Friday, December 16, 2011

Carnage

What could possibly happen when two contemporary, middle-aged, New York City couples get together? A lot more than just coffee and cobbler, to say the least. The plot seems simple enough--two sets of parents meet to try and resolve circumventing issues after their respective sons have a school yard fight. However, the individualism of both couples and of each parent separately, progressively fuel a battle of their own. And what initially starts out as an effort to find resolve between them, spawns into an outrageous series of quarrels that has very little to do with either of their children. The actual fight sequence between Ethan and Zachary (portrayed by Eliot Berger and Polanski's own son Elvis) that opens the movie provides a nice introduction to the storyline. In the theater version, the incident was referred to a lot but never actually seen. Seeing the incident allows us to put a face to the names and actually see these boys as more than just the bane of their parents' lives at present. It may seem insignificant at first, but it is this quarrel that is the very root that feeds all the later mishaps and misfits of Carnage.

Director Roman Polanski has a body of work that spans over half a century. Though varied in plot and characters, they all embrace human indifference and dramatizes even the simplest of circumstances. Early audiences trembled over the horrors of Rosemary's Baby and reveled in his contempt to intrigue in the multilayered plot of Chinatown. Younger audiences hare probably more familiar with a sentimental reproach by the director, particularly with The Pianist which earned him a Best Director Oscar in 2002. Despite being a satirical comedy, Carnage is no different. Polanski's regard for personal voice resonates here, despite the extremities of the characters. Though this might be a new playing field for director, the storyline itself holds true to Polanski's style of individual character emphasis.

Some have already compared Carnage to other films, such as Mike Nichols' Closer because that story intimately revolves around four characters and Richard Linklater's Tape because the entire film takes place in a single motel room. Although neither of them really are fair comparisons in terms of story or genre. Carnage actually mirrors one of his very early Polish films Nóż w wodzie (Knife in the Water), where the same sort of minimalist focus is made on a few central characters foregoing interpersonal rivalry and tension. This kind of intimacy both on screen and with the director's approach, couldn't have been better paired. A different director might have fumbled over the prospects of confined spaces and so few characters, but not Polanski. We have seen precisely this sort of insular attention and urban alienation before in many of his prior films, including Repulsion, The Tenant, and of course Rosemary's Baby. At the film's North American debut at the New York Film Festival, event director Richard Pena probably best summarized both Carnage and Polanksi in his introduction, "(He's) a poet of small spaces … in just a couple of rooms, he can conjure up an entire world, an entire society."

Some of Polanski's prior films that were originally stage plays include Ariel Dorfman's Death and the Maiden which featured Ben Kingsley and Sigourney Weaver, and Shakespeare's tragedy about the price of ambition, MacBeth with Jon Finch in the title role. So he is long versed in the tactics of stage to screen adaptation. And more often than not, Polanski has had a hand in writing the scripts for the movies he directs. All too is true of Carnage. He collaborated with playwright Yasmina Reza while in Switzerland, to faithfully bring her one-act play "Le Dieu du Carnage" to the Silver Screen. Perhaps, the fact that he himself was under house arrest at the time contributed to the insights of the confined setting. Although Raza's play had originated in Zürich back in 2006, it is not the version that most people are familiar with. After a successful run in Paris, Academy Award Winner* Christopher Hampton had translated the French play for English-speaking audiences which had a stint in London and then New York. The Broadway rendition brought together a stellar quartet of actors: James Gandolfini, Marcia Gay Harden, Jeff Daniels and Hope Davis. Each of whom garnered Tony Award nominations for their performances, with Harden winning for Best Leading Actress, and the overall production winning for Best Play and Best Direction. So to say the least, there is naturally a certain amount of expectation for the film version.

At first glace, the two couples seemingly couldn't be any more different than night and day. The Cowan's are your a-typical, white collar, corporate workaholics, while the Longstreets are the more artistic, creative types who work for themselves. What makes these two couples so intriguing are not so much the ways that they are different, but rather the ways they are similar. As the story progresses, we are exposed to more and more of the back story of each of these characters. There is a dynamic that evolves between the four of them. First as the two couples, then as women and men, and eventually as four complete irrationals at each other's necks. We can revel in the idea of knowing that even the most ideal of couples have their differences.

From the very beginning, Penelope Longstreet is clearly the most offended by the fight between their sons and really is the first instigator among them. The character herself takes bleeding-heart liberal to a whole other level. Such is prevalent long before she flies of her emotional rocker about various superficialities like word choices and meaningless social ideals. I physically wanted to slap her on more than one occasion and if she were my wife I'd have put her out long before any hamster. Jodi Foster's performance as Penelope is both overdone and overrated. She doesn't convey Penelope's inner neurosis enough by the sarcastic phrases alone, so she consistently exaggerates her facial expressions to compensate. Her eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her skull several times. This really isn't that surprising considering Foster's recent slew of bad so-called thrillers (Panic Room, Flightplan, The Brave One, etc). She really hasn't done anything particularly outstanding since Nell, which was nearly two decades ago. Polanski's cinematic eye may be partially to blame, since there are way too many up-close-and-personal shots of her emotional outbursts. This wouldn't be at all unusual, if she was less contrite and seemed more at ease with the dialog. You never quite believe what she is preaching about, be it Western societal standards or proper juvenile etiquette. Foster's Penelope just lacks genuine conviction. Forceful tears and irrational antics alone doesn't believably convey human sentiment.

