Category Archives: Film Reviews

My Week With Marilyn – Film Review

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MyWeekWithMarilyn
A Film by Simon Curtis
Review by Thomas W. Campbell

I moderated a Q and A with Harvey Weinstein after the NBR screening of Marilyn   – it was a far ranging and quite energetic discussion.

Originally published on December 23rd, 2011 on the website of The National Board of Review. 

My Week With Marilyn, directed by Simon Curtis (Cranford, A Short Stay In Switzerland), is the possibly fictional but entirely moving story of a young British man from good society who meets, and falls in love (maybe not in that order) with the woman behind the great American 1950’s icon of sex and pleasure. It’s a story that works best as fantasy yet is based on two books by Colin Clark that recount the experience – the first (The Prince, the Showgirl, and Me, 1995) a recounting of the pretty obviously disastrous pairing of Lawrence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe in the cinematic restaging of The Prince and the Showgirl and the other a further exploration of the event that focused on a special week with Monroe (My Week with Marilyn, 2000). Although he became a successful filmmaker of the arts Clark lived beneath the shadow of his father (Sir Kenneth Clark) a famous art historian and his younger brother, the conservative politician Alan Clark. Published two years before his death, My Week With Marilyn offered an experience unique enough to draw the spotlight from politics and art and shine it directly on him (and Marilyn).

My Week With Marilyn is brisk, witty, a bit sad and filled with excellent actors having a great deal of fun (even when they are spending most of their time worrying about Marilyn’s emotional instability). It is shot well, set in many of the original locations in and around Pinewood Studios, and edited in a snappy way that highlights the comic and keeps the story moving. Kenneth Branagh portrays Olivier with a flair for the melodramatic, as a man lost in the theater who cannot understand why those around him won’t simply trust the script and do the job. By 1956, when The Prince and the Showgirl was produced, Olivier had made his name as one of the great actors of British theater and expected that he would find that same success on the big screen. But his instincts were old fashioned – whatever he thought he saw in the adaptation of the play to cinema was completely ill suited for his purposes. Watched today the original film feels like a parody of everything bad that can happen to a play when it is brought to the screen – stiff overacting, sets that are obviously studio inventions, stereotypical portrayals of royalty and commoners. The irony was that Monroe brought the project to Olivier, thinking it would work for both of them. Colin Clark’s character says it best to Marilyn in the film: “You’re a movie star who wants to be a great actor, he is a great actor who wants to be a movie star. This film won’t help either of you.” Branagh gives Olivier a sense of desperation that is very likable and quite humanizing. As a director he has been given access to a talent that is pure gold in terms of cinematic value – but he has no idea how to develop the visceral and intuitive skills that Monroe brings to the table. In one agonizing sequence he stops what most likely would have been a wonderful and film enriching performance by insisting that Monroe speak a completely unnecessary word – crushing her performance with every take. It would be as if George Martin, the legendary fifth Beatle who molded their sound with love and patience, decided that they should not write their own songs and that sitars and backward sound loops would be banished from the recording studio. Most deliciously, Olivier finds himself caught between the agony of working on set and the terror of the screening room when his wife, film star Vivian Leigh (Julia Ormand) breaks into tears at the sight of Monroe’s onscreen beauty (and Olivier’s supposed admiration of it) and tells him that she hopes Marilyn makes his life hell.

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Carnage – Film Review

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Carnage
Directed by Roman Polanski
Review by Thomas W. Campbell
Originally posted on December 16 on the National Board of Review web site.

Carnage is Roman Polanski’s film adaptation of the play God of Carnage, written by Yasmina Reza in 2006 and first produced in Germany, Paris and London with original cast members including Isabelle Huppert and Ralph Fiennes.

The play appeared on Broadway in 2009 with James Gandolfini, Hope Davis, Jeff Daniels, and Marcia Grey Harden all being nominated for Tony awards as the couples who meet up after their sons have a fight in a Brooklyn park. Those who have seen the English language productions will notice some interesting word play at work – Polanski insisted on creating a new translation of the original French language text before working with the author to adapt the play to the screen.

Carnage is a bit like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfwithout the jagged violence and Rabbit Hole without the debilitating pain of loss. It is a relentless film that pulls the viewer into a real time scene that recreates the experience of live theater in an exciting and cinematic way. Except for two shots, the opening and closing long-duration takes of kids playing in a New York Park park, the story plays out completely in real time. Beginning with a shot of the legal letter that the couples are composing in regards to the incident that brought them together and ending on a tableau of the exhausted couples, unable to respond to anyone or anything in the room, Carnage unleashes a powerful menage of acting, directing and cinematic techniques. With no “opening up” of the story by adding scenes or shifting locations for visual variety the film is lean (78 minutes), condensed, and pulsing with the non- stop energy.
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Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy – Film Review

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Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

On November 18, 2011 I did a Q and A with the director, the writer and the star of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, following the preview screening of the film. I was joined by Tomas Alfredson (director), Peter Straughan (co-writer), and Gary Oldman (George Smiley).  Until last minute travel complications intervened the group was also going to include Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Toby Jones and Mark Strong. Although the Q and A was a private event for members of The National Board of Review I can say that despite the diminished size of the party the discussion was lively and I came away with a deep appreciation of the talents of the three men.

