By Rick Jackson
Unknown is an above average suspense yarn that owes a lot to Alfred Hitchcock. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan), it stars Liam Neeson as Dr. Martin Harris, an American scientist who is in Berlin to attend a conference. Shortly after his arrival, he suffers a head injury in an accident and from this moment on he becomes a pawn in an elaborate scheme which is slowly revealed in the second half. Your patience as a moviegoer is required if you are to follow the simple but intricate plot xourtesy of the director's subjective camera where you also become an observer of events that are about to happen to Harris, the film's central character. This refers to everything that occurs psychologically as well as empirically from what you see and understand from the beginning.
Based on the novel by French author Didier Van Cauwelaert, screenwriters Olivier Butcher and Stephen Cornwell are careful not to let you get too frustrated along the wayby including enough supplementary characters to hold your interest. These include a mysterious woman named Gina (Diane Kruger) who appears oit of nowhere to save Harris. She plays a pivotal role as an illegal
immigrant taxi driver.
January Jones is perfectly cast as Harris' wife Elizabeth who is so convincing that you wonder if she is actually part of the ruse that has befallen her husband or if she has lost her mind completely. There aren't enough scenes to debate it for good reason because you are meant to digest each minute as it comes and let the characters tell you what is going on so you can judge from your perception of it all as either truth or fantasy or both courtesy of the screenwriters.
There is, however, the utmost certainty of waiting long enough to be entertained despite the fact not all that precedes it may be satisfactorily explained, or is it. I will leave that up to you to decide for I don't want to be a spoiler.
Collet-Serra's simplicity and direct approach to a theme that Hitchcock liked to use works in even if Unknown does not kick butt like Taken did in 2009. Neeson does succeed by injecting his character with enough courage and fortitude to give an immeasurable and powerful performance as a victim of circumstance.
Two key characters help you understand the mystery of what has happened to Harris and they are played by Bruno Ganz (Wings of Desire) and Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon). Both seasoned actors contribute to the story's undercurrent of paranoia and hysteria in laying out Harris' dilemma as a result of his personal quandary and amnesia from the accident you see at the very beginning. Watch how the director doesn't provide a lot of closeups so as to keep you in the dark and keep you guessing from the moment Harris wakes up and is told by the doctor what has happened to him along with a warning of oncoming symptoms he may experience.
Butcher and Cornwell have carefully thought out the motives of each character and they are rightfully part of the director's personal deception to keep you asking yourself why and where it is all going.
Like Cary Grant's Roger Thornhill in Hitchcock's North By Northwest (1959) who is forced to assume Kaplan's identity, Harris' is a similar journey of discovery of fiction versus reality. The establishment of his identity is also a case of who you can trust in resolving his dilemma.
In thinking of the film in those simple terms, it is more straightforward
If you are a fan of Hitchcock's you may recall other protagonists/heroes who must learn to trust somebody on the fringe of experience in Sabotage, Psycho, The Birds, The Thirty-Nine Steps and Spellbound.
Hitchcock once said that drama is life with the dull parts cut out, and Unknown is an incaluable and entertaining piece of cinema which may be the ultimate thrill at the movies this year.
It is rated 14A, with the warnings: violence, language may offend and disturbing content.
February 20, 2011
Copyright Rick Jackson 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
127 HOURS (FOX SEARCHLIGHT, 2010)****
By Rick Jackson
Based on the book, Between A Rock And A Hard Place by Aron Ralston, 127 Hours refers to the time the author's right hand was pinned against a dislodged boulder. Only by amputating his forearm with a pen knife was he able to free himself.
James Franco gives an extraordinary performance as Ralston. As you watch him, you can't help be moved by his courage and knowledge of survival as an experienced outdoorsman, and it makes you think of what you might do under the same circumstances.
He does not let his character become angry or depressed and this allows you to become absorbed in the dramatic details which director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Millions) maintains a steady hand without resorting to melodrama or computer generated special effects.
Screenwriters Boyle and Simon Beaufoy convey Ralston's fundamental characteristics as a cocky and bold individual who was not afraid of anything. In a prologue you are introduced to Ralston's experience outdoors when he gives directions to two girls, Megan and Kristi (Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara) who are lost. Right from the start, you see Ralston's adventuresome spirit. After he is pinned down, he maintains the same sense of involvement and dignity when he tries to overcome boredom by pretending his camera is part of a reality TV show where he is being interviewed by himself.
