The new JFK assassination drama coming to Toronto. It may seem like this is well-covered ground, but there could always be new angles on such a dramatic event. Good ensemble cast, anyway.
REVIEW: Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013) Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey. Dir. Lee Daniels
Lee Daniels' The Butler (that title the result of a copyright dispute) is an ambitious historical epic that wants to take you through the span of an entire life and the history of the civil rights movement in America, from the 1950's through the 1980's. While those ambitions can be easily worn down by the sheer scope of encompassing all of these events, the small and intimate life of Cecil Gaines as the White House butler, with the performance of Forest Whitaker in the title role, keeps the movie on level ground. You never lose sight of him as this character, and his innate dignity shines at every turn.
The story of Cecil Gaines was inspired by the life of White House butler Eugene Allen, who served through seven administrations, and the movie version of The Butler wants to use that life to document the mass change in race relations that took place in the country during Cecil's quiet tenure, through term after term. It's a fascinating look at the White House through fresh eyes, as we've seen many movies about these presidencies, but have never been given this enlightened look at the power of the highest office in the land through the eyes of the help. Cecil is born on a cotton farm, and as a young boy when his mother is raped and his father shot right before his eyes, the old woman in charge of the house (Vanessa Redgrave) feels guilty enough to take him in and train him as a house servant. She gives him the piece of advice he will live by for the rest of his professional life: "The room should feel empty when you're in it."
When Cecil leaves the farm, he trains as a butler under a mentor (Clarence Williams II), learns how to perfect his craft in a white man's world, and how to have "two faces," one his own, and the one that "they" want to see. His excels at his job in a fancy hotel in D.C. and is one day picked out by a man who happens to be in charge of the household staff at the White House, for his restraint and refusal to offer a political opinion that would be displeasing to the white men discussing the integration of schools. Cecil is then employed at the White House during the Eisenhower years and goes on to watch as history unfolds around and outside him. There is a contrast drawn between Cecil's dutiful submissiveness and his own son Louis's burgeoning activism, and it is Louis (David Oyelowo) who goes off to take part in nearly every significant event of the civil rights movement, including sit-ins, the Freedom Riders, the Black Panthers, to even being in the room when Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated. The transitions between these historical events is the weakest part of the film, bogging down the middle sections and edging at times close to a pop-up book version of history- but the acting is so strong that it tends to carry the film through any structural awkwardness.
Oprah Winfrey is Cecil's wife Gloria, and it's her who provides the humor of the film, as she spends a lot of time in a drunken haze, but never veers toward campiness, and there's a great emotional subtlety in the lifelong connection between Cecil and Gloria, despite her falling into a tryst with a boozy neighbor played by Terence Howard. Even Oyelowo manages to make his character feel real- in spite of essentially being written as a symbol for 60's activism and civil rights workers, he projects a sincere authority and a strong screen presence. The presidential cameos, which seem silly at first glance (my theater chuckled at Robin Williams' first appearance as Eisenhower), actually worked overall, as none of them are on screen long enough to make a heavy impression on the story and simply serve as our way of seeing how events are changing the policies (if not the personal attitudes) of each successive administration, while Cecil stands silently by in the background, hearing and seeing it happen. My favorites were John Cusack, who gives us a surprisingly shrewd and subtle Nixon, and James Marsden as Kennedy, who's normally very easy to caricature, played here with genuine, angst-ridden sensitivity.
But the movie belongs to Whitaker, who infuses every scene with an internal dignity that's just impossible to put out, and he makes a character who would at first seem hard to particularize, due to his innate conservative nature, into an overwhelmingly moving and sympathetic figure whose life we want to immerse ourselves in. Indeed, the film works best when it's exploring the quiet, specific interactions between Cecil and Gloria, or Cecil and the various other butlers, offering us the example of his life as the generation prior to the civil rights movement, whose worldview persisted in the face of massive social upheaval. Eventually, his own heart is changed many years after the civil rights protests, in a heartbreaking scene when he realizes the courage his son has displayed to move the nation in the right direction.
