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| Courtesy of The Weinstein Company |
(Rated PG-13 for thematic material and some sensuality.)
The cast: Sunny Pawar, Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, David Wenham and Rooney Mara.
What it’s about: Recently nominated for Best Picture and based on a remarkable true story, Lion is about a five-year-old Indian boy named Saroo (Pawar) who gets separated from his older brother and accidentally boards a train that carries him 1,000 miles away from his home. After surviving on his own for months, he’s eventually adopted by a kindhearted Australian couple (Kidman and Wenham). About 25 years later, Saroo (now played by Patel) learns of a new technology called Google Earth that allows him to resume the search for his family using his faint childhood memories of local landmarks.
The good: Lion is the kind of incredible story that movies are made to tell. The fact that it actually happened (more or less; it’s heightened for dramatic effect like most fact-based films) makes it even more astonishing. Director Garth Davis and screenwriter Luke Davies have essentially made two films, one about young Saroo and the other about him as an adult, but they link together pretty well.
The movie’s strongest element, aside from Davis’ measured direction and the beautiful score by Volker Bertelmann and Dustin O’Halloran, is a revelatory central performance from Pawar. He’s one of the most adorable kids I’ve ever seen, and he’s got acting skills that would make artists 10 times his age seethe with jealousy. I dare you to hear him call out for Guddu, his character’s big brother, and not melt into a puddle.
Patel is solid too – he’s got a Best Supporting Actor nomination to prove it – but I honestly think Pawar delivers better work. He deserved a nomination as well, although child actors rarely get the recognition they from the Academy.
The other big reason to see Lion is the last 15 minutes or so; it’s got one of the best endings in recent memory. Fair warning: bring Kleenex. I don’t think a movie has made me cry that hard since Toy Story 3.
The not-so-good: Aside from that killer ending, the second half is definitely weaker than the first. It’s not bad, but (strong performances from Patel and Kidman aside) rich people moping doesn’t have the same kind of stakes as a five-year-old boy fighting for his life. Plus, the movie completely squanders Mara in a standard “worried girlfriend” role.
Grade: B+
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| Courtesy of Universal |
(Rated PG-13 for disturbing thematic content and behavior, violence and some language.)
The cast: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula and Betty Buckley.
What it’s about: A troubled man (McAvoy) with 23 distinct personalities – including a pervert with OCD, a sinister woman and a young boy – abducts three teenage girls (Taylor-Joy, Richardson and Sula) and tells them they’re being prepared as a sacrifice for a mysterious creature known as The Beast. Meanwhile, the man’s psychiatrist (Buckley) realizes something is amiss and attempts to solve the mystery as the girls’ time grows shorter.
The good: I’ve been cold on filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan since 2004’s lackluster The Village, but I’ll be the first to admit this is easily his best movie since the underrated Unbreakable. That was his 2000 stealth comic book movie (starring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson) that had the misfortune of coming out a couple of years before Hollywood bet big on superheroes. I’ve long said that if Shyamalan could’ve turned it into a massive franchise if he’d just waited a bit.
Split is a return to form for the guy who made that film. On the surface, it’s a fairly standard thriller, but McAvoy’s incredible performance substantially elevates the material. Taylor-Joy is also good as the most strong-willed of his captives, but she doesn’t get quite as much to do because the movie is much more interested in its antagonist.
What I loved most about the film is the journey I experienced while watching it. Like all Shyamalan’s movies, going into too much detail would spoil the fun, so I don’t know if this will make sense. Split is fine as a standalone thriller, but I kept thinking it would’ve been amazing as something else. But then the final scene revealed that I’d been watching exactly what I wanted all along, and I walked out of the theater with a gigantic smile on my face. It’s the first Shyamalan twist in ages that made me lean forward in my seat instead of groan.
The not-so-good: Once the revelation reshapes the story, you realize that Taylor-Joy’s protagonist is basically squandered – which is a shame considering the monstrous trauma she endures at the hands of both McAvoy’s character as well as some deeply unsettling flashbacks. Because that subplot doesn’t really get a resolution, it makes it seem like Shyamalan is mining a deeply horrifying situation that many young women experience in real life solely for shock value.
Grade: B
I Am Not Your Negro
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| Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures |
The cast: Samuel L. Jackson (voice) and James Baldwin (archival footage)
What it’s about: In 1979, renowned author and Civil Rights activist James Baldwin began writing a book called Remember This House, a personal account of the lives and tragic assassinations of three of his close friends – Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. However, when Baldwin died in 1987, he’d only completed 30 pages of his manuscript. Filmmaker Raoul Peck uses those pages as a springboard into a documentary examining race in America, using Baldwin’s words and profound archival footage of the author and crucial moments in our nation’s troubled history.
The good: Peck’s documentary is one of the best movies I saw in 2016. It’s not an easy watch, but it’s not supposed to be. As recent events have demonstrated, the film is more timely than ever and should be required viewing for anyone interested in why our country is so divided.
The director incorporates some harrowing, jaw-dropping footage, all of which proves that George Santayana’s famed quote – “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” – is far from cliché. Jackson’s narration adds further narrative weight. Speaking in Baldwin’s world-weary tone, it’s some of the best acting he’s ever done, even though we never see his face.
The not-so-good: Not much to include in this section. The film accomplishes everything it sets out to do. I especially encourage history and political science buffs to seek it out.
Grade: A
Grade: A
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