First Glance: “Dara of Jasenovac”

January 20, 2021 by Keith Garlington

No faithful movie about the Holocaust is going to be an easy watch. But they have long served as powerful reminders of unbridled human evil and they have testified to the resilience and bravery of many who suffered and died as a result of the atrocities. The upcoming Serbian historical drama “Dara of Jasenovac” tells a unique story from the Holocaust, one concentrated on the genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia. The film is directed by Predrag Antonijević and is the Serbian entry for Best International Film at the upcoming Oscars.

Antonijević and writer Nataša Drakulić tell their harrowing story through the eyes of a 12-year-old girl named Dara played by the expressive Biljana Čekić. With their country crumbling and the majority of local Serbs being rounded up, Dara along with her mother and two brothers are sent to Jasenovac concentration camp. The new trailer shows the horrors of the death camp but also a young girl’s willingness to give her all to survive. It’s tough material but the period design looks fantastic and its unflinching perspective looks powerful and immersive.

“Dara of Jasenovac” is set to premiere in the US on February 5th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “The Marksman” (2021)

January 20, 2021 by Keith Garlington

Let it be known that no pandemic is going to keep Liam Neeson down, especially when there is yet another batch of prefabricated villainy to deal with. This time it’s a drug cartel set along America’s southern border. This time there’s a young boy to save. This time Neeson has yet another helpful set of ‘skills’. But this time he’s far from the usual gravelly-voiced one-man-army we’re accustomed to seeing. Well, he still has the signature gravelly voice, but he’s not the impervious imposing force from so many of his other action thrillers.

With “The Marksman” Neeson teams with writer-director Robert Lorenz who is best known for producing several Clint Eastwood films including the Oscar-nominated trio of “Mystic River”, “Letters From Iwo Jima”, and “American Sniper”. It’s probably safe to say “The Marksman” won’t be joining those three esteemed films and that’s okay. These sturdy Neeson thrillers are built with a particular fan-base in mind which is both a strength and a weakness. If you’ve watched a number of them you can’t help but notice some similarities. But there’s often just enough nuance to set them apart. And Neeson brings a certain gravitas to these rather familiar exercises that make them somewhat of a guilty pleasure.

Image Courtesy of Open Road Films

In many ways “The Marksman” feels like a movie Clint Eastwood could have made a few years ago (there’s even a funny little reference to the 90-year-old legend that I’ll let you discover). Neeson plays James Hanson, a decorated Vietnam veteran struggling to hang onto his dusty old ranch that sits on the Arizona/Mexico border. James is a lonely man still mourning the death of wife to cancer. Now he spends his days watching over a few scrawny heads of cattle and radioing local border patrol whenever he spots immigrants illegally crossing the border.

Fresh off an encounter with a bank executive who gives him 90 days to pay his loan and save his ranch, James runs into a migrant mother named Rosa (Teresa Ruiz) sneaking through the border fence with her son Miguel (Jacob Perez) and a bag full of money. James’ first inclination is to call border patrol, not out of some cold disdain or political ideology. He’s not that type of character. Instead he’s a broken shell of a man unplugged from society; lost without his wife and self-sentenced to a life of loneliness. So when the frantic mother pleads for his help his first response is more mechanical than emotional.

But things quickly escalate when soldiers from a Mexican drug cartel led by the overtly menacing Mauricio (Juan Pablo Raba) pull up on the other side of the fence. They demand James hand over Rosa and Miguel, he promptly refuses, and gunfire is exchanged. When it’s over Mauricio’s brother is dead on one side of the fence and Rosa is mortally wounded on the other side. In her dying breath she asks James to take her son to a relative in Chicago and offers him all of the money in the bag as payment. Before long James is reluctantly driving the young orphaned Miguel from Arizona to the Windy City.

But if there’s one thing we’ve learned from action movies, it’s that you don’t kill the brother of the main bad guy. It always makes them meaner, madder, and more dogged in their pursuit. That apparent thirst for vengeance is all we get with Mauricio. He’s basically a one-note villain who’s stuck in one gear for the majority of the film. Lorenz tries to open him up a little bit at the end, but it’s not enough to give the meanie any real weight.

