With the intimate drama, "All of Us Strangers", writer/director Andrew Haigh has deftly captured a sense of loss and mourning in a way that's fantastical yet remains compassionate and deeply moving. Loosely based on the 1987 novel "Strangers" by Taichi Yamada, this story follows Adam (Andrew Scott), a lonely and isolated screenwriter trying to work in his apartment. An initial awkward encounter with a drunken neighbor, Harry (Paul Mescal) later leads to them connecting on a romantic level. Feeling wistful about his past, Adam ventures out to his childhood home and finding his parents (Claire Foy, Jamie Bell) still living there although they have been dead since he was twelve after a tragic car accident. While this plot might sound a bit too high concept to be effective, Haigh is in full command, guiding us through Adam's emotional journey as he reconnects with his parents by sharing with them his current life and past fears and desires. Anchored by an innovative screenplay and powerful performances, "All of Us Strangers" is a heartfelt rumination on love, grief, depression and ultimately, acceptance.
At its core, "American Fiction" is essentially a wild, hilarious comedy yet Cord Jefferson's film debut as writer and director also captures moments that are profoundly moving and incredibly insightful. Thelonious "Monk" Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) is an African American novelist and professor currently living in Los Angeles. While his work is acclaimed, his books don't sell well with them having little appeal to the Black community. During a seminar, he walks in on an interview with African American author, Sintara Golden (Issa Rae), the writer of a wildly popular novel filled with black stereotypes. Appalled by the idea of this book and its success, "Monk" decides to play the game and write his own version of this type of book under a pseudonym. But to his dismay, the book becomes a best-seller with an offer for a movie deal and high demand for a follow-up novel. In between all of this, "Monk" heads back to his hometown of Boston to help deal with his mother (Leslie Uggams) who is showing early signs of Alzheimer's with his sister (Tracee Ellis Ross) who is a medical doctor and estranged, recently divorced brother (Sterling K. Brown) that has recently come out as gay. And "Monk" begins a romance with Coraline (Erika Alexander), a neighbor who lives next door to his mother. There is a lot going on in this satire, yet Jefferson skillfully holds it all together, very impressive for a first-time filmmaker, keeping "American Fiction" enjoyable throughout and managing to draw exceptional performances from his wonderful cast. I can't wait to see what this exciting filmmaker will do next.
"The Holdovers" marks the reunion of the director, Alexander Payne and the actor, Paul Giamatti almost twenty years later following "Sideways" their previous outstanding film together. Set during near the end of 1970, Giamatti plays Paul Hunham, a professor at a New England prep school. Gruff, somber and rigid, Hunham is not a popular teacher amongst the students. Professor Hunham is assigned over the Christmas break to watch over the few students who are unable to return home, referred to as "Holdovers", along with the cafeteria manager, Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph). After a father flies in on a helicopter with an offer to take his son and the remaining boys on a ski trip, all are able to get permission by their parents except Angus (in an impressive acting debut by Dominic Sessa) who ends up stuck alone at the campus with Hunham and Mary. As these three isolated and emotionally broken people begrudgingly come together, they each find their own offbeat way to help each other and heal themselves. Payne intentionally made "The Holdovers" to evoke the spirit of a movie that could have been made in the 1970's with its distinctive cinematic rhythms and vintage formatted camerawork created by cinematographer, Eigil Bryld. Plus, there is a really great soundtrack that features music by composer Mark Orton and pop songs from the 60's and '70's. "The Holdovers" may be set in the fairly recent past yet feels perfectly timeless.
