'Manchester by the Sea' the living dead

Manchester by the Sea

It’s been a while since a movie nearly moved to tears. But ‘Manchester by the Sea’ did. A moving, content, fiercely acted, poignant and riveting film about grief. One so real that seems to come from some place called heart, yet at the same time, it’s clear it has been carefully 'constructed', masterfully planned and scripted by director Kenneth Lonergan, like this was a lost short "gritty realism" story by Raymond Carver, Russell Banks or Richard Yates turned into a stunning motion picture.

The plot is quite simple. Gloomy janitor, antisocial plummer and obvious fucked-up young man Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) receives the sad news of his older brother Joe (Kyle Chandler) passing away, reluctantly returning to the sailor’s town of Manchester-by-the-Sea, coastal Massachussetts, to take charge of the funeral’s arrangements as well of his nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges). But aside from the loss of his brother, there’s a second mental blow awaiting our leading character: in his testament, Joe made him the sole guardian of Patrick, expecting him to stay with the popular-frisky teenager. An unexpected circumstance that forces Lee to confront the ghosts of his past there. The terrible reasons why he left his hometown.

‘Manchester by the Sea’ then reveals itself as an absorbing, gripping look into human pain. In one hand, we have the struggles of Lee and Patrick to adapt to the new 'environment' proposed by their brother/father, having to deal together with a tough amount of decisions and choices ahead of them. Common, mundane, relatable and somewhat manageable grief, one where routines and silly situations can even brought a smile (deadpan humour) to the spectator despite the affliction (majority of them consequence of the umm, 'lively' day-to-day 'duties' of Patrick). Life is absurd... and tends to end too quickly. But on the other hand, we have a real grasp of what 'hell on Earth' must be in Lee’s existence. An anguish that slowly reveals to the viewer in the form of flashbacks recounting his previous life within the community, his marriage with ex-wife Randi (Michelle Williams) and the cataclysmic tragedy that changed, better said condemned, Lee’s life forever.

In my opinion, what makes the movie works that well is how naturally the development of the film flows despite the dimension of the drama. That’s because Lonergan’s script is simply mind-blowing (most deserved Oscar). He’s able to handle the gravitas of the plot at two levels. There are some key, terrific, unforgettable scenes, but they are encapsulated between a vast amount of little-minor ones, where a facial expression, a small gesture, a subtle detail in a conversation going nowhere (or the lack of it) says it all. All to depict the misery of a broken human being, a person that, in order to keep going, has forced himself to be numb, permanently repressed, completely inaccessible, isolated (even punished?) by choice. And now has to adapt or fail into a new role that demands him to take responsibilities, interact with people and having strength of mind.

And that brings us to talk about acting. What Casey Affleck has done is nearly beyond words (the award was a no-brainer). What a performance for the ages! His ability to convey all the inner unrest, the agony of an impossible existence, the choking guilt, with such self-control and determination cannot be praised enough. But it wouldn’t be fair not to stress the excellent job of Luke Hedges (same can be said to their chemistry together) or the secondary but, as always, perfect performance of Michelle Williams (what a brutal, decisive scene they have) or C. J. Wilson as Joe’s best friend/boat business partner. All the characters have 'flesh and bones', their actions & behaviour gets you, and their suffering affects you. Kudos to them.

Being honest, all the complaints I can think of are so minor compared with the achievements of the movie that are almost ridiculous to point out. The unnecessary highlights of the music in several of the aforementioned crucial scenes. The dubious, not really developed, role of Patrick’s mother (played by Gretchen Mol). The "nightmare" scene, excessive imo. The kind of 'easy' economic conditions the immediate future holds up to Patrick and Lee, something that doesn’t look completely credible (being clearly a white working class story). But as I said, this sort of underachievements are almost anecdotes compared with the overall strength and honesty of the film dealing with such a sensible and difficult subject. So when you hear the 'I can't beat it', these four simple words, you completely understand and feel devastated too.

SCORE: 8,25/10

“Certain Women”, what we talk about when we talk...

Certain Women 

One thing is for certain. I’ll try to watch every film that Kelly Reichardt’s direct. In a time and age of an epidemy of movie superheroes (OK, some of them might not be that bad) and hipster movies as shallow as a perfume ad, she’s a real, refreshing, major hope. Subtle, heartfelt, not pleasing in a Hollywodesque (yeah, I mean simplistic) or Drivesque way (yeah, I mean fake, artificial), yet absorbing and, what’s even more important, enduring. ‘Certain Women’ is another example of Reichardt’s fascinating and commanding talents.

