Teen Spirit

First Hit: This was a well-done film, and it’s Elle Fanning’s performance that seals the deal.

Although the formula for this story is well known it works because of the performances of the actors, the cinematography, and singing by Fanning.

A poor polish girl Violette Valenski (Fanning) living on the Isle of Wight with her mom Maria (Agnieszka Grochowska) in a big farmhouse. They work the farm, both work at jobs in restaurants, and Violette also goes to school.

They are poor, and they need all the money they can make. Both are sad, unhappy, and driven people. Violette’s father left them, and the two women are doing everything they can to keep the farm and survive. They are hanging on by a thread. The father left because Maria was unfaithful to him. They’ve not heard from him in many years. The story makes it seem that Maria is hopeful he’ll return, someday.

Violette is shown in scenes where she sings while listening to her iPod, in her bedroom, in the fields, and in the school church choir. We also see scenes of her dancing her heart out — privately. There is a scene with her singing at an open mic in a pub with maybe 4 people sitting, talking and paying no attention to her except one, an old bearded man named Vlad (Zlatko Buric). But it is us, the audience, that hears the beauty of her heart’s singing voice. Vlad, hears it as well and goes up and tells her that he thinks she sings really well.

She hears and then sees a poster about a contest called Teen Spirit. In this contest, the winner gets a record contract. She wants this and has no confidence in her ability to make it happen. When she talks with Vlad about this, he tells her he will help her but will require her to let him manage her for 50% if she wins. What makes this drunken man someone she can trust; he tells her he was an opera singer but took a wrong turn along the way.

Violette needs an adult to go with her to the auditions and Vlad agrees. When he signs the form as her guardian, the young man at the desk recognizes his name as his parent’s favorite opera singer. Watching the trust between the two building is beautiful.

The rest of the film is about Vlad teaching her how to sing, Violette trusting him and herself while putting herself out there in front of audiences. There are a few scenes with a record producer Jules (Rebecca Hall) attempting to sway Violette to sign a contract with her company before the finals.

I really loved the shot when Violette was called on to her final performance on the Teen Spirit stage, the walk from her dressing room to the stage was incredibly beautiful. The starkness of the halls, the red dress she was wearing, her nervous eyes and turned down lips, flashes of her mom and the congregation watching the program on television, flashes of Vlad standing there, excellent.

Everything was effectively created in the early part of the film so that when it comes together, she lets go and sings from her whole body and spirit. It is a fantastic performance.

Fanning was exquisite. I loved how she showed her sullen sad behavior and letting the volcano slowly build only to make it all erupt in the final singing stage. Buric was great. He was both a little scary and like Violette said at one point, a big teddy bear. His conversation with Maria about helping Violette was joyful and engaging. Grochowska was fantastic as Maria, the concern protective mother. Her joy at watching her daughter sing in the finals brought tears to my eyes. Hall was strong as the record agent putting the pressure on to make a deal before the finals. Max Minghella wrote and directed a wonderfully insightful movie. Some of the shots and the edits between all Violette’s been through were fantastic.

Overall: This was a very inspirational film, and the excellent acting put it as one of the better this year, so far.

The Dinner

First Hit:  Could have been more interesting and watchable without the distractions.

The previews had led me to believe that this might be a strong film about two estranged couples having dinner resolving an issue involving their sons. However, it seemed to be mostly a deep dive into Paul Lohman’s (Steve Coogan) mental illness and how his family works around it.

Paul and his wife Claire (Laura Linney) are meeting his brother Congressman Stan Lohman (Richard Gere) and his wife Katelyn (Rebecca Hall), for dinner at a very exclusive restaurant. Paul does not want to go, and we see him fade in and out of being present with what is going on. He is fascinated with the battle of Gettysburg.

Throughout the film, the director lobs us into Paul's fantasies, his issues with teaching students, and difficulty staying with and on one rational thought and discussion. Not that this wasn’t warranted to understand Paul’s state of mind, but that it did this so much and that the loud distorted sounds used during some of these scenes was difficult on my ears, and very distracting to the story.

All of this gets thrown into this dinner, where Stan gets interrupted by his aid to help get votes on a mental health bill he’s created. Each of the dinner guests, occasionally gets up and leaves the table for 10 or more minutes. The service, although exquisite, gets broken up by the transient way the dinner guests sit and leave. When a conversation starts at the table, it gets railroaded by Stan leaving to deal with a legislative issue, or Paul’s rants, or Claire and Katelyn’s attempts to settle the feuding brothers.

We are given additional hints at Paul's inabilities to deal with life when we learn that Claire had cancer and Paul struggled to visit his wife and take care of their son Michael (Charlie Plummer). Stan and his first wife Barbara (Chloe Sevigny) tried to intervene in Paul’s difficulty but was rebuffed. Stan and Barbara had two kids of their own Rick (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick) and Beau (Miles J. Harvey) who Barbara and Stan adopted. Despite the broken relationship between Stan and Paul, the boys hung out together.

The subject that finally gets fully aired is that Michael lit a homeless person on fire while Rick watched. Beau threatened to make their murder public which will ruin the boy’s lives and Stan’s run for governor. We learn that Paul was not informed when it happened and he’s upset, Stan wants to turn the boys in and the mothers’ want to keep it quiet because the police have not figured out who was responsible for the death. They hope the event will be forgotten by the public.

As I previously stated, I really disliked the myriad of segues into Paul’s psychosis. I disliked that there was so little direct conversation around the dinner and only when the group goes into a small private room at the restaurant that there was any real discussion. I disliked the sound track of noises during Paul’s altered states.