Review at National Board of Review web site

Originally posted on December 9, 2011

Thomas W. Campbell

“The story is a simple one. A king is toppled from his thrown and the rightful heir is cast into the wilderness. The heir struggles to find out what happened, and after a battle finally returns to take his rightful place on the thrown.”

– Peter Straughan, co-writer of the film Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

John le Carré’s spy novels, many which feature George Smiley as the central character, have been best sellers since he left the British Foreign Intelligence in the early 1960’s. Recreating his own persona for confidentiality reasons, David Cornwell became John le Carré and began to publish a string of complex and memorable espionage novels, many which have been adapted to television and theater. The first screen adaptation, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, starred Richard Burton and was directed by Martin Ritt in 1965. The first incarnation of George Smiley appeared the following year, in Call for the Dead, directed by Sydney Lumet and starring James Mason. Other notable film screen versions include The Tailor of Panama (2001, directed by John Boorman and starring Pierce Brosnan) and The Constant Gardner (2005, directed by Fernando Meirelles and starring Ralph Fiennes). Tinker, Tailor was adapted as a British television series in 1979, pairing Sir Alec Guinness with the Smiley role. The first in a trilogy of novels that pit Smiley against a brilliant Russian cold-war nemesis named Karla, the second book (Smiley’s People) was produced, again with Guinness, but the third, The Honorable Schoolboy, never made it to the screen.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, directed by Tomas Alfredson and starring Gary Oldman as the master spy George Smiley, has been vetted by le Carré, who met frequently with the writers and director, and has an executive producer’s credit. He basically told them to make their own film – the series and the book have a life of their own – and that’s what Alfredson and his team has done. Tinker, Tailor is a stylish, intelligent and challenging film that does the spy genre justice – it dispenses with the pummeling violence of conventional espionage/action genre stories – each trying to out-Bond the Bonds and out-Bourne the Bournes – and serves up nuanced acting, crafty plot construction and sumptuous visual style that is both gritty and elegant.

The screenplay, written by the husband and wife team of Bridget O’Connor (Sixty Six) and Peter Straughan (The Debt, Men Who Stare At Goats), distills the 432 page book into a tight and engaging two hours. (The film is dedicated to Ms. O’Connor, who passed away in the fall of 2010). The nine main characters engage in a game of deception that tests the limits of loyalty – to country, to the concepts of good and bad, and to friendship on the most personal levels. Meanwhile the film portrays, in the most believable and stylish of ways, the lifestyles of the British Secret Service circa 1972.

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The Kids Are All Right – Film Review

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The Kids Are All Right

On July 29, 2010 I did a Q and A with the director, the writer and the cast of The Kids Are All Right, following the preview screening of the film. We were joined by Lisa Cholodenko (director/writer), Stuart Blumberg (writer), Juliane Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, and Josh Hutchinson.  The Q and A was a private event for members of The National Board of Review so I can not discuss the details – but I will say that it was an incredibly funny and thought provoking event – and the largest group of talent I have sat down to talk film with so far. Below is a link to the original review as published by the National Board of Review.

Review at National Board of Review web site

Originally posted on July 30, 2010

Thomas W. Campbell

The Kids Are All Right, the fourth feature film directed by Lisa Cholodenko, is an endearing comedy that ultimately takes a serious look at the emotional and psychological dynamics of complicated and modern family life. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play Nic and Jules, a lesbian couple living in California who have given birth to two children through artificial insemination. Joni (Mia Wasikowska) is preparing to leave for college, which creates stress in the family and her younger brother Laser (Josh Hutcherson) is spending time with someone who “the moms” feel is beneath him. But these are normal developmental issues that families confront and manage to handle all the time. Things get more complicated when Laser decides that he would like to know who his biological dad is and Joni reluctantly agrees to help. When Paul, who is played with an endearing boyishness by Mark Ruffalo, learns that he has an offspring he agrees to a meeting. But his life gets a real twist when he discovers that he has fathered two children and that the parents are both women. “Oh, I like lesbians” he tells Mia on the phone, while cringing that it may have come out wrong.

