Cinema – We Are Movie Geeks

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA – The Review

The “metacinema” is a small but ever-present category of films that span all genres, typically are of a smaller, art house or independent scale of production and typically are also hit or miss. Metacinema, for the sake of this review, is loosely defined as a film presented as a story about its own production. These films, albeit possible, are usually not documentary, but are presented in a way that can seem based in non-fiction. For this reason, some viewers find them confusing or distracting. Some of these films are rather pretentious, while others are quite groundbreaking.

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA falls somewhere safely between pretentious and groundbreaking on the scale of successful metacinema filmmaking. Truth be told, this is not actually a true example of metacinema, as its not a film about its own production. However, it is a film about an actress preparing for a major role in a play and the insecurities she has in connection with the play, her career and her stage in life.

Juliette Binoche plays Maria Enders, a popular but aging actress who must face an uncomfortable reflection of herself when she reluctantly agrees to taking part in a revival of the play that kick started her career 20 years prior. In the revival, however, she plays an older character, while a much younger rising actress named Jo-Ann Ellis (played by Chloe Grace Moretz) takes on the role Maria played 20 years ago. Struggling to connect with her current role and still emotionally attached to her original role, Maria must face the young actress and herself and embrace her place in time.

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA is set within the Swiss Alps as she and Valentine, her personal assistant, travel by train to attend a tribute to the playwright and director that gave Maria her break, only to have tragedy strike and alter their plans. Having made the journey into the mountains, Maria and Valentine decide to make the most of it and prepare for her role. What ensues is a rather surreal, often uncomfortable blending and blurring of reality and rehearsed performance that juxtaposes the two throughout the two women’s time in the mountains.

Valentine, played by Kristen Stewart, provides a sort of balancing reality check for Maria, who is far too caught up in her own drama to focus herself on the role. Maria needs Valentine, not only to organize and plan her daily life, but also to challenge and force her to delve into her role, no matter how it makes her feel. Stewart gives a surprisingly deft and articulate performance, carrying much of the philosophical workload for the film. Stewart trademark persona is still present, but it takes a backseat to the script’s strengths and to her veteran co-star who outshines her, despite Stewart’s commendable portrayal.

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA is written and directed by Oliver Assayas. As is typical of his past work, Assayas still proves to be a writer filling the role of a filmmaker, delivering though-provoking stories with strong characters. Aside from the most obvious dilemma of dealing with one’s own aging and sense of losing relevance, some other smaller but related themes pop up as well. There is a thread of generational and cultural gaps that runs through the film, represented by Maria and Valentine. One of my favorite scenes occurs when the two are having drinks together and discuss a new big budget superhero science-fiction blockbuster in the works and their difference of opinions on the topic. Valentine thoughtfully supports and defends the underlying nature of the genre and its themes while Maria can only laugh and mock the over-the-top, often cheesy superficial appearance of the genre, which she clearly discredits.

Continuing this string of underlying subsurface themes, Maria gradually proves herself to be the quintessential self-indulgent elitist, the type who is concerns with herself and her own life before all else. Manners and compassion for other matter only when convenient for her, but these less desirable traits are subtle and not forthright enough to make her a villain, only occasionally uneasy to like. On the other hand, there are moments when the generational and cultural gap present themselves in reality as well as fiction. For example, when Maria and Valentine take a dip in a lake amongst the mountains, its the aging, not as fit as she once was Binoche that strips down to her full birthday suit, whereas the younger and still more conventionally desirable Stewart who chooses to swim in her panties and bra. This is not to say she should have stripped down as well, but what does this say about the generational and cultural difference in how we see ourselves? I do not believe this was a choice by the character, but rather by the actors.

