Andy Samberg as David E Scherman and Kate Winslet as Lee Miller, in LEE. Photo by Kimberley French. Courtesy of Roadside Attractions and Vertical.
The name Lee Miller may not be familiar but you have most likely seen her photos, some of the first and most iconic of Nazi concentration camps, taken immediately after the defeat of Nazi Germany. The photos show concentration camp survivors and the dead, which proved that the wartime rumors of the Holocaust were true. Lee Miller’s shocking, heartbreaking photos were published in an article titled “Believe It” in American Vogue, dispelling doubts about what had happened in Germany.
That a fashion magazine like Vogue would be the one that published them seems highly unlikely, yet so was the career and life of Lee Miller. Directed by acclaimed cinematographer Ellen Kura, making her feature film directorial debut, the stirring, inspirational drama LEE takes audiences from Lee Miller’s days as a New York fashion model-turned fashion photographer in Paris, who is living a life of pleasure among such important artistic figures as Picasso (Enrique Arce) and surrealist art photographer Man Ray (Samuel Barnett), who mentored her, to her years as a war correspondent and photographer in France and then post-war in Germany.
Kate Winslet gives a breathtaking performance, both as the older Lee Miller and the younger one in pre-war Paris, wartime London and France, and post-war Germany. The older Lee, chain-smoking and downing scotch, recounts her amazing career to a young interviewer (Josh O’Connor), in a framing device that brackets the historical tale.
LEE also features a host of stars, including Andy Samberg, Alexander Skarsgard, Andrea Riseborough, and Marion Cotillard, and a lot of famous names, in this true story.
Lee Miller started out as a fashion model in New York, achieving success in that field but Miller longed switch careers to photography, a life-long passion. Saying she was done with modeling, Lee moved to Paris, and the drama picks up Lee’s story there, where she is living a high-octane bohemian life, as part of a social circle that includes Pablo Picasso and surrealist photographer Man Ray, who was her mentor and lover. Lee is growing dissatisfied with that life when she meets British artist Roland Penrose (Alexander Skarsgard).
Persuaded to join Penrose in London, Miller escapes shortly before the Nazis invade France, trapping her old friends. In London, Miller gets the chance to break into photography, as a fashion photographer working for editor Audrey Withers (Andrea Riseborough) who also employs Cecil Beaton, the royal family’s favorite photographer, who snubs the model-turned-photog. As WWII sweeps across Europe, Lee Miller fights to be able to cover the war, finally returning to France and teaming up with Jewish American photographer David Scherman (Andy Samberg), who was working for Life magazine.
As the war ends, Miller and Scherman race to Germany to capture photographic evidence of Hitler’s evil. The bold, bohemian Lee Miller also finds Hitler’s now vacant apartment, where she and Scherman collaborate on a famous photo of a nude Miller in Hitler’s bath tub with her muddy boots from her visit to Dachau next to the tub, a shot taken just as Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker.
Before Lee and Scherman leave post-war Paris for newly-fallen Germany, Lee finds one her French friends from her carefree pre-London days, Solange D’Ayen (played movingly by Marion Cotillard, in a heartbreaking performance), who hiding in a deserted Nazi command center. Solange has been shattered by the war, and her imprisonment by the Nazis, and now, post war, she waits for her missing husband to return. Lee also encounters other old friends, Paul Eluard (Vincent Colombre), a poet and French Jew, and his wife Nusch Eluard (Noemie Merlant).
Winslet transforms herself from the elegant, hedonistic model-turned-photographer into a fearless, hard-drinking, tough war correspondent Lee became during the war and post-war. It is a showcase performance but both Winslet and Samberg are wonderful in their scenes together, showing real chemistry between the actors. Samberg’s Scherman is steady and reliable but finally briefly breakdowns emotionally after Dachau, crying out about “his people” and Hitler’s evil, in a moving scene. Both Samberg’s Davy Scherman and Winslet’s Lee Miller are passionate about their work, willing to face danger in the field to tell this important story and record it for history. On the other hand, Alexander Skarsgard’s aristocratic Brit Roland Penrose remains a pacifist, who opposes Hitler but does not comprehend Lee’s fearless willingness to place herself in harm’s way.
First-time director Ellen Kura crafts inspiring, powerful film filled with dramatic photography as LEE tells the too-little known story of this fearless, feminist, one-of-a-kind woman who broke barriers for women war correspondents, as she and fellow American war photojournalist Davy Scherman (Andy Samberg) covered the war and then pushed on to post-war Germany. If the film has a flaw, it is in the somewhat awkward framing device, although at the drama’s end you learn why it was used. However, it is a small flaw in an otherwise outstanding film, featuring an outstanding performance from Winslet, playing a historical figure whose name should be better known. Lee Miller left a photographic record of the horrors of Hitler’s hate, and her famous, emotionally-powerful photos still appear in countless books and articles about the Holocaust.
LEE opens Friday, Sept. 27, at multiple area theaters.
Daisy Ridley stars as Trudy Ederle, the first woman to successfully swim the English Channel, in the inspiring, true story-based YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA. Today, few know of Trudy Ederle and her accomplishments but this uplifting film may change that. At the time of her swim in 1926, it was said that women couldn’t swim the notoriously difficult, storm-tossed 21-mile stretch of water separating England and France, but the 19-year-old American swimmer, the daughter of German immigrant parents, proved them wrong – and bested the men’s record by more than 3 hours.
YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA is a Disney film, based on Glenn Stout’s 2009 book “Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World,” is a must-see for families with daughters interested in sports and especially swimming. The gripping, inspiring scenes swimming the Channel are worth the ticket price alone.
Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle was born in 1905 in New York, to poor German immigrant parents, at a time when there was a lot of prejudice against German immigrants, something that was heightened by World War I. We meet the family when Trudy is a child suffering with a severe case of measles, so severe that she is not expected to live. But survive she does, and then goes on use that will to survive in her career in sports.
In the early 20th century, women had few rights and faced many restrictions imposed by male-dominated society, but women also were fighting for the vote and pushing the boundaries of those restrictions. However, all Trudy’s mother Gertrude (Jeanette Hain) wanted was for Trudy and her sister Meg (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) to learn to swim, even thought is was thought unsuitable for girls and possibly harmful to their bodies. Like most men of the era, Trudy’s father Henry (Kim Bodnia) thought women should only be wives and mothers, and anything else was laughable. But Trudy’s mother, whose sister drown as a child, was just as strong-willed as her daughter, and insisted that both girls learn to swim as well as their younger brother. Dad gives permission for his daughter Meg to have swimming lessons but refuses to let Trudy go – until Trudy badgers him into it, relentlessly singing the song “Ain’t We Got Fun” until he agrees.
Even with her father’s permission, Trudy faces a new barrier. She may have survived measles but she is denied entry to swimming lessons because it was thought that it might cause her to lose her hearing, a concern that did have some basis. So, Trudy’s father teaches her to swim, at the pier on Coney Island, where Trudy reveals she has a natural gift in the water. Soon, she and her sister are winning contests swimming around the pier. The sisters bond over swimming and when they decide to join one of the first girls’ swim teams, coached by the ground-breaking Charlotte “Eppy” Epstein ( a wonderful Sian Clifford), Trudy again must prove herself just to get in the pool. Her talent and hard work earn her a spot at the Olympics on the first American women’s team to go to them.
