"The Words" cannot save itself from poor visuals.

DVD Review: "The Words"

"The Words," written and directed by both Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal, is a story within a story within a story. On paper the premise is a clever one. A struggling writer, Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper), finds a manuscript and passes it on to a publishing house as his own and it gets printed to great acclaim. Then an old man (Jeremy Irons) makes an appearance and informs Rory that the lost manuscript was his. What to do? The movie revolves around the moral obligation over whether one should profit from another’s work or reveal who the true author is while paying the ultimate price with their reputation and career.

The first story which takes place in the present is about an author Clay Hammond (Dennis Quaid) reading from his newly published novel. His novel is about Rory finding the manuscript and getting it published. During a break in the reading Clay is approached by a graduate student, Daniella (Olivia Wilde), who begins to suspect that Clay is writing about his own beginnings as a writer. As Daniella questions Clay the story asks another question: how close does the fictional work of a writer reflect his experiences and reality? It is the same question and theme asked in Martin McDonagh’s play "The Pillowman," which is, why can’t a story come out of an author’s imagination and not have people believe that the writer lived his story? But the weight of "The Pillowman" was grounded in life and death. The stakes are not that high in "The Words." Clay’s story does generate some genuine mystery as to whether Rory’s story is actually about his early struggles as a writer.

The third story is told to us by the Old Man and it is what was written in the manuscript Rory claimed as his own. It tells of the early life of the Old Man just after World War II. He didn’t see any action in the army but fell in love with a French girl. They married and had a child. The child fell ill and died. They struggled to regain their passion. To escape the Young Man began to write his story. But at its completion the manuscript is misplaced by his wife which leads to accusations and then to a separation.

The film is an odd mix. Mr. Klugman and Mr. Sternthal are inconsistent throughout each story. The three stories all have a different feel and texture as though done by different directors. The story about the Old Man as a Young Man was filmed in a brown hue that sends us back to another era. Their filming of the young couple is exciting as we feel the glow that radiates from their love but also sink as they whither under the heat of tragedy. The couple (Ben Barnes and Nora Arnezeder) is filmed together in most scenes which gives their story an intimacy that draws in the viewer. There is minimal dialogue as the story is narrated by the Old Man but what the couple does say is important and worth listening to.

The second story of Rory and his girlfriend/wife Dora (Zoe Saldana) is laden down with heavy dialogue. It doesn’t help that when the couple confront each other over significant matters they have it out dozens of feet apart. They have a fight in the back alley of a restaurant, he’s against one wall explaining how he’s wasted his life and she’s at the opposite wall trying to understand him. Why so far apart? The scene loses intimacy and lacks the force to hold our attention. And why wouldn’t Dora confront her man up close to either explain why he walked out on their friends or to show understanding about his feelings or to convey her own feelings about what his life means to her? When Rory comes home drunk and tells Dora that he copied the manuscript both actors deliver their lines from opposite sides of the apartment. Mr. Klugman and Mr. Sternthal don’t take the reins off Mr. Cooper and Ms. Saldana and that’s a shame because they have wonderful chemistry together. A lot of the scenes the directors set up feel staged. A simple walk in the streets of Paris doesn’t feel genuine. Are unicyclists juggling bowling pins that prevalent on the streets of Paris?

The diamond in the rough in "The Words" is Jeremy Irons. When he makes his appearance and begins to sketch his yarn it feels like eating chocolate soufflé after a dinner of spinach and raw broccoli. He is a joy to watch and transmits more feeling just recanting his story on a bench then the whole production of the second story. The first story with Mr. Quaid works because it is lean and gets right to the point. It twists and turns and adds a bit of mystery about whether all of the stories are actually true or not. Another treat for literary buffs is the relevancy of Hemingway’s "The Sun Also Rises." It turns out to be influential in making the Old Man interested in writing. It did the same thing for this writer. The book played a part in Rory’s life as well since the only site we see him and Dora visit in Paris is Hemingway’s home when he lived there.

 

Written and directed by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal; director of photography, Antonio Calvache; edited by Leslie Jones; music by Marcelo Zarvos; production design by Michèle Laliberté; costumes by Simonetta Mariano; produced by Jim Young, Tatiana Kelly and Michael Benaroya; released by CBS Films. Running time: 1 hour 37 minutes.

WITH: Bradley Cooper (Rory Jansen), Jeremy Irons (the Old Man), Dennis Quaid (Clay Hammond), Olivia Wilde (Daniella), Zoë Saldana (Dora Jansen), Nora Arnezeder (Celia), Ben Barnes (the Young Man) and Ron Rifkin (Timothy Epstein).

The Place a Great Movie Gets Buried.

Review: "The Place Beyond the Pines"

"The Place Beyond the Pines" is an epic film from writer and director Derek Cianfrance ("Blue Valentine"). The movie tells three stories all of which are connected. The first two tell of two men whose decisions affect the fates of their sons. The third story is about those sons who become friends but then collide when they learn of their fathers’ actions.

With his co-writers, Ben Coccio and Darius Marder, Mr. Cianfrance tells an intimate story of each father. In the first story Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling) is a free spirit who rides a motor bike in a traveling fair to earn ends meat. When he performs one night in Schenectady, New York (the town’s name is an old Mohawk name which translates into the title of the film), he is sought out by an old flame Romina (Eva Mendes). The meeting seems as casual as it did when they had their fling until he learns that Romina had his son. Luke feels obligated to provide for the boy even though Romina has moved in with another man. Desperate for money and with no options he resorts to robbery.

Luke’s story fades into Avery Cross’ (Bradley Cooper), a police officer, which opens as he is caught alone in a hostage situation. He kills the perpetrator but there is some question as to whether he did all that was possible to keep the situation from ending tragically. Avery is cleared and considered a hero. During his recovery he unwillingly partakes in an act of corruption that he discovers is rampant within Schenectady’s police department. Uncomfortable with this knowledge but aware that his closest friends are involved he is backed into a moral corner.

The third story takes place in what we can assume is the present when Luke and Avery’s two sons are teenagers. The two previous stories unfold when the boys were one year old. Luke’s son Jason (Dane DeHaan) has grown up in a supportive two parent home (Romina married the man she moved in with [a very solid performance by Mahershala Ali playing a black step-father to a white teenager]) but in a town with few options he resorts to selling drugs. AJ (Emory Cohen), Avery’s son, lives in the wealthier part of town. AJ sleeps in the big house and can get rides in the nice cars but his parents’ attention is fleeting. The two boys meet and become friends. When they go to pick up some drugs they are busted and that’s when their fathers’ stories seep into their lives. The past has a profound effect on Jason and it unshackles a dormant ferocity.

What the movie "The Place Beyond the Pines" is about is the two friends who fall out of favor and use violence as a means to discharge vengeance upon each other. Mr. Cianfrance tells us the story of their fathers to help us care about these boys and I would guess to explain their actions. It is the least compelling of the three stories. Even with the knowledge of their father’s histories these two characters don’t do anything to make them sympathetic. The Luke story is an interesting character study but the real focus of the movie should have been on the Avery Cross character.

Mr. Gosling and Ms. Mendes are the reasons our interest takes hold in the first story. Luke seems like a simple man but wanting to take responsibility for his actions is the first surprise from this character. There is a violent storm brewing within this man that Mr. Gosling is able to conceal. But we are not surprised to see the rage when it takes over. Mr. Gosling is so good his performance looks easy. He is one of the few actors who can extract satisfaction from an audience just by leaning on a motor bike while staring into space. Ms. Mendes makes a compatible partner. Watching her hold on to the roller coaster he puts her emotions on is rewarding. She works well off of him, tentatively at first, not sure if this Luke would be a good father. She eventually lets go of her desires but has to fight off the violence his unbalanced reasoning sporadically summons. A scene on her porch when Luke confronts Romina about being part of Jason’s life is a high water mark for Ms. Mendes career. He is calm and pleading and Ms. Mendes wrestles with all the emotions a good woman would confront with a man who is sincere about playing a part in raising their son.

The major mistake Mr. Cianfrance and his co-writers made was not focusing the story of the movie on the Avery Cross story. Avery is the son of a judge who passed the bar but instead of becoming a lawyer he became a police officer to give back to the community. But some people are not cut out to be cops and Avery is one of them. Mr. Cooper gives the best performance of his career as a man who sets out to do good for his community but contributes to its graft. Mr. Cooper gives the character layers of complexity without uttering a word. He must wrestle with his conscience while at the same time betraying his friends and an organization that is a symbol of good in the town. Without words Mr. Cooper portrays a character who is not built for physical confrontations that the police regularly confront. When he discovers the corruption he is horrified and scared. Mr. Cooper was nominated for "Silver Linings Playbook" playing a character with bipolar disorder. He was nonstop energy portraying a character that has gone off the rails mentally. When playing these characters an actor gets into a rhythm and can hide behind outlandishness. Mr. Cooper, as Avery, has no where to hide but in the emotions his character feels. He does what he feels is proper procedure by taking his knowledge of corruption to the police chief (Robert Clohessy). Avery is thrown into limbo when he is reprimanded by the chief who doesn’t want to know about any corruption. What he has been taught about right and wrong has suddenly turned grey. I had wished Mr. Cianfrance had concentrated on that story. He also missed an opportunity to build around a great performance by Mr. Cooper.

 

Directed by Derek Cianfrance; written by Mr. Cianfrance, Ben Coccio and Darius Marder, based on a story by Mr. Cianfrance and Mr. Coccio; director of photography, Sean Bobbitt; edited by Jim Helton and Ron Patane; music by Mike Patton; production design by Inbal Weinberg; costumes by Erin Benach; produced by Jamie Patricof, Lynette Howell, Alex Orlovsky and Sidney Kimmel; released by Focus Features. Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes.

WITH: Ryan Gosling (Luke), Bradley Cooper (Avery), Eva Mendes (Romina), Ray Liotta (Deluca), Rose Byrne (Jennifer), Mahershala Ali (Kofi), Dane DeHaan (Jason), Emory Cohen (A J), Harris Yulin (Al Cross) and Ben Mendelsohn (Robin).

"Spring Breakers" Painting a Bleak Picture of Young America

Review: "Spring Breakers"

A collaboration between director Harmony Korine, the director and writer of such works as "Kids" (considered exploitive and borderline child pornography) and "Gummo" (some considered the worst movie of 1997) and two of the Disney Channel’s young stars looking for mature roles seems ripe for calamity. But the result is a solid movie steeped in realism that paints a stark picture of adolescent aspirations in America through the early Twenty-first century.

Mr. Korine opens with a techno infused in-your-face montage of pure hedonism which is the intent of spring break bound college students. He then cuts to a serene and picturesque collage campus which could be a possible breeding ground for boredom and monotony. Here four college girlfriends, Faith (Selena Gomez), Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Brit (Ashley Benson) and Cotty (Rachel Korine) find themselves herded along with the rest of the college body from class to class. Candy and Brit are uninhibited and the ring leaders. Cotty is the band-wagon jumper and Faith is the innocent God fearing Christian. Mr. Korine’s characters don’t develop through the movie but their development isn’t the point. The point is to show American youth at this point in time during their adolescence when they can taste the bounty adult freedom offers without the restraint that comes with maturity.

The four friends fail to collect the funds needed for the get away. Faced with the undesirable position of being stuck on campus, Candy and Brit hold up a restaurant using fake guns. We watch the crime from Cotty’s viewpoint as she circles the restaurant in the get away car. The scene is like watching a movie only because we are removed from the psychological violence that occurs inside. Faith doesn’t partake in the crime. She attends her Bible study class. She is disturbed when they describe the hold-up but is relieved and feels everything is all right since no one was hurt.

Mr. Korine’s filmmaking is as unrestrained as the spring breakers he films. Spring break is just what Mr. Korine has put on film -an exhibition of raw deviant behavior that teenagers exploit just before maturity and its principles are able to take root. With the exception of Faith they take their fill of the debauchery. Faith is on a different parallel. She wants to have fun but is interested in the beauty of the locale and in making new friends.

Suddenly, though, Mr. Korine makes a sharp turn and introduces consequence to the group. They are incarcerated after a police roundup. A local hoodlum, Alien (James Franco), takes an interest and bails them out. Mr. Franco gives the movie its best performance as a wannabe gangster rapper complete with cornrows and gold teeth. Alien is shallow and morally worthless but he’s an image of power, wealth and, for the adolescents, freedom. He is able to seduce Candy and Brit with his guns and money. Cotty tags along but Faith is repealed by the ugliness (Alien’s company and the company he keeps) of Alien’s world. She abandons the girls and escapes back to college.

When the girls join Alien and his quest to take over territory from the local drug lord the movie takes a turn from realism into fantasy. But it is a smooth transition. Mr. Korine seems to recognize that young people dream of power and influence and want to establish tough reputations in order to fend off trouble. But when arms are taken up and money comes pouring in through illegal means the end can only result in tragedy. Alien, with the help of Candy and Brit dressed in their bright glo-bakinis, storm the drug lord’s residence in a dream like sequence. Every one is mowed down but the two girls. Mr. Korine reminds us that tragedy and death exist in reality while naiveté carries on.

Written and directed by Harmony Korine; director of photography, Benoît Debie; edited by Douglas Crise; music by Cliff Martinez and Skrillex; production design by Elliott Hostetter: costumes by Heidi Bivens; produced by Chris Hanley, Jordan Gertner, David Zander and Charles-Marie Anthonioz; released by A24. Running time: 1 hour 34 minutes.

WITH: Vanessa Hudgens (Candy), Selena Gomez (Faith), Ashley Benson (Brit), Rachel Korine (Cotty), James Franco (Alien) and Gucci Mane (Archie).

"Celeste and Jesse Forever" Will Last That Long in Your Heart

DVD Review: "Celeste and Jesse Forever"

"Celeste and Jesse Forever" is the tale of a couple who were friends before they became lovers. They get married. You would think happiness would follow but youth has a tendency to wrestle itself out of the ties that bind. Feeling that marriage was a mistake both Celeste and Jesse file for divorce.

Written by Rashida Jones, who also stars as Celeste, and Will McCormack "Celeste and Jesse Forever" is an interesting study of mutual love, bad timing and the reluctant acceptance of adult responsibility. What carries this movie through is Ms. Jones’ wonderful rapport with Andy Samberg who plays Jesse. The opening scenes reveal how pleasurable the two find each other’s company and it comes as a surprise to learn that they are in the middle of a divorce. Happily married couples should have as much fun as they do. Celeste is the bread winner who owns the house. She allows Jesse, who is a struggling artist, to live in the back in the garage. She doesn’t ask Jesse for rent and encourages his pursuit of artistic achievement. Their closeness amid divorce proceedings turn off their best friends Beth and Tucker (Ari Graynor and Eric Christian Olsen), who are engaged to each other and believe that divorce should be laced with malice.

The story shifts to another gear when Jesse strikes up romance with an old acquaintance, Veronica (Rebecca Dayan) and unintentionally gets her pregnant. The harmony of their friendship is shattered. Jesse is forced to move out of the garage and "get a real job" to support his new predicament. Celeste, either comfortable with their status quo or waiting for the relationship to ripen, is heartbroken. Being left behind on the couples’ scene Celeste jumps into the dating arena. Psychologically unprepared her encounters with undesirable dates are comic but when she encounters a decent guy, Paul (Chris Messina), her rejection of him adds to the drama.

Both Ms. Jones and Mr. Samberg have an incredible ability to control the temperature of their relationship. Their rapport is undeniable and it makes them endearing. But when the manure hits the propellers their pettiness and jealousy make them human. After Jesse informs Celeste of the pregnancy you can see the game of spurned lovers playing in their heads. Ms. Jones is charismatic and funny in her earlier scenes as a young up and coming woman who couldn’t ask for a better start in life- a job she wants and is good at, landing a major client which will keep her moving up the corporate ladder and a best friend to lean on. But when confronted with an act of betrayal (not really a betrayal in a relationship without any set upon boundaries) Ms. Jones embodies the hurt, anger and confusion that grip her when her world begins to crumble. Mr. Samberg is convincing with his sense of confusion and guilt that he has hurt his best friend. He does a good job of showing the uncertainty mixed with happiness about starting a family but not with the woman he wanted to start one with.

Ms. Jones and Mr. McCormack along with the director Lee Toland Krieger show what is all to prevalent among individuals and couples. There is an undesirable stigma that attaches itself to singles that will force them to date and enter relationships that they are not ready or suited for. They also do a good job at showing how the single person (Celeste) feels like she’s the loser for being single and how it affects her behavior. They keep the drama interesting by adding small scenes that might resurrect their relationship from the hurt and confusion. Of course alcohol is involved and the next morning brings back harsh reality.

"Celeste and Jesse Forever" is a movie that touches on a rare subject- two friends who love each other but cannot live happily ever after with each other. There is always the possibility that they will end up back together at the end. But the movie ends the way it should with a small but sweet twist.

Directed by Lee Toland Krieger; written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack; director of photography, David Lanzenberg; edited by Yana Gorskaya; music by Sunny Levine and Zach Cowie; production design by Ian Phillips; costumes by Julia Caston; produced by Lee Nelson, Jennifer Todd and Suzanne Todd; released by Sony Pictures Classics. Running time: 1 hour 29 minutes.

WITH: Ms. Jones (Celeste), Andy Samberg (Jesse), Chris Messina (Paul), Ari Graynor (Beth), Eric Christian Olsen (Tucker), Mr. McCormack (Skillz), Rebecca Dayan (Veronica), Rich Sommer (Max), Matthew Del Negro (Nick), Rafi Gavron (Rupert), Elijah Wood (Scott) and Emma Roberts (Riley).