On a Road Trip, Two Men Consider Their Future

Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth in "Supernova"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

Before writer-director Harry Macqueen’s second feature “Supernova,” his only other movie was “Hinterland.”  They’re both road movies about two people connecting, but what’s different between them is how the latter deals with young adults traveling the roads, while “Supernova” deals with older adults on the road.  He focuses on how, no matter what your age, there’s always an invigorating power of being out on the road and discovering things about yourself.

Sam (Colin Firth) and Tusker (Stanley Tucci) have been partners for 20 years.  As they travel through the English countryside to reunite with family and friends, they must also face the prospect of Tusker’s early onset dementia and the limited time that they have left with each other.

Firth provides a heartbreaking performance as someone who wants to hold onto whatever time he has left with his partner.  He does fine work in letting the viewer know the emotional toll that he has experienced in taking care of his partner, but presents his character as someone who will still do whatever he can to make sure that he makes life as easy as possible for Tusker.  In doing so, we see someone who wants to provide his partner with the best quality of life, but has trouble facing the inevitably that his partner’s life is nearing its end.  Firth establishes that Tusker is Sam’s whole world, and to see how much Sam wishes to keep him around is a testament to how much Tusker means to him.

Tucci provides a performance that’s every bit as poignant as Firth’s, exhibiting someone who must convince his other half that he must move on when Tusker’s gone.  Tucci plays a character who has come to terms with his imminent passing and knows how he wants to spend his remaining time.  His character wants to hold onto his dignity in any way that he can, which, at times, can be empowering; and at others, it can heartbreaking.  Tucci not only shows us who his character is in the events of the movie, but also shows glimpses of who he was before his affliction, offering us a wider look into Tusker’s character. 

With the movie mainly being just Firth and Tucci on screen, we get a full view of how strong their on-screen chemistry is and the deepness of their characters’ relationship.  When they’re together, we’re given a sense of how their love for each other has grown over the years into what we see at the beginning of the film, and then shows how much further it can go when they face bigger challenges concerning Tusker’s illness.  The way in which they interact shows two people who trust each other with the other’s life, and Firth and Tucci immerse you in a depiction of a love that remains steadfast under the pressure of their situation.

The screenplay by Macqueen may be a little thin, but it still does well in establishing the central relationship and making you care for what happens.  The entire first third is just Sam and Tusker traveling the countryside and allowing us to get to know them and the significant issue that they’re facing.  The middle section has them spending some time with Sam’s family, and then the final third is just them again.  Given how much time is spent with only the two of them, the story gives us a full sense of the two main characters’ undertaking and provides us with an idea of the intimacy that goes in how they face it together.

Even during the segment of the movie where Sam and Tusker are with Sam’s family, Macqueen still provides moments for just the two of them.  This highlights how they feel as though they’re the only two people in the world, even when they’re among others.  There aren’t many occasions where they’re separate from each other, which helps us feel how much they’re making whatever time they have left together count.

As a director, Macqueen prevents the movie from becoming too maudlin in how it depicts someone with dementia.  Rather, it’s a quietly emotional portrait of two people battling someone’s illness.  Macqueen makes the most out of the segments of the film where it’s just Sam and Tusker, and he doesn’t go for emotional manipulation.  Instead, he lets the talents of his two leads convey that emotion through their restrained performances.  Between their performances and Marqueen’s direction, all three of them are able to maintain the drama that’s presented in this situation, making “Supernova” a movie where the open road helps its travelers open up to each other.

Grade: A-

A Filmmaker Gets More than Expected When Searching for Her Next Idea

Aubrey Plaza and Christopher Abbott in 
"Black Bear"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

Writer-director Lawrence Michael Levine’s psychological drama, “Black Bear,” is one of those movies where, even after you’ve been watching a few scenes, it’s difficult to get a grasp on what’s going on as a whole.  There isn’t a lot of setup, so we’re sort of just thrown into whatever’s happening, not having a prayer for the mysteriousness being lifted anytime soon.

Allison (Aubrey Plaza) is a filmmaker who’s in need of inspiration for her next movie.  She decides to stay at a lake house belonging to a couple, Blair (Sarah Gadon) and Gabe (Christopher Abbott).  As Allison begins her search for an idea and spends more and more time with Blair and Gabe, their lives will enter a complicated web of deceit.

Although Plaza shows glimmers of the deadpan humor for which she’s known, this role allows her to dig deeper into dramatic acting.  While she offers a look into this other side of her in the first half, Plaza is given a chance to go stronger with it in the second half, showing someone who’s emotionally shattered in what’s going on in her life.  Plaza shows a side to her acting of which we haven’t seen much of before, and it’s because of this that there’s an unpredictability as to what we will see her do, making that unexpectedness one of the film’s main source for its thrills.

