"The Irishman" - review

An uneven and overlong but entertaining experiment

"The Irishman" was one of the most eagerly anticipated Hollywood films of 2019.  Adapted from the novel "I Heard You Paint Houses" by Charles Brandt, which follows the career of mafia muscle man Frank Sheeran, "The Irishman" seemed poised to be another stellar entry for director Martin Scorcese, who would be returning to the gangster genre in which he had made such cinematic benchmarks as "Goodfellas" and "Casino."  The film also heralded Joe Pesci's return to the screen after ostensibly retiring twenty years ago.

To many this came as no surprise as Scorcese's decision to cast Pesci  in "Raging Bull" was what made the young actor's career.  Even more enticing was that "The Irishman" would reunite Pesci with Robert De Niro, and that these two Scorcese alumni would be joined by Al Pacino, completing a trifecta of Hollywood mob icons.  Could this long-lauded assemblage make a three and a half hour biography that's also a compelling character story?

Most of the time, yeah, sure!  Scorcese knows these underworld denizens quite well and is adept at navigating their turbulent world.  Marty is also expert at leading the audience down dark hallways fraught with fear, suspicion and betrayal in a way that is often as engrossing as it is repulsive.  "The Irishman" is a sprawling and complicated saga, but it's potential for greatness is hampered by several things.  Let's start with the overcrowded but outstanding roster of supporting actors.

Stephen Graham from "Boardwalk Empire"

Bobby Cannavalle, Kathrine Narducci (Charmaine Bucco in "The Sopranos"), and Ray Romano

Everybody is in this movie!  I would be willing to guarantee that half the fun for fans of this genre will be identifying actors who have played similar roles in other films and TV series.  Of course, who wouldn't want to be in a Martin Scorcese film?  Nobody, that's who!

Domenic Lombardozzi ("Herc" in "The Wire") in his "Fat" Tony Salerno makeup.

Despite the makeup and the years that pass, you never forget a favorite face or voice, and it's a delight to see and hear so many familiar ones.  However, some of these actors don't have critical roles despite being in significant portions of the film.

In particular, Anna Paquin doesn't have much purpose as Frank Sheeran's wise-beyond-her-years daughter.  You could cut her out entirely and reduce the film's running time by 30 minutes without affecting the narrative at all.  There is no resolution to her long-held judgement regarding her father and her very conflicted feelings about the work he does, so her continued presence is not critical.

Now we come to the de-aging CGI, which was of course much ballyhooed as it had never been used to this extent in a film before and many doubted that it would be effective, especially after the release of the film was delayed so that more time could be spent fine-tuning certain scenes.  I think the CGI works quite well on Pacino and Pesci, as I never found it noticeable and thus distracting, but with De Niro I'd say that there's about a fifty-fifty ratio of good versus bad.

The eyes truly are the window to the soul, and for me, there were far too many shots where De Niro's eyes appeared mismatched or their color artificially enhanced. I felt that more work needed to be done to finish these shots as the appearance of the character's face and succeeding expressions often came close to cartoonish, so my immersion was broken and the drama undermined.

Still, the impressive cadre of actors makes most of the film throb with tension through the sheer force of their talent and presence.  The writing by Steve Zaillian is excellent, and everyone makes magnificent use of the specialized speaking style of gangsters to convey mortal danger through the most innocuous conversations.

The obtuse way in which a lifelong friend can be instantly condemned to death with a few short, vague sentences and a slight gesture of the hand is a hallmark of mob movies, and few directors create that singular sense of dread hiding within the mundane better than Martin Scorcese.

However, there is one last, overarching issue, and that is despite Robert De Niro being one of the great actors of our time, the character that he plays was very likely a certifiable sociopath.  Frank Sheeran killed so many people without remorse and without much thought at all.  He just did it.  As such, Frank is not a very compelling or interesting main character because of his near absence of introspection and lack of psychological turmoil over his ice-cold actions.

Murder never bothers him, and so it never comes across as a big deal.  As the credits begin to roll, you aren't left feeling sad or angry, and perhaps that's the point of the story, but when you come to the end of such a turgid tale of deceit, treachery and assassination, I don't think you're out of line to want more of a summation than: "It is what it is."

"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956) - review

A Sci-Fi Classic for Every Body

Director Don Siegel is likely most well-known to modern audiences for such Clint Eastwood action dramas as “Escape from Alcatraz” and “Dirty Harry”, but an early effort of Siegel’s is also famous because it became one of the greatest science fiction thrillers of all time.  “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” has been remade at least three times for succeeding generations, but the original from 1956 still works like gangbusters due to its universal and lasting themes of alienation and paranoia.  The notion of massive seed pods from outer space stripping human minds of their individuality and desires will always have a potent impact, especially in this modern age where so many people feel intense psychological isolation amidst the frigid anonymity of most social media.

