Tag: True Story

EMANCIPATION – Review

Will Smith and Ben Foster in “Emancipation,” now streaming on Apple TV+. Courtesy of Apple Studios

An unrecognizable Will Smith stars as an enslaved man in Civil War era Louisiana, who decides upon hearing about Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation to escape from a labor camp through the bayou in an attempt to reach Union forces in Baton Rouge, in Antoine Fuqua’s EMANCIPATION. Will Smith’s character was inspired by a real person, the man with the heavily scarred back in the famous Civil War photo, who really did escape slavery to reach an Union encampment. The photo, known as “Whipped Peter” or “the Scourged Back,” was widely circulated during the Civil War and was instrumental in convincing Northerners of the truth of the brutality of slavery.

EMANCIPATION is a true-story inspired tale of the Civil War South without the mint juleps and “Gone with the Wind” fantasy. As the film opens, we see enslaved blacksmith Peter (Will Smith) living a hard life on the plantation of Captain John Lyons (Jayson Warner Smith), along with his wife Dodienne (Charmaine Bingwa) and their children. It is two years into the Civil war when Confederate forces arrive to conscript him and other enslaved men to work building a railroad track, much to the dismay of the plantation owner. In an emotional scene, Peter is taken from his family and shipped off with others in a prison cart. Arriving at the muddy labor camp, he and other enslaved people are worked until they drop, with bodies thrown into a common grave. All the time, they are under the watchful eye of a renowned slave-catcher named Fassel (Ben Foster) and his two employees, one of whom is a former slave, and the camp is encircled by hanged bodies and heads on pikes as warnings of the risks of escape. Rumors about Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation are overheard and, when an opportunity arises, Peter and three others, Gordon (Gilbert Owuor), Tomas (Jabbar Lewis), and John (Michael Luwoye) escape to cross the treacherous bayou in a bid to reach the Union forces fighting at Baton Rouge.

That chase makes up the bulk of the film, as the escapees are pursued by Fassel and his henchmen. One of the escapees is killed and the others decide to split up, making Smith’s character a man alone in a dangerous wilderness of swamp, venous snakes and alligators, pursued by a blood-thirsty fanatic, giving the film a propulsive thriller urgency, as it races towards its moving, inspiring conclusion.

Not a lot is known about the real man in the photo but director Antoine Fuqua and scriptwriter William N. Collage have taken what is known and crafted an inspiring story of determination to reach freedom amid the violence of slavery. It is also a violent story, as Fuqua does not blink in showing the true brutality of slavery, nor the relentlessness and cruelty of slave-catchers. The film is shot in a highly-desaturated color, so much so that at times it appears to be black and white, a visual choice that tamps down the visceral effect of the violence. Many on the characters in the film are based on real people, including Peter and his ruthless pursuer Fassel (in a chilling portrayal by Ben Foster), the plantation owner Captain Lyons, and a Black officer Captain Andre Cailloux (an excellent Mustafa Shakir), a legendary heroic figure of the Civil War.

The story is admirable and the film is inspiring and heroic, but it is not a film without flaws. The desaturated color tends to come and go scene to scene, which proves more distracting than if it was consistent. Smith’s character and his wife speak with Caribbean accents, sometimes in French creole, and other enslaved people have those accents too, and although there is some historic basis (some French plantation owners fled the Haitian Revolution for Louisiana), the accents seem likely to puzzle at least some audience members, raising questions that go unanswered. As said earlier, Smith is nearly-unrecognizable with his face covered in a beard and his stoic character also damps down his unusual on-screen charm. Scenes are often very dark, which is appropriate to the tone, but in the low light of the swamp, it makes it difficult to discern nuances of expression on Smith’s face. The character’s steely demeanor also limits the range of expression, although Smith does a fine job with what the director allows.

It is a great subject for a film but the film tries perhaps a bit too hard to fill in the blanks of the little-known actual person in the famous photo, which raises questions the film doesn’t answer. In many ways, the film feels like a bold Oscar bait reach and while it has admirable aspects, Will Smith feels miscast. Following up his Best Actor Oscar win for “King Richard” and all the uproar around “the slap,” Will Smith seems determined to take another bite at that apple with a dramatic role. But while his role in “King Richard” allowed him to show some of the charm that had made him an audience favorite, this role does not. Smith’s Peter is determined to be free and committed to his faith and the family he loves, but he is a rather steely, remote character, inspiring and determined rather than likable or warm. It doesn’t feel like the right character for Will Smith, although as noted he does as a fine job as possible with it.

This inspiring story has a lot of potential, enough that one can’t help wanting it to succeed, but the inconsistent desaturated color, puzzling details that go unexplained, and Smith’s iron-jawed character work against it. It is not as strong as cinema or as successful narratively as 12 YEARS A SLAVE. Still, it is beautifully shot and deserves credit as a heroic story that is far different from most Civil War tales.

EMANCIPATION opens Friday, Dec. 9, in theaters.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

SHE SAID – Review

(from left) Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) in She Said, directed by Maria Schrader. Courtesy of Universal.

Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan star in the engrossing true-story drama SHE SAID, which throws a spotlight on the two New York Times women journalists whose investigation helped spark the “Me Too” movement.

SHE SAID evokes the classic ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN but this surprisingly kinetic, compellingly watchable investigative journalism drama at times feels a bit like a tense mystery-thriller. The film keeps the two investigative journalists, Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) and Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan), at the center of the story but it also gives a remarkably realistic picture of how journalism is done. SHE SAID’s storytelling highlights the importance of investigative journalism itself, the kind of reporting that uncovers wrongdoing and starts the process to hold the guilty responsible, the kind of vitally-important journalism in a democracy that is most at risk of being lost in the current news industry crisis.

