Ferrari (2023)

I struggled so hard to enjoy Michael Mann's film Ferrari. Mann is a talented director who has some amazing movies in his oeuvre but there is this ongoing problem with these movies made about so called "great men" that rely on their names to propel us through the film instead of actually delivering a compelling story. Ferrari may be one of the best examples of this problem. 

Ferrari isn't a regular sort of biopic. Mann focuses his story on one main incident, the infamous 1957 Mille Miglia where 12 people were killed in a rather freak accident after a Ferrari driver lost control of his vehicle. The choice of this is obvious for cinematic reasons. It's easy to build drama around this chapter in the man's life. But it is also why the film lost me. The film uses this tragedy as for pathos but does all it can not to reckon with the actual hubris of the sport of racing and the millionaires who benefit from it. In fact the film does all it can to absolve all responsibility for dangerous sporting from the title character. these films tend to do these sorts of things to keep the great man myth alive in our hearts. Ferrari is just the latest example. 

But it's also just not that well made of a film. The performances are mostly rote including Driver (coincidentally named) with perhaps the sole exception of Cruz who has the inglorious role of "crazy" wife whose sole job it is to make our hero long suffering and to then turn around his fortunes without any real explanations at the very end conveniently. The story is a bit of a slog between racing sequences, which are truly the only reason to watch the film. Mann handles them quite well but bungles the inbetweens. 

Ferrari just felt like nothing special most of the time and often felt like it was bending over backwards to keep us onside. The denouement after the crash feels underwhelming and rather convenient, like he just needed to make sure that last bits all fit into place before running the credits. Sometimes watching films like this you think "there is an interesting story here but this film just isn't telling it" but in this case I wonder if there really is any interesting story at all. 

Ferrari

Starring: Adam Driver, Penelope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Gabriel Leone, Jack O'Connell, Patrick Dempsey, Sarah Gadon, Ben Collins

Director: Michael Mann

Writer: Troy Kennedy Martin

 

The Color Purple (2023)

There are things I really enjoyed and things I didn't enjoy about Bazawule's adaptation of the stage musical adaptation of the 80s film adaptation of the Alice Walker novel. And that's kinda where things start for me. The 2023 film The Color Purple feels like it is a little bit of this and a little bit of that and I'm not sure it ever came together for me in a way that felt like one unified piece. There are moments that feel cinematic and moments that feel like they'd work better on the stage. There are moments that felt like the story was coming alive and other times when the film seemed to just jump from one plot point to another without feeling connected. The Color Purple is a mixed bag for me.

The powerful story of Walker's novel is a rich and layered and perhaps part of the challenge is fitting all that into one film. Things are going to get short shrift like Sofia's arc which felt truncated so we never felt the glory of her coming back to life at the story's fateful dinner table. In fact that scene is one that felt off altogether. The film never builds up a believable narrative for Miss Celie finding her strength to leave Mister so when it's just announced (and suddenly Mary Agnes is leaving too??) it didn't create the sense of liberation that it does in the previous film or the novel. This moment is a centrepiece for the story and it sort of feels fumbled. As does any attempt the film makes to redeem Mister who gets reintegrated into the community rather quickly and in a way that doesn't necessarily feel great. the film jettisons some of what the stage musical does here and I'm not sure we're better off for it.  

But the film does capture somethings really well. Henson's Shug is a vision every time she's on the screen and I'm so glad they gave her Miss Celie's Blues to sing (despite not being a part of the stage musical). It's such a great song and its performance here is quite moving although moved to a different part of the story than the Spielberg film. Still I didn't find many of the musical's songs, nor the originals written for this production, to be nearly as memorable so by including it the film sort of highlights the weaknesses of the others. 

One issue all adaptations have is how they struggle to represent the lesbian aspects of the story and this film does some things better than previous adaptations while also still letting this get sidelined a bit. I really did enjoy how the film highlights Celie's number I'm Here from the musical centring her self-love as the true holy grail but why are we all so afraid to see Celie love another woman who isn't her sister? 

