Secret Agent Gal Movie Reviews

Restless: death haunts young lovers - 2.5 stars

Death lurks while two teens fall in love in Restless, Gus Van Sant’s Harold and Maude inspired drama. Mia Wasikowska (The Kids Are All Right; Jane Eyre) and Henry Hopper (Dennis Hopper’s son) star.

The opening is intriguing. Enoch (Hopper) is a glum high school dropout who wears black and crashes funerals. He grieves vicariously for his mom and dad who died in a car accident. Enoch survived. He likes to remind others that he was “dead for three minutes” and awoke from a coma.

Annabel (Mia Wasikowska) is an optimist who talks to her hero Charlie Darwin. A winsome sprite with a brain tumor, she has three months to live. Annabel admires birds and beetles, and dubs herself a naturalist. She has transcended anger, living in acceptance and humor.

The two meet at a memorial service. Enoch rebuffs her, but Annabel persists. She recognizes a kindred soul. “Seen any good funerals lately?” is a conversation starter for these two.

I like odd movies, and really wanted to like Restless. Sentimental and trite, it tries too hard with swells of loud music and distracting flourishes (Annabel’s vintage wardrobe is endless). Talented Wasikowska has her moments, but Hopper struggles as morose Enoch.

The movie lingers in a graveyard of clever banter. The action falls flat even with a flurry of bucket list antics. Annabel accepts death as a friend, making light of the inevitable. Enoch is more obsessive.

They must race to fall in love. Their relationship is believable and painfully finite. With no future, they must live in the moment. Death is their silent partner.

Henry helps Annabel make the most of her last days. Scene after scene is artfully framed. Annabel looks healthy and radiant throughout. Restless is a felt experience. A valuable dramatic experiment, it falls short with one note whimsy.

What does work is the ghost. Enoch’s friend Hiroshi (Ryo Kase) was a kamikaze pilot in World War II. Still dressed in his jacket and flight cap, he pops by for witty conversation or a game of Battleship. Hiroshi lends a playful, quasi-fantasy quality here with comic relief. His character suggests that life and death are one, an ongoing continuum.

As Enoch’s mentor, Hiroshi isn’t afraid to talk sense to him. They get into a fist fight, providing welcome conflict. Something keeps the pilot hanging around, which is revealed at the movie’s end.

Restless lacks the nuance and power of Van Sant’s Elephant, Paranoid Park and Milk. This film avoids exploring the mystery of death and the meaning of existence.

A chalk-on-asphalt drawing of two fallen teens holding hands is the tipoff. Restless draws a happy face on death.

Other movies you might enjoy:  50/50; Love & Other Drugs.

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Restless     2011  /  PG-13  /  1 hour, 33 min

Cast Overview:  Henry Hopper, Mia Wasikowska, Ryo Kase, Schuyler Fisk, Jane Adams, Chin Han, Lusia Strus

Director:  Gus Van Sant

Genre:  Drama, Fantasy

Beginners *****

 

He may be late for the party, but Hal celebrates like it’s 1955. Smart and bittersweet, Beginners stars Christopher Plummer as a 75-year-old gay man who has just come out to his son Oliver (Ewan McGregor). Two parallel love stories are told. 

Beginners is masterfully directed and written by Mike Mills, whose own father came out late in life. Explored are the connections between father and son, father and new friends, son and father’s boyfriend, and son and girlfriend. This is a film of visual grace with a sensitive, vulnerable and thoughtful quality.

Plummer gives a vintage performance as Hal, a man who married for love in the hope that he could smother other desires within him. Fun-loving yet dignified, he’s diagnosed with cancer. The last few months of Hal’s life are reenacted with whimsy and directness, accompanied by Vaudeville tunes. “I don’t want to just be theoretically gay. I want to do something about it,” Hal says. As friends visit his sunny sickroom, he claims he’s getting better.

