Midnight in Paris

Midnight in Paris

Written and directed by Woody Allen

With: Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams,

Michael Sheen, Owen Wilson, Tom Hiddelston, Alison Pill, Corey Stoll, Kurt Fuller,

Mimi Kennedy, and Lea Seydoux

If you love Paris when it sizzles, you will love Woody Allen’s captivating and smart “Midnight in Paris.” The film is packaged throughout with exquisite daytime Paris scenes bathed in golden light as well as nighttime scenes shrouded in mists and cobbled streets wet with rain. This film is another of Allen’s valentines to Paris. Air France must be delighted with the release of this film.

Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) is the quintessential American in Paris. He and his fiancée, Ines, are accompanying her parents on one of her father’s business trips. Gil is a successful but frustrated hack Hollywood screen writer who hates what he does. He is working on a novel about nostalgia. Spoiled Ines’s only goal is to live in Malibu on Gil’s residuals while he would be delighted to live in an artist’s garret in Paris. Unfortunately for Gil, they run into Paul, a smug and pedantic professor friend of Ines, and have to spend time with him. Ines thinks Paul is great; Gil thinks he is pompous and pretentious. Gil and Ines seem ill suited for each other.

But Gil lucks out as “Midnight in Paris” takes an unexpected turn. Escaping from Ines’

boring friends, Gil wanders the streets of Paris. At the stroke of midnight, an

ancient Rolls Royce pulls up and its occupants, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, urge Gil to come to a soiree with them. He finds himself at a lost generation party alongside Cole Porter, Ernest Hemmingway, Salvador Dali and others. Since Gil’s specialty is nostalgia, this is right up his alley. He is understandably awestruck, enchanted and almost speechless—but not totally speechless because he asks both Hemingway and Gertrude Stein to read his manuscript. 

Nothing lasts forever, however,and  Gil has to come back to present time and spend time with temperamental Ines and her grouchy Tea Party member parents, whose main interests seem to be shopping and eating in expensive restaurants.  

This is Woody Allen at his best. Nostalgia has repeatedly been a theme for him. The story is loaded with stars and a celebrity or two. Even Carla Bruni, President Nicolas Sarkozy’s wife has a part in this oh so Francophile film. “Midnight in Paris” is filmed exquisitely with tantalizing views of the Eiffel tower, Monmartre, the flea markets, the Seine and, of course, the cafes and bistros.

Each cast member shines. They obviously love the film and the chance to impersonate literary giants and artists of the 1920s. Owen Wilson could not be better. He embodies the Woody Allen persona, a man full of self-doubt, dissatisfied with many things. Mostly he longs to inhabit a bygone era and to be able to have the challenging and intellectual conversations absent from his present life with Ines.

Time travel may be a wacky concept but it seamlessly works in “Midnight and Paris,” something not easy to pull off. But Allen succeeds. All of this is silly and fun. And, of course, it is always entertaining to see how many stars Allen can squeeze into a film. And did I mention how very romantic it is?

Last Night

Last Night

Directed by Massy Tadjadin

With Keira Knightly, Sam Worthington, Eva Mendes and Guillaume Cadet

A photogenic young married couple lives in a super chic Manhattan loft. Joanna (Keira Knightly) and Michael(Sam Worthington), ex pats from London, have been married three years. They both have exciting jobs and stylish wardrobes. Everything looks pretty as they dress to go to a party as “Last Night” begins. But there is an awkwardness between them. What’s going on? Marital distrust and communication breakdown are not unique to this married couple, but these issues are compassionately observed in “Last Night.”

It all happens in one day. At the party, Joanna warily observes Michael as he interacts with his gorgeous coworker, Laura (Eva Mendes). Laura can hardly keep her hands or her eyes off of him. At home after the party, Joanna accuses Michael of being interested in Laura. She finally wears him down, and he admits that he does find Laura attractive. Joanna’s hidden tensions and doubts intensify.

The next morning Michael leaves on a business trip with—guess who—Laura. Coincidentally, on that very same morning, Joanna happens upon an old boyfriend, a young Frenchman named Alex (Guillaume Caudet). Their rapport is instantaneously rekindled and they make plans to have dinner together that evening while Michael is away.

