A Road Trip for a Mom’s Last Wish

Logan Lerman (left) and John Hawkes in "End of Sentence"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

When you think of a road movie, you might often think of characters going cross country with the hopes of finding new adventures as they visit places to which they’ve never been.  You don’t often consider the characters traveling between countries for their travels.  However, that’s what we’re given in Elfar Adalsteins’ drama, “End of Sentence,” his feature directorial debut that explores a father-son bond in the midst of a loss.

Shortly before Sean Fogle (Logan Lerman) is released from prison, his mother, Anna (Andrea Irvine), passes away.  Once Sean is released, he and his father, Frank (John Hawkes), travel to Ireland to grant Anna’s final wish: to have her ashes scattered in a lake that she has often visited in her native Ireland.  On their travels, Sean and his father will face their strained relationship in an attempt to make it through their trip.

Hawkes is one of those actors who’s always capable of giving a great performance, but doesn’t always receive the recognition that he deserves.  In his role of a grieving father, Hawkes presents a man who doesn’t need much of anything, just the love of his family.  To see the dedication to make his late wife’s wish come true, as well as the sadness of the constant rejection from his son, it’s poignant to watch as you see Hawkes’ character do his best to build a connection out of a loss.  One of the main attributes of any performance from Hawkes is how expressive his eyes can be, and he uses that factor to add another layer of emotion to whatever he’s feeling.  Whether it’s sadness, angry, happiness, or doubt, you can bet that he will make an impact on you because of how quietly powerful he can convey his feelings.

Lerman provides a bristling performance as a young man who tends to be closed off, but is hiding several troubles underneath his seemingly inscrutable thoughts.  He shows someone who doesn’t want to converse with many, but wishes to be understood and disclose the emotional and physical pain that he has suffered in the past.  It’s an understatedly tense portrayal that always hints at the innocence within, and Lerman does well in having the audience lean in and gaze into Sean’s persona and feelings as he goes through his transition from prison to the outside world.

Sarah Bolger’s supporting work as a young local who joins Sean and Frank on their trip is a glowing portrayal.  Bolger gives a performance of pure welcomeness as she connects with the father and son on their travels.  As a woman who has a few troubles of her own, Bolger exhibits a character who isn’t apprehensive about telling strangers about her life, but still shows a bit of mysteriousness in her.  It’s a remarkable performance that shows an outpouring of strength, despite the character’s vulnerability. 

Although the screenplay by Michael Armbruster can be a bit thin, it still has a few more things to offer than just a bare-bones father-son story.  It goes into some occasional depth as to what has caused the strain in Frank and Sean’s relationship, disclosing details here and there about the characters and their pasts, details that shed light on the significant similarities and differences between them that help to give their relationship enough dramatic force.  

Other than this, the script is also noteworthy in how it handles Sean’s arc, in particular.  His arc isn’t about him trying to readjust to society after his release from prison, but is instead about him being at a spot in his life where he and his father have to pick up where their troubled relationship left off and attempt to traverse the animosity between them.  It’s not about Sean reconnecting with the outside world itself, but is rather about him reconnecting with his loved ones.  

With the cinematography by Karl Oskarsson, who provided the camerawork for Adalstein's 2011 short film, "Sailcloth," he takes the landscapes of Ireland and makes you understand the beauty that Sean’s mom loved about her native land, while also showing you the sense of awe that Sean and Frank experience.  The gorgeousness of the imagery adds to the narrative emotion because you’re seeing this place and the possibility that it has to change the father and son’s relationship for the better as they come to understand why Anna remained so drawn to this place.  Between the striking imagery, such as that of the lake and a winding road alongside a coastal mountain, you won’t be anything less than moved by what you see.

Adalstein’s direction takes an effectively soft approach to the central relationship, but is still able to make us feel the tension that simmers beneath.  There aren’t any heavy-handed emotional moments, but rather very genuine interactions that not only emphasize the lost years of connection between Frank and Sean, but also the gradualness that goes into rebuilding their relationship.  Through these moments, “End of Sentence” is a look at how a road trip can provide the chance to talk, listen, think, and most importantly, heal.