 

Patterns, shapes and forms represent life and love. After Hal’s death, Oliver adopts Arthur, a Jack Russell terrier who is more philosophical than most people. As Oliver talks with the dog, Arthur replies in subtitles. Their true friendship weaves low-key humor throughout the film.

Sex. Nature. Images of the sun, the sky and presidents past and present fill the screen. Oliver sketches faces of old girlfriends with captions. When he creates a sketch book for a rock band The Sads, they’re not taken with his images. All they wanted was an album cover. Sadness is unique for everyone. Oliver needs to savor and learn from it.

As Oliver begins seeing French actress Anna (Melanie Laurent, the theater owner in Inglourious Basterds), McGregor reveals insecurity and wisdom. The two meet at a costume party not long after Hal’s death. He’s Sigmund Freud. She’s Charlie Chaplin. He’s depressed. She has laryngitis. Playful and tentative, they explore each other and the world. He tells her about his father. “For the first time I saw him really in love.” 

Goran Visnjic is dark, intense and boyish as Hal’s young lover Andy. Hal must learn some new customs when Andy goes out on a date. “At least I’m the Number One boyfriend,” Hal tells his son wistfully. A scene between Oliver and Andy after Hal’s death is particularly moving.

Simple yet deep, Beginners discovers despair, emptiness and happiness. Deep, reflective characters live in a sweet, sincere film that will merit attention during Oscar season.

If you like Beginners, you might enjoy:  Barney’s Version; The Kids Are All Right.

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Beginners     2011  /  R  /  1 hour, 44 min

Cast Overview:  Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Melanie Laurent, Goran Visnjic, Kai Lennox, Mary Page Keller

Director:  Mike Mills

Genre:  Drama, Indie, Romance

 

The Ledge ****

 

Love drives Gavin to the ledge of a mid-town office building. He must jump by noon, he tells Detective Hollis Lucas. Hollis contemplates leaving his family after discovering his wife’s lies. Two desperate men meet in the suspenseful indie drama The Ledge, now playing on demand before it opens in theaters.

Featured at Sundance 2011, The Ledge showcases excellent acting by Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) as a hotel manager who pursues his beautiful, sad neighbor Shauna (Liv Tyler). Shauna is married to a Christian fundamentalist (Patrick Wilson). The film begins and ends on the ledge, but returns to the story of Gavin and Shauna while suspense builds.

Terrence Howard (Law & Order: LA, Hustle & Flow) provides intrigue as a police detective who has just discovered that he is not the father of his own children. So good at portraying a complex, gentle man smoldering with rage, the actor grounds the film with can’t-look-away screen presence and riveting delivery.

Tyler (The Incredible Hulk; The Lord of the Rings) plays a suppressed, fearful wife with a wild past who lets her husband dominate “for her own good.” “It’s more complicated than you think,” she tells Gavin. Seeking to be rescued, Shauna reels with conflicting needs and desires. This works well in counterpoint to the rooftop rescue underway.

As a lonely man with a mysterious past, Hunnam disguises Gavin’s warmth and generosity with devil-may-care irreverence.  When the jumper gazes at the picture of a little girl in his wallet, we want to know more.

 

Writer-director Matthew Chapman relies heavily on two plot devices. Atheist Gavin clashes with evangelical Joe in a conflict that’s one-sided from the start. The debate between believer and non-believer becomes tedious with dogmatic, hackneyed dialogue.

Gavin suffered a loss that explains his fatalism and dangerous liaison with a married woman. Wilson (Insidious) portrays an obsessed creep (“I am washed, sanctified and justified,”) but never makes Joe sympathetic or fully dimensional. More backstory for the character would have helped.

When Gavin and his gay roommate Chris (Christopher Gorham) join Joe and Shauna for dinner one night, Joe makes intolerant comments. The homophobia angle seems contrived in the film, as if cut and pasted from another screenplay.

Although The Ledge is set in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, there are no recognizable visual cues that could have added cultural interest. The movie is play-like with its intense, life or death countdown.

