2011, 17th Annual Awards, March 20, 2011
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  Winter's
Bone - Winter's Bone immerses you in
another culture, one that both familiar as a true, unflinching portrait
of our heartland, yet one that is so particular to one part of our vast
country as to be nearly unrecognizable. Director Debra Granick and her
outstanding team recreate this world so vividly and so hauntingly that
the film lingers with you long after the final credits have rolled.
Jennifer Lawrence embodies Ree, the tough 17-year-old girl trying to
keep her family afloat. The tension infusing Winter's Bone is
definitely on a slow burn, but the harrowing climax is legendary. There
isn't a misstep in this film and as the multiple awards and nominations
have shown, Granik and company should be very proud of their cinematic
achievement. -- mrc |
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 I Killed My Mother
- I Killed My Mother is an
insightful comedy about the anxiety of coming out, loosely based on
personal experience and spiced with an abundance of marvelous
fantasy. Xavier Dolan began writing his script I KILLED MY MOTHER
when he was sixteen with the (outrageous) goal in mind of getting his
film into the Cannes Film Festival. Not only did he achieve that
goal but he won three awards at Cannes in 2009 at the age of 20. -- bk
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 Jack Goes Boating
- Jack Goes Boating is a deceptively simple-seeming movie
about a man, a woman and the two friends who will do anything to help
their friends’ relationship work, despite their own marriage coming
increasingly and painfully undone. Jack (Philip Seymour Hoffman),
a quiet and unassuming NYC taxi driver, is set up on a blind date
with Connie (Amy Ryan) by his friends – married couple Clyde (John
Ortiz) and Lucy (Daphne Rubin-Vega) – and finds himself interested in
being with her. He promises to fulfill two of her wishes -- to be
cooked a meal and to be taken boating -- even though he can neither
cook nor swim. His friends rally to teach him both and what
unfolds is a carefully-paced, character-driven exploration of the
dynamics between the characters, their histories and their dreams. --
so |
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 The
King's Speech - An impressive period drama set in
England right before World War 2, The King’s Speech tells the
story of George VI who becomes king after his brother, Edward VII
abdicates. Berte (Colin Firth) cannot make a speech without
stammering so his wife (Helen Bonham Carter) engages the services of an
unconventional Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey
Rush) to work with Berte on reclaiming his voice. Held together by
magnificent performances and an eloquent script, the heart of the movie
centers on the unlikely relationship that develops between teacher and
student. -- vo |
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 Mother - Mother straddles the genres of
melodrama, psychological thriller and black comedy. The title
character of the film struggles to acquit her mentally challenged son
when he is charged with murder. Mother and son live together,
even share the same bed. She has spent her life protecting him
and feels she know him well enough to proclaim his innocence at the
murdered girl’s funeral. Nonetheless, things are not always what
they may seem; many twists and turns occur by the film’s startling
ending. -- bk
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 Undertow
- Gentle and understated, but with real emotion that resonates, Javier
Fuentes-León’s debut feature UNDERTOW touches upon love, death,
and what it means to be a man in South America. Set in a visually
stunning village on the coast of Peru, UNDERTOW Miguel, his pregnant
wife Mariela, and Santiago, the man he loves as they negotiate their
complex relationships in a culture that can be less than
accepting. UNDERTOW is a unique film that couldn’t be set
anywhere else as the traditions and cultures are so specific to that
place. Cristian Mercado’s powerful performance as Miguel is
filled with layers of emotion, and Tatiana Astengo’s Mariela takes what
could be a stock character and fills her with complexity and
sympathy. Fuentes-Leon proves to be a master storyteller, with a
gentle screenplay that packs an emotional wallop, and a visual sense
that goes far beyond what must surely been a limited budget. -- mrc
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 Dogtooth
- In his first effort to garner much attention outside Greece, Giorgos
Lanthimos presents a cautionary tale that plays like an extended car
crash: often brutal and horrifying, yet so unique and compelling that
you never want to look away. Following an undisclosed crisis, a man
keeps his family members safe by isolating them in his home and
creating an entirely skewed reality for them, complete with its own
rules and language. Thankfully, a steady current of dark humor suitably
lessens the story’s bleaker elements. Lanthimos commits to and sustains
his extreme but startlingly plausible scenario to its bitter (if
delightfully ironic) end. -- ck |
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 Down Terrace - What a wonderful
selection for Chlotrudis' signature award! Despite the film's limited
US release and modest gross, the film-makers have been praised by a
variety of film festivals and several British Independent Film Awards. Down
Terrace works as a quintessential dark comedy, and the emphasis
here should be on dark, telling such a good story, the script deserves
yet another Chlotrudis nomination. The plot allows increasingly more
intimate profiles of characters as the film unwinds. Another phenomenal
quality about the film is that the cinematography is beautifully used
to introduce each character to the viewer from a different, intimately
drawn, angle. In short Down Terrace is one of the most delightful,
high-tension, suspense-filled candidates I have seen nominated to the
buried treasure category. -- bca |
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 Mary
and Max - Mary and Max is an independently
animated, written, and directed gem of a film which lost out on an
animated feature nomination to last year’s Secret of Kells.
I mention this because this often happens to the few adult
independent animations that get lost in the shuffle each year.
