'Eighth Grade' Review: Coming of Age in the Digital Age
Bo Burnham is an eighth-grade girl.
Well, it would be more accurate to say that not only is he an eighth-grade girl – although his understanding and portrayal of this confusing time in adolescent life is astoundingly spot-on – but reveals that we all are eighth-grade girls, or once were. Which is to say that at one time or another, we've all felt the same shared sense of awkwardness, that of identity confusion and a general longing for love that unites us all, no matter our gender, age, or generation.
The directorial debut of comedian Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade is, on the surface, a modest movie. Essentially, we follow a teen in the last week of her middle school year, along with all of the important and trivial life events that pop up. But that would be like saying last year's Best Picture nominee Lady Bird was just a movie about a high school senior (Eighth Grade was also produced by Scott Rudin and Eli Bush). Specifically, what these movies have in common is a theme that is most noticeable: one of authenticity, identity, and the general nature of who we are by how we choose to live.
Perhaps no one knows this better than Burnham himself, who dealt with crafting an identity in the age of the internet, cultivating a fanbase by creating pop piano hits on YouTube that eventually resulted in a successful standup comedian relationship with Netflix specials and tours. So yes, this movie is about Kayla (Elsie Fisher), an introverted and reserved eighth grader without a best friend, and whose superlative awarded by her class is "Most Quiet." But below that, it's really about identity and insecurities that we all have, and are never more relevant than at this time, in this age of social media and online living.
Where Bo Burnham's directorial effort, which he also wrote, truly shines most, is the examination of the duality of "being yourself."
Eighth Grade shines a light on the anxieties of growing up in the social media generation like a front-facing flash of a camera selfie. It's not news that the suffocating artificiality of pop consumerism is such a large part of kids' lives. The content they take in is then re-created and re-stylized in a feedback loop that results in being either so out of touch with reality or hyper-in touch with a false one. This is what stirs Kayla, who is introverted and reserved at school, but comes to life online making inspirational and self-help videos to an audience of none.
It's successful because Bo has the eye and mind and insecurities of Kayla, and it doesn't ring false or sappy – it just feels like he gets it! Eighth Grade is not just a simple trip down nostalgia lane as we skirt uncomfortable issues (the film is rated R for a reason). When the movie touches on the subjects of school shootings and oral sex, the older people in the screening room seemed to grow noticeably uncomfortable, which goes to show how in touch Bo is with the way kids talk these days.
There is a confidence portrayed in his directing as well. We see strong visual sequences where long shots are held to either build tension or, when set to musical moments, feel dreamy and transporting. The synth score is energetic and uplifting as is his forte.
Where Bo Burnham's directorial effort truly shines most, which he also wrote, is the examination of the duality of "being yourself." Burnham's stand up specials – the prolific what. and Make Happy, showcase the young millennial, all of twenty seven-years-old himself, as a meta-maddening, self-aware artist consumed by the idea of creating who you are, as well as living naturally to the rest of society's confirmations.
Eighth Grade is 94 minutes. Rated R for language and some sexual material. Now playing at Arclight Hollywood and the Landmark.
'Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot' Review: A Cartoonist Finds a Second Life
I was lucky enough to attend the world premiere of American indie icon and film director Gus Van Sant’s newest film, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot, at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Based on the memoir of the same name, Van Sant brings the real-life story of John Callahan (Joaquin Phoenix) to the big screen. Callahan, the late cartoonist whose early battle with alcohol addiction eventually led to a drunk driving incident that would leave him in near full-body paralysis and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, would use the limited mobility of his arms to go on to find catharsis in drawing cartoons – single panel comics whose humor would come from illustrating the often wincingly dark absurdities of life. Van Sant mixes Callahan’s humor with a painfully honest journey to make a beautiful portrait of how one finds solace in the face of tragedy, giving credence to the old saying that tragedy is just comedy plus time.
Van Sant, who wrote the screenplay of the film as well, gives Callahan’s story an impressionistic wash, intercutting wheelchair Callahan’s present-day wheelchair-confinement with the earlier chapters of his life through flashback form. We see a younger Callahan guzzling booze straight from the bottle, moments of the drunk driving incident with friend and enabler Dexter (Jack Black), his physical therapy exercises with would-be lover Annu (Rooney Mara), as well as the story of Callahan entering a support group for his alcohol addiction. The re-occurring support group scenes prove to be the emotional core of the movie and lift the movie from standard bio-pic to a character study in therapeutic discovery and healing.
Joaquin Phoenix once again proves a mastery in being able to shape-shift into and humanize the oddball characters that he inhabits.