So while I wouldn't tell you not to see The Color Purple if it's a film that interests you, if you are a fan of any of the previous takes on the story, or if you just want to go see the movie, I would just say that it wasn't the stand out I had hoped it might be. Still it is a lovely film to watch and I imagine will likely bring out a tear or two in you before it's over. 

The Color Purple 

Starring: Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Jon Batiste, Louis Gossett Jr., David Alan Grier

Director: Blitz Bazawule

Writer: Marcus Gardley

 

Poor Things (2023)

Lanthimos keeps getting both bolder and more relatable in his work. With Poor Things , similar to his last film, The Favourite, he has struck a remarkable balance between his obvious desire to create films like no one else does and reaching a sort of accessibility to mainstream audiences. Poor Things is very entertaining and even with its heavy handed but welcome and spirited moralizing, it manages to speak to issues of liberation and gender which are fascinating. 

Lanthimos has made a stunningly gorgeous film. From his art design and costumes (which put Wes Anderson to shame) and his playful cinematography, to his narrative style which is surprisingly straight forward (which helps with the film's accessibility), Lanthimos joyfully tells the story of Bella, a woman made by and corralled by men. He imbues sadness into the story but only in small doses, generally letting Bella find happiness through a whole lot of sexuality, the inspiring of her mind to philosophy and science, and general self-determination. The feminism of Poor Things, a film written and directed by men based on source material also written by a man, may be somewhat simplistic, but it isn't wrong. In fact it is often delightful, played with such whimsey and optimism throughout the movie. 

Much of how this works so well is because of Stone. She is clearly having an amazing time embodying this woman and she layers in a plethora of emotions (from the sublime to the melancholy and everything else) into Bella. Stone creates the character for herself and plays her in a way that is hard to imagine another actor taking on so perfectly. It is a truly wonderful performance that may well be one of her most treasured. 

I feel the final act plays out a little awkwardly, feels a bit tacked on, and ends the movie on a more trivial ending than I would have like. Bella's full emancipation is sort of taken down in a moment of silliness. However that doesn't ruin what otherwise is a gloriously rambunctious and wildly entertaining story of independence and personhood. It would have been easy for Poor Things to be darkly pessimistic but Lanthimos and Stone reject that idea and instead make it a very exuberant experience. And sometimes that sort of joy just needs to be part of the story 

Poor Things

Starring: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, Jerrod Carmichael, Katheryn Hunter, Hanna Schygulla, Margaret Qualley, Suzy Bemba 

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

Writer: Tony McNamara

 

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)

The first Aquaman movie was audacious in how it embraced a character most people thought was a joke and gave him some real heft while also making just a really fun adventure movie. Probably the lightest and most mainstream of all the DCEU films, Aquaman was an easily digestible hit so a sequel makes sense. Years pass and the DCEU goes out of favour by the time The Lost Kingdom gets released so suddenly everyone wants to shit on this film. But truly it's as light and fun as the first movie and give another showcase for the truly loveable Mamoa to shine. 

Sure the story and character arcs are all fairly rote (like most of the other superhero films) but The Lost Kingdom is a bit of a bonkers monster movie which makes it fun. Perhaps it loses some of the novelty of the first and while its predecessor felt more like an ensemble most characters not named Aquaman get kinda sidelined. But if we're being truly honest The Lost Kingdom is as entertaining and accessible a movie as most Marvel films.

The two things that stand out for me are Mamoa who just has charisma and screen presence oozing out of every pore, and the way Wan and the film makers just embrace the absurdity of the character and run with it. It's pure sea-monster madness is delightful so even if the story doesn't feel super original it can still be enjoyable spectacle. It sounds like we'll be seeing Mamoa back as a new character soon and I bet he's going to knock that out of the park, but his turn as the king of Atlantis was glorious too. 

