Change Your Image
dianeand
Reviews
Lady Bird (2017)
Liked but not loved
Liked this, but wasn't in love with it. Perhaps part of the problem was trying to "hear" all the dialogue--some of which seemed mumbled and some of which seemed lost in young actors' lack of clarity. I very much liked Laurie Metcalfe as the mother--she portrayed so well the overbearing mother who herself is misunderstood. We know enough about her own formative years of abuse to counter her "toughness" --along with another character's testimony that she had a "good heart."The love-hate relationship rang very true and was painful at times, but still very real and not overdone. I think the audience found her a little unforgivable but I felt more for her than for the teenaged daughter. Saoirise Ronan certainly captures the highs and lows, the moments of deceit and triumph, of a young person. She filled the role well. I missed two thirds of what Timothy Chalamet needs to learn to enunciate--I truly was disappointed in losing so much of what he said. On the other hand Lucas Hedges was outstanding in all respects. The contrast could not have been more clear--and his moment of "confession" and "apology" to Lady Bird was a true moment of teenage anguish. I'd like to watch it on my own tv with closed caption on--I think I just missed too much.
Godless (2017)
A Thinking Man's Western
I found this series to be excellent. Scott Frank found a way to make a tired genre come alive for a more modern audience. The cast was excellent, with Jeff Daniels creating a formidable villain. Flashbacks reveal the source of his villainy to lie in the violence of his own childhood, the loss of his "mammy and pappy" and his religious extremism. That he is mentally disturbed is clear, but his childhood story both resembles and provides a contrast to that of Roy Goode in a way that moves the series toward its many lessons of redemption and love. Griffin is ruthless and obsessed --in ways that remind us of the extremism of some in today's society both here and around the world. His false and twisted idea of "family" contrasts with that of Alice Fletcher or Mary Agnes, who owns hard life experiences lead them to find real family, one based on more positive values. It is the message the late-arriving preacher gives at the funeral, one I found quite moving. It is the message Roy Goode came to find.
I found the series' treatment of minorities to be realistically refreshing-- a band of black people struggling to eke out an existence in the middle of nowhere. They remain wary of the neighboring white town, greeting each visitor with a gun in hand. That they could do such a thing testifies to why their choose to live in a god forsaken desert. That these experienced Buffalo Soldiers are admired for their past deeds and allowed to live as they choose is important to the story. Their reluctance to help the people of La Belle is clear but their humanity remains. The Native Americans in the story are human beings, individuals with warmth and humor and not just "noble savages" but people who make their own mistakes and struggle to live. I loved the character of Truckee.
I wasn't sure if the ending was over-prolonged, but have decided I like it. The series might have ended with a final shot of Goode as he left, but instead we follow him westward and I found it very satisfactory to do so. Finally, a word about Sam Waterston and Scot McNary. Each played a lawman, and each displayed a quiet and determined persistence to bring a man to justice and stop the carnage. Waterston was simply outstanding, and his final scene standing in bar, in total darkness, outlined in light, unknowingly standing amid the darkness of man's evil, was iconic. McNary found his shadow, and found a way to live with loss, and how to love his own child. I found the thematic and metaphorical material to raise the series to a level above the usual "shoot 'em up" nonsense often seen on TV. Bravo to Netflix and Scott Frank.
American Hustle (2013)
Why is this film so loved by critics?
I don't get it. This film to me doesn't rate the accolades certain critics have been throwing at it, and it doesn't deserve the nominations it has been getting. Mind you, I went to see this film expecting to love it. I'd read several reviews, all positive, and expected to see something special. I did not. After half an hour I was bored and wanted to leave. I love a complicated film, and certainly this was. I love good acting and certainly I couldn't fault the performances --though at time I failed to understand what certain actors were actually saying. But I kept waiting to be engaged in the film, to love something or some character--to just love the complicated plot twists and constant thinking of just who was conning whom. In the end I just did not care. In the end what I decided is that the film just had no soul. There was no character who deserved my applause, just no character on whose side I wanted to be on, just no connection at all. Both my companion and I just looked at each other when the film was over and expressed our puzzlement. We just did't get why others thought this to be a great film. It is not.
The Newsroom (2012)
Intelligent television with great acting.
I'd like to proclaim the greatness of The Newsroom. I was disheartened by certain critics who eviscerated its first season and dismissed it in negative terms, harping on its being sexist and smug and overly didactic. I bought into both seasons because I am open minded enough to see what strengths the series has, whether as romantic dramatic comedy or as more purely dramatic programming.
I'd like to concentrate on what is indeed great about it. I point first to its excellent cast, talented and always bringing the characters to life. Jeff Daniels well deserves an Emmy nomination and a win, and he plays a role that he seems inhabit. His depiction of a man's despair at the loss of one he loved, his inability to deal with the angst caused by his abusive father, his gruffness paired with his caustic remarks, all reveal a range of acting that is truly great. He well portrays a man struggling to find himself. Emily Mortimer plays a character whom I felt from the first episode was the true "hero"--strong in her belief of the importance of the news being told correctly, a fierce and feisty woman. She constantly fights against Will's deviating from the straight and narrow. She is the pillar of the broadcast. It is her idealism that drives the ACN program, an idealism it is appropriate to applaud, not dismiss and not degrade. To me she is a well-rounded character with flaws as well as strengths--yes, silly at times in the first season, but charmingly so. In failing to judge the character in her totality, an injustice was done. Sam Waterston, John Gallagher, Jr. Olivia Munn, Tom Sadoski, Jane Fonda, Dev Patel, and all the rest are a dream cast.
Sorkin's use of romantic comedy in the first season, the juxtaposition of the comedic and the dramatic, I think was part of the show's charm. While Season 2 became more serious, the comedic and romantic elements remain, and they are well written and well acted. The quality of acting and writing allow it to succeed.
As someone who loves literature, I feel that when I watch The Newsroom I am reading a good book. I see elements of good fiction that include use of themes and use of parallels and use of foreshadowing--all blended together seamlessly. The show is instructional and aspirational and intelligent. It does take on the political right, but it does so by explaining the truth. Who could argue with that? Like Shakespearean theater or a Hemingway book, its writing carries the style of a certain writer, and one who work is giving us good television.