Martin Scorsese has made several great films throughout his prestigious career and his latest, "Killers of the Flower Moon" ranks high on this impressive list of cinematic achievements. Leonardo DiCaprio, in their sixth feature film collaboration together, stars in this fact-based story as Ernest Burkhart, a WWI vet who goes to his uncle, William King Hale (Robert DeNiro) in Oklahoma to live. During his job as a cab driver, Ernest meets Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), a member of the Osage nation whose family owns oil on their land. Hale encourages a relationship between them, and they are soon wed. A series of murders of the Osage, including Mollie's family, begins by corrupt members of the community with the goal to steal the tribal members' wealth. Originally conceived with the emphasis on the FBI coming in to save the day and solve this crime yet this film avoids the pitfalls of a "White savior" plotline device (like the misguided "Mississippi Burning") with the persuasive screenplay by Eric Roth shifting focus more on the Osage, their customs and concerns. Quentin Tarantino is absolutely wrong regarding his statement about directors that stay too long in the game will ruin their reputations and their body of work. The eighty-one-year-old Scorsese shows here that he's still very much at the peak of his powers as a filmmaker. And the biggest compliment I can state about "Killers of the Flower Moon" is that I have sat through movies that were only ninety minutes long that felt much longer than the over three-hour runtime of this engaging film.
For his second time behind the camera following his dazzling musical remake of "A Star is Born", Bradley Cooper takes on another musician in "Maestro" where he impressively plays the legendary composer and conductor, Leonard Bernstein. While he was sexually fluid throughout his life, the film's focus is on Bernstein's complicated yet enduring marriage to actress, Felicia Montealegre played with warmth and burning intensity by Carey Mulligan who delivers another brilliant performance. "Maestro" begins with a somber Bernstein in his 70's being interviewed about his past while working on his latest opera before shifting to his first big break in 1943 when he was a last-minute replacement to conduct the New York Philharmonic. After meeting Montealegre at a party, Bernstein drifts away from his relationship with a male musician (Matt Bomer) to focus only on her where they have a glamourous life and start a family. But over time, Bernstein's eyes begin to wander, landing on a young musician (Gideon Glick) and Montealegre is left feeling resentful and frustrated. With the capable assistance of cinematographer, Matthew Libatique, Cooper has the camera in constant motion while utilizing crisp black & white for the early part of Bernstein's life before slowing down and shifting to saturated color once we reach the Bernsteins' life in the 1970's. There was a bit of chatter regarding Cooper's use of a prosthetic nose to play Bernstein but it's all an unnecessary distraction to the accomplished feat of the actor/filmmaker crafting a powerful and moving work with a Hollywood biopic that transcends the expected.
Based on Isabel Wilkerson's "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents", "Origin" is Ava DuVernay's masterwork that explores the painful events that inspiried Wilkerson to begin this book and all of the extensive research and travel involved in order for the writer to complete her thesis. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor plays Wilkerson who is consulted by her editor (Blair Underwood) to write a piece about the shooting of Trayvon Martin. Interested yet hesitant, Wilkerson decides to not pursue this assignment. But several personal tragedies pushes her to get back to work and explore expanding upon the ideas of bigotry. With the belief that race is not the only determining factor in prejudice, she begins examining the caste systems of India and the extermination of Jews in Nazi Germany, especially since the discrimination in both cases involves people of the same race, and how they are connected to the racism in America. The film is boldly rendered in an experimental cinematic style that combines elements of narrative and non-fiction storytelling; exquisitely performed by a stellar cast (that includes Jon Bernthal, Niecy Nash-Betts, Vera Farmiga and Audra McDonald) and presents Wilkerson's comprehensive investigation persuasively. "Origin" has helped me reconsider my views on racism and bigotry and how far-reaching it has been in our society. DuVernay has once again crafted a fascinating and astonishing work of cinema.
Bold and provocative, "Passages" is a European set drama from American filmmaker, Ira Sachs which examines a love triangle that has rarely been explored in cinema involving two queer men and a woman. Tomas (a captivating Franz Rogowski) is a German filmmaker living in Paris with his English partner, Martin (Ben Whishaw). Unsatisfied in his relationship and looking for excitement, Tomas connects with Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos) at a party which later begins an unlikely sexual affair. Tomas tries to make his romance with Agathe work yet still strongly desires Martin. An exceptional film for enlightened adults, "Passages" daringly attempts to tackle the complicated fluidity of sexual identity in a way that is titillating, introspective and considerate.
