1. One Night in Miami... - I really like this idea of reimagining/fictionalizing history when making films about certain real-life people or famous events (a few movies that have done this very successfully recently:
Once Upon A Time in Hollywood... and
Rocketman). It makes the story far more interesting than showing something that I can essentially read off of Wikipedia. I thought that this whole premise was fiction, but after looking into it, it seems that this meeting of these four icons actually did happen. What was discussed isn't really known, so this is where the story takes creative license to imagine how this night went down. First, I am such a big fan of Regina King - going back to the 90s, but I really was so impressed with her performance in
Southland (as I was with everyone's performance - that show is criminally underrated). I'm so happy that she is thriving and taking her turn behind the camera, but it just took so damn long to get her to this point. She does a great job of keeping the story moving, which I think is sometimes a difficult feat with films that are previously staged plays featuring a ton of dialogue. It helps that the dialogue is wonderful - not only filled with poetic beats, but also with challenging ideas of how one can use their power to influence change. I also LOVE Aldis Hodge (anyone else watch
City on a Hill? It is extremely "my shit" and I love it. Hoping it gets another season). And now I love Kingsley Ben-Adir. But, I just really don't like Leslie Odom Jr. I really tried with this, but there is just something about the way he acts - like, you can tell that he's "acting" every moment. And his voice just gets under my skin (yes, I felt this way in
Hamilton and yes, I listened to Sam Cooke perform "A Change is Gonna Come" right after I watched this and it is stunning. Yet, I barely made it through Odom Jr.'s rendition). He is getting a lot of praise for this movie so I guess, once again, I am on my own with this (*shrugs*). Overall, I think this movie is very successful - mostly wonderful performances, interesting dialogue and ideas presented, and it feels fresh.
2. Herself - *spoilers* Okay, this movie got me. For some reason, I totally expected this to be a cheesier, lighter take on this woman starting a new life after leaving her abusive partner. And some of it is a bit cheesy, but it's also one of the few movies that address the BIGGEST issue people (especially with children) have with leaving abusive relationships - A PLACE TO LIVE. Most stories gloss over this - like in
Sleeping with the Enemy - a film in which she changes her whole identity, but somehow passed a background check to rent a GIGANTIC home in the suburbs (or did she buy it? I can't remember now, but that would be even worse). And even more recently with
The Invisible Man remake - this man just lets this strange woman live in his home with his teenage daughter (sorry, nice to think this would happen, but there is no way a parent would let someone who is escaping an abusive man live in their home, putting their own child at risk). But this movie shows a closer reality - she has to get help from the government so she's put on a list for housing, but is forced to live in a hotel room with her two children indefinitely. Plus, she has to fight for custody of her children, and prove him to be unfit otherwise he might end up with partial custody or even full custody if she can't prove that she can shelter them properly. It's such a backwards cycle - and it gives the answer to the ignorant question of "why doesn't she just leave?". Because the reality is that maybe it's better to just stay so you have a roof over your children's head and you don't have to leave your children alone with a violent asshole? I also like that the catalyst for her leaving is that her daughter witnesses the abuse. Because, ultimately, that's the moment you know that you have to make a decision - continue to let your children witness abuse or leave not knowing if you'll be able to care for them. This story just gets so much right - but then it does turn into a bit of a melodramatic story of this woman "starting over", and she decides to take things into her own hands by building her own "tiny home". She gets a lot of help along the way, specifically from a woman whom she works for (that her deceased mother used to work for, as well) - who very generously gives her a loan, along with land for her to build her house. She also gets assistance from some local people to help her with the construction - which is really heartwarming (and made me remember how fulfilling it was to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity - such a fantastic organization). I think I
should have seen the end coming, but I was definitely expecting more of a happy one. I wish they gave a little more information about the repercussions of what he did (she's no longer on the housing list, and has used up her loan money...what's next?), but I also like that it doesn't give a satisfying ending (because that's more realistic). But the part that
really got me is the scene at the end with her abuser's mother - more for personal reasons, because I was really, really close to my paternal grandmother and she still believed her son was good until the day she died (you can't argue with a mother's love). I really love this movie (probably in my top 10 of 2020), so I looked up the director's previous work - and...was so disappointed (
The Iron Lady...eek).
