Friday, 2 April 2021

April 2nd

The Father
The Mauritanian (Amazon Prime) 
One Night in Miami  (Amazon Prime) 
The Last Vermeer

Two more Oscar contenders are reviewed this week, including the cinema release film The Father with Anthony Hopkins. It's one of my rare "unmissables".  

The Father
Dir: Florian Zeller
Length: 97 mins
© Sharmill - Hopkins gives a
heart-breaking tour-de-force
Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) is a sprightly eighty year old, reluctantly accepting a little help from his daughter Anne (Olivia Colman). As his dementia progresses, Ann wants home help for her father but he is resistant. Furthermore, Ann wishes to relocate to Paris. Gradually Anthony begins to doubt his perception of reality, and difficult decisions must be made. This is a masterful and shattering portrayal of what it means to descend into dementia. The genius of the film is based on two powerful factors - firstly top-shelf performances from every cast member, and secondly a script so empathetically written that we, the audience, step totally inside the decaying mind of a dementia sufferer. Anthony alienates every carer who comes to visit, even gorgeous Laura (Imogen Poots) who reminds him of his other daughter. At some moments his brain is so addled he visually perceives Ann to be a stranger, (Olivia Williams is the alternate Ann), while Ann's ex-husband Paul (Rufus Sewell) also changes to another man (Paul Gatiss) in Anthony's mind. Time skips around, certain scenes repeat, all engineered to create the sense of total confusion the poor old man is feeling. But it is the raw and overwhelming emotion of this film that hits home like a sledge-hammer. Hopkins' performance is possibly his best ever. I cried grievously at the film's conclusion; it's like watching a portent of what so many of our lives may eventually come to.
5 - unmissable!

The Mauritanian
Dir: Kevin Macdonald 
Length: 129 mins
Streaming on Amazon Prime
© Amazon Prime - amazing cast - powerful
story that should shame the USA
Mauritanian national Mohamedou Slahi (Tahar Rahim) was detained by the FBI on suspicion of involvement in the 9/11 attacks. From there he was put into the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison, where he wrote Guantanamo Diary, upon which this film is based. Human rights lawyer Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) takes up his case, and in concert with fellow attorney Teri Duncan (Shailene Woodley) works to have him released. Foster has just won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in this film, although has been overlooked for the forthcoming Oscars. As expected, she gives a great performance, and the film is a total indictment of the reprehensible system of "justice" America metes out to those suspected of (but never charged with) 9/11 involvement. At times the film is hard to watch, with the brutality inflicted upon Slahi viscerally portrayed. Benedict Cumberbatch is as always strong in his role as the military prosecutor, a man for whom conscience and compassion ultimately outweighs duty. Rahim's empathetic performance makes him an actor to take note of.  With so many refugees still languishing in Aussie detention, this film is an important and salutary reminder of the inhumane treatment of people who've never been formally convicted of any crime.
4 - highly recommended

One Night in Miami
Dir: Regina King
Length: 114 mins
Streaming on Amazon Prime
© Amazon Prime - four icons of activism -
their conversation inagined
In 1964 Cassius Clay became heavyweight boxing champion of the world. After the match he met up with three friends - singer Sam Cooke, NFL player Jim Brown, and civil rights activist Malcolm X. The film fictionalises the conversations in a Miami motel room, and those conversations are a window into the Zeitgeist of the day - political activism for the Civil Rights Movement and how each man perceived his role in that. Screenplay writer Kemp Powers bases the script upon his own play, and the theatrical roots are evident - but as a film it totally works; this is a stunning reflection upon a pivotal moment in history, and each character leaps off the screen as historical icons, and as real human beings. Cooke (Leslie Odom Jnr) is derided by his pals as being too eager to make it in the white world (until he writes A Change is Gonna Come); Brown (Aldis Hodge) is revered in sport helping to elevate people of color; Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben Adir) leaves the Nation of Islam to help create the Black Power movement, as as for Clay (Eli Goree), we all know the legend he became: Muhammed Ali.  This fabulous film is nominated for three Oscars, and is totally worth seeing.
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended

The Last Vermeer
Dir: Dan Friedkin
Length: 118 mins
© JIFF - Guy Pearce is the main
drawcard for this true and bizarre story
Yet another true World War 2 story, this one set in the art world. Dutch art dealer Han van Meegeren (Guy Pearce) made a fortune selling art works to the Nazis. In particular, a Vermeer piece was sold to Goring, and van Meegeren was put on trial for collaboration with the enemy. He had the last laugh, however, as he went down in history as the greatest forger ever known.  Plenty of dramatic license is taken in the form of the invention of military man Joseph Piller (Claes Bang) who champions van Meegeren in court. The film is handsomely crafted, with sumptuous settings, but the trial scene somehow feels a bit contrived and overly long. Interesting issues of how forgers perfect their craft are glossed over, and handsome Piller's romantic doings (and his Jewishness)  seem almost irrelevant to the main plot. However Pearce is an absolute winner with his eccentric and flamboyant characterisation and it's worth seeing for that alone.
3 - recommended 


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