RED SPARROW Review

Red Sparrow is at once a movie that feels so calculated and well put-together that it should be obvious it knows what it is and yet this thing can't help but to feel all over the place. It knows what it wants to be, but doesn't accomplish as much. It has style for days and the feel of an epic spy saga, but the events that actually occur within these constructs couldn't feel more mediocre or forced. This is terribly disappointing considering the talent and money behind such a large, original production, but something about director Francis Lawrence's (I Am Legend, The Hunger Games franchise) latest never clicks in the way it should. Red Sparrow is one of those films that asks you to settle into it; where the viewer becomes so entrenched in the proceedings it should feel as if the viewer is still in the world of the film when walking out of the theater, but Red Sparrow never hits a stride in such a way that the audience is able to make this transition from spectator to participant. Instead, Red Sparrow quickly shows all of its cards by letting us know this thing is going to be as bleak and brutal as one can possibly imagine and then some. Red Sparrow is a film that takes advantage of its star's status and places Jennifer Lawrence in this role where she is trained to use her sexuality in ways that are to the advantage of the men controlling her (timely, eh?). Lawrence's Dominika as well as the movie itself consistently relay that she's doing what she's doing to regain this feeling of being special that she's recently lost, but this quest holds no weight due to the fact she's the star of the film and we more or less can guess this aspiration is going to be fulfilled even when the odds are stacked against her. All of this is to say that Red Sparrow may as well be known as the movie where J-Law learns to expertly cover up domestic abuse with top-of-the-line make-up rather than the one where she kicks ass and takes names because, as was noted earlier, there is very little that occurs here that lives up to the style and scope on which it is operating. Likely the biggest mark against Red Sparrow though, is the fact this opinion is coming from someone who generally basks in the dark and gritty tone of movies that like to take themselves seriously. Red Sparrow takes itself seriously, no doubt, and it has spurts of tension that compel as well as several locations and shot compositions that are downright breathtaking, but in the end the final product tries so hard to twist social expectations that it ends up feeling like cheap shock rather than frightening truth.

Official Trailer for RED SPARROW Starring Jennifer Lawrence

Like last March when we saw a series of major studio tentpoles open every week as if it were the summer movie season this March will be no different and kicking off major movie March this year is director Francis Lawrence's Red Sparrow. The director, who ushered Jennifer Lawrence through the majority of her Hunger Games stint has taken Justin Haythe's adaptation of the 2013 Jason Matthews novel and granted the actor what could be the beginning of a new franchise, albeit a more grown up one. I generally tend to like Lawrence as a director as I remember the guy fondly from MTV's Making the Video days when he orchestrated some of the more popular music videos of my formative years. Since breaking into feature filmmaking though, the guy has been able to craft generally original albeit big-budget films that range in genre from something like I Am Legend to that of the sorely underrated Water for Elephants. With Red Sparrow, Lawrence seems to have a very specific type of style and visual language as the film looks to be exactly that: one of pure style with the grace of the equation being brought via Jen Lawrence's performance. It should be noted also that this seems to be a very different type of performance than we've seen from Lawrence in the past. Not only is she doing an accent, but she is seemingly playing the victim turned hell fire in a way that is more bleak and more furious than anything she has been allowed to execute in the past. I love the color palette of this thing and the overall feel as well as the rather stellar, but understated supporting cast they have put together for this thing. I haven't red Matthews novel on which the story is based and focuses on Lawrence's Ballerina Dominika Egorova being recruited to a Russian intelligence service where she is forced to use her body as a weapon, but even if this stylistic excursion ends up being little more than a solid little spy thriller I don't think I'll be too upset as Lawrence tends to do more reliable than he does exceptional and sometimes, reliable is just what you need. Also, it doesn't hurt that we'll get A Wrinkle in Time the week after, or Tomb Raider the week after that, or Pacific Rim: Uprising the week after that, and then Ready Player One the week after that. So yeah, here's to March. Red Sparrow also stars Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, Mary-Louise Parker Jeremy Irons, and opens on March 2, 2018.

