The Burnt Orange Heresy

Another day another new release to see at my local Megaplex!  Last night I went to see The Burnt Orange Heresy because I saw a trailer for it at the Broadway before everything shut down and I thought it looked intriguing.  It was definitely intriguing!  James Figueras (Claes Bang) is a disgraced art critic who has been reduced to giving art history lectures to Americans on holiday in Europe.  He has a one night stand with a mysterious American woman named Berenice Hollis (Elizabeth Debicki) and then impulsively asks her to go with him to a villa on Lake Como owned by Joseph Cassidy (Mick Jagger), an eccentric art dealer who has invited him, he assumes, to catalog his collection.  However, Cassidy soon informs Figueras that he has persuaded the reclusive artist Jerome Debney (Donald Sutherland) to stay in a cottage on his property and offers him the opportunity to be the first to interview Debney in decades.  Cassidy then reveals that in return for the interview, which will restore his reputation within the art world, he wants Figueras to steal one of Debney's new and unseen paintings for him.  Figueras eventually makes a startling discovery about Debney that sets in motion an elaborate deception with deadly consequences.  This is a very stylish noir thriller with tension that builds and builds, especially as each of the characters slowly reveal their secrets and the audience is left wondering whose secrets are more dangerous.  Bang and Debicki have great chemistry as they spar with each other about art and truth while Jagger exudes a menacing charisma that is fun to watch.  I really enjoyed the philosophical discussion about art and perception, particularly the argument that a painting's worth doesn't necessarily determine its value.  This is the kind of movie that I rather like but I'm not sure who else it might appeal to (I was the only person in my screening) other than fans of slow-moving thought-provoking indie films.

The Grizzlies

I had planned on seeing a few more new releases over the weekend but I basically crashed (which really means that I spent the entire weekend reading Midnight Sun).  Yesterday I finally got my act together and saw The Grizzlies (which is technically not a new release because it was screened in Canada in 2019 but it has just been released in the U.S.).  I love a good inspirational sports movie and this true story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming!  Russ Sheppard (Ben Schnetzer) takes a job as a history teacher at Kugluktuk High School in Nunavut, a sparsely populated territory in northern Canada.  He plans to stay just long enough to pay his college debt to the government before moving on to a prestigious prep school.  It is a difficult job because the mostly Inuit students don't have any hope for the future (the suicide rate is extremely high) and they don't trust a white man who doesn't understand their culture.  Sheppard decides to start a lacrosse team to give the students an outlet for their frustrations but many of them must overcome difficulties in order to play:  Zach (Paul Nutarariaq) struggles to find enough food for himself and his younger brother, Adam (Ricky Marty-Pahtaykan) is the grandson of an Elder who is afraid he will lose his culture if he goes to a white school, and Kyle (Booboo Stewart) is physically abused by his angry father.  They ultimately overcome almost insurmountable odds to compete at the U19 Canadian Championships in Toronto with an outcome that was unexpected but incredibly powerful (I was pretty much crying through the final act).  This features many sports movie tropes, including the ubiquitous training montage (although this one features drills in the snow with native drums and chants underneath it), but what sets it apart from other sports movies is a poignant look at the harsh realities faced by First Nations people.  All of the performances are really affecting but I was especially impressed with Stewart for his vulnerability.  Despite serious themes of suicide, domestic abuse, and alcoholism there are some funny fish-out-of-water moments with Sheppard (I particularly related to him trying to call the roll with all of the difficult to pronounce names) and an endearing scene where the boys first see the big city of Toronto (it was fun to see the familiar landmarks).  I loved this movie and I would highly recommend seeing it if you have the opportunity.

Note:  One of the best parts of the movie is seeing what all of the real characters are doing now.

Waiting for the Barbarians

My local Megaplex has a slew of new releases this weekend and I, for one, couldn't be more excited!  Last night I saw Waiting for the Barbarians and, once again, I was so happy to see something new on the big screen.  I have now renamed this movie Waiting for Robert Pattinson because he doesn't make an appearance for a very long time!  I really like him and, if I am honest, he was one of the main reasons I chose this movie.  In an outpost on the frontier of an unnamed Empire, the Magistrate (Mark Rylance) is deemed to be too benevolent an administrator so Colonel Joll (Johnny Depp) is sent to make an inspection.  He begins arresting and torturing the nomads who surround the frontier to coerce confessions about a nonexistent uprising by these so-called barbarians.  When he gets enough evidence, Joll leaves to get reinforcements to put down this supposed uprising but the Magistrate releases the prisoners and naively hopes that things can go back to normal.  He soon becomes obsessed with a young nomadic woman (Gana Bayarsaikhan) who was severely tortured.  He nurses her back to health and asks her to stay with him at the outpost but she begs him to return her to her people.  He undertakes this perilous journey through the desert with her and several of his soldiers and eventually has a meaningful encounter with a group of nomads.  When he returns to the outpost he learns that Joll and his aide-de-camp (Pattinson) have returned in his absence.  They arrest him and publicly torture him for consorting with the enemy which sets in motion a series of events which make him question who the real barbarians are.  Despite the fact that this movie is very slow and meditative it definitely has a powerful message about the evils of colonization and the inhumane treatment of indigenous peoples.  Rylance is amazing in an incredibly passive role while Depp is perfect in what could be described as a caricature of villainy (they are perfect foils to each other, even in the style of their uniforms).  They are captivating to watch.  Pattinson isn't given much to do but there is a moment when he seems conflicted after an interrogation that is absolutely brilliant.  The images on the screen are beautiful, especially the wide shots of the desert (it was filmed in Morocco), but sometimes brutal.  This will not be for everyone but I thought it was haunting and I recommend it to those who enjoy allegories.

Summerland

Last night I got to do something that I have not been able to do for over four months:  see a new release on the big screen!  My local Megaplex has been screening classic movies for about a month (I have seen Singin' in the Rain, Now You See Me, Jurassic Park, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King, The Greatest Showman, The Force Awakens, Downton Abbey, The Empire Strikes Back, The Phantom of the Opera, Bohemian Rhapsody, Braveheart, Beauty and the Beast, The Karate Kid, and The Fugitive) and that has been a lot of fun but I have really missed the anticipation of seeing something new.  I was thrilled to be able to see Summerland last night and I absolutely loved it!  During World War II Alice Lamb (Gemma Arterton), a misanthropic writer living alone in a small village in Kent, has a young evacuee from London sent to live with her against her will.  At first she hardly interacts with Frank (Lucas Bond) but he is so endearing that she eventually opens up to him about an ill-fated romance with a woman named Vera (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) during her university days.  Ultimately, she must face her past so she can help him deal with his own loss.  The happy ending (something I think we all need right now) is a bit predictable but there are a few twists and turns along the way which make it more compelling than you might be expecting.  It is a lovely movie about the power of friendship with luminous performances from Arterton and Mbatha-Raw.  Bond is adorable and I also loved the supporting performances of Tom Courtenay and Sian Phillips as disapproving villagers, Amanda Root as a child welfare officer, and Penelope Wilton as an older Alice.  Every frame in this movie is simply stunning with sweeping views of the sea and the white cliffs of Dover (I might be mistaken but I am pretty sure that Alice's cottage is the same one used in the movie Atonement).  This reminded me of the character-driven independent films that I used to enjoy seeing at the Broadway on a Sunday afternoon.  It made me feel a bit more normal in this uncertain time and, for that, I highly recommend this movie if you have the chance to see it!

Florence Adler Swims Forever

The Barnes & Noble Book Club selection for this month was Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland. It is actually based, in part, on a true story about the author's family and that really piqued my interest in wanting to read this novel. Every summer the Adler family rents out their house in Atlantic City to tourists and moves to the apartment above their bakery. The summer of 1934 begins tragically when Florence Adler drowns while training to swim the English Channel. Her devastated mother, Esther, makes the decision to keep this information from her other daughter Fannie because she is nearing the end of a high-risk pregnancy after losing a baby a year ago and the entire family, as well as other people in the community, is complicit in this deception. This dramatically impacts her husband Joseph, Florence's swimming coach Stuart, Fannie's husband Isaac, Fannie's seven year old daughter Gussie, and Anna, a Jewish refugee brought to the U.S. by Joseph. The narrative alternates between the perspectives of all of these characters and their secrets and motivations are eventually revealed. I was particularly struck by Fannie's POV because she is so upset by the fact that Florence has not visited her in the hospital that her blood pressure becomes dangerously high, thus causing this elaborate plan to almost backfire. I also really enjoyed the character of Gussie because she is a bit of a pill (with a crush on Stuart) and she is so confused by the fact that all of the adults in her life are lying. After reading the description of the story I was really surprised that Florence's death happens within the first few pages but, in retrospect, the novel isn't really about Florence.  Her death sets off a chain of events that take the characters on a journey of discovery and this technique works really well. The period details are absolutely brilliant, particularly the descriptions of the opulent hotels along the boardwalk, and I was drawn into Anna's plight as a Jew trying to escape from Nazi Germany. It is a sensitive exploration of the lengths people will go to protect the ones they love but I was a bit disappointed in the abrupt ending. A scene that I was anticipating throughout the entire novel didn't even take place! This omission was the subject of the virtual discussion with the author last night and, to some extent, I understand Beanland's reasoning. She asserts that the reader already knows how that scene will play out and she wanted to end the book with a more hopeful resolution between Esther and Anna. The discussion last night was fantastic and I really enjoyed hearing a perspective about Joseph that I had not considered before. I really miss the members of my local book club but I have to admit that interacting with the authors during the virtual discussions has been quite enlightening and enjoyable! This compelling novel is a great summer read and I highly recommend it.

Note: The next selection in the Barnes & Noble Book Club is The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue.  This book was announced much earlier than usual and I have already started reading it!  There will be another virtual discussion with the author on Facebook and YouTube on September 8 (go here for more information).