The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

Some weeks I really do have trouble deciding what I want to write about amongst the various films I have watched.

For example this past week I viewed four relatively early silents: "The Penalty" (1920) with Lon Chaney's evil mastermind zooming about on the stumps of two legs, "The Cheat" (1915) a DeMille flick with a flighty society dame being branded by wily Oriental Sessue Hayakawa (always charismatic) from whom she has borrowed money, "Manslaughter" (1922) another DeMille morality tale of yet another flighty society dame finding redemption in prison, and possibly best of all "Hell's Hinges" (1916) in which the director/star William S. Hart's carefree gunslinger finds religion through his love of a woman. Any or all of these would have sparked some lively discussion.

Then there was the rather belated follow-up to the 1995 Oscar winner for best foreign language movie "Burnt by the Sun", a charming and lyrical tale of love and betrayal in Russia in the 1930s. Its director-star Nikita Mikhalkov eventually churned out "Burnt by the Sun 2" as a two-parter, released in 2010 and 2011, titled "Exodus" and "Citadel" respectively and totalling a bum-numbing five hours! They continue the story of his disgraced and imprisoned general through World War II and believe you me they took some watching! Nicely filmed but a gruelling watch without much light relief from the mud-strewn battlefields of the first film -- although the movie improved mightily in the second half of the second film as it moved towards its relatively happy ending. Yes, I could have written about that...

However the film that impressed me most this past week is the coming-of-age story of the above title. Writer-director Stephen Chbosky has adapted his own best-selling novel of 1999, which has apparently replaced "Catcher in the Rye" as the cult go-to textbook for teenaged angst. This film is not just aimed at the high school crowd, but at any adult who can recall either with fondness or perhaps with horror their own teens. It touches on loneliness, bullying, mental illness, drugs, homosexuality, and even death.

Lead actor Logan Lerman's Charlie enters high school wondering how he will get through the next four years. He's not hoping to be popular or to outshine his fellow students or to get laid, he just wants to fit in and get on with his life, having, it is suggested, been treated for various mental problems triggered by the death of his favourite aunt. Lerman has been featured in movies since the age of eight, and although he was actually 20 when this film was made, he looks the naïve and innocent freshman. He is befriended by a group of seniors, led by step-siblings Ezra Miller's Patrick and Emma Watson's Sam. Now maybe things have changed a lot since my own high school days, but it was pretty much unheard of for a freshman to hang about with and be accepted by a group of seniors, even if they were all outsiders themselves.

Never mind, that's the story being told and the young actors all do an excellent job. This was the breakout role for Watson after the Harry Potter franchise with only a small part in "My Week with Marilyn" (2011) in between. She was actually 22 playing a 17-year old, but she acquitts herself well. However the biggest revelation is Miller, the Kevin in "We Need to Talk About Kevin", who swaggers through his role of the group's iconoclastic leader and unashamed gay. In contrast, the adults in the cast barely register. There is Dylan McDermott as Charlie's father, Melanie Lynskey as the dead aunt whose death also buries a secret, Joan Cusack as his therapist, and Tom Savini as the sadistic shop-teacher who calls Patrick 'Nothing'. Only Paul Ruud adds to the action in his role of the caring English teacher who recognizes the depths of Charlie's intellect and longings.

Although he actually directed a little-known Indie back in 1995, this is Chbosky's first mainstream movie and he has done a wonderful job of bringing his book to the screen. Set in Pittsburgh in 1991, everything evokes the period -- the dress, the décor, and especially the music. We care for all of the young characters that we meet despite their flaws. However, one does wonder how Charlie will get on in his sophomore, junior, and senior years, now that his protective circle has moved on to college. Chbosky implies that his protagonist has learned a lot of life lessons -- more than most high-schoolers -- in that first trying year and that he will successfully move on upwards in his own idiosyncratic way. We do wish him all the best...

Classe tous risques (1960)

It is always a source of great pleasure to come across a movie which I previously knew absolutely nothing about but which demands discovery. Such is the case with this tight and involving crime caper from director Claude Sautet. Sautet is something of an eminence grise in French cinema history, insofar as he did direct some fifteen films from this, his first major one, right up to "Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud" (1995), but he wrote the screenplays for rather more and he was often the 'go-to guy' for script doctoring.