The remainder of “Last Night” crosscuts between Joanna/Alex and Michael/Laura. Sparks fly as each couple spends their respective evenings together. Will Joanna and Michael cheat on each other?

It is a simple plot, done before. Marriages are destroyed by jealousy and insecurity. How can a married couple resist being unfaithful when faced with very appealing temptation? Joanna and Michael struggle with this dilemma in their own ways as the night progresses and the alcohol flows.

“Last Night” asks you to decide what comprises “cheating.” Is it merely a kiss or an embrace? Or does it need to go further to be infidelity? Is it harmful to a marriage?

Keira Knightly is perfect as a woman plagued by a jealous heart. Sam Worthington struggles with his own demons in a more inward way. Long, provocative silences between the couples speak volumes. However, one wonders why two British actors were asked to play the leads in this New York/American film. The same goes for Joanna’s ex, Alex, who is French. Also, I can't for the life of me figure out why Lucy, a placid Labrador retriever, is inserted into “Last Night” for much of the film for no apparent reason.

It’s always fun to observe New York’s sparkling night life, scenes of parties, restaurants and beautiful vistas of TriBeca streets slick with rain. “Last Night” is atmospheric and beautifully filmed.

Director Massy Tadjedin has a firm grasp of how couples interact by what they say and don’t say. Her film keenly observes the dangers and pleasures of crossing the line in marriage. Both Joanna and Michael know they are treading in treacherous waters. Was it worth it for them?

I am not sure.

African Cats

Directed by Keith Scholey and Alastair Fothergill

With: Lionesses and cubs, Lions, a cheetah and her cubs, hippos, hyenas, wildebeest, giraffe, zebras, gazelle, water buffalo, crocodile, aardvarks at al.

What could be more captivating than wee fuzzy lion cubs? Wee fuzzy cheetah cubs! The new Disney film, “African Cats,” provides plenty of both.

This stunning film opened on Earth Day, an appropriate choice as the numbers of lions on earth continue to decrease every year.

The film follows two families of African cats and their quest for survival in the Masai Mara in Tanzania. The savannahs are filled with danger as you will see.

Little Maya is the endearing cub of Layla, a lioness who is getting on in life.

She wants to insure that Maya will be accepted by the rest of the pride after she is gone. Cubs cannot care for themselves and make tasty meals for viscous hyenas and other predators. Fang is the male lion who protects his pride of several females and their cubs. He is recognizable by a fang that protrudes from his mouth. Not far away are five male lions who want the pride for themselves. They would kill the cubs so the lionesses will produce their own offspring.

The other “African Cat” family is that of Sita, a cheetah who lives across the river from the lions. Fearless Sita has five cubs and is a “single mom.” Sita continually needs to leave her hungry cubs alone so she can hunt for their food. While she is off hunting, her cubs are in mortal danger. Unlike the lionesses who hunt in packs, Sita has to go it alone. It is not easy.

“African Cats” is called a “true life adventure,” not a documentary. It is difficult to imagine any life more threatening that that of these cats. It is eat or be eaten, kill or be killed.

The theme of  motherless offspring has been done many times by Disney(Bambi, Dumbo, Snow White and others). The animals are given human emotions and the viewer relates to these feelings. Samuel L. Jackson narrates the often heart-pounding story with just the right ominous tone.

The cinematography in “African Cats” is ravishing from sunset panoramas, aerial shots of the savannahs, to the inner family circles of these majestic felines. You see close ups of the animals’ huge furry paws, their quivering flanks, their powerful shoulders, the insides of their cubs’ yawning mouths. You hear the mewling of a stricken Sita when she can’t locate her cubs as you hear their cries for their mother.

There are those who will criticize the anthropomorphism in “African Cats.” But who is to say that these animals do not have “courage,” “hope,” “grudges,” “confidence,” or experience “love.” And that a mother cat’s loss of her cub is not her worst nightmare? I, for one, can tell if my dog or cat is content, depressed, or anxious, all “human” emotions.

Directors Keith Scholey and Alastair Fothergill have put together a remarkable entertainment that should be seen on the big screen. You will wonder how they were able to get so intimately close to the animals.