In the early 1920s there is great craze for all kinds of athletic accomplishments, including swimming the English Channel, a notoriously difficult and dangerous swim, beset by storms, changeable currents as well as sharks and jellyfish. Many have tried and few had made it. Only five men have succeeded, including the colorful Bill Burgess (Stephen Graham), and it is thought that no woman could do it. Of course, Trudy wants to prove that wrong.
Daisy Ridley is splendid as Trudy, and hopefully this role will go away towards lifting the actor’s profile with audiences and casting directors. While the film isn’t always perfect, she generally is, playing a truly winning version of this amazing, courageous young woman athlete, someone who should be better known than she is now. The rest of the cast are good as well, with particular standouts being Tilda Cobham-Hervey as her sister, Jeanette Hain as Trudy’s strong-willed but tight-lipped mother, and Stephen Graham as the eccentric champion swimmer Bill Burgess. In smaller roles, Sian Clifford is striking as coach Epstein, and Alexander Karim as another would-be Channel swimmer Benji Zammit.
YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA is a Disney movie, and while it is still a worthy family film and great for young female athletes, it has some Disney-fying. It puts a great deal of emphasis on Trudy’s close relationship with her sister, and also on the patriarchy that weighed heavily on their lives, and spends little time showing Trudy training or working with her coach Eppy Epstein. The film showcases Trudy’s relentless determination, but her relationships with her sister and her family, while sweet, is kept more on the surface. An overly-emotional, excessively-loud and obvious score comes on too strong at times, overwhelming any real feeling the audience might have, and is the film’s biggest flaw.
The film focuses quite a bit on the father’s plan to arrange marriages for his daughters, and her sister’s acquiescence. The film accurately portrays the oppressive patriarchy of the time, and many things that seem unreal now – like the belief that exercise was harmful to women’s bodies and their inability to do certain things – were very real then, although these prejudices were often reinforced by men making sure they were the case. Still, a number of men in the story are crafted into one-note villains, given larger roles as a way to simplify that, particularly James Sullivan (Glenn Fleshler) and coach Jabez Wolffe (Christopher Eccleston), who attempted the Channel swim 22 times without success and may actually have wanted Trudy to fail.
This is an inspiring true story but the film itself plays loose with some of the facts, which is really unnecessary considering Ederle’s very impressive real accomplishments as a champion swimmer and Olympian. The film downplays some of her accomplishments, failed to mention her gold medal as part of the relay and only talks about her individual bronze medals. The film also reduces the real role her coach Epstein played in her accomplishment, instead elevating some male figures to play a larger role as villains. The film puts emphasis on the very real barriers and discrimination women faced in sports and life, in the early 20th century, but less on Trudy Ederle’s success in smashing through them. Another odd thing is the repeated refrain that she survived measles, at a time when it was a common childhood disease (there was no vaccine until 1963) that most people between the ages of 5 and 20 survived. Trudy was one of those who had a more serious case but saying “she survived measles” would have been met with a lot of “so did I” back then.
Still the film really excels and reaches its highest point, when it gets to swimming the channel. The dramatic seascapes energize the film and the focus is finally truly on the young woman and the sea. Daisy Ridley gets to really shine here. Swimming the channel is a thrilling sequence, with the feel of authenticity. Stephen Graham comes to the fore as the eccentric Bill Burgess, one of five male swimmers to have already conquered the Channel, but who steps forward to help Trudy in her quest.
YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA is an inspiring true-story sports movie that is highly recommended for girls and young women and for families, with thrilling scenes of the Channel swim itself and a chance to get to know something about an American champion swimmer who deserves to be better known – Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel.
YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA opens Friday, May 31, in theaters.
Helen Mirren as Golda Meir and Liev Schreiber as Henry Kissinger, in Bleecker Street/ShivHans Pictures’ GOLDA Photo credit: Sean Gleason, Courtesy of Bleecker Street/ShivHans Pictures
Helen Mirren portrays Golda Meir, Israel’s first women prime minister, during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, in GOLDA. Internationally, Golda Meir is known as the “Iron Lady of Israel” and is an admired figure but she is more controversial in her home country of Israel. In the British historical drama GOLDA, Israeli-American director Guy Nativ and British scriptwriter Nicholas Martin aim to offer a fresh look at Golda Meir by focusing on her during the Yom Kippur War, when Israel found itself facing two invading armies, from Egypt in the Sinai and Syria in the Golan Heights.
Mirren plays Golda Meir in heavy makeup and prosthetics, transforming her appearenceappearance to more closely resemble the much-photographed Golda Meir and allow director Nativ to more easily include generous use of archival footage and even insert Mirren into some of those scenes. Mirren’s physical transformation is impressive enough to draw gasps, but some have criticized the makeup as restricting her performance, while others, including this writer, feel that Mirren still delivers an affecting performance, which some have called Oscar-worthy.
Adding to the controversy is that Helen Mirren is not Jewish, raising objections to “Jew face” casting. However, Israeli-American director Guy Nativ sought her out for this role, after she was first suggested by Golda Meir’s grandson Gideon Meir, who was a consultant on the drama. Mirren’s carefully-researched, restrained performance gives little room for criticism, and having an Israeli-born director, plus a strong supporting cast with many Israel and Jewish actors, also goes a ways towards softening the issue.
GOLDA is neither a true biopic nor is it a battlefield war epic, and people expecting either will be disappointed. Instead, it is a engrossing and tense, ticking-clock drama in which Helen Mirren gives a taut portrayal of Golda Meir during the Yom Kippur War, which was an existential threat to Israel but ultimately led to the peace accord and recognition with Egypt.
Golda Meir was an Israeli national hero when she was chosen as Israel’s first (and so far only) woman prime minister but she was considered an interim choice because the sides could not agree on a choice. By any standard, Meir had a remarkable life, from her childhood in Ukraine under the Russia empire, to her family’s emigration to Milwaukee, to her decision as a young woman to move to Israel and fight in its war for independence. But GOLDA neither a full biography nor is it a full examination of the events of the Yom Yippur War, but a hybrid of the two that focuses on Golda Meir’s experience of that war.
The 1973 Yom Kippur War came not long after the Six Days War, where that quick victory left Israeli generals feeling overconfident. GOLDA opens with a brief montage of archival images and video to recap some early Israeli history, and then moves on to a post-Yom Kippur War hearing, where Prime Minister Golda Meir (Mirren) is being questioned by the Agranat commission about controversial decisions made during the war, which had high casualties on all sides.
The commission is used as a framing devise for Golda to tell her story of the war, from her perspective. That retelling begins with Prime Minister Golda Meir getting a report from the head of Mossad, Zvi Zamir (Israeli actor Rotem Keinan), about a source warning of an imminent attack by both Egypt and Syria, Israel’s neighbors to the south and north, a warning that comes in October just as Yom Kippur is approaching.