Director Maria Schrader crafts a firecracker of a drama, one that is surprisingly restless and kinetic as well as deeply involving. SHE SAID is based on the New York Times investigation by reporters Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey and Rebecca Corbett, and Kantor and Twohey’s book “She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement.” Patricia Clarkson plays editor Rebecca Corbett, managing the story from the newsroom, but the major focus is on the pair of investigative reporters pounding the pavement.

Carey Mulligan, who was so powerful in A PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, plays Megan Twohey, a hard-hitting seasoned journalist who also gives birth while working on this ground-breaking story. She shares this investigation with another, less experienced New Times journalist, Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan). At first, the story does not look like something groundbreaking, as the two work on an investigation into work-place sexual harassment in larger corporations, but a tip shifts the focus to a new industry. With its liberal reputation, the journalists are surprised by the tip about harassment and abuse in the movie industry, and the trail quickly points to one person in particular, powerful producer Harvey Weinstein.

Others had tried and failed to break this story over the years, not just about this one man but others as well, but had hit a wall of silence that shut things down. There were lots of stories and rumors about Weinstein but frustratingly no one who wants to go on record or even name names. As Kantor and Twohey dig deeper, they go down a rabbit hole of leads that uncovers a hidden network of cover-ups, secrecy and fear, that soon sparks a paranoid feeling of being watched by a shadowy, powerful and well-connected force.

Carey Mulligan, who was so remarkable in A PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, plays Megan Twohey, a hard-hitting New Times journalist who starts this investigation shortly before giving birth and rejoins it on returning to work. It is the kind of personal, refreshingly real, slice of life detail that gives depth to both characters. Twohey shares this investigation with Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan), a less-seasoned journalist and a woman who is already a parent, giving a nice personal counter-balance to their professional relationship. We are used to seeing Kazan in more comedic roles in films like THE BIG SICK but she does very well here in this more serious part, where she creates a character who is driven in her work but warm on a personal level.

As the two journalists, peel back the layers concealing the abuse, SHE SAID builds suspense, with the reporters hit barrier after barrier and tracking down leads that seem to go to dead ends. This well-written drama crafts a strikingly realistic picture of how journalism is actually done, but it also takes us into these reporters’ private lives, giving us warm glimpses into their family lives and painting a portrait of striving for work/life balance.

Rather than a drama that unfolds mostly in the newsroom, as we might expect, director Maria Schrader and screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz open up the story by sending the two reporters out into the streets and into the homes of sources and possible abuse victims. The two women are often headed in divergent directions, which creates a restlessness and kinetic sense, with Twohey and Kantor frequently in motion, racing place to place, even country to country as they pursue the story. That restless energy is thanks in part to excellent editing but also the director’s choice in how she presents the work of these two hard-working women journalists. The camera follows them as they walk and travel, periodically bringing them back together to share findings or back to the newsroom to confer with editors about next steps.

This collaborative partnership between the tough, more experienced Twohey and the eager, newer reporter Kantor is one of the delights of the film, and Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan are wonderful together. The script balances their professional relationship with scenes of home life for both, as they care for children and as Twohey struggles with post-partum depression.

As the journalists follow their leads, the biggest challenge is the lack of sources willing to go on record. They hear chilling stories but tying names to events is hard. Time and again, a new lead ends with a person gagged by a non-disclosure agreement or just fear of professional suicide. Lurking behind it, increasingly, is a single figure, one name.

Editors Rebecca Corbett (Patricia Clarkson) and Dean Baquet (Andre Braugher) provide strong support and guidance, even approving funds to travel to distant places. Andre Braugher’s Baquet provides advice on dealing with Harvey Weinstein in particular, someone with whom he has had dealings, which leads to some intriguing scenes where he speaks with him by phone or in person.

Director Schrader cleverly handles scenes with famous people, such as Weinstein and Donald Trump, by shooting actors playing them from behind. An exception is Ashley Judd, who plays herself, mirroring her role as a crucial voice in breaking this story and sparking the movement that followed.

But most of the people the reporters interview are not famous, and we are surprising time in again by familiar faces in some of these roles. Seeing these gifted actors, including Samantha Morton and Jennifer Ehle, adds a extra level of enjoyment and moments of surprise to this excellent film.

SHE SAID is top contender for awards. It is a compelling true story drama focused on both the two women whose dogged reporting blew open a long hidden secret, and the story they uncovered that helped launch a movement. In a way, the film itself is a triumph of exactly the kind of talented women being held down by the abuse the reporters revealed. SHE SAID is a brilliantly directed and written women-helmed film with a strong women-centric true story with outstanding, rounded female performances, making it both a story about women finding their voices and example of what women film-makers can accomplish.

SHE SAID opens Friday, Nov. 18, in theaters.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

MY NAME IS SARA – Review

Zuzanna Surowy as Sara/Manya, in MY NAME IS SARA. Courtesy of Strand Releasing

How many 13-year-olds have the self-discipline to pretend to be someone else for two years, without once revealing the truth even to those closest to her? MY NAME IS SARA is a tense historical survival drama that unfolds more like a thriller, which recounts the true story of 13-year-old Sara Goralnik who concealed her Jewish identity in Nazi-occupied Ukraine for two years, even from the Ukrainian Orthodox farmers with whom she is living.

