It's Time Again for Films I've Watched Lately Some of Which I've Liked Greatly

A Complete Unknown

A Complete Unknown (2024) Mangold. Hollywood very much likes it biopics. Musicians are a frequent subject and so who better than one of the most important of all time, Bob Dylan? Naturally there’s a tremendous burden on the lead in any biopic, especially when playing such a familiar figure as Dylan. Fortunately Timothée Chalamet is more than up to the task. His performance is matched by Edward Norton as Pete Seeger and Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez. The film plays fast and loose with a few facts but they tend to be the kind of arcana that only true Dylan devotees would notice. A Complete Unknown traces Dylan from his early days in New York to his achieving super stardom then turning much of his audience against him by going electric (some people needed to get over themselves). It seems the biopic, for reasons I can’t put my finger on, have certain limitations, you’re never going to see one that is a great film but most are going to be pretty good. A Complete Unknown is very good. The cast sees to that as does director James Mangold who similarly did good work with another musical biopic, Walk the Line. It’s a film that never lags and broadens the viewer’s understanding and even appreciation of Dylan.

Holiday (1938) Cukor. One of my favorite films of all time. No idea how many times I’ve seen it but I could watch it again tonight. Of course the focus is typically on the two leads, Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn who shine. But the more I watch Holiday the more I’m impressed by Lew Ayres who is positively brilliant as the lush, Ned Seaton. Playing a drunk is never as easy as it seems but Ayres was pitch perfect. Ned is trapped. He wanted to be a musician but father has him working at the bank, and staying until six even though there’s nothing to do after three, “as an example to the other employees.” Ned bristles but hasn’t the gumption to defy his over-bearing father. He can only find solace in drink. When his older sister flees the family to be with her new love she invites Ned to come along. He wants to. But he…just…can’t. Maybe someday. Sis promises to come back for him. We hope she does and we hope he gets out and we hope he stops drinking. Ned brings a profundity to Holiday that lifts the film above most comedies of the era.  

The Skeleton Twins (2014) Johnson. I love Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. If I were to make a list of the ten greatest all-time cast members on SNL — hang on, if I made a list of the FIVE greatest all time cast members on SNL, they’d be on it. It’s only natural that they should excel in moving pictures as well as sketch comedy and this film proves it. You’d expect a lot of laughs with this pairing (Luke Wilson also features) and you do get a fair share but this more drama then comedy. You kind of get a clue at the beginning of the picture as both leads are contemplating or trying to commit suicide. Wiig and Hader play twins who’ve not seen each other in years but get together to rekindle their sibling love and to find comfort in an uncomfortable world. I think Skeleton Twins is vastly underrated. It’s unflinching in its look at family dynamics, depression and how sex used to soothe can often create terrible complications. 

Song of the Thin Man (1947) Buzzell. Nick and Nora Charles (and you too, Asta) should have quit while you were ahead. The original Thin Man film was a classic and the first four sequels were all perfectly fine, but the fifth was a stinker. Myrna Loy, who played Nora and should know, hated it. It’s not worth summarizing but it is well worth avoiding as you  should do if planning a Thin Man marathon. 

Ball of Fire (1941) Hawks. A warm and fuzzy screwball comedy with a menacing gangster. Any film written by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, directed by Howard Hawks and starring Barbara Stanwyck is a guaranteed winner (this is the only one). Stanwyck is the wonderfully named Sugarpuss O’Shea, a gangster’s girl and a nightclub singer/dancer. To avoid a subpoena she hides out with eight single man who have been living in a large house for nine years writing an encyclopedia. They’re all older gents except for Gary Cooper. In spite of themselves the mismatched pair — Sugarpuss and Cooper’s Bertram Potts — fall in love. Complications ensue as they do in films. It’s an absolute delight from beginning to end with a wonderful supporting cast including S.Z. Sakall, Henry Travers, Leonid Kinskey and Allen Jenkins. Dana Andrews is wonderful as the heavy.

