Just Mercy
(Rated PG-13 for thematic content including some racial epithets.)
The cast: Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Tim Blake Nelson, Rafe Spall, Michael Harding and Brie Larson.
What it’s about: Based on a true story, young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) graduates Harvard and heads to Alabama to defend death row prisoners who were wrongly condemned or not afforded proper representation. With the support of local advocate Eva Ansley (Larson), Stevenson takes on the case of Walter McMillian (Foxx), who was convicted of murdering a teenage girl despite overwhelming evidence that he is innocent.
The good: It looks like Just Mercy, a painful, infuriating look at our country’s horribly broken justice system from filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton (who also directed Short Term 12, one of the last decade’s best films), will probably fall through the cracks of this year’s awards season. That’s a shame, considering Jordan and Foxx deliver some of the most authentic performances of their careers.
As idealistic lawyer Stevenson, Jordan spends large chunks of the film conveying silent rage, suppressing every invective and every punch he wants to throw at the apathetic district attorney (Spall) and blatantly racist sheriff (Harding) responsible for railroading his client. That’s because he knows it’ll give them the excuse they need to shut him down.
Foxx leaves his ego at the door as McMillian, portraying him as a man at his lowest point, beaten down by a system determined to kill him whether he committed a crime or not. It’s easily his best work since 2012’s Django Unchained, if not 2004’s one-two punch of Collateral and Ray.
Although it’s a powerful film that I liked a lot, I have a theory regarding its lack of awards season momentum. It’s because critics (including this one) are still frustrated about Green Book winning Best Picture last year. Like that well-intentioned but painfully mediocre film, Just Mercy hammers its point home with blunt force rather than subtlety. It also features characters who are so cartoonishly racist or so pure of heart that many viewers would dismiss them as unrealistic if they weren’t actual people.
The key difference is why the two films employ these dramatically heightened aspects. Just Mercy is the anti-Green Book, pleading with mainstream audiences to grasp that racism is far more systemic and complex than it’s often presented as in popular entertainment.
But to do that, Cretton and his co-writer Andrew Lanham employ the same technique that Flannery O’Connor, one of my favorite authors, utilized in her phenomenal stories. When asked about her propensity for using sudden, shocking violence in her works that were also heavily steeped in Southern Christianity, her answer was profound:
“When you can assume that your audience holds the same beliefs you do, you can relax a little and use more normal ways of talking to it; when you have to assume that it does not, then you have to make your vision apparent by shock – to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures.”
O’Connor’s words perfectly sum up what Just Mercy is passionately arguing about capital punishment in the United States. It’s not an easy film to watch, but it’s certainly a powerful one.
The not-so-good: Larson is good in a supporting role, but it’s clear she’s mainly on board as a frequent Cretton collaborator and because she believes in the material. It’s not the kind of part an Oscar winner typically signs up for.
Grade: A-
1917
(Rated R for violence, disturbing images, and language.)
The cast: George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Colin Firth, Andrew Scott, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch and Richard Madden.
What it’s about: During the chaos of World War I, two young British soldiers (MacKay and Chapman are tasked with a highly dangerous mission. They must race through enemy territory and alert military leaders that hundreds of their fellow soldiers are walking into an ambush. If they fail, the consequences will be catastrophic.
The good: A seemingly generic war story is elevated thanks to director Sam Mendes’ decision to structure the film as if it’s a single shot that lasts two hours. Those looking for the cheat cuts can probably figure out where they happen, but chances are you’ll be too engrossed in the harrowing action to try. Still, there are plenty of scenes that go on for minutes and juxtapose epic action with the intimacy of theater.
It stresses me out to think about the amount of planning in strategy that went into making 1917 work. Mendes and his co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns establish a strong foundation with their screenplay, but the true MVP is cinematographer Roger Deakins, who will almost certainly win his second Oscar next month.
The not-so-good: Because of the frenzied nature of the story, there’s not a lot of time for character development outside the two leads. The officers played by Scott and Strong are especially compelling, but they disappear almost immediately after they’re introduced.
