Till

I missed out on seeing several movies that I had planned because I was sick last week so I decided on a double feature to make up for it last night.  Even though I knew it would be very difficult for me, I started with Till.  After her 14-year-old son Emmett Till (Jalyn Hall) is brutally murdered for whistling at a white woman named Carolyn Bryant (Haley Bennett) while visiting his cousins in Mississippi, Mamie Till-Bradley (Danielle Deadwyler) turns her grief into activism.  She insists that Emmett have an open casket at his funeral so that the world can see what was done to him, she travels at great personal risk to testify against the men accused of Emmett's murder, and then devotes her life to the civil rights movement.  I was really worried about how Emmett's murder would be portrayed and I spent much of the first act steeling myself for what I knew was coming.  Thankfully, it is very sensitively done.  Emmett is shown being forcibly taken from his uncle's house and then there is a brief scene where his muted cries are heard from inside a barn but, instead of focusing on the murder, director Chinonye Chukwu focuses on Mamie's response and it is very powerful.  There were several scenes that brought me to tears, including when Mamie meets Emmett's casket at the train station and when she sees his body for the first time, and there were also several scenes that made me very angry, such as when a child fires a cap gun at Mamie on the courthouse steps and then laughs at her and when the verdict is announced.  Deadwyler gives a brilliant performance (she is getting a lot of well-deserved Oscar buzz), especially in the aforementioned scene at the train station and during her testimony, but I was also really impressed with Whoopi Goldberg, who plays Mamie's mother.  This is definitely a movie that is hard to watch but it such an important story that is, sadly, still very relevant today.  I highly recommend it.

Ballet West's Rodeo

Even though I usually prefer seeing full-length ballets, I was excited for Ballet West's latest production featuring Concerto Baracco, Return to a Strange Land, and Rodeo last night.  I really enjoyed the program, especially since my favorite dancer, Katlyn Addison, was featured in two of the ballets!  The first piece, Concerto Baracco, is a classical ballet with choreography by George Balanchine and music by Johann Sebastian Bach and it was my favorite of the evening.  Two female soloists, the aforementioned Addison and Emily Adams, interact with each other by coming together and pulling apart with a corps of eight female dancers who mimic their movements.  When a male soloist, Hadriel Diniz, joins them, it appears that he is dancing with with all of the women because of the intricate patterns they form around him.  The vivid cerulean blue backdrop and the flowing white costumes add to the beauty of the performance and I loved it!  Next came Return to a Strange Land which is a more modern piece with choreography by Jirí Kylián and music by Leoš Janáček.  The solo piano music is haunting and, instead of telling a story, the ballet evokes a feeling of loss.  Two groups of three dancers are featured, including Amy Potter with Hadriel Diniz and Brian Waldrep, and Addison with Tyler Gum and Robert Fowler, and the choreography is incredibly innovative with shapes and silhouettes that I had never seen before.  The moody atmosphere is enhanced by the earth-toned leotards worn by the dancers and the autumn leaves flowing across the stage (fallen leaves always symbolize loss to me).  This was absolutely brilliant and it elicited thunderous applause from the audience.  The program concluded with Rodeo featuring choreography by Agnes de Mille and music by Aaron Copland.  A Cowgirl (Chelsea Keefer) wants to show the cowboys that she is just as skilled on a horse as they are but she also wants to catch the attention of the Head Wrangler (Brian Waldrep).  Unfortunately, he is more interested in the more feminine Rancher's Daughter (Victoria Vassos) but a Champion Roper (David Huffmire) notices her.  When she arrives at the hoe-down wearing a dress, she has both the Wrangler and the Roper vying for her affections.  The choreography is so much fun with movements that realistically mimic roping, riding, and square dancing  (it reminded me of the type of dancing you would see in a Broadway musical) while the music is instantly recognizable, especially during the hoe-down.  I was so impressed with Keefer because ballerinas are usually the epitome of grace and elegance but she appears awkward and uncoordinated!  The colored jeans worn by the cowboys, the calico dresses worn by the womenfolk, and the set of a large ranch house add authenticity to the story.  This was another big crowd-pleaser!  I think I will always prefer the full-length ballets but I am so glad that I got to see this triple-bill!  It continues at Capitol Theatre for three more performances including a matinee on Nov. 10 (go here for tickets).

Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1

I have been fighting a cold for most of the week and it pretty much had me down for the count but I was bound and determined to make it to the Utah Symphony concert last night because one does not miss Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 if one can help it!  I am glad that I made the effort because the performance was amazing!  The orchestra, under the baton of guest conductor Ludovic Morlot (a last minute replacement for the injured Thierry Fischer), began with the Overture to Prima la musica poi le parole by Antonio Salieri.  I have to admit that I was very excited for this piece because of the fictional rivalry between Salieri and Mozart in the movie Amadeus (which is not only one of my favorite movies but it is also the reason I became a fan of classical music).  Salieri's music is portrayed as pedestrian in comparison to Mozart's in the movie but I think this operetta, which debates the relative merits of music and drama in opera, is really charming and exuberant.  Then the orchestra was joined by soloist Andrei Korobeinikov, making his U.S. debut, for one of my very favorite pieces, Piano Concerto No. 1 by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.  Those instantly recognizable opening notes by the brass get me every time because they provide such an explosive burst of energy to begin a highly emotional piece!  The themes played by the solo piano are sometimes incredibly passionate and tempestuous and then almost unbearably beautiful and romantic!  There were many times when I found myself holding my breath because I was so overcome!  Korobeinikov played it with so much feeling and expression and earned a well deserved standing ovation!  After the intermission, the orchestra performed a new piece by Augusta Reed Thomas called Dance Foldings (she was there to introduce it) which is meant to mimic the dance of proteins within the body.  There are random bursts of sound from every section but I especially enjoyed all of the percussion and the emphasis periodically provided by the brass.  The concert concluded with Symphony No. 2 by Charles Ives.  I think of Ives' music as quintessentially American and it was really fun picking out snippets of other American classics, such as "Bringing in the Sheaves," "America the Beautiful," "Camptown Races," and "Turkey in the Straw," throughout.  I loved this concert as much as the previous ones this season, which has been spectacular so far, and I definitely recommend getting a ticket for tonight's performance of the same program (go here).

Ticket to Paradise

My sister and I used to have the tradition of seeing a movie on Halloween but we haven't done it for a few years.  We decided to revive the tradition last night and took Sean and Tashena with us to see Ticket to Paradise.  I'm not a big fan of romantic comedies (my sister picked the movie) but I ended up really liking this!  After Lily Cotton (Kaitlyn Dever) graduates from law school she goes on vacation to Bali with her best friend Wren (Billie Lourd).  She falls in love with island life and with a local seaweed farmer named Gede (Maxime Bouttier).  When her bitterly divorced parents Georgia (Julia Roberts) and David (George Clooney) learn that Lily wants to give up her law career to marry Gede, they put aside their differences and race to Bali in order to stop her from making the same mistake they made all those years ago.  Hijinks ensue!  This movie is formulaic and totally predictable but I have to admit that it is really enjoyable!  There are several things that elevate it above its commonplace premise.  First, the tropical scenery is absolutely gorgeous and provides a nice bit of escapism.  I can certainly see why Lily wants to give up her law career and stay there forever.  I especially loved the scenes where the characters are swimming with dolphins!  Second, Billie Lourd adds a lot of comic relief (she often steals the spotlight from Dever) and I laughed out loud at many of her antics.  I propose that she be cast as the free-spirited sidekick in every comedy from now on!  Finally, mega-stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts are unbelievably appealing and their chemistry together is palpable!  I loved all of their bickering and all of the slapstick comedy (especially during an epic round of beer pong).  The two of them were actually the reason I agreed to see this movie and they did not disappoint.  The four of us had a lot of fun watching this (we all agreed that we knew exactly what was going to happen but that it didn't matter) and I recommend it to fans of romantic comedies!

Decision to Leave

Have I mentioned that I want to see just about everything that screened at the fall film festivals this year?  It seems that they are all getting a wide release within the next few weeks (I am going to be really busy) so I went to see one of them, Decision to Leave, last night at the Broadway.  This neo-noir thriller about mutual obsession is complex but ultimately very compelling.  Hae-jun (Park Hae-il) is a world-weary police detective suffering from insomnia in Busan with a so-called "weekend marriage" to a woman who lives in Ipo.  While working on another case, he and his partner Soo-wan (Go Kyung-pyo) are called to the scene of a mountain climbing accident that may or may not involve foul play.  The victim's wife, a Chinese immigrant named Seo-rae (Tang Wei), becomes a suspect but, after conducting extensive surveillance, Hae-jun becomes infatuated with her and eventually finds evidence that seems to exonerate her.  However, nothing is what it seems and the narrative takes an unexpected turn when Hae-jun becomes the object of Seo-rae's obsession during another case.  What I really enjoyed is how Park Chan-wook plays with perception.   Images come into and go out of focus in the same scene, particularly during an interrogation scene involving a mirror, which emphasizes that the characters do not see each other clearly and the use of technology, especially video and audio recordings, reveals a disconnect between them.  I also enjoyed the clever editing and innovative camera work used in the surveillance scenes because you never really know where each of the characters are in relation to one another.  While the story is essentially a straightforward police procedural, these stylistic choices, as well as multiple subplots, keep the audience guessing until the haunting conclusion.  Tang Wei gives an enigmatic performance worthy of Hitchcock's best femme fatales and the chemistry between her and Park Hae-il is absolutely smoldering.  Finally, the images on the screen, including overhead shots of mountain peaks and crashing waves, are gorgeous and the woodwind heavy score is incredibly evocative.  This is one of the best movies I've seen this year and I highly recommend it!