THE BIRTH OF A NATION Review

Nate Parker's The Birth of a Nation plays with the title of D.W. Griffith's 1915 silent film to reappropriate its phrase of a title to no longer be used in a deprecating manner towards black people. Griffith's film (which is a requirement in any film school due to it being widely accepted as the first feature length motion picture) used blackface to portray African American characters while, given the time in which it was made, is also wildly racist in many regards. For Parker to be willing to challenge a term and the cultural baggage that goes along with it that has now been established for over a century is bold. This boldness ultimately works in his favor though as his film certainly stands to make a statement. Coming off a whirlwind debut at the Sundance Film Festival at the beginning of this year the film scored a record for the most expensive acquisition deal in the festivals history with Fox Searchlight snatching up Parker's slave drama for an astonishing $17.5 million. Of course, in the months since that acquisition stories have re-surfaced about the seventeen year-old case in which The Birth of a Nation's director, writer, producer, and star Nate Parker was accused and acquitted of sexual assault and that four years ago the woman who accused him committed suicide. Such allegations can of course not be taken lightly and it doesn't exactly bode well for Parker that he depicts or suggests two savage and humiliating rape scenes in his film as performed by malicious and one-dimensional Caucasian villains, but to let those allegations influence the judgement of this piece of art he has created feels unnecessary. Sure, this is solely a product of Parker's doing as he had a hand in every stage and facet of this production and thus his particular view of the world undoubtedly made its way into the DNA of the film, but to allow such outside influences such as actions from nearly two decades ago to come into account for a piece of art made by an individual who has no doubt grown, matured, and maybe even changed in that time period isn't wholly fair. And I understand-neither was what he was accused of doing. It wasn't fair that the repercussions of his actions might have contributed to the accuser's death, but taken on its own terms-only as a piece of filmmaking depicting an ugly time in history that simultaneously attempts to re-write multiple generations worth of certain interpretations of history- The Birth of a Nation is a powerful and unapologetic film that uses that aforementioned boldness and an appealing saga of revenge to craft something memorable if not exactly transcendent.

First Trailer for Sundance Favorite THE BIRTH OF A NATION

Back in January the big talk of the Sundance Film Festival was actor/director/writer Nate Parker's The Birth of a Nation, not only because it received several standing ovations, but largely due to the fact it ended up selling to Fox Searchlight for a record-setting $17.5 million. Searchlight beat out competing bids from The Weinstein Co., Netflix, Paramount and many others with the likes of streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon being cited as game changers as far as the typical market at film festivals go. Having written, directed, and starred in the film this could be a potentially huge year for Parker as Searchlight has set the film up with an awards-friendly October release date and no doubt plan on rolling out an awards worthy campaign for the multi-hyphenate. In the film Parker plays Nat Turner, a former slave in America, who leads a liberation movement in 1831 to free African-Americans in Virginia. While it is easy to peg such a film for awards season glory I'm sure this was not the pure motivation for Parker to sink so much of his time, talent, and heart into the film. Rather, he undoubtedly felt it was time for Turner's story to be told and felt not only a responsibility to do so, but at a certain point that he could do the material justice. With an astounding supporting cast and this first trailer that features some haunting and hauntingly beautiful images set to Nina Simone's "Strange Fruit," it seems as if Parker has certainly captured a certain tone and hopefully hit something of an emotional core that, should this become the awards favorite it seems destined to be, won't feel redundant of Steve McQueen's masterpiece from three years ago. The Birth of a Nation also stars Armie Hammer, Aja Naomi King, Penelope Ann Miller, Aunjane Ellis, Jackie Earle Haley, Mark Boone Jr, Colman Domingo, Dwight Henry, Esther Scott, Roger Guenveur Smith, Gabrielle Union, and opens on October 7th, 2016.

NON-STOP Review

With what has become somewhat of an annual or biennial tradition, we all wait with eager anticipation to see what type of fun, B-movie situation Liam Neeson is going to get himself into next after transcending the lines of the serious and prestigious realm of actors to become nothing short of everyone's favorite action hero in early 2009. Not only did Taken mark a change in pace for Neeson though, but it was the first time, in a long time, that it really felt everyone was on board with a movie and that it had all the parts to please everyone no matter what demographic you fell into or what genre you enjoyed the most. Neeson was there for the serious film-goers, the action was there for the male and younger crowds while the storyline concerning a kidnapped child put the older sets in a "what would you do" type situation that was all-around engaging and was simply the perfect storm of elements that made agreeing on Taken an easy thing to do, a wagon we could all jump on and not feel bad for doing so. While Neeson has seemingly embraced this new-found identity as he has translated it into some fun (Unkown), some poignant (The Grey) and some not so great (Taken 2) experiences that show no signs of slowing and with Non-Stop he may have made his most middle of the road, yet still fascinatingly interesting B-movie to date. There is a sense of something a little extra here, an element not necessarily present in what would be considered your typical first quarter release, but something that heightens not just the quality of the overall picture but the experience it entails and if Non-Stop has anything going for it more than the fact it fits squarely into Neeson's new catalogue is the experience it offers the first time around. It is one of those tightly structured, elaborately plotted thrillers that consistently dares the audience to get in on the game of who is behind it all and this one in particular happens to be extremely satisfying in its execution while giving its justification more weight than we might expect, turning what could have easily been this brainless, exploitation flick into something that might make Hitchcock proud, or at least allow him to have a good time watching it. Non-Stop may not be something that will endure, but in that moment, in that present as you first experience the story unfold it is nothing short of guilt-free fun.

AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS Review

There is a simple elegance to writer/director David Lowery's Ain't Them Bodies Saints. After letting it ruminate overnight I was hoping that it might come to lend a more powerful or lasting effect on me, but instead what I've come to realize more than anything is that it is little more than an exercise in poetry. Alluding to more than just what is on the surface by allowing those images or certain words to take us back to something more personal or more profound than what we see for on screen. There are times that this works for the film and other times we are left simply wondering what the point of it is that made such a story worth telling. I went into the film knowing little about plot or character and having only seen one trailer a few months ago I'd long forgotten what exactly I was in store for. Needless to say, the film fits very well into that southern gothic genre that has retained good word of mouth lately mainly due to the career renaissance Matthew McConaughey is having that brought us the likes of Killer Joe, Bernie, and Mud. These settings and off-kilter tone mixed with the aesthetics of Winter's Bone and recent Terrence Malick pictures give us what is essentially a movie drenched in style and extremely aware of the time and place it exists in. I make these comparisons not to say that Lowery is ripping these people off, but that he is drawing on some inspirational works and has crafted a well executed film himself that while being just as beautiful if not moreso than some of the aforementioned films it simply doesn't pack as much of an emotional punch. I enjoyed the film, I was interested in it throughout, but I never felt as if I really cared about these people. You could bring up that this might be the fault of the actors which isn't fair as that could have just as much been due to the direction they were given, but everyone is in fine form here. It is one of those cases, and they are the worst kind, where everything seemingly comes together just as it is supposed to and on paper looks completely right yet there's no real soul. It will be hard to argue with some Ain't Them Bodies Saints has no soul, but it doesn't strike that nerve it should have until too late in the film and by that point I didn't care as much as I should and the poignancy had been lost.

ARBITRAGE Review

Early on in first time feature director Nicholas Jarecki's Arbitrage Richard Gere's character Robert Miller (a character with less zing in his name than Gordon Gekko but just as much if not more zeal in his greed) talks about the only thing that truly matters in his life are the wonderful people that have come to fill it. He is thankful for what he says is truly important to him, but it quickly becomes clear what little emphasis those people have on Mr. Miller's day to day decisions no matter how much he himself likes to think so. In what has become a rather interesting career Gere fills the shoes of this Bernie Madoff-like billionaire whose world begins to crumble after several years of fraudulent activities very well. Gere has become an actor who is now more regarded as safe and uninspired than he is the daring, diverse handsome face many people expected him to become after 2002's double whammy of Unfaithful and Chicago. In the ten years that have passed since his Golden Globe win for the latter Gere has gone more in the direction of standard roles for someone of his age and stature only every now and then wandering off the beaten path for such interesting work as The Hoax, I'm Not There, and even the underrated Brooklyn's Finest. Here, he again  proves he can be just as interesting as he can sometimes be bland. As the film plays out carried by a story we recognize and for the most part realize, where it is going, we are not as much bothered by that as we are pleased with how well it uses it to its own advantage. The ins and outs of what Miller is managing pull us in while outside forces push us to understand who he really is, and what actually is important to the man.

Detective Bryer (Tim Roth) is hot on the trail of
Robert Miller for what he thinks is a closed case.

The ideal picture of success is how we first come to meet Robert Miller. He is at a level of wealth few could ever imagine, a level where he doesn't even know what an Applebee's is. We meet him on the eve of his 60th birthday where he makes that earlier referenced speech. He is seemingly, happily married to (a slighted) Susan Sarandon with two children who have inherited fine lives from their fathers empire. Emphasis is especially placed on daughter Brooke (the wonderful Brit Marling) who operates as her fathers CFO, and is thoroughly going through the companies books in the middle of a merger. Miller is selling his company but is borrowing a small $400 million to cover a hole in his accounts. This is all on its own ripe enough with drama that the layers of keeping his faults and compromises secret from his family is only escalated when he gets in a car wreck. Oh, the car wreck that not only involves him but also his French mistress. Of course he has a French mistress and yes that is very predictable but wouldn't it be weird if he didn't? You expect a guy with that amount of money, with that big of an ego not to feel contained by what us mere mortals find so much value in? Of course you don't and that is why he has dug himself a deep hole. They are in her car, she dies instantly and he escapes only to entangle another poor, useless soul into the mix. None of this places Mr. Miller at the scene, but his investment in the woman links him for questioning from the detective on the case (a great, surprising turn from Tim Roth).

