Knives Out

Today I saw Knives Out, starring Ana de Armas and Daniel Craig.

Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is a wealthy novelist who is found dead of an apparent suicide. While his family swarms to line up for their inevitable inheritances, investigator Benoit Blanc (Craig) appears on scene with the cops to determine whether or not it was really a suicide.

All along, Marta (de Armas), Thrombey's nurse, has a painful secret she's desperately trying to keep under wraps, and the family's black sheep —who cleverly goes by 'Ransom'—(Chris Evans) is most certainly up to something, but we don't know what.

The film starts out as a straight whodunnit with all of the suspicious parties interviewed separately by law enforcement. After the presentation of a certain scenario, it's obvious what happened, so as an audience member you wonder why the reveal was done so early ... until you realize there is a twist. And then another. And then more after that.

All throughout, crackling dialog laced with hilarious listen-close-or-you'll-miss-them lines pepper the story with a strong dose of humor, making this modern mystery a lot of fun.

The only thing I could have done without was the vomiting. Future viewers: Tere's a lot of that, so be forewarned.

Otherwise, sit back and let the ride take you where it will—you won't be disappointed.

~~~

Hereditary

This morning I saw Hereditary, starring Toni Collette and Ann Dowd.

Annie (Collette) is a daughter, grieving the loss of her not-so-wonderful mother when her whole world seems to fall apart. Consumed with tragedy, she turns to a support group for those who have lost loved ones and meets Joan (Dowd), a kind woman who is experiencing a similar pain.

Annie hides this support group—and her friendship with Joan—from her family and tells them she's going to the movies instead. They're all processing their pain differently, but her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne) does his best to move on in the most normal way possible, hiding the desecration of her mother's grave from her and urging their son Peter (Alex Wolff) to arrange for college testing.

What seems like a normal American family trying to navigate the fog of grief the best way they know how soon turns into a paranormal dance with something dark that Annie has unknowingly invited into their home.

Once she realizes it could be dangerous, it could be too late and we watch as the rest of the film unfolds into a mix of gotcha scares, creepy shadow shots and (somewhat) unexpected outcomes.

Why should you see this film? Toni Collette is a force. She's indifferent, grief-stricken, furious, depressed, deflated, defeated and terrified .. then back again. It's not all written in her lines, but it's seen in her face, over and over. Her performance rises above the majority of horror performances simply because it's so multi-dimensional. She's a mom and a wife and a daughter and a friend and a freak ... all at the same time.

Is that all? Not necessarily. If you like trying to solve puzzles, you may enjoy the layers being peeled back here as the story progresses.

The ending, though? A bit conventional for a film that up until that point didn't subscribe to any horror templates.

~~~

The Way Way Back

This morning I saw The Way Way Back, starring Liam James and Toni Collette.

Duncan (James) is a socially awkward teenager on summer break with his mother Pam (Collette) and her jerk-of-a-boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell). They land in a sleepy beach town where Trent has a community of colorful friends.

Not wanting to have any part of 'family time,' Duncan escapes to the nearby water park where Owen (Sam Rockwell) gives him a job, and more importantly, a sense of place. Owen is a misfit in his own right, annoying his colleague/girlfriend Caitlin with his immature behavior. Owen and Duncan make each other better.

Rockwell is especially good, portraying a fun-on-the-outside, yet broken-on-the-inside man. As an actor, Rockwell is criminally underutilized, but here at least, he gets to support the leads with some depth.

James is also great as the nerdy boy, loved by his mother who is too preoccupied with her own relationship to show it. Collette and Carell, who played a very different couple in Little Miss Sunshine, have a familiar chemistry that allows them to convince us of both their infatuation and discomfort.

There's not much more to this film than the standard coming-of-age argument scenes, awkward family moments and kinda-sorta first loves, but that's okay, because it's so easy to watch.

~~~

Evening

This morning I screened Evening, starring Claire Danes and Toni Collette.

The story begins with the main character, Ann (Danes/Vanessa Redgrave) traveling to her friend Lila's wedding at a posh family home on the east coast. We immediately sense that Lila is preparing to marry the wrong man and see the immediate connection between Ann and Lila's brother Buddy (Hugh Dancy).

As the story unfolds, the subject of class prevails—preventing Lila from marrying the boy she has passion for, Harris (Patrick Wilson). Turns out that Ann has passion for him too and Harris returns that passion on Lila's wedding night as twists and turns are turning a happy day into a tragic one.

This is all told through flashbacks that the elderly Ann is remembering on her death bed, as her daughters (Collette and Natasha Richardson) face similar challenges in present day.

Without adding spoilers, the moral of the story is: marry the person you have the magic with.

Not the guy your friends think is perfect for you or the girl your family happens to adore.

Spend the rest of your life with the person who brings joy to your days and passion to your nights.

Then you won't regret it on your deathbed and make the rest of us cry.