Leviticus

The second movie in my double feature at the Broadway last night was Leviticus and I absolutely loved it!  Arlene Reid (Mia Wasikowska) moves with her son Naim (Joe Bird) to an extremely conservative Christian community in Victoria, Australia.  She finds comfort but he struggles with the repressive environment until he begins a secret relationship with Ryan Whelan (Stacy Clausen).  However, Naim sees Ryan kissing the pastor's son Hunter (Jeremy Blewitt) and, because he is jealous, he outs them to the pastor.  A deliverance healer is called in to perform a ritual on the two of them to cleanse them of their homosexual desires but this summons an invisible entity that stalks them in the form of the one they love.  A malevolent being that looks Naim attacks Ryan and another one that looks Ryan kills Hunter.  When Arlene learns about Naim's feelings for Ryan, she takes him to the deliverance healer to perform the same ritual on him and a spirit that looks like Ryan attacks him.  Naim and Ryan eventually discover that the entity appears whenever they are alone and it becomes difficult for them to determine if the other one is real.  In addition to the physical threat, this is a psychological nightmare for both Naim and Ryan because the one person who makes them feel less alone is now the person they fear the most when they are alone.  Bird and Clausen have tremendous chemistry and I love the way they portray the romance that develops between their characters because this makes what happens to them absolutely heartbreaking as well as terrifying.  Bird, especially, is devastating during the scenes in which he wants so desperately to believe that the person in front of him is actually Ryan.  There is a tension whenever Naim and Ryan are on screen together that is palpable as a result.  This has a lot to say about the damage caused by homophobia, religious extremism, and conversion therapy but I was really struck by the theme of fear and how it is weaponized.  The shapeshifter wants Naim and Ryan to fear each other so that they will repress who they really are but both of them eventually realize that love is more powerful than fear.  I was incredibly moved by this and highly recommend it!

The Death of Robin Hood

I spent most of last night at the Broadway for a double feature because I missed a few movies that I really wanted to see while I was out of town.  I began with The Death of Robin Hood and it is definitely my jam.  Despite all of the stories that have turned him into a folk hero, the outlaw Robin Hood (Hugh Jackman) is tormented by a lifetime filled with violence and is living in self-imposed exile to escape those seeking vengeance against him.  He agrees to help fellow outlaw Little John (Bill Skarsgard) fight a clan who has taken his wife and daughter hostage so that he can die in battle but he is severely wounded, instead.  John takes him to a Priory on a remote island to be healed by Sister Brigid (Jodie Comer) and he begins to find a measure of peace through his interactions with her, a leper (Murray Bartlett) who works as a caretaker on the island, and John's daughter Little Margaret (Faith Delaney).  However, his past eventually catches up with him in the form of Godwyn (Noah Jupe), the sole-surviving member of the clan slaughtered by Robin and John, and he is finally forced to reconcile everything he has done.  The movie begins with several bloody and brutal action sequences involving medieval warfare that establish Robin Hood as a villain but then it turns into a more contemplative character study as he deals with the consequences of his actions with a conclusion that I found very powerful.  I loved the themes of vengeance, forgiveness, redemption, and legacy, especially in the scenes when Robin convinces Godwyn to abandon his quest as well as when Robin perpetuates the myth to spare Margaret from learning the truth about her father.  The cinematography, which uses lots of desaturated blues and grays, is incredibly bleak but strangely beautiful and I was really struck by the change in aspect ratio because it becomes almost claustrophobic on the island to represent Robin's inability to hide from his actions.  All of the performances are outstanding but Jackman is particularly haunting because he conveys a lifetime of regret with just his eyes and body language.  This will not be for everyone (some may be put off by the violence in the first act and others may find the pace of the second and third acts to be too slow) but I always love flawed characters who find redemption and I really appreciated the subversive take on a well-known character.

Redwood National Park

The redwoods are absolutely awe-inspiring!  I have wanted to see them for a really long time and the experience definitely did not disappoint!

I was not really prepared for how absolutely massive these trees are and the pictures really do not do them justice (I had to pose next to one to show the scale).  I also really loved all of the ferns growing on the trees.  Seeing these trees exceeded all of my expectations!

The Oregon Coast Part Two

Yesterday we drove from Astoria, Oregon to Crescent City, California on Highway 101 along the coast and to say the scenery was gorgeous would be an understatement!  Every time we rounded a corner and saw a new view, it would take our breath away (especially when there was a fog rolling in).  We made quite a few stops along the way.

Cannon Beach

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Umpqua River Lighthouse (this is a working lighthouse operated by the U.S. Coast Guard)

I loved all of the random rocks sticking out of the water all along the coastline.  Oregon is a beautiful place!

The Oregon Coast Part One

Yesterday we left Wenatchee, Washington and drove approximately five hours to get to the coast of Oregon!  It was a really pretty drive through forests and across rivers.  We stopped for the night in Astoria (we saw the house from Goonies but we didn't get a picture because it is private property and the owners do not appreciate trespassers) and went to Fort Stevens State Park to hang out at the beach for most of the afternoon and evening.  We both loved this spot because you could drive right on the beach and there were very few people there because it was cold (but we still got very sunburned).  I loved listening to the waves crash against the beach because it was so soothing!

We came back to the beach after dinner in order to see the sunset and it was spectacular!

It was great to be able to spend so much time here!