An Education and The Men Who Stare at Goats

I am even shorter on time this weekend so I will have to make it brief. But I saw two films and I want to say a few words about both of them.

An Education, directed by Lone Scherfig, is a very enjoyable film indeed. Jenny (the luminous Carey Mulligan) is a sixteen year old living a very ordinary life in suburban London. She goes to school, plays the cello and hopes to attend Oxford. Her father Jack (Alfred Molina) and mother Marjorie (Cara Seymour) really want her to attend Oxford. That is their dream for her. But along comes David (Peter Sarsgaard) who changes her life.

David is about twice her age and really knows how to treat a woman (or in this case a girl). At first her parents are put off by him because he is older, a Jew and might take her away from her studies. But they soon submit to his charms. Jenny gets to meet David's friends Danny (Dominic Cooper) and Helen (Rosamund Pike). And she gets to go to Paris. But I knew that something was not right and if you want to see what happens then you must see the film.

Scherfig does a great job of recreating early 60s London. Nick Hornby wrote the intelligent screenplay based on Lynn Barber's memoir. All of the acting is top notch. Mulligan is a star in the making. In addition to the above mentioned actors Olivia is very good as Jenny's teacher Miss Stubbs and Emma Thompson is outstanding as the headmistress of the school. A lot has been made of Mulligan's performance and she deserves the attention. But I think that Molina gives the best performance in the film. I hope that he is remembered come Oscar time (he should have been nominated for his performance in Frida - he played Diego Rivera).

An Education is a very good film. I can't say that it is an Oscar movie but it certainly is one of the better films of the year. There is some controversy about the film because some say it is anti-Semitic. I don't agree. There are a few references to David's being Jewish. But it is based on a memoir so the film is trying to stay true the actual story.

The Men Who Stared at Goats is a fun and trippy little film. I quite enjoyed it and found myself laughing throughout the film. It is directed by Grant Heslov and the script is written by Peter Straughan from a book by Jon Ronson. And this film is also based on a true story.

At some point and time the US Army had a section that dealt with paranormal activity. I always suspected this. The film tells a more fictionalized version of the story. Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) was one of the men involved in this. He retells his story to a very interested journalist named Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) as they traipse through Iraq. His (and others) guru was Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) who was the leader of this motley crew of soldiers. But a bad guy has to come along, in the name of Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) and spoil things.

I don't want to go into too much detail about what happens because I want people to see for themselves. On the other hand, this film might be a bit too quirky for some people. But for those of you who like head trips and want to know about government secrets then you will like it.

This is Heslov's directorial debut. He co-wrote the screenplay of Goodnight, and Good Luck with Clooney. He did a good job for a first try. I liked all of the acting but I especially liked Clooney and the marvelous Bridges. Anyway, if you want to have a good time with a serious section see The Men Who Stared at Goats.

DVD Mini Review - Mouchette

Robert Bresson's Mouchette (based on Georges Bernano's novel) is a beautiful but very bleak film. And it is a true classic.

Poor Mouchette (Nadine Nortier) is just fourteen years old and has such a hard life. Her mother is dying. Her father is a drunkard and treats her poorly. She goes to school and has to come home to do all the household chores including taking care of her infant brother. It is not much of a life.

I don't want to say much more about the plot. Mouchette is a short film but a lot is packed into its 81 minutes. Nortier is so good in the film that it is hard to believe that she was not a professional actress. I don't think she ever made another film. The rest of the cast is great too.

Yes, the film is depressing. And there is some animal cruelty that I was upset about. But this is real art cinema and if you like these type of films (as I do) then you must see this film.

Of note: the DVD extras included a trailer for the film directed by Jean Luc Godard. It made the film seem lighter but it was quite interesting to watch.

The Maid, The Little Traitor and Antichrist (MOD)

Yesterday was a big movie day for me. I saw three films - two in the theater and one on Movies on Demand. I will say a few words about each.

The Maid is Sebastian Silva's excellent character study of Raquel (Catalina Saavedra)a maid who has worked for a family for about 20 years. She is in her early 40s and getting tired. The woman of the house, Pilar (Claudia Celedon), wants to get her another maid to help her out. But she is resistant. During the film three new maids are hired to help her - Merecedes (Mercedes Villanueva), Sonia (Anita Reeves) and Lucy (Mariana Loyola). Different things happen with each new maid.

I was totally riveted throughout the film. To tell you the truth, I was appalled by Raquel's behavior. But my feelings changed as time went on. If this was an American film things would have been different - much less realistic. Saavedra gives an amazing performance as a very troubled woman. She has a most expressive face. I would like to see more of her work. And Silva is a talent to watch. I can't wait to see what he does next. If you can see this in a theater then do so. If not then renting it is a must.

The Little Traitor is a lovely little film directed by Lynn Roth from a short story written by Amos Oz. The story takes place in 1947 in Palestine. This was before Israel became a state. Proffy (Ido Port) lives with his family who came from Poland and very Zionistic. He and his friends hate the occupying British. But things change for Proffy when he meets and befriends Sgt. Dunlop (Alfred Molina). He sees that not all British are bad people.

The film is a coming of age tale but it is more than that. It says a lot about the notions we have about judging other people just because they are Jewish, British, Arab, etc. And we learn a something about history. Molina is very good - as he always is. And the young Port is wonderful and adorable as well. We even get a nice cameo from the legendary Theodore Bikel. This one is worth checking out either in the theater (if you can catch it there) or DVD when it comes out.

