I am somewhat of
a Marvel fan, as anyone who knows me can tell you. They can also tell you that
the only reason I am interested in the Marvel movies is because of Robert
Downey Jr., who plays Ironman.
In a recent
interview on the Graham Norton show, Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Paul Rudd
(Ant-Man) were on the panel, promoting the latest marvel film, “Avengers: End
Game.”
Graham Norton
asked Paul Rudd about Ant-Man’s absence from the previous Avenger film,
“Infinity War.” Rudd then
explained that his previous film, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” has a scene which
takes place at the same time as “Infinity War.”
With that, I
decided to watch the film, to know what he was referring to. I found that
scene. It was in the final part of the film, after the credits. Figures.
I wasn’t
interested in the story per-se as I was interested as to what I could glean
from the movie, being a movie in a long string of Avenger films. The end
result, not much.
Rounding out the
cast are Michael Douglas as “Dr. Pym”, Michelle Pfeiffer as “Janet Van Dyne”,
Hannah John-Kamen as “Ghost”, and Evangeline Lilly as “Hope Van Dyne”, whose
superhero alter-ego is “Wasp.”As a woman named
Hope, I love that there is finally a superhero with my name.
I also like Paul Rudd
in the film as Ant-Man, known to friends and family as “Scott Lang.” Rudd is
perfect for the Marvel movies; humor is always present in Marvel films, and this plays to Rudd’s strengths.
“Ant-Man and the
Wasp”, now streaming on Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Vudu, Blu
Ray and DVD. 3 stars.
“Welcome to
Marwen” stars Steve Carell, Janelle Monae, Leslie Mann and Leslie Zemeckis.
In the film,
Steve Carell plays Mark Hogancamp, a gentleman who currently suffers from
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.)
In a way to work
through his PTSD, Mark builds a make believe world known as Marwen. He uses
“Glamazon” action figures to act out different stories of his making; he then
takes photographs of the dolls in the scenario. There is an action figure that
represents Mark, a doll named “Hoagie.”
In the world of
Marwen, it is World War II, and it is Hoagie against a band of 5 Nazi
officers. (“Hoagie” is Mark’s alter-ego.) There are also 5 women protectors of
Marwen, who help keep Hoagie, and therefore Mark, safe. Every action figure
that is a women is based on a different woman in Mark’s life.
That is the beauty
of this film, that half of the film, if not more, is in the world of Marwen,
where everyone is a doll. This movie is definitively a game changer in its innovation. The following video gives a behind the scene look into how
this was done:
This movie is
based on a true story, of the real Mark Hogancamp. To learn more of Mark’s
story, please visit the link below:
“Welcome to
Marwen” is a dark movie. Mark Hogancamp is a hate crime survivor. He was brutally
attacked by five men in a bar for being queer. The film focuses around his
PTSD, and his addiction to prescription medication. The movie is intense and
uncomfortable, and is difficult to watch.
That being said,
the movie is also about the resilience of the human spirit, and how Mark
Hogancamp persevered and began to create art at the darkest time
in his life.
“Welcome to Marwen”,
on Blu Ray, DVD, Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube, Vudu. 2 stars.
Alone in Berlin”
stars Emma Thompson and Brendan Gleeson as Anna and Otto Quangel.
During World War
II, the Quangel’s son was killed while serving in the war. One day, Anna is
seated at the kitchen table, reading the paper. She comments on the paper being
a propaganda tool, full of lies, full of what today we would call “fake news.”
Anna comments that someone should tell the truth about the Nazi party, so the
country could know the truth.
With that, Otto
begins a writing campaign. He uses small notecards and postcards to refute the
propaganda in the papers. He leaves the notecards in public, in well trafficked
areas. Their hope is that people find them and learn of the atrocities that are
taking place.
Many times, when
members of the public found the cards, they would turn them in to the SS. At
this point in the movie, an officer who is introduced into the story who investigates
the cards, to try and find who is writing them. Throughout the film, the
Quangels write over 200 cards; the SS officer had the majority of cards.