A BIGGER SPLASH Review

A Bigger Splash is one of those sun-soaked independent dramas from a foreign director working with well-known Hollywood actors who wish to explore their creative desires outside the realm of the studio system. It is a perfect summation of indie values and studio aspirations as filmmaker Luca Guadagnino seemingly creates something a little more strange and a little more riskier than he could ever get away with were he operating within the system that values the dollar over artistic integrity, but doesn't mind using a few of its assets. Still, the film isn't strange or interesting enough to warrant the time and resources these people have clearly invested. Instead, A Bigger Splash is a melodrama that resorts to the formula of putting four people in a house and letting their emotions as well as the inherent human nature of the situation take hold. Given there are some interesting dynamics between the four individuals and that they are each portrayed by talented, credible actors there will be plenty of material to use to mount a good defense of the film, but just because Ralph Fiennes is clearly having the time of his life with this role doesn't mean we're having the time of our life watching his film, or even a slightly compelling time-which would have been fine enough. Rather, A Bigger Splash wades through two decades of emotions and mounting tensions for an hour and a half before becoming something even worse than the meandering character study that it is concealed as in-depth psychoanalysis which is that of being predictable. It is clear from the moment Belgium actor Matthias Schoenaerts sets his eyes on Fiennes' Harry Hawkes that there is an unresolved sense of anxiety between the two lending to an overarching sense of dread despite Harry's general exuberant attitude and the gorgeous backdrop that is the island of Pantelleria. In short, A Bigger Splash seemingly yearns to be more than it is and in presenting this facade of a laid-back European beach film where there's nothing to do but create your own drama Guadagnino's movie ultimately wants to be of huge emotional resonance, but that the characters bring as much upon themselves because they have nothing better to do creates little sympathy from viewers not of such privilege therefore leaving little care as to the outcome.

THE DANISH GIRL Review

Note: This is a reprint of my review for The Danish Girl, which originally ran on September 13, 2015 after seeing it at the Toronto Film Festival. I am publishing it again today as it hits theaters this weekend.

Despite The Danish Girl being one of the more anticipated premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival this year (it's technically just the North American premiere if you paying attention to those types of things) I couldn't have been more hesitant to embrace the film. This has nothing to do with the fact it consists of a story about the first man to undergo a sex reassignment surgery, but more it so blatantly felt like awards fodder. Everything about the film screams Oscar. It is directed by Tom Hooper (The King's Speech, Les Misérables), is a period piece, deals in a very hot topic at the moment, and stars Eddie Redmayne who won the Best Actor award last year for playing Stephen Hawking. After playing a real-life person with a severe disability what is the second most obvious choice for an actor to play if they hope to be nominated or win an Oscar? Well, playing a woman of course. Beyond this, I haven't been a fan of Redmayne's up until this point either. I'd not seen him in anything prior to My Week With Marilyn and thought him fine in that, but he only irritated me as Marius in Les Mis, he was gloriously bad (not over the top, just irritatingly bombastic) in Jupiter Ascending (I know, what wasn't in that film?) and I personally didn't think he deserved the Best Actor statue over Michael Keaton last year. And yet, here we are with Redmayne having delivered a performance I would have no issue with him winning for because despite all its obvious pandering The Danish Girl is an affecting and beautifully captured story of bravery and inspiration that shouldn't be boiled down to or judged by it's perceived intentions. That said, the one shortcoming with the film is that it fails to really leave an impression. In the moment, it is very much a moving and undeniably powerful portrait of a disorder many don't care to understand, but further out the only lasting memory of the film is just how good Alicia Vikander is. Still, that moment counts for something and when in the throes of the experience it's admittedly difficult to avoid the word "exceptional" to describe much of what you're witnessing.

TIFF 2015: THE DANISH GIRL Review

Despite The Danish Girl being one of the more anticipated premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival this year (it's technically just the North American premiere if you paying attention to those types of things) I couldn't have been more hesitant to embrace the film. This has nothing to do with the fact it consists of a story about the first man to undergo a sex reassignment surgery, but more it so blatantly felt like awards fodder. Everything about the film screams Oscar. It is directed by Tom Hooper (The King's Speech, Les Misérables), is a period piece, deals in a very hot topic at the moment and stars Eddie Redmayne who won the Best Actor award last year for playing Stephen Hawking. After playing a real-life person with a severe disability what is the second most obvious choice for an actor to play if they hope to be nominated or win an Oscar? Well, playing a woman of course. Beyond this, I haven't been a fan of Redmayne's up until this point either. I'd not seen him in anything prior to My Week With Marilyn and thought him fine in that, but he only irritated me as Marius in Les Mis, he was gloriously bad in Jupiter Ascending (I know, what wasn't in that film?) and I personally didn't think he deserved the Best Actor statue over Michael Keaton last year. And yet here we are with Redmayne having delivered a performance I would have no issue with him winning for because despite all it's obvious pandering The Danish Girl is an affecting and beautifully captured story of bravery and inspiration that shouldn't be boiled down to or judged by it's perceived intentions.

