by Josh Sewell
(Note: Spider-Man: No Way Home, arguably this week’s most anticipated film, screened at the same time as my daughter’s very first band concert, so I skipped that one. Look for my review next week.)
Nightmare Alley
(Rated R for strong/bloody violence, some sexual content, nudity and language. Opens in theaters on December 17.)
The premise: Charismatic drifter Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) stumbles into a job with a traveling carnival, learning from and endearing himself to many of his new colleagues (played by Toni Collette, David Strathairn, Willem Dafoe, Rooney Mara and others). He uses this newfound experience to con the wealthy elite of 1940s New York society, but soon realizes he might have gone too far when he teams up with a mysterious psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) to rip off a dangerous tycoon (Richard Jenkins).
The verdict: Guillermo del Toro has always been a filmmaker interested in exploring humanity’s darker aspects, not always in the most audience-friendly ways. In that respect, I’d argue his latest, a pitch-black noir based on William Lindsay Gresham’s 1946 novel, is his most mainstream work so far. But his previous film, about a lady getting intimate with a fish monster, won Best Picture and Best Director – so what the heck do I know?
Still, just because most viewers can follow the fairly straightforward plot of Nightmare Alley and its monstrous characters doesn’t mean del Toro (who co-wrote the screenplay with his wife Kim Gordon) is aiming for a standard story where good triumphs over evil. Instead, this film packed with morally compromised characters never pretends it’s heading anywhere other than a tragic conclusion.
Anyone who is well-versed in the noir genre, which reached its heyday in the 1940s (not-so-coincidentally when the source material was published and the first film version was released), will know where del Toro is going from the opening scene, which shows Carlisle dragging a corpse across a dilapidated house, tossing it under the floorboards and setting the place ablaze. From that point on, most viewers will watch the oncoming trainwreck with a perverse fascination.
While it’s the director’s first film that doesn’t feature supernatural elements, there are still very real, very dangerous monsters to be found. The most obvious ones appear in the form of the characters played by Jenkins and Blanchett (relishing the opportunity to play a classic femme fatale), but also in Cooper’s doomed protagonist.
Just because he attempts to rationalize his actions doesn’t make him less complicit in the tragedies resulting from his scheming. The final scene is a darkly comedic gut-punch, but it’s also a perfect, inevitable conclusion to Carlisle’s character arc.
As a director, del Toro has always been savvy with casting and his latest is no exception. Pretty much all the actors know exactly what kind of movie they’re in – Cooper, Blanchett, Collette and Dafoe especially – and their performances reflect that.
While I don’t think Nightmare Alley will be as successful as its predecessor this awards season, look for it to score a few nominations in behind-the-scenes categories. The cinematography, score, production design and costumes are particularly striking. Everything works together to craft one of my favorite viewing experiences of the year.
Grade: A-
The Lost Daughter
(Rated R for sexual content/nudity and language. Opens in select theaters on December 17 and available on Netflix December 31.)
The premise: Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial and screenwriting debut (adapted from Elena Ferrante’s novel) centers on university professor Leda (Olivia Colman), who’s visiting a seaside Greek town on a working holiday. While there, she becomes fixated on a young mother (Dakota Johnson) and her daughter. Their tense relationship is reminiscent of her own early days of motherhood, and she is overwhelmed when difficult memories come flooding back.
The verdict: Gyllenhaal was already known for her stellar acting abilities, but her work here proves she’s equally talented behind the camera. Coming right out of the gate with a film so confident, with such a clear tone and perspective (tense and mean-spirited though it may be) is a major accomplishment.
I avoided trailers for The Lost Daughter and put off watching it for a long time because I arrogantly assumed it was pretentious, artsy awards bait. When I finally gave it a shot, I felt awful about my preconceived notions – the bland synopsis is intentionally vague to preserve the psychological thriller’s many uncomfortable, shocking revelations.
There’s nothing as ostentatious as “Bruce Willis was dead the whole time,” but the more viewers learn about Leda – thanks to Colman’s incredible performance and Jessie Buckley’s brave work as a younger version of the character via flashbacks – the more we’re forced to reassess our impressions of her as protagonist, tourist, friend, mother and a wife.
Johnson is also fantastic, although her character is intentionally a blank slate for long stretches because Leda is projecting so much of her own baggage onto her. As we learn more about who she actually is, it allows us to reflect on previous scenes in a new light.
