After a 5 year absence and attempting to make larger films at major studios, J. C. Chandor has returned with his biggest feature yet. Triple Frontier is led by Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Ben Affleck (Argo), and Charlie Hunnam (The Lost City of Z). Isaac plays a member of the military working in South America to take down a cartel. When he finds where the cartel leader is hiding – and that his money is hiding with him – he goes to his former brothers in arms to help him take out the drug lord and seize the money.
Despite the big name cast, the acting is one of the film’s weakest parts. Ben Affleck speaks with a tired, gruff delivery that is meant to make him seem grizzled and world-weary, but instead he comes off as disinterested and often bored, maintaining a single blank expression for the majority of his screen time. Charlie Hunnam, an English actor, struggles to establish his American accent. He plays a southern military man but is unable to maintain the desired speaking voice for more than a few words at a time. He regularly starts with a southern twang then relapses into a posh Englishman to a distracting degree. The least offensive of the leads is Oscar Isaac who plays his character straight as the optimist-turned-pragmatist. He is frustrated with the corrupt system he has lived in while the fighting drug cartels and his decision to independently seize the funds is a believable turn, yet even Isaac’s performance isn’t noteworthy.
The screenplay, written by Mark Boal (Zero Dark Thirty) and Chandor has little interest in its characters. The first act of the film introduces the characters, their backstories, and their comradery but does so in broad, cliched strokes. Each lead has a single defining trait and little effort is put into developing any of them beyond that. We are expected to believe in the strength of their friendship based on the hugs they greet each other with, but any of the backstory is forcibly and explicitly told, rather than shown. The script’s dialogue is overflowing with clumsy exposition as Boal and Chandor attempt to cram in the necessary details to make the heist plausible. The film’s writing is mostly a necessary component to support the main draw – the heist.
It’s a good thing the act itself is worth the wait. Chandor has proven himself a strong director, but Triple Frontier is his first action title and he clearly has a talent for it. All the rushed storytelling that preceded fades to the background once the heist begins. At this stage, the film finally begins to demonstrate, not explicitly lecture, its characters. Each person has their own distinct role in the crime with Affleck serving as the tactician calling out movements. The speed and efficiency they move with are enthralling. They prove themselves to be an elite group of trained military professionals in the way they methodically infiltrate and clear the cartel boss’s home. Chandor shoots these scenes with the same attention to detail. His camera gradually moves from room to room, sweeping for occupants in the same way as the film’s cast and the effect is immersive. The heist and the eventual escape account for roughly a third of the runtime and every moment of these sequences is precipitous as the cast’s quick course corrections always put them on the verge of total failure.
It’s a shame that this level of quality does not extend into the film’s beginning and ending. Without the high stakes of the heist, we are left with cliched characters we don’t care about and performances that are, at best, merely adequate. Triple Frontier is one taut, deftly executed infiltration, bookended by time spent with people that aren’t worth our attention.
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.
