Mandy

2018’s Mandy, directed by Panos Cosmatos.

Starring Nicholas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roache, Ned Dennehy, Olwen Fouéré, Richard Brake, Bill Duke, Line Pillet, Clément Baronnet, Alexis Julemont, and Stephan Fraser.

What is it about?

Mandy takes place during the 1980’s and is centered on an American couple, Red Miller and Mandy Bloom (Nicholas Cage and Andrea Riseborough, respectively). They live an idyllic life in the country side, with him working as a lumberjack and her idling away her time drawing William Blake-like compositions and reading fantasy books. One day, Mandy catches the eye of a bizarre cult leader (Linus Roache) and his drugged out disciples (Ned Dennehy, Olwen Fouéré, Richard Brake, Line Pillet, Clément Baronnet, Alexis Julemont, and Stephan Fraser). The cult does a home invasion, and there are fatalities. The cult leaves Red for dead- will he have his revenge on the deranged cult?

Why is it worth seeing?

Mandy may be one of the most self assured genre flicks ever made. It’s a grisly love letter to rock and roll hair metal of the 80’s, and it just goes for it. It’s not afraid to let its monster sized freak flag fly- from outer space.

Here, director and Co-writer Panos Cosmatos essentially creates a diptych. The first portion, is essentially a languid, pastel-smeared story about 2 people meant to be together. Aided by composer Jóhann Jóhannsson’s mellow score, we meet a couple in the midst of a great run of comfort and healing that is ended as prematurely as it is convincingly.

The second portion, is when things become unglued. Switching to a colour scheme that’s closer to someone like Nicholas Winding Refn, we take a trip, not unlike the trips some of the characters take, aided through what appears to be homemade LSD. It’s not a pleasant trip, or at least it’s a trip comprised of such images such as demons, people being burned alive, and chainsaw assisted death. I guess it depends on what you’re into- if it’s a blood soaked descent into the bowels of hell, then this is the film for you (some of it’s unpleasantness reminded me of the ugliest parts of Hobo With A Shotgun).

If you’re going to be descending into the bowels of hell, you’re going to need a tour guide. Who better to point out the grisly sights, than the warped genius of Mr. Nicholas Cage himself. After years of taking roles in dreadful anti-products, here he is perfectly matched with the material, and it’s actually almost sad to see him return to an approximation of his peak mid-90’s form. Not even Bruce Campbell could pull this role off without comically stumbling into satire.

I’m not always a fan of revenge flicks. We typically watch a hero, aided by moral justification, put staggering amounts of bodies into the ground. I always rhetorically wonder if the character could ever feel better after the burials are done, while knowing that your fatalistic actions have created similar justifications of revenge for future crusaders- a Russian Doll of misguided consequence. Regardless, Mandy skillfully goes for a unique kind of broke, and then dials it up to 11- it doesn’t care if you approve or not. It knows what it is.

Rating:

4/5

Trailer: Click Here.

The Thin Red Line

1998’s The Thin Red Line, directed by Terrence Malick.

Starring Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn, John Cusack, Elisa Koteas, John C. Reilly, Nick Nolte, Elias Koteas, Adrian Brody, Ben Chaplin, John Travolta, Woody Harrelson, and George Clooney.

Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director (Terrence Malick),

Best Adapted Screenplay (Terrence Malick), Best Cinematography (John Toll), Best Sound (Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, and Paul 'Salty' Brincat) Best Film Editing (Billy Weber, Leslie Jones, and Saar Klein), and Best Original Score (Hans Zimmer).

What is it about?

Set in Guadalcanal during WWII, a group of soldiers fight against the Japanese to secure the island, and… against themselves. Rebel Private Witt (Jim Caviezel) is reintegrated into his outfit after AWOL’ing, and as the company advances, faces the horrors of war. Whatever from the perspective of grizzled Colonel Gordon Toll (Nick Nolte), noble Captain James “Bugger” Staros (Elias Koteas), or numbed Sgt. Maynard Storm (John C. Reilly), will our heroes of the last “great war” be able to eke out victory for the allies?

Why is it worth seeing?

At the time of its release, The Thin Red Line featured a great deal of expectation after its director, Terrence Malick, had disappeared from the public eye after stunning the world with his 1970’s features, Badlands and Days of Heaven. 20 years later, a murderer’s row of actors came forward once it was announced that Malick had started a new film, about American soldiers fighting against the Japanese. It’s not hard to see why- even with just 2 movies to his name, Malick’s poetic vision showed a way of transcending mere narrative and plot.

