MARKED MOVIES

Director: John Cameron Mitchell.
Screenplay: David Lindsay-Abaire.
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest, Miles Teller, Tammy Blanchard, Sandra Oh, Giancarlo Esposito, Jon Tenney, Stephen Mailer, Mike Doyle.

Films with bleak subject matters tend not to be easy viewing but when they are infused with sterling actors, working from a Pulitzer prize winning play, it’s hard not to find something to enjoy.

Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) lost their son eight months ago, when he was accidentally run over by a teenage driver (Miles Teller). They are struggling to cope and maintain their marriage, while their differing approaches to the tragedy threaten to tear them apart.

As we pick up the story of these two heartbroken parents in the aftermath of the accident, the cracks are already apparent. Grief is primarliy the focus here and it’s explored to a lenghty extent with each parent dealing with things in their own and very different way. It’s a tough subject matter that’s dealt with respectfully and gently, infused with a surprising amount of humour and skillfully manages to avoid cliche. There is nothing showy or extravagant. It’s just relies on the strength of it’s writing and solid acting, of which it has in abundance; both raw and emotive, Kidman and Eckhart deliver strong progressive characterisations and they are supported by the ever-reliable Dianne Wiest and one for the watching, newcomer Miles Teller. Kidman was the one that recieved a best actress Oscar nomination (and deservedly so) but it’s a film that no performance can be singled out. They are all equally brilliant. Despite the fanatastic cast though, the morbidity does become a bit of a slog. You soon realise that the grief will always be with them, there is no happy ending here, no sense of relief or satisfaction, only coping mechanisms, leaving you feeling as exhausted as the characters.

The tensions between Kidman and Eckhart are brilliantly observed and as a character piece it’s outstanding, just don’t expect to come out of it with a smile on your face.

Mark Walker

Director: Noah Baumbach.
Screenplay: Noah Baumbach.
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black, John Turturro, Zane Pais, Ciaran Hinds, Flora Cross.

Nicole Kidman has fleshed out some excellent roles throughout her career in some great films, namely; “To Die For” “Dogville” and most recently “Rabbit Hole” but this is also one for her vintage collection of characters.

She plays moderately successful novelist Margot Zeller who has taken her son Claude (Zane Pais) to sister Pauline’s (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who’s about to marry drifting artist Malcolm (Jack Black). While relations appear cordial, it becomes clear, as the wedding looms, that Margot’s prime talent is for upsetting people.

This quirky heartfelt drama will certainly not appeal to everyone but if you appreciate sharp writing and realistic well drawn characters, then look no further. This is a film that has quality from all angles just coursing through it. Writer/Director Noah Baumbach’s attention to detail and ear for dialogue is just so sharp and natural and it’s perfectly delivered by an exceptionally good cast. I normally avoid the highly irritating Jack Black but have to admit he was excellently used. His comic ability has never been used as effectively as it is here but it’s the serious side to his character that is most appealing, of which he also delivers. Zane Pais is brilliant for such a young actor and I’m very surprised we haven’t seen more from him recently, but the acting plaudits must go to Kidman for her fabulous depiction of a bitter and thoughtless neurotic who causes harm to everyone around her. It stands as probably my favourite performance from her so far. She is simply superb as the beating heart behind a very disfunctional family.

Baumbach reminds me of a more serious Wes Anderson in his subtle yet very detailed writing and after seeing this and the class of “The Squid and The Whale”, I think I’ve found another director to keep a very close eye on. A real treat.

Mark Walker

Director: Aaron Schneider.
Screenplay: Chris Provenzano, C. Gaby Mitchell.
Starring: Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, Lucas Black, Bill Cobbs, Scott Cooper, Gerald McRaney, Lori Beth Edgeman.

Duelling banjos and grown men squealing like pigs while being sodomised by… sorry, wrong film. This film is very far from John Boorman’s brutal and violent classic “Deliverance” and shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same light really, Backwoods southern characters is all they have in common and this is an altogether gentler depiction.

Felix ‘Bush’ Breazeale (Robert Duvall) is a hermit who has kept to himself for 40 years, causing much interest from the local townsfolk. Now in his twilight years, he decides to hold his funeral while he’s still alive so he can enjoy the experience and tell the locals a few things about his life and his shrouded past. When a massive crowd turns out on the day, he finds that he’s become a celebrity as a result.

It’s no surprise that first time director Aaron Schneider was once a cinematographer. He captures the wonderful southern setting’s time and place beautifully. Good use of slide guitar music to accompany also and a few fine actors thrown into the mix.
Duvall’s acting in the final act with the revelation to his character is powerhouse stuff, showing why he’s considered one the greats of the screen. Able support from Bill Murray and Lucas Black as Felix’s funeral directors and Sissy Spacek as his former lover also, but I still couldn’t help but feel that it was all a tad uneventful and whimsical. Everything and everyone looked the part but the whole wasn’t the sum of it’s parts and it left me feeling a little disappointed. Maybe our southern backwoods American friends should be stereotyped as violent inbred rapists, if only to provide a better quality of entertainment for our viewing pleasure.

Not a bad film. In fact, it’s really good at particular moments but it just comes across as pointless and lacks stimulus.

Mark Walker

Director: Sam Mendes.
Screenplay: Justin Haythe.
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates, Michael Shannon, Katherine Hahn, Dylan Baker, David Harbour, Jay O. Sanders, Richard Easton, Max Casella, Zoe Kazan, Ryan Simpkins, Ty Simpkins.

“Titanic” in 1997 was the last time Leonardo DiCaprio & Kate Winslet were in a film together. It was also the last time I literally chuckled my way through, what was supposed to be a serious film. “Revolutionary Road”, brings them together again and a chuckle was the last thing on my mind. This is a very serious and astute look at the breakdown of relationships from director Sam Mendes.

