Rapid-fire reviews from two weeks of flick watching

Here are rapid fire reviews and observations of movie watching over the last couple of weeks, in chronological order dating from last night. Kicking and Screaming (Netflix), Noah Baumbach’s 1995 first feature. Pedestrian and stilted compared to his later great films and – wow – college grads were so preppy then…Roger Vadim’s 1964 La Ronde (Criterion) featured a French-speaking Jane Fonda in this remake of licentiousness and male chauvinism…They Live by Night (Criterion), Nicholas Ray’s 1948 noir, featured Farley Granger (even then open about his bisexuality – bravo) and the sweet Cathy O’Donnell as a latter day Bonnie and Clyde…I love 1960s romantic comedies but Jack Donohue’s 1965 Marriage on the Rocks (TCM), with Sinatra, Martin and Kerr, descends into phoned-in silliness…Earl McEvoy’s 1950 The Killer That Stalked New York uncannily presages the Covid epidemic told from a public health perspective about a smallpox outbreak. Even the vaccines runout and officials have to kick drug companies’ asses to produce more…1950’s A Life of Her Own (Criterion) is a quintessential George Cukor “woman’s film” and a searing personal tale of ambition and greed starring Lana Turner…Lovers and Lollipops (Criterion) (photo) is a refreshingly candid window – with a documentary feel – into the lives of two people meeting and falling in love all the while trying to balance their relationship with the demands of a seven-year-old. Great 1950s NYC visuals and directed by Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin. My fave of all listed here..John Stahl’s 1935 version of Magnificent Obsession (Criterion) suffers I suspect from the same problem as the 1954 version, of which I’ve seen only part: a worthy but non-too-interesting story of loving devotion following tragedy, with Irene Donne and Robert Taylor…Finally Jacques Rivette’s 1957 Paris Belongs to Us (Criterion) follows a group of “lost” intellectuals, alienated to a T, in this kind of existentialist thriller, though don’t expect your adrenalin to overflow.  

Good to see theatres have re-opened again, at least in Michigan, as of Feb 1. And at 25 per cent capacity. Thrilling to see full page movie listings in Detroit dailies. Still locked down on Windsor side however as we’ve finally reopened into ‘Red’ phase but no indoor theatres and outdoor drive-ins, well,  too frozen! Emagine’s CEO Anthony LaVerde told me it’s still “nearly impossible” to be viable at a quarter full. Art house Landmark Main is also using the same safety protocols devised by National Assoc. of Theatre Owners. Only question is: will they close a third time?

Hard to watch but a stellar performance

The first 30 minutes of the new critically acclaimed Netflix film Pieces of a Woman are not particularly easy to watch. And overall the film depicts the angst of a woman stemming from the death of her newborn child. But the film’s actors, pacing, score and realistic melancholy makes for something of an artistic achievement. Hungarian Kornél Mundruczó directed from a screenplay by his partner Kata Wébe, based on their own experience of losing a child. (Martin Scorsese is the film’s executive producer.) Vanessa Kirby (The Crown) plays Martha, and her partner Sean by Shia LaBeouf. The film’s story takes place on a number of intertwined levels. There is the post-partum depression Martha undergoes and how it affects her own life and those around her. There are the ensuing relationship strains with Sean, who superficially seems incompatible as he’s just a regular guy construction worker (“I’m not an intellectual,” he protests during an argument) and she a more sophisticated professional. Add to the mix the dynamics between Martha’s mother Elizabeth (Ellen Burstyn), overbearing and guilt-tripping - “if you’d done it my way you’d be holding your baby in your arms right now”. Her way would have been giving birth in a hospital but Martha opted for home birth. The problem – the crux of the story - is the chosen midwife couldn’t arrive fast enough when Martha went into labor. So a substitute, Eva (Canadian actress Molly Parker) arrives. All goes well until it doesn’t. And the midwife ends up being charged criminally. The story is supposed to take place in Boston but Montreal is the set for most of the story, the movie shot during frozen winter days in December 2019 (I knew right away the outdoor scenes were  too frosty for Beantown!). The acting all around is very good – especially Kirby as she slides deeper into depression and psychological fissures become fractures. But I was most impressed by Sarah Snook as Martha cousin Suzanne, whose nonchalance performance captivated me. I was surprised Shia LaBeouf was used, given his stream of various personal controversies including plagiarism and alleged sexual assault (Netflix removed LeBeouf from the film’s publicity). But he’s a stellar talent, I suppose. Besides the acting and pacing Pieces of a Woman is underlined by a gentle and contemplative score by Canadian composer Howard Shore, known for his work with David Cronenberg.