The voice acting is compelling - you would be hard-pressed to
identify the actors without reading the credits. The title
characters are Max, a middle-aged man in New York City, played by
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and a young girl Mary, his Australian pen pal,
played by Toni Collette. It is a beautiful story of the friendship over
many years between two lonely misfits. Mary has no friends and
cannot connect with a soul in the world, and Max suffers from
Asperger's, with a number of odd habits and a general disconnection
from the world. Through the traditional means of old-fashioned
letter writing, the two build a bond, and the viewer experiences a
roller-coaster of emotions throughout their twenty years of
friendship. The story is loosely based on Australian Adam
Elliot's real writings to a pen pal in New York. The stop-motion
character design and props are fantastic and were made by a very small
team. The distinctive animation allows a bit of surreal quality
to the storytelling but doesn’t veer into excess; the emotional core of
the film is always front-and-center. Haunting, beautiful and
heartfelt! -- tp |
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 Mine - When
Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, rescuers raced to remove
people from danger. Amidst all of the chaos, rescuers were often
unable, unprepared or unwilling to rescue the thousands of domestic
animals victimized by the storm and pet owners were often forced to
leave their beloved pets behind as they fled to safety. Geralyn
Pezanski’s Mine documents the aftereffects of the disaster in
the context of the ongoing drama: displaced hurricane survivors who are
now trying desperately to locate their displaced pets, many of whom who
are living in shelters or even have already been placed in new homes
all over the country. A lack of a central system of reconnecting
pets and owners only makes this process even more difficult and
gut-wrenching. An emotional film for animal lovers, it shows in
detail the connection between the owners (both old and new) and their
pets while posing questions about the ethicality around how pets are
perceived and treated… as well as asking the hard question: if a pet
has been separated from its owner and adopted by a new one, whose pet
is it? Pezanski does a very good job of allowing the multiple
sides of the discussion (hurricane survivors, current pet owners,
hurricane rescuers, animal rescuers) their own space and voice. --
so |
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 The Private Lives of
Pippa Lee - Rebecca Miller's directorial adaptation
of her novel THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE is a refreshingly sharp and
emotionally rich exploration of how we got to be the people we are
today -- and what happened to the people we were in years past. As
Pippa (Robin Wright in an understatedly witty performance) adjusts to
her new home in an assisted living community, caring for her older
husband (Alan Arkin), she reviews her life from childhood forward and
quietly embarks on an inevitable nervous breakdown. Surrounded by a
diverse cast of characters dealing with fallout from their own
behavioral quirks proves to be sometimes painful, sometimes hilarious,
and always enlightening for Pippa. The ensemble features many small
gems of performance by respected actors Maria Bello, Julianne Moore,
Robin Weigert, and Zoe Kazan. And here's one thing I never thought I'd
write in a Chlotrudis summary the casting of Keanu Reaves and Winona
Ryder are absolutely perfect. --
sc
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 Terribly Happy - Henrik Ruben Genz's
thriller comedy Terribly Happy is liking watching a Twilight
Zone episode directed by the Coen Brothers. When a big city sheriff
ends up in small town Denmark, his moral universe gets murkier by the
minute. Sartre wrote "Hell is other people" and the sheriff
finds he has a town full of evidence that this is true. Deadpan
humor keeps the movie humming along toward the violence you
know must eventually come. -- dvg |
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 Debra
Granik for Winter's Bone - Communicating the
emotional and political undercurrent of a society that values stoicism,
quietude and individuals staying out of each others’ way is not an easy
task, but Debra Granik achieves this amazingly well in Winter’s
Bone. Lucid storytelling, clear characterization and strong
direction provide a movie that is alternately brutal, tender,
gut-wrenching, hopeful and sad, while always compelling. It is
almost as though Granik is presenting Ree's (Jennifer Lawrence) slice
of Ozark Mountain community to her audience as it unfolds.
Granik’s second film proves that Granik is not afraid of portraying
difficult situations whose conclusion may not be entirely satisfactory
for an audience looking for closure. Moreover, her storytelling
does not shy away from the brutality that is built into the movie’s
Ozark Mountain community, which appears both overtly and in the
undercurrents of all interactions between protagonist Ree’s (Jennifer
Lawrence) and everyone outside of her immediate family. -- so
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 Tze Chun
for Children of Invention - This is a strong effort by a
relative-newcomer to the industry. Tze Chun takes on the
unenviable task of directing two young children, who are featured in a
majority of scenes in the film, and elicits performances that seem as
natural and unrehearsed as a home movie or documentary film. When
their mother is arrested after being used as the patsy in a pyramid
scheme, the brother and sister manage to fend for themselves with pluck
and creativity. The story is loosely based on Tze Chun’s own
childhood experiences, and revealed with humor, pathos, and tender
style. -- kp |
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 Banksy for Exit
Through the Gift Shop - At one point in history, film's legitimacy
as a medium of art was debated in much the same way that graffiti art
is today. With Exit Through the Gift Shop, Banksy leaves the
viewer no lingering doubt on either question. Cinema becomes yet
another art form Banksy has triumphed over as he gives the same
treatment to the film that he's given to the walls all over the world
that have make him arguably the most iconic and sought after
contemporary visual artist of our time. We see so clearly his touch,
his influence, his trademark embedded over every square inch of the
film that makes it such a remarkable debut of visionary work. His film
carries the same layers as his other works, from its generally light
hearted tone to more thought provoking commentary that may well be
making a mockery out of you as a viewer. We never know. But unlike the
other documentaries of this banner year that blur the line between
truth and fiction, the film remains strong as a stand alone piece. It
doesn't matter whether the events are forged or authentic, or what
precisely Banksy's intentions from the film were. It simply works on
every level. -- is |
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Xavier Dolan for I Killed My
Mother - Can a teenager make a film that remains true to the
emotional hurricane of youth while also revealing maturity in cinematic
techniques and sophisticated storytelling? If that teen is Xavier
Dolan, the answer is yes. By age 19, he’d completed I Killed My
Mother, a prize-winning film about the love and tension between
mother and gay son, both of whom have very strong personalities.
Wrangling a cast of veteran actors, mixing heady formalist techniques
with a naturalistic story, and generally kicking the shit out of the
standard coming-out tale, Dolan (now all of 21) has made a debut that
heralds a stunning career to come.--dvg
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 Joon-ho
Bong for Mother - Director Joon-ho Bong deserves
worlds of acclaim for his work on the film, Mother. The film
is filled with many deep and unseen realities, hidden from the viewer.
A film this kind is difficult to direct in such a manner that audiences
don't see through to the end what is likely to be reality. In addition,
the characters are given only fragmented representation throughout the
film, so we are left to make our own judgments of the people, judgments
that morph again and again as the plot moves along. Very few directors
today create a film with such fine balance. Ever since he succeeded in
capturing the favor of Chlotrudis members, Joon-ho Boon has kept these
cinephiles truly satisfied, directing films like Memories of Murder
and Host. Now, with this, arguably his finest work,
Chlotrudis members are raving about Mother, a work of
serious, artistic genius. -- bca |
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 John Cameron Mitchell for Rabbit
Hole - Mitchell received critical acclaim for the brilliant
theatre piece he adapted for the big screen, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The
controversial but ambitious Shortbus
divided critics and audiences. But Rabbit
Hole, a straightforward drama (also a stage play adaptation from
David Lindsay-Abaire) about a couple grieving for their lost child,
anchors Mitchell as a gifted and confident cinematic artist. The
unusual casting pays off, and Nicole Kidman in particular continues to
impress with her gifts, as does Dianne Wiest, a more mature actress
whose understated performance is nevertheless gut-wrenching.
Mitchell melds moments of quiet, of absurdity, and of violent anger
into a plausible, memorable chamber piece of grief and redemption. -- pa
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 Hye-ja Kim
for the role of Moher in Mother - Hye-Ja Kim shines as the
tenacious, loving, and and dedicated mother of her simple-minded son.