Based on Maile Meloy’s short stories collection ‘Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It‘ (which I hope it arrives to Spain, so intrigued), the film carries us to Southern Montana’s isolated prairie towns to meet four women and her lives in a triple, sequenced storytelling, where the links between them are extremely accidental (well, there’s no connection whatsoever between the second and third story, to begin with), yet the final codas of each story assemble some sort of unified conclusion… that every viewer would have to find & decide by himself/herself. Take your time, don’t rush. Allow yourself for a little more than 90 minutes without looking to your mobile phone. I know you can. The rewards are awaiting you.

The triptych of stories that ‘Certain Women’ is begins with Laura (played by Laura Dern), a provincial lawyer dealing (maybe I should say stuck) with what it seems an affaire going nowhere (he’s a married guy) plus a deeply troubled, close to craziness, client (a building-site carpenter) who is desperate for some sort of emotional support at the same time he seeks for professional advice… in a case he has zero chance of winning. We have a pretty surREAL action scene (don’t look for heroes, everyone one here is all flesh and bones, happily) before we shift to the second story, but despite being the more dynamic of the trio, imo is also the weakest, with some scenes that seem too awkward to relate (the car conversation, for example) with.

But things only get better from now on. The second story (the connection with the previous one is revealed early) is the confirmation Reichardt’s could be the perfect choice to translate all the great stories of Bobbie Ann Mason, Lorrie Moore, Jean Stafford or, sure, Raymond Carver, into arresting films. Lead by Gina (played by the always amazing Michelle Williams, a regular on Reichardt’s filmography), here’s a quiet but poignant and crystal-clear tale of marriage and motherhood (a pure millennial teenage daughter) struggles. One in which trying to convince an elderly and neighbour to give (or sell) them a pile of original indigenous sandstone he has unused in his yard and that she wants to use for their new house, becomes an obsession and a factor for realizing the disaffection, the rupture she feels regarding her family, her hopes. The inability to communicate, the muted depression, the disconnection… the discontent. Terrific.

And then comes the third piece, which is simply majestic, about the connection (and the lack of it) between two women: a timid, good-spirited and solitary rancher (didn’t know Lily Gladstone before, but what a presence in front of the camera, what an eloquence with just a look, what an actress we have found) and Elizabeth (flawless performance by Kristen Stewart), a young education law night school teacher that has to drive for four hours back and forth to reach the town and her home. It might be the oldest love story ever-told, where one part doesn’t correspond the other, but it’s very hard for me to remember many movies in recent times where I have been moved so much. The final car drive, the dreamlike rhythm and colours. The intimacy that doesn’t need words. The conclusion… Masterpiece.

I understand ‘Certain Women’ might not be suitable for everyone due to its pace (could it be trimmed down some minutes? Sure, as every movie, right?) and Reichardt’s conscious refusal to offer the viewer a catharsis or that fundamental, dramatic key scene where everything falls to pieces or gets together. But aside from the aforementioned first story where overall satisfaction can be discussed, I found the film a bold, touching and disarming statement, full of little triumphs encapsulated in a murmur, a cigarette smoked into the wilderness, a desperate look into the horizon or an unhurried horse ride. What a brave filmmaker is Kelly Reichardt.

SCORE: 7/10

"My Week with Marilyn", being seduced by a myth

My Week with Marilyn

If Marylin Monroe was really such a star, icon, celebrity, myth, (add your own here) etc., she deserves a much much better film than this one. Even the brilliant performances of Michelle Williams and Kennet Branagh cannot save "My Week with Marylin" from being a very flat, seriously unsubstantial movie.

I have read several reviews and opinions criticising Michelle Williams's cast as Marilyn. Many silly arguments of her not being "fleshy enough" (comparisons of breasts and bottoms included), "not radiant enough" (is that supposed to mean anything?), or not having the "bigger-than-life-aura" she had. This sort of statements are enormously interesting for a sociological study, as they reveal the amount of damage "the creation of myths" has had in society, in particular the American (think of Elvis, Sinatra, JFK, Michael Jackson). But they are completely ridiculous if we are really trying to review this film, with people talking about Marilyn as if they really met her and knew how she really was (physically and personally). Seriously people, we all know her thanks to her movies (which I remember you aren't real).

No, the issue in "My Week with Marilyn" is not Michelle Williams. On the contrary, she, together with Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier, plus the secondary role of Judi Dench as Dame Sybil, are the only remarkable of the film. Director Simon Curtis has to be so grateful to Williams and co. They simply save his movie from being a disaster. But even their performances cannot help the occasional (and recurrent) feeling we are watching a luxurious but empty TV movie. There's not a lot of interest on the main plot following Colin Clark's platonic affair, played by Eddie Redmanyne, with the "blonde myth". The film-within-the-film sub-plot, that could have been much more attractive is only exploited as a mere context, and the rest of secondary actors are unused resources.

