The Art of Self-Defense

First Hit: Oddly compelling, crudely violent, and situationally funny are my takeaways from this film.

Jesse Eisenberg is an intense person. One look at his eyes, the way he moves them, the way he looks at anything, the intensity is the primary projected feeling.

In this story, Jesse plays Casey, a quiet accountant, working at a somewhat sizeable innocuous firm. We see Casey make awkward attempts to talk with three other men in the break room. These men talk about things in a silly testosterone way: “Let’s do some pushups,” and talking about their sexual exploits. In these gatherings, Casey has nothing to offer, stammers, and leaves the break room with a tail between his legs sort of way.

He goes home to his dachshund, his closest friend. One night, needing to get dog food, he walks to the store and is attacked by a group of people on motorcycles. They almost kill him. Having lots of sick time and unused vacation time, he stays home to heal. Hesitantly he ventures out of his home and walks into a Karate dojo run by a Sensei (Alessandro Nivola).

Casey finds that taking classes helps his self-esteem, and he begins to gain confidence. However, there seems to be an underlying agenda in the dojo. Anna (Imogen Poots), who is a brown belt (one under black), teaches the children classes but appears to be in disfavor with sensei. We don’t know why.

This disfavor is very pronounced when sensei gives awards out (new colored belts and stripes) on a celebration day. Favoring brown belt Thomas (Steve Terada) over Anna for black belt, Anna eventually gets revenge by beating Thomas to a pulp in one of their dojo practice sessions.

Eventually, Casey feels the power of his newly acquired yellow belt and takes over the testosterone boys club at work, punches his boss in the throat, and puts female breasts on his computer screen’s desktop. Of course, he gets fired from his job. In addition to this, by prompting from sensei, he changes the language he’s learning from French to German. French, says his sensei, is a loser feminine language and German is more powerful and masculine.

Then, Casey, prompted by sensei, kills an unsuspecting stranger because sensei tells him he’s sure that this man is one of the people who mugged him months earlier. This and the killing of his dog leads Casey to start investigating sensei and his cohorts.

This is where the film spins slightly different from its original axis and heads in a somewhat different direction. The question becomes, will Casey find his strength by standing up for his version of truth and justice, or will he go his own way and become a law-abiding citizen?

Eisenberg is always interesting to watch. I don’t often relate to his intensity, but he never holds back on being someone who is thinking and thinking deeply. He does this well in this story. Nivola is rather good as sensei. He brings a required level of force, making this role believable. Poots was excellent as the women who wouldn’t be denied in her quest to live unafraid. Terada is outstanding as sensei’s favorite student. Riley Sterns both wrote and directed this film. I thought the concept was good and some of the scenes superbly funny and intense.

Overall: I didn’t leave the theater with a positive feeling.

Disobedience

First Hit: Extremely well-acted film about how antiquated thinking can split families and a loving relationship.

Ronit Krushka (Rachel Weisz) is a photographer in New York City. As we meet her, she's photographing a tattooed man.

She suddenly has to leave New York and we see her as deeply anxious. She arrives in a small town Orthodox Jewish community in England because her father, Rabbi Rav Krushka (Anton Lesser) has died suddenly. She did not know he was ill with pneumonia. The mystery is set with this scene; as she enters Dovid and Esti Kuperman’s (Alessandro Nivola and Rachel McAdams respectively) home where they are honoring Rav’s death, there is a strong silent judgmental air as she enters the house and each room.

The way this movie is filmed, we see her both as slightly detached from the people around her and intensely engaged. There is a depth of sadness in her character.

There is an especially strong sense of a subject not discussed when Ronit and Esti are together. Dovid was Rav’s specially selected heir apparent to be head rabbi of the local temple. The audience slowly learns that Ronit’s absence and rejection by the community is partially due to a lesbian romance with Esti when they were very young.

Scene after scene the community rejects Ronit because of her past and their passive aggressive closed-minded behavior is a key subject of the film.

The stark, clean way this film is shot adds to its intense beauty. The slow building of the way we learn about their previous relationship, how the community saw this forbidden relationship, and how the love still burns for each of them is outstanding.

Although their hotel lovemaking scene is what is advertised, it’s the entire story around it that makes this scene and this film work.

This film also exposes the lack of acceptance of human love by her family and friends and the Orthodox Jewish community.

Weisz is amazing in this film. She is an incredibly strong actress and she puts herself into roles that challenge her and the role of women (think My Cousin Rachel and this film to name two) in their communities. McAdams is a revelation in this role. Her subtly in revealing her love in this film was fantastic. I loved how she fiddled with her wig as it showed a level of unsurity. Nivola was wonderful as the conflicted rabbi who loved his wife Esti, Ronit, and his Jewish faith. Sebastian Lelio and Rebecca Lenkiewicz wrote an detailed and effective screenplay that got to the spirit and heart of the matter is a wonderful way. Lelio had a clear vision in his direction of this story and cast. It was clean and was based on characters that had depth.

Overall: This is one of the best films this year.

Ginger & Rosa

First Hit:  Elle Fanning is brilliant in a strong but a little too long film.

Ginger’s father Roland (Alessandro Nivola) has a particular view of life, is verbally manipulative and wants to change the world’s perception of how to act and be. His philosophy as a Pacifist and freedom to be and act as he sees fit, runs into boundaries that cause pain.

Ginger (Fanning) grows up with a best friend – Rosa (played by Alice Englert). Together they experience their own lives and homes lives - together. Rosa’s father leaves her mom when she is young. Rosa is partly a rebel who is willing to try and experience new things. She is darker in her life views.

Ginger is lighter but equally troubled by the nuclear crises of the mid 1960’s. As 17 year old girls, they are both finding their way. They go to protest meetings, they meet guys, they drink booze, and they smoke cigarettes while  experimenting with sex.

Their paths begin to separate as Ginger gets more involved with the anti-nuclear movement with her family friends Mark (Timothy Spall), Mark Two (Oliver Platt) and Bella (Annette Bening). Rosa thinks she can heal Ginger’s father’s sadness and empty heart.

Nivola is very good as the rebel pacifist. Fanning is extraordinary as Ginger. Her subtle facial expressions and expressive voice solidified her strength as a young actress to watch. Englert was very strong as Rosa. Although her role is more quiet and darker it was no less powerful and her place in the film was solid. I would expect to see her again - soon. Spall, Platt and Bening were all great in their roles in this film. Christina Hendricks as Natalie (Ginger’s mother) was very good in her performance and provided a great juxtaposition to Ginger’s father. Sally Potter wrote and directed this film and although the it was a very good film, it needed trimming to make it more crisp.

Overall:  This was a very good film to watch especially because I remember the nuclear war threat of the 1960s.