Mr. Turner

Last night I saw Mr. Turner, a luminous biography of the popular British landscape painter J.M.W. Turner.  Through a series of vignettes depicting the final years of his life, we see Turner's relationships with his father, his devoted housekeeper, his two lovers, one of whom is the mother of the two children he refuses to acknowledge, his aristocratic patrons, and the other members of the Royal Academy of Arts.  This film brilliantly explores the fine line between genius and madness in scenes where Turner ties himself to the mast of a ship in a snowstorm to observe its effects, paints a red splotch on one of his paintings when he hears another painting which prominently features the color red praised, visits a brothel to sketch one of the prostitutes, and runs from his deathbed into the street to sketch a girl who has drowned.  Another scene I particularly enjoyed was when the art critic John Ruskin (hilariously played by Joshua McGuire) analyzes one of Turner's paintings on and on at length prompting Turner to ask him his opinion of steak and kidney pie.  I laughed out loud at this because I just had a conversation with a friend who told me that sometimes a flower is just a flower.  Critics (and English teachers) have a tendency to read too much into art (and literature).  The cinematography in this film is as beautiful as one of Turner's paintings.  I especially loved the dazzling play of light throughout much of the film.  The character actor Timothy Spall, known primarily for portraying Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter movies, gives an incredibly nuanced performance as Turner.  The growl used to show his displeasure is most effective (it certainly elicited a lot of response from the audience during my particular screening) and the look on his face when he overhears Queen Victoria criticize one of his paintings is nothing short of heartbreaking.  Dorothy Atkinson also gives a wonderful performance as Turner's much abused housekeeper.  The scene when she learns of Turner's double life is devastating.  It is a moving film about a flawed and complicated man which I enjoyed very much.

Let's Go Jazz

For the past little while Sean has been asking me to take him to a Jazz game.  I usually take him to at least one game every season so a couple of weeks ago I told him we could go to the next weekend game which happened to be last night against the Portland Trailblazers.  Unlike the last game I took him to, this one was actually really good but Sean didn't care!  Before the game started I told him that I really wanted the Jazz to win because they have been struggling.  He told me that it didn't matter because he would have a good time even if they lost.  He always has such a good attitude!  Because of the Enes Kanter trade, Rudy Gobert was a starter for the first time and there was a lot of hype about it before the game.  Sean was really excited because he got to meet Gobert with his Jr. Jazz team and he has his autographed picture on his wall.  The Trailblazers had a great start and got a quick lead but I thought the Jazz played an outstanding defensive game with lots of blocks and steals and they were able to stay with them.   The lead went back and forth during the first three quarters and then the Jazz went on a 39-10 run in the fourth quarter, including some crowd-pleasing three-pointers, to pull away from the Blazers and ultimately win  92-76.  I've been to a few games this season but this is definitely the most fun I've had!  Not only did the Jazz win against a really good team but Sean is just so entertaining.  The Jazz have a rookie named Rodney Hood but on the display board it says R. Hood.  Sean was absolutely convinced that Robin Hood played for our team!  When he made a three-pointer, Sean yelled, "Robin Hood just scored!"  Everyone looked at us and smiled!

I sure do love this kid!

The Crucible at PTC

I have read The Crucible, Arthur Miller's brilliant play about the Salem Witch Trials, more times than I can count.  I am, after all, an English teacher.  However, until I saw PTC's wonderful production last night, I had never seen it performed on stage.  To be sure, the play is an absolute masterpiece on the page but it is always magical when you are able to see the written words come to life.  John Proctor (Fletcher McTaggart) had an affair with his serving girl Abigail Williams (Madison Micucci) while his wife Elizabeth (Claire Brownell) was ill.  Abigail was forced to leave their house when Elizabeth learned of the affair and she now lives with her uncle, the Rev. Parris (Paul Kiernan).  Parris is concerned about his daughter Betty, who is very ill, and worries that witchcraft may be involved because he saw Betty, Abigail, and other girls from the town dancing in the woods with his slave, Tituba.  To dispel rumors in the town, he calls the Rev. Hale (J. Todd Adams), a renowned witch expert, to question the girls and Abigail suddenly confesses that Tituba conjured the Devil.  She forces Tituba and the other girls to confess, as well, and they begin accusing all of the women in town of witchcraft.  Abigail becomes very powerful and accuses Elizabeth Proctor as a way to get John back.  As John tries to defend Elizabeth and the wives of his friends, he is ultimately condemned himself.  The play is a powerful indictment against mass hysteria (Miller wrote the play during the era of McCarthyism) and this production features some powerful performances.  Micucci is absolutely brilliant as the conniving and manipulative Abigail.  Her facial expressions are especially effective, whether she is "seeing spirits," seducing John, or coercing the girls to do as she commands.  The scene when she and the girls are possessed during the trial is amazing.  McTaggart gives an incredibly passionate performance as the guilt-ridden Proctor.  I was literally holding my breath when he asks Elizabeth to forgive him before going to the scaffold.  The audience gave him a rousing standing ovation and he seemed genuinely taken aback by it!  I loved the sparse set, which easily transformed into the interior of various houses, a barn, and a courtroom, but the costumes were not what I was expecting (I wanted everyone to be wearing black for some reason).  I highly recommend seeing this play but I realize that it might not be for everyone.  A teenage girl sitting behind me complained that she didn't understand what was going on (she obviously does not attend Hunter High School) and the couple sitting next to me didn't return after the intermission.  Nevertheless, if you enjoyed this play in high school, go here for tickets.  It will run until Feb. 28 at PTC.