What can I say about Lars von Trier's Antichrist. It is beautifully shot by Anthony Dodd Mantle. The acting is great - Willem Dafoe is great and Charlotte Gainsbourg is outstanding (as great as Dafoe is Gainsbourg is even better with the showier role.
But this a very disturbing film and not for every (or even most) tastes.

The Prologue is really something else. Husband and wife are making passionate love. They are so wrapped up in each other that they don't hear their young son leave his crib and fall out of the window. For me that section was the best part of the film. Afterward the woman (neither one have a name) is beyond grief. Her husband is a therapist and tries to help her in a very clinical way. They wind up going to their cabin in the woods and try to heal. However, this is not such a good idea. I won't say more about the plot. I will say that there is a lot of graphic sex - which did not bother me at all. There is a lot of blame being tossed around. And Gainsbourg's woman seems to have major personality problems (to say the least). There is also some very graphic violence and some heavy symbolism. I did not hate this film but I can't say really liked it. It was interesting. As someone who loves cinema I am glad that I saw it. But I cannot recommend it to most people because I don't think that they would go for it. This one is only for a select audience. I have liked some of von Trier's work and he has an amazing way with actresses (Emily Watson, Bjork, Nicole Kidman, Gainsbourg). But there are also things about him that repulse me (killing a donkey while filming Manderlay, The Idiots was so bad that I walked out of the screening - something that I almost never do). What more can I say? He is one strange dude.

DVD Mini Review - Il Divo

I really wanted to write a bit more about Paulo Sorentino's wonderful Il Divo but this has been a strange night and it is late. So I will just say that it is a marvelous film about former Italian Prime Minister Guilo Androetti (Toni Servillo). Androetti was elected to many terms and had a following. But he was linked to the mob and some thought that he was responsible for many deaths.

I don't know much about Italian politics but I can say that this film is not at all dry. It is very entertaining. The way it is shot, the music and the acting - all of which is top notch. And Servillo is outstanding. In the extras you see Sevillo as he really is and how he is as Androetti. No wonder his performance has been so highly praised.

Well, I wish I could write more but, as I said, it is late. So if you love European cinema as much as I do (and you didn't see this film in the theater) go out and rent Il Divo as soon as possible.

The Damned United

Tom Hooper's film The Damned United may not be all fact but it is a good entertainment just the same. And this comes from someone who is not a fan of soccer or any sports.

It is the story of the rise and fall of Brian Clough (Michael Sheen) who was the manager of the soccer team in Derby and then Leeds. His loyal friend Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall) is also his partner during the time he managed the Derby team. Clough is overly ambitious and many times this gets him into trouble. And one of the people he crosses is the chief of the Derby Sam Longson (Jim Broadbent). And he is also at odds with the Leeds teams former manager Don Revie (Colm Meany).

I won't say what else happens. Hooper does a great job of directing his actors. And Peter Morgan's script is very well written. The film is an amazing character study of a man who wants too much. All of the acting is terrific (also including Henry Goodman as Manny Cousins) and Sheen proves he is worth his weight in gold as an actor.

I highly recommend this film to those of you who like character studies and outstanding acting.

Amelia

In all honesty, I almost didn't see Amelia in the theater. It got such bad reviews and it didn't pull me in from the previews. But I was very curious because I wondered if it was as bad as most of the critics said it was. I have to report that it wasn't all that bad. It is a decent but conventional biopic.

We all know about Amelia Earhart (Hillary Swank). We know of her love of flying and her disappearance in 1937. Much of the film is about Amelia's romance and marriage to publisher George Putnam (Richard Gere). She only agrees to marry him if they have an unconventional marriage. She wants both of them to be free to see others. She has an affair with Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor) who is the father of Gore. But that doesn't last. Of course, a lot of the film also focuses on her passion of flying. The last half hour is the best - it is about her last flight.

I think that Mira Nair does a good job of directing the film. I don't know why the critics are raking her over the coals. I have always admired her work. The flight scenes are wonderful. The acting is good. Swank even resembles Amelia. Gere is good and I liked McGregor. Christopher Eccleston is terrific as Fred Noonan - the navigator who was with Amelia went she went missing. And I enjoyed Cherry Jones's cameo as Eleanor Roosevelt. The main problem with the film is the script. And that is where Nair has to take a bit of the blame. Although she did the best with what she had she should have been able to tell that there were weaknesses in the script (written by Ron Bassl and Anna Hamilton Phelan). The story should have gotten into more of what made Amelia tick and cut back a bit on the schmaltzyness in certain scenes.

So all in all a decent (but unexceptional) film but one that could have been really good if it took a different direction.

DVD Mini Review - Rage

I really like Sally Potter and I always look forward to her films. They are offbeat and not for a mainstream audience. I just watched the DVD of her latest film Rage. I know that the film did not do well with the critics and, as far as I know, it was never released in the theaters in the US. I don't know why because it is a fascinating film and there must be an audience out there who would like it.

Basically, a student named Michealangelo is interviewing a number of people with his video camera. It is for a project he is working on about the week leading up to a fashion show and the fashion show itself. You never see Michaelangelo but you really feel his presence. The film is a bunch of interviews with various participants in the event and their take on things. Some of the actors in the film include Simon Abkarian, Bob Balaban, Adriana Barraza, Judi Dench, Steve Buscemi, Eddie Izzard, Jude Law and John Leguizamo. All of the acting is very good. And so many points are very well made and ring so true.

I will not say more about the film. It is not for everyone. But for those of you who like interesting experimental films then Rage is up your alley and you should definitely rent it.