It’s a great story set-up that pulls us in because all of the characters are so likable and realistic. Nic wears the pants in the relationship and Ms. Bening plays the driven A-type personality expertly. She is immediately suspect of Paul, explaining over lunch (many of the important events in the film happen during meals or around food) that she understands he is in the “food-service” industry. The similarities between Paul and Jules, on the other hand, are immediately apparent. Ms. Moore plays her role with a touching vulnerability – she is a woman without inherent career drive, having tried her hand at architecture before settling into a “housewife” role. But she surprises Nic with news that she has bought a used truck as part of a new plan to begin a landscaping business. When Paul wants to hire her to transform the backyard of his house she is unsure – but despite her protests he becomes her first client. Jules gains a newfound sense of confidence through the work but Nic becomes uncomfortable with the shifting nature of their relationship.

The script is extremely well crafted, the result of a first time collaboration between Ms. Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg (Keeping the Faith). The universal nature of the story makes it understandable on an emotional level to anyone who has been through family issues and the specific nature of the lesbian “moms” brings a nice twist that feels contemporary and relevant. The family faces internal issues – Joni is about to leave the nest – and must also confront the arrival of Paul, an event that becomes more complicated than anyone expects. The interaction between the family and Paul has a complexity that feels natural – like real life it is a bit messy. The kids develop a strong attraction to Paul’s relaxed way of life, finally isolating Nic as the only one not under his sway. Allegiances sway as Paul’s influence is felt by each one he touches until a crisis threatens to split the family. Regaining trust once it has been damaged is a process and the film sets the family back on the road of forgiveness without making things too simple.

The Kids Are All Right is a good-looking film, much of it shot in natural light. The soundtrack uses a mix of classic rock and newer music to reflect the multigenerational characters and especially benefits from the subtle touches of composer Carter Burwell, who creates simple and moving musical accents to give emotional weight. What makes this film work so well, though, is the strong script and the comfortable performances of the fine ensemble cast. It’s a pleasure to watch Bening and Moore working out their family issues, Wasikowska and Hutcherson struggling with their allegiances between their “moms” and biological father and to see Ruffalo go from nice guy to potential home wrecker. The Kids Are All Right is more than all right – it’s one of the funniest and moving films of the year.

Bill Cunningham New York – Film Review

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Bill Cunningham NY

Review at National Board of Review web site

Originally posted on April 7, 2011

Thomas W. Campbell

Bill Cunningham is nearly 82 years old and still travels the streets of New York on his bicycle–taking pictures by day of street fashions (regular people dressing up) and by night of the most elite members of society (rich people at charity and social events). Bill Cunningham New York, directed by Richard Press and released by Zeitgeist films, displays Cunningham’s life in a way that reveals a quirky, principled, talented artist who follows a single idea to it’s most interesting conclusion. For Cunningham, fashion photography is a continuous and lifelong love affair with the unique and the individual.

The film begins with Cunningham taking his dependable Schwinn bicycle from an overstuffed storage closet and leaving a building that we will soon learn is Carnegie Hall. Setting off, he navigates the bumpy streets of New York City, on the prowl for the something unusual to train his lens on. “The best fashion show is always on the street,” he says. “Always has been, always will be.” A bouncy jazz soundtrack–drum and saxophone music by the downtown artist John Lurie–adds momentum to a montage of colorful, odd, and often outlandish street clothing that he has shot for his New York Times “On The Street” column. Cunningham waits for the world to pass in front of him, stalking the street for fashion unknowns, immortalizing a chosen few each week.

Just as the viewer begins to wonder “Who is this guy?”, Press introduces the same question into the film. Everyone in the fashion world seems to know who he is–but nobody seems to really know anything about his life. Bill Cunningham might have one of the most interesting and individualistic careers in the world–and may also be one of the least “known” photographers working today.

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Wild Grass – Film Review

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Wild Grass

Wild Grass

Review at National Board of Review web site

Original review posted on June 25, 2010

Thomas W. Campbell

Wild Grass, the latest film by 88 year old French legend Alain Resnais, is a triumph of off-beat storytelling – from the opening theft of a neat yellow purse from a woman with a mountain of wild red hair to the sudden and inexplicable conclusion. Resnais has collaborated with many great novelists and playwrights over the years, including Margarette Duras (Last year at Marianbad), Alan Robbe-Grillet (La Guerre es Finis), Jean Gruault (Mon oncle d’Amérique), Jorge Semprún (La guerre est finie) and Alan Ayckbourn (Private Fears in Public Places, Resnais’ most recent film). Wild Grass, which opened the New York Film Festival last fall, is based on the book “The Incident” by Christian Gailly and it is the first of his 13 novels to be adapted into a film. Resnais’ 22nd feature film is more than a curiosity at the end of a great director’s career – the film is energetic, superbly shot and wonderfully acted. The plot mixes mystery, comedy and melodrama genres in a free-spirited manner that calls to mind the work of French New Wave filmmaker Francois Truffaut’s elegant but somber films The Story of Adelle H and The Bride Wore Black.

