Greta Gerwig’s ‘Little Women’ is the perfect Christmas movie. It bristles, it makes you wonder, it makes you think, it entertains. But then again, i feel like the ultimate target market for the film, as it seems like I have been seeing its trailer from all the movies I have sen since September. I was a bit skeptical at first – do we need another film adaptation of this? – but the only way I can describe this film is that Gerwig has ‘remixed’ the material. It’s still the same great story by Louis May Alcott, but it somehow feel urgent, current, and modern.
Maybe it’s the performances. Saoirse Ronan is at the core of this, and she gives us a great Jo March – relatable, strong willed, a woman of today set in the 1800s – who values her art in her own tomboyish feminine way. She broke my heart towards the end when she sees the consequence of turning away Laurie. On paper, I could say that I am not too fond of Amy, but Florence Pugh here gives us depth that for maybe the first time I understood the character much more. The rest of the cast is great – Emma Watson, Eliza Scanlen, Lara Dern – and Meryl Streep steals the scene in every that she is on. I also think we should give Timothee Chalamet props – he holds his own here as Laurie against all the girls, and he is swoon worthy with his high cheekbones. As Amy Pascal noted, ‘he has the most beautiful face on screen since Elizabeth Taylor.’ This film made me feel good, and I can’t think of a better Christmas present.
I guess I should preface my thoughts on ‘A Rainy Day In New York,’ by commenting on the allegations on Woody Allen, who directed this film. While all things point to him being a flawed person, his artistry has always impressed me. I remember being young and watching his movies abut Manhattan, and walking those same streets, and thinking, ‘he gets what I want New York to be,’ which is probably what the ideal New York is for hi – classy, filled with interesting off the beaten path places, and soundtracked by songs from the Great American Songbook. Those factors permeate this film, and I am besotted by it. While I wish people would separate artistry from the lives of people, I also understand ‘cancel culture.’ But what can I do, I liked this film.
David Michod’s ‘The King’ showcases Imothee Chalamet, who plays King Henry V, and we see a young actor come into his own here right before our eyes. Prior to this, we have only seen him in young, tortured roles, but in this film, even though Hal is young and tortured, we see the character complete an arc to young adulthood, and he literally becomes a King as a character and as an actor before our eyes. It shouldn’t surprise me how good Chalamet is – he puts great thought in his role but the result does not come off mannered – and he is fantastic here. In a lot of ways he elevates the film, which comes off a little heavy at times. The story of King Henry V’s rise to young kinghood in 1413 is an interesting one, but it is also very details. Michod and screenwriter Edgerton cuts some necessary corners, but the film still logs at a heft 140 minutes, and I wonder if your average Netflix viewer will have the patience for it. I was at the screening at the film is gorgeous to look at on the big screen, and I would say that’s the preferred version for one to truly appreciate this film. The film makes the story easily accessible, and the dialogue is more modern than archaic so it doesn’t really ‘read’ as too much ‘history.’ It’s a meaningful and timely film, and was even jokingly described as “the story as to how Brexit happened.’ I hope it gets eyes, and it looks like Netflix is promoting the hell out of it. (It starts streaming 1 November and is in selected theaters right now)
After going to a screening of ‘Beautiful Boy,’ a friend texted me wanting to get drinks. I demurred, because the movie made me emotionally exhausted. Director Felix Van Groenigen has adapted David and Nic Sheff’s twin set memoirs of the latter’s battle with addiction and the movie vividly portrays what happens to someone with the disease, and at times it feels like an endless cycle – of vicious highs and lows, of benders and recoveries, and after almost two hours of this, I just felt my heart so heavy. Perhaps it is the ‘caretaker’ in me, a role I have played for most people most of my life – though not lately and not now. There is a part of me that wants to scoop up poor Timothee Chalamet and shake him, or hug him, or both. Chalamet’s portrayal felt at times too real, a testament to how good he is. He literally transforms before our eyes, from a surf-loving teenager to a bonafide methhead. It is one of the most crushing performances I have seen in recent memory, and yes there were tears, and lots.
Happy July Fourth, and why not start it off with a summer-themed film, one with wholesome American values, like marijuana!
Now that I have become a fan of Timothee Chalamet, thanks to ‘Call me By Your Name,’ I am eagerly seeking his back catalog, and from what I read, he also gives a great performance in ‘Miss Stevens,’ a movie from 2016 that he did prior to filming CMBYN. I don’t know how I missed this film, as it sounds like something I definitely would have been interested in seeing.
The one thing I loved most about ‘Call Me By Your Name’ is its music. I thought it not only enhanced the film, but it seems like it was another character. The music helped build tension, it emphasized how characters are feeling, and in some cases helped advance the story.
There are films you watch, and there are films you connect with, and then there are those rare films that watch, connect with you, and haunt you. I cannot remember the last time I saw a movie more than once at the cinemas – this one I saw three times in a span of five days.
So let me count the ways of what makes this film beautiful. First, the wondrous performance by Timothee Chalamet as Elio. I cannot recall a performance so committed, so worn in. I have seen countless interviews with Chalamet now and it seems that Elio is very far removed from his reality, yet in my warped sense of reality, he will always be Elio. Everything in his performance is perfection, and we actually get to see a transformation on screen – of a young man going from confusion to giving in to how he feels; of a young man graduating from his books and music to experiencing life and love as real as it is expressed through those arts, and of someone jumping from naivete to heartbroken, all in a span of 132 minutes. I know he is getting acclaim for his performance here, but I hope he gets the highest acclaim he can.
I can go on and on and on about this, but i will practice what I like most about the film – its restraint. Guadagnino is wise to dial down when things could be overtly sentimental. Can you imagine that train scene in the hands of a less-nuanced director? Even the intimate scenes seem to be shier, focusing more on the intimacy than the salaciousness. he holds, back, the film holds back, because when you do, you give out more.
Luha Thoughts 