Unfortunately, this same Mossad source has warned of an attack earlier in the year, which never took place. so Meir knows defense minister Moshe Dayan (Israeli actor Rami Heuberger) will be skeptical. When she meets with her military advisors, all men, they show her little respect, barely remembering to stand for her as they would for any prime minister. Overconfident after the success of the Six Day War, the generals mostly dismiss the idea of an attack during the high holy days, even though Meir warns is a perfect time for one. Military intelligence head Eli Zeira (Israeli actor Dvir Benedek) assures her that their secret listening system will warn them of any attack well in advance, even despite the holiday. He’s wrong.
The film is packed with famous figures of Israeli history, and the cast includes Israel stars Lior Ashkenazi as General David “Dado” Elazar and Ohad Knoller as a young Ariel Sharon, while Liev Schreiber plays U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The acting is strong but nuanced throughout, but the drama is more emotionally restrained than explosive.
While billed as a “political thriller,” GOLDA lacks the pulse-pounding pace of a thriller. Instead, it is more a tense, involving drama, as we follow Golda Meir closely as she copes with war on two fronts, a team of over-confident all-male generals who are shocked when their forces are at first overwhelmed, and her own anguish over war casualties. The sexism of the era is present, as the men who are supposed to serve her as prime minister often fail to even stand when she enters, as they have done for every other prime minister, but the film does not dwell on this. Instead the focus is on Golda Meir’s skill as a leader and decision-maker, despite her lack of military experience, and her anguish at the war’s loss of life, losses she records day by day in a notebook.
Mirren’s Golda is a chain-smoking, flinty character with a sharp political mind and cunning skill in manipulating the men who surround her and anticipating the plans of her enemies. At the time, Golda Meir was 76 years old and suffering from cancer, something depicted in a few scenes. She was in poor physical shape, so travel to the war zone was largely not possible, which means this war-time story largely takes place in Golda Meir’s office, the hallways and bunkers where Meir and her generals discussed military actions and listened to radio reports from the two fronts.
Watching the grandmotherly figure navigate the politics of the strong male personalities in the room with a flinty strength, while making decisive, smart strategic military decisions despite her lack of soldierly training, is inspiring, and one of the highlights of Mirren’s performance. Away from the meetings, we see the more haunted and personal side of Golda.
Among the film’s best moments are when Golda Meir charms and cajoles Kissinger into providing aid for Israel, despite the Watergate scandal unfolding at the same time. They talk by phone and then Kissinger visits Israel to talk in-person with Meir. Meir feeds Kissinger borscht, and then gets to work. Schreiber’s Kissinger cautions her ” “Madame Prime Minister, in terms of our work together, I think it is important to remember I am first an American, second I am Secretary of State, and third I am a Jew.” Golda Meir replies “You forget that in Israel, we read from left to right.” It provides a rare moment of lightness and humor in the drama.
The carefully-researched film recreates the period look. While much of the drama takes place in smoke-filled rooms and half-lit hallways, Nativ captures the horror of the war with clips of archival footage and actual audience recordings of battlefield exchanges. There is also frequent use of other archival footage, including some with the real Golda Meir, and some where Mirren is inserted into the archival image. The film works hard to accurately recreate Golda Meir’s clothes, appearance and smoking, as well as the look of her office and other spaces where the story unfolds, with the help of Meir’s grandson Gideon as a consultant.
The personal side of Meir comes out mostly in her scenes with her personal assistant and friend, Lou Kaddar (French actress Camille Cottin), which are warm and sometimes depict her defiance or moments of doubt. The soundtrack is tense, often with a percussive character and metallic, strident bells. The film concludes with the perfect choice of Leonard Cohen’s song “Who By Fire,” which he wrote after visiting Israeli troops during this war.
GOLDA, in English and Hebrew with English subtitles, opens Friday, Aug. 25, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema and other theaters nationally.
Cillian Murphy is J. Robert Oppenheimer in OPPENHEIMER, written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan. Courtesy of Universal
“Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds” is the famous quote from the Bhagavad Gita that physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer spoke upon witnessing the first denotation of a nuclear device, as the world entered the new era of nuclear weapons. OPPENHEIMER is Christopher Nolan’s epic drama about Oppenheimer, his work on the Manhattan Project, and his treatment after the war. The biographical drama starts like a historical thriller and ends like a profound warning to the world, all set against the sweep of history that changed the world.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, Nolan’s epic film in fact opens with a reminder of that myth of the man who stole fire from the gods and was punished eternally for his deed. OPPENHEIMER explores the theoretical physicist’s life, particularly his work on the WWII race to build a nuclear bomb before the Nazi Germany, known as the Manhattan Project, and then the post-war aftermath, when Oppenheimer, haunted by the world-destructive weapon that he helped unleash on the world, sought to rein in that danger, which pitted him against a military eager to launch the Cold War arms race, making Oppenheimer a target for communist-hunting investigations.
J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) was the brilliant theoretical physicist who was selected to run the Manhattan Project, the secret U.S. project to beat Nazi Germany to building an atomic bomb. The young physicist is recruited for that job by Lt. General Leslie Groves Jr. (Matt Damon). Oppenheimer seemed an unlikely choice, the New York-born son of a wealthy Jewish family and an autodidact who read literature and poetry, spoke several languages and read the Hindu sacred text, the Bhagavad Gita, in the original Sanskrit, yet Oppenheimer actively seeks the job, eager to help defeat the Nazis, partly because of what was happening to Jewish people in Europe. Oppenheimer shared his family’s left-leaning political views, and even partied with some communists, but none of that was remarkable or uncommon in that time period, when Americans were still unaware of what was really happening in Stalin’s Soviet Union.
Immediately, Oppenheimer realizes the Manhattan Project has an unexpected edge over the Nazis, despite Germany’s over-a-year head start on developing a nuclear bomb. Hitler’s hatred of the Jews will drive the Germans to purge Jewish scientists from their nuclear bomb research, and Oppenheimer, having visited Europe as a student, knows many of the top physicists are Jewish or have Jewish backgrounds or links. Oppenheimer sets out to recruit as many of those Jewish refugee physicists as possible, using Hitler’s hatred against him.
And recruit them he does, including Edward Teller (Benny Safdie), Niels Bohr (Kenneth Branagh), and Hans Bethe (Gustaf Skarsgard), along with Jewish-Americans Richard Feynman (Jack Quaid) and Robert Serber (Michael Angarano). Enrico Fermi (Danny Deferrari) wasn’t Jewish but his wife was, causing them to flee fascist Italy, and he joins the effort too. Although Oppenheimer knew Albert Einstein (Tom Conti), and the two were friends, he did not invite Einstein to join the project, but Einstein does appear in the film at a couple of points, and has an important part in the film’s powerful ending.
For the secret project, Oppenheimer selects a remote location in the New Mexico desert, Los Alamos, near an area he has vacationed many times, a region he loves. The desert landscape creates a perfect canvas for Nolan to build this thrilling chase for the bomb.
The impressive cast also includes Robert Downey Jr as Lewis Strauss, the non-scientist who heads the Princeton academy that includes Einstein. Josh Hartnett as Ernest Lawrence (as in Lawrence Livermore laboratory) and David Krumholtz as Oppenheimer’s friend Isidor Rabi.. Emily Blunt plays Oppenheimer’s wife Kitty, a biologist frustrated by the era’s confining roles of wife and mother, and Florence Pugh as Oppenheimer’s troubled ex-lover, leftist psychiatrist Jean Tatlock. Many other recognizable faces appear, in a host of small roles.
