Tonight I screened Emma Peeters, starring Monia Chokri and Fabrice Adde.
Emma (Chokri) is a thirty-something actress who spends her days juggling auditions for parts she doesn't get with a dead-end job at an electronics store, where she miserably succeeds in becoming the top salesperson. She decides that life is no longer worth living and begins an elaborate plan to commit suicide on her birthday.
As preparations begin, she encounters an enthusiastic funeral director, Alex (Adde), who comments that she doesn't appear sick. One thing leads to another and they become close as her self-imposed deadline approaches.
Sounds pretty grim, right? Well, it could be, but here it's more of a morbid-black-comedy vibe than a sad one, no matter how depressing her progress becomes.
Throw in a persistent cat named Jim (after Morrison), clueless parents and selfish friends and you can sort of see why Emma is disillusioned. That said, the thought of suicide isn't pleasant and the closer she gets to going through with it, the more you pray as an audience member that the happy ending film formula will win out and save her life.
You'll have to see the film to learn how it turns out, but I personally could have done with less squirming along the way.
~~~
Emma Peeters screened at the 45th annual Seattle International Film Festival.
Showing posts with label suicide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label suicide. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Cake
Today I saw Cake, starring Jennifer Aniston and Adriana Barraza.
Claire Bennett (Aniston) suffers from chronic pain. After a debilitating car accident, she becomes a different woman: bitter, angry, stiff and mean.
Silvana (Barraza) is the sympathetic housekeeper/caregiver who worked for her prior to the event. She does what she can to ease the suffering, and seems to be the only one around who hasn't given up on her (Claire's kind husband has since moved out).
Mrs. Bennett, as Silvana calls her, goes through all the motions of coping with her ailment: she attends a therapy group; shows up for swimming therapy and takes her medicine. Actually, she takes too much medicine, as evidenced by hiding pills behind paintings and forcing Silvana to take her to Mexico for additional prescriptions. Quite frankly, she's a mess. But she knows it and doesn't seem to care.
Her situation takes a different shape when her friend Nina (Anna Kendrick), commits suicide. Claire suddenly has something else to focus on, and that focus manifests into visits to the death site and time spent with Nina's surviving family. The question is: does she want to learn about it so she can build the courage to go through with it herself, or attempt to get better in spite of it?
The journey Claire takes isn't easy, and Aniston is so phenomenal in the role, you'll start to feel your muscles ache as you shift in your theater seat. Her communication of the pain—both physical and mental—is nearly tangible it's so real.
In fact, after seeing this, and remembering Aniston years ago in Friends With Money and The Good Girl, I wish she'd pursue more dramatic roles, preferably with scripts as great as this one.
So let's talk about the writing by Patrick Tobin: the dialogue is authentic, the scenarios believable and the plot's not even close to formulaic. The pace mirrors real life in that it speeds up sometimes and goes frustratingly slow at others. We're never sure where Claire is going, because she isn't either.
At heart, we're asked to examine how we react when confronted with the unthinkable and how that reaction determines how or if we'll recover from it.
Go see the film for Aniston's performance, and be reminded that most of us have it very easy.
~~~
Claire Bennett (Aniston) suffers from chronic pain. After a debilitating car accident, she becomes a different woman: bitter, angry, stiff and mean.
Silvana (Barraza) is the sympathetic housekeeper/caregiver who worked for her prior to the event. She does what she can to ease the suffering, and seems to be the only one around who hasn't given up on her (Claire's kind husband has since moved out).
Mrs. Bennett, as Silvana calls her, goes through all the motions of coping with her ailment: she attends a therapy group; shows up for swimming therapy and takes her medicine. Actually, she takes too much medicine, as evidenced by hiding pills behind paintings and forcing Silvana to take her to Mexico for additional prescriptions. Quite frankly, she's a mess. But she knows it and doesn't seem to care.
Her situation takes a different shape when her friend Nina (Anna Kendrick), commits suicide. Claire suddenly has something else to focus on, and that focus manifests into visits to the death site and time spent with Nina's surviving family. The question is: does she want to learn about it so she can build the courage to go through with it herself, or attempt to get better in spite of it?
The journey Claire takes isn't easy, and Aniston is so phenomenal in the role, you'll start to feel your muscles ache as you shift in your theater seat. Her communication of the pain—both physical and mental—is nearly tangible it's so real.
In fact, after seeing this, and remembering Aniston years ago in Friends With Money and The Good Girl, I wish she'd pursue more dramatic roles, preferably with scripts as great as this one.
So let's talk about the writing by Patrick Tobin: the dialogue is authentic, the scenarios believable and the plot's not even close to formulaic. The pace mirrors real life in that it speeds up sometimes and goes frustratingly slow at others. We're never sure where Claire is going, because she isn't either.
At heart, we're asked to examine how we react when confronted with the unthinkable and how that reaction determines how or if we'll recover from it.
Go see the film for Aniston's performance, and be reminded that most of us have it very easy.
~~~
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Blue Jasmine
Yesterday I saw Blue Jasmine, starring Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins.
Jeanette (Blanchette) changed her name to Jasmine years ago because her given name wasn't elegant enough. It seems everything in her life needs to be coated in luxury for her to feel normal.
She meets Hal (Alec Baldwin), a wealthy businessman, marries him and lives a charmed life in Manhattan until her world falls out from under her when he's arrested for a white collar crime.
Broke and directionless, she attempts to start over in San Francisco where her sister Ginger (Hawkins) lives a much more middle class life.
A black comedy with the darkest of undertones, the absurdity of Jasmine's grief often gets the biggest laughs, as her mourning focuses more on the material things she lost than the husband she loved.
Blanchett gives an Oscar-worthy performance as a woman on the brink of cracking, popping pills and offering a healthy amount of product placement for Stoli vodka. She's both funny and tragic; ridiculous in most scenes, but still genuine enough to garner sympathy from the audience.
The supporting cast is nothing short of brilliant as well—Hawkins is a down-to-earth sister with more patience for her sibling than most would have; Bobby Cannavale and Louis C.K. prove appropriately comical as her suitors. As usual, Baldwin is perfectly cast as the slimy former husband.
Allen is on a roll—Midnight in Paris, To Rome with Love and now this. Satisfying, delightful stories with colorful characters coming to life.
~~~
Jeanette (Blanchette) changed her name to Jasmine years ago because her given name wasn't elegant enough. It seems everything in her life needs to be coated in luxury for her to feel normal.
She meets Hal (Alec Baldwin), a wealthy businessman, marries him and lives a charmed life in Manhattan until her world falls out from under her when he's arrested for a white collar crime.
Broke and directionless, she attempts to start over in San Francisco where her sister Ginger (Hawkins) lives a much more middle class life.
A black comedy with the darkest of undertones, the absurdity of Jasmine's grief often gets the biggest laughs, as her mourning focuses more on the material things she lost than the husband she loved.
Blanchett gives an Oscar-worthy performance as a woman on the brink of cracking, popping pills and offering a healthy amount of product placement for Stoli vodka. She's both funny and tragic; ridiculous in most scenes, but still genuine enough to garner sympathy from the audience.
The supporting cast is nothing short of brilliant as well—Hawkins is a down-to-earth sister with more patience for her sibling than most would have; Bobby Cannavale and Louis C.K. prove appropriately comical as her suitors. As usual, Baldwin is perfectly cast as the slimy former husband.
Allen is on a roll—Midnight in Paris, To Rome with Love and now this. Satisfying, delightful stories with colorful characters coming to life.
~~~
Saturday, May 11, 2013
It's a Disaster
Tonight I saw It's a Disaster, starring Julia Stiles and David Cross.
Tracy (Stiles) and Glen (Cross) are on their third date, attending a "couples' brunch" at the home of Tracy's friends.
Because there are couples there is naturally drama and soon the group learns that one of the pairs are enduring a breakup. This causes an obvious tension among the guests until something more important interrupts them: a neighbor in a Hazmat suit. He's come to ask for spare batteries because the city is apparently under a chemical warfare attack. Everyone is instructed to stay inside and duct tape the airways as they face their own demise. Phones, electricity and Internet are all gone.
And just as in real life, when a crises occurs, everyone reacts in their own way. One friend is obsessed with learning who is doing this to them; another goes catatonic; some drink heavily; others have sex.
The calmest of the bunch is the outcast, Glen, who everyone likes, but no one really knows. The most out of control is Hedy (America Ferrera) who teaches high school chemistry, and realizes the dismal fate they're all facing.
Sounds gloomy, huh?
Not so much—it's more silly than depressing, and if they didn't bring up the "terrorist attack" in every other sentence, we probably would forget that they're all sure to die by nightfall.
The banter is enjoyable, but it does unfortunately feel like dozens of other indie films with unfaithful spouses and betrayals of friendship. The odd thing about this one is that it's a comedy, and the jokes are stronger than the characters.
~~~
Tracy (Stiles) and Glen (Cross) are on their third date, attending a "couples' brunch" at the home of Tracy's friends.
Because there are couples there is naturally drama and soon the group learns that one of the pairs are enduring a breakup. This causes an obvious tension among the guests until something more important interrupts them: a neighbor in a Hazmat suit. He's come to ask for spare batteries because the city is apparently under a chemical warfare attack. Everyone is instructed to stay inside and duct tape the airways as they face their own demise. Phones, electricity and Internet are all gone.
And just as in real life, when a crises occurs, everyone reacts in their own way. One friend is obsessed with learning who is doing this to them; another goes catatonic; some drink heavily; others have sex.
The calmest of the bunch is the outcast, Glen, who everyone likes, but no one really knows. The most out of control is Hedy (America Ferrera) who teaches high school chemistry, and realizes the dismal fate they're all facing.
Sounds gloomy, huh?
Not so much—it's more silly than depressing, and if they didn't bring up the "terrorist attack" in every other sentence, we probably would forget that they're all sure to die by nightfall.
The banter is enjoyable, but it does unfortunately feel like dozens of other indie films with unfaithful spouses and betrayals of friendship. The odd thing about this one is that it's a comedy, and the jokes are stronger than the characters.
~~~
Saturday, December 26, 2009
A Single Man
This afternoon I saw A Single Man, starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore.
George (Firth) is a British gay English professor teaching at California's Stanford University. It's the early 60s and he's arrived at a time in his life where he no longer finds it worth living. For eight years he's mourned the loss of his lover Jim (Matthew Goode) whom we meet in flashbacks.
It seems the only people who care for George are his friend Charley (Moore), who has spent their friendship wishing he was straight; and Kenny (Nicholas Hoult), a nosy student who seems genuinely concerned about him. And attracted to him.
We follow George through memories of happier times and through the rituals that one endures when they're preparing to end their life: getting the affairs in order, writing goodbye letters, saying nice things to those around them perhaps to show the compassion they felt they were never given.
He spends one last night with Charley, and then sparked by a warm memory, decides to have a drink at the local bar where he met Jim. Following close behind him is Kenny, who he decides to spend the evening with.
Before I go any further, I have to state that all of these scenes play out in quiet, muted tones until something in the character ignites and the color on the screen pops to illustrate it. This could be annoying if not done well, but Director Tom Ford, fashion phenom, happens to know color. It's a technique that not all could use, but he uses it well.
Also to note is the absolute perfect casting Ford found in Colin Firth. Just as convincingly as he usually plays a handsome heterosexual suitor, here he is most certainly a gay college professor with an appetite for only men. It may just be the role of his career.
Not to be understated is the pitch-perfect performance by Julianne Moore and the mature turn of roles for About a Boy's Nicholas Hoult. He's still a fantastic actor, but now instead of being awkward and pudgy, he's handsome, chiseled and...nude. After getting past the same mannerisms he had as a child, it's not hard to see him as a completely grown-up (hot) young man.
This field trip of pain isn't exactly the most pleasant thing to watch, but it's also not as dark as it could have been. Sometimes it's a comfort to see a film where humans just simply act human.
George (Firth) is a British gay English professor teaching at California's Stanford University. It's the early 60s and he's arrived at a time in his life where he no longer finds it worth living. For eight years he's mourned the loss of his lover Jim (Matthew Goode) whom we meet in flashbacks.
It seems the only people who care for George are his friend Charley (Moore), who has spent their friendship wishing he was straight; and Kenny (Nicholas Hoult), a nosy student who seems genuinely concerned about him. And attracted to him.
We follow George through memories of happier times and through the rituals that one endures when they're preparing to end their life: getting the affairs in order, writing goodbye letters, saying nice things to those around them perhaps to show the compassion they felt they were never given.
He spends one last night with Charley, and then sparked by a warm memory, decides to have a drink at the local bar where he met Jim. Following close behind him is Kenny, who he decides to spend the evening with.
Before I go any further, I have to state that all of these scenes play out in quiet, muted tones until something in the character ignites and the color on the screen pops to illustrate it. This could be annoying if not done well, but Director Tom Ford, fashion phenom, happens to know color. It's a technique that not all could use, but he uses it well.
Also to note is the absolute perfect casting Ford found in Colin Firth. Just as convincingly as he usually plays a handsome heterosexual suitor, here he is most certainly a gay college professor with an appetite for only men. It may just be the role of his career.
Not to be understated is the pitch-perfect performance by Julianne Moore and the mature turn of roles for About a Boy's Nicholas Hoult. He's still a fantastic actor, but now instead of being awkward and pudgy, he's handsome, chiseled and...nude. After getting past the same mannerisms he had as a child, it's not hard to see him as a completely grown-up (hot) young man.
This field trip of pain isn't exactly the most pleasant thing to watch, but it's also not as dark as it could have been. Sometimes it's a comfort to see a film where humans just simply act human.
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