“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” begins simply in the modest, quiet little town of Santa Mira.  Kevin McCarthy stars as Miles Bennell, a local physician returning home from a medical conference.  His happy reunion with former girlfriend Becky is short-lived as Miles immediately finds himself beset by many of his patients who claim that their relatives have “changed.”  Miles’ pointed questions are met with worryingly vague answers, yet there seems no real cause for alarm until Miles is called to the house of a friend where a strange body lies upon the basement pool table.  It appears to be a copy of Miles’ friend, but it’s missing important details.  After Miles phones the police, the “unfinished” body disappears and more people in town begin to behave as if their own distinct personalities have also disappeared.

From this point forward, the story relentlessly builds toward a frantic finale of fear and torment.  The true horror begins when Miles and Becky discover giant seed pods in his friends’ greenhouse that are repulsively disgorging more nascent human bodies which are already assuming horribly familiar forms.  Realizing that they are now trapped in town because the police are compromised and the phone lines have been cut, Miles and Becky must make a desperate attempt to escape and get urgent word of the invasion to government authorities.  However, as the takeover of the town’s human populace has accelerated exponentially, Miles and Becky are now surrounded in enemy territory.  All they can do is run.  Worst still, Miles and Becky cannot sleep, for if they do, the pods can complete their insidious work and the young lovers will wake up assimilated, never again to know the unique joys of being human.

The acting, cinematography and music are superb.  The score by Carmen Dragon hits short, sharp notes that eerily echo the surges of panic felt by Miles and Becky upon being confronted with yet another aberration of normality and another potential path to freedom blockaded.  The film noir style of lighting enhances the sense of impending doom as the abundant shadows hide potential dangers while the bright lights threaten to reveal our heroes to their multiplying pursuers.  Kevin McCarthy’s performance as Miles is agonizing as we bear witness to the good doctor’s analytical approach and cool reserve slowly eroding as the circle of aliens closes around him and Becky.  Dana Wynter as Becky presents the usual domestic fifties façade, but her sultry stares and saucy repartee with Miles hint at an inner sexual tension eagerly waiting for release.

However, there is no time for trysts in this tragic tale of former flames thrown together in turmoil, and the fact that Miles and Becky’s rekindled affections are threatened by the pod people is a perfect reflection of the narrative’s haunting and primal threat of pleasure replaced by placidity.  Miles and Becky cannot safely hide or rest anywhere, and though their fervor for each other is likely eternal physical strength is faltering fast while the clock counts down the bone-weary couple’s last moments together as real human beings.  “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is a timeless classic, and its visceral message will always be celebrated by those who cherish the essential values of personal autonomy and private intimacy.   Love is as important as life.

"Joker" - review

Literally soul-shattering

They finally did it.  They finally made a comic book movie so rooted in a stylized yet relatable reality that if you were to remove the comic book elements, the tone, message and themes of the film would not significantly change.  Since "Joker" wisely deviates from canon throughout most of its narrative, the movie has a far greater freedom to be its own unique story.  Instead of yet another recitation of the same tired tale, "Joker" becomes one of the best DC films and one of the best comic book movies ever.  It's an incisive and potent origin story of one of the most volatile, infamous and unpredictable literary villains.

Director Todd Phillips was inspired by the complex character studies of such 1970's films as "Network", "Dog Day Afternoon" and of course "Taxi Driver."  Phillips succeeds brilliantly in translating the gritty vibe of New York's infamous crime wave into the sinister streets and malevolent mobs that terrorize Gotham.  We are here to witness the birth of a madman, to see the Joker becoming, and Joaquin Phoenix's performance as Arthur Fleck is colossal.  Joaquin writhes and sways in deep mental anguish, and his corrosive laugh is like battery acid in the ears.  Arthur Fleck is doomed, and we must watch him fall utterly from grace.

We know how the story ends, but getting there can be the worthier part if you tell it right, and I'm thrilled to say that Phillips and Phoenix have f*cking nailed it.  The sickening spiral into which Arthur Fleck plummets is relentless and brutal.  He suffers every indignity.  Arthur loses it all, and then he loses some more.  Watching Joaquin as Arthur implode into the Joker is staggering.  He contorts his body in ways that seem inhuman, and his face becomes a mask struggling between gleeful guffaws and wails of pain.  At its core, "Joker" is about how the callous cruelties of the world can finally break a person's spirit.

The score is phenomenal.  A tremendous piece of work on its own, and a perfect emotional enhancement for every scene.  The cello is especially sublime.  Certain themes make several nods to previous films, but since they are so low-key they don't distract.  Hildur Guðnadóttir will be someone to watch.  Her choice of instruments, melodies and the succeeding combinations are superb.  The elegiac doom of the strings and the pulsing throb of the synths hybridize into an infernal and infected sound.  Through the surges of instrumental insanity, you hear the inevitable disintegration of Arthur's mind.