The movie is
based on a novel, “Every Man Dies Alone” by Hans Fallada. The novel is based on
the true life story of Otto and Elise Hampel, who wrote the postcards to resist
the Nazi regime.
While the story
is not entertaining, it is a wonderful story of doing what is right in times of
conflict and division. In days of “fake news”, the truth will always win.
To read more
about Otto and Elise Hampel, please visit the following link:
Naomi and Ely
are next door neighbors who have been friends since childhood. Naomi has a
mommy and a daddy; Ely has two mommies.
As they grew up,
things have become complicated for Naomi and Ely. Naomi’s dad had an affair
with one of Ely’s moms. The two women have stayed together to work on their
marriage.
However, in Naomi’s house, her dad has left, and now it’s just her
and her mom, who is in a dysfunctional state upon the loss of her marriage.
Things continue
to get complicated for Naomi and Ely as they begin to date. Ely is gay, and
Naomi has a crush on him. Naomi dates a young man, Bruce, who has a wandering
eye. He then begins having a relationship with Ely. Not only can Naomi not date
Ely, she can no longer date Bruce.
This movie is a
cluster and not even worth the bother. Now streaming on Netflix, one star.
Mary Queen of
Scots stars Saoirse Ronan as Mary Queen of Scots and Margot Robbie as Queen
Elizabeth. Also in the film is David Tennant as John Knox.
In the beginning
of the film, Mary has been recently widowed. Her cousin Elizabeth suggests
suitors to her, yet she is not swayed. She returns home to Scotland to rule her
queendom.
Throughout the
film, there is a chess match at play between the two queens, Mary and
Elizabeth. There is also a struggle for political power involved. Elizabeth is
a Protestant queen, and Mary is a Catholic queen. Mary faces strong opposition
in Scotland from John Knox, who is protestant. He feels that she will only have an allegiance to the Pope, and not to the needs of her country.
Mary remarries
and gives birth to an heir to the throne. In a moment of insurrection her
husband is murdered, and her brother assumes the throne of Scotland. Mary then
meets with Elizabeth, in an attempt to ascend to the throne again. Elizabeth
and Mary fight, and she is thrown into prison.
While the movie
makes a wonderful period piece, it is not entertaining. Still, the women in the
movie, and their performances, make the film a solid three stars.
“Mary Queen of Scots”, now on Blu Ray, DVD, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Google Play,
and Vudu.
“Boy Erased”
stars Nicole Kidman as Nancy Eamons, Russell Crowe as Marshall Eamons, and Lucas
Hedges as Jared Eamons.
Based on a true
story, the film follows the Eamons family, a conservative, straight laced, God
fearing family. Marshall Eamons is a minister, and a conservative one at that.
The story
focuses on Jared. One day, the Eamon family receives a phone call, one that
describes their son Jared as a homosexual. They ask their son if it is true,
and Jared says yes. His parents then sent him to gay conversion therapy, in a facility akin to a rehab facility.
This is not an
easy film to watch. There is a rape scene in the film. The techniques
employed at the gay conversion facility are torturous, both psychologically and
physically.
Watching this
film, I had a knot in the pit of my stomach the entire time. It made me feel
like the horror film “Get Out.” It was uncomfortable to watch, and it means to
be. There is no music in the film to set a mood, or suggest a mood; the silence
in the film makes the tension, and anguish, palpable.
The scariest part of the film is that gay conversion therapy is actually happening right now, across the country. At the end of the film,
there is a statistic that 39 states in the U.S. currently allow gay conversion
therapy for minors. The film also stated that to date, 700,000 Americans have
gone through gay conversion therapy.
While this was a difficult movie to watch, it is an important film.However someone
identifies, it is impossible to pray it away. This film speaks to the need to
ban gay conversion therapy once and for all.
“Boy Erased”,
now on Blu Ray and DVD, available for streaming on Amazon Prime, Google Play,
YouTube, and Vudu. Three stars.
