Category Archives: Wonderful acting

Take Shelter (2011)

From NetFlix:

Michael Shannon stars in this thriller as a small-town family man who, determined to protect his wife and deaf daughter from impending disaster, builds an impenetrable storm shelter in the safety of his own backyard.

Because the film is so true to life in the U.S., I found watching this film a very wrenching experience. What you experience is a devoted family man’s gradual descent into the clutches of paranoid schizophrenia. Perhaps I should not have told you this but soon enough you would guess the truth. This film is not science fiction nor a horror film. But in fact it is a horror film in the sense that you sit there powerless to prevent this good, well-meaning man from following the dictates of a mental illness even while he knows he has the disease (his mother developed the same illness when she was 30 and abandoned the family in a journey to the streets). In fact this is the first time I have seen portrayed the difficulty of realizing that a mental illness is directing your life and figuring out how to fight back (with the help of a professional over probably what will be a long period of time).

Three aspects of Americana that makes this film so hard to watch are things like: the difficulty in getting and affording a competent psychiatrist, the perilous way in which so many middle-class American families live just on the edge of bankruptcy and the damage that losing a job and its health benefits does to a family.

Only toward the end of the film do his wife and associates begin to understand that he has a mental illness. Meanwhile his actions cause all kinds of trouble for himself, his wife, his company, and his friends. Watching a climactic breakdown at a supper for parents of deaf children (his daughter is deaf and needs a cochlear implant) is a horror show in itself.

Michael Shannon is agent Nelson Van Alden in the TV series “Boardwalk Empire”. His acting here is phenomenal: understated, sadly driven, and possibly violent.

Be prepared for a tough but worthwhile trip.

Retreat (2011)

From NetFlix:

While visiting a remote island, a couple (Cillian Murphy & Thandie Newton) encounters a man (Jamie Bell)– who apparently washed up there — claiming a lethal virus has spread through Europe. The couple must decide whether to trust the stranger and figure out how to survive.

If you can stand the harsh and raw suspense, this film is dynamite. Not only is the acting superb but the plot keeps twisting. Cillian Murphy was the Timekeeper in In Time (2011). Thandie Newton was Makemba ‘Kem’ Likasu in the TV series “ER”.

Today I read an article in the New York Times bemoaning the fact that none of our new lineup of male film stars seem to last. Jamie Bell (who was “Billy Elliot”) did an excellent job in this film. Let’s hope that his career lasts.

Expect a really rough journey and if you can stand it, DO NOT MISS THIS FILM!

The Ides of March (2011)

From NetFlix:

Dirty tricks stand to soil an ambitious young press spokesman’s (Ryan Gosling) idealism in a cutthroat presidential campaign where “victory” is relative. The film, directed by George Clooney, is inspired by the real-life experiences of an aide who worked on Howard Dean’s failed 2004 run.

Sometimes a film with many “stars” can be a disaster. But this time the combination of Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Paul Giamatti has produced a superb political film.

“Loss of Innocence” is the sad theme of the story. Idealistic Ryan Gosling makes some personal mistakes and also discovers the dark side of handsome, well-spoken (“smooth” is the better word), and inspiring George Clooney. Hoffman and Giamatti contribute the elements of cynical compromise. Acting could not be better. Both Gosling and Clooney have mastered the art of having their eyes mirror their emotions.

Marisa Tomei plays a newspaper reporter who is not to be trusted.

For a better understanding of the title you could read the Wikipedia article. Even there I could find no reference to the Howard Dean compaign.

You have a treat in store. DO NOT MISS!

Cambridge Spies (2003)

From NetFlix:

In 1934, four brilliant Cambridge men are recruited to spy for Russia. Fueled by youthful idealism, a passion for social justice and a talent for lying, they take huge personal risks to pass Britain’s biggest secrets to Moscow.

At the start of the film there is a disclaimer that some of the details are fictional. Let us hope that at least we get some insight into why these four men decided to spy for Russia. If nothing else, the acting is superb and the scenes both in England and in Germany ring true. Sex, both straight and gay, seems to pervade the atmosphere.