The time that is taken to detail Arthur's descent into amoral oblivion is absolutely crucial, and the film inexorably builds toward an ending of propulsive and galvanic psychological impact.  For Joaquin Phoenix, it's a career-defining performance.  I was trembling during several scenes.  The Academy will likely nominate Joaquin again, but I'd be amazed if they gave an Oscar to any actor for playing a character so directly and violently opposed to what so many Academy members represent and hold dear.  For decades, the Academy has consistently failed to choose winners based on actual merit, but I believe that the Joker would know how to handle that.

"Why Can't I Be Me? Around You" - review

A harrowing and tremendous journey of self

Les Blank is a legendary name in documentary film, and his son Harrod has capably carried his father's mantle forward with superlative success.  Harrod's latest film, "Why Can't I Be Me? Around You" proudly continues the family tradition of finding fascinating subjects and bringing their stories to a wider audience.  Few people will know who Rusty Tidenberg is, but open-minded viewers who are curious about the myriad and complex lives being quietly led by so many intrepid souls will find Rusty's story utterly beguiling.

At 53, Rusty Tidenberg came out of the closet and began to transition.  He got breast implants and started to openly wear women's clothes.  This critical decision threw his life into chaos, and Harrod's film examines Rusty's tumultuous existence with an intimacy that is deeply moving and consistently inspiring.  Most of Rusty's family and friends initially abandon her, and despite being a brilliant mechanic, Rusty barely gets by financially while also valiantly striving to be true to her new, more complete self.  She knows who she is, but will that be enough?

At first, seeing a masculine face, rippling biceps and calloused hands complimented by red lipstick, blue glitter eyeshadow and ample cleavage can be a shock, but as the film unfolds, these seemingly contradictory things begin to mesh as Rusty's being is further revealed.  She has found happiness in herself, but Rusty's trials continue as most people find it difficult to accept her, especially after having known Rusty for so many years prior to her change in appearance.  As neither man nor woman, Rusty's mental mettle is sorely tested by staking a claim upon a new sexual space with only herself to defend it.  The isolation and loneliness are terrifying.

Even though the story repeatedly jumps forward and backward in time, it works beautifully.  Editor Sjoerd Dijk has done a masterful job piecing together many bits and pieces of Rusty's life to help create a film that could easily come off as a chaotic mess with no cohesion or focus.  However, The stream of consciousness flow from scene to scene feels utterly natural, and Rusty is a captivating subject.  Her emotional vulnerability is matched by her psychological strength, and the film is a mesmerizing, heartbreaking and thrilling chronicle of one person's Herculean struggle to be themselves.

"The Cruise" - review

Fascinating journey, underwhelming destination

I distinctly recall when Bennet Miller's "The Cruise" arrived on DVD back in 1998 as it was an extremely popular rental at the time, especially for a low-budget, independent documentary.  Miller's subject is Timothy "Speed" Levitch, who made a living for years as a tour guide in New York.  Right from the start, Timothy is entertainingly enigmatic.  He spits historical anecdotes about the Big Apple like a slam poet, and his high nasal voice, which is off-putting at first, quickly becomes another charming aspect of Timothy's quirky personality.  He is a perfect subject for intimate intrigue.

There are many funny and philosophical moments where Timothy waxes rhapsodic about his relationship with New York, and it's clear that this love affair has undergone many fluctuations over the years, but no personal stories come to light.  At the end, it still remains unclear why Timothy was inspired to immerse himself in all of the myriad details and anecdotes of the city's storied past and how he came to care so deeply about all the unique people who have lived and died there, leaving behind legacies of potential interest to the next busload of assorted tourists.

However, the film is ultimately unsatisfying as a character study because it never digs below the surface of its initially alluring main character.  Timothy was born and grew up in New York, so it easily follows that he would know the city well.  Yet we never learn anything revealing about Timothy.  His knowledge of the places and people of New York is extensive, yet Timothy's own past remains largely unexplored.  What was Timothy's childhood like?  How did his parents raise him?  We're never told.  Unlike the rapid-fire facts in his various tour narrations, Timothy preserves his personal mysteries.  

One brief scene shows Timothy ascending a staircase and opening a door to an apartment where a friend has allowed him to crash.  In another scene in conversation with one of his co-workers, it's suggested that Timothy sometimes only works 20 hours a week, so at the very least, his lifestyle seems fairly hardscrabble, especially given the cost of living in such a major metropolitan area.  The black and white cinematography beautifully echoes this meager existence, but again, hard truths fail to surface.  "The Cruise" is breezy and fun, but overall it's like a beautiful and ornate frame around a nascent painting that is urgently awaiting further brush strokes.