Robert Miller (Richard Gere) and wife Ellen (Susan
Sarandon) share a moment with no substance.

The beauty of it all is the fact that we should naturally, without question find Miller despicable. He is a greedy, soulless man who has no idea what real struggle is. He is the embodiment of the 1% and yet the script and Gere do such a great job we find ourselves rooting for him. We see him not for what the social constructs would paint him as but instead as an actual living, breathing person with feelings. We see his stress and his anger, we can almost taste the tension and arrogance that rolls off every scene that deals with Miller facing off against Roth's Detective Bryer. We watch as a man who has become accustomed to getting whatever he desires struggle to make up for years of floating by on ease that he didn't likely deserve. It is not that of a typical fall from grace either. I won't spoil any more plot points here, but as far as story we have seen these kinds of events play out before (the more economic, less emotional version of this film being last years underrated Margin Call) yet we never see Arbitrage take the route of an anti-corporate stance or typical rising of the little man to conquer the ubiquitous "they". No, instead the little man is almost made out to be the bad guy here. Miller has come to be in his position of power and wealth for a reason and those reasons likely have nothing in common with being stupid or even compassionate. Those qualities make the character not only intriguing but interesting to watch because no matter how much we think we may know him, his decisions will likely keep surprising us. The way in which the circumstances of Miller's situation are discussed so casually even take us off guard. In the end though, it is everyone around him that ends up taking the hit and succumbing to his best interests for no matter how cold he can be he never becomes an archetype. He remains consistently complex.

Brooke (Brit Marling) is shocked and discouraged by
the actions of her father after realizing the truth.

It is with that ability to take a character so easily judged and turn him into someone we not only feel sympathy for, but hope he comes out on top despite his wrongdoings that the film succeeds. I am not one who pretends to know everything about the content in which this film tackles and in many ways that sometimes makes me fear a film in that I will be unable to comprehend all of what is going on. The motivations and the consequences for actions and why certain things might have come to be. Still, even in this complicated, high-stakes world he is a man who has to make decisions as we all do on a daily basis. There are films made about people like him simply because those decisions are on a much larger scale. The performances are all strong, but it is Gere who rightly steals the show and carries the responsibilty of translating Jarecki's attitude towards the wealthy with such genuine grace. In fact, what is so stirring is that writer and director Jarecki has no judgements of his own towards his character but instead is able to create a fully fleshed out human being who functions in his world truthfully. He wants us to judge him, and he wants us to see that all isn't always as it appears. That to every situation therein lies details and relationships that make it so much more complicated than an episode of 48 Hours might otherwise indicate. The line is not so clearly defined. We are made to ask ourselves what we might do were we in Miller's shoes and how close that answer skews to what unfolds on screen may scare you. Thus is the power of the film and a testament to the talent of a new writer and director whose career hopefully flourishes.

        

ARBITRAGE Review

Early on in first time feature director Nicholas Jarecki's Arbitrage Richard Gere's character Robert Miller (a character with less zing in his name than Gordon Gekko but just as much if not more zeal in his greed) talks about the only thing that truly matters in his life are the wonderful people that have come to fill it. He is thankful for what he says is truly important to him, but it quickly becomes clear what little emphasis those people have on Mr. Miller's day to day decisions no matter how much he himself likes to think so. In what has become a rather interesting career Gere fills the shoes of this Bernie Madoff-like billionaire whose world begins to crumble after several years of fraudulent activities very well. Gere has become an actor who is now more regarded as safe and uninspired than he is the daring, diverse handsome face many people expected him to become after 2002's double whammy of Unfaithful and Chicago. In the ten years that have passed since his Golden Globe win for the latter Gere has gone more in the direction of standard roles for someone of his age and stature only every now and then wandering off the beaten path for such interesting work as The Hoax, I'm Not There, and even the underrated Brooklyn's Finest. Here, he again  proves he can be just as interesting as he can sometimes be bland. As the film plays out carried by a story we recognize and for the most part realize, where it is going, we are not as much bothered by that as we are pleased with how well it uses it to its own advantage. The ins and outs of what Miller is managing pull us in while outside forces push us to understand who he really is, and what actually is important to the man.