Finding Your Feet

First Hit: A very inspirational, delightful and fun film.

Sandra (Imelda Staunton) is married to Mike (John Sessions) who has just received his MBE from the British Crown. They live in a big house and Sandra is a dutiful wife giving everything of herself to support her husband.

During a party she walks in on Mike making-out with their mutual friend Pamela (Josie Lawrence) and Mike tells her that they've had the affair going on for five years. Mike has no intention of stopping the affair.

Sandra walks out of the house and goes to her sister Bif's (Celia Imrie) flat which is in a very crowded common person's neighborhood. Bif is an adventurer. At about age 70, she takes dancing classes with others her age, rides a bike and goes swimming in a outdoor pond facility. Her flat is messy. Her life has been and is lived as fully as she can make it.

Sandra and Bif have not been in contact with each other for years and their two juxtaposed lifestyles make it difficult for them to live together, but gentle nudging from Bif and her friends, Charlie (Timothy Spall), Ted (David Hayman), and Jackie (Joanna Lumley), she begins to realize she's suppressed her life for Mike and slowly becomes more joyous and carefree.

At their mutual dance class, they learn new steps and put on a spontaneous mashup performance that gets filmed and goes viral. They get invited to Rome to perform.

After Bif passes away, Mike and Pamela break up and Mike realizes he misses what he had. He asks Sandra to come back into their home. She gives it a try, but the lessons she's learned about herself from her newfound friends require her step into her life and find her own feet.

Staunton is fantastic as a once brave woman re-finding her source of inspiration for living her life. Sessions is excellent as the stuffy brit who took advantage of his wife's loyalty and lived only for himself. Imrie was amazing as Sandra's sister Bif. Her edge was perfectly appropriate for the part. I loved her story about having only one love while they were in Rome.  Spall was sublime as the loyal husband who has a wife with alzheimer's. I loved how he got his van back when it was confiscated. Hayman was wonderful as one of the dance team and a close friend of Charlie. Lumley was great as one of the dance team and inspirational friend. Meg Leonard and Nick Moorcroft wrote and wonderfully touching script. Richard Loncraine did an excellent job of directing this ensemble of performers to deliver a wonderfully inspiring film.

Overall: This film was filled with emotion through endearing characters that most everyone could relate to.

Denial

First Hit:  A strong and heart felt story about a truth.

Has anyone ever denied something you and everyone else you know to be true? For me it is deflating and hurtful to have the truth be ignored by ignorance or ego driven insensitivity. I can only imagine what it might have felt like when Deborah Lipstadt (the real person), a noted historian and writer, was challenged by a denier that the Holocaust had actually happened. Being Jewish historian, she wrote a book called “Denying the Holocaust” in which she indicate that Irving was a liar by denying the holocaust had happened.

This film attempts to share this powerful story when Lipstadt (Rachel Weisz) was confronted by David Irving (Timothy Spall), a holocaust denier, while she was teaching a class. Irving said that he'd give anyone $1,000 if they could prove that holocaust had taken place. She was so incensed that she called him a liar in public along with a few other assorted things which gave Irving the forum he needed to have Lipstadt sued for libel thereby having his cause heard. By having his cause heard, he would become more famous, validated, and rich. The forum he chose was the English court system. In this system, the defendant (Lipstadt) had to prove that Irving was a liar, which is different than the US court system where the prosecutor has to prove they were libeled. Living in the US Lipstadt didn’t know this and took the case straight on.

Her English Barrister (the person doing the lead research) was Anthony Julius (Andrew Scott) and her Advocate (the person arguing the case) was Richard Rampton (Tom Wilkinson). Together they spent years and millions of pounds detailing out a case, in front of a judge, to hopefully show that Irving was lying.

The arguments on both sides were interesting. One of Irving’s beliefs that stood out reminded me of the OJ Simpson trial. In the Simpson trial Johnnie Cochran came up with a catch phrase that swayed the trial, “if it doesn’t fit, you must acquit”. In this film, Irving and the press came up with, “No holes, no holocaust”. What it referenced was the issue that no one had been able to show that were holes in the ceilings of the gas chambers where the poisonous gas materials were dropped into the chambers. If there were no evidence of holes in the ceilings, then how could have gas pellets been dropped into the chamber?

On the other side arguments brought forth by Rampton were aimed at having Irving box himself into a corner showing that he knowingly lied about his research. By doing this, he would be admitting that he was a liar on his own accord which would then support Lipstadt’s original statement, that he was a liar. This was a difficult challenge and Rampton, who threw himself fully into the task. But one thing he insisted on was to ensure that the arguments were not emotional. Therefore, he insisted that neither Lipstadt nor any survivors take the stand to make an emotional case. He wanted the case decided on logic and true information so that this issue wouldn't ever again be questioned.

With this set-up , the film deftly brings this story to light. The English Court system, the pain of the holocaust, and a way to commit to the truth without the display of emotions.

Weiss was very good as Lipstadt. Her drive and dignity of the character were well delivered. Wilkinson was wonderful as the Advocate. His humanness and logical drive were strongly present through the entire process. Spall was amazing in this unlikeable role. The ability to take on a role like this despite your beliefs is challenging and he did it extremely well. Scott was good as the Barrister who wanted to right the wrong. David Hare created a wonderful and intense screenplay. The dialogue exchanges between Lipstadt and Rampton were wonderfully written. Mick Jackson did a wonderful job of directing this courtroom thriller. Some of the scenes at Auschwitz were amazingly and deftly shot.

Overall:  This was a strong film about a deeply emotional piece of history.

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.