The Dry

The movie The Dry is based on the novel of the same name by Jane Harper and, since I loved her latest release The Survivors, I decided to see it last night.  Harper is known for moody and atmospheric murder mysteries in small towns with secrets and this movie definitely delivers on that vibe.  Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) returns home to Kiewarra, a small farming community in Australia suffering from a severe drought, after a twenty year absence to attend the funeral of his childhood best friend Luke Hadler (Martin Dingle-Wall).  Hadler is accused of killing his wife and young son before taking his own life but his parents refuse to believe he is guilty and ask Falk, who is a federal police officer in Melbourne, to investigate.  He teams up with the local police sergeant Greg Raco (Keir O'Donnell), a rookie who is still traumatized after finding the bodies, to review all of the evidence.  However, Falk's return stirs up memories of another mysterious death that happened twenty years ago of which he and Hadler were the prime suspects.  Tensions are high as Falk tries to solve the present crime because it seems that everyone involved has a secret.  Interspersed between Falk's activities in the present are flashbacks to the earlier incident involving the young Falk (Joe Klocek), the young Hadler (Sam Corlett), Gretchen Schoner (Claude Scott-Mitchell), and Ellie Deacon (BeBe Bettencourt), the young woman who drowned, and it seems that even Falk has his secrets as the details of both cases are slowly revealed.  It is definitely a slow burn (pun intended) but I found it very suspenseful.  I loved the juxtaposition of all of the wide shots of the parched ground with vegetation ready to go up in flames with the close-up shots of the suspects who also seem ready to combust from the tension.  Bana gives an incredibly nuanced and restrained performance as a man haunted by his past and the rest of the cast is also excellent, especially Genevieve O'Reilly as Gretchen in the present-day and William Zappa as Ellie's father.  This movie is a bit under the radar because of the big blockbusters scheduled for release this weekend but it is absolutely worth seeking out.

Dream Horse

I had the chance to see Dream Horse with a group of my students (and Sean) last year at the Sundance Film Festival and we all loved this inspiring true story!  I saw it again last night now that it is in wide release and I had just as many goosebumps as I did during my first viewing.  Jan Vokes (Toni Collette) lives in an economically depressed mining village in Wales with her unemployed and unmotivated husband Brian (Owen Teale).  She works as a checker at a co-op during the day and as a barmaid at the local pub in the evening as well as caring for her aging parents.  She feels that her life has become stagnant and yearns for a reason to get out of bed in the morning.  One night at the pub she overhears Howard Davies (Damian Lewis) brag about owning a winning racehorse with a syndicate of investors (he fails to mention that this venture nearly bankrupted him) and decides that she wants to own a racehorse.  She uses her savings to buy a bad-tempered mare who came in last in every race she ran and enlists Howard's help in recruiting a group of friends, including the town drunk (Karl Johnson) and a lonely widow (Sian Phillips), to form her own syndicate to pay the stud fee of a champion.  They name the resulting foal Dream Alliance and raise him on their small allotment in the village.  Philip Hobbs (Nicholas Farrell), a well-known trainer in England, decides to work with Dream because he thinks the horse has spirit but he doesn't have much hope for his prospects.  Nonetheless, Hobbs enters Dream in a local race and the syndicate is elated when he comes from behind to win.  As Dream wins more and more races against all odds, he becomes a symbol of hope for Jan, Brian, Howard, and the entire village.  This is a stand-up-and-cheer movie about doing whatever it takes to achieve a dream and I found it to be incredibly moving even though I knew the outcome!  The racing sequences are exhilarating but my favorite moments are when the ragtag group of misfits in the syndicate watch Dream's first race in the owners' box with the other wealthy and aristocratic owners (it is hilarious) and when the entire village welcomes the syndicate home with a victory parade.  I highly recommend this feel-good movie (stay through the credits to see the actors and their real-life counterparts singing in the pub).