However, I did like the dialogue that came up around being truthful and paying attention to one's conscious. Additionally, questions about right action and how best to keep family together were also very interesting. Overall, I thought the acting was very strong.

Coogan was amazing in his portrayal of a mentally ill man who could, at times, be very clear and wonderful. Linney was clearly strong as well. Her support and ability to calm Paul down and keep him somewhat present was very good. Gere was excellent as a congressman who also discovered he had to start showing up to his family. Hall was outstanding. Her big scene was telling Stan how she’s the one who has held his family together, raised boys, and showed up for and to him every day, was perfect. Plummer was strong as the boy who’s got struggles and issues needing assistance. Adepero Oduye (as Congressman Lohman’s assistant Nina) was very good in how she kept her cool during the dinner and when pushed by Katelyn. Oren Moverman wrote and directed a convoluted and confusing script and screenplay that overdid the segues into Paul’s neuroses.

Overall:  Although the subjects of family, family history, doing what is right and dealing with mental illness are good subjects, this film meandered and wasn’t clearly focused.

The BFG 3D

First Hit:  Spielberg knows how to craft a fantastic visual film experience through a wonderful story.

There is no doubt that Steven Spielberg is an ultimate craftsman. The detail in each scene is both amazingly complete and helps the audience’s mind embrace the story without question.

That the BFG (Mark Rylance) was slightly pigeon-toed as was Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) is an example. Then, watch Sophie’s cat move, the detail and realism is perfect. Look at items in the BFG's home - so precise while adding to the sense and feel of it being his real home.

However, the crowning achievement of Spielberg's ability is the performance he gets out of Barnhill. Just as he did with Drew Barrymore in ET, he coaxes thoughtful, honest childlike thinking, age appropriate dialog and incredible realism.

I was hard pressed to believe that many of her lines were scripted, they were so perfectly spoken and her facial expressions so mesmerizing, I bought her belief hook, line, and sinker.

Although I thought the film dragged a bit in the middle and was taking longer than needed to unfold this story; it kept me engaged, laughing, and wondering where it was going in a great and wonderful way.

Barnhill was fantastic and sublime as Sophie, a girl who believed in the BFG and his goodness. Rylance was wonderful as the BFG. His version of clumsy witty movement and behavior was extraordinary. Penelope Wilton was wonderful as The Queen of England. Rebecca Hall as Mary, The Queens right hand person, was very strong as well. Melissa Mathison wrote a wonderful screenplay filled with insight, struggle, and joy. Spielberg is a master and proves it once again.

Overall:  This was a wonderfully entertaining film that glowed for hours afterwards

The Gift

First Hit:  The audience has moments of being shocked and the point of the film, impact of bullying, is well made.

The set-up is that a couple has moved from Chicago to LA. Simon (Jason Bateman) because of a new job opportunity and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) because as a designer she can work from anywhere and that they lost a baby while in Chicago.

The story and script try to have you believe that she’s gets too anxious and may be struggling and as the film moves on, you find out differently. The seed for the story heading a different way from the setup is Gordo (Joel Edgerton) a hold high school buddy of Simons.

There is tension during each interaction and as it builds the actual reasons for the tension become known towards the film’s ending. The misdirection is handled fairly well and the script (by Edgerton) is filled with hanging truths.

Bateman is really good as being the man who wants to take care of his wife and does this a little too strongly. Hall is excellent as portraying a level of dependency to her husband, but also with and empathy and compassion for Gordo to inquire why he is the way he is. Edgerton is really strong as the affected man who continues to deal with the events of his high school days. He carries and expresses the burdens he obtained from his earlier years very well. Edgerton wrote a strong script and did a good job of directing the actors, including himself.

Overall:  I enjoyed suspense created in this film and appreciated the point of the film about bullying even more. 

Closed Circuit

First Hit:  An interesting education of the English court system.

Terrorism, spying, closed circuit cameras, and English law are featured in this film. Martin Rose (Eric Bana) is a hard nosed independent English Barrister. He’s divorced, his former wife despises and controls when he can see his son and for how long – we guess for good reason.

This part of the film sets up the type of guy he is. Above all he’s independent. He’s had an affair with Claudia Simmons-Howe (Rebecca Hall) another Barrister who has a long tradition of strong independence. They must both lie to be assigned to defend a perceived terrorist from prosecution by the government.

Briefly, in cases such as this, there is a public defender (Rose) and a private advocate (Simmons-Howe). When assigned, neither person can have contact with each other nor can they have had a past conflicted relationship with each other.

Because they were lovers, this means they couldn’t legally take these roles. However they both want to try this case, they lie to the judge and say there is no reason why they cannot work on this case. The interesting part of this film is that the evidence that each Barrister collects cannot be shared with the other. The worst part is that is that all secret evidence obtained by Simmons-Howe cannot be made public.

As the respective Barristers learn more about what really happened, they discover that it was the government’s own MI5 that was pulling the strings and that they don’t want to be embarrassed.

Bana is very effective as the smart, bull-headed, independent Barrister that wants the truth and really has a heart. Hall is wonderful as the Advocate and some of her interactions with a particular MI5 agent are priceless. Jim Broadbent, in a very limited role as the Attorney General, is sublime and cements the way the government deals with issues like this. Steven Knight wrote a good script in that it was also educational besides entertaining. John Crowley made effective use of portraying how spying and government control gets in the way of the truth.

Overall:  Not a great film but certainly worth a look some Sunday evening.