Filmed on location in Utah, 127 Hours benefits by its sparse location and the well defined limits where Ralston remains trapped. The underwater cavern where he and the two girls share some fun together let you forget momentarily what you know is going to happen.
While trapped the sky symbolizes the one impossible way to escape. Being able to fly like the raven which you see fly over him reminds you of Ralston's position and mortality. Boyle cross cuts between his position and the great outdoors surrounding him and there lies a chance of hope if he can figure out a way out of his dilemma and resume his journey as an expert of the area.
You quickly are swept up by cinematographers Anthony Dodd Mantle and Enrique Chediak's effective camera work. The bold, blue sky, the raven flying innocently in the air as if it is being carried by the wind, and the deep blue water earlier in the film show how precarious life is in the wild where civilization is kept within a hand's reach of Ralston's camera, pen knife and water bottle reminiscent of Piggy's glasses in William Golding's Lord of the Flies.
Franco's Ralston arguably emerges heroic because tyou know the real Ralston made it. At the same time Franco remains vigilant as the central character whose sense of humour and survival instincts kept him from going crazy. One can admit he was lucky because he was, but never does it take away or excuse his ability to use his athletic prowess as a means of making his escape a reality when he is ready.
One might also argue over the coincidence and kindness of strangers that Ralston encounters twice but this only proves how one can never be sure of who you are going to be lucky enough to meet. It doesn't come across as contrived as you might think. Rember the last time you met a stranger who helped you when you least expected it.
Augmented by a rock music soundtrack, Franco's strong acting gives Ralston the right realistic edge which beats at the heart of the film, and you are entertained in a personally engaging experience you will not soon forget.
It is rated 14A, with the warnings: disturbing content, coarse language, and graphic violence.
February 12, 2011
Copyright Rick Jackson 2011
Based on the book, Between A Rock And A Hard Place by Aron Ralston, 127 Hours refers to the time the author's right hand was pinned against a dislodged boulder. Only by amputating his forearm with a pen knife was he able to free himself.
James Franco gives an extraordinary performance as Ralston. As you watch him, you can't help be moved by his courage and knowledge of survival as an experienced outdoorsman, and it makes you think of what you might do under the same circumstances.
He does not let his character become angry or depressed and this allows you to become absorbed in the dramatic details which director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Millions) maintains a steady hand without resorting to melodrama or computer generated special effects.
Screenwriters Boyle and Simon Beaufoy convey Ralston's fundamental characteristics as a cocky and bold individual who was not afraid of anything. In a prologue you are introduced to Ralston's experience outdoors when he gives directions to two girls, Megan and Kristi (Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara) who are lost. Right from the start, you see Ralston's adventuresome spirit. After he is pinned down, he maintains the same sense of involvement and dignity when he tries to overcome boredom by pretending his camera is part of a reality TV show where he is being interviewed by himself.
Filmed on location in Utah, 127 Hours benefits by its sparse location and the well defined limits where Ralston remains trapped. The underwater cavern where he and the two girls share some fun together let you forget momentarily what you know is going to happen.
While trapped the sky symbolizes the one impossible way to escape. Being able to fly like the raven which you see fly over him reminds you of Ralston's position and mortality. Boyle cross cuts between his position and the great outdoors surrounding him and there lies a chance of hope if he can figure out a way out of his dilemma and resume his journey as an expert of the area.
You quickly are swept up by cinematographers Anthony Dodd Mantle and Enrique Chediak's effective camera work. The bold, blue sky, the raven flying innocently in the air as if it is being carried by the wind, and the deep blue water earlier in the film show how precarious life is in the wild where civilization is kept within a hand's reach of Ralston's camera, pen knife and water bottle reminiscent of Piggy's glasses in William Golding's Lord of the Flies.
Franco's Ralston arguably emerges heroic because tyou know the real Ralston made it. At the same time Franco remains vigilant as the central character whose sense of humour and survival instincts kept him from going crazy. One can admit he was lucky because he was, but never does it take away or excuse his ability to use his athletic prowess as a means of making his escape a reality when he is ready.
One might also argue over the coincidence and kindness of strangers that Ralston encounters twice but this only proves how one can never be sure of who you are going to be lucky enough to meet. It doesn't come across as contrived as you might think. Rember the last time you met a stranger who helped you when you least expected it.