"Johnny Guitar" - review

High Plains Camp in Glorious Color

While director Nicholas Ray is probably most well-known among film fans for the seminal tale of teen angst "Rebel Without A Cause" and many excellent Film Noirs, he is also acclaimed as one of several industry icons for his mastery of melodrama.  Ray's second take on the Western, "Johnny Guitar", is an excellent example of the kind of story that shoots for the rafters with soaring, energetic emotions as well as blistering barrages of bullets.  Joan Crawford is also no stranger to the exuberant exaggerations of camp, and she has always been highly regarded by such aficionados for her brooding and often explosive performances.  As lead actress in "Johnny Guitar", Joan makes the film both a hilarious and yet equally dramatic delight.

Crawford plays Vienna, a strong, independent and pistol-packin' Frontier woman who runs her own saloon and casino in a small, nameless town.  Vienna knows that the railroad will be coming through soon, and that the land she now occupies will make her wealthy when the trains start to regularly bring in more people, supplies and ever-increasing business.  However, a cabal of cutthroat locals doesn't want to share these riches, and they band together to force Vienna out, dragging the seemingly spineless sheriff along behind them like a frightened dog on a leash.  The head of this avaricious hydra is helmed by Mercedes McCambridge as the venomous firebrand Emma Small, whose obsessive hatred of Vienna teeters on the precipice of full-blown mania.

While Vienna consistently presents an unwavering and cool exterior despite to the increasing pressure put upon her to abandon her plans and get out in 24 hours, Emma is barely able to contain her deep and nearly deranged loathing for every single begrudged breath Vienna takes.  Mercedes McCambridge's erotically enraged performance is a sumptuous pleasure. It's not only a feast for lovers of camp, but also for its gay subtext as the intense rivalry between these two characters is widely interpreted as arising out of Emma's secret lesbian lust for Vienna.  Being firmly closeted, Emma abhors her private passions and since she also cannot express them, they transform into a white-hot fury that corrosively compels Emma to destroy Vienna in a vain attempt to purge her own Sapphic desires.

Vienna knew that Emma's malignant ardor will soon evoke a desperate and mortal assault, and so she sends for Johnny Guitar, a former lover and gunslinger, to protect her.  Sterling Hayden is perfect as the seemingly laconic Johnny, yet the turbulent history that he and Vienna share results in a love/hate relationship that vacillates wildly.  However, as Emma's irrational and emotional outbursts increase in ferocity, Vienna and Johnny finally unite to stand their ground.  The scenery is gorgeous, the writing is taught and biting, the performances are superb and the climatic battle is near-orgiastic in its final release of so many long-held and roiling tensions.

Was it good for you, Emma?

"The Andromeda Strain" - review

A little too cool, but wonderfully calculated

Michael Crichton is a name well-known in literary and film circles these days, but back in 1971, the adaptation into film of his first novel "The Andromeda Strain" attracted little fanfare.  It wasn't until the box office juggernaut of Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" in 1993 that Crichton truly became a household name.  However, despite the absence of modern visual effects, I prefer director Robert Wise's more measured approach to Crichton's work, and "The Andromeda Strain" is still a frighteningly relevant and prescient story.

The United States has secretly sent out a satellite to literally scoop something extraterrestrial from the vacuum of space and return it to the Earth for examination.  Naturally, the trouble starts when they are successful and the organism, upon accidental release from its capsule in a small desert town, threatens to destroy all human life.  However, such contingencies have been anticipated, and the procedures for dealing with such a deadly threat within a massive underground laboratory comprise the bulk of the story.

From the opening credits, the pacing is tense.  Director Robert Wise succinctly sets the stage, introduces the characters and constantly reminds us that the clock is loudly ticking.  When the scientists are gathered to deal with the organism, there is barely time for goodbyes.  They are called and must go immediately.  Time is critical to solving what could be an extinction level event and the assembled team is starting from scratch as they know absolutely nothing about their subject.

While the character development isn't the strongest, the film is still quite gripping via the detailed and layered scientific protocols that are deployed to try and determine what the Andromeda Strain is and how humankind can possibly survive it.  While the rigorous processes employed sometimes outweigh the emotional and psychological components, this is a part of what is demanded of the people who must calmly persevere if they are to prevent a potential apocalypse.

As with many films from several decades ago, "The Andromeda Strain" may feel dated in some ways, but it stands as a unique science fiction story because it relies mainly upon science for its drama instead of fiction.  Some may find the story tepid or the pacing too slow, but because it's a more realistic approach to a crisis situation, I find the film to be a very credible and enthralling story compared to the usual callow and CGI-splattered spectacles that the cinema usually offers.