Into the Abyss

Werner Herzog’s latest documentary contains the following great lines, delivered by Herzog as he is interviewing someone: “The death penalty seems rather Old Testament wrath of God to me. Jesus would probably not have been an advocate of capital punishment.”

While I take exception to the need for the word “probably”, these lines are harmless enough and would be fascinating to explore in the right context, but in Into the Abyss, they seem to come out of nowhere, just one example of many odd things about the film.

Into the Abyss relates the story of two young men in Conroe, Texas who killed three people because they wanted to steal a car. Each man says the other did the killing. One is sentenced to life, the other is sentenced to death, a death which happens during the filming of this odd documentary (though it is not part of the documentary).

I have used the word odd twice already, so let me use it a few more times: Herzog’s selection of interview subjects is odd, his questions are odd, the editing is odd, the film’s structure is odd and I was constantly shaking my head. Yes, there were many profound moments (and even some funny ones) in the interviews of various people involved in the story, and yes, Herzog’s heart is certainly in the right place (he states from the outset that he is opposed to capital punishment), but I found the viewing experience deeply unsatisfying.

Roger Ebert found Herzog’s low-key interviewing style compelling and gave Into the Abyss four stars. I certainly appreciated the honest sad responses of those being interviewed, and the interview of Fred Allen, a guard who was in charge of 100 executions before coming to the conclusion that he opposed the death penalty and walking away from his job, was particularly effective, but that interview is just another example of a lack of context. The way this film was made just didn’t work for me.

For me, the film’s greatest contribution was not on the subject of capital punishment but in the way its interview subjects reflected on their lives. Many of the interviews therefore worked well on their own, though Herzog’s frequently irritating questions (which Ebert thought brilliantly effective) didn’t help.

Perhaps if I lived in a country which still carried out such a barbaric practice, I would be more moved by the film’s flawed attempts at providing objective slants on the issue (flawed because Herzog makes it so clear where he stands - see my first paragraph). Fortunately, I do not live in such a country, and my problem probably lies in my inability to take the subject seriously, as if anyone could ever provide a remotely legitimate argument (let alone a theological one) for a civilized state taking a person’s life.

If you want to see a great film about capital punishment, see Dead Man Walking instead (or even The Green Mile). I give Into the Abyss *** for effort. My mug is up but the stuff inside has an odd flavour.

Albert Nobbs

You won’t find too many films in which two women are pretending (successfully) to be men. That Glenn Close and Janet McTeer do so almost effortlessly is what makes Albert Nobbs fun to watch - that and some good cinematography. Close and McTeer very much deserve their Oscar nominations.

Unfortunately, their brilliant performances are somewhat wasted in a rather lacklustre story that just never managed to engage me. Albert Nobbs tells the story of a lonely, unhappy hotel butler/waiter in 19th century Dublin who is actually a woman (Close). Nobbs has dreams and is saving money to buy a shop of his/her own, but it is hard to imagine her ever being happy until she meets a painter named Hubert Page (McTeer) who is also pretending to be a man. This discovery is followed by brief glimpses of hope and vitality in Nobbs, but she doesn’t have the social skills to do anything with these.

Albert Nobbs has the potential to be engaging but the character of Nobbs and the side story about one of the maids (played by Mia Wasikowska) just don’t let it happen. The most interesting characters in the film are Page (McTeer) and the hotel doctor (played well by Brendan Gleeson), who don’t get enough airtime.

I will give Albert Nobbs *** for the acting. My mug is up, but the stuff inside is another one of those bland blends.

Coriolanus

For decades now, I have maintained that Ralph Fiennes is one of the best actors out there. His performance as Coriolanus only serves to cement that impression. What I didn’t know is that he is also capable of directing. Coriolanus is Fiennes’ film and he has done an outstanding job, with the help of an impeccable cast.

Coriolanus is not one of Shakespeare’s better-known plays and I will not argue that this is a mistake. Coriolanus is a dark tale, set in Rome, about a military leader (Martius, who gains the name Coriolanus after an impressive victory) who feels nothing but contempt for the common people who benefit from the risks he takes as a soldier. When two tribunes stir up the masses against him (for their own political ends, it seems), Martius/Coriolanus is banished from Rome and takes up with his mortal enemy Aufidius (played well by Gerard Butler, getting to speak with his own Scottish accent) to attack Rome in revenge.