Augmented by a rock music soundtrack, Franco's strong acting gives Ralston the right realistic edge which beats at the heart of the film, and you are entertained in a personally engaging experience you will not soon forget.
It is rated 14A, with the warnings: disturbing content, coarse language, and graphic violence.
February 12, 2011
Copyright Rick Jackson 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
BARNEY'S VERSION (E-ONE, 2010)****
By Rick Jackson
Paul Giamatti is unforgettable as Barney Panofsky in director Richard J. Lewis' Barney's Version. Based on Mordecai Richler's 1997 novel, which was his last, this is a rich characterization of Jewish life in Montreal where the author lived. He used satire and vibrant depictions of Jewish Montreal that often caused controversy and thought provoking opinions. Much of it is funny but as his children expressed after his death in July 2001, he was a loving father to his children and a loving husband to his wife Florence, to whom his work as a writer were monumental letters, said his son Daniel at his funeral.
During his final days, Mordecai maintained a sense of humour and had planned a trip to Italy with his wife in August to attend a literary festival.
Giamatti captures with an eloquent and satirical touch the author as a man who led a meticulous life and was a perfectionist. Barney runs a TV studio called Unnecessary Productions. He exudes a quality of humanity which he assumes well along with a biting sense of welcome humour. His love for women is shown in his three marriages: Clara (Rachelle Lefevre), who teaches him not to trust women and not to fool with them, or else; the second Mrs. Panofsky(Minnie Driver) who behaves as a demanding princess who reminds Barney of her masters degree, and Miriam (Rosamund Pike), who he first meets at a wedding reception. She is smart, beautiful, and isn't interested in getting involved with a married man. Pike injects enough candor and honour to her role that she almost steals the film because she proves to her husband the meaning of what real love means. They have two children together and are happy, but Barney remains an enigma to reality because there always seems to be something better he wants and Giamatti conveys this mystery and detachment toward life that Richler may have secretly felt himself and was only able to communicate this through the power of the written word. You see Barney wanting to be left alone so he could get drunk as something more exciting than being with his wife and children. Yet there is a quality to his character that makes him a romantic at heart and Giamatti adds to his measured and outstanding performance by never revealing his true feelings completely. He remains as complex as Richler's own life may also have been without interviewing those who really knew him. The actor portrays Barney as a truly remarkable person caufht in a mundane life filled with ordinariness as a human being who you believe can exist because underneath his flawed perception of individuality there is still a depth of feeling that Giamatti carries throughout the film with an unflinching attitude and purpose that ultimately defines Barney Panofsky.
In an excellent supporting role, Dustin Hoffman plays Israel "Izzy," Barney's ex-cop father who imparts wisdom that contributes to your enjoyment. His ability to make him avuncular one minute and fatherly the next, allows you to see how excessively warm and respectful he is as an experienced worldly man who doesn't need to be anyone but himself. He remains happy and loved by his son, Barney.
The rest of the cast features Scott Speedman as Boogie, a writer friend of Barney's who injects an elment of tragedy that reminded me of George Stevens' A Place In The Sun (1951) which was based on Theodore Sreiser's An American Tragedy.
In the screenplay by Michael Konyves, there is a balance of drama and satire to appreciate and along the way you are surprised by the wealth of acting that brings to the screen a passion for life underneath the seriousness that pervades during the first half. The second half is filled with an equal amount of exuberance and spirit of experiencing life full of grace and contentment to make anyone's life worth living every day without regret. Barney is one man whose life made a difference much like Richler's in real life and whose admirers are ready and able to defend.
It is rated 14A, with the warnings: coarse language and sexual content.
February 6, 2011
Copyright Rick Jackson 2011
Paul Giamatti is unforgettable as Barney Panofsky in director Richard J. Lewis' Barney's Version. Based on Mordecai Richler's 1997 novel, which was his last, this is a rich characterization of Jewish life in Montreal where the author lived. He used satire and vibrant depictions of Jewish Montreal that often caused controversy and thought provoking opinions. Much of it is funny but as his children expressed after his death in July 2001, he was a loving father to his children and a loving husband to his wife Florence, to whom his work as a writer were monumental letters, said his son Daniel at his funeral.