John C. Reilly as "everyman" Michael Longstreet probably has the most thankless role of the lot. A working class man and token peacemaker, he tries his damnedest to be the supportive husband to a dominating wife and the good son to an anxiously ill mother who's about to undergo surgery. Michael, himself, is clearly a mama's boy who seemingly has been underscored by the women in his life since his own childhood. By humorously putting himself down as means to support his views, Michael seeks to conceal an inferiority complex behind an optimistic displacement that borders on Pollyanna-esque annoyance. Nonetheless, Reilly is a good fit here. He has great comedic timing and doesn't loose sight of his character in the dialog, unlike Foster. As an actor, Reilly is probably best known for playing aimless imbeciles (think Dale Doback in Step Brothers) or hapless authority figures like Officer Kurring in Magnolia. This is actually pretty unfortunate when you consider the range of roles Reilly has undertaken. His turn as the ever loyal and under-appreciated husband Amos Hart in Chicago garnered him an Academy Award nomination; justly so when you consider how many actors could iconize being a looser and put it to music. But because Reilly so frequently portrays these roles, it's not a breakthrough here in itself. Nonetheless, his astute ability to make otherwise docile situations comedic does add to the movie.

Let's talk about Kate. Much like Reilly, Kate Winslet's character Nancy Cowan plays second fiddle to her spouse. Despite having her own career and personal successes, she struggles with a precedence that their home and children are the domaine of the woman. Her situation brings about one of the more interesting topics of the film--sexual stereotypes. Winslet herself is right on par with her portrayal of this frustrated wife with her own set of ideals and opinions. She bounces back and forth between playing the understanding mother to the zealous self-righteous cynic. There are a few absurdities involving a hamster and a cell phone that bring her character to its peak, but nothing unusual for Winslet. Like Reilly, it's just Kate being Kate. She brings her usual high standard of performance to the table, but the character of Nancy is nothing out of the ordinary, nor is Winslet extraordinary really. When she played the repressed house wife in Todd Field's Little Children, that was extraordinary. Here, she is really nothing more than this frustrated career woman who is desperate for her husband's attention and involvement in more conventional ways.

As corporate attorney Alan Cowan, Waltz unsuspectingly steals the show right out from all his counterparts. At first, Alan seems like he is just there because his wife is forcing him to and you don't think much of him. He starts off subtly in the back seat of things and finagles his way under everyone else's skin, to include the audience. He is constantly taking cell phone calls from his office amidst active conversations, which include when he himself is the one speaking. As the storyline progresses and the other characters come out of their skin, it is Alan who underscores all the main themes. Considering how everyone else in the room has breeched the boundaries of social politeness, it is surprising that it's the money-grubbing lawyer who is the one putting things into perspective. I was pleasantly surprised by Waltz because he just might have performed this role better than it was previously done on stage. He fits into this character so well; it's more than just his air or a concealed accent. His take on this despicable lawyer who consistently represents the interests of practicality above so-called morals, is the guy you love to hate. To the same extent that Foster failed to live up to the standards set forth by Marcia Gay Harden, so too does Waltz outdo Jeff Daniels. Of the four of these actors, it is Christoph Waltz whom deserves the most praise. Just as Alan advises to his work associate in this film, Waltz "goes for the jugular" and makes a killing.

Adaptations are always a difficult medium to produce and even more so to judge. It's not necessarily fair to compare a rendition based upon the ideals set forth by the original. But it is almost unavoidable not to. Some of the more noticeable differences include a change in Alan's endearments for his wife from "woof-woof" to "doodle", the character's first and last names which were perviously Alan & Annette Raleigh and Michael & Veronica Novak, and most obviously the expanded set that extends beyond just the living room. These may seem like insignificant alterations in the scheme of things, but the visuals have tainted the plot development to a certain extent. Polanski and Reza's script does remain true to the core themes, but the film itself doesn't have the same impact as the stage version. Much of this has to do with the sense of minimalism that was capitalized upon in the play becomes lost in the sprawling effects of the setting. The very views from the Longstreet's windows, the kitchen, the bathroom, the hallways, the elevator all extract from this sense of confinement that was so brilliantly reinforced on stage. Unfortunately, this also takes away from the effects of the dialog and in turn, the overall film itself.

The confinement to the apartment itself, drives the whole concept behind this story. There were several moments where the Cowan's are on the verge of leaving but fail to. This allusion is frustrating within itself. Just when you think they are going to escape, their coats are on and they're in front of the elevator, some other issue is brought about, and they are right back in the center of the Longstreet's social abyss. Because the play didn't do this visually, it is clear that it was a tactical choice by the director. Whether or not it was a wise one, is up to the viewer. Film.com critic Laremy Legel justly criticized Polanski that "The methods employed to keep everyone in the same room, and to keep the plot together, are not as realistic.." However, it is precisely these outlandish circumstances that make up a good satire piece. The very fact that these couples can't seem to say goodbye is in itself hilarious. So to reiterate Legel's perspective, "Once you accept (that) they're gonna be in the apparent, the film gets better."  Not evidence enough, if you ask me.

Rating: ★ ★ 1/2
Bottom Line: A decent rendition of the play and entertaining in its own right. But aside from a stellar performance by Waltz and despite Polanski's best efforts, it's nothing really that spectacular. 


Original Score by Alexandre Desplat

Thursday, December 1, 2011

For Your Consideration:
2011 Oscar Contenders

It's awards season once again and with it comes the prospective best films of the year to earn their weight in gold, namely Oscar® gold. I have assembled my short list of predictions below (more descriptive breakdowns of each category to come) outlining which films I believe to be at the front of the pack and inevitably the most "Oscar® worthy".

A few notes: I do realize that new rules in the Academy will leave a varied number of Best Picture Nominees (anywhere between 5-10) this year, but I went ahead and presented the maximum possible. Which I also held to other categories that also have a variable margin as to its number of nominees, such as Visual Effects and Animated Feature. FFC predictions are listed either alphabetically by film title or by singular nominee's last name. I highlighted my present picks for the winners in gold, which I'm certain will change as the weeks progress and the competition get's deeper into the thick of it all. Also, I included a "plus one" contender to each category as a small precursor to the many hopefuls in consideration this year. The acting awards alone left me muddled for hours trying to narrow it down!..

