Taking Control of Her Career, the Queen of Soul Ascends the Charts

Marlon Wayans and Jennifer Hudson 
in "Respect"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

Out of all of the singers/musicians to come out of the twentieth century, one of the most influential is the “Queen of Soul, “ Aretha Franklin.  Dominating the music industry with her immortal songs, such as “Respect,” “(You Make Me Like) A Natural Woman,” “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You),” and “I Say a Little Prayer,” Franklin left an era-defining mark in the entertainment world.

Her story is now brought to the big screen with Liesl Tommy’s feature directorial debut, “Respect.”  Although the musical-biopic conventions sometimes prevent the movie from reaching the heights that a film about Franklin’s legacy warrants, there’s still an energy to be felt when exploring her life.

The story follows Franklin (Jennifer Hudson) who goes from performing at her father’s (Forest Whitaker) church, to developing a recording career with her husband and manager, Ted White (Marlon Wayans).  Throughout these years, Franklin will do what she can to find the inspiration that she needs for success, while also dealing with the strain that develops between her and her family.

After she wowed audiences with her performance in Bill Condon’s 2006 film, “Dreamgirls,” Hudson is given another role where she’s able to blend her talents for acting and singing, delivering a performance that presents the vibrant stage presence of Franklin.  The strength of Hudson’s singing elicits the heartfelt persona that Franklin always had while performing.  She provides an energy when bringing this prodigal entertainer to life and makes the the movie come alive whenever Franklin takes to the stage.  Even in the dramatic segments of the film, which carry the aforementioned conventionality, Hudson is able to keep us invested because of how much she throw’s herself into her role.

Whitaker offers powerful work as Franklin’s father, Clarence.  The sternness that he exhibits makes you feel the intimidation through which Franklin goes with her father, showing a father who does what he does out love and concern for his daughter’s success, but failing to see that he’s holding her back from her potential.  Some of the most emotional moments of the movie come when he and Aretha have disagreements that threaten their bond, and they’re wonderful when having their characters experience their strained father-daughter dynamic.

Despite Wayans’ last serious role being in Darren Aronofsky’s “Requiem for a Dream” back in 2000, you can see that he hasn’t lost any of his talent for this type of role.  He draws you in with his character’s suaveness in the beginning, only to transition into a controlling individual who will do what he can to get his way when managing Aretha’s career.  It’s a strong performance that will hopefully bring more opportunities for Wayans to show this rarely seen side of his acting abilities. 

Audra McDonald, who appears for about five minutes as Aretha’s mother, Barbara, makes the most of her limited screen time as we see her character teach a young Aretha (Skye Dakota Turner) about the sacredness of music.  It’s a loving portrayal that shows what music means to them and how special it is to have that passion for music pass from mother to daughter.

The screenplay by Tracey Scott Wilson follows several of the same routes that you would expect from a musical biopic.  Even with the two-and-a-half-hour runtime covering many significant moments in Aretha’s life, some of the scenes feel a little repetitive and/or overlong.  There’s ambition in the lengthiness, but the script doesn’t do much that’s adventurous in how it tells its story.  

As a director, Liesl Tommy doesn’t offer a lot that’s visually interesting, outside of the concert scenes.  There’s enough spark within those sequences to get you caught up in Aretha’s on-stage charisma; however, as well-acted as the scenes are between Aretha and her family, the structure is something that’s been done many times.  Tommy is able to extract terrific chemistry out of her cast, and it’s that skill in wielding this talented ensemble that helps the movie through the familiarity that’s felt in several of these scenes.

“Respect” doesn’t have quite as much strength as it should, but as a celebration of Aretha’s contribution to the arts, it’s a passable tribute.

Grade: B

At a Lakeside Home, Grief Hides Within the Walls

Rebecca Hall in "The Night House"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

For the horror genre especially, it’s always a rewarding experience when a movie goes the extra mile by not being just about the scares, but being about something more.  When not trying to frighten you, there are those filmmakers who wish to tell a story that connects the terror and a personal issue that the characters are experiencing.  These are the kinds of horror narratives that make your heart race and engage your mind.

Director David Bruckner delivers such a movie with his film, “The Night House,” a movie that succeeds as both a chilling horror story and an affecting character study with a deeper meaning that backs up the scares.

