'Hillbilly Elegy' Reflection: When Is It Okay to Disappoint Your Parents?
Based on the 2016 memoir written by J.D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy has all of the traditional markings of an Academy Award contender: an American "rags-to-riches" adaptation told through voice-over and flashbacks; directed by Academy favorite Ron Howard; and starring a nearly unrecognizable Glenn Close (who will most likely be receiving her eighth Oscar nom). To be frank, this formula should have been a shoo-in, especially after Green Book (somehow) won Best Picture in 2019.
If I were setting out to write a more critical review, I could boil my thoughts on this latest Netflix release down to a single word: Skip. And while it's easy to dismiss a film that delivers a hollow execution of "poverty porn," and misses the mark on examining true human depth, I want to talk about what Hillbilly Elegy does offer: a reflection on generational disappointment, and when it might actually be okay to ignore our programmed beliefs to unconditionally appease our parents (sorry, Mom).
J.D. Vance (Gabriel Basso) is a diamond in the rough–a smart kid who attends Yale Law School and holds a steady relationship with his equally ambitious girlfriend, Usha (Freida Pinto).
The only male in a family full of women, J.D.'s masculinity has always been called upon in times of need. His mother, Bev (Amy Adams), is an emotionally abusive drug addict who seems to confuse motherhood with a live-in rescuer, as she turns to J.D. to consistently bail her out of tough situations. J.D.'s grandma–whom he affectionately calls Mamaw (Glenn Close)–steps in as his guardian, her disappointment in Bev's absence made clear. Time and time again, J.D. is compelled to save his mother from herself, but his lack of seeing her as her own person–and not his responsibility–isn't just hurting her recovery, it's holding him back as well.
As children, we're taught to respect authority. In a perfect world, we would never have a reason to second-guess the words and actions of those who raised us. However, just because someone has the title of "parent," doesn't mean they are immune from giving bad advice, deploying manipulative tactics, and acting in selfish ways. Add "drug addict" to the innate fallibility of being a human being, and what we can get from a parent is indeed a deeply flawed individual. The hardest part for any person–let alone a child–is realizing that you are allowed to disagree with and disappoint those that don't serve you and your needs; even if you are bonded by blood.
Addiction is a selfish disease, as it affects both the addict and their families. J.D. is so afraid of upsetting his mother that he almost risks the opportunity to advance in his own law career, better his own life, and break out of the cyclical trauma. Consciously or not, by Bev relying on J.D. to save her time and time again, she is keeping him trapped in the endless cycle of despair. She knows their bond as mother and son is irreplaceable, and uses his sympathy to her advantage.
Through flashbacks, we also see that Mamaw was physically and emotionally abusive throughout Bev's childhood. Anger, despair, and disappointment have been passed down through multiple generations and unless J.D. is strong enough to reject this behavior, the pattern will continue.
It's not easy to go against a parent's wishes. Like me, I'm sure there have been plenty of times that you've done something that your parents weren't too thrilled about. Various high school moments come to mind, but those stories are for other times. And while it is perfectly acceptable and normal to have differences, what Hillbilly Elegy reminds us is that we can have love for someone without giving up our own lives in order to please them.
We’ve Got Your Exclusive Trailer Premiere: '32 Weeks'
Drawing parallels to Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, writer-director Brian Cavallaro's 32 Weeks explores the effects of memory, love, and loss. After a car accident leaves a young woman (Nicole Souza) with amnesia, she is torn between the new man in her life that she can't remember and her ex who she can't forget.
After its world premiere at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival and screening at the Rome International Film Festival, this indie darling will be available for all to enjoy next week.
Angelenos may recognize familiar locations in the trailer, as it was filmed entirely in Santa Monica, California. Comprised of a two-person crew and a micro-budget, 32 Weeks is truly an intimate portrayal of emotional abuse and pathological tendencies.
Indie Rights will release 32 Weeks on VOD and digital platforms on Tuesday, November 24.
https://vimeo.com/477259657/08ba6d299e
'Ammonite' Reflection: Would I Give Away My Heart For Temporary Love?