3. Babyteeth - I read some really great praise for this movie (some putting it on their best of 2020 lists, but it's very clearly a 2019 release...even by UK standards?), and I can see why - but there is something about it that I just didn't connect with. I even read a few reviews in which people seemed to get
really emotional with it, but I just didn't get that effect at all. In fact, I remained fairly emotionless for its entirety, which is surprising considering the subject matter (it's about a girl with a terminal illness falling in love/lust with a drug dealing weirdo). I do think it has a really strong story and idea, along with a fantastic cast - I adore Ben Mendelsohn and I love him even more when he's not playing a bad guy (which is
very rare). Essie Davis is wonderful. And I've never seen Toby Wallace in anything but he is captivating - this performance kind of reminded me of young Leo DiCaprio in
The Basketball Diaries. I think the main girl was the weak link among the cast (I don't feel like looking up her name, but she's also the weakest link in
Little Women). I also just think the age difference is tough to overcome (and actually unnecessary. He could have been her age and the story would have been just as strong and would have avoided the distraction of being problematic). I know consent laws vary by country (and state by state in America and it's super confusing), but there is a line and this sits right on that line. But, I get that it's not really about that (which is why it shouldn't have been part of the story?) and it's more about her happiness in that moment and in the moments leading to her death, and also about her parent's resignation in fighting against her happiness. It's devastating to think about parents of terminally ill children having to let go of the "parenting" and just letting their child live without precautions in the little time they have. Again, I can see why people had such a connection with it, and I do think it's a film that I will think about for a while, but there's just something about it that left me cold.
So, things I knew about this movie before watching it: (1) it doesn't make sense and is hard to follow and (2) the sound design is awful. I disagree with both of these things. I didn't find it hard to follow at all. BUT, I went into it with a hyper focus because I was expecting to be confused. So, I think that helped. I also figured that the story was going to be told backwards at some point because that's what all of the marketing hinted at, and playing with time is kind of Nolan's "thing" (and sidenote: shocking revelation ahead - I fell asleep at Nolan's other "backwards" movie,
Memento and I've never rewatched it so I always list it last in my Nolan rankings, which is as follows:
Dunkirk, Interstellar, Batman Begins, Inception, The Dark Knight, The Prestige, Tenet, The Dark Knight Rises, Insomnia, Memento). It's like taking the movie and folding it in half and both parts are the same (I'm sure there is a word for that, but I can't think of it? Symmetrical?). There are a few scenes in which I didn't fully understand the importance, but I can't tell if it's just over-inflated or the scenes are, in fact, important (I'll probably never rewatch, so it will remain a mystery to me). I also think there is one scene that completely gives away what is about to happen so much so that I actually sighed out loud. Why did it have to be done with that much obvious effect? As far as the sound goes, I think if I saw it in a theater, I might have been frustrated by the sound, but at home I could adjust the volume as needed and I had no problem hearing it. That being said, that shouldn't have to happen, but I get why Nolan finds this exercise fascinating. He's been consistently criticized for sound design in several movies - favoring background noise over dialogue, with his argument being that every part of a film tells a story
not just the dialogue. I actually loved the sound design in
Dunkirk, and I never had a hard time understanding any of his previous films (most I've seen in a theater) so I don't really know if I would have been upset with the sound in this, or if I would have just went with it. Anyway, one thing I am upset about is John David Washington's dead expression through the whole damn movie. I thought he was very good in
BlacKkKlansmen, so I wasn't expecting to be so disappointed in his acting, but he is just terrible in this - and he has ZERO chemistry with the other actors especially Elizabeth Debicki - the person that he is inexplicably risking it all for. And Kenneth Branagh is really hard to watch sometimes - he just seems so fucking full of himself (which fits this part), but he just never seems natural in any role unless it's Shakespeare.
5. Sylvie's Love - This is a really cute, unexpected love story. I love Tessa Thompson, but I was even more intrigued when I saw Aja Naomi King listed in the opening credits! She deserves so much more attention and praise than she receives (and she's so gorgeous!). Rounded out with a wonderful supporting cast of Jemima Kirke, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Eva Longoria, all in unexpected roles - it's all just glorious. Oh and there's some men in there too, but they are mostly dull and inconsequential (except Lance Riddick, of course!). The story is kind of like
La La Land in that it's about finding your love - aka your passion, which might put you on a different path than the person that you love. It seems really light-hearted, but there is a lot to unpack within the story. There's a lot of underlying discussion of race, class, and gender equality. I appreciate that they didn't make her husband a complete asshole - he isn't always shown in the best light, but ultimately he did love her and he did do the right thing for her. He felt more like a real person that the typical controlling "villain" type character. I also like that she's so passionate about her career that she understands the importance of having the love of her life follow his (although, I think the secret she hides from him is really shitty). Of course my favorite part is when she explains to her husband (who is
not the man she's in love with) "I can't be the woman of your dreams while also being the woman in mine" (or something to that effect, I didn't write it down, but damn that notion has stuck in my head since I've watched it). Oh wait, my actual favorite part is when Mama Goldberg tells her dirty joke "when are your ears going to get cold?!" and then the way she keeps repeating the punchline - it's just comedic gold. The movie could have easily been 30 minutes shorter without losing anything, but overall, I really enjoyed this.
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