Cassie is frustrated. She lives in a world where she must constantly confront the realities of a suffocating patriarchy. Everyone she encounters is playing their part: the men at the bar spot a drunk woman, minding her own business, and remark that she's "just asking for it;" the dean of a university refuses to back … Continue reading Promising Young Woman: A Movie That Kills
In a successful movie, the filmmaker must tell the story of its characters in a way that remains honest and truthful to the events as they unfold--to the actions and reactions of the characters, and to their state of existence. Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank does exactly this, and in doing so achieves something elegant, yet … Continue reading Rewind: Fish Tank (2009)
Marc Webb's The Only Living Boy in New York has been on my list for a while, though I've been hesitant to watch it--mainly because I was pretty sure I wouldn't like it. Ultimately, I wound up disliking it for essentially the same reasons I anticipated. After I got past the fact the main family … Continue reading Rewind: The Only Living Boy in New York (2017)
What makes a person who they are? Is it their memories? Their personality? Their face? Furthermore, what does it take to truly know someone? To confidently say that you know them--who they are, what they're like, how they interact with the world, the kinds of things they want, how they might respond in any given … Continue reading Rewind: Amateur (1994)
Christopher Nolan wastes no time in thrusting us directly into the action of his movie. In fact, the movie as a whole feels packed to the brim--very few transitional shots and b roll footage to distract or weigh things down; whether as a conscious editing choice, or a matter of keeping this two-and-a-half hour film … Continue reading Tenet: An Imperfect Distraction in an Imperfect World
One of the exciting things about looking back at the early work of a director who has only in recent years become fully recognized in her field, is noticing the small things that were always there--the sensibilities of storytelling, the filmmaking choices, the sympathetic approach to portraying intimate relationships that has been at work since … Continue reading Rewind: Nights and Weekends (2008)
Few will debate the talent and lasting impact of Charlie Chaplin. Those who do are, I fear, wrong. During the transition from silent movies to talkies, there came a great shift in the kinds of performances presented on film. In many ways, certain technical components which had begun to flourish during the silent era were … Continue reading Rewind: Modern Times (1936)
Johnny Marco is surrounded by women; particularly, blonde women. He gravitates toward them, just as they gravitate toward him. He talks them up at parties and they smile and wave at him as they pass him in the hotel lobby. Twin dancers give him exclusive shows in his hotel room, and he nods off as … Continue reading Rewind: Somewhere (2010)
What if...David Lynch directed a movie produced by The Walt Disney Company? Can you even imagine? Do you even want to? Well, lucky for us, we don't have to. As difficult as it may seem to envision a collaboration between the all-powerful media conglomerate and the surrealistic director of such classics as Blue Velvet (1986) … Continue reading Rewind: The Straight Story (1999)
Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson. And I'd also like to offer my deepest apologies on behalf of the endearingly naïve yet equally cruel and oblivious twenty-year-old Ben Braddock--the hero of the movie who unwittingly serves as the antagonist to a much bleaker tale of fear and regret. As Ben announces multiple times near the start … Continue reading Rewind: The Graduate (1967)
