MY VIEWING DIARY: PART FIVE

"Fast Color" (2019)

Part family drama and part sci-fi thriller, "Fast Color", from co-writer and director, Julia Hart, is a quietly riveting, supernatural mystery with elements of super-hero adventure.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Ruth, a young woman who has been on the run for some time, trying to avoid being captured by a nefarious organization. They want to study her due to the seizures that she has which releases an uncontrollable powerful energy that causes destructive seismic shifts. Ruth lives in a dystopian world that's dry and crumbling because it has not rained in years, making water a valuable commodity. Overwhelmed and exhausted, Ruth makes her way back to the remote farm where she grew-up to her mother (Lorraine Toussaint) and the daughter (Saniyya Sidney) she left behind with her. While back at home, she slowly reconnects with her loved ones and discovers that her special abilities have been a part of the women in her family for generations. But the relentless scientists are closing in with the help of a local sheriff (David Straithairn) who has secrets of his own. 

The compelling storytelling, striking visual effects and graceful performances would be enough to make this film exceptionally appealing yet what makes "Fast Color" really stand out is that the central characters are African-American and female which is a move that is unexpected and enlightened for this genre. "Fast Color" was released modestly last year and this smart, thrilling adventure didn't receive all the attention it certainly deserves. This is a film that you should definitely seek out.




"Sisters" (1973)

One of the earliest of Brian DePalma's feature films is "Sisters", an overwrought psychological thriller which also serves as a low-wattage homage (or to some, blatant rip-off) to the acclaimed work of Alfred Hitchcock. 

Loosely inspired by the true-life story of the conjoined Krivoshlyapova twins from the Soviet Union, ad salesman, Philip (Lisle Wilson) and French-Canadian model/actress, Danielle (Margot Kidder) meet while participating on a "Candid Camera" type game show in New York. He offers Danielle to be his date for his prize of dinner at a restaurant with the couple having a good time. As they continue the evening at her place in Staten Island, Danielle sees her former husband, Emil (William Finley) watching outside the apartment, realizing that he's been following them all night. Pretending to leave, with Emil departing not long afterwards, Philip sneaks back to Danielle so they can continue their date. The next morning, Philip awakens to hear arguing French-speaking voices. Danielle tells him that her twin sister, Dominique has arrived and it's their birthday. After returning from an errand to pick-up Danielle's prescription and a surprise birthday cake for the twins, Philip is brutally murdered by Dominique. Grace Collier (Jennifer Salt), a neighbor who lives in the building across the way, witnesses the murder (with remarkable detail considering her apartment doesn't look directly in to Danielle's) and calls the police. But when they arrive, a body is nowhere to be found. As a reporter for a small Staten Island newspaper and looking for a story to give her some notice, Grace is determined to investigate and solve this mysterious crime. 

DePalma has never been known for well-constructed stories and the implausible holes in the plot here are miles wide. But what the director has been able to successfully achieve in much of his work is stylish production, thrilling suspense and first-rate performances, which can be found in this film. Voyeurism and feminism are prevalent themes in "Sisters" that the director has returned to many times in his films throughout his career, much like his cinematic idol. It's not clear if DePalma was attempting to make an earnest parody of Hitchcock or an actual horror film. In either case, neither idea was entirely successful. But that doesn't mean that "Sisters" is not entertaining, effectively delivering plenty of disturbing images, creepy scares and gruesome violence.



"Franca: Chaos and Creation" (2016)

This fascinating documentary, "Franca: Chaos and Creation" looks at the life of the late Editor-In-Chief of Vogue Italia, Franca Sozzani (who passed away at the age of sixty-six shortly after this film was completed) whose groundbreaking artistic vision completely transformed how fashion was presented in the pages of the magazine. Francesco Carrozzini, a noted fashion photographer, video director and the son of Sozzani, directed the documentary, with this project beginning as a way for him to find out more about his mother, who could be elusive and coy regarding her past and creative process. 

Sozzani married young (which ended after three months) but knew she wanted more out of life than simply being a wife and mother. She soon turned to fashion yet it was what was happening in London at the time in the swinging '60's that captured her imagination instead of Italy which was fairly conservative during this era. Sozzani's first major job was as an assistant at the children's fashion magazine Vogue Bambini before taking over the Italian edition of Vogue in 1988. During her time at the magazine, Sozzani's editorial style was about creating mood and narrative through her fashion spreads by pushing the boundaries of the photography found on the glossy pages. Some of the more outrageous and controversial ideas to become fashion content included plastic surgery, domestic violence, mental illness, the BP oil spill and the most audacious; an entire issue devoted to the use of only black models. 