One of the most gut-wrenching moments in Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name is realizing there is an expiration date on Oliver and Elio's time together. Their relationship defied societal expectations, geographical borders, and yet, for as beautiful as it was, it couldn't stop time. Much like Ammonite.
It takes a lot of courage to be able to give your whole heart to a person, especially faced with an obstacle as monumental as distance (where handwritten letters are the only source of communication).
In Francis Lee's period drama, Ammonite–based on a true story–Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) and Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan) face a similar fate after falling into an unexpected love affair. But with a concrete end date in sight, I wonder if the eventual heartache is worth the temporary happiness?
We can't help who we fall for. Blame it on the pheromones, loneliness, what have you, we know that connecting with someone on a deep level doesn't happen too often.
The platonic relationship in Ammonite, between the seaside dwelling Mary–a renowned fossil hunter–and the married Mrs. Murchison turns into something more over the course of six weeks after which Charlotte is scheduled to return home to her husband and life in London. Mary and Charlotte throw caution to the wind as they get to know each other beyond guarded exteriors. Mutual stimulation, both mental and physical, draw them in like a moth to a flame, as if this is the first time they have been truly seen.
Almost immediately after the trailer for Ammonite dropped, it was being compared to Céline Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire, perhaps justifiably so. Both tell a fragile love story between two women and their attempts to conceal their growing relationship. Plus, we get more Victorian garb and mesmerizing beach scenes.
However, the major difference here is the basis of Ammonite's love story. There were a few times I was questioning if, given different circumstances, these women weren't just trying to make something fit into place to fill a void.
For Mary, Charlotte could be a distraction from her solitary lifestyle and sudden death of her mother. For Charlotte, who is outwardly reeling from residual trauma from the death of her only child, Mary could be another vessel in which to pour love into.
I don't doubt that what these women had wasn't love, and maybe modern dating has turned me into a little bit of a skeptic, but it feels to me that these women found a co-dependent relationship rather than a happily ever after.
Loving and losing someone is painful. Our heart is fragile and deserves to be given to someone who can properly care for it. And while love may look different for everyone, I think there is one thing that most of us can agree on: loving and losing is better than never having loved at all.
Distributed by NEON, Ammonite is now playing in select theaters, on-demand Friday, 12/4.
Bringing 'I Am Greta' To Life with Non-Binary Singers and Synths
How would you musically describe teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg and her message of ecological urgency? That was the challenge for the Swedish composer-duo Rebekka Karijord and Jon Ekstrand, who took this opportunity to create an unconventionally compelling, hybrid score for the intimate documentary, I Am Greta– streaming on Hulu this Friday.
To create this cinematic score, Karijord and Ekstrand were cautious not to sound too heavy or emotionally leading. Yes, the thought of the world crumbling from the effects of climate change is depressing and horrifying, but the music shouldn't necessarily contribute more somberness. In the end, with a blend of classical instrumentation and electroacoustic elements, the duo struck the right balance.
“With the music for I Am Greta, we aimed to find a sonic counterpoint to the friction between the shy, contemplative inner world of Greta, and the unbounded energy of the natural world and climate change movement... So, we choose to work with repetition and persistent musical patterns, often illustrated through energetic string arpeggios. This, we felt, helped underline the remarkable persistence and focus Greta has on the climate issue, as well as that of the relentlessness of nature.”
Combining a string octet, modular synthesizers, and a voice instrument (built by Rebekka) of 25 male, female, and non-binary singers from around the world in their full range is what brings this soundtrack to life. Listen to the track Tic Toc off of the forthcoming album below:
https://soundcloud.com/whitebearpr/tic-toc-from-i-am-greta-by-rebekka-karijord-jon-ekstrand/s-NN54VGBL4ju
The full soundtrack is available to stream now on the OONA Recordings website and on all streaming platforms, including Spotify.
I Am Greta tells the story of Thunberg through compelling, never-before-seen footage. Starting with her one-person school strike for climate justice outside the Swedish Parliament, Swedish director Nathan Grossman follows Greta - a shy student with Asperger’s - in her rise to prominence, and her galvanizing global impact as she sparks school strikes around the world. The film culminates with her astonishing wind-powered voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to speak at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York City.