Her task is to ferret out the clues that will solve a mystery and
exonerate him. Kim makes clear the mother's single-mindedness, but also
makes room in the role for developing her as a fully complete person in
her own right, in possession of a manic streak that sometimes expresses
itself in an impromptu rhumba dance. By the end of the film we have
seen the answer to the mystery revealed as well as plumbed the depths
of this mysterious woman's character. -- jp |
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 Paprika
Steen for the role of Thea Barfoed in Applause - A
role like Thea Barfoed is something that many actresses would kill
for. A diva actress emerges from rehab after losing custody of
her children because of her excessive drinking. It's also a role that
many... maybe even most actresses would tend to overplay. In the
hands of the masterful Paprika Steen, Thea truly comes to life in all
her monstrous yet sympathetic humanity. Paprika's performance
cuts to the heart of an illness. Her struggle between an
addiction, her desire to be a good mother and the love she feels
for her children wrestle palpably throughout her being. We are
appalled even as we are sympathetic. We are horrified by her
behavior even as we are touched by her insight and her decisions as a
parent. And we are amazed by yet another award-worthy performance
by Paprika Steen. -- mrc
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 Katie
Jarvis for the role of Mia Williams in Fish Tank -
Director Andrea Arnold spotted Katie Jarvis in the middle of an
argument with her boyfriend on a train platform, and decided to cast
her as Mia in Fish Tank.
Jarvis, this year’s youngest nominee for best actress, delivers an
impressive debut as a teenager trapped in a dreary existence in a
British housing project with an alcoholic single mother, and a sassy
younger sister. She shines in her tough yet tender portrayal of
adolescent angst, as she reacts to the inured brutality of Mia’s world.
-- sb
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 Anne
Dorval for the role of Chantale Lemming in I Killed My
Mother -Anne Dorval delivers an earth-shattering performance in
the film I Killed My Mother. This is an actress whose talents
combine style, wit, comic-timing, physical expression and most
important, a genuine embodiment of the character she portrays. Ann
Dorval pulls the viewer in to the struggles she faces as a single
mother trapped in a home, rocked by a moody, adolescent son. At times
her character is gentle and thoughtful, while other times we see her at
her breaking point, throwing fits of rage. And then there are the times
when she lays bare her own flaws as a neurotic single mother. Most
compelling about Ann Dorval's performance is her ability to portray her
character with very real human textures, so that the viewer isn't drawn
into the mother-son conflict with the need to take sides. The film
could not have succeeded without such a brilliant performance by this
actress.-- bca |
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 Jennifer
Lawrence for the role of Ree in Winter's Bone -
Debra Granik’s film has so much going for it—a gripping mystery
narrative, a vivid sense of place, a colorful supporting cast—but it
would not make as a strong of an impact without Lawrence as its anchor.
Her character, a teenager forced to raise two younger siblings and
locate her missing father after he disappears following selling the
family house as a jail bond, emerges as an uncommonly intricate
heroine. Lawrence confidently balances a calm, self-sufficient exterior
with a vulnerability even the most mature teenager could not fully
mask. She’s both our guide and surrogate to the film’s Ozarks woods
community. -- ck |
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 Ryan Gosling
for the role of Dean in Blue
Valentine - Gosling, like his counterpart Michelle Williams,
plays two roles inthis film: a blue-collar romantic in his early
twenties, funny and charming, and a dragged-down husband and father of
thirty with areceding hairline, mightily unattractive mustache, and
total lack of ambition. In between flashbacks and the present, Gosling
shows how his character of Dean has changed with age. Once a protector,
now he's someone other people are afraid of; once the responsible
caregiver in his relationship with girlfriend/wife Cindy, now he's the
petulant and stubborn child. Nevertheless, Gosling preserves an
intensely sympathetic angle to this man who cares so much about family
life that he can't see his marriage is ending. -- djy
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 Philip Seymour
Hoffman for the role
of Jack in Jack Goes Boating - An exercise often presented
to beginning actors involves scenework featuring shy, quiet, and
introspective characters because it's soon apparent that one can't
"play" these qualities in the way anger, joy, or frustration can be
displayed. As the titular character in JACK GOES BOATING, deftly
overcomes the dilemma by portaying the inarticulate, tender, and
hesitant cab driver for all the remarkable things he does rather than
is. Working persistently to please his new romantic interest, Hoffman
concentrates on all the activities Jack persues to become a better,
more rounded person. And when things don't go well, his reaction is so
visceral and real that the audience is treated to one of the best
screen depictions of the internal life of a character in recent years.
JACK is certainly one of Hoffman's best screen performances and should
not be missed. -- sc |
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 Alexander Siddig for the role of
Tarek Khalifa in Cairo Time - In this evocative mood piece
of a film, Siddig pulls off a master class of 'show don't tell'.
Tareq is a taciturn man, but his face and eyes reveal deep emotion and
sensitivity as he plays tour guide and travel companion to the waiting
wife of his friend. Siddig draws the viewer in as readily and
mysteriously as Cairo does for Patricia Clarkson's Juliette. -- bcu
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 Colin
Firth for the role of King George VI in The King's
Speech - Following up his performance in the prior year's
A Single Man, Colin Firth perfectly presents
the hopes and fears of King George VI in The King's
Speech. Suffering from a severe stammer, the king (who
starts the film as Prince Albert) is conflicted between a need to
present a commanding public presence and his natural tendency to
withdraw. Firth ably portrays the human frailty behind the royal
façade, showing tenderness to his wife and children, a
combination of awkwardness and bluster as he works with speech
therapist Lionel (played Geoffrey Rush – if there were a “chemistry”
award, these two would be shoe-ins), and frustrated imperiousness as he
tries and generally fails to attend to duties in the political
realm. These conflicting emotions build to a head as, following
his brother’s (Guy Pierce) abdication, Albert assumes the throne and
must give the most important speech of his life, rallying the nation to
war against Nazi Germany. In the climax of the film, the King
struggles, with the help of Lionel, to make it through this speech in a
small makeshift room in the palace. In this one scene, Firth
masterfully traverses the feelings of nervousness, anticipation, fear,
yearning, and finally triumph and vindication. To make a film
about seemingly dry subject matter into a compelling human drama is
testament to all involved in the film, and in particular the acting of
Firth. -- pe |
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 Vincent Cassel for the role of
Jacques Mesrine n in Mesrine: Killer Instinct - Jacques
Mesrine is many things at once: a refined society man, an easy-going
acquaintance, a romantic lover and a hardened con man and killer.
