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2019, Recent Reviews, Reviews

The Day Shall Come (2019): Failed Satire

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Chris Morris (Four Lions) returns to cinema with another satire in a setting that doesn’t seem appropriate for humor. While his previous film followed terrorists, The Day Shall Come flips the script and centers on a team of FBI counter-terrorism agents in Miami. The agents, featuring Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect), have their eyes on the leader of a small religious group named Moses (Marchánt Davis).

Morris has spent most of his career deriving comedy from subject matter that should be off limits. He was thrust into the spotlight when making jokes about pedophilia on British TV then again when he made Four Lions, a comedy about four would-be suicide bombers. With Four Lions, there was an initial period of discomfort when faced with the idea of laughing at their lethal behavior, but it quickly dissipated after realizing how incompetent and misguided they were. Morris was able to deftly balance viewing the farcical nature of the ideology behind suicide bombings, the damage they cause, and the fragile mental state that allows regular people to become expendable tools in other people’s wars.

Moses has his own goals, but isn’t the violent terrorist the FBI wants him to be.

The Day Shall Come doesn’t share that level of nuance. Despite a great cast that is, in other works, very likable, the proceedings are in bad taste. Unlike the terrorists from Four Lions, Moses and his followers pose no real threat. He talks about an mutiny against the oppressors but is unequivocally against using guns, turning them down when offered. Furthermore, he has no actual power. His group has only a handful of people and they are dirt poor. They can’t afford rent for their run-down home and his wife goes dumpster diving to provide food for his followers and his children. He has goals of starting a revolution, but will clearly never be able to. His group has outlandish beliefs like being able to summon dinosaurs with an air horn or that Moses has telekinetic powers showing that he is delusional, but not harmful.

This is what creates the dilemma of the film. The FBI agents aren’t interested in actual counter-terrorism. Their work shown in the film consists of them hiring actors or blackmailing other convicts to set up possible criminals and have them engage in an illegal activity. In some cases, these are actually violent people intending to do harm, but that seems inconsequential. The agents appear to only want to increase their own notoriety by racking up convictions to advance their career. After they botch a potential arrest, they become more desperate and use Moses as their next target. As they try to get him to participate in illegal activities, he makes things difficult for them by not actually being a criminal. He goes to the FBI to report that others are trying to engage in arms trafficking, hoping to prevent the act as well as earn the reward money needed to pay his rent. In moments like this, where someone not committing a crime is viewed as a hindrance to the FBI agents and their purely self-serving goals, the film crosses the line of satire and the characters become despicable. This doesn’t appear to be a failure to achieve Morris’s intended goals, he may have wanted the agents to be received this way, but it is a creative misfire. The film is a failed satire, unable to sustain humor in the face of its reprehensible characters and their shameful, short-sighted manipulation.

2/5 stars.

2016, Recent Reviews, Reviews

The Hollars (2016)

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If film festivals can be epitomized, then The Hollars is Sundance in a nutshell. John Krasinski (The Office) directs and stars as John Hollar, a New York City office worker making a graphic novel in his spare time. He lives with his pregnant girlfriend Rebecca (Anna Kendrick; Pitch Perfect) until he finds out his mother Sally (Margo Martindale; Million Dollar Baby) has a brain tumor and needs surgery, requiring him to go back home for the first time in years. He returns to find that many things have changed and that his mother’s health isn’t the only problem his family faces.

Despite a talented cast, the performances are unrefined. Each actor is committed to their part and goes through the required motions, but the acting lacks precision. The cast needed more takes or a more demanding director to push them beyond their initial efforts. Particularly bad is the otherwise talented Sharlto Copley (District 9) as the divorced older brother who now lives with his parents. His acting is overly eccentric and his accent is distracting. Many foreign actors are able to imitate an American accent without notice, but Copley’s South African intonations are jarring when compared to his supposed family. The exception to this is the female cast. Martindale is captivating as the stern but caring matriarch. Her tough love is often hilarious and its clear why she is at the center of the family. Kendrick shines as well in her limited role. She manages to gently push John to move forward with his life without falling into the trap of becoming the whiny girlfriend character. Martindale’s and Kendrick’s acting is welcome, but it only puts their co-star’s shortcomings in further relief.

Martindale's sharp wit is incredibly endearing.
Martindale’s sharp wit is incredibly endearing.

The film checks off a list of tropes from festival darlings of the past 15 years. Almost every story beat or production choice can be guessed beforehand. The main character is stuck in a rut living in a big city, they feel like a stranger in their own hometown, and every character has been dusted in a healthy helping of quirk. Even the soundtrack follows the Sundance manual by only featuring tracks by indie folk singers. Movies like Garden State have already employed many of these features and Krasinski doesn’t attempt to grow beyond them.

There is an old saying that “you can’t go home again”, meaning that your memories of a place or time are static and will never match up to your new experiences if you try to revisit them. John’s trip home shows him how much his family’s situation has changed. The people he is close to have moved on with their lives, often to worse outcomes, while he was living in a vacuum, delaying change and avoiding risk. He hasn’t taken the next steps with his graphic novel or advanced his relationship with his longtime girlfriend because of his fear of failure. In many ways, this concept applies to the filmmakers themselves. Instead of attempting something original, they returned to a formula they knew. By strictly treading on common ground, The Hollars is an agreeable but forgettable comedic drama, barely distinguishable from its peers.

2/5 stars.

2016, Recent Reviews, Reviews

The Accountant (2016)

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With a strange premise and what has to be the least interesting title in recent memory, The Accountant starts out walking uphill. It features Ben Affleck (Argo) as Christian Wolff, an autistic man who works as a CPA for dangerous organizations, often killing as needed. He is hired to sort through the records of a biotech company after a bright, young staff member (Anna Kendrick; Pitch Perfect) finds something that doesn’t add up. What follows is the aftermath of the conspiracy he discovers that puts him and Kendrick’s character on the run from an unknown party looking to end their interference.

The film deserves significant praise for its portrayal of autism. Most films do not feature characters with disabilities that are able to live independently. Even Dustin Hoffman’s Academy Award winning role in Rain Man portrays the character as a tragic figure, brilliant but ultimately useless. Director Gavin O’Connor (Warrior) is able to successfully balance the effects of the disease. He doesn’t shy away from the difficulties of children with autism and the stress it puts on their families. In flashbacks of his childhood, Wolff’s parents are at a loss when trying to raise him as he doesn’t interact with other children and frequently has uncontrolled outbursts to the point that his mother leaves the family. Yet, the film shows how he is able to manage his difficulties. Through discipline and both medical and behavioral treatment, Wolff is able to become a successful adult, choosing a profession that utilizes his extreme attention to detail. His autism is still clearly present, but he is cognizant of his triggers and mitigates them. Affleck conveys his character’s situation with commendable nuance.

Both Kendrick and Affleck are convincing as accountants.
Both Kendrick and Affleck are convincing in their professions.

The tonal mix may be jarring, even excessive to some. The Accountant wants to be both a procedural thriller as well as an action movie. Like its lead, the film splits its time between the close examination of financial records and hitmen assassinating loose ends. To his credit, Affleck is believable in both situations, but the premise alone strains the film’s credibility. There is a backstory to support Wolff’s dual life, but it’s difficult to merge the disparate connotations of accountants and assassins. Fortunately, O’Connor is equally adept in staging someone poring over t-accounts and infiltrating a heavily guarded home. The action scenes are surprisingly tense. Affleck’s fighting style reveals the methodical, emotionless nature of his character and Kendrick’s resistance shows her resourcefulness even in the face of danger. They may seem far-fetched but the set pieces are always entertaining.

With Affleck as the lead, it’s hard to avoid the obvious comparison. Wolff could be viewed as the autistic Batman, doing taxes by day and fighting criminals by night. Yet there is a practicality to Wolff’s lifestyle that sets him apart. He isn’t trying to be a hero or be a villain. He is only taking advantage of his particular combination of skillsets. He has an innocence that makes him more sympathetic. His actions aren’t right or wrong, just necessary for him to complete his assigned task. The unique character backstory and effective action make The Accountant a refreshing spin on the typical hitman narrative.

4/5 stars.