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA ultimately proves to be an interesting, if somewhat uneven character study that occasionally gets lost within itself. Accompanied by a score that is curiously engaging and eclectic and some immensely beautiful scenic landscapes, the film is certainly not a disappointment, but also does not quite live up to its own potential.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

BLACK SOULS – The Review

Like many genre films, the category of mafia films is often branded with certain expectations. Granted, not all of these films are created equal, but we generally expect to see lots of violence and/or lots of foul language and Hollywood stereotypes. Where BLACK SOULS succeeds is in refusing such stereotypes and telling a richly deep story about an unconventional “family business” that conjures up the essence of THE GODFATHER but distances itself even further from the genre stereotypes than just about any film we’ve seen in recent years.

Director Francesco Munzi’s BLACK SOULS (“Anime nere” in Italian) maintains a nearly unprecedented level of dignity for its type. The film tells the story of three brothers closely connected to N’drangheta, a mafia-like criminal organization based out of Calabria. These three brothers, sons of a shepherd, have differing views on their relationships with N’drangheta, which plays a crucial role in the telling of their reluctantly interconnected lives.

Rocco (played by Peppino Mazzotta) is a quiet, well-mannered man of means. Rocco is the most successful of the three brother, business-minded and methodical, but seems cautious in his relationship with N’drangheta business and how he conducts himself. Rocco has a nice, big house, a beautiful wife and is the picture of a comfortable, low-key life in this Italian underworld.

Luigi (played by Marco Leonardi) is the brother most typical of what we imagine in an Italian mobster. Watching Leonardi play Luigi is akin to watching Ray Liotta immortalize Henry Hill in Scorcese’s GOODFELLAS. Luigi is proud of his life and his affiliation as a gangster. He’s not stupid. He doesn’t make poor decisions because of this, but he does wear it on his sleeve. This subtle mix of machismo and bravado convey a confidence that makes Luigi likable, but also dangerous.

Luciano (played by Fabrizio Ferracane) is the eldest brother. He is also the brother with the least interest in the N’drangheta but with the most at stake. Luciano has taken up their father’s legacy as a shepherd, shunning the N’drangheta life as much as he can, but living amidst it and having family ties makes completely disowning the notion an exercise in futility. Pasqualle (played by Vito Facciolla) is currently the “don” in control of power, but is far from friendly with the brother’s criminal family.

When Luciano’s son Leo (played by Giuseppe Fumo) shows an interest in N’drangheta, Luciano attempts to lead him away from danger, but Leo has no interest in farm life and Luciano instead pushes him away. Leo leaves home to spend time with his uncle Luigi, whom he idolizes, and stays with Rocco and his family in Milan. While Rocco is reluctant to officially introduce Leo to the family business, Luigi has no reservations and casually supports Leo’s efforts to wiggle his ways into the family’s affairs.

Leo is drawn to the N’drangheta life like a moth to a light. He looks at the life his father and grandfather led and sees nothing but a prison and has no intent on being shackled to that kind of tradition. Fumo captures the quintessential youthful ignorance associated with being blinded by a desire for fame, fortune and ill-gotten respect. He allows his curiosity to ferment into arrogance and entitlement, like a young Jedi being seduced and corrupted by the dark side of the force.

Ferracane’s restrained emotional performance is undoubtedly the marquee strength of BLACK SOULS. Luciano is clearly distraught by his son’s ambitious intentions, and bitter about his history and current connection with the N’drangheta, despite his efforts to break clean. Ferracane bottles up this anger and disdain, leading to a highly physical performance. Dialogue plays a secondary role to Ferracane’s body language and facial expression of emotions. This plays beautifully into Munzi’s film.

BLACK SOULS is similarly paced with the racing of turtles, intentionally, and is a surprisingly quiet film. Dialogue is sparse and enjoys long stretches of near silence, perhaps further conveying the underlying theme of loss and mourning, both literal and analogous in nature. A great deal of the character interaction is made through eye contact and gestural interpretation. There’s more to these characters than meets the eye, and their stories go deeper than we, as outsiders, can fully understand.

Despite the slow and silent nature of the film’s structure, BLACK SOULS is a fantastically engrossing portrait of conflicting obligations. Gorgeously photographed and accompanied by a thematically appropriate score by Giuliano Taviani, BLACK SOULS is a sensory pleasure wrapped around an emotionally complex tale of torn souls.