I'm not sure what the Oscar prospects are for this (it's early yet), but as of this moment I would expect nominations for Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey at least, and depending on the public's reaction to the film at the box office, perhaps a Best Picture nomination as well. One of the things that is unreservedly praiseworthy and fresh about it is that it's a story about race relations and civil rights told from black, rather than white character's perspectives, the latter of which is something that has affected movies, even good ones, for so many years that this point of view sticks out like a sore thumb. And this approach, along with the acting, is worthy enough to overcome any awkward plodding through the history of the twentieth century to make The Butler into an incredibly moving and satisfying film that is well worth seeing by audiences everywhere. Especially now, in our wonderful and flawed country, as we continue to play this history out with every passing decade, every messy setback and every progression, it's worth taking a moment to remember the generations that got us here in the first place.
* * 1/2
TRAILER #3: "The Counselor"
This new international trailer is by far the best one for this movie, giving us a much clearer vision of the plot. And funny note, in Ridley Scott's native Britain it's apparently spelled "counsellor."
TRAILER + POSTER: "The Grandmaster"
The Weinstein Co. acquired this film out of the Berlin International Film Festival, where it was received tremendously well. Written and directed by Wong Kar Wai, one of the great Chinese filmmakers (Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love), and starring Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi, it tells the story of the legendary martial artist Ip Man, who trained Bruce Lee and others. Looks pretty awesome. Comes out in limited release this Friday.
FIRST LOOK: "Noah"
Darren Aronofsky's Noah is set to come out Mar 28, 2014, and some new set pictures have arrived. It's Hollywood's first big budget old school biblical epic in decades, and given that it's Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan), hopefully we can expect something kinda weird and different from this.
New York Film Festival Lineup
The festival runs from Sep 27- Oct 13, and is, along with Telluride and Toronto, where big Oscar season movies often make their debut. Captain Philips is opening the fest this year, the centerpiece film is The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and closing night is Spike Jonze's Her. Those are three Oscar buzzed movies right there.
The rest of the lineup includes these potential contenders:
ALL IS LOST- Robert Redford, dir, J.C. Chandor
BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR- dir. Abdellatif Kechiche (debuted at Cannes to rave reviews)
THE IMMIGRANT- Marion Cotillard, dir. James Gray
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS- dir. Joel and Ethan Coen (also opened at Cannes to great reaction)
NEBRASKA- dir. Alexander Payne
THE WIND RISES- dir. Hayao Miyazaki
There aren't a lot of bombs out of New York- if you bring a film to this festival it's usually a winner, which is why I'm most curious about Ben Stiller's Walter Mitty. They must think this is a pretty significant step forward for him, right?
BOX OFFICE 8/16-8/18: The Butler Soars, Kick-Ass Crumbles
After a summer of world-ending disaster spectacles, audiences proved ready for some adult fare, which Lee Daniel's The Butler served up accordingly. The $25 million bow is right in line with the debut of The Help two years ago on this date, and time will tell if The Butler will go on to match that film's extraordinary $169 million total. It played to a similar audience- over 60% female and 76% over the age of 25, and it received an "A" Cinemascore, so it's certainly possible. Either way it's a success, given the film's $30 million budget, but with its reputation as the first big Oscar contender of the year, look for it to hold on strong.
The three other new releases this weekend were not as successful, with Kick-Ass 2 delivering a measly $13.5 million for a fourth place finish, significantly less than the original's nearly $20 million opening 4 years ago. It got a "B+" from the crowd, but it doesn't look likely to sustain itself to much of a total. Meanwhile the Ashton Kutcher biopic Jobs opened in 7th with a dismal $6.7 million and the Harrison Ford-Gary Oldman thriller Paranoia completely bombed, not even cracking to top 10 with $3.5 million from its 2500 theater release. Ouch. All of these movies were critically slaughtered by the way, and audiences seemed to agree for once.
Top 5:
- Lee Daniels' The Butler- $25 million
- We're the Millers- $17.8 million
- Elysium- $13.6 million
- Kick-Ass 2- $13.5 million
- Planes- $13.1 million
We're the Millers had an impressive hold from last weekend, dropping just 33%, and solidifying its chances at crossing $100 million, but Elysium fell 54% and likely won't reach that marker. Planes has $45 million total so far, which isn't terrible for a film that was originally headed straight to DVD, despite the critical savaging that one took as well. Next week, The World's End faces off against the new horror comedy You're Next, and the latest young adult fantasy novel to film adaptation The Mortal instruments.