The Ledge ends on a strong note as Gavin and Hollis reach parallel resolutions on the worst day of their lives.

If you like The Ledge, you might enjoy: The Perfect Host; Limitless; The Double Hour.

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The Ledge     2011  /  NR  /  1 hour, 43 min

Cast Overview:  Charlie Hunnam, Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson, Terrence Howard, Christopher Gorham, Jacqueline Fleming

Director:  Matthew Chapman

Genre:  Suspense, Drama, Mystery

 

Lemon Tree *****

 

A Palestinian widow tends the lemon grove left by her father in the geo-political drama Lemon Tree. When the Israeli Defense Minister moves in next door, Salma (Hiam Abbass) must defend the trees she loves so dearly. The heartbreaking film is based on a true story.

The lemon trees are a bittersweet metaphor for generations of struggle over security and ownership. Director Eran Riklis (The Human Resources Manager; The Syrian Bride) crafts a very human look at the Israeli-Palestinian standoff.

Abbass (The Syrian Bride; Satin Rouge) is mesmerizing as the widow who embodies dignity, loneliness and eroticism. Her daughter is married and her son works as a dishwasher in America. Salma lives simply, caring for the trees, harvesting their fruit, and serving lemonade that thrills her occasional guests. Hers is a bountiful solitude in rhythm with nature.

When defense minister Israel Navon (Doron Tavory) moves into a mansion bordering Salma’s land with his wife Mira (Rona Lipaz-Michael), a watchtower is built and soldiers patrol the area. Salma receives a letter. The Secret Service orders that her trees be cut down for security.

Failing to get any assistance from the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli army, Salma meets with a young attorney Ziad Daud (Ali Suliman). Ziad is drawn to beautiful, stoic Salma. While the courts deliberate, the Israelis fence off the lemon grove, preventing Salma from entering. The trees begin to wither. Lemons cover the ground.

Lipaz-Michael is excellent as the minister’s cultured, lonely wife. Mira wrestles with contradictions. While she enjoys privilege, she becomes increasingly upset with the treatment of her neighbor Salma. Her struggle is heightened when she suspects her husband is having an affair. 

Mira and Salma never really meet, except for a tense encounter across the fence. Salma’s anger and Mira’s empathy are evident. Fear transforms into uneasy acceptance and respect. This invisible bond grows as Salma pursues her case all the way to Israel’s Supreme Court. An Israeli journalist also sympathizes with Salma.

 

Lemon Tree imparts wonderful surprises and humor. Tenderness grows between Ziad and Salma. Salma's elderly Arab gardener Hussam declares that trees have souls. Salma endures a neighbor who admonishes her for disrespecting her husband's memory by seeing Ziad. There are humorous moments surrounding her husband's photograph.

Rainer Klausmann achieves plain but vivid cinematography, from Salma’s bold climb over the fence, to the stark wall between Israel and Palestine.

If you like Lemon Tree, you might enjoy:  Miral; Ajami; Welcome.

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Lemon Tree   2008  /  NR  /  1 hr, 46 min

Cast Overview:  Hiam Abbass, Ali Suliman, Rona Lipaz-Michael, Doron Tavory, Tarik Copti, Makram J. Khoury, Amos Lavi, Amnon Wolf, Smadar Jaaron

Director:  Eran Riklis

Genres:  Drama, Foreign, True Story

Language:  Israeli and Palestinian with English subtitles

Water for Elephants ****

 

 

Beyond the big top, life is hell at Benzini Brothers Greatest Show on Earth. Animals are fed rotting meat and work until they collapse. Humans subsist on hooch and three squares, waiting weeks for a paycheck. Layoffs are dispensed by red lighting, with men thrown from a moving train.

The circus is home to a small, dedicated band seeking more than survival during the Depression. These beings want excitement and greatness, the chance to break free and be loved and accepted.