Bringing Callahan to the big screen in fearless form is Joaquin Phoenix, who once again proves a mastery in being able to shape-shift into and humanize the oddball characters that he inhabits. Phoenix as the irreverent Callahan plays both sides of the aisle in a character whose devil-may-care benders evoke those of Hunter S. Thompson’s. He’s silly and funny, evoking his hippie stoner of Inherent Vice, but also drifts into the emotionally conflicted soldier returned from war as seen in The Master. Phoenix in full-body paralysis is forced to confront his demons while attending addiction groups led by group sponsor Donnie (Jonah Hill), and it’s here that the film finds its counter-balance to Callahan’s reckless, untamed nature. Donnie, with long flowing spiritually enlightened blonde locks, is both sagely and sympathetic to the group, and especially Callahan, whose scenes together prove master classes in performance. It’s exciting to see Jonah Hill continue to surprise audiences with his film choices, as this performance is as equally fearless and honest to Phoenix’s.
It should be known that Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot is somewhat of a difficult watch. Not in a disturbing way – which some thematic elements are – but more that the film feels very much feels like a labor of love, particularly and intentionally laborious. The emotional heft and weight that the movie brings can only be assumed to honor both Callahan as well as the person who first brought the project to Van Sant to star in back in the nineties. The late Robin Williams, who previously starred in Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting, was also a comedian battling his own demons, and the film would remain in development for twenty years until Williams’ untimely passing. Van Sant honors the artist’s emotional journeys of the struggle to find meaning in the wake of tragedy (the film is dedicated to Williams) and shows that through self-forgiveness and circumstances acceptance, life is best lived not with grief, but with a grin.
This review originally ran on January 23, 2018, during the Sundance Film Festival
113 minutes. 'Don't Worry He Won't Get Far On Foot' is rated R for language throughout, sexual content, some nudity, and alcohol abuse. In select theaters this Friday.
Boots Riley's 'Sorry to Bother You' is Brash, Ballsy, and Flat-out Bonkers
This review originally ran on February 6, 2018, during the Sundance Film Festival
Sorry to Bother You may sound apologetic, but it's every bit as brash, ballsy, and bonkers a movie that I've seen in a directorial debut.
Sorry to Bother You may sound apologetic, but as a directorial debut, it's every bit as brash, ballsy, and bonkers of any movie I've seen. First-time filmmaker Boots Riley’s satirical film captures the level of selling out that people will stoop to in the pursuit of success. This zany comedy, which is set in an alternate present-day Oakland, portrays a young man of color who takes a telemarketing job and, in an effort to increase his sales, literally adopts a "white dialect" to speak to his customers. This could have been the extent of where the movie settles, to explore this concept more thoroughly, but Riley’s unbridled creativity continues to seep in and we find that this storyline is just the beginning.
Lakeith Stanfield plays Cassius 'Cash' Green, a young man whose objective is to line his pockets with a little extra money. After starting the new job as an entry-level telemarketer, he takes the advice from senior co-worker, Langston (Danny Glover), to adopt a "white voice" (voiced by David Cross), in order to connect with his customers during cold calls. In hilarious fashion, when Stanfield opens his mouth, Cross' voice is overdubbed, and the movie has fun inserting a “square dialect” into Stanfield's soulfully visual performance. It's this sort of playful comedy that makes Sorry to Bother You a fun time, and its comparison to the result of a Spike Jonze and Spike Lee lovechild are accurate.
Boots Riley is equally interested in fostering a message of activism in addition to the investment of strong comedic elements. Cash realizes that his newfound success comes at a price when his new status puts him at odds with the lesser established co-workers. It gets to a point where Cash must decide to cross a picket line made up of his bohemian girlfriend, Detroit (Tessa Thompson), and best friend, Squeeze (Steven Yeun). The decision of who chooses to assist him in getting to work each day, creates an emotional hardship that he weighs against his large paycheck.
The film ends with one of the most head-spinning twists that would be less fun to spoil here, even though it could use a little more editing in its final act before it makes you do a double take.
All of this is put on the highest stage when Cash rises in the ranks to become one of the agency's best employees and into the inner circle of the company's CEO Steve Lift (Armie Hammer). This is when a dark secret that the company is harboring comes to light. The film ends with one of the most head-spinning twists that would be less fun to spoil here, even though it could use a little more editing in its final act before it makes you do a double take.
Sorry to Bother You is commanding; it is either making you laugh or making you think. Riley does a very good job pulling in all elements, specifically the production design by Jason Kisvarday, in which everything is so detailed it creates a visually rich movie. The ensemble cast does well, with Stanfield carrying the movie on his back, Tessa Thompson delivers another fierce and unwavering performance, Armie Hammer has fun as the bat-shit CEO, and David Cross and Patton Oswalt's "white voices" are a huge part of the laughs. Sorry to Bother You will find success with audiences willing to have a good time and entertain new visual thoughts. The film was picked up by Annapurna Pictures after making its world premiere at Sundance this year for a reported seven figures.
105 mins. 'Sorry to Bother You' is rated R for pervasive language, some strong sexual content, graphic nudity, and drug use. Opening this Friday at ArcLight Hollywood.
'Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town' Review: A Riot Grrrl Gets Across LA in a Day
This review originally ran on July 20, 2017, during the LA Film Festival
"You know, it's a little bit more of a fun movie than most indie films are, and I think we've lost some of that. You don't see a lot of the Swingers anymore, and we need a little bit more of that. We need more fun indie films instead of it always been something dramatic." So says writer and director Christian Papierniak, talking about his directorial debut, the punk-soaked Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town.
Making its premiere at this year's LA Film Festival, "Izzy" is a road movie about a girl (Mackenzie Davis) who, after learning of her ex's recent engagement, takes to hauling ass across town to try and win him back. Told in chronicles of each neighboring city that are chaptered between Mar Vista to Los Feliz, Izzy's day is a mess, and we're along for the fun of it all that Papierniak crafts in loose, punk-rock influenced mayhem.
Izzy enters the movie as a gal who still appears to not have her shit together, waking up from a hook up's (Lakeith Stanfield) bedroom, and throwing on her white bloody tux – a visual that Papierniak says he came up with around ten or fifteen years ago, stating, "This idea just stuck in my head of this girl in a bloody tux. A bloody white tux. And I just saw this image of her sitting in the back of a taxi cab, and I was like, 'Well that seems interesting. How do I create a story around that?'"
For our exclusive interview with Christian Papierniak, click here.
This is where the fun spools out from – Izzy hopping from one friend to the next with the hopes of cashing in favors to get ever closer to the other side of town in one day's time. Among the colorful characters that pop up is Alia Shawkat and Haley Joel-Osment who lend fun to the movie.
[Mackenzie Davis] commands the movie with her fiery manic-onwards energy, while also being able to lend the softer insecurities-driven side...
Fueling the movie is a rocking soundtrack that emphasizes the Riot Grrrl culture that Izzy embodies. Tracks from Corin Tucker (of Sleater-Kinney fame) and her previous band Heavens to Betsy, are deployed in each chapter's connecting title card and in the background, including a cover of "Axeman" by Izzy and her sister, Virginia (Carrie Coon).
Mackenzie Davis, who audiences may recognize from her fantastic work on the AMC television series Halt and Catch Fire or her bit-role in The Martian, gets a proper vehicle to showcase her star status. She commands the movie with her fiery manic-onwards energy, while also being able to lend the softer insecurities-driven side that dizzies Izzy as she continues to confront why she is running across town. Is the person she is running to only be an excuse to run from herself and her own life's issues?
On its premiere night at LAFF, Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town was packed, with some two-hundred people getting turned away. It was "like a rock concert," as Papierniak remembers. "That's kind of what the movie's all about, so we wanted it to be that kind of feel." While the film is now seeking distribution, keep an eye out for this movie that is both rough around the edges while retaining a fun loose vibe.
86 minutes. 'Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town' is currently not rated. Now playing in select theaters.
'Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town' Director Christian Papierniak Talks Riot Grrrl Inspiration
Shortly after making its premiere at the 2017 LA Film Festival, I had the opportunity to speak exclusively with Christian Papierniak, who directed the new movie "Izzy Gets the Fuck Across Town" – and who was also a former professor of mine when I attended Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts as an undergrad.
We spoke about his current full-time job – directing video games motion-capture scenes–, casting Mackenzie Davis as his riot grrrl lead, and what needs to change in the film industry.
It's good to talk to you again. It's been a few years.
Yep, a few years, absolutely. Under my tutelage.
You just premiered your directorial debut, "Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town" at LA Film Festival. How was the premiere?
It was chaotic, in a good way.
It was certainly a packed house.
For our review of "Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town", click here.
Packed house, it was chaotic, without a doubt. I mean, you were there. You saw the first, or the fifteen minutes leading up to the movie actually rolling was just, chaos. And there were people everywhere, you know? There were no seats, and people thought they had seats and people lost seats... my parents had to sit in the front row. They told me that they turned away almost two hundred people.
So you know, that was what we wanted. We wanted it to turn into like a rock concert. That's kind of what the movie's all about, so we wanted it to be that kind of feel.
Your more recent projects as a director are with video games, specifically the NBA 2K franchise. What goes into directing that?
In a video game, the difference is we're rendering every single angle, every conceivable, possible angle, at every second, because when you shoot motion capture, you just have actors in suits with cameras capturing their face. They wear a helmet that has a camera that kind of sticks out away from their face and captures their facial movement at the same time. And there are hundreds of cameras all around the room. And it's a big white room, there's nothing sexy or fancy about it, and the actors act very much like they would in a play.
So, it's a little bit different because, in a movie, you can do a pickup. But in a video game, you have to commit to one four. And that's it. Every other take has to get dumped because there's too much information. The computers can't handle that much rendering to keep multiple takes. And so it's expensive for all that storage.
What do you think are the qualities in video game directing that map over the best to making a film?
Just to be clear, the stuff I do in NBA 2K is not guys dunking and guys dribbling. You know, I do do some of that, but what we do is a fully immersive story where you create your own player. It's called "My Career" and you navigate your NBA life. It's a sort of choose-your-own adventure.
