Some Indie Films (Two Great Ones)
"You're Sister's Sister"
starring: Emily Blunt, Mark Duplass, Rosemarie Dewitt
written and directed by: Lynn Shelton
Lynn Shelton is responsible for the indie hit "Hump Day" which also starred Mark Duplass (and remains one I haven't seen, yet, but after viewing this beautifully crafted film with precise and sharp dialogue, as well as introspection, I definitely want to see it). With her sophomore effort, Shelton brought along much of the same crew (aside from Emily Blunt and Rosemarie Dewitt, who are stellar in their roles as sisters).
The film's depressing and dark(ish) tone is set right from the beginning, with a congregation of people in a living room commemorating the life of Tom, Jack's (Duplass) brother who has recently died, tragically. He is and has been in a deep personal rut for over a year (and a bit of an alcoholic, too, perhaps to suppress the emotional pain) and it comes out in his makeshift eulogy and confession. After which, his best friend Iris (a wonderful Emily Blunt) gives him an invitation to spend a week detoxing and reflecting on his life at her family's island-adjacent getaway home. Jack arrives at the home, to discover it is already occupied by Iris' sister, Hannah (Dewitt). They start off awkwardly after she catches Jack peering in the window and she assumes he's some kind of pervert/burglar and attacks him with an oar. They come to an understanding and common ground, after explaining each other's side. Then, they spend the night loosening up over a bottle of tequila and conversations. Hannah explains that she's just ended a seven-year relationship with her girlfriend, Pam (shocker to see Rosemarie Dewitt play a lesbian so effortlessly, but you can also tell that she has a bit of curiosity for the male species, too, that perhaps she's not completely convinced of her choices).
The dialogue is what shines throughout the whole film, beautifully written and executed perfectly between the three main characters (as Iris soon shows up, the next morning). The conversations flow naturally, yet carefully precise with intonation and inflection, as well as calculated pauses (perhaps thanks in large part to Duplass' foot in the mumblecore film genre). Jack quickly convinces Hannah to get in bed with him, albeit they are both drunk and lack better judgment; and the sex lasts shorter than the search for a condom- with good reason, as we find out later, in the revelation of the third act). The consequences of this are almost immediate, as soon as Iris shows up unexpectedly, but welcomed nonetheless as Jack does not seem to be able to hold himself together. He begs Hannah not to tell her sister of their little tryst in the sack and it's blatantly obvious why-- Jack is and has been in love with Iris for years, and he knows this revelation will screw any chance he could have with her. Neither of them seem willing to admit they are more emotionally attached, for fear of losing their respective best friend(ship). And again, it's the dialogue, especially between Iris and Hannah that reveals everything to us.
The film relies on these three actors ability to be so comfortable with each other and relate to one another (as well as their dialogue, especially when the "surprise" hits all three of them- Hannah's revelation, which I won't spoil for you here) and all three actors glide with ease through the film. Duplass is fun and talkative, while remaining slightly insecure and unsure of himself, a decent everyman. Emily Blunt is bubbly and endearing as the optimistic girl with only the best intentions for her loved ones, including Jack. But, it is Rosemarie Dewitt that comes out the clear winner in her delivery of a rather moving performance as the quieter, more abrasive, yet stereotypical artsy/vegan lesbian. Her sharp manner slowly reveals deep reserves of heartache and a bit of desperation. She is also the one with the hidden agenda, the concealed motivation of sleeping with Jack, which spins the film on its head rather quickly in an unexpectedly, but still welcomed direction to help move the film towards its rather ambiguous ending.
These are the types of films that make you think long after the credits role. Easily a hidden gem.
.............................................................................
"Paradise"
starring: Julianne Hough, Russell Brand, Nick Offerman, Octavia Spencer, Holly Hunter, Kathleen Amber Perkins, Iliza Schlesinger
written and directed by: Diablo Cody
Diablo Cody came upon her fame rather quickly thanks in large part to her writing ability with the film "Juno" (which honestly probably owes most of its accolades to the performance by Ellen Page in the title role, but still, Cody's talent for writing cannot be denied). After "Juno" came the lesser film "Jennifer's Body" starring Megan Fox, which had some humor in it, but ultimately was seen as a failure. She regained esteem with the nearly perfect "Young Adult" starring Charlize Theron. Cody also wrote several episodes of "The United States of Tara."