"Past Loves" is the alluring debut by writer/director Celine Song that takes a graceful and poignant look at a relationship that evolves from childhood to adulthood as opportunity and continents keep them apart, yet a strong connection continues to burn between them. Our story begins in Seoul where Na Young and Hae Song are children attending the same school where they become close friends with a deeper yet reticent affection forming between them. But they are separated when Na Young's family immigrates to Canada. Twelve years later after searching for each other on Facebook, Hae Song (Teo Yoo) and Na Young, now going by Nora (Greta Lee) spend time over Skype reconnecting and stirring old feelings. But due to circumstances, it would not be until another twelve years before the two will finally meet in person with Hae Song coming from Korea to visit Nora who is now living in New York with her husband of seven years, Arthur (John Magaro). Sparked by her own personal experiences, Song has confidently made a film of profound beauty, looking at this couple trying to maneuver their friendship through suppressed desires and entangled heartbreak. And by the time we come to the conclusion, "Past Lives" unexpectedly delivers a powerful, emotional wallop.
A wickedly perverse, Gothic thriller on the British upper class, "Saltburn" cleverly dives deeply into the depths of obsession and depravity. Oliver Quick (a very game Barry Keoghan) has just entered Oxford on a scholarship and struggles to fit in. He becomes fixated on Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), a handsome, wealthy and popular student and they actually become friends. After Oliver reveals his family problems and the recent unexpected passing of his father, Felix, in order to help him out, invites him to spend the summer at his family's country house, Saltburn. Once at this lavish estate, Oliver meets Felix's parents (Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant), sister, Venetia (Alison Oliver) and an American cousin, Farleigh (Archie Madekwe) who also attends Oxford. As his obsession for Felix intensifies, a darker side of Oliver is revealed as he charms and seduces this eccentric family. Just as polarizing as her feature film debut, "Promising Young Woman" (which I was not a big fan) yet writer/director Emerald Fennell has managed to make "Saltburn" more appealing with a sharper script, crafting characters that are far more intriguing and going even further out there with shocking and outrageous moments. "Saltburn" is certainly not for the easily offended but if you like your cinema challenging, mind-boggling and demented, then this film should fit the bill.
As only his fourth feature film over the last twenty-three years, filmmaker Jonathan Glazer has delivered another brilliantly conceived yet disquieting drama with "The Zone of Interest" which takes us to a place set during a disturbing time in history, creating an environment that is haunting and austere. Glazer uses the novel of the same name by Martin Amis as inspiration for his screenplay with the film detailing a fictional account on Rudolf Höss (played here by Christian Friedel), a real-life SS Nazi commandant who would later be executed for his war crimes. Living in a charming home behind a wall next to the Auschwitz concentration camp that he runs, Höss spends his day operating the camp, then later retiring for a quiet evening to his wife, Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) and their five children. When Höss is offered a promotion that would require a move to a town near Berlin, Hedwig is distraught about leaving behind the beautiful home she has spent so much time creating, begging her husband to ask if she and their children can remain. While "The Zone of Interest" is yet another film that deals with the horrors of the second world war, Glazer has avoided the expected, inventively using a modern approach to tell this story with cinematographer Łukasz Żal using only natural lighting and shooting scenes with an infrared and surveillance camera. We never witness the atrocities that goes on behind the wall of the Höss home, but we hear the faint, ominous sounds of gunshots and screams along with the jarring score by Mica Levi which effectively adds to the uneasy atmosphere. "The Zone of Interest" is yet another compelling, singular work from Glazer and hopefully we will not have to wait so long for the next movie by this gifted filmmaker.
Honorable Mention: "Afire", "All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt", "Anatomy of a Fall", "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret", "Blackberry", "Blue Jean", "Dream Scenario", "Fair Play", "Full Time", "Me Captian (Io capitano)", "Rye Lane", "A Thousand and One", "The Teachers' Lounge (Das Lehrerzimmer)", "Theater Camp", "Tori & Lokita"
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