Fiennes does a brilliant job of putting a contemporary slant on Coriolanus, which is set in a fictitious Rome in 2011. This not only reveals the timeless genius of Shakespeare’s work but provides the opportunity for reflection on some of the insane political and military conduct (think Middle East) of our time (the contemporary relevance was especially noticeable to me after just having watched the documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell, about the recent civil war in Liberia and how a determined group of women put a stop to it). Unfortunately, this does not alter the fact that Coriolanus is a violent and depressing film about a lonely unsympathetic (almost sociopathic) soldier (his mother obviously had a lot to do with the unsympathetic part of his character) with, at best, ambiguous things to say about the world today.

Nevertheless, for what it is, Coriolanus is an excellent film. Brian Cox (as the patrician Menenius) and Vanessa Redgrave (as Martius’ mother) are perfectly cast. The score has a contemporary documentary feel which adds to the realism of the film. Coriolanus was filmed in Serbia (mostly Belgrade), which is an appropriately bleak and relevant setting for this story.

The only filmmaking flaw for me was the ending, which didn’t quite make sense given a short scene between Martius and Aufidius only moments before, a scene which, from what I can determine, is not faithful to the source material.

I watched Coriolanus with about fifty people. Eight of them walked out during the film, something I rarely see. Did the trailer focus on action and neglect to mention that this was Shakespeare? Was it too violent for Shakespeare fans? I don’t know, but I do understand that this is the kind of film which will have limited appeal. As for me, I have to give it a solid ***+, though it will not rank among my favourite films. My mug is up.

A Little Help

Even when small independent films contain a variety of flaws, they often provide a much more fulfilling viewing experience than most of the box office giants. A Little Help, written and directed by Michael J. Weithorn, is a perfect example. Despite the flaws identified below, I thoroughly enjoyed watching A Little Help and recommend it to all you indie film fans.

A Little Help stars Jenna Fischer as Laura, a dental hygienist struggling to be a good parent to her 12-year-old son while suspecting that her husband is having an affair. She’s right about the affair, but her husband dies before that is confirmed and now Laura has to figure out how to be a single parent. This might be easier if she wasn’t constantly being “helped” by her controlling sister, Kathy (played by Brooke Smith), and her critical nagging mother (played by Lesley Ann Warren). To make life even more complicated, Laura discovers that Kathy’s husband, Paul (Rob Benedict), has been in love with her since high school and recently she has found herself attracted to him.

Laura is such a flawed, immature infuriating character (she is not exactly a role model for good parenting), that we should not be sympathetic towards her, but Fischer does a tremendous job of making Laura look vulnerable and picked on, so I did want to support her struggle to get out from under her overbearing relatives and greedy lawyer and find happiness.

Nevertheless, as I mentioned, A Little Help has its share of flaws. For example, individual scenes are better than their sum (the story does not flow the way it should), the direction does not feel very tight and the comedy often felt forced to me. Still, like I said, I enjoyed the film very much and am giving it ***+. My mug is up.

Carnage

For those readers waiting for me to say something more critical about a film’s acting and directing, your wait is over.

Roman Polanski’s last film was my second-favourite film of 2010 (The Ghost Writer). This time he has taken a well-known play by Yasmina Reza and turned it into a film that doesn’t quite work. Carnage is an eighty-minute conversation (and heated argument) between two New York City couples who end up consuming an entire bottle of expensive Scotch, with predictable consequences. The couples, who are meeting for the first time, have been brought together because one of their boys hit the other in the face with a stick.

Polanski assembled a great cast for Carnage, including Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly, but I was decidedly unimpressed with all of the performances. Perhaps Polanski is to blame for the over-the-top acting and unrealistic reactions (which might work on stage but not in a film), but none of the actors were particularly believable (the men fared slightly better than the women).

Carnage does show how unhappy all four of these characters are, despite what they generally display to the outside world. One is a workaholic, one is his neglected wife, one is a peacenik who is not at peace and one is her insecure husband whose patience is waning. The characters themselves were entertaining and the dialogue was often quite funny, with a few profound moments, but, in the end, the screenplay and direction were disappointing.

Given my critique, it might be surprising that I am giving Carnage ***, but the fact is that I want to see it again. My prime criterion for *** (as opposed to less than that) is that I would like to watch the film again. So my mug is up but the taste of the stuff inside sure did not live up to the expectation generated by the ingredients.

Monsieur Lazhar

I am reviewing this film for Media Matters (Third Way Cafe), so in two weeks I will provide a link to the full review. In the meantime, I will say that Monsieur Lazhar, a French-Canadian film written and directed by Philippe Falardeau, is top-ten film material (it was also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film). If you have a chance to see what filmmaking at its finest looks like, don't pass it up. Monsieur Lazhar gets ****. My mug is up.