They show lions tackling their prey but wisely have not shown them tearing into their kill. And stay for the credits when the lions and the supporting cast get their “credits.” “African Cats” provides a perfect family outing. But it is not only for kids: It is a breathtaking and stirring safari for all of us. I, for one, loved the gamboling aardvarks.

In a Better World

 In a Better World

Directed by Susan Bier

Written by Anders Thomas Jensen

With Mikael Persbrandt, Markus Rygaard, Trine Dyrholm, Milliam Johnk

Neilson

When this year’s academy awards ceremony gave the Danish film IN A BETTER WORLD  the Best Foreign Film oscar, most people had never heard of it.  A pity.  But at long last this brilliant, compassionate, totally unique and poignant film about moral issues is being shown here.  Do not miss it.

In an unnamed Danish town two families intersect.  Both are outsiders; one from London and the other from Sweden.   In a Better World follows the tragic and literally explosive

events that befall the two families.  Violence and its aftereffects are the themes explored in this gripping film.

The story begins in an impoverished African refugee camp where the Swedish pacifist doctor Anton(Mikeal Persbrandt) runs a makeshift hospital deaing not only with malaria and parasites, but also the ravages of violence.  A local Warlord, Big Man, and his henchmen capture local pregnant women and bet on their unborn babies’ sexes.  To see who wins, they rip open the woman’s bellies to find out.  Anton, a kind and hardworking doctor, has to deal with the aftermath of this savagery.

 While Anton is away, his estranged wife Marriane(Trine Dyrholm), a doctor herself, and their docile son  Elias(Markus Rygaard) suffer in his absence.  12 year old Elias is relentlessly bullied at school because he is Swedish and has buck teeth and braces.  Elias accepts the sadistic bullying in a passive way.  In his mind, courageous people don’t fight back.

Sullen twelve year old Christian(William Johnk Nielsen) and his businessman father Claus(Ulrich Thomsen) have just moved to grandmother’s house  from London after the death of Christian’s mother.  Christian intercedes when Elias is being bullied and gets beaten up himself.  However he has a short fuse and savagely wreaks revenge on the bully.

Elias carries the same passive convictions as does his humanitarian father. But his new friend and ally Christian thinks that passivity is weak and unmanly.  He manages to get Elias to agree to his way of thinking.  Treat violence with violence.

There is so much more to this intelligent film. All characters are complex people,

and director Bier plumbs these complexities as we get to know each of them.  Issues of guilt, grief, love and hate are all a part of the story.

In A Better World deals with timely moral issues.  Is harsh, often violent, behavior the way to deal with savagery?  Or does it just feed the vicious cycle of brutality?  Both parents and children in In a Better World are involved in explosive crises.  Each has his own methods of reckoning with upheaval.

The acting in the film could not be better.   There is a startling intensity throughout, and all characters work together to make it all raw and believable.  ,

You will leave the theater wondering how to make sense of cruelty.  And there is enough  cruelty to go around in our world.  If a very evil person is in trouble, do you help him out

or do you let him suffer?  Do you punish violence with reprisals?  How can you depend on peaceful reasoning in an unreasonable world?   Clearly Bier is drawing parallels between violence in third world countries and our own ‘civilized’ societies. She ratchets up the tension and you are drawn into the tempest.  Revenge or Forgiveness? You decide.

 

Jane Eyre

Directed by Cary Fukunga

Written by Charlotte Bronte and Moira Buffina

With Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins and Jamie Bell

From the very start of the latest film version of Charlotte Bronte’s 1847 “Jane Eyre,” you almost physically feel the foreboding misty moors of the Derbyshire Hills. This is a Jane Eyre unlike any other, and there have been as  been many as 30 earlier film versions.

Director Cary Fukunga and screenwriter Moira Buffina have fooled with the chronology of the novel, and their Jane Eyre begins in the middle. The past is seen as flashbacks. Purists might not appreciate this conceit but it works perfectly well in this “Jane.”

Jane (Mia Wasikowska) is a plain and polite orphan who has lived a life of deprivation and loss. After her parents’ deaths she is sent to live with her wealthy but cold-blooded aunt, Miss Reed (Sally Hawkins). Miss Reed wants only to get Jane out of her sight. So off she is sent to the sadistic Lowood School for Girls where corporal punishment is the norm. Of course, Jane is treated cruelly and unfairly, but she does learn to be a teacher.

