REVIEW: “White Bird” (2024)

October 3, 2024 by Keith Garlington

The 2017 coming-of-age family film “Wonder” was a surprise hit both with critics and at the box office. It was based on a 2012 children’s novel of the same name by R. J. Palacio which spawned several other books including a 2019 graphic novel titled “White Bird: A Wonder Story”. Now it too has received the big screen treatment in a tender yet powerful new film directed by Marc Forster (“Monster’s Ball”, “Finding Neverland”, “A Man Called Otto”).

“White Bird” serves as a spin-off sequel that follows the character Julian Albans (Bryce Gheisar), the repentant bully from “Wonder”. The story (adapted by screenwriter Mark Bomback) sees 15-year-old Julian attending a new private school, Yates Academy following the events of the previous film. In an effort to fit in, he has adopted a passive approach, “Don’t be mean, don’t be nice. Be normal.”

One day after school Julian arrives home to find his grandmother, Sara (Helen Mirren) visiting from Paris. She’s a renowned artist who is in town to be featured in a local museum’s retrospective highlighting her work. With Julian’s parents out for the evening, Sara sits down with her grandson to catch up. As she listens to him talk about his passivity, Sara is reminded of her own childhood which she has long chosen not to talk about. She makes the decision to tell Julian about her past in hopes of steering him away from a potentially regretful path.

From there we are taken to a flashback which makes up the majority of the movie. It’s where we’re introduced to a young Sara, earnestly and sensitively played by Ariella Glaser. It’s August, 1942 and Sara seems to have a wonderful life. Her father (Ishai Golan) is a surgeon and her mother (Olivia Ross) is a mathematics professor. They’re a loving and close-knit Jewish family living in a cozy French village.

The starry-eyed Sara sees the world through a comfortable and naive lens. Her days are mostly spent indulging her love for clothes, drawing, and hanging out with her equally oblivious friends. She stays out of anything that man invade her comfort zone including turning a blind eye to a bullied classmate with polio named Julien (Orlando Schwerdt). In reality, Sara and her family live under the shadow of Nazi occupation. The Germans had already marched into Paris, but their presence in the villages has been minimal.

But that changes seemingly overnight. Her mother is promptly fired from the university and local stores begin denying service to Jews. But reality truly sets in when Sara’s school day is interrupted by Nazi soldiers sent to roundup Jewish students. After a harrowing escape attempt goes terribly wrong, Sara finds help from the most unexpected source.

Julien discovers Sara hiding and sneaks her out of town to his family’s farmhouse. His parents, Vivienne (Gillian Anderson) and Jean Paul (Jo Stone-Fewings) hide her in their barn, out of sight of their nosey Nazi sympathizing neighbors. As days turn to weeks and weeks turn to months, Sara and Julien grow closer. Their budding relationship helps form the heart of the movie. But the threat of being discovered is always looming, adding a steady tension that is palpable yet never overplayed.

Throughout the film’s swift two hours, Forster maintains a good grip on his premise and subject matter. It’s a tricky task, but he finds the right balance between a poignant coming-of-age story and a serious-minded Holocaust drama. Much of his world is shown through the eyes of children yet he never trivializes or downplays the gravity of what’s happening. Nor does he use the heaviness of history to manipulate his audience. Instead, the emotions he brings out are authentic and earned.

“White Bird” navigates its solemn subjects with an open-hearted optimism, incisively exploring its themes of kindness, cruelty, forgiveness, and sacrifice. The film doesn’t say anything especially new, but it head-on confronts the cycles of hatred that have long plagued humanity. It leads to a powerful and forever relevant message that is enriched by top-to-bottom terrific performances and a director who never takes his finger off the human pulse. “White Bird” opens in theaters on October 4th.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

Movie Poster Spotlight – “Joker: Folie à Deux”

October 2, 2024 by Keith Garlington

“Joker: Folie à Deux” is only a couple days away and it looks to be at least as polarizing as the first film. Director Todd Phillips reunites with star Joaquin Phoenix in this direct follow-up to the wildly successful first film. Lots of questions have been asked from people wondering what to expect. Wherever you are with the movie, the film’s promotion has been pretty great, especially the series of posters released over the past year.

Below are some of the best posters from Warner Bros. Pictures. Check them out and let me know what you think.

“Joker: Folie à Deux” premiered last month at the Venice International Film Festival. It opens everywhere Friday, October 4th exclusively in theaters.

REVIEW: “Hold Your Breath” (2024)

October 2, 2024 by Keith Garlington

The directing duo of Karrie Crouse and Will Joines make impressive feature film debuts with “Hold Your Breath”, a psychological horror-thriller set during the devastating Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Anchored by a wrenching Sarah Paulson lead performance, “Hold Your Breath” combines devastating elements from American history with familiar genre tropes to form a well-made and thematically rich movie. It’s a little too ambitious, but I appreciate its big swings.