Beth (Rebecca Hall) is a widow who’s trying to make sense of her husband’s recent suicide.  When she starts to think that his ghost might be roaming her lakeside house, Beth discovers secrets about her husband that will make her question the person that he was.

Hall gives a heartbreaking performance of a woman who’s overcome with grief and trying to understand why her husband did what he did.  Her superb work presents a person who’s trying to keep it together and try to convince people that she’s fine, but her anguish can always be seen, even in the most understated moments.  Hall’s performance becomes all the more emotional when her character begins to feel a sense of betrayal over what she learns later on, and to see that mix with the sadness of losing her husband offers a character arc that has stunning, poignant impact.  Just like with “Midsommar,” “Hereditary,” and “The Babadook,” a lot of the best performances in horror movies are those that have the main character experience personal issues in the midst of the scares, and Hall’s work is the latest example of what can be done when you provide a talented performer with such an opportunity.

The screenplay by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski offers plenty of depth for Beth’s character.  All of this comes into play as the main horror elements arrive, giving this story of the grieving process a terrifying edge to it.  Even when the scares reach their peak later in the movie, the story never loses its sight on developing the main character and offering a view into the depression that she’s been feeling for most of her life.  This is a narrative that isn’t hesitant to play with your expectations as to how it will unfold, making you more and more uncertain as you’re provided with further details of Beth’s husband’s past.

The cinematography by Elisha Christian takes full advantage of the layout of the house and surrounding woods.  Her lensing of the house’s interior makes terrific use of windows and mirrors to keep us unsettled, and the darkness of the woods heightens the strong sense of isolation that Beth experiences while living in a secluded area.  And, her occasional use of silhouettes and how they’re framed within the images will have you searching the screen to see what Beth might encounter.

Another factor of the movie that causes disquiet is David Marks’ editing.  As the movie goes on, we have to decipher whether what Beth experiences is real or not.  With that, the seamless transitions between dreams and reality will cause a sense of unease that will rattle your nerves as you try to orient yourself in Beth’s state of mind.  

Bruckner maintains an intense level of foreboding throughout the film, creating a movie that uses its accomplished technical aspects to provide us with some effective jump scares within the unsettling atmosphere.  Not only does Bruckner deliver a frightening sense of isolation in the house, but also in the expanse of the surrounding forest area, a similar trait that can be found in his woodlands-set film, “The Ritual.”  Aside from the horror, Bruckner proves to be just as proficient in staging impactful drama, giving a performance-driven nature to the movie that absorbs you in the psychological torment that plagues Beth.

Between the scares and the labyrinthine mystery, Bruckner’s film is a house that has many secrets to unlock.

Grade: A

Legalized Crime Returns for a Night, but Some Take it Further

Ana de la Reguera in "The Forever Purge"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

It’s hard to believe that we already have five movies in the “Purge” series.  While the first film had an intriguing premise (a one-night-a-year event where all crime is legal for 12 hours), it just added up to your standard home-invasion thriller, and the rest of the series hasn’t fared much better.  All of them have almost become interchangeable at this point, offering very little that’s new as we go from movie to movie.

This trend continues with director Everado Gout’s “The Forever Purge.”  Try as this movie might to bring us something that it thinks is thought-provoking, all it does is spoon-feed more social/political commentary to the audience.

The story follows a group of ranchers who have made it through the latest Purge, but now must do what they can to survive a growing number of people who continue to commit violent crimes.

The primary set of performers includes Ana de la Reguera, Tenoch Huerta, Josh Lucas, Cassidy Freeman, Leven Rambin, Alejandro Edda, and Will Patton.  They all do their best with the material, making us care somewhat about what happens to their characters.  However, they’re thinly written to the point where any good will that you have for them will be gone before the movie ends.

The screenplay by James DeMonaco, who wrote all four previous movies and directed the first three, is more of the same of what has come before, with one-dimensional protagonists fighting against one-dimensional villains.  As with the other films, there’s heavy-handed social/political commentary aplenty.  While it’s great having subtext to make you think about a film from several angles, subtly was never a strong point in this series, and this latest installment hits critical mass as far as unsubtly is concerned.  The cringeworthy clumsiness gets to the point where it takes you out of the movie.  While the draw of these films is their continued use of relevant topics, its approach would work much better if they went for a less-obvious approach.  Of course, there are times where, in order to tell the story, you might have to be a little blunt, but there are several moments in the movie where the screenwriter could have toned it down, and therefore make the message more impactful.

