ALOFT – The Review

During the dog days of Summer, film fans may feel that they’re on an endless Hollywood highway with exits to “sequel city” and “superhero central”. But for those with a quick eye, they can break away from the express lanes and venture down an offshoot rarely used this time of year. Lets call it “art house road”, which also has its share of off ramps. We’ve got the foreign films, the feature documentaries, and the low, low-budget indies. Many of these examples of cinema made their debuts in the film festival circuit. Some are quirky whimsical comedies that often grab a fervent “cult” audience. This is new film is at the opposite end of the spectrum. It’s moody, somber, dark and attempts to comment on humanity, or the lack of such in the world. And occasionally “name” actors will be involved, telling the press that it was a chance to “hone their craft” and “escape the studio fluff”. That’s certainly true here, since one of the thespians in this new film is an honest-to-goodness Oscar winner. But can she, along with her cast members, make the story soar and keep this film ALOFT?

ALOFT begins 25 or 30 years ago in the past. We’re following Nana Kunning (Jennifer Connelly) as she trudges through the frozen fields of Canada, pleading to hitch a bus ride. She’s leading her two sons: ten year-old Ivan (Zen McGrath), who brought his pet falcon (yup, really) and his sickly seven year-old brother Ike (Peter McRobbie). They join a desperate group heading out to see a mysterious healer called “The Architect” (the whole thing is a “hush hush” secret event). But only one person that day will receive his “gift”, decided by a random lottery (you’ve got to grab the only white pebble from a canvas bag). Nana’s son Ike is not chosen, so Ivan asks if he can fly his falcon while they wait for the ride back. As the chosen young girl is led into the healer’s abode (a ramshackle structure made of loose branches and twigs), the bird swoops inside. Nana runs inside to protect the girl as the abode crumbles. The healing session is canceled and the organizers order the crowd to disperse. The crowd directs their wrath at Nana and her boys. Cut to today as a reporter, Jannia (Melanie Laurent) visits the home of the now grown Ivan (Cillian Murphy) to interview about his falconry/bird training business. Ivan is infuriated when she instead asks him about his mother, now a somewhat famous recluse. He orders her out as she leaves a disc and her contact info. Later that night he pops the disc into his laptop and sees some footage of his estranged mother wandering through a frozen forest. He reconsiders and meets with Jannia. She tells him of her impending journey to the Arctic to locate Nana and Ivan asks to join. Over the lengthy trip, Ivan’s mind drifts back to his childhood as we view the family’s tragic troubled past.

Connelly projects an indelible screen presence, one too rarely used in recent years, so it’s regrettable that she lends her talents to such an etherial, undefined role. She infuses Nana with grit and determination and elicits some compassion for this often beaten-down, struggling single mother (we rarely hear of her former partners as she trudges to her mind-numbing job at a meat processing plant). But we never really go inside her head as she makes her devastating parental decision. This is the inspiration for the constant anger and rage that Murphy must be project, with brief intervals particularly during an intense panic attack in the ice and snow triggered by a horrific childhood trauma. Laurent continues to impress as a compelling screen performer, but her role is often a plot device used to get two other characters in position for the big confrontational finale. Still her big reveal about the trip’s true purpose packs an emotional wallop. McGrath as young Ivan gives a realistic, nuanced portrait, free of cloying, child actor ticks.

Director/screenwriter Claudia Llosa never really breathes life into this dreary drama with the falcon subplot never emerging as more than heavy-handed allegory. Like the characters, we feel trapped in this bleak, overcast, frozen Hell with little chance of escape, or even a bit of warmth and sunshine. We’re on a never ending Arctic trek, too. With the two separate time lines, the story tries to build to a huge last act that never delivers any emotional heft. Instead we marvel at the superbly subtle aging of Connelly by the terrific make-up team (aided by her movement and vocal delivery). But in these last moments ALOFT finally crashes  to the hard, cold ground with a definite thud.

1.5 Out of 5

ALOFT opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Tivoli Theatre