Best Picture: 
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

The Help
Hugo
Midnight In Paris
Moneyball
War Horse
+Bridesmaids
+Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
+The Tree of Life

Best Director: 
Stephen Daldry, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Steven Spielberg, War Horse
+Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Best Actor: 
George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
+Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

Best Actress: 
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
+Adepero Oduye, Pariah

Best Supporting Actor: 
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Albert Brooks, Drive
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
+Armie Hammer, J. Edgar

Best Supporting Actress: 
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
+Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

Best Adapted Screenplay:
The Descendants -- Screenplay by Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton & Jim Rash
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close -- Screenplay by Eric Roth
Hugo -- Screenplay by John Logan
Moneyball -- Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillion & Stan Chervin
War Horse -- Screenplay by Lee Hall & Richard Curtis
+Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy -- Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughn

Best Original Screenplay:
The Artist -- Written by Michel Hazanavicius
Beginners -- Written by Mike Mills
Margin Call -- Written by J.C. Chandor
Midnight In Paris -- Written by Woody Allen
Win Win -- Written by Thomas McCarthy & Joe Tiboni
+50/50 -- Written by Will Reiser

Best Animated Feature Film: 
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret Unicorn -- Directed by Steven Spielberg
Cars 2 -- Directed by John Lasseter & Brad Lewis
Kung Fu Panda 2 -- Directed by Jennifer Yu
Rango -- Directed by Gore Verbinski
Wrinkles -- Directed by Ignacio Ferreras
+Puss In Boots -- Directed by Chris Miller

Best Animated Short Film
Dimanche/Sunday -- Directed by Patrick Doyon (National Film Board of Canada)
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore -- Directed by William Joyce & Brandon Oldenburg (Moonbot Studios LA, LLC)
La Luna -- Directed by Enrico Casarosa (Pixar Animation Studios)
Magic Piano -- Directed by Martin Clapp (BreakThru Films)
Paths of Hate -- Directed by Damian Nenow (Platige Image)
+Luminaris -- Directed by Juan Pablo Zaramella (JPZtudio)

Best Art Direction:

The Artist -- Production Design by Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration by Austin Buchinsky & Robert Gould
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close -- Production Design by K.K. Barrett; Set Decoration by George Detitta, Jr.
Hugo -- Production Design by Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration by Francesca Lo Schiavo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy -- Production Design by Maria Djurkovic; Set Decoration by Zsuzsa Mihalek
War Horse -- Production Design by Rick Carter; Set Decoration by Lee Sandales
+Anonymous -- Production Design by Sebastian Krawinkel; Set Decoration by Simon-Julien Boucherie

Best Cinematography:
Janusz Kaminski, War Horse
Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Bob Richardson, Hugo
Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist 
Hoyte Van Hoytema, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
+Jeff Cronenweth, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Costume Design: 
Mark Bridges, The Artist
Wendy Chuck, The Descendants
Jacqueline Durran, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Michael O'Connor, Jane Eyre
Sandy Powell, Hugo
+Sammy Sheldon, X-Men: First Class

Best Documentary Feature Film:
Bill Cunningham New York -- Directed by Richard Press
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front -- Directed by Marshall Curry & Sam Cullman
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory -- Directed by Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky
Pina -- Directed by Wim Wenders
Project Nim -- Directed by James Marsh
+Buck -- Directed by Cindy Meehl

Best Documentary Short Film: 
The Barber of Birmingham -- Directed by Gail Dolgin & Robin Fryday
God Is the Bigger Elvis -- Directed by Rebecca Cammisa
Incident in New Baghdad -- Directed by James Spione

Pipe Dreams -- Directed by Ben Green
Saving Face -- Directed by Peter James Iengo

+In Tahrir Square: 18 Days of Egypt's Unfinished Revolution -- Directed by Jon Alpert & Matthew O'Neill 



Best Editing:

The Artist 

-- Anne-Sophie Bion & Michel Hazanavicius
Hugo --  Thelma Schoonmaker
Midnight In Paris -- Alisa Lepselter
Moneyball -- Christopher Tellefsen
War Horse -- 
Michael Kahn
+Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close -- Claire Simpson

Best Foreign Language Film:
 
Footnote (Israel) -- Directed by Joseph Cedar
In Darkness (Poland) -- Directed by Agnieszka Holland
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada) -- Directed by Philippe Falardeau
A Separation (Iran) -- Directed by Asghar Farhadi
Superclásico (Denmark) -- Directed by Ole Christian Madsen
+Pina (Germany) -- Directed by Wim Wenders

Best Live Action Short Film
Je Pourrais Être Votre Grand-Mère (I Could Be Your Grandmother) -- Directed by Bernard Tanguy
Raju -- Directed by Max Zähle
The Roar of the Sea -- Directed by Ana Rocha Fernandes & Torsten Truscheit
Sailcloth -- Directed by Elfar Adalsteins
Tuba Atlantic -- Directed by Hallvar Witzø
+Time Freak -- Directed by Andrew Bowler

Best Makeup:
 
Albert Nobbs -- Matthew W. Mungle, Lynn Johnston & Martial Corneville

Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life -- Patrick Girault, Gill Robillard & Floris Schuller
The Iron Lady --J. Roy Helland & Eva Miller
+Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 -- Mark Coulier, Jennifer Hegarty & Lisa Tomblin

Best Original Score:
Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Alexandre Desplat, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 
Alberto Iglesias, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Howard Shore, Hugo
John Williams, War Horse
+Dario Marianelli, Jane Eyre 

Best Original Song:

"Lay Your Head Down" from Albert Nobbs -- Music & Lyrics by Bryan Bryne & Glenn Close (performed by Sinead O'Connor)
"Star Spangled Man" from Captain America: The First Avenger -- Music & Lyrics by Alan Menken & David Zippel (performed by The Star Spangled Singers)
"The Living Proof" from The Help -- Music & Lyrics by Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman, Damon Thomas & Harvey Mason, Jr. (performed by Mary J. Blige)
"The Keeper" from Machine Gun Preacher -- Music & Lyrics by Chris Cornell 
"Pictures in My Head" from The Muppets -- Music & Lyrics by Jeannie Lurie, Aris Archontis & Chen Neeman (performed by Kermit & the Muppets)
+"Where the River Goes" from Footloose -- Music & Lyrics by Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette, Drew Pearson & Anne Preven (performed by Zac Brown)

Best Sound Editing:
The Adventures of Tintin -- Dave Whitehead & Chris Ward 

Rise of the Planet of the Apes -- Chuck Michael & John Morris
Super 8 -- Ben Burtt & Matthew Wood 
Transformers: Dark of the Moon -- Ethan Van Der Ryn & Erik Aadahl
War Horse -- Richard Hymns
+Drive -- Lon Bender & Victor Ray Ennis

Best Sound Mixing:
 
Hugo -- John Midgley, Tom Fleischman & Simon Rhodes 
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides -- Lee Orloff, Paul Massey, Chris Boyes & Alan Meyerson
Super 8 -- Mark Ulano, Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson & Dan Wallin
Transformers: Dark of the Moon -- Peter J. Devlin, Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers & Jeffrey J. Haboush
War Horse -- Stuart Wilson, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson & Tom Johnson
+Hanna -- Roland Winke, Christopher Scarabosio, Craig Berkey & Andrew Dudman

Best Visual Effects: 
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 -- Tim Burke, John Richardson, Greg Butler & David Vickery
Hugo -- Rob Legato, Craig Barron, Brandon Bartlett, John Bowers, Matthew Gratzner, Ben Grossmann & Alex Henning
Rise of the Planet of the Apes -- Joe Letteri, Justin Cornish, Daniel Barrett, Jeff Capogreco & Gord Dunick
Transformers: Dark of the Moon -- Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler & John Frazier
The Tree of Life -- Douglas Trumbull
+Real Steel -- Matthew Gratzner, Erik Nash & Olaf Wendt

What films were your favorites? Who deserves Oscar® glory this year? Which movies and/or nominees do you think deserve to be, or not be, on this list? Please do enlighten me.. B-)

Friday, September 9, 2011

Contagion

The term “contagion” itself is formally described in Webster's as a “disease-producing agent as a virus; an influence that spreads rapidly; the transmission of a disease by direct or indirect contact”. Steven Soderbergh’s film of the same name depicts all of the above. In the movie, an anomalous virus (MEV-1) that kills within days makes its way around the globe by way of random encounters between unsuspecting fomites and unfortunate hosts. Mirroring the Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918 which killed some 50 million people, Contagion presents an abhorrent glimpse into the trepidation of what could happen if such a pandemic were to occur again today. And by that regard, some have deemed the film to be a horror movie. Not so much like Stanley Kubrick or Clive Barker, rather a vastly more realistic horror that is induced through the prospect of human mortality. The very idea that you could be dead in 48 hours because you shook hands with someone earlier is frightful, or at the very least thought provoking. Soderbergh fosters that fear and creates a faced-paced thriller that is actually very plausible. The world has seen such epidemics many times before and at present, in some afflicted places such as Vietnam and Haiti, many people are experiencing a contagion for themselves. This film takes that reality and introduces it to the general public—how does such a disaster like this begins, how do people deal with it, and ultimately how they survive it.

Gwyneth Paltrow as Beth Emhoff in the final stages of the MEV-1 virus.
The story itself begins on "Day 2", on the brink of an onset of global infection. Beth Emhoff, played by Academy Award® winner Gwyneth Paltrow, is en route to her home in Minneapolis from a business trip in Hong Kong. We find her in the air port, admits dozens of people, making phone calls and passing time at a bar awaiting her flight. And then she coughs. Not a big deal right? People cough all the time when they inhale smoke or ingest something down the wrong canal—wrong. By this point, Beth has already contracted the virus and unsuspectingly is passing it along to everyone and everything she comes in contact with. She disregards her seemingly everyday symptoms, attributing them to mere jet-lack, and boards her plane as planned. However when she does reach her suburban home front, she ends up collapsing, foaming at the mouth, and having severe seizures. Beth is rushed to the hospital where she abruptly dies. It is clear at this moment that what she had contracted in Asia was much more serious than just jet-lack.

Matt Damon as Mitch Emhoff
Academy Award® winner Matt Damon portrays Beth's husband Mitch Emhoff. As if losing his wife wasn't already devastating enough, he returns home to find that his stepson has also died inexplicably with identical symptoms. Mitch is left without any answers from the attending physicians who understandably can't diagnose what they know nothing about. He is immediately put under isolation at the hospital, but soon deduce that since he hasn't developed any symptoms despite his direct contact with the virus, he must be immune. Although he has already lost one child, he quickly realizes that he still has a daughter to think about and sets his priorities on her survival. Although I cannot speak as highly of the young actress Anna Jacoby-Heron who plays his daughter Jory Emhoff, Damon's performance here is probably the best of the entire picture. We see this astute progression of emotions from the very moment that the doctors tell him that his wife is dead, to him trying to salvage a regard for her very memory in the end. Damon captures the essence of a grief stricken husband and desperate father, reflecting what the everyday man would likely be going through during such pandemonium.