There is a nice little story in the booklet accompanying the DVD that is told about Cannes Film Festival president Gilles Jacob, who was a lowly critic back in 1966 when Jean-Pierre Melville's "Le Deuxieme Souffle" was released. Jacob claimed in his review that there were only three masterpieces among French gangster flicks of the 1960s -- the one he was reviewing, Jacques Becker's "Le Trou" (also 1960), and the above title. It turns out that they were all based on novels by an ex-con named Jose Giovanni and that they make an informal trilogy. The themes of all three deal with the myth of 'honour among thieves', the inevitability of betrayal, and finally an inescapable fate.

What helps to make this film special is that the lead role is taken by Lino Ventura, a big brute of a man with the trusting eyes of a child. Ventura's family emigrated from Italy to France when he was a youngster and he was raised in dire poverty. He broke away by using his strength as a wrestler and a boxer, before breaking into movies with "Touchez pas au grisbi"(1953) and was soon established as a charismatic 'heavy' in a succession of movies right up to his death in 1987. Ironically he was also adept at playing comedy, but felt more at home in tough guy roles.

In this film he plays Abel a wanted felon in France on the run in Italy with his beloved wife and two young sons. He is anxious to get his family back to anonymous safety in France and the movie opens with his dispatching the three of them to the border to await his joining them. However they are nearly broke and he needs to raise some funds for the journey. There then follows a bravura sequence actually filmed on the busy streets of Milan where Abel and his partner in crime attack and rob two bank couriers surrounded by the uncomprehending passing crowd of real locals. Meeting up with his family they then hijack a boat to get them to the South of France, but are involved in a shoot-out with customs officials, during which his wife and his partner die. Abel and his sons are left stranded.

He gets in touch with his old gang in Paris to help him out by sending an ambulance to smuggle the three of them back North. They are all indebted to Abel and they do find a suitable vehicle, but all of them find excuses why they are unable to drive the ambulance themselves. They arrange for a young, independent thief (Jean-Paul Belmondo in an early role) to make the journey with Abel.  Along the way they are joined by damsel-in-distress Sandra Milo, who poses as a nurse and who soon becomes Belmondo's love interest. Back in Paris his erstwhile cronies find excuse after excuse why they can not be involved in protecting Abel and his sons (whom he succeeds in placing with the sister of an old family friend). Only Belmondo's Eric shows any loyalty to a man that he really doesn't even know. Abel needs the fabled 'one last job' to raise money for his sons and robs fence Marcel Dalio with whom he has some history, but betrayal is in the air. Abel feels obliged to seek revenge on his former friends who think nothing of betraying him to save their own cushy lives.

Ventura's character is sympathetically likeable but a definite 'hard man' like his screen models Bogart and Mitchum. Force, violence, and murder come easily to him. However since this movie was made in the days when 'evil must be punished', it is not a spoiler to tell you that the film ends very abruptly with the narrator saying our 'hero' is subsequently 'caught, convicted, and executed' and up pops the title "Fin". There is no false romanticism here.

The film more or less disappeared after its release and Belmondo's fine turn was overshadowed by his role in "Breathless" which was released at about the same time and which has gone on to be a classic of the genre. However it is certainly time for this movie to be re-discovered by crime buffs and cinema buffs alike. Sautet has given us a thrilling movie to rank with the best from Becker, Melville, and Dassin.

Into the Woods (2014)

I've had a very frustrating and aggravating time (nothing whatsoever to do with movies) since watching the above film yesterday afternoon, so I'm probably not in the best frame of mind to give it as glowing a review as I might have. On the other hand, although it was not my choice to see this film, I was glad that I did, and found it an interesting watch. That is not to say that I might not have made a few negative comments regardless. Anyhow, here goes:

People have been trying to bring Stephen Sondheim's musical to the screen for some years now without success, before this Disney-financed, Rob Marshall effort. Being largely sung, without much spoken dialogue was part of the problem, but let's face it, that didn't stop "Les Miserables" being a big hit. It's probably more a case of Sondheim's music not being to the populist taste; while all of it is pleasant enough and largely clever enough, there is no single number in the show which leaves you humming as you exit the theatre.