There is a particularly timely element to this true story film as it is set in western Ukraine, part of which was in Poland when World War II started and part of which was in the Soviet Union, but all of which was occupied by Germany when the story takes place. The film not only tells Sara Goralnik’s harrowing personal story but gives us insights into the plight of Ukrainian farmers during the war, farmers who were brutalized and exploited by the occupying Nazis but also subject to raids from partisans hiding in the woods. As much as they might support the partisans goals in fighting the Nazis, the farmers faced starvation by repeated raids from both sides.

MY NAME IS SARA feels more like a thriller than a historical drama or biography, although it is also those. During World War II, many Jews tried to survive by posing as Christians, and fear of discovery gives such hidden identity stories an inherent tension, but MY NAME IS SARA is exceptional. Not only is young Sara hiding from the Nazis but she has to conceal her Jewish identify from the very family she is living with. The Ukrainian Orthodox Christian farming family is not helping her to hide – or at least not knowingly. In some ways, they were as much a threat to her safety as the Nazis occupying the nearby Ukrainian town, since they not only share their neighbors’ antisemitic attitudes but they were also driven by fear, as the Nazis brutally punish anyone sheltering Jewish refugees. The risk of discovery is ever-present and Sara has no one she can trust, yet must appear calm at all times, a challenge for anyone but all the more so for someone so young.

Sara (newcomer Zuzanna Surowy) and her family lived in Korets in the Poland when the Nazis invaded. Before the war, Korets had a large Jewish population that was well-integrated with the Polish Catholic and Orthodox Christian Ukrainian ones. As the film opens, Sara and her older brother Moishe (Konrad Cichon) are hiding in the woods, after fleeing the ghetto where their parents and two younger brothers are trapped. They are attempting to cross the border into the Soviet Union, an area the Nazis also occupy, with the goal of reaching a farm owned by an old non-Jewish woman that their parents have paid to shelter them. But as soon as they arrive, Moishe realizes they can’t stay, as the nervous woman is likely to betray them. “You would do better without me,” he tells his younger sister, noting that her appearance, with light-colored eyes and hair, makes it easier for her to pass as non-Jewish than his more obviously Jewish features do. The next morning, Sara makes the tough choice to leave while her brother sleeps.

After making her way through the woods, the hungry and tired Sara emerges in a field where an Ukrainian farmer, Ivan (Pawel Królikowski), and his son Grisha (Piotr Nerlewski) are working. She tells Ivan she is looking for work, that her name is Manya Romanchuk and she has run away from a troubled home life in Korets. The farmer eyes her with suspicion, then asks if she is Jewish, which she denies. He demands she make the sign of the cross herself as proof she is Christian. Satisfied with her response, the Ukrainians take her to the farm of Ivan’s brother Pavlo (Eryk Lubos) and his younger wife Nadya (Michalina Olszanska) where Sara can work as a nanny for their two young sons. At the farm, Sara is challenged again to prove she is not Jewish and, again, passes their tests, although her new employers still remain wary.

While Sara faces constant threat of discovery, she also learns things about her Ukrainian farmer employers that can help her. They hate the Nazi occupiers too, and are not so fond of the Russians, with memories of the Soviet famine of the 1930s lingering. She also learns that the husband and wife each have secrets, and each tries to enlist her support in their troubled marriage.

Director Steven Oritt ramps up the tension in this film in a series of nail-biting scenes, and the threat is always in our minds. The true-story is aided by the fact that Oritt interviewed the real Sara Goralnik Shapiro extensively before her death in 2018, information that David Himmelstein used in writing his script. As well as concealing her identity during the war, the real Sara also kept the secret of her war-time experience from her family until late in life. Although it is just being released now into theaters, the drama was made in 2019 with the support of Steven Spielberg’s USC Shoah Foundation and with the real Sara’s son, Mickey Shapiro, serving as executive producer. It has played several film festivals, including the 2020 Miami Jewish Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Film, and the 2019 Warsaw Jewish Film Festival, where it won the David Camera Grand Prix Award. Oritt has made a few documentaries but this is his dramatic feature film debut.

The film was shot on location in Poland with a Polish crew and with a Polish, German, Russian and Ukrainian cast, lending authenticity. It has lovely cinematography by Marian Prokop, who took advantage of the pretty, period Polish locations, aided by nice art direction. The acting is good, with young Zuzanna Surowy particularly impressive as Sara, particularly considering her lack of acting experience. Her still, sad face has a inherent underlying steel to it which serves the film well. Often when the character is asked a fraught question or faces a situation that threatens to expose her, Suwovy’s face remains still and unchanged for a beat, before she smiles and pretends to be pleased or cooperative, a choice that has the effect of making the viewer hold their breathe for a moment, increasing the tension more than one might expect. Director Oritt does a masterful job with keeping tension high overall, without ever wearing us out with the suspense.

As the story unfolds, what is most astonishing is Sara’s ability to pass as Ukrainian Orthodox Christian. Time and again, her employers test her, suspicious that she may be Jewish, asking her to cross herself, eat pork and even recite Christian prayers. Although we eventually learn the reason for her knowledge of Orthodox ways, we remain impressed that one so young can so coolly pull off the impersonation. Beyond the religious testing, there are other threats to expose her, including that the village she fled is not so far away, and she runs the risk she might encounter someone who knows her.

The film also periodically reminds us of the deadly price the Nazis imposed on those who did shelter Jews. When another Jewish girl turns up at the farm, Sara tries to help without giving herself away, another reminder of the constant danger she is in.