Burying the dead to prevent further infection.
Audiences have been quick to compare Contagion with Wolfgang Petersen's 1995 film Outbreak, which is a blunder. Aside from the surface plot surrounding a new form of influenza being introduced into the human population, the two films have almost nothing in common. In true Soderbergh-fashion, Contagion highlights numerous characters as they undergo various circumstances and situations, all without ever really centralizing on any one in particular. Ironically, it is a movie about chaos done in a chaotic style that is actually very cohesive. Such an approach has come to be known as "hyperlink cinema" which was originally coined by critic Alissa Quart in her review of Don Roos' Happy Endings for the media journal Film Comment. That movie is an entirely different sort altogether, but the method of multilinear storytelling is the same. Soderbergh has used this approach before, most notably in his crime drama Traffic which won him an Academy Award for Best Director. He takes a very similar approach with Contagion, both stylistically and technically. It explores the human situations during a pandemic through a number of different perspectives: an infectee, a scientist, a controller, an opportunist. We are able to follow various story lines simultaneously while witnessing a progression of fear and uncertainty among the public. Unfortunately, what worked so superbly with Traffic, doesn’t quite peg as gainfully here. It is difficult to emotionally empathize with most of the characters individually because so little is divulged of them or they simply die-off before we can. This premise has the makings of a prime-time television series, if I ever saw one. So we become primarily focused on the overall threat of infection itself. That's all fine and dandy, but hardly the elements of great ensemble piece.

Elliott Gould as Dr. Ian Sussman
Typically financial limitations put restraints on the number of household names that are attached to a project, but when dealing with a Steven Soderbergh film that just doesn't apply. Bringing together such an esteemed cast has come to be somewhat of a Soderbergh-standard (reference his Ocean's trilogy). And Contagion's cast is no exception. And significantly enough, these aren't merely just a bunch of movie stars, they are an array of excellent actors. Among them are three Emmys, four SAG Awards, five Golden Globes, four BAFTA Awards, and four Oscars. Not to mention a variable array of nominations and other awards. Admittedly, this particular ensemble does fit together well. Not one of them dominates the film and they each execute their roles quite reputably, despite how little overall screen time they may have individually. Very few directors can get away with that with such a cast of A-List performers. Because of this, his reputation as being the "modern day Robert Altman" certainly stands true.

It is pretty well known around Hollywood that Soderbergh regularly employs the same cinema-tographer, Peter Andrews, in his films. What is not commonly known is that Peter Andrews and Steven Soderbergh are one in the same. This actually explains a lot about the behind-the-camera methods used in so many of Soderbergh's films. He repeatedly employs a cinematic technique where the camera closely fixes on objects that are contaminated and have become fomites (or carriers) of the virus. It reminded me of Joe Wright's technique in Pride & Prejudice, where he placed particular emphasis on the character's hands and the moments they touched one another with them. Although there it was used to create a romantic sensibility, it has the same kind of effect in Contagion by channeling attentions on an unlikely place. As so categorically pointed out by Dr. Mears, "The average person touches their face three to five times every waking minute. In between that we're touching door knobs, water fountains, and each other." Incorporate a rather thrilling musical score composed by Cliff Martinez, and you're enthralled in the threat of this virus almost instantly. These sequences enlighten the audiences as to just how quickly others can become infected and provides a visual sense that they are experiencing the contamination for themselves. Not to the extent of being real-time per say, but by bringing attention to varying details that unless you have obsessive-compulsive disorder, probably overlook a hundred times a day.


Marion Cotillard as Dr. Leonora Orantes
The scientific accuracy of the film has already been praised in a number of reputable medical journals and by experts. But did this really benefit the movie's overall scheme? That depends on whom you ask. Actual scientific experts and medical professionals were brought onto the set to guide both the crew and the cast during filming. Real-life epidemiologist Dr. W. Ian Lipkin helped with the film's art direction by designing realistic laboratories and plausible viruses. Lipkin also coached the actors on how to properly portray someone with a similar viral disease. This contribution proved to be most useful for Gwyneth Paltrow and everyone else who dies on screen. Probably the most useful contribution made by the film's consultants was how scientific controllers would handle the situation of a pandemic. The reactions and involvement of both local and international governing agencies are well depicted. Academy Award® winner Marion Cotillard plays Dr. Leonora Orantes, an epidemiologist from the World Health Organization who travels to Hong Kong to investigate the origin of the virus. The reiterates the concept that understanding where the virus came from is an important factor in fighting it.

Kate Winslet as Dr. Erin Mears
Officials from the US federal agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are even more apparent. Being an American film, this comes as no surprise. Scenarios of such magnitude are no stranger to the CDC. Although the organization has only been operating in an official capacity since 1992, its purpose and functions have been in existence since 1940's, when the threat of a malaria outbreak at the offset of World War II was eminent. Instinctively after Beth Emhoff's unexplained death, the director of the CDC Dr. Ellis Cheever (played by Academy Award® nominee  Laurence Fishburne) deploys an epidemic intelligence service officer Dr. Erin Mears (played by Academy Award® winner Kate Winslet) to Minneapolis to investigate. This is a prime example of how the CDC would handle such a pandemic situation in its early stages of terrorem. It is Dr. Mears who is first on site to handle the control of the virus. But contaminating it at this point seems to be a lost cause. Winslet delivers, as she always does, as this compassionate medical scientist. We can believe not only that she is this very knowledgable professional but that she does actually care about the people she is working to save.

Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Ellis Cheever
Naturally, both Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns sought to be as factual as possible. Burns, who is probably best known for the Bourne trilogy, constructs a intricate story of human self-interest. Unfortunately his characters are too broad and underdeveloped, so the underlying plot is weakened because the virus is set up as the focal point and not the people. In the early stages of the script, Warner Brothers hired a consultant to review and critique its general accuracy. Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist Laurie Garrett worked closely with Burns throughout his creative process over a exhaustive series of some thirty drafts of the script. Her expertise and experience with such epidemics as the Ebola virus and Anthrax, helped guarantee that the scenarios in Contagion were depicted as realistically as possible. This is big shift for Burns, considering his prior collaboration with Soderbergh and Matt Damon (The Informant!) attempted to find humor in a big business conspiracy scenario, repeat attempted. His other, more prominent effort, The Bourne Ultimatum which also stars Damon was for more resilient. Although being the third film in that series laid stable ground work for any potholes in the storyline. Nonetheless, Burns' script does exploit some outlandish human instincts and unbelievable ignorances. There is a great example of this midway through the film where Dr. Cheever advises his own wife to clear out of their home in Chicago completely before the National Guard places the entire city under quarantine. While he may have known about the pandemic the whole time, it doesn't actually strike him until this moment when he personally relates its threat to his own family. His conversation is overheard by a building janitor named Roger (played by Academy Award® nominee John Hawkes) who berates Dr. Cheever saying, "We have loved ones too." This raises the ethical questions about what is privileged information and just who is privileged to it.

Jude Law as Alan Krumwiede
This brings me to another subplot in the film about an independent journalist who catches wind of the epidemic before anyone else in the general public. When another infectee in Hong Kong suddenly dies on a public bus, a video clip of it is posted online almost immediately thanks to the power of internet-capable cell phones with cameras. Alan Krumwiede, played by Academy Award® nominee Jude Law, sees the incident as a strong lead to a story that is not far-off from the SARS outbreak of 2003. Law brings a weasely tone to his character, making him easy to loath from the start. He pitches his lead to a lowly copy writer at the San Francisco Chronicle, but she hastily disregards both the story and Krumwiede. This sets him loose to the unaccountable genre of blogs (like my own here) where fact and fiction are often hard to differentiate. When the pandemic does go public, the media powers that be approach Krumwiede about using his so-called talents to influence the public in their favor. Krumwiede formulates a conspiracy theory that the CDC is in cahoots with pharmaceutical companies in order to maximize profits by nurturing the demand for a vaccine which he claims already exists. He dubiously posts video footage on his blog of himself being sick, taking an over-the-counter  "cure" called forsythia, and recovering from his infection. This sparks even more hysteria in a presently unruled population, as people seek out forsythia in acts of desperation to survive. Managing to turn the masses, who have deemed him a new age "prophet", against the government . This does enlighten to a reality that people should be cautious about accepting information from so-called news sources that are not immediately accountable to anyone else but themselves. If there is any villain in this movie besides the MEV-1 virus, Krumwiede is it.

Jennifer Ehle as Dr. Ally Hextall
Finding a real vaccine lies at the heart of the story. Early on, Dr. Ian Sussman, played by Academy Award® nominee Elliott Gould, is commissioned by the CDC to unravel the virus itself. He does make progress by discovering a line of bat cells that will support an agent against the virus, but is ordered to discontinue his research and destroy all live samples when the outbreak escalates. Meanwhile, CDC scientist Dr. Ally Hextall (Jennifer Ehle) is racing to find a cure as well. The breakthroughs of Dr. Sussman lead her to characterize the virus as being derived from a breed of genetic material of known bat and pig viruses. She too is on the brink of discovering a cure, but the bureaucracy behind any kind of experimentation on human subjects delays substantial progress. This presents an entirely different theme of the film that reflects how our own laws and governing procedures can work against us. Virology expert Dr. Paul Offit has cited "Contagion" to be refreshing and loyal, stating that "Typically when movies take on science, they tend to sacrifice the science in favor of drama. That wasn't true here." As a matter of fact, it is quite the opposite; the drama was sacrificed for the science. Since the majority of the public are neither doctors nor scientists, this contrary approach may have been a blunder on Soderbergh’s part. This is a fictional account after all, not a documentary. So while it may be very true-to-life and scientifically accurate, it only lightly scratches the surface of the being a prominent melodrama. With all the varying subplots and circumstances going on, Contagion probably would have made a better television series.

It is interesting to see so many perspectives of people and how the public might react to such a pandemic. While there were some strong plot points, for the most part the array of subplots don't come together. There isn't much that ties the characters to each other or to the audience besides that they are all at risk of dying from this virus. More could have been done to emphasize them as individuals. It is far too emotionally detached from these characters and too frequently it feels like you're watching CNN and not a theatrical movie. We hardly care whether any of these people survive. Soderbergh remains true to his cinematic style and has created a visually exciting film, despite its thematic short comings. Contagion invokes some personal thought as to how the world would react to a pandemic of this magnitude. The film depicts both the CDC and the World Health Organization as ultimately being the "good guys". Which itself is surprising, considering that so many other films of this nature have been so anti-government. But even more importantly, reminds us that people are inherently good. Under such life threatening circumstances, just how righteous would you be?

Rating: ★ ★ ★ 1/2
Bottom Line: Despite it's phlegmatic multitude of characters and although it fails to invoke audience endearments, it succeeds in its true-to-life portrayal of a global pandemic.


Cliff Martinez: "They're Calling My Flight"

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Night-By-Night Guide to the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival

Along with the coming of baseball season, brings early insights to the year's cinematic endeavors. Since its inception back in 2001, the "Triangle below Cannal Street" is not just about name brand boutiques and overpriced flats. But it also has come to represent the best of what New Yorkers consider cinematic art, at least in the eyes of founders Robert DeNiro & Jane Rosenthal. This year, we will see a variety of films that range from documentaries about eclectic over-the-hill pop stars like Elton John, to family dramedies starring over-their-career actresses like Kathleen Turner. Though the festival isn't quite as substantial as Robert Redford's Sundance, it is not without its own merits. One added bonus that I have always enjoyed about Tribeca are the industry workshops they sponsor in addition to the regular film screenings. This year, there will be discussions held on a variety of topics that any aspiring film maker should find worth-while, including "Shooting Film on a Budget" and "Based on True Events" just to name a few. And of course, there's the ever popular post-film talks with the film makers, new and old alike.