The story is a mash-up of certain well-known fairy tales (Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel, plus a wicked witch and the aging childless couple characters from Tom Thumb), with the various protagonists being thrown together in the deep, dark, and dangerous woods. However this was never intended as a tale for children, but rather for adults who are more able to deal with some very dark themes. It is probably this dichotomy between children's bedtime stories and some very bleak business that has alienated some of the movie's audience. Despite doing reasonable business Stateside, there are a host of negative users' comments on IMDb.

In the all-star cast, the standout performances are from Meryl Streep as the ugly witch and Emily Blunt as the baker's wife. In order to lift her curse of barrenness, the latter and her husband (James Corden) must provide Streep with a milk-white cow, a red cloak. a golden slipper, and spun-blonde hair; these will counteract the spell cast when the baker's father stole Streep's magic beans, to say nothing of restoring her to her previous beauty. So we have the characters dashing about their business and crossing paths in the woods before the witch's deadline.

I knew that Streep possesses a fine singing voice, but Blunt's melodious one came as a pleasant surprise. I thought that Corden (who started his professional life here as a fat sit-com character and who has now graduated to a slightly chubby Hollywood player) made a reasonable fist of his role. Anna Kendrick who has a background of musical theatre was in fine voice as Cinderella, but is it too awful to say that she is just not pretty enough for the role? Of the youngsters, Daniel Huddlestone as Jack was very good indeed, but Lilla Crawford (whoever she may be) was guilty of creating ear-ache in the role of Little Red. As for Johnny Depp's cameo as the wolf who gobbled up grandma, this was an amusing enough -- and mercifully short -- turn.

Other cast members who gave their all, more or less successfully, include Christine Baranski as Cinderella's wicked stepmother, Tracey Ullman as Jack's mom, Frances de la Tour as a giantess (the murdered giant's widow!), and Chris Pine as Cinderella's prince. The latter has been roundly criticised in some circles, but I thought he did well, assuming a hammy and humorous tone in his duet with Rapunzel's lover. If only more of the characters had adopted this slightly tongue-in-cheek approach, the film might have had more appeal.

The biggest problem however, apart from being over-long, is that this is a film of two halves. One would expect fairy tales to end with 'they all lived happily ever after', but Sondheim's musical takes a much darker turn. In the second half of the film, each of the characters loses someone dear to them -- there are a number of off-screen deaths, which turn the earlier feel-good factor into something downbeat and miserable. We are meant to take heart in the final scenes by Corden gathering the very few survivors around his knees to 'tell them a story'. I would guess that most people prefer the magic of fairy tales to the harsh realities of life, which this film underlines with a vengeance.

Birdman (2014)

I really had to go to see this movie on its release since there has been so much hype and Oscar-buzz in its wake. It seems to be heading for nominations for best film and for best actor for Michael Keaton in a bravura comeback role -- and quite probably for cinematography, best director, best original screenplay, and goodness knows what else as well. But while this film certainly has a great deal going for it, it is more a movie to be admired than to be enjoyed. I would not go so far as to liken it to the proverbial parson's egg, since there many positive things to write about -- however there is some room for a few negative comments.

It's the fifth film from the previously unsmiling Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and undoubtedly his most accessible, since it is well laced with a high degree of black humour. After the heavyweight earlier movies ("Amores Perros", "21 Grams", "Babel" and his major downer "Biutiful") Inarritu flaunts his outsider's viewpoint to give us something of a diatribe against Hollywood and its excesses, while still managing to create a largely entertaining if somewhat mystifying movie, using a host of Hollywood A-list stars.