Finally a bit of luck comes Jane’s way. She is hired to be the governess for the French-speaking daughter of the wealthy Mr. Rochester (Michael Fassbender).

Her residence is now a massive and elegantly furnished medieval estate of countless rooms. The housekeeper, Mrs. Fairfax (Judi Dench), keeps everything in order. She is a kindly sort, always rushing here and there. Jane is treated well in her new situation and her darling charge is very attached to her.

After awhile the stylish, surly, and somewhat spooky, Mr. Rochester comes home for one of his infrequent visits. The house has been elegantly decked out for opulent soirees to entertain a group of his moneyed houseguest  friends. But he has eyes only for the plain, forthright and reserved Jane. However,  he has some skeletons in his closet.  ou probably know the rest if you have read the novel; If you haven’t then, the film will inform you. 

Jane Eyre is about as atmospheric as a film can get. Cinematographer Adriano Goldman gives you a strong sense of place throughout. Gorgeous scenes of Derbyshire’s moors are usually shrouded in fog. It seems to be cold and rainy much of the time. It is an unforgiving land, bleak but beautiful.

Cary Fukunga has been able to capture the spookiness of the story without dwelling on it. There are strange sounds emanating from who knows what; there are loud poundings on doors; the mists conceal approaching figures. But the focus is kept on Jane’s quiet strength, her innocence, her perceptiveness. She is ‘character’ personified..

Aussie Mia Wasikowski demonstrates Jane’s depth with few words. She glows in this role of a woman who has to hide her inner life. At times you feel like you are inside her head. She very quietly bristles with courage.

Michael Fassbender as the handsome rogue, Mr. Rochester, has just the right amount of creepiness combined with an almost carnal sexiness. His passion is not far from the surface. Judi Dench as Mrs. Fairfax, the goodhearted but crotchety housekeeper, adds the right amount of humor to this splendid film.

This thoughtful and elegant “Jane Eyre” offers superb performances, glorious cinematography, and a very compelling story—there is a reason there have been so many remakes of it. And you see that no matter how plain and lacking in funds a woman may be, she can get a guy: and a wealthy, handsome one at that!

Unknown

Unknown

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra

With Liam Neeson, January Jones, Diane Kruger, Bruno Ganz,

Aiden Quinn, and Frank Langella

“Unknown” begins as an exceptionally good looking American couple arrives in Berlin. They check into their high-end hotel. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) is there to attend an important biotechnology conference, but he has left his briefcase at the airport. He leaves his lovely blond wife Elizabeth (January Jones)at the hotel and grabs a cab to the airport to retrieve the missing case.

There is an accident en route and the cab dramatically careens off a bridge into a river. The female, illegal alien, Bosnian cab driver Gina (Diane Kruger) heroically pulls him out of the rapidly sinking taxicab—then things begin to go terribly wrong.

Harris’s heart stops for a few minutes. He is resuscitated and awakens from a four-day coma in a Berlin hospital. He has no identifying documents; they are inside that briefcase. He rather quickly figures out who he is and goes to the hotel where a fancy reception for the conference is taking place. He approaches Elizabeth, but she does not know him. And there is a man with her who claims he is Martin Harris. 

Not only that, but nobody believes he is who he says he is. The baffled and bedraggled Dr. Harris is forced to roam Berlin, with no ID or passport, trying to figure out  the truth of what has happened. He enlists the help of Gina, the Bosnian cab driver, and Ernst Jurgen, a former STASI agent for the East Berlin Communist government to help him find the pieces to his identity puzzle. You, the viewer, are left to figure out if Harris is who he thinks he is or if he indeed has amnesia.

   From then on, the plot couldn’t be more twisted or convoluted. It would spoil the fun to reveal any of those twists. “Unknown” is entertaining if you do not focus on the implausibilities, of which there are many.

                The film has expertly choreographed car chases aplenty. See the wheelies, cars turning in perfect synchronization, even cars chasing in reverse! Sinister figures with guns drawn are in pursuit on foot! Innocent people are killed! There is even a self-inflicted cyanide poisoning.

