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.”
HE Agrees With Clayton Over “Close”
Variety‘s Clayton Davis has gone apeshit over Lukas Dhont‘s Close, which I raved about from Cannes on 5.27.22. Clayton may not have seen Casablanca, but he’s definitely speaking the truth about Close. There’s no ducking it — this film is a masterpiece, and the people who are saying it’s too triggering are looking at it from an overly political perspective.
Three Screenings and Out
The 2022 Telluride Film festival ends tonight, and I have three films to see today over a period of roughly eleven hours.
At 1 pm I’ll begin a re-watch of Todd Fields‘ Tar (147 minutes) at the Palm, in hopes of getting past some of the issues I’ve been struggling with.
Immediately following is a 4pm Galaxy screening of Sebastian Lelio’s The Wonder (103 minutes), which stars Florence Pugh.
I’ll have a two-and-a-half-hour break before the final screening, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre‘s Lady Chatterly’s Lover (126 minutes), which stars the non-binary Emma Corrin. It begins at 8 pm at the Sheridan Opera House.
I’m planning to take dozens of photos and post as many as I see fit.
My Telluride Express shuttle leaves tomorrow morning at 7 am. The Montrose-to-Dallas flight leaves at 10:15 am, and the Dallas-to-JFK leaves at 2:37 pm, arriving at 7:15 pm.
Telluride Hive Mind
The elite Telluride critic community feels it has no choice but to worship Sarah Polley‘s Women Talking. Politically speaking there’s no upside to not praising it. Naysayers will have to suffer some degree of rejection, and it’s just safer to play along.
I said the other day that Polley’s film is nicely handled as far as it goes, but sitting through it feels confining and interminable. For me, it was almost totally about waiting for it to end.
Others feel differently, of course.
I was listening yesterday afternoon to a knowledgable journalist who believes Women Talking has picked up a headwind and will become a major Best Picture contender down the road.
Maybe, but over the last couple of days I’ve spoken to a pair of Telluride pass-holders (a wealthy 70something guy and a woman in her early 40s) who’ve told me they hated it. I’m not saying that’s the prevailing view among non-journos here, but it’s certainly a view.
I’m also personally upset and resentful about the 54% Metacritic rating for Sam Mendes‘ Empire of Light, an exquisite film that works so beautifully and movingly, and which is 10 to 15 times better than Belfast. So far three sorehead critics have lowered Empire of Light‘s Metacritic standing to the mid 50s — TheWrap‘s Tomris Laffly, IndieWire‘s David Ehrlich and Los Angeles Times critic Justin Chang.
It’s going to be a much brighter story when Empire of Light opens and joins the general screening circuit…trust me. It’s easily one of the best films of the year, and far more emotionally satisfying than I’d expected. I went in a skeptic, but came away converted.
Done Deal
Just under three months ago it became apparent that Liz Truss, a flinty, Thatcher-like conservative, would probably succeed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
This morning it was announced officially — Conservative Party members have chosen Truss to replace Johnson, she having handily beaten rival Rishi Sunak, the country’s former finance minister, in the leadership race.
Truss will be sworn in as Prime Minister…uhm, soon. Johnson has to first formally resign in a letter to the Queen.
Jonathan Pie’s assessment of Truss, posted this morning in the N.Y. Times, is a worthwhile listen.