Because there's no camera work, and you do the editing all in retrospect with the animators, the emphasis is all on acting. Your focus is one-thousand percent on the acting purely and the movement of the characters with each other. In that way it's totally freeing because you have to think about nothing else besides, Is what they're doing truthful or genuine or authentic, or whatever. You don't have to worry about like, Oh did that dolly shot also work? Or, Did that crane shot also time out at the right time, did we lose focus?
[Izzy] is a mess, she's a punk, she's all this stuff, so the movie kind of had to have that thing, and yeah, it was great because it was that complete sort of "anti-video game" thing.
Was going from a controlled environment of the video game setting to a looser, grittier style something you were looking forward to making as your first feature film?
Yeah, that was what we wanted. We wanted to make something that looked like a nineties indie movie. It had to be that thing, it had to be rough at certain points and it had to be a little bit, almost like, purposefully not slick. We wanted the style of the movie to represent who the character is. [Izzy] is a mess, she's a punk, she's all this stuff, so the movie kind of had to have that thing, and yeah, it was great because it was that complete sort of "anti-video game" thing. This was pure old school film-making, running around shooting stuff.
And the difference between NBA 2K is that gigantic franchise. I'm honored to be somebody who is a shepherd of this part of the game but in terms of my personal authorship, I don't have that on the game. "Izzy" is something that I wrote, so I have a personal connection to the material... that's what independent film is for.
At the LA Film Festival, you said that you got the idea for this movie from an image of a girl in a bloody tuxedo. How did the story follow?
When I write, I usually start with a character. I just kick characters around in my mind. Different ideas, different visual concepts, just different things. About ten or fifteen years ago, this idea just stuck in my head of this girl in a bloody tux. A bloody white tux. And I just saw this image of her sitting in the back of a taxi cab, and I was like, Well that seems interesting – like, How do I then create a story around that?
I always kind of had the idea for "Izzy Get the F*ck Across Town" in my head but I got busy with so much other stuff and didn't have a chance to loop back around to it. I also had some short stories that I wrote during that time frame as well that never really went anywhere. I just had them on my computer and thought, Oh you know, wouldn't it be interesting, if I took some pieces from those short stories and put it in with this girl in this bloody tux.
I am from San Francisco, so I am Izzy. I was the transplant that knew nothing about LA, that was like, "Where the fuck am I? Where do I go? What is Los Feliz?"
You were saying that this was a road movie, as it takes place from the beach cities of Mar Vista to East LA. Are you from Los Angeles?
I am not, I am from San Francisco, so I am Izzy. I was the transplant that knew nothing about LA, that was like, Where the fuck am I? Where do I go? What is Los Feliz? There's a joke [in the film] that's only people in LA will get, where she struggles with the name Los Feliz – she's like, Los Feliz? "No, it's Los Feliz."
There were some people I was sitting next to that must have felt compelled to correct the character's mispronunciation, as I heard them mutter to themselves exactly what you said during that part.
Yeah, that's what we do in Los Angeles. It's like, No you're not from here unless you understand that we've mangled these words. And we're going to correct you to mangle them like us.
But yeah, I'm totally Izzy, I'm totally the person that came here sort of broke, just trying to make my way. LA's a very difficult, confusing place if you have no money and you have to get from point A to point B, and that point B is far away. It may only say ten miles on the map, but that ten miles might as well be an ocean away.
Can you talk about Mackenzie Davis' involvement? She slips into the role so effortlessly, it's almost like the part was written for her.
What you're saying is the ultimate compliment to [Mackenzie] in terms of like, if you walk out of the movie feeling, Oh, this role is written for this person. That means they took so much personal authorship over the role that you can't separate the person from any other... there's no choice in your mind where you're like, Oh, this would have been interesting if so–and–so would've played it. No – you're like, Mackenzie definitely had to play this.
Mackenzie's one of those actors that doesn't take a second off. She's present in every second of every scene. And that extends to all her work, not just this one movie. And that's something that I've always respected about her before I even knew her.
In indie film, you're looking for the person who's about to break out, somebody that needs, or wants to play the lead in a movie. It is a good opportunity for somebody that's sort of on the verge of a breakout, which Mackenzie is, I mean, now she's got "Blade Runner (2049)" and all that, so she's gonna break out big. So that's what I was really looking for, somebody who can take on that sort of challenge.
What I really always respected about them, about Corin [Tucker], Carrie [Brownstein] and Sleater-Kinney in general, is that they embodied that idea of being true to themselves.
Our casting director had a relationship with Mackenzie's manager, so it was easy and quick to get her the script. Within twenty-four hours she had read it and said I want to get in on a Skype call. So, Mackenzie and I got on a Skype call, hit it off right away. And from the beginning, she was like, I want to be a producer on this movie. From the beginning, she just jumped in, didn't want to change the script. Isn't trying to meddle with anything. She loves the script as-is, so much so that she becomes like super protective of it and doesn't want anybody else to fuck with it either.
