Films I Watched ("Nebraska") and Others
"Lullaby"
starring: Garrett Hedlund, Richard Jenkins, Anne Archer, Amy Adams, Jessica Brown Findlay, Terrence Howard, Jennifer Hudson
written and directed by: Andrew Levitas
This is definitely a personal piece, while also attempting to make some kind of political statement about assisted-suicide. The writer and director of the film, Andrew Levitas was inspired by his own father's prolonged deterioration from a terminal illness. We are left to wonder which character he is allowing us to compare him to- either the musician who is returning home (like the Prodigal Son) to bid his father a final farewell and get in touch with his inner emotions, or the sister of the musician/daughter of the terminally ill father, Karen, who is a law student and has filed an injunction to prevent her father from being allowed to take himself off life support (in the next few days).
Aside from the clear complications this family has, turns out their father, Robert (played well by Richard Jenkins, as a bedridden ill man), has given away his entire fortune- which the siblings were obviously counting on receiving. Robert acknowledges that he has "raised a couple of spoiled brats," and he does not want to leave without changing that as much as he can.
There's an emphasis on grand gestures, the nonstop recriminations and the constant discussions of privileges make you feel like you are watching a labored "King Lear." Many things about the film just come off as awkwardly staged, a bit tortured, and not very believable. Things like Karen's argument in front of her father at the end of the film about why she believes someone terminating their life is inconsistent with America's founding principles of freedom, you watch and listen knowing Robert won't change his mind. The question is whether or not Robert is brave or selfish. And then, there's the weird side story of the jaded Jonathan (Hedlund), the musician, befriending a 17 year old cancer patient and taking her on a faux prom date.
This film is just a miss for me.
.....................................................................
"Nebraska"
starring: Will Forte, Bruce Dern, June Squibb, Bob Odenkirk, Stacy Keach
directed by: Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne has not made too many films, but the ones he has made are fantastic:
1) Election
2) Sideways
3) Citizen Ruth
4) The Descendants
5) and now Nebraska
Black and white films do not generally do well, commercially (except of course for the recent success from "The Artist" and the '90s film "Schindler's List." Alexander Payne is the right man to attempt this, especially with this type of film, because his films tend to emphasize character and dialogue and less so on the grander aspects of filmmaking (re: action, action, action). He uses the lack of color for this film to help illustrate the characters' quiet, tiny existences. And it works beautifully. It really makes you focus on them and what they have to say to each other. Another film this worked for was "Pleasantville," which slowly became a colorful film.
"Nebraska" is a quietly subdued melancholy drama, with bits and slices of comedy throughout that definitely make you laugh, but ultimately you feel sad for the characters. "Nebraska" is another film about protagonists who are not necessarily happy with their lives because they expected more than what they ended up with. It's not that they have big, grandiose dreams that are unrealistic, but they still find themselves living with a bit of regret. His three other best films are: "Election," "The Descendants," and "Sideways" which explore the same character flaws rather beautifully. "Nebraska" is definitely up there as one of his best films, too.
It stars Will Forte as David Grant, an electronics salesman living in Billings, Montana, the same town where his parents now reside. His father, Woody (Bruce Dern), is a miserable cuss: He drinks too much, can’t hear very well, and generally wants to be left the hell alone, especially by his wife Kate (June Squibb). Woody’s mental faculties are fading, demonstrated by the fact that he’s giddy about winning a million dollars. He hasn’t, of course, but he assumes that he has because of a sweepstakes offer that came in the mail saying that he did. (Woody isn’t interested in the fine print.) The catch is that he has to go Lincoln, Nebraska, to redeem his money, and although David knows that the whole thing is nonsense, he reluctantly agrees to drive his father, figuring if it’ll make the old man happy, what’s the harm?
This father-and-son road movie has certain conventionalities embedded in its DNA. But whether because of the black-and-white images or the stripped-down sparseness of Payne’s compositions, Nebraska feels somewhat different than his other films. It’s a little more deadpan and a little more depressive.
Woody doesn’t seem to like David all that much, and part of Nebraska’s spark comes from the oil-and-water relationship of the two men. The actors are studies in contrasts, as well. Forte, best known from Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock, shows a dramatic side he hasn’t before, although it’s a consciously muted turn, apropos for a character who struggles to assert himself in most aspects of his life. On the other hand, you have Dern, a veteran who gives a nicely controlled performance as an oblivious, crotchety, occasionally foolish elderly man. With his wild hair and grizzled stare, Woody seems to be just one more bad fall or one too many beers from the grave, and because he never wants to talk about himself, he’s a cranky cipher, as frustrating to understand for us as he is for David.