Perhaps the best compliment I can pay Gyllenhaal’s film (even though it may sound like the backhanded variety) is that it’s so engrossing, yet unsettling, that it took me several sittings to finish it. I had to pause and walk around a lot, just to clear my head and let the unease fade. That’s powerful storytelling, even if it’s not always “enjoyable” in the traditional sense.
Grade: A-
The Tender Bar
(Rated R for language throughout and some sexual content. Opens in select theaters on December 22 and available on Amazon Prime Video January 7.)
The premise: Based on J.R. Moehringer’s memoir, this coming-of-age drama tells the story of a fatherless boy (played by Daniel Ranieri as a child and Tye Sheridan as a young adult) growing up with his loving, determined mother (Lily Rabe); his wise, advice-dispensing uncle (Ben Affleck) and his eccentric grandfather (Christopher Lloyd). As he gets older, he begins to pursue the Ivy League education his mother wanted for him, while also keeping a pragmatic outlook thanks to his time spend in his uncle’s bar.
The verdict: Director George Clooney and screenwriter William Monahan don’t quite hit a home run with this familiar but affable story, but there’s nothing wrong with a solid double. It should prove an audience favorite and hopefully snag Affleck a Best Supporting Actor nomination. He’s better than he’s been in years, playing a gruff, endearing character reminiscent of some of his best ’90s roles.
Ranieri, Rabe and Lloyd are also strong, but the most memorable work is courtesy of newcomer Briana Middleton. She plays J.R.’s first love, an ambitious student who’s far more complex than the typical cinematic dream girl.
Unfortunately, Sheridan is a bit bland as the protagonist. But that’s partly because he’s surrounded by far more colorful characters that allow his co-stars to go bigger in their performances. Still, Clooney’s low-key approach to the material, accompanied by a superb period-appropriate soundtrack makes The Tender Bar a fun, heartfelt watch.
Grade: B
Home Video Spotlight
The Wolf of Wall Street
(Rated R for sequences of strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language throughout, and for some violence. Now available.)
Martin Scorsese’s epic dark comedy, featuring a stellar Leonardo DiCaprio performance, hit 4K Ultra HD for the first time earlier this week. The true story of a young stockbroker who rockets into a life of non-stop thrills and corruption boasts also stars Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler and Rob Reiner. The film earned over $390 million worldwide and was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay. The new 4K comes with a digital copy of the film as well as three behind-the-scenes featurettes.
(Note: Spider-Man: No Way Home, arguably this week’s most anticipated film, screened at the same time as my daughter’s very first band concert, so I skipped that one. Look for my review next week.)
(Rated R for strong/bloody violence, some sexual content, nudity and language. Opens in theaters on December 17.)
The premise: Charismatic drifter Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) stumbles into a job with a traveling carnival, learning from and endearing himself to many of his new colleagues (played by Toni Collette, David Strathairn, Willem Dafoe, Rooney Mara and others). He uses this newfound experience to con the wealthy elite of 1940s New York society, but soon realizes he might have gone too far when he teams up with a mysterious psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) to rip off a dangerous tycoon (Richard Jenkins).
The verdict: Guillermo del Toro has always been a filmmaker interested in exploring humanity’s darker aspects, not always in the most audience-friendly ways. In that respect, I’d argue his latest, a pitch-black noir based on William Lindsay Gresham’s 1946 novel, is his most mainstream work so far. But his previous film, about a lady getting intimate with a fish monster, won Best Picture and Best Director – so what the heck do I know?
Still, just because most viewers can follow the fairly straightforward plot of Nightmare Alley and its monstrous characters doesn’t mean del Toro (who co-wrote the screenplay with his wife Kim Gordon) is aiming for a standard story where good triumphs over evil. Instead, this film packed with morally compromised characters never pretends it’s heading anywhere other than a tragic conclusion.
Anyone who is well-versed in the noir genre, which reached its heyday in the 1940s (not-so-coincidentally when the source material was published and the first film version was released), will know where del Toro is going from the opening scene, which shows Carlisle dragging a corpse across a dilapidated house, tossing it under the floorboards and setting the place ablaze. From that point on, most viewers will watch the oncoming trainwreck with a perverse fascination.
While it’s the director’s first film that doesn’t feature supernatural elements, there are still very real, very dangerous monsters to be found. The most obvious ones appear in the form of the characters played by Jenkins and Blanchett (relishing the opportunity to play a classic femme fatale), but also in Cooper’s doomed protagonist.
Just because he attempts to rationalize his actions doesn’t make him less complicit in the tragedies resulting from his scheming. The final scene is a darkly comedic gut-punch, but it’s also a perfect, inevitable conclusion to Carlisle’s character arc.