In 'The Trial Of The Chicago 7,' Sorkin's Starry Cast Fights Back
In 1968, a mass of counterculture activists spearheaded a massive protest in Chicago’s Grant Park, hoping to draw attention away from the Democratic National Convention and onto their anti-Vietnam War demonstration. To say their plan succeeded, is an understatement.
All eyes were on the "Chicago 7," after the protest sparked a riot between police and protestors, overtaking the city and leading to political unrest (sound familiar?). Charged with criminal conspiracy and crossing state lines to incite a riot, the seven men and the trial that followed became one of the most infamous events in history. And with The Trial Of The Chicago 7 (on Netflix tomorrow), the story comes to audiences by way of Mr. Courtroom Drama himself: Aaron Sorkin.
Acclaimed for his Oscar-winning screenwriting but here directing his second film, Sorkin assembles a top-notch cast of actors, including Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, Frank Langella, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, plus short but sweet appearances by Kelvin Harrison Jr, and Michael Keaton, to name a few. To be expected in any Sorkin work, there is a lot going on here: from fast-paced dialogue to quick cuts that jump between archival footage and reenactments, The Trial Of The Chicago 7 is sealed with the stamp of Sorkin. If you love his previous work, I won't have to sell you on this film. I know you'll watch it anyway.
A line that's repeated throughout the film is the protestor's battle cry "The whole world is watching!" That was true in 1969, and it's still true today. Here we are, in 2020, reliving eerily similar scenarios of unlawful police brutality, peaceful demonstrations turned into aggressive brawls, and a legal system than runs on bias (conscious or unconscious).
Sorkin said it himself at Tuesday's drive-in screening I attended at the Rose Bowl: "This film will upset you. Anger you. But above all else, it will inspire you." It's no coincidence that the film's release is just weeks before the most important Presidential election of our lives yet, and if there is one takeaway from The Trial of the Chicago 7, it's this: every voice in our country matters, and has the potential to change the world–even it starts as just seven.
Distributed by Netflix, 'The Trial of the Chicago 7' is streaming on Netflix this Friday, October 16, 2020.
Because the World Isn't a Scary Enough Place Right Now, 'Possessor' is Here
Set in an alternate reality where hitmen for hire infiltrate the brains of innocent people to enact their violent crimes, Possessor is a sci-fi thriller done right. Director Brandon Cronenberg has no problems filling the very big, and very bloody, shoes of his cult icon father David (The Fly, Dead Ringers) in this visionary indie film. Relying heavily on the phenomenal performances from Andrea Riseborough and Christopher Abbott, Possessor is one film that will be hard to shake. One might even say it'll burrow in your brain like a parasite.
Elite assassin and family woman Tasya Vos (Riseborough) is an unsuspecting killer, but her quiet composure and soft-spoken nature don't fool her boss (Jennifer Jason Leigh). In her latest mission, Tasya is to implant herself into the mind and body Colin Tate (Christopher Abbott), the boyfriend of a high profile businessman's daughter. Tasya is then instructed to kill the businessman John Parse, his daughter Ava, and then commit suicide as Colin. After the killings, she is to detach from Colin's brain and resume her life as Tasya. However, the multiple implants Tasya has undergone throughout the years are starting to tear at her psyche, slowly torturing her own life and jeopardizing her ability to make it out of the mission alive.
For a film that is so dependent on the performances of its lead actors, the expectation for a top-notch cast is exponentially high. Christopher Abbott exceedingly delivers as a conflicted man whose thoughts are at constant battle with an invisible force. Andrea Riseborough's commitment to her role is also commendable, further solidifying my belief that she is among the most underrated actors of today. Both Abbott and Riseborough bring restraint and bold expression to a uniquely shocking script, making Possessor a thrill to watch and an impossible film to forget.
Distributed by NEON, Possessor is now playing at the Vineland Drive-In and other select theaters.