The show is built on illusion, but we may as well believe in this uneven adaptation of Sara Gruen’s novel Water for Elephants.

A madman drives this circus. Oscar winner Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) brings the most energy to the drama as ringmaster August. Bombastic, terse and menacing, Waltz plays a paranoid schizophrenic who pours champagne one moment and brutalizes his wife Marlena (Reese Witherspoon) the next.

Director Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend; Constantine) crams too much of the book into this film, and peers most at its harshest realities.  As a result, the action lags occasionally and we are left feeling grim.

Robert Pattinson seems to play Robert Pattinson rather than orphaned veterinary student Jacob Jankowski, displaying a Twilight-like, flat affect with a hint of smolder. The actor achieves some chemistry with glowing Witherspoon, and he convincingly relates to Rosie the elephant and other animals.

The love of animals and a “sixth sense” about the beasts draw Jacob and Marlena to each other. Tai, the elephant who plays Rosie, looks mournful as she’s brought in to save the struggling circus. We learn that she likes whiskey and lemonade, and answers to commands in Polish. Rosie performs her duties with uncanny wisdom. She’s capable of flashes of humor and rebellion.

This film received the No Animals Were Harmed (R) designation of the American Humane Association.

 

Pattinson’s low key approach doesn’t always stand up alongside colorful Waltz. In one confrontation with August, Jacob seems to fade into a wall. A high point is an early scene where the two leap atop boxcars of a train snaking into dusk.

Hal Holbrook ties the film together with early narration. As Jankowski in his nineties, he visits a modern-day circus and tells his story to Charlie (Paul Schneider). “I had a good life, you know. A big life.” With melodious voice and teary eyes, Holbrook is a treasure.

Reese Witherspoon is a regal survivor. In keeping with the tone of the film, she remains cool and removed. Delivering some wonderful equestrian acrobatic scenes, she loses the Witherspoon warmth found in Election and Legally Blonde.

“Out there I got nothing, just like everybody else” says Marlena. “There is something better for you,” Jacob tells her.

An excellent supporting cast includes Jim Norton as the roustabout Camel, and Mark Povinelli as Jacob’s roommate Walter.

Despite its PG-13 rating, Water for Elephants is not a feel-good, family film. Ultimately uplifting (screenwriter Richard LaGravenese uses Gruen’s delightful surprise ending), it dwells in a sad, gritty place.

Several violent scenes are added late in the film. These depart significantly from the novel. There was no need for them, since Gruen’s vision and her beloved animals deliver a baptism that is powerful enough.

If you like Water for Elephants, you might enjoy:  Red Riding Hood; The Last Lions; Born to Be Wild.

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Water for Elephants     2011  /  PG-13  /    2 hours

Cast Overview:  Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, Cristoph Waltz, Paul Schneider, Jim Norton, Hal Holbrook, Mark Povinelli, Richard Brake, Tai, Uggie, Ice, Major

Director:  Francis Lawrence

Genre:  Drama, Romantic Drama, Drama Based on the Book, Period Piece

Jane Eyre *****

 

Mia Wasikowska updates classic heroine Jane Eyre with passion and aplomb in Cary Fukunaga’s remake of the Charlotte Bronte novel. 

This is Wasikowska’s breakout role. Her talent and screen presence have attracted notice lately in The Kids Are All Right, In Treatment and Alice in Wonderland.

The Australian-born actor lends intelligent yearning to “poor, obscure” Jane. Gazing out a window at horizons she may never cross, she conveys inner strength and a vast spirit despite her humble circumstances as a governess.

Delightfully sassy with impertinent wit, Jane speaks out to her cruel aunt Mrs. Reed (Sally Hawkins) and to heartless headmaster Mr. Brocklehurst (Simon McBurney).  Amelia Clarkson plays young Jane.

