TIFF: Four Short Takes
Saturday, September 15, 2012 at 6:46PM The Place beyond the Pines
Derek Cianfrance's follow-up to his marriage drama Blue Valentine is a three-part genre piece about a stunt motorcycle rider (Ryan Gosling) who enters a life of crime when he realizes that a short fling in the past with Romina (Eva Mendes) has resulted in a son. When a young cop (Bradley Cooper) gets involved with his case, his criminal activities take an abrupt turn.
Fans of Cianfrance's previous film and also those who were expecting "Drive redux" based on the minimal promotional material available are in for a surprise, though in my case the surprise was a very happy one. This robust story of complex morality and corruption is told with grace and gravitas. It is intermittently both a white-knuckle action film that keeps you on the edge of your seat and a dense drama that explores father-son relationships. Think of it as a crime thriller with the emotional punch of Blue Valentine.
Gosling gives yet another superbly intense performance but it's Cooper, and arguably Dane DeHaan, who steal the show with their surprising depth.
Prospects: Given the presence of two major stars and the potential to market the hell out of the genre elements, it could be a big hit, but the rumoured early 2013 release affirms my conviction that no one is expecting awards for this one.
Three more movies after the jump...
At Any Price
Ramin Bahrani's first film to feature no immigrant characters, and perhaps subsequently, use Hollywood stars instead of amateurs, tells the story of a crumbling farming empire owned by Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid). Whipple, who's inherited the farms from his father, is failing to convince his two sons to enter the family business. It is his second son, Dean (Zac Efron), an aspiring race car driver, whom we see more of as he gradually begins to confront his father over years of repressed emotions. Bahrani, whose previous features dug deep into the realization of the American dream, here looks at how the dream is falling apart. The crushing "expand or die" mentality of modern America is constantly contrasted with a nostalgic, some might say sentimental, view of a not-so-distant past when life was, to put it simply, easier, or more innocent.
America itself is without a doubt the most prominent character in the film. But while I, along with many others, found the strongly pronounced symbolism a bit much, the good still far outweighed the bad. The sensitive imagery of the film, the sweeping vistas, Dennis Quaid's curiously over the top but poignant performance, even Zac Efron's efforts to make the leap to a more serious side of acting all pay off handsomely in the end. The film's ambiguity remains more engrossing than messy.
Prospects: It will surely become Bahrani's biggest hit, though that's not exactly a major achievement. His best selling film made less than a million dollars at the box office. If 2013 is not a competitive year for actors, we can expect a push for Quaid, but that's as far as it will go.
Foxfire
Laurent Cantet's newest film resembles his Palme d'or winning The Class in more ways than one. It uses a cast of inexperienced actresses whose confrontation with a world more serious than their school becomes a journey for them to self discovery. Sadly, in Foxfire, this confrontation also results in delusional self-aggrandizement, and in turn, a plot that is unbearably contrived.
Adapted from the novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates, Foxfire tells the story of a group of schoolgirls whose secret society of the film's title aims to correct the wrongs of a male-dominated small town in 1950s America. When the identity of the members is revealed and their leader is sent to a juvenile correctional facility, the group is forced to expand and commit harsher crimes to sustain itself. Yet, what begins as their brutal encounter with the real world is pushed to such unrealistic extremes that Cantet eventually loses its grip on the story. There are interesting metaphors to be found as Foxfire toys with the Animal Farm ideology that the girls will adopt a similar social structure at their new women-only home as the one they previously had in the school. But ideas aren't contextualized as the film falls in the trap of its muddled screenplay, plastic dialogue and wildly overacting child performers.
Prospects: None. I'm not a Box Office expert but I think this film is in a limbo, being somewhat too rough for a teenage audience and completely unsatisfying for an adult one. Awards play is out of the question.
Beyond the Hills
It was always going to be an uphill battle for Cristian Mungiu to follow up his 2007 masterpiece 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. It’s only one of the greatest films ever made. But his newest film, Beyond the Hills, despite lacking the urgency of its predecessor, is equally provocative. It’s an indication that the man behind the camera is one of the most confident and unique voices working in cinema today. The film tells the story of Voichita, an orphan girl whose serene life at a monastery in rural Romania is disturbed when Alina, her former classmate in the orphanage, comes back from Germany. Alina’s disregard for the church and its powers to purify her soul begins to sow seeds of doubt in Voichita, who’s unwilling to leave the monastery and go to Germany with her friend. The harder the monks try to deliver Alina from evil, the deeper she falls in the throes of her demonic behaviour.
Mungiu’s films is so impeccably photographed, so masterfully designed and so authentically acted that from the first moment, the audience is aware they’re in the presence of something special. The daunting 155 minutes of the film’s runtime have no fat to trim, for the film constantly evolves as it asks us questions about religion’s power to demonize and redeem. We are left wondering whether the nuns are brainwashed or cleansed from sin or whether Alina is overcome by evil or is it that her troubles have an earthly source? Mungiu throws us hints without ever spoonfeeding us the answers; the intricacies of the moral questions he poses linger in our head long after the credits roll.
Prospects: It's already taken two awards home from Cannes and is now submitted as Romania's submission for the best foreign language Oscar. Will the Academy want to apologize to Mungiu for 2007's mishap? Possibly, but Beyond the Hills, while more accessible, is no less difficult than its predecessor. I'm predicting a January shortlist showing without an eventual nomination.
Reader Comments (8)
Wow, that's disappointing about Cantet. I love The Class so, so much, and I was hoping that he would be able to strike gold again with another young, unknown ensemble.
The somewhat divisive reviews for The Place Beyond the Pines have me even more excited for it than before.
So "Firefox" is in English? Interesting... "A Place Beyond the Pines" sounds really interesting though. I wasn't as big on "Blue Valentine" as others, but this one sounds like it could be more my thing.
I wholeheartedly second your every word regarding Mungiu, 4 Months and Beyond the Hills.
For some reason I was under the impression that Cannes reviews were muted so I was quite stunned when I saw the actual film. I was expecting some sort of mood poem (not that there's anything wrong with those). I didn't expect to be gripped and shaken.
And I especially loved the closing scene.
Glenn - Yes, it's in English. Sadly, I think that's where it goes wrong. He really couldn't get the dialogue right. It felt more like they were reading a book, which is why I assume certain passages were literally copy/pasted from the book.
Great write-ups. Can't wait to see Beyond the Hills at NYFF in a few weeks.
Wasn't able to see At Any Price, unfortunately, but saw The Paperboy and thought Efron acquitted himself quite well, wobbly accent aside.
You haven't seen To the Wonder, right? Saw it earlier in the week and quite liked it, though that is apparently a minority review. Interested to hear what you think if you are seeing it.
Thanks, Amir. Really looking forward to The Place beyond the Pines!
Out of curiosity - I'm a fan of the musician who scored The Place Beyond the Pines, Mike Patton, what did you think of his work?
Roark- seeing To the Wonder tonight at the very last hour. I'll get to it in my roundup tomorrow, I guess.
Casey- It's really strong. I'm surprised I didn't mention it in my writeup. Both the score and the cinematography are top-notch and really critical in shaping the film.