Nolan’s film, perhaps his best, is a true epic and its length is epic too, at about 3 hours, but OPPENHEIMER is so engrossing and tense that one does not feel the running time. This excellent film has much to recommend it – its riveting and significant content, timely message about ethical consequences of technology, its outstanding performances from an impressive cast (particularly Cillian Murphy), its powerful and largely accurate historical storytelling, plus its visual artistry and technical achievements – to mention a few of its admirable aspects, meaning that it is hard to know where to start in describing the film. Those who know Nolan’s work will find that OPPENHEIMER is very much in his wheelhouse, perhaps the film he was always meant to make.
OPPENHEIMER is divided in two parts, which Nolan labels “Fission” and “Fusion,” for the pre-bomb and post-bomb world. The epic starts out as biography and a gripping thriller, as the young Oppenheimer ascends and the Manhattan Project races to build the first atomic bomb. Post-war, it shifts to taut drama about his fall, as the now-famous Oppenheimer is haunted with guilt over giving mankind the power to destroy the world, and seeks use his fame to limit nuclear weapons, which angers the Pentagon, eager to start the arms race, and makes him the target of a investigation in the rising tide of the Cold War and a shifting political climate. The pivot point between these two parts is the testing of the first nuclear device, Trinity, in which what had been theoretical suddenly becomes horrifying reality, prompting that famous quote from Oppenheimer.
The film jumps back and forth in time, as Nolan film’s sometimes do, and has three threads it follows. But there is no trouble following the narrative, even if the significance of a single scene might not be immediately clear, and the director aids that by presenting one of these threads is in black-and-white. Two of the thread are focused on Oppenheimer, before and after the Trinity nuclear test, while the third, in black-and-white, is centered on a Congressional hearing to confirm Lewis Strauss for a cabinet-level post. What that thread has to do with the story is not clear until later in the film, but it’s significance is powerful.
From the start, ethical and moral questions are part of the equation. Why try to create the most destructive weapon ever seen? In one scene, the physicists debate that question but one fact looms over all: Hitler’s Germany is already working on such a weapon. If they can’t be stopped, the next best thing is to get the weapon first. “I don’t know if we can be trusted to have such a weapon but I know the Nazis can’t,” Oppenheimer says in the film.
The film’s pivotal moment is the test of the first nuclear device, the Trinity test, where what had been only theoretical becomes devastatingly real, and changes the world forever. It is a heart-stopping, showstopper sequence that is the cinematic highlight as well as pivot point of the film, where the realization of the true significance of what they have done causes Oppenheimer to utter that famous quote. Nolan handles this immersive sequence with brilliance, giving the audience an unsettling feeling of being there in the moment. The lack of awareness of the danger of radiation actually poses is one reason some scenes are so harrowing to watch.
The scenes of the detonation are riveting but the film does not include footage of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as the story is told from Oppenheimer’s view and it is not something he witnessed. Once the two bombs are created, they are whisked away, and Oppenheimer learns about their use and targets the same time and way as everyone else- on the radio. Instead, there is a sequence after the bombs are dropped, where Oppenheimer speaks to the Manhattan Project scientists and staff. As he speaks, shots of the jubilant people in the crowd sometimes slowly morph into images that suggest the bombs’ victims, a haunting, horrifying effect that reflects Oppenheimer’s inner turmoil at that world-changing moment.
Post-war, Oppenheimer finds himself suddenly famous but consumed with guilt, and tries to use that fame to press for limits on nuclear weapons, hoping the horror of the atomic bombs will put an end to all wars. But not everyone has grasped how the world has been transformed by the new technology, and Oppenheimer fails to see the shifting political landscape of the coming Cold War, making him a target.
The post-war second half adopts a deeper, more thoughtful tone, more like a courtroom drama, as it examines how Oppenheimer was treated after the war. Suddenly, Oppenheimer is world famous, and the scientist tries to use that fame to press the government of the nation he served so well to take seriously the danger of new power unleashed on the world. He wants them to grasp, as one character notes in the film, that this is not a weapon but a new reality for the world. But even after Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the devastating effects of ionizing radiation emerged, many do not see it. Instead, Oppenheimer’s activities, particularly his opposition to the development of a hydrogen bomb, angers the Pentagon, focused the dawning Cold War and arms race.
The film basically gets the history and science right, although it is careful not to overload the audience with the latter. However, this is important to note this is basically biography, told from the subject’s view, and not a definitive exploration of the Manhattan Project and the resulting bombings. That means that some may feel that there are things it overlooks or doesn’t cover in sufficient depth but historical completeness was never the intent of the film. As the film depicts, Oppenheimer did not pick the targets, and after the Trinity test, all control is taken out of his hands. Oppenheimer learns about the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki the same way every American did, on the radio.
Much of the reason the film is so immersive and gripping is how Nolan shot the film, which is analog, on 65mm film in large-format15-perf IMAX, with ten times the resolution of standard film, and the highest resolution film ever used. This is a must-see epic that is best seen on an large IMAX screen. In 19 lucky locations around the U.S., it is also being shown in 70mm format, the best choice.
Oppenheimer’s lack of understanding of the political shift underway post-war as the Cold War dawns is illustrated in a scene where he meets President Truman (Gary Oldman). The physicist wants to take the opportunity to speak out against developing the more-powerful hydrogen bomb, but Truman isn’t open to that topic. Frustrated, Oppenheimer tells Truman he feels he has “blood on his hands” a grave error in speaking to the President who ordered the dropping of those bombs, who abruptly ends the meeting.
The scene also illustrates the way in which Oppenheimer became his own worst enemy in the post-war world he helped create, as well as the target of an angered Pentagon, a theme further expanded as Oppenheimer faced an investigation about renewing his security clearance, where questions about his pre-war left-leaning political associations, once considered inconsequential, were raised anew in the commie-hunting atmosphere. The film culminates in a powerful sequence that brings all its threads together and leaves us stunned.
OPPENHEIMER seems a sure thing for Oscar nominations, an engrossing, brilliant epic that mixes a rise-and-fall biography of a complicated genius, with tremendous ticking-clock historical thriller followed by a revealing drama about a struggle over a technology with the power to destroy the humankind, and the ethical choices around it.
Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb, in TURN EVERY PAGE. Photo credit: Claudia Raschke. Courtesy of Wild Surmise Productions, LLC / Sony Pictures Classics
What a delightful documentary is TURN EVERY PAGE – THE ADVENTURES OF ROBERT CARO AND ROBERT GOTTLIEB. This witty, warm and insightful documentary is like a double biography of two literary giants, legendary author Robert Caro and his long-time editor, the equally legendary Robert Gottlieb.