Michael Keaton, now 63, has never gone away, but he has not been much in evidence of late, except as the voice of Barbie's friend Ken in the third Toy Story flick. However, he is fondly remembered for his early and rather eccentric outings in movies such as "Night Shift", "Beetlejuice", and the first two "Batman" films. He famously declined the third Batman when the franchise began its steep descent before its recent reinvention, and a series of turns as a psychopath marked the start of his own minor eclipse. He is the perfect actor for the role of Riggan in this film, an actor who found fame in three superhero "Birdman" movies but whose career is in the doldrums. He therefore has set out to prove his acting prowess by adapting a Raymond Carver story, financing it, directing it, and starring in it for a Broadway debut. Keaton has famously denied that the film is autobiographical, and I believe him, as he takes on the part with little in the way of false modesty. We see close-ups of his weathered face and his balding pate when his hairpiece is removed.

We first encounter Riggan in his run-down dressing in a state of suspended animation several feet above the floor and he seems to possess other super-powers such as the ability to move objects without touching them and, indeed, to fly. Since Riggan keeps up a running conversation throughout the movie with his Birdman persona (whom we eventually see and who looks nothing like Keaton), one doesn't know how much of his erstwhile glory days with their concurrent powers are real and how much they are a figment of his overwrought mind.

Most of the main cast are also superb. Particular kudos must go to Edward Norton who is brought in to replace an untalented cast member who is seriously injured during rehearsals; he plays the epitome of a big-headed 'method' actor who has definite ideas on how the play can be improved, who thinks it's appropriate to try to screw the leading lady when they are semi-dressed in bed together, and who complains that the prop gun used in the play's final scene is just too unrealistic. One just knows that a real gun will play a part in one of the film's several denouements. Also compliments to Emma Stone, playing Riggan's previously ignored daughter, fresh out of rehab, and acting as his stage assistant. With her big-eyed head and emaciated body (the actress is something of a chameleon in her various roles) she delivers an impressive monologue and plays off Riggan's insecurities and lack of awareness of how the various social media are essential to an actor's 'success' in the modern world. Zach Galifianakis, playing Riggan's best friend and stage manager, proves that he can succeed in a straight role -- a very welcome turnabout from my point of view.

The other main female parts are all fine if slightly underwritten. Naomi Watts is a needy Hollywood star, anxious to prove herself on Broadway. The English actress Andrea Riseborough plays the fourth member of the play's cast and Riggan's would-be lover, who may or may not be pregnant by him. Then there is Amy Ryan as his ex-wife, still concerned for his well-being and his relationship with their daughter. Best of all, however, is Lindsay Duncan as a fierce newspaper critic (think New York Times) who has threatened to trash the show for providing a showcase for over-the-hill Hollywood stars, who exist in a miasma of self-congratulatory award shows for cartoons and cartoon-like heroes, and who think they can prove their worth and acting chops by treading the hallowed boards of Broadway.

Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography for this film has been praised to the hilt. Using a series of carefully edited long takes made to look like one continuous take (which they are not), his camera moves swiftly and dizzingly through the underbelly of the cavernous theatre from scene to scene, leaving the susceptible viewer with a somewhat queasy tummy. I was also not particularly taken with the drum-heavy musical score.

The film's subtitle is 'Or the Unexpected Virtue of Innocence' and I would be hard-pressed to explain this to you. Perhaps it refers to the way that most of the characters go about their business and even manage to succeed without any real idea of what life is really about. Who knows? In many ways the movie is a succession of scenes without much linking logic, but some of these such as Keaton purposely marching through Times Square in his underpants after being locked outside a stage door are a real tour de force. That videos of his march back to the theatre foyer, passing a selection of other costumed 'heroes', subsequently go viral on You Tube, proves Stone's point that 'fame' hinges on many unlikely factors nowadays.

Far be it from me to spoil the movie's final scenes, which go against every expectation, but which don't really make clear whether Riggan has found the success that he so craves or whether he is still living in Birdman's cloud-cuckoo land. Inarritu's film is a welcome change of pace for him, but far from the 'masterpiece' some claim.   

The Post-Christmas Appraisal

Well, Happy New Year one and all! My blog resolution is to try to remain more positive over the next twelve months -- a resolution I might have difficulty keeping as I grow older and more jaded. But before I assume this sunny mantle, I must at least summarise how the past fortnight matched my bah-humbug expectations. I apparently watched thirty movies in the last two weeks -- which is not as many as it sounds (just over two flicks a day which is well under my running average).