With "Paradise" Cody takes on duel roles as writer and director, stepping behind the camera for the first time, helping her script's vision see better light, but unfortunately, when something starts to shine through, the film remains rather typical and shimmery as a coming-of-age story set in Las Vegas, of all places to have self-actualization. Sure, Cody has shown maturity and the desire to grow up as a screenwriter, letting go of the cheekiness that shined in "Juno," but unfortunately the promising parts of "Paradise" never fully materialize into something we can identify with. Its story comes off as rather too sweet for its own good, which could be due in large part to the female star, Julianne Hough (who could portray to sweetheart, girl next door in her sleep, most likely).
"Paradise" is the story of Lamb (Hough), a girl from a Montana town so conservative it makes every other similar town look adult and liberal. We learn from Lamb's voice-over (which is actually annoying) that she has survived a plane crash, but was left severely burnt all over her body. She receives a large settlement, which she is supposed to gift to her church, but instead she denounces God in front of her church and skips out of town and heads to Las Vegas to get a taste of the "real world" that she feels she has been sheltered from her entire life. This wide-eyed discovery presents Lamb as a 14 year old girl stuck in a 21 year old's body, once she hits The Strip.
She quickly encounters two bartender pals (Russell Brand and Octavia Spencer) who decide to take poor, innocent Lamb under their wings instead of take advantage of her, like most other Las Vegas residents presumably would, especially after learning about her large settlement money. To her credit, Diablo Cody shows us a view of Las Vegas rarely seen on film. Instead of the all-night party and/or depressing, eat-you-alive city, Cody shows us that Vegas is more a strange amalgam of people simply trying to make it in this cruel world. Lamb reveals herself to believe that people can really only exist in one of two polar opposite worlds, even after meeting these two pals who show her much of life that she's been missing, within boundaries, of course, because they know better than to live a life of excess.
Lamb just never really finds her way, as she attempts to experience everything she's missed in her life. We are led to believe that Lamb's epiphany will literally happen over night, or at least within a 24 hour period of cramming as much living as she can into this Vegas trip, but it never really fully develops into much. At the end, the film seems to regress just as Lamb is transforming into a real, self-aware adult, which sells the film short of itself, and any poetic metaphor that Cody is attempting gets lost along the way. It ends in a cheesy, cheap way when it could have been something else.
.............................................................................
"Killing Them Softly"
starring: Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, Richard Jenkins, Vincent Curatola, Ray Liotta, Sam Shepard
written and directed by: Andrew Dominik
This is a bit of an interesting mob-driven thriller, in that it doesn't really let the action and guns blaze in order to propel the film forward. Instead, there is more conversations between mobsters and hitmen than I have ever seen perviously in most mobster films. And so, if words could kill, no one would be left alive by the end of this film. Unfortunately, words do not kill, and that may leave most mobster movie lovers unsatisfied by the end of the film, if they even make it through to the end. This is a crime film with a few spurts of action scenes (and gruesome enough killings) thrown in to puncture the otherwise calm and self-sustaining scenes of dialogue and character display (development, which is usually left out of these type of films, allowing the viewer to remain at a distance from the killers). The film is slowly paced around the conversations of its characters which set up the murders. There is great character display in each conversations as they reveal their reluctance, hesitation, preparation, and resignation for the impending murders. These guys have souls and thoughts, which makes them human.