Note:  This story is also the subject of fabulous documentary called Dark Horse.  I recommend it as well.

Beethoven 1 & Demarre McGill Plays Jolivet

Last night I attended another wonderful performance by the Utah Symphony.  The concert began with Suite en concert for Flute and Four Percussionists by Andre Jolivet and it featured Utah Symphony musicians Keith Carrick, Eric Hopkins, Michael Pape, and Gavin Ryan on percussion and guest soloist Demarre McGill on flute.  This piece was mysterious and primitive and, in my opinion, it almost seemed like the notes played by the flute were casting a spell on the audience.  I especially liked the second movement because it was very solemn and sounded like it could have been used in a sacred rite.  It included a gong (which I love) and an alto flute which is bigger and has a much deeper tone.  McGill played this highly technical piece brilliantly and I wish that the audience had been bigger to show him the appreciation he deserved (we tried and were rewarded with an encore).  The concert concluded with Ludwig van Beethoven's Sumphony No. 1.  I think Music Director Thierry Fischer has a real affinity for Beethoven and he led the orchestra through a lovely performance of this piece.  I really like the first movement because the opening notes are so dramatic and the themes played by the strings and woodwinds together are beautiful.  This symphony is incredibly joyful and exuberant and I left Abravanel Hall feeling so happy and lighthearted.  I highly recommend getting a ticket to the concerts tonight or Saturday featuring the same program (go here).

Ariadne

My Book of the Month selection for May was Ariadne by Jennifer Saint (the other options were Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen, How Lucky by Will Leitch, The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave, and Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang). I was so excited to read this novel because, with the name Phaedra, I have always been fascinated by Greek mythology in general and King Minos' daughters in particular and I simply couldn't resist a story about Ariadne, Phaedra, Theseus, and the Minotaur! Princess Ariadne of Crete is subject to the tyrannical whims of her father King Minos and she witnesses firsthand how her mother Pasiphae is capriciously punished by the gods for the king's hubris. She is determined to live her life on her own terms rather than as a pawn of men or the gods so, when Prince Theseus of Athens comes to Crete as one of the tributes to be fed to the Minotaur in the Labyrinth below the palace, Ariadne makes the dangerous decision to betray her father and help him as a way to avoid an arranged marriage. However, this decision has unforeseen consequences for both her and for her sister Phaedra. Even though Ariadne falls under the spell of the god Dionysus after being betrayed by Theseus and is powerless to stop her sister Phaedra from being torn between Theseus and his son Hippolytus, she ultimately finds the courage to demand a future for herself and the women and children under her care. I love strong female characters and I really enjoyed the retelling of this familiar Greek myth from a feminist perspective, especially the exploration of motherhood, and I enjoyed learning aspects of the story that I didn't already know. Ariadne's character arc is incredibly powerful because, even though she is fallible, she finds a sort of redemption and her story is very compelling. Saint's prose is beautiful and poetic and, at times, it mimics the oral storytelling tradition of the original Greek myths as characters recount the exploits of Zeus, Hera, Perseus, Medusa, Heracles, Hades, Poseidon, Daedalus, and Icarus. As previously mentioned, I have a particular fascination with the story of Phaedra (for obvious reasons) and have read many accounts but, even though this is ostensibly Ariadne's story, I really heard Phaedra's voice come to to life for the first time and I absolutely loved that! This novel was everything I hoped it would be and I highly recommend it!

A Drive to Antelope Island

Yesterday I spontaneously decided to take a drive out to Antelope Island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake.  It is about a 45 minute drive from my house, and once you drive across the causeway, the scenery is pretty spectacular.  I drove around the island and up to Buffalo Point to get some good views of the lake, then I drove to the Garr Ranch to see the buffalo grazing (some of them were really close to the road which was thrilling because I love buffalo), and then I walked down to the beach near the causeway.  It was a beautiful day (not too hot and not too cold) and it felt great to be outside!

Go here for more information about Antelope Island State Park.