I know that the music is something personal for you. You have Corin Tucker and Heavens to Betsy to name a few...
Yes, good question, I will talk about this all day so stop me if I go too far!
When I was really young, a friend of mine gave me this Heavens to Betsy tape and he was like, Just check it out, it's really cool, you're going to like it. And I just fucking loved that thing. I wore that tape out til like it exploded. It was something that was always so influential to me. And then when Heavens to Betsy merged into what became Sleater-Kinney, I just absolutely loved them as well. There's always a Sleater-Kinney CD in my car.
Once you get into the sort of Riot Grrrl part of it, it's really just about a love for that music itself. What I really always respected about them, about Corin [Tucker], Carrie [Brownstein] and Sleater-Kinney in general, is that they embodied that idea of being true to themselves. And they never sold out, they always stayed honest to their belief system, and they never tried to commercialize themselves in some way that would poison the idea of what was at the heart of the band.
It's not in your face, [Izzy's] not talking about being a Riot Grrl or any of that kind of stuff. It's like background subtextual layers. And part of that subtext is making sure that the song that they sing in the movie is an authentic song of that era. I wanted this song "Axeman" cause I just love that song and I thought it was so perfect for the movie. So, we were like let's just try to get in touch with Corin Tucker. And so we did, we got in touch with her and she immediately got what we were trying to do, she completely understood the story, she completely understood the intent that we were going for, and she was like, That sounds great, I want to be apart of it. We're like, Ok, great! Well, we have no money...
She became a partner in the movie, so we gave her percentage of the backend. And then she gave us not only the rights to cover the song, but the original song (her version) is also in the movie. She's just been a great advocate for the movie. When we showed her parts of the movie that her pieces are in, she wrote me a letter saying how touched and honored she was. I got really emotional, it was really nice.
The script has to be great because there are a lot of people out there with scripts. And there are a lot of people out there with scripts that have money, and so you have to have a script that's great, and that people want to be in.
Izzy has a line in the movie that the movies "aren't even like 'the movies' anymore." What's your take on the current state of movies nowadays?
The schism and the gap have gotten so big, there's just gigantic movies and there are small movies. And there are so many small movies that the audience gets overwhelmed with choice.
I have relatives all around the country who want to see great stuff but they don't know how to get to it, and they're frustrated with big blockbuster movies because they're just not that good. Of course every once and a while there's a good one, but for the most part, they're not very good. I mean, Marvel does a great job with all their "Avengers" stuff, but by and large they're not good, so how does an audience member find the right stuff?
I don't know if there's an answer to any of it. But for myself, I'm fortunate enough that I have another job that pays me good money and that I love. So I'm not relying whole-hog on my next indie film. I would certainly like to, if they came along and said, Hey, do you want to make the next "King Kong 2" for a few million dollars?, you're hard-pressed to say no to that. The next thing I want to do is a genre- a detective movie because it's my favorite genre. I'd put my own spin on it with a female lead of course, and do something a little bit rockstar-y, punk, and just try to tap that genre from a different angle.
In some ways, I think "Izzy" is counter-programming to a lot of indie films. It's a little bit more of a fun movie than most indie films are, and I think we've lost some of that. We need more fun indie films instead of always something dramatic.
I was a student of yours in your Visual Storytelling class, is there anything you'd like to share with your students after having made your first feature film?
I think the thing I've learned from the beginning, ever since I stepped into the business, is that you have to have a good script. The script has to be great because there are a lot of people out there with scripts. And there are a lot of people out there with scripts that have money, and so you have to have a script that's great, and that people want to be in. That's really what it comes down to. And I think people kind of get a little ahead of themselves, try to get a movie going with a script that's not fully finished, or they don't really completely believe in themselves, and that's problematic. I think you have to write something, read it and go, "You know what, yeah, I one-hundred percent believe in every part of this script." Because if it goes out into the world and it gets rejected, then you at least say to yourself, Oh hey, I did my best. And that's all you can do.
If you don't do your best, which a lot of people do sadly, and you just try to get something made, you don't get the results. Because you're going to be asking people to pay, to work for no money, compared to working on a TV series or a bigger feature, so you have to say, What's attractive to an actor? I wrote a part that I cared a lot about, but I also knew it would be very attractive to a young female up-and-coming actor, because it's a meaty part that they often won't be offered by a studio movie or a TV show, sadly enough.
So, even though [an indie film] is for a little bit of money, and a couple weeks to shoot, they really get to act. Actors want to act in things they think are going to be good. So you can use that to your advantage, but you have to have a script that is meaningful.
“Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town is currently not rated and is awaiting distribution.
'The Yellow Birds' Review: Young American Soldiers Endure the Trauma of War
This review originally ran on February 2, 2017, during the Sundance Film Festival
As American military presence in the Iraq war has fallen out of the more day-to-day news cycle (perhaps the current news circuit might be focused on situations domestic instead of abroad), so too have war dramas in the cinematic space that continue to explore the traumatic effects war plays on those in the field.
