On Christmas Eve I saw The Shape of Water, starring Sally Hawkins and Michael Shannon.
Elisa (Hawkins) is a mute cleaning lady at a scientific facility in the early 1960s. She leads a simple life: sleeps alone in a modest apartment; watches TV with her neighbor and prepares the same lunch every day. Her best friend Zelda (Octavia Spencer) can easily communicate with her despite the fact she doesn't speak. She seems content with her situation.
One day, the horrible boss (Shannon) brings in a male sea creature that captures Elisa's attention. Though he's chained to his survival tank and has displayed violent behavior to the team, she is unafraid and begins sharing her lunch with him.
The two different species develop a friendship and soon enough Elisa is obsessed with saving the creature from a miserable fate. She enlists the help of Zelda and her neighbor (Richard Jenkins, at his comedic best), risking her job and perhaps her life.
This is a movie with everything. It has humor, sadness, fright, romance, fear—seriously, everything.
As a huge fan of director Guillermo del Toro's Pan Labyrinth, I was expecting to be entertained in an intelligent, unique way, but this soared well above and beyond even that level of greatness. Though there was more blood than I typically tolerate, none of it was gratuitous, nor was the sex or the language (and there's that too).
It's just a brilliantly acted, beautifully shot masterpiece with a beating heart.
~~~
Showing posts with label Michael Shannon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Shannon. Show all posts
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Nocturnal Animals
This morning I saw Nocturnal Animals, starring Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Susan (Adams) is an affluent member of the art world, living day-by-day in an unfulfilling marriage to her second husband, Hutton (Armie Hammer). One day, she receives a manuscript from Edward (Gyllenhaal), who she left nearly two decades prior. It wasn't a pleasant break-up.
Home alone with Hutton traveling, Susan becomes riveted by the story spun by her ex, as the characters mirror those in her former life—plus, he dedicated the work to her.
As an audience, we enter the mind of Susan and become engulfed in the plot as she does. And it's a brutal one.
The father in the story (mirroring Edward) is driving his wife (mirroring Susan) and daughter to west Texas late one night. When another car drives aggressively on the highway, Edward tries to lose it, but is unsuccessful. What starts as road rage soon becomes far more sinister and the story becomes one nail-biting scene after another.
Tom Ford's direction is seamless. We only catch our breath when Susan does, as she looks up from the pages to digest what her mind's eye just witnessed.
The scenes within the manuscript with Gyllenhaal and later Michael Shannon, who's the detective assigned to investigate the crime, are heartbreaking, exciting and sometimes even morbidly funny.
I found myself holding my breath, gripping the armrests and having to look away throughout. The tension-build was unimaginable and the payoff horrific, if somewhat predictable.
I can't imagine this will be ignored during awards season; it would be a travesty to deny such an extraordinary ensemble.
I'll be rooting for them every step of the way.
~~~
Susan (Adams) is an affluent member of the art world, living day-by-day in an unfulfilling marriage to her second husband, Hutton (Armie Hammer). One day, she receives a manuscript from Edward (Gyllenhaal), who she left nearly two decades prior. It wasn't a pleasant break-up.
Home alone with Hutton traveling, Susan becomes riveted by the story spun by her ex, as the characters mirror those in her former life—plus, he dedicated the work to her.
As an audience, we enter the mind of Susan and become engulfed in the plot as she does. And it's a brutal one.
The father in the story (mirroring Edward) is driving his wife (mirroring Susan) and daughter to west Texas late one night. When another car drives aggressively on the highway, Edward tries to lose it, but is unsuccessful. What starts as road rage soon becomes far more sinister and the story becomes one nail-biting scene after another.
Tom Ford's direction is seamless. We only catch our breath when Susan does, as she looks up from the pages to digest what her mind's eye just witnessed.
The scenes within the manuscript with Gyllenhaal and later Michael Shannon, who's the detective assigned to investigate the crime, are heartbreaking, exciting and sometimes even morbidly funny.
I found myself holding my breath, gripping the armrests and having to look away throughout. The tension-build was unimaginable and the payoff horrific, if somewhat predictable.
I can't imagine this will be ignored during awards season; it would be a travesty to deny such an extraordinary ensemble.
I'll be rooting for them every step of the way.
~~~
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Midnight Special
On Monday I saw Midnight Special, starring Michael Shannon and Jaeden Lieberher.
Alton (Lieberher) isn't your everyday kid. He doesn't go to school. He lives on a cult ranch and provides accurate prophecies to his pastor. He also has an aversion to daylight.
When we meet him, he's on the run with his father (Shannon) and his father's childhood friend (Joel Edgerton) because the federal government is trying to take him into custody. At one stop he disables a satellite using just his eyes, causing the destruction of a gas station. This is apparently par for the course, as Dad doesn't seem so much surprised as angry. I couldn't help but think of Drew Barrymore's young Firestarter character when it all unfolded. Emotion = consequences. Just like normal life, but to a crazy degree.
As Alton searches for what the other dimension wants for him, the government remains in pursuit. Kirsten Dunst appears along the way to prove her worth as a nurturing mother. Adam Driver shows up as a borderline annoying cocky agent, way in over his head. He somewhat redeems himself eventually, but I could have done with less screen time from him.
In fact, I could have done with less screen time in general.
The main thing wrong with the film is it's pace: It doesn't really have one. There are moments of intense action and then moments of complete boredom. The fugitives encounter some people who have purpose and a few that don't. One incident that happens early in the film could make some dislike the dad. It was unnecessary—we get that he's loyal to the kid.
Also, Alton's eyes light up many times throughout the film, which had me cycling back in my brain to this '80s video by Bonnie Tyler. I couldn't help it. And if I'm that distracted during a movie in an otherwise peaceful theater, something's wrong.
Conceptually, I loved the idea of the film. A child with a gift that cannot be defined—even by those closest to him—is an interesting problem. The supernatural element only intensifies that challenge, which I enjoyed.
Unfortunately, the gratuitously lengthy journey getting there and the anti-climactic ending, which answered few questions, fell short.
~~~
Alton (Lieberher) isn't your everyday kid. He doesn't go to school. He lives on a cult ranch and provides accurate prophecies to his pastor. He also has an aversion to daylight.
When we meet him, he's on the run with his father (Shannon) and his father's childhood friend (Joel Edgerton) because the federal government is trying to take him into custody. At one stop he disables a satellite using just his eyes, causing the destruction of a gas station. This is apparently par for the course, as Dad doesn't seem so much surprised as angry. I couldn't help but think of Drew Barrymore's young Firestarter character when it all unfolded. Emotion = consequences. Just like normal life, but to a crazy degree.
As Alton searches for what the other dimension wants for him, the government remains in pursuit. Kirsten Dunst appears along the way to prove her worth as a nurturing mother. Adam Driver shows up as a borderline annoying cocky agent, way in over his head. He somewhat redeems himself eventually, but I could have done with less screen time from him.
In fact, I could have done with less screen time in general.
The main thing wrong with the film is it's pace: It doesn't really have one. There are moments of intense action and then moments of complete boredom. The fugitives encounter some people who have purpose and a few that don't. One incident that happens early in the film could make some dislike the dad. It was unnecessary—we get that he's loyal to the kid.
Also, Alton's eyes light up many times throughout the film, which had me cycling back in my brain to this '80s video by Bonnie Tyler. I couldn't help it. And if I'm that distracted during a movie in an otherwise peaceful theater, something's wrong.
Conceptually, I loved the idea of the film. A child with a gift that cannot be defined—even by those closest to him—is an interesting problem. The supernatural element only intensifies that challenge, which I enjoyed.
Unfortunately, the gratuitously lengthy journey getting there and the anti-climactic ending, which answered few questions, fell short.
~~~
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
Man of Steel
This afternoon I saw Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill and Amy Adams.
Nothing can top Christopher Reeve as the iconic Superman, but kudos to Henry Cavill for trying. He's not bad, after all, but the screenplay sure is a mess.
We start with Superman's birth on a planet that isn't earth, with Russell Crowe dressed something like his Gladiator character and a woman screaming in maternal pain. I'm still with it at this point, but rapidly fading.
Though the screen is coated with top-list talent (the guy from House of Cards; the guy from West Wing; the guy from Take Shelter)—and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy when Stabler from Law and Order: SVU showed up—their presence does not a good movie make.
The last (lengthy) half is all action and very little of it is exciting. There isn't a lot of fun or humor and only a trace of romance is to be found between the two leads.
This was a big, showy, loud, action-packed disappointment, which happened to be full of some of the best players in Hollywood.
~~~
Nothing can top Christopher Reeve as the iconic Superman, but kudos to Henry Cavill for trying. He's not bad, after all, but the screenplay sure is a mess.
We start with Superman's birth on a planet that isn't earth, with Russell Crowe dressed something like his Gladiator character and a woman screaming in maternal pain. I'm still with it at this point, but rapidly fading.
Superman grows up (with Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as adoptive parents) and suppresses his gift, with a few impulsive exceptions (like lifting a school bus out of a river following an accident). Pulitzer Prize-winner Lois Lane (Adams) later catches on to his powers and his secret is out (in modern-day fashion, she leaked the story herself).
This doesn't bode well for her when the bad guys from his planet come to collect on his DNA, etc. and she's dragged along for whatever reason.
At this point, I was craving the simplicity of the Superman movies I loved throughout childhood and making a game of counting how many times broken glass crashed during the action scenes (when I got bored of counting, I think I was up to 14).
Though the screen is coated with top-list talent (the guy from House of Cards; the guy from West Wing; the guy from Take Shelter)—and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy when Stabler from Law and Order: SVU showed up—their presence does not a good movie make.
The last (lengthy) half is all action and very little of it is exciting. There isn't a lot of fun or humor and only a trace of romance is to be found between the two leads.
This was a big, showy, loud, action-packed disappointment, which happened to be full of some of the best players in Hollywood.
~~~
Saturday, January 07, 2012
Take Shelter
Tonight I saw Take Shelter, starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain.
Curtis (Shannon) is a family man. He works hard at his construction job each day to provide for his sweet wife Samantha (Chastain) and their young daughter Hannah (Tova Stewart).
Hannah is deaf and needs surgery to try out a cochlear implant. Samantha is relieved when they finally receive word that the insurance will cover it.
But Curtis begins having terrible nightmares predicting an apocalyptic storm. This takes his attention away from his family and his work. He grows paranoid about the supposed impending doom and decides to renovate the storm shelter in their backyard.
At the same time, he's keeping his elaborate (expensive) plans for the shelter from Samantha and beginning to investigate mental illness (since it runs in his family).
As we watch his obsessive paranoia increase, we feel sorry for his patient wife, and even sorrier for him. After all, he may be bearing witness to his own descent into craziness. Or is he?
Michael Shannon plays this role so convincingly, he's more fragile than frightening. His fear is written on his face, but contained in the presence of those he holds dear. And although he is the least reasonable person on-screen at all times, he has the audience rooting for him in spite of it.
I'll be surprised if Shannon doesn't get an Oscar nomination for this role.
Chastain is also good, as are the rest of the supporting cast. Granted, they have a lot less to do, but they are all very believable as simple, Midwestern folks just trying to live their lives. Kudos to writer/director Jeff Nichols for creating 'real' characters.
And I may be in the minority, but I loved the ending. The fact that it wasn't predictable or wrapped up in a big red bow made me smile.
As did the possibility it implied.
~~~
Curtis (Shannon) is a family man. He works hard at his construction job each day to provide for his sweet wife Samantha (Chastain) and their young daughter Hannah (Tova Stewart).
Hannah is deaf and needs surgery to try out a cochlear implant. Samantha is relieved when they finally receive word that the insurance will cover it.
But Curtis begins having terrible nightmares predicting an apocalyptic storm. This takes his attention away from his family and his work. He grows paranoid about the supposed impending doom and decides to renovate the storm shelter in their backyard.
At the same time, he's keeping his elaborate (expensive) plans for the shelter from Samantha and beginning to investigate mental illness (since it runs in his family).
As we watch his obsessive paranoia increase, we feel sorry for his patient wife, and even sorrier for him. After all, he may be bearing witness to his own descent into craziness. Or is he?
Michael Shannon plays this role so convincingly, he's more fragile than frightening. His fear is written on his face, but contained in the presence of those he holds dear. And although he is the least reasonable person on-screen at all times, he has the audience rooting for him in spite of it.
I'll be surprised if Shannon doesn't get an Oscar nomination for this role.
Chastain is also good, as are the rest of the supporting cast. Granted, they have a lot less to do, but they are all very believable as simple, Midwestern folks just trying to live their lives. Kudos to writer/director Jeff Nichols for creating 'real' characters.
And I may be in the minority, but I loved the ending. The fact that it wasn't predictable or wrapped up in a big red bow made me smile.
As did the possibility it implied.
~~~
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