Vincent Cassel seems to slide effortlessly into all of these roles,
many of which coexist in the same scenes, even the same actions,
glances and reactions. His portrayal of Mesrine is riveting,
brutal and sentimental at the same time; the viewer never doubts for a
second that calculating wariness, loyalty to his friends, and an
opportunistic joy lives behind every action, thought and choice. -- so
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 Anthony
Mackie for the role of Marcus Washington in Night Catches
Us - Another compelling, charismatic turn by Mackie. His
Marcus, a former Black Panther, has returned to his old Philadelphia
neighborhood, hoping that the years have healed the wounds that forced
him into exile, labeling him a snitch. Mackie portrays a man torn
by the hopes and fears of both his past and present, placing at the
movie's foreground the emotional journey taken by this man, and those
he loves, to keep their dreams alive. --
bcu
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 Jacki
Weaver for the role of Janine Cody in Animal Kingdom
- For most of her lengthy career,
Australia’s Jacki Weaver has been often been called her country’s
version of Sally Field – versatile but best known for friendly, funny
ladies, with the occasional dramatic turn. But when she got involved
with David Michod’s hard-bitten crime thriller Animal Kingdom, she
couldn’t wait to really show off her nasty side. And she somehow
manages to do so with the complete sweetness and light that most of her
earlier roles have known. As Janine "Smurf" Cody, Weaver is just like
your average every day mother and grandmother…if she had a heart of
ice. Able to help her grandson prepare for his mother’s funeral one
day, and cheerfully about to write his death warrant the next, you can
bet she’s "done some bad things, sweetie…"-- tck |
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 Kierston Waering for the role of
Joanne Williams (mother) in Fish Tank - You are forgiven if
you at first presume Wareing to be playing 15-year-old protagonist
Mia’s (Katie Jarvis) sister instead of her mother. Not only did her
character, Joanne, give birth to Mia when she was a teenager herself,
she also still acts like one, spending less time attending to
traditional motherly duties and more sprawled on the couch, watching TV
and recklessly partying into the night. Bitter, immature and often
drunk, Joanne is far from an ideal parent, but Wareing gives her depth
and keeps her from lapsing into cartoonish inanity—most notably near
the film’s end, when she and Mia quietly but significantly share a
moment of genuine mother-daughter bonding without saying a single word
to each other. -- ck
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 Sissy
Spacek for the role of Mattie Darrow in Get Low -
Some of the best acting performances are the subtler ones. A good
example of this is Sissy Spacek’s portrayal of Mattie in Get
Low, a film about a mysterious hermit, Felix Bush, who plans to
host his own funeral party while still alive. Sissy shines in her
portrayal of Mattie, the younger sister of a woman who was linked to
Felix and was killed in a fire years ago. Sissy captures the
restraint, confusion, and timidity of Mattie, with her need for some
sort of understanding and closure of the prior events relating to her
sister’s death. A long-extinguished romantic flame informs some
of the interaction between Mattie and Felix; as a member of an older
generation, she is reluctant to give into emotions. A key to her
elegant performance is her showing Mattie’s internal pain both through
facial expressions and in the way she expresses her words. -- tp |
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 Dianne
Wiest for the role of Nat in
Rabbit Hole - On paper, the role of a working class mother whose
mantra is “I know just how you feel” might appear to be a throwaway
part. Cast Dianne Wiest and bingo, the character becomes
full-blown and memorable. Wiest has the knack of adding another
layer to her parts, and that talent is abundantly on display in Rabbit Hole. -- bk
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 Dale
Dickey for the role of Merab in Winter's Bone -
Merab, Dale Dickey's character in Winter's Bone, is not a
pleasant person. She is menacing and violent and mean. But she isn't a
one-note villain. She is of a piece with the place she lives and
understands the traits of character necessary to survive a tough and
hardscrabble existence, one which requires strict adherence to a
specific code of conduct. She must necessarily adopt her hard persona
when it falls to her to enforce that code. Once she has bent someone to
her will, though, and has witnessed lessons being learned, she can
marginally drop that persona to offer a meager, but not inconsequential
hand, and bring resolution. Ms. Dickey's masterful performance allows
all of Merab's facets to shine through. --jp |
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 Geoffrey
Rush for the role of Lionel Logue in The King's Speech
- Rush earns his nomination for the role of Australian speech therapist
Lionel Logue, employed by King George VI to help the King overcome his
stutter. The Australian Rush, whose character is also a failed
Shakespearean actor, plays Logue as a ham and an entertainer of his
indulgent sons. The actor’s long limbs, cartoonishly stretchable face,
joggly jowls, and gentle eyes are used to great effect as Logue
challenges the King, moving nimbly from clowning to utter seriousness.
His persistent familiarity and confidence in his unorthodox methods
clash with the royal family’s propriety. Ultimately, Logue achieves an
intimacy with the King that serves the entire nation. Rush is why a
movie about a stutter moves you to tears. -- djy |
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 Michael Fassbender for the role of
Connor in Fish Tank - Fassbender manages the tricky feat of
holding in balance multiple perspectives on his character, that of the
younger, attractive lover of lead character Mia's mum. We see him
from Mia's teenaged crush perspective as well as her mother's giddy
from a man's attention perspective, while Connor's own words and
actions have the audience hoping for his best intentions while dreading
the worst. It's an impressive and assured portrayal of a man
trying to hide his own confusion behind too-easy charisma, unprepared
for the consequences of that subterfuge. -- bcu
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 John
Ortiz for the role of Clyde in Jack Goes Boating
- When we first meet Clyde, he’s the proverbial best friend offering
encouragement and support to the film’s protagonist, Jack (Philip
Seymour Hoffman). Ortiz plays the role to the hilt—in his scenes
teaching Hoffman how to swim, he conveys infectious energy and a
nurturing spirit that’s rare among films centered on male bonding.
