Silver City's demise and C'mon already

The most stunning thing about the announced closure of Cineplex’s Silver City cinemas in South Windsor is the fact the building is something like 25 years old. Has it been that long since the “new” concept of stadium seating was introduced, at least in Canada, in these mega theatres? And what does that say about my age?....Speaking of movie theatres, there’s an interesting article in December’s Commentary magazine by Wall Street Journal culture writer Terry Teachout questioning whether we even “need” movie theatres anymore. Especially post-Covid when people are scared to be in anything relatively physically close to one another. Though I must say I’ve continued to enjoy the movie going experience since theaters re-opened last year – the “event” and communal experience et al – until the Ontario Government decided to slam the doors shut again this month in the wake of the Omicron outbreak. Teachout paid homage to the “big screen” argument (as per Scorsese and Spielberg) but his argument is that theatres are limiting, especially when such a vast inventory of films is available through streaming sites like TCM, Criterion, Netflix and Amazon Prime. There may always be a younger audience for blockbuster franchises, he says. But “the future of moviegoing by adults clearly belongs to streaming. Whatever they miss by not seeing classic films in theatres, they will at least be able to see them whenever and as often as they like – and that is what matters most."

After some anticipation I was disappointed by Mike Mills C’mon C’mon. Its story opens in Detroit and there are some great overhead scenes of a wintry city (in black and white) including the People Mover winding around downtown towers. But its overall mood is glum. Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix) is a radio producer travelling across the country asking kids about their lives and aspirations, kind of like a serious Art Linkletter (Kids Say the Darndest Things, the original). But his sister, Viv (Gaby Hoffmann) is a neurotic writer, pushed into more angst by the commitment of her husband Paul (Scott McNairy) into psychiatric treatment. Viv cannot handle her remarkably precocious son Jesse (“I mostly hang out with adults”). Johnny offers to take him on the road as his “sound man.” So, the movie’s a road trip. And a bit of an enlightening one at that, as Jesse often takes on, yes, the adult role, confronting Johnny on how he lives his life. “You are just terrible” at expressing his emotions, he admonishes the at times sad sack grown up. This dynamic is interesting, to a point. But there is no overriding message or theme that comes out of this, just a kind of meandering quotidian following of characters. Phoenix, consciously or unconsciously, is starting to look and sound more like Brando. The spare and probing soundtrack by Bryce Dessner and Aaron Dessner, which underlies the moody script, is very good.