It’s time to mark your calendars for movies under the stars this summer.
Organizers of “REEL Fridays,” the outdoor film series presented at Town at Trilith south of Atlanta, have announced a line-up for the months ahead complete with iconic aliens, scrappy super-pets, hilarious gamers and military heroes among the silver screen subjects to grace the new urbanist community’s big screen.
These Friday films will be shown on the 25-foot permanent screen in the neighborhood’s Central Plaza, with a powerful sound and projection system and free admission to the public.
Participants are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets to watch these films over the next four months. Each of the next four movies is reviewed here on Silver Screen Capture:
Fri., June 30 – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Steven Spielberg’s iconic classic, a Best Picture nominee about a lonely boy who befriends a mysterious alien
Fri., July 28 – DC League of Super-Pets, an animated favorite featuring superhero animal sidekicks
Fri., Sept. 29 – Top Gun: Maverick, the Best Picture nominated aerial adventure with Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly and Miles Teller
Each month’s movies are slated to begin at 7:00 p.m., weather permitting. More films are slated for fall.
Town at Trilith’s Central Plaza is located at 305 Trilith Parkway, Fayetteville, Georgia. Both a retail parking deck and additional spaces are located on Trilith Parkway.
“The Kenny” at The Tara: Atlanta Film Society Executive Director Christopher Escobar dedicates Auditorium 3 to Executive Director of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival Kenny Blank. This duo provided the driving force to re-open the beloved Tara Theatre.
After more than six months dormant following being jettisoned by its corporate parent, Atlanta’s cherished Tara Theatre has now re-opened for business, and moviegoers in attendance the first day mentioned, “We’re not going to take this treasure for granted ever again!”
Reopening as a sister cinema to The Plaza Theatre in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood, the Tara will present a mix of art house and independent films daily under new management. Projectors, posters and props line the walls and halls of this movie theatre, where auditoriums have been officially named for pioneers on Atlanta’s film scene.
The following eight films – four current indies and four modern classics – have showtimes for the first week in operation since the theatre was closed by Regal in November 2022. Check the theatre website TheTaraAtlanta.com for exact showings and times:
Tara will present revivals and indies among its movie mix.
Nicole Holofcener’s You Hurt My Feelings (2023) starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies
Paul Schrader’s Master Gardener (2022) featuring Joel Edgerton and Sigourney Weaver
Laurel Parmet’s The Starling Girl (2023) featuring Eliza Scanlan and Lewis Pullman
Stanley Kramer’s It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) featuring Milton Berle and Spencer Tracy
George Lucas’ Star Wars (1977) featuring Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill, first introduced to Atlanta by the Tara … long, long ago in a galaxy far, far and away
Todd Field’s Tár (2022) starring Best Actress nominee Cate Blanchett, which was the last film presented at Tara Theatre when it closed in November.
“We selected these historic films for our grand re-opening night to celebrate multiple decades of cinema fans who enjoyed Tara Theatre since its opening in the summer of 1968,” said Chris Escobar, owner of The Plaza Theatre and Tara Theatre, and executive director of Atlanta Film Society.
Escobar—who earlier this year negotiated an agreement with Halpern Enterprises, owners of the Cheshire Square shopping center where the Tara Theatre is located at 2345 Cheshire Bridge Road NE — first announced the return of Tara Theatre, as well as a new nonprofit fundraising campaign in support of the theatre’s long-term viability, during the closing event for the 2023 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival held Feb. 21.
Since its inception on Feb. 22, the fundraising campaign achieved its original goal of $50,000, earning $50,637.25 by April 11. At that time, the theatre sold $29,972.25 in advance gift cards and tickets, and raised $20,665 in donations. Since mid-April, the team has continued toward a stretch goal of $75,000 intended to help restore or celebrate the original Mid-Century look for the ‘now playing’ and ‘coming attractions’ sign facing the intersection of LaVista Road at Cheshire Bridge. Donations are still accepted via TheTaraAtlanta.com.
“For almost 55 years Atlanta’s Tara Theatre created cherished memories and entertainment for countless moviegoers,” said Escobar. “It is an honor and privilege for our team to create a sustainable future for this valuable landmark that will enable new generations of Atlantans to celebrate films of the past, present and future.”