Still Alice

Yesterday afternoon I went to see Julianne Moore in Still Alice.  She was my final Best Actress nominee (see my commentaries on Rosamund Pike, Felicity Jones, and Reese Witherspoon) and I was particularly eager to see her performance as it has generated a fair amount of Oscar buzz with Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Screen Actors Guild Award wins.  Moore plays Dr. Alice Howland, a professor of linguistics at Columbia University who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease at the age of 50.  It is an intense character study of a woman, known for her ambition, intelligence, and ability to communicate, who loses the very core of her identity and struggles to maintain relationships with her equally ambitious husband (Alec Baldwin) and her children Anna (Kate Bosworth), Tom (Hunter Parish), and Lydia (Kristen Stewart).  Moore gives a gripping tour-de-force performance.  You can literally see pieces of Alice slipping away bit by bit in each frame of the movie and this is particularly apparent when a nearly demented Alice watches a video she made after first receiving her diagnosis where she meticulously instructs her future self on how to kill herself.  The transformation is incredible, especially in light of the fact that most movies are not shot chronologically.  Moore's emotionally nuanced portrayal  draws the audience into the fear and anxiety she feels constantly.  She is most affecting when Alice gets lost jogging on the campus where she has taught for 20 years, when she visits a nursing home and the staff assumes she is looking on behalf of an elderly parent, and when she, who once traveled the country giving lectures, gives a faltering speech to an Alzheimer's symposium.  Directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland chose to shoot many scenes with a shallow depth of field leaving much out of focus and many conversations occur in the periphery of the scene, effectively emphasizing Alice's confusion.   While this movie is definitely a vehicle for Moore, Baldwin gives a strong performance as a man who tries to be supportive but, ultimately, doesn't want his life disrupted and Stewart shines as Alice's ne'er-do-well daughter who is the only one who really sees (and accepts) what Alice is going through.   Still Alice is very sad but I highly recommend it.

Note:  I saw Marion Cotillard, the remaining Best Actress nominee, in Two Days, One Night last week but I didn't especially like the movie so I didn't review it.

Ballet West's Swan Lake

Last night I attended Ballet West's production of Swan Lake.  I almost didn't go because I thought nothing could compare to the performance I saw of this ballet in Russia.  While seeing such a quintessentially Russian ballet performed in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg will always be one of the most magical experiences of my life, I'm really glad I got to see Ballet West's version.  It was absolutely wonderful! Prince Siegfried goes into the woods to hunt and aims his bow at a swan who becomes a beautiful woman named Odette.  She explains that she is a swan by day and a woman at night because she is under the spell of an evil sorcerer, the Baron von Rothbert. Only true love can break the spell but, as the sun comes up, Odette reverts back to a swan and Siegfried returns home to celebrate his birthday with a grand ball.  Many princesses vie for his attention because he must marry to inherit the throne.  He ignores them, thinking only of Odette.  Suddenly, Rothbert enters the ballroom with his daughter Odile, who looks exactly like Odette.  Thinking that she is Odette, Siegfried declares his love to Odile.  When Rotherbert reveals his treachery, Siegfried rushes to Odette to beg forgiveness which she grants.  They eventually find a way to defeat Rothbert and end the spell in a very dramatic ending.  Beau Pearson, as Siegfried, and Christiana Bennett (one of my favorite Ballet West dancers), as Odette/Odile, danced their roles beautifully and I especially loved their Pas de Deux. I also really enjoyed the Swan Maidens because they were so synchronized with very elaborate formations and the Hungarian dance at Siegfried's ball because it was very dramatic. The score by Tchaikovsky is absolutely exquisite!  The music during the Pas de Deux between Odette and Siegfried is incredibly romantic (right up there with the Pas de Deux between the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier in The Nutcracker).  I think all of Tchaikovsky's music is so beautiful and emotional and the choreography of this ballet really suits this particular piece!  The costumes are gorgeous and the sets are quite spectacular, especially the ballroom (I loved the chandeliers).  It was such an amazing production (one of Ballet West's best, in my opinion) and I definitely recommend getting a ticket to one of the few remaining performances. Go here for tickets and information.

Note:  Taylor Swift used costumes from Ballet West's production of Swan Lake in the video for "Shake It Off."