During his final days, Mordecai maintained a sense of humour and had planned a trip to Italy with his wife in August to attend a literary festival.
Giamatti captures with an eloquent and satirical touch the author as a man who led a meticulous life and was a perfectionist. Barney runs a TV studio called Unnecessary Productions. He exudes a quality of humanity which he assumes well along with a biting sense of welcome humour. His love for women is shown in his three marriages: Clara (Rachelle Lefevre), who teaches him not to trust women and not to fool with them, or else; the second Mrs. Panofsky(Minnie Driver) who behaves as a demanding princess who reminds Barney of her masters degree, and Miriam (Rosamund Pike), who he first meets at a wedding reception. She is smart, beautiful, and isn't interested in getting involved with a married man. Pike injects enough candor and honour to her role that she almost steals the film because she proves to her husband the meaning of what real love means. They have two children together and are happy, but Barney remains an enigma to reality because there always seems to be something better he wants and Giamatti conveys this mystery and detachment toward life that Richler may have secretly felt himself and was only able to communicate this through the power of the written word. You see Barney wanting to be left alone so he could get drunk as something more exciting than being with his wife and children. Yet there is a quality to his character that makes him a romantic at heart and Giamatti adds to his measured and outstanding performance by never revealing his true feelings completely. He remains as complex as Richler's own life may also have been without interviewing those who really knew him. The actor portrays Barney as a truly remarkable person caufht in a mundane life filled with ordinariness as a human being who you believe can exist because underneath his flawed perception of individuality there is still a depth of feeling that Giamatti carries throughout the film with an unflinching attitude and purpose that ultimately defines Barney Panofsky.
In an excellent supporting role, Dustin Hoffman plays Israel "Izzy," Barney's ex-cop father who imparts wisdom that contributes to your enjoyment. His ability to make him avuncular one minute and fatherly the next, allows you to see how excessively warm and respectful he is as an experienced worldly man who doesn't need to be anyone but himself. He remains happy and loved by his son, Barney.
The rest of the cast features Scott Speedman as Boogie, a writer friend of Barney's who injects an elment of tragedy that reminded me of George Stevens' A Place In The Sun (1951) which was based on Theodore Sreiser's An American Tragedy.
In the screenplay by Michael Konyves, there is a balance of drama and satire to appreciate and along the way you are surprised by the wealth of acting that brings to the screen a passion for life underneath the seriousness that pervades during the first half. The second half is filled with an equal amount of exuberance and spirit of experiencing life full of grace and contentment to make anyone's life worth living every day without regret. Barney is one man whose life made a difference much like Richler's in real life and whose admirers are ready and able to defend.
It is rated 14A, with the warnings: coarse language and sexual content.
February 6, 2011
Copyright Rick Jackson 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
RABBIT HOLE (MAPLE, 2010)****
By Rick Jackson
Director John Cameron Mitchell's Rabbit Hole is a low key drama about grief. It's tone is set by the quiet music score composed by Anton Sanko. The strings, flute and piano underscore the moods of the characters so well, it mirrors the story's simplistic overtones which, in turn, give you the opportunity to watch and listen more without unnecessary dialogue.
Moviegoers expecting a sad, depressing film because of what some film critics have read into it, will be relieved by this esoteric tale that also shares with it something that is much more powerful in its examination of Becca and Howie's adjustments to life eight months after the death of their four-year-old son. Both of them are reaching out for help but find themselves hurting more. Becca turns to an impressionable young man named Jason. She sees him as a substitute for her dead son who she idealistically sees all grown up through him. Watch how she reacts to him at a wedding.
Nicole Kidman conveys considerable restraint in her sensitive performance. At no time does she draw your sympathy because she would lessen the impact of her character and the film.
Aaron Eckhart's Howie is heartsick over his son's death so much his rage has him looking for reminders (such as photographs) because he wants to remember what he looked like. He wants his wife to bring back the boy's dog because he believes it may help his loss.
In his screenplay based on his own play, David Lindsay-Abaire slowly absorbs you in what may be, on the surface, a personal story he has written to deal with his own grief. Underneath there is some laughter which serves as a defense mechanism and a break from the seriousness of the plot. There is, at the heart of the movie, an understanding of grief at its most basic. What Rabbit Hole is best at is in its accurate portrayal of how each of us handles grief differently and the psychological effects that we ignore, and the impact it all has on other family members and friends.