The theater reopens with nine team members—including three part-time executive team members, one full-time staff member and three part-time team members. Several of the team members are returning from their previous position at Tara Theatre during its prior operations. Additional part-time team members are being recruited, with resumes being accepted via work@thetaraatlanta.com.
The Tara Theatre LLC team for the reopening and management of the venue also includes cinema booker/operator Michael Spaeth and his wife, Kris Spaeth, as well as Steve & Midge Krams of Magna-Tech Electronic as equity partners with Escobar. Also, since the Tara announcement, Matthew Rowles, Zina Sponiarova, Jonny & Gayle Rej and Michael Furlinger joined The Tara ownership group.
Magna-Tech Electronic provided the equipment and installation of Tara’s new projection technology which will include new digital formats as well as upcoming installation of historic 35mm and 70mm film projectors, making The Plaza and Tara the city’s only theatres with both types of older film projection units.
“For the first time in more than a decade, The Tara will be a cinema regularly presenting films in their original formats,” said Escobar, who added the first reel-to-reel films will debut at Tara during the summer.
Escobar also said the Tara will create a robust schedule of events featuring classic film, art house releases and independent films. This format brings back some of the traditions established during the first few decades of operation after Loews opened Tara Theatre in 1968 or “the Lefont years” starting in 1980 through their transition to United Artists.
The Tara Theater is on social media @TheTaraAtlanta via Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Anyone interested in more information, joining or supporting Friends of Tara Foundation may donate or contact the theatre team via the website TheTaraAtlanta.com.
Premiered at Sundance Film Festival and now playing in select theatres including The Tara in Atlanta.
Casting Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a neurotic New Yorker hardly seems novel, but the brassy comedienne’s latest starring turn emerges as an enjoyable lark with ample doses of heart and hilarity beneath the hard edges. Writer/director Nicole Holofcener’s dramedy You Hurt My Feelings (B+) features the high-strung star in a winning, old-fashioned comedy of manners with a funny ensemble of lesser-known collaborators also effective in their roles. First world problems are front and center as the delicate characters endeavor to tiptoe around contemporary challenges without getting sucked down an emotional spiral. Louis-Dreyfus plays Beth, an author who struggles with a lack of self-confidence, and her marriage with an unsuccessful therapist portrayed by Tobias Menzies is thrown into a tizzy when she overhears he’s not a fan of her new work of fiction. Before this revelation, the couple had a peaceful but co-dependent relationship, which makes their only child (Owen Teague) uncomfortable. As Beth’s interior designer sister, Michaela Watkins is a hoot, and she helps Beth cope with her angst, possibly because of her own struggles with an underemployed actor husband (Arian Moeyed). Holofcener is skilled with wry, observational humor and captures breakthroughs in the banter, especially in the margins and knowing looks of disbelief between the two sisters. The relationship between Louis-Dreyfus and Watkins as siblings is marvelous to behold as they balance trying to be good people in a brittle world, accentuated by the appearance of their prickly mom, played with dry wit by Jeannie Berlin. Themes about micro-aggressions and the sweet lies lovers tell one another to blunt the pain are highly relatable. Awkward therapy sessions, debates about v-necks and leftovers and frequent attempts to smooth the rough edges of uncomfortable situations caused by other people abound in this talky, remarkably brisk and recommended film.
Three months after announcing its return, the Tara Theatre team today it has secured its operating permits and has set its grand re-opening for May 25, 2023.
Reopening as a sister cinema to The Plaza Theatre in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood, the Tara will present art house and independent films daily starting Thursday. The grand re-opening evening will include a brief afternoon ceremony followed by ticketed screenings of four films with nods to the venue’s history including:
Stanley Kramer’s It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) featuring Milton Berle and Spencer Tracy
George Lucas’ Star Wars (1977) featuring Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill, first introduced to Atlanta by the Tara … long, long ago in a galaxy far, far and away
Todd Field’s Tár (2022) starring Best Actress nominee Cate Blanchett, which was the last film presented at Tara Theatre when it closed in November.
Exact ceremony, film showtimes and ticketing details will be announced via the theatre website TheTaraAtlanta.com later this week. Anyone who supported the venue with advance ticket or gift card purchases may use their credits to secure tickets to the opening weekend films or hold for future use.
“We selected these historic films for our grand re-opening night to celebrate multiple decades of cinema fans who enjoyed Tara Theatre since its opening in the summer of 1968,” said Chris Escobar, owner of The Plaza Theatre and Tara Theatre, and executive director of Atlanta Film Society.
