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| Courtesy of Sony |
(Rated R for language including some sexual references.)
The cast: Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga, J.K. Simmons, Molly Ephraim, Sara Paxton and Alfred Molina.
What it’s about: Director Jason Reitman does his best Aaron Sorkin impression with this fact-based drama chronicling the moment in 1988 when legitimate political journalism and tacky tabloid entertainment merged. That’s when reporters uncovered Sen. Gary Hart’s (Jackman) extramarital affair with Donna Rice (Paxton) and he went from presidential front runner to national disgrace in the span of three weeks.
The good: I’m a sucker for political dramas, no matter how lackluster, so I tried to focus on the positives in this mostly bland account of the uproar that laid the groundwork for our modern view of presidential election as three-ring circus. On the plus side, there quite a few solid one-liners in the screenplay by Matt Bai (adapting his own book), Jay Carson and Reitman. The writers were clearly aiming for their own version of The West Wing.
Sadly, they don’t hit the bullseye, but they do craft some compelling characters with the help of Simmons, playing Hart’s experienced, cynical campaign manager; Farmiga, as Hart’s eternally patient wife; and Jackman, more enigmatic that usual, keeping Hart’s true character almost entirely under wraps. It’s an intentionally low-key performance, and quite a good one, but it never really connects with the movie around it.
The not-so-good: The Front Runner is a frustrating misfire because Reitman never establishes a clear point-of-view on the material. Should we judge our leaders based on their moral character or their ability to do the job they’re applying for? Should journalists focus on stories the public needs to know, or should they prioritize ratings above all else?
Those are compelling questions, but Reitman would rather straddle the fence than answer them. One could argue that he’s letting the audience decide for themselves, but that feels like a cop out. It’s a shame, considering there’s a killer movie to be made from this moment in history. Reitman even assembled a theoretically perfect cast to do it. It’s that pesky execution that messes everything up.
Grade: C+
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
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| Courtesy of Fox Searchlight |
(Rated R for language including some sexual references, and brief drug use. Now playing in limited release.)
The cast: Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Dolly Wells, Stephen Spinella, Jane Curtin and Ben Falcone.
What it’s about: In this true story, writer Lee Israel (McCarthy) goes from best-selling celebrity biographer to out-of-work curmudgeon who’s about to be dropped by her agent (Curtin). Faced with getting a “real” job (the horror!), Israel turns to forging letters by famous authors and actors in order to sell them to collectors. It’s a great racket for a while – thanks, in part, to her equally devious but far more charismatic friend (Grant) – but the scam can only work for so long before experts and law enforcement catch on.
The good: Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a fascinating, twisted story about deeply unlikable people, so it’s helpful to have great actors to carry the material. McCarthy does some of the best work of her career, delivering a fearless, vanity-free performance. She doesn’t mug for the camera like she did earlier this year in Life of the Party. Instead, she sinks into the character of Israel so much that I often forgot it was McCarthy playing her. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her earn a Best Actress nomination.
Grant might have an even better shot at a Best Supporting Actor nomination, considering Oscar voters love showy roles. He certainly has one here. While McCarthy does the heavy lifting, Grant gets almost all the best jokes and the third act allows him to exhibit a more poignant, dramatic side of his character.
Between her fantastic work here and her deeply unsettling 2015 debut, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, director Marielle Heller is officially a filmmaker whose projects guarantee my butt will be in a theater seat. Fortunately, I won’t have to wait long for her next one: she’s currently shooting a movie in which Tom Hanks plays Mr. Rogers. That might be the most perfect casting in the history of cinema.
The not-so-good: Between the off-putting subject matter and loathsome characters, Can You Ever Forgive Me? is the epitome of “not for everyone.” However, if you don’t mind giving yourself over to melancholy for a couple of hours, you’re in for a darkly comic, unexpectedly emotional journey.
Grade: B+
Free Solo
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| Courtesy of National Geographic Films |
(Rated PG-13 for brief strong language. Now playing in limited release.)
The cast: Alex Honnold, Sanni McCandless, Tommy Caldwell and Jimmy Chin.
What it’s about: This astonishing documentary from National Geographic Films is an honest, intimate portrait of Alex Honnold, one of the world’s most experienced free soloist climbers. Over the span of the film, he prepares to achieve his lifelong dream: scaling the 3,000 ft. El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without a rope. That includes having remarkably frank conversations with his worried friends and loved ones about the odds of victory in an endeavor where a tiny mistake means falling to his death.
The good: Honnold is a fascinating – albeit difficult – figure and the film isn’t shy about highlighting his positive and negative traits. As a result, there’s not a dull moment in the documentary’s 100-minute running time. Of particular interest is his matter-of-fact rationale in deciding whether to attempt his insane goal.
It’s almost like he’s doing a cost-benefit analysis, speaking in hypotheticals when the harrowing journey up a 3,000 ft. rock wall is anything but. That’s precisely what his girlfriend Sanni tries to tell him, while also trying to be supportive of his dream. Still, she constantly has to get him to communicate his feelings in a manner that considers emotions rather than facts and figures.
But the main reason to see Free Solo is the jaw-dropping cinematography, packed with beautiful shots of El Capitan that must’ve been remarkably difficult to capture. Credit for that should go to co-directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, an experienced climber in his own right.
I don’t think my hands stopped sweating for the last half-hour, and I might’ve let out an involuntary whimper or two. I don’t handle heights well, so this movie is basically my worst nightmare. And that was my reaction while watching a DVD screener on my television. Seeing this on the big screen might trigger a full-blown panic attack.
The not-so-good: Oddly enough, because most of Free Solo is devoted to Honnold preparing for the climb, the main event doesn’t get nearly the attention I expected it to. Because he moves so quickly (the guy is practically Spider-Man), it feels a little anticlimactic. Still, the gorgeous images more than make up for it.
Grade: A-
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