We get the premise of the film, really. This is not a film on Marilyn, but one about being seduced by Marilyn, by then already an unparalleled a myth. But with such a premise then, why is Curtis so scared to proposing something new to us? He only offers us a bunch of flat screen recreations of what's supposed to be the real-life of celebrities while they gathered in order to make a movie, the lightweight comedy "The Prince and the Showgirl", filmed in the UK in 1956. It is slick, way too polished (unrealistically polished) and very superficial. There's zero depth on the contrived script, and despite Michelle Williams efforts of looking vulnerable despite her sensuality and ability to enchant the camera (as the blonde sex symbol did) while reflecting the contradictions between her frustrations and needs of being accepted, between self-pity and manipulation, she doesn't have many lines that aren't cliché-bounded.

So, "My Week with Marilyn" is a pointless, obviously failed film, even despite Michelle Williams. Quite a shame if we consider the potential the story could have had.

SCORE: 4,75/10

Best Movies of (My) Year 2011

A week before closing 2011 is a good moment to rank the best movies seen this year. Maybe in a different country the list would have looked like a proper summary of the year releases, but in Spain theatres and distributors "work in a different way" (ironic mode on), so some of the films listed have not even being released here yet. That's why the (My) of the title. Enjoy!

10. Synecdoche, New York
Creating a play of your life, as complex and detailed as your life. It has to be excruciating. Almost as hard as making a movie of that play. For what reason? Because you want to find an answer to existence, which is impossible. Except for Charlie Kaufman. In  "Synecdoche, New York", the world is a vast stage in which we all play an exclusive, starring role: our life. His first directing attempt was a megalomaniac, abysmal, somewhat failed masterpiece, but also the bravest film ever attempted to be made.

9. The Fighter

A boxing background excuse for a story of underdogs with real, flesh and bone characters and terrific playing from Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. In "The Fighter" the combat is not in the ring. Is against the filthiness of a life that seems fated to desolation, the need for survival and family curses that demand a lot of courage to confront. Loads of honesty and care for characters in the script and direction.

8. The Take
Another world is possible, but it won't happen without action. Argentinian workers decided to fight for their futures through a change of the economic system after "el corralito", becoming the workers and owners of the factories ruined thanks to the wild capitalism and the tyranny of the markets. Activist Naomi Klein and director Avi Lewis were there to film it and show us, that we need a global "The Take" today. That would be the real revolution.

7. Fish Tank

Desperation and bleak realism, combined with a tremendous hunger for life. Following the tradition of social British cinema (Ken Loach, Mike Leigh) "Fish Tank" hits hard and compels, thanks to the strikingly powerful character of Mia (extraordinary acting from newcomer Katie Jarvis) and the sharp script and direction of Andrea Arnold. 

6. Submarine
Meet Oliver Tate, a very peculiar kid facing his coming-of-age in a tragicomic and surreal ride. Enveloped in a wonderfully creative visual display, Richard Ayoade, on his directing debut, is able to capture the confusion and fun of Joe Dunthorne's book (currently reading) that surrounds the growing up Oliver with genuine charm. Add the amazing tunes of Alex Turner's soundtrack and the result is obvious. "Submarine" is our indie crush of the year.

5. Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon
The best music documentary seen on 2011 is not about KOL, a band which I don't particularly like, but as about their demons. And they have quite a few. The band trip to stardom clashing with a traditional family meeting. The universal success and its consequences battling with their roots. A past they cannot leave behind. "Talihina Sky" is an absorbing film about four people trying to deal with their contradictions.

4. Midnight in Paris
And when we thought we had lost him, the best Woody Allen returned. In "Midnight in Paris", the city and its romanticism, an overused topic with a very high risk of becoming a cliché, is used by our favourite neurotic to insufflate a much needed dose of magic to a tale where dreams and nostalgia can be haunting, but has to be overcome for a real desire to live the life we have in our hand. Prepare yourself to laugh and fall in love with the NY genius again.

3. Beginners
What a pleasant, loveable surprise this movie was. Director Mike Mills achieves a very rare feature with "Beginners". He created a bewitching story of love, loss and discovery, profoundly personal and with a peculiar structure that, at the same time, is capable of captivating and affecting the viewer thanks to a trio of leading characters so well constructed (and brilliantly acted) that their quest to find their own identities becomes something to empathise with.