Grade: A-

After a Few Major Life Changes, a Young Man Must Find His Way

Pete Davidson and Bill Burr in "The King of Staten Island"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

Over the course of his career, Judd Apatow has written, produced, and directed movies that focus on relatable, everyday situations, with a little bit of Hollywood fluff in the mix, whether it be dealing with relationships, surprise pregnancies, parenthood, growing up, and even mortality.  Despite the usual faults with his movies, Apatow has made us laugh, cringe, and reflect on the many memorable moments of life, whether they be significant or not.

Apatow manages to find another angle from which to analyze life with his comedy-drama, “The King of Staten Island.”  Serving as a semi-autobiographical look at the life of “Saturday Night Live” comic Pete Davidson, this movie proves to be as funny as it is surprisingly hard-hitting, and it may even be one of Apatow’s best.

Scott Carlin (Davidson) is a 24-year-old high-school dropout who lives at home with his mom, Margie (Marisa Tomei), and his sister, Claire (Maude Apatow).  After Claire leaves for college, Scott’s mom begins dating Ray Bishop (Bill Burr), who is a firefighter, like Scott’s deceased father.  In the middle of all of this, Scott will try to figure out a way of how to get his life on track, no matter how difficult it might be.

While Davidson has offered plenty of laughs during his time so far on “SNL” (he’s been a cast member since the 2014-2015 season), this is a performance that provides us with a much deeper understanding of who he is.  He manages to be his reliably humorous self throughout the movie, but it’s the moments that are grounded in his emotional, personal experiences that help show the range of his talents.  He’s able to make us laugh one minute and then feel sympathy for him in the next, showing how Davidson’s character can use wit to cope with the stressful situations that Scott faces.  Davidson allows us to witness an individual who is trying to keep himself together and find his path in life, bringing us a character who isn’t anything less than heartbreakingly real.

There are memorable supporting performances from Marisa Tomei, Maude Apatow, Bel Powley as Scott’s girlfriend, Kelsey, and Steve Buscemi as one of Ray’s fellow firefighters, Papa, but the standout is Burr.  His first scene is one of the film’s best, and from there, you can be sure that Burr is going to be a great addition to the movie.  In the first half of the movie, Burr does well in making you laugh with many hilarious lines, and then annoy you, just like he does with Scott as he tries to connect with him in such a way that is comical, but with a touch of hostility and jerkiness.  But, as Burr’s character begins to help Scott find his footing in life, Burr does well in showing Ray’s fatherly side as he gives Scott the support that he needs.  While they have terrific chemistry throughout, it becomes even stronger in the second half as Scott and Ray begin to open up with each other and change their lives for the better.

The screenplay by Apatow, Davidson, and David Sirus occasionally suffers from the same issue that we see in other Apatow films, which is an excessive length (the movie runs at 136 minutes), and this causes some scenes to either go on longer than they should, or seem superfluous altogether.  The scenes where this is felt in particular are those with Scott and his stoner friends, and this is where the movie feels the most like a typical Apatow film, with the main character and his friends just hanging out and talking.  While the first of these scenes is fine with helping to set up Scott’s character, the rest of them aren’t that necessary.

However, that problem is mostly confined to the first half of the film, and it’s the second half where the movie finds its flow.  As Scott and Ray begin to understand each other, we have a relationship that’s built organically and evokes as much emotion out of it as it can.  This is material of which we haven’t really seen in an Apatow film, making it a fine addition to the coming-of-age genre.  Between Scott and Ray learning to better themselves, seeing the bond that Scott forges with Ray and the other firefighters, and Scott learning more about his father, the strength of the film’s second half is enough to make up for the lulls that appear in the earlier half.

Just as he did with his 2009 movie, “Funny People,” Apatow shows a skill in balancing both drama and wit.  While there is humor throughout the character interactions, Apatow is able to mix in the underlying sense of the characters’ hardships when the movie calls for it.  “The King of Staten Island” is probably one of Apatow’s most grounded films, bringing us unto Davidson’s past and providing an effective view of someone dealing with the long-term effects of a loss while also trying to establish a direction to take in life.  Once the movie comes to an end, you’ll be glad to have been given a chance to grow up with Scott.

Grade: B+

When Working on Her Novel, an Author Faces Mental Troubles and Houseguests

Michael Stuhlbarg and Elisabeth Moss in "Shirley"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

Shirley Jackson is an author whose life begs to be the subject of a psychological study.  Having written such mesmerizing short stories like “The Lottery” and novels like “The Haunting of Hill House” and “We Have Always Lived in the Castle,” there’s the enticing question of from where the ideas for these stories could have come.  A venture inside the mind of one of American literature’s most prolific horror and mystery writers promises something both dark an eyeopening.