'Dick Johnson Is Dead': Love Greatly, Live For the Moment, Eat the Chocolate Cake
Why do we give our love to another person when we just end up alone in the end? This hypothetical question has stumped lovers, poets, and philosophers for years but I believe it comes down to this one reason: we love because that's the only way to live.
Award-winning documentarian Kirsten Johnson (Cameraperson) shows that loving wholeheartedly may be painful but the reward of being vulnerable and sharing your life with another person far outweighs the eventual heartache of losing them in her most personal film yet, Dick Johnson is Dead. After seeing the mental decline of her aging father, Kirsten suggested making a film about him dying. In her unique way, she works through her emotional hang-ups and the not-so-distant reality of his death by enacting hilariously absurd death scenarios. To execute this, she enlists her 86-years-young, retired psychiatrist father, Dick Johnson, to play himself.
These surreal fantasy moments are sprinkled in throughout an otherwise emotional and at times, heartbreaking, storyline. Dick's memory continues to decline as the film progresses and Kirsten captures it all on camera. The laughter, the tears, the struggles, the chocolate cake. With Dick Johnson is Dead, Kirsten has created a darkly humorous awakening to the reality of death and the impact we all leave behind when we're gone. One of the most powerful moments comes from Dick's "funeral," where a group of his family and friends -who knowingly participated in this mock service- are gathered to reminisce about his impact on their lives. And even though Dick Johnson is alive and well, watching from a peephole behind the door, half of the room is in tears. That's the power of love.
I couldn't help but think about my dad while watching Dick Johnson is Dead. I'm so lucky to have such a close relationship with him and my worst fear is the thought of losing him one day. But I keep coming back to this quote from the film, "What loving demands is that we face the fear of losing each other." Love greatly, without regrets, because we only get one chance.
And at 2:56 pm, as soon as the film ended and I closed out of the Netflix browser, my dad texted me asking when I was going to come over and visit.
Distributed by Netflix, Dick Johnson is Dead is available to stream on Netflix this Friday, October 2, 2020.
'Chasing The Present' Review: A Consciousness Revolution
Quick Take: As Chasing The Present shows, when we finally come to the realization that we have all the answers, our problems don't feel so overwhelming.
I've always considered myself to be a self-questioning person. For better or for worse, I've never been satisfied with the status quo and the expectation of what society considers a "successful life." I studied Buddhism in college after years of fascination over the idea of the minimalist lifestyle, including non-attachment and impermanence. And I'll admit, these ideas sometimes led to nights of unsettling future projecting, but as soon as I was able to reel in my thoughts about tomorrow's unknown, I felt a simultaneous sense of control and relief wash over me. All I can do–all anyone can do–is focus on the present. This very moment. Right Now.
Chasing The Present, the new documentary from Mark Waters, feels like a crash course in the basics of spirituality and consciousness. It's easy to put yourself into the shoes of the main subject, James Sebastiano Jr, who travels the world on a journey of self-inquiry to explore the root cause of his lifelong battle with mental health issues. The gurus, healers, and therapists (including Russell Brand) remind James, and in turn, us, that the only way to end suffering is to break free from attachment. The ego has gotten too comfortable running the show, and when the ego is bruised or starved for attention, we tend to act from a selfish place. Over time, this selfishness leads to unhappiness and emptiness that goes against the only thing (besides food & water) that we as human beings have been biologically conditioned to need: connection. A life lived without a pure connection to oneself and the world isn't a very fulfilling life at all; there's a reason why those on their death beds never regret spending time with loved ones while the career milestones and material wealth end up seeming wholly unimportant.
It's easy to distract ourselves from the awful events happening in the world by turning on the latest reality TV dating show or jumping on any number of social media platforms (highly recommend Netflix's The Social Dilemma to dive deeper into this topic), especially right now. But the only way to get through these tough times is to acknowledge that we have the power to tap into our consciousness and see beyond the hatred and despair and heal ourselves. Beyond anxiety, beyond thought, freedom is possible.
Distributed by 1091 Pictures, Chasing the Present is available to rent on iTunes, Vimeo, and more, today.