                Liam Neeson plays the role of the bewildered, innocent man very capably and very seriously. Bruno Ganz is excellent as the retired STASI agent. January Jones is a little flat in her role; however, once you know the plot twists, you may understand why she is so one dimensional. The other performances are fine, it is just that the actors are asked to perform in a film that lacks any logic or credibility. You can’t take this film seriously.

                That said, director Collet Serra’s film is very slick and watchable, dealing with high-stakes terrorism. You wonder if Martin Harris is nuts or if the world is nuts and you are kept guessing until everything is explained in the final scenes. “Unknown” is handsomely filmed and loaded with action. I call it farfetched fun.

Another Year

 Another Year

 Directed and written by Mike Leigh

With James Broadbent, Ruth Sheen, Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, David Bradley and Oliver Mattman

No filmmaker probes and understands the everyday conflicts of ordinary people as does British filmmaker Mike Leigh. “Another Year” takes place in London where a 60-something long-married couple, Tom(Jim Broadbent) and Gerri(Ruth Sheen), seem to have achieved a kind of marital bliss in their golden years. They tend their exuberant garden, cook dinners for their friends and family, and are happy in their careers. Tom is a geologist and Gerri is a NHS counselor. This intelligent and moving film explores them and the complex relationships of their passel of assorted friends and family who are not so fortunate in life and love. Gerri and Tom’s house is the gathering place for these people.

“Another Year” unfolds over one year, divided into four seasons, beginning with Spring. Janet (Imelda Stanton) is referred to Gerri, a counselor at a clinic, because of her chronic insomnia. Her face closed and tight lipped, she is a picture of misery. However, she does not want therapy. She wants a “new life.” The same can be said for the others who surround Geri and Tom, a group who have made missteps in the past. For them there may be such a thing as too late. Some problems cannot be solved. That is life.

Mary (Lesley Manville) works with Jerri. She’s a single, 50ish woman who exudes insecurity with nonstop chatter and worries. She is lonely, obviously desperate to find a man and drinks way too much, grabbing cigarettes when she can. She seems to have no defenses to life’s travails. Gerri and Tom welcome her to dinners at their very homey home. She is unsuited to being single, but her poignant need for affection scares men away. She buys a little red used car, she can’t really afford, much less drive very well, thinking it will change her life. The car brings her nothing but problems.

Ken (Peter Wright) an old friend of Tom’s, is also a frequent dinner guest at Tom and Gerri’s. He is an overweight boozer who drinks to anesthetize himself from his loneliness. He is sweet and kind enough, but also desperate for some kind of connection. He would welcome a “new life,” but it is obvious he will never find what he needs.

Tom and Gerri’s son, 30-year-old Joe (Oliver Maltman), is a cheery and happy-go-lucky guy, probably because he is the product of a stable and happy marriage. He visits his parents, bringing them cheer and gifts, also a girlfriend, Katie. These two are obviously happy and in love.

However, not all is perfect in Tom and Gerri’s life. Their nephew, Carl, is an angry, menacing ne’er-do-well. His father, Tom’s brother Ronnie (David Bradley), is a very troubled man, inscrutable and devoid of affect. Tom and Gerri have to deal with this dysfunctional duo after Ronnie’s wife dies.

Mike Leigh’s films are legendary for their intimate ensemble work. His characters are ordinary people dealing with everyday human sadness. Most of the actors’ work is improvised during the filming. Sometimes the dialog meanders as it does in real life, but throughout it all runs a passionate concern for character.

The actors in “Another Year” work in sync, giving tender and honest performances about the calamities of relationships. Leslie Manville as Mary is outstanding in her portrayal of someone who tries to escape depression with constant chit chat. Her desperation is palpable and heart breaking. Her life is the biggest tragedy in “Another Year.”

Tom and Gerri are the anchor for this collection of people. Their kindness and stability are balm for people who are alone and left out. They can’t resolve their friends’ problems, but they provide a respite of concern and compassion. Throughout each season in “Another Year” they are seen working in their garden together. The garden is abundant, thriving, and healthy in every season—as is their relationship.