Pain and Glory

First Hit: At times, this story of a filmmaker in decline was engaging.

At times I could begin to feel the pain of Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas) as he slowly moved about the confines of his home. Other times I didn’t sense the embodiment of pain at all. It felt inconsistent.

The film begins when Mallo has just been asked to talk to a group about a presentation of his movie “Sabor.” It is a 30-year retrospective presentation of this film for which he’d become famous and had received praise and recognition. We learn that he disliked the way the lead actor in that film, Alberto Crespo (Asier Etxeandia), made the main character. But having just seen it again after all this time, he ended up liking what Crespo did with the role.

Wanting Crespo to join him on the stage for the a Q&A about the film, Mallo reaches out to Crespo and asks to meet up with him. There were awkward moments at this first meeting in thirty years, but they become soothed when Crespo introduces Mallo to heroin. The drug eases his physical and inner pain along with his angst towards Crespo.

During Malo’s sleep and when he’s drugged up, the film flashes back to these moments when he was a boy, and we begin to learn something about this creative man and where his creativity comes from.

We see an early scene where Salvador is a young boy (Asier Flores), and he’s with his mother Jacinta (Penelope Cruz) in a train station after having left their home. They are waiting for Salvador’s father (Raul Arevalo) to come take them to their new home. They are tired, and he lies on the bench to sleep, while she lies on the floor. This is a sharp image early on in the film and is used again at the end.

The flashbacks include when his mother is much older (played by Julieta Serrano) and Salvador’s attempt to care for her. She uses guilt to have him attend to her as she wishes.

The story also explores his first love Federico Delgado (Leonardo Sbaraglia). Salvador gives Crespo a one-person play he’s written (Addiction), and when Federico happens to see it, he locates and calls Salvador. Their reunion is incredibly sweet.

There is also a flashback of Salvador teaching an adult young man, Eduardo (Cesar Vicente), how to read and write. These are beautifully choreographed scenes, especially when you see Salvador sitting with Eduardo, tasking him to work on his writing. 

 I’m not sure I understood Salvador’s relationship with Mercedes (Nora Navas) other than she was an actress looking for work and genuinely cared for Salvador. 

Many of the shots and scenes are beautifully presented, and then pull away at the end was clever and poignant. 

Banderas was good. I didn’t think he expressed his pain very well because there are scenes where he moves with a particular gait and then delivers a different opposing stride in another scene. I also wanted to better understand why he had this pain, both physical and mental. Etxeandia was excellent as the drug-addled actor. In his scenes where he’s performing the play “Addiction,” he was excellent. It was very moving. Sbaraglia was very strong as Salvador’s old friend and flame. Cruz was excellent as Salvador’s younger mother. Vicente’s performance as the young man whom Salvador teaches was excellent. Flores as young Salvador was terrific. He rebelled against going to school at a church because he hated the thought of being a priest. Pedro Almodovar wrote and directed this film. While watching this film, I kept thinking about how close this film is to being a biography. 

Overall: The next day, I wasn’t very impressed or impacted by this film.

Murder on the Orient Express

First Hit:  I was bored through and through.

I’m not a Kenneth Branagh fan and he doesn’t disappoint here. The whole film from the very beginning was over-done and confusing. The opening sequence is an elongated setup to prove that Hercule Poirot (Branagh) is the very best detective of all time. Solving a crime at the wailing wall where the accused, a priest, a Rabbi, and a Imam are accused of stealing an important object from where an icon stands in a temple. Of course, the world greatest detective pontificates in front of a huge crowd as he explains the story in excruciating detail and finally accuses someone else. The capturing of the real criminal in front of the crowd was too obvious.

His friendship with the director of the Orient Express train from Istanbul to Europe gets him a first-class accommodation on the train. There are numerous characters on the train; Bouc (Tom Batemen), Pilar Estravados (Penelope Cruz), Princess Dragomiroff (Judi Dench), Samuel Ratchett/John Cassetti (Johnny Depp), Hector McQueen (Josh Gad), Edward Henry Masterman (Derek Jacob), Dr. Arbuthnot (Leslie Odom), Caroline Hubbard/Linda Arden (Michelle Pfeiffer), Mary Debenham (Daisy Ridley), Pierre Michel (Marwan Kenzari) and a few others.