However, as Clyde reveals more about himself to Jack and we see the
cracks in his deceptively happy marriage, Ortiz superbly displays a
different range of emotions: jealously, rage, hurt and grief. Although
Jack remains the central figure and Hoffman delivers another fine
performance, Ortiz gives the film much of its soul. -- ck |
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 Miles
Teller for the role of Jason in Rabbit
Hole - As Jason, a high school kid with a unique talent and a
tragic accident on his resumé, Miles Teller captures the perfect
blend of outward teenage awkwardness, quiet intellect and impressive
emotional reserve. His performance is poignant and
understated. -- bk
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 John
Hawkes for the role of Teardrop
in Winter's Bone - In Winter’s
Bone, John Hawkes fully embodies Teardrop, a respected and
feared member of the Ozark Mountain drug community and uncle to Ree
(Jennifer Lawrence) whose brother has disappeared after being released
from prison on the bail transaction that has endangered Ree’s family’s
home. Teardrop is restrained, rough around the edges, and
increasingly impressed by his niece’s tenacity and will to
survive. Hawkes does an amazing job of embodying a man who is
torn between two entirely conflicting loyalties; Teardrop deeply
understands, and perhaps has even helped create, his community’s
unspoken rules of behavior and the cost of violating them yet at
the same time ultimately understands and respects his niece’s will to
keep her household and family intact. --
so
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| Mother,
screenplay by Eun-kyo Park and Joon-ho Bong - South
Korean writer/director Joon-Ho Bong doesn't care for genres or
conventions--as evidenced by his mash-up of sci fi and politics The
Host and now, again, in his mystery melodrama Mother.
The film plays with its audience in myriad ways, encouraging us
to root
for the title character as she seeks to prove her son innocent of
murder, even as we question her methods. From lyrical opening to
unsettling close, it's a gem that proves Joon-Ho Bong's gifts lies not
only behind the camera but on the page.--dvg |
|
 Animal
Kingdom, screenplay by David Michôd -
Too often crime dramas fail to rise above the
mediocre, largely because there is no emotional stake involved.
Not so with ANIMAL KINGDOM. Director/Writer David Michôd
has fashioned a riveting drama that concentrates on the emotional toll
of crime. Simultaneously, Michôd manages to keep the film
suspenseful and amass an impressive body count in the process. -- bk
|
| |
 Everyone Else , screenplay by Maren
Ade - Maren Ade's screenplay for Everyone Else is a
rare one; few else are out there that are so tender and unflinchingly
authentic in such naked emotion than this. The film chronicles the
doomed relationship of two idealistic youths whose being together
slowly destroys the both of them, in spite of the enormous love they
have for one another. The central characters, Chris and Gitti, are
outlined with such beautiful detail. The slightest gestures and the
most casual phrases and mapped out in such a way that are hardly
noticed at the moment but hold unfortunate impact in retrospect. There
are moments of small outbursts throughout but Ade never allows for a
satisfyingly explosive climax of emotion — simply utter tenseness
throughout. The viewing experience becomes a remarkable incarnation of
the very relationship the film documents. -- is |
| |
 I
Killed My Mother,
screenplay by Xavier Dolan - Much has been said about the
age of director, screenwriter, actor Xavier Dolan and the talent he
shows in his debut feature I Killed
My Mother, and I must add to that. This screenplay shows a
maturity that belies this talented auteur's chonological age. And
I'm not saying that talent only comes with experience, but the very
nature of this film's storyline reflects a young man looking back on
his realtionship with his mother afgter year's have passed. The insight
and clarity exhibited here is not only what we would expect from
someone with years of experience, but packaged in such a unique and
entertaining way that never betrays our symapthies for the
characters. -- mrc
|
| |
 The King's Speech, screenplay
by David Seidler - David Seidler’s original screenplay
created that rare example of a biopic that actually enlightens and
entertains without resorting to re-invention of historical facts or
glamorization of the protagonist’s character or actions. As the
story opens, we see Bertie, the Duke of York (and the future King
George VI) struggling to give a speech via radio broadcast from Wembley
Stadium. From there we follow Bertie and his wife Elizabeth to a
miserable session with a speech therapist after which each seems
ready to concede defeat. But, the determined Elizabeth continues
to search for the therapist that might help her husband conquer his
speech impediment. Although she is initially skeptical of Lionel
Logue’s unconventional methods and unimpressed with his shabby
offices, ultimately she trusts her instincts and tricks her
husband into meeting with this aspiring actor and self-taught
therapist. From there, the relationship between the future king and his
decidedly un-humble “servant” clatters, falters, stumbles and stomps
along its way to their ultimate lifelong friendship. The dialogue
in every scene rings true, through each stuttered syllable, graceful
recitation, profane outburst, or angry diatribe uttered. The
script reveals Bertie as the man who would most reluctantly be king,
and who must unearth the painful memories of his childhood in order to
conquer these stumbling blocks and fulfill his royal duties; and
Lionel, as a teacher and mentor demanding to be
accepted as an equal, who confronts and challenges
Bertie to leap the verbal hurdles and move forward toward his
destiny. -- kp
|
| |
 Night
Catches Us, screenplay by Tanya Hamilton -
Tanya Hamilton’s truly independent, long-gestating project is personal
cinema of the sort one rarely sees anymore. Set in 1976 Philadelphia,
it reunites two former Black Panthers: Marcus (Anthony Mackie), who
returns to his old neighborhood after years in exile and his old friend
Patricia (Kerry Washington), who stayed behind to raise her daughter
and foster a career. Hamilton’s evocation of a specific time and place
matches her skillfulness in expressing its cultural meaning and
significance: the film’s look (mixing in occasional archival
documentary footage) and sound (vintage songs complemented by a score
from The Roots) both feel utterly authentic and complement a heartfelt,
passionately told story. -- ck |
| |
|
|
 Winter's Bone,
screenplay by Debra
Granik and Anne Rosellini, based on the novel by Daniel
Woodrell - The screenplay for Winter's
Bone outlines the plot that drives the adaptation's source
material, but more than anything else it provided Debra Granik the
framework to create a largely immersive portrait of an entire community
and way of life not often portrayed. The most remarkable thing about
the screenplay's construction is how much is said with so little. The
characters' motivations and pasts are not expressly elaborated upon,
but still imbued with much depth. Lines of dialogue can give the
appearance of the simplistic caricatures with which these people are
usually portrayed, but imply volumes more. Take when Teardrop appears
suddenly to Rhee and simply states that he knows where his brother is.
