January 15 – 21
Cinema movies: 2
Home movies: 3
Hurrah – 2 cinema movies this week!
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Having never watched any Dave Chappelle before I found myself thoroughly enjoying his brand of humour in Equanamity and The Bird Revelation. Two different types of stand-up performance, one before a large crowd and one before a small crowd, had a shade of Bill Hicks about it which I dug.
Hurrah, we made it to the cinema for Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri! I’d purposefully ignored trailers and only allowed myself the slightest glimpse at a few headlines and Tweets pertaining to the movie. Sometimes for me the fact that folks love a film is enough for me to see it, regardless of what it’s actually about.
Three Billboards takes a remarkably simple premise, an almost bare-bones plot, and makes it big. That’s largely due to the work of its cast, led by the tremendous Frances McDormand. I cannot say enough good things about her turn; one minute she’s strong and determined, the next she’s about to fall apart; all the shades of a grieving person told mostly through expression. This is Coen brothers without the on-the-nose humour. It’s broader and less self-aware, which lands much better considering the inciting incident of the film (the rape and murder of a young woman).
Outlander. I tried. Oh, how I tried. We managed to watch two episodes before the stilted voiceover and shoddy acting unhinged us.
Before I Fall was marketed as Groundhog Day for young adults. Except there’s no humour, no character and as I discovered by the time the credits rolled, no point.
Don’t get me wrong. I love a good Groundhog Day-ripoff. And why not? Take away what makes that 1993 flick so damn good and, the premise remains solid: a person destined to live the same day over and over until they reach some sort of catharsis. The neat twist in Groundhog Day is that it takes Phil Connors an age to realise the true meaning of decency and honest living; that set-up allows for a ream of amusing hijinks underscored by a desire to be better.
Before I Fall has no such ambitions. Instead, it’s happy to paint the life of a wealthy, white Pacific Northwest teen as being a torturous existence, which I find hard to empathise with. I can comprehend that the idea that within us all there lies a struggle. Some of those struggles make for superb cinema. The struggles of an affluent teenager to anchor a movie about being less selfish do not. Saying that, there’s a sincere performance from Zoey Deutsch in the lead role, and she does remarkably well despite the film’s shortcomings.
I’m a fan of Ethan Hawke, Julianne Moore and I do rather enjoy Greta Gerwig. Maggie’s Plan therefore appealed to me purely based on its acting talent. It played like a rehashed Woody Allen film with slightly less scatty characters. Not bad.
Ah, my favourite from this week: Molly’s Game. Whether they’re set in casinos, or back rooms, or even if there’s only one scene with a bunch of shady types tossing match sticks down, I’m a sucker for a gambling movie. Knowing that Molly’s Game is based on a true story made it all the more appealing, as did the fact fact that it’s written and directed by Aaron Sorkin.
His walk-n-talk style of shooting and overly verbose scripts are why many are critical of his work, whereas I bloomin’ love both of those attributes. The Newsroom is one of my favourite series of the last decade – yes, I prefer it over The West Wing – and I can’t believe it got cancelled. Seriously, it was the best work Olivia Munn has ever done.
Molly’s Game charts the rise of a young woman whose plans for Olympic stardom are scuppered when she experiences a major injury during a qualifying event. She hightails it to LA to scrump up some cash, and winds up helping her boss host private poker parties. Things escalate from there.
I’ve mentioned before that I am rather a fan of Jessica Chastain. She’s an actress whose chameleonic qualities remind me of Meryl Streep, Laura Linney, Jennifer Jason Leigh… she manages to elude the trappings of the ‘star system’. What do I mean by that? Simply that when you watch her onscreen, you don’t know who you’re going to see. Certain actors we watch because we arrive at the movies with an expectation, and more often that not, that expectation is met. This isn’t a bad thing whatsoever; I regularly watch Dwayne Johnson movies because I love his charisma, beefcake charm and all-around good guy quality. That’s The Rock in any movie and it’s all good. Sometimes I like to be surprised.
And I’m always surprised by Chastain, who has forged a solid resume of performances for saying she’s only been onscreen for less than a decade. She excels in Molly’s Game, even when it wanes a little here and there, giving her character a steely edge and soft, vulnerable underbelly. I highly recommend checking it out.
Until next week, dear readers.