"Finding Your
Feet" is a British film which stars:
-Imelda Staunton
as “Sandra”-best known as Dolores Umbrage in the Harry Potter films, and as
Mama Rose in the West End production of the musical “Gypsy”
-Celia Imrie as “Bif”-she
has been in several films including “Calendar Girls” and “The Best Exotic
marigold Hotel”
-Timothy Spall
as “Charlie”-best known as Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter series, as well
as “Denial” and “Enchanted”
Also in the film
are David Heyman, best known for “The Paradise”, and Joanna Lumley from “Absolutely
Fabulous.”
At the beginning
of the film, we see Sandra at her husband’s retirement party. Sandra quickly
finds her husband in a passionate embrace with her best friend. She then learns
her husband has been having an affair for the last five years. Inconsolable,
she leaves her husband and goes to her sister Bif’s flat.
Bif’s flat is
small for her alone, and is entirely too small for the two of them, but Bif
takes her sister in to live. As a way to get her out of her funk, Bif includes
Sandra in her favorite activities. Through spending time with one another, the two sisters come to know one another in a way they never had before.
There is one activity that Bif does without fail-takes a dance classes every Thursday night.That is where
the magic begins in this film, in the dance. Everyone in the class is an
OAP-“old aged person” and goes to dance class for fun and socialization. Sandra
joins Bif’s dance class. There she meets Charlie, and her life changes forever.
I took note of
all the characters in the film; each one of them is a broken person, in some
way. Sandra just left her cheating husband. Charlie is married to a woman who
as end stage Alzheimer’s disease. Bif is dealing with a crisis that no one
knows, including her sister.
The film is
about love, loss, starting over, being true to yourself, and to remember to dance like no one
is watching.
“Finding Your
Feet”, now on Blu Ray and DVD, available for streaming on Hulu, Amazon Prime,
Vudu, YouTube, Google Play. Three stars.
"The Favourite" is
a British film starring Emma Stone, Rachel Weiss, and Olivia Coleman.
In this film,
Olivia Colman plays Queen Anne in a time where she is in ill health. She has
lost seventeen children, and is currently suffering with gout. Her mood changes
at the drop of a hat, and she changes her mind the second after making a
decision.
Rachel Weisz
plays Lady Marlborough, a Lady in the court of Queen Anne. The two women talk to
each other with love, wit and honesty, as if they were best friends or sisters,
rather than monarch and subject.
Emma Stone plays
Abigail, a cousin of Lady Marlborough, who was once a Lady but had a fall from
grace when her father died. She is given a placement as a scullery maid, and
quickly works her way up in station.
Queen Anne is
the center of the universe in this story, with Lady Marlborough and Abigail continually
usurp one another to establish their station in the court of the queen. To me,
Lady Marlborough and Abigail are courtesans to Queen Anne, as both of
the women had a sexual relationship with the Queen.
While the movie was billed and promoted as a comedy, it is anything but. It is
quite disorienting to watch, and it is intentional. For example, directors
usually fill interior shots with light, even in night scenes. However, this
film is shot as the castle would have been in the days of Queen Anne, without
internal lights, only candlelight, dimly lit hallways. It only gives the
audience the perspective of the person holding the candle, not what remains in
the darkness.
Another
technique of disorientation in the film is the use of the lens on the camera.
Several scenes in the film are shot with a fish eye lens, which has only the
center of the shot in focus, and distorts everything in the periphery.
Audibly, this
film equally disorienting. It has an interesting soundtrack. If I can call it a
“soundtrack.” Music is an integral part of a movie, to convey a mood or emotion
in a scene. In this film, the music is dissonant, unpleasant to the ear. For
example, in one five minute scene, the entire orchestration of the scene is a
violin playing one note. The note is played, then the played an octave lower, then
again the original octave, then the lower octave, over and over again. To the
ear of a musician, it sounds like a player tuning their instrument for an
entire five minutes. It is annoying and grating, and unsettling. This is but
one example of dissonance in the film.