In that very quote is embedded with layers of subtext — not only does
he know who killed his brother, but he was going to go out and get them
and needed Rhee to go with him. It's this level of subtle
sophistication that gives the adaptation by Granik and Rossellini its
true power and helps the film at large work in all the ways it does. -- is |
|
  Fair Game,
screenplay by Jez
Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth, based on the
book by Joseph Wilson and the book by Valerie Plame
- Fair Game, which won the
Freedom of Expression Award from the National Board of Review, is based
on the memoirs of Valerie Plame, the CIA agent who fell from grace, and
Joseph Wilson, her husband, whose op-ed article criticizing the
administration’s justification for invading Iraq, ignited the fall and
subsequent betrayal. The Butterworth brothers’ adaptation is
superb; the script crackles with realistic and meaningful
dialogue. They manage to strike a perfect balance between the
couple’s stressed personal life and the vituperative political
atmosphere in which they find themselves. -- vo
|
| |
 The
Ghost Writer, screenplay by Robert Harris, and
Roman Polanski, based on the novel by Robert Harris -
One need not have read the book upon which this film was based to
understand how well it was adapted. The story, nominally about an
unnamed writer aiding a tainted politician in the composition of his
memoirs, is filled with Polanski's typical Byzantine twists and twisted
relationships. His hand is everywhere. The dialog snaps, and carries
the requisite menace woven into its ordinary conversations. It is over
the top in its voluptuous worship of intrigue, but it makes a rousing
good movie, daring you to pursue it to its foregone and appallingly
bitter end. -- jp |
| |
 The Girl with the Dragon
Tattoo, screenplay by Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus
Heisterberg based on the novel by Stieg Larsson -
Adapted from the first in a series of crime novels by Swedish
author and journalist Stieg Larson, this sharp-edged thriller
cuts and carves through a complex web of lies, murder and sexual
violence. A journalist Michael Blomkvist is asked by prominent
business man Henrik Vanger to investigate the disappearance of
his young niece, more than 40 years after this case has gone
dead-cold. Relocating to the tiny island community that is home
to Vanger's extended family, and using research of the family history
for a magazine article as his cover for delving into their past,
Blomkvist is stymied and thwarted at every turn – the island
seethes with secrets and sins its citizens would rather not see
uncovered. He enlists the aid of a mysterious young woman,
Lizbeth Salander, whose computer-hacking skills provide him with
damning evidence against the Vangers. Meanwhile, Salander is
dealing with her own demons, and goes to extraordinary lengths to exact
her revenge upon a greedy and sadistic guardian. The screenplay
is taut and tense, and carries through on the twists and tangled
plot-lines that made the book series so immensely popular. --
kp |
| |
 Rabbit Hole, screenplay by David
Lindsay-Abaire based on his play - Boston-born David
Lindsay-Abaire, after writing a string of successful absurdist
comedies, challenged himself to write an old-fashioned, ordinary,
naturalistic play. In creating Rabbit
Hole, Lindsay-Abaire followed the advice of his teacher at
Juilliard, Marsha Norman, who told him to “write about the thing that
frightens you most,” and chose to examine the lives of Becca and Howie,
coming to terms with the death of their four year old son in a
senseless car accident. In adapting his Pulitzer Prize winning
play to the screen, Lindsay-Abaire creates an eerie atmosphere.
Becca and Howie’s beautiful, perfectly appointed suburban home, which
seems to become a character in its own right, is pervaded by a palpable
sense of loss. -- sb
|
| |
|
|
 Michael
McDonough for Winter's Bone
- The mood of WINTER’S BONE, largely
a result of expert cinematography, is as much a player in the success
of the film as the acting. Protagonist Ree (Jennifer
Lawrence) navigates through the Ozarks which are presented as a
thing of beauty worth fighting for and as a harbinger of danger.
Cinematographer Michael McDonough (DOWN TO THE BONE) strikes just the
right balance. -- bk |
|
|
 Paul
Sarossy for Chloe - Atom Egoyan never fails
to entice and disturb audiences with his plaintive, erotic tales of
dysfunctional relationships. But even when the visceral stories
themselves are hard to watch, the gorgeous imagery Egoyan creates is
haunting and unforgettable. Veteran Canadian Cinematographer Paul
Sarossy has worked with Egoyan before, beginning with Speaking Parts in 1989, and also Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter, Felicia’s Journey and Ararat (and production designer
Phillip Barker has worked with Sarossy on Ararat, The Sweet Hereafter and, oddly, The Wicker Man remake) The dreamy,
sumptuous look of Chloe is similar in tone and control to these other
works, but with an added gloss and sensuality that belies the
precariousness of a loving marriage. It doesn’t hurt that the visual
subjects are Amanda Seyfried, Julianna Moore, Liam Neeson and a
stunning Toronto home that is a modernist wet dream. My favorite scene
is the one where Seyfriend seduces Neeson in a lush greenhouse…or does
she? -- pa
|
|
 David
Boyd for Get Low - Get Low is a mix
of fable and real-life legend about Felix Bush, a mysterious
hermit in Depression-era Tennessee, who famously threw his
own funeral party while he was still alive. Capturing an
authentic feel for the time period, cinematographer David Boyd works
with a brownish grey “wintry” color palette, only occasionally
punctuated with bright colors or sunlight, making those scenes have
that much more impact when they do occur. A notable approach to
this film, again lending authenticity to the period nature of the
story, is the strict use of natural lighting and the willingness to
shoot dark interiors without “cheats” by over-lighting scenes.
Scenes in the Bush’s cabin are literally lit by candlelight, and the
use of dark as well as light really establishes a mood to the film,
particularly with such themes as isolation (Bush has been living alone
in the woods for several decades) and secrets of his past. Boyd
mentioned that his choice to shoot with anamorphic lenses was in part
to evoke the heyday of widescreen cinematography of the late 1960s and
1970s, and with director Aaron Schneider, himself originally a
cinematographer, he has created a beautiful film where the visual
composition is always front and center in the storytelling. -- pe |
| |
| Jérôme Krumenacker
and Irina Lubtchansky for Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno - |
| |
 Yorick
Le Saux for I
Am Love - Sumptiously photographed by Yorick Le Saux (SWIMMING
POOL, BOARDING GATE), I AM LOVE visually documents the last vestiges of
old world opulence and captures the ambiance surrounding the passion
and reckless abandon which is the core of the story. The
Recchi home in Milan is stately, richly decorated and amply staffed;
the countryside is lush and romantic, yet slightly foreboding. -- bk
|
| |
 Mauricio
Vidal for Undertow - You would think that
with the gorgeous coastal setting, Mauricio Vidal had it easy making Undertow look good. And sure,
the gorgeous landscape helps the film look great, but Vidal's skill is
evident in the way he uses the natural lighting to startling effect,
whether it is to underscore the somber tone of a funeral, to illuminate
the celebration of a community dinner, or to lend an air of mystery and
romance to a ghostly scene. In addition, Vidal's camera placement
is skillfully chosen to convey the powerful emotions ably performed by
this tremendous cast. All in all, Undertow is a visual masterpiece,
and it has a lot more to do with this director of photography's skill
than the beautiful Peruvian landscape. -- mrc
|
| |
|
|
 I
Am Love - I Am Love’s
production designer -- Francesca Balestra Di Mottola – uses the
stark light and patterned shades of modern Milan as the backdrop in
this portrait of a stagnated marriage and its stultified familial
relationships. The wealth and power wielded by this family is revealed
in the over-sized rooms of their villa, replete with marbled
floors, walls festooned with frescoes and flourishes, piazzas leading
from pools to manicured lawns. Each set design is studiously calm
and reserved, almost the antithesis of the sultry stereotype of Italian
loves and lusts, which allows the hot colors of the costumes and the
food to dominate the screen – a vermillion red dress,
golden-yellow shawl, pink prawns, tomato and asparagus.