Image Courtesy of Open Road Films

The relationship between James and young Miguel is handled better but still has rough spots of its own. There’s almost a natural attraction to the whole ‘sweet young boy bonds with a surly grizzled misanthrope’ storyline. It’s been done countless times and still we find ourselves drawn to it’s inherent charms. It works here in large part because Neeson makes James sympathetic enough that we root for him to rediscover the warmth and inner joy of human attachment. And there’s the unshakable connection as both are grieving souls who find themselves all alone after losing the persons closest to them.

But it’s how their relationship plays out that’s lacking. For example we’re teased with a compelling conflict after Miguel blames James for the death of his mother. It’s a weighty, emotionally-driven charge and there is a lot the movie could have done with it. Instead that animosity just up and vanishes after a few miles and a couple of hamburgers, never to be discussed or touched on again. Their relationship ends up going a much more routine route which actually sums up “The Marksman” as a whole. There’s enough to keep you involved but it’s nothing you haven’t seen before. It leaves you wanting to see it through even though you know how things are going to turn out. In other words, it’s pretty standard, middle-of-the-road fare. “The Marksman” is now showing in theaters.

VERDICT- 2.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Our Friend” (2021)

January 19, 2021 by Keith Garlington

In May of 2015 journalist Matthew Teague wrote an essay for Esquire magazine titled “The Friend: Love is Not a Big Enough Word“. This deeply personal piece told of his late wife Nicole who had died from ovarian cancer eight months earlier. She was only 34-years-old. It told of the dignity and courage she showed through two years of suffering. It spoke of the physical, emotional, and psychological burden on both of them and their two daughters. The award-winning essay also spoke of Dane, a dear family friend who left his life behind and for fourteen months cared for the Teague family and stood by them through it all.

The new film “Our Friend” attempts to tell this heartbreaking yet inspiring true story while avoiding the overused devices and platitudes that too often accompany movies about terminal illness. These kinds of films are already tricky since they come with their own baked-in set of challenges. But then you toss in the aforementioned ‘deeply personal’ element attached to real-life stories like this. It adds a certain pressure to be honest and faithful (to a degree) while keeping your film from become some mushy Hollywood weepie.

“Our Friend” manages these challenges surprisingly well and gives us a character-rich drama with moments of levity that (thankfully) keeps it from becoming a humorless death march. At the same time it takes a sober and sincere approach that focuses more on the emotional toil than the physical. You won’t find the wrenching details from Matthew Teague’s essay about how the cancer ravaged Nicole’s body. Mercifully we aren’t forced to see the half-digested food oozing from the wounds on her abdomen or the stomach acids that would burn through adhesives and eat away at her flesh. But what you will find is a movie saturated in authentic emotion; one that takes an earnest and clear-eyed look at cancer but doesn’t allow the disease to outshine the characters.

Image Courtesy of Gravitas Ventures

The film is helmed by director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, perhaps best known for her 2013 documentary “Blackfish”, and screenwriter Brad Ingelsby who also penned last year’s terrific Ben Affleck vehicle “The Way Back”. “Our Friend” premiered at the 2019 Toronto Independent Film Festival and now finally getting its full release by Gravitas Ventures and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

Cowperthwaite opens with one of the film’s most gripping scenes – a prologue where Matthew and Nicole Teague sit in their bedroom preparing to deliver some bad news to their two daughters. The camera rests on Matt (Casey Affleck), his terminally ill wife Nicole (Dakota Johnson) barely out of the frame to our right. As he prepares what to say he rules out certain phrases that might mislead or offer false hope. He breaks down, quickly composes himself, and then walks out to get their daughters. The camera moves to Nicole, sitting in bed and putting on her best face for her girls. It’s an elegantly shot and quietly devastating introduction.

From there the story bounces back-and-forth across the timeline, covering fifteen years of life before and after Nicole’s diagnosis. The fractured storytelling isn’t as seamless as it could be, sometimes shuttling you from one moment in time to another with a jolt. Yet it’s tone is managed remarkably well and the time jumps keep the story from drowning in morbidity, ensuring that this trio of friends are defined by more than a disease.

Image Courtesy of Gravitas Ventures

Jason Segel is the piece that sets the movie apart – the titular friend in the film’s title (or is he). Segel brings slices of that ‘lovable loser’ charm he’s known for, but his character Dane is more than an outlet for humor and buoyancy. He’s surprisingly layered; compassionate beyond comprehension yet aimless and full of self-doubt. Before Nicole’s diagnosis we see him stuck in the perpetual ‘nice guy’ trap. You know, the guy most people like but who always loses out on the girl. After the diagnosis he goes to stay with and help Matt and Nicole in Alabama, leaving behind a girlfriend in New Orleans who’s crazy about him. For him it’s as much running from commitment and searching for self-fulfillment as it is helping friends in need.

The three central performances are terrific with Affleck, Johnson, and Segel showing off a strong organic chemistry. All three are able to flesh out their characters through material that allows them to be more than just victims. Affleck is strikingly subdued playing a man repressing his pain for the sake of his family. Johnson gives a penetrating performance full of life but also vulnerability and pathos. And Segel brings a good balance to the witty, ever-faithful Dane – a character slyly burying his own problems but always by Matt and Nicole’s side even as other friends begin distancing themselves one-by-one.

Aside for some wobbly structuring and a few weird song choices, “Our Friend” is a moving and distinctly human study of love, friendship, commitment, and of what it takes to come out on the other side of such a life-shattering trauma. It’s an effective tearjerker that slightly diverts from Matthew Teague’s crushing essay by delving more into the characters. It still shows the ravaging effects of the disease, but not in the Michael Haneke “Amour” sense. Instead it has a broader aim and features three sublime performances that breathe life, empathy, and inspiration into this true-life story of love and friendship. “Our Friend” opens January 22nd in theaters and on VOD.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “The Dig” (2021)

January 18, 2021 by Keith Garlington

English journalist, television critic, and author John Preston’s 2007 historical novel “The Dig” was a reimagining of the 1939 excavation at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, England. It’s the site of two early medieval burial grounds, one of which contained a mostly undisturbed Anglo-Saxon ship along with numerous artifacts and treasures fit for a king’s burial. Preston built his own drama around the discovery but for the most part kept his focus on the amazing find.

Netflix’s upcoming film adaptation of Preston’s book comes from Australian director Simon Stone, written by screenwriter and playwright Moira Buffini. The movie adds even more dramatic layers (some more effective than others) while still trying to do justice to the Sutton Hoo excavation. It also brings together an intriguing cast of stellar English talent including Carrie Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, and Lily James. I was instantly onboard.

Image Courtesy of Netflix

The film’s first half is magical, both narratively and cinematically with Stone capturing the awe, wonder, and mystery of such a magnificent discovery. Through his story and his camera, Stone introduces us to his characters and builds our anticipation for what waits to be unearthed. There’s an almost Malickian beauty to how cinematographer Mike Eley shoots these early scenes. The fluidity of his camera movements, the striking angles, the way nature is admired through his lens – its absolutely gorgeous filmmaking.

The story gets off on a similarly impressive foot. Mulligan plays Edith Pretty, a widow who owns the estate where the burial grounds lay. Mulligan breathes elegance into her character, but there is also an unmistakable sadness that Edith works to hide from her precocious young son Robert (Archie Barnes). It’s this sadness and grief that drives her interest in what lies underneath the ancient mounds on her property. So she hires a local excavator Basil Brown (Fiennes) to handle the dig. He’s an odd but capable sort – a kind man who has buried sorrows of his own.

Unfortunately the story loses some of its zest in the second half when the head of the British Museum (Ken Stott) arrives with his entourage. This leads to wrangling between museums, each trying to convince Edith that they are better suited to house something of such cultural and historical value. This also introduces Peggy (Lily James), a young archaeologist whose cold and indifferent husband clearly has eyes for another. It’s yet another good performance from James who sadly ends up with a character trapped in the more unimaginative machinations of the plot. This ultimately leads to an undercooked and completely telegraphed romance that feels more convenient than natural.

Image Courtesy of Netflix

Strangely even the camerawork is more subdued in the second half, losing much of its artful style and creativity. It still looks good but hardly as eye-popping as in the earlier scenes. While the shift in focus isn’t nearly as absorbing, Stone keeps his audience attached through the performances and with some thoughtful subtext about the coming war. Airplanes overhead, a passing truck full of soldiers, brief audio from a radio broadcast – it all points to what’s boiling on the world stage. And those subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) reminders bring an alluring stillness to the film as the characters (and the audience) grasp the significance of their archeological discovery while slowly facing the reality that their nation is about to be thrust into war.