The story of the
film shows the women as conniving, scheming creatures who are only out to
satisfy themselves. However, at the end of the film, they each find themselves
in a circumstance of their own making, which has not served them in the least. The
moral of the story for these women: be careful what you wish for.
Normally when I
watch a film, I watch it for 30 minutes; if the film hasn’t improved in this
time, most often, it’s not going to. Despite my normal 30 minute rule, I kept
watching this film. I should have turned it off at the 30 minute mark.
Despite my
dislike for this film, I love the women in it. I loved Olivia Colman
in “Broadchurch” from the BBC. I love Rachel Weisz in “Denial”, and as
Evelyn the bad ass librarian in the first two Mummy movies. I loved Emma Stone in “The
Help”, and “Magic in the Moonlight.” The performances of the cast of women in this
film are the only reason I can rate this film so highly.
Olivia Colman won the
Oscar for her role as Queen Anne in this film. Glenn Close was also nominated
for Best Actress for the movie “The Wife.” Now that I have seen both films and performances, if I were a member of the Academy, I would have given the Oscar
to Glenn Close. “The Wife” is a better film than “The Favourite”, and I feel Close’s performance is better than Coleman’s.
“The Favourite”,
now on Blu Ray, DVD, YouTube, Vudu, Google Play. Two stars.
Now streaming on
Hulu, “Monsters and Men” features three men of color whose lives revolve around
the same incident-the murder of an unarmed black man at the hands of police.
The
three main characters are:
-Dennis-played
by John David Washington-a police officer who has experienced racial profiling
-Manny-played by
Anthony Ramos-witnesses an unarmed man being harassed by police officers
-Zyrick-Kelvin
Harrison Jr.-a young adult who is on track to win a baseball scholarship to
college
In the film,
Manny sees a man being questioned by police, and takes out his cellphone to
record the incident. The incident escalates, and Manny ends up recording the
man’s murder. Ever since witnessing the murder, Manny’s been followed by an
unknown black car, and has been intimidated by police. One night, returning
home from work, Manny comes home to find his home has been broken into. Once
that happens, he posts the video of the murder he witnessed online.
Dennis is a black
police officer who has been pulled over 6 times himself. Upon the death of the
unarmed black man, he is then subject to scrutiny from police and civilians
alike. At a dinner party, a friend confronts him about the incident. His answer
to his friend toes the party line. But at work, can he remain neutral among his
fellow officers?
Zyrick is a
teenager who is stopped by police on his way home from baseball practice one
night. The incident angers him, and inspires him to action. He watches the
video that Manny recorded on his cell phone. He is outraged, and feels
compelled to act. He leaves home one night to attend a protest march in the
murdered man’s honor.
This film was
written with stories plucked from the headlines. In the film, the murder Manny
witnesses is like that of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who police said was
allegedly selling loose cigarettes outside of a store.
The protest from
the city after the murder is like those witnessed in New York after Garner’s
murder, and like those in Ferguson, Missouri.
After the
murder, two police officers were ambushed in their patrol car and murdered, as
has happened in real life.
Thought
provoking, eye opening, challenging.
"Monsters and Men", Now on Hulu, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Google
Play, Vudu. Three stars.
This is a new
movie on Netflix starring Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson.
In the beginning
of the film, Kit, played by Larson, is creating an art piece in a museum for an
art show. The judges of the art show give her a less than desirable score, and
she resigns herself to give up her art forever.
At that point,
Kit quits college and returns to her parents’ house. While she was away at
school, her parents, played by Joan Cusack and Bradley Whitford, have turned
Kit’s bedroom into a home gym.
In a moment of
depression, Kit spends the entire day on the couch. While viewing hours of
television, she sees a commercial for a temp agency that is looking for
workers. Kit’s parents run a camp for children, which is all about therapy,
sharing emotions, camping, clean living, clean eating, all of which Kit has no
interest in.
Kit interviews
at the temp agency and gets placed in a company as the copier girl, running
countless copies of things for employees of the company. She quickly gets the
attention of the vice-president of the company, who wastes no time in sexually
harassing her.