With home-movie footage of Sozzani as a child and young woman, the colorfully chaotic images from many of the photo shoots and the big names of the fashion industry sharing stories of their collaboration and friendship with the editor, "Chaos and Creation" takes a candid look at an innovator who, for almost thirty years, boldly merged art, photography and fashion to create one of the most influential magazines in history.

LYNN SHELTON (1965 - 2020)

The passing of writer, director, producer and actress, Lynn Shelton on May 16th at the age of fifty-four is still quite shocking and hard to believe. The still-in-her prime, indie filmmaker died from a previously undiagnosed blood disorder in Los Angeles.

While she began her career working as an actress with an interest in photography which she studied in college, Shelton soon decided she wanted to work behind the camera. But since she was in her mid-thirties by the time she made this decision, Shelton initially thought it was too late for her to pursue being a director. However after catching the then-forty year old French filmmaker, Clare Denis speak at a forum, Shelton realized it was never too late.

Shelton wrote and directed her first feature, "We Go Way Back" in 2006 and tells the story of a young actress getting her first major film role but is confronted by her disappointed thirteen year old self. The film made it's premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature.

Shelton's major breakthrough was her third film, "Humpday" from 2009. Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard star as two straight buddies who make a crazy dare to make a full-on gay porno to enter in the HUMP! film festival. The comedy-drama made it's premiere at Sundance and won a Special Jury Prize at the fest, received major distribution and was even remade by French director, Yvan Attal in 2012 as "Do Not Disturb" which starred Attal and François Cluzet. Other thoughtful, small-scale features from Shelton include "Touchy Feely", "Your Sister's Sister" (with Duplass, Rosemarie DeWitt and Emily Blunt), "Laggies" (with Keira Knightley) and "Sword of Trust", a comedy which co-starred Marc Maron (who Shelton was romantically involved with over the last year) was released last summer. Hollywood had approached Shelton to work on studio films recently (including an offer to direct the Marvel super-hero feature, "Black Widow") but declined as she enjoyed the freedom to make films her way without much interference.

Shelton's years of doing impressive work creating adult-oriented, independent films made her quite desirable for television and soon became one of the most in-demand directors working on the small screen. Some of her credits include episodes of "Master of None", "The Mindy Project", "The Morning Show" and "GLOW". It is very sad and tragic that the accomplished life and talent of Lynn Shelton has been silenced so prematurely but she has left behind a remarkable body of work that we'll be able to continue to enjoy.

60 MOVIES YOU WILL SEE IN THEATERS THIS SUMMER (MAYBE)

It would normally be around this time that we would be gearing up for the usually robust summer movie season but as the world remains largely locked down and the attempt to reopen is happening very slowly and cautiously, the question now is there even going to be any movies opening at all this summer? At this point with the date to allow movie theaters to reopen keeps getting pushed back, it's not looking great. But I remain optimistic that we will be back inside air-conditioned theaters with a barrel of popcorn and staring once again at a giant movie screen very soon. But that also means there will be some safety measures in place that may make trying to see a movie far more complicated than before.

Vulture has gone over the plans for the summer movie release schedule currently in place and have broken it down from movies that have been forced to skip theaters and will be available to stream (which are largely flicks from Netflix and Amazon), movies you will be able to stream but may still turn up in theaters at a later date this summer and movies with (tentative) dates to be released at your local cinema over the summer.

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60 Movies We're Excited To See This Summer

MY VIEWING DIARY: PART FOUR

"Stormy Weather" (1943)

Two of the earliest and most significant Hollywood films to feature an all-African-American cast were both released in 1943. One was Vincente Minnelli's musical, "Cabin in the Sky" and the other was "Stormy Weather" from director, Andrew Stone. This glossy musical is held together by a story very loosely based on the life of tap dancer, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who spent years performing on the stage and screen, most notably with Shirley Temple in several movies. 

He plays Bill Williamson, a talented aspiring dancer returning home after serving in WW I. At a New York nightclub, he falls for the beautiful singer, Selina Rogers (Lena Horne) and they begin a romance but their lives as performers create obstacles in their relationship. 

There's no need to dwell on the obvious racism and stereotypes that can be found throughout the film (with it thankfully being minor) and let's focus on how "Stormy Weather" was an excellent showcase for African-American talent of the day. There's jazz bandleader, Cab Calloway, blues vocalist, Ada Brown; choreographer, Katherine Dunham and her dance troupe who perform with Horne on the title song number; Fats Waller singing "Ain't Misbehavin'" and the astounding footwork of the Nicholas Brothers. This wonderful musical was so good that I watched it twice. Robinson was sixty-five and in poor health when he shot this movie but you would never know it as he moves on screen with his reliable skill and grace. As this would be his first starring role and final feature film, "Stormy Weather" serves as a tribute to the long career of this legendary entertainer.

