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Posted 2 Comments on TIFF Review: Red Joan Film Festivals

TIFF Review: Red Joan

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by Raquel Stecher

Red Joan
dir. Trevor Nunn
Starring Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Tom Hughes

Review:

Trevor Nunn’s latest film Red Joan is a mishmash of history and fiction. Inspired by the true story of British KGB agent Melita Norwood but mostly fictionalized, the story follows Joan Stanley, a chemist whose smarts land her a spot on the scientific team developing the technology for a nuclear bomb. On that journey she meets Sonya (Tereza Srbova) whose brother Leo (Tom Hughes) is an outspoken Communist activist. With Sonya’s alluring worldly charm and Leo’s handsome bravado, Joan gets caught up in their world. She meets scientist Max (Stephen Campbell Moore), head of the aforementioned scientific team. Joan is torn between her steamy yet dangerous romance with Leo and her blossoming feelings for the still married Max. She also faces a great dilemma. With England completely enveloped in WWII, Joan decides that only an even playing field between England and Russia can set things right. The movie darts back and forth from 1938 to the story’s present day, circa 2000 when Joan (Judi Dench) is being interrogated for her “crimes” and her lawyer son (Ben Miles) must come to terms with his mother’s legacy and the secrets she’s been harboring all these years.

Most critics agree that Red Joan lacks from having too little Judi Dench in it. I for the most part agree. However, I don’t see how this would have worked because, for the purposes of the movie, viewers needed the full backstory of Joan circa late 1930s and early 1940s for us to fully grasp what’s happening to her in 2000.

Red Joan felt like a 1990s period piece and that made me nostalgic for that decade’s historical offerings. A feminist message is inserted, almost haphazardly, to make it more up-to-date. But overall the movie felt old-fashioned in a bad way. The story dragged on and the film felt overly long.

With that said, there is a lot to enjoy in Red Joan for those who love a good period piece with a strong female lead. Sophie Cookson and Judi Dench deliver superb performances. Cookson’s Joan is bright-eyed and cautious. Judi’s Joan is world weary. For anyone who relishes period detail, this film has a lot to offer especially with the elegant 1940s era apparel.

Red Joan is a throwback to a golden era of period pieces but it lacks some modern flair needed for contemporary viewers.

I attended a press and industry screening of Red Joan at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.

 

 

Posted 5 Comments on TIFF Review: The Old Man & the Gun Film Festivals

TIFF Review: The Old Man & the Gun

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by Raquel Stecher

The Old Man & the Gun
dir. David Lowery
starring Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, Danny Glover, Tom Waits, Casey Affleck, Elisabeth Moss

Review:

Say it isn’t so Robert Redford? This can’t be your last film! And if it is, what a way to go. Not with a whimper but with a bang!

With a nod to classic Hollywood filmmaking, The Old Man & the Gun is a superb final entry in Robert Redford’s legendary career and thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end. Redford stars as Forrest Tucker, if that’s his real name, a gentleman bank robber who charms tellers out of their money. Tucker has modus operandi has always been to show his target the gun but to never resort to using it. Over his many decades as a bank robber, Tucker has been arrested and released and arrested again. He’s even escaped from prison several times. For the bigger jobs, he employs two friends as his sidekicks Teddy (Danny Glover) and Waller (Tom Waits) whom the media refers to collectively as ‘The Over-the-Hill Gang”.

After one solo heist, Tucker meets Jewel (Sissy Spacek). She lives a quiet life on her sprawling ranch. Tucker is constantly on the move from one town to the next looking for his next target. He starts to entertain settling down but when police detective John Hunt (Casey Affleck) sets his eyes on catching Tucker after being present and oblivious to one of his heists, Tucker finds himself on the run.

The Old Man & the Gun is like a tall glass of your favorite drink. Goes down easy and once you’re done you’re ready for round two. Set in the early 1980s, this film feels old school but is palatable for contemporary audiences. In an interview at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, director Lowery says he wanted the film to be of the era using the technology of its day. Robert Redford, who received a standing ovation at the international premiere, said he was drawn to the predator vs. prey element of the film.