In addition to the special films selected for May 25, the Memorial Day weekend roster of films includes four recently released independent films:
Nicole Holofcener’s You Hurt My Feelings (2023) starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies
Paul Schrader’s Master Gardener (2022) featuring Joel Edgerton and Sigourney Weaver
Laurel Parmet’s The Starling Girl (2023) featuring Eliza Scanlan and Lewis Pullman
Escobar—who earlier this year negotiated an agreement with Halpern Enterprises, owners of the Cheshire Square shopping center where the Tara Theatre is located at 2345 Cheshire Bridge Road NE — first announced the return of Tara Theatre, as well as a new nonprofit fundraising campaign in support of the theatre’s long-term viability, during the closing event for the 2023 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival held Feb. 21. Since its inception on Feb. 22, the fundraising campaign achieved its original goal of $50,000, earning $50,637.25 by April 11. At that time, the theatre sold $29,972.25 in advance gift cards and tickets, and raised $20,665 in donations. Since mid-April, the team has continued toward a stretch goal of $75,000 intended to help restore or celebrate the original Mid-Century look for the ‘now playing’ and ‘coming attractions’ sign facing the intersection of LaVista Road at Cheshire Bridge. Donations are still accepted via TheTaraAtlanta.com.
“For almost 55 years Atlanta’s Tara Theatre created cherished memories and entertainment for countless moviegoers,” said Escobar. “It is an honor and privilege for our team to create a sustainable future for this valuable landmark that will enable new generations of Atlantans to celebrate films of the past, present and future.”
The theater reopens with nine team members—including three part-time executive team members, one full-time staff member and three part-time team members. Several of the team members are returning from their previous position at Tara Theatre during its prior operations. Additional part-time team members are being recruited, with resumes being accepted via work@thetaraatlanta.com.
The Tara Theatre LLC team for the reopening and management of the venue also includes cinema booker/operator Michael Spaeth and his wife, Kris Spaeth, as well as Steve & Midge Krams of Magna-Tech Electronic as equity partners with Escobar. Also, since the Tara announcement, Matthew Rowles, Zina Sponiarova, Jonny & Gayle Rej and Michael Furlinger joined The Tara ownership group.
Magna-Tech Electronic provided the equipment and installation of Tara’s new projection technology which will include new digital formats as well as upcoming installation of historic 35mm and 70mm film projectors, making The Plaza and Tara the city’s only theatres with both types of older film projection units.
“For the first time in more than a decade, The Tara will be a cinema regularly presenting films in their original formats,” said Escobar, who added the first reel-to-reel films will debut at Tara during the summer.
Escobar also said the Tara will create a robust schedule of events featuring classic film, art house releases and independent films. This format brings back some of the traditions established during the first few decades of operation after Loews opened Tara Theatre in 1968 or “the Lefont years” starting in 1980 through their transition to United Artists.
The Tara Theater is on social media @TheTaraAtlanta via Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Anyone interested in more information, joining or supporting Friends of Tara Foundation may donate or contact the theatre team via the website TheTaraAtlanta.com.
View from Nobu: “The Green” is an urban oasis at Phipps Plaza between the One Phipps office building and the home of the new Life Time and Citizens Market.
This week nearly two dozen reporters and influencers from around the U.S. gathered at an iconic shopping center in Atlanta to experience a luxury location with epic new scope and scale. With the addition of Nobu Atlanta hotel and restaurant; Citizens Market food hall; Life Time wellness, spa and coworking space; the One Phipps office tower; and a variety of new specialty amenities, shopping center Phipps Plaza is proving to be the city’s new hotbed of luxury and an ideal place for a “staycation,” getaway or even extended haven for those filming entertainment content in Atlanta. Yours truly, a longtime customer of the movie theatre inside the shopping center, found myself wonderstruck by all the new attractions in ”Phipps Reimagined.”
Nobu Atlanta includes both a luxury hotel and an iconic restaurant.
The entertainment buzz was palpable among the visiting tastemakers with star-sightings of cast members from Euphoria and Bad Boys 4 dining or enjoying the bar at the exclusive Nobu Atlanta restaurant, the culinary province of co-founder and master sushi chef Nobuyuki “Nobu” Matsuhisa. Oscar winner Robert De Niro is a partner in the enterprise! Reporters dined at the Peruvian-influenced Japanese restaurant with an array of dishes including Nobu’s signature miso-marinated black cod. The exposed Nobu kitchen allows daily guests to witness the preparation of dishes such as rock shrimp tempura – and of course some of the best sushi this side of Tokyo. The restaurant is attached to a splendid conference center and hotel. Designed by Rockwell Group, Nobu Hotel Atlanta offers 152 stylish rooms and suites. Guests were greeted with fresh-baked cookies and other “surprise and delights” in their suite accommodations. Visits to the rooftop villa included fresh flowers, origami making, perfume samples and mingling on the rooftop pool and around the piano.
The rooftop of Life Time at Phipps, featuring two swimming pools with cabanas and DJs on weekends, promises to be the see and be seen hotspot of summer.
Life Time Buckhead provides multiple glorious stories of cardio and strength training; yoga, cycling, barre and Pilates classes; specialty spa services; and a luxury rooftop with a duo of swimming pools surrounded by cabanas, adult beverages and weekend DJs. Life Time Work also occupies a private level of the complex with a variety of coworking floor plans and amenities for those making it all happen away from home or office. Plus the new One Phipps Plaza office tower is growing its impressive roster with an array of global headquarters and financial and tech companies.
Digital signage at the AMC movie theatre touts the grand opening of Citizens Market, an elevated culinary experience with multiple gourmet food stations.
Citizens Market is the new 25,000-square-foot lifestyle food hall, bar and event space at Phipps Plaza. As the latest addition to the redevelopment, this elevated culinary experience includes eight distinctive food concepts and a full-service bar. Guests can indulge in the best of fast-casual brands such as Umami Burger (one of my savory staples on Los Angeles trips!), Krispy Rice, Sam’s Crispy Chicken, Sa’Moto, EllaMia, Cicci di Carne, El Pollo Verde, and Soom Soom, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week. Travel writer Roshae Hemmings chronicled her time at Citizens Market in a syndicated article while visiting this week.
The new LEGO Discovery Center celebrates the famous bricks in the movies.
Activities for families at Phipps Plaza include Build-A-Bear Workshop and matinees at the AMC Phipps Plaza 14 movie theatre, and a brand new destination promises to be a must-experience this summer. LEGO® Discovery Center in Phipps Plaza is an indoor 35,000-square-foot attraction and Atlanta’s home of “LEGO play,” where families can create adventures with more than two million bricks. The Center is open 365 days a year and allows guests to take part in one-of-a-kind experiences such as building a dimensional rocket and sending it into virtual orbit. Talk about practical effects! There is also a movie screening zone and an interactive ride among the Center’s ten themed play areas. USA Today heralded the innovations in this new space.
Saks Fifth Avenue at Phipps offers some of the top fashions of any store in the Southeast.
The assembled reporters visiting Phipps Plaza were among the first to learn at a stop in the Saks Fifth Avenue store the arrival of new “studio services” to accommodate the daily needs of the booming film and television industry in Georgia. The Saks at Phipps “lives at the cutting edge of high-end fashion with a deep commitment to people—bringing the new luxury experience to its customers.” Services offered at the luxury retailer include Fifth Avenue Club, Virtual Appointments, Gastronomy Kitchen and The Salon Project by Joel Warren. And featured brands at the flagship location include Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Christian Louboutin and The House of Creed.
Reporters from Travel Noire joined influencers for a recent visit to Phipps Plaza’s new properties.
Favorite activities of journalists visiting the expansions to the Buckhead ecosystem included time spent shopping for luxury items. In fact, many of the out-of-towners marveled at the fact that there are two adjacent luxury malls, Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square, on the same block in Atlanta.
Stephen poses with origami in the form of the alien from the movie The Arrival.
I loved the special touches of all the businesses working together to bring a high degree of hospitality around every turn, from the chefs and servers in the food hall to concierges at Nobu who arranged Porsche transport for nearby trips to the High Museum, Atlanta Botanical Garden and more. A visiting oragami instructor even constructed the distinctive alien from the film The Arrival for this movie connoisseur.
I always have an incredible time at the movies inside the mall, with a mid-week screening of the acclaimed adventure Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in the reserved seats of this convenient multiplex. Now when I see indies or mainstream Hollywood films, I’ll be heartened to know I have so many additional new luxury accommodations and eateries right there in the vicinity.
It was a great week becoming better acquainted with the Phipps staff and all the visitors to town. I encourage you to see if for yourself!
Stephen Brown, pictured with Merryl Johns, editor of Curve Magazine, visiting from NYC.
This franchise is officially drifting. More than a dozen prominent movie stars seem to be steering their own disjointed performances within the cluttered contours of a slight plot with a diminishing return of nifty car chases in Louis Letterier’s limping actioner Fast X (C). Vin Diesel has basically devolved into complete caricature as hero Dom, the former criminal and professional street racer, who tries to keep his loved ones safe as a supervillain endeavors to entrap his friends. Luckily that antagonist is played with foppish delight by Jason Mamoa, chewing the scenery in blouses, bell bottoms and chunky jewelry across multiple continents as a psychotic drug lord hell bent on revenge against Dom and his crew. Letterier can’t quite crack the code of new things to do with fast cars and set pieces, and the stunts don’t hold a candle to the likes of the recent John Wick: Chapter 4. We simply get bombs rolling through the streets of Rome like boulders nipping at the heels of Indiana Jones and CGI vehicles dropped from planes and down the slopes of dams somehow continuing to function with nary a flat tire. It’s just as far-fetched as past entries in the series, of course, but it’s just not all that interesting this time around. Many sequences border on parody including Dom’s plaintive glances at photos of people he’s encountered over the years framed on the walls of homes, and they all just look like glossy publicity stills. The dad jokes and macho quips fall rather flat without the stakes being better defined. In addition to a bonkers Mamoa, the only other actors who perform some scenes with relish are the funny John Cena and Alan Ritchson. Actresses Michelle Rodriguez and Charlize Theron are relegated to fight like damsels on Dynasty without benefit of shoulder pads. Most of the movie feels less like a fully fleshed out story than a big budget exercise in passing the time.
The luminescent cinematography within Benjamin Millepied’s peculiar adaptation of Prosper Mérimée’s novella Carmen (D) is inversely proportional to the film’s startling lack of competent plotting, passable dialogue, inspiring acting or cogent dance moves. Strangely, Millepied was the ballet choreographer behind Black Swan, and yet the movement aesthetic in this work flutters on the wobbly wings of a damp duck. Stunning Melissa Barrera in the title role as a woman on the run at the Mexican border and dashing Paul Mescal portraying a former Marine at a crossroads possess a staggering lack of chemistry. At the heart of what’s supposed to be a tragic romance, the acclaimed actor is particularly adrift and appears to wish he were elsewhere. There are some pretty poses afoot here but very little beneath the surface. Kudos to director of photography Jörg Widmer for finding an artful canvas within this wasteland, especially with Fellini-esque performer Rossy de Palma in a hint of a supporting part. Composer Nicholas Britell manages some grace notes with his original score, an alternate take on the story’s operatic roots. Ultimately this is a languid and joyless affair failing at both song and dance and social commentary. The only thing star crossed in this unsteady romance is its inability to transcend its own pretentiousness.
Writer/director James Gunn completes his trilogy of space-age strays, agile action, wily wisecracks and nifty needle drops with a wondrous and emotionally resonant finale in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (A-). Chris Pratt plumbs deeper emotions fighting the loss of his great romance in this go-round as the ensemble endeavors to save their injured and intubated collaborator Rocket Raccoon by infiltrating a series of treacherous lairs. This leaves a game Dave Bautista, Karen Gillian and Pom Klementieff to carry much of the franchise’s incredible comedy, and they get some wonderful zingers. The film is grimmer and more violent than past outings as it tells Rocket’s onerous origin story and terror at the hands of a truly diabolical villain memorably played by Chukwudi Iwuji. The world building and creature effects are first-rate, and the movie builds to a resonant final act. This epic rescues Marvel from its doldrums, but given its auteur has left to shepherd the DC universe, more greatness lies in store for the latter.
Kelly Fremon Craig’s joyfully innocent adaptation of the Judy Blume young adult novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (A) is the book club conversation a generation has waited a half century to manifest. And it’s a modern-day film classic. Raised by a Christian mother (Rachel McAdams) and a Jewish father (Benny Safdie), a 12-year old girl (Abby Ryder Fortson) embarks on a series of questions about religion and faith while averting the preteen perils of life in the sixth grade. Craig magnificently evokes the 1970s milieu of the source material, with a spin the bottle smorgasbord of funny and heartwarming episodes ranging from fitting into a curious club to fitting into a bra. Fortson is a natural as the titular character at the center of her own set of crushes and crashes; she anchors the film with fortitude and nary a false move. She’s worthy of all accolades. Graduating from her own mean girls mentality, McAdams is exquisite as the eternally plucky mom, and Kathy Bates is a hoot as the family’s wry paternal grandmother. The film maintains sublime seriocomic delicacy as it balances glimpses at various belief systems and plumbs some taboos on the verge of adolescence. It’s heartwarming throughout, without a dash of cynicism. See it with someone you cherish.
The grand tradition of the dramatic road trip movie, so splendidly rendered in films such as Rain Man andY TuMamá También, can add a new sentimental two-hander to its ranks in Sheridan O’Donnell’s Little Brother (A-), an intimate and inspiring indie that world premiered at the Atlanta Film Festival. Jake, portrayed by Daniel Diemer, has been tasked by his father (J.K. Simmons) to reluctantly transport his suicidal older brother Pete, played by Philip Ettinger, home for a family intervention. The dynamic between the central brothers in motion through a brittle journey to face their sometimes fractured bond, is thoroughly captivating, alternately heartbreaking and hilarious; and their pathway through the gorgeous West in locations such as Albuquerque and Twin Falls makes for an enjoyable and enlightening ride. As Pete, Ellinger diffuses the effects of mental illness with humor and regression to juvenile highjinks to mask his inner tumult. He’s consistently absorbing and magnetic in the tricky part. As the sometimes stoic straight man, Diemer has a tough role too and slays it with steely restraint. His tender depiction of abiding brotherly love is also sublime. When the siblings come to breakthroughs in how to confront and reconcile mental distress that’s not likely to vanish from looming large, O’Donnell continues to nourish the story with direction and dialogue which is rarely reductive or overly sentimental. This is the kind of movie that can save lives, and its notions of making the most of one’s lived experience and savoring the familial bonds to lift us when most needed have the power to deeply move.
Indie writer/director Kelly Reichardt is generally regarded as the matriarch of “slow cinema,” and her leisurely paced drama Showing Up (B-) focused on a ceramics artist played by Michelle Williams could be characterized as next of kiln: a slow burn with the effect of making the viewer feel quite glazed over at times. But ultimately the minimalist auteur punctures the porcelain veneer of her peculiar observational character study with moments of pathos and humor bordering on therapeutic. There’s nary a plot, aside from Williams’ character readying her whimsical figurines for an exhibition night while nursing an injured pigeon back to health and checking in on a brother suffering a declining mental state. This sibling is effectively portrayed in an off-kilter performance by John Magaro, providing an allegory about how artistic obsession isn’t too far removed from going a little crazy. Williams sculpts an idiosyncratic performance at the film’s center opposite a talented cast in bit roles including Maryann Plunkett and Judd Hirsch as her estranged parents and Hong Chau (winning as always) and André Benjamin as fellow denizens of an insular artist colony. Reichardt’s voyeurism into the process of creation has a way of growing on the viewer and soon enough conjures a mild bit of a maelstrom in its timid teacup. Although the pigeon might be the undisputed VIP character in the heart of this art house fare, this film should reward those seeking a story that breaks the mold.
Do you hear the peoples’ strings? A French Revolution set historical costume drama about a virtuoso violinist whose contributions to classical music had been heretofore lost to history, Chevalier (B+), directed by Stephen Williams, is old-fashioned entertainment with a twist. The illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, Joseph Bologne. brilliantly portrayed by Kelvin Harrison Jr., rises to inconceivable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer, dangerously liaising with a married woman (Samara Weaving) and Queen Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton). The women in the ensemble are uniformly strong (including a vamping Minnie Driver) and more than compensate for the supporting male performances, largely a predictably disapproving lot of prune faces. Although Williams won’t win any prizes for cinematic breakthroughs, he moves the story along briskly and frankly hits some operatic crescendos at times. In the lead role, Harrison commands his every sequence and commendably connotes his heartbreak of being caught between two worlds punctuated by the braggadocio of his public persona. It’s a rousing, crowd-pleasing biography with high relatability for those who liked Moulin Rouge or The Woman King, plus the music is also magnificent at the end of the day.
