The Age of Adaline Review

The Age of Adaline

Dir: Lee Toland Krieger

Starring: Blake Lively, Harrison Ford, Ellen Burstyn, Michiel Huisman, Kathy Baker, and Amanda Crew

If you had all the time in the world, what would you do? If today would be the oldest that you would ever get, what would you do tomorrow? I would like to think that I would do something positive or influential, but I’d probably just read and watch more movies. How could this gift of time ever become a hindrance?  Well, director Lee Toland Krieger attempts to answer some of these questions in “The Age of Adaline”. The roots of the film stem from matters of science fiction however the topic of love is the primary point of focus here. The film touches on love lost, love found, and even love forgotten.  “The Age of Adaline” doesn’t delve into the interesting directions that it could but instead offers a harmless date movie with a little science fiction touch to keep things interesting.

Adaline (Blake Lively) is a 29-year-old woman in 1937 who, after a car accident on a stormy night, stops aging. Adaline’s youthful features remain as her daughter Flemming (Ellen Burstyn) grows older while other loved ones around her age and pass away. It’s a lonely life for Adaline who must evade inquisitive government officials and hold her ambitions for love at bay in order to protect her family and herself. Time catches up to the present and Adaline is wise with experience and a knowledge gained over her long life. She can speak different languages, has first-hand insight into historical events, and garners a vast skillset. Adaline meets a man named Ellis and decides to take a chance at love, convinced by the push of her daughter, but her past catches up to her.

At the core of the film exists a narrative device of science fiction, one utilized throughout film history. Constructed through a lightning flash and explained by a voice-over narrator the scene quickly establishes Adaline's agelessness and moves forward. It doesn’t try to justify the reasons, and quite frankly doesn't make much sense, but it doesn't seem to matter because this ploy is utilized simply to introduce what the film came to do, which is tell a love story. Adaline can’t help but fall in love, even when she doesn’t try to fall in love, all the best suitors seem to be traveling the same road she is. The romantic aspect is somewhat dull, almost having a Hallmark movie sentiment. Still, there are moments when the film slightly comes to life, usually in moments when the talented cast is given time and room to work within a scene. Much of what doesn’t work with the film is that Adaline’s life never portrays the quality that she seems so affected by, namely that time has become a burden. Besides the death of a few canine companions and hints at loved ones lost, we never see how the world, in other realms besides love, has caused her pain.

The cast is very good considering some of the situations they are placed in. Blake Lively continues to grow as an actress, this time portraying the affecting qualities of a woman weighed down by time. Harrison Ford plays a charming role as a man awakened by a lost moment in his life. Michiel Huisman is charged with being the perfect man to Adaline, fighting for love with a charismatic sensibility. The best role comes from the character that is most underutilized. Ellen Burstyn is fantastic as Flemming, the lone consistency in Adaline’s life. In one of the best scenes in the film a young mother and elderly daughter sit across from each other and the familial structure comes to life with playful banter and emotional gesturing.

The film feels lost at times, due largely to the narrative that never fully realizes Adaline's character. Though Blake Lively and the remaining cast do the job of holding the film together, even making a few of the mundane scenes resonate with the charm the film is clearly trying to foster. "The Age of Adaline" doesn't try to be more than a simple romantic film, which is surprising considering it has the potential to have done so much more with the material in hand.

Monte's Rating

2.75 out of 5.00

Ex Machina Review

Ex Machina

Dir: Alex Garland

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, and Alicia Vikander

108 Minutes

Rated R

Ava is a robot with exceptional artificial intelligence. She is beautiful, intelligent, emotional, affected, and curious. She is also the trapped subject of scientific analysis, the caged bird that when released will change everything about the world that we know. Good science fiction always asks difficult questions, most of the time without an easy to explain answer. While the structure of science fiction films can become overwhelmed by special effects and unnecessary spectacle, these films are still completely amusing in ways that similar films, like action films, are not. It’s the fascination with theory and how well a sci-fi film can support a hypothesis. Director Alex Garland builds a methodical structure with an intelligent narrative, one that focuses on relationships between men and women, the advancing world and how it connects with progressing technology, and the trappings and limitations of science. “Ex Machina” is a welcome addition to the list of exceptional science fiction films.

Nathan (Oscar Isaac) is a reclusive mogul who invented the world’s foremost search engine. Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) is a programmer who wins an invitation to meet and work with Nathan on his private research compound. After being dropped off by a helicopter and venturing through a forest, Caleb arrives at a door and is greeted by a computer. Once inside Caleb meets with the egocentric Nathan who discusses all aspects of science, religion, and art with Caleb. These discussions are all in preparation for Caleb to meet Ava (Alicia Vikander), a robot whose fabricated skeleton is accommodated by a human face. Caleb is to conduct a test to determine whether he can identify Ava as a computer. Ava is intrigued by the new visitor and begins to conduct her own tests on Caleb.

Alex Garland wrote and directed the film; his measured pacing in the script shapes and molds some great scenes of tension but also surprisingly some touching emotional moments. The characters are constantly changing, affected by the people and situations around them. Whether Ava who continually learns and adapts, Caleb who is pulled into different allegiances, or Nathan who is constantly embattled by his own intelligence and isolation, Garland exhibits a keen eye for character development and utilizes all these elements to make the narrative mysterious, suspenseful, sad, and insightful. Garland also uses the characters to to ask important questions that add depth to the story but are also simply offered to spark the viewers own reasoning. It's what good writing should do.

While the film doesn’t lean on special effects, it does utilize it in nearly every scene with Ava. The composition of her robot and human attributes are outstandingly rendered and intricately constructed, this deign is also used to provide depth to the character. Ava’s body is fashioned with a metallic mesh but her face, hands, and feet are covered with skin. This allows the character to portray emotion through her face, express feelings of anger and tenderness with her hands, and show direction and motivation with her feet. It’s a well-conceived design that contributes to the ambiguous objectives that Ava presents as the film progresses.  Actress Alicia Vikander gives a confident and sensitive portrayal as Ava, a true breakout performance.

Oscar Isaac is terrific as the ego-driven inventor Nathan, who is always gleefully a step ahead of everyone. Isaac does the best work when Nathan’s weaknesses overcome him, moments that lead to dancing and intellectual sparing matches with Caleb and sometimes himself. Domhnall Gleeson is also good as Caleb. Whether his fanboy-like admiration of Nathan or his easily manipulated emotional attachment to Ava, Gleeson does a great job of transitioning from susceptibly trusting to questioningly suspicious. 

Alex Garland, who started his career as a novelist and screenwriter, makes an impressive directorial debut.  “Ex Machina” is an exceptional film on many levels, but perhaps the most admirable quality exists in the questions it proposes and the answers it allows the viewer to contemplate.

Monte’s Rating

4.50 out of 5.00

White God Review

White God

Dir: Kornél Mundruczó

Starring: Zsófia Psotta, Sándor Zsótér, Lili Horváth, and Lili Monori

121 Minutes

Rated R

Dog is man’s best friend. They are loyal, obedient, with a love unbounded. These are sentiments that could describe the furry canine friend sitting at your feet while you are reading this review. In Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó’s film “White God” they are spot-on feelings for the first half of the film. The enduring trust and love between a young girl named Lili and her dog Hagen display the interactions that dog lovers know well. However, once the two are separated and Hagen is left to his own survival on the mean streets, the corruption and hate that fills the world in “White God” consumes Hagen and forces retaliation. The film is very much about the imposing and superior approach that humans have over animals, specifically in matters of mistreatment. Mundruczó mixes genres to make “White God” come to stunning life, finishing the film with one of the most impressive animal spectacles of recent memory. 

Lili and Hagen are inseparable. Companions that support each other in ways each will never completely understand. Lili is living with her father for a short time. A state official informs Lili’s father that there is a hefty tax for dogs that aren’t purebred. Not wanting to pay the tax Lili’s father abandons Hagen in the middle of the street in the city. Hagen, proven faithful, is trusting to all the wrong people. However, in this city, it seems that most humans are the wrong kind of people. Hagen is abused, forced into dogfighting by a cruel master. Hagen escapes but is caught and sent to the dog pound, though with a damaged temperament and serious wound, his fate is sealed. Faced with death, Hagen escapes with nothing more than retaliation on his mind.

The narrative involves a simple setup but there are other themes that peek through and offer some interesting points for thought. The commentary about the mistreatment of mixed bred dogs and the correlation to the rising frustrations and injustices scene in society is the strongest point.  It’s a story about power and how it has been utilized to abuse and restrain. It’s also a story about the taking of power and the choices associated with how this responsibility should be utilized. Yes, this is a story about a dog, but it is obvious that the writer was striving for larger perspectives.

The film transitions with an unexpected turn, changing “White God” from a dramatic film into a horror film. It’s a daring twist but the director clearly understands how genre functions, implementing characterized traits like stalking perspectives and dark figures moving in the shadows to establish the atmosphere. What strongly assists this change is the fact that the director utilized real dogs, two hundred plus trained dogs that sprint through the streets, jump over obstacles, and make a formation that is similar to a army tactical stance. It’s stunning filmmaking that displays the creativity employed by the director. What is somewhat unfortunate is that this grand and bold event of animal uprising doesn’t take advantage of the event from a photography perspective. Many of the scenes are still composed with shaky camera work or a stationary “point and shot” style. This may in part be an unavoidable obstacle because of the amount of choreography needed for the trained animals during the scene. Regardless of this minor creative choice, the finale is enthralling, sad, and beautiful.

“White God” is a brutal film at times, one that could split animal lovers over the difficult scenes the dogs are placed in. The story is simplistic with a genre twist that changes it from a touching drama about a young girl and her dog into a brutal commentary about animal abuse and finally into a gory revenge filled horror film. It’s unlike any animal film you will likely see produced in America. 

Monte’s Rating

4.00 out of 5.00

True Story Review

True Story

Dir: Rupert Goold

Starring: Jonah Hill, James Franco, and Felicity Jones

There are always two sides to every story. The back and fourth, cat and mouse, discussions between a suspected murderer and a discredited journalist takes focus in director Rupert Goold’s “True Story”, which also happens to be based on a true story. The truth lies somewhere in between the two men throughout the majority of the film, with analysis focusing on the unusual bond between the two and how each uses the other to discover reason behind the choices that have come to define them. What is unfortunate is that these thought-provoking insights are simply lost amongst a script that never explores the depths of the characters or the inherent drama that exists between them.

Michael Finkel (Jonah Hill) is a highly regarded New York Times investigative reporter whose reputation is targeted after writing an article with fabricated truths. Finkel retreats to Montana with his girlfriend Jill (Felicity Jones) and begins to pick up the pieces of his now tarnished career. Finkel can’t find work until a terrible crime connects him with a murderer named Christian Longo (James Franco) who is accused of killing his entire family and then utilizing Finkel’s name as an alias while on the run.

Finkel at one point in the film tells a group of mourning family members that every person deserves to have their story told. It’s one of the more interesting comments in the film, one that displays Finkel’s misguided ambition and continued trouble with the truth while also portraying the persuasive power that Longo holds over Finkel. Is it all a guise or could Longo be telling the truth? This question concerning Longo’s ambiguous character is proposed early on though unfortunately doesn’t so much as hint at the answer than it does paint it on billboard for everyone to see. This lack of subtlety becomes a major problem for this narrative that is trying to build a mystery between the two men. When the answers aren’t being easily revealed the insightful questions, like the one that looks at the difficult moral choice for the somewhat arrogant Finkel, are merely touched upon. Better execution could have offered a change in the dynamic between the characters for greater dramatic effect.

Jonah Hill is a good actor though many of his skills are underutilized here. His character starts arrogant, then apologetic, and then fascinated, and Hill displays those attributes with ease but many times within the story these come off as heavy-handed and not necessarily assistive to the emotional tone of the moment. James Franco has an even tougher time playing the confusing suspect, while his soft mannerisms add a creepy quality the role is ultimately relinquished to glares and stares and strained monologues. Felicity Jones is left to fill in the gaps when Hill and Franco aren’t sitting across from each other. She isn’t given much but she makes the most of the opportunities provided.

Still, apart from the flaws, “True Story” attempts to do something different than what is often seen within the true crime genre. By focusing on these two men struggling with different aspects of the truth, the film touches on the beginnings of a refreshing filmmaking approach with interesting questions. It’s unfortunate that these questions aren't always satisfyingly explored.

Monte’s Rating

2.50 out of 5.00

Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter Review

Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter

Dir: David Zellner

Starring: Rinko Kikuchi, Shirley Venard, Nobuyuki Katsube, David Zellner, and Nathan Zellner

Obsession has lead people to amazing feats. It has also lead people to terrible fates. Obsession is the driving theme behind director David Zellner’s film “Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter”, which portrays the lonely existence of a Japanese woman who becomes consumed by the hope for change. With a delicate and moving narrative co-written by Nathan Zellner, assisted by a poignant performance by Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi, “Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter” is a strange, haunting, and surprisingly touching experience.

Kumiko (Rinko Kikuchi) is an office worker living a lonely life in Tokyo, her only companion being her pet rabbit Bunzo. One day she discovers a battered VHS copy of the film “Fargo” and mistakes it for a true story. A scene in the film, one where a bag of money is buried beneath the snow, consumes Kumiko’s imagination. Believing the authenticity of the buried money/treasure, Kumiko leaves Japan for North Dakota in search of the life changing fortune and acceptance from her family.

The film functions in many ways like an adventure tale, although one that substitutes the exotic locales with the frigid vastness of North Dakota and the action set pieces for calculated character focused drama. Kumiko finds a treasure map and leaves the world she is familiar with to hunt for treasure in a foreign world were she is unable to communicate. Though unorthodox for an adventure premise the film works in establishing an environment where we feel sympathetic for the lost woman and hope for her success amidst the tragic reality that defines her journey. The narrative builds moments that continue to define Kumiko’s unstable mental state, like a sad scene involving her dismissive and berating mother or a scene that displays the extent of her loneliness involving a misguided attempt at companionship with a sheriff’s deputy (David Zellner). It’s heartbreaking and downtrodden at every turn, which makes it all the more surprising that the narrative is able to keep the cheering sentiments alive as Kumiko journeys farther into the consuming depths of her fixation.

Rinko Kikuchi was exceptional in “Babel” and continues to display her talents here as Kumiko. From the beginning the film belongs to Kikuchi, as her journey moves further into the state of madness Kikuchi’s performance further excels. While she communicates verbally in her native language and English, it’s the wordless aspects of her performance, which is surprisingly a large portion of the film that produces the best emotional touches. The remaining cast portrays a mix of eccentric characters with performances that accommodate the story in nearly every aspect.

“Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter” is a fantasy adventure film and character study about harmful obsessions. It’s beautifully composed and troubling to comprehend, a film that is hard to define as enjoyable yet is still completely riveting and inspired.

Monte’s Rating 

4.25 out of 5.00

While We're Young Review

While We’re Young

Dir: Noah Baumbach

Starring: Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried, Maria Dizzia, and Adam Horovitz

During some pre-movie chitchat a few weeks ago I struck up a conversation about music with a young man sitting nearby. The young man, no less than a year out of high school, told me that he loved “old” hip-hop music and asked if I ever heard a song by an artist named 2Pac? I laughed thinking the young man was joking about the “old” label then realized that the song in question was released in 1996!! "While We're Young", from director Noah Baumbach, takes on the changing relationship between the aging Generation X and the youthful millennials. Baumbach handles the themes of aging, responsibility, and acceptance with a mix of resentment and forced assurance. 

Josh (Ben Stiller) is a forty-something documentary filmmaker who is married to a pleasant woman named Cornelia (Naomi Watts). Without any responsibility beyond themselves, due to struggles with pregnancy, the couple is consistently reminded by close friends that aging and change go hand in hand. Josh, who lectures about film at a college, meets a young twenty something couple named Jamie (Adam Driver) and Darby (Amanda Seyfried) who live life with a freewheeling perspective. Josh and Cornelia feel enlivened by the young couple and begin to partake in the lifestyle characteristics of the younger generation.

The film begins with some very clever and insightful truths and lies that many people, young and old, tell themselves. Whether the sentiments lost in the moment or the statements that structure change, Baumbach resonates in flashes how life may look, sound, and feel different even though the underlying emotions are nothing unfamiliar. Josh admires the freedom that the young couple lives for but also the interest they have for his experience, a relationship where Josh and Cornelia share established insight and the couple simply share their youthful perspective. Whether the hip-hop dance class Darby takes Cornelia to or the spiritual hallucinogenic getaway they all take, Baumbach shows with comedic flare the awkward generational differences and downright cluelessness that exists between both couples. The film’s strongest attribute is that Baumbach writes the film with such a genuine insight, whether the role of authentic truth verse shaped truth in documentary filmmaking and how it reflects changing structures of integrity or the malaise that success can put people in. It is unfortunate that Baumbach’s subtly touches eventually turn into a forced one-sided perspective as Josh’s admiring gaze fades and an alternative motivation is revealed. 

Ben Stiller is good here, utilizing nicely the confused and uncomfortable character that he portrays so well though is often overused in other comedies. Adam Driver plays off Stiller’s character, portraying friendly and fraudulent at the same time. It’s a shame that Naomi Watts’ range is underused here while Amanda Seyfried’s character starts off interesting but is moved into the background too often within a scene. Adam Horovitz, known alternatively as Ad-Rock from the Beastie Boys, is cleverly cast as a husband and new dad who has given up his partying ways. 

Noah Baumbach is an accomplished filmmaker who understands character and utilizes them to move many of his films into unexpected and impressive places, take a look at “Frances Ha” or “Kicking and Screaming” for examples. With “While We’re Young” Baumbach makes many amusing and comic suggestions about the transitions throughout adulthood. However, just like the temporary harmony that exists between the generations in this film, things get conflicted and complicated, an all to familiar theme of growing up and growing old.

Monte’s Rating

3.50 out of 5.00