OPENING NIGHT, Wednesday, April 20th
The Union | Directed by Cameron Crowe
Elton John and Leon Russell
A captivating and exhilarating real-life experience of musical creation and generosity, The Union is an unprecedented look at the creative life of Elton John and his remarkable collaborative album with his early-career idol, Leon Russell. Never before filmed in his composing process, John is captured by director Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire) in a candid portrait of one of the world’s most treasured artists and performers. Legendary producer T Bone Burnett, John's lifelong lyricist Bernie Taupin, icons Neil Young and Brian Wilson, legendary R&B organist Booker T. Jones, steel guitarist Robert Randolph, and a 10-piece gospel choir are featured on the album, while appearances by Ringo Starr, Stevie Nicks, Jeff Bridges, and Grace Jones color this documentary about a love of making music.

Thursday, April 21st
The Bang Bang Club | Directed by Steven Silver
Ryan Phillipp
The Bang Bang Club is the true story of four young combat photographers bonded by friendship and their sense of purpose to tell the truth. They risk their lives and use their cameras to tell the world of the violence associated with the first free elections in post-Apartheid South Africa. Ryan Phillippe, Malin Akerman and Taylor Kitsch star in a film that explores the thrills, danger, and moral questions associated with exposing the truth. Based on the book The Bang-Bang Club: Snapshots from a Hidden War by Marinovich and Silva, this gripping film explores the thrills, danger, and moral ambiguity associated with representing war, and features stellar performances from Ryan Phillippe, Neels Van Jaarsveld, Frank Rautenbach, and Taylor Kitsch as the heroic young journalists who risk their lives for their cause and their craft.

Friday, April 22nd
Angels Crest | Directed by Gaby Dellal
Jeremy Piven
The small working-class town of Angels Crest rests quietly in one of the vast valleys of the Rocky Mountains. Not much happens in this tight-knit community except for the occasional convergence in the local diner where locals mull over drip coffee and trade gossip. The recession is evident, and residents do what they can to get by on what little they have. Ethan (Thomas Dekker), one of the town's inhabitants, is a young father but not much more than a kid himself. He has no choice but to look after his three-year-old son Nate, since mom Cindy (Lynn Collins) is an alcoholic. But one snowy day, Ethan's good intentions are thwarted by a moment of thoughtlessness, resulting in tragedy. A local prosecutor (Jeremy Piven) haunted by his past goes after Ethan, and the ensuing confusion and grief catapult the townspeople into strange new directions as they try to make sense of what happened and where the blame lies.

Saturday, April 23rd
Assault | Directed by Julien Leclercq
On December 24, 1994, when four heavily armed terrorists from the Algerian Armed Islamic Group hijacked an Air France plane bound for Paris at Algiers' airport, the 227 passengers on board seemed destined for tragedy. After hours of tireless negotiations the plane was granted permission to leave only to head to Marseille for refueling. Mindfully avoiding politics and emphasizing only the events themselves, The Assault weaves together the violent and claustrophobic onboard drama, with backstories of the tough SWAT officer and father Thierry (Vincent Elbaz), the determined jihadist from the slums of Algiers (Aymen Saidi), and an overly ambitious French Interior Ministry worker. Action-savvy director Julien Leclercq (Chrysalis) boldly returns with this taut, real-life thriller that culminates in an explosive gun-wielding standoff—which, at the time, aired live in front of an audience of 21 million television viewers. Leclercq seamlessly intertwines this harrowing real-life footage, heightening the stakes while driving home this heroic but foreboding event in French history.

Sunday, April 24th
The Perfect Family | Directed by Anne Renton
Kathleen Turner
Suburban mother and devout Catholic Eileen Cleary (Kathleen Turner) has always kept up appearances. When she runs for the Catholic Woman of the Year title at her local parish—an award she has coveted for years—her final test is introducing her family to the board for the seal of approval. Now she must finally face the nonconformist family she has been glossing over for years. Her gay daughter, Shannon (Emily Deschanel), a successful lawyer, is about to marry her life partner Angela (Angelique Cabral). Her unhappily married son Frank Jr. (Jason Ritter) is cheating on his wife with the local manicurist. And Eileen's own marriage to a recovered alcoholic is pulling at the seams. This heartfelt dysfunctional family comedy boasts a memorable performance from Academy Award nominee Turner as the conflicted and comical matriarch, alongside a bright ensemble cast including Richard Chamberlain and Michael McGrady. Newcomer director Anne Renton keeps the pacing taut and crafts an honest, modern family tale. Writers Claire V. Riley and Paula Goldberg infuse just the right amount of seriousness and levity into their script, reminding us that family is never truly perfect.

Monday, April 25th
Last Night | Directed by Massy Tadjedin
Guillaume Canet and Keira Knightley
New York City is a stunning backdrop for this story of a successful, gorgeous, and outwardly perfect married couple confronting the turbulence of temptation. Joanna (Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley) and Michael Reed (Sam Worthington) are seven years into a loyal and healthy marriage, both balancing challenging but rewarding careers, and enjoying what the city has to offer. One night when the Reeds attend a company party, Joanna witnesses an exchange of glances between her husband and a sexy colleague, Laura (the smart and seductive Eva Mendes), whom Michael never mentioned before. Suspicion mounts when Michael heads out on a business trip with the attractive co-worker in tow. As Joanna begins to doubt Michael's intentions, she finds herself facing her own temptation when her ex-lover Alex (the handsome Guillaume Canet) resurfaces. Writer/director Massy Tadjedin gently exposes the tangled web of emotions surrounding doubt and jealousy that subtly tug at the seams of a modern relationship in this finely woven tale. Knightley and Worthington bring maturity and confidence to this city couple in crisis, and temper both with just the right amount of vulnerability.