Nickel Boys (2024) Ross. A great story from a novel by Colson Whiteside has here been overly stylized by a director drawing more attention to himself than the motion picture. Hand held shaky cams, characters constantly talking into the camera, intercuts of all variety including several of alligators (?) and one of horse in an office for reasons unknown, blurry images, forced perspectives. Shots from bizarre angles. It's an often vertiginous viewing experience. A good story should tell itself with the director supplementing normal story-telling with OCCASIONAL flourishes that emphasizes and underscore. I understand that RaMell Ross was trying to create an immersive experience, but he needs to tone it down a notch. I’m surprised that so many critics are abetting his self indulgence. He’s clearly a great talent but his style here tested my patience.

A Real Pain, A Real Good Movie

There are moments of discomfort in the new film A Real Pain from Jesse Eisenberg (he wrote, directed and co-stars). Awkward moments. Uncomfortable moments. Those why-couldn’t-he-just-keep-his-mouth-shut moments. And they are very much a part of the film’s charm and it’s successful dives into deeper meaning.

This is not just a road picture or a buddy picture or a mismatched pair picture, it is all of those and more. It is a movie that is so much more than we expect.

I’ve never been a fan of Eisenberg — until now. If he can make films like this he’ll have won a place in my cinematic heart. I have been a fan of Kieran Caulkin since his brilliant work on Succession and I’m a bigger fan today. His performance betrays the considerable depth of his talent.

Caulkin and Eisenberg play cousins from New York who join a tour group in Poland to see Jewish heritage sites. They are paying homage to their recently deceased grandmother who was a Holocaust survivor. Eisenberg’s David has a stable life with a steady job, wife and precocious child and he's OCD. Caulkin’s Benjy boasts none of the above, but he does enjoy getting stoned and shooting from the hip. You can tell cuz is waiting for Benjy to get his act together, Despite their difference the pair has been close practically since birth (they were born only days apart). So they have a history and as in all relationships, even especially close ones, it’s not all peaches and cream. This comes out in the course of the film as does Benjy’s especially close relationship with grandma and the fact that he hasn’t fully processed her passing. Indeed a lot of issues emerge through the course of the movie some of which involve their traveling companions and tour guide.

It’s an interesting mix of characters including Jennifer Grey as a woman recovering from being abandoned by a cheating husband. An older married couple lack depth, being barely more than cardboard cutouts but this is the lone complaint I can find about an otherwise excellent film. There is also a survivor of the Rwandan genocide who's converted to Judaism and a British tour guide who's an endless font of information, so much so that it annoys the unfiltered Benjy.

A picture like this benefits from occasional lightness and there is plenty of  humor to go along with pathos and piquant moments. One can’t help but like the cousins and root for them and as a bonus their story provides insight into pain -- both the kind we grow up with and that is in our DNA from past horrors. It is miraculous when we can uncover pain and move on a stronger person.

A final note: there’s a scene in which the group visits a a former concentration camp where the Nazis perpetrated some of their horrors. It is mostly silent, as was the theater when I watched it. Not even the sound of popcorn being chewed. Kudos to Eisenberg the director for setting just the right tone for the viewer.

Yay! Another Edition of Films I've Watched Lately Some of Which I Loved Greatly

Saturday Night

Saturday Night (Reitman). They got it right. What a challenge to make a  film whose cast of characters includes so many well-known people from entertainment (Lorne Michaels, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Billy Crystal to name a few). Looking like who you’re playing is nice but acting like them is crucial and the cast here comes through. Jason Reitman’s direction is exemplary. This story of the ninety minutes leading up to the first episode of Saturday Night Live moves briskly with nary a dull moment. It’s funny, interesting and entertaining. One of those rare films that’s better than you hoped. 