Robert Caro is the author of “The Power Broker,” an examination of the career of New York power broker Robert Moses, considered one of the most definitive non-fiction books on political power behind the scenes, and the award-winning four volume history of Lyndon B. Johnson. Robert Gottlieb is the editor-in-chief of prestigious publishing house Knopf and heads up the renown New Yorker magazine, and has edited an astonishing list of great authors and great books, including Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 (and Gottlieb came up with that number), John Le Carre, Salmon Rushdie, Toni Morrison, and so many more greats that it looks like a list of the best writers and books of the 20th century.
TURN EVERY PAGE is a delight especially if you are a reader, but even if you have an interest in politics and history or you just like meeting intelligent, charming people who have led interesting lives. The two Bobs are significant literary figures but this winning documentary surprises us with their personal stories and their quirky, appealing personalities.
These two men are among the most influential figures in publishing in the 20th century but TURN EVERY PAGE is filled with wit and affection, the personal side of two people with massive talent. Both are shy and charming, but with their prickly side and quirks. Their professional partnership yielded great writing and insightful history but telling their story also tells the story of publishing in a vanishing era.
The director is Gottlieb’s daughter, Lizzie, realized she was in a unique position to tell this story. Her closeness to both subjects is a big help in many ways, including because she knows both these men so well and therefore knows the right questions to ask, and where to find hidden gold for this documentary.
Robert Caro, 87, and Robert Gottlieb, 91, have worked together for 50 years, as partnership that continues as Caro now is working on his last volume on LBJ (which he describes as “volume 5 of a 3 volume biography”), while Gottlieb waits to edit it. But, as he has always done. Gottlieb does not ask when it will be finished, content to wait until Caro knows it is finished, despite the sense that both men are racing against time.
Not that Gottlieb is doing nothing as he waits. In fact he is impressively busy, as the documentary makes clear. He is editing other works, continues to lead the New Yorker, and helps manage a Miami ballet company! And he reads voraciously – everything.
The two Bobs are brilliant but definitely have their quirks. For one thing, they both had to be cajoled in this project. Secondly, they refused to be interviewed together, to even be in the same room. Rather a strange thing for two men who have worked together for so long. Part of the reason was they both felt what they did together, their discussions while editing a book, was too personal to share.
The title comes from something Caro’s editor at Newsday said to him, as he was just getting started as an investigative reporter -“turn every page,” meaning overlook nothing, do not assume, be diligent – you never know what will be revealed on the next page. It is a good description for both this documentary and the way these men have lived. Thorough, sincere, diligent, they both are deeply committed to achieving the highest level in their work. That goal is something that the many authors and readers featured in this documentary attest they have achieved.
The two men are charming but also very different. Gottlieb seems more sociable and funny, while Caro is more reserved and intensely private. Director Lizzie describes growing up in a house filled with literary figures, frequently gathered around the table for dinners. Everyone except Robert Caro. Caro was the distant enigma, the one who held himself apart, someone Lizzie Gottlieb describes as her “white whale.” One might expect such a figure to be cool, unpleasant, maybe curmudgeonly. Yet Caro is nothing like that. Instead he is polite, personable, smiling, but clearly a quiet, serious person who thinks deeply about his work and strives to make it as perfect as it can be. Still turning every page.
Then there was the debate over semicolons. Caro loves them, Gottlieb not so much. No really, this is serious stuff for these professionals who makes their living on words, but director Lizzie Gottlieb gives this debate a light comic touch, which makes us laugh a little, and uses it to bring out their personalities. Listening to the two of them verbally sparring over punctuation is amusing but surprisingly heartwarming.
The documentary delves into both men’s professional process and recaps some parts of Caro’s “The Power Broker,” on New York mover-and-shaker Robert Moses and his Lyndon Baines Johnson books, which reveal how the books reveal the inner workings of politics through these powerful men’s story. If you have read Caro’s books, the film gives insights on the author’s research, For those that have not, the documentary gives a taste of the kind of shocking revelations the books contain. Another thing the documentary spotlights is Caro’s equal devotion to the quality of the writing, something that makes his books a joy to read in themselves.
As much as the author and editor may battle over punctuation or Caro’s love of the word “loom,” the admiration both men have for each other comes through clearly. The documentary also captures a sense of a passing era, as these long-time collaborators reach the ends of their careers. In the end, the two Bobs finally agree to be filmed together as they work but only with the sound off, keeping what they say private. But that sense of an era gone by is captured poignantly as the two of them scour the Knopf offices in search of a number 2 pencil. It is a perfect moment with which to end this warm and insightful film.
TURN EVERY PAGE – THE ADVENTURES OF ROBERT CARO AND ROBERT GOTTLIEB opens Friday, Feb. 10, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas and other theaters.
Colin Firth as Ewen Montagu and Matthew Macfadyen as Charles Cholmondeley, in OPERATION MINCEMEAT. Photo Credit: Giles Keyte/See-Saw Films, Courtesy of Netflix
“Truth is stranger than fiction” stories are often the best, and the true story behind the British WWII tale OPERATION MINCEMEAT is plenty strange, and surprisingly impressive in its audacity and brilliant execution. Colin Firth (THE KING’S SPEECH) and Matthew Macfadyen (TV’s “Succession,” PRIDE AND PREJUDICE) star as a pair of WWII British intelligence agents with an odd idea for a ruse to plant false information, aimed at Hitler, about a planned Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe, using a most unlikely spy: a dead man. Director John Madden’s thriller OPERATION MINCEMEAT inevitably has the potential for gallows humor, given that outrageous idea, but it is also a tale about an impressive intelligence operation that actually took place and, moreover, played a pivotal role in the war. Add in the fact that the two agents are working partly with a creative young intelligence agent named Ian Fleming (yes, that Ian Fleming, the guy who wrote the James Bond stories), and you have a lot of juicy factual material to work with.
In addition to Firth and Macfadyen, OPERATION MINCEMEAT has an excellent cast that includes Kelly MacDonald, Penelope Wilton, Mark Gatiss, Jason Isaacs, Johnny Flynn and more. With all that, you have all the elements in place for an engrossing historical true story but one that is different from the usual WWII tale. It is a different kind of war story, one that takes place far from the battlefield, but what these individuals are doing in secret proves crucial to the Allies’ success in the war.
It is 1943, and British troops have been battling Nazi troops in grueling conditions in Africa and Asia, but are now poised to launch an invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. The most obvious landing spot for that assault is Sicily but the Allies will face daunting odds against the entrenched Axis forces. Unless the Allies can convince Hitler that the attack will come elsewhere, specifically Greece, Allied troops will likely face massive loss of lives and potential failure of the invasion. If the invasion of Italy fails, it would be as catastrophic as if D-Day had failed. The stakes could not be higher.