André Dussollier as Georges, the middle-aged man who finds the lost red billfold that has been separated from the handbag, and Sabine Azéma, who plays Marguerite, the woman who lost the purse, are veterans of film and theater who create their roles with a full range of humanity. Their actions are believable but impossible to understand – each react to the loss and discovery of the purse in ways that are unexpected, unpredictable, and wholly against their best interests. Resnais investigates their lives through the use of a narrator and internal monologues, continually pulling us deeper into their very human indecisiveness. George and Marguerite’s thoughts circle more and more precipitously around the act. His mind works over the problem with obsessive intent. “Which of the two pictures in her wallet does she look like?” he asks. Finally they no longer seem to remember where the attraction to each other came from.

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The Tree of Life – Film Review

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TheTree of Life film review

The Tree of Life

Review by Thomas W. Campbell

Review at National Board of Review web site

Original review posted on May 27, 2011

The Tree of Life, the fifth film by director Terrence Malick, is a masterpiece of narrative and style. While this may not help in the marketplace against X-Men, Green Lanterns and drunk bachelors in Bangkok, it will resonate with anyone willing to be challenged–and rewarded–by an unconventional and completely original filmmaker at the top of his game.

Malick’s previous films–Badlands (1973), Days of Heaven (1978), The Thin Red Line (1998), and The New World (2005) have for the most part stood the test of time. Each film features actors who were–or were to become–major stars. And each reveals its narrative in less obviously dramatic and more thoughtful ways than other films of their genres. Badlands slows down the drive of its predecessor, Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde, and allows us to feel the way Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek’s pre-punk rebels are part of the landscape that created them. Days of Heaven takes a doomed love triangle and places it into the seductive light (much of it shot in the magic hour just before sunset) and landscapes of the Midwest. The Thin Red Line is a richly character-based war drama that explores death and loss from an unexpectedly philosophical viewpoint. The New World examines the first meeting between Native Americans and Europeans in a way that makes the pristine forests as important as the characters. Malick has a talent to transcend what others might see as limitations of genres and to turn them into meditations on the essential questions of life–why are we here? What should we do about it? What is the true nature of the world itself?

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The Skin I Live In – Film Review

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The Skin I Live In

On October 12, 2011 I did a Q and A with Pedro Almodovar, Antonio Banderas and Elana Anaya following the preview screening of The Skin I Live In. The screening was a private event for members of The National Board of Review and I can only say in general that we discussed, among other things, the process of adapting the original novel, developing the characters, and the making of the film. Here is a link to my original review on the web site of The National Board of Review.

Original review posted on October 12, 2011

Thomas W. Campbell

The Skin I Live in, the new film by Pedro Almodovar, is a deliciously dark and twisted tale that is masterfully told and beautifully shot. The cinematography is by veteran José Luis Alcaine, who last worked with Almodovar on Bad Education (2004). Alcaine’s work is classical and assured, reminiscent of John Alcott’s cinematography for Stanley Kubrick in The Shining and Clockwork Orange. The image has a classical and substantial look that fully supports the carefully crafted screenplay and restrained but simmering performances. Although much of the film fits comfortably into the horror film genre there are no creeping hand held shots with forced POV perspectives. Almodovar abhors the cheesy tricks of genre storytelling – almost as much as he loves to exploit the conventions and expectations that the narrative presents. The Skin I Live In is foremost a melodrama, filled with the passions and risks, roller coaster emotions, and the dark twists one would hope for. It’s also a mystery that announces itself gradually, a thriller, a crime story and, most unexpectedly, a bittersweet and dangerous tale of love and loss.

The three central characters in the film live in a stately mansion on the outskirts of Toledo, Spain that is spacious, elegantly furnished, and comes equipped with some additional odd features – a room that is locked from the outside, security cameras that watch an inhabitant’s every move and, in the basement, a world-class surgical laboratory. Marilla, played by Marisa Paredes (Huma in All About My Mother and veteran of numerous Almodovar films) is the housekeeper and mother figure who literally keeps an eye on Vera (Elena Enaya). Marilla keeps an eye on a closed circuit camera that projects images from the younger woman’s spacious room – a room that is also a prison with heavy doors that are locked from the outside. The master of the house is Dr. Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas), a famous plastic surgeon who has pioneered revolutionary techniques for facial reconstruction. It is Ledgard who lords over Vera and we soon learn that his attempt to develop a super durable human skin replacement is related in some way to his captivity and domination of the woman. Vera, young, beautiful and rebellious, is also the central mystery of the film – why is she there and what is happening to her?

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