BLACK SOULS (“Anime nere”) opens in New York on Friday, April 10th, 2015, with a nationwide release to follow.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

IT FOLLOWS – The Review

There is finite number of themes from which to draw, so half the battle of making a compelling film is finding a new angle to tell a story already told countless times. David Robert Mitchell succeeds at this as writer and director of IT FOLLOWS, a new horror film that’s receiving a level of artistic appreciation and acclaim rarely experienced by films true to this genre.

Set in suburban Detroit, the story follows Jay, a teenage girl who unwittingly becomes the target of an invisible evil force when she falls for a teenage boy who is not who he seems. Once the truth of the terror she has inherited sets in, she realizes she will never again be able to relax and enjoy her life, unless she can find a way to destroy the force compelled to follow her anywhere she goes. Accompanied by a handful of close friends, Jay must trust them to protect her against a dangerous force only she can see and that seemingly cannot be killed.

Jay, played by Maika Monroe, is exceedingly convincing as the relatively innocent, well-mannered good girl turned mostly helpless victim. She’s the popular girl with a kind heart type of character, easy to like and worthy of our empathy. Her sister Kelly, played by Lili Sepe, is a bit more of the girl next door, adventurous type, but the two of them are close enough to weather this bizarre storm together. Jay’s childhood friend with a deep-seeded crush Paul, played by Keir Gilchrist, first presents himself almost as if he’s the closeted gay friend, but rather turns out to be a timid admirer who ultimately proves to be Jay’s most dedicated defender.

Finally, Greg (played by Daniel Zovatto) is more the rebel teenage boy type, with whom Jay becomes smitten, but whose efforts to protect her are more steeped in a mild masculinity. Together, these four teenagers must try to outwit this slow, but smart presence while constantly on the move and on their toes, as the entity can appear as anyone.

IT FOLLOWS takes one of the oldest, most conventional horror movie plots and reinvents the entire experience. So many times, we have witnessed teenagers being stalked, chased and terrorized by slashers, psychos and evil creatures, but never quite like this. Mitchell draws on the influences of horror and the legendary filmmakers that have come before him and makes a film all his own.

Driven by an unseen terror, essentially introduced to the mainstream by the shark in JAWS, Mitchell also draws from another slow-burn suspenseful horror icon in HALLOWEEN, not just in the pacing, but also with the film’s original music, composed by Rich Vreeland (credited as Disasterpeace), which strangely melds the eerily minimalist style of John Carpenter’s score with the more ethereal ambiance of Vangelis, such as his work in BLADE RUNNER.

Following a similar line of thought, IT FOLLOWS also draws from another quintessential John Carpenter work, a remake itself. THE THING (1982) lays the foundation for a specific type of fear through paranoia that emerges as the mysterious force, which can appear as anyone, someone the character knows or loves, or a complete stranger. This creates a tension whereas anyone at anytime could be out for blood, unless you know what to look for, which Jay eventually understands and is significantly easier than testing blood samples with electricity.

Mitchell utilizes a color palette that pops just enough to embellish production, but selectively places harder contrast to add depth and enhanced darkness to certain scenes. This, along with a masterful use of moving camera and knowledge of when to linger statically, brings the underlying fear of the unknown and sense of being followed right to the foreground of the film, supercharging our ability to feel in that very time and place with Jay and her friends.

IT FOLLOWS is an extremely visceral, sensory film. In its peak moments, the shared fear is almost palpable, inducing goose bumps and an irrational sense of paranoia. Those viewers already naturally prone to these characteristics on a daily basis, may want to watch this film with great caution, as you’ll never see strangers quite the same way again.

IT FOLLOWS is successful not due to a massive budget, big special effects or a star-studded cast, as none of these things exist for the film. Instead, the film thrives on a solid script, tremendous direction and a low-key, talented cast without pretension for making anything other than what this film was meant to be, a terrifyingly complex but seemingly simple horror film that eats away at out most primary human fears.

IT FOLLOWS opens in St. Louis theaters on Friday, March 27th, 2015.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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