Cambridge’s four young spies are as follows:

Give this British production a strong recommendation.

Nora’s Will (2010)

From NetFlix:

This award-winning black comedy follows the family of Nora (Silvia Mariscal), who carefully plans her suicide so that her assortment of estranged relatives, including ex-husband José (Fernando Luján), will have to celebrate Passover together and hopefully achieve a reconciliation. As José battles with unsympathetic cemeteries, a fractious rabbi and his devoted assistant, and his own son (Ari Brickman), he realizes how deeply he still loved Nora.

This Mexican film (in Spanish with English subtitles) has the Spanish title “Five Days Without Nora”. Throughout the film the Jewish culture is pervasive and always in conflict with Nora’s ex-husband (as he repeats many times) who is an atheist. One theme is the difficulty of burying Nora at the time of Passover, especially since Nora committed suicide (attempt number 15). Conservative Jews do not permit a proper Jewish burial in a Jewish cemetery when the deceased has died by suicide (the same used to be true for Catholics).

Two characters are comic (the aunt and a man hired to pray constantly in the presence of the body).

Finally I have found a warm, quiet, meaningful film that I can strongly recommend to adults.

Trust (2010)

From NetFlix:

After curious and vulnerable teenager Annie (Liana Liberato) falls into a trap set by an online sexual predator, her family begins to disintegrate, uncertain how to cope with such a devastating tragedy. Utterly consumed by rage, her father (Clive Owen) sets out seeking vengeance. Directed by David Schwimmer, this intensely emotional drama also stars Viola Davis, Jason Clarke and Catherine Keener.

Being a parent of a teenager in today’s world of internet chat rooms is a perilous responsibility. Perhaps this film shows what happens if the parents fail to monitor the child’s online activities, no matter how much that child will resent the interference.

Possibly this sad sequence is all too common, but that does not make it any easier to watch: young girl chats with cute boy; young girl arranges to meet with cute boy; cute boy turns out to be in his 30’s; cute boy rapes young girl. But now comes the part that surprised me: young girl, despite the entreaties of the FBI, her parents, and her psychotherapist, remains convinced that the predator truly loves her and that everyone else is just being mean in refusing to see what a wonderful person that predator is.

Meanwhile Clive Owen goes nuts. He fantasizes his revenge on the rapist. He becomes estranged from his daughter, although to be fair, she is angry and distances herself from her family. You will have to watch the film to see what happens.

Clive Owen, Catherine Keener, and Liana Liberato deliver wonderful performances.

Please pay attention to the scenes unfolding during the final credits. If you don’t understand what you are seeing, then please read the final line of the plot synopsis in the Wikipedia article.

The Apostle (1997)

From NetFlix:

When charismatic but troubled Pentecostal preacher Euliss “Sonny” Dewey (Robert Duvall) discovers that his wife (Farrah Fawcett) is having an affair, he promptly puts the other man in a coma and flees his home state of Texas for Louisiana. Once there, he takes on a new name, renovates an old church and brings new life to a congregation. Written and directed by Duvall, the film also earned an Oscar nod for Duvall’s complex, captivating performance.

All the excited Pentecostal preaching, praying, shouting, curing, etc. at the start of the film almost turned me off immediately. But that is the intense atmosphere of this entire story. Although the Bible Belt style of religion might not appeal to everyone, the attraction here is the amazingly energetic performance of that actor’s actor Robert Duvall. Once he gets going in a charismatic fury, there is no stopping him. Could he have actually memorized such a flood of words from a script or was he ad-libbing?

If you can divorce yourself from all the commotion (or SHOULD you?), try to answer my question: was the Apostle insane? Alternatives are:

  • He lived in a culture where such behavior was considered normal.
  • He lived in a state of sane self-delusion.
  • He was perfectly sane and a consummate huckster. This same alternative has been voiced
    against the founders of certain (all?) religions.