There is much to admire about this film but not all is perfect. Some of the exposition is unclear, and we are not entirely certain what is happening between Sara and Pavlo, although he is clearly attracted to her. The film also has the characters speak in English when they are presumably speaking in Ukrainian but uses subtitles for other languages, a choice that some viewers might find awkward.

All in all, MY NAME IS SARA is a worthy drama, an impressive true story of surviving the Holocaust, by a teen girl on her own, forced to conceal her identity and live by her wits, told with a thriller vibe, and shot on location with fine cinematography and acting.

MY NAME IS SARA, in English and Polish, German and Russian with English subtitles, opens Friday, Aug. 19, at Marcus Des Peres Cinema and other theaters.

THIRTEEN LIVES – Review

(L to R) Colin Farrell as John Volanthen, Viggo Mortensen as Rick Stanton and Sahajak ‘Poo’ Boonthanakit as Governor Naronsak in THIRTEEN LIVES, directed by Ron Howard, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Vince Valitutti / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures © 2022 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

When a Thai boys soccer team was trapped in a cave by flash flooding in 2018, the world was riveted as divers attempted to locate and rescue the teenage boys and their coach in the flooded cave, ultimately calling in volunteers who specialized in cave diving. Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell play two of those cave divers, middle-aged hobbyists who travel from their homes in the U.K. to volunteer to help save the boys and their coach. As the days dragged on, hope faded and it seemed only a miracle could save them. THIRTEEN LIVES dramatizes that 2018 rescue mission, and demonstrates exactly how miraculous it was.

This dramatic story was told previously in the documentary THE RESCUE, and while this dramatization follows the same facts, the visceral, emotional impact of this improbably rescue is even stronger. THIRTEEN LIVES depicts the risky events in a more detailed, powerful fashion, while still sticking to the already dramatic facts, but the drama allows a deeper, more rounded human story of the people involved in this astonishing rescue.

Director Ron Howard generally sticks to the facts in this true-story based drama, with Colin Farrell and Viggo Mortensen starring as John Volanthen and Richard Stanton, a pair of Brits with an unusual hobby: cave diving. John and Richard, who travel from the UK to volunteer their expertise, later joined by other cave divers, including Australian doctor Richard “Harry” Harris (Joel Edgerton) in the effort to find and save the soccer team and their coach.

When the boys are trapped in the cave by early monsoon rains, the Thai government calls in the Thai Navy SEALs. While the SEALs are experts in rescue, their diving skills are honed for the open ocean and the flooded cave, with its murky water, tight passages and rushing current, proved daunting. But it is exactly the experience the cave divers had, the authorities reluctantly allow these amateurs from half a world away to have a go at it.

Bad luck and good luck both play roles in this story. The primary bad luck aspect was the unusual early arrival of the monsoon rains. After their soccer practice, the boys wanted to go a nearby cave , a “tourist” cave that they frequently visited. The cave was considered safe in June, but closed in mid-July when the monsoon rains that usually arrived. A bit of good luck was that their coach went along, even though the boys knew the cave well and planned only a short visit before a birthday party for one of the boys. A sudden and intense downpour filled the cave with water, trapping the team deep within.

A stroke of luck was that the families quickly realized the boys were missing and recognized their bicycles outside the cave entrance. Another bit of luck was that an expert cave diver who lived in the area had mapped the cave extensively, and also was aware of other cave divers who might be able to help.

When this crisis arose, many of us were as unaware of the hobby of cave diving as officials in Thailand were. At first the Thai SEALs and other Thai officials were skeptical about these foreign amateurs and barred them from entering the cave. Eventually they were persuaded to let them have a try to locate the boys and their coach – at their own risk.

The need to find and rescue the boys before the cave entirely fills with water gives the film a ticking clock urgency, and the international mix of rescuers, along with the anxious parents, sets up potential for both conflict and cooperation. Although the documentary previously told this story, this narrative film depicts the risky events – particularly the astonishing final rescue- in a more powerful fashion.

While taking us through the events of the tension-filled rescue, director Ron Howard still gives the actors room to work so they can develop the characters, which deepens the human story aspect of this rescue. Although running almost two and a half hours, the film never feels that long, as the nail-biting tension of events, the dynamics of the characters, and a brisk pace keep us full involved.

The primary focus is on the British cave divers played by Mortensen and Farrell but Joel Edgerton gets his moment, as do the other actors. Mortensen’s Richard Stanton is a flinty, plain-spoken retired firefighter who has a risky hobby but goes about it in a way to reduce risk. Colin Farrell’s John Volanthen is a more easy-going person, an IT expert who finds cave diving a relaxing escape, but who is a family man particularly moved to help save the trapped boys.

The cast is fairly large and details the multiple fronts of efforts to save these boys. While the Thai SEALs and the cave divers battled daunting conditions searching for the boys, other teams pumped water from the flooded cave and volunteers, including a hydrologist, tried to block the sink holes on the mountain above that channeled water into the cave. The film does a good job conveying this multi-pronged effort in a cinematic way, with animated maps illustrating the various points in the long, complex cave, the fourth largest in Thailand, as we see the rescuers navigating the difficult passages, spiked with stalagmites and stalactites, and filled with rushing water. Fine cinematography by … delivers gripping visuals as the story written by Don McPherson and William Nicholson keeps us in its hold.

The result is a tense, suspense-filled drama, with memorable characters crafted by a strong cast, capped by a jaw-dropped rescue, for a truly uplifting film.