Desperate to come up with a plan, the Brits turn to their intelligence community. Ewen Montagu (Colin Firth), a brilliant barrister turned intelligence officer, and Charles Cholmondeley (Matthew Macfadyen) are part of a team of British intelligence agents tasked with finding a ruse that will persuade Hitler that the Allies plan to land in Greece instead of Sicily, and make him shift his troops there. Drawing from a handbook of spy craft and subterfuge created by an intelligence officer named Ian Fleming (Johnny Flynn), Montagu and Cholmondeley pick out an outrageous idea: to plant false secret information on a dead body and then arrange for the Nazis to find it. Their “agent” will seem to be a courier who died in a plane crash at sea and washed up on the coast of Spain, a fascist but neutral country. The plan then calls for secret efforts to guide the information straight to Hitler’s eyes. The idea is so far-fetched that it faced significant opposition but eventually the plan is approved by Churchill. Montagu and Cholmondeley (whose name is pronounced “Chumley”) are assigned to lead the top secret Twenty Committee of Naval Intelligence, and a dingy basement office for their work. Montagu’s long-time assistant and friend Hester Leggett (Penelope Wilton) and a clever, young office worker, Jean Leslie (Kelly Macdonald), also join the team working on the plan, which is dubbed “Operation Mincemeat.”
In order to pull off this plan, the team has to devise a complete story and convincing persona for their “agent,” as well as create a convincingly worn uniform, the contents of a wallet and personal effects, and numerous other details, along with the documents to convince the Germans of a secret plan to invade Greece. They also must decide where (and how) to get the body off the coast of Spain, and then guide it to the right people so the information goes straight to Hitler, while convincing the Spanish and Germans that the Allies were desperate to retrieve the documents about the faux invasion plans. No detail can be overlooked, because discovery of the ruse means disaster for the troops.
They also need a body to play the part. You would think that finding a dead body in wartime would be easy, but no. For one thing, the dead person has to meet strict criteria: be young and look convincing as British officer, and appear to have drowned, as the Germans will certainly do forensics on the corpse. They have their work cut out for them.
Oddly, one of the first things the team does in constructing this complicated ruse is obtain the dead body to play the part, which means there is a ticking clock immediately running, as they race to get all the pieces in place for the ruse before the dead body becomes too far gone to be useful. Meanwhile, as they work furiously on the project, a kind of love triangle develops with Montagu, Cholmondeley and Jean Leslie.
The idea is so outrageous, and the steps they take to make sure every detail is seamless are fascinating, making this rich material for an entertaining film about in this behind-the-scenes WWII true story. Plus, OPERATION MINCEMEAT features a splendid cast of talented Brits, and the cast alone is a treat for fans of British films and television series.
OPERATION MINCEMEAT features voice-over narration that seems a bit flowery at first, until you realize that the narrator is Ian Fleming, played with charm by Johnny Flynn. There is a running joke about Fleming, and a seeming host of others in the offices, typing away on novels in their spare moments, on the office typewriters. There are plentiful references to the British tradition of adventure novels, particularly John Buchan and his bestseller “The 39 Steps.” Director John Madden is famous for such period works as SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, so he handles all that well here, but the director is less known for comedy. To be clear, this is not a comedy, but it does have a bombastic, humorous element, and sometimes a little inner “Weekend with Bernie” wants to come out.
Madden’s attention to period detail is flawless and the photography splendid as well. The concept of storytelling is a strong theme in this film, where the team is writing the story of their fictional agent, while several people involved are writing their own novels. The film is based on a book by Ben Macintyre, but director John Madden and scriptwriter Michelle Ashford build the film around the characters as much as the surprising story. In the course of their work, Montagu and Cholmondeley develop a close friendship, but it is strained by the fact that they are both attracted to Kelly Macdonald’s Jean. In addition to the romantic rivalry, both Montagu and Cholmondeley have complicated personal lives that add to the tension as they work.
The fact that the film has so much going on – the clandestine operation, the love triangle, the complex personal stories of Montagu and Cholmondeley, and the storytelling theme – means holding a focus is a challenge. At times, that complexity actually works against the film as a whole, making a bit cluttered and unfocused. This is a fascinating true story but all the moving parts makes it feel as if Madden did not quite trust the appeal of this unlikely tale. There is enough material here for a couple of good movies but less may have been more in this case. Still, the cast is wonderful, the little touches of humor, and the basic unexpectedness of the true story do add up to an entertaining film highlighting the brilliance of these unsung war heroes and this remarkable untold story.
OPERATION MINCEMEAT opens at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema and other theaters on Friday, May 6, and debuts streaming on Netflix on May 11.
So, here’s a bit of a “flip”. This pre-holiday Wednesday sees the release of two sequels, SING 2 and MATRIX: THE RESURRECTION (not that unusual for the big studios). So, what almost “balances” them out? Why a “prequel”, naturally. And though you’d think that the first film of this franchise back in 2015 would count as an “origin” story, this one goes further back. Much further, nearly a hundred years really. In that first flick, a super-secret society was in full operation, but we didn’t know how or when it was first formed. Well, wonder no more. It’s time to head down for a “fitting” and learn about that original “sharp-dressed man”, THE KING’S MAN.
It all really begins near the turn of the 20th century, as the wife and son of British military man Orlando Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) visit him at a remote foreign outpost. A surprise attack results in tragedy despite the best efforts of their trusted valet, Shola (Djimon Hounsou). The now widowed Oxford must raise his son alone. As he becomes a strapping teenager, Conrad (Harris Dickinson) displays great fighting skills as he trains with Shola. Ah, but the now Duke of Oxford will not allow his son to follow him into the armed forces. This even after a meeting with old friend General Kitchener (Charles Dance) and his aide Morton (Matthew Goode) concerning foreign agents activity. Most of these operatives are part of the “Shepherd’s Flock” who report to a mysterious shadowy leader working atop a nearly impenetrable mountain mesa. At his table are Mata Hari (Valerie Pachner), Hanussen (Daniel Bruhl), and the sinister Rasputin (Rhys Ifans). They devise a plan to plunge Europe into world war by manipulating King George, Kaiser Wilheim, and Tsar Nicholas (all played by Tom Hollander). When one of these spies tries to kill Conrad, the Duke decides to get involved and confess that he’s using his own spy network of servants, with the help of Shola and housekeeper/nanny Polly (Gemma Arterton). As global conflict looms the quartet travels the globe trying to thwart the master plans of “The Shepherd”. But when war does break out can the Duke stop his son from enlisting? And should he expand his society in order to prevent future masterminds?
After the previous films in the series, it’s a bit of a surprise that the main “man of action” this time out is screen vet Fiennes. He propels the story deftly going from will action, yes I know there are doubles, but it’s still fairly impressive) and moments of great sorrow and angst. Earlier this year he did great work on THE DIG (if you’ve got Netflix make time for this) and NO TIME TO DIE (a pro-active “M”), and he does the “heavy lifting” on the uneven script. The Duke can’t quite bring the same intensity to his son’s character. Conrad is earnest, smart, but a bit bland despite the best efforts of Dickinson. Aside from butting heads with his papa, he’s a catalyst to the agency’s start. Ifans seems to be having a grand time as the truly unstoppable real-life ghoul of history, Rasputin, exuding unbridled lust and feral ferocity. He doesn’t give off the same exotic charisma as Christopher Lee did over fifty years ago, but he’s a worthy adversary for the Oxfords. Hounsou is a terrific advisor and “gadget guru” as he toils in the shadows making much more of an impression than the criminality underused Arterton as third-in-command Molly. She does make a mark in a big action sequence, then seems to vanish for too many scenes only popping up to inspire the Duke and hint at her romantic “pining” for him. My hopes that we’d see a bit of her Gretel role in this film were coldly dashed. Almost having as much fun as Ifans is Hollander who juggles lots of mannerisms and accents in his multiple roles.