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

Starring: Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren, Radall Park, Temuera Morrison, Indya Moore, Pilou Asbaek

Director: James Wan

Writer: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick

Rebel Moon Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)

I recognize Snyder is a divisive film maker. His bombastic style filled with visual spectacle and a lot of slow motion paired with a general lack of subtly or irony is not everyone's bag. But I most often enjoy his classic storytelling with his operatic screencraft. Rebel Moon is his ode to Seven Samurai by way of mixing the cinematic language of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings (with maybe a bit of David Lynch's Dune thrown in for good measure) and it is one big epic space opera that if you let yourself enjoy it will take you on an incredible ride!

In some ways it is ironic that Rebel Moon is a Netflix production as it is clearly designed for the largest screen you can possibly find. Freed from studio interference, Snyder can let loose with this fanboy movie fantasies and he does. Rebel Moon leaps from the screen and tells much of it's story through the visceral impact of its visuals. It does lean a little too heavy into the narration but there is so much world building going on here there may have been no other option. Snyder dreams big and Rebel Moon is an attempt to capture as much of that as possible. For me it mostly does with only little gripes here and there. In fact most of the time I'm glad he erred on the side of more is more. 

The story may be straight forward but there were a few little surprises along the way. This is the sort of story telling that is a throw back to serial style genre pics of the past told in modern CGI glory. It is famously developed from a pitch for a Star Wars film and it shares much with that film in the way it is a love letter to a different era of film making, a pulp-sci-fantasy adventure that wears its heart on its sleeves and has no apologies. It never talks down to its audience or relies on cheap takes. Snyder haters will hate it. His fans will adore it. But I think that most going in with an open mind will just enjoy the spirit of pure adrenaline adventure.

Bring on part two!

Rebel Moon Part One: A Child of Fire

Starring: Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Charlie Hunnam, Michael Huisman, Staz Nair, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Cleopatra Coleman, Anthony Hopkins, Alfonso Herrera, Jena Malone, Ed Skrein, Fra Fee, Corey Stall, Cary Elwes, Ray Porter

Director: Zack Snyder

Writers: Kurt Johnstad, Shay Hatten, Zack Snyder

 

Maestro (2023)

Cooper is certainly ambitious in his first few films as director. This is only his sophomore film, an attempt to tell us the story of one of America's greatest composers of the 20th century, and he infuses it with a fantastic sense of whimsy while also balancing this with a heavy respect for the pathos of the human life that he is portraying. He starts out with an impressionistic style featuring dreamlike elements and utilizes switching from colour to B&W. Maestro ends up being visually (and auditorily) striking, scored with Bernstein's actual compositions laid over Cooper's film. 

But as the film went on some of this was lost. Maestro became more linear and literal, losing so much of the fantasy it so boldly started with. The film switched back to colour and became more traditionally biopic, switching between moments of Cooper conducting as Bernstein and scenes of his relationship with his wife played by Mulligan. Both pour so much into their roles, both doing impressions of their New York accents and mannerisms as well as doing deep dives into their characters' emotional states. Both prove themselves to be at the top of their game and amongst the best of their generation. 

But, yes I recognize this is my second "but" in this review, the film starts to make it clear that the way Maestro is getting into its portrait of Bernstein is through his relationship with his wife, Felicia Montealegre. In fact, I'm going to posit that it becomes quite clear that this is not Bernstein's story. It is hers. Sold as the story of one of the 20th century's most important queer artists, instead it is the story of the heterosexual woman who married him. The film spends its time focusing us on her point of view, and gives little time to the inner workings of Bernstein himself. The film, as interesting as it is, is about the experience of a heterosexual person interacting with queer person and how that heterosexual is affected. The queerness is clearly sidelined. Mulligan is remarkable as this character telling this story and I'm not suggesting that the film is homophobic in this approach. It is one way into this story. It is the heterosexual way into this story. It is perhaps why queer stories are most often best told by queer artists because, like in this case, they risk being about the heterosexuals. Maestro is very much about the heterosexual in the relationship. 