Set in 1933, Paulson plays Margaret, a mother with two daughters struggling to get by in the dust-ravaged Oklahoma panhandle. With their farmland decimated, Margaret’s husband Henry has been forced to take a far-away job in hopes of earning money to send back home. That leaves Margaret, her oldest daughter Rose (Amiah Miller), and her hearing-impaired youngest, Ollie (Alona Jane Robbins) to scrape by with one old cow, no crops, and no way to leave their situation.

**Image Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures**

Margaret loves her daughters and does everything in her power to protect and provide for them. She’s also seen as a stabilizing presence in their small rural community. But deep down she has issues of her own that torment her. She’s been haunted by the same reoccurring dream since losing their first child to Scarlet Fever. And as their circumstances get worse, Margaret begins to lose her grip on reality. Or is there something else at work – something malevolent and sinister.

That burning question drives much of “Hold Your Breath”. There’s a lot going on in the story (written by Crouse) narratively, thematically, and psychologically. There are constant threats – some real and others imagined. There are the howling dust storms, children getting sick, potential starvation, and even the sudden appearance of a mysterious preacher named Wallace (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) who claims to be a friend of Henry’s. It all leads to an intensifying sense paranoia that culminates in a harrowing and heart-rending final act.

A key strength of the film is found in its recreation of the Dust Bowl era. Crouse and Joines shot in several locations around New Mexico in order to capture the stark barren landscapes of 1933 Oklahoma. They’re just as attentive when it comes to conveying the punishing conditions. The dust storms are ferocious and you can almost taste the grit in your mouth and feel the wind-blown sand stinging your eyes.

Then you have the film’s meticulous attention to details. It’s seen most in the terrific costume and production designs. But also in seemingly small things, such as Margaret using strips of fabric to seal their house from the sand. Or the masks they sometimes wear outside that are plucked directly from old archived photos. It all adds a heavy layer of realism to a movie than (especially in the second half) leans heavy on the psychological.

Thematically, “Hold Your Breath” has a lot it’s trying to say. Motherhood, grief, societal pressure, and isolation are just some of the topics that Crouse and Joines touch on. Some of them are more present than others but none are deeply explored – a side-effect of having too much on their minds. But the movie has some notably tense and unsettling moments, most seasoned by the eerie tones of composer Colin Stetson. And the committed performances from Paulson and Miller add a resonance that gives the movie its emotional kick. “Hold Your Breath” premieres October 3rd on Hulu.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

First Glance: “Juror #2”

October 1, 2024 by Keith Garlington

Motion picture icon Clint Eastwood returns with his highly anticipated thriller “Juror #2”. His incredible career has seen him star in countless big screen classics. But he’s also flourished behind the camera. “Juror #2” marks the 40th film directed by the 94-year-old legend. Written by Jonathan Abrams and featuring a terrific cast, Eastwood’s latest has the look of a potential awards season contender. It would be a fitting result for what is rumored to be the final film of his storied career.

The new trailer offers us a tantalizing taste of what we’re in for. The film stars Nicholas Hoult playing a family man caught in a fascinating moral dilemma. He’s been chosen as a juror for a high-profile murder trial but quickly discovers that he may have more of a connection to the case than he imagined. Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Zoey Deutch, Chris Messina, Kiefer Sutherland, Cedric Yarbrough, and Leslie Bibb round out the sterling cast in what has quickly turned into one of my most anticipated movies of the year.

“Juror #2” premieres at AFI Fest on October 27th and will open in select theaters on November 1st. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “Killer Heat” (2024)

October 1, 2024 by Keith Garlington

With “Killer Heat”, director Philippe Lacôte takes crime novelist Jo Nesbø’s short story, “The Jealousy Man” and spins it into a old-fashioned film noir complete with a hard-boiled private investigator, a mysterious femme fatale, cynical voiceover, moral ambiguity, and of course a possible murder. This decent adaptation from screenwriters Roberto Bentivegna and Matt Charman doesn’t add anything new to the classic noir formula. But it does capture much of what makes these movies so appealing.

“Killer Heat” features Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing Nick Bali (a very film noir appropriate name). He’s our down-on-his-luck private eye with a curly mop of hair packed under a tan Panama hat. Nick is a bit unkept and you can imagine the smell of booze that enters every room before he does. But he has keen instincts, a photographic memory, and is a stickler for details. It’s what makes him a good detective in spite of his flaws.

**Image Courtesy of Amazon Prime Video**

Nick arrives on the island of Crete at the request of Penelope Vardakis (Shailene Woodley), a member of a wealthy and powerful family who run the island through violence and corruption. Just recently Penelope’s brother-in-law Leo (Richard Madden) was killed while free solo climbing an area cliff. The local police (who are on the Vardakis family payroll) were quick to rule it an accident. But Penelope isn’t convinced. So she secretly hires Nick to determine what really happened.