Veteran franchise director Matthew Vaughn still brings a lot of kinetic energy to the splashy action sequences, though his jumps into ultra “slo-mo” can curtail the momentum. Unfortunately, these bits of daring feel few and “far between”. There seem to be far too many conversations setting the historical settings and the big action-setpiece final act. Perhaps another “pass’ at the script that Vaughn co-wrote with Karl Gajdusek might have smoothed it out. As it stands, the script lurches about, changing tone so swiftly as to induce whiplash. One minute it’s a tragic adventure, then suddenly it’s a raucous comedy full of buffoonish caricatures, then it’s a tale of high political intrigue. The biggest stumble might be a sequence set during the “last great war’ with the trenches seemingly leftover from the much-better 1917, along with a desperate clash in “No Man’s Land” that pales next to a certain Amazon’s charge toward the guns. Its harsh reality doesn’t fit with the outrageous fantasy elements, let alone the raunchy slapstick of the ghoulish horny Russian. Then all the plots collapse on themselves (blackmail in the White House), in order to get to the “franchise formation”. It just all feels tired and more than a little stale (the film’s been sitting in a vault for two years, so it’s well past its “expiration date”). If you’re in the mood for a big comics-inspired “thrill-machine” there are much better choices than the tepid, tedious, “back-story” of THE KING’S MAN.
1.5 Out of 4
THE KING’S MAN opens in theatres everywhere on Wednesday, December 22, 2021
Feng-bin Mou in THE EMPEROR’S SWORD. Courtesy of Well Go USA
THE EMPEROR’S SWORD is a Chinese period action drama opening with a huge battle that results in China being unified under a single monarch for the first time. The goal was to create a peace that would endure for generations. The eponymous weapon was considered so powerful, that it was re-forged into a pair. One stayed with the emperor. The other was sent far away with trusted General Meng to keep anyone from getting both and usurping the new regime. Great plan. For about a decade.
Then the good emperor dies. An underling kills the rest of the family and dispatches hordes of minions to re-take the other sword half. General Meng’s daughter escapes with the item, and for the rest of the movie we watch her being chased by lots of baddies, helped along the way by a handful of heroes, including her dad’s former disciples, reluctantly wrenched from their idyllic 10-year retirements on account of this treachery.
That plot is fairly common among historical Asian action fare, so the distinguishing element here is a matter of style. Director Zhang Yingli plays it soft on the gore, opting for a more lyrical, aesthetic approach to the heroics and high body count. Think CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON without the romance, as opposed to the high-octane thrills from adrenaline pumpers like most of the work from a Jet Li or Donnie Yen. Much of the bloodshed occurs in slow motion, backed by a complementary score, making those scenes more elegant than visceral. That’s not only true for the swordplay, but for several masterfully-framed sequences involving archers.
Western viewers should play close attention to the quiet parts, since the characters and time sequence might otherwise become rather confusing, especially due to several flashbacks interspersed with current proceedings. Those accustomed to the fast-paced, high energy segment of the genre that’s dominated since the Hong Kong fare of the 1970s will need to scale down expectations for this relatively quiet production, that embraces viewers with less tolerance for explicit gore. Even so, THE EMPEROR’S SWORD still delivers plenty of epic-level CGI moments and a fair bit of wire work. Several particularly well-choreographed fight sequences justify checking this one out purely on their own merits.
THE EMPEROR’S SWORD, in Mandarin with English subtitles, will be released on DVD, Blu-ray and digital on Nov. 9.
Benedict Cumberbatch as artist Louis Wain, in THE ELECTRICAL LIFE OF LOUIS WAIN. Courtesy of Amazon Studios.
Benedict Cumberbatch stars in a charming, bittersweet true story of an eccentric late-Victorian British artist whose whimsical drawings of cats was instrumental in popularizing them as pets. Based on the true story of British artist and would-be polymath Louis Wain, THE ELECTRICAL LIFE OF LOUIS WAIN sports a wonderful cast that includes Claire Foy, Toby Jones, Andrea Riseborough and narration by Olivia Colman (and therefore two of the Queens from TV’s “The Crown” although Colman is unseen). It delivers a sympathetic biopic about a unique, now nearly-forgotten artist who once charmed Victorian audiences with his playful, slightly tongue-in-cheek drawings of cats, and changed how people saw them.
Although there are plentiful cats and drawings of cats, director Will Sharpe’s biopic about a once-famous eccentric artist, the ups and downs of his life, and why cats meant so much to him, rather than about cats. Wain’s cat drawings were inspired by his love for his wife, who transformed his life, and the black-and-white kitten they found in their garden and named Peter. It is more about his love for his wife than cats, but he certainly changed how people saw cats, using his funny, playful cartoon drawings, and popularized them as house pets, not just useful animals in the yard or barn to control pests.
Anthropomorphic drawings like Wain’s cats were very popular in Victorian England and like Tenniel, the illustrator of “Alice in Wonderland” and others, Wain’s playful cat images often satirized or poked fun at human fashions or foibles. In Louis Wain’s early drawings, landscapes and animals are portrayed realistically but he becomes famous for his cartoon anthropomorphic cat drawings, which begin with a Christmas illustration assignment for the magazine. Wain’s cat drawings bring him fame but, with no head for business, not fortune, and he struggled throughout life despite his tireless work.
Since cats and the cat drawings for which Wain was famous are everywhere, cat haters are unlikely to find this film appealing. Which is rather sad because this bittersweet tale of talent, madness and transformative love has much to offer. For those who like cats, and have an affection for quirky artists, this film is the cat’s meow.
After opening with a brief framing device scene of Wain’s late life, the story really gets underway with Olivia Colman calmly narrating over frenetic, somewhat comic scenes of Louis Wain (Cumberbatch) rushing about London streets shortly after he became the primary financial support of his widowed mother and five younger sisters.
Louie (as he is called) rushes between his many interests – composing an opera, learning boxing, and experimenting with electricity (which becomes an enduring fascination) – with plenty of energy but without much practical focus. He also works as a free-lance illustrator for several magazines, providing realistic drawings of rural landscape and of animals, and also paints portraits of pet dogs as a side job. The understanding, patient editor (Toby Jones) of one of the magazines for which Wain works, the Illustrated London News, offers Louis a regular position at his magazine but Louis hesitates, worried he won’t have time for his many other interests.
Louis’s more practical (and resentful) oldest sister Caroline (a perfect Andrea Riseborough) would be a more suitable head of the family but Victorian era restrictions on women mean that role falls to the less-practical sole male family member Louis. When a new governess for the younger girls, Emily (Claire Foy), joins the household, Louis is quickly smitten. Louis takes the job at the magazine to help pay for the governess, which pleases Caroline, but she objects to Louis’ romantic interest in Emily. To head off scandal due to the difference in social status between the more aristocratic family and the lower-class governess (plus the fact that she was a decade older than Louis), Caroline fires her. Louis, in turn, marries her.