Having said that this story is still valid and it is told well. Perhaps I was just hoping for a story about a queer man and his interactions with the heteronormative world around him, how his way surviving in this unfriendly world affects him, and how he finds strength to do what he does in that world and environment. But that's not what this film is. It's in someway akin to Green Book attempting to tell a story about racial discrimination in twentieth century America by telling it from the point of view of the white guy. It's a viewpoint and it has its interesting aspects. But it centres things in a way that is experienced differently than many of those in the story. 

For me Maestro is a good film that tells an interesting story. But it misses out on what could have been an even more powerful story. Also the nose is a mistake. There is nothing necessary in Cooper's performance of Bernstein that requires this prosthetic. 

Maestro 

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan, Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke, Sarah Silverman, Michael Urie

Director: Bradley Cooper

Writers: Josh Singer, Bradley Cooper

Les Trois Mousquetaires : D'Artagnan (2023)

Lush and epic, Bouboulon's ambitious adaptation of the classic Dumas tale achieves what it sets out to do, create a new standard for the famous story true to its roots but reinvented for a modern audience. There are some alterations to the details but the main plot is true to its source. The film fleshes out the roles of its leading ladies and sets exciting action set pieces amongst the rich political melodrama. All together D'Artangnan is an entertaining swashbuckling adventure and captivating political drama all in one. 

Be warned, the story is broken in two parts so this is just the first chapter, but the story is well structured to give a beginning, middle, and end while also setting up the next part of the story. It balances the need to be self-contained with enough to wet our appetites for what comes next. 

I very much enjoyed the way the film is an old school historical epic but with modern sensibilities laced throughout so we can enjoy its sweeping adventure story. One doesn't need to understand French history to follow the story; the film does a good job of setting out who the characters are and why they are doing what they are doing. This Three Musketeers is about preventing war and supporting diversity. But mostly its about scheming and sword fighting and romance and brotherhood. All good themes for an adventure story. 

Les Trois Mousquetaires : D'Artagnan

Starring: Francois Civil, Eva Green, Vincent Cassel, Romain Duris, Pio Marmai, Lyna Khoudri, Louis Garrel,  Éric Ruf

Director: Martin Bouboulon

Writers: Matthieu Delaporte, Alexandre de La Patellière 

Wonka (2023)

Wonka sort of manages to be two things at once, a charming and delightful little piece of whimsy that makes you smile, and a rather forgettable film whose vanilla characters and music float away as soon as you walk out of the theatre. I enjoyed myself throughout but nothing about it felt like it resonated beyond just a simple pleasant feeling. It's hard to pin down how Wonka doesn't capture the magic that the source material that inspired it does but perhaps its because it feels like a pale imitation. 

The best thing going for Wonka is its star. Chalamet commits to the role and delivers being delightfully adorable throughout. He jettisons any of the weighty angst he can be known for in films like Dune or Call Me By Your Name to be an inspiring optimist who lifts all around him and does so with a playful energy that is just infectious. I worry this might miss the mark of the character a bit (more on this later), but he is captivating to watch throughout as his idiot savant character successfully magics solutions to every problem he encounters. 

The rest of the characters, despite a quite remarkable cast, are one note and mostly forgettable (even Lane who has such incredible screen presence). It not really the casts fault. They are all showing up (Colman is clearly having a good time with her villain role). The script just doesn't flesh them out of offer them anything other than filling a role in Willy's story. 

And the songs are just like the movie, rather pleasant but generally forgettable. For me this is the real test of a musical. I need to leave humming the songs or else it hasn't really won me over. This is highlighted by the fact that they use Pure Imagination from the 1971 Wilder movie and it is just 10x more of a song so every time it comes on it helps you forget the rest. The cast do a great job singing (again Chalamet shines here) and the dance numbers are all fun (although none really blow your mind) and the songs are terrible. While they are on they are catchy and light. They just have no weight. 

As I alluded to before perhaps one of my biggest disappointments was how Wonka, perhaps, feels like it misses the point of the character. Dahl's character has a darkness to him that both the Wilder and Depp film versions lean into and it's missing here. The villains are cartoony and lack the insidiousness that Dahl creates in his characters. But it's Willy himself, here such a gleeful ray of light, that just has none of the dark corners that is there in the books and the previous films. One could argue "this is a prequel and showing him before" but nothing in this film suggests he'll ever be anything more than sugar and spice and everything nice and that just isn't who Willy Wonka is. 