While working at
the unnamed company, Kit receives an invitation to go to “The Store.” Their tag
line: “We sell what you need.” After receiving several invitations to “The
Store”, she decides to go see what it’s all about.
Once at the
store she meets Samuel L. Jackson, who plays “The Salesman.” He is selling what
she needs: her very own unicorn.
As a child, Kit
was into rainbows and unicorns; in fact, she had a unicorn as an imaginary
friend. Now, with the help of The Salesman, owning a unicorn might become
a reality for her.
Throughout the
film, The Salesman has Kit perform several tasks, in an effort to show she is
worthy of receiving a unicorn to care for. But is she ready? How can The
Salesman make it happen?
The film is
bizarre in every sense of the word. Listening to The Salesman talk to Kit, it
appeared as if it was a Faustian farce, that The Salesman was really in fact
the devil, and that he would give her everything her heart desires, ie a
unicorn, if she signed his contract.
But, I was wrong.
The movie wasn’t like that at all. In fact, it should have been. It would have
made more sense if it had been. After all, The Salesman can’t get Kit a
unicorn. They don’t exist. Or, can he?
As someone who
loves unicorns, and considers the unicorn as her spirit animal, the movie was
incredibly disappointing. My opinion: don’t waste your time.
This documentary
was made by film maker David Thorpe.
In the beginning of the film, Thorpe recalls a time where he was traveling by train, after dark, to an LGBTQ
enclave on Long Island; in the darkness of the train car, Thorpe began to
notice the qualities of the voices speaking. The majority of the people on the
train were gay men, as is Thorpe. He was horrified at what he was hearing, and compared the voices he heard that night to braying donkeys. It was at that point that he
began to think about the way gay men speak, and how he himself speaks as a gay man.
Throughout the
film, Thorpe visited speech pathologists and vocal coaches to work on his
voice, working on cadence, pitch, and intonation. He worked for weeks upon end on his voice. At the end of the film, there
was a marked difference in his voice.
At one point in
the film, Thorpe interviews friends who knew him as a child and adolescent. They don’t
remember him sounding gay as a child. However, in college, hid friends thought
he did sound gay; this change coincided with his coming out of the closet.
The film
explores several theories and stereotypes regarding gay men, and why they speak
the way they do. It also looks at gay male couples, and how their voices
differ.
Another
fascinating topic in the film was the internalized homophobia among gay men.
For example, many gay men prefer to have a partner with a “manly” voice, rather
than an “effeminate” voice. They’re not interested in women, they don’t want to
be with women, ergo they don’t want to be with a man who “sounds gay.”
The film also
explores the opposite of the stereotypes, featuring a straight man who “sounds
gay” and a gay man who “sounds straight.” Many theories are formed as to why
this happens to gay men. One such theory is that the straight gentleman, who
had been raised by women, developed a “female” speech pattern and intonation;
conversely, the gay gentleman, who was raised in a home comprised entirely of
men, developed a “male” speech pattern and intonation.
This was a
fascinating film, full of interesting theories and topics to ponder, including stereotypes,
biases, masculinity, and homophobia. It also poses the question: is it even possible to "sound gay?"
“Do I Sound Gay”,
now streaming on Hulu, YouTube, Amazon Prime, and iTunes. 4 stars.
This movie takes
place in World War II, in Nazi occupied Holland. The movie tells the true story
of Walraven Van Hall, who worked in the Dutch Resistance.
Throughout the
movie, Van Hall uses an alias to keep his true identity known from the Nazi
party. He works as a high ranking banker, and knows how to get funds to the
Resistance. He creates a shadow bank with his brother Gjis Van Hall. The Hall
brothers are heroes in the story of World War II.
This film felt
like another World War II film, “Valkyrie.” There was a great deal of espionage in the
film, so many cloak and dagger moments. So much was riding on the success of
Van Hall.