Unlike your typical heist films, this one features little to no violence. The focus is on the characters, their relationships and the chase. It even features a homage to Redford with a look at Tucker’s storied career as a bank robber and inserts some footage from Redford’s previous movies into that retrospective. My only criticism of the film is that the Elisabeth Moss story line, she’s the daughter Tucker didn’t know he had, felt shoe-horned into the plot and didn’t seem necessary. I would recommend this film to anyone who loves Robert Redford and enjoys classic movies. Especially those viewers, like me, who are tired of excessive violence and want plain old good storytelling.

I attended the international premiere at the Elgin Theatre for The Old Man & the Gun during the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.

 

 

Posted Film Festivals

TIFF Review: Tell It to the Bees

by Raquel Stecher

Tell It to the Bees
dir. Annabel Jankel
starring Anna Paquin and Holliday Grainger

“You should tell the bees your secrets. Then they won’t fly away.”

Set in 1950s Scotland, Tell It to the Bees is the story of two women who must face a society that isn’t ready or willing to accept them. Dr. Jean Markham (Anna Paquin) has returned home to her small town to take over her father’s practice. A secret about her past still lingers among the tight knit community. Jean meets Charlie (Gregor Selkirk), a curious young boy who is fascinated by the bee hives Jean keeps on her estate. Back at home, Charlie’s mother Lydia (Holliday Grainger) is going through a rough patch. Charlie’s father Robert (Emun Elliott) has abandoned the family, her sister-in-law Pam (Kate Dickie) is suspicious of Lydia’s every move and Lydia isn’t making enough money at the local mill and is facing eviction. When Charlie comes home with a bee-keeping journal and a novel Jean has gifted him, Lydia confronts Jean to discover the doctor is a kind woman and not a meddling man. The two quickly bond and when Lydia and Charlie are eventually evicted, Jean hires Lydia as her housekeeper. Behind the closed doors of the estate, Jean’s attraction for Lydia grows stronger and her desire to pull back weakens. As the two become intimate, whispers and rumors begin to circulate in the village. In an era where their relationship is not only frowned upon but illegal, can Lydia and Jean stay together? And what will happen to Charlie if they do?

“This town is too small for secrets.”

Based on the novel by Fiona Shaw, Tell It to the Bees was adapted to the screen by sisters Henrietta and Jessica Ashworth. In an interview with director Annabel Jankel, she remarked that she was drawn by “the power of generosity to fulfill another person’s potential.” Lydia and Jean are two female characters who are lifting each other up instead of tearing each other down. Resiliency and compassion is what drives Jean to pursue medicine in a town that won’t have her. Lydia’s the extrovert to Jean’s introvert and she shows Jean how to be free with her emotions. And for what it’s worth I appreciated that the Lydia and Jean were working women and not bored housewives.

The general theme of secrets and lies runs strong in this story. It’s the main conflict for the story’s narrator Charlie who is grappling with major changes and doesn’t know how to process the actions of the adults around him. It’s refreshing to see a child character who is curious and receptive and an integral part of the main story and not just a sideliner.

A secondary story follows Lydia’s sister-in-law Annie (Lauren Lyle) who is in an interracial relationship with a young man. When she becomes pregnant, her disapproving brother Robert and sister Pam try to “fix” the situation. It’s a reminder that while that era had many beautiful aesthetics the cultural mores could be quite ugly.

The bees are another character in the story and add an almost fantastical element. The close up shots of the bees are stunning. They pulsate with energy and you can feel that coming off the screen. In the film they react to the goings on in the human world around them and at one point even intervene on behalf of some of the characters. About the bees director Jankel says, “I felt an added kinship with the supernatural cinematic quality that the extraordinary world of the bees could provide, for an audience, both visually, and sonically.”

Tell It to the Bees is a sweet indie film with a tender heart. Paquin and Grainger deliver beautiful performances as their polar opposite characters. My only small criticism of what is otherwise a beautiful film is that I felt there was a lack of sexual chemistry between the two leads. However, I appreciated the fact that their sexual relationship wasn’t the focus of the story. And thanks to the women writers and the woman director we don’t see a lesbian love story as a male fantasy. Rather it’s a deep and meaningful relationship that transforms the characters and allows them to grow as persons. If you get a chance to watch Tell It to the Bees, take it! I hope this film finds its audience.

I attended a press and industry screening of Tell It to the Bees at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.