Still having said all that I enjoyed Wonka for what it is. A light and tasty treat that might be rather forgettable in the end.

Wonka

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Calah Lane, Keegan Michael-Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant, Matthew Baynton, 

Director: Paul King

Writers: Simon Farnaby, Paul King

 

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023)

The original Chicken Run is a bit of an odd egg. It's an holocaust analogy that is barely veiled at all in its message critiquing genocide. I remember it being likened to The Great Escape, a movie about British prisoners escaping Nazi POW camps, but Chicken Run's analogy was darker as the movie made it clear the end game for the evil farmer Mrs. Tweedy was to kill all the chickens. The farm was modelled clearly after a concentration camp and the escape was to a sanctuary where chickens could live free far away from those who want to kill them. The Republic of Iran even accused the film of being Zionist. Yes many films aimed at children are allegories for real world situations but few address such horrific themes so head on. All of this and the fact that it's hard to argue the film isn't making a vegan argument and its strong feminist themes make 2000's Chicken Run a uniquely bold mainstream animated movie. 

23 years later the sequel doesn't shy away from any of this either. Dawn of the Nugget explores how fascism evolves from locking up the unwanted and exterminating them, to socializing individuals into happily destroying themselves. Like the first film it does this through a truly entertaining and inspiring story and doesn't sugar coat its messages to do so. Is eating happy chickens more ethical than eating tortured ones? Nugget tells a liberation story and doesn't pretend not to.

One of the strengths of genre fiction is how it gets us to think about real world issues at arms length allowing us to process it a bit more readily. However Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget puts it right in our faces. We watch characters eat the chicken made from a hen we just saw slaughtered. And the ending... well it has to be seen to be believed. But it does so in a way that is (for lack of a better word) palatable for any audience including young viewers. It is quite remarkable actually just how well it walks the difficult line. Nugget is a wildly entertaining film while never compromising on the moral to its story. 

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget

Starring: Thandiewe Newton, Zachary Levi, Bella Ramsey, Imelda Staunton, Lynn Ferguson, David Bradley, Jane Horrocks, Romesh Ranganathan, Daniel Mays, Josie Sedgwick-Davies, Peter Serafinowicz, Nick Mohammed, Miranda Richardson

Director: Sam Fell

Writers: Karey Kirkpatrick, John O'Farrell

 

Doi Boy (2023)

Documentarian Numbenchapol's first fiction film is powerful and bold, weaving together the stories of three men whose arcs seem to suggest a lack of control in their own destinies. The film doesn't remains narratively compelling all the way through but the ending is impactful. 

We follow these men through the choices they are forced to make either by others or because they can't live with the other. It doesn't work out well for all of them to varying degrees and even the most optimistic ending leaves us wondering if it will truly end well for Sorn.

Doi Boy explores intersections of immigration and gender/sexuality and the forces which affect people's lives. It is a beautiful film to watch if not a bit slow in moments. But it shows Numbenchapol has a good future ahead of him if he wants to keep making dramas.

Doi Boy 

Starring: Awat Ratanapintha, Arak Amornsupasiri, Bhumibhat Thavornsiri, Panisara Rikulsurakan

Writer/Director: Nontawat Numbenchapol

Eileen (2023)

Eileen is the sort of story that takes one narrative build up in act one to deliver on a very different act two which inverts the first half yet concludes the arc of the characters. Director Oldroyd doesn't quite mesh the two in a way that was completely satisfying for me, but I appreciated the journey and the way he uses the story to find light in darkness. 

In act one we meet the titular Eileen and learn of her rather sad life, her only joy found in sexual fantasy that even doesn't quite... satisfy. McKenzie (similarly to how she lays bare her character in Last Night in Soho) is dowdy and withheld, masking a rage beneath her eyes which is begging to be set loose. Then she meets the glamorous Rebecca who Hathaway plays with a combination of bravado and vulnerability which is pitch perfect. The story begins to play out as a repressed romance. 