The director was
an expert in shooting this film. Audience members are filled with tension in
these scenes, thinking: “what if this
doesn’t work? What if they get caught?”
As I promised to not share any spoilers on this film blog, I cannot divulge any more about Van Hall or his efforts in the Resistance. Still, Van Hall was a true hero, and his story needs to be known. There are moments of violence in the film, as is common in any movie set in World War II.
To find out more
about Walraven Van Hall, and his efforts to fight the Nazis through the Dutch
Resistance, please visit the following websites:
The Wife stars Glenn
Close as Joan Castleman, and Jonathan Pryce as Professor Joseph Castleman.
In the second
scene in the film, Professor Castleman gets a call that he has won the Nobel
Prize for Literature. The film then shows Joan and Joseph as they prepare to
fly to Stockholm and begin their whirlwind tour.
On the flight to
Stockholm, the Castlemans have a discussion with a reporter named Nathaniel
Bone, played by Christian Slater, who is writing a tell-all expose on Professor
Castleman. He will play an integral role in the film in a later scene.
Once in
Stockholm, Joan and Joseph begin to circulate among the other Nobel laureates
and their wives. In a private moment alone, Joan asks Joseph to not thank her
in his acceptance speech. He takes umbrage at the thought, and says he has to
thank her in his speech; he feels that, if he doesn’t thank her in his speech,
the audience present will think him a narcissist. To which she emphatically
replied, “You are!”
The film is told
in frequent flashbacks, starting at the time of their lives when they met. At
that time, Joan was a student in Joseph’s class. He was married at the time,
with children.
The comment about
Joe being a narcissist is the audience’s first clue to the inner thoughts of
Joan Castleman. It soon becomes clear just what Joan has been
thinking and feeling. The audience then gets an idea of what she has lived through, survived, and
endured all of these years.
The film is not entertaining, I will confess. Yet Glenn Close’s performance as Joan is
riveting. Her performance in this film is multi-faceted and complex, a true master
class in acting. She won the Golden Globe for this role, yet did not win the
Oscar-that honor instead went to Olivia Coleman, in “The Favorite.” I will be
watching that movie and reviewing it shortly. I will then have a more informed
opinion on this matter. Still, I give Close's performance 5 stars.
“The Wife”, now
on Blu Ray and DVD, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play. 3 stars.
This documentary four living legends of
British stage and screen:
-Lady Dame Joan Plowright
She has acted in countless movies,
including “Tea With Mussolini”, “Enchanted April”, and most recently, in “The
Spiderwick Chronicles” as Aunt Lucinda. She was the third wife of Sir Laurence
Olivier.
-Dame Maggie Smith
A veteran actress, she is best known for
playing the Mother Superior in “Sister Act”, Wendy in “Hook”, Professor Minerva
McGonagall in the Harry Potter series, and as the wealthy dowager on Downton
Abbey.
-Dame Judi Dench
A veteran of stage and screen, she is
best known for playing Queen Victoria in “Her Majesty Mrs. Brown” as “M” in the
James Bond films, and in recent years “The Best Exotic Marigold Motel”,
“Victoria and Abdul”, and “Murder on the Orient Express.”
-Dame Eileen Atkins
A veteran actress and screenwriter, she
has appeared on “Upstairs Downstairs”, “Cranford”, “Gosford Park”, “Doc
Martin”, and most recently on “The Crown” as Queen Mary.
Watching the film, it’s as if the audience
is a fly on the wall, watching friends having a conversation with one another.
These four women have years of experience on stage, television, and film.
Beyond that, they are friends, and interact with one another as such.
As each woman refers to a project she was
in, be it a TV show, play, or movie, the documentary then shows footage from
that project. It was wonderful to see early works of each of the women, clips
that audiences may not have seen before. Also, many of the dramatic works were
for British companies and projects; it is my guess that much of this footage
has not been seen by American audiences.
Listening to the ladies as they sit and
have a chat, a spot of tea, a flute of champagne, their experiences as artists
and as women have been phenomenal. Many have worked together, and have shared
experiences together. For example, Lady Dame Joan and Dame Maggie talk about their
experiences working with “Larry”, who is known to the rest of the world as
Laurence Olivier.