Walter's Top Ten for 2011 (plus one)

 I’ll agree that 2011 was a better year than most for movies, and so I’ll definitely fill out my ten plus a couple of honourable mentions this year, though I don’t think I’ll follow your lead, Vic, and comment on 15. I’ll remind readers that I don’t list movies for objective quality but for subjective value. 

Then, I’ll clarify that I have not seen several potential candidates yet. Among these I would include: Hugo, The Descendants, Moneyball and Take Shelter. My guess is that any other movies I haven’t seen wouldn’t make it. And I’ll award honourable mentions to Win Win, In a Better World, A Separation, and The Beaver.

On to the top ten:

10. Tree of Life – Terence Malick and I will never quite get along because the whole visual poetry thing doesn’t work for me, but this was certainly a whole lot better than The New World (though, paradoxically, I actually liked the visuals better in that film – it just put me to sleep). Tree of Life drew me in by awakening a simultaneous inner reflection on my own boyhood while watching the one onscreen. This was impacting enough, combined with a few thought-provoking scenes, for this film to make my list. But the whole cosmic thing left me cold, and, I find the overall style alienating – makes me turn entirely inward and imagine life from this kind of alienated, disconnected position – as if I were a spectator of life rather than a participant. 

9. It’s Kind of a Funny Story – I always have to find at least one movie like this to include – a quirky indie comedy of psychological interest. My memories of it have faded too much for more comment, but I thought there were valuable insights and enjoyable scenes. 

8. Limitless – I thought this the best of the recent soft sci-fi crowd (together with Source Code and Inception)in terms of staying closer to the real range of possibility and therefore exploring more helpful territory. I think it was misunderstood by many, unless I’m wrong in seeing it as a very relevant tragedy on where our individualist, technological culture is headed. 

7. The Help – I appreciate a good, solid story that can be appreciated by a wide audience. Interesting, amusing and well-acted, and emphasizes the great point that helping relatively powerless people to tell their story and be heard is powerful. 

6. Margin Call – I like a dialogue-rich, focused kind of film (the opposite of Malick’s visual style mentioned above). This story pulls you into an unfortunately realistic world and lets you see it from a variety of perspectives. Each of these illuminates the problem and enables a deeper understanding of those we might see as the enemies in the financial scandals of recent years – without minimizing the horrific, self-centred damage that was done.

 5. The Way – Having recently done a pilgrimage (less famous than the Camino in Spain), I was very interested and not at all disappointed in this pilgrimage tale. There were a few moments that I might have wished for more of some kind of sparkle, but it’s a great example of how warmth and connection can happen among some prickly people under the right circumstances.

4. Incendies – Very powerful film that sacrifices a little credibility in order to hit with a very clear punch. That punch is so worthwhile and important that one forgives the credibility gap. If only we could all really believe that violence tends to make us all into victims and perpetrators unless we are enabled to escape the cycle of revenge. 

3. Midnight in Paris – Perhaps I rate it higher than it deserves to make up for all the Woody Allen slamming I’ve done in recent years. This was a very enjoyable and thoughtful film that was probably especially enjoyable for me because of the study abroad trips to Europe that we’ve been leading for years now. Plus the idea of important moments in creativity and cultural ideas arising in specific times, places, and real communities of friends is an important one to me.

2. Higher Ground – A well made depiction of the kind of personal journey in and sort-of-out of faith that really needs to be understood better by the church and society. There’s enough lightness and clever moments to keep the enjoyment up in an otherwise serious and bittersweet story. 

1. Of Gods and Men – Such a beautiful movie – a great tribute to the power of a humble community. It shows the potential of a monastic life to create inward depth and outward engagement in order to respond thoughtfully and intentionally to a chaotic and confused world. It probably didn’t need any help, but when I read about how the actors felt like they were formed into a meaningful community through their learning to sing together, this movie’s no. 1 spot was clinched. It was even better when I saw it the second time, and I look forward to seeing it again. 

Finally, a special mention for an older movie that I missed when it first came out. Amal (2007) is a great Canadian-made movie set in India that tells a humble tale of a humble and honest man (an auto-rickshaw driver) layered over a story of less than humble and honest folks. Great story that has not received the attention it deserves. It also provides a rich taste of life in contemporary New Delhi. Contains some lovely and memorable scenes such as the old, dying man singing in a café.