But it all comes to head on Christmas Eve when the tables are turned and an extreme situation puts Eileen in the driver seat over a timid and regretful Rebecca. And its in those moments we see who these women really are. The film is a coming into her own for Eileen in a violent way and she finds the strength to finally leave it all behind. 

For me the film doesn't quite justify the extremeness of its narrative. I didn't quite buy how they get there. I wish the film had found a way to make it feel more organic. But I loved the performances of the two leads and their dynamics together. Hathaway is often best when she's a bit shady and McKenzie has this fascinating way of being fragile and strong at the same time. Despite the film not quite nailing its twist, I still found it incredible riveting and satisfying especially in how it balanced bleakness with optimism in both its story and conclusion.

Eileen

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Thomasin McKenzie, Shaea Whigham, Marin Ireland, Siobhan Fallon Hogan

Director: William Oldroyd

Writers: Luke Goebel, Ottessa Moshfegh 

 

The Boy and the Heron (2023)

Selfishly I hope Hayao Miyazaki never retires. If he keeps delivering his unique and gorgeous style of film, that resembles nothing else truly, then we are lucky to be able to experience each adventure he wants to take us on. The Boy and the Heron is a complex, deeply mature, and soaring coming of age story, rich with insight and emotion, and truly unexpected at every turn. 

The film is unrelentingly gorgeous. His hand drawn aesthetic has evolved into an even more beautiful experience than his previous works. I was stunned at how incredible his sequences were to see on the big screen. There are moments of quiet pastoral landscapes, fiery moments of passion, adorable and magical sequences, true unabashed oddity, and heart-racing adventure. The characters are visceral and fantastic, dreamed into full life from a combination of nightmares and escapism. The Boy and the Heron is lousy with a pantheon of crazy and soon to be beloved characters. 

Joe Hisaishi's score is as beautiful as the rest of the film. Often simple and melodic, the score is hopeful. The Boy and the Heron is filled with hope, hope for the future and hope through the most difficult times. Miyazaki's optimism is embedded throughout. I found myself smiling throughout, especially at the ending a deeply satisfied and contented smile. 

The Boy and the Heron

Starring: Luca Padovan, Robert Pattinson, Karen Fukuhara, Gemma Chan, Christian Bale, Mark Hamill, Florence Pugh, Willem Dafoe, Dave Bautista

Writer/Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Leave the World Behind (2023)

Raised on 90s disaster movies, it wouldn't be unfair for me to write them off as bombastic spectacles that centre around heroism and some triumphant male (Will Smith or Bruce Willis) saving the day. But like all genres, there are entries which try to do something different. Leave the World Behind has more in common with the recent Knock at the Cabin Door, in its lack of optimism. We watch as an isolated family slowly starts to piece together that something horrible may be happening in the world and struggles to know how to deal with it. Instead of "rising to the occasion" our heroes flail and mostly fail as they slowly begin to accept that not everything is going to be okay. 

Writer/director Esmail handles certain aspects of this better than others. He is really good at building the sense of doom and creating terrifying moments of dread that are squarely grounded in reality. He doesn't handle the talky moments as effectively. His script feels a little heavy handed at times and the conversations are not always as organic as one might want. His characters are all a little typed, fitting into rather neat boxes. But I will give his script credit for having them behave very realistically despite their two-dimensionality. Their conversations, while a bit clunky at times, are very honest and thought provoking. The best parts of the film are the pieces the characters are not saying. The cast helps with this as they are all strong and give good performances, showing us more of what is going on for these people than just what they say. 

Esmail uses his camera to upend things quite a few times and despite how on the nose this feels it is very effective. I did feel disconcerted through most of Leave the World Behind. There are set pieces (planes crashing, tankers slamming into shores) and they are used judiciously, without going over the top. I'll also give the film credit for sticking the landing. He doesn't solve the problem or save our heroes. His ending balances a real bleakness with an almost defiant moment of hope, if small. I like the ambiguity the film leaves us with, showing us there may be options for the protagonists, but not confirming if they will be able to exploit them. 