Gadon and Abbott elicit plenty of vicious sparks as Allison’s presence causes the two of them to become increasingly hostile with each other.  The tenseness of Gadon and Abbott’s time together on screen places you right in the position of Allison as you’re forced to be an observer as Gadon and Abbott spitting venom at each other, offering a “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” vibe that keeps you hooked to the screen as you wait to see how far they will take their argument.  Gadon and Abbott start off with quiet barbs at each other before escalating into something more, and their verbal battles throw you in uncomfortableness as you watch their relationship fall into turmoil. 

Levine’s screenplay consists of two distinct halves, yet they mirror each other in intriguing ways, with both halves dealing in some way with the creative process.  I can’t go into too much detail about each segment, but when you’re plunged into the second half and the movie becomes something very different, you being to question everything you have watched and are watching.  This creates a narrative where your mind is always spinning to try to figure out how everything connects, and you’ll be making theories in your mind and then quickly rebuking them as you think of other explanations for the events of the film.  It’s compelling how separate these two halves seem at first, but it’s even more fascinating as you begin to see the resemblances. 

Levine has the movie take place in the lake house for both acts, with each of those halves telling a new story.  As we go from one act to the next, we see how Levine possesses an ability to make the setting feel different between the two halves because of what he shows us within the lake house and how he uses that environment to tell each particular half of the story.  This results in each half being thrilling in its own way.  The first half is nerve-racking in how you feel watching the tension rise between the three main characters, with many of the scenes happening at one place for an extended length of time.  In the second segment, Levine has many moving parts that he has to coordinate, and the way in which he does so when working with Robert Leitzell’s handheld camerawork keeps you on edge as you always wait to see what will go wrong next within the disarray that unfolds in the second half.  As the camera moves from one room to another, you become even more familiar with the interior of the lake house and are given the idea that anything can happen anywhere.

In a movie that puzzles your mind in the best possible way, “Black Bear” is never at risk of a dull roar.

Grade: A

Several Years After a Tragic Event, a Woman Sets Out to Right a Wrong

Carey Mulligan in "Promising Young Woman"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

There’s always a certain amount of excitement and intrigue to be had when a filmmaker takes on timely subject.  That’s made even more so when that director accomplishes that with their feature directorial debut.  This is the case with writer-director Emerald Fennell’s dark-comedy thriller, “Promising Young Woman,” a movie that takes on serious topic and manages to be as compelling as it is entertaining and humorous.

Cassie Thomas (Carey Mulligan) is a woman who attended medical school and had a bright future, but then dropped out with her best friend to take care of her after the latter was sexually assaulted and not believed.  Not long after her friend commits suicide over the traumatization of the past, Cassie begins seeking revenge on those who are at fault for what happened.

Mulligan delivers a stellar performance that’s both emotional and invigorating.  The way in which she has her character switch back and forth between being an unstoppable hunter of those who played a part in her friend’s death, and a woman who’s grieving over what happened in her past shows some of the best work that Mulligan has done.  The scenes where Mulligan has Cassie reflect on the past have an intense heartbreak because of how vividly Mulligan shows Cassie being haunted by her loss.  Then, in the sequences where Cassie exacts her revenge, Mulligan shows a satisfying ferociousness as she displays a deviousness that communicates how dedicated Cassie is in completing her mission, an embodiment of karma who makes sure that no one will forget what happened to her friend.  This is a powerful performance where Mulligan presents a modern-day vigilante, and there’s never a scene where she doesn’t bristle with poignancy or vengeful energy.

There’s an all-star supporting cast that populates Cassie’s tumultuous world, most notably Allison Brie, Connie Britton, Alfred Molina, and Molly Shannon.  While all of them only have one or two scenes, the four of them manage to leave an impression as we learn their connection to Cassie’s past and how their lives have been tainted in different ways by the tragedy that puts the film’s events into motion.  Their interactions with Cassie offer some of the most noteworthy scenes in the movie, offering a great deal of heavy drama in the moments where Cassie must confront the past and make things right.

Fennell’s screenplay maintains a firm handling in how it approaches its subject.  Yes, she crafts this movie as an entertaining revenge thriller, but she always manages to keep the crucial nature of this topic in the forefront, in one way or another.  Fennell never lets us forget the horrifying implications of what could happen to Cassie when she goes out to enact her objectives, always keeping us tense and disturbed as these scenes unfold and we see how Cassie will use her smarts to make sure her plans are successful.