And will you recognize Farrah Fawcett as his wife, Billy Bob Thornton as a trouble maker converted in a scene whose probability I had trouble accepting (but again it is a question of that culture), John Beasley as the Reverend Blackwell, or Walton Goggins as the young man crying at the end (Goggins plays Hunt in “Cowboys and Aliens”) ?

Maybe not your cup of tea, but certainly one of the more memorable performances in film history.

Law and Order: UK (2009)

From NetFlix:

Dick Wolf’s long-running “Law & Order” franchise expands across the pond in the first season of this gritty police procedural that’s set on the streets of London and based on scripts from the American series. The first case finds detectives Ronnie Brooks (Bradley Walsh) and Matt Devlin (Jamie Bamber) teaming up with prosecutors James Steel (Ben Daniels) and Alesha Phillips (Freema Agyeman) to get to the bottom of a baby’s untimely death.

Don’t get me wrong, Kathy and I love all the American “Law & Order” shows. But I find that this British version is better, more intense, and offers more courtroom drama. Beginning in 2009 the series ran into 2011. And then one of the lawyers, James Steel, used some plot excuse to leave the show and as far as I know the series ended at that point.

If you like “Law and Order”, DO NOT MISS THIS TV SERIES!

MI-5

From NetFlix:

This award-winning series dramatizes the professional exploits and personal lives of the “spooks” of MI-5, the British equivalent of the FBI. No-nonsense head officer Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) guides a band of dedicated spies who risk their lives every day. The team includes expert and junior members who must balance real life with the job’s requirement for complete secrecy, no matter the cost. Matthew Macfadyen and Richard Armitage co-star.

Beginning in 2002 and continuing at least to 2010, this British TV-series is “utterly smashing”. Intense, sometimes hard to watch, but incredibly exciting in just about every episode. What makes some episodes difficult to watch is that the members of MI-5 are forced at times to make hard decisions that involve “collateral damage” (meaning some poor soul dies), so much so that those members are often damaged themselves and actually leave MI-5 (i.e. leave the show). In fact, be prepared for many, sometimes disappointing cast changes. For example Rupert William Penry-Jones (the character Adam Carter) started the show and then disappeared for awhile to be replaced by Matthew Macfadyen (the character Tom Quinn) who then leaves the show and is replaced by Rupert William Penry-Jones.

There are too many wonderful characters to even mention them. You can find them all listed in IMDB.

In addition to spook plots, there are also many romances. But any romance for a member of MI-5 is next to impossible because even their significant others cannot know what these spooks do for a living.

Get Low (2009)

From NetFlix:

Oscar winners Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek team up to tell the true story of irascible Felix Bush, a backwoods Tennessee loner who planned his funeral in 1938 while he was still around to attend — and enjoy — the proceedings. Director Aaron Schneider’s deft blend of dark humor and poignancy also stars Bill Murray as Frank Quinn, the huckster owner of a failing funeral home, and Lucas Black as his dubious assistant.

Despite the above NetFlix paragraph, Felix Bush did not “enjoy” his funeral. But you will have to watch this wonderful film to understand why.

Even at the age of 78 Robert Duvall is still the master of his craft. I kept thinking “Wow, he really can project the infirmities of old age!”, but perhaps he was not faking all those seemingly painful movements. Here is an actor’s actor who completely adapts to his film character. Moreover Duvall, as far as I can tell, remained true to acting in worthwhile films as opposed to other actors (e.g. Anthony “I’ll play in any piece of trash as long as they pay me” Hopkins).

Sissy Spacek is a young thing of 60 in this film. And yes, she still has the knack.

Forgive me but Bill Murray (age 59) will always be for me one of the “Ghost Busters”. It was shocking to see him so aged.

Lucas Black (a mere 27 years old) adds a touch of sincere honesty to the film. So far I cannot find any memorable film performance in his history.

Question: What happened to all that money ? An answer would be appreciated.

Do not let the slow pacing keep you from this well-acted film.