The film's title comes from a comic book created by Jason to help deal with an accident in his teens when he killed a boy named Danny while behind the wheel of a car. The images of disembodied bodies surrounded by trumpets smybolize Jason's inability to communicate his feelings since the tragedy and he has found a way to cope through his expression of art.
As Jason, Miles Teller at first comes across as quiet and disturbed but, as you get to know him, you begin to understand him better. His silence is timed perfectly along with his intonation when he speaks.
Mitchell directs each scene with equal sensitivity and depth and, as a result, you are left with indelible performances by the ensemble cast. The feelings they do not disguise the hurt that will never go away, and that time will only ease their pain. Becca's mother knows this and Dianne Wiest gives her the inner strength to understand how she has been able to handle grief since the death of her husband.
All the characters in Rabbit Hole succeed in transferring simply and dramatically how their grief has affected them and you see how each one deals with it.
Each scene is directed with equal sensitively and depth and, as a result, the entire cast delivers a simple, universal story that is equally compelling to watch from beginning to end.
It is rated 14A, with the warnings: mature theme, language may offend, and substance abuse.
January 30, 2011
Copyright Rick Jackson 2011
Note: Rabbit Hole is playing at the Screening Room where two other films by the same director also played: Hedwig And The Angry Inch which I reviewed on September 22, 2001 and Shortbus on November 25, 2006.
Director John Cameron Mitchell's Rabbit Hole is a low key drama about grief. It's tone is set by the quiet music score composed by Anton Sanko. The strings, flute and piano underscore the moods of the characters so well, it mirrors the story's simplistic overtones which, in turn, give you the opportunity to watch and listen more without unnecessary dialogue.
Moviegoers expecting a sad, depressing film because of what some film critics have read into it, will be relieved by this esoteric tale that also shares with it something that is much more powerful in its examination of Becca and Howie's adjustments to life eight months after the death of their four-year-old son. Both of them are reaching out for help but find themselves hurting more. Becca turns to an impressionable young man named Jason. She sees him as a substitute for her dead son who she idealistically sees all grown up through him. Watch how she reacts to him at a wedding.
Nicole Kidman conveys considerable restraint in her sensitive performance. At no time does she draw your sympathy because she would lessen the impact of her character and the film.
Aaron Eckhart's Howie is heartsick over his son's death so much his rage has him looking for reminders (such as photographs) because he wants to remember what he looked like. He wants his wife to bring back the boy's dog because he believes it may help his loss.
In his screenplay based on his own play, David Lindsay-Abaire slowly absorbs you in what may be, on the surface, a personal story he has written to deal with his own grief. Underneath there is some laughter which serves as a defense mechanism and a break from the seriousness of the plot. There is, at the heart of the movie, an understanding of grief at its most basic. What Rabbit Hole is best at is in its accurate portrayal of how each of us handles grief differently and the psychological effects that we ignore, and the impact it all has on other family members and friends.
The film's title comes from a comic book created by Jason to help deal with an accident in his teens when he killed a boy named Danny while behind the wheel of a car. The images of disembodied bodies surrounded by trumpets smybolize Jason's inability to communicate his feelings since the tragedy and he has found a way to cope through his expression of art.
As Jason, Miles Teller at first comes across as quiet and disturbed but, as you get to know him, you begin to understand him better. His silence is timed perfectly along with his intonation when he speaks.
Mitchell directs each scene with equal sensitivity and depth and, as a result, you are left with indelible performances by the ensemble cast. The feelings they do not disguise the hurt that will never go away, and that time will only ease their pain. Becca's mother knows this and Dianne Wiest gives her the inner strength to understand how she has been able to handle grief since the death of her husband.
All the characters in Rabbit Hole succeed in transferring simply and dramatically how their grief has affected them and you see how each one deals with it.
Each scene is directed with equal sensitively and depth and, as a result, the entire cast delivers a simple, universal story that is equally compelling to watch from beginning to end.
It is rated 14A, with the warnings: mature theme, language may offend, and substance abuse.
January 30, 2011
Copyright Rick Jackson 2011
Note: Rabbit Hole is playing at the Screening Room where two other films by the same director also played: Hedwig And The Angry Inch which I reviewed on September 22, 2001 and Shortbus on November 25, 2006.
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