Wasikowska does Bronte proud, revealing an advocate for women’s rights before such ideas had a name. This Jane stands in time alongside the heroine rendered by Samantha Morton (1997), Charlotte Gainsbourg (1996) and Joan Fontaine (1944).

Michael Fassbender embodies pain and sarcasm as Edward Rochester. What comes through is the character’s loneliness. One senses the isolation of Jane, Mr. Rochester and Mrs. Fairfax (Judi Dench), each turning to the other to meet their needs in some way.

Rochester’s stealthy handling of the madwoman in the attic bristles even while Fassbender reveals a sympathetic, conflicted man.

Jamie Bell plays pious and ultimately domineering St. John Rivers. Holliday Grainger and Tamzin Merchant shine as the supportive, nurturing Rivers sisters.

Jane Eyre fans will enjoy this film while remembering the over-the-top frenzy of Rochesters past (Orson Welles in 1944; Ciaran Hinds in 1997). They might miss more screen time for the violent madwoman (played briefly by Valentina Cervia), and a more dramatized fire scene in the master’s bedroom.

Chronology is confused with early cross-cutting. In the stirring opening, Jane flees Thornfield and is rescued by St. John Rivers. Next we see a brief review of her orphan days at the family’s Gateshead estate, and later at the Lowood Institution. 

Fukunaga (Sin Nombre) finally settles the tale into its natural dramatic arc with Jane’s arrival at Thornfield and her tutelage of Mr. Rochester’s charge Adele (Romy Settbon Moore).

Spare, powerful writing by Moira Buffini and impassioned delivery give Jane Eyre its ringing, memorable lines. “Children, I exhort you to with hold the hand of friendship to Jane Eyre.” “Mr. Rochester’s visits are always unexpected.” “You transfix me, quite.”

Cinematographer Adriano Goldman captures action in beautiful shades of pewter, contrasted with bright outdoor vistas.

 

Judi Dench is masterful as Mrs. Fairfax, opinionated, warm and manipulative. As head housekeeper, she rivals her master (and distant relative) Mr. Rochester even while pooh-poohing her status.

We see less merrymaking by elite Blanche Ingram (Imogen Poots) and her entourage. Poots adds interest with a Blanche who is more threatened by Jane from the start.

The heroine receives an inheritance, adding more power late in the drama.  A return to Edward would not be Jane’s only option. 

The final reunion scene lacks the outward fire of previous Jane Eyre films, yet it leaves much to the imagination in quiet beauty.

If you like Jane Eyre, you might enjoy: The Young Victoria; The Kids Are All Right; Red Riding Hood.

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Jane Eyre     2011  /  PG-13  /  2 hours, 1 min

Cast Overview: Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Amelia Clarkson, Sally Hawkins, Freya Parks, Holliday Grainger, Tamzin Merchant, Imogen Poots, Valentina Cervi, Judi Dench

Director:  Cary Joji Fukunaga

Genre:  Drama, Romance, Period Piece, Drama Based on the Book

Certified Copy ***

 

 

Intellectual banter turns cat and mouse in the art house romantic drama Certified Copy. This walk and talk, European-style film by modernist Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami is his first Western creation. The circumspect filmmaker won the Palme D’or for A Taste of Cherry (1997).

Certified Copy is akin to My Dinner With Andre and L’Avventura.  Alas, it is short on interesting ideas, and long on teary hissy fits.

Playful, provocative and frustrating, the story is so thin and open-ended that it can be interpreted manifold. Was that the point?

Here’s one possible theme: Does real love accept what is or chase an ideal?

British author James Miller (opera singer William Shimell in his fine screen debut) is a quiet rebel who loves to find the authentic in what society considers “fake.” His book is called Certified Copy. 

After his book tour in Tuscany, he accepts the invitation of antiques dealer Elle (Juliette Binoche, Best Actress winner at Cannes for this role) to escort him on a day trip to the village of Lucignano. 

Elle passionately believes in authenticity, whether in art or in a man.