 

"The Scarlet Empress" (1934)

"The Scarlet Empress" was the sixth of the seven cinematic collaboration between director, Josef von Sternberg and actress, Marlene Dietrich which is their take on the story of the 18th Century Russian Empress, Catherine the Great. 

Sophia Frederica (Dietrich), a young Princess of Prussia, is sent off to Moscow in an arranged marriage to the Grand Duke, Peter (Sam Jaffe), the nephew of Elizabeth (Louise Dresser), the Empress of Russia. When Sophia asks her escort, Count Alexei (John Lodge) what the Duke is like, she is assured that he's handsome and wise. However, when she arrives, Peter is far from this description with even the Empress referring to her nephew as a dimwit. And Sophia has to deal with the overbearing Elizabeth who forces her to change her name to "Catherine" and demands that she produce a male heir immediately. But since the Duke will not share her bed, this proves a bit challenging. Alexei pursues Catherine relentlessly and she largely resists while being very attracted to him. After the disturbing discovery that she's not been the only one in the Royal court he's been romancing, Catherine finds comfort in the arms of a random Lieutenant and months later, a heir to the throne is produced. 

While this drama is hardly historically accurate, "The Scarlet Empress" should be enjoyed for it's grand visual spectacle and the captivating performance by Dietrich who convincingly takes Catherine from a naive teenage girl to confident seductress. The only clunker here is Ms Dresser's portrayal of Empress Elizabeth, coming across more like some insufferable owner of a rundown saloon than a royal subject.

"Sweet Bird of Youth" (1962)

I don't understand why Hollywood had insisted on trying to make movies out of the provocative and controversial plays of Tennessee Williams. While the theme of homosexuality may have been tolerated (within reason) on the stage at the time, the movie industry was still under strict control by the Production Code and the original intentions of the work by this gay playwright would never make it on to the screen. 

Richard Brooks had previously directed a 1959 film adaption of Williams' play, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (which starred two of the most stunning people to ever appear before the movie cameras; Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor, both at the height of their beauty) and while it was a box-office smash, the story was altered considerably. Brooks would return to direct another big-screen adaption of a Williams play, "Sweet Bird of Youth" in 1962 with this film also falling victim to some serious revisions. Mr. Newman appears here as Chance Wayne, a handsome aspiring actor who has latched on to an older film star, Alexandra Del Lago (Geraldine Page), a difficult woman and raging alcoholic. He has returned to his small hometown of St. Cloud, FL. with a passed-out Del Lago in her fancy car to reconnect with the love he had left behind, Heavenly (Shirley Knight). But her father, Tom "Boss" Finley (Ed Begley, who won an Oscar for this role), a loathsome political heavyweight in the town, is determined to make sure that this couple are not reunited with the help of his equally despicable son, Tom, Jr. (Rip Torn). 

Considering how much had to be changed from the play with even a hopeful ending tacked on, this "Sweet Bird of Youth" remains an entertaining, Southern-fried melodrama with some outstanding performances. Mr. Newman, full of swagger and burning sensuality, holds his own against the exuberant Ms Page with her epic scene-devouring and magnificently untamed hair.

FILM RECOMMENDATIONS FROM FILMMAKERS AND SITES FOR THE INDIE-CURIOUS

As we move in to a second month of Coronavirus-induced quarantine, I'm sure some people might be ready to explore avenues of cinema they might have ordinarily not been interested in going down. If you are feeling adventurous, Vulture has went to various filmmakers from across the globe and asked them what they are watching while at home and what they would recommend people to see. As to be expected, these acclaimed artists (which include Ava Duvernay, Luca Guadagnino, Claire Denis, Guillermo del Toro, Edgar Wright and Paul Schrader) have largely sophisticated taste, preferring to dig back in to cinematic history or explore interesting yet challenging work. And not surprisingly, no one suggested Netflix's "Tiger King".

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The Best Movies to Help Escape According to Famous Directors

And for true fans of independent films, international cinema or those who might be indie-curious, Richard Brody, film critic of the New Yorker, has put a spotlight on three lesser known streaming sites that might be of interest: OVID.tv, Crackle, and the recently launched, IFC Films Unlimited. He has made a list of some of the more intriguing feature films that each site has to offer that you may want to check out.

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The New Yorker What to Stream: Forty-Six Films