Grade: A-
Uncut Gems
(Rated R for pervasive strong language, violence, some sexual content and brief drug use.)
The cast: Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, LaKeith Stanfield, Kevin Garnett and Idina Menzel.
What it’s about: Howard Ratner (Sandler) is a charismatic New York City jeweler always pursuing leads on one crazy scheme after another. When he makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the score of a lifetime, Howard must perform a nearly impossible high-wire act, balancing business, family and a lot of angry, dangerous people who want to hurt him.
The good: Uncut Gems is the latest thriller from Benny and Josh Safdie, who exploded onto my radar with 2017’s stellar Good Time. They mine similar thematic territory here, but improve their craft considerably with frenetic pacing, outstanding camera work and a killer synth score that sounds straight out of the 1980s. The result is a nonstop, 135-minute-long anxiety attack and possibly the best performance of Sandler’s career.
He’s been known to occasionally dip his toe into dramatic waters (Punch-Drunk Love, Funny People, The Meyerowitz Stories) with mostly solid results, but he’s on an entirely different level here. As Ratner, he’s a loud, overbearing force of nature that paints himself into corner after corner, but he seems to always find a way out through sheer force of will. I watched a lot of the movie through my fingers while wincing, but still couldn’t help but root for the idiot.
His co-stars are great as well, especially Stanfield, former NBA star Garnett and Menzel (reminding us she’s far more than a showtune-belting Disney princess). But newcomer Fox comes close to stealing the entire movie with a fierce performance that left most of the critics in my screening asking, “where the heck did she come from?” I can’t wait to see where her career goes from here.
The not-so-good: This film is the epitome of “not for everyone,” especially those who think they’re walking into a typical Sandler flick. It’s crude, it’s bleak and there are practically no likable characters. But it’s one heck of a ride if you know what you’re signing up for.
Grade: B+
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| Courtesy of Warner Bros. |
(Rated PG-13 for thematic content including some racial epithets.)
The cast: Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Tim Blake Nelson, Rafe Spall, Michael Harding and Brie Larson.
What it’s about: Based on a true story, young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) graduates Harvard and heads to Alabama to defend death row prisoners who were wrongly condemned or not afforded proper representation. With the support of local advocate Eva Ansley (Larson), Stevenson takes on the case of Walter McMillian (Foxx), who was convicted of murdering a teenage girl despite overwhelming evidence that he is innocent.
The good: It looks like Just Mercy, a painful, infuriating look at our country’s horribly broken justice system from filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton (who also directed Short Term 12, one of the last decade’s best films), will probably fall through the cracks of this year’s awards season. That’s a shame, considering Jordan and Foxx deliver some of the most authentic performances of their careers.
As idealistic lawyer Stevenson, Jordan spends large chunks of the film conveying silent rage, suppressing every invective and every punch he wants to throw at the apathetic district attorney (Spall) and blatantly racist sheriff (Harding) responsible for railroading his client. That’s because he knows it’ll give them the excuse they need to shut him down.
Foxx leaves his ego at the door as McMillian, portraying him as a man at his lowest point, beaten down by a system determined to kill him whether he committed a crime or not. It’s easily his best work since 2012’s Django Unchained, if not 2004’s one-two punch of Collateral and Ray.
Although it’s a powerful film that I liked a lot, I have a theory regarding its lack of awards season momentum. It’s because critics (including this one) are still frustrated about Green Book winning Best Picture last year. Like that well-intentioned but painfully mediocre film, Just Mercy hammers its point home with blunt force rather than subtlety. It also features characters who are so cartoonishly racist or so pure of heart that many viewers would dismiss them as unrealistic if they weren’t actual people.
The key difference is why the two films employ these dramatically heightened aspects. Just Mercy is the anti-Green Book, pleading with mainstream audiences to grasp that racism is far more systemic and complex than it’s often presented as in popular entertainment.