In The Yellow Birds, based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Kevin Powers and adapted by David Lowery (Pete's Dragon) and R.F.I. Porto, director Alexandre Moors (Blue Caprice) explores the traumas of war through the story of a disappeared soldier and his fellow comrade who must keep his mental health in check for the sake of his own freedom.
The Yellow Birds opens with weapons brandished soldiers wading their way through a barren Iraq landscape as silhouetted shadows, voiceover monologue describing how soldiers like these may already be dead long before they've been killed. Such ghosts are what two young soldiers, Brandon Bartle (Alden Ehrenreich), all of 21 years old, and Daniel Murphy (Tye Sheridan), an even younger 18, face as newly enlisted soldiers in the Army. When the two are deployed to Iraq, under the command of the steadily unhinged Sergeant Sterling (Jack Huston), the more hard-shelled "Bartle" takes to looking out for the more sensitive "Murph" in the war-torn landscape. Yet, as the stresses of war amount, where combat and killing become a more prevalent and consuming reality, cracks begin to show in the fragility of Murph's toughness. His mental stronghold begins to give, leading to physical and emotional instability that worries Bartle and company, which eventually becomes the root cause of his disappearance in the field.
'The Yellow Birds' opens with weapons brandished soldiers wading their way through a barren Iraq landscape as silhouetted shadows, voiceover monologue describing how soldiers like these may already be dead long before they've been killed.
What starts out as a war drama cuts back and forth from flashback to the present, as the wartime events in Iraq are cut in between Bartle's return back home. This creates a vacuum of a story in which Murph is disappeared, adding intrigue to the mysterious circumstances. It certainly alarms Murph's mother Maureen (Jennifer Aniston) who pleads her case to the Army. And a rattled Bartle is clearly shaken after returning home, which his mother Amy (Tony Collette) tries to reconcile. Bartle's depression soon becomes inescapable and all-consuming, leading him to his breaking point and finally addressing what happened overseas to the Army and Bartle's mom.
One of the strengths and most defining parts of The Yellow Birds is how it really gets into the heads of its characters. While it's a bit stilted in its mechanics of cutting back and forth, Ehrenreich gives a fine performance and Sheridan gives a quietly moving performance as well. The perspective of The Yellow Birds is an emotionally engaging one that offers a fresh, new look at wartime films from the perspective of young and impressionable soldiers.
'The Yellow Birds' is rated R for war violence, some grisly images, sexual material, and language throughout. 110 minutes. Opening this Friday at Laemmle's Royal Theatre.
Charlize Theron is a Fearless Mother in 'Tully'
If you’re looking for a film that is simultaneously sharp and funny, as well as deeply and deftly observational of the struggles of early motherhood, then I can’t recommend Tully enough.
Starring a fearless Charlize Theron as a mother of two – and then to an unexpected third, before a night nanny comes to offer her some relief – Tully is intimate, emotionally affecting, and in the end, an unexpectedly surprising film that should connect with audiences who are willing to seek out a smaller, darker movie about the joys and hardship of motherhood.
Marlo (Theron) is a mother of two, struggling to keep her head above water when an unexpected third enters the equation. Heavy bags under her eyes and a bloated middle (Theron gained 50lbs pounds for the role), she is obviously overworked and beyond tired, which her sweet but oblivious husband Drew (Ron Livingston) doesn’t notice. It leads her well-off brother Craig (Mark Duplass) to offer her the services of a night nanny to help when her newborn arrives. When Marlo welcomes child number three, she’s hesitant to accept Craig’s offer… until she can no longer say no. This is when we see the arrival of Tully (Mackenzie Davis) – a free-spirited bohemian living out her youthful twenties as a caretaker that swoops in at night and cares for the infant so Marlo can get a decent night's sleep. Early hesitations turn into a real connection and friendship, in which Marlo re-connects with her younger self and a freer, lighter spirit allows her to feel good about herself. However, Tully goes even further when it shows Marlo’s dilemma of confronting the spirited night nanny on whether to continue using her services or continue mothering by herself.
Reitman crafts a very moving love letter to the tolls of motherhood and all that it demands.
In Tully, Charlize Theron takes on this role with full fire and commitment. It’s absolutely Theron’s movie, and she should be applauded for how far she takes this role that requires her to be so emotionally vulnerable that she hasn’t displayed since Young Adult, which no coincidence, was also directed Jason Reitman and penned by screenwriter Diablo Cody. Where Theron played a single woman looking to steal a married man away in Young Adult, she plays the exact opposite in Tully. They’re bookend performances, no doubt, and Tully showcases Theron as a serious actor willing to take o these sorts of demanding roles. Not to be forgotten, Mackenzie Davis is true magic onscreen, as her spirit is captivating at every turn and only promises more moving performances.