The film starts in Boston in the mid-1970s and revolves around a poker game, which Ray Liotta's character is responsible for, but he is also apparently responsible for its robbery. We then jump to New Orleans circa 2008 (just prior to the presidential election as we see and hear Obama's and McCain's speeches throughout) post-Hurricane Katrina. Here, filmmaker Dominik portrays the crime world's underbelly as a rather self-sustaining, self-governing, and self-policing society, where nothing much has changed over the past near three decades. Absent from the entire film is a police force, for good reason, because this is a film about meting out your own justice and enforcing long-standing traditions of rules of behavior, even within the mob. The political similarities are rampant in the film, as we discover and learn that the mob is much like any other big corporation in America (including the political world). Not much of a stretch for us to believe, especially after the national disaster of Wall Street and our corrupt banking system (too big to fail) and all the political cover-ups.
Here, the mob is even set up like a corporation, with a nameless functionary (Richard Jenkins) acting as the middleman who hires the hit man (played by Brad Pitt, who surprisingly doesn't show up until a decent amount of time through the film). This functionary man has little to no authority as he has to take every decision back to the higher ups, whose decisions are delayed thanks to the committee-like inner squabbles of indecision, much like our political system and why perhaps we can seem to get nothing accomplished as a government.
Brad Pitt's character has crucial conversations with the two men seemingly driving the action, Jenkins' character and James Gandolfini's character, and at the end of the film (which ends rather abruptly without really seeming to tie things up nicely in a bow for us), Pitt's character reveals the whole film's truth to us rather precisely when he states: "America's not a country. It's just a business." Well put. Well understood.
I enjoyed the idea of the film as a vehicle for the metaphor of the U.S. economic system in distress as portrayed through the mob. This was a well-thought out film and paced nicely as a thinking piece. Definitely enjoyable and worth watching, as long as you remember you can't be in it for the action.
..................................................................
"The Unlikely Girl"
starring: Hande Kodja, Shane Lynch, Pierre Boulanger, Raphael Goldman
written and directed by: Wei Ling Chang
Leave it to a French film to make an interesting, yet bizarre and hard to understand love triangle mystery revolving around a supposed incestuous relationship between siblings.
Jamie, a young American exchange student in rural France, finds herself in the middle of a love triangle as she and the host family's wayward daughter fall for the same boy. As dangerous lies and dark family secrets surface, Jamie becomes the unsuspecting victim of a game of sexual intrigue.
starring: Emily Blunt, Mark Duplass, Rosemarie Dewitt
written and directed by: Lynn Shelton
Lynn Shelton is responsible for the indie hit "Hump Day" which also starred Mark Duplass (and remains one I haven't seen, yet, but after viewing this beautifully crafted film with precise and sharp dialogue, as well as introspection, I definitely want to see it). With her sophomore effort, Shelton brought along much of the same crew (aside from Emily Blunt and Rosemarie Dewitt, who are stellar in their roles as sisters).
The film's depressing and dark(ish) tone is set right from the beginning, with a congregation of people in a living room commemorating the life of Tom, Jack's (Duplass) brother who has recently died, tragically. He is and has been in a deep personal rut for over a year (and a bit of an alcoholic, too, perhaps to suppress the emotional pain) and it comes out in his makeshift eulogy and confession. After which, his best friend Iris (a wonderful Emily Blunt) gives him an invitation to spend a week detoxing and reflecting on his life at her family's island-adjacent getaway home. Jack arrives at the home, to discover it is already occupied by Iris' sister, Hannah (Dewitt). They start off awkwardly after she catches Jack peering in the window and she assumes he's some kind of pervert/burglar and attacks him with an oar. They come to an understanding and common ground, after explaining each other's side. Then, they spend the night loosening up over a bottle of tequila and conversations. Hannah explains that she's just ended a seven-year relationship with her girlfriend, Pam (shocker to see Rosemarie Dewitt play a lesbian so effortlessly, but you can also tell that she has a bit of curiosity for the male species, too, that perhaps she's not completely convinced of her choices).