Naturally, Nebraska’s journey is about David finally cracking his father’s façade to understand him better. But Payne is too smart to reveal Woody fully. An unexpected digression takes them to the small Nebraska town where David and his brother (Bob Odenkirk) grew up, and the community turns out to be filled with tantalizing clues about who Woody was as a younger man. The information sometimes contradicts itself, but it speaks to the mysteries we all have about our parents, these people we don’t think of as dimensional, flesh-and-blood people but, rather, just as “Mom” and “Dad.” Poignantly, Nebraska examines the impossibility of trying to figure out some profound “truth” about our families. They’re just these strange creatures that we’ll never quite understand—just as we can’t ever get a handle on ourselves.
This is a remarkable and understated film that works. And hey, Bruce Dern was even nominated for an Oscar last year for his role in this film. Try not to be affected by this one.
...................................................................
"Touchy Feely"
starring: Rosemarie Dewitt, Ellen Page, Josh Pais, Scoot McNairy, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston
written and directed by: Lynn Shelton
Here's a fresh and intriguing idea: make a film with an ironic title that serves as the metaphor for the film's exploration of human condition and emotional estrangement. Lynn Shelton accomplishes her feat with "Touchy Feely," which stars Rosemarie Dewitt as the massage therapist that goes through the emotional breakdown and experiences an inexplicable phenomena.
While Abby agrees to move in with her boyfriend (Scoot McNairy) and begins to suffer a mental breakdown which leads her to recoil from human touch, her brother, Paul (Josh Pais), a man so uncomfortable around other people that he seems barely able to communicate in complete sentences, finds his dying dental practice magically transformed after he appears to have acquired a magic healing touch. Meanwhile, his daughter, Jenny (Ellen Page), who works as an assistant at his office, longs to break free from his orbit and pursue her own life.
Lynn Shelton understands human behavior to be essentially irreducible to easy formulas and the world to be full of inexplicable wonders. Thus she smartly refuses to give any definitive explanation of Abby's breakdown or her brother's acquisition of his newfound powers. But that's not to say that the director isn't interested in observing the intricacies of human interaction, a curiosity that results in a series of encounters between characters whose repeated attempts at achieving intimacy are exactingly mapped out in their frequently awkward details by the talented ensemble.
This is definitely my kind of indie film, with a bit of mysticism attached. Come to find out Shelton is currently a part of the mumblecore genre, and this film's tone and environment, dialogue as well, really showcases her talent. She is a great writer/director, especially in an industry that does not really shine a bright light on female directors.
............................................................
"Violet and Daisy"
starring: Alexis Bledel, Saoirse Ronan, James Gandolfini,
written and directed by: Geoffrey Fletcher
Bravo to Geoffrey Fletcher, who previously wrote the script for "Precious" for making a great indie film that is equal parts a twisted, yet spirited exploration of stark juxtapositions. It's a sweet looking twist on the grindhouse genre that would make Quentin Tarantino proud. There's the sugary sweetness of the two young lady assassins (played by America's newest princess sweetheart Alexis Bledel, thanks in large part to her role as Rory on "Gilmore Girls" and Saoirse Ronan, who has proven herself to be a great actress of late), and there's the nastiness of the violence they inflict because they are assassins after all (but they do it which heart and conscience).
You can tell the contrasting elements are done deliberately, in a farcical way, especially since the two young ladies act in a completely antithetical way to their careers- case in point, there latest hit turns out to be a man (played by Gandolfini) who welcomes their arrival and wants them to kill him, but at the same time befriends them which makes it very difficult for either lady to actually kill him. Conundrum. He turns out to be unique due to his kindness and compassion, especially for his assassins, perhaps because of his strained relationship with his estranged daughter. The relationship that develops between Michael and Daisy (and also Violet, but lesser so) is what makes the film worthwhile and worth viewing. Michael is a good-natured guy who has made some mistakes in his life, but he also brings out the tender moments genuinely, which makes the film extraordinary and touching at the same time.
