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 Sally Hawkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sally Hawkins. Show all posts
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Sunday, July 09, 2017
Maudie
Today I saw Maudie, starring Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke.
The film tells the story of real-life Canadian folk artist, Maud Lewis (Hawkins).
Born Maud Dowley, the artist was severely arthritic, which limited her dexterity but didn't stop her from loving to paint. After a comfortable upbringing, Dowley was forced to find work when her brother took all of their inheritance and left her with nothing. She became a housekeeper for Everett Lewis (Hawke), though she wasn't able to perform most chores.
Lewis was a grumpy fish peddler who lived a modest life in a tiny home on the outskirts of Marshalltown. Though it annoyed him she couldn't be a totally effective housemaid, he did allow her to paint the house, greeting cards and anything else she could get her hands on. The two later married and shared a simple, but arguably content life together.
Just a few years before her death, her paintings got international attention and she and her husband sold them out of their house. Most were $2 or $5. Really special ones went for $10.
Aside from being heartbreaking at many turns, it's delightful to watch such a sweet spirit make so much of what anyone else would consider a meager life. Hawkins is Oscar-worthy as the title star—everything from her physical posture to her delicate voice so closely mimics that of the real person, when they show footage of Lewis at the end of the film, you have to do a double take to be sure it's not still her.
Hawke is also strong as an unlikable, yet somehow redeeming mean husband who clearly loves his wife but wants no part of admitting to that.
You'll laugh, you'll sob, you'll scour the internet to see where you can find prints of her work (hint: The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia)—you'll be absorbed into this most emotional, tender look at an artist not to be forgotten.
~~~
The film tells the story of real-life Canadian folk artist, Maud Lewis (Hawkins).
Born Maud Dowley, the artist was severely arthritic, which limited her dexterity but didn't stop her from loving to paint. After a comfortable upbringing, Dowley was forced to find work when her brother took all of their inheritance and left her with nothing. She became a housekeeper for Everett Lewis (Hawke), though she wasn't able to perform most chores.
Lewis was a grumpy fish peddler who lived a modest life in a tiny home on the outskirts of Marshalltown. Though it annoyed him she couldn't be a totally effective housemaid, he did allow her to paint the house, greeting cards and anything else she could get her hands on. The two later married and shared a simple, but arguably content life together.
Just a few years before her death, her paintings got international attention and she and her husband sold them out of their house. Most were $2 or $5. Really special ones went for $10.
Aside from being heartbreaking at many turns, it's delightful to watch such a sweet spirit make so much of what anyone else would consider a meager life. Hawkins is Oscar-worthy as the title star—everything from her physical posture to her delicate voice so closely mimics that of the real person, when they show footage of Lewis at the end of the film, you have to do a double take to be sure it's not still her.
Hawke is also strong as an unlikable, yet somehow redeeming mean husband who clearly loves his wife but wants no part of admitting to that.
You'll laugh, you'll sob, you'll scour the internet to see where you can find prints of her work (hint: The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia)—you'll be absorbed into this most emotional, tender look at an artist not to be forgotten.
~~~
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.
~~~
Monday, November 03, 2008
Happy-Go-Lucky
Tonight I saw Happy-Go-Lucky, starring Sally Hawkins and Eddie Marsan.
I hate it when critics oversell a film.
Going into this one, I was excited about the prospect of being uplifted by a refreshing character that always saw the glass as half full. Instead I was met with an incredibly annoying leading lady and a string of scenes that don't really mesh, but are forcibly woven together like an unfinished quilt.
Poppy (Hawkins) is an elementary schoolteacher that makes it her life's mission to cheer other people up. Or, she's just goofy. It's hard to tell in the piece-y scenes that have her alternately bouncing on trampolines, falling in love, flamenco dancing and attempting to help a troubled student. Each bit could have merit if it were allowed the chance to develop, but none of them really do.
None, except for the series of bits about her taking driving lessons. Yes—she's supposed to be a thirtysomething in a big city in England, yet she doesn't know how to drive. Suspending that disbelief, she hires a company to teach her how and gets assigned the Worst Driver on Planet Earth (Marsan). Not only is he surly to her, he's dangerous on the road and many of their scenes are borderline disturbing (and if they're not disturbing, they're excruciatingly irritating).
Is the film 100% bad? No. There are delightful (and more realistic scenes) with Poppy's sister, roommate and other friends that make you feel that you're watching a Cyndi Lauper video (in a good way), and the love story near the end is actually somewhat sweet.
I just found it hard to root for someone I wouldn't be able to be in the same room with if she were real.
I hate it when critics oversell a film.
Going into this one, I was excited about the prospect of being uplifted by a refreshing character that always saw the glass as half full. Instead I was met with an incredibly annoying leading lady and a string of scenes that don't really mesh, but are forcibly woven together like an unfinished quilt.
Poppy (Hawkins) is an elementary schoolteacher that makes it her life's mission to cheer other people up. Or, she's just goofy. It's hard to tell in the piece-y scenes that have her alternately bouncing on trampolines, falling in love, flamenco dancing and attempting to help a troubled student. Each bit could have merit if it were allowed the chance to develop, but none of them really do.
None, except for the series of bits about her taking driving lessons. Yes—she's supposed to be a thirtysomething in a big city in England, yet she doesn't know how to drive. Suspending that disbelief, she hires a company to teach her how and gets assigned the Worst Driver on Planet Earth (Marsan). Not only is he surly to her, he's dangerous on the road and many of their scenes are borderline disturbing (and if they're not disturbing, they're excruciatingly irritating).
Is the film 100% bad? No. There are delightful (and more realistic scenes) with Poppy's sister, roommate and other friends that make you feel that you're watching a Cyndi Lauper video (in a good way), and the love story near the end is actually somewhat sweet.
I just found it hard to root for someone I wouldn't be able to be in the same room with if she were real.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)