Tuesday, April 26th
Higher Ground | Directed by Vera Farmiga
Dagmara Dominczyk and Vera Farmiga
Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air) plays Corinne, a young wife and mother whose journey of self-discovery throws a tight-knit community off-kilter. Growing up a teenage misfit in the 1960s, young Corinne (played by Farmiga's sister Taissa) settles down early with her high school sweetheart, local band guitarist Ethan. When the new family is saved from a near-tragedy, Corinne and Ethan discover and incorporate a new sense of spirituality into their lives. However, over the next 20 years, small injustices accumulate and chip away at Corinne's certainty. Higher Ground depicts one woman's transitioning belief system over a lifetime, and how a crisis of faith can come about in the absence of any single crisis at all. Farmiga's patient filmmaking imbues her epic story with a contemplative introspection, making her directorial debut a personal study on the nature of doubt—whether it's of religion, leadership, or self. Cementing her as a bold new directing talent, Farmiga's adaption of Carolyn S. Briggs' memoir "This Dark World" is an authentic and resonant rumination on a woman who learns that no matter how many times she loses her footing, she has within herself all that's necessary to get to a higher place.

Wednesday, April 27th
Everything Must Go | Directed by Dan Rush
Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell delivers an understated performance in writer/director Dan Rush's funny and touching adaptation of Raymond Carver's short story "Why Don't You Dance?" Nick Porter has just been fired from his sales job after, well, not keeping sober. Things get worse as he returns home to find that his wife has left him, changed the locks, cut him off from their credit cards, and thrown all his stuff out on the front lawn. With the last few bucks in his pocket, he buys some beer and sets up a yard sale to sell off everything he has. Under Texas law, he can keep his sale going for five days, but is that enough time for Nick to get it together? Everything Must Go is anchored by Ferrell's ability to make Nick sympathetic even when the character—often clutching a can of beer—is at rock bottom. He shares many moving scenes with a lonely pregnant neighbor (Rebecca Hall), a teen kid that hangs around (Christopher Jordan Wallace), and an old high school friend (Laura Dern). Rush expertly balances the humorous moments and the serious tones in this story of starting over and moving on.

Thursday, April 28th
Puncture | Directed by Mark Kassen & Adam Kassen
Chris Evans
Mike Weiss (Chris Evans) is a talented young Houston lawyer and a functioning drug addict. Paul Danziger (co-director Mark Kassen), his longtime friend and partner, is the straight-laced and responsible yin to Mike's yang. Their mom-and-pop personal injury law firm is getting by, but things really get interesting when they decide to take on a case involving Vicky (Vinessa Shaw), a local ER nurse, who is pricked by a contaminated needle on the job. As Weiss and Danziger dig deeper into the case, a health care and pharmaceutical conspiracy teeters on exposure and heavyweight attorneys move in on the defense. Out of their league but invested in their own principles, the mounting pressure of the case pushes the two underdog lawyers and their business to the breaking point. Brothers and first-time directors Mark and Adam Kassen bring this real-life story to the screen with all the urgency and passion of the subjects themselves. The result is an effective issue-driven drama that finds its footing in a contemporary David and Goliath story. The performances are solid and Chris Evans refreshingly infuses Weiss with crackling charisma while grounding him with real insecurities and compassion.

Friday, April 29th
Janie Jones | Directed by David M. Rosenthal
Alessandro Nivola and Abigail Breslin
Ethan Brand (Alessandro Nivola) and his band are on the comeback trail when a former flame (Elisabeth Shue) drops a bomb in his lap: their 13-year-old daughter, Janie Jones (Abigail Breslin). Ethan refuses to believe Janie is his kid, but when her mom suddenly leaves for rehab, the child has no place to go but into the tour bus and on the road with the band. With no inclination toward fatherhood, Ethan continues his hard-living ways, leaving Janie to fend for herself in the dive bars and sleazy motels along the way. As Ethan's self-destructive spiral threatens to derail the tour, Janie uses her own surprising musical talents to help guide him down the rocky road to redemption. Nivola and Breslin naturally embrace their musical characters—both actually sing and perform in the film—while developing Ethan and Janie's relationship in a refined way to delicately express the emotional needs of the characters. Writer/director David M. Rosenthal blends the musical setting with road trip movie elements that add subtle layers to the dynamic of his two main characters.

CLOSING NIGHT, Saturday, April 30th
Newlyweds | Written, Directed & Starring Edwards Burns
Caitlin FitzGerald and Edward Burns
When you get married, you're not just getting a husband or wife—you get the family, the friends, even the exes. Buzzy and Katy are newlyweds. Katy's meddlesome sister Marcia has been married to Buzzy's friend Max for 18 years. As Marcia and Max's marriage is crumbling under the weight of life together as empty-nesters, Buzzy and Katy's honeymoon period is upended when Buzzy's wild-child baby sister shows up at the couple's TriBeCa apartment with more than a little baggage. With crackling humor and sharp insights into modern relationships, writer/director/actor Edward Burns tracks the tangled threads of these New Yorkers over three days. Aiming to root out the reality and bypassing the Hollywood sentimentality of love and marriage, he takes a documentary approach that is no less visually striking for its on-the-fly style. Shot entirely in TriBeCa, it's a quintessential New York film from a quintessential New York director. Burns has a singular way of getting past the veil of anonymity that comes with living in this city to really strike the core of his characters, played with candor and confidence by a top-notch ensemble that includes himself, Caitlin FitzGerald, Max Baker, Marsha Dietlein Bennett, and Kerry Bishé.