It’s interesting to see the Dames
interact with one another; they are all octogenarians, have issues of hearing
loss, vision loss, and memory loss. That being said, all of them can recite a soliloquy
they learned for a role, untold countless years ago.
There is a wealth of knowledge in these
four women. They are a living part of the history of British theater.
I recommend this film to everyone, especially those who love theater and cinema. These women are from a golden age of theater in Britain. We will not bear
witness to anything near their greatness again.
“Tea With the Dames”, now available on
Blu Ray, DVD, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Vudu, and Hulu. 5 stars.
Set in the early
1970s, “If Beale Street Could Talk” is based on a novel by James Baldwin of the
same name.
The main
characters in the film are Tish and Fonny. When the movie opens, it’s a bright
sunny day; we find Tish and Fonny walking together, ready for the future that
lies before them.
Kiki Layne plays
Tish; this is her first film. Fonny is played by Stephan James, who played
Jesse Owens in the movie “Race.” Rounding out the cast is Regina King, Who
plays Tish’s mother, Sharon Rivers.
In the second or
third scene in the movie, we learn that Tish is pregnant with Fonny’s child.
Tish tells her mother Sharon, and then her sister and father. Upon hearing the
news of the baby, the family decide to have Fonny’s family over to share the
good news. However it goes downhill from the start, ending in a fight.
We shortly learn
that Fonny is being held in jail. Tish visits him in jail, and informs him he’s
going to be a dad. He tells her that he wishes he could be there for the birth
of the child. She tells him that she knows he’ll be out of jail before then.
Sadly, he isn’t.
The film is told
bouncing backwards and forwards in time. Tish and Fonny have known each other
since they were small children. We see them at ages 2 or 3, then 5 or 6, then
10 or 12, then as adults. They’ve known each other their whole lives, and it
finally blossomed into love. Then Fonny got arrested.
Fonny is being
held on a charge of the rape of a young woman, which happened several miles
from his home. It was physically impossible for him to be at the crime scene
when he was in fact, home with his wife and a visiting friend, who could all
corroborate his whereabouts. Yet it has fallen on deaf ears, and he sits in
jail awaiting trial.
Sadly, one of
the themes in the movie is one we are all too familiar with-innocent people of
color being incarcerated by law enforcement without having committed a criminal
act. It was written in the 1970s, yet we are still dealing with this problem in
this country. It is so timely a piece that it felt as if Baldwin had written it
last week.
In Baldwin’s
works, it seemed to me that he always had an autobiographical character in the
work. As I watched, I searched for a character like Baldwin. I know Baldwin was
gay, so I searched the characters in the film for a queer character. About
halfway through the movie, I realized that the autobiographical character in
this work is the lead male character, Fonny.
In one scene in
the film, Fonny talked about the system being rigged in the US, and that it is
rigged in white people’s favor. In this scene, Fonny talks about getting some
money together and leaving the United States. That is exactly what Baldwin did
for a time. He felt imprisoned in the US, and felt a unique sense of freedom in
Europe.
“If Beale Street
Could Talk” is not about Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee; instead it is a
metaphor for the black experience in America.
Throughout the
movie, the visual aspect of the movie was fascinating to me. In the darker
subject matter of the movie, the scenes were shot with low levels of light.
When things were bright and happy and hopeful for the characters, the shots
were rooms full of light, or shot outside on bright sunshine filled days. I
don’t know that I have ever seen such a visual representation of emotion or
depth of material in film that ran for the entire length of the film.
The film
appeared to be shown in chapters, with Tish narrating between chapters. In
these moments, the film showed documentary footage, news reel footage, from the
country at that time. It helps to illustrate Baldwin’s points, as well as
submerging the audience in that time, in those conditions.
As an audience member,
it was disconcerting to bounce backwards and forwards in time.