THIRTEEN LIVES opens Friday, August 5, in theaters in select cities and streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

PHANTOM OF THE OPEN – Review

Mark Rylance as Maurice Flitcroft in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPEN. Photo credit Nick Wall. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

In the charming true-story comedy PHANTOM OF THE OPEN, Mark Rylance plays the worst golfer in British Open history, Maurice Flitcroft, a middle-aged working class bloke who accidentally got into the storied competition, and then became a folk hero for trying to do it again and again, haunting the tournament. Mark Rylance (BRIDGE OF SPIES) and Sally Hawkins (THE SHAPE OF WATER), as Flitcroft’s supportive wife Jean, are both absolute charmers in this very funny yet uplifting British comedy about a very British eccentric who believed anything was possible. Although Flitcroft’s performance in the British Open earned him the moniker “worst golfer in the world,” it actually was the first round of golf Flitcroft had ever played, having just taken up the sport after being laid off from his job as a crane operator, another amazing aspect of this unlikely true story.

No need for an interest in golf to be tickled by this hilarious yet warm stranger-than-fiction tale, but it does help if you are charmed by British eccentrics like the irrepressible Flitcroft. PHANTOM OF THE OPEN features a pair of outstanding British actors who bring the quirky personalities in this unlikely true story to life. Like THE DUKE, another true-story tale about an eccentric Brit that stars a pair of great British actors, Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren, much of PHANTOM OF THE OPEN’s success rests those great actors leading it. Rylance and Hawkins are indeed marvelous in this appealing comedy, with Mark Rylance’s sweet, unassuming but determined Maurice Flitcroft and Sally Hawkins’ equally optimistic, supportive wife Jean making a very winning pair. The hilarious film succeeds comedically but the story is as inspiring and warm as it is funny, an uplifting, heart-warming story, about the Little Man battling class bias and daring to chase his impossible dreams, no matter the odds.

Underdog comedies like this tend to follow some familiar paths but director Craig Roberts interjects freshness and fun, as well as visual delight, with several comical, charming dream-like fantasy sequences, daydreams where the moon in the night sky becomes a giant golf ball or a smiling Flitcroft is propelled into space by a giant golf club. The fantasy flights are sprinkled throughout the film, adding spikes of color (besides Flitcroft’s comically loud golf attire) and a little magic.

Before playing in the British Open, Flitcroft (Rylance) had only ever practiced his golf strokes on the beach and in makeshift set-ups. Maurice Flitcroft had grown up in a working class family in northern England where everyone was expected to go to work in the mines. Being a pro golfer was not something working class boys aspired to do. But WWII sent the boy off to a country estate, like so many other city children, for his safety from wartime bombings. There the young Maurice was asked a question no one had ever asked him before: what do you want to be when you grow up? The question changed the way Flitcroft saw the world, making him someone who believed in dreaming big, no matter who you are.

Life and love intervened, when he fell for Jean (Sally Hawkins), a secretary and part-time theater director. The likable, easy-going Flitcroft’s dreams now shifted to encouraging his stepson and his twin boys to dream big, while he took work in the mining industry, becoming a crane operator. The twins, Gene (Christian Lees) and James (Jonah Lees), take an unconventional path but grown stepson Michael (Jake Davies) finds success in the business side of mining. When the middle-aged Maurice is laid off from his job, his wife encourages him to finally follow his own dreams. A chance viewing of the British Open on TV sparks the idea that he could become a pro golfer – even though he’s never played the game.

There is something too crazy to be true in this idea but the fact that there really was a Maurice Flitcroft is part of why this film is both so funny and so appealing. Maurice’s practice sessions encourage his belief in himself but he needs access to a golf course. Turned down for membership in the local country club, the plucky Brit enters the 1976 British Open, partly as a way to access a golf course. He doesn’t quite get the significance of his decision.

That Flitcroft gets in is both a mistake and a fluke. Rhys Ifans plays a British Open official, Keith Mackenzie, who is appalled by Flitcrof’ts appallingly-bad performance on the links, becomes determined to keep him out of future tournaments. At home, his stepson James is appalled and embarrassed by his dad’s sudden “fame,” while the rest of the family can’t see a problem.

A kind of cat-and-mouse face-off develops between Rhys Ifans’ gatekeeper official Mackenzie and Rylance’s unstoppable Flitcroft, who tries various ways to sneak back into the British Open, often with the aid of a pal with a shady past. It makes for laugh-out-loud comedy, and director Roberts and the cast make the most of that in some classic-comedy bits. But the director’s imaginative fantasy sequences add a contemporary feel and a touch of magic and magical realism.

Mark Rylance plays this odd character with considerable sweetness and appeal, a man whose determination just can’t be undermined by the facts. Themes about class and snobbery in golf run through this film, as well as a Don Quixote thread, both of which the director and cast handle with a perfect touch which brings out both the humor and a spirit of human hopefulness. In Flitcroft’s world, dreams conquer all, as he repeats little inspirational mantras to himself. His limitless optimism sparks some loopy, creative stunts and wins him admiration from others, particularly amateur golfers.

A complete charmer, PHANTOM OF THE OPEN is light and lively fun, with wonderful warm performances by the marvelous Mark Rylance and Sally Hawkins, and filled with both hilarious moments and warm uplift as well as delightful, colorful flights of visual fantasy.

PHANTOM OF THE OPEN opens June 17 in theaters.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

OPERATION MINCEMEAT – Review

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.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

FIREBIRD – Review

Tom Prior and Oleg Zagorodnii, in the romantic thriller FIREBIRD. Courtesy of Roadside Attractions.

