To Leslie (2022)

It's hard not to think about the controversy over Riseborough's Oscar nomination when watch To Leslie post nominations, but the truth is that she is remarkable in this film, and the film itself is very good, well constructed and beautifully shot. To Leslie is a strikingly powerful film. 

Riseborough does deserve her nomination as she gives one of those soul baring performances that balances an extreme character with a honest human portrayal. It is a difficult role to pull off yet she does an incredible job. It is one of those memorable turns that people talk about and just has to be seen. She isn't alone. The entire cast is good, especially Janney (no surprse), Teague as Leslie's son, and Maron as a generous soul.

The film is so well constructed, simply laid out but powerfully executed. Morris uses a muted, washed out colour palette that infuses a desperate energy to the film. He has captured the horrifying nature of alcoholism.

To Leslie is the sort of film that might not have been seen by as many without the attention it has got. I can strongly recommend it as a very satisfying watch. 

To Leslie

Starring: Andrea Riseborough, Allison Janney, Marc Maron, Owen Teague, Andre Royo, Stephen Root

Director: Michael Morris

Writer: Ryan Binaco

 

Knock at the Cabin (2023)

I've been nervous about Knock at the Cabin since I first saw the trailer. A story about a home invasion on a queer couple and their daughter was pretty triggering for me, and it being a movie made primarily by non-queer people made me uneasy considering the sensitive nature of the subject matter. But a part of me trusted those involved in the project including the queer actors cast in the lead roles. I was intrigued but a bit terrified by this film. But early in the film's runtime I was comforted that perhaps the film makers did get it and all that a story like this means. 

There is a moment early on when the young girl who has two dad talks about how people always tell her how "cool" that is and yet how that often feels like they are saying the opposite. Boom! That resonated so profoundly. The idea of being placated and tolerated by heteronormative society is such a prevalent and pervasive feeling for so many queer people just trying to exist in this space and the film voiced that from its opening moments. 

But it didn't stop there. Knock at the Cabin embraces the fact that at the heart of this is a queer family, a queer chosen family, who have faced all the alienations from micro-agressions, to systemic barriers, to physical threats and full on violence. It doesn't shy away from this acknowledgement, nor the strength and power this family has from that. It wasn't an easy watch to see this family terrorized, tied up, and threatened... in the unorthodox way the film does (yet it is still a threat). But the film handles this difficult story in such a way that it is not sensationalized nor is it exploitative. Also, quite truthfully, they aren't interchangeable for another family, a more typical family. This is the story of queerness under attack, even the unorthodox attack that this film presents. 

As Knock at the Cabin continues, it becomes not about their victimization, but their vitality and veracity as a family, a real family. In this way the film deviates from the book a bit plotwise but does so to further affirm and centre this family. It was remarkably powerful seeing this play out. I went through such a gauntlet of emotions until I was wrecked and teary by the ending. Knock at the Cabin uses the tropes of the home invasion movie set up but subverts them so powerfully and reveals something greater. Director Shyamalan is so delicate in his handling of the story, barely showing any of the violence yet letting you feel is viscerally. I was shocked at just how deft he managed it all.  

The script does feel a bit Shyamalany a few times with the fantastic elements perhaps not feeling as organic as they should, but this is often overcome by the powerful cast all delivering such amazing performances. I want to give props to Grint (so often belittled next to his more famous childhood co-stars) for giving a brief but excellent turn. Bird, Quinn, and Groff are strong too, along with young Cui, but it is Aldridge who truly gives a knockout turn in a role that I latched on to for strength. He encapsulates all the sides of a very healthy masculinity here in all its strength, anger, and vulnerability that is just amazing to watch. But at the centre of all this is Bautista, easily the best wrestler turned actor there ever was, delivering a layered, complicated, and completely captivating performance. I think the film might not have worked without how tell this cast commits to its premise and delivers on it. 

I can see how Knock at the Cabin will not be everyone's cup of tea, but for me it spoke to some very entrenched emotions and fears about how queer people don't quite fit into the straight world around them and how we are made to accommodate it all, how our trauma from this informs so much of how we structure our lives, and the rage we have living in this world. For me, seeing this played out in such a sensitive story, handled so deftly, had me holding on for dear life as I watched it play out. 

Knock at the Cabin

Starring: Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Kristin Cui, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rupert Grint, Abby Quinn

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Writers: Steve Desmond, Michael Sherman, M Night Shyamalan 

 

Living (2022)

Living is a cozy little film despite being filmed with cold images and dialogue that is kept at arms length. The film's writer and director manage to fill those spaces with a kind of spark of passion which lights the film in a way that is unexpected. That and Nighy's rightly lauded performance give Living a real life. 

Living follows it's inspiration (the 1952 film Ikiru) very closely and anyone who is familiar with that film will see it clearly. However Living finds its own pace with its embrace of a truly British aesthetic. Hermanus films this both as a period piece and as a tribute to the films of that era. This is especially highlighted in the film's opening credits and it's ending marked with a "The End".

The film doesn't play out like one would expect, with the final act being more of a reflection than a climax. The catharsis we are seeking comes from the conversations of those left behind. It is a bit jarring and some of the final conversations feel set up a bit. But the power of the film's story and Nighy's character's small but profound legacy is compelling. Nighy, who is often known for playing more outstanding roles, truly does shine in this very understated role.  