Director Josephine Decker offers such a story with her biographical drama, “Shirley,” a movie that’s led by a blazing performance from its star and a keen visual eye in bringing this biopic to life.

The story follows a young couple, Rose (Odessa Young) and Fred (Logan Lerman), who move to Vermont, with the hopes of Fred being offered a job as an assistant professor at Bennington College.  They are invited to move in with Shirley Jackson (Elisabeth Moss) and her professor-husband, Stanley Edgar Hyman (Michael Stuhlbarg), with whom Fred will be working.  While everything is civil at first, Rose and Fred will soon become involved in the drama that inspires Jackson’s next novel.

Moss elicits a power that has us view the psychological torment that Jackson experiences on a daily basis.  We see the obsessiveness that she pours into her work to make sure that she gets whatever she can from her ideas.  It’s a performance that shows Jackson’s unwavering dedication to getting the character right, even showing how even sitting at a desk and trying to make an idea come to your head can cause anxiety as you try to perfect something.  Moss’ expressiveness invites us into her character’s mental fragility as Shirley navigates interactions with others and devotes herself over page after page of her latest novel.  It’s a superb display of the excitement and aggravation that comes with the creative process, and Moss will leave you stunned in her portrayal of an individual who does what she can to make sure that the world reads her stories.

Young delivers a performance that’s just as memorable as Moss’, portraying someone who has to work alongside Jackson and soon experiences the latter’s troubled nature, becoming unsettled by Shirley’s unpredictable behavior and trying to keep her own life in order, but also try to help Shirley make it from day to day.  As Rose’s personal problems come into play, Young provides emotional work as she shows her character trying to keep her life together as it threatens to break apart.

Stuhlbarg provides a terrific performance as Shirley’s critical-minded husband, someone who thinks he knows everything and assumes he knows what’s good for Shirley.  It’s a role that comes with humor, but also an effective ability to get on the viewer’s nerves.  Every time Stuhlbarg is on screen, you brace yourself to hear some harsh works, and he’ll have you alternating between chuckling and wanting to smack him.

The screenplay by Sarah Gubbins, which is based on Susan Scarf Merrell’s novel of the same name, doesn’t focus on Jackson’s life as a whole, but rather takes an intimate look at a certain chapter in her life that helps to exemplify who she was.  By just looking at this certain segment of Shirley’s career, we’re given plenty of details of this specific moment as we explore both her personal troubles and what compels her as a writer.  The interactions that the narrative constructs between Shirley and the other characters allow us to see how much her psychological issues impact her and her writing, providing us with enough insight into not only her life in that moment, but what she might have been like prior to the events of the film. 

While the drama that occurs between Rose and Fred can be intriguing at first, the time that’s spent between Rose and Shirley soon becomes much more interesting, and you soon find yourself favoring those segments of the film a little bit more, as well as the sequences where everyone is together.  It’s here where we’re given the meatier drama that sticks with you.

The cinematography by Sturla Brandth Grøvlen excels in the way it presents its closeups, framing characters as they have tense interactions, bringing us near them to help us feel the intensity of their performances.  The images and movements of the camera have a dreamlike quality to them, as if we’re experiencing how Shirley sees the world, and this keeps us captivated throughout as we investigate the depths of her mind.  Through this, Decker shows a distinct talent for visuals when tasked with presenting biopics in an innovative way. 

Aside from the wonderful use of closeups, Decker creates an ample amount of apprehension within the limited space of Shirley’s house.  The threat of animosity waits within the walls of the Jackson home, always ready crack the house open as the two couples spend more and more time together.  With the limited cast, Decker does well in getting the most out of their performances as she pits them against each other, and you’re left on edge wondering how the house will keep standing once all of this is over.

“Shirley” is a biopic that will keep you invested in the life of its titular character, which is more than appropriate for a movie about an author that kept you flipping the pages.

Grade: A-

When Strange Noises are Heard, Two Friends Look to the Sky

Jake Horowitz and Sierra McCormick in "The Vast of Night"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

During its years on television, “The Twilight Zone” presented an amplitude of ambition in its provocative ideas from episode to episode.  With the amount of stories that they had to tell, the show made audiences question their lives and ponder the mysteries of the unknown, and the themes that were explored exhibited disturbing relevance to the time period in which the show aired.

