Hi friends,
I’ve been very busy the past few months, so I wasn’t able to really carry on with my usual e-mails. I do want to get back into it though, in whatever capacity I can. Since I’m quite lazy to write anything new at the moment, I’ll just copy and paste some of the capsule film reviews / reactions I wrote on my FB page. These are unedited, very stream of consciousness so some might make more sense than others, but I wanted to log some of the films that left an impression on me this year.
OPPENHEIMER
Holy shit.
Best Nolan. Best Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt and Robert Downey. Seriously in the running for my favorite movie of the century (like Paul Schrader. . . ).
But so depressed.
Nolan, using his usual tricks of shifting timelines and perspectives, and then some, indicts our solipsism and human tendency of warping even the most enormous, world-ending things to bend them towards our narrow ambitions. . . what a statement.
BARBIE
So Ken learns about the patriarchy in…. LA? One can only imagine what Kendom would’ve been like had they landed in middle America or the Philippines. The Kens might’ve flayed the trans Barbie.
Otherwise it is a fun time at the cinema, although I don’t think its as progressive as some people think it is, the fact that Ken is actually the most developed and interesting character notwithstanding (am I the only one who left the film thinking “now I want to see a sequel about Ken!”?). The only lasting political conversion in the film was from the daughter, who was depicted as an annoyingly woke tween at the start who then ends up buying into the retro Barbie dreamland project, not out of any ideological reason but because of how she wanted to make her mom happy. But it is to be expected from a movie that straddles the line between being self-aware to “correct” Barbie’s initially regressive ideals . . but still ultimately existing to push product. It is more successful at the latter, I think. It’s the same tension as Miss Universe trying to be more “political” these days and all the mental gymnastics their fans go through to justify its existence in the 21st century, so it’s quite apt that it made a cameo in the film.
Anyway, many laughs, mostly from Ryan Gosling. I reckon the America Ferrera monologue will have many women applauding and feeling seen. The Ken song was funny but the Charlie XCX song was great (and my fave from the soundtrack). I still liked Oppenheimer more but happy how this brought people out in droves to the movies. I watched on a Saturday evening and still people were dressed up like they were going to a Barbie fan convention. As for me wearing a white shirt and bright blue shorts, I accidentally dressed up like Allan.
PAST LIVES
The one detail I absolutely loved in Past Lives is when Hae Sung asks Nora about Montauk, and in response, Nora tells him to watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which we see him do in the following scene. [This exchange happens, by the way, in my favorite part of the film, directorially speaking. The camera work in that almost dream-like, montage phase of their re-connection was just too good.]
One of the famous lines uttered in Eternal Sunshine is Joel being implored by Clementine, or at least the version of her in his mind, to meet her in Montauk as his last memories of her fade away. They do end up meeting in Montauk, where they get a chance to start over. It speaks of predestined connections, of love persisting through the fog, of unwritten forces binding two people together.
In Past Lives, it isn’t Hae Sung that Nora meets in Montauk, but Arthur. This is a total inversion of what happens in Eternal Sunshine, which thematically makes sense given the ideas considered by this film: of finding peace and accepting that there are kinds of love that are only meant to be what-ifs, and of the inscrutable momentum that propels our lives away from other people, at least in this lifetime.
ANATOMY OF A FALL
Along with Saint Omer, one of the recent French courtroom dramas that you have to watch (also won the Palm D'Or at this year's Cannes).
Sandra Huller, who was great in Toni Erdmann, is again fantastic here. One detail I'm still thinking about is why her character was written as someone who has a hard time speaking French, thus disrupting the tempo of the trial as she switches to English. Maybe its to emphasize the other-ness she feels, which is in stark contrast to Saint Omer where the African immigrant on trial speaks fluent French seemingly to bridge the racial gap. In any case, I found it to be an interesting complication to an already complicated mystery.
THE CAINE MUTINY COURT-MARTIAL
William Friedkin’s final film, adapting the 1953 play by Herman Wouk of the same name and setting it in the modern era, is another fine legal drama released this year. Jason Clarke (seemingly reprising his Oppenheimer role) and Keifer Sutherland turn in what I think are their career-best performances, and the late Lance Reddick is perfectly cast in a great supporting role.
Having neither seen nor read the original book or any of its adaptations, I was gripped by the plot all throughout, and the final scene delighted me as it reminded me of (maybe a spoiler) Witness for the Prosecution.
One can only wonder why Friedkin thought of adapting this now, but if i have to guess its almost a reminder for us not to confuse what is legal/judicial with what is moral. Anyway, he killed it and what a great final film he left us with.
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Grand, sweeping, epic masterpiece. What else can you expect from Scorsese? Reminds me of Goodfellas in terms of the level of immersion, and the overall structure and emotional beats. A little bit of Wolf of Wall Street, too. It won’t be a surprise that my favorite part was the third act when Jesse Plemons and the young FBI enter the picture and begin the process of unraveling everything, culminating in the courtroom trial versus the evil personified in Robert de Niro. Scorsese, presumably because of his Catholic background, depicts the courtroom as a site of penance and the legal process as a means to expunge guilt and sinfulness. And all set to that thrumming, electric score that runs throughout. Hopefully you catch it on the big screen.
NYAD
Despite the middling reviews, I quite enjoyed this film. Based on an inspiring story, although not entirely free of controversy, and great acting from the two. Comforting score from Alexandre Desplat, too. I am such a fan of Vasarhelyi and Chin.
THE KILLER
As someone who didnt like Mank, I am so happy to see David Fincher back doing stuff like this. Fincher does John Wick in his signature style, focusing on the minutiae, the process, the causalities, the obsessions. Just like Gone Girl and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, it’s about a person breaking out of power dynamics in which they feel trapped and used, and the contingencies when those plans go awry; The Killer will find a kindred spirit in Amy Dunne. Fincher is as interested in the how as the why, which might leave people feeling cold but that’s what I love about him (and why I don’t think he does movies that need a bit more heart like Mank well). And everything is just so cool — bonus points that The Smiths is everywhere in The Killer’s universe. The editing and the sound design, as usual, add to the flair. I wish I saw this on the big screen, and it left me wanting to revisit Fincher’s earlier films.