2. Exit Through the Gift Shop
Documentary? Deep reflection on what's art today? Or just the best hoax ever filmed? Whatever your choice is, the result is invariable: a total triumph. As street-artist Banksy, the mastermind behind "Exit Through the Gift Shop" says during the film, this is "Basically the story of how one man set out to film the un-filmable. And failed." True, but nothing is what it seems. Who knew that sentence would hide so many, and amusing, meanings?

1. Blue Valentine
On top of the ranking, this raw and compelling dissection of a relationship. I saw the movie in July, and I'm still scared by the brutal, devastating deconstruction of a couple dynamiting their love. There's no way to hide in "Blue Valentine", no loopholes for pain relief. Even the good moments stress how awful will be the fall. This deep, to the bottom study-character could only work with two great actors capable of carrying Dean and Cindy in their shoulders. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams gave the best of their amazing talent, making every bit of their complex, human, fierce and sad relation credible and painful. Masterpiece.  

"Blue Valentine", dancing to the end of love

Blue Valentine
First advice: be aware of the moment (your emotional moment) when you decide to see the film, as it is going to affect you. And second advice: don't miss it, try to watch it by all means (probably won't get a release date in Spanish cinemas, that's why I say "all means", I know you have read this rant before).

Because "Blue Valentine" is devastating. Like reading Richard Yates. Like listening to "Blood on the Tracks" by Dylan, "Ultraviolet" or "Love is Blindness" by U2. Is one the of most raw and compelling dissections of the death of a relationship I ever seen. A realistic, profound and utterly sad study-character of a couple, showing us, back and forth, their relation as a complex puzzle (as every human relation is), a collection of moments and situations: the great, the good, the bad, the worse.

First, I have to praise the writing and direction of Derek Cianfrance. The premise of the film is far from being original (the superficial story could be defined even as pretty conventional), but he's capable to craft a movie that breaths, exudes honesty and its poignantly alive. A big part of it success lies in the terrific script. Measured scenes where the joy of love is condensed on a sentence, a look, a song (excellent soundtrack), or on the contrary, dialogues like sharp knifes, ready to become daggers to harm the one you once loved.   

Second, and intrinsic to the script, is the acting, which is simply exceptional. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are Dean and Cindy. I mean you are not seeing just characters evolving during a film, you are seeing flesh and blood persons crumbling in front of you, alternated with scenes when it seemed nobody/nothing can stop them from being together. It's scary (because of the topic) how well they complement each other on screen.Though I'm not surprised because I already considered both actors the best of their generation (30 and under), with "Blue Valentine" they have added one of the best performances of their careers.

Dean (Gosling) turns from a charming, romantic and careless guy to a frightened, insecure and verbally aggressive person. Cindy (Williams) evolves from a lovely, shining sweet and caring girl into a consumed, frustrated mother. Their degradation is obvious, even physically. And you can sense easily their desperation as well. We have "disordered" glimpses of their relationship: the past just before meeting, how they fell in love, and how their choices turned their happiness into the regret and misery of their present. But we don't need to know it all. Filling in the intentional holes (just a couple of times, minor regarding the story, where ellipsis might be too broad), like on good literature, is our task. That way Cianfrance direct us to a personal connection, sometimes even a recognition of ourselves in the film.What we see is far from being comfortable or pleasant (hard to remember a film where sex scenes have been so relevant and poignant for example), there's even a physical threat all around, but is sincerely human.

"Blue Valentine" is a rare, brave and fierce, brilliantly acted, masterpiece, about the most important subject: human relationships and love. Don't miss it, please.

SCORE: 9/10

"Synecdoche, New York", biggest paranoia ever filmed

Synecdoche, New York

Another example of a movie released years ago (the film is from 2008), that never make to Spain, due to the singular "criteria" of distributors and cinema owners of this country. But they can keep accusing everyone of piracy... End of the rant.

Is kind of surprising, but in a very positive way, that in a time were cinema is only interested in selling tickets with unnecessary remakes, bloody awful pirates and superhero movies, there's still a chance for a film like "Synecdoche, New York". A very personal view of an author, Charlie Kaufman. The man behing the scripts of some of the most risky and brave films from the last decade, like "Adaption" or "Being John Malkovich". And co-responsible, with Michael Gondry, of one of the best films ever, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".

"Synecdoche" is Kaufman's debut as director, and also his most ambitious film, in terms of conception and ideas. It builds on recurrent subject themes of his previous work, but mostly, and being a film about creating art, is easy to link it particularly with "Adaptation". But its a, staggering, XXXXXL version of that film. It might be the biggest paranoia ever filmed.