Men are not works of art, but works in progress.  Elle’s husband left her years ago. Her son is annoyingly happy-go-lucky. “No understanding of time!” she wails. Time and tradition honor Elle’s ideals. Accepting what is now drives her crazy.

Miller’s love life remains a mystery. It’s clear that he values beauty where he finds it, especially when it is overlooked by society. He seems immune to many sensual delights around him, including the charms of Elle.

The actors generate fascination, especially while Elle drives the visitor through the lovely Tuscan countryside.  Reflections move over the windshield as the two express their convictions. Elle reveals more of her heart. Miller stays safely within his head.

Miller admires the Cypress trees that line the road.  Each one is a “copy” of its ancestors, yet original and beautiful in its own right. Are we just replicas of our ancestors, or something more?

Cinematographer Luca Bigazzi captures gorgeous scenes along the roadway and in a cafe, museum, piazza and chapel. Mostly he studies the actors’ faces, with close-ups of anguish, longing and distance.

A cafe owner (Gianna Giachetti) shares her traditional opinions about husbands and wives. She mistakes the two as a married couple. Elle goes along with the deceit. Surprisingly, Miller does as well. The film begins to run aground.

 

As newlyweds mill about at a popular wedding site, Elle insists that the faux couple pose with a bride and groom for a picture. She pretends that they were married here 15 years ago.  This, along with a mirrored scene in a piazza, goes nowhere.

Are they or aren’t they a couple? This is part of the riddle that Kiarostami employs. The story becomes tedious despite its dry humor.  Binoche creates near hysteria as she insists on ideal love. Shimell grows wooden.

Elle zigs and zags between authenticity and role playing. She exhausts herself. Miller’s calm demeanor dissolves. He turns frazzled and out of sorts. Elle begins to pursue him. They circle and spar.  

Love is life’s meaning for Elle. Miller (and perhaps Kiarostami) dwells in existentialism. We create life’s meaning. Love happens – or it does not.

"There are no immutable truths in art," Miller says at the book tour. When romance is so muddled, can we ever begin again?

If you like Certified Copy, you might enjoy: 35 Shots of Rum; Somewhere; Mademoiselle Chambon.

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Certified Copy     2010  /  NR  /  1 hour, 46 min

Cast: Juliette Binoche, William Shimell, Jean-Claude Carriere, Agathe Natanson, Gianna Giachetti, Adrian Moore, Angelo Barbagallo

Director:  Abbas Kiarostami

Genre:  Drama, Foreign Film

Languages: French, Italian and English with English subtitles

 

Red Riding Hood ***

 

Red Riding Hood grows up as Amanda Seyfried plays the luscious maiden who carries both dagger and picnic basket.

Seyfried (Letters to Juliet; Dear John; Chloe), wide-eyed and bosomy, wears nubile womanhood well with her hypnotic screen presence. Valerie is a strong heroine as she follows her heart and confronts a werewolf.

Fear and superstition, honor and bravery hold sway within her forest village of Daggerhorn. The people know the ways of herbs, hunting and gathering. They revel in bacchanalia, festivals of dance and drink.

The Wolf is no legend.  He haunts the community at the blood moon. The people have appeased him with animal sacrifices for years. Without warning, he strikes down another villager, Valerie’s own sister.

A purple-robed werewolf hunter arrives with a small army who vow to root out evil within any and every villager. Gary Oldman plays Father Solomon with cut-throat fervor.

Like Grendel, the Wolf has his own story to tell, but that’s not revealed until the end of this fanciful reimagining of the Little Red Riding Hood fable by the Brothers Grimm.

Director Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) delivers her whimsical, solemn coming of age tale with beautiful set design and good special effects.

A massive, bloodthirsty Wolf speaks in desperate, guttural tones. Dismembered limbs and knife wounds abound. Still the effects are muted with much left to one’s imagination.