Living

Starring: Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp, , Adrian Rawlins, Oliver Chris, Tom Burke, Barney Fishwick, Patsy Ferran, 

Director: Oliver Hermanus

Writer: Kazuo Ishiguro

 

Navalny (2022)

Navalny is powerful to watch although much of the nuance of the story is lost for non-Russian audiences who aren't familiar with all the ins and outs of the history of one of Russia's leading opposition leaders. As a western audience we watch appalled at the shocking treatment of a political figure who challenges the authoritarian leadership of his country, but the film feels almost fantastical without a deeper understanding of the context and history which allows this sort of story to play out. And much of that history and context is missing. 

This may not be the fault of the film. How could a film capture all that one might need to know to understand this sort of atrocity? The film makes some off hand references to certain events and even suggests at one point that Navalny may not be perfect, but without a more in depth knowledge much of the richness of this story is lost. Still, the history of this man and his persecution remains powerful and the film does a wonderful job of helping bring the plight of opposition in Russia to light. It is a strong reminder of what a threat Putin plays to the world and just how hard it is to challenge that. 

Navalny

Director: Daniel Roher

Infinity Pool (2023)

Infinity Pool is as disturbing as it appears from everything we've seen leading up to its release. It is an unflinching yet extreme parable about how lack of accountability amongst the privileged leads to horrific behaviour which is visually stunning and viscerally upsetting. The younger Cronenberg is proving he is a visionary film maker in his own right and knows how to craft cinema in a way that gets under our skin and crawls all over. However the film suffers somewhat from a script that feels like it cuts corners to get to where it's going too quickly, focusing on cycling through its premise without building a real enough world to truly make us live in it. Yet this doesn't take away all the power from the film which manages to still shake its audience to the core. 

The film's plot points often feel a bit absurd and there are times where I wish the film had spent time earning where it was going. Often we are asked simply to accept what it is giving us without giving us reason to feel it. But despite not quite pulling off believability what the film does well is how it implicates its audience in its story. Infinity Pool doesn't make it about someone else but puts us in the position of James Foster (or does it?) and leaves us panting with an ending that is appropriately unsatisfying and disconcerting. We aren't supposed to feel good, we aren't supposed to get resolution. In the final moments we are given something upsetting to sit with.

The real ace in the hole here is Goth who manages to be all things for this movie, terrifying and seductive. She is part of what makes it all work in the end by making us feel the whole range of emotions at her character, one that is miles away from her infamous Pearl performance. She is as committed as Cronenberg is to making us as uncomfortable as we can be. It's hard to imagine anyone else in this role. 

So Infinity Pool is deeply haunting and terribly uncomfortable but not quite the masterpiece this film maker clearly has in him. 

Infinity Pool

Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Mia Goth, Cleopatra Coleman, Jalil Lespert, Amanda Brugal

Writer/Director: Brandon Cronenberg 

 

You People (2023)

You People is often laugh out loud funny. Hill and London are hilarious together and Barris and Hill's script is consistently funny often going down uncomfortable wormholes that purposefully make us more and more clenched until we can't do anything but laugh. But the story itself feels rather heavy handed and constructed. The story feels more like it is serving a premise than existing as an organic story.

While Hill and London are very funny together, the film never makes a convincing argument for their relationship. From their meet-not-so-cute through their dating scenes, you never really see them connect. Instead the movie just asks us to assume they are in love. And their families are set up as rather single note caricatures. The film might have just clicked more if the characters felt more real and their journey felt more organic.

But that doesn't stop the film from being smart and funny with witty critiques of culture clashes as it sets out its scenes of conflict. Murphy and Louis-Dreyfus are both comedic legends and they both do great work even if their characters never get a three-dimensional treatment. Generally the film is less a great story and more a series of funny scenes that give us some interesting food for thought as we move through it. It would have been great if it could have been both, but despite the times I was pulled from the movie I was still enjoying it. 

You People

Starring: Johah Hill, Lauren London, Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nia Long, David Dechovny, Molly Gordon, Sam Jay, Mike Eps, Rhea Perlman, Matt Walsh

Director: Kenya Barris

Writers: Jonah Hill, Kenya Barris

Fire of Love (2023)

I wasn't familiar with the story of the Kraffts, volcanists who were married to each other and died together pursuing their dream. It is the sort of perfect romantic true story that is compelling and moving. Dora uses their own footage of their work as well as interviews with them to tell the story of their meeting, building their careers together, and their tragic end. 

We spend a bit of time learning about volcanos but this is really a love story, a story of two people and how their love for each other was tied essentially to their love of volcanos and vice versa. For example we spend time watching gorgeous footage (from the Kraffts themselves) of volcanic activity set to French love songs. It is a surprisingly beautiful artistic choice. The film is about our our passions shape us, how our love of our pursuits can mean as much as our loves for each other. It is a love letter to that idea. 

And the film used, shot mostly by the subjects themselves, is compelling and gorgeous. It isn't hard to see what sparked their love for their work. So when the movie reaches its peak and we see footage from the day of their deaths, the film becomes so beautifully poignant. It is about living our best lives. 

Fire of Love

Director: Sara Dosa