Film Review: Lady Bird (2017)

Release Date: September 1st, 2017 (Telluride Film Festival)
Directed by: Greta Gerwig
Written by: Greta Gerwig
Music by: Jon Brion
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Lois Smith, Kathryn Newton

Scott Rudin Productions, Management 360, IAC Films, A24, 93 Minutes

Review:

“I hate California, I want to go to the east coast. I want to go where culture is like, New York, or Connecticut or New Hampshire.” – Lady Bird

Coming of age dramedies aren’t too uncommon and frankly, most of them are incredibly predictable and derivative. While I can’t say that Lady Bird doesn’t follow suit, it is the characters and the talent that brings them to life that sets this apart from the average bear.

Having seen this film and getting to know the character of Lady Bird, I can’t think of a single actress that could have done what Saoirse Ronan did with the part. She brought her A-game to the table and delivered one of her best performances to date. She was natural and likable and it is hard to not feel an emotional attachment to her and her struggles, as she wanted more than what she had and felt trapped in her small world.

The relationship between Lady Bird and her mother felt real and that was due to a great script, Ronan’s abilities and the incredible performance by Laurie Metcalf, who I have loved ever since she was Aunt Jackie on Roseanne and because she is an actress that is far more deserving of bigger and better roles than what she typically gets. I mean, Metcalf has never been better and I hope that this leads to some sort of recognition for her contribution to the film and to the industry she’s worked in for decades. I really hope that this opens up some new doors for her, as well.

The movie also features Lucas Hedges, who has been busy with this film and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. He’s a good young actor that has been getting some good work. Here, he has the challenge of playing an Irish Catholic teen from a large, very religious family that has to hide the fact that he’s gay. He’s young, distraught and there’s a moment where he really shows how good of an actor he is and gives me hope that I’ll get to enjoy his work for years to come.

Ultimately, the premise and the story aren’t wholly original but the personal touch by Greta Gerwig’s script and direction add some authenticity to the picture. The film feels real and just because it treads territory that we’ve seen in other films doesn’t mean that there isn’t a real purpose or story to enjoy.

Besides, even if we’ve watched films like this before, everyone’s coming of age experience is different. I don’t know how Gerwig’s teenage years played out for her but this certainly feels like it comes from real experiences and is an homage to her past and the people who were there, at the time, that had some sort of strong affect on her.

I really liked Lady Bird and it is one of my favorite movies of the year. While I haven’t seen a whole lot of Gerwig in front of the camera, I do hope that we get to see more of her behind it.

Rating: 7.75/10

Film Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Release Date: February 6th, 2014 (Berlin premiere)
Directed by: Wes Anderson
Written by: Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness
Music by: Alexandre Desplat
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, Léa Seydoux, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Owen Wilson

American Empirical Pictures, Indian Paintbrush, Studio Babelsberg, Scott Rudin Productions, TSG Entertainment, Fox Searchlight Pictures, 100 Minutes

Review:

The Grand Budapest Hotel did the unthinkable, it became the highest rated film on IMDb of Wes Anderson’s career, despite the director making countless classics before it. It cracked the top 200 films of all-time and currently sits at 204 on IMDb’s well-known and highly referenced Top 250 list. That’s pretty impressive considering The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, Moonrise Kingdom and others came out before it.

Let me get into the fantastic cast, which is huge.

In somewhat of a small role, never has F. Murray Abraham been better. That is a big statement to make, as he has been an actor featured in countless films over the last several decades but his ability to pull the filmgoer in, as he did, is a gift bestowed upon very few. This also brought out amazing performances by the rest of the cast, which isn’t just a who’s who of those cemented in Wes Anderson lore, it is a who’s who of Hollywood’s most talented crop.

You get Bill Murray in a small but amusing role, Jeff Goldblum and Willem Dafoe in an amazing sequence, Adrien Brody as a fantastic asshole, not to mention Edward Norton, Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Mathieu Amalric and Tom Wilkinson.

The bulk of the acting duties are split between the pair of the spectacular Ralph Fiennes and his perfect sidekick Tony Revolori. Saoirse Ronan, who is becoming a favorite of mine, was near perfection as the apple of the young Revolori’s eye. Léa Seydoux also shows up and she is alluring as ever, even as a maid in the hotel.