Building a contemporary feel are riffs of musical score by Alex Heffes and Brian Reitzell.  Heffes, whose film credits include The Last King of Scotland and BAFTA-winning Touching the Void, is known for his modern / experimental style with grand overtones.

Trite, stale dialogue mars what could have been a better film. Still, Red Riding Hood casts a spell with gorgeous aerial photography of the landscape and Valerie, her crimson cloak floating on the wind over white snow.

Best of all is a plot that keeps us guessing. Anyone could be the Wolf as the terrified group descends into petty accusations and witch hunts.

 

Dashing Shiloh Fernandez (Red; Deadgirl) plays Peter, an orphaned woodcutter and Valerie’s true flame.  Max Irons (Dorian Gray; Unrequited Love) – son of Jeremy Irons – plays Valerie’s honorable betrothed.

Hardwicke captures the ripeness of youth, beautiful and handsome, tentative and impetuous, obedient and rebellious.

The three young stars really deliver what it’s like to be young. There’s a strong desire to take on romance, a poignant tenderness towards the elders who love and guide them.

Julie Christie is fascinating as Grandmother, a shaman-like good witch who concocts hearty stews in her own cabin away from the others. Christie’s delivery and sense of drama are wonderful.  Wearing lots of dangly jewelry and earthy shawls, she wove Valerie’s bright red cape (an early wedding present).

Billy Burke (Twilight) and Virginia Madsen (Monk; The Event) protect their daughter. Mama is eager to marry Valerie off to well-to-do Henry, who she doesn’t love.

Valerie’s independent spirit lives throughout the film and its surreal, seductive ending.  

May that primeval howl live on in all of us.

If you like Red Riding Hood, you might enjoy: The Eagle; Splice; 127 Hours.

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Red Riding Hood     2011  /  PG-13  /  1 hour, 40 min

Cast:  Amanda Seyfried, Megan Charpentier, Gary Oldman, Billy Burke, Shiloh Fernandez, DJ Greenburg, Max Irons, Virginia Madsen, Lukas Haas, Julie Christie

Director:  Catherine Hardwicke

Genre:  Thriller, Supernatural Thriller, Horror, Romantic Drama

The Adjustment Bureau ***1/2

 
 
Free will is at stake as Matt Damon and Emily Blunt star in The Adjustment Bureau, a sci-fi thriller with a passionate but predictable romance.

The film doesn’t venture too deeply into its premise, that benevolent aliens (who look human) control our individual destinies – for our own good, they insist.  Wearing hats and suits, they resemble Men in Black more than angels.

The Adjustment Bureau is pleasing enough with fine work by Damon and Blunt. The chase scenes are exciting. The mystery of why the Bureau is so interested in preventing the hot romance between New York Congressman David Norris (Damon) and ballerina Elise Sellas (Blunt) is revealed gradually.

Yet those who have heard such conspiracy tales may yearn for a more original twist on the short story Adjustment Team by Philip K. Dick. You won’t find that here.

First-time director George Nolfi did adapt the script successfully to appeal to a broad audience. He’s a director to watch out for as his honest, upfront work continues to evolve. Nolfi also wrote The Bourne Ultimatum (2007); The Sentinel (2006) and Ocean’s Twelve (2004).

Right after Norris loses a Senate campaign, Richardson (Mad Men’s John Slattery) tells him that following The Plan is best for his future and Elise’s. The proof? He and the other agents carry small, electronic books that show The Plan unfolding.  Any false move by Norris is immediately flagged and sends the agents scurrying.

The film is just realistic enough to make one wonder whether our own nationally elected officials have been visited by such Mad Men lookalikes.

When a big gun is called in to reason with Norris (Terence Stamp as foreboding Thompson), the upstart remains bull-headed.  Disaster looms. He’s warned that his decision could wreck the world’s future.

 

Agent Harry Mitchell (emotive Anthony Mackie, excellent here) befriends Norris.