But to do that, Cretton and his co-writer Andrew Lanham employ the same technique that Flannery O’Connor, one of my favorite authors, utilized in her phenomenal stories. When asked about her propensity for using sudden, shocking violence in her works that were also heavily steeped in Southern Christianity, her answer was profound:
“When you can assume that your audience holds the same beliefs you do, you can relax a little and use more normal ways of talking to it; when you have to assume that it does not, then you have to make your vision apparent by shock – to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures.”
O’Connor’s words perfectly sum up what Just Mercy is passionately arguing about capital punishment in the United States. It’s not an easy film to watch, but it’s certainly a powerful one.
The not-so-good: Larson is good in a supporting role, but it’s clear she’s mainly on board as a frequent Cretton collaborator and because she believes in the material. It’s not the kind of part an Oscar winner typically signs up for.
Grade: A-
1917
 |
| Courtesy of Universal |
(Rated R for violence, disturbing images, and language.)
The cast: George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Colin Firth, Andrew Scott, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch and Richard Madden.
What it’s about: During the chaos of World War I, two young British soldiers (MacKay and Chapman are tasked with a highly dangerous mission. They must race through enemy territory and alert military leaders that hundreds of their fellow soldiers are walking into an ambush. If they fail, the consequences will be catastrophic.
The good: A seemingly generic war story is elevated thanks to director Sam Mendes’ decision to structure the film as if it’s a single shot that lasts two hours. Those looking for the cheat cuts can probably figure out where they happen, but chances are you’ll be too engrossed in the harrowing action to try. Still, there are plenty of scenes that go on for minutes and juxtapose epic action with the intimacy of theater.
It stresses me out to think about the amount of planning in strategy that went into making 1917 work. Mendes and his co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns establish a strong foundation with their screenplay, but the true MVP is cinematographer Roger Deakins, who will almost certainly win his second Oscar next month.
The not-so-good: Because of the frenzied nature of the story, there’s not a lot of time for character development outside the two leads. The officers played by Scott and Strong are especially compelling, but they disappear almost immediately after they’re introduced.
Grade: A-
Uncut Gems
 |
| Courtesy of A24 |
(Rated R for pervasive strong language, violence, some sexual content and brief drug use.)
The cast: Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, LaKeith Stanfield, Kevin Garnett and Idina Menzel.
What it’s about: Howard Ratner (Sandler) is a charismatic New York City jeweler always pursuing leads on one crazy scheme after another. When he makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the score of a lifetime, Howard must perform a nearly impossible high-wire act, balancing business, family and a lot of angry, dangerous people who want to hurt him.
The good: Uncut Gems is the latest thriller from Benny and Josh Safdie, who exploded onto my radar with 2017’s stellar Good Time. They mine similar thematic territory here, but improve their craft considerably with frenetic pacing, outstanding camera work and a killer synth score that sounds straight out of the 1980s. The result is a nonstop, 135-minute-long anxiety attack and possibly the best performance of Sandler’s career.
He’s been known to occasionally dip his toe into dramatic waters (Punch-Drunk Love, Funny People, The Meyerowitz Stories) with mostly solid results, but he’s on an entirely different level here. As Ratner, he’s a loud, overbearing force of nature that paints himself into corner after corner, but he seems to always find a way out through sheer force of will. I watched a lot of the movie through my fingers while wincing, but still couldn’t help but root for the idiot.
His co-stars are great as well, especially Stanfield, former NBA star Garnett and Menzel (reminding us she’s far more than a showtune-belting Disney princess). But newcomer Fox comes close to stealing the entire movie with a fierce performance that left most of the critics in my screening asking, “where the heck did she come from?” I can’t wait to see where her career goes from here.
The not-so-good: This film is the epitome of “not for everyone,” especially those who think they’re walking into a typical Sandler flick. It’s crude, it’s bleak and there are practically no likable characters. But it’s one heck of a ride if you know what you’re signing up for.
Grade: B+
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