Frank and April Wheeler (DiCaprio & Winslet) are two young lovers who have aspirations to move to France and lead the exciting lives they always dreamed of. That is, until April becomes pregnant and they both decide to put their dreams on hold and move into a nice suburban home on Revolutionary Rd, to start their family. Years later, Frank is still working in a job he hates and April is the stay at home mother/wife that she never wanted to be. They both find that their lives have not worked out the way they planned and they have become the very people they hate. This causes obvious resentment and continuous arguments between them, which build to devestating and shattering results.

Mendes has covered this territory before with his Oscar winning look at the underbelly of white picket-fence suburbia in “American Beauty”. However, this time he chooses to cut out the moments of humour and moments of beauty from that film and goes straight for the jugular here.
DiCaprio and Winslet have rarely been better. Their performances are an absolute knockout, each giving as good as the other. Their scenes together when arguing are electric and entirely convincing with both spouting such venom toward each other. The whole look of the film is spot on with wonderful cinematography, perfectly capturing the 1950’s era in which it’s set.
This film was shamefully ignored come Oscar time, receiving only a couple of nominations but it’s worthy of so much more.

If you want real drama, forget the dire “Titanic” and watch this painful and savage look at the anatomy of a relationship.

Mark Walker

Director: John Dahl.
Screenplay: David Levien, Brian Koppelman.
Starring: Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Turturro, John Malkovich, Martin Landau, Gretchen Mol, Famke Janssen, Michael Rispoli, Josh Mostel, Tom Aldredge, Michael Lombard, Chris Messina, Goran Visnjic, David Zayas, Johnny Chan.

Director John Dahl done a couple of great modern noir films in the 90’s that shamefully went unrecognised (“Red Rock West” & “The Last Seduction”) but finally he got some attention with this film, helped by a fine cast.

Mike (Matt Damon) is a law student who happens to be more interested in playing poker. He has the skills but stupidly lost all his money to Russian gangster “Teddy KGB” (John Malkovich) and is now on the straight and narrow and has promised his girlfriend that he’s finished with that life. That is until his long time friend and poker partner “Worm” (Edward Norton) is released from prison. “Worm” owes money all over town and the ever loyal Mike is drawn back into the game and back into the life he doesn’t need or want.

The story is formulaic and has been covered many times before but what really makes the film worthwhile are some great performances. Damon is reliable as always with nice supporting roles for John Turturro and Martin Landau. However, the film tends to sag a little but really kicks back into gear whenever Edward Norton appears onscreen. He is absolutely superb as the aptly named “Worm”, a detestable slimeball of a character, who causes more hassle than he’s worth.

A flawed film that occasionally loses your interest but there’s still enough moments of quality to make it worthwhile.

Worth seeing for Norton’s performance alone.

Mark Walker

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson.
Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson.
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Heather Graham, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Don Cheadle, Luis Guzman, Alfred Molina, Thomas Jane, Philip Baker Hall, Robert Ridgely, Ricky Jay, Nicole Ari Parker, Joanna Gleason, Melora Walters, Jack Wallace, Jonathan Quint, John Doe, Robert Downey, Sr. Nina Hartley.

Director Paul Thomas Anderson made his debut in 1996 with “Hard Eight” but it was with this film, a year later, that he exploded onto the film scene and raised a few eyebrows with this daring and mainstream film about the californian porn industry.

Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) is a young kitchen porter working in a vibrant nightclub. He’s trying to escape his mundane life at home with his parents and make a better life for himself. It’s here that he meets Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds), a succesful and well known director in the porn industry. Horner immediately sees the potential in Eddie and takes him under his wing. It is rumoured that Eddie has a “gift” which could make them all very rich indeed. The appeal and glamour of Horner and his cohorts – the sexy Amber Waves (Julianne Moore) and Rollergirl (Heather Graham) are too much for Eddie to resist, so he agrees to become involved. First, he needs a porn name, deciding on “Dirk Diggler” and it’s at this point that the glamourous and exhilarating adventure begins.

Set during the 70′s & 80′s, this captures the period brilliantly (with marvellously evocative cinematography by Robert Elswit) and is reminiscent of director Robert Altman’s “Nashville” or John Badham’s “Saturday Night Fever“. It shares the same elaborate structure of the former and the bold vibrancy of the latter. Being only 26 years old at the time, it was an ambitious project for such a young director at this point in his career to tackle. Anderson could easily have crumbled under the pressure but instead, pulls off (excuse the pun) an intricate and expertly structured film in the style of the aforementioned Altman, in handling numerous characters and narrative strands or Martin Scorsese, in his long and impressive tracking shots. Anderson’s talents are not only apparent in his writing or directing though. He also has an eye for performers and amasses a highly impressive ensemble of actors; Mark Wahlberg has never really convinced me over the years but here he is absolutely perfect (in a role originally offered to Leonardo DiCaprio) and shows fine range as the naive Eddie growing more confident as Dirk; John C. Reilly adds a nice comic role as his bumbling, endearing friend Reed Rothchild; Julianne Moore and Heather Graham excel in their roles as the female leads; William H. Macy as Little Bill is at his tragic best – knowing that his wife is having sex with every other man, except him; Philip Seymour Hoffman, no matter how small a role always manages to add depth and pathos as Scotty J, the homosexual cameraman who can’t resist his urges towards Dirk and Burt Reynolds has never been better as the patriarchal Horner. In fact, there are so many marvellous performances it’s difficult too mention them all here. It’s testament to Anderson’s skills that despite his large cast, he affords them all adequate time to become their characters and never judges them for their shortcomings.

An extraordinary and provocative film, with an abundance of talent throughout. It works both as an expose of the porn industry and a deeply involving character study that’s not without moments of intensity and well tuned humour.

Mark Walker