Sharpe’s film follows Louis Wain through the ups-and-downs of his life and career. It quickly becomes clear that director Sharpe is using the frenetic tone and then a romantic comic tone to reflect Louis’ inner life. Cumberbatch is irresistible, even electrifying, in this role, hitting the right notes of crackling eccentric energy and charm as he falls unexpectedly for the governess. Claire Foy is perfect as the slightly quirky Emily, who draws Louis out and profoundly changes his life.
Emily transforms Louis’ world, changing his life forever. The couple move to a country house, and the romantic idyll they create often is shown through carefully framed scenes that subtly morph into painterly shots that resemble some of Louis’ work, in a charming effect. One day, they discover a black and white kitten in their yard, which they take in and name Peter. When Emily falls gravely ill, Louis uses drawings of their beloved cat to cheer her.
Director Will Sharpe, a British-Japanese filmmaker educated in classics at Cambridge, frames this story with a bouncy, precious Victorian tone that suggests Dickens, particularly in Colman’s narration, as well as suggesting a comedy, at least at the start. The story starts in full with a comic and romantic bent, although much of what happens in Wain’s life is far from happy. Sharpe displays an sympathetic view towards his talented but flawed subject, as well as stronger hand as a director than it seems at first from the film’s beginning. We first meet the young Louis Wain in a burst of frenetic activity, shortly after the death of his father, when Louis suddenly finds himself the sole support of his mother and five younger sisters, as the only male in the family. It is a role he is not well suited for but not for lack of effort or energy, due to lack of focus and practical judgment.
At the story’s start, narrator Olivia Colman notes that despite simple straight-laced image of the Victorian Age, it was also a time of great invention and technical advances. What is not mentioned is that it was also an era of great eccentrics. Which is one reason why Benedict Cumberbatch is so perfect for this role, having played Sherlock Holmes, another Victorian eccentric, albeit a fictional one. Another, larger reason Cumberbatch is perfect in the role is the actor’s amazing skills and range. The film takes full advantage of Cumberbatch’s talent since it spans Louis Wain’s adult life, which allows the remarkably talented Cumberbatch to play the character from youth to old age. Cumberbatch does it does brilliantly, imbuing his portrait of the artist with moving nuance, deeper meaning and touching insights.
The film’s Dickens-esque tone and early slightly comic, frantic start makes it seem more naive than it eventually reveals itself to be. That is a credit to filmmaker Sharpe who paints an appealing portrait of man who struggled with mental illness and an eccentric, creative nature but never seemed to stop trying. A great strength is the cast, but particularly the amazing Benedict Cumberbatch, who takes Louis from a naive bundle of hopeful energy, to a man whose world is transformed by love, and who works through grief by his art and by transforming how people see cats, to an elderly man with a tenuous grip on reality. The film traces the growth of Louis Wain’s strange ideas about and fascination with electrical energy and his growing obsession with it, part of a deteriorating mental state. It is a unique story, a moving one filled with bittersweet moments and uplifting spirit.
Besides the surprisingly good direction and the fine performances that ground the film, it is also filled with wonderfully beautiful, touching visual touches, with several scenes that slowly transform into what feel like paintings.
THE ELECTRICAL LIFE OF LOUIS WAIN opens Friday, Oct. 22, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema and other theaters.
Left to right: Ehud Barak, Bill Clinton and Yasser Arafat at Camp David, in July 2000. Photo credit: William J. Clinton Presidential Library. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most intractable the world has seen. THE HUMAN FACTOR focuses on the effort to bring a resolution to that conflict through negotiations mediated by the U.S., but particularly on the human side, the human factor, in that effort. Interestingly, it is also presented from the viewpoint of the guys in the middle, the American mediators, rather than the two sides in the conflict. The result is an engrossing, surprisingly gripping documentary that makes one ache for what might have been.
THE HUMAN FACTOR is also a revealing documentary about the long-running effort to resolve the conflict, that offers up remarkable insights, some unexpected humorous moments, and many fascinating details about the process and the personalities involved. The decades-long peace negotiations spanned two presidents from different political parties, two secretaries of state, and three Israeli prime ministers, and a process actually begun under another American president and another Israeli prime minister. The focus on the human factor gets beyond any dry historical facts, and burrows into the people and the process that came so close, more than once, to a promise for peace in the Middle East.
Directed by Dror Moreh, an Israeli director and cinematographer, whose previous 2012 documentary, THE GATEKEEPERS, took an insightful look back at Shin Bet, Israel’s secret security organization, a documentary that was nominated for an Oscar and numerous other awards. THE HUMAN FACTOR likewise is garnering nominations as it makes its way around the film festival circuit.
Like in Moreh’s previous documentary THE GATEKEEPERS, THE HUMAN FACTOR focuses on the people involved in the process, bringing out a depth that burrows far beneath the familiar history, revealing remarkable insights and unexpected details. The documentary spans the efforts begun under President George H.W. Bush and his Secretary of State James Baker, following President Jimmy Carter’s successful peace negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and continues through President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Warren Christopher’s efforts the bring together Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and three very different Israeli prime ministers, Yitzhak Rabin, Binyamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak. But who knew James Baker, secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush, was such crackling personality and master arm-twister, with a sometimes-salty tongue? Or that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was such a “kisser?” Such little personal details and quirks provide a way in to the role the interpersonal plays in high-stakes negotiations. The documentary’s human-focus approach gives us a different way into this knotty issue, and taking the viewpoint of the mediators gives a fresh perspective that avoids simply re-arguing the two sides’ viewpoints. It is about the process and whether these two can agree on a way through the conflict.
The writer/director got unprecedented access to the people directly involved in the negotiations, the diplomats on the ground on a daily basis rather than the famous names in the headlines. Many of the famous names are gone anyway, although the diplomats offer many insights on them as well as the process. The interviewees, who speak frankly, even emotionally, include American diplomat Dennis Ross, Egyptian-born Coptic-American interpreter Gamal Helal, British-born American Middle East analyst Martin Indyk, and American-born fellow Middle East analyst Aaron D. Miller, whose pointed observations are among the most revealing. The interviews give us a fresh behind-the-curtain and in-depth view of both the negotiations, the issues, influential contemporary events, and the personalities involved. This perspective brings new insights into the missteps and near misses along the way, the quirks of the people at the top, and a heartbreaking understanding of just how close they came to succeeding.
The documentary is visually dynamic, which is not surprising given that Moreh is also a cinematographer. Moreh skillfully mixes archival footage and stills, in black and white and color, with the present-day interviews. Mostly, Moreh lets his subjects talk, perhaps asking one question, which allows them to delve into unsuspected background, and focuses on the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that never made it into the papers, as well as offering historical context of other events taking place concurrently.
THE HUMAN FACTOR is a fascinating, beautifully-constructed documentary, emotionally-involving even for audiences who are less familiar with the history of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. It is as illuminating a documentary as could be made on the human side of negotiating and diplomacy, not just for this particular negotiation, about the intangibles of the process, the finesse and the delicate touch needed , and the deeply human side of negotiating a thorny, difficult issue, with the hope for lasting resolution and peace. THE HUMAN FACTOR is a must-see, a tantalizing look at what might have been for the Middle East.
THE HUMAN FACTOR opens Friday, May 7, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema
