The Watchers

I really enjoyed the novel by A. M. Shine and I am a big fan of M. Night Shyamalan so I was very excited for the movie adaptation of The Watchers by his daughter Ishana Night Shyamalan in her directorial debut.  I saw it last night and I liked it but I didn't love it.  Mina (Dakota Fanning) is a troubled American expat living in Ireland and working in a pet shop.  Her boss asks her to deliver a rare bird to a customer but her car breaks down in the middle of a large and menacing forest.  She decides to search for help and gets lost as night falls but, when she hears strange noises, a woman named Madeline (Olwen Fouéré) appears and she follows her into a concrete bunker also occupied by Ciara (Georgina Campbell) and Daniel (Oliver Finnegan).  The bunker has a large window which becomes a mirror at night and, as Madeline explains, the four of them must face it so the mysterious watchers outside can observe them.  Mina learns that the watchers retreat underground in burrows during the day so they are free to explore the forest as long as it is light but they must lock themselves in the bunker once night falls or risk an attack.  The forest is too large to leave during daylight hours and the one person who attempted it, Ciara's husband John (Alistair Brammer), hasn't returned for days.  However, Mina begins to doubt the existence of the watchers but, when she sees them and learns what they really are, she leads them in a desperate attempt to leave.  I loved the use of Irish folklore in the story but I think the screenplay suffers from too much exposition in the third act (there is a lot more in the movie than in the book and I don't think it is necessary).  I loved the depiction of the creatures and the visuals in the forest are very sinister, especially when the creatures are revealed, but I didn't feel a lot of tension when they attack or when the group escapes.  Fanning is great as a detached observer and Fouéré has tremendous screen presence but their performances, and those of the rest of the cast, are marred by clunky dialogue.  I didn't hate this but it was a bit of a mixed bag for me and I recommend waiting for it to stream.

Note:  I do think Ishana shows a lot of potential as a director but she should probably use a different screenwriter for her next project.

Sarah McLachlan at Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre

During my mid-twenties I had a very dark period in which I had a serious bout with depression.  I used to lay on the floor of my living room in my tiny apartment in the dark and listen to music for hours instead of doing anything productive.  One of my favorite albums during this time was Fumbling Towards Ecstasy by Sarah McLachlan.  I bought it because I was obsessed with the song "Possession" but there were many other songs that resonated with me, especially "Fear," "Good Enough," and "Hold On."  I listened to it over and over and I really think it helped me find my way out of that hole I was in.  I can't believe that it was released 30 years ago (now you can work out how old I am)!  Sarah McLalchlan is touring in honor of this milestone so I definitely had to get a ticket to hear her perform it in its entirety at the Utah First Credit Union Ampthitheatre last night!  It was an incredible show and it made me feel quite emotional to hear these songs again track by track in order.  She began with a Greatest Hits set, including "Sweet Surrender," "Building a Mystery," "I Will Remember You," "Drifting," "Song For My Father," a sultry version of "World on Fire," "Adia," and "Beautiful Girl."  She performed "Answer" on piano with all of the members of her band singing backup around her and it was quite dramatic!  She finished this set with "Witness" and, while the band played an extended outro, she left the stage to change outfits for the Fumbling Towards Ecstasy set (her daughter insisted that she change outfits and she did even though she told her that she wasn't Taylor Swift).  I have seen U2 and Alanis Morissette perform albums in their entirety to commemorate their anniversaries (The Joshua Tree and Jagged Little Pill, respectively) and I really like this concept because you get to hear songs that are rarely, or even never, performed live!  I especially loved hearing "Wait," "Mary," "Elsewhere," "Circle," and "Ice" because, even though I have seen her in concert several times, I had never heard them live before.  Of course "Possession," my favorite Sarah McLachlan song, was a highlight but her performance of "Fear" gave me goosebumps because she sounded amazing hitting all of those high notes!  For the encore, she performed a new song from a forthcoming album called "Gravity," which she wrote for her daughter, and then a beautiful interpretation of "Angel."  She sounded better than I have ever heard her and she was full of stories about her songs (I loved her explanation of how "Adia" came to be written).  I really loved this show because, even though it reminded me of a difficult time in my life, I am glad that I am still around to hear these songs!

The Dead Don't Hurt

Last night I went to the Broadway to see The Dead Don't Hurt and, even though I was really looking forward to it, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this deliberate and character-driven Western.  Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps) is a fiercely independent French Canadian living in San Francisco during the 1860s.  She was traumatized as a child by the death of her father who went to war against the English and never returned and this fuels a recurring fantasy about a knight in armor.  She believes that she has found him when she meets a Danish immigrant named Holger Olsen (Viggo Mortensen) and she agrees to travel with him to his homestead on the edge of a small town in Nevada.  They begin a life together but, at the outbreak of the Civil War, Holger makes the fateful decision to enlist and fight for the Union which leaves Vivienne to fend for herself against the corrupt Mayor Rudolph Schiller (Danny Huston), the powerful rancher Alfred Jeffries (Garret Dillahunt), and his violent son Weston Jeffries (Solly McLeod).  When Holger returns from war, he and Vivienne must both make peace with the consequences of his actions but he eventually does become the knight in armor she imagined.  The story is nonlinear and very measured (some might say slow) but I appreciated the time that is taken to establish the relationship between Vivienne and Holger, mainly through scenes without dialogue, and her backstory, through flashbacks, because this informs the action in the third act.  It does feature the traditional gunfight in a saloon that Westerns are known for (there are a few scenes of violence but the most egregious act is implied rather than shown) but the bittersweet romance was more compelling to me that the story of revenge.  Krieps and Mortensen (who also directed and wrote both the screenplay and the score) give brilliant performances that are highly nuanced and believable plus they have a lot of chemistry.  The cinematography is beautiful and I loved the symbolism of an unfinished barn.  Fans of more traditional Westerns might find this boring but I loved it.

Note:  The knight that appears in Vivienne's visions carries a sword that fans of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will recognize!

The Little Mermaid at the Draper Amphitheater

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is see a live performance outside under the stars and I was able to see my first theatre production last night at the Draper Amphitheater. This was actually the first of three productions of The Little Mermaid that I have scheduled this month and it was so much fun! A mermaid named Ariel (Amanda Frisby) just wants to be where the people are but her father King Triton (Mike Handy) doesn't trust them. After she saves Prince Eric (Danny Keetch) from a storm that sinks his ship, Triton destroys her collection of human objects and forbids her from going to the surface again. Ariel defies her father and accepts a deal with her aunt, a sea witch named Ursula (Naomi McClure), to trade her voice for a pair of legs. She must get Prince Eric to kiss her within three days so a crab named Sebastian (Chad Smith), a fish named Flounder (John Arntz), and a seabird named Scuttle (Sam Martinez) attempt to help her. This show put a huge smile on my face because it was filled with so much heart. Both Frisby and Keetch have beautiful voices and have tremendous chemistry together. Frisby portrays Ariel's wide-eyed wonder very well, espcecially in "Part of Your World," and Keetch is incredibly endearing in "Fathoms Below," "Her Voice," and "One Step Closer." I was also impressed with all of McClure's antics as Ursula (I loved her peformance of "Poor Unfortunate Souls") and Smith's as Sebastian ("Kiss the Girls" and "Les Poissons" are highlights). The ensemble of dancers, featuring Hilary Biggart, Addison Brotherson, London Brotherson, Aliya Gardner, Eliza Hebdon, and Ileah Washington, is outstanding and I particularly enjoyed the tapping in "Positoovity." There are lots of really fun effects used in this show and, while Ariel, Eric, Scuttle, and even Ursula fly across the stage (the scene where Ariel saves Eric is very dramatic) and aerialists perform on silks, I loved seeing Ariel and her sisters (Lizzie Burget, Brielle Denning, Addison Horrocks, Abbie Ricord, Olivia Shelton, and Miranda Stokes) glide around the stage on heelys, King Triton and Flounder on hoverboards, and Flotsam (Jessica Duncan) and Jetsam (Alyx Rees) in rollerblades. They even had the turtles crawling around on skateboards during "Under the Sea." The staging of the big numbers is a lot of fun and everyone really liked it every time the cast came out into the audience! My favorite is when Chef Louis (Dwight Western) chases Sebastian into the crowd during "Les Poissons," The backdrops and set pieces are great and the costumes, especially for all of the sea creatures (the jellyfish made out of umbrellas were so cute) and for Ursula, are very creative. The best thing about community theatre is seeing so many children in the audience with huge smiles on their faces and this particular show is especially magical! There are two more chances to see it (go here for tickets) and I highly recommend it for the whole family!

Ezra

Last night my nephew and I went to the Broadway to see Ezra and we both enjoyed it.  Max (Bobby Cannavale) is a stand-up comedian with anger issues living with his father Stan (Robert De Niro), with whom he has a contentious relationship, and struggling to co-parent his autistic son Ezra (William Fitzgerald) with his ex-wife Jenna (Rose Byrne).  When he and Jenna have a difference of opinion about the correct school placement for Ezra, Max impulsively decides to take him on a road trip to learn how best to advocate for him and, in so doing, he improves his relationship with both his son and his father.  What I really liked about this movie, despite some very convenient plot contrivances, is that Max has preconceived notions about who his son is and what is best for him but he finally sees him and accepts him for who he really is.  Cannavale gives an incredibly nuanced performance, one of his very best, as a dad who doesn't know how to help his son but knows that he needs to do a better job than his dad did with him.  There is an especially poignant scene between him and Fitzgerald where Ezra lashes out at Max that gave me goosebumps.  De Niro is also fantastic, especially in a monologue where Stan admits that he wasn't a good father, and Byrne shines as an overwhelmed mother who is trying her best (I really love that Jenna is also a sympathetic character).  My favorite performance is by Fitzgerald, an actor on the autism spectrum making his debut, because he is so authentic and endearing.  I have never been diagnosed but I have many characteristics and behaviors that make me think that I am on the spectrum and I really appreciate the sensitivity and respect with which the character is portrayed (I was particularly moved by scenes in which Ezra reacts to being touched).  The ending is a bit rushed and I wish that there had been another scene explaining how Max and Jenna came to consensus about Ezra's schooling (since that was the catalyst for the whole movie).  However, this is a heartwarming look at the realities of raising a child with autism and the performances overcame any of my issues with the story.  I would recommend it.