Of the five new-to-me films on terrestrial, I somehow managed to forget to set "The Look of Love" (pity!) and have not yet seen "Quartet" which was on last night. "Salmon Fishing..." was a watchable enough experience with good chemistry between Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor in a rather peculiar tale of fish. "The Raven" gave a welcome lead role for John Cusack, who started off on a career course which looked as if it might eclipse that of Robert Downey, Jr.; however, quite the reverse has occurred with Downey rocketing (literally) into super-stardom and Cusack beginning to fade. Unfortunately the moany role of Edgar Allen Poe was not the one to restore his box-office appeal. As for "Hunky Dory" which seemed something of a vanity piece or 'ego-bath' to use the word of the week for Minnie Driver (another erstwhile star whose shine has dwindled), one was left wondering why the film was ever made. Set in Wales in the 70s, it was a maybe-true tale of a charismatic teacher (Driver of course) helping her dead-end students to mount their end of year play, a musical version of Shakespeare's "The Tempest". The musical bits were pleasant enough -- even Driver's crooning -- but the framing tale left a very great deal to be desired.

It was left to Sky Premiere to make up the balance of the 'new' viewing, but I've just had to look up the summary to remind myself what "Trespass" was about (Nicholas Cage and Nicole Kidman as an unlikeable couple in a home invasion). I also can't recall what the dire-titled "Ironclad - Battle for Blood" was in aid of, but that's because I managed to doze through most of the medieval derring-do. "Jackass's Bad Grandpa .5" was a waste of time as a series of out-takes obviously intended as a DVD-extra. "Noah" with Russell Crowe as the obsessed lead character on the ark and a stowaway Ray Winstone chomping away on some of the animal pairs (now do we know why there are no unicorns?) was completely OTT and not particularly enjoyable with it. In the watchable but not really Patty-positive category were "Ride Along" with Ice Cube as a seasoned cop with a really annoying sidekick and "Captain America - Winter Soldier", another of the many scheduled releases from the Marvel stable -- well-enough mounted but ultimately yet another superhero movie to forget.

That leaves the two animations mentioned last time -- "The Lego Movie" and "Frozen". The first of these was exceedingly cleverly written with possibly more appeal to the adults in the audience than is usually the case, with the worthy moral that even a yellow-faced nonentity can achieve greatness and some fairly spectacular animation of cascading Lego pieces; or one can conclude that it was 100 minutes of shameless product placement. Pretty good 'though! As for the crowd-pleasing "Frozen", yes it is probably Disney's best film for years, with strong female characters (a la "Brave") and charming supporting characters in a clumsy-hunky potential love interest, a talking reindeer, and a loveable snowman. The music was fine as well, even if it seems that there is no escape from 'Let it Be' everywhere one turns.

I suppose it behoves me to comment on the two bio slots I mentioned. The one on Julie Walters was a little too adulatory, but not without some interest, although there was too much on her television roles and not enough on her film parts. As for the retired ballerina Darcey Burrell seeking her idol Audrey Hepburn like an overly besotted schoolgirl, I nearly gave up, but the bio was saved by input from Hepburn's two doting sons, to the extent that it actually became very moving.

I know the above-mentioned don't add up to thirty, but I have ignored some dire horrors from the so-called Horror Channel and Film Four, a few Christmassy TV movies (still hanging about even after the event), and the odd golden oldies from my own collection. However I must announce that I have now re-evaluated Woody Allen's "Hollywood Ending" from 2002. Having only seen it before on an airplane, I have been saying it was his worst film ever. It was never released in the UK, but courtesy of an Italian DVD (now the only source for this movie) we watched it again a few days ago. Guess what?, it's actually nicely-written, generally quite amusing, and with a few laugh-out-loud bits of business as well. This redemption on my part, now definitely leaves "Cassandra's Dream" (2007) as the Woodster's worst.

Once more, Happy New Year!! Armed with my well-intended resolution -- which might last as long as next week -- here's to happy uncritical viewing.