Somehow switching from language to language, despite not being fluent, Asghar Farhadi (A Separation) has made his second non-Iranian and first Spanish feature. The film boasts a powerhouse cast with Penélope Cruz (Volver) as Laura, a Spanish native visiting from Argentina with her daughter for her sister’s wedding, Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) as Paco, a family friend who she has a complicated history with, and Ricardo Darin (The Secret in Their Eyes) as Laura’s husband Alejandro. The film begins with a wedding celebration that is interrupted when Laura and Alejandro’s daughter goes missing.
The depth of the family connections are immediate. In a flurry of hugs and kisses, we see siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and family friends warmly embracing each other in the sunny Spanish countryside. With little exposition, the mutual affection is established and the picturesque setting and upcoming wedding celebration are almost enough to make you forget that this is an Asghar Farhadi film and that something is about to go wrong. Yet, the seeds of future arguments are hinted at early on. Farhadi’s favorite theme of class divide is made apparent as certain characters talk about their financial difficulties in contrast to the relative success of others and more complicated histories appear to exist beneath the exterior of the welcoming smiles.
The kidnapping leads to long buried secrets being revealed. Since the crime happens during a family gathering, the potential suspects are all loved ones. Past relationships, both personal and professional, resurface to complicate matters and the visible strain the search for the culprit puts on the family bonds is effective. Laura is torn between her love for her family and facing the reality that one of them may be using her daughter, their relative, to extort money from her. Each person she would normally turn to for help is a potential suspect and the mystery creates suspense until the true culprit is finally revealed.
Plot-wise, the film is closest to About Elly, but it falls short of that high benchmark. Both stories follow a young woman who goes missing during an otherwise carefree event, but as Farhadi’s signature plot intricacies reveal themselves, there are a few crucial differences. In the best of Farhadi’s works (About Elly, A Separation, and The Past), he takes a familiar situation and injects a conflict with seemingly endless perspectives where each character’s actions are flawed, but their motivations and thought processes are understandable. In Everybody Knows, the conflict is decidedly less complicated. The relationships are still layered and interesting, but the central event is an actual crime – meaning there are clear villains. These characters may have depth to their motivations, but their extreme actions are never forgivable. In previous films, Farhadi would design his plots so that the central conflict and the ensuing consequences were unfortunate outcomes of humanly flawed thinking that put the viewer in a state of nail-biting moral confusion. There was no one to root for when everyone made mistakes. In structuring his newest film as a whodunit, Farhadi has removed the moral ambiguity and weakened the previously gut-wrenching effect of his trademark multilayered relationships and plot reveals.
3/5 stars.
After jokingly picking up plastic instruments at a birthday party for a friend’s child, an increasingly bitter 30-something married couple makes the unlikely decision to start a band together, using their fights as inspiration for their songs. Writer-director-star Zoe Lister-Jones and Adam Polly lead the band with some help on the drums from their strange neighbor played by Fred Armisen. The songs may be amateurish, but the performances are enthusiastic and the lyrics are relatable. As the band develops, so does the central relationship. The music-as-couple’s-therapy conceit brings playfulness to the film and their quarreling adds humor to each of the songs. The gradual rekindling and reevaluation of their romance through rock and roll is a heartwarming transition.
Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream) deserves some type of award. Not just for writing and directing this film, but for convincing a major studio to finance and distribute it in a wide release. Nothing about mother! screams mass appeal. This is the work of a filmmaker of extreme talent with the swaggering confidence and sufficient budget to attempt such a crazy endeavor. A woman (Jennifer Lawrence; The Hunger Games) lives in the countryside with her writer husband (Javier Bardem; No Country for Old Men) in idyllic peace until a fan knocks on their door. Before long the house descends into chaos as droves of unwanted guests commandeer her space, becoming increasingly rabid for her husband’s approval. Interpretations range from ecological damage to biblical stories to the insatiable ego of an artist but what remains constant is the sheer skill needed to pull something like this off. mother! a mesmerizing, dizzying, often frantic film that could only be made by a director with Aronofsky’s originality and mad ambition.
It’s hard to think of a film that turns an unsettling premise into such a joy to watch. Without spoiling the setup (it’s better to not know before viewing), James (Kyle Mooney; Saturday Night Live) rejoins his family as an adult and is obsessed with Brigsby Bear, a TV show that only he has had access to. His parents encourage him to reintegrate with society, but fandom remains his highest priority. With no more episodes being developed, he decides to create a movie that will be Brigsby’s final chapter. Instead of ridiculing James’ unrealistic goals, the film takes every opportunity to support him. Characters band together around his infectious enthusiasm and childlike wonder. As James embarks on his journey, his naivete and confusion about the norms of society provide an endless source of humor. Mooney’s effervescent charm permeates every frame of the film. It’s a counterpoint to our cynical times that is bursting with genuine exuberance and unbridled optimism.
Greta Gerwig (Damsels in Distress) could not have had a more auspicious debut than this. Her first film as a solo writer-director draws on her own experiences growing up in Sacramento and follows Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan; Brooklyn) in her last year of high school. The fiercely independent daughter of an equally strong-willed mother (Laurie Metcalf), Lady Bird struggles to find her place in her hometown. She drifts through different social groups, boyfriends, and arguments with her mother. As a young woman trying to define herself, Ronan captures the conflicted, confused teenage experience and Gerwig is completely in tune with her difficulties. She separates her film from other teen stories by examining not only Lady Bird, but an entire home (including her mother, father, and brother) in transition. She views these characters as equally important and shows how each is simultaneously facing their own life altering challenges. Her ability to balance multiple plotlines and see the greater context of each character’s arc make this one of the best coming-of-age movies in recent memory.
Despite being my top pick for last year, this may be the most idiosyncratic choice on this list. Terence Davies’ biopic on the life of Emily Dickinson will not be for everyone. It’s slow moving with the elaborate, often flowery dialogue of the period and makes no attempt to build to a traditional climax. Rather, the film presents Dickenson’s adult life in deeply sympathetic detail. Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City) delivers a career defining, nuanced performance as the great poet.