Set in Cold War-era Estonia, then occupied by the Soviet Union, a two young men, a soldier and a pilot, fall in love, a dangerous relationship forbidden by homophobic law, in the English-language romantic thriller/drama FIREBIRD. Appropriately, this moving film is debuting in St. Louis just as Cinema St. Louis’ QFest, its celebration of gay-themed film, kicks off on Friday, April 29.

Sergey (Tom Prior), Luisa (Diana Pozharskaya) and Volodja (Jake Thomas Henderson) are an inseparable trio, in military service at the Soviet Air Force base in Estonia, and as the film opens, the three friends have sneaked off to swim on the rocky coast. When a Soviet security patrol catches them, Volodja’s family connections keep them out of trouble but the tension of living in 1977 Soviet-occupied Estonia is made clear. Also made clear in the scene, as the three young people play in the sea, is that beautiful Luisa is infatuated Sergey, while Sergey is far more interested in Volodja.

The opening scene leads us to expect this be a romantic triangle but this fact-based story takes a different turn, with the arrival of a new pilot, Lt. Roman Matvejev (Oleg Zagorodnii). Private Sergey Serebrennikov has just informed his kindly commander Major Zverev (Margus Prangel) that he intends to leave the military, to return home to his family farm to support his widowed mother, but Major Zverev gives him a last assignment, as the driver and assistant to the new lieutenant. Sergey quickly discovers they share an interest in photography, theater, and Tchaikovsky, and the pilot encourages Sergey to pursue his deferred dream of attending acting school in Moscow. The pair really bond over a trip to a performance of The Firebird, where Sergey drives the lieutenant over the border and stays to watch the show from a back row while the lieutenant joins friends up front. The ballet is a revelation to the young Sergey, as is a secret embrace and kiss in a forest near the border where they pause when returning. Well aware what they are doing risky but deeply in love, the tension of their situation increases when an anonymous note is sent to the camp’s KGB officer Colonel Kuznetsov (Nicholas Woodeson). The KGB agent becomes determined to catch and expose the pilot and his unknown lover.

Again, this true story veers from our expectations, as it becomes increasingly complex. But it remains a tense, and ultimately heartbreaking and tragic romance as it unfolds. FIREBIRD is led by a fine performance by Tom Prior as Sergey, well supported by the rest of the cast and director Peeter Rebane’s nuanced direction. Prior and Rebane co-produced the film and co-wrote the script from the story by Sergey Fetisov.

FIREBIRD starts out feeling more like a basic gay romance with the added tension of the time period and place, but quickly deepens to something more, exploring other choices in life and the price others might pay for our choices, in addition to its political commentary on the fall-out of homophobic policies on individual lives. Peeter Rebane directs this complicated tale with sensitivity but a firm hand. There is a recurring use of water and swimming, with its symbolism of birth, rebirth, and the natural world, but the water also provides some romantic scenes with bare bodies and an extra frisson of excitement, without being particularly explicit, therefore making them more romantic than erotic. The acting is fine throughout, although the focus is very much on Tom Prior’s Sergey, but Diana Pozharskaya is a standout as well as Oleg Zagorodnii. The toxic influence of secrets runs through this tale.

FIREBIRD opens Friday, April 29, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema, the Chase Park Plaza Cinemas 5, and other theaters nationwide.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

THE DUKE – Review

Jim Broadbent as Kempton Bunton, Helen Mirren as Dorothy Bunton in THE DUKE. Photo by Mike Eley, BSC. Courtesy of Pathe UK. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

In this delightful, true story-based, quirky comic tale, Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren costar as a bickering couple in a tale of a working class Newcastle man with a plan to ransom a stolen painting, Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington, to provide benefits for low-income retirees. Broadbent plays the rarely practical but idealistic man with the plan, while Helen Mirren stars as his long-suffering, more practical wife. THE DUKE focuses on a real 1961 incident in which a portrait of the Duke of Wellington by Francisco Goya, newly purchased by the British government for 140,000 pounds, was stolen from the national gallery, the first and so far only theft from the gallery to date. The authorities are convinced a professional ring of thieves, possibly Italian, are behind the theft, until they receive a ransom note demanding millions – for charity.

Britain is a nation famous for eccentric characters and director Roger Michell’s comedy mines the classic humor in that vein. Often these are upper-crust eccentrics, so this working class fellow is a refreshing change, especially with this character’s obsessive crusading on behalf of the poor and forgotten. The fact that this is based on a real person makes the film all the more charming and heart-warming, even if the film is more true-ish than strictly factual.

THE DUKE is as quirky and charming as its lead character, and much of its delightful charm comes from Jim Broadbent and also the comically crackling scenes between Broadbent and Helen Mirren as the seeming mismatched couple. Broadbent’s happy, impractical dreamer Kempton Bunton is described in the film’s promotions as a taxi driver but that is just one in a long line of jobs as the oddly-named fellow pursues his true passions, writing plays and waging an on-going protest campaign for free TV for seniors. Kempton Bunton is a self-educated, endlessly optimistic man who aspires to be a playwright and is a staunch defender of the poor, particularly veterans, widows and pensioners, but who has trouble holding a job and making a living. His perpetually-worried, practical wife Dorothy (Helen Mirren) takes up the financial slack by cleaning house for the well-off Mrs. Gowling (Anna Maxwell Martin), the wife of an local official, who admires her hard-working housekeeper and her idealistic husband.