Although this movie upholds the seriousness that’s needed when focusing on such a topic, Fennell is still able to add entertainment value when it’s called upon because of her ability to build a character for whom you can cheer.  Fennell delivers scenes in which Cassie is given the chance to turn the tables on the people whom she blames for the events of the past, presenting a character who means business and will do whatever she can to make people see everything from a perspective that they’ve been denying for years.  There’s a great deal of unpredictability throughout the movie, with Fennell exhibiting a talent for subverting your expectations, creating many moments that will have you wide-eyed as such scenes unfold.

Aside from Fennell’s ability to master the movie’s tonal transitions, her filmmaking ability also exhibits someone who’s able to use distinctive visuals to help present a story that you won’t soon forget, whether it be through the camerawork or color palette.  However, it’s the latter that really makes itself noticed, with Fennell utilizing a vivid sense of color as a way to expose the lives of the characters who have been ignoring what happened in the past.  This is an aesthetic that helps the movie stick in your mind and brings out a world that the filmmaker is imploring the viewer to understand.

Fennell displays a wonderful future in filmmaking, and she couldn’t have made a better entrance than with “Promising Young Woman,” a prime example of what a movie can do when it handles a topical issue in a hard-hitting and inventive way.

Grade: A

An Author’s Manuscript Has Her Keeping the Plot, and Her Life, a Secret

Meryl Streep and Lucas Hedges in
"Let Them All Talk"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

Over his career, Steven Soderbergh always managed to show an ambition with whichever movie he made, having a career that expands many genres.  No matter which movie of his that you watch, you always come away remembering it.  Even when he takes a more-restrained approach to filmmaking, he’s still able to create something that reminds you of the vast talent he has displayed throughout the last three decades.

His latest movie, “Let Them All Talk,” is a comedy-drama that’s an example of this not-often-seen approach to his directing.  With this movie, he uses a scaled-back, intimate story, which still manages to show his ability to work with a talented cast and engage his audience.

Alice Hughes (Meryl Streep) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who’s working on her latest manuscript.  She’s invited to receive a literary award in England, but is hesitant about flying, so her agent, Karen (Gemma Chan), books a cruise.  Alice decides to invite her nephew, Tyler (Lucas Hedges), and her two best friends from college, Roberta (Candice Bergen) and Susan (Dianne Wiest).  As their trip unfolds, tensions will arise that will have Alice, Roberta, and Susan catching up and confronting issues from their past.

Streep portrays an author who seems much more comfortable expressing herself in the pages of her books than in talking with other people.  It’s a performance of subtle heartbreak because of how detached Alice seems to be from everyone else, encouraging the audience to read into her every word and facial expression in order to figure out what’s occurring in the mind of this writer.  As the movie goes on and you learn a little bit about her here and there, the screenplay and Streep’s performance do well in making you believe that the Alice you’re watching isn’t the Alice from before the events of the movie.  Streep shows Alice as a bit of a recluse, slightly socially inept person who has adopted a snobby way of speaking, making her into a person who her friends don’t quite recognize, leaving it up to Alice’s acquaintances and us to figure out what’s really going on in her life.

Just like Streep, the supporting cast provides performances that seem very natural in how they portray their characters.  Bergen and Wiest have a wonderful bond with Streep, with Bergen’s character showing a quiet resentment towards Streep that has us wonder about their friendship, and Wiest exhibiting a warm persona as she tries to keep the peace between her friends.  Hedges and Chan do just as well when interacting with Streep, Bergen, and Wiest, while also building a relationship that’s all of the more engaging because of their genuine chemistry.

The screenplay by Deborah Eisenberg takes a languid pace with the use of a rather small plot, but the unhurried pace and size of the narrative aren’t flaws, but are aspects that allow us to get to know the characters through dialogue that seems authentic both in terms of how it’s written and the way in which the characters deliver those lines.  The everyday nature of these discussions make us pay attention to them even more because of how grounded they sound.  

Despite having an actress as acclaimed as Streep in the lead role, the screenplay still gives us plenty of time to spend with the other characters and to understand their histories and the connections that they have with each other.  Alice’s way of tiptoeing around the disclosure of personal and work details, as well as her friends talking to each other and speculating what’s going on in Alice’s enigmatic world, creates an enticing view into an author’s life and writing process.

The title is asking us to let the characters talk everything out, but is also Streep’s character letting us know that she doesn’t care what others say about her, and she’s just going to let them all talk.  We’re placed in the position of the characters that are involved in Alice’s life as they ponder the secrets that Alice is keeping from them, and we find ourselves having inner discussions as to what’s going on with Alice.

