Some Recent Writing

On why Matthias Schoenaerts and Michael Shannon are so irrresistable on screen.

My review of Cpatain Fantastic.

Celebrating Cate Blanchett's history at Cannes.

On casting Kenneth's Remake of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express 

On Rachel Weisz very busy 2016 and 2017

First Impression - Suite Francaise

Williams and Schoenaerts in a tender moment

I feel sheepish writing about Suite Francaise since I saw it at a test screening. I don't know the etiquette involved in such a situation but I didn't sign anything that said I shouldn't. However I will speculate on its awards potential as opposed to writing a review as the film could possibly change before being released. The movie tells the story of French village during German occupation in 1940 and in particular Lucille (Michelle Williams), a French woman whose husband is away fighting in the war and her relationships with her disapproving mother-in-law (Kristin Scott Thomas) and  with the German officer (Matthias Schoenaerts) who gets to live at their home by law.

While this movie isn't in my 2014 most anticipated, I'm still interested because of Michelle Williams. She has knocked me over with her transcendent performance in Blue Valentine and became one of my favorites. She has three nominations already which means she might be considered due a win and this had the potential to be a big fat juicy role that could get her there. I'm sad to report I do not see it as an Oscar wining performance. She is of course great : emotional and open and without question the movie is her story. She gets to be repressed and timid, then open as she falls in love. She gets to be courageous and willful and gets lots of loving close ups showing all these feelings she's feeling. But she's also saddled with an irksome narration, and the tone of the movie is all over the place. Is it a big weepy romance a la The English Patient? Is it a wartime at home story a la Hope and Glory? Is it a story about the French Resistance a la The Last Metro? It tries to be all and never settles on a winning tone.

The tone is important in that it doesn't give the performance the space to build and really hit the emotional spot. And for that I think she might be nominated because 1) she's good and 2) she has a strong history with awards. But I don't see this movie and performance riding a wave of critical accolades and cinephile love to an Oscar win.

Schoenaerts amid the German tanks

Matthias Schoenaerts in my mind was the standout performance. But it is a very recessive subtle one that is unlikely to get noticed. Kristin Scott Thomas is her usual funny brittleness and could get carried in Williams' coattails if the movie resonates. Costumes and cinematography are possibilities. But ultimately this is a very good production that is not inventive or particularly original to stand out.

Most Anticipated : Far From the Madding Crowd

Mulligan and Schoenaerts

After Blanchett and Chastain, it is time to consider what's next for another actress we admire, Carey Mulligan.

Pedigree

Celebrated Danish director Thomas Vinterberg has assembled a pretty good European cast to surround Mulligan; Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge and Juno Temple. Novelist and screenwriter David Nicholls of One Day fame wrote the adaptation from Thomas Hardy's novel. They shot on location in Dorset, England preserving the novel's original setting.

What's It About
An adaptation of Hardy's novel about an independent young woman Bathsheba Everdene (Mulligan) in 1750s England and the three men courting her. The handsome rascal who's clearly trouble (Sturridge), the older dependable but slightly crazy and depressed guy (Sheen) and her neighbour who becomes her employee, who's always around when needed and clearly the one she should choose (Schoenaerts). The novel is considered by some to be an early example of feminist literature. 

Why I'm Excited

Mulligan appeared in two of my favorite 2013 films The Great Gatsby and Inside Llewyn Davis. She was exceptional and distinctive in both showing a lot of range. And the woman can do wonders with her voice, controlling it to convey a million emotions. If Marion Cotillard's face launches a thousand differing and moving emotions; Mulligan's voice tells our hearts exactly what she's feeling at any time. 

Schoenaerts' sexy alive performance in Rust and Bone finally made me understand what people mean when they say Brando-esque. Plus the man is SEXY and of all his many upcoming movies this promises to be the one where he can at his broodiest, sexiest self. 

Vinterberg with his DP Charlotte Bruus during filming 

Really?

I guess I could quibble with Temple's casting since she has never impressed me or say that Sturridge is an unknown factor since I don't remember seeing him in anything. But who am I kidding? The combination of Mulligan, Schoenaerts and Vinterberg is more than enough to get me giddy with excitement. 60s purists might complain Julie Christie already played Bathsheba alongside Alan Bates, Peter Finch and Terrence Stamp but I'm excited for this new adaptation.

Sunday Sexpot - Matthias Schoenaerts

Matthias Schoenaerts

Have you seen Rust and Bone? Sex on a stick. And he's going to be in a lot of movies soon. He seems to have cornered the market on the smoldering dangerous guy that will romance the "great actress". In addition to Marion Cotillard he will be seen next year playing with Michelle Williams and Carey Mulligan. Sounds great to me!

Oscar Bits and Pieces - Best Actor

We've talked Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor before lets now talk Best Actor, or as its known this year The Daniel Day Lewis doesn't have enough Oscars Admiration Society. I like Day Lewis, I think he's a great actor, loved him in almost every movie he made, but is it really time to reward him again? Specially since AMPAS let Meryl wait 29 years to win a third. Come on spread the wealth.

Day Lewis

Day Lewis is great as Lincoln. It is a heartfelt, subtle performance that is commanding without demanding our attention. I don't know this for sure since I've never heard Lincoln or seen him except in photos; but I'm willing to bet he looks and sounds exactly like him. That's because I believe Day Lewis did the research and almost certainly got everything right.When I saw the movie the performance reminded me of his performance in The Age of Innocence; another subdued turn that was immensely affecting.

Can anyone beat him? For a while I thought maybe John Hawkes in The Sessions could do it. He hits all the academy's soft spots : biopic, disability, previous recent nominee. Plus he's giving a great performance in a really good movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. He could have rested on the trappings of "suffering for his art"but he added lots of humor and pathos to the performance making it a wonder to behold. Alas while he's guaranteed a nomination that movie has not struck a major chord with audiences so he's not a real threat to Day Lewis.

Jackman

I was hoping Hugh Jackman would pull such a wallop of an emotional punch as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables that he'd be the one to beat. I haven't seen the movie yet so can't tell but the reviews so far are only so so for the movie. Still the movie hasn't opened yet; if it becomes a blockbuster and Jackman is all what people are talking about in January we might have a race.

Denzel Washington in Flight and Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook are the other two actors that made all the important precursors including SAG. These five seem to be now the most likely nominees. I liked Washington's performance but wasn't sold on the movie. Apart from the truly amazing crash scene I thought it was pretty mediocre. Cooper's approximation of crazy grew on me. First time I saw it I found it annoying but second time I enjoyed his chemistry with Jennifer Lawrence and the manic energy he constantly brought to his character. He has a scene where he senses that he's slipping away into his head and brings it back in refusing to succumb - that sold me on the performance.

Schoenaerts

There are 3 performances in French movies this year that knocked off my socks. With Matthias Schoenaerts in Rust and Bone I finally understood what everybody's been talking about all these years when they mentioned Brando's performance in Streetcar. He has a ferocity and immediacy of emotion that is both sexy and dangerous and announces the birth of a major movie star.Jean Louis Trintignant in Amour is amazing as well although the emotion there is more reserved but not less strong. Somehow the two are overshadowed by their female co-stars, at least in the eyes of award voters.

The third great performance from a French film is Denis Levant in Holy Motors. While I recognized the artistry and mad storytelling skills that went into making the movie, it didn't really register with me. However there is no denying that Levant gives a virtuoso performance full of audacity and perverse humor. He also inhabits several characters with complete makeovers. None of the three will find traction with Oscar.

Phoenix

Other names in the conversation include Jake Gyllenhaal in End of Watch ( fantastic), Richard Gere in Arbitrage (haven't seen it) and Joaquin Phoenix in The Master. At the beginning of the season Phoenix was a shoo-in and possibly the front runner; now he's on the periphery. He might still get in as the performance has its advocates. I for one hated it. It is is a big "LOOK AT ME I'M ACTING" performance. He contorts his body, throws himself around, stops and gestures before saying anything. Hey Joaquin are you competing in some thespian Olympics we don't know about? Give him all the gold medals now! The film itself is polarizing and was not embraced by audiences although most critics loved it. I was left very cold by it. There's stuff to admire - cinematography, music and production design are all top notch - but the sum doesn't add up.

Predicted Five : Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day Lewis, John Hawkes, Hugh Jackman, Denzel Washington.