The dialogue is what shines throughout the whole film, beautifully written and executed perfectly between the three main characters (as Iris soon shows up, the next morning). The conversations flow naturally, yet carefully precise with intonation and inflection, as well as calculated pauses (perhaps thanks in large part to Duplass' foot in the mumblecore film genre). Jack quickly convinces Hannah to get in bed with him, albeit they are both drunk and lack better judgment; and the sex lasts shorter than the search for a condom- with good reason, as we find out later, in the revelation of the third act). The consequences of this are almost immediate, as soon as Iris shows up unexpectedly, but welcomed nonetheless as Jack does not seem to be able to hold himself together. He begs Hannah not to tell her sister of their little tryst in the sack and it's blatantly obvious why-- Jack is and has been in love with Iris for years, and he knows this revelation will screw any chance he could have with her. Neither of them seem willing to admit they are more emotionally attached, for fear of losing their respective best friend(ship). And again, it's the dialogue, especially between Iris and Hannah that reveals everything to us.
The film relies on these three actors ability to be so comfortable with each other and relate to one another (as well as their dialogue, especially when the "surprise" hits all three of them- Hannah's revelation, which I won't spoil for you here) and all three actors glide with ease through the film. Duplass is fun and talkative, while remaining slightly insecure and unsure of himself, a decent everyman. Emily Blunt is bubbly and endearing as the optimistic girl with only the best intentions for her loved ones, including Jack. But, it is Rosemarie Dewitt that comes out the clear winner in her delivery of a rather moving performance as the quieter, more abrasive, yet stereotypical artsy/vegan lesbian. Her sharp manner slowly reveals deep reserves of heartache and a bit of desperation. She is also the one with the hidden agenda, the concealed motivation of sleeping with Jack, which spins the film on its head rather quickly in an unexpectedly, but still welcomed direction to help move the film towards its rather ambiguous ending.
These are the types of films that make you think long after the credits role. Easily a hidden gem.
.............................................................................
"Paradise"
starring: Julianne Hough, Russell Brand, Nick Offerman, Octavia Spencer, Holly Hunter, Kathleen Amber Perkins, Iliza Schlesinger
written and directed by: Diablo Cody
Diablo Cody came upon her fame rather quickly thanks in large part to her writing ability with the film "Juno" (which honestly probably owes most of its accolades to the performance by Ellen Page in the title role, but still, Cody's talent for writing cannot be denied). After "Juno" came the lesser film "Jennifer's Body" starring Megan Fox, which had some humor in it, but ultimately was seen as a failure. She regained esteem with the nearly perfect "Young Adult" starring Charlize Theron. Cody also wrote several episodes of "The United States of Tara."
With "Paradise" Cody takes on duel roles as writer and director, stepping behind the camera for the first time, helping her script's vision see better light, but unfortunately, when something starts to shine through, the film remains rather typical and shimmery as a coming-of-age story set in Las Vegas, of all places to have self-actualization. Sure, Cody has shown maturity and the desire to grow up as a screenwriter, letting go of the cheekiness that shined in "Juno," but unfortunately the promising parts of "Paradise" never fully materialize into something we can identify with. Its story comes off as rather too sweet for its own good, which could be due in large part to the female star, Julianne Hough (who could portray to sweetheart, girl next door in her sleep, most likely).
"Paradise" is the story of Lamb (Hough), a girl from a Montana town so conservative it makes every other similar town look adult and liberal. We learn from Lamb's voice-over (which is actually annoying) that she has survived a plane crash, but was left severely burnt all over her body. She receives a large settlement, which she is supposed to gift to her church, but instead she denounces God in front of her church and skips out of town and heads to Las Vegas to get a taste of the "real world" that she feels she has been sheltered from her entire life. This wide-eyed discovery presents Lamb as a 14 year old girl stuck in a 21 year old's body, once she hits The Strip.
She quickly encounters two bartender pals (Russell Brand and Octavia Spencer) who decide to take poor, innocent Lamb under their wings instead of take advantage of her, like most other Las Vegas residents presumably would, especially after learning about her large settlement money. To her credit, Diablo Cody shows us a view of Las Vegas rarely seen on film. Instead of the all-night party and/or depressing, eat-you-alive city, Cody shows us that Vegas is more a strange amalgam of people simply trying to make it in this cruel world. Lamb reveals herself to believe that people can really only exist in one of two polar opposite worlds, even after meeting these two pals who show her much of life that she's been missing, within boundaries, of course, because they know better than to live a life of excess.