I have to admit- I didn’t care for TRL when I originally saw it. Saving Private Ryan, the other epic WWII film released that year, got all the box office and Oscar swag. Its story about a mission being a man was so much more straight forwards, and featured memorably vibrant characters amidst tragic sacrifice. Conversely, TRL was meditative in some parts, requiring patience at times. It featured a number of characters who are never identified, some of whom show up and then disappear for stretches, amidst flashbacks for some of these characters, in the middle of firefights. Standard exposition was replaced instead by artful narration by multiple characters. There is at least equal time spent on composing scenes of light shining through leaves and wind soughing through grass, as there were of men running into exploding detritus. It took me another viewing to realize that Malick was going for something so much more, than merely the thrilling awfulness of war.

Just to be clear, TRL has its share of pulse pounding moments. Malick knows how to use his dolly to give a sense of movement, where to place actors, how to pound the ground with shrapnel and bodies needing to be buried. But he’s after more- even more than the admirable theme of war being mankind’s most natural tragic state of being. His spiritual vision of what awaits us, in life or otherwise, wrestles comfortably with the fury and the calm.

I haven’t seen every single war movie out there, but I’m willing to wager TRL is the most beautiful one ever made. Most war movies are either kinetic, full of carnage, or anti climatic, with a lack of action- but most carry the standard message of, “War is Hell”. TRL is both of these things, but suggests the possibility that there is a beauty not only surrounding us, but embedded in us, even at our most destructive. As a character muses about what it is that is keeping us from touching the glory, the magic of Malick isn’t that he thinks heaven is a place on earth- it’s that we believe him.

Rating:

5/5

Trailer: Click Here.

BlacKKKlansman

2018’s BlacKKKlansman, directed by Spike Lee.

Starring John David Washington, Laura Harrier, Robert John Burke, Topher Grace, Adam Driver, Michael Buscemi, Ryan Eggold, Isiah Whitlock Jr, and Alec Baldwin.

What is it about?

Set during 1972 in Colorado Springs, the first police officer of colour for the municipality, Ron Stallworth (played by John David Washington), attempts to infiltrate the KKK. He is able to penetrate the organization on the phone, but for his physical presence needs help from his white Jewish undercover partner, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver). Zimmerman has success convincing Colorado chapter head Walter Beachway (Ryan Eggold) of his identity so that he can meet the KKK grand wizard, David Duke (Topher Grace), but fellow Klan member Felix Kendrickson (Jasper Pääkkönen) suspects his brethren may not be as pure as advertised. Stallworth also meets student union/Black Panther activist Patrice Dumas (Laura Harrier), and needs to keep his occupation secret from her. Will Stallworth and Zimmerman be able to keep their covers, and prevent a terrorist attack the KKK have planned?

Why is it worth seeing?

Director Spike Lee returns in his latest “joint”, which is (mostly) based off of the unbelievable true story of Ron Stallworth, himself black, posing as a member of the white supremacist group, the Klu Klux Klan, for months. Making supercharged films about racial tension is nothing new for Lee, and he couldn’t have picked a more appropriate time to bring light to the kind of hate filled power that is exceeded in intensity only by its wielders’ stupidity.

With the importance of historical relevance established, Lee (and co-writers Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz. Kevin Willmott) embellish a large part of the (sometimes comical) story, inserting both a literal bomb plot, and a love interest in Harrier’s character. While the love story fizzles and gives Harrier little to do other than to shake her fist in the air and require saving, Lee brings a lot of panache to the movie’s final third, putting together scenes of crisp tautness to keep things explosive.

While no expert on Lee’s filmography, I notice here that he brings a sense of clumsiness in some of his editorial choices- such as tacky grad photo-like depictions of the audience during a Panther rally, or JCVD kick styled multi cams of scenes involving hugs.

Also disconcerting is the musical score by Terence Blanchard, which feels handpicked from a cop potboiler from 20 years ago- oddly at ends with the film presented here.

But what is not clumsy is the collection of actors assembled. Relative newcomer John David Washington is confidently charismatic as a black man running uphill in a white world (I guess talent runs in the family), and only Adam Driver, as the dude who has to pretend he’s not as tolerant (or Jewish) as he looks, upstages him. His scenes of effortlessly not losing his cool as various Klan members try to unravel his secrets showcase why he’s one of the hottest actors working today. Also terrific is Topher Grace (cast properly), as a man of great power who is actually pretty chummy (as long as you’re not unfortunate enough to choose the wrong race or religion).

Quibbles with the plot’s window dressing aside, Lee’s real achievement here is bringing an essential true story to the screen, that brings attention to the never ending racial tension grinding on in the United States of America. After the events of Charlottetown (and others) in 2017 (and onwards), it’s tempting to say that despite massive efforts to desegregate America and criminalize hatred- racism continues to burn with a flame of unbridled stubbornness. It’s tough to not criticize the film’s choices of victory laps- not when the larger threat looms outside, setting fire to the society we share.

Rating:

4/5

Trailer: Click Here.