In a movie with few highlights, one of them is the action set-pieces, particularly in the second half.  There’s one such sequence that’s filmed as a long take, with cinematography by Luis Sansans.  This segment has the main group of characters trying to make it through the ravaged streets of El Paso as the chaos commences around them, making it an instant where the technical craft immerses you in the events of the movie.

As a director, Gout employs far too many cheap jump scares, accompanied by that ever-annoying blare of sound.  These scares don’t have any effect on you whatsoever, making the setup for each of them a waste of time because you can always tell when they’re coming.  What this movie shows is that Gout is better at crafting action, rather than scares, which makes sense because this movie often feels less like a horror film than it does an action film, and this installment would have been better had they stuck with the latter tone.

This movie may be called “The Forever Purge,” but let’s hope this series doesn’t last much longer.

Grade: C-

Finding a Passion, and Torn Between Future and Family

Emilia Jones in "CODA"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

Given how much continues to change over the decades with what it means to be a family in America, that means there’s never a shortage of stories to show how such families live their lives.  There aren’t two families that are the same, with each being faced with their own successes and challenges that shape them into who they are and what will become of their future generations.

Writer-director Sian Heder adds to the rich catalogue of these kinds of stories with her latest film, “CODA,” a funny, powerful, and inspirational chronicle of a family that works to overcome their differences and isolation from others.

In Gloucester, Massachusetts, 17-year-old Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones) is the only member of her family who has the ability to hear, making her a CODA (child of deaf adults).  She lives with her mother (Marlee Matlin), father (Troy Kotsur), and brother (Daniel Durant), working with the latter two on their family’s fishing boat.  At her school, Ruby decides to join a choir and develops a love for singing.  After her instructor (Eugenio Derbez) encourages Ruby to audition for a music college, she must decide whether to stay with her family and help with the business, or follow her dream.

Jones provides an emotional, career-launching performance as a young woman who has a deep love and devotion to her family, but must decide what’s best for her future.  She’s able to elicit the apprehension that her character has for putting herself out there when it comes to singing, making us feel the nervousness that she tries to overcome as she begins to tap into her singing potential.  Her character’s audition scene at the film’s end, where Ruby sings Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides, Now” will go down as one of the most heartwarming movie scenes of the year.  With this sequence, Jones not only proves to be a great actress, but also a gifted singer, merging this talent with her acting abilities to create a moving, beautiful scene that will get a few tears flowing.

The whole family exhibits a wonderful dynamic that shows how close-knit they are, showing the love that they have for each other.  With Matlin, Kotsur, and Durant being hearing-impaired, every scene that they share with Jones develops their relationships further and further as we’re given a clear picture of what it means to be a CODA, all while Ruby’s family does what they can to go beyond their disability and stay connected with her.  There’s a genuine warmth to what these four actors and actresses present when bringing this family to realization on screen, offering a rich authenticity to its depiction of the day-to-day lives of this family.

Derbez offers terrific work as Ruby’s choir teacher, a man who gives her the push that she needs to realize her potential.  There’s a bit of an intimidation to his character’s strictness, but also a shade of humor that shows you that he’s in your corner and will stay there if he believes in you.  This is a passionate performance that shows how much Derbez’s character wants his students to value their talent and succeed, and you’ll feel a sense of hope whenever he works with Ruby to bring her closer to achieving her dream.

The screenplay by Heder, which is based on Êric Lartigau’s 2014 film, “La Famille Bélier,” offers a thorough window into the lives of Ruby and her family, showing her working on the water with her brother and father, her school life, and her personal life.  We see all of these aspects in equal measure, giving us a well-rounded view into the lifestyle of the characters at the center of this story as they try to overcome the issues that soon cause a rift between them. Heder’s able to bring moments that can either be humorous, dramatic, or heartwarming, making each of those kinds of moments memorable because of how real the characters seem and how close to them you become.