Perhaps Leave the World Behind could have been a bit subtler at times, but overall it is the sort of movie that will give you enough to keep you wondering and asking questions and that in the end is a strength. 

Leave the World Behind

Starring: Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la, Kevin Bacon

Writer/Director: Sam Esmail

 

Silent Night (2023)

Full disclosure: I am not a huge fan of John Woo's films. I find his work stylish but often vapid. Silent Night seems to cross a line though. It actually seems full of some pretty awful story telling. It's clumsily crafted and doesn't make up for it in its action sequences, the one strength the film has. 

For a film that is supposed to not have any dialogue Silent Night has a shit tonne of dialogue. It makes its main character mute but has so many other characters say things, we hear the radio announce many details, and there are plenty of text conversations. Commit to your gimmick Woo. Either this is a "silent" movie or it's not. 

But the way he does limit the dialogue feels forced and awkward most of the time. There are moments that are just begging for someone to say something that feel unrealistic without people talking. You just never believe in the silent moments. This year another film tried this trick with much greater success. No One Will Save You showed you how this should be done. Silent Night falls far short. 

The film is a slow burn... well perhaps more a slog. Even with its 104 minute runtime it feels long. It takes so long for Kinnaman's character to build up to his rampage and it's just not interesting. We watch him descend into violence, first losing his son, then his wife, and all of this should have some emotional impact but Woo isn't able to build that so it all just feels toxic. And when he finally gets to the point of the movie, it becomes an incel fantasy. One white man with a gun is able to do what society, what the police, cannot do. The film is filled with gang members ready to be taken down by our white night and yes they are all Latinx. The film doesn't hide its biases, even using some of its cheating dialogue to highlight the films xenophobia. 

But if there is anything Woo can do it's kick ass action, right? Well... this part is the certainly the best part of the movie but I could list a number of 2023 films which eclipse it for out right amazing action without having to think to far. Has Woo lost his mojo?

The things I will give the film credit for are Kinnaman's performance and the film not letting his character off the hook. As much as the film tries to make him a hero, he is a tragic figure, destroyed by his rage and his quest for vengeance. It certainly has the ending it should. Kinnaman doesn't portray his character as John Wick. He is panicked most of the time, makes so many mistakes. This keeps the movie from being a complete disappointment. 

But it's still just not that entertaining and that's the most disappointing part of all. Silent Night is more a lump of coal than holiday favourite. 

Silent Night

Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Scott Mescudi

Director: John Woo

Writer: Robert Archer Lynn

 

May December (2023)

Haynes knows how to get under his audience's skin with subtle techniques, often surprising us with how affected we are by what we are watching. May December creeps into our minds quietly, with a very mundane, slice of life approach. We watch a family going through their day to day lives with little pieces of the backstory being revealed until we understand just how difficult the background is for these people. But even more than that, we watch while someone else is watching, and extracting from these people something that may once again make their lives harder. It is all very uncomfortable and difficult to wrap our minds and our feelings around. 

The cast is terrific even beyond Moore and Portman who both bring such complexity to their characters. Melton, who is getting a lot of praise for this role, takes a very understated approach and in that develops quite a fascinating character. I would also point out Smith who has only a few scenes but plays them with a strength that makes his character more than just what it could have been. They all come together quite perfectly and fit into Haynes deliberately opaque style. 

May December will challenge you. It sneaks up you but also just leaves you to sit with what you are seeing. It never holds your hand or tells you what to feel. I often felt confused and conflicted. I think that is the main strength of the film, to just give us something incredibly difficult to deal with and leave us to deal with it, not just the history of this family and the consequences of that, but of the voyeuristic nature of this moment in their lives, the insertion of Portman's character into their journey and how she takes from them. And how does that implicate us, the audience, not only of this film but of so much of the "reality" entertainment we consume. 

May December

Starring: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton, Corey Michael Smith

Director: Todd Haynes

Writer: Samy Burch