A Special Day (1977) Scola. A special movie. Marcello Mastroianni is transcendent, opposite Sophia Loren, as Gabriel, a gay man in 1938 Fascist Italy who’s about to be sent to an island reserved for “subversives.” The day in question is when Adolph Hitler visited Rome and the whole city turned out to fete him and Mussolini. Gabrielle is befriended by a neighbor (Sophia Loren)  a beleaguered housewife who keeps a scrapbook about her beloved fascists. The pair have moments that are awkward, funny, angry and touching. Their day together forms the story and it is compelling from start to finish. This was my third viewing of A Special Day and it get’s better each time.

JFK (1991) Stone. New to the Kennedy Assassination? Watching Oliver Stone’s terrific film is an excellent start. No, it’s not a documentary and shouldn’t be taken as pure fact. But it does pose questions aplenty about the who, how and most importantly the why of Kennedy’s murder. Stone’s direction, the editing and the cast are all first class. Kevin Costner plays Jim Garrison the New Orleands D.A. who led the only investigation into the Kennedy assassination that brought anyone to trial, Clay Shaw (played by Tommy Lee Jones in a brilliant performance) for complicity in the assassination. Garrison fails to make a case against Shaw but he convinces many that Kennedy was killed as a result of a conspiracy and not by a lone gunman. JFK not only raises questions but it’s also bravura cinema. 

Reality Bites (1994) Stiller. So does this film. For thirty blissful years I’d been spared watching this… I want to say, movie but is that what it was? By any name it was terrible. There had to have been the proverbial script problems from day one that were never resolved. What a waste of Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke and Ben Stiller (in his directorial debut and how he ever got another gig after this is beyond me). The characters were unlikable, the dialogue phony baloney and…..never mind. I’d prefer to forget it.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Spielberg. Always great fun and it raises the question: why can’t they make action/adventure films like this anymore? Story and character reign supreme, not CGI, not over the top action. Classic good vs. evil. Harrison Ford is excellent as Indiana and the cast of Nazi bad guys is perfect. The action is veritably non-stop but never excessive. Raiders inspired numerous sequels, the third of which was just as good, if not better, than the original, the rest we could have done without. Raiders of the Lost Ark never gets old.

Mr. And Mrs. Smith (1941) Hitchcock. Alfred Hitchcock’s one foray into screwball comedy was a smashing success. Of course, it’s hard to go wrong when your film co-stars Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery but the the picture benefits from the great director’s framing and camera movement. It has a silly premise about a marriage not being legal or maybe it is but it doesn’t matter. In any event the wife hooks up (production code style) with hubby’s best friend/law partner. Husband wants the missus back and goes to hilarious lengths to that end. It’s a sure cure for depression.

Mermaids (1990) Benjamin. The missus and I enjoyed this film three decades ago when it was new. Neither of us had seen it since. We had doubts that it would hold up lo these many years later. What a pleasant surprise. Cher, Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci (then nine years old) along with Bob Hoskins make an entertaining and endearing cast. Cher plays a single mother forever on the move but maybe she finds true love in a small New England town. Meanwhile Winona as the teen daughter is asserting herself and falling in love. The movie’s flaw is her love interest, a totally uninteresting actor who should have looked like Josh Hartnett but more resembled Josh Gad.

I See a New Film Then Have a Chat With My 18-Year-Old Self

Maisy Stella and Aubrey Plaza in My Old Ass

Last week I saw an unfortunately titled film called My Old Ass, a recent release directed by Megan Park. Despite its title I quite enjoyed it. Aubrey Plaza is the lone “name” attached to the picture and she has precious little screen time. But she makes the most of it and it is obvious that Ms. Plaza has developed into a star and more importantly an important actress; if she’s not at top of her profession she doesn’t have far to go. My Old’s lead is a young lady named Maisy Stella and we should get used to that name because based on this performance she’s going to be gracing the big screen for years to come. The role called for an absolute darling and one with a very free and inquisitive spirit. Ms. Stella delivered.