TRAILER #2: "Ender's Game"
This one makes it look pretty cool, although I have to admit, the recent revelations about Orson Scott Card has made me hesitant to support anything that bears his name, no matter what the content. I doubt any of the uproar or calls for a boycott will have much effect either way though. Movie's out Nov 1st.
Happy Birthday Mae
A collection of Mae West's greatest comebacks and one-liners, on today, her 120th birthday. If you haven't seen her in anything, I'd check out She Done Him Wrong or my personal favorite, I'm No Angel, both from 1933. She was the queen of the double entendre.
TRAILER: "Short Term 12"
An independent film that premiered at the South by Southwest film festival in March that was met with glowing reviews and is set to come out Aug 23rd. It stars Brie Larsen (21 Jump Street) and won audience awards at the Little Rock, LA and Maui film festivals, after winning two at SXSW.
TRAILER: "Blue Caprice"
This film about the D.C. snipers that terrorized Maryland and Washington in 2002, premiered at Sundance and is set for a September release. The subject matter is slightly controversial and depressing, so that may be the reason it's not receiving a lot of hype, but the initial reviews were good. Looks intense.
5 Summer Concert Movies
Today marks the anniversary of Woodstock, the landmark concert festival in 1969 that instantly became one of the most iconic moments in music history. 500,000 hippies attended, and some of the most greatest rock performers ever graced the stage for 3 days of music, peace and drugs. What was ultimately seen as the peak of the countercultural movement was never to be repeated (although tried and failed many times). And so we commemorate with these, some of the best rock biopics of all time, a genre that has now become so routine it can be easily spoofed (see Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story), but that nonetheless almost always manages to illicit great performances, and even greater music.
- The Buddy Holly Story (1978) Gary Busey, Don Stroud. Dir. Steve Rash. The short, sweet life of the great Buddy Holly is documented here, in an Oscar nominated performance by Busey, who seems to embody the legend entirely, despite the scant physical resemblance. Covers the barely two year period in which the teenage Holly revolutionizes early rock and roll, by insisting on writing and producing his own music, and playing to majority black audiences. The music is incredible, made more so by the cast doing their own singing and playing. Holly’s life was cut tragically short in that infamous plane crash, but few manage to do so much in so little time, as his impact was felt for generations.
- What’s Love Got to Do With It (1993) Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne. Dir. Brian Gibson. The life of Tina Turner takes center stage, based on her autobiography and brought to vivid, fierce reality by the two central performances of Basset as Tina and Fishburne as Ike. It’s a portrait of an abusive marriage, one that would forever cement Ike Turner’s image as the monstrous wife beater Fishburne embodied. It’s a powerful, emotional experience, with the two stars (both nominated) in high speed mode from start to finish. Likely to stay with you for days.
- The Doors (1991) Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan. Dir. Oliver Stone. Stone’s chronicle of the 60’s band The Doors and frontman Jim Morrison has polarized some, garnering criticisms for being indulgent and overlong, a somewhat fitting critique of Morrison himself, excellently portrayed by Val Kilmer. Nonetheless, Stone renders a vision of late 1960’s America with scenes of brimming energy and tremendous power that places you squarely in the center of the action, caught up in the excitement of the times. And the music is pretty damn great too.
- Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980) Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones. Dir. Michael Apted. One of the best of the straightforward biopics that takes you through 60’s and 70’s country superstar Loretta Lynn’s entire life, from poverty-ridden childhood in West Virginia to adolescent marriage to eventual chart topping success, nervous breakdown and beyond. Best Actress winner Spacek’s most celebrated role, she inhabits Lynn fully, even doing her own singing. This is an example of the routine by-the-numbers format later biopics would take on, but the material here is fully fleshed out and given life by Apted’s feel for Loretta’s cultural roots and background, especially in the early, pre-fame scenes.
- I’m Not There (2007) Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger. Dir. Todd Haynes. Bob Dylan is given the biopic treatment by a director who would never condescend to the routine, especially when it comes to Dylan. He's played by seven actors who represent different facets of the Dylan mystique, accompanied by various filmmaking techniques to shape and sort the assorted incarnations, which may or may not resemble episodes from the real Robert Zimmerman's life. It's an endlessly fascinating puzzle and thereby an ideal tribute to the artist himself. Includes an amazing all Dylan soundtrack in accordance.