Tilda Swinton’s character of a Russian émigré married
into a wealthy Italian family is trapped in this frigid environment,
living the life expected of a woman in her position, watching her
children hide the secrets of their own lives from their father –
and desperately grasping at her last chance at passion and
fulfillment in the arms of a much younger man. -- kp
|
|
|
| Bunny and the Bull - |
| |
 The King's Speech - For this period
drama, production designer Eve Stewart re-creates two major sets: the
imposing white and gold interiors of Buckingham Palace, and the
dilapidated home of speech therapist Lionel Logue. The latter, with its
warm browns in both paneling and bizarre wallpapers, seems vast with a
dearth of furniture, like a stage for this man whose first love is the
theater. Other London street and interior scenes are cast in icy blues,
as war with Germany looms and fear rises. Stewart is also a frequent
collaborator of Chlotrudis fave, director Mike Leigh. -- djy |
| |
 Micmacs
- Micmacs is a whimsical, surreal, and imaginative film
packed with brilliant production design from Aline Bonetto.
Bonetto is no stranger to supporting the visions of director
Jean-Pierre Jeunet, having worked as a set decorator on City
of Lost Children and as Production Designer for both Amelie
and A Very Long Engagement. The set design,
props, costuming, and art direction physically create a
magical environment that is rarely seen outside of an animated
film. The world created includes a bleak, yet quirky, and
colorful look of Moroccan deserts, junkyard dealers, bizarre
superhero-like characters, and more. Particularly noteworthy is
the “misfit lair” with a feel somewhere between a mad scientist’s
laboratory and an offbeat circus. As the main character and his
quirky associates seek revenge on the weapon manufacturers, every scene
contains a delightful new prop, costume, or setting that propels the
frenetic taste of the film, giving almost a Buster Keaton silent era
feeling to the piece. -- tp |
| |
 The Secret of Kells - Like its
cinematic cousins, Sita Sings the Blues and Azur and
Asmar, The Secret of Kells mines legend and folklore to
tell a story of mystery, tragedy, and heroism. And like them, it is
anchored in its place and time by the motifs that carry the story,
suffused with beautifully intertwined Celtic, Catholic, and Pagan
images. Pale landscapes float in soft greys and greens and blues,
armies march, red and black, a monster in a cave gleams under water.
The images render the film both story, and symbol of the legendary Book
from which it is taken, at once its reflection and its complement. --
jp |
| |
 Winter's
Bone - It’s hard to make a poverty-destroyed landscape
look appealing. But the somber forest surrounding the home of Ree Dolly
and her troubled family anchors the changing culture of Appalachia in
centuries-old traditions and an eerie hoodoo energy. The mismatched
clothing, messy homes, and pale, unhealthy pallor of the characters is
crafted so mercilessly it’s like a hidden camera was worn by all
players at all times. Production designer Mark White (Transamerica) and Cinematographer
Michael McDonough (New York, I Love
You)
worked with director Deborah Granik to immerse viewers in a faraway,
sad place of broken dreams and desperate actions. -- pa
|
| |
|
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  The Kids Are All Right
-It is not surprising that The Kids are All Right was the
darling of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Lisa Cholodenko”s
smartly directed film spins the story of Nic (Annette Bening), an
intense type A personality, and Jules (Julianne Moore) the more laid
back partner who live with their children, Joni and Laser in Southern
California. When the children track down their 'sperm
donor' dad, Paul, a free spirited organic farmer/restaurateur, played
by Mark Ruffalo, life takes a 360 turn. What ensues is a family
drama that is hilarious, poignant and impeccably acted. -- vo |
|
|
 Animal Kingdom - A good
cast makes a great movie, sure, but a great cast makes an unforgettable
movie, and that’s the case with Animal Kingdom .
Based on a shocking series of events that grows and takes on a
malevolent life of its own, this story flows and crests with amazing
ease, due to the incredible ensemble. From the low-key intensity
and drive of veteran Guy Pearce, to the heartbreaking, almost utterly
soulless stare of newcomer James Frecheville, this cast runs the gamut
of acting experience and proves that talent comes from both the old
hand and the novice. The cheerful sociopathy of Jacki Weaver is
mesmerizing to watch, like an exotic, poisonous flower. The
terror invoked by Ben Mendelsohn proves that you don’t need and
chainsaw or a hockey mask to portray a monster; he barely raised his
voice in this film and managed to leave me whimpering in my seat.
This is a film that will stick with you, and its stellar cast is one of
the many reason why it will. – kb |
| |
 Down Terrace
- This quirky, horrifying and hilarious little British indie about a
suburban crime family is a masterpiece of subtlety and naturalistic
acting. Most of the performers are virtually unknown, or known only to
UK TV audiences, including the family duo team of Robert Hill and son
(screenwriter) Robin, both of whom become gradually unhinged. Character
actress Julia Deakin is the sweet and stalwart matriarch Maggie whose
evil deeds come as naturally as putting kettle on, while EastEnders veteran David Schaal is
Eric, a jovial, ruthless killer. The breezy authenticity of the
performances gives this the feel of a documentary at times, and the
comedy works via the legendary methodology of mockumentary pre-cursor
Withnail and I: these people are funny because they take themselves
very seriously. -- pa
|
| |
 Jack Goes Boating - An
excellent ensemble cast (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Ryan, John Ortiz,
Daphne Rubin-Vega) -- 4 characters whose paired relationships are
revealed in counterpoint in this delicately played romantic
comedy. The film opens with Jack and Connie (Hoffman and
Ryan) on their first date, which was arranged through their respective
co-workers, Clyde and Lucy (Ortiz and Rubin Vega), a long-term
couple.Connie tells an odd story about her comatose mother, while Jack
and Clyde offer their confused and conflicted supportive remarks.