My Old Ass is about an eighteen-year-old getting set to leave the family farm for the big city. While tripping on magic mushrooms she is paid a visit by her thirty-nine-year old self (Plaza). Insights, conversations, wit and wisdom all ensue. One of the highest possible accolades you can bestow upon a movie is that it got you thinking. My mind was awhirl before the picture ended, thinking about my wife and what a great love we’ve had and I was nearly in tears. 

In addition to it’s other charms, My Old Ass features The lakes of Muskoka, Ontario, Canada as a gorgeous co-star.

Naturally the film got me thinking of what kind of conversation I would have with my eighteen-year-old self. I thought it might go something like this…..

Hey kid. I’m you in the future.

I got old.

Beats the alternative.

This is really weird.

I’ve got advice for you.

Cool.

You’re going to be making a lot of mistakes and I wanted to help steer you away from them.

What kind of mistakes?

An endless variety. First of all you’ve got to be nicer to people.

I’m nice.

Superficially. Let me put it to you this way, think of how your actions affect other people. Always. Be thoughtful and considerate at all times. The merest comment, the slightest action can impact another person. And don’t be so selfish. Keep that ego in check.

Okay.

Another thing,  I don’t know if it’ll do any good to say this -but you should be careful with drugs and alcohol. 

I love to drink.

No kidding. Look you’re an addict and alcoholic. Fortunately you’ll end up in AA and will spend most of your life clean. But be careful with the stuff in the meantime. Some bad shit happens when you’re high.

Do I get hurt or something?

Not seriously but you’ll do a lot of things that will make you feel bad and some of which you wont remember the next day. Try to think of hangover as your body telling you that what you did the day before was not good for you.

All right. But lemme ask you, do I get married? Do I fall madly in love with someone who falls in love with me?

Yes, you’ll be very happy in that respect. 

Cool. 

You’re going to be lucky in life but things could go a lot smoother if you take my advice.

What else?

Be careful with money. You tend to spend it right away. It’s part of this general live-for-today ethos you have. You’ve got to think about the future more. I mean it’s fine to live in the present but especially when you’re young you should be looking ahead too. What am I going to be doing in a year, in five years, in ten years? You’re kind of a hedonist. Here’s something related: take school seriously. You don’t get off to such a great start in college, pretty soon booze and girls become far more important. Learn to balance things.

Makes sense.

You’ve got a lot going for you. You’re talented in several areas. You’re likable. Girls find you cute. You’re funny as hell and always will be. You’re smarter than you realize. You’re a good athlete. You’re a good writer. You’ve got gifts. Don’t waste them by fucking around all the time. And about writing, work at it everyday. Working at things is key.

I like to have fun.

Who doesn’t? But like I said, you need balance.

What happens with Dad?

He’ll be fine and live a long mostly happy life. Be extra nice to him.

How about Mom?

That’s been rough on you and will continue to be, there’s just no getting around that. You’re going to spend a lot of time working through the damage.

Shit.

It’s the reality. I wish I could help you.

It doesn’t sound like I become famous.

I don’t know if you can change the course of your life but I’ll tell you this, to be famous you need a plan. Start with this: what am I going to be famous for? When you decide, work towards it. Here’s some advice that you give others later in life: the bad news about life is that in order to succeed you have to work hard, the good news about life is that in order to succeed all you have to do is work hard.

So it’s all about hard work.

Yup. Something you’re ill-suited for but you’ve got to do it.

I look in pretty decent shape for an old guy.

In middle age you start really taking care of yourself. Do yourself a favor and never stop working out or exercising or playing sports and get off the junk food early. When you get sober, stay away from sodas.

This is a lot to take in.

Yeah but the thing is, you’re up to it. Don’t sell yourself short. Sometimes you lack self-confidence. Back yourself to do better, to be better. You’ll be fine, kid.

I hope if I’m dreaming or something I remember all this.

Me too. Good luck.