 

Posted Film Festivals

TIFF Review: Can You Ever Forgive Me?

by Raquel Stecher

Can You Ever Forgive Me?
dir. Marielle Heller
starring Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Jane Curtin, Dolly Wells, Ben Falcone

Review:

Based on the real life story of author turned forger Lee Israel, director Marielle Heller’s film dives into the literary world of 1990s NYC, a golden era in publishing and literary artifacts. The story follows the once celebrated biographer (Melissa McCarthy) as she finds herself in dire straits. Her agent Marjorie (Jane Curtin) isn’t returning her phone calls because no one wants another biography about Fannie Brice. She’s behind on her rent, her cat is sick and flies feed off the squalor in her down trodden apartment. When Israel happens across a letter written by Dorothy Parker tucked away in a book, she sells it and discovers that she can make quite a bit of money off of selling these letters but she needs to get her hands on more. So she uses her writing talents and her newfound penchant for deceit to forge letters from celebrated figures including Noel Coward, Marlene Dietrich, Edna Ferber, Louise Brooks and others. She reunites with an old drinking buddy Jack (Richard E. Grant) who joins her adventures. As things spiral out of control, Lee proves to be ruthless and unapologetic criminal.

Melissa McCarthy embodies the persona of Lee Israel seamlessly. And Richard E. Grant threatens to steal the movie with his brilliant performance as the shifty sidekick Jack. They play off each other beautifully. When I was originally selecting my slate of TIFF films for coverage, I was looking for LGBT films and didn’t realize that this would be one of them. The movie explores Israel’s romantic relationships with women including a budding romance with the used book dealer Anna (Dolly Wells) she’s selling forged letters to. The film dives even deeper into Jack’s sexuality as a homeless gay man living in New York City during the 1990s.

I was expecting some humor in this film but it truly is a straightforward drama and not a comedy or even a dramedy. Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a captivating film about two unforgivable tricksters who will forge their way into your heart whether you like it or not.

Fox Searchlight Pictures will release Can You Ever Forgive Me? in theaters on October 19th.

I attended a special press and industry screening of Can You Ever Forgive Me? at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.

 

Posted 1 Comment on Benched Film Reviews

Benched

“This is about the playing. Not the winning or losing. It’s about having fun.”

Michael (Garret Dillahunt) is eager to work as assistant coach for his son’s little league baseball team. But he gets more than he bargained for with head coach Don (John C. McGinley). These two are as different as could be. Michael was a curling champ in his youth and fondly remembers the spirit of the game and has long forgotten any wins. Don, on the other hand, remembers every game and holds personal grudges when circumstances led to a catastrophic loss. Their coaching styles clash, confusing the kids who don’t know who to listen to. Should they buy into Michael’s brand of everyone-is-a-winner mentality? Or should they listen to coach Don who believes every game is a fight for glory? As the season progresses we learn more about the complicated histories of these two coaches. Michael is a recent widower starting fresh in a new town. Don is having marital issues causing him to put more of his focus on the game. Will the two find a way to work together to help the team make it to the championships?

 

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Benched is the feature film directorial debut for Robert Deaton and George Flanigen. Unlike other movies about elementary school sports, the focus here is not on the kids but on the adults. I thought this was a curious choice for the filmmakers. Besides some scenes singling out a couple of the kids in particular and a thorough introduction to each team member, we really don’t know much about them as characters. They’re not who were rooting on. Instead it’s the two coaches, both of whom are navigating through a transitional period in their lives.

Adding just a touch of estrogen to the film is Jlynn Johnson who plays Carolyn, a love interest for both Michael and Don. I wish her character was more complex but there wasn’t much room in the film for her part to bloom and blossom.

The clash between Michael and Don is a sort of metaphor for a divided America. Michael is the stereotypical lazy liberal, accepting of many, encouraging of any effort and sees all the kids as equals in their field. Don is the hard-nosed conservative with a winners-versus-losers mentality who is very vocal about the team’s hierarchy. They learn from each other and ultimately have to compromise. Perhaps the message here is a political one rather than one of personal motivation.

If you’re looking for a positive sports movies featuring kids overcoming obstacles, then look elsewhere. Benched is a much different movie. It’s a complex study of disparate individuals, in this case, two adults. The film starts off a bit cheesy and awkward but once it picks up I found it quite engrossing. The baseball scenes were fun to watch and I found myself rooting on the team. If you like sports movies and want to try something a bit different, give Benched a shot.

 

 

Benched is screening in select theaters today and also available on VOD.

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