Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

On Monday I saw the Harry Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them starring Eddie Redmayne and Katherine Waterston.

Newt (Redmayne) is a magizoologist, who goes to great pains to protect the wondrous beasts of the magical world. Set in the 1920s, the Hogwarts graduate travels to New York City and quickly loses track of many of the creatures he's set out to protect.

Through a comedy of errors, he connects with a muggle baker (Dan Fogel) who accidentally sees too much and must be (at least temporarily) brought along for the ride. The two encounter magical sisters, Tina (Waterston) and Queenie (Alison Sudol), who are fond of the pair, though Tina's intention is to turn Newt in (she's an investigator in the magical congress).

Along the way they are confronted by evil in villains played by Samantha Morton, Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp, respectively. There's a lot of action, but not a whole lot of substance.

A few specific things bugged me:

• At one point, Queenie flirts by saying that the baker "slays" her. Pretty sure the slang for that term has only been around for about a decade, if that.
• The set design for the New York of the 1920s is gorgeous. We barely see it.
• "Fantastic Beasts" is in the title, but they're only really the star in the very beginning and toward the end. I found the film overall to be creature-deficient.

Aside from that, the pace was way too slow, but that's probably because they're greedily squeezing five books out of one novella. 

The performances are great, and the supernatural elements are well done But overall the film lacks the special... dare I say... magic... of the Potter series.

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The Danish Girl

This morning I saw The Danish Girl, starring Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander.

Einar Wegener (Redmayne) and his wife Gerda (Vikander) were a happy couple living a Bohemian life in Denmark in the 1920s. Both gifted painters, they shared a deep bond of not only love, but art.

One day, Gerda was in need of a live, female model for one of her paintings and her husband stood in for the absent woman. This act changed both of their lives significantly.

Einar discovered a special feeling when he put on the woman's stockings, and volunteered to continue acting as a female model whenever his wife was in need. This soon became a game for both of them—him developing an alter ego, Lili, and making appearances at events and parties around town.

Gerda was surprisingly supportive of this ruse and even encouraged it. Her paintings of Lili were very successful in the industry and Einar was happier when he was behaving like a girl.

Of course, over time, Einar decided he could no longer be Einar. He truly felt inside that he was a woman and the only moments where he felt comfortable were those he had acting as Lili. Gerda accepted this eventuality and they moved to Paris, preserving their unconventional marriage throughout his quest to fully transition to female.

A few years later they met a doctor that said he could perform a series of operations to make Lili fully female and Eniar was enthusiastic about having them. Gerda stood by his/her side for the duration.

This film does an incredible job, through the genius of Eddie Redmayne, of exposing how it may feel for transgender persons discovering their true selves. There are many long looks in the mirror; several examinations of one's own human body; countless instances of touching the sensual fabric of women's apparel. Though none of us who aren't transgender could ever truly 'know how it feels' to be trapped in the wrong body, this film gives us at least a compass that directs us toward the feelings of those who do. Redmayne shows total discomfort in his own skin, and the discovery of his new self is frankly ... inspiring.

As the first person to have gender reassignment surgery, Elbe remains a hero to the transgender community to this day. Gerda did eventually divorce Einar and remarry, but stayed by Lili's side to the end.

The pair's story is told beautifully here, with award-bait performances and classy writing, capturing the right notes for today's progressive world.

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The Theory of Everything

Last night I saw The Theory of Everything, starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones.

Most people have heard of Stephen Hawking's famous book A Brief History of Time, but perhaps less know of his personal struggles with ALS.

Diagnosed at age 21, Hawking (Redmayne), refused to accept the death sentence delivered to him (two years) and decided to accelerate his study of scientific theories while he battled the unimaginable physical hurdle of his body failing him day after day.

Of course, as he is still living today, we know that he triumphed, but there were a lot of things that propelled him to success along the way; not least of which was his first wife Jane (Jones), who married him after she learned of his ailment, bore his three children and nursed him day-by-day as his condition got progressively worse.

This film (based on a book written by Jane), is just as much a story about her as it is the famous scientist.

Basically, we see their life beginning when they meet at college and ending just a few years ago, with a satisfying post script explaining their present day existences. Everything in between is like any other family: uplifting, gut-wrenching, confusing, amazing and joyous. It's life.

That's not to say that it's normal—of course marrying someone who is 'supposed' to die in two years is admirable, but hanging on for the long haul is the behavior of a saint, for sure.

Both lead actors master their parts here in an almost eerie authenticity. Jones wears the pain of her situation not in her words, but in her eyes, and a lesser actress may not have pulled it off quite so flawlessly. Redmayne was so chill-inducing accurate (and physically similar) that Hawking himself thought at one point he was watching old footage of his life. There can be no greater endorsement, right?

Although the story is scripted well, and there are no points of boredom for the audience to endure, the real reason to see this sure-to-be-Oscar-contending film is the performances.

Acting doesn't get any better than this.

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My Week with Marylin

Today I saw My Week with Marylin, starring Michelle Williams and Eddie Redmayne.

Colin Clark (Redmayne) is a starstruck twentysomething who will do anything to work in the movie business. Sir Lawrence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) is beginning production on a new film starring Marylin Monroe (Williams). Colin is in the right place at the right time and scores himself a job as a 3rd director, which (as is repeated ad nauseum in the film) is basically an errand runner.

We are shown the fanfare when Marylin arrives in England as a newlywed (in her third marriage). We are shown how she is babysat around the clock by various handlers with various purposes. We see immediately that Marylin is a very unhappy, high maintenance woman.

But that doesn't stop Colin from developing a debilitating crush on her like many of the men of his time.

Colin's low-on-the-totem-pole role and polite nature make him attractive to the Hollywood starlet, and she soon begins requesting his presence at the home where she's staying for the duration of the film shoot.

If she wants to talk, he talks to her; if she wants to be held, he holds her. All the while we can see she is about to chew him up and spit him out.

But it's hard to hate a woman so desperate to be loved, no matter how much of a pain in the ass she turns out to be. Colin doesn't seem to resent her for using him, so why should we?

The film does a good job of conveying her circumstances, and Williams nails her mannerisms and speaking rhythms. Redmayne is a believable lost-puppy-in-love and all of the supporting cast does fine too. But for a movie so predictable, the story doesn't move very fast.

Also annoying is the padding they have on Williams to create the illusion of Monroe's curves. Williams is anything but voluptuous, and anytime they have her moving seductively, it looks like a teenager who has padded her bra acting out in front of a mirror. Williams face is too thin to be convincingly attached to the allegedly curvy body, and the nude scenes don't come close to showing a 140 lb. woman (that was the real Marylin's last reported weight).

All in all, this true tale plays out for what it is: one man's favorite story to tell, though he doesn't come out looking particularly smart or better for it.

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