previous films, The King’s Speech (2010) and Les Misérables (2012), director Tom Hooper has already proven that he’s capable of portraying grand emotions. Now, his newest piece seems to gather all the right ingredients to also pull some heartstrings, but, surprisingly, The Danish Girl feels rather void of sincere and heartfelt sensations. It’s bloodless Oscar bait which can only slightly be mended by gorgeous visuals and the dedicated performance of its lead actress Alicia Vikander.

The film is set somewhere in the 1920s and tells the story of real-life Danish painter Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) who became the first recorded person to undergo sex reassignment surgery. As a woman trapped inside a man’s body, Einar relies on the support of his devoted wife Gerda (Vikander) and their very good friend Hans Axgil (Matthias Schoenaerts), while he’s emotionally as well as physically transforming into his alter ego Lili Elbe.

Instead of focusing on a more realistic and character-driven approach towards Lili’s transformational journey and her tense relationship with Gerda, Hooper offers a more stylised take. Told in beautifully composed and coloured images, Lili’s story comes across as one abstract, life-like painting in which the brush strokes of destiny turn her from a marvellous looking man into a marvellous looking woman. No matter how much Lili might suffer underneath her flawless exterior, never does Hooper sacrifice the beauty of his visuals to display raw and honest emotions. While in Duncan Tucker’s 2005 film Transamerica I felt every ounce of pain in the gender struggle depicted by Felicity Huffman, Hooper’s Lili always remains beautiful to look at. On the one hand, there certainly is pleasure to be found in such eye candy of the highest order. On the other hand, however, this abstract kind of portrayal makes it hard for me to feel Lili’s emotions and form an attachment to the character. Throughout the film, she’s nothing more than a pretty girl with a fabulous wardrobe.

Yet, Redmayne is definitely able to dig deeper than the surface. Unfortunately, he’s not only restricted by dominant visuals. The script rushes us through events and leaves no room for an in-depth exploration of Lili’s character. Her desire to abandon her manhood and live as a woman seems to come out of nowhere, even though we’re told that it “was always there”. And rather than to evoke sympathy for her ordeal and misunderstood sexuality, Redmayne’s portrayal remains very one-sided and bloated with contrived pieces of monologue. Eventually, Lili seems more whiney, artificial and self-centred than strong, revolutionary and – above all – real.

This is especially apparent in her relationship with Gerda. Hooper turns the latter into a martyr who’s willing to sacrifice her own dreams and aspirations for Lili’s transformation. Similar to all the other supporting characters, from Schoenaert’s Hans to Ben Whishaw’s Lili supporter Henrik, Gerda only exists in order to assist Lili in her self-fulfilment. There’s no room for real interaction between the individual characters which makes watching them quite tedious after a while. It is thanks to Vikander’s strong performance that Gerda is allowed to stand out as more than just a plot device. The Swedish actress gives us self-confidence and insecurity, defiance and pain, kindness and determination. In this heap of pretty pictures and one-dimensional characters, Gerda is the only one to come across as a person made of flesh and blood. Rather than the Danish girl, it is in fact the Danish girl’s wife that shines here.

Hooper had the potential to tell an inspiring, powerful tale of self-determination and love as well as make a case for tolerance and respect. Instead, he drowned his characters in a sloppy script and all-engrossing images. And while he has Lili sob and suffer through most of the two hours of the film, I was utterly unmoved. It seems as if Hooper was so distracted by fishing for an Academy Award, that he forgot to actually make a good movie. 

Rating:

Manic Monday & Trailer Check: The Walk (2015)

© Sony Pictures Releasing | Source: YouTube screencap

Today's the day that Manic Monday and Skyscraper Appreciation Day fall together. For this excellent occasion, I was looking for a topic that is suitable for both our slightly suicidal minds at the beginning of the week and our adoration for impressively high-built architecture. After some searching around, I'm sure that I have found it in Robert Zemeckis' upcoming cinematic endeavour, The Walk. Let's check out the trailer.

  

In the opening shot, the camera quickly runs up a highrise - storey after storey after storey. Nothing's audible except for the wind howling around the skyscraper. Finally, when the camera has reached the rooftop, a young man appears. He walks to the edge of the building, eyeing another highrise some metres away. Music anticipating thrill, excitement and danger sets in while the camera grants us a look down into a vertigo-inducing abyss.

The Walk is the story of Frenchman Philippe Petit and one of the most spectacular high-wire acts in history. When in 1974, he came up with the plan to stretch a wire between the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York to walk from one building over to the other, his attempt was not only illegal, but also bound to put him in mortal danger. As far as movie premises go, this one will most certainly spark the interest of an adventure-loving, the-extreme-cherishing audience.

However, the trailer also has us know that the visual execution will fit the spectacular nature of the plot. We are promised an IMAX 3D experience, and the fast-paced tracking shots up tall buildings as well as the multiple glances down heady heights can only profit from a three-dimensional build-up.

The illegal aspect of Petit's story indicates that the film might also harbour a heist-movie-like quality: the act between the Twin Towers has to be planned without other people noticing, stealthy undertakings lead the high-wire artist and his crew through ventilation shafts and on the run from watchmen. As indicated by the trailer, this might add another layer of thrill to the film.

With Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the lead and other cast members including Charlotte LeBon, James Badge Dale and Sir Ben Kingsley, The Walk features actors who are certain to shine with talent and likeability. It'll probably be easy to be engrossed in Petit's adventure and to root for his success.

This well-done trailer promises an engaging thrill ride that will bring audiences to dizzying extremes visually and make their pulses race plotwise. I personally cannot wait for The Walk to enter cinemas. But however manic your Monday may be, BSPeeps: don't try this at home! Please appreciate your skyscrapers from afar. 

Wide Release:  9 October 2015

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