First Trailer for THE DANISH GIRL Starring Eddie Redmayne

I'll be seeing director Tom Hooper's (The King's Speech, Les Miserables) latest next week at TIFF and today Focus Features has premiered the first trailer for the seeming Oscar hopeful. Having been rubbed the wrong way by Eddie Redmayne in both Hooper's Les Mis adaptation and his Oscar-winning performance as Stephen Hawking in last years Theory of Everything I wasn't overly excited by this blatant-feeling Oscar bid. Giving Hooper a period piece with such a timely and relevant subject matter and again pairing him with Redmayne who would no doubt be gunning for his second consecutive Best Actor statue just felt stale. I couldn't conjure any genuine excitement for The Danish Girl. I will admit though, that after watching the first trailer I'm definitely more intrigued by the film and am somewhat anxious to see what the full picture offers. Will it end up being the major awards contender it seems destined to be? Who knows, but what is most surprising is that while Redmayne is clearly the star his co-star Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina) seems to be as major a player in the arc of the lead character as Redmayne himself. My favorite thing about Theory of Everything was the fact it was as much a story about Hawking's partner and how his life dictated her life and how she gave him her unwavering support and this seems to share the idea of documenting this main character from that same perspective. The film tells the story of artists Einar and Gerda Wegener, whose marriage and relationship evolves as they navigate Einar’s journey as a transgender pioneer to become Lili. The Danish Girl also stars Ben Whishaw, Sebastian Koch, Amber Heard, Matthias Schoenaerts and opens in limited release on November 27th before expanding to more theaters throughout December.

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD Review

There were a lot of questions surrounding director Thomas Vinterberg's interpretation of Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd from me personally. Having never touched the source material I didn't have a clue what surface the story skimmed and given this was clearly a period piece intended for a specific audience with a specific purpose I wondered why it might be making its debut so early in the year. Would Fox Searchlight not even care to grab a costume design nomination or did they know this would likely get lost in the shuffle of awards season? In all respects, the right choices seem to have been made as questions of quality and profundity surround every turn in the film. Clearly, this is melodrama, but is it simply melodrama with pedigree because of its Victorian era-setting? It is easy to defend these older works, these definitive works as they made way for the conventions we see run rampart today, but the key for modern film adaptations, and maybe this is unfair, is that they find something new and fresh to bring to the table, a reason to tell this story again. Of course, many will testify that simply keeping these stories alive is reason enough to tell them again and while I'm almost positive Vinterberg and screenwriter David Nicholls have streamlined much of Hardy's novel in order to make it a two-hour love story modern audiences may understand without the hindrance of cultural differences it still feels very unmoving despite largely dealing with life-changing events that are clearly meant to appeal to our emotions. There are the usual good things to be said about the cast, Craig Armstrong's beautiful score and the gorgeous, natural cinematography of Charlotte Bruus Christensen, but when your last film was The Hunt, a movie that elicited a more visceral reaction than any other in recent memory, one would think your follow-up might evoke more than just a groan of complacency despite touching on some always relevant and interesting themes.

THE DROP Review

When one approaches a film with a certain set of expectations based on the individual components and what it could potentially add up to as a whole it gives way to a certain direction we think the film will go. From the outside looking in The Drop starring Tom Hardy and James Gandolfini in his final screen role sold itself as a Brooklyn-based crime drama that centers around a robbery gone wrong and the investigation around the robbery that brings a certain drop-point system to its knees. While all of this is still very much a part of the film, it isn't the centerpiece, as an audience we aren't drawn into the plot as in the series of events that make up the story, but instead become more interested in how these specific characters will decide the course of the story rather than the tropes typically employed in this genre. To be fair, it is a deliberately slow-paced affair that sets the tone of not only the critical environment in which the movie takes place, but the attitude of our main character and how it lines up with the aforementioned plot elements that combine to bring home more than we bargained for in the third act. As the film goes on and we wonder why the tension never reaches breaking points with the police involvement or why more things, shocking things aren't happening we are getting a portrait painted for us and we don't even realize it until director Michaël R. Roskam wants us to. There are core questions people have to ask themselves when put in a predicament such as Bob Saginowski (Hardy) is here. What is his overall goal in life? What is standing in his way? What might he lose if he doesn't achieve his goal? They are questions that Dennis Lehane no doubt asked himself as well when he penned both the screenplay and his short story the film is based on. These questions though, ones that typically provide a kind of structure for where a story needs to go, while still in place, are allowed to become side-tracked and thus result in a film where it doesn't feel we are dipping in on a very specific moment in time in the life of the characters, but that this is simply another set of struggles, another set of detractors and minor set-backs in a neighborhood where everyone is fighting to make a living and maybe one day, achieve their ideal goals.