Now, as a love letter to that show and the intelligence of its many stories, director Andrew Patterson makes his debut with the science-fiction film, “The Vast of Night.”  What he manages to bring us is a beautiful, chilling, and well-acted movie that presents a thrilling new visionary in sci-fi filmmaking.

In 1950s Cayuga, New Mexico, switchboard operator Fay (Sierra McCormick) hears a strange noise come through on the radio and switchboard.  Partnering with local radio DJ Everett (Jake Horowitz), the two young friends set out to investigate the origins of this mysterious sound.

The performances from McCormick and Horowitz seem so natural as they talk with an abundance of energy when they go through their dialogue, with McCormick talking excitedly about her interests, and Horowitz relishing in his retro-‘50s cool-kid dialect.  It doesn’t take you more than a second to become absorbed in their friendship, two teenagers who thrive on their big ideas and aspirations for something greater.  They come across as real people, and that genuineness absorbs you in their connection as they do what they can to help and protect each other as they venture deeper into the mystery at the heart of the movie.

Most of the film focuses on the interactions between McCormick and Horowitz’s characters, so there aren’t many supporting characters.  However, there’s a great supporting performance from Gail Cronauer, who plays an elderly resident of the town who may know something that could be of value to Fay and Everett’s research.  In one of the most haunting scenes of the film, Cronauer’s character goes into a monologue about her own strange encounters within the town when she was younger, and although this is her only scene, Cronauer manages to show the emotional toll that such an occurrence has had on her character in the decades since it happened.

The story may seem like your typical alien-visitation story, but the way in which James Montague and Craig W. Sanger’s screenplay is able to boil it down to their two main characters trying to solve the mystery of if they’re alone in the universe presents a heartfelt and rich view of a couple of friends who are passionate about the same things and use those interests to achieve possible communication with extraterrestrials.  The movie spends much of the first half hour allowing us to get to know the characters, with Fay and Everett having extended discussions about their interests.  Afterwards, there’s plenty of time in the second and third acts to bring us deep into the sci-fi mystery that Fay and Everett are trying to solve.

The narrative is framed like an episode of “The Twilight Zone.”  But, in the film, it’s a “Twilight Zone”-style show called “Paradox Theater.”  We have the film begin as the camera zooms in on a ‘50s-style television set as the opening credits to this TV show play out, and then, on occasion, the movie transitions to the image being shaped as if it’s playing on a curved ‘50s television screen.  This is a neat homage to the television era of “The Twilight Zone,” but doesn’t become intrusive with what’s happening within the story and doesn’t outstay its welcome.  It’s merely an eye-catching technical touch that shows Patterson’s love for Rod Serling’s iconic creation, and it helps to immerse you in the atmosphere of the story.

A lot of where Patterson shows his drive as an up-and-coming filmmaker is through his collaboration with cinematographer M.I. Littin-Menz.  There are several long takes, whether they be tracking shots or long takes with minimal movement, and with the movie taking place over the course of a night, this allows us to feel the passage of time.  One of the most memorable of these long takes is a sequence that goes from Fay’s workplace across town to the local high school where the whole town has gathered for a basketball game, and then going to Everett’s radio station.  While you can spot the trickery of accomplishing this shot, it’s an innovative one nonetheless that more than presents Patterson’s assurance as a filmmaker on the rise.

The long takes that involve a mostly stationary camera are just as memorable.  Such sequences include Cronauer’s character explaining her own extraterrestrial encounter and a nearly 10-minute shot with Fay working the switchboard and hearing the otherworldly noises.  In these sequences, we have a buildup of tension that keeps you enthralled with what you’re learning as the plot moves forward, and also allows you to become more acquainted with the characters on which the camera is focusing.

Patterson has a masterful handle on establishing the unsettling mood of the film and sustaining it throughout.  He creates a tone of wonderment that slowly builds its way into something more eerie, ensuring that there isn’t a minute where you’re not caught up in the thrill of going on this journey with Fay and Everett.  There’s an inventiveness to the way in which he approaches familiar material that helps make this a stunning emergence for Patterson as a director.  It’s clear that he loves science-fiction, and you sit there after the movie hoping that Patterson will revisit the genre soon, and with “The Vast of Night,” he shows that he has as many artistic possibilities as there are stars in the sky.

Grade: A-