Bill Condon’s Kinsey (A-) is a marvelous exploration of the life of a scientist who studied human sexuality in all of its forms. As played by Liam Neeson, it’s a revelatory performance, and so is Laura Linney’s as his wife. His controversies confound his expectations both scholarly and personally, leading to interpersonal drama. It’s a fascinating and well-made biopic.
Tag Archives: Drama
2004’s “Crash” is Dramatic Parable on Racial Tension in America
Writer/director Paul Haggis’ Crash (A-) tells its tales of race and social tension and relationships in modern-day Los Angeles through the multi-character interlocking storyline format that Robert Altman made so famous. Don Cheadle, Michael Peña , Sandra Bullock, Thandie Newton and Matt Dillon are among the standouts in this passion project that turns a mirror up at society and shows its characters how each becomes a situational racist when threatened by unsettling environments. It is a challenging and provocative work.
“Million Dollar Baby” Stunning Showcase for Swank, Eastwood and Freeman
As director and the film’s leading man, Clint Eastwood fills the sports drama Million Dollar Baby (A) with a vital sense of surrogate family. His boxing coach protagonist along with his business partner (Morgan Freeman) take on a female trainee (Hilary Swank) to help her realize her dream of becoming a professional. As hopes are realized and tragedy strikes, this central trio sticks together through thick and thin. The film contains well-observed sequences of how humans behave under pressure-cooker situations both physical and emotional. It’s also doubtful you’ll see three performances this outstanding together in a film in some time.
“Cold Mountain” is Epic Drama
Anthony Minghella’s Cold Mountain (B+) is a stirring Civil War-set adventure and romance with some of the best work done by Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger. The director deftly handles two parallel stories, invoking color and detail in the backwaters of battle. The film has epic sweep and intrigue throughout.
“Shattered Glass” Depicts the Terror of Living a Lie
Writer/director Billy Ray’s Shattered Glass (A) may give you an uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach as you watch its conman antihero (a captivating Hayden Christensen) play loose with the truth as he makes up stories at The New Republic magazine. It’s a wrenching look at the journalism profession through the eyes of fellow reporters (Peter Sarsgaard and Chloe Sevigny are incredible). The suspense in waiting for the truth to catch up with “Stephen Glass” is the amazing part of watching the film. As the character weaves fiction, Ray shows the stories come to life, so the subjects are sometimes blurred and it makes it difficult to remember what really did happen. It’s a spectacular work.
Scorsese Dream Project “Gangs of New York” is Epic, Uneven
Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York (B-) is an epic historical drama set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points district of Lower Manhattan. While Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz are fine in their roles, it is Daniel Day-Lewis who steals the show as Bill “The Butcher” Cutting, the crime boss and political kingmaker of a time period inclusive of Irish immigration, the Civil War and the New York Draft Riots. It’s clear Scorsese was going for Dickensian characters and atmosphere on classic American turf, but then he rushes the final act. The story isn’t all that memorable, even if The Butcher’s menace lingers on.
“A.I. Artificial Intelligence” an Austere Spielberg/Kubrick Hybrid
Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence (B-) is full of so many good ideas, many germinated by the late Stanley Kubrick for decades, that it’s a shame the final package is a bit, well, robotic. The story starts off with Frances O’Connor and Sam Robards adopting an android child, played by Haley Joel Osment, but they ultimately reject and abandon him to a cruel world of robot runaways (Jude Law plays a cyber-gigolo who befriends the tin tyke). The imagery cribbed from Pinocchio as the central character pines away to become a real boy is haunting, but the enterprise doesn’t seem to know what its viewers’ key takeaways are supposed to be. Both the humans and the androids in the film are equally unappealing, but the flickers and flights of fancy help the film occasionally rise to its ambitions.
“In the Bedroom” is Potent Domestic Drama
Todd Field’s In the Bedroom (A-) is a suburban stunner that starts out as a romance between Nick Stahl and Marisa Tomei, then something awful happens, then it’s something much more. Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson play parents forced to face the aftermath of violence in this searing and perfectly acted piece. Field is masterful in his debut work directing quite an accomplished ensemble.
Director Ron Howard and Russell Crowe Reunite for Wonderful “A Beautiful Mind”
Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind (B+) is a 1940’s-set psychological drama starring Russell Crowe as a Princeton science and math prodigy who gets enlisted into some strange and secret experiments. Jennifer Connelly plays his long-suffering but supportive soul mate. The film is fascinating and surprising at times and is a great showcase for its fine actors.
“Gladiator” (2000) a Rousing Action Melodrama
Enter the coliseum ready for action-filled melodrama and a leading-man-is-born performance by Russell Crowe as Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (B). This rousing historical epic traces the title character, a former general rising from slavery through the ranks of the arena, determined to avenge the murders of his family and the emperor. Crowe is born for the role, with commanding and believable swagger and swelling speeches and pecs, and he faces a fantastic foil in an outrageous, power-hungry villain played with juicy relish by Joaquin Phoenix. The story gets additional gravitas with the presence of a cadre of veteran actors Richard Harris, Oliver Reed and Derek Jacobi, and Dijmon Hounsou and Connie Nielsen give good performances as allies. While not all that original, the story is a welcome throwback to swords-and-sandals epics of bygone Hollywood. Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard’s score adds to the power of the picture, but some of the special effects work appears too artificial in the ancient world. All in all, it’s a winner.
“Requiem for a Dream” is a Haunting and Hypnotic Interlaced Anthology of Addiction
Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream (A) is a haunting look at the effect of addiction through three interlocking stories. Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto and Jennifer Connelly are among the amazing actors headlining this ensemble. Shocking and mesmerizing visuals mark this audacious director’s wicked and direct style.
“A Walk On The Moon” is a Watch with a Swoon
Tony Goldwyn’s A Walk on the Moon (B+) is an unexpected sleeper of a melodrama and a highly recommended movie of 1999. An unfulfilled homemaker, played beautifully by Diane Lane, quietly suffers as the tumultuous events of the summer of 1969 unfold on the surface of her TV screen. But, when she invites a dashing traveling salesman (Viggo Mortensen) into the safety of her living room for the live broadcast of the historic moon landing, they begin a passionate affair that threatens to destroy her marriage to her by-the-books high school sweetheart, sturdily played by Liev Schreiber. Goldwyn does a great job working with the actors, including Anna Paquin as the wise family daughter, who give lived-in qualities to the characters. The film is also a superb depiction of a time period in transition, with Woodstock and Vietnam era references and songs such as “Purple Haze” on the soundtrack. It’s sexy, symbolic and pulls you in.