While Tully is a small movie that might not register with everyone, it’s rewarding in so many detailed ways. Reitman crafts a very moving love letter to the tolls of motherhood and all that it demands. It leans into its humor with another sharp piece of strong story and writing, both absolutely fearless as well as humorous. Theron, Reitman, and Cody manage to craft a sharp and funny movie with beautiful images and sequences that will stay in audiences’ heads for long after.
'Tully' is rated R for language and some sexuality/nudity. 95 minutes. Now playing in theaters everywhere.
The Best From the 2018 TCM Classic Film Fest
The accessibility of digital streaming has made watching movies and television shows all the easier,
but that also means that films are not getting watched in the proper format, and with the number of streaming choices, it means that classic films aren't getting watched altogether. This is why events like the Turner Classic Movie Film Festival are so important these days, to promote watching classic movies. This year, Nelson Tracey and I were accredited to attend the festival where we both caught up on films we have never seen. Read below for the films we saw, and be sure to try to attend the TCM Film Festival next year for a weekend that you will truly love and appreciate.
Windjammer (The Voyage of the Christian Radich) (1958)
Nelson: From the outset, I knew that among the classics long overdue for me to see and the hidden gems of the past I may never find otherwise, there was one film of 2018’s roster not to be missed – which thankfully Ryan and I both caught at the fest. Prior to the release of this year’s festival lineup, I was unfamiliar with Windjammer, and even my enthusiastic expectations couldn’t have been surpassed any higher. Released in 1958, the part documentary, part travelogue, part music movie was the only film ever created in the “Cinemiracle” format, a 3-camera process designed to rival Cinerama in creating immersive cinema. After a short prologue in standard 16mm, the curtains opened up on the Windjammer, a massive schooner sailboat charting the open seas in a pristine, uninterrupted concave image that emulates panoramic eyesight. It’s spectacular, and that’s just frame one. We follow this massive sailboat from Norway, with a crew of young men ages 14-21, all learning their ways in a boy scouts-meets-boot camp program that will take them 250 days to traverse 20,000 nautical miles. Miraculously, the film isn’t a one-trick pony, it continues to up the ante at every destination, from Portuguese islands to Trinidad to New York City, and finally, a spectacle involving the U.S. Navy and a submarine.
There is much to analyze in the film: by taking a sailboat in 1958, the characters themselves are, in a sense, living in the past by holding on to an antiquated tradition, aware of it as something worth holding onto despite technological advances. In the film, call-backs to the past are present everywhere, in the indigenous cultures at every destination, and a Philadelphia fire parade which pulls out fire carriages from the turn of the century. And on a meta level, watching the film today is the same experience: it’s a pure specimen of a bygone era that in a generation will be completely obscure if not already so. We heard two different people in the audience (fairly well-attended but not enough for what it deserved) share that they had seen the movie in cinemas in 1958 as boys under the age of 10. It’s emotional to vicariously imagine what that must have been like to return to such a movie a full sixty years later. Of the many movies at this year’s festival, Windjammer and all that came with it stood head and shoulders above the rest.
Ryan: To say that seeing Windjammer in the ArcLight Hollywood Cinerama Dome was undeniably one of the most incredible movie moments I've ever experienced would not be an overstatement. The moment that the screen projected the Cinemiracle shot onto the Cinerama screen was breathtaking, and it didn't let up for the rest of the runtime. In terms of immersive experience, WIndjammer gives Dunkirk a run for its money. This was an unforgettable experience and perhaps the best time that I had at this or any other TCM Film Fest before it.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Nelson: This was the classic movie on my festival roster most overdue for me to see, the type of movie that everyone’s seen clips or parodies of but is now multiple generations removed from its source. It’s got the patriotic wide-eyed wonder of Forrest Gump, and the wholesome underdog spirit of Rudy. It’s impossible to see a film like this and not feel a little more optimism for American democracy, and rather than painting it with rose-colored glasses, even in 1939, Mr. Smith was willing to acknowledge its corrupt fallacies and that authenticity makes it endearing and a great match for a heroic, naive protagonist played to perfection by Jimmy Stewart. The odds will always be stacked against change, but that doesn’t make good any less worth fighting for. Frank Capra’s film captured this timeless spirit ages ago and yet it resonates so much today as any classic film can do so well.
Ryan: If you were to take a look at the schedule of films from this year's festival, it wouldn't be any surprise to say that no film was more politically relevant to these times than this Frank Capra classic. I was eagerly looking forward to seeing this film in today's political climate. Like most people, I was at least aware of the clip of Jimmy Stewart in the Senate building giving an impassioned speech of sticking to moral rightness in the face of a corrupt system, but to see the complete film is to also see the complete arch of a performance that was mesmerizing. What comes before this fiery speech is a story of a fresh-faced boy scout turned Senator that's so wide-eyed that he can't help but stand out from his corrupt and cynical peers. To see Stewart start from the most innocent of places to turn so physically strained and horse-voiced shows a leap that reveals a star-turning a performance unlike any I've ever seen. Capra's staging of Stewart on the Senate floor to command a room of Senators and mezzanine-viewers becomes more than an iconic image but the visual representation of fighting for moral rightness.