Writers Block, Musings on Death, Two Films and Loved Ones Gone

His Three Daughters

My latest struggles with writing cause me to wonder if it’s all over. Is my mind starting to fade? Is this the beginning of the end? I used to be able to put a thousand words on paper with ease. I could conjure a piece of fiction upon request. I could sit down for hours and write only stopping occasionally to stretch. Is that gone? Forever?

Here I search for a topic. Many flit through my brain through the course of a normal day. But they don’t alight and I can’t grasp them. 

Grasp.

Why do people say, exempli gratia, I’m going to grab lunch instead of I’m going to grasp lunch? It makes as much sense.

(There has been — unnoticeable to the reader — a long pause sense the preceding sentence. The writer again is unable to find the next line, or any line, the next thought, or any thought.)

Finally…..

I am preoccupied with death, specifically my own. (This, by the way, is no way to go through life, better to enjoy each day, one day at a time and all that.) In any event the last four movies I've seen have dealt with death to one degree or another, in fact two of them were specifically about coping with the death(s) of others. These two films were All of Us Strangers (Haigh)and His Three Daughters (Jacobs). Strangers I saw initially in January during its theatrical run and again Saturday via Hulu. Daughters is a brand spanking new release now on Netflix. Strangers is a difficult film to capsulize but suffice it to say it is the story of a man dealing with the death of his parents which occurred many years before when he was twelve. There’s another critical element to the story but discussing that would be a major spoiler. Mourning periods can last a few days, months, years or a lifetime. People process the deaths of loved ones in myriad ways. All of Us Strangers explores one person’s delayed means of coping and gaining a sense of closure. It's an unusual film in the best possible sense and is highlighted by a great performance by the brilliant Andrew Scott.

His Three Daughters is about a father at home in hospice surrounded by his three grown daughters who are ostensibly there to aid in his transition from the living. While Dad is the raison d'etre for their presence there is much more to the story than that. The sisters are not terribly close, there are old wounds, resentments and misunderstandings — a dying parent adds another layer of stress. The film has been -- aptly -- called a chamber piece. Most of it is set in a New York apartment and most of the screen time is occupied by the three daughters wonderfully realized by Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen and Natasha Lyonne. None of them are acting, they are embodying characters in such a powerful way as to make a potentially depressing story enthralling.

When my mother died I was nonplussed. I’d had very little contact with her for the previous twenty-five years. She was a paranoid schizophrenic who’d made my childhood….not perfect. I shed no tears upon her passing.In the years that followed  I posthumously forgave her and grieved not her death but her life. God how I wish fate had been kinder to her and thus to me.

My father’s death was a different matter. It was slow and we had plenty of time to prepare. Sixteen years later I’m still processing it and dealing with feelings about him. I’ve written a lot about him and he will be the topic of a talk I’m giving at a Finnish Independence Day celebration in December. He is something of a hero to me though I recognize his flaws all too well. 

I’ve had to suffer the premature losses of most of my close friends, two of whom died within a few months of each other, both unexpectedly. It was not long after my only brother had died too.

I miss them all and it’s interesting to note how frequently they and my father appear in my dreams, always alive and well. It’s impossible to accept the permanence of the death of a loved one. It’s natural that we talk and hope of seeing them on the other side.

A former student of mine, who I see from time to time because he’s best friends with one of my nephews, suffered the death of his son last Christmas Day. The day before the boy was to turn six-years-old. That’s an unimaginable type of pain, probably the worst there is. Life is so cruel that the internal question why most constantly be asked, if never answered. 

But we the living owe it to ourselves to cherish everyday as best we can. That’s quite simple in principle but for someone such as myself who suffers from occasional bouts of horrid depression it’s not manageable. I guess one has to do the best they can.

Well I’ve at least given lie to the notion that my writing is dead. I’ve completed this later in the day after starting in the morning but it still constitutes a decent bit of writing, particularly given that I taught a class, graded papers and planned a lesson in the interim. I’ve also been wracked by depression. Completing this helps. Thanks to anyone who read this far.