Quickies to Catch Up: West Side Story, Don't Look Up, Nightmare Alley, House of Gucci
Monday, December 6, 2021 at 10:45PM by Nathaniel R
It's that time of year when it is literally impossible to keep up. Most weeks have one maybe two if we're lucky films of interest opening. But in December it's like 10 high profile movies per week or something outrageous. So much can get lost in the shuffle which is always sad.
Here are some quick thoughts on four recent high profile screenings though we'll do full reviews when they open...
DON'T LOOK UP
Adam McKay's satire about our current facts-averse political divide and incompetent government is his best yet. It's often very funny. Unfortunately the targets are scattershot, the film is easily distracted, and it's least a half hour too long. Best in Show: Leonardo DiCaprio as a barely-keeping it together scientist in another reminder that he ought to do more comedies. The supporting cast is one major star after another though the standouts are Cate Blanchett as a seductive opportunist talk show host, Jonah Hill as an absurdly unqualifed and petty Chief of Staff, and Melanie Lynskey, warm and grounding, as Leo's abandoned wife. B
Oscar chances: Across the board (though I'm doubtful about the acting) though its strongest bids are probably in Picture, Editing, Original Song, and Original Screenplay
HOUSE OF GUCCI
Shockingly bland given its very purple characters and storyline. It also sports the laziest song-heavy soundtrack we've heard in ages. This one needed several more passes in post-production as it's quite randomly stitched together with scenes not popping when they should and long dead patches where nothing much happens versus moments where it seems like something dramatic we didn't see has happened. Best in Show: Lady Gaga tries to keep it afloat with starpower for days and a very gif'able if not quite awards-worthy performance (we have no idea what the NYFCC was smoking as she does not currently place in our 12 long list of outstanding leading performances by actresses this year). She's undermined at every turn by the dull filmmaking (what happened, Ridley?) Still, at least she's having fun! Jared Leto is also having fun... but at the audience's expense; it's literally one of the worst performances I've ever seen and you know I'm not fond of such critical hyperbole. D+ The + is for Gaga and the costumes.
Oscar chances: Costumes, Makeup, and (unfortunately) acting.
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Even more than House of Gucci this one screams "rush job" albeit in a much more successful way. The production is beautiful but it doesn't quite pull off the protagonist's arc or its long fuse meant-to-explode storytelling. But it looks great and Bradley Cooper proves again that he's a major movie star. His final scene in particular is so stellar that the film lingers longer than its uneven qualities suggest it will. Best in show: Cate Blanchett dazzles as an seductive opportunist psychiatrist (yes she's doing a seductive opportunist double-feature this month) though her work is much more stylized than the rest of the cast. Alas, Del Toro's remake is too faithful to the 1947 noir and therefore easy to compare to it across the board which leaves it coming up a clear second in virtually all respects. B-/C+
Oscar chances: This one is a wildcard. Some people think it's a major player. I am skeptical though a couple of craft nominations feel like givens, especially the Production Design.
WEST SIDE STORY
The original West Side Story (1961) is my all time favourite movie as many readers already know. So while there was little chance that this could live up to the seismic place the original film has in my heart, this second cinematic go at the material is surprisingly fresh and enjoyable. That's due in large part to the frequent liberties taken in Tony Kushner's creative reshaping of the book. If you're going to remake a classic, find new ways to come at it! Some of the changes are just stellar particularly everything involving Doc...aka Valentina, Rita Moreno's character and the fluid bilingual world of the Sharks. Other changes don't work as well and strangely the weakest scenes are the opening and the ending, two highlights of the original. Spielberg, while never outdoing any of the 1961 setpieces, proves up to the musical task. Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler both sing like angels in the leading roles but the true fire is in the supporting cast (where it always is with West Side Story). Rita Moreno and Mike Faist are amazing as Valentina and Riff while Ariana DeBose as Anita and David Alvarez as Bernardo bring the fire in the back half of this sturdy musical epic. B+
Oscar chances: Strong in all categories except Lead Actor, Original Song (not eligible), and probably Supporting Actor (Alvarez and Faist are both good but that category is already jam-packed)
Reader Comments (10)
I agree with your assessments of Nightmare Alley, but I'd still give it a B+. Extra points for Blanchett and the big movie-ness of the production.
Del Toro insists he was faithful (in his way) to the novel and not the 1947 version, but being unfamiliar with both—I know, I know, I'm watching the older movie this week—I'm in no position to judge.
Totally disagree about your assessment of Gaga (and HoG on the whole which I enjoyed even though it's very roughly edited imo). She gave a genuine movie star performance and hopefully her NYFCC win is the first of many accolades for her.
Sarah : agreed. I thought she was sensational. I could not take my eyes off of her. If HOG were a better movie she'd be contending for the win.
How was Streep in Don't Look Up,
Comedy is right up Leo's street as he has shown before but then again he's always great.
Could Blanchett crack Supporting Actress,how was Collette,I know lots of people thought this was Oscar ticket.
HOG live or dies on GaGa's performance and she has real starpower on screen,Ridley Scott had it once and will people stop Leto now!
Leo in comedies = gold. Pleasantly surprised by the good response to Don't Look Up...this is no Vice!
Gaga was fantastic and House of Gucci was a lot of fun. (Sorry not sorry, Leto was fun, too -everyone in my audience was cracking up at his scenes.)
When are the "she always plays the same character" drones going to come for Blanchett, hmm?
To be perfectly honest: At the risk of sounding like a wet blanket here, I did see a couple of trailers, afew photos, and, even more recently, a program that compared the original 1961 film version of West Side Story with Spielberg's upcoming reboot/remake of the film version of WSS, and I much prefer the old, original 1961 film version.
For a number of reasons that would take up too much time and space to post here, plus the rather awful stuff I read and heard about Ansel Elgort\, who's playing the lead of Tony in Spielberg's West Side Story, I will vote my pocketbook and not go to see it at all when it hits the movie theatres at the end of this week.
RE: West Side Story , does it follow the (previous) movie version or the stage version? As I recall, in the stage version the lyrics to "America" are different and sung only by the women, and "Cool" and "Gee, Officer Krupke" switch places.
Lady Gaga is definitely not up to par in House of Gucci.
The bloated music video makes her acting choices seem chaotic and melodramatic.
I sincerely hope this entire monstrosity is overlooked by every awards-giving body.
I didn't waste my time with VICE despite its nominations and I won't waste my time with DON'T LOOK UP, either. No. Thank. You.