It also equals the level of pessimism of "Eternal Sunshine", maybe even goes further. Caden Cotard's (Philip Seymour Hoffman) extreme hyponcondria won't make you laugh, it is crude, and his struggle is condemned well in advance with paranoia. Humour, if any, only masks weaknesses or adds a feeling of surrealism to the lightest consequences of the monumental synecdoche that his impossible play is. Because the movie is about a play. The most realistic, and poignant, play ever made, about life and its obstacles. A play that intends to be a perfect copy of Cotard's tragic life, and the people that surrounds it.

"Synecdoche" is not an easy film, far from it. It demands patience to the spectator, and some sort of special stomach, because the majority of people that are going to expose their lives in front of our eyes, are damaged. As a film it has flaws, biggest ones in my opinion being the slow start, hard to get attracted to start, and a slight feeling of pretentiousness. But if you give a bit of credit to Kaufman, the challenge of watching the film turns into an absorbing and moving experience.

Some credit should also be given to the cast. What an stellar one! Hoffman, again, is perfect on his tortured role, and you will feel compelled by his mistakes and pains as the movie develops. At the end, Cotard's life is being showed in all honesty. And it is as imperfect as human. And surrounding him, a special credit has to be given to Samantha Morton (Hazel), the always excellent Catherine Keener (Adele) and the equally great Michelle Williams (Claire). They are essential to explain Cotard's life. And his play. And they sustain the film.

"Synecdoche" is a failed masterpiece that tries to find an answer to existence. It attempts to achieve levels of profundity unparalleled in cinema. Conclusion? Mine is that at the end, existence is what we make of it, because we have the starring role in the play that is our life. It is an exclusive role, and no one else will play it. So we better learn how to play well. Because the world, our stage, won't wait for us. It might not be the perfect film, but the risk and brave attempt of Kaufman has to be loudly praised.

SCORE: 7,25/10

"Meek's Cutoff", feminine, conceptual, real western

Meek's Cutoff

I watched the film during the first Festival Internacional de Cinema d'Autor held in Barcelona (where it received the Public Award after the open balloting), because despite the movie has been premiered around the world.... but around the world excludes Spain (that doesn't have to do much with piracy, don't you think movie distributors and theaters? why are we forced to watch only commercial crap every single week?)

I was eager to see it because her director, Kelly Reichardt, is responsible of one of the most compelling and brilliant films I have ever seen (something that I couldn't watch on Spanish theaters either), "Wendy and Lucy". A film I can't praise enough.

Movie critics have defined "Meek's Cutoff" as a "feminist western". Is quite easy to see why, but that definition constrains a film that is, at least at the conceptual level, amazingly rich. A history lesson of the United States of America in less than 2 hours. And a lesson of commitment towards cinema as an instrument to say things, to make you think and not just to entertain you. The traditional (orthodox) western, at least to my understanding, was reductionist to the extreme. We had the stereotypical cowboy, always a white male, with supposed virtues like his loneliness and a propensity towards violence, transformed into a seek for justice (easy to see North-american foreign policy still confounds justice with vengeance). Overall, a simple dichotomy between the hero, the cowboy, and the Indian, the villain, creating the false grandeur of that period of history, the colonization of the States.

But instead, in this in transit, domestic western, Reichardt gives us a different perspective. Three couples, guided by a supposedly expert cowboy named Meek towards a promised land crossing the plains of Oregon. But the trip is exhausting, stark, harsh and emotionally draining. They get lost (how many times have you seen the hero getting lost on a western before?, and they desperately need water to survive. As the movie develops, the power on the group shifts towards an anonymous heroin (brilliantly performed by Michelle Williams again) clashing with Meek (traditional macho role) and because of their relationship with "the Other" (won't spoil the film), the other main element of the film, which is the personification of fear.

Reichardt's revisionist take on the western will stimulate more debate than the story itself. Intellectually, or artistically, is an outstanding film, challenging and rich despite, on the surface, simple story. But there are two major concerns that provokes the feeling "'Meek's Cutoff"' is missing something. One is not the slow pace -doesn't help either- but is related to it. In the decision of being as realistic as possible, there's a clear unrealistic fact (don't want to spoil anything) regarding "the Other", that although being said previously on the film, soon is forgotten in order to justify what comes -overlong- after. But even more relevant than that, is the heart of the movie, the most amazing thing on "Wendy and Lucy" that is lacking here. Doesn't compel you or grab you, there's no emotional connection with the characters and that kills the movie, in my opinion. It's the story of a small group trying to survive on extreme and desperate conditions, but the director prefers to win the battle of ideas than the battle of emotions in Meek's Cutoff.

A film of suggestion, conceptually brilliant and risky, but that demands too much from the spectator for the unsatisfactory reward it offers.

SCORE: 6,25/10