lee_eisenberg

With Hollywood reverting to escapism in the '80s, actual storytelling fell to the nascent indie cinema. The notable directors in this movement were the likes of Jim Jarmusch and Spike Lee, but there was also the Portland-based Gus Van Sant. Nowadays he's probably best known for "Good Will Hunting" and "Milk", but his directorial debut was the ultimate non-Hollywood movie. "Mala Noche" depicts a gay store clerk who is smitten with a pair of Mexican men.

In addition to the main plot, the movie shows the down-and-out side of 1980s Portland. Watching the movie, one might end up thinking that the City of Roses is a world of cheap hotels and people with no future. Quite a different image than you get from "Portlandia" or even "Grimm". But whatever the case, Van Sant made a solid debut here. Van Sant would focus on marginalized communities in later movies too. Without a doubt, this is a movie that anyone who loves cinema just has to see.

Watching George Marshall's "Nancy Steele Is Missing", I wondered if it was partly based on the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby (apparently one of the biggest news stories of the early '30s). Victor McLaglen puts on an intense performance as a man who kidnaps his boss's daughter in the hopes of keeping the US out of World War I. Sent to jail for an unrelated crime, he gets out years later and meets the girl, who knows nothing of what happened. But there's still more to come.

I interpreted the movie to mean that you can never fully predict how a scheme will go, especially when it involves something questionable. The dim lighting emphasizes the intensity; it's the sort of movie that makes you feel as if you're walking on eggshells. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but the performances and direction make up for any shortcomings.

While one might call Osgood Perkins's "Gretel & Hansel" one of the many unusual adaptations of fairy tales (think "Grimm" and "Into the Woods"), the original story was already pretty dark. Indeed, the image of fairy tales as light and fluffy is a recent thing.

Anyway, this movie incorporates an elaboration of the tale. My interpretation is that it's about moral ambiguity (watch what happens to some of the characters as the movie progresses). It's not any sort of masterpiece but I did like the complexity that it gives the characters.

The cast includes Sophia Lillis (of "It" and "Sharp Objects") and Alice Krige (of "Chariots of Fire" and "Star Trek: First Contact").