Juxtapositions:
1) the girls play patty-cake while receiving their intel on jobs
2) they flee the crime scenes like schoolgirls
3) they play hopscotch while the sound of pistols can be heard in the background
4) they aim their guns carefully, so they don't kill the adorable pet bird
5) they gleefully engage in what they call "the internal bleeding" dance
This is a fun and endearing film, definitely worth watching, at least once.
starring: Garrett Hedlund, Richard Jenkins, Anne Archer, Amy Adams, Jessica Brown Findlay, Terrence Howard, Jennifer Hudson
written and directed by: Andrew Levitas
This is definitely a personal piece, while also attempting to make some kind of political statement about assisted-suicide. The writer and director of the film, Andrew Levitas was inspired by his own father's prolonged deterioration from a terminal illness. We are left to wonder which character he is allowing us to compare him to- either the musician who is returning home (like the Prodigal Son) to bid his father a final farewell and get in touch with his inner emotions, or the sister of the musician/daughter of the terminally ill father, Karen, who is a law student and has filed an injunction to prevent her father from being allowed to take himself off life support (in the next few days).
Aside from the clear complications this family has, turns out their father, Robert (played well by Richard Jenkins, as a bedridden ill man), has given away his entire fortune- which the siblings were obviously counting on receiving. Robert acknowledges that he has "raised a couple of spoiled brats," and he does not want to leave without changing that as much as he can.
There's an emphasis on grand gestures, the nonstop recriminations and the constant discussions of privileges make you feel like you are watching a labored "King Lear." Many things about the film just come off as awkwardly staged, a bit tortured, and not very believable. Things like Karen's argument in front of her father at the end of the film about why she believes someone terminating their life is inconsistent with America's founding principles of freedom, you watch and listen knowing Robert won't change his mind. The question is whether or not Robert is brave or selfish. And then, there's the weird side story of the jaded Jonathan (Hedlund), the musician, befriending a 17 year old cancer patient and taking her on a faux prom date.
This film is just a miss for me.
.....................................................................
"Nebraska"
starring: Will Forte, Bruce Dern, June Squibb, Bob Odenkirk, Stacy Keach
directed by: Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne has not made too many films, but the ones he has made are fantastic:
1) Election
2) Sideways
3) Citizen Ruth
4) The Descendants
5) and now Nebraska
Black and white films do not generally do well, commercially (except of course for the recent success from "The Artist" and the '90s film "Schindler's List." Alexander Payne is the right man to attempt this, especially with this type of film, because his films tend to emphasize character and dialogue and less so on the grander aspects of filmmaking (re: action, action, action). He uses the lack of color for this film to help illustrate the characters' quiet, tiny existences. And it works beautifully. It really makes you focus on them and what they have to say to each other. Another film this worked for was "Pleasantville," which slowly became a colorful film.
"Nebraska" is a quietly subdued melancholy drama, with bits and slices of comedy throughout that definitely make you laugh, but ultimately you feel sad for the characters. "Nebraska" is another film about protagonists who are not necessarily happy with their lives because they expected more than what they ended up with. It's not that they have big, grandiose dreams that are unrealistic, but they still find themselves living with a bit of regret. His three other best films are: "Election," "The Descendants," and "Sideways" which explore the same character flaws rather beautifully. "Nebraska" is definitely up there as one of his best films, too.
It stars Will Forte as David Grant, an electronics salesman living in Billings, Montana, the same town where his parents now reside. His father, Woody (Bruce Dern), is a miserable cuss: He drinks too much, can’t hear very well, and generally wants to be left the hell alone, especially by his wife Kate (June Squibb). Woody’s mental faculties are fading, demonstrated by the fact that he’s giddy about winning a million dollars. He hasn’t, of course, but he assumes that he has because of a sweepstakes offer that came in the mail saying that he did. (Woody isn’t interested in the fine print.) The catch is that he has to go Lincoln, Nebraska, to redeem his money, and although David knows that the whole thing is nonsense, he reluctantly agrees to drive his father, figuring if it’ll make the old man happy, what’s the harm?
This father-and-son road movie has certain conventionalities embedded in its DNA. But whether because of the black-and-white images or the stripped-down sparseness of Payne’s compositions, Nebraska feels somewhat different than his other films. It’s a little more deadpan and a little more depressive.
Woody doesn’t seem to like David all that much, and part of Nebraska’s spark comes from the oil-and-water relationship of the two men. The actors are studies in contrasts, as well. Forte, best known from Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock, shows a dramatic side he hasn’t before, although it’s a consciously muted turn, apropos for a character who struggles to assert himself in most aspects of his life. On the other hand, you have Dern, a veteran who gives a nicely controlled performance as an oblivious, crotchety, occasionally foolish elderly man. With his wild hair and grizzled stare, Woody seems to be just one more bad fall or one too many beers from the grave, and because he never wants to talk about himself, he’s a cranky cipher, as frustrating to understand for us as he is for David.