In 1961, Britons are required to buy a license to own a TV to watch BBC, but Bunton protests that it is unfair to Old Age Pensioners (OAP) for whom TV might be their only entertainment or company. Bunton is outraged when the government buys the Wellington portrait, noting how many TV licenses it could pay for with those funds. His wisecracking, more practical and worried wife Dorothy loves him but is clearly frustrated by his lack of practical sense about making a living and embarrassed by his many community campaigns. Bunton makes a deal with Dorothy: if she lets him take a two-day trip to London to try to speak to Parliament about his TV campaign and it fails, he will give up his community activism and his play writing and just get a steady job. She agrees, but while in London, Bunton gets up to far more. When he returns, the news is full of talk about the theft of the painting.

Director Roger Michell’s film focuses more is on the trial than on the heist itself, although we do learn about that too, and on the couple’s home life. That choice gives more room for the entertaining banter between the couple as well as showcasing Jim Broadbent’s entertaining humorous patter in court. An excellent Matthew Goode plays Bunton’s barrister Jeremy Hutchinson, a high-priced attorney married to a famous stage actress, presumably doing pro bono work here. Goode offers his own humorous touches while also serving as a foil for the oddball Bunton, while John Heffernan plays prosecutor Edward Cussen, his nearly-unbeatable adversary, as amusingly superior as he calls his long list of witnesses. James Wilby plays the long-suffering judge, facing a court gallery filled with sometimes-noisy Bunton supporters, and who at one point reminds Bunton they are in court and he is not “auditioning for a musical.” Charles Edwards is droll as the very proper chief investigator Sir Joseph Simpson who is so certain he is tracking an elusive team of international pro thieves and is so chagrined when the real culprit is revealed.

The Buntons’ youngest son still lives at home but the couple actually had three children, although they lost their only daughter as a young woman in an accident that still haunts the family. Fionn Whitehead is excellent as the couple’s well-meaning younger adult son Jackie, a sharp contrast to their older son Kenny (Jack Bandeira), an often-broke petty criminal who returns home to lay low, along with his still-married girlfriend Pamela (Charlotte Spencer), much to the dismay of his morally-straight mother. Aimee Kelly plays Irene, who becomes Jackie Bunton’s supportive girlfriend

At a brief 96 minutes, THE DUKE moves along briskly, but gives us enough time to get to know the characters and explore the quirks of the oddball story. Cleverly, the film is partly shot in the style of 1961 films, with split screen shots and a bouncy jazz score, which gives it an extra charm.

The biggest delight in this off-beat warm and funny tale is Jim Broadbent’s performance as the quip-prone, idealistic Bunton. But he is closely followed by Helen Mirren and their marvelous bantering, battling scenes are among the film’s best. The film is structured to reveal some surprises that came out much later, long after the trial, but there are moments when jumping back and forth in time feels a bit awkward. Still, it is a minor flaw in an otherwise warm, amusing, unlikely true story tale.

THE DUKE opens Friday, Apr. 29, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema and other theaters.

RATING: 3.5 out of 4 stars

INFINITE STORM – Review

Naomi Watts in Bleecker Street’s INFINITE STORM Credit: Bleecker Street

It’s said truth is stranger than fiction, and one strange tale based on true facts inspired INFINITE STORM, a drama about a lone woman trying to rescue a stranded man in a snowstorm the wintry New Hampshire mountains.

Pam Bales (Naomi Watts), a fit woman in her 50s, is headed up into to the New Hampshire mountains to climb a peak, Mt. Washington, even though the forecast looks brutal for that November day. Stopping by a cafe to fill her thermos with hot cocoa before the climb, the cafe owner (Dennis O’Hare) tries to talk her out of it. But she is determined, reminding him it is a special date, an anniversary perhaps, although we sense it is not a happy one. A glimpse of a patch on her gear lets us know she is with a search-and-rescue operation, so she should know what she is doing.

When Pam arrives in the trail head parking lot, she notices another car in the lot and speaks briefly to a couple who are leaving but they don’t know to whom it belongs. The hike up the mountain is rugged but the weather is still clear, and as she ascends, she starts hearing odd sounds, which may be the other climber. She calls out but no one responds. Nearing the top, the predicted snowstorm blows in, but she struggles on until the weather becomes so savage that she decides to turn back. Then she sees the footprints – an inexperienced climber in tennis shoes, not even hiking boots.

She begins to track the footprints and, with the wind howling and sleet falling, she comes upon a young man (Billy Howle) seated on a rock, facing away from her. He is barely responsive, won’t even give his name. Pam’s training and experience kick in, and she tells him she is there to rescue him. As she sets about doing that, she decides to call him John until she knows his name.

Thus begins a harrowing true tale of wilderness rescue in a blinding snowstorm, made even more treacherous by the uncooperative, even bizarre, behavior of the man being rescued. It is not clear if he is coherent, or even that he wants to be saved, but at other times, he is panicked and frightened. That he is twice her size does not help. And there is a ticking-clock element too, as they must at least reach the tree line before dark to have any hope. No matter the risk to herself, she cannot leave him behind.