It doesn’t take long before we’re introduced to some of the key players in the mystery via Nick’s investigation. First is Elias (also Richard Madden), Penelope’s husband and the late Leo’s twin brother. There’s Audrey (Clare Holman), the Vardakis family matriarch. And there’s a local cop named Georges (Babou Ceesay) who may or may not be trustworthy. Of course there are several other pieces to the puzzle that I won’t spoil, but they’re nicely woven into Bentivegna and Charman’s script.

The mystery itself throws enough curveballs to keep things interesting while the pacing ensures that we never slow down enough to overthink things. Lacôte does a good job mixing in some clarifying flashbacks. They shed some much-needed light on the icky pasts of the Vardakis clan while also revealing Nick’s own rocky history. Put together, all of it gels into a fairly lively crime story but not a particularly inventive one. When the revelations eventually come, none really catch us by surprise.

“Killer Heat” certainly has the look with Lacôte and DP Andrew Dunn shooting on location around sun-soaked Crete. It also has the cast, with Gordon-Levitt managing to be a serviceable gumshoe and Woodley a suitable femme fatale. The people they play resemble types more than well-rounded characters which strips them of any nuance or intrigue. Nevertheless the performances are solid all around.

What this old-fashioned noir lacks most is old-fashioned tension. We gets hints of it here and there, especially as Nick begins to wear out his welcome. But the heat never gets above room temperature nor does the mystery grip us the way it needs to. And Nesbø’s underlying theme of jealousy gets lost in all the dot-connecting and box-checking. Still, the film holds our interest throughout its fleet-footed 90 minutes, and you could do a lot worse than hanging out in the Greek Isles with JGL. “Killer Heat” is now streaming exclusively on Prime Video.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

RETRO REVIEW: “Rage” (1972)

September 30, 2024 by Keith Garlington

George C. Scott stars and makes his big screen directorial debut in “Rage”, a film inspired by true events known as the Dugway Sheep Incident. In the real-life account which took place in 1968, over six thousand sheep were killed on ranches near the U.S. Army’s Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. Dugway was a military facility established in 1942 to test chemical and biological weapons. Many believe a nerve agent escaped Dugway resulting in the sheep deaths. Clear culpability was never established but sweeping changes came in the aftermath.

“Rage” pulls from the true account and creates a gripping thriller built around the growing middle class distrust towards the United States government. It tells a smart, incisive, and cutting story that pulls no punches in its indictment of military and medical collusion and corruption. Meanwhile Scott’s direction is patient yet laser-focused, leaving no doubts about his convictions and keeping us honed in from the movie’s heartfelt start straight through to its violent finish where the film really earns its title.

**Image Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures**

By 1972 Scott had already established himself as a terrific actor. In fact he was just coming off of back-to-back Academy Award nominations for 1970’s “Patton” and 1971’s “The Hospital” (he won for “Patton” but infamously refused to accept it). “Rage” featured yet another of the grounded and organic performance the commanding Scott was known for. In it he plays Dan Logan, a widowed sheep rancher in rural Wyoming.

One afternoon Dan decides to take his 12-year-old son Chris (Nicolas Beauvy) camping near the edge of his property. While setting up their tents they notice a helicopter flying low to the ground. It’s a bit out of place – enough to grab Dan’s attention but not enough to worry him. After a great evening of father-son bonding the two call it a night. But the next morning, Dan wakes up to find Chris unconscious with a nose bleed. Understandably shaken, Dan picks up his boy and makes a mad run to his truck, passing several dead sheep on the way.

At the hospital Chris is put in quarantine while Dan is admitted for testing despite feeling fine. Their longtime family physician and friend, Dr. Caldwell (Richard Basehart) refers them to a young medical specialist named Dr. Holliford (Martin Sheen) who seems to recognize Chris’ symptoms but doesn’t offer many answers. Over time the doctors go from keeping news of Chris’ worsening condition from Dan to straight-up lying about it altogether.

The movie doesn’t make any effort to hide the truth behind what’s actually happening. In fact an early scene lays everything out. In it we see military leaders at a nearby base secretly discussing what went wrong during their recent test of a new nerve agent. They assess the potential damage done in the neighboring communities and immediately begin planning damage control. At the same time, they shamelessly see Dan and Chris as guinea pigs and their chance to study the nerve agent’s effects on humans.

The film’s third act sees the proverbial pot boil over as the deceit, misinformation, and posturing push Dan over the edge. It’s here that the movie takes a dramatic turn, but Scott (the director and actor) doesn’t overcook the ending. And he manages to retain our sympathies even as his character crosses one line after another. It’s a good punctuation mark for a movie that is essentially a lacerating critique wrapped inside a smart slow-burning thriller.