The murder of Samuel Rachett/Johnb Cassetti, one night in his cabin, sets Poirot off on finding out who killed him. This is where the film just sinks. It acts as more as a play than a mystery film. The pontificating by Poirot gets old very quick.

The train stopped, because of an avalanche, is supposed to make finding out who the killer is easier. However, everyone has a link to the murder of a young girl many years earlier by Cassetti and therefore everyone is vested in having Ratchett/Cassetti killed.

As Poirot puts the pieces together, the audience has to wait and wade through all the extraneous drama and storytelling.

The showdown scene where he’s going to name the killer Poirot stands in front of a long table with all the others on one side of the table facing him, just like the last supper. Really? This is so over done it becomes tedious just sitting there waiting for the end.

Yes, it is a matter of justice being served correctly and retroactively but the way we get here is a time waster. Branagh comes across as self-important both in the film and of the film. He just can't seem to get out of his own way. His poor direction makes him the standout actor and it’s noticeable. Pfeiffer was probably the best of the lot, as she had a strong role and delivered despite the direction. Depp was mediocre as the villain and he tries to do more with series of looks versus acting. Gad was OK as was the rest of the acting team. Michael Green wrote an Okay script. Given better direction and less Branagh egocentricity of having to be elevated above and separate from the role/film and rest of the cast, it might have been a better or more interesting film.

Overall: This movie was mostly “telling” versus “showing” and because of this, I just had to wait until it was over to leave.

The Counselor

First Hit:  When all is said and done, there were a few outstanding moments of acting in a film that tried to make a statement.

The question is: What is the statement Director Ridley Scott wanted to make with this film? Was it about greed? Was it about accepting the consequences of the path chosen?

This film begins with a very luxurious soft, emotionally available scene where the Counselor (Michael Fassbender) and Laura (Penelope Cruz) are lying under the sheets in a beautiful modern bedroom. Their mutual attraction physically and emotionally drips off the celluloid.

Then we see that the Counselor must be doing well for himself as he’s driving a Bentley motor car and lives in a very nice home. He visits a client/friend Reiner (Javier Bardem), who we learn quickly is a major player in the drug trade. He enjoys his riches and the accouterments of his home, but he never looks or feels like it is his, it is more like he’s a guest in his home.

Bardem also seems this way in this character; he doesn’t look or feel like he is at home with this character and I never felt like I knew if this was on purpose or not. The best acting of the film came from Cameron Diaz as Malkina who, with her silver nail polish and cold look, defined an I don’t give a f&%# attitude.

Additionally, Brad Pitt as Westray a drug deal middle man carried the right amount of emotional detachment, sleaziness, and peacefulness at the path he’s chosen. The obvious point of the film's main character is: Was The Counselor prepared to pay the price for a big drug deal gone bad? The answer seemed to be not really.

There are major dialogue segments by Reiner, Malkina, Westray, and Jefe (Ruben Blades) that warn him about what the price is, but he still takes the chance. However, questions remain; why is he in this drug deal (excitement, money, greed)? What is the motivator?

Then again, maybe this film is just may be a Ridley Scott vehicle to give his advice on living life.

Fassbender was very good, however I didn’t care about him or his character. There was no background about why he would risk love for more money? Cruz was good as Fassbender’s love interest. Bardem, seemed lost in this role. I never got he was in the role but rather speaking the lines. Diaz was fabulous, showing the ability to be a strong dark presence and make each scene she was in interesting. Pitt was really good at having a laissez faire presence while carrying a clear message to the main character. Cormac McCarthy wrote the script but I don’t know if it was him or Scott that decided to glaze over providing enough information to care. Scott, created some amazingly beautiful scenes and shots but did he just want to tell us his version of the saying; you get what you pay for OR you have to be willing to pay the price?

Overall:  This film was forgettable by the next day, although Diaz’s performance will land her more roles.

To Rome With Love

First Hit:  Mediocre Allen film with some funny moments.

