Da 5 Bloods

June 14, 2020 at 3:12 pm | Posted in 2020 | Leave a comment
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◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ½

After having just seen what I thought was my favorite film of 2020 so far, I then watch this. Better than “BlacKKKlansman,” and closer to the genius of “Chi-Raq,” this whole film was a joy to watch. Even at 2½ hours, I was never bored or ready for it to end. This is also Lee’s most intimate character profile in a while. The star of the film, and the character around which the entire film rotates, is Delroy Lindo’s “Paul.” Lindo (“Malcom X,” “The Core,” the tv show “The Good Fight”) is at his best here. We see all of Paul’s demons on display, and it’s heartbreaking to watch him slowly lose his grip. The story covers four black vets who return to Vietnam to find the body of a fallen comrade and some gold they left behind. But this is not a heist movie, and you will miss out if you expect it to be (if you want that watch Lee’s “Inside Man”). Instead, this movie is a nuanced character portrayal, a searing commentary about America’s war machine and our treatment of African Americans, a study of human nature, and even a slyly clever comedy. The humor shows up unexpectedly, as when Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” kicks in, or when one of the characters says, “we don’t need no stinking badges,” or another says, as he dies, “the madness, the madness.” These references to films like “Apocalypse Now,” and “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” are a nod to films that Lee drew upon and also inverted. This film is chock full of film, music, and other cultural references. Lee’s fingerprints are all over it, from the unflinching history lessons scattered throughout, to the gorgeous dolly shot in the dance club.  There were other nice visual touches, like the way Lee changed the aspect ratio of the film depending on whether we were in the past or the present, and then the way he had a third aspect ratio for when the past and present seemed to meld together. Or the clever way he had the same actors play both their older selves and young selves, without any CGI. Lee’s love of film, and the art of film, is so present here. This was a beautiful film, both nuanced and confrontational. Lee and Lindo should both be up for Oscars at the 2021 awards.

 

BlacKkKlansman

August 13, 2018 at 9:49 am | Posted in 2018 | 2 Comments
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◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ½

What an amazing 30 days in cinema we have just had. One month ago today, on July 13th, we had the release of “Sorry to Bother You.” Two weeks later, we got “Blindspotting.” And now, we have this film. Three powerful Black films by Black directors, writers, actors that are all trying to confront the moment we live in, using comedy as their medium. Of the three, Spike Lee’s speaks most directly to this exact moment in time. There is a greater sense of urgency in this film, and the anger here is even more explosive than the end of “Blindspotting.” The film starts as an easy situational comedy, based very closely on an unbelievable true story. A young Ron Stallworth becomes the first Black officer in the Colorado Springs Police Department. It’s 1974. Shortly after joining, he is promoted to undercover detective (in real life, it took 4 years), and promptly joins the Klan. Stallworth is played by John David Washington. The son of Denzel, Washington has largely stayed out of film until last year. After this, you can expect that you’ll be seeing a lot more of him. His low key performance matched the easy going 70s vibe that this film had for much of its run time. As absolutely ridiculous as the events of this story are, in reading interviews with the real Stallworth, I have found that, if anything, the truth is even stranger. Some pieces of the story have been changed for the sake of the narrative arc (like the timeline, the addition of a girlfriend, the explosive ending), but all the weirdest stuff (right down to the Polaroid incident) is very real. These Klansman, David Duke included, were apparently even dumber in real life than in the film. Lee had to make them smarter, just to create some narrative tension. All of this makes for a very funny film that can, at times, feel light, almost like a fun little caper movie. Yet, be prepared. You will be assaulted by racist invective throughout. And “assault” is the right word and the experience is very intentional on Lee’s part. Even while laughing, you will find yourself squirming with discomfort. And, if you think that is the only discomfort you have to endure, wait until the end. In the last minutes, Lee does what he has done very successfully before in “Malcolm X” (which, incidentally, also had John David Washington, in a small cameo). Throughout this film, Lee makes it clear (through some clever laugh lines) that this story is about today; it’s 1976, but it could just as easily been 2018. And, in case you didn’t catch on, he drives it home in those final moments. They are powerful and disturbing and necessary. One person in my theater broke into open sobs. This is an important film. These are important films. Every American should see these 3 movies. Do not look away.

I, Tonya

January 22, 2018 at 5:21 pm | Posted in 2017 | Leave a comment
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◊ ◊ ◊ ½

So, Part II in my real-life comedy bios of women sports stars… Actually, that statement is where any comparison between “Battle of the Sexes” and this film ends. “I, Tonya” starts with a disclaimer; “based on irony-free, wildly contradictory, totally true interviews with Tonya Harding and Jeff Gillooly.” That should tell you the mood and tone of this film. Unlike “Battle,” this is a bleak sort of humor; we are laughing at and not with the characters. Director Craig Gillespie (“Lars and the Real Girl”) and writer Steven Rogers (“Hope Floats”) squeeze as many laughs as they can out of what is essentially the story of an abused girl who marries an abuser and then attempts (and fails) to claw her way out of poverty. This is not a movie that makes you laugh easily and carelessly but, that said, it will leave you with some unexpected compassion. Understanding as we do that everything we learn in this film is distorted by the people who told it (namely Tonya, her mother, and her ex-husband), the audience still can’t help but feel for the brutal unfairness of this girl’s life. She was devalued and rejected by everyone, including, perhaps most painfully, the ice skating community she ached to be accepted by. The film presents her as mostly a victim of others. This is a story that is almost certainly untrue. Gillespie and Rogers balance the fact that the movie is based mostly on her interviews by giving us glimpses of her today, allowing us to draw our own conclusions. This is very clever film making. They could have chosen to present her as all hero or all villain. Instead, they invite us into the grey areas and, as a result, we get a far more compelling story. Much has been said about Margot Robbie’s and Allison Janney’s performances, as well there should be. These two women were dynamic. Robbie deserved her nomination for the SAG award and deserves one for an Oscar as well. She brought all the fierceness she showed as Harley Quinn in “Suicide Squad” to bear here. And, through some intensive training and very effective CGI, she managed to look wholly believable as a skating phenom. She was truly magnetic. But, that said, Janney was even better as her mother. She stole every scene and gave the film its best laughs. She squeezed every drop of disdain possible out of the slow blink of her eyes. It was one of my favorite performances of the year. I have to also give credit to the virtually unknown Paul Walter Hauser (the “Kingdom” tv series) as Shawn Eckhardt. He was brilliant at playing the slow witted, self-important friend around whom so much of the story revolved. I hope this performance helps launch his career. This is not an easy story to watch and it offers no easy answers by the end. What it does offer, however, is a razor sharp script, some brilliant directing, and a few of the best performances of the year.

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