As a director, Wes Anderson never disappoints, at least in my experiences with his work. This was another gem to add to his seemingly flawless resume but going beyond that, one could argue that this was Anderson’s magnum opus. The high accolades and ratings for this film probably reflect that.

With this picture, Anderson broke his own mold and took some chances that he never has before, which paid off tremendously. For instance, there was a level of violence in this film that one wouldn’t expect from him. Yet, such changes in Anderson’s narrative tone were only enhanced by his crisp and colorful style, thus bringing a new layer to his methodical visual technique that added some depth to his artistic repertoire.

Wes Anderson found a way to reinvent himself and still stay true to his craft and style, giving his few critics something new to chew on and dissect that should thwart the naysayers who relish in the countless parodies of Anderson’s work.

Not to say that I don’t enjoy the parodies myself but Anderson proved that his quirkiness and visual approach aren’t predictable and mundane but that they work exceptionally well and are still presented in new ways: refreshing and enjoyable as the first time one experienced his style. For a filmmaker with such a specific visual aesthetic, such a feat is unheard of after having this much longevity.

Rating: 8.5/10

Film Review: Lost River (2014)

Release Date: May 20th, 2014 (Cannes)
Directed by: Ryan Gosling
Written by: Ryan Gosling
Music by: Johnny Jewel
Cast: Christina Hendricks, Saoirse Ronan, Iain De Caestecker, Matt Smith, Eva Mendes, Ben Mendelsohn, Barbara Steele

Bold Films, Marc Platt Productions, Phantasma, Warner Bros. Pictures, 95 Minutes

Review:

Ryan Gosling was never an actor I cared for either way. He did some decent indy films but was mostly associated with romance flicks and being a former member of the Mickey Mouse Club alongside Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake. He was a guy that was just kind of there and not really on my radar.

Then he starred in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive and I was pretty intrigued by him. No, not like all those ladies who swoon over The Notebook but because there was just something about his presence in that film, despite him being a very quiet character.

He went on to do some other really interesting films and also worked with Refn again in the polarizing Only God Forgives. So when, shortly after seeing that movie, I heard that Gosling was writing and directing something, I was pretty intrigued. I’d had hoped that some of what he learned working with the accomplished Refn, would rub off.

Initially, Lost River was met with a lot of negative reviews. It was kind of off-putting when I saw the critical response to the film, after it was shown at Cannes. However, Refn’s Only God Forgives was lambasted by many and I liked that film regardless of the critical consensus. I also don’t take critics responses too seriously and some of the best films, historically speaking, were trashed when they first came out.

While I really liked Gosling’s Lost River, I don’t see it as being a historically important film. That is, unless Gosling goes on to make some really amazing films and this one goes on to be remembered as his first in a line of visual stunning and trippy pictures.

Lost River is kind of an homage of Refn’s visual style, which Gosling probably became comfortable with mimicking after being immersed in it while filming two visually alluring films. It also has a sort of David Lynch bizarreness to it.

One thing that must be pointed out, is that the music was great. Johnny Jewel developed a really good score for this picture and it blended well, weaving in and out of this well-balanced mixture of darkness and vibrant colors.

The acting in the picture is solid but the characters, although relatable, don’t at all feel fleshed out enough. I thought Matt Smith, most famous for being the bow-tie-wearing eleventh Doctor in the Doctor Who franchise, was pretty stellar as the unstable, creepy and appropriately named Bully. He was just an evil and extremely violent force of nature that had a very threatening and terrifying presence every time he was on-screen. Saoirse Ronan and Iain De Caestecker did a pretty fine job with their roles too. However, as much as I have always loved Christina Hendricks, her character felt the flattest, even though she had some of the most interesting material in the film.

Lost River is a pretty uncomfortable movie that reflects some really dark parts of life but it also never dismisses hope or a way out for its characters. It is beautiful to look at and it is interesting enough to keep you engaged for an hour and a half.

The critics can obviously say what they want, but for a directorial debut, Ryan Gosling gave us a real human story with a good message that was visually fulfilling. While this didn’t knock the ball out of the park, it was pretty deep in the outfield. For a debut film, there aren’t very many directors that can say that.

Rating: 6/10