Naturally, Nebraska’s journey is about David finally cracking his father’s façade to understand him better. But Payne is too smart to reveal Woody fully. An unexpected digression takes them to the small Nebraska town where David and his brother (Bob Odenkirk) grew up, and the community turns out to be filled with tantalizing clues about who Woody was as a younger man. The information sometimes contradicts itself, but it speaks to the mysteries we all have about our parents, these people we don’t think of as dimensional, flesh-and-blood people but, rather, just as “Mom” and “Dad.” Poignantly, Nebraska examines the impossibility of trying to figure out some profound “truth” about our families. They’re just these strange creatures that we’ll never quite understand—just as we can’t ever get a handle on ourselves.
This is a remarkable and understated film that works. And hey, Bruce Dern was even nominated for an Oscar last year for his role in this film. Try not to be affected by this one.
...................................................................
"Touchy Feely"
starring: Rosemarie Dewitt, Ellen Page, Josh Pais, Scoot McNairy, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston
written and directed by: Lynn Shelton
Here's a fresh and intriguing idea: make a film with an ironic title that serves as the metaphor for the film's exploration of human condition and emotional estrangement. Lynn Shelton accomplishes her feat with "Touchy Feely," which stars Rosemarie Dewitt as the massage therapist that goes through the emotional breakdown and experiences an inexplicable phenomena.
While Abby agrees to move in with her boyfriend (Scoot McNairy) and begins to suffer a mental breakdown which leads her to recoil from human touch, her brother, Paul (Josh Pais), a man so uncomfortable around other people that he seems barely able to communicate in complete sentences, finds his dying dental practice magically transformed after he appears to have acquired a magic healing touch. Meanwhile, his daughter, Jenny (Ellen Page), who works as an assistant at his office, longs to break free from his orbit and pursue her own life.
Lynn Shelton understands human behavior to be essentially irreducible to easy formulas and the world to be full of inexplicable wonders. Thus she smartly refuses to give any definitive explanation of Abby's breakdown or her brother's acquisition of his newfound powers. But that's not to say that the director isn't interested in observing the intricacies of human interaction, a curiosity that results in a series of encounters between characters whose repeated attempts at achieving intimacy are exactingly mapped out in their frequently awkward details by the talented ensemble.
This is definitely my kind of indie film, with a bit of mysticism attached. Come to find out Shelton is currently a part of the mumblecore genre, and this film's tone and environment, dialogue as well, really showcases her talent. She is a great writer/director, especially in an industry that does not really shine a bright light on female directors.
............................................................
"Violet and Daisy"
starring: Alexis Bledel, Saoirse Ronan, James Gandolfini,
written and directed by: Geoffrey Fletcher
Bravo to Geoffrey Fletcher, who previously wrote the script for "Precious" for making a great indie film that is equal parts a twisted, yet spirited exploration of stark juxtapositions. It's a sweet looking twist on the grindhouse genre that would make Quentin Tarantino proud. There's the sugary sweetness of the two young lady assassins (played by America's newest princess sweetheart Alexis Bledel, thanks in large part to her role as Rory on "Gilmore Girls" and Saoirse Ronan, who has proven herself to be a great actress of late), and there's the nastiness of the violence they inflict because they are assassins after all (but they do it which heart and conscience).
You can tell the contrasting elements are done deliberately, in a farcical way, especially since the two young ladies act in a completely antithetical way to their careers- case in point, there latest hit turns out to be a man (played by Gandolfini) who welcomes their arrival and wants them to kill him, but at the same time befriends them which makes it very difficult for either lady to actually kill him. Conundrum. He turns out to be unique due to his kindness and compassion, especially for his assassins, perhaps because of his strained relationship with his estranged daughter. The relationship that develops between Michael and Daisy (and also Violet, but lesser so) is what makes the film worthwhile and worth viewing. Michael is a good-natured guy who has made some mistakes in his life, but he also brings out the tender moments genuinely, which makes the film extraordinary and touching at the same time.
Juxtapositions:
1) the girls play patty-cake while receiving their intel on jobs
2) they flee the crime scenes like schoolgirls
3) they play hopscotch while the sound of pistols can be heard in the background
4) they aim their guns carefully, so they don't kill the adorable pet bird
5) they gleefully engage in what they call "the internal bleeding" dance
This is a fun and endearing film, definitely worth watching, at least once.
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