It’s hard to put into words both the love and frustration I have for “The Dig”. I was enraptured by the first 45 minutes or so – caught up in it’s mystery, its beauty, the period detail, and sweeping visuals. I loved Stefan Gregory’s graceful score which oscillates between vibrant piano chords and more soulful aching strings. And I loved Mulligan and Fiennes, both their characters and their performances. But the movie loses its footing once the fiction begins overshadowing the facts and it dives into a much less interesting and lesser developed side-story. As it is, I quite like “The Dig” even as I find myself longing for what it could have been. “The Dig” premieres January 29th on Netflix.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

Best of 2020 – Lead Actor

January 15, 2021 by Keith Garlington

Over the last few days I’ve been looking back at the best acting performances from the year 2020. Yesterday we began the Lead categories by looking at five incredible female performances. We wrap it up today with Lead Actor and without question there are some really strong contenders. So without further delay here are my top choices for Lead Actor.

Honorable Mentions: Tom Hanks (“News of the World”), George Clooney (“The Midnight Sky”), Jude Law (“The Nest”), Kevin Costner (“Let Him Go”), Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine (“Farewell Amor”), Nnamdi Asomugha (“Sylvie’s Love”), Gary Oldman “Mank”)

#5 – Ben Affleck – “The Way Back”

So far during this awards season not enough people are talking about Ben Affleck’s soulful and deeply personal performance in “The Way Back”. Sure it’s a sports story about redemption, but Affleck doesn’t give his character easy outs nor does he allow for a Happily Ever After scenario. This is an honest look at alcoholism and you can see Affleck dealing with his own demons through the eyes of a broken high school football coach.

#4 – Chadwick Boseman “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”

His character’s name may not be in the title, but Chadwick Boseman’s ambitious but deeply scarred Levee is clearly the movie’s heart. Boseman brings enough charisma to fill a room and he doesn’t allow the film’s occasional ‘staginess’ to hold him back. The movie carries the weight of being Boseman’s final big screen performance following his tragic passing. It’s also a powerful and sobering reminder of the immense talent he possessed.

#3 – Steven Yeun – “Minari”

Yet another amazing performance from this heartbreaking yet heartwarming family drama. Yeun is both the anchor and the glue in a role that should cement him as a solid leading man (for those who for some reason still had doubts). Yeun brings warmth and pathos to a character who certainly has his faults. But buried within his ambitions is the heart of a man trying to convince himself and his family to believe in the American Dream. Powerful work.

#2 – Riz Ahmed – “Sound of Metal”

I admit, I slept on this movie. But then I started hearing so many people talk about Riz Ahmed’s performance. I finally gave it a go and within 15 minutes I knew exactly why people were so enthusiastic. Ahmed gives what should be a star-making turn playing a punk rocker who loses his hearing and is forced to adjust to his new challenging reality. It’s a brutally honest and unflinching performance that has stuck with me since first seeing it.

#1 – Mads Mikkelsen – “Another Round”

This isn’t the first time Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen has topped one of these lists of mine. A bit of magic happens when he and filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg get together which is exactly what happened with “Another Round”. This is such a tricky role for Mikkelsen, taking a rather absurd idea on the surface and turning it into a deep, internal exploration of middle-age disillusionment. There’s humor, remorse, hope, and tragedy woven into this one phenomenal performance and Mikkelsen again proves himself to be one of our very best working actors.

And that wraps up this year’s look back at the best performances of 2020. What did you think of this list? Please leave you thoughts in the comments section below and lets do it again next year.

First Glance: “Cherry”

January 14, 2021 by Keith Garlington

“Sometimes I feel like I’ve seen everything that’s going to happen. And it’s a nightmare.” That line of dialogue from “Cherry” really sums up the new trailer’s vibe nicely. This emotionally dense and dark-looking Apple Original reunites Tom Holland with the MCU’s Avengers architects Anthony and Joe Russo. But rest assured, judging by our first look this isn’t another playfully boyish Peter Parker type of character. It’s a much more serious role and Holland seems fully committed.

The trailer opens with 24-year-old Holland not stopping a bank robbery like his web-slinging MCU alter-ego but committing one. From there we see the domino effect of his troubled life – military combat, PTSD, opioid addiction, and crime. It’s heavy stuff and the movie doesn’t look to be taking any shortcuts. The big question is whether or not Holland can sell such a dramatic swing (no pun intended) in intensity and tone. He’s shown off an impressive range before so I’m thinking he can.

“Cherry” hits theaters February 26th and will stream on Apple TV+ on March 12th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.