October 26th 2023
Killers of the Flower Moon
The Last Night of Amore
Dumb Money
Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed
Mercy Road
The Healing
Monolith
More from Jewish International Film Festival - three short reviews
What happened to my "five-minute film" concept? Seems to have blown out bigtime! The releases are coming thick and fast, and this week again there is so much worthhile viewing, from the high-profile latest Scorsese film, through to streaming offerings, Q&A sessions, and festival films. How could you ever get bored!
Killers of the Flower Moon
Dir: Martin Scorsese
Length: 206 mins
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| © Apple/Paramount - simply wonderful |
With my stated aim of writing concise film reviews, how on earth to sum up this magnificent movie within my constraints? I can't. Up front: it's a stunner! Based upon true and wicked things that happened in Osage County, Oklahoma, in the 1920s, it is the story of indigenous American people being crushed by the greed of whites. (Sound familiar?) Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo Di Caprio) returns from World War One, looking for work. His wealthy Uncle, William Hale (Robert de Niro), known as King, presides over the town, doling out money, representing himself as a big friend to the local Osage Indians. Recently oil has been discovered upon Osage land, and the indigenous people have become the richest per capita on earth. King sets his nephew up as a driver, encouraging him to marry into a local Osage family, with a plot to murder all the family members and transfer the oil wealth to himself. Trouble is, Ernest really does love Molly, (Lily Gladstone) the woman he marries. As members of the indigenous community are either murdered, or die in mysterious circumstances, no-one seems bothered until the newly-formed predecessor of the FBI, led by Tom White (Jesse Plemons), comes to investigate. It is testament to Scorsese's directorial skill that the huge runtime goes by with not a moment of boredom, so engaging (and distressing) is the story, its period recreation, its themes, and the performances of the entire cast, with particular accolades to the three leads. Scorsese handles his depiction of the Osage people with total respect, almost reverence; their ceremonies and traditions, their stoic acceptance of their lack of political power and their many social problems. His clever scripting draws us in to only slowly realise the depths of evil King will sink to, and leaves us almost ambiguous about Ernest, who is somehow too naive or stupid to fully realise what he is being dragged into. The anomaly of how Ernest can also be so wicked and yet genuinely love Molly is a moral conundrum central to the film. And Molly herself demonstrates compellingly how stillness of demeanour does not necessarily mean weakness. The haunting soundtrack by the late Robbie Robertson adds another deep layer to one's experience of the film. Add in several unexpected scenes of near genius film-making, and you have a film sure to be one of the best for the year. (PS Don't wait for it to stream on your small screen - hit the cinema and the big screen for this one.) 4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended
The Last Night of Amore
Dir: Andrea de Stafano
Length: 124 mins
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© Palace - strong, superb looking cop thriller
set in Milano |
After 35 years of being an honest respected cop, Franco Amore (Pierfrancesco Favino) is one day off retirement. His wife Viviana (Linda Caridi) has organised a farewell party whch has barely begun when Franco gets a call from his boss saying there has been a shoot out in which his partner and best friend Dino has been killed. A distraught Franco heads to the scene, then we flash back to ten days earlier to find there is a lot more going on than meets the eye. The opening five minutes of this film are quite unforgettable, with sweeping overhead scenes of Milan, its freeways and buildings, all accompanied by a compelling and powerful soundtrack. As the camera finally swoops into the window of Franco's apartment, and the story gets underway we are instantly drawn into a story we think we may have seen before, but which has fresh and unexpected elements. The characters are much more than stereotypes, especially Franco, who has surprising depth of emotion. In short, Favino gives a powerhouse but nuanced performance. Even many of the Chinese gangster figures and the local Mafia have surprises in the way they are portrayed. The basic plot of a heist gone wrong is smartly interwoven with issues of family ties and allegiances, betrayal and integrity. The pace never falters, the film looks splendid, and the cast is uniformly strong, making for an excellent movie experience. 4 - highly recommended
Dumb Money
Dir: Craig Gillespie
Length: 105 mins
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© Roadshow - would you buy stocks advised by
this guy? - the true story of stock market mayhem |
Keith Gill (Paul Dano) is a financial analyst and amateur investor. He runs a website called "Roaring Kitty" in which he gives stock tips to his followers. When he gets behind the stock of a company called GameStop, chaos ensues. His followers, average joes, start bidding up the stock, which rises 1700%, causing hedge fund billionaires, who've shorted the stock, into a dramatic short squeeze. Now if that sounds double dutch to you, just google what shorting is all about. In fact it's a good idea to do a modicum of research before you watch this film, which is in fact based upon a true life Wall Street crisis scenario that happened in January 2021. Even if you don't get the minutiae of the financial machinations (which I sure didn't) what you do get is that the institutional big investors are totally shafted by the small guys, and don't we all love that? The film presents the whole drama in a hugely entertaining way, with a lot of fast and furious talk, and "mobile phone action" focused upon social media posts like Reddit, and the trading platform Robin Hood, which thrived in lockdown. With a throbbing soundtrack, and excellent supporting performances from the likes of America Ferrera, this is a pleasing comedy that makes you feel sometimes there is justice in the world.
3.5 - well recommended
Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed
Dir: Stephen Kijak
Length: 104 mins
Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed is now available to rent and own on digital.
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© Universal - wonderfully insightful doco into
a man who hid his real self for years |
The world was shocked when Hollywood romantic leading man Rock Hudson died of AIDS in 1985. His public image had been that of a swoon-worthy heterosexual man, but his private life was something totally different. In an era where careers and lives would be destroyed by coming out of the closet, Hudson kept up his phoney constructed image, virtually until his death. This wonderful doco examines his life, and his magnificent screen career with entertaining excerpts from umpteen films and TV shows. There are revealing interviews with people who knew him, as well as an examination of how support from people like his friend Liz Taylor helped further the cause of bringing AIDS into the public view, and finally getting government funding to fight the illness. As a homage to a man, and to a wonderful era of movie going, this is a doco to be savoured by movie lovers.4 - highly recommended
Dir: John Curran
Length: 86 mins
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| © Rialto - this is the face of desperation! |
We meet Tom (Luke Bracey) in the opening scene, as, covered in blood, he jumps into his truck and flees into the night. He's obviouusly greatly agitated, and the drama only mounts as his phone begins to incessantly ring. He desperately tries to connect with his daughter Ruby, and has yelling matches with his ex-wife. He gets endless calls from work, from Community Services, and finally menacing phone calls from a calm voice (Toby Jones) who calls himself The Associate and informs Tom that he has kidnapped Ruby. As Tom drives, performing seemingly illogical tasks set by The Associate, we gradually learn about Tom's life and what has happened to cause all this drama. Now, I love it when two critics I highly respect totally disagree on a film. One of my collleagues thinks it's a winner, the other sinks the boots in. I honestly don't know what I think of it: Bracey gives a powerhouse performance that at times feels so authentic, then suddenly feels ludicrously over the top and melodramatic. At moments the film feels nail-bitingly exciting, with throbbing music, tense driving along dimly lit, foggy roads, and Tom's increasing panic and desperation palpable. But then it lurches into incomprehensible territory where I find myself asking, "What the hell was that all about?" So you see, films can be so subjective; horses for courses. But it's certainly good to see Aussies making a thriller with a difference. ??? - If it piques your interest, you be the judge!