Heder’s direction never has the movie become too emotionally manipulative, but instead lets everything fall into place and hit a perfect note.  There’s the feel-good nature of the humor that’s included in all of the right moments, and then you have the poignancy of the drama as Ruby becomes impacted by the strain of being both dedicated to her family and striving for her artistic success.  With “CODA,” Heder welcomes you to experience this family’s special bond for two hours, and you’ll count yourself fortunate for having the chance of getting to know them. 

Grade: A

A Knight Searches for Honor, but What Will Such Honor Bring?

Dev Patel in "The Green Knight"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

Writer-director David Lowery is someone whose filmography has told several kinds of stories.  He has the romantic drama “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” the fantasy adventure “Pete’s Dragon,” the supernatural drama “A Ghost Story,” and the biographical film “The Old Man and the Gun.”  It’s safe to say that with what he’s put out so far, he doesn’t like to repeat himself.

That trend continues with his latest and most ambitious film, the medieval fantasy, “The Green Knight,” where a world of knights, kings, queens, and witchcraft is explored with an invigorating eye.

Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) is a young man who has been asked to join King Arthur’s (Sean Harris) Round Table.  When the Green Knight (Ralph Ineson) arrives at the king’s court, he challenges the knights to a game: one shall strike him and win his axe, but then must venture to the Green Chapel in one year to receive a similar blow.  Gawain chops off the Green Knight’s head, and one year later, must seek him out to fulfill his end of the bargain.

Patel offers a performance that presents a regality to his character, someone who’s confident in the great fortune that his future might hold.  Patel embraces the adventurous nature and bravery of a knight that absorbs you in his journey across dangerous lands.  The power that Patel exhibits in bringing Gawain to life not only has you see his character’s courage, but also the destructiveness of his pride.  Patel shows the stubbornness in Gawain’s need to become a legend, and it’s from here that Gawain displays his fear of mortality and not being remembered as a hero.  The weight of this provides a heartbreaking angle to Patel’s performance, and his work in the film succeeds in painting an epic and flawed hero.

Alicia Vikander has dual roles as Gawain’s lover back home and a Lord’s wife at a castle that Gawain comes across late in his travels.  Although Vikander is memorable in both roles, it’s her second role as the Lady that’s superb.  There’s a mysteriousness to this character that adds quite a bit to the distinctiveness of this story’s retelling, and the enigmatic nature to her character is heightened by a haunting monologue that she gives about the natural world outliving the flesh and blood of humanity.  It’s a scene that gives a new meaning to Gawain’s journey and will have you forming a few interpretations.

Lowery’s screenplay, which is based on the 14th-century poem, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” is a bit like his screenplay for “A Ghost Story,” where he presents the main character’s arc in a way that creates a mediative experience as you watch his quest unfold against the greater scope of the world.  There are several tasks that Gawain must complete on his journey, but this never makes the narrative feel episodic.  Instead, it’s all meant to add layers to his character as he makes his way towards the final challenge, all of which builds up to a hard-hitting and thought-provoking finale that will spur lengthy discussions in the theater parking lot.

The cinematography by Andrew Droz Palermo, who collaborated with Lowery on “A Ghost Story,” offers beautiful imagery of the lands that Gawain must travel.  Between the forests, mountains, and expansive flatlands, all of this contributes to the epic nature of the main character’s journey.  We also get a few long takes as Gawain travels through the imposing and gorgeous terrains, and this camerawork allows for these lands to unfurl through these uninterrupted shots that show just how grand these regions are.

Despite this being an indie movie with a relatively low budget, Lowery’s filmmaking talents allow for this movie to express a huge cinematic appearance that one would experience with a big-budget production.  This is a fantasy film that looks and feels unlike any other that you’ve seen, and this is because Lowery’s vision not only delivers the grandness that this genre can offer, but also gives us a thorough character study of Gawain and why striving for greatness means so much to him.  Lowery’s dedication to detail transports you to this Arthurian setting, absorbing you in Gawain’s quest and offering both emotion and awe-inspiring adventure in equal measure.

If you’re searching for a cinematic journey that’s rich in meaning, then ride out with “The Green Knight.”

Grade: A