Thursday, 1 August 2024

August 2nd 2024

Ezra
Sleeping Dogs
Ka Whawhai Tonu


Three vastly different films are reviewed this week. Ezra is my pick. Great to see de Niro back in form!
 
Ezra
Dir: Tony Goldwyn
Length: 101 mins
© Kismet - autism, humour and heartache
along with wonderful performances
Stand up comedian Max (Bobby Cannavale) is separated from his wife Jenna (Rose Byrne) and now lives with his father, Stan (Robert de Niro). Max and Jenna are totally at odds as to how to raise their 11-year old autistic son, Ezra (William Fitzgerald). One night, without telling anyone, Max decides to take Ezra on a road trip. The consequences of his ill-thought out decision will be challenging for everyone and are not necessarily in the boy's best interests. Autism is today referred to as neurodivergence, and this film brings insight into just one example of it, as personified by Ezra who is intelligent, feisty, confident and fun. The screenwriter comes from a place of personal experience, his own son being autistic, so there is a real authenticity here. He walks a delicate line between comedy, poignancy and deep emotion, with each character beautifully drawn, especially Max, (an award-winning role for Cannavale), who is torn between his stand-up career and his role as a father. The issues inherent in three generations of fathers and sons trying to understand each other is nicely handled, with impressive performances from all three males. People with more knowledge of autism than I have may find things to take issue with, but I see this as a great contribution to understanding and acceptance, all couched in a highly entertaining yet deeply touching story.
4 - highly recommended

Sleeping Dogs
Dir:  Adam Cooper
Length: 110 mins
© Rialto - how to solve a case
you can't remember!
Ex-homicide detective Roy Freeman (Russell Crowe) has early onset Alzheimer's, but is undergoing a revolutionary and promising treatment. When a prisoner is about to be executed and continues to protest his innocence, Roy is drawn back into re-examining a case he was involved in ten years before. He reconnects with his old partner Jimmy (Tommy Flanagan), but as the pair go over the old files, things become more and more complicated and puzzling until ultimately it may be a case of better to "let sleeping dogs lie". As the pieces are cobbled together from old case files, we meet the femme fatale, academic Laura Baines (Karen Gillan), and her smarmy mentoring professor (Martin Czokas), along with a number of other characters who act as red herrings along the way. Despite having quite a number of plot holes and irrational elements, this works for me as a reasonably entertaining thriller, mainly because of Crowe's solid lead performance as a man totally at a loss as to who he is, and what happened in his past. It is certainly not as finely crafted as Memento, but for a bit of intrigue and diversion with a solid twist at the end, it does the trick!
3 - recommended

Ka Whawhai Tonu
Dir:  Michael Jonathan
Length: 115 mins
© Transmission - British colonisation, bloodshed
and Maori identity
It seems films in the Maori language are rapidly gaining in popularity. Recently The Convert told a story of British colonisation and battles with Maori tribes. This latest film (its title meaning War Without End) uses as its historical basis the Battle of Orakao in 1864, a bloody affair, as two traditionally warring Maori tribes team up to slug it out with the Brits. Fictional characters bring a more personal focus to the tale. Young Haki (Paku Fernandez)) has been captured by the Maori who think he is a British soldier; actually he is the son of a Maori woman and a British father (Jason Flemyng). He teams up with Kopu (Hinarangi Hirawira-Nicholas), a young girl who is reluctantly used as a medium and spiritual totem for the God of War. Both teens feel alienated from their people, and must try to survive and rescue others in the face of brutal slaughter. I'm somewhat torn about this film. Certain scenes are compelling and dynamic, others feel like a protracted cowboys and Indian "shoot-em-out", taking away from the connection with the characters. At other times one feels the pain of individuals and the Maori people at large, but then the strident scenes of battle overwhelm once more. In the later stages the film feels more connected to the larger picture of identity and future hope. Heavyweight NZ actors Cliff Curtis and Temeura Morrison bring their talents to bear, and the two young leads are strong, and like many First Nations stories, this one also throws light on an important chapter of a dark history.
3 - recommended

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