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Ryan: Seeing this film for the first time and in the best viewing experience I could ask for (the TCL Chinese IMAX theater) was overwhelming and humbling. It made me remember why we reserve the word "masterpiece" for these sorts of artistic achievements, and why we also make the effort to see them in the best viewing experience possible. Although my personal film diary is admittedly weak on Westerns, any sophomoric cinephile worth his salt would be able to associate the name Sergio Leone with being responsible for creating the best Westerns of American cinema. Before watching, I read that Once Upon a Time in the West is unique for a number of reasons: the film was made and released after seminal classic westerns like Shane, The Searchers, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly came out and which Leone then consciously used these conventions from. Which is to say that this film used the very best of what came before it to tell this tale. To see the most amazing landscapes, masterfully composed compositions, amazing editing, was all breathtaking. But what makes it all immaculate was the score by Ennio Morricone which brought tears to my eyes. This will stand as one of the moving movie moments in my life.
Hamlet (1948)
Nelson: Directed by and starring the iconic Laurence Olivier, the Best Picture winner of 1948 is the definitive cinematic adaptation of the Shakespeare play. At two and a half hours long and screened on the last day of the festival, this was a real test of stamina – not because it wasn’t worthy of my attention, but because it's so much to take in after having viewed many films before it. But alas, that’s the spirit of TCM: when else would I get a chance to spend all afternoon watching Shakespeare in the dark? And in my lengthy journey to see every Best Picture winner, why not take a chance to check this one off? It would only prove to be worth it.
If I may be honest, this viewing took me around a solid hour to settle into: with the density of Shakespeare matched with 1940s cinematic elegance, Hamlet is not film school 101. And yet, while it certainly isn’t the experience most audiences would rush out to a theater for, once the wheels started turning, it’s a true towering force of nature. Influenced largely by Citizen Kane, Olivier’s Hamlet combines the theatrics that made Shakespeare the very best with cinematic deft that allows them to reach new heights. Hamlet’s soliloquies are given an authentic reading here: he alternates between voiceover in his head and audibly speaking the words to himself (isn’t that how we all talk to ourselves?). And yet I’ve never seen a movie do this with such intentional elegance. Tracking shots through Xanadu-esque cathedrals give it a timely, ominous nature that, despite being shot on soundstages, feel truly lived in and vast (it also won Oscars for Art Direction and Costume Design). While the climax is stunning and the numerous tragic deaths are unforgettable, the highlight of the film is the midpoint, where Hamlet instructs his theater cast to put on a play of murder designed to agitate his uncle. It’s a brewing of Shakespeare, cinema, and Olivier, and while it’s no casual viewing, the concepts you can glean from this work are vast.
Stage Door (1937)
Nelson: Screened on a nitrate print, this 1937 Best Picture nominee depicts a New York City boarding house for young aspiring theater actresses. The ensemble cast is led by Ginger Rogers, the house’s unofficial ringleader, who is forced to room with the new girl, Katherine Hepburn, who, unlike the rest of the house, comes from aristocracy. The ensemble piece is comedic and snappy throughout (as to be expected from the premise), yet equally human and emotional. I walked away with more empathy for actors and their internal struggle than I ever have had before, and do not take that lightly. The cast is entirely made up of young women at different stages of trying to catch a break in an industry that can chew them up and spit them out, only to replace them at a moment’s notice. All artists struggle with this, even today, but the actor’s plight, in my eyes, is one of the most challenging. If you want to be an actor, the sheer numbers are insurmountable, and yet if you let that stop you, you shouldn’t be there in the first place. And it took me a film this old to properly come away with an understanding of this timeless struggle. Add some great comedy, great performances, and a surprising topicality thanks to a subplot that resembles the #MeToo strife, and you have yourself a truly classic movie.
Finishing School (1934)
Nelson: You know you’re at TCM when the host announces the film is “pre-code” and the audience oohs and aahs with the same level of enthusiasm as if they were seeing Leonardo DiCaprio perform a live version of his filmography. One of the rare films directed by a woman from the 1930s, Finishing School was an instant hit among the TCM audience (earning a coveted Sunday TBA screening), depicting the naughty misgivings of a stuffy girls’ boarding school in that era. Young movie star Francis Dee (whose grandson was in attendance and participated in the discussion) plays the naive girl new to school opposite Ginger Rogers, the rebellious rule-breaker. Breaking into all kinds of good taboos, the girls drink, smoke, swear, and ultimately, are sexually active, all of which would never pass in most movies for the next 30 years. And yet these experiences give more truth and experience to teenagers and college kids than the more orderly counterparts, and it helps give the film an ageless feeling. The film doesn’t skirt away from these uncomfortable subjects, and walks away with a progressive notion of not conforming to arbitrary societal standards, and carving your own path. Yay for pre-code values!