Soderbergh takes a relaxed approach to his directing, seeming to simply just sit back and let the cast converse and express their emotions as their trip unfolds.  He doesn’t use a lot of filmmaking flourishes with his cinematography, but instead has the camera solely focus on the characters, showing that he has enough confidence in the mysteriousness of the narrative and the talents of the cast to keep the story moving along.  It’s because of this mysteriousness that “Let Them All Talk” will have you doing quite a bit of talking afterwards.

Grade: A

In the Middle of a Catastrophe, a Scientist Tries to Make Contact

Caoilinn Springall and George Clooney in
"The Midnight Sky"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

While George Clooney’s career as an actor has been consistent in terms of quality, his work as a director has been up and down.  He’s had critically acclaimed films like, “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” Good Night, and Good Luck,” and “The Ides of March,” but he didn’t have such luck with his films “Leatherheads,” “The Monuments Men,” and “Suburbicon.”  

Given how Clooney has built up a filmography (as both an actor and a director) of working on movies that deal with social and political issues, I was eager to see how he would handle science-fiction for his next directorial project, “The Midnight Sky.”  Unfortunately, although he shows glimmers of his talents as a filmmaker, he never reaches the full potential that the story promises.

In 2049, Augustine Lofthouse (Clooney) works at a research outpost in the Arctic.  When an unknown global catastrophe forces the staff to evacuate, he decides to stay.  Afterwards, he finds a young girl, Iris (Caoilinn Springall), who was left behind.  Augustine soon realizes that he must contact a space crew, made up of Dr. Sullivan (Felicity Jones), Commander Adewole (David Oyelowo), Maya (Tiffany Boone), Sanchez (Demián Bichir), and Mitchell (Kyle Chandler), to warn them against returning to Earth.

While Clooney does what he can with the character, the role pretty much just has him looking and sounding weary.  While he’s given the chance to express more emotion in the last couple of scenes, it’s not enough to make his character as complex as he was in the book. 

Springall’s performance is mostly nonverbal, so she has to rely on conveying her thoughts with her eyes and facial expressions.  Unlike the other characters in the book and their movie counterparts, what you see in Springall’s character in the source material is what you have in the movie.  While there isn’t a whole lot to her character, there are moments when Springall shows her character’s ability to look into Augustine’s soul, seeming like she can see what he feels.  This at least adds a layer to the bond that the two characters create as they try to survive the harsh conditions of the Arctic.

It’s a shame that such a talented cast was assembled to portray the space crew because, although they show fine chemistry, their characters are about as one-dimensional as Clooney’s.  But, just like him, they’re given some dramatic material with which to work in the last half hour.  It’s a chance for them to show the talents that we’ve seen them exhibit in the past, but the movie does them a disservice in offering very little dramatic heft in other parts of the movie.

Given how Mark L. Smith was a cowriter with Alejandro G. Iñárritu on the latter’s film, “The Revenant,” you would think that he would be a good fit to write “The Midnight Sky,” seeing as both that and “The Revenant” are survival stories.  However, the power that was put into “The Revenant” is missing here.  One of the areas where Smith’s screenplay, which is based on Lily Brooks-Dalton’s 2016 novel, “Good Morning, Midnight,” suffers the most is the thin characterization.  The blandness of the characters isn’t at the fault of the actors and actresses portraying them, but more so in the way that they’re adapted.  In the book, we’re given access to Augustine and Sullivan’s thoughts, while also learning details from some of the other characters’ backstories, but you’re not provided with that chance to learn much about anyone because of how watered down those backstories are.

The screenplay also cuts back on a lot of the tension that arises among the space crew in the source material.  What makes their storyline in the book so engaging is how they don’t always get along but have to overcome their animosity so that they can take care of any life-threatening issues that arise.  In the film, it’s mainly them going about day-to-day business.  However, Smith does offer one tense scene near the beginning of the third act that captures the apprehension of the novel and is one of the few memorable sequences of the film.

Despite the thinness of the script, Clooney does an okay job when extracting whatever tension that he can out of the story.  With a reliably beautiful score from Alexandre Desplat and some fine-looking cinematography from Martin Ruhe that displays the unforgiving vastness of the Arctic and space, Clooney at least succeeds in making the movie atmospheric here and there. 

In the end, “The Midnight Sky” had the promise to be a compelling sci-fi drama, but just like something floating in space, it’s rather weightless.

Grade: C