Tag Archives: Scarlett Johansson

2019, Recent Reviews, Reviews

Marriage Story (2019): The Messiness of Divorce

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Inspired in part by his own divorce, Noah Baumbach (Frances Ha) writes and directs the story of an artist couple at the end of their marriage. Charlie (Adam Driver; Paterson) is a play director and Nicole (Scarlett Johansson; Jojo Rabbit) is an actress in New York. They have a young son together, but, due to differences in long-term goals, have decided to divorce. There was no inciting incident, just a gradual diverging that has led to their current situation with no visible hostilities from either party.

While Baumbach gives both parents plenty of attention, he isn’t completely even-handed. It may be due to personal biases or due to Charlie being partly based on Baumbach himself, but the film places more blame on Nicole. Neither lead is a villain here as both husband and wife make mistakes, but Nicole escalates the situation by hiring a vicious divorce attorney named Nora (Laura Dern; Blue Velvet). They had initially agreed to using a mediator to keep lawyers out of the picture, but when Nicole violates that agreement it makes her initially appear like the aggressor. Charlie is served with divorce papers and, without representation of his own, is put in a vulnerable position as Nora threatens to take everything.

Nora is an utterly reprehensible character.

If nothing else, the film will make every viewer hate divorce attorneys. Charlie’s initial lawyer is an older man that gives him circular contradictory advice and seems partially defeated before even starting. When Charlie switches to a high-end option (Ray Liotta; Goodfellas), he is stuck with an effective but overly aggressive lawyer that curses with every breath about how Charlie is damaging his own position. As bad as Liotta’s character is, he is at least upfront with his hostility. Nora is an absolute abomination. Dern, who is normally immensely likable in all her roles, plays Nora as a slimy, two-faced villain that will politely screw you over while brandishing a fake smile. In both cases the lawyers end up costing tens of thousands of dollars to the detriment of the family. One character notes that they’re taking from their son’s college money to pay for legal fees.

After the lawyers become involved, Marriage Story is able to effectively show the emotional strain caused by the divorce. Charlie and Nicole’s divorce is initially completely amicable. They know they need to separate, but there is no bad blood until attorneys start making demands. Both threaten to claim spousal support, something neither originally wanted, and slander each other using inconsequential facts to portray the other as an irresponsible parent. This creates resentment between Charlie and Nicole and results in hurtful screaming matches where long buried thoughts surface as devastating insults. Every part of their arguing feels raw and unfiltered, like pent up frustration rather than dramatic dialogue. The legal maneuvering and the following emotional harm warps their priorities and causes them to fight for minor wins instead of creating the best situation for their family. By showing how Charlie and Nicole’s relationship is upended by the legal process, Baumbach succeeds in making Marriage Story a sensitive and realistic examination of the messiness of divorce.

4/5 stars.

2019, Recent Reviews, Reviews

Jojo Rabbit (2019): Nazi Comedy

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Using the increased clout afforded to him after revitalizing a Marvel franchise with Thor: Ragnarok, Taika Waititi (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) has gone to much riskier material. Jojo Rabbit is a comedy set in Germany near the end of WWII. Jojo (Roman Griffith Davis) is a boy who is obsessed with Hitler and fully indoctrinated by his ideals. His world becomes more complicated when he discovers his mother is hiding a Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie; Leave No Trace) in their home.

Waititi gets great work from his main cast. As Jojo, Davis has the wide-eyed look of an innocent, but easily impressionable kid and it allows him to get away with reciting Nazi propaganda. While what he says is hateful, it is obvious that he is only a child repeating what he has been mislead to believe is true. McKenzie brings a surprising amount of strength to her role. As the lone Jewish character, reduced to hiding in the walls of a house, it would have been easy for her to be a victim, but instead she comes off as resilient and bold. Her use of Jojo’s misconceptions to terrify and control him are an unexpected treat as she deliberately moves like a ghost in a horror movie to play into his fears. Scarlett Johansson (The Avengers), as Jojo’s mother, is warm and loving, but has an hilariously antagonistic side. Since she secretly despises Nazi beliefs, she subtly teases Jojo to get him to understand that his beliefs are wrong by telling him about the importance of love while also gently taunting him by calling him “Shitler” or tying his shoelaces together.

The supporting roles have their moments as well with Yorkie (Archie Yates) deserving high praise. As Jojo’s chubby, bespectacled second-best friend, Yorkie is the film’s funniest character. His sweet nature and complete obliviousness to the events around him are hilarious. Every moment he shares with Jojo is heartwarming and cute as he finds himself inexplicably resilient and makes his way through one precarious situation after another.

Waititi uses overly exaggerated facial expressions that detract from the humor.

The exception to the excellent casting unfortunately comes in Waititi himself. A self-described “Polynesian Jew”, Waititi playing Hitler is, in theory, a perfect fit. He is a talented comedian and the idea of casting a non-white Jewish actor as Hitler is in itself appropriately insulting to Nazi beliefs, but Waititi overacts in the role. It’s important to distinguish that this is not Hitler, but rather a 10 year old’s imaginary version of Hitler, so he only has the mental faculties of a little boy. This leads to some moments of levity as Waititi is confused by things a child wouldn’t understand, but his facial expressions are often too much to handle. He spends most of his screentime trying to make funny faces to get easy laughs, but this is distracting and undermines much of the humor leading to a film with jokes that miss as often as they land.

Setting a feel-good comedy in Nazi Germany is not a normal premise and it has understandably offended some. Jojo Rabbit doesn’t portray Nazis as good-hearted, but it does make them seem like incompetent buffoons in an aesthetically pleasing Wes Anderson-like world that only lightly touches on the atrocities they were so efficient in executing, which is a tonal mistake. That being said, the Nazis themselves are not the focus of the film. Jojo Rabbit, like many of Waititi’s works, is a coming of age story, this time in the midst of warped society. It is ultimately about a child learning to embrace love over hate and disregarding the alleged differences between various people. It doesn’t have the sustained laugh rate it aims for, but Jojo Rabbit is still enjoyable for its lead cast, goofball humor, and a few poignant moments.

3/5 stars.

2013, Top Lists

Top 10 Films of 2013

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[BS Note: This list was originally written in early 2014]

With the Golden Globes behind us and the Oscars coming up this weekend, it is a great time to celebrate some of the year’s best films. 2013 was a great year for film-making it was difficult to bring this list down to ten entries, but these are the films that resonated.

10. In a World…

Lake Bell (No Strings Attached) makes her feature writing and directing debut with In a World…, a comedy about a vocal coach, Carol (Bell), failing to find a place in the male dominated voice-over industry. Bell smartly mixes humor with the realities of attempting to break the glass ceiling, elevating the film from lighthearted comedy to sharp societal commentary.

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9. Gravity

Gravity, like other films on this list, is about survival. Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) plays a medical engineer on her first trip to space when a catastrophe occurs. Enough cannot be said about the way this film looks. The computer generated visual effects are stunning and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki’s (The Tree of Life) long takes with precise direction from Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men) make the Gravity a gripping thrill ride in space.

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8. 12 Years a Slave

It would be easy to look at the story of 12 Years a Slave and think that it is Oscar bait. A film based on a true story about a free man kidnapped from the North and sold into slavery in the South? The Academy should love that. But the movie is directed by Steve McQueen (Hunger, Shame) and he has no interest in the sentimental. The films depicts the horrific realities of life as a slave. What is most frightening is how common these acts were. Each brutality is accepted as a part of the natural order. The film’s traumatic imagery ensures that this period of US history and the film itself will not be forgotten.

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7. Her

Set in a slightly futuristic Los Angeles, Her follows Joaquin Phoenix (The Master) playing Theodore Twombly, a man who writes heartfelt letters on behalf of strangers unable to do so. He is separated and lonely until he falls in love with an artificial intelligence named Samantha played by Scarlett Johansson (The Avengers). Director Spike Jonze (Adaptation) uses Samantha’s lack of a body to emphasize the emotional connection craved by Theodore. He lives in a crowded city but feels isolated from the people around him. The film shows each phase of their relationship and how Theodore changes as it progresses. Her succeeds by making a romance with a disembodied voice feel remarkably human.

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6. The Hunt

The Hunt is probably the most aggravating film of the year. In a good way. Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) plays a kind, well-liked preschool teacher falsely accused of a terrible crime. The film follows him as he is ostracized out of every part of his small town. Because of the nature of the accusation his former friends and colleagues immediately abandon him. Innocent until proven guilty? Not for this crime. His descent continues as the film shows just how easily even the strongest relationships can shatter when someone cries wolf.

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5. The Place Beyond the Pines

The Place Beyond the Pines is really a triptych: three stories linked by one key event. The first story is about a stunt motorcyclist turned bank robber played by Ryan Gosling (Drive). The second is about the cop that tries to catch him played by Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) and the third is about the sons of the two. Directed by Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine), the film is at its best during small moments. The character interactions have a raw intensity that make them feel honest and real. The film shows that each action has its consequences and how each generation deals with the aftermath of the pervious.

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4. The Past

The Past is a companion piece to Asghar Farhadi’s previous Oscar-winning film A Separation. Both films are about a divorce, but The Past is about characters dealing with the ramifications of their previous actions. It is a film that presents a relatively simple situation, a long separated couple finally filing the paperwork for divorce so the woman can marry her new boyfriend, and peels back layer after layer revealing the complicated, morally ambiguous chaos underneath. Farhadi manages to do this without creating “good” or “bad” characters. Everyone acts in a realistic, understandable way but also commit tragic mistakes that make the situation even thornier and his even-handed direction causes your sympathies to shift with each new revelation.

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3. All is Lost

All is Lost is a demonstration of how great acting can carry a film. Robert Redford (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men) plays a nameless man on a solo voyage through the Indian Ocean whose boat springs a leak. His performance, under the direction of J.C. Chandor (Margin Call), expresses feeling through subtle actions. A grimace or sigh conveys the struggles of the protagonist more than most voiceovers in other films. Despite containing no dialogue and only a few spoken words, it commands attention. The continued determination and resourcefulness of an elderly, but experienced sailor in the face of possible death make the film a tense and affecting adventure.

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2. Inside Llewyn Davis

With Inside Llewyn Davis, the Coen brothers (No Country for Old Men, True Grit) have made yet another excellent film containing their signature dark humor and sardonic wit. Starring Oscar Isaac (Drive), the film has something unusual for the Coens: sincerity. The film is about a folk singer, Llewyn Davis, who wanders from gig to gig trying to find a record deal. He is mean to most of his friends and dismissive of other singers as sell-outs, but his quest for artistic purity gives the film an earnestness that elevates it above most of the Coen brothers’ works. Despite him being more or less detestable, the film creates empathy for the character because he is unwilling to compromise his beliefs even if that means he is never successful.

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1. Before Midnight

The experience of watching Before Midnight is like reconnecting with two friends you have known for decades. Friends that will squabble, joke, and ramble about anything and everything. But that’s the best part: listening to them talk. Set 9 years after Before Sunset and 18 years after Before Sunrise, the Before series continues its tradition of charmingly garrulous dialogue, yet it surpasses its—already excellent—predecessors by confronting the struggles of long term relationships. The warmth of a perfect connection from the previous films is still present but so are the cracks of reality that affect even the best relationships. This allows the film to continue to feel new and fresh while retaining the affection built up in earlier installments. The series, like love at its best, has grown stronger over time. Before Sunrise is great, Before Sunset is even better, and Before Midnight is incredible. It is, in my opinion, the best example of a sequel done right and easily the best film of the year.

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Honorable Mentions: Enough Said, Nebraska, Captain Phillips, The Wolf of Wall Street.