As a director, del Toro has always been savvy with casting and his latest is no exception. Pretty much all the actors know exactly what kind of movie they’re in – Cooper, Blanchett, Collette and Dafoe especially – and their performances reflect that.
While I don’t think Nightmare Alley will be as successful as its predecessor this awards season, look for it to score a few nominations in behind-the-scenes categories. The cinematography, score, production design and costumes are particularly striking. Everything works together to craft one of my favorite viewing experiences of the year.
Grade: A-
(Rated R for sexual content/nudity and language. Opens in select theaters on December 17 and available on Netflix December 31.)
The premise: Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial and screenwriting debut (adapted from Elena Ferrante’s novel) centers on university professor Leda (Olivia Colman), who’s visiting a seaside Greek town on a working holiday. While there, she becomes fixated on a young mother (Dakota Johnson) and her daughter. Their tense relationship is reminiscent of her own early days of motherhood, and she is overwhelmed when difficult memories come flooding back.
The verdict: Gyllenhaal was already known for her stellar acting abilities, but her work here proves she’s equally talented behind the camera. Coming right out of the gate with a film so confident, with such a clear tone and perspective (tense and mean-spirited though it may be) is a major accomplishment.
I avoided trailers for The Lost Daughter and put off watching it for a long time because I arrogantly assumed it was pretentious, artsy awards bait. When I finally gave it a shot, I felt awful about my preconceived notions – the bland synopsis is intentionally vague to preserve the psychological thriller’s many uncomfortable, shocking revelations.
There’s nothing as ostentatious as “Bruce Willis was dead the whole time,” but the more viewers learn about Leda – thanks to Colman’s incredible performance and Jessie Buckley’s brave work as a younger version of the character via flashbacks – the more we’re forced to reassess our impressions of her as protagonist, tourist, friend, mother and a wife.
Johnson is also fantastic, although her character is intentionally a blank slate for long stretches because Leda is projecting so much of her own baggage onto her. As we learn more about who she actually is, it allows us to reflect on previous scenes in a new light.
Perhaps the best compliment I can pay Gyllenhaal’s film (even though it may sound like the backhanded variety) is that it’s so engrossing, yet unsettling, that it took me several sittings to finish it. I had to pause and walk around a lot, just to clear my head and let the unease fade. That’s powerful storytelling, even if it’s not always “enjoyable” in the traditional sense.
Grade: A-
(Rated R for language throughout and some sexual content. Opens in select theaters on December 22 and available on Amazon Prime Video January 7.)
The premise: Based on J.R. Moehringer’s memoir, this coming-of-age drama tells the story of a fatherless boy (played by Daniel Ranieri as a child and Tye Sheridan as a young adult) growing up with his loving, determined mother (Lily Rabe); his wise, advice-dispensing uncle (Ben Affleck) and his eccentric grandfather (Christopher Lloyd). As he gets older, he begins to pursue the Ivy League education his mother wanted for him, while also keeping a pragmatic outlook thanks to his time spend in his uncle’s bar.
The verdict: Director George Clooney and screenwriter William Monahan don’t quite hit a home run with this familiar but affable story, but there’s nothing wrong with a solid double. It should prove an audience favorite and hopefully snag Affleck a Best Supporting Actor nomination. He’s better than he’s been in years, playing a gruff, endearing character reminiscent of some of his best ’90s roles.
Ranieri, Rabe and Lloyd are also strong, but the most memorable work is courtesy of newcomer Briana Middleton. She plays J.R.’s first love, an ambitious student who’s far more complex than the typical cinematic dream girl.
Unfortunately, Sheridan is a bit bland as the protagonist. But that’s partly because he’s surrounded by far more colorful characters that allow his co-stars to go bigger in their performances. Still, Clooney’s low-key approach to the material, accompanied by a superb period-appropriate soundtrack makes The Tender Bar a fun, heartfelt watch.
Grade: B
Home Video Spotlight
(Rated R for sequences of strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language throughout, and for some violence. Now available.)
Martin Scorsese’s epic dark comedy, featuring a stellar Leonardo DiCaprio performance, hit 4K Ultra HD for the first time earlier this week. The true story of a young stockbroker who rockets into a life of non-stop thrills and corruption boasts also stars Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler and Rob Reiner. The film earned over $390 million worldwide and was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay. The new 4K comes with a digital copy of the film as well as three behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Reach out to Josh Sewell on Twitter @IAmJoshSewell
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