Over the last few years Woody Allen has created a few wonderful works based in Europe: “Midnight in Paris”, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”, and “Match Point”.

Part of what made these films work is that Allen isn’t a character in them. It appears to me that his best work, these days, is when he isn’t a character in his films but when his focus is strong writing and directing.

Here Jerry (Allen) and his wife Phyllis (played by Judy Davis) are in Rome to meet their daughter Hayley’s (played by Alison Pill) fiancé Michelangelo (played by Flavio Parenti). In another story, John (played by Alex Baldwin) is coaching Jack (Jesse Eisenberg) about whether he should or will have sex with his live-in girlfriend Sally’s (played by Greta Gerwig) close friend Monica (Ellen Page) who is visiting them from Hollywood.

In another story, Millie and Antonio (played by Alessandra Mastronardi and Alessandro Tiberi respectively) are on their honeymoon in Rome and she wants to have an affair with an Italian film star while her new husband is attempting to fend off Anna (played by Penelope Cruz) a whore who’s been fully paid for.

Lastly, there is a story about the fleetingness and stupidity of fame with Leopoldo (played by Roberto Benigni) who all of a sudden finds himself the darling of the media until one day it stops, just as it started, suddenly and without reason.

Of the four major stories, the one with Jerry attempting to get Michelangelo’s father Giancarlo (played by Fabio Armiliato) to sing opera on stage after Jerry hears him singing opera in the shower are the funny bits. We discover that Giancarlo can only sing well when he is in a shower, so Jerry stages major operas with every scene with Giancarlo singing on stage in a portable shower.

Allen is mediocre and, for the most part, probably needs to quit being in front of the camera. Davis is good as Allen’s wife who puts up with her husband’s predilections. Pill is OK as Allen and Davis’ daughter. Parenti is a level above as the protective left wing fiancé. Baldwin is nothing interesting except when he says lines which reflect his real world woes. Eisenberg has no wings here and is retrained. Gerwig is OK but doesn’t seem engaged in the role. Page is supposed to be the femme fatale, but I found it hard to see her as described (sexy). Mastronardi and Tiberi are fine as the distracted honeymooners. Cruz came across as overtly trying. Benigni is somewhat mindless in this misplaced character. Armiliato was the best thing in the film. Being able to hold together a shower signing opera man was very good. Allen wrote and directed this very mediocre film.

Overall: This film was mostly lifeless and without a strong story – just a mash of four poorly constructed ones.

Elegy

First Hit: A wonderful textured romantic film.

Consuelo (played by Penelope Cruz) is a sophisticated college student in a class taught by David Kepesh (played by Ben Kingsley).

At the end of each class he invites all his students to his house for a party. As an aging professor, he finds his sexual thrills by having an affair with his young women students but only after grades are submitted – hence the party.

He had been scoping out Consuelo during class and now at the party he seeks her out for conversation and showing off an original letter by Goya. Because Consuelo is sophisticated and doesn’t fall for overnight flings, David realizes he will have to “woo” her. As a side story to this film is his relationship and friendship with George (played by Dennis Hopper) who also is a serial dater but still married.

In their meetings George gives David advice about is budding relationship with Consuelo. However, at first he doesn’t heed George’s advice, falls in love Consuelo and can’t bring himself to say so or acknowledge his feelings. He also discovers something new; jealousy and experiences this emotion whenever they aren’t together.

When David decides he cannot meet her parents because of his age (he is 30 plus years older than her) she stops the relationship. However, in the end their true feelings for each other find a way to be expressed.

Kingsley is staid and powerful yet he lets the audience see his feelings which are right underneath the surface. As the film progress they become more accessible and we, the audience, get to see a wonderful subtle shift. Cruz is a revelation. This is the second film I’ve seen her in, in the last month. She has become a powerful actress staking a claim to being a great actress. In this film she is seductive, intelligent, beautiful, and powerful. I cannot say enough about her performance. Additionally, the director, Isabel Coixet, got very strong acting from her actors and her interpretation of the novella “The Dying Animal” by Philip Roth was extraordinary.

Overall: This is a strong romantic film with Cruz giving a powerful performance.