As the story unfolds, the faltering conversations
between the characters ring true -- we’ve all been faced with those
awkward moments where no response seems apropos to the conversation,
but at the same time giving no response would seem rude. The old
maxim, “It’s not what you say, it’s what you DON’T say” is
borne through the delivery of each pregnant pause. The
climactic scene, in which the four friends gather for dinner, is simply
delicious – as the actors convey the unspoken truths that may bind or
break the ties between them --kp |
| |
 Micmacs - In Micmacs,
Jeunet creates a Rube Goldberg-ish story of revenge, and as anyone
knows, if even the smallest cog fails in a Goldberg contraption, the
entire enterprise stops short. So it is with the cast of Micmacs. Each
member plays a vital role in bringing to fruition a baroque and creaky
plot.
This is a comedy, so the bad guys are comically bad and the gang who
takes them down, a band of lovable crackpots. Crackpots unite!, though,
because, as conceived by Jeunet and exquisitely cast, they form a
compagnie mechanique, Dominique Pinon's rubbery face and outrage, Dany
Boon's fluid athletics, Julie Ferrier's smooth contortions, Michel
Crémadès and his mad puppets, and Omar Sy, in equal
parts, officious and steadfast. Were any one of them lacking, the plot
would fail, and so each one of them makes it successful. -- jp |
| |
 Please Give - What I like best about
Nicole Holofcener's marvelous films is the feeling of being dropped
down in the middle of a groups of people, whether they be friends,
family, scquaintences, or strangers, and getting to know them. This is
in part due to her accomplished screenplays, and in part due to her
outstanding casts, and Please Give is no exception. As
always, this cast is led by the confounding and mesmerizing Catherine
Keener in what is possibly simultaneously her warmest and most
off-putting performance to date. Add to that Rebecca Hall, Amanda Peet
and Ann Morgan Guilbert, and you've got a powerful female force leading
this cast (and the also accomplished Oliver Platt). But even down to
the cameos you've got some delightful surprises like Kevin Corrigan and
Sarah Vowell. This is one director that knows how to cast a film, and
one cast the knows how to inhabit a movie. -- mrc . |
| |
|
|
 Marwencol
-
Mark Hogancamp suffered brain damage after being viciously beaten in
his hometown of Kingston, New York. For physical and emotional therapy,
he took up building a scale WWII-era town in his backyard. Using
soldier dolls and Barbies, Mark has created an imaginary Belgian town
called Marwencol, where his alter ego fights the SS and makes love to
beautiful women. As the art world begins to discover Mark, director
Jeff Malmberg parcels out hints of another aspect of his subject’s
life. The film is a purveyor of Mark's amazing narrative photographs of
Marwencol and a sympathetic examination of the space between the
artist's reality and fantasy. -- djy |
|
|
 The Art of the Steal -
Don Argott’s Art of the Steal tells the compelling story of
the Barnes collection – a private and valuable collection of
impressionist and post-impressionist art held in trust in Merion, PA
that contains pieces by Matisse, Cezanne, Renoir, Picasso and Monet,
among others, and is worth over $25 million. It was designed by
its founder Dr. Albert C. Barnes as an educational institution, and the
documentary tells several stories - how it came to be, how it has been
managed (or mismanaged) and how it is now being moved to Philadelphia
against the conditions outlined in Barnes’ will. It’s a
fascinating telling, marked by lively personalities, political
maneuverings, the continual battle between art as art and art as
business and plenty of talking heads. Moreover, the film contains
shots of the inside of the building where it was housed, where the art
was displayed in a way that encouraged an intimate, experiential
viewing of the art… especially poignant given that the collection is in
the process of being dismantled and moved to an art museum in
Philadelphia. -- so |
| |
 Exit
Through the Gift Shop - From its meta-cinematic
origins and playful gimmicks (is “director” Bansky really the one
behind all that derivative art?), this film dances with its own
identity as a documentary. But as a portrait of a man obsessed and
driven to garner mostly-undeserved fame, the film succeeds masterfully.
Appealing but slightly scary French artist Thierry Guetta (who some
claim is merely acting a role created by Banksy; the “hoax” accusations
leveled at this film span a wide continuum) is captured at his most
frenetic and deluded, and there can be nothing fake about that. The
film manages to question notions of art, fame, fortune, identity,
friendship and integrity while also being a wildly entertaining and
hilarious send-up of consumer culture. -- pa
|
| |
 Inside
Job - This
dazzling film examines the recent financial crisis in an efficient,
insightful way. For those of us who followed the debacle on a
daily basis the basic facts are nothing new; for newcomers they are
concisely summarized. The revelation of the film is the
complicity of our esteemed universities in the world-wide economic
crisis. Charles Ferguson (NO END IN SIGHT) knows how to entertain
and educate the viewer in just the right portions. -- bk |
| |
 Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
- Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work on the surface appears like
many other recent entries into the documentary genre; a very
standard, by-the-numbers approach to documenting the life of
trailblazing comedic icon Joan Rivers. But the result is a stunning
reversal of every preconception you may have held of the woman,
cracking open the shell you see of her public persona and allowing us
unprecedented access that acts as a tragic exposé of both this
individual woman and the world of fame at large. We see Joan Rivers as
the prototypical "sad clown," a woman insecure of her beauty and need
to be loved all her life despite a lifetime full of remarkable
achievement who started out, more than anything, wanting to be taken
seriously as an actress. Following her through both low points and high
peaks of her career, the film works best using Rivers to symbolize the
world of stardom that should make anyone think twice before considering
a career in the entertainment industry — as glamorous and glossy as it
may appear at first glance. -- is |
| |
 Prodigal
Sons
- Storytelling in documentary film is a tricky business. When a
filmmaker gathers an abundance of footage that records an event or a
series of them, the story emerges only when edited together. A good
deal of luck affects the footage captured, but it still takes a skilled
and sensitive director to weave the bits into a unique story with
meaning. Kimberly Read succeeds -- beyond her own expectations and
initial comfort level, I suspect -- in her very personal family saga
PRODIGAL SONS. Reed, who was born Paul McKerrow but transitioned to
female many years ago, intended to record her experience returning from
New York to Montana to attend a high school reunion with her female
lover. These circumstances certainly make for an exciting setup, but
the story takes several unexpected turns as she reunites with her
adopted brother Marc. Marc's behavioral issues due to brain damage from
a high school accident, and the bizzarre discovery of his biological
heritage lead the whole family down a bumpy road to self-discovery and
mutual acceptance. -- sc
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