Lamb just never really finds her way, as she attempts to experience everything she's missed in her life. We are led to believe that Lamb's epiphany will literally happen over night, or at least within a 24 hour period of cramming as much living as she can into this Vegas trip, but it never really fully develops into much. At the end, the film seems to regress just as Lamb is transforming into a real, self-aware adult, which sells the film short of itself, and any poetic metaphor that Cody is attempting gets lost along the way. It ends in a cheesy, cheap way when it could have been something else.
.............................................................................
"Killing Them Softly"
starring: Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, Richard Jenkins, Vincent Curatola, Ray Liotta, Sam Shepard
written and directed by: Andrew Dominik
This is a bit of an interesting mob-driven thriller, in that it doesn't really let the action and guns blaze in order to propel the film forward. Instead, there is more conversations between mobsters and hitmen than I have ever seen perviously in most mobster films. And so, if words could kill, no one would be left alive by the end of this film. Unfortunately, words do not kill, and that may leave most mobster movie lovers unsatisfied by the end of the film, if they even make it through to the end. This is a crime film with a few spurts of action scenes (and gruesome enough killings) thrown in to puncture the otherwise calm and self-sustaining scenes of dialogue and character display (development, which is usually left out of these type of films, allowing the viewer to remain at a distance from the killers). The film is slowly paced around the conversations of its characters which set up the murders. There is great character display in each conversations as they reveal their reluctance, hesitation, preparation, and resignation for the impending murders. These guys have souls and thoughts, which makes them human.
The film starts in Boston in the mid-1970s and revolves around a poker game, which Ray Liotta's character is responsible for, but he is also apparently responsible for its robbery. We then jump to New Orleans circa 2008 (just prior to the presidential election as we see and hear Obama's and McCain's speeches throughout) post-Hurricane Katrina. Here, filmmaker Dominik portrays the crime world's underbelly as a rather self-sustaining, self-governing, and self-policing society, where nothing much has changed over the past near three decades. Absent from the entire film is a police force, for good reason, because this is a film about meting out your own justice and enforcing long-standing traditions of rules of behavior, even within the mob. The political similarities are rampant in the film, as we discover and learn that the mob is much like any other big corporation in America (including the political world). Not much of a stretch for us to believe, especially after the national disaster of Wall Street and our corrupt banking system (too big to fail) and all the political cover-ups.
Here, the mob is even set up like a corporation, with a nameless functionary (Richard Jenkins) acting as the middleman who hires the hit man (played by Brad Pitt, who surprisingly doesn't show up until a decent amount of time through the film). This functionary man has little to no authority as he has to take every decision back to the higher ups, whose decisions are delayed thanks to the committee-like inner squabbles of indecision, much like our political system and why perhaps we can seem to get nothing accomplished as a government.
Brad Pitt's character has crucial conversations with the two men seemingly driving the action, Jenkins' character and James Gandolfini's character, and at the end of the film (which ends rather abruptly without really seeming to tie things up nicely in a bow for us), Pitt's character reveals the whole film's truth to us rather precisely when he states: "America's not a country. It's just a business." Well put. Well understood.
I enjoyed the idea of the film as a vehicle for the metaphor of the U.S. economic system in distress as portrayed through the mob. This was a well-thought out film and paced nicely as a thinking piece. Definitely enjoyable and worth watching, as long as you remember you can't be in it for the action.
..................................................................
"The Unlikely Girl"
starring: Hande Kodja, Shane Lynch, Pierre Boulanger, Raphael Goldman
written and directed by: Wei Ling Chang
Leave it to a French film to make an interesting, yet bizarre and hard to understand love triangle mystery revolving around a supposed incestuous relationship between siblings.
Jamie, a young American exchange student in rural France, finds herself in the middle of a love triangle as she and the host family's wayward daughter fall for the same boy. As dangerous lies and dark family secrets surface, Jamie becomes the unsuspecting victim of a game of sexual intrigue.
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