However, the entire movie is disconcerting. The audience is not meant to feel
comfortable.
In the end,
there is a happily after for Tish and Fonny, just not in the way they had
pictured their future. Tish and Fonny’s future is many people’s present in this
country. We still have people being locked up in jails without their ever
having committed a crime.
“If Beale Street
Could Talk” is not about Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee; instead it is a
metaphor for the black experience in America.
Now available on
Blu Ray, DVD, Hulu, YouTube, Vudu, Google Play. 3 stars.
Based on a true story, Green Book stars Mahershala
Ali, who plays Dr. Don Shirley, a classical pianist who holds numerous degrees
in music and dramaturgy. Also starring in the movie is Viggo Mortenson, playing
Frank Villelonga, also known as “Tony the Lip”, who worked at the Copacabana
nightclub as a bouncer.
The movie takes place in the early 1960s.
It begins at the Copa nightclub, which closes for renovations, leaving Frank
Villelonga without a job. He gets a call for an interview to be a driver for
Dr. Shirely.
When Villelonga goes to the interview, he
is led into a room that resembles a museum, with art pieces throughout the
room. Opposite him is a raised platform, about 6 inches higher than the rest of
the room, which has a throne on it. When Dr. Shirley enters the room, he’s
dressed in a flowing ceremonial robe. He steps up onto the raised platform and
sits in the throne. The camera shows the two men opposite each other, with Dr.
Shirley sitting markedly higher than Mr. Villelonga.
In in the interview, Don Shirley explains
that he has is a musician that has his own trio of musicians-“The Don Shirley
Trio”, and that the trio is about to embark on an eight week tour throughout
the Deep South. As Dr. Shirley is a black man, his safety will be at risk while
traveling on this tour. Frank has his interview, and gets the job.
At the start of the movie, Frank
Villelonga and Don Shirley are as polar opposite as two people can get. Don is
divorced, Frank is happily married with children. Don is cultured, and Frank is
anything but. Don listens to classical music and jazz, while Frank listens to
the radio. Throughout the tour, Frank learns about jazz through watching Don
perform every night. Don coaches Frank on how to write letters to his wife.
Frank teaches Don about Little Richard, Chubby Checker, and other popular
musicians of the day. At the beginning of the film, the two men are friendly to
one another, but not openly warm or friendly to one another. By the end of the
film, the two men have evolved into friends.
The name of the film comes from the Green
Book, a travel guide for black Americans in the Jim Crow years. Akin to a AAA roadside
guide, it lists hotels, restaurants, roadside attractions where they will be
safe. I personally learned about the green book while at the National Museum of
African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. There was an exhibit
about the Green Book, in an interactive table display:
“Green Book” won the Oscar for Best
Motion Picture this year. The other films nominated for Best Picture include:
-A Star is Born
-Black Klansman
-Black Panther
-Bohemian Rhapsody
-The Favorite
-Vice
-Roma
I have seen not yet seen “Vice”, “a Star
is Born” and “The Favorite.” Having seen the other 5 films, I feel I can now
give an opinion on the matter.
While I liked “Green Book”, I do not know
why it won Best Picture. If I were in the Academy,
I would have voted for
“Black Klansman” to win in this category. Hands down, it was the best movie of
2018. “Black Panther” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” were better films than “Green
Book.”
Many criticized “Green Book” when it won
Best Picture, for a question of accuracy as well as its artistic
interpretation. This article discusses the myriad of controversies contained in
this film:
Mahershala Ali won the Oscar for “Green
Book” in the Best Supporting Actor category. To me, that was an unfortunate
placement. As I watched the film, I saw the main character of the movie as Dr.
Shirley, not his driver Frank Villelonga. As the screenplay was written by
Villelonga’s son, the story is only told from Villelonga’s point of view. I sat
watching “Green Book” and wished that someone would remake this film, told from
Dr.Shirley’s point of view.
“Green Book”, now on Blu Ray, DVD,
YouTube, Vudu, Google Play, Amazon Prime. 3 stars.