Norris’ ultimate price to pay for disobedience would be a dreaded “reset” (the equivalent of a lobotomy). Only the Chairman, a man “we have all met” who could “look like anyone” has the power to intervene.

Cameos by Michael Bloomberg, Jon Stewart and other talking heads add authenticity as Norris pursues national political office.

Damon makes a dynamic, honest politician. A college mooning prank, offensive to voters, is not serious enough to keep Norris from running again for the Senate. Michael Kelly plays his loyal campaign manager.

The handsome visual style of the film reflects Nolfi’s love of architecture.  Production designer Kevin Thompson, location manager Rob Streim and cinematographer John Toll tapped New York City locations including the roof of 30 Rockefeller Center; the New York Public Library; the Custom House in lower Manhattan; the Waldorf Astoria Hotel; the South Street Seaport area; the West Village; the field at Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Park.

If you like The Adjustment Bureau, you might enjoy: Inception; The American; Conviction; Hereafter; Green Zone.

The Adjustment Bureau  2011  /  PG-13  /  1 hour, 46 min

Cast:  Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Michael Kelly, Terence Stamp

Director:  George Nolfi

Genre:  Sci-Fi Thriller, Drama, Romance

Blue Valentine ****

 

In a raw and emotionally explosive look at a dying marriage, Blue Valentine, two hearts are dissected piece by piece. It’s a romance that borders on normalcy and horror.

Blue Valentine lives in the intense chemistry between Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling.  As steady, determined Cindy and romantic, aimless Dean, the two take awesome risks to ignite the love story at the heart of their present-day, sad relationship. At various points in time, Gosling almost leaps off a bridge, and Williams bares all making love to a man she no longer loves.

Unfortunately, Derek Cianfrance’s direction and the film’s editing sometimes muddle the story. 

With stunning realism, Blue Valentine suffers from frequent flashbacks that have become overused in American films.  Its soundtrack relies too heavily on the overt lyrics and Gosling’s Tiny Tim-like ukulele solo of You Always Hurt the One You Love.

The story jolts back and forth from the couple’s darkening present to its innocent, carefree beginnings. The present is torture at times, especially during a scene in an outer space-themed motel room with a revolving bed.

Dean’s genesis as a mean alcoholic is never fully developed. We see that he has been a mover and house painter. He says he is now happy being a stay-at-home dad.

 

Cindy holds a steady, professional job as a nurse in an OB/GYN practice.  The questionable paternity of their daughter Frankie (wonderful Faith Wladyka) seems to touch a nerve in Dean’s inherently self-destructive personality.

We learn that Cindy’s father (John Doman) bullied his family (no explanation given), and that she has a history of choosing abusive boyfriends. 

In an impromptu scene, Dean perches precariously atop a safety fence on the Brooklyn Bridge, threatening to jump if Cindy doesn’t reveal a secret. His immaturity, when contrasted with the great rapport he has later with daughter Frankie, is painful to watch.

Gosling is potent in a violent scene trashing the doctor’s office where Cindy works.  In his own pitiful way, he intuits the truth about Cindy’s opportunity for advancement and the doctor’s feelings for her.  

Explicit sexuality runs the gamut from joyful to sad to hurtful.  The stars employ their bodies to evoke sweetness and brutal honestly. 

This may be the best performance of Williams' career as valiant Cindy.  Williams (Brokeback Mountain) and Gosling (Lars and the Real Girl) both gained 15 pounds to portray present-day husband and wife.

Dampened by intrusive flashbacks, the conclusion struggles to tie the story together. It’s clear that Cindy has grown over time. Dean lives in the past.

If you like Blue Valentine, you might enjoy:  Two Lovers; Crazy Heart; Up in the Air; The Town.

Blue Valentine   2010  /  R  /  2 hours

Cast Overview:   Michelle Williams, Ryan Gosling, John Doman, Faith Wladyka, Mike Vogel

Director:  Derek Cianfrance

Genres:  Indie Drama, Indie Romance