Nothing more than what’s in this trailer can be said, promotion-wise. You just have to take everyone’s word for it that Close (A24) is essential, extraordinary and deeply moving. All hail director and cowriter Lukas Dhont, cowriter Angelo Tijssens and costars Eden Dambrine, Gustav de Waele, Emilie Dequenne and Lea Drucker.
Month: September 2022
Messy and Idiosyncratic
It’s been a long time since I’ve agreed with anything written by N.Y. Times film critic A.O. Scott, mainly because of his seemingly relentless allegiance to woke talking points.
But giving Alejandro G. Inarritu a pat on the back because Bardo is such a messy, unruly, Fellini-esque bear of a movie, and that in the face of so much corporate branding and Marvel/D.C. sludge, such films nurture the soul of cinema…this I heartily concur with.
Please name other big, messy bears that have been good medicine for the spiritual state of cinema over the past…oh, 10 or 15 years.
Spitgate
Why would Harry Styles throw a half-dead goat into the lap of Chris Pine? Why would Styles do something so louche and vulgar? Doesn’t tally.
Seriously — it all boils down to Pine’s reaction. There’s nothing in the clip that indicates covert spitting on Styles’ part. Nothing at all.
Friendo: “Could have been accidental? Pine fans are saying it’s because Pine kept rolling his eyes whenever Styles spoke during a cast interview.”
“The Other Black O.J.”
A humorous pseudo-trailer about Nope and when it comes to Keke Palmer they don’t throw in any kind of Bill Murray joke? Seriously? No balls.
Better Trailer
As in higher energy, faster cutting. I still don’t know what the basic shot is, but we’ll get there. “Rule the world” doesn’t count.
Sincere Headline
In other words, Don’t Worry Darling might turn into a moderate or minor-level Oscar contender?
Moderately Miserable
American #998 (Dallas to JFK) appears to be leaving on time. (Surprise.) Except my “window seat” (12A) doesn’t have a window…terrific. JFK arrival around 7:15 pm. A train, Metro North, etc.
“On the whole, I’d rather be in Tunbridge Wells.” — Dryden (Claude Rains) in Lawrence of Arabia.
Erich Maria Remarque Is Watching
After debuting at the Toronto Film festival on 9.12, Edward Berger‘s All Quiet On The Western Front will stream on Netflix on 10.28.22. Germany’s submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar costars Daniel Brühl, Albrecht Schuch, Sebastian Hülk, Felix Kammerer, Aaron Hilmer, Edin Hasanovic and Devid Striesow.
Same Time Next Year
Thanks again to Telluride’s Julie Huntsinger for her classy, cultured programming picks (corralled under tough circumstances), gracious hospitality and never-say-die ebullience.
The last four days felt warm, familial and kinda glorious. For the most part I managed to put aside my enraged feelings about wokester critics (many of whom won’t even admit to their prejudicial “big changes!” agenda) and just submitted to the high–altitude satori of it all. Happy to be here…to be alive.
In terms of genuine movie excitement did Telluride ‘22 seem relatively thin? Aside from HE’s idea of the Big Five — Empire of Light, Close, Tar (despite certain reservations), Bardo (ditto) and Armageddon Time — some felt that way.
I would’ve loved to have seen The Whale, She Said, Banshees of Inisherin, Blonde, The Greatest Beer Run Ever, White Noise, The Fabelmans and even Don’t Worry Darling. But that’s the rough-and-tumble of programming early fall festivals.
Thanks For The Recall
Sebastián Leilo’s The Wonder is a somber, better-than-decent, glacially-paced period drama.
Set in rural Ireland of 1862, it’s about a struggle between the oppression of strict Irish Catholic dogma vs. a woman’s common humanity. I respected the effort, and certainly admired Florence Pugh’s performance as a willful, Florence Nightingale-trained nurse. Perfect period sets. All the supporting perfs pass muster.
For me the standout visual element is the raw Irish countryside, and particularly those 16 or 17 shots of Pugh trudging across said terrain. After the sixth or seventh shot I was reminded of that magnificent 2009 Johnnie Walker commercial with Robert Carlyle (i.e., “The Walk”)…5 & 1/2 minutes, a single tracking shot upon a gravel path in rural Scotland, brilliant choreography, a legend in the annals of advertising.
Sinatra Revival
The most interesting aspect of Owen Gleiberman’s Venice Film Festival review of Don’t Worry Darling is his enthusiasm for Harry Styles:
“What’s convincing is how easily Styles sheds his pop-star flamboyance, even as he retains his British accent and takes over one party scene by dancing as if he were in a ’40s musical.
“There’s actually something quite old-fashioned about Styles. With his popping eyes, floppy shock of hair, and saturnine suaveness, he recalls the young Frank Sinatra as an actor. It’s too early to tell where he’s going in movies, but if he wants to he could have a real run in them.”
The Styles film to really watch, in other words, is My Policeman:
Capsule description of Wilde’s film: “A kind of candy-colored Stepford Wives in the Twilight Zone meets The Handmaid’s Tale.”