Based on a true story, Pam Bales battled both the elements and the uncooperative stranded man in this gripping wilderness adventure, and Naomi Watts does a fine job as this tough but caring woman, who persists despite her own pain, for the sake of this stranger. Pam keeps up a patter of encouragement as she works but it is generally a one-way conversation. The man being rescued says little, and Billy Howle as that stranger is very, well, strange, as the role demands. At times, “John” is child-like and crying, or passive, even nearly comatose, but other times he is defiant, heading off in the wrong direction. His actions endanger himself but her as well, as she cannot just abandon him. Yet his communication is often to tell her off or just howl with pain, as if she is the cause of it all. At times, his behavior is so odd that one might be tempted to think the whole thing is happening in Pam’s imagination, and that the stranger does not really even exist, which makes as much sense as anything. However, that this drama is based on a true story is a fact brings us back from that thought.

Shot in Eastern Europe, apparently Slovenia, the mountain vistas have a wild beauty as well as a frightening power which is shot in a dramatic style with de-saturated color by cinematographer Michal Englert. This tale is not just man-versus-nature, but about inner human struggles, man-versus-self. Some of what happens is twist of fate, much like Pam being on the mountain at the same time as the man, and sometimes those chance happenings are good but often they are not. Sometimes she makes choices that don’t make sense given her oddball charge and other times his actions are hard to comprehend. He seems to waiver between helpless and clumsy, and strong and agile, making more than his mental state a mystery.

The strangeness of the stranded man is part of why this rescue tale doesn’t quite follow the usual formula for this kind of man-against-nature drama, although in some ways it must. But there is also a philosophical bent to this tale, built around grappling with grief. Periodically, there are flashbacks to Pam playing with her two little girls, while we sense they are no longer part of her life. In pieces, we learn more about that story but the nameless man remains more opaque until we gain a little insight late in the film.

The rescue itself has a coda that helps bring everything into better focus. The drama has a contemplative message about grief and about how experiences and people can change the direction of one’s life. Those expecting this to be a straightforward simple adventure tale will get more than they bargained for.

INFINITE STORM opens Friday, March 25, at multiple theaters.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

A JOURNAL FOR JORDAN – Review

Dana Canedy (ChantŽe Adams) and Charles Monroe King (Michael B. Jordan) in Columbia Pictures’ JOURNAL FOR JORDAN.

Denzel Washington directs this true-story based drama about love and loss, starring Michael B. Jordan and Chanté Adams as a mismatched couple who meet and fall in love. Career military man Charles and Dana Canedy, an editor at the New York Times, who meet and unexpectedly fall in love, and the journal of fatherly advice the soldier leaves behind for his son. The film opens with a single mother, Dana Canedy (Chanté Adams), in New York struggling to balance her high-pressure career and the responsibilities of caring for her toddler son Jordan while grappling with grief. Over the course of the two-track film, we see Jordan grow up along side flashbacks to his parents’ romance.

The film is based on Dana Canedy’s non-fiction book “A Journal for Jordan” on love and loss, and which was an expansion of her 2007 article. At first, director Denzel Washington focuses on Dana’s hectic life, alternating with a romantic, slightly comic portrait of the their romance. Later on, the director leans into the tragedy, family themes and patriotic ones of the story.

When they first meet at a birthday barbecue, Sgt. Charles Monroe King (Michael B. Jordan), a career soldier, and Dana Canedy (Chanté Adams), a New York Times editor, couldn’t seem more mismatched. The birthday barbecue is for her father, a drill sergeant with whom Dana, a sophisticated New Corker, has a testy relationship. The news that yet another of her drill Sergeant dad’s young soldiers is going to be there induces some eye-rolling on Dana’s part. Yet when she actually meets handsome Charles Monroe King, sparks fly. The two start an on-and-off long distance relationship, despite her New York sophistication and his penchant for corny dad jokes, that deepens over time, as Charles achieves his ambition to be a career drill sergeant and Dana’s journalism career soars.

Michael B. Jordan and Chanté Adams have a nice chemistry together, and her more outgoing, big-city character makes an appealing contrast to his ramrod straight, country boy sincerity. When a driver at a traffic signal fails to respond quickly when the light changes, Adams’ Dana reaches over and leans on the horn. By contrast, polite rule-follower Charles instructs her on the proper way to keep hands on the steering wheel at all times. While Dana is happy to drowse in bed in the morning, Charles bounces out of bed and starts doing push-ups on the floor. Michael B. Jordan fans will appreciate the many times the actor appears without his shirt, showing off his fine physique. Since a lot of the story seems to take place in Dana’s apartment, there are ample opportunities.

At first there is a romantic comedy vibe to the film. But just as the couple prepares to welcome their son Jordan and to wed, 9/11 happens. When Sgt. King is deployed to Iraq, Dana sends Charles off with a journal, and instructions to write in it every day he is gone, as a record of advice to his son.

That is, of course, the journal in the title, although Dana waits until Jordan is older to share it with him. The romance thread’s earlier romantic comedy bent yields to a more serious tone, as they anticipate the birth of their child and get engaged, and then tensely dramatic as the events of 9/11 unfold. The story of the romance unfolds along side scenes of Jordan growing up, hitting familiar milestones, but also painting a portrait of a woman working through grief. The two thread come together in a moment of grief, family and sense of duty at the end.

However, not every great, moving true story makes a great movie. The translating of this story to the screen loses some of the poetry of Canedy’s writing and the sentiment is heavy in this three-hankie tragic drama. Director Denzel Washington leans into the sentimental, although the romance has some nice comic turns early on, but the sentiment gets more ponderous as the story goes on. Fans of romantic weepers may be the best audience for this sentimental film, while others might find it too Hallmark Channel for their taste.

A JOURNAL FOR JORDAN opens Saturday, Dec. 25, in theaters.

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars