What I’ve Caught Up With, May, 2024 Part 2:
Film: The Ghost Writer (2010)
Roman Polanski is a monster. I feel like I need to say that before each of his films that I review or mention. The Ghost Writer is a political thriller that feels very much like Polanski trying to explain the existence of Tony Blair by sexing up his connections to American espionage circles. The cast is a good one (Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams, among others—and a late-in-life cameo from Eli Wallach), but the film feels very derivative in many ways. Essentially, this feels like a political version of The Ninth Gate, to the point where the two films literally converge on plot at the end. The main difference is that this has a metaphorical Satan, not a real one.
Film: Denial (2016)
It staggers me to think that there are Holocaust deniers in the world, but, given the modern American political landscape, I probably shouldn’t. Denial is the story of the Deborah E. Lipstadt (Rachel Weisz), Jewish historian and Holocaust expert accused of libel by Hitler apologist and Holocaust denier David Irving (Timothy Spall) for her comments in her book, calling him an anti-Semite and extremist. This seems like it should be a nothing, but understand that should Lipstadt be found guilty, it would give credence to denialism. This is gripping, and features a masterclass by Weisz, Spall, and also Tom Wilkinson as Lipstadt’s barrister. This is a film that feels important and backs it up by living up to that importance.
Film: 84 Charing Cross Road (1987)
Almost entirely plotless, 84 Charing Cross Road features a woman in New York (Anne Bancroft) who writes to a British secondhand bookstore in search of some cheap books she can’t find at home and finds her letters answered by one of the workers (Anthony Hopkins). Thus begins a decades-long correspondence about books and life on both sides of the Atlantic. This reminded me of Cavalcade, except that I thoroughly enjoyed this and this is based very much on a true story. The letters that we hear being read in the film are the real letters between Helene Hanff and Frank Doel (and others) from the years immediately follaowing World War II through to the end of the 1960s. This is good enough that I literally didn’t realize that there wasn’t much of a plot until it was more than halfway through.
Film: It Should Happen to You (1954)
Judy Holliday was such a talent and her loss was a terrible one. It Should Happen to You was right in the heart of her career and put her as the corner of a love triangle with Jack Lemmon and Peter Lawford. In what seems like the inspiration for L.A. billboard purchaser Angelyne, Gladys Glover (Holliday) decides to make a name for herself by renting a billboard and putting her name on it. It works in the sense that it attracts the attention and frustration of documentarian Pete (Lemmon) and takes up the desired location for soap company owner Evan (Lawford). When fame starts to come her way, Gladys needs to make some choices. The choices she makes won’t shock you, but it’s fun getting there, especially with Holliday and Lemmon, two stand-out comedic talents.
Film: Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001)
As someone who grew up in suburban Chicagoland in the ‘70s and ‘80s, skateboarding in swimming pools and down hills wasn’t really a thing, but it certainly was in California. Dogtown and Z-Boys traces the roots of skateboard culture coming out of a poor neighborhood in Venice, California, starting from a group of young surf punks who were looking for something to do once the waves became unsurfable. Made by one of the original Z-Boys, the film looks at the evolution of skating, going from flat surfaces to vertical and the incorporation of surfing techniques. I still can’t skate a lick, but it’s hard not to find this a compelling story.
Film: Edison, the Man (1940)
Hagiography about Thomas Edison, this film is absolutely a product of its time. The Great Depression still raging and war escalating in Europe, American exceptionalism was an easy sell. Starting from the perspective of a gala banquet in his honor, the film tells Edison’s story in flashback, starting with his invention of a new stock ticker. It’s loaded with pure Americana and gumption, and while it certainly played in 1940, it seems very dated today. Spencer Tracy does yeoman’s work, but he always did. It’s hard to deal with today simply because too much about Edison is known for this to be taken seriously, but Tracy always did good work. As an odd side note, I was born in Edison County, New Jersey, a few miles down the road from Menlo Park.
Dogtown & Z-Boys in my opinion is one of the greatest documentary films ever made. Not only did it have a sense of style but it made me learn a lot about skating culture and it had one of the best music soundtracks ever. That sequence of skaters from the 1960s doing their outdated tricks to some kitschy jazz music is hilarious until... the Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is played as that got me pumped and it revealed what the Z-Boys were doing as they completely destroyed everything that skateboarding is about.
ReplyDeleteRoman Polanski fucked up. That's all that's need to be say but a monster? Compared to Bill Cosby, R. Kelly, Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein, and Diddy. More like a cabana boy in comparison to the shit they've done. As for The Ghost Writer, I think it's one of his best films as I just love the twists and turns as well as the humor in the film. Notably with Ewan McGregor realizing he might be sleeping with Pierce Brosnan's wife as he knows this is a bad idea but he goes along with it. That shit is hilarious as is the ending.
Dogtown and Z-Boys is up there with Hoop Dreams in terms of sports documentary. I'd seen it before, and watching it again in a lot of respects felt like watching it for the first time.
DeleteAs for Polanski...when your travel is restricted for fear of extradition because of a criminal act against a minor, "monster" seems like it fits. He's not the size and scope of monster as those you mention, but monsters come in all sizes.
The only one I've seen here is Dogtown & Z-Boys, which I really enjoyed too!
ReplyDeleteDenial is heavy, but worth the time. It Should Happen to You is fluff, but Judy Holliday is such a treat!
Delete84 Charing Cross Road isn't essential viewing, but it's easy and sweet, and doesn't demand much of the audience, so it's a great one for a night when you can't take anything much and don't want to invest your brain in something hard.
I liked The Ghost Writer more than I expected to. I’d read the book before it was ever planned as a film and that’s usually a tough hurdle to overcome and I was less than thrilled when I saw Pierce Brosnan’s name in the cast list (I don’t hate him or anything but have never seen anything special there either) but he wasn’t bad and the film held my interest throughout.
ReplyDeleteYou know with my girl Rachel Weisz heading Denial I sat down to it with great anticipation and was rewarded with a terrific watch. Because of the subject matter I cannot say it’s something I’m anxious to watch again but it was tremendously worthwhile.
I’m so glad you liked 84 Charing Cross Road!! I adore it! It’s so simple and yet so layered as we live those two vastly different people’s lives with them over decades and witness the deep friendship that develops without them ever meeting. The director keeps a watchful, respectful distance so he doesn’t rush the story or linger too long but it’s Anthony Hopkins and especially Anne Bancroft that makes the story come to life.
Two Judy Holliday movies in one month!! What a treat, though sadly that means with the others of hers I think you’ve seen (Adam’s Rib, Born Yesterday, The Solid Gold Cadillac and Bells Are Ringing) that’s the lion’s share of her starring roles ☹. “It Should Happen to You” is another that uses her special presence just right. In other hands Gladys Glover could have been an idiotic clown but Judy makes her an endearing naïve sweetheart helped immeasurably by Jack Lemmon and Cukor. This was Jack’s big screen debut and he always said that Judy was so kind to him and taught him so much about just being at ease in front of the camera that he carried with him throughout his career.
Edison, the Man was a one timer for me. Tracy is magnetic as ever and Edison’s contributions cannot be denied but the reverential tone is tough over the long haul. When I watched it my mind kept drifting to another slog fest with a very similar vibe-The Life of Emile Zola. As you say, very much a product of its time.
I have zero interest in Dogtown and Z-Boys, but I did know someone who made his living at the peak of the skateboarding craze filming videos of them full time. I was astonished at the sheer volume of demand for his services!
My problem with The Ghost Writer is exactly what I said above--it's very much a non-supernatural version of The Ninth Gate, and it's hard not to see it.
DeleteDenial was one of the better films of the month, although it certainly didn't seem like it would be on the surface. It's quite engaging, and it's incredibly well-acted throughout. 84 Charing Cross Road was probably the most surprising of the month, though. It's very sweet, and I went into it cold--it was a very pleasant surprise.
I think I might have seen Edison the Man when I was much younger--it seems like a movie that played on a show called Family Classics in the Chicago area, but I didn't really remember it the way I did others that ran yearly like Sink the Bismarck, Mysterious Island and Boys Town.
I haven't seen Bells are Ringing or The Marrying Kind yet, so I've still got a little Judy Holliday I can look forward to.